serving the uc davis campus and community since 1915
www.theaggie.org
volume 130, number 109
thursday, november 3, 2011
More students than ever benefiting from financial aid Seventy-six percent of students received aid last year
By ALICIA KINDRED Aggie News Writer
In a time of economic uncertainty and budget cuts, financial aid has become one of the ways that many UC Davis students have been able to afford their education. For students, financial aid often provides a means of breathing room for parents to pay for their child’s education. It also provides a means of survival for independent students who are
dependent on their financial aid checks for other means besides textbooks and tuition expenses. Without financial aid on campus, nearly 71 percent of students would not have the opportunity to study here all four years, according to Katy Maloney, interim director of financial aid at UC Davis. “For me, getting a scholarship was the reason I came to UC Davis, or else I would not have been able to come here,” said Laura, a senior psychology
major, who declined to give her last name. “I would have had to transfer from a community college instead of coming here my freshman year. My scholarship doesn’t cover everything, but it is a big help for my parents when it comes to college expenses.” In the daily lives of students, financial aid is enormously positive and it allows almost anyone to get an education, Maloney said. “Financial aid increases the diversity of the UC Davis stu-
dent body, allowing underprivileged students to attend college. As such, it benefits not just the aid recipients, but the community as a whole. I know I was able to meet many interesting people and broaden my horizons because financial aid allowed these people to attend UC Davis,” said Artem Raskin, a junior political science major. Some of the most common forms of financial aid available to students are grants, loans, fellowships and work-study. For un-
dergraduates, grants are given to 60 percent, loans are given to 47 percent and fellowships are given to 6.5 percent of the population, Maloney said. “I have full financial aid through grants for all the years I am attending UC Davis,” said Natalia Kresich, a fifth-year senior American studies major. “However, I do not think that grants alone are enough. Most students have to supplement
See AID, page 8
Many look to New UC Davis genome center graduate school planned for Sacramento campus in uncertain Partnership with Chinese-based institute increases opportunity times By MAX RUSSER Aggie News Writer
Admissions just one hurdle in the road ahead
Melody Tan / Aggie
Ghausi Hall, one of many graduate studies locations, is one of the main departments for Engineering Graduate students.
By JAMES O’HARA Aggie News Writer
With a slimmer and increasingly competitive job market awaiting graduates, many students look to graduate school as a potential respite from an unforgiving economic climate. However, given what University of California (UC) President Mark Yudof called “a sad day for California” in his letter to the state following Gov. Jerry Brown’s recently proposed $500 million reduction in state support for the universities, it is unclear to some whether UC’s graduate programs will still offer the same level of opportunity they may have only a few years ago. “I think it’s inevitable that there will be cuts to graduate programs that’ll lower [graduate] school acceptance rates,” said Luis Ramirez, senior computer science major. “It worries me that not only will there be less [graduate] students, but entire programs may be cut as well.”
Despite uncertain financial horizons, according to associate professor Gina Bloom, the graduate advisor in the English department, graduate programs are not being negatively affected — at least, not in the UC Davis English department. “The sense that I’ve gotten is that the graduate programs are pretty well protected from budget cuts,” Bloom said. “For instance, our grant allocation from the Office of Graduate Studies has stayed consistent. So I haven’t seen any negative fallout yet…” “As far as our numbers … no, we have not been told to cut our [graduate] program … The plan for the university is to grow,” Bloom said, emphasizing the university’s plan for expansion, not retraction. Still, getting into graduate school, steady acceptance rates or not, is the least of aspiring graduate student’s worries, warned Bloom.
A new genome sequencing facility is being planned at UC Davis’ Health System Campus in Sacramento through the university’s recent partnership with the Beijing Genomics Institute Americas (BGI). The new facility will focus on improving research in human and animal health, agriculture and environmental initiatives through genome sequencing. Last week a signing ceremony was held for the new partnership at the UC Davis MIND Institute of Sacramento. “There is a big revolution happening in biology particularly driven by DNA sequencing,” said Professor Richard Michelmore, di-
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rector of the UC Davis Genome Center. “It’s now getting very easy to generate vast amounts of DNA sequence data and it’s changing the face of biology, and eventually going to change the face of society.” Genomics is a discipline within the genetics field that involves the study of organism’s genomes. Fine scale genetic mapping in genomics requires enormous computing power. “These machines are game changers,” Michelmore said, referring to the HiSeq 2000, the state-of-the-art genetic sequencing machines that lle Hu
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are going to be used in the facility. “We’re going to be swamped with information.” One HiSeq 2000 is able to generate as much DNA sequence as was achieved in the entire world in 2009, all in less than four days. BGI, the world’s largest genomic institute, possesses enough HiSeq sequencers to generate this information in no more than an hour. “From BGI’s standpoint, UC Davis is an attractive research partner because it already has well regarded schools and research programs that are focused on veterinary medicine, agriculture and human medicine; all areas of interest for BGI,” said BGI Americas researcher Hao Zhang in an e-mail interview. UC Davis is going to take on the large task of interpreting the information that is going to be churned out of the new facility. “There is a flow from data to knowledge, to society benefit,” Michelmore said. “Data itself isn’t really valuable,
See GENOME, page 6
Speed limit may change on Russell Boulevard Recommended speed limit still in review By CLAIRE TAN Aggie News Writer
Yolo County’s public works department suggested raising the speed limits on 14 county roads due to recent surveys that showed increased driving speeds. It was found that drivers were driving at 48 to 49 miles per hour (mph) on Russell Boulevard, which has a 35 mph speed limit. The Yolo County Board of Supervisors accepted 10 of the 14 recommendations. The four roads that will be in review include County Road 21A between State Highway 16 and half a mile west of State Highway 16 in Esparto, County Road 32 between State Highway 505 and east of Yolo County Housing in Winters, Russell Boulevard between the Davis city limits and County Road 98 and County Road 98 between 300 feet south of Hutchinson Drive and Russell Boulevard.
Brian Nguyen / Aggie
The Board of Supervisors is currently deciding whether they will raise speed limits See SPEED, page 7 along Russell Boulevard due to recent surveys of increased driving speeds.
See GRADUATE, page 6
Delta of Venus’ magic going strong Charm and flavor of popular hangout continue to draw customers By CHRISTINA NOVAKOVRITCHEY Aggie Features Writer
Madison Dunitz / Aggie
Customers continue to enjoy the Delta of Venus since its openening in 1993.
Today’s weather Chance of rain High 62 Low 42
For many Davisites, Delta of Venus has possessed an undeniably homey quality ever since its doors opened in 1993. A bookshelf ruled by the ‘take a penny leave a penny’ mantra frames a fireplace inside, featuring titles such as Pony Pals and Much Ado About Nothing. A group of grayhaired men and women sit in the next room belting out Irish folk songs. The smell of Caribbean
Forecast Often times with regard to the weather, it takes living with the bad in order to truly appreciate the good. The worse your winter quarter is, the more you will enjoy spring ... hopefully. Alex Neigher, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team
food envelops its interior. From the people, to the food, to the music, the Delta of Venus coffee shop and study hangout is a place a lot of Davis residents find themselves wanting to be. “It makes them feel as comfortable as they are when they’re at home,” said Lee Walthall, the owner of Delta of Venus since 2001. Sitting at a table at Delta, customers will see Walthall running in and out of its doors, waving hello to the regulars who have been coming here almost as long as he has, washing a couple dish-
Friday
Saturday
Chance of rain
Mostly sunny
High 54 Low 38
High 58 Low 42
es and then disappearing once again into the abyss of his day-today routine. “Never have I seen any sort of evidence that I should be doing something else with my life,” Walthall said. Included in Walthall’s sometimes tedious day-to-day is the struggle of finding balance between change and maintenance. He knows that the patrons of Delta come here because of what Delta has always been, so he feels it is
See DELTA, page 6 A drunk and naked motorist road through Moscow on Sunday. He was finally caught by police after crashing into 17 cars. Who cares that he’s naked, someone should reteach him how to ride. Mimi Vo