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volume 131, number 15
thursday, february 2, 2012
Leaky Memorial Union caused by original architecture Maintenance staff taking extra measures to reduce drips
By DANIELLE HUDDLESTUN Aggie News Writer
Looking forward to the coming spring rain, many students anticipate the leaky roof of the Memorial Union (MU). Based upon past rain storms, drips located in the ASUCD Coffee House (CoHo) and the East Wing of the MU have plagued students looking for a dry place to stay. A new roof has been installed over the CoHo, in an effort to block out the leaks. “The leaks are a result of the original architecture of the building,” said Becky Peterson / Aggie John Seden, associate director of MU The roof in the Memorial Union has been known to leak in operations. both the ASUCD Coffee House and the East Wing of the MU. Between the half spheres of the
CoHo roof, new box ends have been added to the drains, in order to help with the overflow. Many times, the leaves clog the gutter, causing the water to overflow and leak into the CoHo. “The few small drips that we experienced in our dining room last week had a minimal effect on our customers. The MU operations and CoHo staffs were careful to clean up any standing water that could have been a slipping hazard. The few drips that I noticed were in walkways, so no seating was affected,” said Darin Schluep, food service manager of the CoHo. With the new addition to the drains, there are still a few leaks, as the water drips through. There were also ad-
justments made to the concrete second level of the MU. An expansion joint was installed in order to reduce leakage. However, when this did not completely solve the problem, extra sealant and caulking was used. The maintenance staff now believes that the drips here will stop. “Chasing leaks is an art from,” Seden said. On the East Wing of the MU, there is a leak right in front of U.S. Bank, starting at the tower wall. Here, the problem is that the roof is old, made of bricks. When the water gets under this surface, it seeps through the roof, as the bricks are porous.
See MU, page 2
Davis residents to decide surface water project’s future Project will be voted on in November general election By CLAIRE TAN Aggie Staff Writer
The Davis City Council decided at their Jan. 24 meeting to allow City of Davis residents to finalize what direction the surface water project should take. In September 2009, the City of Woodland and City of Davis created a joint powers authority called the Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency (WDCWA). According to the WDCWA, it implements and oversees the regional surface water supply project. The main debate centering on the water project is the cost. Additionally, there is the question of whether surface water is needed by 2016. “Both cities [Woodland and Davis] will need to raise water rates significantly to support this project,” said Principal Civil Engineer of the Davis Public Works Department Dianna Jensen in an e-mail. “The city attempted to raise rates last fall and the council did pass a five-year rate plan [Proposition 218], but repealed these rates on Dec. 20 after receiving a water rate referendum on Oct. 24.” The city council will put a measure on the November general election ballot. The ballot measure is still being drafted by the council. As of now, Jensen said the expectation is to set new water rates in place by the end of 2012. “The council directed staff to initiate a new rate study and the formation of a Water Advisory Committee that is tasked with review of the rate study and of the surface water project components,” Jensen said. “The scope of work for the rate study will be before the Water Advisory Committee at their Feb. 9 meeting.” The current timeline of the water project is to have adopted water rates in effect by January 2013. Jensen said Woodland needs surface water by 2016 to comply with their limit and Davis needs it between 2017 and 2022, depending on the waste water permit that will be renewed at the end of this year. Jensen said because of the October referendum, the city council acknowledged that residents would like a vote. “There is a whole spectrum of opinions about whether or not we need the project, whether or not we can continue to use groundwater, whether or not the rates that have been proposed are actually the right numbers,” said Deputy City Manager Kelly Stachowicz. “There are folks
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who say if we don’t do it now, whatever we have to do in the future will be even more expensive.” If Davis residents decide to eradicate the surface water project, the city will reassess what to do with the current water and look at groundwater options. “We can dig more wells and we may need to look at more treatment to water that comes out, if quality of new wells or existing wells isn’t what it was before,” Stachowicz said. According to Stachowicz, UC Davis is on the fringes and has not committed financially to the project. UC Davis operates on a water system separate from the city’s system. “UC Davis is a non-voting member of the WDCWA by virtue of the small volume of water the campus would take, because it contributed water rights to the agency and through agreement with the two cities,” said UC Davis Assistant Vice Chancellor Sid England in an email. “The voting status of the campus would
Protesters march to police department, in solidarity with Occupy Oakland Protesters met at the Memorial Union (MU) at noon for a march in solidarity with Occupy Oakland. “The march is in support of Occupy Oakland in response to the police brutality and the city of Oakland’s unnecessary crackdown on protesters,” said Sophia Kamran, senior philosophy major.
CLAIRE TAN can be reached at city@theaggie.org.
— Alicia Kindred
Officials urge students to investigate school of choice schools than anywhere else in the nation. There are approximately 1,000 unaccredited or questionably accredited colleges and vocational schools in operation. Accredibase, a service that targets academic fraud for employers, university admission teams and law enforcement agencies sees California as a region that’s
By SARA ISLAS Aggie News Writer
The UC Davis class of 2012 has the educational world at its fingertips. Between graduate programs in public health and law school, business school and veterinary school, masters in fine arts and Ph.D.s in philosophy, the educational opportunities seem boundless. Typically, the only thing stopping the dream-cometrue-after-college plan is money, and a good deal will usually become the aftercollege-plan-that-actually-comes-true. However, some good deals’ only appeal is their low-cost. A recent report in The New York Times suggested graduates take heed in the option they decide upon. The report said that California is home to more Irisa Tam / Aggie unaccredited
Forecast Expect a clear and sunny day today along with a slight breeze. Looks like another great weekend is in the works as well. Also, perhaps there is some decent weather for playing some football? Somewhere? Like, oh, I don’t know, say Indianapolis? Matthew Little, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team
they continued to chant “no cuts, no lies, occupy and communize.” The solidarity march ended in front of the UC Davis Police Department, where 22 protesters sat in front of the locked doors to have their general assembly at 1:08 p.m.
California has most unaccredited schools in the nation
Irisa Tam / Aggie
not change when we resume financial contributions to the project.” England said if the university decides to participate in the construction and operation of the water project, it will buy in and continue to pay going forward. “Right now, the city gets all of its water from wells, meaning we receive groundwater,” Stachowicz said. “And as the city has grown since it was first incorporated back in the 1900s, we question whether in the long-term, having these wells will still allow us to have the water we want and need for the current population.” Stachowicz said over the past several years, some of the wells had to be shut down or receive treatment, which are considered to be costly ventures. In response, the City of Davis has been looking at surface water coming from the Sacramento River. “Surface water isn’t necessarily more beneficial than groundwater,” Stachowicz said. “It’s just from a different source. Right now, our groundwater is untreated, nice and clean.” The groundwater Davis currently uses is hard water, with surface water being of a different composition that contains fewer mineral deposits. “One of the hopes is that the water won’t be as hard,” Stachowicz said.
Marchers chanted, “Show me what democracy looks like, this is what democracy looks like” as they entered the ASUCD Coffee House (CoHo). Drums were used until they were asked to stop by CoHo employees. Marchers continued across campus into the Silo Union, where
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inclined to harboring and proliferating unaccredited schools and degree mills because of the state’s easyto-meet regulation standards and lax enforcement. Eyal Ben Cohen, an Accredibase representative, said that California is significantly more relaxed about granting operation approval to unaccredited schools than other states are. “Schools that have been closed, prosecuted, banned and blacklisted by other U.S. states are legally allowed to operate in California,” Cohen said. R u s s Heimrich, a spokesperson for the California Department of Consumer Affairs (CDCA), said that unaccredited schools are
See SCHOOLS, page 2
Rest assured, McDonalds will no longer be serving its ‘pink slime.’ Now they are ten times more healthy. Not. Kim Carr