May 21, 2012

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volume 131, number 68

MONDAY, MAY 21, 2012

UC Regents meet in the capital UC Regents discuss fee increases, chancellor appointment amid protests By JUSTIN ABRAHAM Aggie News Writer

Brian Nguyen / Aggie

The UC Regents meeting was held last Wednesday in Sacramento for the first time since 1993. Usually organized at campus locations, the meeting was transferred to the Sacramento Convention Center in order to rally government support for the financially debilitated university system. Among other issues, the Regents discussed an impending 6 percent tuition increase for all students if voters reject Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed tax initiative. Annual costs for an in-state UC student have doubled to around $30,000 since 2007 and a 6 percent fee increase would add $732 to that total. UC would need $125 million of state funding to prevent recourse to another round of fee hikes and university officials urged legislators to consider this alternative. “There has been some interest by the governor’s office in buying out the tuition increase,” said Daniel Dooley, UC senior vice president for external relations. “We’re going to fight like crazy for that.” Californians will be able to vote on Gov. Brown’s tax initiative this November when the proposal goes on the ballot. The Regents also confirmed the appointment of UC San Diego’s new chancellor, Pradeep K. Khosla. Khosla, who will replace Marye Anne Fox on Aug. 1, was the former Dean of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Controversy surrounds Khosla’s $411,084 salary, which represents a 4.8 percent increase from his predecessor’s pay. The UC administration is facing criticism for raising executive salaries amid continued budget cuts. Only Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Student Regent Alfredo Mireles, Jr. voted against the compensation package for the new chancellor. “What we are asking for is a crackdown on the mismanagement itself in the form of high executive pays, in the form of increasing and relentless tuition hikes,” said Cheryl Deutsch, a UCLA graduate student speaking during the public comments period. The meeting was interrupted by a more theatrical expression of protest as a group of approximately twenty students dressed

Protesters spoke at the UC Regents meeting last Wednesday in Sacramento.

East Davis standoff required extra level of caution Rare event ended with a surrender

By PAAYAL ZAVERI Aggie News Writer

Irisa Tam / Aggie

While Davis is generally considered a relatively safe and crimefree area, there are times that require extra caution. On May 7, a Davis man wanted for a weapons charge allegedly barricaded himself in a house on Adrain Drive and kept the police occupied for over five hours before surrendering. According to Lt. Paul Doroshov of the Davis Police Department the suspect, 26-year-old David Manuel Cervantes, was arrested on a gun charge and his case is still under investigation. The police were called to the scene to serve a restraining order.

See REGENTS, page 2

See CRIME, page 2

Forum today on improving revenue for public education Saving California Communities and ASUCD are sponsoring two forums on proposed initiatives that will examine how to increase revenue for California’s public education system. Advancement Project’s senior policy analyst Sandy Escobedo will present information on “Our Children, Our Future,” an education initiative that would raise over $10 billion in funding to help children succeed in school. The ballot is also sponsored by Civil Rights Attorney Molly Munger and supported by the California PTA. The event will take place on campus tonight in 206 Olson Hall at 7:30 p.m. Escobedo said she is pleased to be a part of an event that encourages dialogue. “Forums of this nature are the epitome of direct, participatory democracy,” she said. Susan Lovenburg, president of the Davis School Board and a founding member of Saving California Communities, said that in the two forums UC Davis students and Davis community members will come together to become informed voter options. ASUCD president Rebecca Sterling said tuition increases are on the minds of every UC Davis student. “We want to know how California will continue to invest in its future,” Sterling said. Another forum will be held on June 4 at the same time and location that will be focused on the revenue initiative sponsored by Gov. Jerry Brown. Both sessions are open to the public and will have an open question and answer session.

— Muna Sadek

Experimental College creates forum for student-led workshops Alternative Learning Project starts this Fall By DEVON BOHART Associate Features Editor

“This type of incident is rare in Davis; we normally don’t get these type of crimes,” Doroshov said. The standoff required the evacuation of many houses on Adrian Drive and the surrounding blocks. Additionally, SWAT teams and crisis negotiation teams had to set up posts around the neighborhood. For hours Cervantes allegedly would not open the door or answer telephones to speak with the officers at the scene, according to a Press Release from the City of Davis Police Department. Because of the suspect’s history of weapons possession the police took a

News iN Brief

You have probably imagined what it would be like to make up your own course or even to take one taught by your peers about something less formal than Chemistry 2B or English 40. Well next year, you will have that opportunity. For Fall 2012, the Experimental College (EC) is unveiling the Alternative Learning Project (ALP), a set of workshops centered on the topic of the instructors course. Hannah Moore, the office manager for the EC said that these courses are aimed to give another perspective on things, other than the purely academic. “It’s a more personal sense fostering much more discussion,” Moore said. “Not everybody is going to take a women’s studies class or an ethnic studies class

and those are things that you may say are interesting, but you might not have the time in your schedule or have that chance. This is a space where you can do that — getting back to the EC roots.” Junior international relations major and director of the EC Suzanne Lewis came up with the idea after realizing the history and the mission of the EC as well as seeing a need for alternative voice on campus. “The EC was started with a really radical mission to bring subjects to campus that the university wouldn’t teach like ethnic studies and women and gender studies. Now the university offers those, but I feel like there are still some limitations to what can be done in a classroom setting, at least as sanctioned by the university,” Lewis said. “I thought that it would be

kind of cool to offer a space where there really aren’t limitations on who can teach or what can be taught. Students have a lot of knowledge so why can’t students teach students?” However, Lewis said that the fact that the EC offers workshop series aren’t the unique part about the program. “What is unique is we already have the structure set up and all people have to do is think

Irisa Tam / Aggie

See FORUM, page 2

KDVS hosts 12th Operation: Restore Maximum Freedom Festival On Saturday, KDVS 90.3 FM, a student and community radio station based in Davis, held their 12th annual Operation: Restore Maximum Freedom (ORMF) music festival at Plainfield Station Bar & Grill in Woodland. The event lasted from 1 to 10 p.m. and was open to all ages. Comprised of a lineup of 13 bands from Sacramento, Davis and the Bay Area, the festival was geared toward a more experimental electronic vibe. “The festival is a showcase of things that KDVS represents,” said Sharmi Basu, events coordinator for KDVS. “KDVS is a college radio station at UC Davis and we pride ourselves on being freeform.” Basu said the festival is named

Today’s weather Sunny High 84 Low 55

Forecast Who’s tripping down the streets of the city smiling at everybody she sees? Who’s reaching out to capture a moment? Everyone knows it’s going to be mildly Windy. Raymond Chan, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team

ORMF since it is different than other music festivals. “You could go to Coachella or Outside Lands and be overwhelmed with people,” Basu said. “But at ORMF, it’s a very relaxing, nonoppressive environment.” Situated in the back of Playfield Station’s bar — essentially a backyard — Basu said the event has been held at the same venue since its conception. “We were thinking of doing it elsewhere this year, but part of it is tradition and part of it is [that] Plainfield is really beautiful,” Basu said. “It’s kind of a field with a little stage and kind of off in the middle of nowhere, but not totally isolated.” To obtain the festival’s lineup, KDVS

Tuesday

Wednesday

Sunny

Sunny

High 81 Low 54

High 82 Low 53

reached out to different bands. Basu said sometimes the bands will find out about ORMF and reach out to KDVS. “Sometimes we start with a ridiculous amount of bands who want to play,” she said. “Then we narrow it down from there, but it’s hard because there’s so many awesome people who want to play.” The profits earned at the door were given to the bands and venue. However, putting the event together is relatively low-budget, Basu said. “In general, it’s like we’re having a big party for ourselves,” Basu said. “But we do it for the bands more so; it’s a nice thing we can put our stamp on.” — Written by Claire Tan — Photo by Brian Nguyen

Yesterday’s solar eclipses was overrated — all I did was blind myself. Aggie Night Crew


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