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volume 131, number 21
News iN Brief
Planning Commission chair announces city council run Lucas Frerichs, Chair of the City of Davis Planning Commission, announced his candidacy for Davis City Council on Sunday. Frerichs, 32, is a Senior Policy Consultant for the California State Assembly and works on natural resources issues, including water, agriculture, recycling and renewable energy policy. “I have served our community for more than 12 years in volunteer leadership capacities,” Lucas said in a press release. “Now is the time for new vision, experience, and direction for the city of Davis. We stand at the threshold of a new era in city-state financing, investment in city infrastructure, sustainable budgeting, environmental planning and community caring. I want to lead us into that era prepared and ahead of the game.” He currently serves on both the Planning Commission and the Innovation Park Task Force. He previously served on the Social Services Commission for four years, as well as on the city’s General Plan Housing Element Update Steering Committee for two years. He has also served on the board of Directors of Yolo Basin Foundation, Davis Media Access, Saving California Communities, California Center for Cooperative Development, and Acme Theatre Company, and has worked as the elected treasurer of the Yolo County Democratic Party. Born in New York and raised in Alaska, Frerichs moved to Davis in 1996. He graduated from Davis High School in 1997. Frerichs has a degree in government from California State University, Sacramento and a certificate in Land Use and Environmental Planning from UC Davis. He will host a campaign kickoff event in early March.
Mariko Yamada named Legislator of the Year The California Association for Health Services at Home (CAHSAH) will present State Rep. Mariko Yamada (D-Davis) with the 2011 Legislator of the Year award on Feb. 21. CAHSAH, a state-wide association representing over 600 agencies providing home care, home health and hospice services, said they chose Yamada because of her leadership in the area of senior and disability rights and protections. This is the first Legislator of the Year award given by CAHSAH in the past five years. “I am honored by this acknowledgement from CAHSAH,” Yamada said. “Their organization has been a key partner in advancing our aging and long-term care goals in the State Legislature.” — Angela Swartz
ASUCD Executive debate today at noon Today is the ASUCD Presidential and Vice Presidential debate. Presidential candidates Bree Rombi and Rebecca Sterling, and Vice Presidential candidates Yena Bae and Amy Martin will be debating in the ASUCD Coffee House at noon. — Hannah Strumwasser
Today’s weather Sunny High 58 Low 38
tuesday, february 14, 2012
UC, CSU curb use of notesharing websites New policies protect intellectual property in lectures By EINAT GILBOA Aggie News Writer
The University of California and California State University have taken a position against note-sharing websites, creating more stringent education policies to protect information shared within lectures. Policies changed both systemwide and at individual campuses. “The new, revised policy at UC Berkeley states that students can only share notes with other students concurrently enrolled in the class,” said UC Berkeley Assistant Clinical Professor of Law Jason Schultz. The UC sent cease-and-desist letters to notehall.com on Nov. 10, 2010, a note-sharing website owned by the Santa Clara company Chegg, as well as coursehero.com on Jan. 10, 2011, appealing to the websites to stop encouraging students to post notes on their sites. They remained in negotiations for several months before the sites removed the content. “The UC has longstanding policies against plagiarism,” says UC Media Relations Representative Dianne Klein in an e-mail. “Selling notes is also against
policy.” California Education Code §66450 prohibits businesses from commercially distributing a recording of an academic lecture without authorization, and Code
§92000 makes it a misdemeanor to imply, directly or indirectly, the UC’s endorsement of any organization without its permission, stated the cease-and-desist letter to Notehall. “What’s going on now is nothing new,” said Jan Carmikle, senior intellectual property officer for UC Davis, in an e-mail. “In fact, this is the third go-round with online commercial note-taking businesses since the late ’90s.” “In both the previous [cases], the services folded when their business models proved not to be profitable, in part because universities inform the businesses of the various copyright and policy implications for students being enticed into providing the content which the business is making its money off of,” Carmikle said. “It’s kind of parasitic, when you think about it.” Those in favor of strict Irisa Tam / Aggie crackdown on note-sharing claim that professors have rights to the intellectual property contained in student notes.
See NOTES, page 2
Big names come to UC Davis Entertainment Council works behind the scenes Entertainment Council is an ASUCD unit involved in bringing Snoop Dogg, Cake, DJ Tiesto and Drake to campus. “My personal approach and mission this year as the director of Entertainment Council has been to connect UC Davis students with quality entertainment,” said Henry Chatfield, director of Entertainment Council. The level of involvement EC actually has in the shows and concerts varies. The group works by contacting agents through emails and phone calls. Dates, venue and how much the artist will be paid also makes a large impact. “There are a number of factors that go into this but its pretty straight forward: talk to the student body,” Chatfield said. Entertainment Council checks an artist’s fan page, in order to check the number of likes or followers they have. If they have too many followers, it can be determined that booking them is out of their budget. If an artist is projected to do well at UC Davis, the Entertainment Council will work out a deal with the agent, based
Evan Davis / Aggie
Entertainment Council helped to put on the CAKE concert which took place in October. upon a set contract. “Last spring an ASUCD bill was passed to allow us to have a $100,000 reserve to put on large shows. Our proposal to have access to the reserve has to be
unanimously approved by the ASUCD President, Financial Controller, and Business and Finance Chair, which can be quite a process,” Chatfield said.
City council approves DACHA dissolution Controversial decision now passed to attorney general By SARA ISLAS Aggie News Writer
On Feb. 7, the Davis Area Cooperative Housing Association (DACHA) moved one step closer to dissolution and deeper into controversy when the Davis City Council approved DACHA’s application for dissolution in a 4-1 vote. Now the decision has been passed on to the attorney general, lengthening a process that began on April 5, 2011. DACHA was created in 2002 to provide affordable home ownership in Davis. It is one of Yolo County’s 30 cooperatives, or legal entities owned and democratically controlled by their members. DACHA is a limited-equity housing cooperative, meaning that shareholders must sell at a very low price when they move out. Members of the co-op must also meet a maximum income requirement to buy in, which is 120 percent of the Yolo County median income. The maximum income to buy a share for a four-person household is $72,550. DACHA was modeled after the Dos Pinos Housing Cooperative on Sycamore Lane, the only other limited-equity housing co-
Forecast You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey. Yada, yada, yada ... Happy Valentines Day! Raymond Chan, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team
Nathan Chan / Aggie
DACHA is composed of seven homes and one duplex unit in South Davis, six homes in West Davis and a home in East Davis. See DACHA, page 4 Wednesday
Thursday
Chance of rain
Mostly sunny
High 59 Low 37
High 59 Low 38
Most of the time, Entertainment Council does not provide funding for the full show. The level of involvement
See CONCERTS, page 2
SHAWCing Tips: Chocolate What is chocolate? Is it heaven’s gift during a rough week or is it just another reason to hit the gym? Well, Feb. 14 has finally arrived and whether you have been dreading this year’s Single Awareness Day or you’re hyped up for a day with your sweet valentine, you should know that you don’t need to stay away from chocolate. In fact, Katherine Booking, MS, RD and a dietician for the website “Appetite for My Health,” dispels several myths about chocolate. “MYTH 1: Chocolate is loaded with cholesterol-raising fat.” According to Booking, research has shown that the saturated fat in chocolate doesn’t raise cholesterol levels the same way that other types of saturated fats do because it contains stearic acid. “MYTH 2: Chocolate causes acne.” An extensive review in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Minkin W, et al., 1970) concluded that “diet plays no role in acne treatment in most patients… even large amounts of chocolate have not clinically exacerbated acne.” Research continues to show that cocoa has a beneficial impact on skin, such as “improved photo protection, dermal blood circulation, and skin hydration.” Don’t be afraid to indulge in a little bit of chocolate every once in a while. Just be sure to eat in moderation! The ASUCD Student Health and Wellness Committee (SHAWC) aims to promote and address important health-related issues on campus. We serve as a liaison between ASUCD and campus health organizations, clubs, and resources. If you have SHAWCing suggestions, questions or tips please e-mail us at shawcucd@ gmail.com and/or like our Facebook page!
Happy Singles Awareness Day! :)
Mimi Vo
page two
2 tuesday, february 14, 2012
daily calendar dailycal@theaggie.org
TODAY
get measured and have your photograph taken. It should only take five minutes.
H.E.L.P. Club Fundraiser 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Memorial Union tables Support the homeless by coming to the H.E.L.P. club’s bake sale. Proceeds will go toward maintaining community homeless shelters, which are especially important during these cold winter months.
La Raza Cultural Days Fundraiser 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Memorial Union tables Tired of the same old roses and chocolates? La Raza Cultural Days will be selling “You Color My World” heart-shaped crayons at the Quad. Bags with one big heart are $1. Bags with one big heart and two small hearts are $2.
Men’s Basketball vs. Pacific 7 p.m. ARC Pavilion Cheer on the Aggies as they take on Pacific for the second time this season.
WEDNESDAY Fashion and Design Society Model Casting Call Noon to 3 p.m. Cruess Hall Want to model the unique, creative designs of fashion design students at UC Davis in spring? Go to our casting calls to
Softball vs. Stanford 1:30 p.m. La Rue Softball Field See if the Aggies can beat the Cardinal.
H.E.L.P. Club Social 6 to 8:30 p.m. 146 Olson Learn about our community service programs and find out how to get involved in the community. Join the fun and enjoy a movie.
THURSDAY BME Distinguished Speaker Series: Robert Nerem, Ph.D. 4:10 p.m. Genome and Biomedical Sciences Facility Auditorium Robert Nerem, Ph. D., Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Nerem will present his talk, “Bioengineering: A Half Century of Progress But Still Only a Beginning.” To receive placement in the AGGIE DAILY CALENDAR, e-mail dailycal@theaggie. org or stop by 25 Lower Freeborn by noon the day prior to your event. Due to space constraints, all event descriptions are subject to editing, and priority will be given to events that are free of charge and geared toward the campus community.
police briefs FRIDAY
A woman at IHOP thought there was a bomb in her walker on Cowell Boulevard.
He was mugging A man was drinking coffee in a suspicious manner on Madrone Lane.
Good time for reflection An irate person attempted to throw a mirror at someone on Russell Boulevard.
Must be hard Several men were running while concealing something in their pants on East Eighth Street.
Explains a lot A man was shouting that God said everyone was dead on Cowell Boulevard.
SUNDAY Way too mainstream Several men in ski masks were entering an apartment on Portage Bay West. Police Briefs are compiled by TRACY HARRIS from the City of Davis daily crime bulletins. Contact TRACY HARRIS at city@theaggie.org.
SATURDAY Blew her stack
concerts
the student body. “One show is confirmed for Whole Earth Festival weekend where we’ve booked one artist and have a few others we are negotiating terms with. We’ll probably be announcing that show in about a month. We are also in the final stages of closing a deal with a pretty awesome hip hop act and if they accept our offer we would be presenting that show completely financially backed by Entertainment Council in mid May,” Chatfield said. Upcoming concerts that the Entertainment Council has contributed to include Drake on March 7, Steve Aoki on March 14, Bon Iver on April 17 and The Shins on April 23.
Cont. from front page in the show determines the financial stake Entertainment Council holds. “Our idea is not to make money, but to let the students get a low price. Essentially, the goal is to break even,” said Assistant Director Tim Chin. Currently, the Entertainment Council is working on announcing events on Facebook fan page and website. According to Chatfield, student suggestions are welcomed and Entertainment Council would like help student groups with publicity. With shows in the works, Entertainment Council looks forward to bringing DANIELLE HUDDLESTUN can be reached quality entertainment to at campus@theaggie.org.
The california Aggie
is in charge. Their use/ non-use of the safe-word is controlling the speed of the action. The dom should not push the sub beyond their boundaries or ignore the Sam safe-word. Wall After the safety talk, it’s time to select your bondage. The recommended type is a restraint cuff or collar, since they can be easily adjusted to fit any partner and will not tighten when pulled upon so there is no risk of circulation cut-off as there is with ties or pantyhose. appy UC Davis These types of restraints Generation Sex also have a loop that you Week, everyone! can run a rope through and In honor of this occasion, attach to the furniture. If today is a crash course you don’t have the money in BDSM (bondage & to spare for this type of discipline / dominance toy, there are some cheap & submission / sadism options that are still safe. & masochism). BDSM encompasses a wider range One that is accessible at a place such as UCD is vet of behaviors, lifestyles wrap. Just make sure you and subcultures than can have some fit into one safety column. So, Since some people enjoy scissors we will be focusing on pretending to struggle, the word nearby in case it two aspects: “stop” is not ideal needs to Basic come off bondage techniques and introducing in a hurry. “Wait,” I hear some of just the right amount of you saying. “What about pain into your pleasure. fuzzy handcuffs? Surely Before you begin, you those are the best kind of and your partner should bondage?” The answer is, discuss what aspects of well, not really. Handcuffs BDSM are appealing. Is are narrow, which puts it the feeling of giving a lot of pressure on the up control? A specific wrist, and they can tighten sensation that comes from and damage the nerves pulling against restraints and blood vessels in the or being hit? The answers hand. So, if you have other will help you determine options, it’s best to use exactly what you and them. your partner can do to Now, on to spanking. heighten the pleasure of Spanking is a good way the exchange, as well as to introduce a little bit what kinds of materials to of bite to your sex life, incorporate. For example, especially if you have no if it’s just the idea of being BDSM experience (biting spanked that appeals to itself can also be fun, but you, all your partner may need to do is hit you lightly that’s for another day). The typical target area of with something soft while spanking is well-padded, talking about how bad so there is less chance of you’ve been. But if what accidental damage. Just you’re after is the sting, then they are going to have remember to avoid the lower back area, as you can to be a bit more forceful. hit the kidneys, which is It’s also important to clarify any boundaries (e.g., bad. If you’re the spanker, it’s good to gently rub the if there are places that are target area to help warm not to be hit); make sure it up. Begin to spank, no memories of abuse will starting with light taps and be triggered (sometimes then building in intensity. you won’t know this until Pause every so often and you begin, so be prepared massage their skin, adding to stop immediately), and in a vibrator or lotion if pick a safe-word. A safeword is very important, as it you like. Whether you and your is a signal to the dominant partner choose to use (dom) partner that the subordinate (sub) needs the hands or bring a toy into the mix depends on what action to stop, or at least kind of sensation you’re needs a break. Since some people enjoy pretending to after. Toys generally create a more intense struggle, the word “stop” is not ideal. A good safe-word feeling than hands do. is easy to say and unrelated Paddles are a good choice for beginners because to the exchange so that it’s they are straightforward. not uttered accidentally. Just be sure to hit with A common choice is to the center of the paddle, use colors. Yellow for “ease as hitting with the edge is up” and red for “stop.” If the wrong kind of painful. the sub has been gagged, Now, go forth and the dom should give them something to hold that they have a happy, dirty, sexy can drop to call “stop” (keys Valentine’s Day. work well). The most important SAM WALL is so Method that she wrote thing to remember when this article while wearing restraints and a engaging in a BDSM-type blindfold. Ask her for details by contacting sewall@ucdavis.edu. exchange is this: The sub
Tie me up
H
charges on credit cards, mortgage payments, car loans, personal loans, etc. The amount of credit you have is easily calculated by what the cap is if you max Danny out all your credit cards. Brawer Next is simply how long you have had credit. So if you don’t have an account yet, you should open one even if you don’t plan to use it. That’s because the longer you have an account (and keep it in good standing) the better your credit gets, especially if you stick with hey say a man the same company. Length should always of credit history accounts dress for the for 15 percent of your score. job he wants, so why am I Having a mix of credit dressed up like a pirate in amounts to 10 percent this restaurant?” of your score. Variety Oh, the unsolved isn’t just the spice of mysteries of life. life; it’s also one key to a If you don’t know what good credit score. People I’m talking about, go who have credit cards, YouTube “Free credit pirate mortgage loans and car commercial” and then payments are perceived continue as less reading. risky then There are many common Whether someone it’s from our misconceptions about what with just parents or credit affects your score a certain cards. actor in Having a variety of outlandish a lot of diversification scenarios, we’re all told makes you appear better about the importance and more responsible with of having good credit, money. but the reasons why are The final 10 percent seldom clearly explained. comes from how active Of course, the warning you have been in looking to avoid selling chowder for new credit. Typically, and iced tea to tourists people who are searching works for some, but for for lots of loans are in everyone else, here are the a less secure financial reasons why you should situation than someone pay attention to your credit not looking for loans. score. This is especially true for Let’s begin at the people who are about to beginning. Your credit file for bankruptcy, as they score is a number from attempt last-minute efforts 300 (worst) to 850 (best). to prevent filing. You won’t receive a credit So why does your score score until after six months matter? Well, whether of using credit, such as you know it or not, your having a credit card, when credit score is directly a computer algorithm will related to the interest rate determine your starting you receive when you try score based off five factors. to get a loan, insurance There are many common or new credit card. The misconceptions about higher your credit score, what affects your score. the better (read: safer) Age, marital status, race, you look to lenders, and employment, income, the better rate you will education and whether you receive. Anything over have been turned down for 700 is considered good, a loan do NOT affect your while below 580 needs to score. be improved. Bad credit The first and most won’t just get you a bad important factor is paying rate; it might prevent you your bills, with an emphasis from getting a loan at all, placed on most recent or a high-limit credit card. ones. This accounts for Now if you’re a college 35 percent of your score. student you may think Unlike that time your friend none of this relates to you lent you $10 when you yet, right? Wrong. If you found yourself at Burgers ever bought a cell phone, & Brew without cash at applied for a serious job, two in the morning with needed to set up PG&E, a jalapeño burger calling rented an apartment or your name, the time in even got braces, it’s a pretty which you pay back is good bet that your credit important. Obviously, the score was checked. best case is to pay your The most important bills on time. Slightly worse thing to know is that credit is paying them late. Not scores can easily contain paying is bad, but filing mistakes. If you’re one of for bankruptcy is infinitely those people who doesn’t worse and, as far as your bother to check your credit credit score goes, should be reports, you should listen to avoided if at all possible. that iced tea-serving pirate Second in importance is and go to freecreditreport. how much money you owe com and start now. versus how much credit you have, known in “the If you’d like DANNY BRAWER to help you biz” as your debt-to-credit with checking your credit score, let him know ratio. Money owed includes at dabrawer@ucdavis.edu.
Why credit matters
“T
Ask EPPC
Doin’ It Green: Literally, doin’ it.
accuracy The California Aggie strives to ensure that all of its facts and details are accurate. Please bring any corrections to our attention by calling (530) 752-0208.
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The California Aggie is entered as first-class mail with the United States Post Office, Davis, Calif., 95616. Printed Monday through Thursday during the academic year and once a week during Summer Session II at The Davis Enterprise, Davis, Calif., 95616. Accounting services are provided by ASUCD. The Aggie is distributed free on the UC Davis campus and in the Davis community. Mail subscriptions are $100 per academic year, $35 per quarter and $25 for the summer. Views or opinions expressed in The Aggie by editors or columnists regarding legislation or candidates for political office or other matters are those of the editors or columnist alone. They are not those of the University of California or any department of UC. Advertisements appearing in The Aggie reflect the views of advertisers only; they are not an expression of editorial opinion by The Aggie. The Aggie shall not be liable for any error in published advertising unless an advertising proof is clearly marked for corrections by the advertiser. If the error is not corrected by The Aggie, its liability, if any, shall not exceed the value of the space occupied by the error. Further, The Aggie shall not be liable for any omission of an advertisement ordered published. All claims for adjustment must be made within 30 days of the date of publication. In no case shall The Aggie be liable for any general, special or consequential damages. © 2009 by The California Aggie. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form whatsoever is forbidden without the expressed written permission of the copyright owner.
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Editor’s Note: The Environmental Policy and Planning Commission (EPPC) is an ASUCD commission responsible for researching environmental issues affecting the campus and its surrounding area, and providing recommendations for improvement. Doin’ It Green is a new feature that provides tips and ideas for being green. In terms of low-impact Valentine’s Day activities, EPPC endorses “getting it on” as an eco-friendly way to show your love (dimmed lights and increased body heat will surely lower your winter electricity bill!). However, since population growth is pretty resource-intensive, EPPC suggests using birth control to prevent
NOTEs Cont. from front page “Professors especially should be concerned, as it is their intellectual property — their lectures — that is being sold on the open market without their consent,” Klein said. “The concerns of the UC and its researchers are that the quality of notes taken by an anonymous individual, who may or may not be a student, is outside the knowledge or control of the instructor, and are likely not to be an accurate reflection of the instructor,” Carmikle said.
unwanted, garbage-generating, carbon-emitting humans. As an eco-warrior yourself, you might ask, “Which contraceptive is least harmful to the environment?” The simple answer is: ANY. Doing your part to keep the population down certainly receives my green stamp of approval. However, there are several popular contraceptive options on the market, each with its own environmental consequences. The ubiquitous condom, while appearing to be a plastic nightmare, is overall a pretty decent environmental investment. Latex, the most popular condom material, can come in a biodegradable form (don’t worry, it won’t biodegrade while you’re doin’ the dirty). Polyurethane doesn’t break down at all, so unless you’re allergic to latex, avoid it. Either way, condoms should be disposed in
Carmikle believes poorquality notes aren’t educationally conducive, but moreover that these notes can misrepresent the research and ideas an instructor tries to convey. “The instructor’s research program can be harmed, sometimes irrevocably,” she said. “This can cause instructors to hold back on what they would previously share.” Critics of the policies say limiting student note-sharing can be considered a transgression against students’ right to free speech. “These policies are unconstitutional and are never enforced. There is no intellectual property in stu-
the garbage can, not down the toilet; flushed condoms are more likely to find their way into waterways. The birth control pill, while providing 99 percent effectiveness with perfect use, does so by the use of ingestible hormones (typically estrogen and progestin). These hormones, after presumably keeping you baby-free, pass through your system (via urine) and into rivers and streams. Synthetic estrogen (compounding with the estrogen that women naturally emit) has the freaky effect of turning boy fish into girl fish, which is a pretty severe environmental problem. Ultimately, birth control choice is very personal, and you should choose a method that’s comfortable for you (abstinence can be green, unless your failure to get laid is a result of driving a Hummer H2).
dent notes unless they are transcribed word for word,” Schultz said. “The first amendment protects both the students and the websites. Offenses have never been brought to trial. If they are, the campuses will waste a lot of money fighting an uphill battle only to lose.” As for the potential harm done to research projects, Schultz believes professors should not be sharing confidential research with students in the first place. “If the research is confidential, sharing it with students is a violation of ethics. Unless the students have signed nondisclosure agreements, they are sharing it at
their own risk,” Schultz said. Even though students no longer have access to notes through note-sharing websites, there are other ways to share notes online, such as Google Docs. “My view is students are going to share notes either way; why force them to hide behind Google Documents?” said Schultz. “Part of what’s great about education is that when we learn something, we want to share it. That’s the dream of education, and we should be promoting that, not suppressing it.” EINAT GILBOA can be reached city@theaggie. org.
OPINION
The california aggie
tuesday, february 14, 2012 3
editorials
MU fire
Don’t cry wolf Last Tuesday, there was a small fire in a custodial closet in the Memorial Union (MU) sparked by the lighting system. The fire alarms went off, firetrucks came and people eventually evacuated the Bookstore, the ASUCD Coffee House and Freeborn Hall. This was at least the fourth time the fire alarms have gone off in the past two quarters and thus not everyone felt the need to evacuate the building. While the fire in the custodial closet was small and no one was injured, if a larger fire had taken place, people who did not evacuate immediately could have been hurt. In the past when fire alarms went off in the MU, many students assumed that it was merely a false alarm and continued shopping at the Bookstore and eating at the CoHo. On Tuesday,
most people left only after firefighters asked students to evacuate. Firefighters had to call the front office of The Aggie and KDVS to make sure that people had evacuated Lower Freeborn, more than 15 minutes after the alarm began. While one would hope that everyone would evacuate in response to a fire alarm, it seems students have become immune to the painful scream of the emergency alert system. The school should have a notification system for when it is working on fire alarms or a fire alarm goes off by accident, so that students know when it is a false alarm. Thankfully, the fire in the MU only harmed a few rolls of toilet paper this time. But UC Davis should be more prepared for the next time something in the MU is actually on fire.
memes
How original In what is unquestionably the most profound art movement to grace our generation, UC Davis memes have been flooding the Facebook walls (and hearts) of every college student since their fateful incarnation earlier last week. A true miracle of the internet, these memes bring a personal twist on Facebook to the jokes we’ve already learned to find annoying and boring on 4Chan.org and Reddit.com. As “meme” implies, these Microsoft Paint-produced masterpieces are original and clever. We, The Editorial Board, see no better way for our campus to recover from the PR disaster that was Nov. 18 than to oversimplify all of the silly things that make attending this university worth over $16,000 a year. No one can forget a post from this weekend in which Sheltered College Freshman asks, “What are we going to pack for Picnic Day?” Everyone knows we don’t “pack” anything for Picnic Day! Unless by pack she means “get drunk.” Or Saturday night’s “Senior at Davis/Takes a tractor-driving
class,” which, by the way, is a great idea. The guy from Lord of The Rings may be the most political of all, reminding every Davis student that “One does not simply/Use Aggie Cash at the CoHo.” Why is this? Why don’t Aggie Cash purchases come with warning labels? These are serious questions. Let us go meta for a moment. We, The California Aggie, look forward to the day when some stoned sophomore improves our sullen lives with a quip about us as a publication. After all, there is plenty to make fun of. Do you see this editorial? Does it seem like we take ourselves too seriously? While the untrained eye may see these silly little pictures as innocuous, true academics (of which The California Aggie Editorial Board is composed) will see that these memes are bringing the political and social change our generation has so desperately been seeking. Irony and a condescending tone are the ways of the future! Change is near! Viva la revolución.
courtesy newsday.com
Guest Opinion
Leading Republican candidates are as bad as they seem By NEIL RUUD
Senior political science major
The scrutiny brought on by the arduous campaign process has exposed the flaws of the top contenders for the Republican ticket this coming November, and with good reason; a president needs to express discretion and execute policies that benefit the U.S. The candidates are disappointing but not as disappointing as their supporters who cheer uninsured deaths, boo gay soldiers and defend racist comments. The candidates aren’t just far from perfect; their values and policies exacerbate the economic and cultural divide that exists today. Newt Gingrich is an adulterous fool with sensationalist sound bytes for a country that needs a more serious candidate. Starting a colony on the moon during your second term is a grandiose idea, but it’s probably not enough to win over an electorate that speaks “the language of the ghetto.” (Yeah, he actually said that about Spanish.) Not only have Newt Gingrich’s remarks toward the Hispanic community been arrogantly ignorant, but so have his suggestions that children work as janitorial staff or about Americans who can’t marry respect the sanctity of marriage just like he has. While Ron Paul may have some insightful, albeit draconian, suggestions for U.S. foreign policy, his domestic stance is as woefully disconnected as Mitt Romney’s. Paul’s blind support of states rights could have grave implications for women’s right to choose, and his history of fraternization with white supremacist groups is nothing short of troubling. He appears on
Editorial Board Jason Alpert Editor in Chief Becky Peterson Managing Editor Melissa Freeman Opinion Editor
Hannah Strumwasser Campus Editor Angela Swartz City Editor Erin Migdol Features Editor
Uyen Cao Arts Editor Trevor Cramer Sports Editor
Amy Stewart Science Editor Jasna Hodzic Photography Editor
Sam Hoel
Editorials represent the collective opinions of The California Aggie editorial board. The Opinion page appears Tuesdays and Thursdays.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
GUEST OPINIONS
The California Aggie welcomes letters from its readers. Letters must be typed and no longer than 200 words. As The Aggie attempts to represent a diversity of viewpoints on its letters page, we reserve the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Publication is not guaranteed, and letters become the property of The California Aggie. All correspondence must be signed with the author’s name and telephone number. Unsigned letters will not be considered for publication, although names may be withheld upon request.
The California Aggie welcomes guest opinions from its readers. Guest opinions must be typed with an approximate word count of 600 to 800, or character count around 3,000 to 4,000. The same standards of letters to the editor apply to guest opinions. Guest opinions may reflect a variety of viewpoints. Any member of the campus community is eligible and encouraged to highlight issues regarding UC Davis, regional or national issues. Address letters or guest opinions to the Opinion Editor, The California Aggie, 25 Lower Freeborn, UC Davis, CA 95616. Letters may also be faxed to (530) 752-0355 or sent via e-mail to opinion@theaggie.org.
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Liberalism isn’t fair
F
airness is a stylish word in politics this year. The President has set the tone, calling for an economy where everyone gets a “fair shot,” pays a “fair share” and is regulated to ensure “fair play.” Indeed, the Obama campaign is building a narrative that depends on one essential tenet: If you aren’t a liberal Democrat, your vision for America is a deeply unfair one. For the most part, Republicans have ceded this territory to Democrats. The word “fairness” is usually invoked in conjunction with ominous references to “millionaires and billionaires” or “income inequality.” But a closer examination indicates that fairness is a principle routinely trampled by the liberals who invoke it most. If there is one message that conservative Republicans should emphasize to voters this year, it is that true fairness is the province of the right. To understand this, you have to understand the conservative philosophy of equality. At the
the surface to lack hypocrisies, but upon closer examination of his constitutional interpretations regarding the powers granted to states, many of the social liberals that support him would be concerned. Rick Santorum is consistently homophobic and backwardthinking. His disgraceful attacks on the LGBTQ community should be enough to show that this man lacks the compassion to be a community leader, let alone president. Giving Rick Santorum the benefit of the doubt is akin to his suggestion that rape victims “make the best of a bad situation” and “accept what God has given [them].” Rick Santorum may mean well, but his bigotry is unfitting of a president. Mitt Romney may be a flipflopper, but the most distressing thing about his proposed agenda is that it preserves the status quo — the exact policies that lead to our current economic predicament. It doesn’t take a degree in economics to realize that a consumer-driven economy cannot survive with supply-side economics. Rising education costs, foreclosures and layoffs are all that has trickled down since Reagan’s presidency. We cannot afford to elect a candidate that is “not concerned about the very poor” when the median income in the United States has decreased 1.35 percent since 1997 while the 95th percentile’s income has increased by 5.48 percent. Income inequality is not just a demographic issue; without disposable income in the lower income brackets, demand implodes, making income inequality detrimental to the societal health of the U.S. Romney’s economic future is one in which the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Inequality is an inherent part of our current socioeconomic reality, but we are all supposed to share in the benefits and the sacrifices. Instead, the entirety of the economic hardship of the last 15 years has been endured by the lower classes while the rich have enjoyed relatively vast wealth expansion. Corrupt beltway legislators obstructed President Obama’s efforts to reverse supply-side economics and increase demand. Instead, Romney’s congressional ideologues continue to support policies that funnel tax dollars into the coffers of the one percent. Not that Obama’s efforts were all effective, but many of his failures on the Hill and around the country can be attributed to poor cabinet and staff appointments. There is one Republican candidate that doesn’t keep me up at night. While I don’t care much for the Republican narrative, he doesn’t scare me as much as the rest, and a couple of his issues speak to me. Buddy Roemer, the former governor of Louisiana, is refusing to take donations larger than $100 and is using his campaign as a soap box for much-needed campaign finance reform. More and more, electability depends on wealth and sensationalism. The Obama campaign is expected to spend over $1 billion this election season, and that does not take into account his campaign’s recent backpedal on 501(c)4 “super PAC” non-profits. Buddy Roemer has made the rounds on TV spreading his message and has found some resonance on shows like the Colbert Report. I know that whomever I vote for this election season, they won’t be supported by Wall Street.
proposing tax raises that would heart of conservatism is the belief distort the balance even more. As that equal opportunity is more noted conservative Arthur Brooks important than equal outcomes. observed, “If you think spreading In an equal-opportunity world, money around by force seems good outcomes are produced by like an odd definition of fairness, determination, hard work and a little luck. In contrast, a world that you’re not alone.” And then there’s debt. At $15.3 values equal outcomes will ensure trillion, the national debt now that everyone has equal wealth, regardless of whether they worked exceeds the total GDP of the American economy. And the hard for it. debt is growing. The government This unfairness shows itself is taking in prominently in approximately $1 the debate about That means that our generation trillion less than tax policy. Among it is spending liberal politicians, will pay to sustain a broken every year. One “fair share” system a little longer ... would think that has become in fairness to the a common younger generations, the President euphemism for “higher taxes.” would at least have a plan to stop Conveniently, the President and the bleeding. Aside from platitudes his comrades on the left neglect about mutual contribution and to define what exactly a “fair shared burdens, Mr. Obama has share” is, but we are assured that offered little. His plan to raise taxes the “wealthy” aren’t paying it. There’s only one problem with this on the wealthy would, by the most charitable estimates, raise over assertion — it’s not true. $1.6 trillion in new tax revenue by According to the IRS, the top 1 percent of income earners paid 38 2020. By that time we’ll be another percent of all federal income taxes $9 trillion in debt — if we maintain current spending levels, which while earning only 20 percent of Democrats are loath to do. all income. The top 10 percent It seems that liberals are so paid 70 percent of all taxes while committed to fiscal profligacy earning only 45 percent of all income. In contrast, the bottom 50 that they refuse to even consider reform. But the welfare state percent of income earners earned as currently constituted is 13 percent of all income but paid unsustainable. That means that less than 3 percent of federal our generation will pay to sustain income taxes. In the supposedly “unfair” status a broken system a little longer, but will never see the benefits of that quo described by Obama, the system. Fair? Hardly. wealthy pay a disproportionately And the list goes on. Is it fair large percentage of the tax that liberals support amnesty for burden, while the less-wealthy illegal immigrants, punishing pay a disproportionately small percentage. These numbers See HOEL, page 4 apparently don’t deter the left from
4 tuesday, february 14, 2012
The california Aggie
dacha Cont. from front page -operative in Yolo County. There are about 20 homes in the cooperative. The controversy, known to some as the “DACHA mess,” began when DACHA decided to seek dissolution. They did this after Neighborhood Partners LLC, the developer that created DACHA, emptied the co-op’s remaining assets after winning a lawsuit against them for illegally terminating their contract. Now, the Twin Pines Cooperative fund, nationally esteemed for its leadership and development of 32 cooperatives since 1964, has filed a complaint against DACHA’s application to dissolve and the city’s approval of it. David Thompson, president of the Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation and Neighborhood Partners, said that the city council should never have been able to make the decision for DACHA to dissolve because the unsettled lawsuits biased the city’s judgment and resulted in a conflict of interest. The city council can only make a recommendation to the Attorney General’s Office on whether dissolution is appropriate.
Thompson, who helped fund DACHA at its start, told the city council at its Feb. 7 meeting that “DACHA has become a landmark case of the largest looting of a limited-equity cooperative in the nation and [its] neglect of its corporate responsibilities as a public benefit corporation, the breaking of articles and bylaws and state laws, make DACHA the poster child of a board gone bad.” Thompson also told the council that DACHA violated California state law in 2005 when its members asked to own their homes. Thompson’s urge for the council to reject DACHA’s application for dissolution was accompanied by about 20 other Davis residents and friends and family of Thompson. “Not only does DACHA need to pay Twin Pines the money it owes from start-up funding,” Thompson said, “but it also needs to stop trying to make a profit off of a non-profit cooperative by dissolution.” During public comment, Elaine Roberts Musser, DACHA’s attorney, told the city council that its job was not to put DACHA on trial, but to process the dissolution application. “There is absolutely no legal basis upon which the city could refuse to make a finding that DACHA has not met all the re-
quirements of California Civil Code 8172,” Roberts Musser said. “DACHA has done everything that is legally required and then some. “DACHA may not even be subject to (the civil code’s) provisions; it is very likely that DACHA can dissolve of its own accord without the city’s permission.… What is important now is for the city to do what it is legally required to do.” Other speakers began a discourse about another lawsuit against the city for the misuse of public funds. “Three quarters of a million dollars of public money has been squandered on legal fees attempting to defend an untenable position,” Davis resident Brian Johnson told the council. The situation is left unresolved, with an indeterminate timeline of the attorney general and two strong opposing forces: Twin Pines, other cooperatives, and some residents who believe that DACHA should be denied dissolution and pay back the money it owes to Twin Pines and the side of the DACHA leadership, occupants, the city council majority and other residents who feel that dissolution is permissible and the first step to overcoming and moving on. SARA ISLAS can be reached at city@theaggie.org.
hoel Cont. from page 3 legal immigrants who waited patiently in line? Is it fair for liberals to support minimum-wage laws that keep young workers unemployed? Is it fair for liberals to suppress students’ freedom to choose between schools while trumpeting a mother’s freedom to choose to kill her defenseless unborn child? And can it be fair for liberals to prioritize criminals over their victims by shackling law enforcement and politicizing the legal system? For the left, fairness is a slogan, not a conviction. In contrast, conservatism’s core values of equal opportunity, meritocracy and justice are natural progenitors of fairness. In a conservative world, people keep more of their hard-earned money and national solvency is an obligation to future generations. Life itself is sometimes unfair, and so conservatives support private charities which can help the needy without creating the scourge of lifelong dependency. Perhaps it is whimsical to expect Americans to accept the narrative of fairness on the right rather than the left. But behind the facade of liberal fairness lurks a fundamentally unfair philosophy that prioritizes politics over people. It’s up to conservatives to expose it. SAM HOEL is a student at the UC Davis School of Law and can be reached at swhoel@ ucdavis.edu.
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tuesday, february 14, 2012 5
The california aggie
Happy ending to long weekend UC Davis wins finale of five-game tournament
Brian Nguyen / Aggie
Freshman Justine Vela pitched 18 innings in her Aggie debut this weekend. She struck out ten batters and allowed seven earned runs in four appearances.
By RUSSELL EISENMAN Aggie Sports Writer
The UC Davis softball team capped the Aggie Stampede with a 2-0 victory over Nevada, the lone win in the weekend tournament. The Aggies squeezed in two and a half games on Sunday, finishing a halted game from the previous day. UC Davis opens the season 1-4 after the first weekend of action. Friday — Loyola Marymount University 5, UC Davis 3 The softball team had its home opener spoiled thanks to a fiverun third inning for Loyola Marymount, who hung on for the win. Rachel Miller put the Aggies back in the game with a tworun home run in the fourth, but couldn’t muster up any offense after that. UC Davis scored the
first run of the game in the bottom of the second, scoring on an RBI double by Chandler Wagner. “I think we need to sharpen up a few things defensively but hopefully we got the jitters out of the way,” said head coach Karen Yoder. “We need to do a better job at taking advantage of runners in scoring position and fixing those defensive miscues.” Jessica Thweatt started for the UC Davis and threw 2 1/3 innings. She escaped some trouble in the top of the second after the Aggies committed two errors. Justine Vela made her UC Davis debut, shutting out the Lions on one hit in 4 1/3 innings of relief. Saturday — Loyola Marymount 5, UC Davis 1; Nevada 6, UC Davis 3 (finished Sunday) UC Davis jumped out to an early one-run lead in the bot-
tom of the third inning, but Loyola Marymount used a fourrun sixth inning to break free. Danielle Smith was 3 for 3 and Sam Fischer had a three-run homer to help the Lions win for the second time in as many days against the Aggies. Wagner picked up the lone RBI, knocking in Megan Guzman after she doubled. Vela earned her first collegiate start and was practically flawless through five innings, allowing only two hits. After reaching a 3-1 advantage Saturday evening over Nevada, the game was halted due to darkness and resumed play early Sunday morning. The Aggies couldn’t carry over the momentum, as the Wolf Pack battled back for a 6-3 victory. Another big inning was UC Davis’ undoing, as a four-run sixth put Nevada in front. The Aggies rallied in the bot-
tom half of the inning, loading the bases with just one out, but couldn’t get that clutch hit and Nevada escaped unscathed. Sunday — Boise State 3, UC Davis 0; UC Davis 2, Nevada 0 UC Davis managed just three hits in its first shutout loss of the season. The Aggies seemed a bit sluggish after their early morning game. The Broncos posted two runs on three hits in the fourth inning to break open the scoring. UC Davis struggled to get anything going at the plate, putting just one runner in scoring position and stranding four runners on base for the game. Vela had a tough-luck loss in a complete game for the Aggies. In the final game of the Aggie Stampede, UC Davis manufactured two early runs that proved to be the difference in the win
over Nevada. After blowing the lead in the early game, Thweatt led the Aggies in their rematch with the Wolf Pack. “I’m proud of the girls and how they battled,” said Yoder. “We were in every game this weekend and we learned a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of our team.” Thweatt was solid through five, but Nevada loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth inning. Vela came in and struck out the last batter of the inning and retired the Wolf Pack in order in the seventh. Kelly Shulze posted two hits with an RBI and scored on Kylie Fan’s RBI. UC Davis will stay home this week, hosting Stanford on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. RUSSELL EISENMAN can be reached at sports@ theaggie.org.
6 tuesday, february 14, 2012
The california Aggie
UC Davis students take part in Red Dress Project Project used to bring awareness to heart disease in women By ALICIA KINDRED Aggie News Writer
Eight UC Davis students unveiled their red dresses for the department of design’s third annual Red Dress Project — a nationwide project for awareness of heart disease — on Feb. 3. The red dresses, which were featured in the invitation-only Women’s Heart Care Education and Awareness Forum for Community Leaders, were showcased in Sacramento. The UC Davis Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine Program presented the red dress forum. “We want to make the younger generation aware of the risk [of heart disease],” said Adele Zhang, design department lecturer who mentors for the project. “It is a great visual message to campaign for this.” Zhang brought the project to UC Davis three years ago. Students who are involved with the project design the dress in two ways. They must design with the technical skills, while also sending a positive message behind a physical object. Each student designer receives a certificate from the Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine Program for participating in the project, Zhang said.
There is no theme to the project. Each designer is encouraged to use their feelings and research in order to create their own theme, Zhang said. The student designers used inspiration such as physical and emotional heartbreak to convey their message through the red dress. “My dad had a heart attack last year; it was so shocking, and I was emotional about it because I am very close to him,” said Minn Chau, a junior design major. “I thought about portraying the physical pain of a heart attack and the emotional pain for the family in my dress.” Many designers used techniques such as piping in order to convey the appearance of veins, as Chau did in her dress. “My inspiration was butterflies; they are similar to a heart,” said Charlotte Pong, a senior design major. “They are strong since they can fly long distances, but they are also very frail at the same time. There are over 50 butterflies on my dress, each signed by someone who knows or who supports funding for heart disease awareness.” Pong said that she plans on adding butterflies to the tail of her dress until it is no longer in her possession. Designer Yuan Yuan Song, a senior design major, used Lady Gaga as
inspiration for her dress, which is a heart-shaped dress that gives the illusion of pumping when the model walks. “My dress inspiration comes from pre-colonial Indian architecture,” said Faizan Dar, a senior design major. “The red dress emphasizes the color of the bricks and is in the shape of a dome. Red is considered a positive color where I’m from, whereas here, it can have negative connotations.” Designer Faye Lessler, a junior design major, was inspired by the physical idea of a heart literally breaking and the emotional heartbreak of the family. All designers said they would participate in the project again. There are still discussions of how to extend the positive message of the Red Dress Project to a broader community. One idea is to have a free fashion show at Picnic Day, which happened last year, Zhang said. Three of the dresses from last year’s Red Dress Project were donated and are on display in the Mondavi Center until March 16. Heart disease is currently the number one killer of women in the United States. ALICIA KINDRED can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
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UC Davis students designed dresses to bring awareness to heart health. The dresses are now on display at the Mondavi Center.
Disney Channel star trades acting for books Lindsey Black finds new home at UC Davis
Lindsey Black
courtesy
By ERIN MIGDOL Aggie Features Editor
Sophomore history and classics double major Lindsey Black, like most college students, has a back-up plan. If earning a Ph.D., traveling to Europe to study and possibly becoming a professor doesn’t work out, Black may end up working as an actress in Hollywood. If that seems a little bit backward to you, you’re probably not alone. But it’s the truth for Black, who transferred to UC Davis this past fall after spending her
high school years starring in the Disney Channel television show “As the Bell Rings” and in the soon-to-be-released feature film 16-Love. Now, though, completing her degrees and living the most “normal” life she’s had since being discovered at a Disney casting call in Dallas is Black’s number one priority. “Here [in Davis] it’s like, ‘Oh, its neat that you act, that’s cool that you did that,’ but back in L.A. when I’m talking about school people are like, ‘It’s good to have a fall back plan,’” Black said. “So it’s different perspectives, and not that one’s right or wrong, but I think school has definitely become my focus.” After spending years participating in local theater and acting classes in her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, the then14-year-old Black begged her parents to take her to a casting call with Disney representatives. She eventually beat out thousands of other girls for a part on “As the Bell Rings”, a series of five-minutelong episodes about a group of high school friends. “It was one of those crazy out of the blue amazing experiences. I had worked hard and I knew how to take a script and be prepared to perform it quickly, but as far as booking a job like that, no, it was completely random,” Black said. With her mom in tow, Black moved to Los Angeles, hired an agent and manager, and began working on “As the Bell Rings” playing Lexi, the new girl in school. In between learning her lines, getting her hair, makeup and costume ready, and filming scenes with the other cast members, Black worked with an on-set tutor to keep up with schoolwork. Black’s best friend, Belmont University
English literature major Lindy Law, said she always knew Black was a talented actress and wasn’t surprised when she landed the role. “The first time I saw her [on “As the Bell Rings”] the TV was on at a friend’s house, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s my friend!’” Law said. “I was just proud of her.” The series ended in 2009, and at 16 years old, Black finished her high school requirements. Not satisfied with only a high school diploma, she enrolled at Santa Monica City College while simultaneously going to auditions. Black estimates that she went on about 160 auditions, booking commercials for products such as tampons. The process, she said, was a huge lesson in confidence. “Your parents always tell you, ‘You’re so unique, you’re such an individual, we love you,’ and if you make it into a callback for a bigger film or show, suddenly everyone looks like you and talks like you and you feel like you’re surrounded by 20 of your sisters. It’s very bizarre,” Black said. “You just realize there’s so many different factors, and you have to do as well as you can and feel good about that instead of if you booked this role or that role.” In 2010, Black did book a role, playing the main character’s best friend in the high school comedy 16-Love. The film was recently picked up by Warner Brothers and will begin showing in select theaters and online next month. The film was shot in locations around San Diego, so Black lived in various hotels throughout the three-month shoot, finishing schoolwork between scenes. “With a series you slip into this routine of knowing what to expect. With
the film, the hours aren’t consistent the entire time. Or maybe the director will have this crazy burst of, ‘Let’s shoot through the night!’ So things are a lot more unpredictable,” Black said. Ben Wiggins, an assistant director for 16-Love, was impressed with Black’s work ethic and professionalism. “As an assistant director, you don’t interact closely with the talent,” Wiggins said. “But in Lindsey’s case, we had several deep conversations. She’s several years younger than me, but she can hold her own in many situations. She’s very precocious.” After filming wrapped this past fall, Black moved into the Cuarto dorms, where she enjoys the “normal” life she missed out on after moving to Los Angeles. She currently works as a research assistant for a professor writing for National Public Radio, dabbles in singing and songwriting and only occasionally gets asked for an autograph. “I get to be a 19-year-old, as opposed to someone who’s in a 19-year-old body but one, treated like a product — my business card is a picture of my face — and two, constantly being around people who are not your age, and looking at what they can gain from casting you,” Black said. “No one’s looking at how I look when I walk into class, it’s what I contribute with my papers and discussions. It’s such a wonderful breather to be in Davis.” Black will be holding a discussion with students in the Department of Theater and Dance Performance Lab A on Friday from 4 to 5 p.m. ERIN MIGDOL can be reached at features@theaggie.org.
Statistics professor finds second love rescuing huskies Christiana Drake volunteers, leads seminar on dog rescuing By DOMINICK COSTABILE
Aggie Features Writer
When UC Davis statistics professor Christiana Drake saw a news segment about a woman in Woodland who was left with 12 huskies after her husband died, she put her whole heart into the situation and got involved. That was 10 years ago, when the Northern California Sled Dog Rescue (NorSled), a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding homes for Nordic breed dogs such as Alaskan Malamutes and Siberian huskies, went to a TV station to alert the public. From then on, Drake has been highly involved with the dog adoption process as a volunteer for NorSled and as the founder of a freshman seminar called “Why Do People Relinquish Their Dogs?” NorSled, founded in 1998, is an offshoot of the Siberian Husky Rescue and Referral of California SHRRCA. While NorSled’s events are in Northern California, they provide a refuge for Nordic
breeds throughout the state, covering an area equivalent to the size of New England. A large responsibility comes from the action of volunteers because there is no central facility; all members work from their homes. Jane Cordingley, president of NorSled, explained that most of the compassionate, hard work comes from volunteers like Drake, as they foster the dogs, get them the medical care and training they need, take them to adoption fairs, learn their temperaments, meet with adopters and do home visits to help the dogs adjust. “After the news broadcast we had hundreds of phone calls and e-mails of wonderful people offering to help. Professor Drake contacted us and offered to help take each of the dogs to the Woodland Veterinary Hospital,” says Cathy Sparks, one of the founding members of NorSled. “She worked tirelessly every day transporting dogs to and from the vet for spaying and neutering.” Four years ago, Drake decided to combine her
experience with NorSled with her experience as a professor by starting a freshman seminar on campus, which addresses some of the concerns she has faced when dealing with the rescue of Nordic breeds. “The purpose is to increase an awareness of the plight of homeless animals and, at the same time, to teach students about how to use scientific methods in defining and exploring any subject, as well as proposing possible solutions,” Drake said. In the seminar, Drake explains the uses of science in addressing the concerns regarding the treatment of homeless dogs. Epidemiology is not only an interest for many of the students that attend the seminars; it is also a study which can be applied to the use of euthanasia on homeless animals. The seminar is intended to be a tool for students to utilize the scientific method in researching and analyzing the ways in which homeless, non-adopted animals are treated. The use of euthanasia is a mutual concern of
Drake and NorSled. Drake represents one of the many volunteers of Norsled who invest their time, energy and money into making euthanasia either a last resort or an impossibility. “Should we turn down a good dog and let it be euthanized?” Cordingley said. “No. We try to save those dogs as much as possible and will pay for kenneling until a foster home opens up. There are some great kennels who have worked with us — and while they give us a discount, they cannot do this for free. We spend thousands on kenneling a year.” Within the last two years NorSled has spent an average of $60,000 a year to rescue dogs with medical needs, such as torn ACLs, broken legs and heartworms. The shelter helps these dogs until they find homes. “We have had dogs in rescue for three years looking for homes,” Cordingley said. NorSled values the adoption process, making sure that all of the dogs are being transported to what
Statistics professor Christiana Drake with her huskies.
Sparks calls a “foreverhome.” Once Drake heard from NorSled about the 12 huskies on the verge of being homeless, she volunteered and contributed to helping with the process and even adopted two of the 12. “Professor Drake has helped NorSled save numerous dogs since helping with the ‘Woodland 12,’” Sparks said. “Two of
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the 12 ended up coming back into rescue, and Eddie and Star now spend a glorious life with Professor Drake. The volunteers make NorSled what it is — an incredible dog-rescue organization.” To get involved with NorSled, visit norsled.org. DOMINICK COSTABILE can be reached at features@theaggie.org.