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volume 131, number 99
Wednesday, October 24, 2012 ,
Organic community in Davis fights for Prop. 37 Monticello hosts panel to discuss GMOs By JULIE WEBB Aggie News Writer
Mark Allinder / Aggie
Organic farms came to Monticello on Sunday to sell their organic produce. Monticello held an open panel regarding Prop. 37, a proposition requiring the labeling of genetically modified goods, later that day.
Davis Fall Festival to celebrate Halloween early Festival will have more activities this year By PAAYAL ZAVERI Aggie News Writer
The annual Davis Fall Festival is back this Saturday. “We have the Fall Festival on this weekend every single year; this is probably our 30th Fall Festival at least and it’s a celebration of the harvest and the abundance of what’s available at the market,” said Randii MacNear, market manager of the Davis Farmers Market. MacNear said the festival is a sort of customer appreciation day. “We decorate the market beautifully with corn stalks, fall colors and themes,” MacNear said. “We have a little bit James Kim / Aggie of a Halloween theme and it’s sort of just celebrating the harvest, which is really what the Farmers Market is all about.” The festival will be held at Central Park during the normal Farmers Market time,
from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Many vendors will be at the festival. “We try and bring the farm to the market a little bit,” MacNear said. “We just try to kind of connect the children to agriculture.” Additionally, the Farmers Market tries to bring many animals to the festival. The California Raptor Center will bring rescued birds. Woodland farmer Jim Neilson will bring about six or seven baby pigs for petting. Last year, there was a llama at the festival; a few years ago they had a pony and chickens. Some other booths include Davis High School's Future Farmers of America (FFA) pre-selling tritips and Christmas trees, and local 4-H clubs hosting craft booths for kids. Central Park Gardens will give away free flower seeds and hold a plant sale. UC Davis Chemistry Club and
See FALL, page 6
The small crowd at Monticello at 630 G St. was vocal during the discussion about Proposition 37 on Oct. 21. Earlier that day Monticello hosted a small Food Day event, in which various farms showed up and sold organic food. The Prop. 37 campaign advocates “The Right to Know.” The proposition was drafted in order to label genetically-modified foods, or GMOs. It gained support from a number of organic food growers, who would be exempt from the proposition, but the opposition ranges from Pepsi Co. to DuPont. Many people seemed to have made up their minds already about the initiative. “I have a strong hate for GMOs,” said Robert Winiecki, owner of High Grade Harvest, an organic plant supply store. Becky Winters, owner of Bliss Creations, a local raw dessert business, had a similar opinion. “I think people have the right to make an informed decision,”
she said. This was Monticello’s first Food Day event after the announcement of “National Food Day” last year. The event was a small precursor to the discussion, starting at 4 p.m. and lasting over two hours. The panel discussion, hosted by UC Davis Slow Food, was there to increase awareness about GMOs. The panelists included two organic farmers, Sally Fox and Jim Eldon; Tom Fendley, who is the political director for Prop. 37; and Dr. Kent Bradford, director of the Seed Biotechnology Center and a professor at UC Davis. Desmond Jolly, a UC Davis agricultural economist, moderated the discussion. Many of the panelists discussed reasons for wanting foods labeled, including not knowing what was in such foods, and the ability of genetically-modified crops to have adverse affects on the environment. The proponents of Prop. 37 state that this labeling process would not be as difficult as some
See ORGANIC, page 6
News iN Brief
Two robbed at gunpoint in Downtown Davis Two Davis residents walking westbound on Second Street approaching A Street were robbed by two male subjects Sunday at around 10:05 p.m. One of the robbers brandished a silver handgun, demanding that the two residents turn over their property. The two residents complied, handing over their cell phones, a wallet and a duffel bag. The first suspect is described as an African American male, about 6’2”,
180 pounds and 20 to 23 years old. He was last seen wearing a long-sleeved black-and-white striped shirt and blue jeans. The second suspect is described as a Hispanic male, about 5’10”, 180 pounds and 20 to 23 years old. He was last seen wearing a blue baseball cap, gray hoodie sweatshirt and blue jeans. — Claire Tan
Davis Police catches indecent exposure suspect On Sunday at around 3:15 p.m., the Davis Police Department (DPD) was dispatched to Common Grounds Coffee at 2171 Cowell Blvd. Employees noticed a man masturbating inside the shop. They believed it was the same man who had indecently exposed him-
self at the location on Aug. 13. The next day, the DPD confirmed it was the suspect who had committed the act in August. He is identified as 43-year-old Vladmir Vecherkovskiy from Sacramento. — Claire Tan
Campus Community Book Project promotes diversity and awareness through books Project encourages open dialogue among students and community By SASHA COTTERELL Aggie News Writer
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Campus Community Book Project was developed to spread diversity and encourage conversation among students, faculty and the surrounding community. A book is selected each year and events that correspond to the reading are planned to coincide with the theme of the book. The project is a sector of the Office of Campus Community Relations. The office hopes to promote diversity and inclusiveness on campus, as well as within the community. There are two committees involved in the book project: a selection committee to select multiple book possibilities, and a planning committee to plan corresponding events after the book has been chosen. The selection committee goes through a strenuous selection process to select books. To reach a consensus in time, they begin in the summer and have all the events planned by fall quarter. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson was selected this year. The selection focuses on the migration of millions of African-Americans from the South to the
Today’s weather Showers
North. Though the topics can seem weighty, many who participate in the program believe it to be a worthwhile experience. “The most important objective of the Campus Community Book Project is to engage the campus community in dialogue about issues related to diversity and crosscultural issues,” said Mikael Villalobos, chair of the program and administrator of Diversity Education with the Office of Campus Community Relations. The project aims to overcome adversity and promote multiculturalism by having participants talk openly and honestly about race and culture. To ignite this dialogue, the planning committee has created a variety of events to engage people of all backgrounds. “There are art exhibits, library exhibits, films — many different ways to get involved and join in on the discussion. It’s a way for everyone to be on the same page and discuss certain things and just learn from each other,” said Samantha Huynh, fourth-year history and political science double major. There are a number of students who attend because the book is being used in their class. According to Villalobos, they gain an entirely different perspective from attending the events that correspond with the book. Forecast Tut-tut, looks like rain.
High 65 Low 47 Written by Allison Ferrini Weather Report Courtesy of www.weather.com
“The program brings together subgroups who may not see themselves as having something in common. It cuts across all of the different groups, can be integrated as material for students, is a springboard for diversity of the campus and reaches out to people in the community,” said Cynthia Goldberg, a member of the planning committee. In an effort to involve the whole community, all the events are available to the public and almost all of them are free. Moreover, the events do not only take place on the UC Davis campus, but there are programs planned at Davis Senior High School and in Sacramento. Villalobos said that to get involved people just need to attend the events. The Campus Community Book Project will have two more events this month, on Oct. 24 from noon to 1 p.m. at Lecture Hall 1222 at the UC Davis Health System in Sacramento, as well as another on Oct. 30 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Underground Bookstore in Sacramento. A full list of upcoming events can be found at the Office of Campus Community Relations website or on their Facebook page. SASHA COTTERELL can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
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Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants! 2nd World Series berth in 3 years.
written by Allison Ferrini