January 19, 2017

the California Aggie SERVING THE UC DAVIS CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY SINCE 1915

VOLUME 135, ISSUE 12 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017

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JAY GELVEZON / AGGIE FILE

Greenmetric names uc davis the greenest university overall

BY AARON LISS campus@theaggie.org The University of Indonesia’s seventh annual Greenmetric ranking has declared UC Davis the world’s most sustainable university.

By using environmental conservation and carbon footprint reduction criteria, UC Davis achieved an aggregate score of 8,396 out of 10,000, while the two runners-ups scored 8,079 and 7,658. UC Davis was ranked highest out of the universities for transportation, including bus and bike usage as part of environmentally-friendly public transportation.

UC Davis also achieved a perfect score of 1,800 in the waste section, regarding waste treatment, recycling, paper and plastic policies and sewerage disposal.

The ranking, which was announced on Dec. 16, highlights universities that are combating global climate change as well as bolstering energy and water conservation, waste recycling and green transportation.

UC Davis scored far ahead of other University of California (UC) campuses, with UC Berkeley earning a 7,156 and UC Riverside earning a 5,346. 516 universities were included in this ranking.

Riri Fitri Sari, chairperson of University of Indonesia GreenMetric Rankings of World Universities, congratulated UC Davis on this accomplishment.

“UI GreenMetric team is proud to announce [UC Davis] as the greenest and most sustainable campus in 2016 UI GreenMetric Rankings of World Universities,” Sari said via e-mail. “We congratulate [the] UC Davis team for their achievement in making their campus an excellent example for some criteria in UI GreenMetric.”

SUSTAINABLE on 8

Feminist Research Institute nominates Linda Katehi for director position amid criticism

BY IVAN VALENZUEL A campus@theaggie.org Linda P.B. Katehi, the former UC Davis chancellor, turned down a nomination this past December for a position to lead the UC Davis Feminist Research Institute (FRI).

“As I wrote to the Board of the Institute in my resignation letter, while I was honored by the nomination, I could not accept it due to the projects and related travel that I have committed myself to,” Katehi said in a Facebook announcement. “This year I am on a sabbatical leave, the first one in my 32 years as a faculty member (usually faculty go on a sabbatical leave for a year every seven years) and I am spending this time working with the National Academies in Washington D.C. on two separate reports and with the Association for the Advancement of Science also in D.C. as the President of their Engineering Section. In addition to these activities, I am working to develop a National Think Tank that will focus on Women’s Issues.”

The nomination, put forth by the institute’s board of directors, request-

ed that Katehi be chosen as the new director for the FRI. Since then, many members of the UC Davis community have taken issue with the consideration of Katehi, who last August resigned after criticism of her decision to accept seats on the boards of private education companies and her spending of funds to remove negative publicity after the 2011 pepper spray incident.

Sarah Shemery, a fourth-year gender sexuality and women’s studies major and deputy director of the Office of Advocacy and Student Representation (OASR), said that while Katehi’s work concerning women in STEM was admirable, her subsequent scandals were hard to ignore.

“People definitely try to argue that she’s done so much for women in STEM, and I’m sure she has,” Shemery said. “It’s important for women and femme-identified individuals to be in those spaces because those are spaces where you really don’t see a presence of people like that. At the same [time] it doesn’t cancel out, one, the pepper spraying incident. She should have been fired immediately after that. That doesn’t cancel out the unethical FEMINIST on 8

Protests erupt at Milo Yiannopoulos event

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AB540 and Undocumented Center provides students with resources, solace, community

Some community members in favor of Yiannopoulos; others accuse speaker of fascism

BY ALLYSON TSUJI features@theaggie.org Most students visit the Student Community Center (SCC) for their daily dose of coffee at the South CoHo. However, the SCC is also home to various service centers that offer resources and a supportive community, such as the AB540 and Undocumented Center. With services ranging from student programs to legal counseling services, the center provides students with a way to help themselves and their families while furthering their educations.

“One of the reasons why I came to Davis was mainly because of the AB540 Center that had opened the year prior,” said Yajaira Ramirez Sigala, the AB540 and Undocumented Center advocacy and policy coordinator and a second-year sustainable agriculture and food systems and Chicano/a studies double major.

“My immigration status was something that I was introducing myself to accepting, because it was something that I [used to] try to hide. [The center] really changed my life a lot as [I learned] more about what I was and what that meant.”

Assembly Bill 540 (AB540) was passed in California in 2001 to grant in-state tuition to non-residents who had attended and received diplomas from California high schools. This law, along with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, which exempts minors from deportation under certain eligibilities, plays a major role in the center’s goals regarding undocumented students or students

with undocumented relatives.

Based on these policies, the AB540 Center provides resources such as free legal counseling for students who want information or aid in issues related to being undocumented. These services are open not only to undocumented students themselves, but also to any undocumented immediate relatives of a student.

“We’re here to make sure that undocumented and documented students are able to focus on their studies,” said Amy Barnett, the UC Undocumented Legal Services Center attorney fellow to the UC Davis campus. “Sometimes that means helping them, sometimes that means helping their relatives.”

According to Barnett, the usage of these legals services has certainly increased since the election.

“There was great concern […] about the security of our students,” Barnett said. “However […], many of the university offices have responded really positively, and I see that as […] a silver lining. Hopefully that […] continues throughout the next administration and beyond.”

The AB540 Center also implements programs for awareness and support. Ramirez Sigala, for example, is currently working with the UC Davis Police Department to establish connections that will improve students’ lives at UC Davis, based on her own experiences.

“One of the personal issues that […] resoAB540 on 8

BY LINDSAY FLOYD campus@theaggie.org The controversial ultra-conservative speaker Milo Yiannopoulos was to speak at UC Davis on Jan. 13 as part of his “The Dangerous Faggot Tour” with guest pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli. The event, hosted by the Davis College Republicans (DCR), was subsequently cancelled 30 minutes prior to Yiannopoulos taking the stage due to mass protests outside of the Sciences Lecture Hall venue.

Prior to the 7 p.m. start time of the event, a crowd of hundreds gathered to protest it. Many wore black handkerchiefs as face masks and held signs suggesting that Yiannopoulos and his fans were fascists and promoting hate speech. The protesters also chanted sayings such as “No Milo, no KKK, no fascist USA,” “Say it loud say it clear, racists are not welcome here” and “This is what democracy looks like.” Eggs were thrown during the protest, and an ABC News cameraman reportedly had hot coffee thrown at him.

According to Yiannopoulos’ Facebook page and the DCR, the violent nature of the protestors resulted in the event’s cancellation. However, the majority of those present at the event were nonviolent, and, according to a statement released by interim Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter, there was no property damage, and only one individual was arrested.

The cancellation upset many who had planned to attend the event.

“It’s pretty upsetting that a group of people

who claim to be anti-fascists are coming here to make sure no one can hear something,” said an individual waiting in line to see the event who asked to remain anonymous. “I hope they see the irony in that. I went up towards the door just to see what was going on. I was wearing my [Make America Great Again] hat, someone stole it off my head and shoved me in the back, when I turned around they were sprinting away.

I guess the key to stopping fascism is blocking people’s speech and petty theft [...] I enjoy Milo, I enjoy the free speech aspect. I think it’s a lot of fun, and I came to be informed and be entertained.”

Other forms of protest were also present at the event. One activist group stood in a line adjacent to the Sciences Lecture Hall holding signs that promoted love to minority groups. This protest was nonviolent and instead hoped to offer support to those that would feel targeted by Yiannopoulos’ talk.

“We are protesting Milo Yiannopoulos being here and giving him the platform that comes with a prestigious university,” said Christina, a UC Santa Cruz alumna, who asked to have her last name witheld from print. “He obviously says things that he’s allowed to say. Freedom of speech, totally! But that does not mean freedom from consequences. I think he does hate speech, I think [his words] are very violent and words matter and they have a huge impact. I think allowing him to be here is making the students PROTEST on 8

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NAPOLITANO TO REINFORCE TENTATIVE PLANS OF UC DAVIS EXPANSION INTO SACRAMENTO Chinook salmon spawning in record numbers in Putah Creek UC Davis researchers receive funding for salmon study

BY ANYA REHON c it y@t he aggie . org

Former plans paused in light of Katehi’s resignation

BY L INDSAY F LOY D ca mpu s @ th ea ggi e .o r g

Prior to her resignation as UC Davis chancellor, Linda P.B. Katehi laid out tentative plans to extend UC Davis into Sacramento. The plans were brought to a halt during the chancellor search process.

In 2014, Katehi had begun plans to integrate UC Davis into Sacramento and add campus buildings in the downtown Sacramento area.

The expansion plans had failed to receive significant traction, and no physical drawings had been produced for the intended infrastructure.

Katehi also lacked faculty support for the proposition, and the plans failed to be presented to the UC Board of Regents. Following Katehi’s resignation, the plans were ultimately dropped.

However, University of California (UC) President Janet Napolitano announced on Jan. 4 that she would like the next chancellor to continue to pursue extending UC Davis into Sacramento in order to bring additional jobs and commerce to the area, and also to provide space to accommodate a growing campus.

“I think there is a real opportunity to bring Davis over the highway, so to speak, and to do more in this general economic area of California,” Napolitano said in an interview with The Sacramento Bee. “What I am looking for in a chancellor is someone that has the capability of doing that.”

Proposed aspects of the extension include housing a World Food Center in the downtown railyard area. The center would be a satellite

campus to attract top educators in food safety, agricultural policy and nutrition. The site would also include a medical center to focus on food-related illnesses such as diabetes and obesity.

Additional plans included creating a political center similar to the UC Washington Center in D.C. for students to live, study and intern in the state Capitol.

“We will create the world’s preeminent center where scholars, policy experts, government officials, media and others come for research, guidance and direction on all food related issues as they pertain to our planet,” Katehi said at a presentation to the UC Regents in July 2013.

City officials also support the idea, noting that the standing railyard building could house a year-round farmer’s market, and the initiative could open up “America’s Farm to Fork Capital” to more agricultural and food related businesses.

Napolitano met with Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg in June following his election to discuss the possibility of UC Davis having a larger presence in the Sacramento area. Steinberg was receptive to the idea.

“We want to invite the university to come across the causeway, because whether it’s food policy research, entrepreneurship around food and agriculture, whether it’s literally bringing some of their graduate programs across the causeway to Sacramento, I think we can be of great benefit to the university and we need the university,” Steinberg said in an interview with The Sacramento Bee. Katehi declined The California Aggie’s request for comment.

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Record level numbers of Chinook salmon have been spawning in Putah Creek this winter, likely as a result of improved drought and habitat conditions and various management practices in the region.

“Around 1,500 salmon have been recorded spawning in Putah Creek this winter,” said Peter Moyle, a professor emeritus in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology.

Some researchers have argued that there may even be close to 2,000 salmon spawning there currently, a significant increase from last year’s numbers. During 2016, around 500 to 700 salmon were recorded spawning in Putah Creek.

Researchers studying the area were surprised and pleased with the increasing numbers of salmon present today. During the 1970s, only a few salmon were recorded in the creek, and, in 2014, numbers were still significantly low, with some 200 salmon observed.

“Since 1999, the species of Chinook salmon present in the Sacramento river region have been identified as a Species of Concern,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service. Poor habitat conditions, the drought and local dams cutting off adequate spawning habitat for the fish contributed to the lower observed numbers recognized over the years.

Moyle proposed that it is new salmon, likely from hatcheries throughout the region that did not originally spawn in Putah Creek, that are coming into the creek now because of increased river flows.

Colder water, adequate habitat and established management and resSALMON on PAGE 12

Interim Chancellor Hexter, UC leaders sign letter to urge action against climate change

US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AWARDS $14 MILLION GRANT TO NATIONAL CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION

NICKI PADAR / AGGIE

UC Davis-led institute one of five national transportation centers awarded under the University Transportation Centers program

250 institutions ask new administration to address challenges of climate change

BY DEMI C AC ERES ca mpu s @ th ea ggi e .o r g

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced in early December that it had selected the National Center for Sustainable Transportation (NCST), led by the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, to receive a five-year $14 million federal grant to work on a more sustainable transportation system.

The NCST is one of five national transportation centers awarded under the University Transportation Centers’ program that was reauthorized by the federal Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. It is the only national transportation center focused on environmental preservation and the only one in California.

The NCST is part of UC Davis’ Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS-Davis). Other institutions partnered with the NCST are California State University, Long Beach; UC Riverside; University of Southern California; Georgia Tech and the University of Vermont.

The institution works on improving the environmental sustainability of transportation nationwide. The institution helps federal, state, regional and local agencies reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from passenger and freight travel that contribute to climate change. Its goal is to enhance the environmental sustainability of the United States’ transportation system through reducing fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

“Our research is organized around three themes, each essential to the goal of sustainability: environmentally responsible infrastructure and operations, multimodal travel and sustainable land use and zero-emission vehicle and fuel technology,” said Susan Handy, the NCST director and an environmental science and policy professor.

Handy believes that finding more eco-friendly and sustainable alternatives to modern transporta-

tion are highly important.

“Preserving the environment is called out in federal policy as a priority research area, for good reason,” Handy said. “The transportation system is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. It degrades water quality, increases noise levels, fragments natural habitat [and] creates barriers within our communities.

All of these impacts have consequences for human health, social equity, economic vitality and our overall quality of life [...] now and into the future.”

Since its creation in 2012, the NCST has funded 68 research projects on topics related to sustainable transportation. The NCST also published 25 white papers written to help policymakers address critical sustainability issues. It has worked with influential leaders and stakeholder groups, making it a leader in advancement of environmentally sustainable transportation and making UC Davis as a whole the nation’s leading university on sustainable transportation.

With the federal grant, the NCST plans to launch new research initiatives that will focus on the electrification, sharing and automation of passenger vehicles, as well as the development of more educational programs, not just for graduate students but also for undergraduates and high school students.

Dahlia Garas, the NCST program manager, believes that, with this federal grant, the institute will be able to efficiently find alternatives that are affordable and a positive resource for everyone.

“Finding win-win solutions that reduce environmental impacts while enhancing the economy and making travel easier, affordable and more convenient will provide a better future for everyone,” Garas said.

Carina Tejada, a fourth-year community and regional development major, believes it is imporTRANSPORTATION on PAGE 12

BY JAYASHRI PADMANABHAN ca m pus @theaggie . org

Last month, Interim Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter and other University of California (UC) leaders signed a letter urging President-elect Donald Trump and Congress to take action against climate change.

The letter, compiled by Boston-based nonprofit Second Nature, focuses on three main proposals.

The first proposal asks for participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change, the second proposal asks for support for research in academic institutions and federal agencies and the third proposal asks for investments in the low carbon economy to help adapt to changing climate hazards.

The letter also emphasizes the importance of the government’s actions to influence current and future generations. It has been signed by 250 institutions and was sent to the incoming presidential administration on Jan. 13.

Timothy Carter, the president of Second Nature, explained that the group worked with a group of approximately 30 schools to craft and refine the letter in November. Several other institutions’ presidents and chancellors voluntarily submitted additional statements of support.

“The intention of the letter was to provide a strong signal from the higher education sector that the sector values the Paris Agreement, thinks continued climate research is critical for informed decision-making and recognizes the importance of investments in a clean energy economy,” Carter said via e-mail.

Janna Cohen-Rosenthal, climate programs director for Second Nature, added that the higher education climate community voices its support for the three proposals as well as introduce the new administration and Congress to ongoing efforts.

“We have worked with the previous administration, so it’s important to introduce this [...] during a time of transition,” Cohen-Rosenthal said via e-mail.

Carter and Cohen-Rosenthal expressed the importance of having a reference point for future policy conversations at all levels of government — local, state and federal — as well as providing the higher education community opportunities to partner with governments both nationally and internationally.

At UC Davis, students and faculty have been supportive of efforts to protect the environment and improve sustainability through education, research and initiatives. Professor Arnold Bloom, from the Department of Plant Sciences, expressed his approval of the effort to help influence policies of the new administration.

“Climate change is likely to become one of the most disruptive issues in the coming decades, and the steps outlined in the letter are critical for mitigating or adapting to such change,” Bloom said via e-mail.

According to Bloom, the campus offers courses about climate change, such as introductory course SAS 25. Bloom teaches a free online course as well.

The environmental policy analysis and planning major recently initiated a climate change policy track where students can learn about climate policy, environmental economics and climate science.

Michael Bancroft, a fourth-year environmental science and management major, supports the UC leaders signing the letter.

“It is very important that the UC system supports government action on climate change not only as representatives of leading environmental research institutions, but also partially as representatives of California, the state with the most legislative action on climate change in the U.S.,” Bancroft said via e-mail.

Similarly, Mayra Pelagio, a fourth-year environmental science and management major, said that it was important for the UC system to show support for the letter considering many of its campuses were leaders in research in green energy.

CLIMATE CHANGE on PAGE 12

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017 | 3

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Student organizers host “Change/The Conversation” event

Helping the homeless Grant from Sutter Health supports Davis Pathways in providing shelter for the homeless

BY ANDIE JOLDERSMA city@theaggie.org More long-term housing solutions are on their way for the City of Davis’ homeless population, thanks to a $233,000 grant from Sutter Health.

131 people were recorded as homeless in Davis in January of 2015, according to the Homeless Point-in-Time study. However, many people believe that the study underestimates the number of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons in Davis, seeing as it doesn’t account for those who are “couch surfing,” or staying temporarily in another person’s home.

Additionally, the numbers are contingent-based on who responds to the survey and whether or not they are in Davis at the specific time of the survey.

The next count will take place on Jan. 23, and, if the numbers follow the current trend, the count is expected to increase.

There are currently a number of resources available to the homeless for shelter. For nearly 10 years, the Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter (IRWS) has provided emergency shelter for homeless persons during the months of November through March. Those in need of a warm and safe place to stay come in for a brief screening and are then sent to one of the local congregations hosting the shelter for the week.

Once there, they are given a cot to sleep in and a warm meal. The next morning, transportation arrives at 6 a.m. and they are driven to designated drop-off locations around downtown.

“IRWS was founded to provide an emergency shelter,” said Eric Elton, the IRWS board

chair. “It wasn’t founded to provide a need out of homelessness or to assist in any way other than to provide a place to stay for the night.”

With help from the Sutter Health grant, the City of Davis will be able to further help the homeless through new federal policy directives, including Housing First. The Housing First initiative aims to place homeless persons into permanent housing. It strays from the traditional “transition” approach to alleviating homelessness by striving to provide a stable shelter before addressing other issues.

“The federal policy directive has been called Housing First, but it really basically says that the goal is to house homeless people first, and then put supporting services around that,” said Joan Planell, the director of Yolo County’s Health and Human Services Agency. “Sutter is giving money to add a job training program to the Pathways program, finance some rental assistance for people as a transition into permanent housing, and to do the supporting services around the individual once they’re placed in housing.”

These supporting services range from a number of different methods to aid those receiving shelter. One example would be a case management service that would send a trained employee to the sheltered individual to make sure rent is being paid and the sheltered individual has food in their fridge. In addition, sheltered individuals have access to any mental health services they need.

Senate Bill 1380 declares California as a Housing First state as of Sept. 29, 2016. AcHOMELESS on 8

Speakers CeCe McDonald and Franchesca Ramsey keynote the event

BY KENTON GOLDSBY campus@theaggie.org Internet personality Franchesca Ramsey and Black Trans Lives Matter activist CeCe McDonald were the headliners of “Change/The Conversation,” a speaking event hosted on Jan. 13, the same day as an event scheduled by the UC Davis College Republicans featuring Breitbart tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos.

The event was held in the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) Ballroom and was organized by Sam Alavi, a fourth-year sociology major.

Ramsey is a South Florida native and currently lives in New York. She is an active YouTube personality and host for MTV. “I originally went to the University of Michigan for acting, but after my sophomore [year] transferred to the art institute in Miami Florida and got my BFA in graphic design,” Ramsey said via e-mail. “Today I’m a writer, actor and video blogger in addition to hosting and producing the MTV News web series ‘Decoded.”’

McDonald is a community activist who, according to Alavi, brings important conversation about black lives, transgender lives and America’s prison system to campus.

“I think we lack conversations about black trans women and trans women in general on our campus, so it seemed like a great opportunity to bring her because she brings a great perspective about transgender identities, around race [and] around the intersection of the prison-industrial complex,” Alavi said.

Ramsey said that she planned to bring information about her career and social media to the

Sudoku

UC Davis campus.

“I think more activists should be transparent about their mistakes and things they’ve learned during their careers,” Ramsey said via e-mail.

“Unfortunately there seems to be a trend of activists using their platforms solely to shame and dig up dirt on others. While I think it’s important to call out problematic people and behaviors as they happen, we have to remember we all started somewhere and unfortunately many people in these spaces present themselves as ‘perfect’ rather than humans who’re constantly in need of self reflection.”

According to Alavi, a “perfect storm” of events set the stage for “Change/The Conversation.”

“There was this perfect storm of events where there was Martin Luther King weekend, Milo [Yiannopoulos] was coming, there has been a lot of tension on campus [and] there has been a lot of discussion about wanting to host an event,” Alavi said. “I reached out to a ton of people and I asked all these different students, ‘If we were going to have an event, who would you want to see?’ And overwhelmingly people said CeCe McDonald and Franchesca Ramsey.”

Alavi said that one of the goals of the event organizers was to bring the event and the ideas discussed to more than just students and faculty of the university.

“We [wanted] to reach a broad audience [...]

I think there [were] kind of two points to the event: one [was] to create a community space where students who aren’t necessarily hearing this for the first time […] can hear their expeCHANGE on 12

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

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RE-ENTRY STUDENTS: NAVIGATING THE UC DAVIS CAMPUS Unique stories of community, real-life experiences

BY MARLYS JEA N E fea tu r es@th e a ggi e . o r g

Naomi Barcelo received an unexpected phone call one day from a friend she hadn’t spoken to for quite some time. This person had been her note-taker for a past religious studies class, but he didn’t call to talk about academics — he called to ask her if she would teach him how to cook.

“He was tired of eating frozen food,” Barcelo said. “He was like: ‘My mom cooks all my meals, and when I asked her to teach me how to cook she said I [don’t need to know how to do that].’ So I taught him how to cook his basic meals!”

Teaching a young friend how to

cook was an easy task for Barcelo, a 51-year-old part-time student and fourth-year anthropology major, as she has quite a bit of experience.

Barcelo is a member of the roughly six percent of the UC Davis student population that is categorized as “re-entry.” A re-entry student is defined as a student who is re-entering the education system after taking a break for any number of years; gaps between high school and the time they come back to school can range from anywhere between five years and 40 years.

“A re-entry student is a non-traditional student in the sense that when you think about a traditional student, even a traditional transfer

student who goes from high school directly into college, those are students who start here as 18-year-old freshmen,” said Victor Garcia, an advisor at the Transfer Reentry Veterans Center (TRV). “Typically, [re-entry students] are older, a bit more mature and they’ve had quite a bit of life experience.”

After having learned after high school that she had learning disabilities, Barcelo was discouraged at a young age from pursuing college. At that time in the 1970s, there wasn’t an accommodative culture that aided students with disabilities.

“I didn’t know how to read correctly. I never learned how to sound out words,” Barcelo said. “My father said I was too stupid to go to college and to get a union job [instead], so I went and got a union job, and got chewed up by the world. I really needed something more. I [told myself ] ‘I can’t keep doing this.’”

It was this aspect of “getting chewed up and spit out” that sparked a drive in Barcelo to improve her life. She had always chosen jobs that allowed her to hide herself and to hide her disabilities, but this had always taken a lot of time and effort. After she got older, Barcelo decided she wanted to go back to school and eventually found herself at UC Davis, her childhood dream school.

“I’ve always wanted to go to Davis, and if I [was] going to go, the second time around, then I [was] going to do it right,” Barcelo said. “The reason I’m successful

CIERA PASTUREL / AGGIE

CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS PRESS DONALD TRUMP TO CONTINUE DACA AS PRESIDENT Higher education leaders stand by undocumented students

BY J EANNA TOTAH campus @ th e a ggi e .o r g

With the upcoming presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, leaders of the University of

California (UC), California State University (CSU) and California Community College (CCC) have been pressing President-elect Donald Trump to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) im-

now is because I have accommodations: I get extra time; I get programs that will read text to me. But [I] also have the life experience of knowing [that] if I want to make more than $15 an hour, I’m gonna need a better education.”

Reentry students are often quickly identified by their age gap compared to 18, 19 or 20-year-old “traditional” students. What isn’t so apparent, however, is how these unconventional students come to campus with a variety of life experiences, as each individual has their own unique backstory. For example, a large portion of the demographic is made up of those who have children, are be married, or have mortgage payments.

“Being a student is only part of their everyday life,” Garcia said. “Once they’re done [with a school day], they have to take off the student hat and put on the ‘mom hat,’ the ‘dad hat’ or the ‘partner hat’ or go to work to make sure they’re paying the bills. The student experience [for them] becomes very different as it deviates from what a traditional student and a traditional transfer student may be experiencing because of all these external factors that occur.”

Manny Carter-Jocelyn, a re-entry student and fourth-year psychology major, is not just a student at UC Davis, but also a mother. After graduating high school in 2008 and spending a couple of semesters at community college, she left the education system until 2012. Then, just

migration policy for students involved in the program to be able to maintain their higher education in California.

DACA was started under the Obama administration in June 2012 to allow undocumented minors who immigrated to the United States to request renewable protection from deportation.

The protection lasts two years given that the individuals meet certain qualifications, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ website.

Eligible “Dreamers” may acquire a work permit and go to school in the United States without being citizens.

Trump has repeatedly mentioned his plans to end the program, which could put many Dreamers at risk of being deported, including students at UC Davis. In response, UC President Janet Napolitano, CSU Chancellor Timothy White and CCC Chancellor-designate Eloy Ortiz Oakley composed a letter to Trump on Nov. 29 explaining why it is essential for him to keep DACA intact.

“These sons and daughters of undocumented immigrants are as American as

POLICE LOGS From drunkards to eavesdroppers, Davis residents continue to wreak havoc

BY SAM SOLO M O N ci ty @th e a ggi e .o r g

Jan. 7 Male “inside restaurant asleep with vodka bottle next to him.”

Jan. 7 “RP was distressed that a disheveled elderly female loitered in front of her home in a taxi cab for a while, then approached the residents to tell them she lived there 50 years ago.”

Jan. 8 “RP thinks someone was in her apartment at sometime today — nothing was taken but RP advised there is ‘crud on her sheets.’”

Jan. 8 “RP advised that subject is ‘hurting her by eating meat in her house’ due to her being vegan.”

Jan. 10 “Male and female in a verbal 415 inside the apt. Number of neighbors standing outside of the apt. listening in.”

Yolo County Farm Bureau to honor local winery Farmer advocacy organization will honor Heringer Estates Family Vineyards and Winery at 103rd annual meeting

BY RAU L CAST E LLANOS JR. city@thea g g ie.org

When it comes to dealing with the challenges of farming and agriculture, Yolo County farmers are not alone. The Yolo County Farm Bureau — a local farmer advocacy organization — provides political representation to Yolo County farmers. Gretchen Schauer, a UC Davis alumnus and the executive assistant at the Yolo County Farm Bureau, said that the organization supports farmers in any way it can.

“We are a nonprofit, non-government affiliated organization, and we represent Yolo county farmers however they need us to represent them,” Schauer said. “So, for example, if they see a need for road repair, something like that, we try to influence the county to help out with that. If there’s something going on locally that politically disagrees with

RE-ENTRY on PAGE 8

any other child across the nation, in all but in the letter of the law,” the letter read. “They should be able to pursue their dream of higher education without fear of being arrested, deported or rounded up for just trying to learn.”

Though it is not certain that DACA will be annulled, UC Davis administrators are prepared to protect students’ right to pursue higher education.

“The University will continue to protect the privacy of student records and information, which are confidential under law,” UC Spokesperson Claire Doan said in an e-mail. “The Principles also establish a consistent system-wide policy that campus police departments will not act as adjunct immigration officers, [and] their focus will remain [on] student safety.”

Despite the UC’s plans to support these Dreamers, the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Jan. 10 revealed the high possibility of Trump removing DACA, according to online magazine Salon Media Group. “[DACA] would need to be studied,

GENESIA TING / AGGIE

NICKI PADAR / AGGIE

two months after having a baby girl, Carter-Jocelyn officially went back to school at American River College in Sacramento and then moved on to UC Davis.

“I came back to school because I had a kid, and I needed to get my life together,” Carter-Jocelyn said. “[I wanted to] show [my daughter] what education was about, that mommy could do education too and that I was a productive member of society.”

Carter-Jocelyn runs the front desk and assists with workshops at the TRV Center, but her most significant role is guiding other reentry students who have children just like she does. She offers advice, as well as financial resources, child care resources, school resources and housing resources for other parents.

Transitioning from community college to a place like UC Davis is daunting in and of itself, since most resources are no longer centrally located but scattered across a vast campus. Navigating the quarter system new classroom settings are challenges for any new student, but these adjustments are especially hard for transfer and re-entry students.

“There used to be transfer services, reentry services and veteran services, [but] around 2008-2009 the services were combined because they realized that the one thing a lot of them had in common was that they were all transfer students [of some sort],” Garcia said. “[These transfer

farmers, or maybe farmers want changed, then Yolo County Farm Bureau will step in and try to help with that as well.”

In addition to providing farmers with political representation, the Yolo County Farm Bureau works closely with the Yolo County Farm Bureau Education Corporation to provide farmers with grower education and employee safety programs.

Jessica Reiter, a UC Davis political science graduate, sees the Farm Bureau as a valuable asset for local farmers.

“People are quick to talk down special interest groups, but not all special interest groups are big money bad guys,” Reiter said. “Yolo County Farm Bureau is a good example of how specialty groups within communities need someone to stand up for them in government.”

The Farm Bureau holds a general meeting every year and encourages all farmers to attend. This year it will hold its 103rd annu-

[but] it would certainly be constitutional, I believe, to end that order,” Trump’s Attorney General nominee Senator Jeff Sessions said in the hearing. “[The Department of Justice] would have no objection to a decision to abandon that order.”

Salon Media Group said that Sessions will potentially recommend that Trump end DACA, but Sessions did not mention the resulting arrangement for the 800,000 DACA-registered immigrants.

However, Andrea Gaytan, director of the AB540 and Undocumented Student Center, said that repealing DACA would mean students could lose protection from deportation, opportunities to work legally, ability to travel for research purposes and, in some states, their driver’s licenses. Gaytan said students should be concerned for themselves, friends or loved ones who are currently involved with DACA. “We’re trying to make sure that [...]

DACA on PAGE 8

al meeting at the Yolo County Fairgrounds on Jan. 19. The theme of the meeting is “adapting to thrive.” The Farm Bureau will honor Heringer Estates Family Vineyards and Winery, a local winery in Clarksburg.

Schauer said Heringer Estates is a great example of this year’s theme.

“A small committee decided that the theme of this annual meeting would be ‘adapting to thrive,’ which seems to be the theme of agriculture nowadays,” Schauer said. “They thought that Heringer Estates is a good example of how agriculturalists have had to adapt to thrive, especially recently.

Heringer Estates has been around for 140 years, which is remarkable.”

Heringer Estates has been owned by the Heringer family, which includes several graduates of UC Davis, for six generations.

In the past, the family has grown field and road crops. It was not until the 1970s that they began to grow grapes, and not until the early 2000s that the farm established a winery. Steve Heringer III said he enjoys the social aspect of winemaking.

“One of the nice things about the grape and wine industry, as opposed to anything else we have ever done, is everybody is interested in what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, how we’re making the wine,” Heringer said. “Wine is a very social agricultural product, and it opens up incredible opportunities to tell agricultural stories and our own personal story.”

The story of Heringer Estates is one of constant change and adaptation. The 140year history of the farm has not been without its challenges — the decades have brought years of excessive rain, years of drought, market changes, industry changes and periods of high interest rates during the 1980s, to name a few. Heringer said that adaptation has been the key to the farm’s longevity.

“Just the ability to adapt to the situation, whether it’s weather, whether it’s finances, whether it’s crops, or whether it’s family,” FARM BUREAU on PAGE 12

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017 | 5

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CAT TAY LOR / AGG IE

MEET THE MEAT LAB UC Davis staple processes fresh, local product humanely

BY H A N N A H HO L ZE R fea tures @ th e a ggi e .o r g

As a second-generation butcher, Caleb Sehnert’s roots in the meat industry were established before he was even born. Sehnert works with and teaches students how to humanely slaughter and process animals for consumption as part of his job as the manager of the UC Davis Meat Lab. “I really, really like my job,” Sehnert said. “It’s a really rewarding and fun job. I get to work with our researchers and facility managers when they bring animals in and help collect certain tissues and data, [I] get to teach the whole process of slaughter and processing to our students, and then I get to help our students prepare it all and sell it to our customers.”

Serving a multitude of functions, the Meat Lab is equipped with a kill floor, processing and cutting rooms and classrooms where students in classes such as Animal Science 49G — Animal Management Practices learn the entire process of meat production.

A part of the Department of Animal Science, the Meat Lab has been processing and selling fresh, local meat to the community since the 1990’s and is the only one of its kind in the UC system.

Krista Leili-Marrazzo, a fourth-year animal science student, is a self-described butcherette who has a close relationship with the handful of other student employees and interns at the Meat Lab. “We spend a lot of time together because if we’re not in class, we’re probably at work,” Leili-Marrazzo said. “I’ve learned so much more than I thought I was going to at this job, so that has been really rewarding.”

Similarly, Geoff Koch, a fourth-year sustainable agriculture and food systems major who worked

Unveiling Sproul’s past

at the Meat Lab for about nine months, said his experience at the lab was both enjoyable and extremely rewarding.

“I don’t come from a farming background, so it was another way that I [learned] a whole lot about what it takes to get food to our plates,” Koch said.

“I had a really excellent experience working at the Meat Lab. I made some really good friends and I got to be involved in a lot of events on campus with the Animal Science Department.”

The Meat Lab processes a total of 600 to 800 cows, pigs, goats and sheep yearly, all of which are raised at UC Davis. Weekly sales are Thursday and Friday from 1 to 5:30 p.m. in the Cole C Facility.

Meat products are also ordered by restaurants from the community, departments on campus, local butcher shops and, occasionally, the dining commons.

“We do sell to campus catering quite often when they do events,” Sehnert said. “The G Street WunderBar in Downtown Davis [uses] our bacon, ground beef and pastrami on some of their burgers and sandwiches. We also sell lots of carcasses to other local butchers [because] they know they can get fresh, consistent, good animals here.”

In addition to sales, the Meat Lab workers compete with the five other collegiate meat labs in the state at the annual California Association of Meat Processors (CAMP) competition.

Leili-Marrazzo, who was awarded the CAMP scholarship, said that each student is allowed to enter a sausage that they have created which follows the CAMP requirements for that year. Last February, the UC Davis Meat Lab took home top honors and student-specific awards.

“Each year there’s a different requirement for the

California-native Robert G. Sproul began his career in 1930 as president of the University of California. Sproul’s wide range of interests and impactful personality live on in the legacy he left behind in UC Davis’ Sproul Hall.

“We think it is important to capture the history of the buildings on campus, especially the named buildings to understand the people being honored and their history on campus,” said Daryl Morrison, the department head of Shields Library Special Collections.

Sproul Hall retains its original purpose as a teaching building, unlike many other structures that were intended for agricultural use. The building is home to nine floors full of departments including classics, foreign languages, humanities and religious studies.

“Sproul Hall is global diversity in action,” said Rex Stem, the chair of the Classics Department.

“The best thing about this building is you get in the elevator and one person is speaking French, one person is speaking Arabic and another is speaking Chinese. You get people who speak all kinds of languages in the same building teaching and working together.”

Until 1998, Sproul was the tallest building on the West Coast, according to the special collections, and remains the tallest building in Davis today. From the ninth floor students can see the Sacramento skyline, all of Yolo County and even the Sierra Mountains.

“We get to know people by seeing them so often in the hallways and we can always drop by each others’ offices and get to know what everybody’s up to,” said Melanie Barbier, an assistant instructor in the French Department. “However, the elevators are horrible [...] they are really old and often don’t work, one is even broken right now. Sproul totally gives a Tower of Terror feel — something about the concrete and the turquoise is really bizarre.”

Despite the retro style of the building’s exterior, Sproul makes use of every inch of its interior, offering modern study spaces and conference rooms. While Sproul Hall is usually quiet and calm, by the end

“I think it’s cool for students to see that everything is done very humanely and the animals [are] really taken care of beforehand and even during the slaughter process,” Leili-Marrazzo said. “I like [for] students to have that realization of, ‘Oh, this isn’t such a terrible industry and the animals aren’t suffering.’”

Student workers at the Meat Lab are often working while Animal Management Practices students use the facilities for class. Koch said that while he processed meat, students in classes would observe and absorb practical information from his work.

“We get the opportunity to teach by showing what we know,” Koch said. “I got the opportunity to relay the knowledge I had in the short time I was there to some students, but I was also learning myself. You learn by experience.”

According to Koch, every Thursday and Friday — when the Meat Lab is open for business — the lines stretch out the door. Sehnert said that there are dedicated customers that come every week, rain or shine. But, for Sehnert, the Meat Lab is not about profit.

“We’re not really here to make money or lose money,” Sehnert said. “Everything that we sell or produce here is a byproduct of teaching and research.”

Leili-Marrazzo doesn’t believe many students are aware that the UC Davis Meat Lab exists.

“It’s on campus, it’s so close and I think more people should know about it,” Leili-Marrazzo said.

“It’s a nice way to get really local and fresh meat and it’s very humanely slaughtered and processed and we’re really proud of what we do. It’s like the hidden gem of Davis.”

LAU R A LON G / AGGIE

UC HASTINGS COLLEGE OF THE

Chipping away at 44 years of history

BY G ILL I A N A L L EN featu res@ th e a ggi e .o r g

sausage, so last year we had to have a pale ale in it [... but] this year it’s an Italian sausage,” Leili-Marrazzo said. “I know in past years they’ve had to have an apple ingredient or a weird candy, so this year is not too bad. We’ll spend about a month experimenting and perfecting our own sausages.”

Last year, Denelle Flake, a second-year managerial economics major, was awarded grand champion for her sausage, “The Bangkok Banger.”

“The annual convention provides great networking opportunities with potential employers and fellow college students,” Flake said. “It opens your eyes to the many components of the meat industry.”

The Meat Lab sales room is covered with plaques, noting the many achievements of past and present students.

However, the most important factor for workers at the Meat Lab is that the livestock are cared for and slaughtered as humanely as possible. Sehnert said that most people are not aware that an inspector from the United States Department of Agriculture is present for every slaughter.

“All these animals are very well taken care of at our facilities,” Sehnert said. “Our inspectors are always complimenting us on how healthy our animals are, so we’re pretty proud of that. Without humane handling, if you’re not handling the animals properly, you’re going to have a poor product.”

Involvement at the Meat Lab, in classes such as Animal Management Practices, allows students to receive a hands-on interaction with the entire meat production process. Leili-Marrazzo said that she thinks that the opportunity for hands-on learning clears away misconceptions about the meat processing industry.

of the quarter it is buzzing with students from all cultural departments who are studying or rehearsing for speaking exams.

Robert Sproul himself received degrees from universities around the world, was a member of numerous international boards and was honored as Knight of the Order of the Iron Crown of Italy.

He even belonged to a private club in which artists, journalists and musicians would share cosmopolitan stories. Sproul’s world legacy remains in the diverse structure of his building.

“The faculty here has a shared mission,” Stem said. “Whether we teach Chinese or Greek, it doesn’t matter, because we’re all trying to further language education. It’s a shame that the building geography divides the faculty up.”

Stem was not the first to search for unity among the university departments. Robert Sproul spent many of his presiding years calling for unity of the university system and even created the Cal Club to bring together student leaders from all UC campuses.

Just as Sproul sought to increase University prestige and unity, UC Davis faculty and students uphold this legacy every day in Sproul Hall.

As it resides in the southeast corner of campus looming over the rest of the structures, Sproul has an ominous air that seems to hold more secrets than Plato’s undiscovered works. Rumours of underground tunnels have circulated throughout campus over the years, but without special privileges, these rumours may be hard to prove true.

Barbier explained that, at night, after everyone has gone home, the building has an eerie mystique in its stillness. However, Stem has a different idea of his workplace and described it as a Holiday Inn in Florida — a 1970s resort that has not been updated.

Whether or not students take a language class during their time on campus, Sproul Hall is a unique and intricate monument of UC Davis and reflects the importance of diversity in education.

“The university strives to continue to memorialize those who impacted our campus,” Morrison said.

“It’s very important to understand sense of place, and the buildings are a big part of that both for their beauty, their architecture and their history which build knowledge throughout our campus.”

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Opinion the California Aggie EDITORIAL BOARD SCOTT DRESSER Editor in Chief ELLIE DIERKING Managing Editor ALYSSA VANDENBERG Campus News Editor SAMANTHA SOLOMON City News Editor ELI FLESCH Opinion Editor EMILIE DEFAZIO Features Editor AMANDA ONG Arts & Culture Editor BRYAN SYKES Sports Editor ARIEL ROBBINS Science & Tech Editor

CHIARA ALVES New Media Manager JAY GELVEZON Photo Director HANNAH LEE Design Director EMILY STACK Copy Chief OLIVIA ROCKEMAN Copy Chief VERONICA VARGO Website Manager ALEX GUZMÁN Social Media Mangager MADELINE ONG Newsletter Manager

The dangerous return of nationalism AN UPTICK IN RIGHT-WING MOVEMENTS BODES ILL ACROSS THE GLOBE

BY SHOHINI MAITRA samaitra@ucdavis.edu The rise and fall of nations is inevitable — it’s a cycle that has gone on for centuries. The Middle East was the center of scientific discovery and other literary pursuits, but now its very name is considered synonymous with chaos and terrorism. Greece, one of the oldest civilizations in the world, suffers from chronic bankruptcy and a corrupt government. Empires and civilizations have risen, only to fall to outside enemies, or crumble from within. Doesn’t it seem like the cycle has started again?

The start of World War I can be attributed to nationalism fueled by political propaganda and rulers who prioritized their own interests. It was nationalism, or the tendency to view your own country as superior to the rest, and to place your country’s interests first, that significantly helped European nations develop. Most modern European countries developed around a shared national identity. But that “national identity” often had the effect of dividing a country along racial, ethnic or linguistic lines.

Sound familiar? In 2016, we witnessed two major countries cast their votes — Britain in favor of leaving the EU, and the United States for Donald J. Trump. Both events were partially caused by a dislike or mistrust of people who may have represented some kind of “other.” Brexit was caused by a resentment building among the working classes who felt that their jobs were being taken away by immigrants and who felt threatened by the large numbers of immigrants fleeing from Syria. Terrorist attacks in France and Germany only added to their fears.

The US is a melting pot of diversity, with immigrants coming from all over the world in search of a better life. Voting for Trump effectively meant voting against LGBTQ rights, against women’s rights and against immigrants. Working-class white males, whose jobs have either been rendered obsolete by technology or have been outsourced to other countries where labor and manufacturing are cheaper, sought someone to blame and were ultimately pointed to

easy targets: immigrants and women moving into male-dominated professions.

After World War I, participating nations suffered serious economic and social repercussions. The League of Nations was formed to maintain peace and the losing countries, especially Germany, were penalized heavily. However, they failed to prevent leaders like Hitler and Mussolini from rising to power and paving the way to World War II. Today, we wonder how the public could have elected someone as horrible as Hitler. But the crux of the matter is that he promised jobs and wages amid economic trouble. He positioned himself as a strong alternative to the corrupt governments that had come into power after the war.

We can see history repeating itself today. The Arab Spring of 2011 was the common man’s rebellion against a dictatorship in Egypt. But the government was replaced by right-wing fundamentalists. In 2014, India voted overwhelmingly for Modi and his party — the right-wing BJP — which has close ties to Hindu nationalistic organizations. It was a bold move against the secular but corrupt Indian National Congress party which had held the office almost uninterrupted since India’s independence in 1947. The Philippines voted for Duterte, a president known for being brash, violent and very different from his predecessors. The integration of immigrants from Syria into European society has fostered widespread resentment among members of the working and middle classes there.

Right-wing fundamentalist parties in Germany and Italy have grown as a result. As ISIS continues to wreak havoc in Syria, it seems that religious and right-wing radicals are increasingly taking hold of our world.

For those of us who believe in progressive mindsets and globalization, the world seems to be moving backwards. Perhaps, we will see our way through these conflicts, and when we come out on the other side, the tables may be turned for the most powerful nations.

Or maybe, for the first time, we could learn from history and stand together in unity to ensure that our progressive empires don’t crumble.

Preparing for the worst in Joshua Tree National Park STUPIDITY AND NATURE INTERSECT MARVELOUSLY IN THE HIGH DESERT OF CALIFORNIA

BY ELI FLESCH ekflesch@ucdavis.edu Few things complement each other with such ease as the National Park System and the Darwin Awards do. Nature has always brought out the worst in man, but it was only since the mid-1980’s that an organization — The Darwin Awards — started formally recording the most forehead-slapping disasters that occur when you put a human in the wild with the unreasonable expectation that they will respect their surroundings. According to the website, nominees for the award are among a select group of individuals who, through death or serious maiming, have improved “our gene pool by removing themselves from it.” Not many creeds are as delightfully morbid.

I found myself in Joshua Tree National Park last December, alone, on a trail marked “unmaintained” (which effectively means no trail at all), stuck between a rock and a 50-foot cliff. I was crouched because the rock hung at an angle over the path, and standing upright would have meant thrusting my torso over the edge. My destination, the summit of Mastodon Peak, was just around the edge. I eventually made it past this obstacle by hugging the rock with the same determination of a barnacle fixed to the leg of a pier. The Salton Sea looked clear and white from the top.

But as anyone who's ever climbed a mountain or tried hard drugs knows, coming down is the hardest part. And I was vertigi-

nously high, don’t-even-think-about-looking-down high. This was my Darwin moment. And it made me consider all who had come before.

One woman in 1999 died BASE jumping in Yosemite Park because her pull-cord failed her and the parachute never opened. But what elevated it from a tragedy to a Darwin Award level tragedy was her earlier decision to buy discounted equipment. I sympathize with that woman now. People get hurt in nature, in large part, because they come unprepared. Sometimes it’s faulty gear. Sometimes it’s the astonishing lack of common sense that makes you think it’s a good idea to, say, take a quick dip in the vivid, chromatic and boiling hot thermal springs of Yellowstone, as one now deceased Oregon man thought prudent last November.

In my case, it wasn’t being unprepared to get off Mastodon Peak, but a paralyzing fear of heights and a foot that had been severely cramping the last two miles of the hike. Did that qualify me as a certifiable idiot? Only if I fell, I reasoned. Plus, I was somewhat prepared. In my bag: three feet of gauze, rubbing alcohol, bandages (large and small), cotton swabs, paper towels and dry socks. It wasn’t too much. My supplies would have been perfect for the minor idiocies of walking into a cactus or stepping in the one puddle in all of Joshua Tree.

I stayed up there for five minutes. I postured. I stuck my hands out. To someone observing below, it may have looked like a triumphant gesture — the exaltation of someone unburdened by society.

I was just trying to see if I had the wingspan to grab a somewhat promising boulder if I slipped off the side of the cliff. My mother, who had her trepidations about me going to the desert alone, would never hear about this experience. I would tell her that I hiked seven miles, stayed on the trail, took great pictures and made sure to say “hi” to any fellow travelers. A wholesome journey of self-reflection — my very own day as Henry David Thoreau. Provided, of course, I made it down.

I came to the segment of the path that caused me great difficulty on the ascent. From where I now stood, it looked impossible. It was one of those crab traps in which the netting allows you in, but seizes up to prevent exit. My hands and feet shook. The wind blew hard and cold. I took off my gloves because they reduced my grip on the granite. Stowed my camera so it wouldn’t get damaged in the case I did plummet off the edge. And then I managed to jump across safely and everything was fine.

It dawns on me now that if Thoreau went to the woods “to front only the essential facts of life,” I went to Joshua Tree to front the essential facts of my own stupidity. I was shaking the rest of the way off the mountain. Never again, I thought. It’s worth noting here that 87.7 percent of Darwin Award winners from 1995 to 2014 were men, according to a wholly unsurprising study by the British Medical Journal. I’m going back to Joshua Tree, and I would encourage any young men reading this to do this same. But prepare for the worst. Prepare to be humbled.

Remove the roadblocks to self-driving in California STATE IMPOSES UNNECESSARY REGULATIONS ON UBER’S AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE EXPERIMENT

BY SID BAGGA sabagga@ucdavis.edu Most Californians know the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) as a bureaucratic dungeon. The DMV has an enormously negative connotation, evoking memories of the hours drivers are forced to waste in its stuffy, beige, odorous offices.

It seems the apparatchiks that head this regulatory hydra have bored of merely tormenting civilians. The agency announced Dec. 21 it would revoke the registration of Uber’s sixteen self-driving cars over the company’s unwillingness to apply for a $150 “autonomous vehicle permit.” Uber has had its self-driving taxis picking up San Francisco passengers since Dec. 14. The company argued that because an Uber driver was present in each of these vehicles, the cars were technically not self-driving, and no permit was needed to operate them.

Why is Uber, a ridesharing company with revenue nearing $2

billion, so averse to purchasing the $150 permit? The issue isn’t price. By having a permit, Uber would be forced to disclose trade secrets, like how it collects data on users and how its self-driving technology works.

Such disclosures could allow other ride-sharing services to respond in-kind with their own technological innovation, making Uber less competitive in a rapidly developing market.

Self-driving cars will one day remove the malignant presence of human error in driving. The world will finally bid farewell to angry drivers, blind spots and DUIs — consulting firm McKinsey & Company finds that this could reduce traffic fatalities by 90 percent every year, saving up to 300,000 lives per decade. Self-driving cars will be on par with public health triumphs like vaccines and antismoking campaigns in terms of the number of lives saved.

California, home to Uber, Tesla and Google, is on track to reap the economic and cultural benefits of this auto industry disruption.

In addition to reaping the jobs and infrastructure that these compa-

nies will create, California could be crowned the next auto capital of the world. If the state wants to continue down that road, as it should, it needs to allow these tech companies the breathing room to experiment and innovate. Tying them down with onerous red tape, like the permit they would require Uber to purchase, would drive the budding industry away.

Uber has already highlighted Pittsburg, Arizona, Nevada and Florida in a statement as cities and states which recognize “that complex rules and requirements could have the unintended consequence of slowing innovation.” This is a not-so-subtle threat to move its operations to more business-friendly locales, and with it the tax revenue and human capital essential to California’s growth.

Our politically progressive state should encourage technological progress by loosening regulatory frameworks and burdens like the DMV license. And the DMV, for that matter, whose Sacramento office has a wait-time averaging 105 minutes, ought to take notes on Uber’s innovation and efficiency.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017 | 7

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

HUMOR Professors still without answers in understanding projector technology AGGIES ADVISED TO PRAY THEIR NEXT IN-CLASS VIDEO DOESN’T ALSO REQUIRE SOUND

BY PARKER NEVIN phnevin@ucdavis.edu The University of California, Davis has long been considered a magnet for some of the greatest scientists and engineers in the nation. Advancements in mass agriculture, clean energy and disease treatment can all be attributed to the geniuses, visionaries and prodigies who have graced these hallowed halls in the pursuit of knowledge.

Obviously, understanding is not in short supply here at Davis.

But there is one piece of technology that stumps even the most elite professors — overhead projectors.

“I can’t understand it — I can calculate Graham's Number to 1037, but I’m still trying to figure out which input I should be us-

ing,” an anonymous professor lamented.

Experts estimate that faculty holding at least one doctorate lose an average of 10 percent of class time and 40 percent of students’ respect while trying to display a PowerPoint presentation.

Some favorite troubleshooting techniques by these PhDs include: jiggling connections, asking students if they have an adapter for their laptop and pressing buttons on the media cabinet and projector remote indiscriminately.

The California Aggie spoke with another professor who agreed to anonymously share his protocol in these situations: “The most important part of fixing the projector is looking cool and relatable to students."

"Say something really funny like, ‘Well, I guess class is cancelled’ or 'Is it dark in here or is it just me?' These shining gems of humor

really help distract students from the fact that I’m wasting their tuition at a rate of around $77 an hour,” the professor said.

The Aggie also got an additional perspective from a professor in the Engineering Department.

“Projectors work by filtering illuminated images through a lens,” said Professor Dean Brownlee, who specializes in light. “Seems simple, right? Wrong. Very wrong. Extremely wrong. Projectors involve protons, electrons, neutrons, wires, chips, science, circuits and protons. It’s for these reasons that projectors have been noted by professors as the most cutting-edge pieces of machinery in the world — possibly the universe.”

UC Davis’ motto is “Fiat Lux,” Latin for “Let There Be Light.”

Aggies are advised to pray that their next in-class video doesn’t also require sound.

Winter storm manifestation of student body’s sadness STUDENTS REACT TO RECENT REVELATIONS THAT THEIR MOOD HAS A DRAMATIC IMPACT ON THE WEATHER

BY BRIAN L AN DRY bjlandry@ucdavis.edu Most students at UC Davis agree that Winter Quarter tends to be the worst. The gloomy, rainy days tend to put a damper on students going to and from class under cloudy skies. This year is no exception.

It turns out that the long storm, which has plagued the beginning of Winter Quarter 2017, was actually caused by the pessimism of all the students returning from winter break, according to an email sent out by the six-sided interim Chancellor, Ralph J. Hexagon. The California Aggie asked students how they reacted to this revelation.

“I’m honestly not surprised,” said Tina Nebraska, a second-year

psychology major and erotic lamp saleswoman. “If I were the sky, I would probably be crying too. These are sad times we’re living in.

The buses are always crowded, the CoHo is constantly packed with people trying to get out of the rain and I can’t find my son.”

Other students shared in Nebraska’s troubles.

“I wasn’t surprised at all when I found out,” said Tim McGraw, a first-year graduate student in civil engineering and author of way too much Harry Potter fanfiction. “Although I was a little surprised to learn that it's not Linda Katehi who controls the weather. I mean that would make sense. It’s been raining a lot, and if anybody can make it rain it’s Katehi with her paid leave. Also, has anybody seen my son?”

One student reacted much differently to the news.

“I was actually really surprised to hear that people feel sad during Winter Quarter,” said Tanya Smash, a fourth-year human development major and woodchip impersonator. “I love the rain. I love rolling around in the mud on the quad. I love pretending that I'm a horse that loves being rained on. I usually do these things with son, but I actually haven't seen him in a while. Now that I think about it — where the hell is my son?” Smash said before galloping away abruptly.

One can only hope that the weather eventually gets better and improves the mood of the student body.

Also, it would be great if all of the interviewees could locate their sons.

Terrorizing turkeys found to be in cahoots with Davis squirrels POULTRY AND RODENTS FORM AN UNLIKELY PARTNERSHIP TO GET SNACKS AND ENTERTAINMENT

BY OLIVIA LUCHINI ocluchini@ucdavis.edu We all know that turkeys are currently gobbling up the previously comforting and fun streets of downtown Davis with their violence.

What we didn’t know was that the squirrels from the UC Davis campus were the ones who ordered these feathered fiends to wreak havoc upon us fragile humans.

Student Lynn Guini interrogated one of the turkeys after battling him one afternoon so that she could get to her car after buying a new recorder from Watermelon Music.

“I was hyped as hell because I had just gotten this dope recorder so I could kill ‘Hot Cross Buns’ for my roommates,” Guini said.

“The day turned dreary when I saw him… menacing.”

Turk E. Smith, a member of the Terrorizing Turkeys gang, stood on the hood of Guini’s car wearing a ski mask and flashing his tattoo of a skull. But instead of retreating, Guini did what others have not been strong enough to do.

“I got in my car and just started driving,” Guini said. “His talons went through my roof. I knew it was war.”

Upon arriving home, Guini wrestled the bird into her home, tying him to a chair and blaring her bike light into his eyes. The turkey was quiet for a little while, but when Guini lifted a turkey sandwich from her backpack, Turk E. Smith finally broke down.

“Alright!” Smith hollered. “I’ll talk. We’re takin’ over downtown because we struck a deal with the campus squirrels. You see, when you guys come eat downtown, they lose out on all your trash. You guys keep comin’ out here for your pad thai and your boba, and the

little mongrels outside of the Silo are deprived of their half-eaten Doritos Locos Tacos. You pushed us to this! You’re the real criminals!”

Guini was still perplexed as to why the turkeys would get in on this deal.

What was the benefit for them? What was the motivation?

“It’s actually quite simple,” Turk E. Smith said. “The squirrels had tickets to Kanye’s show; we wanted to go, and we made it happen.

No one even caught onto the fact that one of the audience members was just three turkeys in a trench coat. It was the perfect crime.”

The turkey stated that, even though they have already gotten what they wanted, the partnership would continue indefinitely because the squirrels continue to provide the flock of birds Radioshack gift cards, and they feel awkward about declining gifts.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

DIANA LI / AGGIE

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. Letters to the editor can be addressed to opinion@theaggie.org.

ISSUE DESIGNED BY

HANNAH LEE | AMY YE | CHRISTIE NEO | CINDY CHEUNG | JONATHAN CHEN | MISHA DEVILLE

8 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

FEMINIST

SUSTAINABLE

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Interim Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter announced his gratitude toward the UC Davis community in helping reach this impressive position.

“This ranking not only reaffirms our standing as a global leader in sustainability, but also demonstrates our continuing commitment,” Hexter said in a press release. “All the credit goes to our staff, faculty, and students for being so dedicated to this cause.”

According to Camille Kirk, UC Davis’ assistant director of sustainability, the score reflects the community’s continuous efforts in both environmental studies and the field of sustainability.

“Maybe our UC Davis DNA includes a motivation for sustainability because we have been doing this work for decades,” Kirk said.

“The way we run the campus, what we research, what we teach students and many of the activities our campus community undertakes all contribute to striving for a more sus-

tainable campus and a more sustainable future for the globe.”

In addition to existing sections of transportation, setting and infrastructure, waste, water and energy and climate change, GreenMetric added an education section in 2012, measuring student performance and achievement.

UC Davis has a high individual score of 1,382 within education.

“Being externally recognised as number one in the world for our efforts is wonderful,” Kirk said.

Anthony Estrada, a third-year managerial economics major, said that he is proud of the university’s achievement. Estrada believes that environmental sustainability is one of UC Davis’ most influential factors.

“I chose UC Davis for the academics, but other factors like being really green and environmentally friendly are important,” Estrada said. “I know that’s one of the things that makes UC Davis special.”

AB540 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

nates with me a lot is that fear of being deported,” Ramirez Sigala said. “A lot of those fears also come with seeing police. Trying to make more connections with them has been one of my focuses. I’m trying to […] get one of the officers to come to the center […] like a meet-and-greet.”

Other programs at the center include the UndocuAlly Program for Educators, a faculty training designed to promote the formation of on campus allies for undocumented students by discussing policies such as AB540 and DACA and the UndocuPride Speaker’s Bureau, which promotes awareness through a panel of speakers.

Like Ramirez Sigala, many of the staff members at the center use their own personal experiences with immigration status issues to relate to students who come to the center for support.

“I self-identify as undocumented,” said Derick Romero, the AB540 Center administrative assistant, volunteer coordinator and a fourth-year Chicano/a studies major. “I was born in Mexico. When [...] I was in high school […], I felt that I was just meant for the hard labor force. There [were] a lot of barriers to reaching higher education. Once I got [to UC Davis] I had more opportunities.”

The AB540 Center not only provides programs, but also a community for students at the university.

“During my first year here at Davis, [...] I met one of my mentors, Daniela De La Cruz, who is a mentorship coordinator,” Ramirez Sigala said. “She was the one who helped me join the program, and [...] since meeting her, I’ve just had so many positive experiences. She’s [...] been a huge part of why I wanted to [work] at the center.”

HOMELESS

As a mentorship coordinator for the AB540 Center, Daniela De La Cruz manages many of the programs that the center runs. However, De La Cruz also focuses on supporting and advising the students who come through the center.

“I support students in their identity development process,” De La Cruz said. “My goal, when a student comes in touch with me or any of the programs that they participate in, is for them to build […] acceptance of their identity and their circumstances. A lot of our students don’t feel comfortable stating that they’re undocumented. My job is to help them find pride in that identity.”

The AB540 and Undocumented Center focuses its attention on being a safe and encouraging space for students. In light of the recent presidential election and the possibilities of the coming inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, the center has seen many doubts and fears from students.

“The day after the election brought about a lot of […] things that were hidden within the students’ minds,” De La Cruz said. “We definitely […] felt an impact. A lot of fears came about. I was scared because I didn’t have any answers.”

Despite many student and faculty fears regarding the coming presidency, De La Cruz and her colleagues remain hopeful for the future.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty, but I know that [...] we will continue to be here,” De La Cruz said.

“We’re not going to go anywhere. This is definitely a time to be together, working towards what we have always been working towards, which is the inThe California clusion of undocumented students,Aggie freeing people 1/4 page BW 5.125 x 10.5 of the burden of silence.”

board positions. And that doesn’t cancel out any of Linda’s decisions that were inherently corrupt but ignored by everyone.”

The FRI was established in 2015 and focuses on how gender, sexuality, race and other social structures influence the research process, according to their website.

The institute’s mission statements says that the “FRI will generate transformative, paradigm-shifting linkages across disciplines by bringing feminist ethics and methodologies to bear on the basic sciences, social sciences, humanities, health sciences, engineering, law, economics and agriculture and environmental science.”

In an interview with the Davis Enterprise, Katehi noted that she had not known about the nomination until after it had been submitted. While she is supportive of the institute, she told the Davis Enterprise that she is “working on a think tank for women on a national level.”

Shaitaj Dhaliwal, a third-year international relations major and ASUCD senator, believes that feminism should be an inclusive movement.

“Katehi was a strong advocate for women’s needs and resources, particular for STEM fields,” said Dhaliwal in an e-mail interview. “She was successful considering UC Davis was most recently named the best university for women in STEM. However, being a leader on campus and advocating for women’s equality and respect, while simultaneously engaging in false practices as chancellor, sets us further back.”

Dhaliwal said that women of color and transgender individuals deserve an equal level of advocacy and that there is more work to be done to make feminism inclusive for all women.

PROTEST CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

unsafe.”

Additionally, a third protest outside of the Sciences Lecture Hall was in favor of allowing Yiannopoulos to speak.

These individuals held signs that read, “Protect free speech even ‘hate’ speech,” and promoted preserving Yiannopoulos’ event for the sake of supporting freedom of speech at the university.

“Well I heard that Milo was coming and I’ve seen him at other universities and the reaction that it gets,” said activist Ani Zickuh. “There’s been times where he’s had to cancel events so I wanted to show up and support [Yiannopoulos] because I think it’s important to have different

viewpoints, especially on a campus with learning because it opens discussion and encourages free thinking. [...] Honestly I don’t agree with a lot of what he says, but I can only say that because I’ve actually listened to him.”

On Jan. 14, Yiannopoulos and the DCR held a protest against the event being cancelled, claiming that it was due to pressure from the university.

UC Davis received considerable media attention from Yiannopoulos’ visit. The story was picked up by local news stations including The Sacramento Bee, the Los Angeles Times and the front page of Internet forum site, Reddit.

The Global

Tea

Run Dates: JAN 12, 2017 JAN 19, 2017

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

cording to the bill, “a state agency or department that funds, implements, or administers a state program that provides housing or housing-related services to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, except as specified, to revise or adopt guidelines and regulations to include enumerated Housing First policies” would be required.

For Davis, this would mean that the efforts

Since the beginning of the 2016-17 school year, Katehi has continued to receive her chancellor’s salary of $424,360. Next year she will return to the university as an engineering professor.

“The topics of feminism in education and research and feminist research are important and require discussion and constructive debate,” Katehi said. “My views on these issues, informed by my education in engineering and my experience as a female engineer, faculty member and university administration, are broad and inclusive and are demanding the presence of an intellectual space which is progressive and innovative; progressive as defined by its ability to recognize systemic problems, and innovative as defined by its willingness to accept creative ideas and adopt unique methodologies from a broad spectrum of possible solutions.”

Meanwhile, Shemery stressed the need for intersectionality in feminism on campus. “[A goal] that is inclusive, absolutely,” Shemery said. “One that kind of goes beyond [...] white feminism and that really gives a platform to people of identities that really need it, people [...] that are more marginalized and are more vulnerable on this campus. Those voices need to be heard, and yet they’re not.”

For Dhaliwal, her hope for women in education includes a need for encouragement and equal treatment.

“Women need to be empowered at a young age to pursue certain fields that are male-dominated,” Dhaliwal said. “Women should then go on to earn an equal pay and have equal job prospects as men.

We cannot expect women to pursue fields that they won’t be respected in.”

Production:as well as those toward resolving homelessness, Morissa transitioning into living in aRubin house and commrrubin@ucdavis.edu munity, would be more successful.

“The idea is that530-752-0999 you don’t just take someone who’s been living in the streets and put them in a house and walk away,” Planell said.

“The idea is to support them in that living arrangement so that it succeeds.”

INITIATIVE

for the Study of Tea Culture and Science

TASTE, SMELL, SIGHT, HEARING, TOUCH:

THE SENSORY ASPECTS OF TEA

RE-ENTRY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

students] are coming in basically on their own, and for them to try and break into these social groups, can be very difficult and intimidating. The main thing that we offer here is opportunities for community building, social networking and mainly resource allocation.”

According to Garcia, it’s common for transfer students to feel isolated, and Carter-Jocelyn has learned through experience that being a re-entry student can sometimes feel lonely. Traditional students often form communicative barriers between themselves and students they view as different than them, especially if a re-entry student appears to be older.

“It’s hard [being a student-parent], but it’s definitely worth it,” Carter-Jocelyn said. “I think it’s helpful [for traditional students] to see another perspective, and that the school isn’t made up of 18,19, 20-something-year-olds — that there are

people who are older. People who are exposed to us can learn how difficult it is and how lonely it can be for student-parents. It would be nice if people weren’t so afraid of me.”

Although re-entry students may differ from traditional students in their amount of “real-world” experience, re-entry students are more similar to other UC Davis students than they are different.

Re-entry students are driven and engaged and take advantage of opportunities because they often approach situations with the goal of getting the best possible education that they can. Reentry students, no matter the circumstances that got them to UC Davis, are connected to other students through shared goals.

“I’m still young!” Carter-Jocelyn said. “I still like to do the things other college students like to do, I just don’t get to do them as often. I’m a normal college student, too.”

DACA

2nd Annual Colloquium January 19, 2017 3–7 p.m.

UC Davis Conference Center Victor Mair Chinese Language and Literature, University of Pennsylvania Tea Perceived: From a 9th-century Shipwreck to a 19th-century Snuff Bottle Selena Ahmed Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems, Montana State University Environmental and Management Effects on Tea Quality Mythri Jegathesan Anthropology, Santa Clara University Coolie Poesis: Plantation Sounds and Labor Heritage on Sri Lanka’s Tea Estates

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

students have access to legal information and know their rights,” Gaytan said. “[And] to make sure the greater campus community also knows how to support undocumented individuals.”

Meanwhile, Gaytan reminds AB540 and undocumented students to stay focused in school and confide in the community of people here at UC Davis to help them, especially if they are afraid to share their immigration status.

“The center serves to provide a sense of consistency and normalcy,” Gaytan said. “We hope that students know there are people at this campus who care about them and want to

help them, and that we have resources to try to make that happen.”

The future of these Dreamers will soon be in Trump’s hands when he is sworn into presidency on Inauguration Day. Until then, California higher education leaders will work to protect DACA students.

DACA-status students who are currently traveling abroad are instructed to return to the United States before Jan. 20, as they may have difficulty entering the country afterwards. The AB540 and Undocumented Student Center urges DACA students to contact them immediately for legal help, if they have not done so already.

Kai-Hsien Chen Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, National Taiwan University A Scientific and Cultural Quest of Taiwan Tea, Aroma and Taste

Optional morning tea tasting in the Robert Mondavi Institute Sensory Theatre

RSVP: Tea2017.eventbrite.com For more information:

globaltea.ucdavis.edu facebook.com/ucdavisglobaltea

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017 | 9

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

SCIENCE+TECH

UC Davis research may lead to custom transplant organs grown in farm animals

REPROGRAMMING CELLS, GENE EDITING CONTRIBUTE TO THE LATEST ORGAN TRANSPLANT RESEARCH LU CY KNOWLES / AG G I E

BY M ERA L BASI T s ci en ce @ th e a ggi e .o r g

There are more than 119,000 people on the national transplant waiting list and 22 people dying each day waiting for a transplant, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

While 48 percent of adults in the US are registered organ donors, only 0.3 percent of them will pass in a way where their organs can be repurposed.

Pablo Juan Ross, an associate professor of animal science at UC Davis, is working to grow organs from the patient’s own stem cells inside the body of a sheep or a pig.

Conducting an en vivo study, or a study inside of a living organism, is a complicated process. Ross said that in addition to obtaining the right kinds of permission, doing a study involving chimeras — single organisms comprised of cells of at least two different species — can make procuring funding

harder. However, Ross believes that the results of an en vivo study will be worth the extra effort. “[From studies that are] en vitro or ‘in the dish’, in general, we get very primitive, immature cells that are not good for transplantation,” Ross said.

“And, of course, we’re limited to only creating cells.

Creating organs, creating the 3D [structures] that are required for a transplant for an adult is, right now, something that’s out of our possibilities”.

The process of creating a custom organ would, hypothetically, go as follows: first, Ross would obtain cells from the patient that needs the transplant, a process which could be as simple as taking a few skin cells. Then, Ross would express key genes in the skin cells, reprogramming them into pluripotent stem cells, or cells that have the capacity to become any cell in the body.

If Ross were to inject these stem cells into an early pig or sheep embryo, it would be hard to predict where the cells would be used in the animal.

The pig cells have what Ross referred to as a “home field advantage” so they would likely outcompete the human cells in most places. The possibility of uncontrolled mixing of human and animal cells, however, would create a large ethical problem.

To help the visiting team, Ross would use gene editing techniques to “edit out” the genes necessary for the formation of a key organ which, in Ross’ case, is a pancreas.

This gene editing would ‘edit out’ the competition because the pig or sheep would not have the genes

C AT TAY LO R / AG G I E

or blueprints necessary to build itself a pancreas, so the human stem cells could step in relatively unchallenged.

After Ross completes the process of gene editing and injecting the stem cells into the embryo, the embryo would be placed back into its mother, allowed to grow and birth naturally, and once the organ of interest matures and develops to the proper size, it would be harvested.

As of right now, most of this process is theoretical. Ross’ research is two pronged. One field of investigation deals with the problem of completely eliminating the genes for the pancreas using CRISPR, or gene editing technology. The other investigative field is trying to narrow down the best type or state of human pluripotent stem cells to use for this research. Some research is already being done inside animal models.

Elizabeth Maga, an adjunct professor in the Department of Animal Science, is also involved in the project. According to Maga, the research is being done cautiously to avoid any possible ethical issues.

“Right now, we’re going slowly because people aren’t sure if the human cells will migrate to other places in the pig, not just contribute to the organ that has been knocked out by the CRISPR technology,” Maga said. “We only have approval from campus to have the pigs be pregnant for 26 or 28 days because after that time of development the brain starts forming, and so the concern was if there were loose

human cells in there, they could contribute to the development of other tissues, mainly the brain, and what would be the implications of that.”

Joan Dean Rowe, a professor of population health and reproduction at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Sciences, performs the embryo reinsertion surgical procedures on the pigs involved in the study.

“The transfer of the embryos [is] a surgical procedure that involves a small incision, then the exteriorization of the uterus and then introduction of the embryos into the uterine horn,” Rowe said.

“The novel aspect of the research is, of course, Dr. Ross’ procedures with the embryos. Relative to the recipient — the sow that’s receiving the embryos — the embryo transfer procedure [...] is one that is very well established and is a very routine procedure”.

While Ross’ research is innovative for combining gene editing and pluripotent stem cells in the form of a chimera, according to Rowe, research regarding chimeras has been commonplace at UC Davis for some time.

“The Department of Animal Science and the School of Veterinary Science have a long history of participation in research involving chimeric animals. For example, sheep and goat chimeras that were used to study some of the basic physiologic questions,” Rowe said. “These kinds of studies to help benefit man and animal, and understand physiological processes [have] been going on literally for decades at the university.”

A WINDOW INTO OBSERVING BRAIN ACTIVITY DURING READING

Social networking promotes survival in animals Modeling shows how social cues drive animal grouping, fitness

BY AB I G A I L SA ENZ s ci en ce@ th e a ggi e .o r g

In a world ruled by technology, it’s no secret that social media has a powerful effect on human behavior. While our friends in the animal kingdom aren’t known to share photos on Instagram or update their status’ on Facebook, they have other ways of relaying information that are similarly significant.

Using mathematical simulations, researchers at UC Davis and the University of Florida found that these means of “social networking” promote group formation among animals.

“Several empirical studies have suggested that social information — whether it’s incidental or deliberate — promotes animal grouping behavior,” said Mike Gil, a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at UC Davis.

The advantages of social networking through group formation essentially provide members of the group with an opportunity for increased fitness in various environments. These advantages arise when information shared by one member of the group is observed by others, relaying information on how to survive.

“Animals are choosing groups in order for them to be able to get information,” said Katherine Sieving, a professor at the University of Florida and a UC Davis alumna. “Gathering social information in groups drives their formation.”

In addition to providing an explanation for why animals tend to form groups in nature, the researchers also found that the sharing of information favors the formation of small, heterospecific groups.

“What our study also revealed was that it’s most beneficial to be selective in how many individuals you’re grouping with,” Gil said. “We see this instance of smaller groups of information producers, because each individual is going to be a competitor in addition to an information producer.”

Constraints on group size can limit competition, thus leading to increased fitness among group members in a range of ecological contexts. Additionally, groups consisting of members of different species are optimal as they eliminate a margin of niche overlap between species. In these situations where members of a group share predators but overlap less in the kind of food they eat, the chance for survival and reproduction is greatly increased.

“Some group members [of the same species] often compete directly with one another for food. Other group members [of a different species] may only partially compete with one another,” said Zach Emberts, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Florida who collaborated with Gil on the research. “Thus, depending on the situation, it might be beneficial to have group members that are not solely competing for the same food source.”

In a world where reproduction is essential for the continuation of life, animals seem to have figured out the key to survival. While patterns among these animals are recognizable, a lot of the understanding of their strategies has been largely based on speculation. This study provides a meaningful direction to work toward.

“Those of us that actually work with these social groups, we know what’s going on, but it’s really hard in anyone’s study or system to figure out why,” Sieving said. “That’s the beauty of a good modeling paper like this one.”

The paper written by Mike Gil with co-authors Zachary Emberts, Harrison Jones and Colette St. Mary can be found in The American Naturalist.

LUCY K NOWLES / AGGI E

NEUROSCIENTISTS COMBINE EYE-TRACKING METHODS, MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING TO ANALYZE HOW THE BRAIN READS TEXTS

BY S H IVANI KAMAL s cience@thea g g ie.org

The brain: an organ consisting of about 75 percent water and powered by sugar. The right and left hemispheres constantly communicate, allowing the human body to perform the simplest of tasks. New advancements in brain analysis bring to light neural pathways involved in human learning and understanding.

Neuroscientists have created a new observational method to study brain activity while reading texts according to a study published by UC Davis psychology professor John Henderson and colleagues in the Journal of Neuroscience.

“The purpose of the study was to find how meaning is represented in the brain, across words phrases and contexts,” said Rutvik Desai, associate professor of psychology at the University of South Carolina and co-author of the published study.

Potential long-term applications of this research could help with understanding dyslexia as well as other reading and learning disabilities.

Previous brain activity could only be recorded from subjects looking a a single phrase or sentence.

Data gained from those studies were valid, but may not be an accurate portrayal of how the brain functions during natural reading.

“This new method [of utilizing many words at a time] allows us to study the brain while in context. It allows us to confirm or modify previous results,” Desai said.

People do not read just one word or a phrase at a time, but instead read complete texts such as a newspaper or magazine article. A combination of eye-tracking technology and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to analyze how the brain reads longer texts.

“Eye tracking provides a rich record of what visual information the brain is selecting to process at any given time,” said Taylor Hayes, postdoctoral scholar at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain.

The eye tracking device, called the EyeLink 1000 Plus keeps track of which words subjects are attending to when reading.

“The EyeLink [...] consists of a high-resolution camera which samples the eye image 1000 times per second (1000 Hz), and a near-infrared panel that is directed toward the eye to produce a visible reflection in the cornea called a corneal reflection,” Hayes said.

The fMRI technology measures and maps brain activity by detecting changes associated with the blood oxygenation and

flow. Using only fMRI technology was problematic because it was too slow to keep up with subjects reading when more words were involved.

However, when fMRI is combined with eye-tracking technology, researchers are able to know which words subjects are looking at during any given time and see the brain activity associated with it. “[This new] technique called fixation-related fMRI coregisters fixations with fMRI activity during scene perception and reading,” Hayes said.

Additional uses for eye-tracking technology includes research in cognitive domains such as visual search and development, as well as decision-making.

“It’s an exciting time because we have the technology and methods to study and analyze the brain,” Desai said.

Natural reading involves a variety of processes including in orthographic, visually recalling how to write words, phonological, where auditory detection of a word occurs and semantic, where processing a word happens after we hear and encode a word.

More processes are associated with natural reading such as attention and working memory. Gathering information on this subject has the potential for benefits in advancing human health.

Analyzing the brain activity behind reading and language in natural conditions remains an important but largely unexplored area.

“The knowledge that we gain from our research may help study what happens in the brain for people with Alzheimer’s or Dementia, and potentially create novel therapies,” Desai said.

In the long-term, this study has the possibility of benefitting children, helping them to absorb and learn information in the most effective way in order to succeed in school.

Neuroscience has made enormous progress in understanding one of the most complex living structures in the known universe: the human brain.

“We seek the nature of our minds. There are as many differences between minds as there are similarities. What is very interesting is the machinery of the brain and how it functions,” said Kenneth Britten, professor in the Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior Department.

Despite advances, scientists still have yet to discover the full extent of what the brain can do.

“The bigger picture of neuroscience and our research is how the brain and mind works,” Desai said. “It is fundamentally important to all humans, across any gender or race or additional categories.”

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

10 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017

ARTS & Culture MOR GAN TI EU / AGGI E

HUAN YU / UC DAVIS

MODERN LOVE “The Shape of Things” explores representations of love

BY CAR OLI NE R UTTEN art s@t heaggi e. org

OLD HOLIDAY ALLOWS FOR NEW TRADITIONS CHINESE NEW YEAR INSPIRES COMMUNITY

BY AB I G A I L WA N G a rts @ th e ag g i e . o rg

For Chinese American and international Chinese students at UC Davis, celebrating the Chinese New Year in America and away from home means changing things up a bit.

Celebrations begin on Jan. 28 and continue for an entire month. Most students in China get this entire month off of school in order to prepare for the final feast and celebration. That is not the case at UC Davis; therefore, students have adjusted their festivities this year.

Yinquo Qin, a first-year math major from Zhengzhou, China, has adapted her usual plans for the New Year.

“When I was living in China I would spend the New Year with my family, even my grandparents came,” Qin said. “And we would go back to our hometown and we would eat a lot of food together, just like Thanksgiving here. This year several of my Chinese friends and I have decided to come together and make dumplings.”

Dumplings are one of the main things about the holiday that Qin will miss, along with catching up with her relatives. One of her favorite memories is from last year, when she went to Shanghai.

“We always have fireworks on Chinese New Year’s Day, but in the big city the fireworks were amazing,” Qin said.

Another first-year who will be spending the new year with her friends instead of family is Jiawei Hu, a computer science major from Hefei. One of her favorite memories of New Year’s is visiting her great uncle in Hunan. “[Hunan] is in the South of China, so they have different traditions than in my city, and [in Hunan] the weather is usually just like in Southern California so it’s really nice,” Hu said.

Hu is part of the Chinese Student Scholar Association (CSSA), which is the main coordinator for Chinese cultural events. This year the CSSA will host a spring festival gala in the Mondavi Center.

Other events in addition to the gala will take place on campus during Chinese New Year, including performances by the Golden Turtle Lion Association

(GTLA). This year, GTLA will be performing at the International House for students and in a parade on Jan. 21 at the Mary L. Stephens Library.

“It just gives me so much adrenaline whenever I perform, to come out of the lion at the end and just have everyone clap for you and to hear the screams and cheers when you do an amazing stunt they don’t usually see — it’s just this rush,” said Jennifer Tran, a fourth-year aerospace engineering major and GTLA president. Tran has been performing since eighth grade and sees lion dancing as a break from everyday life.

“It’s a great workout, it combines a lot of martial arts, as well as this animalistic way of moving, so I thought that was really cool, and it’s really amazing to be in touch with your culture,” Tran said.

The team increases their usual five-hour practice to seven hours per week to prepare for performances. Its members practice extensively with benches to gain the height necessary to perform a variety of stunts.

“The hardest part is being in sync with the other person because you can’t see them, to get the timing right and land all your stunts and all your movements without seeing the other lion,” Tran said.

Another member of the club is Steven Chu, a 2016 graduate in neurobiology, physiology and behavior.

He joined the association last year after being introduced to the craft by Tran.

He emphasizes that the GTLA deviates from the traditional form of lion dancing and adds a modern twist by including more stunts.

“It’s different than what people usually see in the festivals: there they usually parade and show off, but here we have a more performance aspect too,” Chu said. “When you look into it, there’s a lot of creativity and athleticism, and those are the things that drive me forward with it.”

Similar to Tran, Chu believes the real payoff for his dedication is the public’s reaction.

“You are bringing to life an object. A lot of people’s first reaction is that it is really cute, and those type of interactions can brighten someone’s day in terms of the performance,” Chu said.

For more information about the Golden Turtle Lion Association see their Facebook page or its website.

Love stories in plays can often verge on the melodramatic; it seems we all know the type — conflicting emotions personified in a climatic screaming match and an emotional reconciliation at the conclusion.

The Shape of Things, a contemporary play written by Neil LaBute coming to the UC Davis Theater Department, however, is a more accurate representation of modern love.

“It’s a relatable play with human interactions and social situations and moral dilemmas,” said Taylor Church, a third-year theater and dance major who plays the co-lead role of Adam. “It’s super relatable.”

Similarly, according to Melissa Cunha, a fifth-year dramatic arts and film studies double major, who plays the other lead role of Evelyn, the show is unique in that the UC Davis Theater Department rarely does “normal productions that involve similar situations that students go through.”

Even more relatable to the student body, The Shape of Things is the second performance in the Theater Department’s Second Season, which started this year. Productions in Second Season are entirely student-acted and student-produced.

“With Second Season, everything is really a learning basis,” said Gregory Holmes, director and fourth-year theater and dance major. “A lot of us have worked on shows but have never been in a head or leading position, so we don’t usually have this much creative control.”

Having a more active and leading role in putting on a production has been a learning experience for Holmes.

“This is my first experience directing, since I’m usually an actor,” Holmes said. “I learned about directing by watching other directors and reading a lot of books, but also by just doing it. I learned from a lot of mistakes. Communication is a big thing I had to learn [...] as a director, you are involved with both sides of production — you have to also talk to the people in charge of costumes, the [public relations] and the production manager, to name a few. I also had to learn how to find boundaries when talking to the actors, since a lot of them are my friends and peers.”

Despite navigating a new dynamic as director, Holmes was discerning when choosing the actors of the four-person cast. “[Neil LaBute’s] writing isn’t very sugar coated,” Holmes said. “The play is about changing in a relationship and how it affects people around them and how love makes you do anything, whether that is love for a person or a passion. I was looking for actors who could be casual and pull it off. A lot of the scenes are intimate with LOVE on PAGE 12

TE M P URA / COU RTESY

student sounds:

Student musicians talk Boysenberry Funk, choosing a band name and Open Mic Nights

BY ALLY OV E RBAY arts @ th e ag g i e . o rg

Kelly Chang, a third-year design major, hurriedly drove her band, Tempura, to its next gig. In the back, her bandmates were wedged between instruments, all rattling around in the backseat, anticipating their performance.

“We have all of this shit crammed into our car, all these drums on [top of ] us in the back seat,” recalled Sam Hornstein, a third-year biological systems engineering major and the band’s bassist. “And [Chang] was driving, and [she] asked, ‘Are we a band?’”

The three of them laughed in recollection of the event, reinforcing

their friends-turned-bandmates dynamic.

“I remember [Sam] said, ‘This is like the moment you want to tell someone you love them, but you don’t know how to say it,’” Chang said.

But the evolution of Tempura was more gradual than this tale suggests. The band members met the way most first-years do: Chang’s roommates were high-school friends of Hornstein, and Hornstein lived in the dorms two doors down from Kawayan De Guzeman, a thirdyear wildlife, fish and conservation biology major and the band’s guitarist and vocalist.

Chang recalls meeting De Guzeman, however, in a more memorable way.

“I was jamming with another group of people, and then [Kawayan] showed up in [his] shower shoes, shirtless and in a towel,” Chang said.

“Literally we were outdoors, in Segundo.”

The fourth member, Kelly Hutchinson, has since left UC Davis, but she remains significant to the band’s origins.

Before Tempura started performing — or even calling itself a band — the members simply got together to jam. Eventually, they planned their first show at one of Entertainment Council’s Open Mic Nights.

And, to the band’s surprise, people were more than impressed; listeners approached them after their set, asking if the four would perform at various events and house shows in Davis.

Since then, Tempura has become a local favorite at house shows and small parties. The band spends the majority of its musical efforts on live shows, but have released one track on SoundCloud, titled “Pink Submarines,” and hope to release more recorded content in the near future. They plan to continue their live shows as well.

“We have a Wine to Water performance, which is a fundraiser for

Engineers Without Borders,” Hornstein said. “And we’re trying to play Picnic Day again, and maybe a couple other house shows.”

But before Tempura became Tempura, the band struggled to find a name. In fact, during their first CoHo performance over a year ago, the band had no title. Thinking little of it at the time, they presented themselves by the most random words they could think of: “Boysenberry Funk.” Despite the moniker, their music is not funky, nor particularly fruity.

Chang recalls getting emails in the following days beginning with “Hey Boysenberry.”

And, though amused at the result of their success, they chose to spend more energy on giving themselves an official title.

“We thought hard about [our band name]. We were like, okay guys, Boysenberry Funk... we made that on a whim,” De Guzeman said. “We got to think of something legit before it gets too permanent. So we started brainstorming.”

Though the name was a top contender, Hornstein recalls a few strangers’ approval that served as a solidifying force. “[De Guzeman] came up with ‘Tempura,’ and I was kind of on the fence about it, but I saw these two guys [outside De Guzeman’s apartment] who asked me, ‘Yo, you guys jamming in there? What are you guys called?’” Hornstein said. “And I said we were still thinking about it, but one of the names was Tempura. He said, ‘That’s a cool name, man.’ And I was like, ‘Alright.’”

Among the many names the band’s members bounced off each other (including The Stumps and Folk-A-Dots), they finally settled on Tempura, especially liking that it was just one word. The name suits them well; tempura, a deep-fried Japanese dish, is both flavorful and well-loved — Tempura is no different.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017| 11

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B RIANA NG O / AG G IE

winter edition

AggIE STYLE WATCH

WINDBREAKERS, ONESIES AND MISMATCHED SOCKS

BY CARA JOY KL EI NR O C K arts @ th e ag g i e . o rg

This week’s Aggie Style Watch focuses on Ryan Brady, who, from mismatching socks to bold onesies, is always full of fashion surprises. Brady, a thirdyear statistics major, knows how to survive the storm with layers, but admits he’s not as confident in the shoe department.

ASW: What is your style inspiration?

Brady: Honest answer: I just see magazines

around, like H&M and Urban Outfitters and base my style on what I like. The main person I get my inspiration from is Russell Westbrook, and he is not stylish, but he’s really funny. When I go shopping, I see something that’s pretty cheap and looks nice so I get it. Or when I’m shopping online and I see a good-looking jacket online and just pray it will look good on me. Sometimes I look on Reddit for male fashion advice but not as much as I should. But my biggest inspiration comes from the actor Steven Anthony Lawrence.

ASW: Where did you buy everything you’re wearing?

Brady: The jacket is from Macy’s, watch Nordstrom Rack, shoes Nordstrom, the left sock from Sock City Sacramento, the right sock from Nordstrom, and both the sweater and jeans are from H&M. ASW: How did this past storm affect your style?

Brady: It didn’t, I was just soaked and miserable.

Half of my shoes were dripping, and I don’t have any

boots, so I should probably get a pair.

ASW: Do you have any style advice?

Brady: It’s all in the sweater vest. You put on the vest, and you just look stylish. Just wear the basics, it will always make you look better than everyone else.

ASW: What is your go-to outfit?

Brady: A windbreaker, a t-shirt or a sweater vest when it’s colder, nice pair of jeans or a onesie if we get weird.

THE HIDDEN MUSEUMS OF UC DAVIS Learn more about YOUR On campus museums JAY GE LVE ZO N / CO U RTE SY

BY B ECKY L EE arts @ th e ag g i e . o rg

With the grand opening of the Manetti Shrem Museum, other on-campus museums may have been overlooked. Here’s a short list of other UC Davis museums, whose focuses range from insects to activism to design.

Bohart Museum Many UC Davis students may not know about the unconventional Bohart Museum.

“People find us by accident,” said Lynn Kimsey, the Bohart Museum director. “Everybody in the Sacramento Valley area with a kid knows about us, and almost nobody on campus does. I can’t explain it. It’s hard to become well-known on campus.”

Insects may not be everyone’s favorite topic, but the Bohart Museum, UC Davis’ museum of entomology, might be able to change that.

Researchers at the museum dedicate themselves to teaching people about the importance of insects in ecosystems.

Upon entering the facility, one will notice that it resembles more of a research platform than a typical museum setting — because that is exactly what it is.

“We are a research museum, meaning we have specimens that are collected all over the world by various people,” Kimsey said. “One thing that’s different about us is that this is probably the only insect collection in the world that invites the public into the collection.”

The museum contains about 7 to 8 million specimens of terrestrial arthropods that are in some part open to the public. Given the stigma surrounding insects, one of the museum’s primary goals is to educate people — especially youth — and serve the campus community.

“One of our real strong emphases here is to educate people — to show them in a very harmless and careful way exactly how important insects are, how [they can be] dangerous or not, how we can live with them and really can’t live without them,” Kimsey said.

The Bohart Museum not only displays an immense collection of pinned insects, but it also allows guests to interact with live ones as well.

“We have a petting zoo, that’s what we call it,” Kimsey said. “We have kids come here. We hold the animals out to them to make them feel comfortable.”

The insect petting zoo serves as a method of education for people who are afraid of insects, allowing them to feel more comfortable with them.

C.N. Gorman Museum Another lesser-known campus museum is the C.N. Gorman Museum. Located in Hart Hall, it is entirely student-staffed and hosts quarterly exhibitions featuring contemporary indigenous art. With the recent protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline, the Gorman Museum is exhibiting pieces related to this issue.

“There’s 15 artists in this exhibit all addressing issues of indigenous protest and prayer and ongoing

acts of resistance,” museum curator Veronica Passalacqua said. “The Dakota Access Pipeline is heavily featured and all of that is extremely recent and relevant. We have a range of artists. There’s three UC Davis faculty, students, alumni and indigenous artists in the show.”

The museum also serves as an educational and interactive platform for students interested in the exhibitions.

“We will be having some public events that will be announced soon on our website,” Passalacqua said. “In relation to this exhibit we will be having an academic panel to discuss some of the issues. Towards the end of the quarter we will have a studentled event that will [offer] screen printing and spoken word.”

Design Museum With the arrival of the Manetti Shrem Museum this past fall, the UC Davis Department of Design, in partnership with the Design Museum in Cruess Hall, organized an exhibition revealing its painstaking design process.

“Everyone was so cooperative and generous in lending us things that are very beautiful and a little fragile,” said Mark Kessler, the Design Museum curator. “Although these materials will be sent back, I hope that the documentation of this exhibit serves as a long-term archive for this museum. Most of the buildings in UC Davis are like fortresses [...] guarding against the elements. They’re precast concrete, very heavy and sometimes very ponderous.”

In contrast to other UC Davis buildings, the Manetti Shrem is more open to the atmosphere and the elements.

“This is the opposite of that. In this building, the grand canopy — which is a signature feature — embraces the summer sun and the winter rain,” Kessler said. “There’s really no wall or bounding facade that you have to penetrate to get into the building.”

The museum’s grand canopy also beautifully resembles UC Davis’ cultural values of friendliness, openness and growth, making it a work of art that can resonate with faculty, students and alumni for years to come.

“The grand canopy was inspired by the Central Valley landscape,” Kessler said. “If you look up at it, you can kind of recognize this kind of quilt that is similar to the quilt of separate plots of agriculture land. This generated a kind of metaphor surrounding the idea of cultivation. Just like in agriculture you cultivate crops, on campus you cultivate young minds.”

Tim McNeil, a professor in the Department of Design and director of the Design Museum, wants students to know one thing about design: it is not just art.

“Most people interpret is as more of an artistic field, but it’s actually a really interesting mixture of the arts, sciences and social sciences,” McNeil said.

“If you look at a lot of innovative products, design is what’s making them successful. Design isn’t just about making it look nice, but it’s also about making it work really well.”

12 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

CHANGE TRANSPORTATION

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

riences confirmed and validated by other people, but I think the other aspect [was] we want people who don’t necessarily know everything about social justice […] that they come hear it and get this other perspective too,” Alavi said.

According to Jeanelle Hope, an emcee for “Change/The Conversation” and a cultural studies graduate student, McDonald and Ramsey brought knowledge about racial intolerance to campus.

“McDonald and Ramsey, both social justice warriors and advocates, will certainly bring forth a stimulating discussion addressing: how white supremacy and bigotry cannot be tolerated, how we must collectively work to dismantle systems of oppression and to remind us no matter how dark the future may look, that we matter and that we must resist and dissent for the sake of our existence,” Hope said via e-mail before the event.

While this event was the same night as the Yiannopoulos event, Alavi explained that her concern with the Yiannopoulos event was less with the speaker and more with the interest from students.

Alavi hoped that her event would be an “alternative space” for students that night.

“Personally as a student, I am less concerned about Milo [Yiannopoulos...] and more concerned that we have students on campus who want to come hear him speak,” Alavi said. “I think that indicates to me a failure in our education system to teach [about] sexism and racism, homophobia and transphobia and how to identify it and be critical of it. [Our event is] for students who want an alternative space. Not that it should happen instead of Milo’s event, but that we can have this dialogue and those that want to hear it can hear it.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

ant that a school known for its emphasis on agriculture work to continue to make a positive environmental impact.

“As an agriculture school focused on being green, it is important we also do our part in helping the environment and coming up with ways that will make transportation be more sustainable,” Tejada said. “UC Davis is the perfect school really to work on a sustainable project like this.”

CLIMATE CHANGE

SALMON

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

toration projects on the creek have also improved conditions for successful salmon spawning.

During December 2016, researchers at UC Davis received $125,000 from the Solano County Water Agency (SCWA) for a study that aims to track the number of juvenile salmon that are present in Putah Creek.

Through this genetic study, researchers will be able to understand which and how many fish are native to the creek.

This knowledge will be able to guide decision-makers about which creek management choices to make for successful salmon survival conditions.

“I think it’s great to have better scientific knowledge about these fish [...] Hopefully it can help us shape how we manage the creek so that we can enhance the habitat further,” said Chris Lee, principal water resources specialist for the SCWA. For now, the improved habitat and the increasing numbers of Chinook salmon spawning in Putah Creek has indicated that this ecosystem is recovering, as are the numbers of other kinds of species local to the area too.

Moyle believes that with a continued rainy year ahead, the creek may hold even more salmon in the future.

LOVE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

with just two people on stage. It’s nothing like Shakespeare where there are people dying from sword battles — it’s a lot of moments of intimacy and honest moments of confrontation that don’t involve fist fights. These are moments of real relationship problems and I needed actors who could understand and recreate that.”

The complicated role of Adam needed an especially talented actor, according to Holmes.

“I see this play about a young man [Adam] who gets a little bit over his head when it comes to love,” Holmes said. “When someone is searching for something too long, and once they have it, they go a little too overboard. I think too much love can be dangerous.”

However, for Church, getting the part of Adam was out of the norm of characters he usually plays.

“I usually get roles that require me to be more of the ‘asshole’ type of character,” Church said. “My character in The Shape of Things is way different — he is this introverted and dorky guy, so it has been interesting trying to tune out all of my other experiences. I went into auditions thinking I would get the asshole role because [Holmes] knows that that’s what I usually do and can do it well. He wanted to challenge me to act outside of my usual range; he said he thought it would be good for me as an actor, and he thought that i had the skills to do it.”

Cunha experienced a similar adaptation in order to play her character Evelyn, even with some similarities between herself and the character “I haven’t really done a contemporary play like this one before, where I play someone that is actually my age and is an artsy girl like myself, but Eve-

lyn’s personality is completely different than me, though,” Cunha said. “She is a Pisces and I’m a Taurus. She would do anything for art and I would do anything for the people I care about. But [...] I think that was one of the difficult things about portraying this role, is that Evelyn is my age and in a similar time period, and I can relate to her in so many physical ways, but it has been a lot harder to find things in common with her or ways to relate or justify her actions.”

Another difficulty has been the breaks from rehearsal due to winter holidays, as the cast was able to rehearse together during week 10 of Fall Quarter and then only a few times all together during winter break. Week one of Winter Quarter has been the first time since the end of Fall Quarter that all the cast has been together.

“For a lot of the time over break it was me, Melissa and Gregory when we were rehearsing,” Church said. “It was hard not having the whole cast here because we couldn’t string everything together. It’s only been a full week since we’ve had the full cast back together. It’s been a little rough because we’re getting back in the groove of things and we’re about to start tech rehearsal.”

Despite any temporary hitches in rehearsal, the dedication of the actors and the quality of the performances are expected to make a strong show.

“The actors are doing fantastic, especially the leads bringing life into these characters,” Holmes said. “They are both nervous about performing, and I’m a little nervous too about directing for the first time, but we’re so excited about performing.”

The Shape of Things will begin showing Jan. 19 in Wright Hall, and tickets can be purchased on the production’s website.

Pelagio and Bancroft feel that UC Davis offers many opportunities for its students to get involved in research and in environmental science more generally.

There are on-campus clubs, the Green Initiative Fund and several professors who conduct research on climate change.

Both Pelagio and Bancroft also think that there is room for improvement, especially with regard to increasing environmental awareness. Bancroft believes that, while classes can provide a holistic view, it may be necessary to engage with the general population more frequently concerning current events and environmental policy.

“There are some students, for instance, that graduate without having an understanding of concepts such as climate change,” Pelagio said. “These issues should be taught to everyone, for us to be aware of our impact in the environment.”

FARM BUREAU CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

Heringer said. “The ability to adapt to meet the challenges […] persistence, resiliency, a ‘never-say-die’ attitude.”

With regard to the honors that the family will receive at the Farm Bureau meeting, Heringer said the family is humbled.

“We are very, very humbled by the honor, and I will tell you, in my mind, we’re not doing anything that any other farmer doesn’t do if he’s going to survive, and that’s adapt to whatever the current situation or markets are,” Heringer said.

1/13/17: Students protest outside of Davis College Republicans’ event

1/14/17: Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos leads demonstrators around campus

JAY GELVEZON / AGGIE

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017 | 13

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

ANH TR AM BUI / AGGI E

NOW ON TO THE NFL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS What happened last weekend?

KE I T H A L L I S O N [CC BY- SA 2 .0 ] / FLICK R

UC DAVIS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL’S POWERFUL DEFENSE LEADS TO VICTORY

BY DAV I D F LO R E S sports@theaggie.org

Another weekend of NFL playoffs has come and gone. Those of you who watched from home witnessed some gut-wrenchingly close games that had us gripping our seats until the very end, while others revealed some remarkably lifeless performances from teams who lacked in showmanship and play-calling.

But going into the playoffs, we as fans must remind ourselves that regardless of what we witnessed during the regular season, this is the playoffs.

Here, we get to experience the true essence of what it takes to be a complete team — one that outperforms its opponent through teamwork and the ability to outmaneuver the other’s play-calling in one make-or-break game of physical chess.

The first playoff game on Saturday featured the New England Patriots and the Houston Texans.

Going into Saturday’s matchup, Houston boasted the league’s best defensive unit but was still seen as an underdog, due in part to its record of 9-7, the worst among remaining playoff contenders.

The Wild Card win against the 12-4 Raiders gave the Texans some much-needed swagger for their matchup against the Patriots, who won seven straight games before the postseason.

Houston’s quarterback woes during the regular season did not disappear for the playoffs, and it showed on Saturday, as Brock Osweiler threw a dismal 198 yards on 40 attempts and three interceptions.

On the bright side, the Houston defense was able to intercept Tom Brady twice, matching the amount of turnovers he gave up all season. For many fans and experts, the Texans’ “Cinderella Story” was doomed in the winter chill of New England before it had a chance to begin. The final score was 34-16, with the Patriots advancing.

Saturday’s late game between the scrappy Seattle Seahawks and the offensive powerhouse of the Atlanta Falcons was another outmatched contest. Lead by quarterback and MVP hopeful Matt Ryan, the Falcons put on a stellar performance for their home crowd as they trampled over a Seahawk team that struggled to maintain momentum in an ecstatic Atlanta stadium. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson

turned the ball over twice with two interceptions and tripped in his own end-zone for a safety while his counterpart threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers. Atlanta ran away with the lead in the second quarter and never looked back, winning 36-20 to reach its first NFC championship game since the team lost to the 49ers in 2013.

Sunday’s matchups proved to be more thrilling. The Green Bay Packers went into Dallas to face a young and stout Cowboys team.

The Cowboys’ miracle season under the leadership of rookie quarterback Dak Prescott and the NFL’s leading rusher, rookie Ezekiel Elliott, were seen by many analysts to be the favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. But Green Bay and its wily quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, had different plans as the Packers dominated the first three quarters, leading 28-13 going into the fourth. Dak and the boys rallied to come up with 18 unanswered points. But, unfortunately for America’s team, that wasn’t enough to topple the Packers, losing 34-31.

Sunday’s final matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs played out the way many had anticipated, with both teams duking it out in four hard-fought quarters.

The Chiefs’ defense has been one of the top units all year but has struggled against the run, ranking 26th according to NFL.com. It showed as they gave up 160 yards to the Steelers’ tailback Le’Veon Bell. The Chiefs held the Steelers without a single touchdown, but fell short of keeping them out of field goal range, where second-year kicker Chris Boswell helped his team become the sixth in NFL history to win a playoff game without scoring a touchdown. For those of you who devalue kickers, Chris Boswell has six reasons and 18 points to not care.

This past weekend’s playoff games separated the contenders from the pretenders. This Sunday, Jan. 22, will lead off with the Green Bay Packers taking on the Falcons in Atlanta at 12:05 p.m.

PST followed by the Pittsburgh Steelers heading to Foxborough to take on the Patriots at 3:40 p.m. PST. Who will represent their divisions in the most anticipated game of the year? Watch and find out.

Aggies win 81-65 over CSU Northridge

BY LIZ JACOBSON sports@theaggie.org

The UC Davis women’s basketball team faced off against the CSU Northridge (CSUN) Matadors on Saturday, Jan. 14 at the Pavilion and came out on top with a final score of 81-65. The Aggies were on their game, coming back from a 64-51 loss against Long Beach State last week.

Although the Matadors won the tip off, the Aggies’ lineup did not disappoint, and they hit back hard with an offense that kept them in the lead throughout the game.

“Dani [Nafekh, junior guard] came back with a scoring mentality, and that’s what’s fun about this team. It can be anyone on any night,” said Jennifer Gross, the Aggies’ head coach. “I love Dani’s confidence. Her mid-range jumper is

really tough to stop. She’s coming at you in a couple different ways and I just thought her poise and her focus was really good.”

Nafekh led the team with a game-high 20 points, setting the tone.

“I think we, as a team, played really well on offense and we were just able to find the open person and create for one another,” Nafekh said. “My teammates carried it for me and I just shot with confidence. We just worked on being sharp and efficient.”

Marly Anderson, a redshirt junior forward, stayed focused throughout the entire game, which is something that both the crowd and the coaching staff picked up on.

“Marly is a little better matchup against [CSUN sophomore center Channon Fluker], so I thought she really rose to the challenge,” Gross said.

“Fluker is going to get some points, she’s a good player. We feel like we have some size that slow her down, but I was really proud of Marly’s efforts.”

Defensively, the Aggies were on their toes. With only six turnovers throughout the game and junior guard Rachel Nagel’s two steals, they were not letting much get past them.

“We knew they were going to throw a lot of lazy passes on offense, so the coaches actually told me to look to steal those,” Nagel said. “I just saw the opportunity and went for it.”

The team heated up during the fourth quarter, going on a 13-0 scoring lead during the second half of the quarter to secure the win.

“I think our defense really did it for us in the fourth quarter,” Gross said. “We were able to lock down and get a couple stops and scores and that was the key for us. What I was proud of today was not everything went our way and we still found a way to win. I think it’s showing that we’re becoming a veteran team.”

The Aggies head back down south to face Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State before returning home on Jan. 26 to face UC Riverside at 7 p.m.

IAN JO NE S / AG G IE

WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS SOAR IN THREE EVENTS AT OPENER UC Davis women’s g ymnastics team finishes Friday meet in third place

BY ALE X ARE CH IGA sports@theaggie.org

Over 1,200 fans filled the seats of the Pavilion on Friday, Jan. 13 to watch the UC Davis women’s gymnastics team hold its first home meet of the season, a fourway meet that welcomed Yale University and the 11th and 15th nationally-ranked teams of Stanford University and Boise State University, respectively. The Aggies excelled in three of four events for the evening and rallied for a third place finish with a score of 193.275, just a fraction of a point behind second place Stanford (193.800) and frontrunner Boise State (195.300).

The home team started strong with its first rotation on vault; all six participants scored 9.600 or higher on the event and senior co-captain Katy Nogaki’s standout 9.825 helped bolster the Aggies’ combined score to 48.575 to position them in a comfortable second-place standing behind Boise State.

The Pavilion was electric with excitement for the Aggies as they continued into their second rotation at the uneven bars. Senior co-captain Yonni Michovska had a particularly exciting performance complete with impeccably executed handstands and a solid dismount, landing her a career-best score of 9.875. Her

efforts, along with her teammates’ collective performances on the bars, totaled 48.750 and escalated the Aggies score to 97.325 halfway through the meet, leaving them just .025 points behind BSU’s first-place 97.350.

However, the balance beam proved to be a source of struggle for the Aggies during their third rotation. Three of six athletes fell during their routines, creating a deficit in their overall score which caused them to slip from second to third.

“Sometimes the stars don’t line up,” said head coach John Lavallee. “We had an excellent week of practice on balance beam […] We kind of let it slip away there. That’s always disappointing, but you’ve got to have a thick skin if you’re going to be an athlete, and you have to be ready to bounce back and get it done.”

Instead of letting the balance beam faults hinder their performance for the rest of the meet, the Aggies returned for their fourth rotation with a dazzling sense of confidence, pulling out all the stops to hit solid performances on the floor. It was all smiles and cheers from both the crowd and the team as each athlete made the floor routine rounds, and together the team scored 48.700 in the event. Junior Amanda Presswood tallied a 9.725, while sophomore Yasmine Yektaparast scored a 9.800 at anchor. Junior Alexis Brown, who suffered an unexpected fall on the beam, ended the night with a stunning finale floor performance and captured first place in the event with a score of 9.825.

“I was a little bit irritated with myself [after the fault on beam], so I just turned all of that energy into positivity on the floor, and that was probably like the best routine I’ve done in a long time,” Brown said. “I think there was a little bit of negative energy on the beam, but we were able to turn that around on the floor, and I think that really shows the character of the team. That inspires me more to see how far this group of girls can go.”

Brown ended the night with a score of 9.800 or higher on three events, which mirrored the team’s performance for the evening.

With three out of four events touting great scores from the home team’s athletes in a showcase featuring nationally-ranked squads, the home opening meet felt as though the Aggies were just scratching the surface of their athletic prowess, just a precursor of what’s to come as the season progresses.

“These are two great teams […] We were really very competitive halfway through the meet, we were right there with [Stanford and Boise State], and so that really gives us a lot of good feelings moving down the road as we continue to improve and get better,” Lavallee said. “I think we’re going in the right direction.”

The Aggies hit the road for their next meet at Arizona State University on Jan. 21.

Their next home appearance will be the spectacle 40th Anniversary Causeway Classic against Sacramento State on Jan. 29 at 1 p.m.

14 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

BACKSTOP W W PA COACH OF THE YEAR:

DANIEL LEYSON UC Davis men’s water polo head coach Daniel Leyson receives 2016 WWPA Men’s Coach of the Year award

BY RYAN BU G S C H sports@theaggie.org

During winter break, while many UC Davis students were relaxing for the holidays and catching up on their favorite Netflix shows, Daniel Leyson, the UC Davis men’s water polo head coach, was selected as the 2016 Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Men’s Coach of the Year, decided by his conference peers.

This is the first time that Leyson has received this honor, after leading the men’s water polo team to 23 overall wins last season — a school record.

The team also claimed a WWPA championship and received the team’s first NCAA postseason selection in 19 years.

The WWPA Coach of the Year Award has only gone to a UC Davis coach three previous times in the 36 years that the WWPA has been functioning.

It is no secret that the UC Davis men’s water polo team had great success this year under Leyson, having an undefeated 6-0 conference record to earn the first seed in the WWPA Championships. The team later defeated three-time defending champion UC San Diego in the final. However, the Aggies fell in the NCAA

LUCY K N OW L E S / AG G I E F I L E

play-in game, losing to Harvard 16-15 in overtime.

Nonetheless, the team’s overall winning percentage of .793, 12.6 goals per game average and number 10 final ranking by the NCAA are school benchmarks. Along with Leyson’s award, sophomore attacker Ido Goldschmidt received WWPA Player of the Year honors and junior goalkeeper Spencer Creed was named the most valuable player of the WWPA Tournament.

The California Aggie had the chance to sit down with Leyson and ask him about his playing days, his transition into coaching and the feeling of receiving this award.

How did you first get into playing water polo? Was it an interest you found on your own or did you decide to try from the advice of someone else?

It’s really serendipitous because I happened to grow up in an area of Orange County that the high school that I was eventually going to go to had a great water polo program with an outstanding coach. It was a stroke of luck, I always loved sports and my mom didn’t want me to play football, and it so happens that I took to [water polo] right away.

What, in your opinion, was the best part about playing the sport in all of your years of experience as a player?

I like the sport a lot. I like everything about it from the physical contact aspect because I am a competitive person. I also liked the grind. I know there were some days where you knew that it was going to be a miserable practice but I liked going to the pool everyday and I think that was important.

UC DAVIS ATHLETICS / COURTESY

When did you first realize that coaching was something you wanted to pursue?

I think inevitably I was going to get into coaching. Coaching is teaching, and both of my parents are teachers so I think that I have that character of wanting to teach. I retired at the age of 28 and lived in Barcelona, came back to the U.S., and was wondering what to do. I was able to be a volunteer assistant at USC and from there I kept going. I was extremely lucky.

Did the way you were coached as a player have any effect on your coaching style? If so, in what way?

One million percent yes. I am a collection of all the different people that have coached me over time in different levels and styles of play. I have taken information from these people and it has had a huge impact on me. My high school coach was an outstanding teacher of the fundamental skills of the game and he dedicated to his life to his players. I needed to find out who I was a little bit because I didn’t want to be someone that I’m not.

Do you try to keep the same coaching style year after year, or try to adjust and change it up based on the team you

have?

I think there are certain things that are always constant, but tactically and technically I think that things are going to change based on players and personalities as well. I believe that certain things work no matter who the generation is, so certain things remain constant, but I am aware of trying to stay fresh in my coaching style by being involved.

What was the feeling when you saw that you were awarded the WWPA Coach of the Year Award?

It is a good feeling. I felt like I knew I was going to get the award once we won conference, but it is nice to receive awards of recognition like this from your peers. It is a team thing and what has allowed for the success of the program is the commitment of the players, so, it is a team thing.

UC DAVIS CAN’T CLOSE IN SINGLES AGAINST PACIFIC Aggies open season 0-2 after double-header losses

BY NICOLETTE SARMIENTO sports@theaggie.org

The UC Davis men’s tennis team opened its spring season this past Saturday when the Aggies traveled to Stockton to compete in a double-header against the University of the Pacific Tigers. Though the Aggies jumped ahead early by dominating four of the five doubles matches, it wasn’t enough to clinch either of the team’s matches.

In the first match, all three UC Davis doubles teams won were victorious.

Freshman David Goulak made his doubles debut with junior Tommy Lam. Goulak and Lam won their doubles set 6-4, while seniors Bryce McKelvie and James Wade put away their opponents 6-3.

Heading into the first sets of singles

matches, Goulak and McKelvie earned points with their two-set wins while the rest of the Aggies, including senior Alec Adamson, lost their matches to give Pacific the 4-3 upset.

In the second match, UC Davis looked strong with Goulak and junior Everett Maltby handily winning their set 6-1. Pacific tied it up by beating Lam and McKelvie, 6-4, but Adamson and freshman Max Pham put the doubles competition away with a decisive 6-4 victory of their own.

However, the Ags could not pull through again in the singles matchups.

With only Adamson and Lam each posting three-set wins, the Tigers dominated four of the six singles events in the rematch.

With these losses, UC Davis starts the season 0-2 and will hit the road again on Saturday for another double-header against the Fresno State Bulldogs and the Sacramento State Hornets.