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volume 131, number 56
News iN Brief
Davis Dozen arraignment moved to May 10 The arraignment of 11 students and one professor who allegedly initiated the closing of U.S. Bank on the university campus has been continued to May 10. On Friday, over 50 people were present for the arraignment at Yolo County Superior Court in Woodland. Due of the size of the courtroom, about half could not gain access to it. Many supporters of Occupy UC Davis wore shirts that read “Free the Davis Dozen.” The group is being charged with over 20 counts of obstructing movement in a public place, which is grounds for up to six months in prison, as well as conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor, which carries a penalty of one year. According to the Yolo County District Attorney’s office a plea deal will be offered. Should they plead guilty they would receive a sentence of 80 hours of community service. In a press release issued Friday, Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi and Provost Ralph J. Hexter said the University is adhering to their obligation to ensure that the rights of one person or party do not interfere with that of another’s. “We fully expect the district attorney and his staff to balance the rights of all the parties involved and to pursue remedies that are appropriate, fair-minded and just in the full context of what occurred on this campus,” stated the release. “We have every expectation that the students involved in this case will learn from this experience and as they do, will apply their energy and passion in positive and productive ways.” — Muna Sadek
monday, APRIL 30, 2012
Unite Women protest brings hundreds to State Capitol Rally and March aim to raise awareness about the “War on Women” By EINAT GILBOA Aggie Staff Writer
Hundreds gathered in Sacramento on April 28 as part of a nationwide demonstration to stand up for women’s rights and pursuit of equality. The protest was targeted at recent legislation participants said would set women’s progress back after decades of development. “The amazing thing about the event is that it’s happening in every single state,” said Unite Women Media Representative Suzy Silvestre. “Republicans are denying this is happening, yet they are implementing bills that influence women and our lives.” “The GOP has written nearly 1,000 pieces of legislation just in this last year, all of them designed to set women’s rights back 40 or more years,” said Susan McMillan Emry, founder of Rock the Slut Vote (RTSV) United, in an e-mail. RTSV is a small group aimed at fighting the GOP’s efforts against women. The organization tabled at Saturday’s rally, providing a place for people to get up and talk as well as implementing its own awareness campaign. RSTV also raffled off $500 college scholarships in a drawing dubbed “Rush Limbaugh thinks I’m a slut,” one of which was won by UC Davis junior linguistics major Rachael Delehanty. “Our goal is to galvanize women to get informed, get involved, get registered and vote,” Emry said. “It’s about voter registration, but it’s also an awareness campaign, with dog tags and t-shirts to create awareness about what’s going on legislatively,” said Somer Loen, who helped organize RTSV’s tabling event. Loen is also an active member of the Bay Area Coalition for Reproductive Rights (BAYCOR). “It is particularly important that we reach younger women who may have taken women’s rights for granted until now,” Emry said. Incidents of younger women being affected by the GOP’s efforts have showed up recently in the media, such as the Rush Limbaugh fiasco, which is partly the origin of RTSV’s name. “The word ‘slut’ is one of the GOP’s favorite attack words used to silence women,” Emry said. “We deliberately chose to embrace this word, to shine a spotlight on it, and wrest all the power from it.”
See PROTEST, page 2
Unite Women protest
Courtesy of Susan McMillan Emry
Whole Earth Festival volunteers patrol the karma Night ninjas, space-keepers, stage-sleepers organize the festivities
Whole Earth Festival Karma Patrol Positions Space Keeping Utilizing non-violent communication when needed, keep an eye out for potential conflicts, making sure craft and food vendors are running smoothly
Night Ninjas Night-time security, help close down the festival each day
Stage sleeping Sleep on the stage to prevent vandalism
Logistics Clean up campus after festival
Kids Space, Watch kids and with insects, crafts, the Kids Dome, face painting and story time
Whole Earth Reusable Cooperative Wash plastic plates and utensils for reuse and patrol compost and recycling bins
Today’s weather Sunny High 80 Low 51
By DOMINICK COSTABILE Aggie Features Writer
When volunteering for a festival, there are the standard tasks that need to be done, such as parking, food service, as well as helping to set up and tear down the festival’s activities. But what does it mean to be in the Whole Earth Festival (WEF)’s volunteer group called the Karma Patrol? “I think there are three types of festival-goers,” said Willee Roberts, a senior international relations major and co-director of Karma Patrol. “There are festival-goers that enjoy the festivities for a few hours, there are those that take a couple days completely submerging themselves in all that the festival offers and then there’s Karma Patrol.” The Karma Patrol holds meetings to train volunteers every Wednesday leading up to WEF. The next meeting will be held Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Zinfandel Lounge at the Experimental College. It is at these meetings that old and
new Karma Patrollers of all ages get to know each other through bonding games and interactive informational discussions about various events and positions, as well as the Non-Violence Communication Workshop. Adam Smith, a former Karma Patroller, said that the workshop is basically a practice in effective communication. “The idea is not to pacify people we’re talking to,” Roberts said. “Since there is a political protest element to the festival, the workshop familiarizes Karma Patrollers with the university’s rules, and some things that the festival is founded on, such as protecting freedom of expression.” After completing the Non-Violence Communication Workshop, volunteers become officially certified, a skill they can add to their resumes. However, the pre-festival training is just one aspect of Karma Patrol’s function and make-up within the Whole Earth Festivities. There are
Forecast My atmosphere professor told me once that rain and bad weather comes in weekly waves ... And he’s right! Keep yourself hydrated because it’s going to be a bit hotter than last week. Raymond Chan, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team
See FESTIVAL, page 2
Tuesday
Wednesday
Sunny
Sunny
High 78 Low 49
High 76 Low 53
Aggie Cash to be a meal plan requirement UC Davis Dining Commons proposes change for the 2012-13 school year By GHEED SAEED Aggie News Writer
Class of 2016 first-year students are in for a significant change in the Dining Commons meal plan options for the upcoming 2012-13 academic year. Meal plans will now include Aggie Cash, a supplemental cash plan to the regular “swipes” meal plan, which can be utilized at convenience stores located on campus, the Silo, and participating restaurants and businesses in downtown Davis. “By adding Aggie Cash to the meal plans, this will allow the students more flexibility with their meal
plan. Currently we have 50 percent of our students purchasing Aggie Cash,” said Director of the Office of Student Development Branden Petitt. Purchases with Aggie Cash are both tax-free and said to be discounted by 10 percent off the purchase price. “We are hearing from our students that they like the ability to have Aggie Cash available to spend as they are on or off campus and just cannot get back to the dining commons for meals. They like the fact that they can use it on campus to grab a snack
See DC, page 3
According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, teens are now getting buzzed off of hand sanitizer. Now they can get drunk and keep their mouths clean. Uh … what? Mimi Vo