April 16, 2012

Relay for Life

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volume 131, number 48

monday, april 16, 2012

PG&E patches up problem pipes in West Davis Company will look at Davis as a whole in near future

By ANDREW POH Aggie News Writer

Back on February 27, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) began a project to replace 2,000 feet of natural gas distribution lines in the Stonegate neighborhood of West Davis. In November 2011, 42 gas leaks had been reported, but the number has risen

to 60 in the months since. A total of 81 gas leaks have been reported since 2006.

David Johnson, a resident of Stonegate, had experienced two gas leaks at his home over an 18-month span.

“I didn’t think anything about it. Then my neighbor had one and then my acrossthe-street neighbor had one,” Johnson said.

The current replacement project is targeted toward a small portion, roughly 8 percent, of the 4.7 miles of gas lines in Stonegate. This area has had the largest concentration of leaks.

The project began in late February and is expected to be completed by early May. PG&E has been working on the project on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4:30

p.m. A process is utilized that should minimize the damage to the street and to private property. Davis Public Works has also been monitoring the work PG&E has been doing in the area.

A letter from PG&E sent to the neighborhood residents read, “At the end of the

See PIPES, page 2

Students lock lips in protest Last Friday, students took part in a “Kiss-in Against Capital” at the Memorial Union (MU). Participants gathered at noon to make out and bring awareness to student debt and issues concerning the UC Regents.

The event took place in solidarity with similar events around the world.

— Written by Hannah Strumwasser — Photos by Brian Nguyen

Picnic Day leaders, students Forum held on free expression within a ask participants to university setting ‘Handle Your Shit’ Campaign returns to promote safe alcohol consumption

By DOMINICK COSTABILE

Irisa Tam / Aggie

Aggie Features Writer

UC Davis’ 98th annual Picnic Day is just around the corner, and this year’s festivities will once again be promoted by the grassroots campaign “Handle Your Shit.”

The campaign was started last year by a few students who worked to save Picnic Day from being permanently shut down due to consistent violations concerning alcohol possession both within the university and the city of Davis. The campaign encourages all people who visit Davis on Picnic Day to practice safe drinking and responsible partying.

ASUCD president Rebecca Sterling said that the administration and the city of Davis are concerned about the increase from 40,000 to 100,000 people coming to the Picnic Day celebration, as well as community members feeling unsafe due to house parties and reported hate crimes.

While the Picnic Day safety enhancement zone, which outlines the areas of the city in which alcohol-related offenses will incur steep fines, have been expanded this year, the annual event is facing the same risks from previous years, said former ASUCD President Adam Thongsavat.

“Picnic Day has changed a lot in terms of security,” said Thongsavat, a senior history major. “It only takes one mistake, one accident, for the whole thing to be canceled. So the students decided to do the ‘Handle Your Shit Campaign’ again this year because the threat always looms.”

The “Handle Your Shit” campaign is not organized by ASUCD or even the Picnic Day board but by members of the UC Davis student body who say they are committed to preserving the annual celebration which is appre-

Today’s weather Mostly sunny High 74 Low 50

Panel explored First Amendment rights, current campus climate pertaining to free speech

By MAX GARRITY RUSSER Aggie News Writer

ciated on and off campus.

“Last year was not only the introduction of safety zones around campus but it was also a trial for Picnic Day,” Sterling said. “Things were temporarily held together last year by the student body’s campaign, so one year doesn’t really set the culture for what things will look like. However, the great student body of this campus has been incredibly helpful with keeping Picnic Day a tradition.”

Using a Facebook page set up by Thongsavat, Sterling and others, the campaign has distributed a rather popular shirt around campus for $12 each.

The white shirt displays a red cup with the words “Handle Your Shit” on the front, and the back features a cow graphic. Last year, the shirt sold out in a matter of days. This year’s shirts sold within two weeks, and there is still a very high demand for more shirts as Picnic Day approaches.

“We’ve sold roughly about 300 shirts,” Thongsavat said.

“They are so popular because of the straightforward message ‘Handle Your Shit.’ And it’s a message that is delivered in a language that many of us on campus have heard before.”

Sterling explained that although the campaign has had a positive impact in saving Picnic Day, the same discourse regarding its continuation is

occurring between the city and UC Davis.

The “Handle Your Shit! Save Picnic Day (Again)!” Facebook page aims to prevent issues that occurred during last year’s festivities, such as parties being held on front lawns.

“The key is not discouraging everyone from having a good time, but really emphasizing the fact that the tradition of Picnic Day can be celebrated and protected by the actions of the student body,” Sterling said.

As Picnic Day’s Board of Directors has to plan many events leading to the festival, the support of the student body in “saving Picnic Day” has also been effective in other ways.

“In some ways, the campaign has been turned into a tool to educate students about what Picnic Day is in an effective manner,” Picnic Day Chair Jennifer Mappis said. “We cannot emphasize this enough.

Thank you to all of the students, faculty, campus officials and community members for working together to help ensure that Picnic Day will continue for years to come. It’s truly amazing to see all of the involvement from community and campus members in working with us to save Picnic Day.” DOMINICK COSTABILE can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

Forecast I would say that I am excited about this week’s mostly sunny weather, but we all know how bipolar Davis weather can be.

Whenever we think the sun is back for good, the sky comes raining down on our parade. Stop messing with us, Weather!

Written by Mimi Vo Source: Weather.com

A forum was held last Tuesday titled Freedom of Expression in the University: Rights and Challenges, which explored freedom of expression on college campuses and the ideas of civility and respect.

A panel consisting of Professor of Law Vik Amar, Professor of Law Alan Brownstein, UC Davis Civility Project affiliate Jaki Joanino, UC Davis Civility Project affiliate Chris McCroy and Senior Counsel to the UC Office of the President Margaret Wu was moderated by Dean of the UC Davis School of Law Kevin Johnson and undergraduate student Tatiana Bush.

Opening the forum, panelists took turns explaining specific aspects of the First Amendment and what the Civility Project is. Panelists then took questions from the audience that mostly centered around recent events on campus concerning free speech and free expression.

“We protect the right for people to express themselves authentically,” said Brownstein, speaking of the United States government.

Brownstein went on to explain government’s role as a regulator of speech through such mediums as content-neutral regulations that state that the non-communicative impact of speech can be regulated.

“People who speak with a soft voice have free speech rights too,” said Brownstein after turning his focus to time, place and manner rules that allocate speech times. “We as a university can select which time, place and manner rules are to be added.”

Senior Counsel Wu focused her talk on hate speech.

“There are several cases protecting very controversial and notorious organizations like the Ku Klux Klan,” said Wu. “Just because something is highly offensive and disturbing doesn’t mean that the university or any other government agency can prohibit that.”

Wu later said that the narrowly de-

Tuesday

Wednesday

Partly cloudy

AM clouds/PM sun

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fined terms of threats, obscenity and fighting words were not protected by the Constitution.

Professor Amar explained government’s ability to control speech within the U. S. education system.

Amar said that government wants to encourage inquiry and discussion in universities.

McCoy of the UC Davis Civility Project described the Civility Project as a response to the numerous acts of incivility on UC campuses such as the vandalism against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center (LGBTRC) here at UC Davis.

“Civility is a constant process,” McCoy said.

Undergraduate student Jaki Joanino unexpectedly broke out into song, sharing her frustrations with the way student free speech has been treated on campus. She described the forum as a gimmick used to better the image of the administration.

“It seems that money is the only thing that talks,” Joanino said.

The second part of the forum consisted of questions and comments from the audience.

One question brought before the panel was whether callous and threatening speech used on websites such as Facebook was constitutionally protected. Panelists said that courts have been ambiguous on the matter, noting that it is a fairly recent phenomenon.

Another question was asked about the constitutionality of the recent U. S. Bank blockade on the UC Davis campus. Most of the panelists said that blockading is not a protected First Amendment activity.

At the conclusion of the forum, panelists and audience members agreed that change was needed to improve UC Davis’ campus climate relating to free expression.

“Sometimes it’s the right thing to break a rule,” said Brownstein, referring to the Civil Rights Movement.

MAX GARRITY RUSSER can be reached at campus@ theaggie.org.

If you still haven’t been enrolled into your classes yet, start bribing your professors because Tuesday, April 17 is the last day to add or get into all waitlisted classes!

Mimi Vo

page two

2 monday, april 16, 2012

daily calendar dailycal@theaggie.org

TODAY Guest Speaker: Bill McKibben 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

UC Davis Conference Center Ballroom Environmental superstar Bill McKibben will be giving a presentation hosted by the UC Davis John Muir Institute of the Environment and Capital Public Radio.

The event is free, but participants must RSVP. For more information and to RSVP, visit www.capradio.org/events/2012/04/ capital-public-radio-presents-billmckibben.

Preweek: Mural Painting Noon to 1 p.m.

Quad Get your art on with this activity to kick-off preweek: the countdown to Picnic Day.

Undergraduate Research Center Info Session 12:10 p.m.

2300 Student Community Center Learn about research funding opportunities for undergraduates through the President’s Undergraduate Fellowship. The fellowship provides funds for undergraduates to pursue research projects or other creative activities under faculty supervision.

“Women of Color,” Feminist Anti-Racisms and the Consolidation of Women’s Studies and “Queer” and “Third World” Feminist Internationalisms on a Vanishing Horizon 2 to 3:30pm LGBT Resource Center — Main Lounge, Student Community Center Watch these presentations given by Dr. Nick Mitchell and Dr. Tamara Lea Spira. The events will be moderated by Dr. Sarita See.

TUESDAY Preweek: Tug-of-war Noon to 1 p.m.

Quad 10-person teams competing for a prize.

The sign-ups for the event have passed, but feel free to go watch.

Baseball 2:30 to 5 p.m.

Dobbins Stadium Watch the Aggie baseball team play against Sacramento State.

Meet the Author

8 to 9 p.m.

ARC Ballroom Lisa Randall, a professor of physics at Harvard University, will give a public lecture based on her recent book, Knocking on Heaven’s Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World. Admission is free.

WEDNESDAY Preweek: Cow Milking Contest Noon to 1 p.m.

Quad Partake in this classic UC Davis event.

Voice Recital 3:30 pm 115 Music Watch this free voice recital as the students of Zoila Muñoz and Jonathan Nadel perform.

Information Session on Undergrad Research in Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies 7 to 9 p.m.

194 Young Hear from a panel of professors in the fields of humanities, arts and cultural studies about the ways you can get involved in undergraduate research.

Includes a presentation on the resources available to students at the Undergraduate Research Center and a Q&A session.

Poetry Night Reading Series 8 to 10 p.m.

John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 First St. The Poetry Night Reading Series is proud to welcome award-winning poet Molly Peacock on a special night.

The Midnight Club: What We Are Is Where We’ve Been 9 to 11 p.m.

University Club/Nelson Hall, UC Davis “What we are is where we’ve been” is a participatory late-night ritual investigating intimacy, presence, existence and desire presented by the UC Davis Institute for Exploration in Theatre, Dance and Performance. All are welcome to join, but this performance is rated R. 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.

meeting that would have served to answer questions or concerns the homeowners might have had regarding the gas leaks. Last year, PG&E had hosted two town hall meetings with similar agendas. This time, the company reportedly wants to work on an individual basis with customers, according to Brittany McCannay, a PG&E spokesperson.

McCannay said PG&E plans to fix more pipes in the area over time.

“We’re moving forward with more of a comprehensive plan, which is to look at not only the Stonegate community, but the community as a whole and the region as a whole to determine what the leak history looks like throughout the region and where replacement throughout the territory is needed.”

In the meantime, it is recommended that if residents do smell gas, they should contact 9-1-1 immediately. Natural gas is normally odorless, but PG&E has added sulfur to make it more detectable.

PG&E declined to state whether other areas are also likely to be at risk of gas leaks.

pipes

Cont. from front page project, PG&E will refinish roadway services and work with property owners to restore landscaping.”

As to the cause behind the leaks, a possible explanation could be that the pipes are made from Aldyl-A plastic. Aldyl-A is reportedly susceptible to cracks and damages from rock impingements as the pipe is pressed against soil and rock.

DuPont are the makers behind the Aldyl-A pipes.

Dr. Gene Palermo, a former DuPont chemist, explained the shortcomings of Aldyl-A pipes to ABC News.

“It’s possible for the crack to initiate and propagate through the wall of a pipe in say, five years,” he said. “In other cases, I have seen slip crack failures that have occurred after 40 years.”

It has been recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board that all Aldyl-A pipes made through the early 1980s be replaced.

Some of the pipes beneath Stonegate date as far back as 1973.

PG&E recently declined a ANDREW POH can be reached city@ request to hold a town hall theaggie.org.

www.theaggie.org correction In the April 12 issue of The Aggie, the photos used for columnists Andy Verderosa and Kristina Simonaityte were wrong. Furthermore, the columnist’s name for Verderosa’s column was also wrong. The Aggie regrets these errors.

is to be able to view these two perspectives – life and dream – from a third place.

In this third place, our essential selves reflect both on our lived experiences Katelyn and on our dreams with an Hempstead equally critical eye, privileging neither as more real.

When we can do that, then we will truly understand.

If that freaks you out, good. You know what else is freaky? The dream theories of Sigmund Freud. And before we get into this, he was undeniably a sex-obsessed, ey, what are dreams? cocaine-addled narcissist.

He was also a genius, and in I mean, I know the weirdest and most wonthey’re the sounds/ derful way. images/sensations that flit Let’s see what creepy through our heads when we’re sleeping, but what ac- Uncle Sigmund has to say about our dreams. Well, tually are they? And what do they do? And do we even first we should address the fact that Freud didn’t beneed them? lieve that any part of huLet’s go way back. man behavior was random.

Usually this is the part For him, when weird things of an informational colhappen umn about in dreams dreams When you were inside it, fast they’re where we’d go back to asleep, dead to the waking world, just the thoughts the Ancient didn’t it seem real? and feelGreeks and ings you start there. repress all day wiggling But I don’t want to do that their way back into the because I’m sick of evforeground, your unconerything starting with the scious screaming out in the Greeks just because we in night. Dang, I should be a the West were trained by poet. some Enlightenment hotDo you know about the shots to think of them as id/superego thing? Human our intellectual ancestors.

It’s West-centric! I’m over it! existence, for Freud, is an epic, sword clang-y batNah, friends. I’d rather talk about the Upanishads. tle between the id and superego, with poor little ego What are the Upanishads? stuck in the middle. The id I’m glad you asked, rheis that naughty part of you torically useful voice in my that likes cake and sucking head! face with strangers, the unThe Upanishads are a collection of philosophical restrained animal impulse.

But pure id doesn’t work so writings from old-timey well in a social setting.

India on the nature of exSo we have the superego, istence, the value of rituthe schoolmarm part of the al and other such weighty brain that says, “Oh no, no whatnot. The part about cake for you fatty! And you dreams is mostly in the don’t even know that bar Mandukya Upanishad. fly, she might have herpes!”

Say that out loud; it’s very Meanwhile, the poor ego, enjoyable. The scholarthe conscious part of the ship on this little guy can brain that you think conget weighty, but here’s my trols your actions, is all like, typically under-informed “What do I dooo?!?” summary.

So in dreams, the ratioSo you’ve got your dream nal ego goes away, and the life, and your waking life. id and superego, both of And in both, you think you’re confronting “reality.” which don’t really manifest in daily life, run wild. But Look down at this newsbecause these repressed paper. It’s real, right? It’s parts of you could be damtangible, the words printed on the page don’t wiggle aging if they are expressed too clearly (and that part around, everything seems has never made sense to … real. me), they translate themNow think back to your last dream. When you were selves into symbols. So your id might be wanting you to inside it, fast asleep, dead eat more gummy bears, but to the waking world, didn’t the resulting dream might it seem real? When that gishow up as, say, a giant ant Ryan Gosling with Joseph Gordon-Levitt with snake hands was chasing spider hands. you, wasn’t it scary? Didn’t Or whatever. Hey, it’s your heart pound with your dream, interpret it the erotic terror that only however you want. I’m just snake-hand-Ryan-Gosling here to make jokes. can evoke? So why do we think of one world as more real than the other?

If you want a dream interpreted, KATELYN Well, says the Mandukya HEMPSTEAD has no idea how to do that, but Upanishad, we shouldn’t. you can contact her anyway at khempstead@ One of the tasks of living ucdavis.edu.

Dream a little dream

H

Amy Stewart Science Editor

Becky Peterson Managing Editor

Melissa Freeman Opinion Editor

Alex Tervo Business Manager

Joey Chen Copy Chief

Grace Sprague Advertising Manager

Jasna Hodzic Photography Editor

Hannah Strumwasser Campus Editor Angela Swartz City Editor Elizabeth Orpina Arts Editor Erin Migdol Features Editor Trevor Cramer Sports Editor

Michelle Huey Design Director Janice Pang Asst. Design Director Mimi Vo Night Editor Amanda Nguyen Asst. Night Editor Irisa Tam Art Director

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screen for too long, and most won’t even wait a full minute before moving on to something else. Standing on a bus hanging onto the overhead railing with one Nicole hand and clutching your Nguyen smartphone with the other puts your mind in a place that’s very different from sitting at a desk. Such is the reality of mobile phone use.

These revelations have been long realized by Instagram, who could poo, you probably heard: tentially serve to dramatFacebook bought Instagram for one billion ically raise the Facebook dollars. Yes, as in nine zeros. I mobile app’s caliber.

Users edit and share phoguess Silicon Valley is sometos seamlessly, thanks to how immune to the concept Instagram’s careful engiof economic downturn. neering and dedication to Note to self: Spend two years developing a popular speed and simplicity. With not much more than your mobile app, then sell comfingertips at your disposal, pany – and soul – to Mark less is certainly more when Zuckerberg. it comes to apps.

The tech world let out a The app has few editing collective gasp when the functions: filters, frames news broke last Monday, that correbut not bespond with cause it’s I don’t think I need to explain those filters, an absurd amount how much Facebook’s mobile blur, brighten and roof monapplication sucks tate. The ey. It’s just edited iman absurd ages are then uploaded to amount of money for Instagram’s servers, letting Instagram. One billion is users share their pictures a hell of a lot for a compawith their Instagram folny that a) has, like, 13 emlowers or cross-post the upployees, b) makes no revloads to other social media enue and c) is worth half accounts. of that amount. Instagram Instagram is a well-oiled was valued at $500 million machine indeed, which is just a month ago — still a why the Facebook acquisihefty chunk of change, but nothing like the cool billion tion sparked so much user rebellion from its commuFacebook forked over. nity. What will become of The photo-sharing netInstagram with Facebook as work may not be worth what Facebook paid, but it’s its commander?

Mark Zuckerberg and clear that Instagram is no company still have a lot to ordinary app. Over 33 millearn from a little compalion iOS users (and countny like Instagram. Hopefully ing) have downloaded the mobile application — that’s this means that Big Brother will intervene very little, and one in every 10 iPhones, commit to “growing and according to the company’s press center. And since building Instagram independently,” which he promInstagram hit the Android ised in his press release. market two weeks ago, the company has added anoth- But I see increasing collaboration between the two, er five million users. a sentiment best illustrat I’ve written about the ed by the Washington Post’s makings of a mobile-centric, post-PC era before, but Dan Zak: “Just as Instagram nothing validates that trend makes bad photos look good and good photos look more than the Instagram great, Facebook makes you acquisition. Instagram is mobile, mobile is the future look happy and loved if you’re not, and joyous and and Facebook would like adored if you are. Self-brand very much to be a part of and share. Filter and share. the future. Hence, one bilShare the edited stuff, the lion dollars.

I don’t think I need to ex- varnished stuff, the stuff plain how much Facebook’s with the halo around it. Take mobile application sucks. It a step away from truth for freezes, crashes and fails to the sake of beauty.”

We may not get to reap load more often than not.

It’s an app that suffers from that one-billion-dollar reevery software-related issue ward, but we will see a growing number of people, known to mankind, short equipped with Instagram of self-destruction. The and their smartphones, Facebook app, as it stands, is not the way to engage 800 oversharing moments from an alternative radiant, sunmillion or so users. Duh. drenched world.

The mobile space is another animal entirely. When How lucky for us. somebody uses a smartphone, their patience is cut This Monday is particularly brutal for in half. People just don’t NICOLE NGUYEN, who just drove eight hours want to have to stare at a through the night from Coachella. Send your blank, four-by-two-inch condolences to niknguyen@ucdavis.edu.

Instaland

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Senate Briefs ASUCD Senate meetings are scheduled to begin Thursdays at 6:10 p.m. Times listed are according to the clock at the April 12, 2012 meeting location, the Memorial Union’s Mee Room. The ASUCD president is not required to attend senate meetings.

Meeting called to order at 6:14 p.m.

Rebecca Sterling, ASUCD president, present, arrived late, left early Yena Bae, ASUCD vice president, present Kabir Kapur, ASUCD senator, present Jared Crisologo-Smith, ASUCD senator, present Bradley Bottoms, ASUCD senator, present Justin Goss, ASUCD senator, present Annamaria Kimball, ASUCD senator, pro tempore, present Paul Min, ASUCD senator, present Don Gilbert, ASUCD senator, present Joyce Han, ASUCD senator, present Erica Padgett, ASUCD senator, present, arrived late, left early Beatriz Anguiano, ASUCD senator, present Patrick Sheehan, ASUCD senator, present Yara Zokaie, ASUCD senator, present

Consideration of old legislation Jason Alpert Editor in Chief

The california Aggie

Senate Bill 98, authored by Alperin, co-authored by Bae, Barnett, Bottoms, Kapur, Kimball, Lipp, Padgett, Sterling and Stone, introduced by Kimball, to allocate $1,358 from Senate Reserves to TEDxUCDavis for the second annual TEDxUCDavis conference on May 19. Sheehan said he was hesitant about spending so much ASUCD money on what he was concerned would be a one-time expense. Kapur was concerned that since the senators didn’t have a letter from Club Finance Council (CFC), they would have to suspend the bylaws to see the bill as it was. Kimball and Padgett stated that the issues senators were concerned about should have been brought up during commission meetings so that the authors could have had sufficient time to amend the language. The bill passed unanimously after authors had amended the language to address the concerns the senators brought up.

Senate Bill 99, authored by McManus, co-authored by

Cano and introduced by Kapur, to clarify the structure of the Special Committee on Student Health and Wellness, passed unanimously.

Senate Bill 87, authored and introduced by Kimball, coauthored by Donnelley, Sandstrom and Lu, to allocate $933.22 from Senate Reserves to fund the Davis Volunteer and Service Fair, passed unanimously.

Senate Bill 89, authored by Crisologo-Smith, co-authored

by Alday, Anguiano, Atienza, Bonaparte, Borgonia, Brown, Bush, Cano, Crisologo, Espinoza, Diaz-Ordaz, Goss, Ilano, Joanino, King, Link, Lumban, Marquez, A. Martin, M. Martín, Montelongo, Oka, Rombi, Sagala, Sheehan, Soriano, Torres, Truong, Turkell and Wren, introduced by Crisologo-Smith, Link and Stone, to increase the amount of funds available in the “CCC/LGBTRC CommunitySpecific Ceremonies” line item in the 2011-2012 Grants Budget. Sheehan wanted to limit debate to 25 minutes but the motion failed. Senators Gilbert, Min, Han and Bottoms and Controller Maemura wanted a budget breakdown of how the money would be spent. Bottoms said that he would like to speak to Student Affairs and request even more money for the program but not until he received quotes from the various graduations about the budget breakdown. Goss asked what was stopping Bottoms from voting yes and that the table should vote yes in order to represent all the students who showed up to the meeting in support of this bill. A member of the public asked Gilbert to defend his no vote when they divided the house since he had stated as part of his platform that he wanted to support underrepresented students. He answered that he felt like he needed more information before he could decide. Mayra Martín also asked Gilbert to defend his position. Min stated that he viewed the bill as a spending bill while Crisologo-Smith stated that he viewed it as a policy bill. Min said that he was entitled to his viewpoint and that if Anguiano and Goss could convince him that it was a policy bill, he would change his no vote to a yes. Bottoms said that his goal and the reason for his no vote is because he wants to institutionalize the funding within Student

Affairs. Link said that even if people are saying they’re not voting against ethnic grads because they want better ethnic grads, that by voting no, they are voting against ethnic grads. Former senator Tatiana Bush encouraged senators who wanted to work for better ethnic grads to work with her after passing the bill. She added that they had already spoken with Student Affairs and they couldn’t receive any more money. Cano clarified that this was a policy bill due to the way the bill was written. Zokaie said it was arrogant to think that they knew more than the experts since the Business and Finance Commission had unanimously voted yes. The bill passed unanimously.

Senate Bill 95, authored by Martin and introduced by Kimball, to renew the Special Committee on Aggie Bound Outreach for an additional year, passed unanimously.

Senate Bill 97, authored by Gopal, co-authored by Sterling and Padgett and introduced by Padgett, to allocate $5,000 for safety improvements of the UC Davis Athletics 1973 Crown Pumper Fire Engine. Sheehan suggested asking Unitrans to fix it instead of giving it to an outside source.

Sterling said it would be too difficult under a time crunch to ask already hard-working students to work on this project.

The bill passed with a 9-2-1. Anguiano abstained and Goss and Sheehan voted no.

Senate Bill 96, authored and introduced by Goss, coauthored by Kapur, Azari, Sheehan, Cano, Harms, CoronadoMoses, to institutionalize correspondence between ASUCD and the other University of California student governments, was tabled.

Senate Bill 94, authored and introduced by the Internal Affairs Commission, co-authored by Goss, to restructure Chapter Thirteen, Guidelines of Ethics, passed unanimously.

Meeting adjourned at 2:52 a.m.

Open positions within ASUCD can be found at vacancy. ucdavis.edu. AKSHAYA RAMANUJAM compiles the senate briefs. She can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

The california aggie

monday, april 16, 2012 3

ASUCD grants money to communityspecific graduations Revised bill passes unanimously in Senate

By MUNA SADEK Aggie Associate Editor

At the ASUCD Senate meeting last Thursday, a bill that would increase the amount of funds granted to community-specific ceremonies was passed unanimously.

The bill (SB 89), which was revised from a previous version (SB 67), will distribute money to six graduation groups through the reallocation of unused reserves, as opposed to unused grants.

The previous bill attempted to allocate half of the loans from the Club Finance Council (CFC) and half from senate reserves.

The CFC provides about $80,000 in grants and loans to eligible and registered undergraduate campus organizations, but due to restrictions enforced last year by Student Affairs, department-sponsored student clubs and organizations are no longer able to receive ASUCD funding through CFC for events, according to the bill.

The bill expressed that due to recent incidents of hate targeting underrepresented communities on campus, the inviting environment of the university has been compromised.

“This has greatly affected the perception UC Davis has among underrepresented communities, and is a problem which must be rectified through re-establishing a safe atmosphere for these communities on our campus,” the bill stated.

The bill proposed that $1,457 from the REACH Retreat that did not take place, $5,543 from Senate Reserves and $4,989.46 from the dissolved ASUCD unit AS Papers be transferred to community-specific graduation ceremonies.

According to the author of the bill, Senator Jared Crisologo-Smith, the amount that was allocated is set at $10,000 (a $7,000 increase) for all six celebrations, which is about the same amount they had to lobby to receive from ASUCD in previous years.

“The money was literally sitting there serving no purpose,” he said. “I spent weeks making sure this bill was ironclad against any and all arguments anyone might have … With events like these, it seems as though some people search for any excuse not to grant funding. ” Before voting, a number of senators had concerns that the bill was a spending bill, rather than a policy bill. A policy bill would make changes to the budget or the way ASUCD conducts itself, while a spending bill allocates funds to groups to spend or is spent by ASUCD on goods. This bill would usually require a detailed breakdown of cost and quotes.

According to Senator Patrick Sheehan, the type of bill would not have mattered.

“I try to refrain from basing important decisions on nuances in perspective. There were legitimate arguments brought up (and not effectively countered) that showed

quotes (spending breakdown of each event) to be unnecessary,” he said in an e-mail interview. “This is also ironic because the original ethnic grads bill(s) set the precedent for our current spending quote requirements, a point made by Internal Affairs Commission Chair [Sergio] Cano.”

Senator Justin Goss said the bill rearranged the ASUCD budget internally by moving more funds to an existing line item. It also defined ASUCD’s priorities rather than an initial bill allocating funds for a specific purchase.

“In essence, the bill was the senate expressing their belief that ethnic graduations should be a higher budgetary priority, and the Association should be run accordingly,” Goss said in an email interview.

Goss explained why it was policy bill.

“This bill was unique because it involved both money and policy, and thus it was easy to confuse the two. The main reason it was a policy bill is because there was already a small budget line item created for ethnic graduations last year; that was a spending bill,” he said.

Goss said the reason he believes the bill passed the second time was because it took money from less contentious sources and was infrastructurally stronger and also because members of the table who voted “no” the first time used the interim to learn the significance of cultural graduations.

Crisologo-Smith, Goss and Sheehan

agree that Student Affairs most likely will not grant money toward ethnic gradations during the budget shortfalls.

“In this current budget crisis, everyone is looking for places to cut costs rather than give additional funding,” Crisologo-Smith said in an e-mail interview.

Because the bill was relevant to many students of minority backgrounds, Thursday’s meeting included many students who chose to participate to ensure the bill’s passage. During the meeting Goss argued that senators are elected by the student body and they must listen to their concerns.

“Because many students are apathetic towards the Association, it normally doesn’t play out that way and we’re left to vote with a vague idea of what the student body wants. Thursday night was different, communities that cared about cultural graduations showed up to Senate and reminded us we were elected in part to serve and represent them,” he said.

Crisologo-Smith said he was ecstatic to see the bill passed unanimously, after he saw that the first attempt to assess the opinion of the senators only received six votes of support.

“After hours of arguing it became apparent that all arguments against this bill held no weight, and it eventually became useless for opponents to even try,” he said.

MUNA SADEK can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

New Safe Party website launched New website is iOS- and Android-optimized

By ROHIT RAVIKUMAR Campus News Writer

In September 2005, as part of the Safer California Universities study and newly formed Safe Party Initiative, a Safe Party website was created. This year, the website has been revamped and optimized for iOS and Android, allowing students easier access to the website on their phones. “‘Party throwers’ and ‘party goers’ can find out how to keep the

party going, help a friend in an emergency and make it home after a night out,” said Mandy Li, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug (ATOD) Risk Reduction Coordinator. “Students can call Tipsy Taxi, local taxi cab companies and Unitrans with one-touch dialing on mobile devices.”

After meeting with various focus groups, the designers of the website determined it to be outdated. The team in charge of the website included Li, several ATOD Student Assistants

cramer Cont. from page 6 in one of those games both Mancasola and Corbin started in tandem).

It is also important to note that next season will see the introduction of Corey Hawkins, who missed the 2011-12 season due to transfer rules following his move to UC Davis from Arizona State.

The 6-3 guard still has sophomore eligibility and rumor has it he has been a standout performer in practice.

With Hawkins looking to make a move

and Adam Napolitan, Student Health and Counseling Services Communications Director.

“Really, this is embracing the mobile web experience and allowing the site to be agile and adjust for the user’s browsing needs,” said Napolitan, who served as the lead programmer on the project. The website incorporates a number of new web design trends, including HTML5, CSS3 and optimization for touch screens.

An extensive advertising cam-

for a spot in the 2012-13 starting lineup and Mancasola already entrenched as a reliable option, Corbin probably would have seen a reduced role next season.

Nobody likes to see players transfer out of their program, but in this case it is not nearly as bad as it seems.

As similar as it seems, these latest departures are not the same type we witnessed under Stewart’s reign, and moving forward they might actually be the best moves for Les and the UC Davis basketball team.

TREVOR CRAMER can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

paign is planned for the website, including using screens in the Memorial Union (MU) and housing areas and handing out fliers to apartment complexes to share with their tenants.

“We’re looking at a very broad advertising plan,” Li said.

Safe Party Initiative Partners will be present at Picnic Day to spread information.

“The Safe Party Initiative Partners and Picnic Day organizers will be delivering Safe Party packs with information to

promote responsibility at parties,” said Sarah Hellesen, ATOD Student Assistant. “The latest message to students and community members this year is to keep their events in their home or backyard ... to avoid unwanted guests from joining the event.”

For more information on Safe Party tips, visit safeparty.ucdavis. edu.

ROHIT RAVIKUMAR can be reached at campus@ theaggie.org.

4 monday, april 16, 2012

The california Aggie

Relay for Life

Nathan Chan / Aggie

This was the ninth year that Relay For Life was held at UC Davis. Due to the chance of rain, the event was moved inside of the Pavilion at the ARC.

Brian Nguyen / Aggie

Senior Alex Tai helped run the Pharmacy Club’s pill toss game at Relay For Life.

Brian Nguyen / Aggie

Some groups made friendship bracelets to sell while they weren’t walking in the relay.

Brian Nguyen / Aggie

Nathan Chan / Aggie

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SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES DO NOT WORK

classifieds

The california aggie

The Greener Side

monday, april 16, 2012 5

by Kyle Green kygreen@ucdavis.edu 25 Lower Freeborn Hall, UCD One Shields Ave. Davis, CA 95616 Editorial: (530) 752-0208 Advertising: (530) 752-0365 Fax: (530) 752-0355 Office Hours: Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.

CLASSIFIED AD RATES* Students: 20¢ per word/day General: 25¢ per word/day * Minimum 5 words LOCAL OPEN AD RATES $10.00 per column inch DEADLINES Publication Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday

Display Ads 4 p.m. Wed 4 p.m. Thu 4 p.m. Fri 4 p.m. Mon

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Notice to Readers The California Aggie reserves the right to, without notice, classify all advertisements, delete objectionable words and phrases, and edit or refuse advertisements. Categories will be strictly adhered to. The Aggie reserves the right to change, without notice, deadlines for advertising copy, rates, rules, and regulations. The advertiser will not hold The Aggie liable for any claims resulting from publication of the advertisement.

Further, the Publisher will not be responsible for any claim resulting from an agreement made between the consumer and advertiser.

Copy should be checked for errors BY THE ADVERTISER following the first insertion. Errors

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in advertisements must be reported before 1 p.m. for correction in next issue. Credit for Publisher error(s) will only be given for the incorrect portion of the advertisement for the first publication date.

All phone numbers appearing in classifieds will be in the 530 area code. Only area codes outside the 530 area will be printed.

For placement or questions e-mail classifieds@theaggie.org.

Thursday’s puzzle solved

There are no refunds/credits for cancellations.

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

THE BACKSTOP 6 monday, april 16, 2012

The california Aggie

Aggies build momentum at Mondo Trevor Cramer

Is Les more?

T

he last few weeks have seen significant turnover in UC Davis men’s basketball.

Head coach Jim Les’ announcement of the departures of sophomores Harrison Dupont, Alex Tiffin and Mike Kurtz was followed just a week later by the announcement that freshman Tyrell Corbin would be leaving the Aggies at the end of the academic year.

To many UC Davis basketball fans, this seems all too similar to the dreaded Gary Stewart years.

Aggie fans can still remember the 2010 departures of players like Jelani Floyd (now at Florida Atlantic) and 2009-10 Big West Conference Freshman of the Year Julian Welch (who averaged nearly 10 points per game this season for Minnesota).

But with that sad history in mind, a closer examination indicates that this time will most likely be different.

Let’s take the departures one by one.

With all due respect to Kurtz (and he has been the butt of many jokes from The Aggie over the past two years) it never really seemed like he had a place in Les’ system.

The Roseville, Calif. native didn’t see the floor all season, and it is hard to imagine that he would have seen much playing time with UC Davis any time in the future.

For Harrison Dupont, the situation is similar.

The transfer from The Citadel did not seem to fit in with Les’ system, which requires perimeter players to pass and shoot the ball well.

Dupont made just one three-pointer in 10 attempts last season, and tallied 24 more turnovers than assists. With seniors Ryan Howley and Ryan Sypkens returning from injury, sophomores Tyler Les and Josh Ritchart showing great improvement last year and a solid group of recruits prepped to make plays to get into the starting lineup, Dupont probably would not have played a big role for the Aggies over the next several seasons.

As far as Tiffin is concerned, he began the year as an everyday starter, but began to lose playing time to freshman JT Adenrele as the season progressed.

With Adenrele looking like a player who will only get better over the next few years, and the official announcement of new recruits 6-10 Spencer Clayton and 6-7 Clint Bozner – who will both be looking to break into the 2012-13 starting lineup – Tiffin looks like an expendable piece for the upcoming season.

Possibly the most surprising departure of the group was Corbin.

While the other three players were brought in by the disaster known as Stewart, Corbin was a member of Les’ first UC Davis recruiting class and started at point guard for the majority of the season.

Like Dupont, however, Corbin was not an ideal fit.

The freshman from Utah shot under 20 percent from long distance last season, and though he led the team with 91 assists, he also topped the Aggies with 96 turnovers.

Junior Paolo Mancasola began to take minutes away from Corbin as the season progressed, and Mancasola started the final two games of the season for the Aggies, including UC Davis’ Big West Tournament game.

In addition, three of the Aggies’ four Division I wins came with Mancasola in the starting lineup (although

See CRAMER, page 3

Men and women both finish third Track and field

By KIM CARR

Aggie Sports Writer

Head coach Drew Wartenburg had hoped to succeed in all aspects of this weekend’s meet.

UC Davis certainly achieved that goal.

The Aggie men capitalized on the performance of senior Ethan Ostrum, who won the men’s pole vault after clearing 5.0m.

Sophomore Nathan Strum and freshman Trevor Ehlenbach earned a 1-2 finish in the 1,500m run and the men’s 4X400m relay team brought home the final win of the day for UC Davis’ men with a seasonbest time of 3:15.21.

Junior Michael Petersen added another six points to the Aggie total after vaulting 4.85m.

Sophomore Hosea Tate and freshman Jason Chandler, two members of the winning 4X400m relay team, also captured points for the Aggies after placing fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 200m.

Their other relay mate, sophomore Karl Moran, finished fifth in the 500m with a season-best time of 49.85.

Senior Robert Neely also

added points to UC Davis’ card by placing fourth in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.02.

On the field side of the meet, sophomore Brandon Greenberg rode his hot streak to another seasonbest performance in shot put. He placed second after jettisoning his shot 16.40m, placing him eighth overall on the list of Aggie shot putters.

Not to be outdone, UC Davis’ women also claimed several top-five event placings.

Sophomore Alycia Cridebring brought home the only event win of the day for the women after finishing the 1,500m run in 4:28.11. She was followed by three fellow sophomores: Kristine Loyoza, Shannon Harcus and Courtney Costa, who finished third, sixth and eighth respectively.

Junior sprinter Melanie Chapman blitzed to a second-place finish in the 100m with a time of 11.79.

She then collected a thirdplace finish in the 200m with a time of 24.51. Fellow junior Leslie Reed joined Chapman in the top five after placing fifth in the 200m with a time of 24.65.

Chapman and Reed joined freshmen Cekarri Nixon and Janay Pierce in

Kristina Geddert / Aggie

UC Davis performed well in the pole vault competition at the Mondo Mid-major Challenge this weekend. the 4X100m relay. The four posted a collective time of 46.62, the fifth-best time in UC Davis history.

Senior Tonie Williams brought home another third-place finish for the Aggies after running a

season-best 56.27 in the 400m.

Freshman Katie Fry impressed again this season after placing fourth in the 800m with a time of 2:11.61.

Sprinters Chapman and Nixon joined sophomore Kellie Grigg and senior Alana Babers to post a season-best time of 3:48.55 and take third place in the 4X400m relay.

The Aggie women also excelled in the field events thanks to senior Lauren Radke’s 3.85m pole vault, which took second overall. Radke was joined by junior Emily Bush who took fifth overall after clearing 3.55m.

Senior Ashley Hearn rounded out the top five placings for UC Davis after claiming fourth overall in the hammer throw. She gave her second-best distance of the season, an impressive 54.44m.

Wartenburg applauded his team’s performance and he looks forward to the upcoming weeks.

“Several event wins ... and a number of season and lifetime bests give us some solid building blocks for the weeks to come,” he said.

KIM CARR can be reached at sports@ theaggie.org.

‘Plugged in’ Americans suffer from sleep texting

By Lily O’Gara

The New Hampshire (University of New Hampshire)

People do odd things when they sleep.

There’s the obvious sleep talking, sleepwalking, mumbling, and snoring. However, one thing that doctors report as being on the rise is the phenomenon of sleep texting.

Sleep texting is exactly what it sounds like, and those who do it do not remember doing so until they see sent messages in their outboxes the next morning. Doctors report that the action is most likely caused by the fact that teenagers and college students are always interacting with technology.

This interaction with technology is making it increasingly difficult for the human body to distin-

guish between waking and sleeping times, and according to The Melbourne Sleep Disorder Centre in Australia, sleep texting has been identified as a real medical occurrence.

Indeed, Americans are so “plugged in” that occurrences of sending emails or pictures while asleep have also been reported.

U. New Hampshire students are no exception to this current trend, though many people do not know that sleep texting is as widespread as it is.

“I had a friend who did it. But I didn’t think it was an actual thing. I still don’t see how it could be; I just saw it as a lame excuse for not remembering conversations,” sophomore Max Auger said.

“I do it all of the time. I’ve gone on Facebook and stuff, too, since I have an iPhone. It’s weird be-

cause you don’t remember any of it,” student Kassandra Sampson said.

Kathleen Grace-Bishop, UNH Health Services director of education and promotion, said that, although the specific problem of sleep texting has not yet been reported to Health Services, many other sleep issues have, and they continue to be reported.

“Students have been seeking assistance for sleep-related issues for many years. This seems to mirror what has been happening in the United States, where sleep is becoming more of a concern as research continues to indicate that we are sleep-deprived as a nation,” Grace-Bishop said.

According to Grace-Bishop, 20.6 percent of UNH students surveyed by the American College Health Association not-

ed sleep difficulties as impacting their academic performance in the last 12 months. Having sleep issues is the number two reported problem, following stress at 27.8 percent.

Health Services professionals, along with doctors across the nation, agree that mixing technology and sleep is a dangerous idea.

They advise patients to turn electronics off at least one hour before bed, and to plug the devices in elsewhere in the room, not right next to the pillow.

UNH student Jade Chandronnait learned this the hard way.

“It’s kind of embarrassing, but I do it [sleep text] a lot. I can’t sleep with my phone near my bed, or I wake up with an outbox full of things that don’t make sense and quite a few confused friends,” Chandronnait said.

Researchers see connections between Facebook and narcissism

By Drew Oros

Daily Collegian (Penn State University)

The amount of likes on a Facebook status or the number of comments and uploads of pictures may be an indication of narcissism, according to a recent study.

A study conducted by Dr. Christopher Carpenter, assistant professor of communication at Western Illinois U., tested 294 participants whose ages ranged between 18 and 65. The volunteers participated in an online survey that asked them questions about Facebook use, according to the study.

The study was conducted to see if anti-social Facebook use could be attributed to narcissism. Anti-social Facebook use can range from a user retaliating against a negative comment

to becoming angry if someone doesn’t comment on the user’s status.

But, Carpenter said Facebook does not cause users to become narcissists.

Narcissism is a trait people genetically inherit, and Facebook gives those who share this trait a platform to interact, he said.

According to the study, traits of narcissism include a sense of selfimportance or uniqueness, an inability to tolerate criticism, an expectation of special favors without reciprocation and greater leadership ability.

But Carpenter said the narcissistic tendency of leadership could be positive.

Facebook users who have the narcissistic trait of “grand exhibitionism” are predicted to have a high friend count. They want the ability to gain attention from a large audience, according to the

study.

According to the study, these people are also more likely to accept friend requests from strangers.

Narcissists on Facebook may leave negative comments that can harm interpersonal relationships, according to the study.

Carpenter said narcissists who participate in this behavior often do not know the implications of their actions.

“The purpose of the study was not to find the overall amount of narcissists; it was to find the correlation and the patterns of narcissism on Facebook,” S. Shyam Sundar said.

Sundar is the founder of the Penn State Media Effects Research Laboratory. His research investigates the psychological effects unique to web-based mass communication, he said.

Facebook and Twitter allow users to be the masters of their own

domain, Sundar said. If they feel like the “rock star” of their personal page, it can give them a sense of self-importance, he said.

But he said this feeling of importance does not constitute narcissism in everyone. Facebook may give someone who is an introvert the ability to express himself or herself online, he said.

Vanessa Foster said people who constantly change their profile picture may be trying to draw attention to themselves. They may be trying to draw positive comments to boost self-confidence, she said.

Foster said a psychologist might be able to use Facebook to diagnose traits of narcissism, but it is only one way to help with the diagnosis.

“You would have to learn about the person, their behavior, and the environment they interact in,” Foster said.