serving the uc davis campus and community since 1915
www.theaggie.org
volume 130, number 96
wednesday, october 12, 2011
We the students in order to form a more perfect Association ASUCD election season starts this week By JUSTIN GOSS Campus News Writer
On Monday, petitions for the upcoming ASUCD elections were released. Yet yearly averages show that 85 percent of the UC Davis student body was unaware of past election cycles. Like the latent crash of thunder, so low and distant it hardly registers in the human auditory canal, petitions were released, and UC Davis campus politics awoke from its slumber. Election season began this week, and despite the prominent electoral indicators
— including A-Frames, fliers, candidate presentations and ASUCD Coffee House (CoHo) debates — most students will remain unaware of the politics taking place around them. This, in turn, could lead to low electoral participation. Voter turnout is typically low. In a university of approximately 25,000 eligible undergraduate voters, only about 3,000 to 4,500 students (10 to 15 percent) vote on a quarterly basis. What’s more, few students aren’t even aware of their student government or its elections. Kevin Tsukamoto, a first-year design major, did not know when
elections began, or how the electoral process functioned. He did, however, know ASUCD stood for Associated Students of UC Davis. Other students, like Hong Hochung, a first-year molecular biology major, were similarly nonplussed. Such ambivalence has ASUCD Elections Committee Chair, Stephanie Wong, worried. “The Senate does do important things, but the average student doesn’t care or is far too busy to notice,” Wong said. These important things include ASUCD’s $11 million budget used to facil-
Downtown Davis helps women bundle up in style
itate major student services like the CoHo, Unitrans, campus radio station KDVS and the town’s much beloved Picnic Day. The Association is also responsible for maintaining the post office in the Memorial Union and subsidizing the Pantry in Lower Freeborn. Despite these significant offerings, many students like Tsukanodo and Hochung don’t know how their elected representatives are chosen. Elections take place during Fall and Winter quarters, with six Senate seats up
See ELECTIONS, page 4
ask katehi Editor’s Note: Ask Katehi is a weekly column where students get a chance to ask the UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi questions.
wine or a shot of ouzo — an anise-flavored liquor often served with Greek foods or appetizers. But there’s nothing like sitting in a Greek island café on a warm What is your favorsummer evening ite Greek food and munching on a why? leg of charbroiled There are so many octopus as you wonderful Greek watch the sunset dishes to choose or boats sail by, from and, although or while having a I do not eat meat lively conversaand tend to be a tion with friends light eater, I do eat or relatives about dairy products and Linda Katehi addressing the seafood. With that Chancellor world’s problems. said, my favorite Everything then Greek food is charbroiled octopus. This might seems possible and there is surprise many of you be- nothing that can spoil the cause this dish is not com- atmosphere. monly served in the U.S. If you ever find yourself Even in Greek restaurants in Greece in the summer, I here where they do serve it, encourage you to try it and it differs greatly from what you will see what I mean. you get in Greece, both be- You will need a Greek nacause of the quality of the tive friend, though, to take cephalopod and the way it you to the right place. is prepared. This dish goes well with Want to ask Katehi a question? E-mail your a glass of chilled white questions to campus@theaggie.org.
Local stores offer cool winter fashion
News iN Brief
Shazib Haq / Aggie
Pinkadot, located downtown E. Street, offers shirts, pants and jackets for winter layering.
BY LANI CHAN
Aggie Features Writer
It is just like Davis to be in the scorching upper nineties during Welcome Week, followed by gray skies and rain just two weeks later. Such extreme fluctuations in weather have a significant effect on students’ daily routines, from figuring out how to get to and from
campus to deciding what to wear to avoid soggy jeans. But adding on more clothing and weatherproof gear doesn’t have to translate to bulky and awkward. Sure, a hasty trip to the Corral to purchase rain boots and frantic scrambling to cover up with plastic bags will undoubtedly happen over the course of the unpredictable fall and winter. However, there
are plenty of seasonal clothing options available for purchase here in Davis that are just as comfortable as a summer wardrobe. Pinkadot 238 E St. Cutoff denim shorts, sandals, camisoles and sundresses are hard to
See WINTER, page 6
Fall Internship and Career Fair Thursday The Fall Internship and Career Fair will take place on Thursday at the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) Pavilion from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Students from all ma-
jors are invited to come learn about intern and career opportunities from over 165 companies. — Hannah Strumwasser
iPhone 4S will be available Oct. 14 New features include iOS 5, Siri and iCloud By CLAIRE TAN Aggie News Writer
Apple held an event presenting the iPhone 4S on Oct. 4. It was the first Apple event in which Tim Cook presented as Apple’s new CEO since Aug. 24. Many have expressed disappointment, believing that the company would present the iPhone 5 at the Oct. 4 event. “The [trends] on the new Apple seem to think the [iPhone] 4S will be a failure, even if it is faster, has a better interface and platform for running apps,” said associate professor of technocultural studies Kriss Ravetto-Biagioli in an e-mail. “The issue seems to be design, why does it still look like the previous model?” Apple’s website boasts that the iPhone 4S is even more powerful than its predecessor. “The dual-core A5 chip delivers more power. The 8 megapixel camera with all-new optics also shoots 1080p HD video. And with Siri, iPhone 4S does what you ask,” the website states. Other main features are the iOS 5 (Apple’s device operating system), an
Today’s weather Sunny High 82 Low 58
enhanced retina display and iCloud. According to Apple, the A5 CPU has twofold processing power, allowing for better gaming, quicker browsing and faster app launching. Apple said that because of the power efficiency of the chip, there is a longer battery life. The iPhone 4S’s camera is a step up from the camera features previous iPhones had. Apple said the camera boasts 8 megapixels, 60 percent more pixels than the iPhone 4’s camera. The company said that it has a refined LED flash and a backside illumination sensor that gives brighter color and more detail. In addition, the volume-up key can now be used to take a photo and photos can be directly edited on the phone. iPhone 4S’s Siri is the newest main attraction. Siri is currently a beta version; users of the phone will be able to test it for its efficacy. “Siri on iPhone 4S lets you use your voice to send messages, schedule meetings, place phone calls and more,” Apple said. “Siri understands what you say, knows what you mean and even talks back.” Siri is the replacement for the previous voice control function that was introduced with the iPhone 3GS in 2009, becoming the new voice
See IPHONE, page 2
iPhone 4S
Forecast The days to come will be beautiful, but be careful with the full moon tomorrow evening, the werewolves might come out. Enjoy the nice weather and nice temperatures while they last! Tyson Tilmont, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team
courtesy
Thursday
Friday
Sunny
Sunny
High 83 Low 60
High 80 Low 59
Dear pedestrians, The bike paths are for BIKES so move yourselves to the side and get the hell out of the way. Also, if you’re walking in a group STOP lining up next to each other and blocking entire lanes. Rantings from the Night Crew