March 14, 2012

serving the uc davis campus and community since 1915

www.theaggie.org

volume 131, number 37

wednesday, march 14, 2012

Picnic in the Park resumes next week

Proposed $10 student organization room fee suspended

This year marks 20th anniversary of seasonal event

League of Campus Organizations unite to preserve club rights

By MUNA SADEK Aggie News Writer

UC Davis Conference and Event Services (CES) rescinded a proposed room reservation fee March 6 that that would have taken effect beginning Spring quarter.

The fee would have charged $10 to any club organization or party that planned on holding meetings on campus. The arrangement is currently free to students.

To demonstrate dissatisfaction with the proposal, junior managerial economics major, Miles Thomas, founded the League of Campus Organizations (LOCO) this year.

According to Thomas, the purpose of LOCO is to provide a forum for all clubs to interact with each other and unite under common causes. “[LOCO] provides opportunities to work together for the greater good on campus,” he said.

Assistant Vice Chancellor of Campus Planning, Bob Segar, issued a statement that explained that CES faced a $497,000 budget reduction last year due to a decrease in state funding. Reducing staff, implementing efficiency measures and raising certain fees closed the gap. The proposed room reservation fee was expected to garner about $28,000 to assist with the reduction.

“Having been made aware of the effect that this fee will have on study groups led by TAs and events hosted by student organizations, we will suspend the fee while a representative group of students is convened to consider this matter,” Segar said.

A vice president to LOCO, Trevor Adams, sophomore computer science major, said departmental clubs would not have been affected by the fee but it still raised large concerns because of the large amount of students who are in non-departmental clubs.

“So much of the college experience is based in clubs,” he said.

Service clubs particularly would have been affected as

well.

Emily Tobey, who represented the UC Davis chapter of Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) and is a vice president to LOCO, believes clubs’ presence on campus is of little cost to the university, but would have been hurt deeply by the fees.

“We have a lot of clubs that are service clubs and a lot of the money that they raise goes toward charity, so it’s really unfortunate if instead of going to their cause, it has to go to room reservation,” Tobey said.

Any potential fees in the future would play a large role in the disbanding of clubs. Vice president of LOCO and senior economics major, Edson Perez said he believes it would deter clubs from actually forming.

As it is just beginning, LOCO plans to facilitate large multigroup projects and provide a collective voice when lobbying for causes on campus. Ellen Labitzke, sophomore English and women gender studies double major, said that any force that deters clubs will have a negative impact on the university.

“Clubs do not usually cost the school very much money but they add so much to the school,” she said.

ASUCD Senator Justin Goss also serves as vice president of LOCO and said that the club encapsulates the vision which he initially had when running for ASUCD senate. “[UC Davis] is an enormous campus with an enormous student population. These students have diverse interests which are often reflected in campus organizations. If a person were able to link these organizations and diverse resources together and allow them to freely interact with one another, the possibilities for collaboration, education, and just doing awesome things on campus seems basically limitless.”

Goss said.

He believes that the fee would have affected larger clubs by forcing them to divert some resources toward room reservation, which would disable them to work on projects

See FEES, page 6

Evan Davis / Aggie

Picnic in the Park not only provides foods from several restaurants, but also entertainment and activities. at Central Park.

“We’re starting on the first day of spring,” Randii Macnear, executive director of the Davis Farmers Market, said, “because we have to have enough daylight hours for Picnic in the Park to be able to run long enough for the band to play, people to come out, eat, shop and have fun.”

About 12 different restaurants set up booths at the south end of the market where people can buy dinner and sit at one of 35 tables locat-

By MEE YANG

Aggie News Writer

Not only is the beautiful weather an indicator of the changing seasons, it also means that Picnic in the Park is resuming. Starting March 21, Central Park will be alive with the sound of music, laughter and munching mouths.

Now in its 20th season, Picnic in the Park begins its 31 week season every Wednesday from 4:30 to 8 p.m.

Poor lighting concerns residents

By LANI CHAN

Aggie Features Writer

Although the general sentiment seems to be that the UC Davis campus and surrounding community is relatively safe, many students feel uneasy about navigating the dimly-lit city at night.

The Clery Act Statistics, which show the number of crimes reported on university property over a given year, do not suggest that UC Davis has a particularly disconcerting amount of criminal activity. The report for 2010 shows, for instance, 21 forcible sex offenses and only 13 motor vehicle thefts. There were 11 aggravated assaults and only two reports of arson, compared to eight in 2009.

There were zero reported homicides or manslaughter.

And while no city can be completely crime-free, the Evan Davis / Aggie city of Davis reported similarly low numbers. The latest Dim lighting on bike paths causes some residents to feel

See LIGHTING, page 2 unsafe at night despite low crime rates at UC Davis.

More students needed for Spring quarter, applications open

By ALICIA KINDRED Aggie News Writer

Anna Oh / Aggie

The Domes at Baggins End are currently searching for student applicants to live in five domes that will be open Spring quarter.

There are currently 14 residents residing at the domes, which reopened again in January after being closed down on July 31, 2011. They are currently seeking three to four tenants to live in the domes come Spring quarter.

“If we do not reach our full capacity, we would not be getting the income from those unoccupied domes,” said Veronica Pardo, anthropology graduate student and current resident of the domes. “We would be taking a hit for Spring quarter.”

Residents and supporters of the Domes fought to re-open

The Domes recently re-opened and are still available to live in for Spring quarter.

Rain High 61 Low 51

See PICNIC, page 2

Darkness breeds discomfort on Davis streets

Domes still seeking new residents after re-opening

Today’s weather

ed next to the band. There is a variety of activities for children such as pony rides, a carousel, face painting, balloon animals and even a rock climbing wall.

When the picnic begins, the park is filled with people sitting on blankets or on the grass while listening to music and eating food bought from local farmers and vendors.

Kelsey Bedford, booth manag-

Forecast Even though winter quarter will end on a damp note, we will say adiós, au revoir, and abschied to the cold remnants of these past 10 weeks and look forward to a hopefully dryer finals week and a warmer spring quarter.

Kenneth Doss, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team

See DOMES, page 3 Thursday

Friday

Showers

Showers

High 64 Low 51

High 62 Low 46

News iN Brief

UC Berkeley Chancellor Birgeneau steps down UC Berkeley chancellor, Robert J. Birgeneau has announced his resignation Tuesday after seven years of service. In his e-mail addressing the UC Berkeley campus community, he did not state a direct reason for his resignation, which will take effect Dec. 31.

Birgeneau said he is grateful for sitting as chancellor during one of the university’s most challenging period in its 144 year history.

Birgeneau plans to return to the departments of physics and materials science and engineering as a regular member of the faculty and will continue to work toward fighting decreased funding and to the public university system. He will also continue to be an advocate for the DREAM Act. “It has truly been a wonderful privilege to work with such an accomplished and dedicated community of faculty, staff, students, retirees, alumni and friends … I will continue to devote my full energies to leading Berkeley until my successor is appointed by the UC Regents and will work with her or him to effect a smooth transition,” he stated in the e-mail.

President Yudof is set to appoint a search committee in accordance with the university policy on the appointment of chancellors.

— Muna Sadek

Beware of the angry little Asian girl (me) storming your way. It is more than likely that she is extremely irritable due to wet socks.

Mimi Vo

2 wednesday, march 14, 2012

LIGHTING Cont. from front page available quarterly crime summary on the Davis Police Department website, which looks at data from the July to October 2010, shows that the numbers have actually decreased compared to previous quarters.

Regardless of the number of criminal offenses, personal safety remains an issue of great concern when navigating the notably dark streets of Davis.

“As a general rule, we encourage people to stay away from unlighted areas after dark as a safety precaution,” said Davis Police Lieutenant Paul Doroshov.

But what if a well-lit route home is virtually unchartable?

“I am not comfortable with the amount of light in my area,” said Blaire Nasstrom, junior exercise biology major. “I live downtown, around Second and B Streets, and when I’m walking home from campus at night there are many dark streets that make me very nervous to walk by. As a lone girl walking by many large bushes in the pitch dark, it is very unnerving.”

Many of these concerns derive from hearing of or being involved in incidents that may have not warranted a police report and therefore were not reflected in official statistics. Joy Evans, assis-

The california Aggie

tant director for education at the UC Davis Women’s Center, suggested that official crime reports may not be an accurate indicator of how dangerous a city can be.

“There are instances of microaggression that make people feel uncomfortable,” she said.

“You don’t have to have experienced sexual violence to have felt threatened. Maybe it isn’t as much about the numbers as it is about the feelings of safety on this campus.”

An act of microaggression can take the form of stalking, harassment or any threat short of assault.

“One night, one of my neighbors ran out yelling because she had seen some guy staring at her and her friends through the blinds,” said Nasstrom. “He was standing in the dark alley behind her apartment and she had no clue how long he had been standing there. She called the police, but they couldn’t find him and said they didn’t think they would.”

Junior biotechnology major and ASUCD Senator Amy Martin described one weeknight when she and two of her friends were followed from a downtown restaurant and had to run into another open business so they could call the police.

“Part of the issue is that that stretch downtown is not very well lit,” Martin said. “Normally

I would cut through the Death Star, but now I don’t at night because it would be so easy for someone to jump out.”

Indeed, anyone who has ever biked or walked home from campus after sundown knows that being able to see a pothole, squirrel or even another human being is, quite literally, like taking a shot in the dark. So what accounts for the sparse distribution of lights in Davis neighborhoods?

In 1998, Davis City Council passed an ordinance amending chapter 6 of the Davis Municipal Code pertaining to outdoor lighting control. The purposes of the ordinance, as stated in the document, were to “create standards for outdoor lighting to minimize light pollution … while improving nighttime public safety and security … and preserving the night sky as a natural resource and thus people’s enjoyment of looking at the stars.”

While the light ordinance did not prompt the removal of any street lights, it does underline a common preference that may prevent the city from installing new ones. Butch Breault, City Electrician for the City of Davis, said that he receives more complaints about the streets being too bright than about it being too dark.

“The residents don’t like lights shining into their rooms at night,

and seem to like it dark,” Breault said. “We tried to put some street lights on Oak Street a few years ago but met some resistance.”

According to Breault, the City of Davis already pays $30,000 a month to PG&E for the 4,200 already existent street lights. But there are some residents who think that their neighborhood could benefit from a few more.

“It is certainly too dark on our street,” said Gerard De Boer, a longtime resident of Eureka Avenue who, like many other neighbors, dismissed the idea of being in favor of the dark streets because they are advantageous for stargazing. “And, I’ve noticed, there’s a light pole on Second and C, the top of which is completely hidden in a tree.”

Obscuring foliage aside, it may be years before students can see 10 feet in front of them after dark. City officials said they do not consider the lack of sufficient street lighting to be an issue, and there are no proposals currently on the table to address student concerns.

Until then, Martin advised students to make use of the campus escort service, which operates from 5:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. and can be reached at (530) 752-1727, and not to hesitate to call 911 if they feel unsafe.

LANI CHAN can be reached at features@theaggie. org.

picnic Cont. from front page er of the market and a recent UC Davis graduate, said that it’ll be great to have a different crowd once the picnic begins.

“It’s harder for people to come out in the morning,” Bedford said. “But once the picnic begins, more students will come in the afternoon; it’ll be much bigger, busier and very family-oriented.”

Chris Borton of West Sacramento sells natural apple juice at the Davis Farmers Market.

The apple juice hails from Sebastopol, Calif. where a local farmer sells to Borton. As he busily helps customers, he commented on how it will be fun and even more exciting once the picnic begins.

“It’s one of the best things in Davis,” Borton said. “We have been selling for 30 years now and our pints are the most popular among the community.”

According to MacNear, One important aspect of this event, however, resides in supporting local farmers.

“It is our civic responsibility to shop from the farmers because without the farmers, we wouldn’t have the picnic.”

The Davis Farmers Market was voted in 2009 and 2010 as America’s favorite farmers market in a contest held by the American Family Farmland Trust.

Ten percent of the votes were for Davis, which, according to MacNear, “is just amazing. Over 3,000 people voted for Davis and what was really interesting was that people who have been to Davis or students who are no longer going to school here voted from far away.”

MEE YANG can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

classifieds The Tempest

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angela.yuan@me.com

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Instruction Attn: Pre-Meds and All Undergrads!

Welcome to the Annual “Health Care to Underserved Populations” Lecture Series (FAP 195) sponsored by the UCD School of Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine. Offered on FRIDAYS during Spring Quarter, from 12:10-1:00, in MS1-C, Lecture Hall 180, Davis compus. First class is April 6, 2012. One unit of credit available. P/NP grading. CRN 74864. For more information, call (916) 734-2063.

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There are no refunds/credits for cancellations.

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Hard

Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit.

So must every column, as must every 3x3 square. Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing.

wednesday, march 14, 2012 3

The california aggie

to the yard. And I’m like, it’s better than yours.

Of course, tofu chili wasn’t the only thing I was going to miss about this place. I’m going to Rajiv miss sushi buffets with Narayan the first friends I made here. I’m going to miss staying at the MU way too late just to hang with some folks I knew would be there too. I’m going to miss the regret of cramming papers and studying for exams at the last minute. I’m going to miss the Arboretum at made tofu chili in my night, Late Night at the house last week. It was kind of a big deal. DC and closing time at the ARC. For the last two years, I I’m going to miss purchased and consumed how mind-bogglingly a small tofu chili from helpful and kind the CoHo marketplace students, staff, faculty nearly every single day I and administration was on campus. To this day, if I so much as catch on this campus have a whiff of tofu chili, I can been to me day in and day out. I’m also going instantly determine the quickest path to Wellman to miss the rallies and Hall. You might say I’m an demonstrations that brought thousands of evangelist for tofu chili.

Aggies together. I’m going To the enlightenment to miss the distinctly UC of friends, I preach its Davis way in which these affordability, nutritional last two value, items satiety and Of course, tofu chili wasn’t the were spicy-yetreasonable only thing I was going to miss never mutually taste. Don’t about this place exclusive. worry; this And is not a column solely about tofu I’m going to miss writing chili. But seriously, try it. this column and fighting with my beloved editors Right now.

Melissa and Jeremy My last column every week and getting is more about what put in my place because it meant to me, and they’re (usually) right. the corresponding I’m not going to miss the symbolism of preparing prohibition on using the it in my own home.

Oxford comma.

Tofu chili was once a With so much to miss, thing I thought I would I look to tofu chili for miss about Davis. There the final gift it has given aren’t too many places me — a way to deal with out there that bring this moving on. I don’t think nomming sensation graduation is an exercise together for $2.25 at the in dealing with loss. I register of my friend think it’s a challenge to Loni. I figured I would recreate the magic of enjoy the dish like a fleeting moment and sing college in countless little ways as we make our way its gospel to others. For into the real world. In two years, that’s exactly some cases, that means what I did. literally recreating tofu And then my chili in your own kitchen. roommate brought In others, it means home this vegetarian keeping in touch with old chili mix from the Cofriends, procrastinating op. This probably says a other deadlines, finding lot about my character, new places to explore in but it never occurred to the night and returning me that I could make kindness while honoring my own tofu chili, with your sense of activism. my own ingredients, in For all these items the comfort of my home. and more, I haven’t yet With leftover tofu, some determined the recipes. green beans, soybeans, chili and the mix, I made But I have the right it the next day at the (and ingredients. this probably also says a lot about my character) If you’re even a little interested in following RAJIV NARAYAN as this gig rough cost of one dollar.

I’m not the type to boast, concludes, you can find his likeness online at http://www.rajivnarayan.com/blog. but let’s just say my Until commencement in June, he may be homemade tofu chili brings all the roommates ridiculed at rrnarayan@ucdavis.edu.

Tofu chili

I

Aggie Digest Swimming and Diving Sophomore Liliana Alvarez will represent UC Davis at the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships this week in Auburn, Ala. The San Aselmo, Calif. native qualified to compete in the 100-yard breaststroke by posting solid times in the event throughout the season, including a season best of 1:00.71 at the Mizzou Invitational Dec. 12. Alvarez also took the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:00.80 at the conference

championship meet in February.

She will also compete in the 200 yard breaststroke for which she recorded a season best of 2:12.74.

This is the second time Alvarez has made it to the NCAA Championships in her short career. Last season she finished 23rd in the 100-yard breaststroke and 45th in the 200-yard breaststroke.

While the meet will begin Thursday, Alvarez will not compete until the 100-yard breaststroke trials Friday afternoon.

— Trevor Cramer

News iN Brief

Aggies headed to WNIT The women’s NIT announced Monday evening that UC Davis women’s basketball will take on Oregon State in the tournament’s first round at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Corvallis, Ore. This marks the third time in five years the Aggies have made an appearance in the WNIT. UC Davis was one of four Big West Conference teams to make the WNIT this season, up from three

in 2011.

The Aggies had been awaiting the announcement of the WNIT bracket since they were eliminated from the Big West Tournament in the first round by Pacific last Thursday.

Should UC Davis come away victorious, it will face the winner of UNLV vs. Saint Mary’s in the tournament’s second round.

––Trevor Cramer

Having a best friend at work can especially influence your diet. Close friends who adopt healthy habits together, for example, are more likely to maintain them than Theresa those who don’t have support.

Richardson So if you plan to eat well, ask a work friend to join you. On the flip side, if they become obese, your chance of becoming obese can increase by 170 percent.

Friend or no, a company’s culture is also highly influential, as shown with the donut scene. Likewise, managers who support health prof college has affected grams can improve the stress, your nutrition, you might exercise and eating habits be wondering what will within their companies. So if happen on a full-time job. your workplace offers wellLast year, over 40 percent of ness benefits, take advantage American employees gained weight, many of whom suffer of them to support your diet. a diet-related chronic disease. It can also encourage others to join.

At work, shifts in diet are Still, less than half of emnot always due to a lack of ployees feel their compafood knowledge but instead ny does enough to promote a change in lifestyle. In fact, most employees report gain- health. So if nutritious food isn’t the norm, try practicing weight due to inactivity, ing mindful eating. For exstress, eating out and workplace celebrations. But a busy ample, if you see a dolife can also involve these sit- nut, pause to ask yourself if uations, so what makes work you really need it. If it’s too tempting, you so influcan still make ential?

Friend or no, a company’s culture other mindful The andecisions. swer may is also highly influential, as Establishing lie in the shown with the donut scene new habits for coworkyour self is one ers around way. For example, you can you. agree to eat half a donut beBehaviors, physical and mental, are social contagions, cause, one, you will eat less, and two, you will start a new meaning they spread from habit of self-control. Likewise, one person to the next. This you and Ron can take the dois especially true for social nuts outside and go for a walk, networks like the workplace. combining a new exercise For better or worse, this also routine with a guilty pleasure. means that your job can imReally, there are plenty of ways pact your diet.

Let’s say your boss brings a to learn mindfulness at the office, the point being to pracbox of donuts to lunch. Your tice thought and build new fellow employees flock to the box, while you convince your- behaviors with food.

Eliminating cues you assoself to eat carrots with your desk buddy, Ron. No one says ciate with appetite is also efa word, but body language af- fective because cravings are firms that you two look differ- situational, meaning they don’t follow you everywhere ent. Feeling left out, you pick you go. While you may have up a donut. Then, Ron takes donuts with coworkers, you one to fit in with you. Neither might avoid them at home. of you intended to have a doYou and Ron, then, can avoid nut, but it happened. seeing your coworkers with This is because innate to the donuts by eating in a sepayou is the ability to imitate others, a trait believed to help rate break room. The trick is to hunt for these cues that spark us form social groups for security. There is no hungry lion, your unwanted eating.

By nature, remember that but mild threats, like rejection from coworkers, may prompt you are a creature of conformity and habit. This knowlyou to mimic their food habits and emotions, causing un- edge may be unsettling, but it is also your best tool for breakintentional weight gain and ing old behaviors. Today, caemotional eating. reers that destine you for an Nutrition habits can also early grave tend to pay more, spread past the workplace.

Your spouse, for example, may but I would challenge you to hear about the party and tell a make health your number one job. After all, jobs are reneighbor, who then buys doplaceable –– your body is not. nuts for his or her kids. Even on a worldwide scale, people can be influenced to eat poor- THERESA RICHARDSON posts all of her ly, as is the case today. Good sources and articles on Facebook. Just google The Freshman Fifteen and her e-mail, habits spread, too, but what do you do when they are not? terichardson@ucdavis.edu.

Office cravings

I

domes

leasing situation: long and frustrating, but it was worth it,” said Elli Pearson, second year sustainable agriculture and food systems major and applicant coordinator for the Domes. “I had to have someone sublease my apartment. I halfheartedly looked for a sublease before I knew, but when I was accepted, it was an every single day search on Craig’s List.”

Since the reopening of the Domes, rent has increased from $226.00 a month to $395.00, with a one time $200 deposit, Pardo said.

“We have open dinners that students can attend, work parties, we are also working to reopen up the Davis People’s Free School, an engineering class that is involved in designing a new structure, and many other collaborative projects,” said Evka Whaley-Mayda, a sophomore art studio major.

The Davis People’s Free School is an organization with free classes that anyone can take. It lasted for two quarters, but next quarter a group of people are attempting to get it started up again and have classes again at the Domes, Pearson said.

The Domes currently have multiple applicants for the upcoming Fall quarter.

“We are working very hard to fill up those unoccupied space so we are not in any predicament,” Pardo said.

Cont. from front page the Domes last year, after Student Housing shut them down, claiming health and safety regulation issues.

Eventually, Domes residents procured a contract with Solar Community Housing Association (SCHA), in which SCHA is now leasing the space from Student Housing.

SCHA now acts as a landlord to the residents of the Domes.

At this time, dome’s residents have not discussed if there will be more payments to SCHA if the domes remain unoccupied in Spring quarter.

“It would be a lag on paying back our loan,” Pardo said.

In order to find new applicants for Spring quarter, the Domes residents have sent e-mails via list serves, handed out flyers, posted information on Daviswiki.org and put out blurbs on KDVS. Applications are available on the SCHA website and on Daviswiki. org. Applications are due

by Thursday.

Many of the current residents at Baggins End are new tenants. A few of the seasoned tenants still remain.

Due to the fact the Domes reopened in January, hopeful applicants have had issues severing their leasing contracts with other apartment complexes in order to live in the Domes.

ALICIA KINDRED can be reached at “It was like any other campus@theaggie.org.

daily calendar dailycal@theaggie.org

TODAY Clothing Swap 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

1328 Hart Bring your old clothes and shoes and swap them for something new. We encourage both men and women’s clothes, and trades are made in a one-to-one ratio. At the end of the day, everything left will be donated to the Aggie Restore, Women’s Refuge Center and SPCA.

Walk With Warren Noon to 2 p.m.

Arboretum Headquarters, LaRue Road, UC Davis Join Arboretum Superintendent Emeritus Warren Roberts for a lunchtime stroll in the UC Davis Arboretum. Parking is available for $7 in Visitor Lot 47. For more information, call (530) 752-4880 or visit arboretum.ucdavis.edu.

Senior Recital 4 to 5 p.m.

115 Music Watch Chris Brown play the flute with I-Hui Chen on the piano in this free senior recital.

Junior Recital 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

115 Music Watch Andrew Hudson play the viola and Stephen Hudson play the cello in this free junior recital.

ARC Meeting Room 2 Interested in waterskiing/wakeboarding during the spring? Go to the first recruitment meeting of the year to learn more about the team and get to know the members. There will be a short video, a presentation and a short meet/greet.

THURSDAY UC Davis Hindustani Vocal Ensemble 12:05 p.m.

115 Music Watch this free performance of director Rita Sahai and the UC Davis Hindustani Vocal Ensemble.

BME Alumni Seminar Series: Navigating a Bio-Pharma Industry Career Path 4 to 5 p.m.

1005 GBSF, main floor auditorium Join Mr. Cao as he discusses career paths for biomedical engineers and shares his experiences in the field.

The Science Singers 8 to 10 p.m.

John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 First St. Watch the science singers, a fusion of the UC Davis arts and science programs, perform songs that convey their understanding of the class material from Science and Society 42: Earth, Water, Science and Song.

FRIDAY

H.E.L.P. Club Meeting 6 to 7 p.m.

146 Olson Go to the last general meeting of the quarter to learn about the club’s community service programs and find out how to get involved in the community.

Food will be provided.

Climate Refugees film showing 6:30 to 9 p.m.

3001 Plant Sciences Building The UC Davis Blum Center for Developing Economies, with co-sponsors, will be hosting the screening of Climate Refugees, a documentary about the “human face” of climate change. This film highlights the plight of international communities who are already being impacted by global climate change and portrays the real costs on a global scale of continued increases in GHG emissions.

Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Davis United Methodist Church, 1620 Anderson Road Free yourself from excess weight and/ or obsessional thoughts about food and body image. Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) is a 12-step fellowship based on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Meetings are open and free to the public. Visit www.foodaddicts. org for other meeting locations.

UCD Waterski and Wakeboard Club Info Meeting 9 to 9:45 p.m.

Folk Music Jam Session Noon to 1 p.m.

Wyatt Deck, Old Davis Road, UC Davis Folk musicians are invited to play together informally during an acoustic jam session.

All skill levels welcome. Listeners welcome!

Parking is available for $7 in Visitor Lot 5, at Old Davis Road and A Street. For more information, visit arboretum.ucdavis.edu.

Baseball Dobbins Baseball Complex 2:30 to 5 p.m.

Watch the UC Davis baseball team play San Jose State.

Junior Recital 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

115 Music Watch Abby Green play the flute in this free performance.

“Gran Partita” Performance 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

115 Music This student chamber ensemble, coached

by David Granger, will perform Mozart’s “Gran Partita” for wind instruments.

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.

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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4

Science &Technology

wednesday, March 14, 2012

Youth football — not so innocent

Aggie Staff Writer

Of the 5 million Americans who play football in a given year, 3.5 million of them are children ages seven to 13. Despite this, little is known about the effects of the constant head-to-head impact players frequently incur during a typical game. But Stefan Duma, a biomedical engineering professor and researcher at Virginia Tech University, is beginning to shed light on this mystery.

Duma discussed his recent research on concussions in young football players and his new ranking system for football helmets this past week, as part of the UC Davis biomedical engineering department’s Distinguished Seminar Series.

As Duma explained, concussions are often a hidden injury. Unlike other injuries such as breaking an arm or tearing a muscle, a concussion will not always show outward symptoms, even though the damage inside can be very severe. Further, it’s not a type of injury that forces a player off the field like a broken arm does, and players never want to leave the game.

“Nobody knows exactly what a concussion is. A hit that knocks one player down may cause another player to just shake off,” Duma said at his lecture last Thursday.

“What we do know is the higher the acceleration of the impact, the more likely you are going to have a concussion.”

Over the course of one season, the Virginia Tech football team,

the Hokies, wore helmets outfitted with impact sensors to measure the amount of forces sustained by players during head-to-head impact, both in practice and during games.

Duma did the same analysis on youth football, children aged seven to eight years old, at a local football league near the university. He later expanded his study to multiple college football teams and high schools.

Duma and the other researchers were surprised by the data they received. They found that many of the impacts that children endured were at the same level as those suffered by college players. This finding, as Duma explained, is very concerning, not only because that amount of impact is known clinically to cause concussions but also because the effect of this impact on developing brains is unknown.

“It shows that concussions have been underreported. Based on this we want to better understand head impact in children and develop methods to better identify injuries,” said Steve Rowson, an assistant research professor at Virginia Tech and co-author of the study.

The study also revealed that the majority of the high impacts were incurred during practice, rather than during the actual games. This finding could potentially cause coaches to rethink practice methods.

“These kids are already in great shape. They don’t necessarily need to have constant head-to-head impact to get better,” Duma said.

Based on this research, Duma and his team have come up with a five-

(DUI).

Part of the problem with alcohol is that there is such a wide variation between people in how well it’s metabolized, and thus how Amy quickly they can get drunk Stewart and how quickly they will then recover.

Body weight is usually a good indicator (it tends to take more alcohol for a heavy person to get drunk compared to a lighter weight person) but other factors include gender, other drugs that the person is taking and even how much any of us are gothey have eaten beforeing on trips to see hand. family and old The first skills to go friends for spring break. In when people get drunk are the process, many of you their reasoning, depth perwill probably be drinking ception and concentraalcohol. tion. This can happen af This column is going to ter about one to two drinks be half science, half pubwithin an hour for a 120 lic service announcement. pound individual (again, Knowing what happens to keeping in mind that I’m the body and brain when using very rough estimates; you consume alcohol can inform you when the drunk- the amount of alcohol to reach these points can vary enness has gone from having a good time to needing a widely).

A BAC of 0.1 to 0.19 pertrip to the hospital. cent, which for a 120 pound The kind of alcohol that person is you drink between is more A person who has merely four and specifically called ethfallen asleep will wake up if six drinks in about an anol, also they have to vomit ... hour, ofcommonly ten results known as in slurred grain alcospeech, loss of motor conhol. There are many differtrol, slowed reflexes and ent types of alcohol, such temporary erectile dysfuncas wood alcohol (methation. A BAC of 0.2 to 0.29 nol), but most are not safe percent is when a person to drink. can have a memory black Alcoholic drinks can be out; 0.3 to 0.39 percent is very broadly classified by when people tend to comwhether they are fermentpletely lose consciousness. ed or distilled. When yeast At 0.4 percent and beyond, metabolizes some kind of the drinker is risking coma food source, ethanol is one or death. of the byproducts. Beers come from fermented cere- The most important al grains and other starches, thing to remember is that wines and ciders come from falling asleep is not the same thing as passing out. fermented fruit juices and meads come from ferment- A person who has merely fallen asleep will wake up ed honey. When fermented products are distilled (mak- if they have to vomit; a person who is unconscious will ing the ethanol more connot. If a friend has passed centrated), the result can out and doesn’t respond to be whiskey, brandy, rum or you lightly shaking them, vodka, depending on what refrain from drawing penisthe starting product was.

So, you drink alcohol and es on their faces. Instead, turn them over onto their it goes down the esophaside so that they won’t ingus into the stomach. The hale any vomit. Next, call alcohol then goes into the an ambulance and tell bloodstream. How does them that your friend may that make you drunk, and have alcohol poisoning: how much alcohol does it other signs to watch for intake? The very simplified clude slow breathing (fewer answer is that if you drink alcohol faster than your liv- than eight breaths per minute), cold or clammy skin er can process it into other compounds, you will feel and confusion. the effects of drunkenness. Assuming no one has experienced alcohol poison Let’s slow down a bit. ing, you can wake up the Once ethanol is in the morning after a fun parbloodstream, it travels through the body and even- ty with the last souvenir — the dreaded hangover. tually reaches the brain.

Hangovers are caused by a Exactly what it does in the combination of factors, inbrain is still not fully uncluding the byproducts of derstood, but in general it is considered a central ner- alcohol metabolism in the liver as well as dehydravous system depressant. tion. Most hangover “cures” Blood alcohol content don’t really work other than (BAC) is measured by the percentage of blood, by vol- through the placebo effect. ume, that is alcohol. For ex- Get some rest, drink plenty of fluids (especially if you ample, a BAC of 0.08 perwere vomiting the night becent means that 0.08 perfore) and lay off the booze cent of that person’s blood for a few nights. is alcohol. If someone is driving with that BAC, they will receive a citation for AMY STEWART can be reached at driving under the influence science@theaggie.org.

Drinking and you

Research shows impact of head injuries in professional and youth football alike

By CLAIRE MALDARELLI

The california aggie

M

Stegan Duma

courtesy

star ranking system for football helmets, which they believe are at the root of the problem.

“Prior to this, helmets had never been ranked. They were either considered safe or unsafe,” Rowson said.

Much like the five star ranking system in a car, this system tells how well a helmet will perform during a head on collision. Surprisingly, they found no correlation between cost and helmet performance.

In fact, as Rowson noted, “one of the cheaper helmets was actually a four star helmet.”

Duma and his researchers believe this new ranking system, paired with further research to understand how exactly these young players sustain their head injuries, will significantly improve the safety of football.

CLAIRE MALDARELLI can be reached at science@ theaggie.org.

Sensing heat and pain Researchers uncover the details of under-appreciated sensations

Evan Davis / Aggie

Second year aerospace engineering major Otelo Contreraz feels the Sun’s heat on the Quad.

By HUDSON LOFCHIE Aggie Science Writer

Every time we go to sleep, our bodies turn off our senses of sight, sound and smell. However, there is another sense that always remains active, that is affected by almost no diseases and is more crucial to our survival than any other: pain. Without pain, we would never know when we were injured, which could be a potentially fatal oversight.

Past research at UC San Francisco was focused on identifying the pain transmitters in humans. They experimented by injecting capsaicin, the compound in peppers that makes them spicy, into animals. What they found was that the pain receptors are also responsible for transmitting sensations of heat. UC Davis researchers are now further investigating that link.

“These proteins work like the thermostat in your room,” said Jie Zheng, leader of the current research and an associate professor of physiology and membrane biology at the UC Davis School of Medicine. “Once temperature deviates slightly from where it should be, it sends a signal to the hypothalamus [the part of the brain that controls many automatic functions] to either produce more heat through metabolism or trigger heat dissipation through sweating.”

What the researchers found is that there are six proteins responsible for transmitting temperature sensations. Some of those proteins sense increases in temperature and others sense drops in temperature.

“Other proteins that sense cold also respond to menthol, giving us the cooling sensation,” Zheng said. “Vanilla and cinnamon give us a warm feeling because they activate other sensors. All of these [sensors] contribute to our body being able to maintain at 98.6 degrees.”

Even though there are only six proteins responsible for temperature sensation, they can activate in many possi-

ble combinations. At a certain temperature, the proteins activate in a certain combination, sending a specific temperature sensation to the brain.

“Each [combination] is activated at a different temperature,” said Fan Yang, a graduate student in physiology and membrane biology working with Zheng.

Now that researchers understand how these sensations are transmitted, they are looking for ways to selectively interfere with the transmission of these signals to the brain. Unfortunately, there are severe side effects to inhibiting our heat and pain sensitivity.

“These are the sensors that regulate body temperature,” Zheng said. “When we cut those out, we see extreme cases of hypothermia [extreme chilling] or hyperthermia [extreme overheating].”

There are multiple genetic diseases that deteriorate our sight and hearing over time, but there is only one known genetic disorder that removes sensitivity to pain and heat. According to Zheng and Fang, that fact indicates that the heat and pain senses are fundamental necessities for human survival, and any disease affecting them has been removed over time through natural selection.

Upon closer inspection, the researchers found that although heat and pain senses function the same at the cellular level, they function differently at the molecular level. This means that there is the potential to turn off either pain or heat. Medications could potentially alleviate pain in specific areas while maintaining other sensory functions or cut off the heat sensations in burn victims.

“Understanding temperature is crucial to human life,” said Peter Cala, chair of the department of physiology at UC Davis. “[We are] looking at the sense in enough detail that will allow us to fully understand how it all works.”

HUDSON LOFCHIE can be reached at science@theaggie.org.

Tech Tips

Quick bites on Apple’s new product

By ERIC C. LIPSKY Aggie Science Writer

It’s March, and that means that it’s Apple time.

Just like with the iPad 2 last year, Apple has once again chosen March as the month to reveal its newest iPad version. Interestingly, Apple has not named the newest iteration, iPad 3; instead, it’s just being called the new iPad. It certainly has some new features, but whether it’s worth a purchase will depend on the buyer’s tablet history.

How does it compare with the iPad 2?

The biggest difference between the two iPads seems to be the screen resolution. The new iPad’s screen resolution is 2048x1536 at 264 pixels

per inch, while the iPad 2’s resolution is half of that. This makes the display of the new iPad the best resolution of any current tablet.

What other specifications are important about the new iPad? Apple claims that the A5X processor is capable of a graphics performance four times greater than NVIDIA’S Tegra 3 chip, which can be found on many Android tablets. The new iPad will also have a new quadcore graphics processor, which will make playing games on the iPad look even better, and will support 4G LTE for faster networking.

See TECH, page 5

The california aggie

Science &Technology

wednesday, march 14, 2012 5

Research gives strong evidence for origin of vision in animals Light is involved in firing of stinging cells of small sea animal

By BRIAN RILEY Aggie Science Writer

Researchers have made important new discoveries about the evolution of the senses in animals by identifying a light-based, or “photic,” sense in a multicellular marine animal called hydra.

The discoveries are reported in a new article in the journal BMC Biology, written by David Plachetzki, who is currently a post doctoral fellow working in the UC Davis Center for Population Biology, along with two co-authors from UC Santa Barbara, Caitlin Fong and Todd Oakley. Plachetzki is also affiliated with the UC Davis department of evolution and ecology.

“By combining genomic and physiological approaches we now have powerful tools to unravel these first steps in the evolution of a nervous system,” said Thomas Holstein, a professor of molecular evolution and genomics at the Centre for Organismal Studies in Heidelberg, Germany, who was not involved in the

Obesity Cont. from page 6 through PFT is the only objective data source collected on body composition that’s not self reported,” said Alecia Sanchez, policy director for the Center of Public Health Advocacy.

“It enables policymakers to see trends and formulate interventions to address them.”

“The initiation of additional interventions in school nutrition and physical activity programs that might be required to improved students’ health could not be well monitored without the student fitness testing,” Aryana said.

The elimination, said Tina Jung, information officer for the CDE, has yet to be decided.

“I don’t believe the governor called for the elimination of fitness testing but to find another funding stream for it,” Jung said. “Physical fitness is very much a part of his initiative for schools.”

Whatever happens to PFT, it is clear that though increases in obesity rates may have slowed, there is still much work to be done statewide, according to the study.

“We have our own study that we released late last year that shows a decline in the obesity rate statewide, but there are parts of the state that aren’t enjoying those successes,” Sanchez said. “Some districts have experienced increases in obesity.”

“The UCD study showed we’re at a critical turning point,” Jung said. “Obesity has started to stall. We’ve stopped going up the mountain, but we haven’t started to go back down.”

Further plans to address the issue are presently in the works.

“We are currently working with the CDE to develop a plan where students, volunteers and parents could help further alleviate obesity in school children,” Aryana said.

More details of the plan Aryana mentioned will be available next week.

EINAT GILBOA can be reached city@ theaggie.org.

tech Cont. from page 4 Anything else?

The new iPad has a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera that can record video in 1080p, an improvement over the iPad 2’s 0.7-megapixel camera which only captures video in 720p.

current study.

Plachetzki and his research colleagues asked questions about the common ancestor of cnidarians and humans, which existed 600 million years ago.

“This is the origin of complex ‘animalness’ — that’s not the first animal, but the first one that has a nervous system and moves around,” Plachetzki said.

Cnidarian (pronounced “naye-DAREee-en” with a silent “c”) animals include hydra, jellyfish and sea anemones, among other animals, and are evolutionary cousins to humans.

“Dave [Plachetzki] had noticed that visual proteins were located around the stinging cells in hydra,” said co-author Fong, who is a member of the research team and is now a lab technician at UC Los Angeles.

“This led us to believe that hydra used visual signals to regulate the usage of these stinging cells.”

“We devised behavioral tests to be the first to show that stinging cells depend on light level,” said Oakley, a professor in the

department of ecology, evolution and marine biology at UC Santa Barbara.

One of the main findings of the study was that hydra are more likely to fire their stinging cells when a shadow is cast onto them, which increases their chances of catching the possible prey casting the shadow.

“Hydra fire more stinging cells in dim light conditions and less in bright light conditions,” Fong said. “We think that this is a method by which hydra conserve stinging cells and only fire them when they might catch prey.”

Hydra are freshwater polyps, which are small relatives of jellyfish, that have been studied for over 250 years. Although they don’t have eyes, Plachetzki’s research shows how a physiological pathway could function which was a precursor to vision in later animals.

“This is one way that those pathways could function before they got co-opted into a complex eye,” Plachetzki said.

The animals that developed vision in later evolution were “putting togeth-

er pieces that have already evolved,” Plachetzki said.

There are three main ways that animals detect sensory cues from the environment: chemical, mechanical and photic.

The current study focused on the photic, or light means of sensation. The chemical category corresponds to the sense of “taste” in animals, while the mechanical category roughly corresponds to touch and hearing.

Holstein is currently studying dinoflagellates, a type of plankton, in his lab in Heidelberg and says that Plachetzki, Fong and Oakley’s new research findings raise new questions as to whether a mechanical sense or a photic sense developed first in common ancestors of animals and plants.

“This is difficult to decide at the moment,” said Holstein, commenting on the lack of evidence one way or the other. “We just don’t know enough [about the] huge diversity in unicellular organisms.”

BRIAN RILEY can be reached at science@theaggie.org.

Text message celebrates 20th birthday

By Gordon Brillon The Daily Reveille (Louisiana State University)

For most college students, 1992 is history.

Anything that happened then has simply been that way forever.

Clint Eastwood became a surly old man in “Unforgiven,” Banksy became the lovable rascal of the art world and — in possibly the most important development in college students’ consciousness — the first text message-capable cell phone was released.

The Nokia 1011 was a blocky model almost eight inches tall, weighing more than a pound and capable of holding up to 99 phone book entries. Mobile phone technology has come a long way since then, and as it has evolved, so has the generation that grew up with it.

Chair of the Louisiana State U. Department of Sociology Wesley Shrum said the generation that grew up with text messaging has been integral in making it relevant.

“Text messaging can only be important as it becomes a pos-

sibility for almost all students,” he said.

In 2011, 72 percent of cellphone users in the United States paid for text packages, amounting to 203 million people, according to a Neustar survey. These people sent an average of 2.5 billion messages every day, according to the same survey.

Shrum said people have accepted texting as part of their social lives and organically created new social rules related to it, which explains why texting in public or in company has become a norm rather than a taboo.

“People are approaching a common understanding of what is rude,” he said.

According to Shrum, text messaging has not fundamentally changed the way people form relationships, but instead provided different methods for people to do so.

“It doesn’t improve relationships or make them worse. It provides new opportunities for relationships,” he said.

But not everyone agrees that text messaging is so benign. Lance

Porter, the head of LSU’s Digital Media Initiative and a professor in the Manship School of Mass Communication, said text messaging and online communications have been detrimental to the modern generation’s face-to-face social skills.

“You can’t get full meaning or context from a text message,” Porter said. “People are more comfortable with them because they take less time and less attention than a conversation.”

Porter said this reluctance to speak in person is stunting the personal growth of the Millennials, the generation born from the mid1980s up to 2000.

“Millennials don’t like faceto-face conflict. You probably have friends that have broken up through a text message,” he said.

Most students agree that this is the largest problem with texting, and they say moderation is the best policy.

“I don’t really like texting now,” said Nicki Klimacek, a communication disorders sophomore at LSU. “It makes personal relationships harder to maintain, and be-

ing older, relationships are more important. It’s kind of a high school thing.”

But while they agree texting can cause problems, it can be hard for students to ignore the text message’s convenience.

“I used to always talk on the phone. I would call my mom on the phone, but now I text her. It’s 50-50; it has its advantages and disadvantages,” said Bruce Jackson, an LSU marketing freshman.

Porter also said text messaging and social media have made it more difficult for young people to focus on single tasks.

“We’re a society of multi-tasking,” Porter said. “The problem is, our brains can’t multi-task.”

Porter said he has seen this effect on students firsthand as a professor, and it has affected their performance in academics.

Shrum said students will decide if they should be productive in class regardless of their ability to text.

“I can sit in a lecture and not pay attention just as well with or without a mobile phone,” he said.

AARP and Microsoft study shows online communication bridging the generation gap

By Monique Collins The Marquette Tribune (Marquette Unversity)

The Internet and social media are becoming crucial tools in helping families stay connected, according to a study by Microsoft Corp. and AARP released Feb. 7.

The “Connecting Generations” study, which surveyed participants ranging in age from 13 to 75, found 83 percent of all participants consider going online to be a “helpful form of communication among family members.”

In addition, the majority of respondents think computers increase good communication with family members living far away, as 70 percent of teens and 63 percent of adults 39 and older believe it improves the quantity of communication. Sixty-seven percent of teens and 57 percent of adults 39 and older believe it improves the quality of that communication.

That generation gap isn’t just for parents and children. Thirty percent of grandparents found connecting online has helped them better understand their grandchildren, while 29 percent of the grandkids said the same about their relatives.

Students traveling from different cities or states to come to Marquette U. often use social media websites and online communicawith 64GB of memory and 4G. The iPad 2, by comparison, is now $399.

It all comes down to how much you want the latest technology, but iPad 2 owners should most likely be content to stay with last year’s version. While the upgrade in screen resolution is eye-catching, all of the other upgrades seem to be similar to the jump from the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 4S — relatively incremental in comparison.

So, what’s the price?

The basic new iPad 16GB model starts at $499 and is available in black or white.

The price goes all the way ERIC C. LIPSKY can be reached at science@ up to $829 for the new iPad theaggie.org.

tion to connect with friends and family back home.

Jeffrey Djoum, a Marquette sophomore, uses Skype, email and Facebook to connect with friends and family in Chicago.

“I chat with friends on Facebook often and keep everyone informed on my latest antics through Twitter,” Djoum said. “I still have my mom restricted on Facebook, but it’s nice to see her keeping up with the young people.”

Social media has become increasingly popular at Marquette, whose students use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and most recently Pinterest to connect with students and other Marquette community members. Tim Cigelske, senior communication specialist in the Office of Marketing and Communication and one of the key people behind the university’s social media presence, said the campus has Facebook groups for incoming freshmen, alumni and parents.

“Social media allows us to reach out to the community wherever they are, so they can get the support they need,” Cigelske said.

Scott D’Urso, an associate professor in the MU College of Communication, thinks this newest study is testament to the power of social media and online communication.

“Looking at the past 20 years of computing, you’re seeing a larger number of older

adults buying computers to connect with their children and grandchildren,” D’Urso said.

He specifically cited the development of video communication in keeping in touch with family.

“Video conferencing tools are helping online communication become more real and rich,” D’Urso said. “When you’re using video chat, it’s nice to be able to see the nonverbal cues and facial expressions of family and friends you don’t see as frequently.”

While Cigelske did not find the research findings surprising, he thinks other social media users will.

“I think a lot of Twitter users won’t believe it,” he said. “The median age of Twitter users is 35 years old, so the assumption is a lot of teens and young adults use the site, but in reality, the ages of Twitter users vary a lot.”

The university’s Twitter account, which boasts more than 14,000 followers, is followed by current students, alumni, faculty and parents.

“We see a broad range of followers of all different ages,” Cigelske said. “I have a lot of alums tell me they love following the university’s Twitter because it keeps them involved in what is going around of campus without having to wait around for the newsletter.”

6 wednesday, march 14, 2012

The california Aggie

campus CHIC.

By STEPHANIE B. NGUYEN

a private Catholic school so I’m just reliving those uniform days.”

Gabi Bui, senior communication major

Where do you find inspiration?

“Things from my mom’s closet. I really like old styles but I like to mix and match with new things.”

Aggie News Writer

The Aggie: What are you wearing?

Bui: “The boots and shirt are actually from my mom’s closet. The bag is Tory Burch and my skirt is from Bebe.”

How did you decide what to wear today?

“I don’t know, I guess I just wanted to wear my old school uniform. I went to

What are you looking forward to wearing in the spring?

“Lots of summer dresses and heels! And whites and bright colors.”

STEPHANIE B. NGUYEN can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Gabi Bui

Stephanie Nguyen / Aggie

Trivia Night to take place tonight at Gunrock Pub Aggies at the Pub works toward a permanent student menu

By STEPHANIE B. NGUYEN Aggie News Writer

Eric Lin / Aggie

The Gundrock Pub had its grand opening in 2009.

With finals week around the corner, students have the opportunity to relieve stress with cheap beer, trivia questions and fun prizes.

In the third and final installment of an effort to add a student menu and special events for students at Gunrock Pub, UC Davis Dining Services and ASUCD will be hosting “Aggies at the Pub: Trivia Night Event” tonight from 5 to 8 p.m., featuring $10 pitchers of beer.

On select Wednesdays over the course of the quarter, a series of events have taken place to help make Gunrock Pub more

UC Davis researchers find increases in obesity rates have slowed Possible elimination of fitness testing may reduce ability to monitor obesity

Salter scale

By EINAT GILBOA Aggie News Writer

Researchers at UC Davis recently published a study that found obesity and fitness levels have stabilized in California schools.

Melanie Aryana, M.D., Zhongmin Li, Ph.D., and William Bommer, M.D. were the co-authors of the study.

“The increase of obesity in fifth, seventh, and ninth graders slowed down compared to previous decades,” Aryana said in e-mail. “However, students entering fifth grade were more obese each year and this early obesity was not reversible within the school program.”

As part of the effort

courtesy

beginning in 1996 to address the growing issue of obesity, the California Department of Education (CDE) created a Physical Fitness Test (PFT) to be administered to fifth, seventh and ninth graders annually.

In 2004, Bommer served on a task force that analyzed the results of the PFT statewide and made recommendations to the CDE. The task force led to changes such as the increase in time allotted for physical activity during school, improved health education, healthier school lunches and regular audits to ensure schools complied with the aforementioned changes.

The findings of the PFT

were studied between 2003 and 2008 to monitor the results of the recommended changes.

“Since this is an observational study, obesity and fitness changes cannot be directly attributed to any of the interventions,” Aryana said. “Lower compliance rates reduced any possible benefits. Complete data was available for most but not all students.”

PFT is one of the only mechanisms the state has to monitor changes in the weight and physical fitness of young students.

However, in the face of recent budget cuts, PFT may face elimination.

“The data collected

See OBESITY, page 5

accessible to students, including a free nacho night and a live music night presented by KDVS. ASUCD hopes tonight’s event will result in a higher turnout.

“Having this option on campus makes for a great study break where students can hang out with friends and grab a beer and some cheap food,” said senior Darwin Moosavi, former ASUCD senator.

Tonight’s event will be hosted by food science and technology professor Charles Bamforth, and the trivia questions will be divided into such categories as “You know you live in Davis when...,” “Silver Screen” and “What’s in your glass?”

Bamforth, who teaches

FEES

undergraduate courses in malting and brewing science, readily agreed to participate in the event.

“I try to support student activities whenever possible,” Bamforth said.

Gunrock Pub, located at the Silo, opened its doors in 2009 and remains the only full-service restaurant on campus. Despite its seasonal dishes, products from local growers and good beer selection, the joint isn’t as popular among students as the university hoped.

ASUCD Senator Justin Goss attributes this to the inconvenient hours of operation from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. when most students are in class, and the pricey menu.

“These are major

problems which keep students from wanting to go hang out there, something ‘Aggies at the Pub’ aims to resolve,” Goss said.

However, Goss hopes to see more students taking advantage of the oncampus restaurant and pub.

“Gunrock Pub has so much potential. It’s a really nice location on campus, has a beautiful interior, and could really be just a generally fun place to hang out. One of the greatest upsides Gunrock Pub offers is showing students it’s okay to grab a casual drink before you leave campus for the day.”

STEPHANIE B. NGUYEN can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

ation of the broader cuts to higher education we’re seeing,” Goss said.

Despite the fee suspension, members of LOCO plan to meet with administrators to address concerns.

“We are going to talk to administrators and … put things into perspective for the administration so they’ll be able to re-prioritize,” Thomas said.

Cont. from front page and hold events. Smaller clubs would in turn shrink, as certain members would be unable or unwilling to pay fees.

He believes that budget cuts and tuition increases need to be stopped if we want to deter future reservation fees.

“So this new fee is just another instanti- MUNA SADEK can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.