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volume 131, number 108
thursday, november 29, 2012
UC campuses take on challenge to reduce food waste EPA’s program increases sustainability practices
By PAAYAL ZAVERI Aggie Staff Writer
Eight UC campuses are taking on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Food Recovery Challenge to reduce food waste by five percent during this coming year. According to the EPA, the main goal of the challenge is to reduce 33 million tons of food waste the U.S. sends to landfills each year. They will achieve this through smarter food purchasing, increasing donations to charities and composting spoiled food. “Food waste is a particular problem for California, the world’s fifth largest food supplier, because of the enormous quantities of water and energy required for production,” said Jared Blumenfeld, the EPA’s regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest, in a statement. “EPA is proud to partner with these universities as they commit to support the environment and their community by reducing food waste.” The participating campuses are Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Merced, Riverside, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. The University of California (UC) campuses are among 50 universities nationwide that are participating in the challenge. A kickoff event for the challenge was held on Nov. 15, which was America Recycles Day 2012. The challenge is a part of the EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management Program. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 15.7 percent of national energy consumption is directed toward
See WASTE, page 7
News iN Brief
KDVS and AggieTV hold live forum on pepper spray incident KDVS and AggieTV are collaborating to host a live radio forum on the Nov. 18 pepper spray incident titled “The Year in Review: Pepper Spray Incident Forum Discussion.” According to Mary Champeny at the KDVS news department, because both KDVS News and AggieTV were involved in the coverage of the event, they believe it would be valuable to use the first anniversary of the incident as an opportunity to re-open discourse on the issues brought up by the incident. Representatives from ASUCD, University administration, faculty and the UC Davis Police Department will attend. The campus community as well as Davis community members are invited to contribute by submitting questions to news@kdvs.org. Questions must be submitted by 6 p.m. on Thursday. The forum, which will take place on Nov. 30 from 4:30 to 6 p.m., will be a panel discussion on KDVS 90.3 FM and at kdvs.org. Aggie TV will also provide video coverage on aggietv.org. “We see this as a great opportunity to engage the campus community, re-visit important topics and provide a highly accessible discussion about something that had a profound impact on UC Davis,” Champeny said. — Muna Sadek
Rachel Du / Aggie
Eight UC campuses are participating in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Food Recovery Challenge. One fifth of the nation’s methane emissions come from food decomposing in landfills.
UC Davis Greek system examines safety after Chico State death Report including risk management to be required next fall
Madison Dunitz / Aggie
Chico State University suspended its Greek system on Nov. 16 after Sigma Pi brother Mason Sumnicht died after attempting to drink 21 shots. The university will begin the reinstatement process next semester.
By KAMILA KUDELSKA Aggie News Writer
On Nov. 16, Chico State University suspended their Greek system after the death of 21-year-old Sigma Pi brother Mason Sumnicht. He died after attempting to
drink 21 shots on his 21st birthday. The university plans to begin the reinstatement process next semester. As a result, universities have been looking into risk management in their respective Greek systems. “It is unfortunate to see this happen.
Our priority is the safety of the students,” said UC Davis Interfraternity Council (IFC) president and Tau Kappa Epsilon brother Matt Chernin, a fifth-year animal science major with an emphasis in aquaculture. Some UC Davis fraternity brothers declined to comment on the suspension of Chico State’s Greek system because they were told by supervisors to not discuss the incident. The UC Davis Greek system has regulations in place in order to avoid such incidents that occur in the Greek system. The UC Davis Greek Life Office overlooks fraternity and sorority functions, encouraging responsible behavior within. “We have the expectation that at least 90 percent of members have risk management training, anti-hazing training and alcohol-abuse training,” said Joaquin Feliciano, a Greek Life coordinator at the UC Davis Greek Life Office. “The campus has multiple places where this can be provided. Many national headquarters have training where this is addressed.” The IFC emphasizes risk management. They require each fraternity to undergo program events such as drug and alcohol information sessions. Fraternities learn tips and training revolving around substance abuse. “Really, the biggest thing is education to prevent something like this [death],
See GREEK, page 2
UC Davis Medical Center, Dameron Hospital to expand services Collaboration to take effect next summer By MEE YANG
Aggie News Writer
On Nov. 15, the University of California Board of Regents approved a limited liability company (LLC) between UC Davis Medical Center (UCDMC), located at 2315 Stockton Blvd. in Sacramento, and Dameron Hospital, located at 525 Acacia St. in Stockton. This collaboration was initiated by both parties to bring more advanced medical services to the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) located in the Central Valley. courtesy Creighton Younnel, public inforThe UC Davis Medical Center (UCDMC) and Dameron Hospital mation officer for Dameron Hospital, was not able to disclose much detail have entered into limited liability company status.
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Forecast ITS GON RAIN. There will also be a good amount of wind to go along with it. Thursday afternoon through Sunday evening, you can expect to see several inches of rain. Stay safe and don’t go into fast flowing streams and rivers. Tyson Tilmont, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team
about the collaboration, but said that the establishment of the LLC between both medical providers will be very advantageous for the Stockton facility by expanding medical expertise in order to better provide for the SJV. “We see our relationship with UCDMC as a great expansion of our expertise locally,” Younnel said. “We are bringing more physicians and expanding our communication through UCDMC.” Chief executive officer of UCDMC Ann Madden Rice said that in early 2011, Dameron Hospital and UCDMC had preliminary discussions that focused on expanding Dameron’s health system. Because of many eco-
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nomic factors such as the uncertainty regarding healthcare changes and costs due to market pressure from health insurances, it was a key strategy to work with Dameron in helping the needs of the SJV. “An LLC is a legal structure for two or more entities to come together for specific operational purposes. The reason we propose using that legal structure is that UC Davis has previously used that structure successfully,” Rice said. Such successful LLC partnerships that UCDMC has worked with include cancer services in Marysville,
See DAMERON, page 7
‘Boy Meets World’ is returning with a sequel: ‘Girl Meets World.’ It will feature Cory and Topanga’s daughter, Riley. Get excited! Amanda Nguyen