April 26, 2012

serving the uc davis campus and community since 1915

www.theaggie.org

volume 131, number 55

thursday, april 26, 2012

Davis Dozen arraignment set for this Friday Eleven students, one professor face up to 11 years in prison

By MUNA SADEK Aggie Associate Editor

Nearly three months after U.S. Bank announced its withdrawal from the university campus, 12 protesters have been ordered to court for an arraignment on Friday at 8:30 a.m.

The 11 students and one professor face up to 11 years in prison on the charges of the obstruction of movement in a public place and conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor by Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig.

While protesters were allegedly blocking the entrance to the bank, several citations were issued that notified them of California Penal Code Section 647C, for public passage obstruction. No arrests were made during that time.

If convicted, the protesters, dubbed the “Davis Dozen” or the “Banker’s Dozen,” could pay up to $1 million in damages.

The bank cited the uni-

versity responsible for terminating the agreement, while stating they were “constructively evicted” in the termination letter to school officials.

According to a press release from the Occupy UC Davis Antirepression Crew, supporters argue that the University targeted the group of demonstrators in an attempt to limit its liability to U.S. Bank.

UC Davis spokesperson Barry Shiller said that the prosecutions are only directed toward alleged crimes despite claims that it was due to the University’s liability to the bank.

“This subjected the participants to possible penalties both criminal and student judicial and the protests did not stop until the bank closed its doors on Feb. 28 … The last thing that the Chancellor wants is to see anybody saddled with a bill for restitution,” Shiller said.

The Yolo County District Attorney was involved

Brian Nguyen / Aggie

On Monday, protesters held a rally in support of the Davis Dozen. People were encouraged to write letters to the District Attorney’s office, as well as make phone calls. when several complaints were made from students to University administration about accessing the bank, according to Shiller.

“The District Attorney did make the decision after studying the information that 12 of the people merited having these misdemeanor complaints filed against them,” he said. “It wasn’t just diffi-

Senate Bill 960 passes through Senate Education Committee Bill would require a general election for all CSU fee-related changes

cult – it was not just a matter of stepping over somebody who was sitting there peacefully – they reported that they were being physically obstructed from being able to enter by people who were literally blocking their access.”

Some students involved in the pepper spraying incident last November are also among the Davis Dozen.

Occupiers are claiming that while pepper sprayed occupiers were not charged for events in fall, this prosecution is an attempt to punish protesters. “… This less publicized prosecution seems to be an attempt to punish the dissenting students, perhaps in retaliation for their pending ACLU [the American Civil Liberties Union] lawsuit against the University,” the press release stated.

A Facebook event page has been created to assist students in finding carpools to Yolo County Superior Court, where the arraignment is to take place. Ninety-one people have confirmed their attendance, as of Wednesday.

On Monday, student protesters held a demonstration on the Quad in support of the Davis Dozen.

More than 40 protesters were present.

UC Berkeley student protesters also received similar letters four months after demonstrations last

November, when police officers engaged in violence to remove students for protesting the state of public education. Supporters are claiming that retroactively prosecuting students is a tactic the administration is employing to avoid negative media attention.

“We might not think of this as violence, because there aren’t broken bones or pepper spray or guns – it’s not as explicit – but sending someone to jail, holding them for a day, let alone 11 years, is violence,” said Andrew Higgins, representative of the UC graduate student union and history graduate student, in the press release.

Supporters of the Davis Dozen are urging members of the public to contact the Yolo County District Attorney and to attend the arraignment to demonstrate opposition toward the prosecution.

Both the UC Davis

See DOZEN, page 4

Who’s that Aggie?

Computer science major Joey Fusco skydives for sport

By ISAIAH SHELTON Aggie Features Writer

Editor’s note: In Who’s That Aggie?, The California Aggie finds a student on campus and investigates their background and experiences at UC Davis.

When junior computer science major Joey Fusco walks into a room, the energy shifts in his favor. He moves quickly and speaks even swifter. Fusco sports a slight smudge on the right shoulder of his shirt and a greenish bruise on the inside of his right arm as he extends his hand to shake.

See SKYDIVER, page 7

Joey Fusco (bottom left) and skydivers

courtesy

Preliminary Picnic Day Statistics The Davis and UC Davis Police Departments’ released their preliminary Picnic Day data from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Sunday was released on Monday.

Irisa Tam / Aggie

By EINAT GILBOA Aggie Staff Writer

The California Senate Education Committee approved Senate Bill 960, a bill aimed at giving California State University (CSU) students a chance at increased involvement when it comes to self-imposed fees, on April 11.

The bill still awaits the State Senate approval.

The bill ensures that student fees are not unfairly implemented by CSU administration without a re-vote of the entire student body, stated the press release from Senator Michael J. Rubio (D- Shafter), who introduced the bill.

“SB 960 will set into law important protections for CSU students that prevent campus presidents from raiding the student fee accounts that the college students voted to impose on themselves and that they are paying with their own hard earned money,” Rubio said in the press release.

The bill would also address the problem of CSU administration changing the designation of student fees without student body consent.

“College students are already having a difficult time making ends meet to pay for rising tuition and living costs,”

See BILL, page 3

2012:

2011:

Arrests: 53, for public intoxication: 37, four will face criminal charges Citations: 150, opencontainer of alcohol: 91 (88 issued in the Safety Enhancement Zone encompassing Downtown Davis and Old North Davis), minor in possession of alcohol: 26

Arrests: 54, for public intoxication: 32 Citations: 207, opencontainer of alcohol: 124 (118 in the Downtown Davis Safety Enhancement Zone), minor in possession of alcohol: 37 — Angela Swartz

Previous years:

2010: 38 arrests (30 misdemeanor, 6 felony), 60 citations 2009: 32 arrests (30 misdemeanor, 2 felony), 83 citations 2008: 19 arrests (17 misdemeanor, 2 felony), 101 citations 2007: 19 arrests (all misdemeanors), 98 citations

Students advocate for bill package as Lobby Month approaches Students advocate for bill package as Lobby Month approaches

By DANIELLE HUDDLESTUN Aggie News Writer

Beginning in May, the students of Lobby Corps will be traveling to the state capitol at least three times per week in order to lobby for their bill package.

Lobby Corps is an advocacy unit under ASUCD. The group works on behalf of UC Davis students at the state capitol to lobby for bills that will benefit the student body.

“All legislation is relative to

Today’s weather Chance of showers High 61 Low 45

higher education and looked at from a student’s perspective. They relate to three aims: transparency, affordability and accountability,” said Bihter Ozedirne, Director of Lobby Corps.

There are 10 bills that the students are lobbying for, all falling under the categories of corporation taxes, student financial aid, public postsecondary education and postsecondary education.

“Holding the UC Regents and respective administrations accountable will evaluate the qual-

ity of academics and services provided to students. Assembly Bill 2190 establishes a California Higher Education Authority which will monitor and report on the progress and quality of the postsecondary systems,” said Kevin Pascual, Internal Director of Lobby Corps. “The transparency aspect ensures that the public is made aware of all decisions made by the Regents including a public broadcast of all open meetings, and bridging the gap between campus law enforce-

Forecast Yet again, warm weather is returning this weekend so get out and enjoy the outdoors; perhaps a leisurely walk downtown will suffice, or by supporting the softball team on Saturday who plays against UCSB! GO AGGIES! Matthew Little, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team

ment and students.”

Pascual said that two of the bills focus on providing more information on textbook sources and freezing administrative pay every time a tuition increase is approved.

Lobby Corps has been working on the bill package for the entire year. They usually choose around five to seven bills, but this year they are lobbying 10.

“I’m very happy with the bills we selected. The theme that all of the bills deal with are increas-

Friday

Saturday

Sunny

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High 71 Low 50

High 78 Low 55

ing higher education with students, bettering their experience by making it easier with tuition costs,” said Graciela Miller, Director of Publicity for Lobby Corps.

With Lobby Month quickly approaching, students are encouraged to get involved with Lobby Corps.

The proper training is provided and the group will be holding a forum on campus on May 1.

See LOBBY, page 3 Burger King has announced that all of its eggs and pork will come from cage-free chickens and pigs by 2017. Game changer? Maybe not. But at least tens of thousands of animals will be that much happier!

Amanda Nguyen

page two

2 thursday, april 26, 2012

daily calendar dailycal@theaggie.org

Showcase

TODAY Discussion About the Middle Class Scholarship Act Noon to 1 p.m.

Summit Room, Student Union, Sacramento State Campus Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) will join State Rep. Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento), State Rep. Alyson Huber (D-El Dorado Hills), and State Rep. Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) at Sacramento State University to meet with students to address the rising cost of college statewide and the Speaker’s Middle Class Scholarship Act, AB 1500 and AB 1501.

8 to 10 p.m.

Wright Hall, Main Theatre Telemark’s Annual Showcase features a range of ballroom pieces that Davis students and community members have been practicing all year. It is an exciting show featuring everything from swing pieces to waltz and cha cha. Tickets are $8 for students and $10 for adults.

SATURDAY Lyris String Quartet

12:05 to 1 p.m.

115 Music Watch this free concert by the Lyris String Quartet.

7 to 8 p.m.

Vanderhoef Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center Watch Alyssa Park and Shalini Vijayan on violin, Luke Maurer on viola and Timothy Loo on cello. The Lyris String Quartet (artists-in-residence) is based in Los Angeles and has performed on many of L.A.’s prestigious chamber music series and venues. Tickets are $8 for students and children and $20 for adults.

Poetry in the Garden: Andy Jones and Bob Stanley

Telemark’s 21st Annual Showcase

Noon to 1 p.m.

Wyatt Deck, Old Davis Road The UC Davis Arboretum invites fans of good writing and beautiful gardens to enjoy a reading by poets Andy Jones and Bob Stanley. Parking is available for $7 in Visitor Lot 5, on Old Davis Road and A Street. For more information, please call 752-4880 or visit arboretum.ucdavis.edu.

8 to 10 p.m.

Wright Hall, Main Theatre Telemark’s Annual Showcase features a range of ballroom pieces that Davis students and community members have been practicing all year. It is an exciting show featuring everything from swing pieces to waltz and cha cha. Tickets are $8 for students and $10 for adults.

Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series

Your Sustainable Backyard: Pollinator Gardening

4:10 to 5 p.m.

1005 GBSF Go to this seminar to listen to Dr. Nicholas Kenyon give his lecture “Nitric Oxide at the Interface of Therapeutics and Biomarkers in Asthma.”

8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

1001 Giedt Learn how to support pollinators and enhance the environmental potential of your home landscape during this special workshop. The fee is $45 and includes parking, morning coffee, tea and scones, and a gourmet boxed lunch. For more information or to register, visit ccuh. ucdavis.edu or contact Missy Gable at 752-6642 or mjborel@ucdavis.edu.

Shinkoskey Noon Concert: Lyris String Quartet

Strengthening Your Team through Active Listening 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Community Center — Building 180, Center for Leadership Learning (housed at The Colleges at La Rue) Join us with facilitator Mu Chou, International Student Advisor and Recruiter — UC Davis Extension, for an interactive session where you will practice listening skills that will help reduce conflict, strengthen cooperation and foster understanding.

Arts Versus Science Debate 8 to 9 p.m.

UC Davis Conference Center Martin Perl, winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize in physics, and his son, Jed Perl, art critic for The New Republic, will discuss the creative process in science and the arts. Their discussion will be moderated by Dean Simonton, a distinguished professor of psychology at UC Davis. The event is free and open to the public.

FRIDAY Folk Music Jam Session Noon to 1 p.m.

Wyatt Deck, Old Davis Road Join your fellow musicians for a little bluegrass, old-time, blues, Celtic, Klezmer, and world music over the lunch hour. All skill levels and listeners welcome. Parking is available for $7 in Visitor Lot 5, on Old Davis Road and A Street. For more information, please call 752-4880 or visit arboretum.ucdavis.edu.

SUNDAY Arboretum Nature Discovery Drop-in 1 to 3 p.m.

Wyatt Deck, Old Davis Road Naturalists of all ages are invited to visit the UC Davis Arboretum for a special chance to explore, observe, investigate, and enjoy hands-on activities. Free parking is available in Visitor Lot 5, on Old Davis Road and A Street. For more information, please call 752-4880 or visit arboretum. ucdavis.edu.

UC Davis Baroque Ensemble 3 to 4 p.m.

Vanderhoef Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center Watch the UC Davis Baroque Ensemble with co-directors Phebe Craig and Michael Sand, along with the Davis High School Baroque Ensemble with director Angelo Moreno. Tickets are $6 for students and children and $12 for adults.

Akebono: Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan Showcase 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Freeborn Akebono is Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan’s first spring showcase. Listen to original songs as well as collaborations with the Popping Club, Lion Dance and more.

Learn the Salamati Dance

Tri-Co-op Garden Party Near Regan dorms 1 to 3 p.m.

Join some hippies for a gardening party at the student co-ops, on campus every Friday. The tri-cooperative community is now seeking applicants for fall; everyone is welcome. Contact sjrush@ucdavis.edu with any questions.

7 to 10 p.m.

Davis Art Center, Studio E, 1919 F Street It’s a popular dance to a Farsi drinking song with steps by a top Israeli choreographer, taught as part of the Davis International Folkdancers’ ongoing class. The first class is free to newcomers. Bring gritfree, non-marking shoes.

Junior Recital

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.

3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

115 Music Watch this free concert by Shawyon Malek-Salehi playing violin with Megumi Chen on piano.

Telemark’s 21st Annual

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.

The california Aggie

“Girls” is able to provide an entertaining depiction of twenty-something-yearold girls, probably because with all the sex and drama, twenty-something-yearAndy old girls are pretty interestVerderosa ing when they stop obsessing over which brunch place to go to. It’s not a question of when the show will run out of things for Hannah and her friends to do, but if there is a broad enough fan base to carry the show. Hannah probably won’t resonate with people outside of major cithere’s a lot to be said ies, and even in those cities, about the new aptly ti- only a small minority will retled HBO series, “Girls”, ally pick up on her aesthetic and most of it already has as an average-looking, fashbeen written by TV columion-forward, aspiring author nists, feminist critics, New who has sex that is equally as York critics, feminist New awkward as it is casual.

York critics and other experts Which is why the main in the world of circle-scarfcriticism of the show so far dom. has been its niche approach.

“Girls” is a show created Putting emphasis on the

by Lena Dunham. She stars struggle of educated, upas Hannah, a per-mid24-year-old dle class, This narrative can resonate with white in New York who, at the pretty much anyone in our age twenonset of the ty-somegroup series, is cutthings with off by her paran affinients. Hannah lives in the ty for dinner parties is obvivery real world of unpaid in- ously going to receive some ternships, artistic aspirations backlash. But the point of and premature ejaculations. the show isn’t to depict evShe and her friends strugery 24-year-old girl, despite gle with relationships, dinwhat the title may suggest. ner parties and trying to figLena Dunham is depicting ure out if that stuff that gets her reality, not the realities around the side of the conof other people in New York dom can give you HIV, which or the realities of girls in will then lead to AIDS. other situations in life.

There is a certain aspect to And while I know each this show that is so relevant and every one of these to me and our generation girls, I do think that there that it’s almost hard to watch is something about the because you already know show that is relatable to a how a scene will play out. lot of people who may not I mean this as in it’s relatbe hypochondriac English able, not predictable. When I majora about to be cut off asked a friend of mine what from their parents. her initial reaction to the It’s because at its core, show was, she texted me, “I “Girls” portrays young need to make life changes so people who are doing I stop relating to this show.” their best to enjoy themAnd it’s true; in one hour of selves while coming to footage, HBO has shown the terms with adulthood and most realistic portrayal of the less-than secure relationgirls that I know that I’ve ever ships. This narrative can seen (and I’ve seen that mov- resonate with pretty much ie Thirteen). anyone in our age group.

The show does a good job Hannah’s stoned procwith its depiction of the inlamation about being the terplay between women voice of her generation is and the sort of lexicon that more an ode to the somefriend-groups so impresswhat silly idea that our ingly create. On ranking the generation is searching hierarchy of communicafor a voice and the even tion, Marnie says with consillier idea that our generfidence, “The lowest, that ation deserves a voice. would be Facebook, followed We don’t feel sympaby G-chat, then texting, then thy for Hannah, since our e-mail, then phone. Face-to- generation knows all too face is of course ideal, but is well what it’s like to be not of this time.” Similar indenied a job, or caught in teractions provide inside between friends; instead jokes about being a young its empathy, because we adult in 2012, like the all but know exactly what she is fake power of running a twit- going through — we’ve ter account, or being embar- been there. We know it rassed yet thankful that your sucks, but it’s way cool parents still support you. that HBO is giving Lena There is some universal truth Dunham a Sunday HBO to Hannah that is wildly entime slot to show it. tertaining. It’s not a laughout-loud comedy, which If you want to talk more about the show, makes the interplay of char- or you’re a twenty-four-year-old girl living in New York, contact ANDY VERDEROSA at acters that much more realasverderosa@ucdavis.edu. istic and subtly hilarious.

I know those girls

T

very exhausting. After a while, you realize that you are tired of sharing yourself with everyone. But when you turn to those who know you best already, sharing Kristina is never a chore. I am sure Simonaityte that there are people in the other groups that I could be very good friends with, but how do you start a first conversation with someone you’ve supposedly known for seven months?

I wish this wasn’t the case. Don’t get me wrong, I love my people, and our group is so big that we need hen you leave for a Doodle in order to see a year-long exwho’s available when just change, you to grab lunch. However at put your previous life on times a change of compapause and start creating ny can be very rewarding. a new one from scratch Some time ago I went on a at your temporary home. trip to Joshua Tree. The felObviously, Skype and low travellers were all inFacebook help to keep ternationals. While I knew in touch with family and friends back home, but it is most of them from before, most of them weren’t the new (and live!) friendmy people. ships that Obviously, you’re reThere was no competition or it ended ally interested in debad feelings; everything just up being an amazveloping. happened naturally ing trip and How often a life lesdo you get son too! a chance to meet so many All those groups just hapnew, interesting people pened. In a different place, who also are in the same at a different time, we life-changing situation as might’ve shuffled in some you?! other way. We act like there This year was supposed are some boundaries — we to be my American experience. It actually turned out are here and they are there, us and them. There are to be our experience set in people migrating from one the American background. group to another; for them It just so happens that the the lines are more fuzzy. I group of people I hang out wonder if the others have with are mostly exchange students. I guess it’s natural ever discussed this?

Anyways, in reality we’re in a new, strange environall in the same boat: we all ment to stick to your own freaked out last week afkind. And in this 30,000 ter receiving an official replus community, my kind minder that there’s only was other exchangees.

60 days left until the exWe all met on our first week in Davis, starting with piration of our visas. Two months and everyone will the essential trip to IKEA followed by an internation- scatter all over the world. al students orientation, fro- And my paused life has recently been requiring zen yogurt at YoloBerry, barbeques and a trip to San more and more attention.

I still need to buy tickets Francisco. But in the background, some other very in- back home, find a place to live in Edinburgh … time teresting things were hapto get back to real life. But pening during that first what can be more real week. Smaller, more excluthan this? sive groups were forming Each and every one within the big group of exchange students at Davis — of us will be bonded by the shared experience of the company of 80 people was simply too big to keep. Davis and by our fading tans from the California Some groups were sun. The groups will take formed based on nationon a different life: trips alities, level of coolness or shared expectations for this to see each other, letters, exciting year. There was no FB messages … Hey now, wipe away those tears — competition or bad feelwe’re still in Davis, there’s ings; everything just hapstill plenty of time to form pened naturally. Funnily a music band, we can still enough though, after that make those brownies and first week, the groups rarely come into contact. When we can still learn Italian.

And our international stuwe do (usually at parties), dent card hasn’t expired it’s always a bit awkward yet, in case you’ll need to — although we know evget out of paying the fine erything about each othfor ignoring yet another er from Facebook, actualSTOP sign. ly we don’t know each other at all …

I don’t think that this igTo hear more about group dynamics of norance is intentional. international students you can reach KRISTINA SIMONAITYTE at ksimonaityte@ Making new friendships, ucdavis.edu. while exciting, can also be

The real life

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Campus judicial Report He or She? A female student in an engineering class was recently referred to Student Judicial Affairs (SJA) for allegedly having another student take an exam for her. The professor first became suspicious after noticing that a male turned in a test with a female name on it. On the day the test was returned, the professor observed that a female who bore no resemblance to the male picked up the test. The student denied that a male student had submitted her exam, alleging that she had turned in the test herself with her name on it. The student was issued an Administrative Notice. Although it is not a disciplinary sanction, an Administrative Notice means that Student Judicial Affairs will keep a record of the incident. This record would likely aggravate disciplinary sanctions if the student is found in violation for a similar incident in the future.

Wrong Answer

A student in a different engineering class was referred to SJA for allegedly copying a solutions manual for a homework assignment. The professor specifically told the class not to use the solutions manual to solve the homework problems.

Since one of the answers in the solutions manual was wrong, the professor would be able to catch anyone who copied from it. The student was referred because her answer matched the incorrect answer in the solutions manual. However, what the professor did not realize was that the answer to half of the problems was in the back of the class text, and the answer given in the textbook was also incorrect. Thus, when the student met with a Judicial Officer, she alleged that she did the problem on her own and got an answer. She stated that she checked her answer in the back of the textbook, realized that it was different than the answer in the book and tried to work backwards from the given answer to solve the problem.

The University decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and

her referral was resolved with an Administrative Notice.

Website Catches Student A student was reported to SJA for plagiarizing an essay in a design class. Students in the class were required to submit their papers to turnitin.com, a website that identifies similarities between papers. When the website came up with a 40% similarity rating, the professor became suspicious. The professor then realized that the paper used many of the same words and visuals as an assignment turned in the previous year by another student. The student later admitted that he had copied some of his work from a friend who had taken the class previously. The student agreed to be placed on Deferred Separation status, meaning that if the student is found in violation of academic misconduct again, he will likely be suspended or dismissed from the University. The student also agreed to do 15 hours of community service.

Thirsty (for knowledge) Thursdays Jason Alpert Editor in Chief

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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Views or opinions expressed in The Aggie by editors or columnists regarding legislation or candidates for political office or other matters are those of the editors or columnist alone. They are not those of the University of California or any department of UC. Advertisements appearing in The Aggie reflect the views of advertisers only; they are not an expression of editorial opinion by The Aggie.

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To Pass (P), or Not Pass (NP)?

During your time at UC Davis, there is a good chance you will end up taking a class you neither need nor like. Occasionally, these classes are harder than they seem. However, let’s say you recognize your disdain for the subject too late, and you can’t drop the class. What do you do then?

Luckily there is a solution: if you are in good academic standing, you may request to take the class on a pass/no pass (P/NP) basis. Though some students believe that taking a class P/NP looks poor on a transcript, it is often a better option than receiving a poor grade in a class and duly lowering your overall grade-point average. There are also a few other benefits that make this option more appealing.

For example, if you are a science major who is 100 percent positive that you want to switch into the College of Letters and Science after you fail a chemistry midterm, it makes sense to complete that class P/NP. That way, the poor grade you receive will not affect your GPA. Also, you won’t have to waste your time retaking the class when you don’t even need it for your new major.

Here’s another example: If you are taking a class just for fun, and you decide that you’ve made a terrible mistake, opting for a P/NP grade is better than having a D or an F on your graduate school application.

Pass/no pass is also a useful grading system if you want to explore interests outside of your current major, but are unsure

as to how well you will do in them. In these cases, taking a class P/NP is a great way to try out new subjects while alleviating the pressure of an A to F grading scale. Besides, somehow, classes always seem more fun when you take away the pressure of grades.

Finally, if you are a graduating senior who has finished all your major classes but needs more units to graduate, taking a class P/ NP can help lighten your workload. It will mostly likely be the (first and) last time you can congratulate yourself for passing with a C-.

Keep in mind, you do not receive units for a NP grade, and the amount of classes you are allowed to take P/ NP varies across Colleges.

The classes that are unsuitable for P/NP grading are major requirements, class-

es fulfilling graduate school requirements, and mandatory breadth courses (a.k.a.

GE requirements). If you are still unsure as to which classes you should take P/ NP, speak to an adviser. It’ll stop you from making the wrong decision.

For all of you debating about taking a class P/NP, be sure to weigh the pros and cons and make your decision by Friday, May 4th. P/ NP grading may allow you to explore a new major/minor, save your GPA, or even help you relax a bit during this lovely spring quarter.

The Academic Affairs Commission (AAC) is an advisory board to the ASUCD Senate on all academic matters at UC Davis and throughout the UC system.

Each week the AAC will give you tips about academic success!

OPINION

The california aggie

thursday, APRIL 26, 2012 3

editorials

Uc davis

Students for sale Over the last six months, UC Davis has come under heavy scrutiny for the administration’s treatment of students. A lot of time and money have been spent on administrative reviews aimed at bettering the relationship between police, admins, and the students they serve.

While such criticism is fully deserved, it fails to address the reason why students are protesting in the first place: The cost of our university education is going up and the quality is going down.

It’s been said before, and we’ll say it again –– college education should be more than just a resume item.

As students in the University of California system, we are credited with being members of the intellectual elite, but we’re treated more like Model Fords on an assembly line.

Surely with a bachelor’s degree comes a deeper, more complex understanding of the world than was held at the unripened age of 18. But it doesn’t seem that UC Davis is doing much to accelerate this process.

By senior year, we’re better at speaking during class when we haven’t done the reading, better at staying up all night writing essays and better at obtaining drugs not prescribed to us. Four years and thousands of dollars later, we are better at playing the system, and that’s about it.

So what is to blame? We approach this problem with what little critical thinking skills we have garnered through GE requirements.

Perhaps it is the quarter system, whose measly 10 weeks provide the same level of engagement as online traffic school. It takes a dedicated professor to give

feedback to every essay written in their 300-person intro class. It takes an even more dedicated student to write an essay worth reading with only six hours of lecture material to inform their argument.

Perhaps it is the budget cuts, which mean less attention to individual students. They mean less institutional pressure to not text in class. They mean professors are forced to teach to the test. They mean no one is going to notice if you don’t show up. Furthermore, maybe it is the fact that students are forced to take classes they’re not interested in because there are not enough seats in the classes they care about.

As the cost goes up, there is a greater need for afterschool jobs and less time to focus on studying. When making lattes is your livelihood, it’s hard to prioritize 100 pages of Foucault.

Perhaps all of these issues are leading students to care more about their diploma than the education that comes with it.

But perhaps the problem is bigger than our campus or even the State. Perhaps the real issue is a society which prioritizes money over character, A’s over comprehension and campus police over professors in impacted majors.

If this campus has learned anything over the last few months, it’s that the choices of the UC Davis administration are not necessarily in the best interest of the students.

So let’s stop treating ourselves like products. Let’s start getting our money’s worth out of each and every unit we sign up for. And let’s start thinking critically about our education.

courtesy newsday.com

Jordan S. Carroll

A modest proposal

T

his year’s UC admissions hit a record high, reaching 80,289 students, and included a higher percentage of out-ofstate and international students than ever before. The new push toward larger incoming classes is obviously a shrewd move for administrators. Following in the footsteps of that great American corporation, McDonald’s, we can build a university that values new tuition dollars over intangibles like education — one in which millions and millions are served.

By cutting budgets, instituting hiring freezes and increasing sales volume, the UC system drives unit costs down. As a result, the school doesn’t have to spend as much per student and the school makes a little more money. Meanwhile, increases in tuition mean that students pay even more for a product worth less.

(Would you like fries with that?)

But even under this plan, we’re still spending way too much on profit sucks like instruction. Students pay the same tuition whether they’re taught well or poorly so we shouldn’t allow quality of education to get in the way. Let’s try for 160,000 students by 2020!

We could start by recording as many lectures as possible and putting them online. Students will probably want to feel like they’re learning something so we could supplement these with a few automated tests. If there’s a problem, or if some egghead feels the need to actually speak to a person, we could always have a pool of low-paid

bill

Editorial Board Jason Alpert Editor in Chief Becky Peterson Managing Editor Melissa Freeman Opinion Editor

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Editorials represent the collective opinions of The California Aggie editorial board. The Opinion page appears Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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Guest opinions must be typed with an approximate word count of 400 to 600. The same standards of letters to the editor apply to guest opinions.

Guest opinions may reflect a variety of viewpoints. Any member of the campus community is eligible and encouraged to highlight issues regarding UC Davis, regional or national issues.

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Cont. from front page Rubio said in the press release. “Clearly, if students vote a student fee into existence, they should always be part of determining how those funds are used.”

University officials opposed changes to the system of shared governance within CSU in the bill.

“Within the higher education system as a whole, the CSU is very unique,” said Erik Fallis, media relations specialist for CSU. “Our student governments are all independent nonprofits who control their own budget by electing students directly.”

These nonprofits manage budgets in the best interest of the students.

“Within this structure, there are a lot of opportunities for students to direct their own affairs and be heavily involved in the management of the uni-

lobby Cont. from front page Students are also provided with a Lobby Month training packet, which includes all of the bills and their descriptions.

“We meet every Wednesday at 7 p.m., in the Angelina Room in the Memorial Union (MU).

Meetings are open to public. Anyone can come anytime and

adjuncts available at an online help assemble and protest. With an desk. undergraduate-free campus, there’s With this method, we could admit no danger of “your daughter” as many undergraduates as apply, meeting those creeping non-affiliates enrolling students based anywhere with unthinkable motives that we’ve in the world. all been warned about.

Of course, the bleeding hearts International students do pose a might complain that there’s little challenge for this plan though. If we evidence that e-learning works as don’t provide additional counseling well as face-to-face classroom time. and assistance for students Sure, maybe, but let’s not forget that mastering a second language or we teach undergraduates a bad adjusting to a different culture, lesson when we international waste taxpayer students could We could start by recording as money on them. face a more And some difficult learning many lectures as possible and teachers will environment and putting them online undoubtedly gripe their grades may that, despite the suffer. information age interfaces, online Nobody wants to send away lectures only replicate the worst customers, especially ones who aspects of university education. pay more than in-state students, so The giant, lecture-based class is I’d suggest a simple barter system an artifact of teaching conditions for students with grade problems. before the printing press: medieval Students could boost their GPAs by instructors would read out of a book participating in off-campus practical while students copied it down. Post- learning opportunities provided by Gutenberg, however, this method a temporary employment agency: of teaching makes less sense. Most so many hours of work for so many students learn through a variety of grade points. In the process, students modalities and few people can pay would gain meaningful work attention to an hour-long lecture, experience and the school would anyway. acquire a lucrative revenue stream.

But is that a bad thing?

But these are just short-term Lectures impress upon students reforms. Ideally, we’d have a userthe valuable message that the friendly school in which students person in authority has all of the could bypass pesky requirements knowledge and that the best way and move quickly into the real to learn is to passively memorize world. Let’s let the customer decide his or her pronouncements by how much education they want by rote. By organizing classes through offering credits for cash. This would enormous and impersonal lectures, eliminate most education costs we’re training students for the blind, while opening learning up to the free reflexive obedience that will serve market. them well in the private sector.

If we abolished instruction When you’re engineering entirely, it would allow us to slash terminator seeds for Monsanto or classes and programs that dwell on designing predator drones for the researching unprofitable subjects US Army, the ability to question and or fostering critical thought. Cutting speak back that small discussions out all of these inefficiencies, or labs encourage is a distraction at the university would become best. a streamlined machine or mill, Plus, evacuating the campus focusing entirely on providing in favor of digital lectures would students the diploma for which help solve our longstanding civility they’ve paid. problem. If everyone is isolated at home on their computers (except JORDAN S. CARROLL, who grants this degree will be maybe customers at our convenient somewhat dear, can be reached at jscarroll@ucdavis. edu. banking facilities), students can’t

versity,” Fallis said.

The point of contact for this shared governance is the associated students and their leadership. At the systemwide level, the point of contact is the California State Student Association (CCSA).

Under current policy, if CSU were to consider a fee increase, but was somehow hindered from holding a full election, they would have the option of alternative consultation.

Alternative consultation involves a discussion with a campus fee advisory committee or other student association.

The new policy would take away the option of alternative consultation, as even if a campus committee were consulted, a full student body election would still be required.

“You’re no longer empowering the student leadership that’s already been elected to work out the consultation process,” Fallis said. “It’s ben-

eficial to have strong student leadership.”

Senate Bill 960 also lengthens the process of fee implementation.

“This could be detrimental in urgent cases, such as fees aimed at student medical services, advising programs and athletic programs, as well as building structures and providing transportation systems,” Fallis said.

Most of the time, however, Fallis states that alternative consultation has been used to discuss relatively minor changes.

“A full election costs a lot of money, and involves a great deal of time,” Fallis said. “We could be going through all this time and effort for a relatively small change. When large fee increases are in question, a general election is almost always used anyway.”

Though the bill addresses issues related to

shared governance, the CSSA neither supports nor opposes SB 960 and has instead decided to watch the bill.

“When we watch it usually means we feel we don’t have enough information for us to oppose or support the bill,” CCSA Executive Director, Miles Nevin said. “We want to see how it plays out in the legislature. There might be some amendments to it.”

Nevin expressed that when it comes to addressing fee policies, the first step for CSU students should be to directly address the chancellor.

“Our students recognize that on fee policy, they have ongoing access to the chancellor,” Nevin said. “If we felt there was an issue at the statewide level we should address it with the chancellor’s office first.”

we accommodate with schedules.

We have an open door policy,” Ozedirne said.

The other way students can be heard in support of reinvestment of higher education is through signing the current online letter campaign.

“The online letter campaign is a method for students to sign a letter to their state senators and assembly members representing

their hometown and [urging] them to consider the importance of the UC system, not just to students but to the overall economy of the state. It is imperative that funding to public education must be restored to ensure that the best academic service is provided to all students,” Pascual said.

The letter campaign can be found on asucd. ucdavis.edu.

Ozedirne highlighted

the benefits of getting involved with Lobby Corps.

“It is a great opportunity for any students interested in policy and government.

Also, a great opportunity for networking. It’s really beneficial from the aspect of policy and professional networking,” Ozedirne said.

EINAT GILBOA can be reached city@ theaggie.org.

DANIELLE HUDDLESTUN can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Do you want to interview hot celebs and get free tickets to shows?

Apply to be an Aggie Arts writer by contacting managing@theaggie. org or visit 25 Lower Freeborn to pick up an application.

4

volume

6, number 13

the california aggie ’ s arts and entertainment magazine

thursday, april 26, 2012

The Shins at the Mondavi Center

Elizabeth Orpina

In review

TV guide

I

’m sure I speak for a majority of college students when I say that our favorite activity of the day, besides eating, is watching television. We may claim to be extremely busy and exhausted, but at the end of the day we find 30 minutes to fit in an episode of “Modern Family” to reward ourselves for our “hard work.”

One of my apartmentmates sets aside at least an hour at the end of his day to watch a television show or two. Oh, only easy majors have time to watch television? Well, here’s some food for thought … he’s a mechanical engineer who still makes time for his nightly “Lipstick Jungle” or “Desperate Housewives.”

Because we’re cheap, we don’t pay for cable. But thanks to technology, we have access to Hulu Plus and Netflix, allowing us to watch whatever we want, whenever we want. In addition to today’s technology and advances in mass media we can find virtually anything online moments after they are aired.

Now, when I do find time to watch my television shows that piled-up from the week, I like to cuddle with my cat and eat a bowl of spumoni ice cream. I’m as far away from a hipster as one can get; I watch television shows that no one has heard of or has bothered to check out.

Yes, of course I watch “Grey’s Anatomy” — Shonda Rhimes’ blessing to the Earth; “Glee” — even though it’s getting worse every week; and “90210” / “Gossip Girl” / other pointless dramas as my guilty pleasures.

What surprises me though is that not very many people watch shows that I would expect everyone to be obsessing over.

For one, “Community” is one of those shows that encompasses all humor untouched by television thus far; a.k.a. my own humor.

It is filled with pop culture references, quirky characters and a fast and witty script. Now that I think about it, this show actually sounds like “Gilmore Girls” … without the plotline of “Gilmore Girls.”

A brand new show to television, “Smash,” has famous people all over the place. Deborah Messing, Katharine McPhee, Anjelica Huston and Megan Hilty are just a few people of the extremely talented cast. Set around the creation, production and dream of making a Broadway musical, it’s everything “Glee” isn’t: entertaining, deep and with plot lines. Lea Michele should’ve stuck it out for this audition.

My number one television show is “Happy Endings.” There has yet to be an episode that I haven’t literally laughed out loud for and I only wish to model my life after this show. I believe this show is the hidden gem of all comedy television because of the brilliant banter between characters and the hilarity that ensues in every situation on the show.

Something I’m thoroughly looking forward to watching when it returns to MTV is “Awkward.”

Basically the story of my life. This girl gets herself into the most awkward and uncomfortable situations and has the dry humor that drives my funny bone. Her outlook on life and her ridiculous friends remind me of everything my life is, has been and what I want it to be.

“Suburgatory”: if you grew up in the suburbs, which I’m assuming most of you have, then this is the show for you. Emphasizing and over-exaggerating the

See ORPINA, page 7

The Shins

courtesy

By JAMES O’HARA Aggie Arts Writer

On Monday, The Shins played at the Mondavi Center and filled the sold-out place to the brim with their musical vibrancy.

James Mercer, with his singularly potent talent and his variously skilled supporting cast, jingled on stage with their often wistful, strangely melancholic, yet joyful tunes.

They performed for about an hour and a half, mixing it up between Port of Morrow, their most recent and perhaps too under appreciated album, and the hits. Those ranged from “New Slang,” “Phantom Limb,” “Pink Bullets” and so on, forcing everyone in the audience who didn’t already know that, wow, they have a huge array of truly excellent songs.

Anyone who was worried about The Shins (given Mercer’s relatively recent drift off into Broken Bells, a shoot-off pop-indie attempt

dozen Cont. from front page Faculty Association and UAW 2865, the union representing UC Davis graduate students, have passed resolutions in support of the Davis Dozen,

aggies Cont. from page 8 When: Friday at 11:00 am Who to watch: Junior Toki Sherbakov is one of The Aggies’ more thrilling players to watch, as he posted a strong performance against the University of Hawaii at Hilo on Tuesday.

In the Aggies’ victory over the Vulcans, Sherbakov helped secure the doubles point with teammate Josh Albert. He cruised during his No.1 singles match, winning 6-1, 6-3.

Did you know? The Aggies and the Tigers met in the third match of the season.

track Cont. from page 8 Sarah Sumpter, who pulled Big West Male and Female Track Athlete of the Week, respectively.

Preview: This weekend puts Aggie Pride on the line as UC Davis travels across the Causeway to face its rival, the Sacramento State Hornets.

The Aggies have been breaking personal and school records left and right lately. Head coach Drew Wartenburg hopes that the team can continue on this trajectory all the way to the conference championships in a few weeks.

“We’re finally getting our rhythm back and really look to solidify things next weekend,” Wartenburg said.

water Cont. from page 8 Did you know? The UC Davis women’s water polo program is currently ranked 11th in the nation. Yet, they are not the top-ranked team in the conference.

UC Irvine holds a perfect 5-0 record in conference and is ranked No. 6 in the country. The Anteaters defeated the Aggies 10-4 earlier this season in Irvine.

Preview: It would appear that things are going the Aggies’ way right now.

UC Davis is the second

met with decent success) probably need not be. The Shins are not dead. They are far from dead. They are very much alive.

It is worth noting, however, that while their live sound is crisp, it is not flawless.

They come off best in their softer melodies, during something like “New Slang,” when the instrumentals don’t outweigh the vocals.

That is not to say they aren’t good. They are very good — live and otherwise. The chemistry of perfection, however, eluded them at the Mondavi.

Opening up for The Shins were Gardens and Villa, straight out of Santa Barbara, my hometown, looking like a bunch of dirty hipsters (typical of Santa Barbara). They had a Shins-esque quality with a vaguely similar, wistful indie-rock stylization that I found to be very good. They were different enough to spark substantive interest and are certainly worth looking into (they were also at

Higgins said.

“No one is happy about these cases having been filed,” Shiller said. “That is the reason the campus was so patient about trying to convince the protesters to move just a foot to either side and just let people though.

That alone would have turned these into expressive constitutionally-protected protests.”

More details can be found at davisdozen.org.

Pacific came away with a 6-1 win over UC Davis.

The Aggies lost all six singles matches and only one doubles match to the Tigers.

Preview: The Aggies begin their quest to a Big West Championship with a match against the No.4 seeded Tigers.

The Aggies ended the season on a positive note, winning two out of four matches, including a conference victory over UC Riverside. UC Davis secured a No.5 seed in the conference tournament with a 1-4 mark in league matches.

Pacific lost three of its last four matches to close out the season with a 2-3 mark in

conference play.

“Pacific is a strong team,” said coach Daryl Lee, “but our top two players, Kyle [Miller] and Toki [Sherbakov], accomplished a lot and hopefully the rest of the team will follow.”

Should the Aggies come away with a victory, they will face No.1 seed Cal Poly on Saturday. As of now, they are focused on adjusting to the blistering heat in Southern California and channeling a season’s worth of hard work and dedication into the first match of the Championship.

Sumpter and Peterson are expected to lead the Aggie track athletes this weekend. Last weekend, Peterson became the first Aggie in school history to break the 14 minute mark in the 5,000m after clocking a time of 13:56.78.

Sumpter and sophomore Alycia Cridebring dominated last weekend’s 1,500m, closing for a 1-2 Aggie finish.

Bush is joined by top field athletes senior Ethan Ostrum and sophomore Brandon Greenberg.

Ostrum has been earning titles and records for men’s pole vault and Greenberg has achieved some of his longest distance in shot put recently.

Senior Igor Seriba won the men’s triple jump during Picnic Day’s Woody Wilson meet. He was joined in the winner’s circle by the

men’s 4X400m relay.

The Aggie relay teams have performed well over the last few weeks. Both men’s and women’s relays have captured titles or challenged school records.

The diversity of talent on UC Davis’ team is key to a successful season. Meets are won by the team with the most points at the end of the day, so it is important to be capable in all facets of the sport.

The Aggies have been consistent throughout their past few meets, and they have been placing well against conference competition. If UC Davis continues its dominant streak they should be able to cross back over the Causeway with a victory on Friday night.

seed entering the Big West Conference Championship, matching its highest ever seeding at the tournament that it last obtained in 2009.

The Aggies have made a late season push that could carry over to the postseason.

They have won 12 of their last 13 games and are a serious threat to capture the Big West title, given they will have home-pool advantage.

The regular season finale against San Jose State brought about very encouraging results, as the Aggies took down the No. 8 Spartans by a score of 10-9.

The No. 2 seed earned UC

Davis a bye in the first round of the conference tournament, and they will match up against the winner of UC Santa Barbara and Pacific.

The Aggies topped both the Gauchos and the Tigers by one point margins, and by no means will the No. 3 or No. 6 seeds be walkovers.

Still, head coach Jamie Wright believes UC Davis has a good chance to come away with a Big West title.

“I think we have enough pieces in place to do it,” he said, “now we have to go out and do it.”

— Matthew Yuen

MUNA SADEK can be reached at campus@ theaggie.org

— Veena Bansal

— Kim Carr

Coachella).

Before The Shins came out, Gardens and Villa’s lead singer, Chris Lynch, busted out a flute (yes, a flute). He rocked that thing like, quite frankly, I’ve never seen anyone rock a flute before: with a vengeance. Though literally, I doubt I’ve ever seen someone really attempt to rock out with a flute.

Later in the show, when The Shins were on, people rose from their seats and the Mondavi got a little steamy. When The Shins exited, the crowd cheered forcefully until Mercer returned to play an acoustic encore. All of the band then came back out and played a couple more songs.

The Shins are a substantial band. Their vocals ring with a verve, and their instrumentals rise towards excellence. It was a good show. I felt lucky to see them live.

JAMES O’HARA can be contacted at arts@theaggie.org.

tennis Cont. from page 8 A year later, Heneghan is still playing No. 1, but has a year of collegiate tennis under her belt. Coach Bill Maze has cited that this will make a difference this year and in the future.

Heneghan almost upset the No. 1 ranked player in the nation when the Aggies played Stanford and won her final three matches of the regular season.

Did you know? At first glance the Aggies’ 11-11 overall record is mediocre at best. Still, UC Davis stands in second place with a 6-2 Big West Conference record.

The women’s tennis program faced arguably the toughest schedule — consisting of 11 ranked opponents — in its history, but playing the top teams has paid off.

The Aggies recently took down No. 66 UC Irvine 5-2.

Both teams ended conference play with 6-2 league records, so the victory over the Anteaters earned UC Davis the nod for the No. 2 seed in the Big West tournament.

“I was concerned we overdid it early on,” Maze said. “But they kept their heads up and we knew it was the right move because they’re playing the best tennis of the year right now.”

Preview: The Aggies are rolling right now and have five straight conference victories to show for it.

UC Davis will be looking to make a push in the conference tournament where they had a disappointing

loss to UC Irvine last year.

Despite the fact that the Aggies’ lineup looks very similar to that of last year, it is entirely different.

“Last year we had four freshmen on the team, and there’s no way you can go there as a freshman and feel natural, not feel those nerves,” Maze said. “That experience is going to help them. I don’t think they’re going to have that this year.”

Senior Dahra Zamudio will enter her final postseason for the Aggies while freshman Layla Sanders will appear in her first. Zamudio has maintained the No. 2 singles position and seven straight doubles victories, while Sanders has had five straight set victories at the No. 5 position.

UC Davis has also found its groove in doubles; having won the doubles point four straight times despite only winning it four times previously in the season.

UC Davis matches up with seventh seeded Pacific today in the hot climate of Indian Wells and will hope to progress on through the tournament. Should they win, the Aggies will play the winner of UC Irvine and Cal State Northridge.

“The second seed helps us a lot because in the heat, it’s tough grind at Indian Wells so it’s nice to play the No. 7 instead of No. 6 seed,” Maze said.

“We beat Irvine earlier, but they’ve won it or made it to the finals a lot in the past so it will not be easy to play them if we advance.”

— Matthew Yuen

Dance Dance Davis

Music on the Green

April 30 at 6 - 8 p.m., University Club Dance Studio Wednesday, May 2 at 8:30 p.m., Davis Art Center

Sunday, April 29 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., free Central Park

Members of the San Francisco Symphony Wednesday, May 2 at 8 p.m., $72/$36 (student) Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center

5

thursday, april 26, 2012

Q&A with Music on the Green bands Jordan’s Beard, Lijie, MerryGold and Souterrain to perform this Sunday

By DANIELLE Huddlestun Aggie News Writer

Music on the Green, an event that takes place in Central Park on Sunday, April 29 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. brings entertainment and food for both the campus and Davis community during a free outdoor event. It is put on by ASUCD External Affairs Commission, Entertainment Council, Environmental Policy and Planning Commission, Campus Center for the Environment, Project Compost, the Davis Flea Market and the City of Davis. The Aggie had the opportunity to interview the bands that were set to perform this weekend.

Jordan’s Beard What is the origin of your band’s name?

Our bassist is Jordan. He has a long beard that is dyed red in the center. It’s tough to name a band and we had to choose a name because we had a show so we said let’s just name it after Jordan’s beard. It is a terrible name, but it stuck. Jordan is the most lovable person ever so that helps.

If you were to describe your band, what would you say?

The songs come out of 60s soul and funk. Jordan never heard these songs and generally doesn’t listen to the originals. He adds a heavier side to the low end. Our two new additions, Pat and Carl, add a funk

high end, so at the end of the day, the music sounds like heavy funk, funk rock blues soul.

What are you most proud of so far?

We have never had a band fight and we get along really well. We play music that both we and our friends enjoy. When you do something that you like, that other people happen to like, that’s pretty neat, pretty cool. I love how friendly the music scene is in Davis. We’re always trying to help each other out. It’s something that I feel really good about.

Lijie You have performed for TV stations and on tour. How do you feel to have so much success in the music industry?

I think it’s really just to keep believing in what it is that you create and push for what you believe in.

What initially motivated you to pursue the music industry?

I realized halfway through college that I couldn’t do anything else. I’ve been writing songs since I was little. Then in middle school I wrote my first full-length structure song. I called my friend and played it for her on the phone.

After the song she was quiet and I realized it affected her. That was one of first times I realized what I could possibly do. It was not until college that I came to understand

anything else.

How do you think Davis will respond to your performance?

I don’t know; I hope they like it. It’s hard to tell until you get there. We just had a rehearsal today. It’s been a dream to play at UC Davis — it’s really special.

MerryGold How do you embody the pioneer spirit of the Wild West in your music?

We often reflect on modern society and feel like we were meant to live in the 1800s. We were born and raised in Gold Country and we have always valued the history of the area. A reverence for ‘nature’ over ‘city’ life is a common theme in our songs. We lived in LA for a while and we were not inspired at all by the music scene down there. We feel old-fashioned in some ways compared to other young/new bands. There is a rawness or an honesty lacking in popular music that we feel is present in our original songs and live performances. We want to be on our own – like pioneers, you could say, forging our own path through the frontier of a technologically-dependent society.

What can Davis expect from your show?

Davis can expect some new interpretations of old time music, plus some original tunes, which we hope people will take home with

them as new additions to their personal music collections. We are really excited. We hope it will be the first of many. We’ve made a lot of friends from UC Davis and the Davis area, including the guys from Mad Cow String Band. We’re playing with one of their other projects called West Nile Ramblers at the Cozmic Café in Placerville on May 25th.

Souterrain Since releasing tracks, what has been the general feedback from fans and critics?

Last year, we released a live recording we made as a trio playing around one microphone in a converted garage which people really liked. It had a rough and ready quality to it and we made it quickly, with just a couple of takes per song, so it sounds like we’re having fun. Music Connection Magazine reviewed the songs positively, but said we should treat the music to the level of production it deserved. So now we’ll have a studio recording coming out next month. By the number of downloads we’ve had of the singles on iTunes, I’m hopeful the record will do well.

What is your plan after playing in Davis?

I think, like most of Davis, I’ll be heading to Burgers and Brew.

DANIELLE HUDDLESTUN can be contacted at arts@ theaggie.org.

9th Annual UC Davis Dance Team Showcase Friday at 6:30 p.m. & Saturday at 10 p.m., $5 Brunelle Performance Hall at Davis High School, 315 W 14th St. This annual showcase serves as the Davis Dance Team’s largest fundraiser, bringing choreography and entertainment specifically for this show. Tickets can be purchased at the door or from any dance team member.

Dance Dance Davis: Free classes Monday at 6 - 8 p.m., University Club Dance Studio May 2 at 8:30 p.m., Davis Art Center Shelly Gilbride, doctor in performance studies, theatre and dance alumna, local arts consultant and dancer, is recruiting at least 100 people from Davis for a flashmob dance performance to take place at a surprise Davis location on May 9 at 6:15 p.m. These dance classes serve as opportunities for those interested to contribute dance steps to the show. For more information, visit theatredance.ucdavis.edu.

UC Davis Film Festival

The UC Davis Film Festival is looking for entries of any UCD student film made in the past 24 months. Films made while at UCD are accepted from graduates as well. Videos can be up to ten minutes in length. Final deadline to submit is May 4; submissions and corresponding forms should be turned in to Art 101. For more information, visit facebook.com/UCDavisFilmFestival. Email Ngoc Le with questions or inquiries about volunteering.

Music on the Green Sunday at 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., free Central Park

Florence + The Machine at the Mondavi Center

A free afternoon with the intention of uniting the campus and the community of Davis, Music on the Green has teamed up with Davis Flea Market to provide free music, delicious food and a zero-waste event.

Features bands such as Lijie, Merrygold, The Souterrain and Jordan’s Beard.

In review

By ELIZABETH ORPINA Aggie Arts Editor

After the spectacle that was the Florence + The Machine concert on April 18, I have strong suspicions that Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center was inspired and built for Florence Welch’s voice.

This show sold out during pre-sale, leaving many students confused and frustrated that they either 1) didn’t embrace their American Express cards the week before or 2) realize that something like this would happen, especially when a world-famous performer comes to Davis. And let me tell you this — there’s a reason why hundreds of people waited outside the box office to purchase tickets. Because Florence + The Machine for $42.50 is not something you pass up.

Most people only know them for “Dog Days Are Over,” brought to light to many by Glee, or for “Heavy In Your Arms” on the Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack. There’s a reason why “Dog Days Are Over” got the most cheers and energy from the crowd. Let’s be real, unless you’re an avid Florence + The Machine fan, you’ve probably only listened to and appreciated a few of their songs. And sadly, that was me.

However, when my roommate screeched when the announcement was made on Facebook, I knew this was something worth investing in. The architecture in Jackson Hall

that creates beautiful reverberations of sound is enough to bring most people to the venue.

But combined with the powerhouse voice of Florence Welch? The effect of her voice booming through the hall continues to have lasting effects to this day.

Ethereal in all aspects, this show was nothing short of powerful. You would think that a concert in a sit-down venue would be disappointing, but the truth of the matter is, you were in such a trance-like state, melting into your seat, that it didn’t matter if you were sitting or standing. The utterly flawless sound escaping Florence’s body drew you in; her effortless, ethereal garb was fascinating as well.

Whoever designed the lighting for this concert deserves some sort of reward — either this person knows this band like no other or is a genius. With every beat of a song, some sort of lighting aspect corresponded to it. A constant orange glow surrounded Florence, leaving no need for a spotlight and drawing every eye toward the barefoot performer.

Heartbeats, breaths and ringing notes were represented in the variety of flashing beams, thudding pounds of pure color and extreme delight in design. Not only were you hearing and seeing the performance, you were feeling it. The entire set enveloped the performers’ hearts and possessed their entire bodies, something rare and extraordinary to watch.

Throughout the show, Florence comment-

ed on the audience, the tour and her activities before the show. Apparently, she shot hoops on campus, and she made jokes about how if we saw a redhead in basketball shorts running around, that it was her. With references to Pandora being a local radio station, it was clear that this woman devotes her life to her art — this not only made her more likable but also inspiring.

Slowly throughout the show, the audience snapped out of the trance it was in from the original shock of the sound produced in that room. About halfway through the set, almost everyone was on their feet, swaying with the beat, twirling or jumping around — basically, whatever Florence Welch was doing was what you were doing.

The entire night was sort of magical, spiritual if you must. But for some reason, the amount of energy present on stage was phenomenal. By the end, I felt as though only two songs were played, when in reality a full hour and a half of concert just took place.

As Jackson Hall emptied out, everyone seemed to be in a daze: confused as to why the show didn’t continue for seven more hours and in disbelief at what just happened. Because not only was that a full hour of damn good music, but the trance we fell into seemed to be everlasting. Now I just need some flowy clothes and red hair.

ELIZABETH ORPINA can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Members of the San Francisco Symphony May 2 at 8 p.m., $72/$36 (student) Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center San Francisco Symphony concertmaster and violinist Alexander Barantschik concludes the San Francisco Symphony’s mini-Mondavi season with performances of work from the Baroque era.

23rd Annual California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art Friday to Sunday, at varying times The CCACA brings the ultimate ceramic sculpture event in an intimate setting for interaction with top artists. There will be demonstrations, lectures and shows. There will be opportunities to meet face-to-face with distinguished ceramic sculptors and see/hear what makes them the top in their field.

courtesy

A preview of Studio 301’s upcoming production

By MICHELLE RUAN Aggie Arts Writer

One of the most celebrated rock musicals, RENT, is set to arrive at Wyatt Pavilion this season. Studio 301, a UC Davis student theatre group, is proud to announce their own staging of RENT, the gritty musical about the struggle for creative freedom, recognition and love when the HIV/AIDS epidemic was quickly changing the NYC landscape.

Studio 301’s RENT will have a two week run from May 10 to 13 and 17 to 20. Mitchell Vanlandingham serves as the staging director and Elizabeth Tremaine is the musical director for this upcoming production.

Tremaine took some time out of her busy schedule to provide some insight about the show.

MUSE: Please tell us a little about yourself and your role in this production of RENT. TREMAINE: I’m a recent graduate of UC Davis, where I majored in psychology with minors in neuroscience and theatre. I am the musical director for this production of RENT. What made you decide to get involved with this production?

Mitchell and I proposed RENT to Studio 301, the student-run production company at UC Davis, because it is relevant to our community. It tells a heart-wrenching story of friendship, love, loss and grief.

We wanted to use RENT to evoke discussion amongst community members about health, sexuality and other controversial topics.

What do you love about RENT? From a musical standpoint, RENT is a playground. Composer and lyricist Jonathan Larson mastered so many genres of music, from hard rock (RENT) and pop rock (Light My Candle) to tango (Tango Maureen).

Unlike other rock operas, which often stick to one genre of music, RENT plays with musical format to help tell the story. It is a joy to work with well-crafted material.

Is there anything different in comparison to the movie version?

Musically, the film version of RENT is significantly different from the stage production. Larson structured RENT as a rock opera: like any classical opera, RENT is composed of both arias (songs driven by a melody in which characters express their emotions) and recitatives (songs in which the characters adopt the rhythms of normal

speech). Many of the recitatives were, unfortunately, omitted in the making of the film. We are also having a live band accompany the actors.

What is your favorite part of Studio 301’s RENT so far?

I have loved seeing the cast develop into an ensemble. They have become incredibly close, and their friendship helps make their performances believable and heartwrenching.

To purchase tickets, contact the Ticket Office at (530) 753-1915; student prices are $14 and general admission is $16. All shows take place at 8 p.m. except for Sunday matinees, which will be at 2 p.m.

MICHELLE RUAN can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

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thursday, APRIL 26, 2012 7

The california aggie

Aggies Abroad Spotlight Jessica Guditus, who graduated from UC Davis in 2011 with degrees in history and Spanish, snapped this photo while studying with the UC Education Abroad Program, Brazil, Fall Quarter, in 2010.

— Written by ERIN MIGDOL —Photo by Jesica Guditus

skydiver Cont. from front page “People never guess that I do what I do,” Fusco said. He leans back in his chair with both hands now resting behind his head. “It’s usually not until they see my Facebook that they find out that I skydive.”

In fact, Fusco is an avid skydiver.

In his three years practicing what he calls a sport, Fusco has taken over 500 jumps.

The allure began in a civics class during Fusco’s senior year of high school. His teacher, Mr. Gissell, informed those interested to meet at the school parking lot the Monday after graduation and he’d provide them the directions to the nearest drop zone.

“Mr. Gissell had gone skydiving once and at the end of the year he’d always give a plug for it in his last class,” Fusco said. “This occurred literally the last minute and a half of my high school career.”

Fusco considered skydiving once before. He had wanted to go for his 18th birthday, but his parents weren’t having it, Fusco said. But when that Monday morning after graduation came, little did he know he’d be receiving a belated gift.

“As my friends were headed to

the school, they decided to pick me up. They were much more gung-ho about skydiving than I was,” Fusco said. “We just told my parents we were going to the Apple store in Santa Rosa.”

The drop zone was located at the Parachute Center in Lodi, CA, about an hour and a half away from Fusco’s hometown in Sonoma County.

“One of the first things I remember is the harness,” Fusco said. “It’s a big, bulky, rough harness, much different than the ones you get when rock climbing.”

Not knowing what to expect, the plane itself also served as a surprise.

“It was big,” Fusco said. “Not like commercial big, but as big as a little plane could get. It could fit about 30 people.”

He holds boarding the plane as one of his most vivid sensations ever.

“You walk right behind the prop, and it’s really windy, and it’s already hot from standing on the tarmac,” Fusco said. “You can smell the Jet A fuel because it burns so rich and it’s really hot.

At this point, I couldn’t help but think to myself, ‘I might have gotten in too deep.”

As the jump approached, so did the anxiety. “It’s weird because you

baseball Cont. from page 8 year, but one or two things went wrong and it snowballed a little bit. To go into the seventh with no hits is pretty spectacular.”

Wolf struck out his third batter of the game before giving up a two RBI single that ended his outing. Freshman Spencer Koopmans relieved Wolf and recorded the final out of the seventh.

The UC Davis offense supported Wolf with an early 2-0 lead. Senior David Popkins doubled with one out in the first inning and junior Paul Politi singled up the middle to knock Popkins home. Politi

golf

ORPINA Cont. from page 4 ridiculousness that occurs in those little boxes made of ticky tacky (Get it?

“Weeds?”), this show has some of the most ridiculous and hilarious characters.

One of the moms named her dog Yakult, after the yogurt. If that’s not enough to get you to watch it then I don’t know what will.

Last but not least, if you’re a fan of “Say Yes to the Dress” and are nowhere near getting married, then “Jersey Couture” is for you. This reality show follows the working lives of a family’s dress shop business that caters to women searching

feel nervous in spurts,” Fusco said.

“The tandem instructors, while going over the procedures and giving advice, are always joking with the group and teasing. It doesn’t allow you to be scared or nervous the entire time.”

Fusco described the plane flying a pattern and looping right above the drop point.

“They threw the doors up, and all of a sudden there was this large gaping hole on the side of the plane,” he said. “You feel the turbulence and intense winds in a way that can’t be described in words.”

As each person jumped, there was a certain sensation that brushed through the plane, Fusco said.

“It was similar to putting your hand out the window of a fast moving car,” he said. “Within two seconds, the person before you goes from someone smashed against your face in a line to this dot that’s falling below. It’s the one second you have to be like, ‘Oh my God!’” Joey’s eyes grew wide as he discussed his first jump. “That rock back – ready, set, go – moment is a moment I’ll never forget,” Fusco said. He rocked in his chair with a big grin. “You expect the anxiety to continue when you finally jump out there, but it’s all left in the plane.

moved to second base on a passed ball and came around to score on sophomore Nick Lynch’s single.

Popkins led off the top of the third with his team-leading fifth home run of the season over the right field wall.

With the score 3-2 in the eighth, Politi led off the inning with a double and scored on a single from senior Eric Johnson with two outs. The Aggie rally continued with a bunt single from senior Brett Morgan and a pinch-hit RBI single from sophomore Spencer Brann.

“I’m very happy that we competed,” Vaughn said. “We’ll score two or three runs early in the game, but then not score again.

[Today] we were able to put up another

for prom, party or pageant dresses. The customers and their preferences in style make the show — who knew that a limegreen-feather-glitter-prom dress would be chosen for the low price of $800. Who knew. Well, I did. Because I watch this show.

So if you want to avoid your real feelings and drown them with comedic shows, then refer to this column as your guide. You’re welcome. (What show is that from? “Awkward!”)

Are you convinced that “Parks and Recreation” is the show to watch? Yeah, well convince ELIZABETH ORPINA to watch it after she hated the first season at arts@theaggie.org. And yes, she knows that it got better… her television schedule is too full at the moment.

When I finally jumped, there was both a sense of calmness and sensation that came over my body. It was pure euphoria!”

Six months later, he went on another jump before deciding he wanted to take official courses.

“I thought it could just be a cool hobby. Never did I think it would become a full-fledged addiction,” Fusco said.

When describing what keeps him coming back for more, Fusco couldn’t help but to mention the many friends he’s met during his three years skydiving.

“It fast-tracks your friendship,” he said. “No matter how much you skydive, there’s a rush every time that only a skydiver would understand.

My closest friends understand that.

You feel the tension together, so you inherently have something to talk about.”

Sandra Bond is one of those friends. “Joey is very influential,” Bond said. “He’s definitely the most influential person I’ve ever jumped with. He has a certain air about him that makes everything okay.”

Another friend, Chase Wilhelm, said he and Fusco have had some of their best skydives together. “I couldn’t imagine sharing those moments with anyone else,” Wilhelm said.

two runs with some timely hits later in the game. We needed all of that. It shows you that if you throw strikes and compete, you can win ballgames.”

Sophomore Harry Stanwyck pitched the final two innings for UC Davis, giving up one hit while striking out two for his fourth save of the season.

The Aggies didn’t commit an error for the second straight game.

UC Davis continues its eight-game road trip with a weekend match up at UC Santa Barbara.

The Gauchos are currently in third place in the Big West, so UC Davis will hope to carry the momentum from its midweek victory and gain ground in the

freshman Blair Lewis tied for 24th at 20-over.

With the tournament win, UC Davis is ensured a berth in the NCAA Regional Tournament for the fourth time in their five seasons as a Division I program. Last season the Aggies’ performance in the Regional allowed them to advance to the NCAA Tournament, and UC Davis will be looking to repeat that feat this season.

With the experience of a pressure-packed Big West Tournament under their belt, the Aggies will use the lessons learned this week to help in the regional.

“People want to say the [NCAAA Regional] is just another tournament,” Walker said, “but the truth is it’s not like any other tournament.

What we went through this week is going to help us prepare for what is to come.”

Cont. from page 8 win gave UC Davis its third straight Big West title.

“We had a young lineup,” Walker said. “Entering as favorites it was a relief to come away with a victory.”

The Aggies were led by freshman Beverly Vatananugulkit, whose four-over tournament gave her the Big West individual title. “[Vatananugulkit] has been solid all year,” Walker said. “She came in with a lot of confidence. She did it her own way and she just enjoyed herself.”

Junior Amy Simanton played a strong tournament and finished second, hot on Vatananugulkit’s heels at six-over.

Junior Demi Runas tied for fourth at 11-over, while sophomore Jessica Chulya TREVOR CRAMER can be reached at tied for 13th at 15-over and sports@theaggie.org.

Good luck on midterms! :]

Fusco has skydived in various places throughout California, but the Parachute Center remains his favorite.

“I’ve even been to Skydance here in Yolo County, but I find that the pricing is much better at the Parachute Center,” he said. “Tandems run for only $100, plus the guy who owns the place has the most accumulated freefall time in history! That’s pretty cool.”

Unlike many sports, there are no characteristics for a prototypical skydiver according to Fusco.

“Having an open mind is pretty much the only requirement,” he said. “There’s such a diverse group, from accountants and professionals to people in the military.”

Fusco said he has no definite postgraduation plans, but he is looking forward to working as a tandem jump instructor over the summer.

He concluded the skydiving talk in a Mr. Gissell sort of way.

“If I could suggest one activity in life, it would be skydiving,” he said.

“People should understand that it’s not inherently dangerous. It’s a sport for me. Some people go horseback riding; I happen to jump out of planes.”

ISAIAH SHELTON can be reached at features@ theaggie.org.

conference.

This week, the College Baseball Hall of Fame announced its Pitcher of the Year Watch List, and UC Davis senior southpaw Dayne Quist (6-0 1.94 earned-run average, 75 strikeouts, nine walks) has been deservedly recognized as a candidate. The Aggies will meet another player from the list this weekend, UC Santa Barbara’s freshman starter Andrew Vasquez.

UC Davis will look to keep Quist perfect in the series opener. The first pitch at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium is on Friday at 3 p.m.

RUSSELL EISENMAN can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

THE LINEUP 8 thursday, april 26, 2012

The california Aggie

New faces, same result

UC Davis takes Big West title; Vatananugulkit individual champion women’s golf

By TREVOR CRAMER Aggie Sports Editor

It’s starting to feel like a foregone conclusion.

No. 22 UC Davis travels south for the Big West Conference women’s golf championship, and returns with yet another team title and an individual championship.

But though the Aggies entered this year’s tournament as favorites, UC Davis was far from a sure thing to take the title.

The Aggies roster does not feature a single senior this season, and with two freshmen and a sophomore in the lineup, no one

could be sure how the team would react under the pressure of a conference championship tournament.

Even as the tournament commenced, the Aggies found themselves in a tough spot after the first day.

UC Davis trailed UC Irvine by five strokes after a round of play, but the team kept their composure.

“We didn’t let it get to us,” coach Anne Walker said.

“We knew we could play good golf, and we just wanted to stick to our game.”

The Aggies responded in the final two days, taking first place with a score of 37-over par — 13 strokes better than second-place UC Irvine. The tournament

See GOLF, page 7

City Lovin’ Aggies take matchup with University of San Francisco Baseball

By RUSSELL EISENMAN Aggie Sports Writer

Sophomore pitcher Evan Wolf took a no-hitter into the seventh inning to lead UC Davis to victory over San Francisco in his first collegiate win.

The Aggie bats picked up 12 hits to support Wolf’s outing, with four different players recording two hits apiece. UC Davis put five runs on the board, and Wolf’s stellar pitching held the Dons’ bats at bay.

With the 5-2 victory, UC Davis improves to 15-20 overall.

“The team put it on themselves to be better in midweek games and on Sundays and for [Wolf ] to come out and respond to that for his first collegiate win is pretty special,” said head

coach Matt Vaughn.

Wolf, making his fourth start of the season, gave UC Davis the big midweek performance it has been looking for.

The Clovis, Calif. native retired the first six batters he faced before giving up a leadoff walk in the third inning.

Wolf then put down the next seven Dons before hitting a batter with one out in the fifth inning.

Wolf issued his second walk of the game in the bottom of the seventh, then induced a foul out before San Francisco’s Matt Chavez doubled off the wall in right center field for the Dons’ first hit of the game.

“Evan’s had a couple of outings like this,” Vaughn said. “He had a great start at Arizona and another great midweek start earlier in the

Event: Big West Conference Championships Records: Aggies 11-11 (6-2) Where: Indian Wells Tennis Garden — Indian Wells, Calif.

When: Friday at Megan Heneghan 8 a.m.

Who to Watch: sophomore Sophomore M e g a n Heneghan, a freshman in the top singles spot last year when UC Davis was upended by UC Irvine in the first round of the Big West Conference Championships.

See BASEBALL, page 7

See TENNIS, page 4

men’s tennis PREVIEW

women’s water polo PREVIEW Event: Big West performances.

Conference Tatsuko, who Championships splits time with regRecords: Aggies ular starter junior 17-12(4-1); TBD Riane Woods, startWhere: Schaal ed against Cal State Aquatics Center Northridge and San When: 4:15 p.m.

Jose State. Woods Who to Watch: also got the same If defense wins recognition about a games, then the Rachel Tatsuko month ago.

Aggies can sleep senior Tatsuko helped soundly at night the Aggies upknowing they set No. 8 San Jose have two solid goalkeepers. State with two steals and 12 Senior Rachel Tatsuko saves, that included three just earned the Big West stops in 6-on-5 situations.

Conference Player of the See WATER, page 4 Week for her shut-down

women’s tennis PREVIEW

Toki Sherbakov junior

Event: Big West C o n f e r e n c e Championships Teams: UC Davis vs.

University of Pacific Records: Aggies, 5-15; Tigers, 8-14 Where: Indian Wells Tennis Garden — Indian Wells, Calif.

See AGGIES, page 4

track and field PREVIEW Event: Causeway Dual vs. Sacramento State Where: Hornet Stadium — Sacramento When: Friday, all-day Friday Who to watch: Junior Emily Bush spearheaded the field aspect of last week’s Woody Wilson Memorial Classic when Emily Bush she broke the school re- junior cord for the women’s pole vault.

The Orangevale, Calif. native

earned the Big West Conference Female Field Athlete of the Week after clearing 4.02m, nine inches higher than her previous personal record.

Did you know? Bush was one of three Aggies to earn conference honors this week. She was joined by seniors Jonathan Peterson and

See TRACK, page 4