FOR FREE?
Join our sales team We’re looking for new, super suave advertising reps.
Yes, undergraduate students can now take out Classifieds at no cost.
Email admanager@theaggie.org.
Email classifieds@theaggie.org.
serving the uc davis campus and community since 1915
www.theaggie.org
volume 131, number 94
tuesday, october 16, 2012
Cool Davis Festival promotes green living Students and community informed about sustainability By MEE YANG
Aggie News Writer
The Cool Davis Festival took place Oct. 13 at Davis Central Park to celebrate Davis for being a “cool” city. The event took place on the park’s lawn, which was filled with booths about sustainability and being aware of carbon emissions. A Girl Scout table offered activities such as planting wheatgrass or flower seeds in an eggshell and making art with seeds. The Carbon Solutions Center was available in the center of the park for people to find out more information about various types of energy conservation, how to reduce people’s carbon footprints and other related topics. Tree Davis, a nonprofit group, was one of many booths represented at the festival. “We’re committed to expanding our forests by planting trees in our neighborhoods, camps and along Highway 113,” said John Madarang, a second-year exercise biology major and intern for Tree Davis. “I am an intern, so my future job is to lead volunteers to plant trees at different events and to educate the community about the benefits of trees.” In addition, three stages were occupied with bands, dances and theater performances. Groups such as local band Tha Dirt Feeling, Mariachi Puente, Ecokinesis Dance Company and the Cal Aggie Marching Band-Uh! made appearances at the festival.
See COOL, page 2
Ysah Nagda / Aggie
The Cool Davis Festival celebrated Davis for being a “cool” city on Oct. 13 at Davis Central Park.
Deadline approaching for bi-annual ASUCD scholarship award
News iN Brief
WarnMe to undergo test tomorrow
Peer-selected endowment open to all undergraduates By STEPHANIE B. NGUYEN Aggie News Writer
Seven UC Davis undergraduates have the opportunity to receive tuition support from ASUCD in amounts of $500 or $1,000 this fall. All students are welcome to apply, although ASUCD encourages students who are first-generation college attendees, who have endured personal hardship and who possess exceptional leadership skills, among other qualities. Since the scholarship aims to aid students who have extenuating circumstances, there is no minimum GPA requirement. “ASUCD wants to ensure that this is a scholarship that every undergraduate is able to access,” said third-year international relations major Carly Sandstrom, who is leading the efforts in fundraising for the endowment and is the former External Affairs Commission chair for ASUCD. “Some students may not have the best GPA due to having to work three jobs to continue to go to school, and we do not want to exclude those out-
standing Aggies who need the most financial support.” ASUCD President Rebecca Sterling agreed. “The ASUCD scholarship is unique to most other campus scholarships because it is accessible to every undergraduate student,” said Sterling, a fourth-year international relations and psychology double major. “There are many students that are highly qualified recipients, but are not able to receive them because their GPA is not high enough. We aim to bring relief to the many deserving students who are facing unique and extremely challenging circumstances,” she said. The scholarship recipients are chosen by a committee comprised of six students: the ASUCD vice president, the Academic Affairs Commission chair, the Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission chair, two ASUCD senators and the ASUCD Controller with oversight from the ASUCD business manager. Third-year biochemistry and molecular biology major Michelle Perez was one of last year’s recip-
ients and expressed her thoughts on the scholarship. “Programs like their scholarship really can make the difference for students like me between being able to afford to attend college and not being able to afford to attend it,” said Perez, a full-time student, mother of an autistic child and part-time hospital worker. “Sadly, financial aid doesn’t cover all the costs. Tuition has increased and federal grants have decreased. To cover the difference, loans must increase, which means more debt for students. This shows how hard it is to afford a college education, especially for someone like me who is the only one working to provide for my family. Before the scholarship, I felt like I was running out of options, and when it was awarded to me, it felt like a godsend.” The ASUCD Awards Endowment Fund was created in 1999 and has since grown to $300,000 in endowment. This year, the fund aims to raise an additional $100,000 in hopes of increasing the yearly
See ENDOW, page 4
The Pantry receives complaints over lack of diversity Pantry director says concerns are unfounded By MENGSHI SHAO Aggie News Writer
During a Sept. 27 ASUCD Senate meeting, Romana Norton, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) counselor who was involved in the creation The Pantry, expressed concerns over the unit’s recent underutilization. These comments stemmed from complaints from students claiming that The Pantry’s staff and interns do not consist of people who
Today’s weather Sunny High 88 Low 56
represent enough minority groups on campus. “People want to get things from people they know,” Norton said during the meeting. The senators agreed that The Pantry is being underused and agreed to discuss the issue further outside the meeting. Founded two years ago, The Pantry is an on-campus organization run by students, aiming at providing food for UC Davis students who are struggling financially.
WarnMe, UC Davis’ emergency alert system, will send out test alerts tomorrow, just before noon. The WarnMe system would be used in the event of a dangerous or risky situation on or near the UC Davis campus. The alert will be sent to students and employees on the Davis and Sacramento campuses and various other university facilities, according to the UC Davis News Service. Contact information is being retrieved from employee listings from the UC Davis people directory, student mail addresses and personal contact information that was provided for the WarnMe system. This includes over 86,000 work and personal email addresses, almost 26,000 short message service (SMS) devices and nearly 950 pagers. The alerts will state that it is only a test.
Norton said that she thinks The Pantry goes through misuse. Some students who consult with Norton revealed that they feel uncomfortable and reluctant to get food from people of different ethnic groups than them. Norton also said that students who may not necessarily need The Pantry are using it more than students who need it.
Forecast Hitting the 90’s again this week! Happy fourth week of fall quarter. Written by Amanda Nguyen Weather report courtesy of www.weather.com
WarnMe officials encourage the campus community to register with WarnMe or update their information. “UC Davis WarnMe is part of the university’s comprehensive emergency management program and among the ways the university can alert students to emergencies and provide important information. The warnings UC Davis sends out are predominantly done through email and text. Both of these avenues will ensure students receive emergency messages in a timely manner,” said Nick Crossley, manager at Emergency Management & Mission Continuity at UC Davis. Students and university faculty can add or update their WarnMe information at warnme.ucdavis.edu. — Muna Sadek
ASUCD Senate applications available today Prospective candidates interested in running for ASUCD Senate or another elected position are invited to obtain ASUCD Nominating Petition Packets for the Fall 2012 ASUCD General Election. Petition packets are available today in the Student Government Administrative Office (SGAO) until the deadline for submitting packets, Oct. 23 at noon. To pick up a packet, students should bring their UC Davis Student ID card in person to the SGAO, located on
the third floor of the Memorial Union. 125 signatures of enrolled UC Davis undergraduates are required for nomination. More information on the election and nomination process can be found in the ASUCD Election Codes — in Chapter Four of the ASUCD Bylaws which can be found at the ASUCD website. Further elections information can be found at asucd. ucdavis.edu/elections. —Muna Sadek
See PANTRY, page 5 Wednesday
Thursday
Sunny
Sunny
High 91 Low 54
High 92 Low 53
Deja Moo: The feeling that you’ve heard this bull before. Amanda Nguyen