serving the uc davis campus and community since 1915
www.theaggie.org
volume 131, numbeR 13
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
“Animal RAs” care for resident cows, birds Students take care of animals in exchange for housing By CLAIRE MALDARELLI Aggie Staff Writer
It’s 4 a.m. on a weekday, the sun has not even begun to rise and the silent stillness of the night is still present. All students in Tercero dorms are asleep — except perhaps those doing some late night studying. But, just across the street, senior animal science major Vania Leonardes is about to begin her day. Leonardes is one of four students who lives at the UC Davis Dairy Teaching and Research Facility. In exchange for free housing, Leonardes works full time at the facility, taking care of the animals. At this 4 a.m. shift, just like at her 9 a.m., 4 and 11 p.m. shifts that she rotates with her fellow residents, she cleaned beds, fed cows and their young calves, and made sure no one was sick — a job many college students would not readily volunteer for. But Leonardes, who grew up on a dairy farm, said she couldn’t be happier with her job and living arrangement. “Honestly, I started working here because I was really homesick living in the dorms my freshman year. I truly missed the cows and taking care of them,” Leonardes said, as she fed one of the young calves her medicine through a syringe. The Dairy Facility is not the only animal facility on campus that offers this residency program — students have the opportunity to live at a number of different animal facilities on campus. In
March of every year, the animal science department posts an announcement on its website and advertises it throughout the department and in animal science classes. Any student interested in the program can apply and go through the interview process. Only a few students, usually up to four, are accepted into each facility. “It helps if you have experience working with that type of animal,” said Arielle Hines, also a senior year animal science major, who is a resident at the Hopkins Avian Facility, located a little off campus near the University Airport. Hines said she took a few animal science classes in avian science, one of which involved working at that facility, before applying for the job. Many of the students working at these facilities are also hoping to get experience working with animals for when they apply to veterinary school. Margaret Austin, a junior animal science major who is a resident at the swine center, said this was a driving factor for her. “I decided that living in one of the barns would be a good way to gain experience for [veterinary] school. I had previously raised pigs for 4-H and I took [a class on swine husbandry] before becoming a resident,” Austin said. Applying to one of these programs does require a lot experience with the animals you will work with as well as the ability to be responsible and diligent. “They are always looking to
Brian Nguyen / Aggie
All UC Davis students have the opportunity to apply for the residency programs offerred by the animal facilities on campus, where they can gain experience working with the different animals. make sure you have really good work ethic,” Hines said. She acknowledged that when she moved in at the end of the summer, she went through about 20 hours of training which included learning all the protocols and rules — especially how to minimize the spread of diseases. A typical day working at the avian facility is a little more flex-
ible than that of the dairy. Luckily she doesn’t have to wake up at 4 a.m., but throughout the day with the help of the other two residents living with her, has to attend to about 1000 birds that live at the facility, which includes sweeping all 17 rooms, checking and changing water, feeding and making sure they are all healthy. Hines said that she has learned
Incoming first-year students guaranteed student housing for two years
See ANIMALS, page 2
News iN Brief
Hate incident reported at Women’s Resource and Research Center
Existing residence halls expected to house over 200 sophomores By MUNA SADEK Aggie News Writer
Beginning in Fall 2012, all incoming first-year students will be guaranteed space in the residence halls for their first two years as a UC Davis student. This is due to an expected availability of beds in Fall 2012, which has not occurred for three years. Of the 4,300 freshman students that are usually housed in residence halls, about five percent (215 students) are expected to return. “Its not a significant number,” said Ramona Hernandez, business director at UC Davis student housing. “We’re still trying to determine, because we’re still a year out from this, what is the best way to accommodate their needs.” Before the second-year guarantee, students were given the option to indicate during Winter quarter an interest in returning to the residence halls for
a lot about bird behavior. Prior to working there, she admits she undermined the intelligence of birds. But working with them on a daily basis has changed her perspective. For example, she taught one of her favorite birds, Valentine, to check her automatic water dispenser herself as Hines
Evan Davis / Aggie
While no new construction will be made to accomodate any returning students, it is estimated See DORMS, page 2 that about five percent of sophomores will opt to remain in the on-campus housing.
On Monday, interns at the Women’s Resource and Research Center (WRRC) reported that a life-sized representation of a Barbie doll had been hung with a noose in North Hall. “This act comes at a time in which the Student Life Centers have been under attack and is a reminder of the acts of hate perpetrated on this campus,” stated a release by the WRRC. According to a representative from WRRC, the female figure that was hung had been built by students for a project to show the unrealistic expectations that society has for women. As of press time on Tuesday, no further information about the incident had been released. The UC Davis Police is investigating the incident. Anyone who has information about the incident is encouraged to call UC Davis Police at (530) 752-1727. — Hannah Strumwasser
Nugget Market ranks high nationwide Local chain scores 34th on Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For By Einat Gilboa Aggie News Writer
With only nine stores comprising this small chain, Nugget Market was ranked number 34 on Fortune’s 2012 list of 100 best companies to work for, making the cut with bigger companies such as Google (number one), number eight ranked Recreational Equipment (REI) and Zappos.com (number 11) from CNN’s website. The list is created by “the most extensive employee survey in corporate
Today’s weather Cloudy High 62 Low 39
America,” stated a press release from Nugget’s website. The survey asks the employees questions about the trustworthiness of management, job satisfaction and how well they get along with their fellow associates. This is the seventh year in a row that the company has made it on the list, stated the press release. The company shares that the secret of its success lies in the quality of its associates, of which there are around 1,200.
See NUGGET, page 2
Kristina Geddert / Aggie
Nugget has made it on the list for Fortune 100’s Best Companies to Work For seven years in a row.
Forecast I predict that our weather will be fairly uneventful this weekend. The sunshine will stick around for the next 10 days or so. Kenneth Doss, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team
Thursday
Friday
Sunny
Sunny
High 64 Low 35
High 63 Low 36
Earn some karma and sign up for the bone marrow registry today and tomorrow from 10-2 at the MU and the Silo. www.BeTheMatch.org Michelle Huey and Mimi Vo