February 6, 2012

Page 1

serving the uc davis campus and community since 1915

www.theaggie.org

volume 131, number 16

monday, february 6, 2012

UC President calls for UC system to be smoke-free by 2014 Students have mixed thoughts on new policy By MICHELLE MURPHY Aggie News Writer

The fight against smoking is coming to UC Davis, as smokers will find it difficult to find somewhere to grab a quick smoke in two years time. In a letter to the UC chancellors on Jan. 9, UC President Mark G. Yudof asked each chancellor to form a committee to implement a smoke-free policy by 2014. “As a national leader in health care and environmental practices, the University of California is ready to demonstrate leadership in reducing tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke by creating a smokefree environment on all of our campuses,” Yudof wrote. Yudof made explicit mandates that each university is to uphold in the smoke-free policy. “Smoke-free means that smoking, the use of smokeless tobacco products and the use of unregulated nicotine products (e.g., “e-cigarettes”) will be ‘strictly’ prohibited,” Yudof wrote. Davis already has multiple smoke-free areas on campus. According to the UC Davis Policy and Procedure Manual, state law and university policy prohibit smoking inside UC-owned and UC-leased buildings in order to protect the health, safety and comfort of university students, employees and visitors. In addition to the policy already in place, the new smoke-free policy will prohibit the use of any type of tobacco products in parking lots, residential spaces and the Medical Center campuses. Furthermore, the sale and advertising of tobacco products will be strictly prohibited in university owned and occupied buildings. One UC Davis smoker, Amber Garcia, a junior sociology and political science double major, said that the smoke-free policy might have a negative affect on students’ ability to get away from the pressure of

Brian Nguyen / Aggie

Students find places to smoke on campus, such as outside of the library and the 24-Hour Reading Room. school. “A lot of the students want that stress free moment from midterms and finals. It’s a little five-second release,” she said. Those stress free moments will be hard

to find though starting 2014. Julia Ruble, a senior anthropology major, doesn’t think this policy will really make a difference on campus. “I don’t think it’s going to do anything.

AEPi lawsuit to start trial on April 2

The few [graduate] students that I’ve talked to about it said they are going to smoke anyway. It’s an enforcement issue. There’s

See SMOKERS, page 2

News iN Brief

Official ASUCD election candidates

Former student suing for alleged hazing by UC Davis fraternity

Senate and Executive candidates for the upcoming ASUCD election have been officially posted. Senate candidates: Beatriz Anguiano Bradley Bottoms Colten Ellison Saunders Desun Oka Donkeyonta Gilbert Dylan Schaefer Jacklyn Jaonino Jonathan Soo Hoo Jose (Chucha) Marquez Joyce Han Kabir Kapur Marcus King

Norman Borgonia Patrick Devlin Paul Min Vice President candidates: Amy Martin Yena Bae President candidates: Bree Rombi Rebecca Sterling Elections will begin on Feb. 21 at 8 a.m. All students are encouraged to vote at elections.ucdavis.edu. — Hannah Strumwasser

DDBA elects three board of directors Nathan Chan / Aggie

Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, UC Davis chapter, is currently facing charges for hazing.

By GHEED SAEED Aggie News Writer

Ryan Clifford’s lawsuit against AEPi is set to start trial in Yolo County Superior Court on April 2. Earlier this academic year, Clifford, a former UC Davis transfer student, filed legal charges against the regents of the University of California, claiming he was subject to the “harshest form of hazing” for the duration of his term as a pledge for the Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi). Clifford claims his non-Jewish religious affiliation is the primary reason for the alleged hazing. “Ryan Clifford filed a separate suit against the regents of the University of California, Paul

Today’s weather Partly sunny High 64 Low 47

Cody and Tracy Grissom in federal court on Nov. 4, 2011. That filing has now been amended and the university will file a response to the amended complaint by Feb. 17,” said UC Davis Senior Public Information Representative Julia Ann Easley. In addition to the regents of the University of California, Clifford has also filed complaints against Paul Cody of the Office of Student Programs and Activities Center and Tracy Grissom, Advisor for Undergraduate Education, for the latter’s alleged disregard for Clifford’s complaints and the former’s refusal to follow through with the “conditional registration” requirements placed on the fraternity. Clifford claims he was both “drugged and sexually assault-

ed by members of the fraternity” and was “compelled ... to drink inordinate amounts of alcohol and consume beverages containing unknown narcotic substances,” during a mandatory Lake Tahoe retreat, as stated in Clifford’s Complaint for Damages. Filing under the law office of Lisa Holder, Clifford is suing for the following damages: “[violation of ] Ryan Clifford’s right to be free from discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs and activities ... [deprivation of Plaintiff’s] clearly established rights, privileges, and immunities secured by the 14th and First Amendments of the Constitution... [deprived of ] the right of persons to be free

Forecast As nice as this weekend may have been, it looks like we will be giving winter another brief opportunity to show itself early this week. Alex Neigher, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team

See HAZING, page 2 Tuesday

Wednesday

Change of rain

Mostly sunny

High 54 Low 41

High 62 Low 39

The Downtown Business Association (DDBA) elected three downtown businesses owners to its board of directors on Jan. 31. Janis Lott of Newsbeat, Alzada Knickerbocker of The Avid Reader and Dave Robert of Sugar Daddies were elected to three-year terms. Lott was re-elected, making this her second term. “The DDBA Board of Directors is very excited with the new additions to the Board,” said Stewart Savage, director of the DDBA, in a press release. “As the Board was discussing candidates to present for election, they wanted to make sure that all candidates were innovative, creative, energetic, and involved. Janis, Alzada, and David certainly fit the bill.” The 2012-13 DDBA officers are: Rosalie Paine of Nestware, co-president, Michael Bisch of Davis Commercial Properties, co-president, Newman

Associates’ Andrew Newman, treasurer, and Lyon Real Estate’s Kim Eichorn, secretary. Jennifer Anderson of Davis Ace, Sinisa Novakovic who owns Mishka’s Cafe, Varsity Theater and Icekremski, Scott Purves of Purves and Associates, Kevin Wan of Sophia’s Thai Kitchen and the three elected at the meeting comprise the rest of the board. In addition to the elections, outgoing board members, Nina Gatewood and Kate Hutchinson, were recognized for their excellent efforts during their tenure. Hutchinson, owner of Ciocolat at 301 B Street, had served on the Board since 2009. Gatewood, owner of Haute Again at 129 E Street, was appointed to the Board in 2011. Gatewood is now the deputy director of marketing for the DDBA. — Angela Swartz

Sunday was a day full of green, as in, many are swimming in it. G-Men!!!

Mimi Vo


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