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volume 131, number 93
MONDAY, october 15, 2012
Campus hosts record number of international students Nearly 700 new international undergraduates enrolled By STEPHANIE B. NGUYEN Aggie News Writer
This quarter, there is an estimated 1,120 international undergraduate students at UC Davis, about 680 of whom are new. This number is approximately 70 to 80 percent higher than the number of international students in previous years; last year, for example, there were 344 international students. With increased undergraduate admis-
sions throughout the UC system, the number of admitted international and exchange students is rising as well. “UC Davis is committed to increasing California, out-of-state and international student numbers,” said Moira Delgado, the outreach coordinator for Services for International Students and Scholars (SISS). “In general, most campuses are moving toward internationalizing in the broad sense of the term: sending more students abroad, increasing international students and in-
ternationalizing the curriculum.” Still, many students are apprehensive about the growing number of out-ofstate and international students out of fear that they are taking their place within the system. According to the Student Fees Fact Sheet by Budget and Institutional Analysis, national and international students pay $12,711.82 per quarter, while California residents pay $5,085.82. “I’ve seen a steady increase in the num-
Plans to rebuild are in the works
Mark Allinder / Aggie
By ANDREW POH Aggie News Writer
If anyone has passed by 336 C St. — across from the Farmers Market — recently, they would notice that a vast, empty lot has replaced the Phi Delta Theta house. The project began on Sept. 17 when the asbestos was removed from the house’s exterior. The actual demolition of the house took place Sept. 24. Though the building went down relatively easily, the cleaning up of the space took another 10 days. Jeff Marschner, the historian and construction chair of Phi Delta Theta, detailed the building’s storied history via an email interview.
“The north side of the former structure was once the Davis Presbyterian Church, located at 4th and F Streets. It was built in 1870,” Marschner said. “In about 1912, the church outgrew the building, so they sold this structure, which was then moved to Fourth and C, where it was remodeled into a student boarding house. Within a year, it became the home of the local Calpha Fraternity (California Agricultural Fraternity).” The residence would then go on to house an Army Signal Corps group during WWII, and would be reclaimed by Calpha after the war in 1955. The Calpha Fraternity would subse-
quently become the Epsilon Chapter of Phi Delta Theta. In 2002, the Phi Delta Theta chapter in Davis disbanded, and the house was left in the custody of the Phi Delta Alumni group. It had originally been slated to be remodeled, but initial inspections showed that the entire building would need to be revamped from the ground up. “The final decision: just too cost prohibitive,” Marschner said. “An alumni survey found no support for the rehab project.” In 2010, the Phi Delta Theta chapter was recolonized, and it seems that the legacy of the building may continue to live on. Tim Zeff, the Alumni
Board treasurer, said that remodeling the house would have cost roughly the same as tearing it down, since the entire foundation needed to be reworked regardless. If they were to renovate the old house, they would have to lift it off the foundation and place it back on top once the foundation work was completed. “The structure was antiquated and in need of modernization to fit in with the needs of today’s students,” Zeff said. “Though the new house will be smaller in terms of square footage, it will still hold the same number of people.” There are plans in the works for a new building, slated to be opened by September 2013. This building will house 19 beds in single and double configuration, with a dining and living room that will be estimated to accommodate 75 people. Max Tipp, vice president of the Phi Delta Theta Epsilon chapter and a senior international relations major, shared his thoughts on the upcoming housing project. “We’re really looking forward to the new and improved real estate on the block and are very grateful to our alumni for making all of this happen,” Tipp said. “They truly are wonderful men and I, for one, feel extremely obliged to be a part of this organization.” ANDREW POH can be reached at city@ theaggie.org.
News iN Brief
Hero dog arrives at UC Davis from the Philippines Nearly one year ago, Kabang, or “Spotty,” a dog from the Philippines, jumped in front of a motorcycle to save her owner’s daughter and niece. She lost her snout and upper jaw in the process. On Thursday, Kabang arrived at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine for examinations to discern what could be done to help her. She is estimated to stay for at least six weeks. According to a UC Davis news service press release, Kabang underwent an hourlong preliminary exam that involved blood and urine tests. Veterinary surgeons Boaz Arzi and Frank Verstraete are working to determine the best route through
Today’s weather Partly cloudy High 86 Low 59
which to approach the problem. They anticipate that Kabang will require a minimum of two surgeries, one that would deal primarily on dental work and another that would attempt to close the facial wound. There are no plans of developing a prosthetic snout. “We are confident we can improve her condition going forward,” Verstraete said in the release. Kabang will not be made available to the media to reduce any added stress and risk of infection. More information and updates on Kabang’s treatment can be found at vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vmth/ small_animal/kabang. — Muna Sadek
‘Educate’ phone app garners responses to vice presidential debate Voter opinions to the vice presidential debate between United States Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan were collected through a new real-time smartphone application co-developed by UC Davis political science assistant professor Amber Boydstun. The Educate application was released by React Labs Oct. 3 at the UC Davis School of Law at King Hall on the night of the first presidential debate. 1,472 people reacted via the application to the vice presidential debate.
Forecast I guess fall decided to tease us last week because it’s back to summer weather this week. Maybe it’ll be winter next week? Written by Amanda Nguyen Weather report courtesy of www.weather.com
See STUDENTS, page 2
Square Tomatoes Craft Fair continues and expands
Phi Delta Theta house demolished
The Phi Delta Theta house was demolished due to the need for extensive repairs. Reconstruction of the house is expected to be finished by Sept. 2013.
ber of international students occupying seats in lecture halls, in the library, at the MU — everywhere,” said fourth-year chemical engineering major Kent Ly. “I suspect that the university is accepting more students from abroad to bridge the gap in funding since non-Californian students pay more than twice the typical resident in tuition and fees. I fear that instead of directly addressing the real issue
According to a summary of the reaction results, Biden was preferred as the debate winner, with 57 percent in his favor. 10 percent of respondents said that the two candidates tied. 53 percent identified as Democrats, 31 percent as Republicans and 16 percent as independent/ other. Reactions were also categorized by specific topics and debate style. Further information on the application can be found at reactlabs.com. — Muna Sadek
Tuesday
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New “artisanal Farmers Market” on Sunday
courtesy
By PAAYAL ZAVERI Aggie News Writer
Davis’ Square Tomatoes Craft Fair is back this month with even more vendors, activities and booths. The fair was started in August and the community has taken such a liking to it that it is slated to continue each month. This month it will be on Sunday, Oct. 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. between 6th and G Street, right next to the Davis Food Co-op. Sally Parker, the founder of the event, started the fair after she saw the success of weekly craft fairs in Eugene and Portland, Ore. “I wanted Square Tomatoes to be a direct market, like an old-fashioned Farmers Market, where artisans bring their work directly to visitors without a large payment to a middleman,” Parker said in an email interview. “Visitors avoid paying the 50 percent markup normal to retail sales of crafts. Both vendors and visitors get a huge bargain.” However, the event itself seems to have very little to do with square tomatoes. Meant as a spoof, Parker named it after Davis’ unique but controversial agricultural invention: the square tomato. The fair has live music, food booths, comfort zones and hands-on craft tutorials. People can learn crafts from an experienced teacher. Many of the vendors at the craft fair are current or former instructors at the UC Davis Craft Center, including Parker, who teaches “Models, Molds and Microsculpture,” a shortcut in the silver and bronze casting process. Dede deGraffenried teaches bronze casting, Monica Riche taught sewing and Carol Wheaton taught knitting. Other vendors include local artists and shop owners from the Etsy website. “I like to describe our craft fair as a Farmers Market for artists. We had our first craft fair in August and that was all done by Sally,” Riche said in an email interview. “In this month’s fair, I will be teaching people to make [Día de los Muertos] pendants, also called sugar skulls. I will have polymer clay out and everything available to have people come and make their
own pendants.” This month’s fair will have a storytelling contest. Parker will tell the story “High Noon at Twilight.” She says she is putting a new spin on the story of an antisocial corpse who refuses to decompose or stop talking until he is outwitted by a mediocre violinist. Dr. D, a former professor at UC Davis, and Denise Hoffner are the two other storytellers. “Dr. D. will tell ‘Huge,’ a story of Davis genetic engineering gone awry. Denise Hoffner will tell ‘Magic at the Crossroads,’ about an event in the life of a Davis crossing guard,” Parker said. “So far we have three storytellers, but grandstanders with good lungs are welcome to join if they go to the website and submit their story ahead of time.” Ron Goldberg, Wendy Silk and a bass player will be doing a few riffs in the background to stories. They will also be playing before and after the contest. In addition to the craft booths and storytelling activities, the fair will also have food booths by Kathmandu Kitchen and Davis Creamery. “I hadn’t heard about the craft fair until recently, but it seems like a typical Davis event, kind of like the Farmers Market, but with crafts, and that’s always fun,” said Pauleen Truong, a third-year communication major. “The fact that they have food booths by Kathmandu and Davis Creamery just makes the event even better.” For people who want to take a break from the activity and just relax, there is a spot to do that. A booth called the comfort zone has wicker chairs, free iced tea and shade for those who want to just relax. “I think it’s a great way to spend a Sunday, especially this month’s because we are doing a storytelling contest for anyone who has a great imagination, and tarot readings,” Riche said. “Students might find the craft fair inspirational for their own projects, learn about the Davis community and understand the reasons for having local markets.” PAAYAL ZAVERI can be reached at city@ theaggie.org.
Did you know that you are born with 300 bones but as you become an adult, you’ll only have 206? Mindblown. Amanda Nguyen