6 TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2013
THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE
Having the world at your fingertips Smartphone apps essential for spring break
By JOYCE BERTHELSEN Aggie Features Writer With spring break right around the corner, many students are anxious for their longawaited trips. For some, frantic last-minute planning is still being put into motion as many attempt live up to the notorious college spring break. Thankfully, we are in a generation of smartphones, where the latest and greatest application can help you through the mog of planning the perfect getaway. In an era of thousands of smartphone applications, users get lost in all of the possibilities available to them. But while you venture out into the world, keep in mind that there are helpful and handy tools which you can use to broaden your horizon and become technologically adventurous as well. Steering out of the mainstream Facebook, Instagram and Yelp, there are apps that can cater to your specific needs. Dalena Chu, a third-year genetics major, sees the benefit of using travel applications for making sure college vacationing goes as smoothly as possible. “I think people who are in business [or who] travel a lot, having an iPhone or [any] smartphone is very useful,” Chu said. “You carry your phone everywhere, so why not just put everything on one thing?” Planning your trip Today’s trip planning has become much more efficient with flight and hotel booking only a finger tap away. Besides its entertaining dancing chipmunk, Hipmunk is a unique flight search app that lists flights in easy-to-read visuals. In addition to providing the typical price and duration sort feature, it can also sort by “agony,” which lists flights in terms of how much hassle there is to use the flight service, including wait time, delays and carry-on information. Once you have decided on your flight, you can use SeatGuru to check airline seat maps. Does your window seat actually have a window or are you going to be facing a wall be-
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tween two windows? If, for some reason, your accommodation falls through, HotelTonight will find you discounted places to stay. It is designed to book rooms “tonight”; rooms cannot be booked in advance. If you do have a hotel booking, you can send your hotel, flight and even car rental itineraries to TripIt, which compiles everything so you can check everything in one place. On the road Whether you’re on a plane, in a car or on a ship, there are a few more apps to keep in mind while you’re traveling. For instance, rather than opening Safari to find a currency converter each time, consider downloading XE Converter. It features every world currency and stores the last updated rates, which means it can work even without an internet connection. Of course, it’s always helpful to have a translator. Even if you can’t get a full sentence across, having the word for “bathroom” might be helpful enough. Despite foreign language
professors’ warnings about using Google Translate to write full sentences, the app has a four-star rating from over 5,000 reviews and is good for translating short phrases. For those driving to their destinations, there are two essential apps for every driver. Waze is a community-based traffic and navigation app, with which users work together to avoid traffic and speeding tickets. Users can tell each other where there is an accident or where a highway patrol officer may be hiding and ready to pounce. Gas Buddy is exactly what it sounds like. When you share your location, it searches the area for gas stations. The list can then be sorted by distance or by price. Daniel Kapulkin, a second-year biomedical engineering major, agrees that travel apps are helpful, particularly when in completely unfamiliar locations. “I used an iPhone for two years but now I use an Android,” Kapulkin said. “But it’s always been helpful especially if you’re going somewhere and you don’t know what’s there.”
Camp Kesem comforts children of cancer patients UC Davis students fundraise, staff camp By ALICE LEE
Aggie Features Writer
At UC Davis, there exists a group of dedicated students using their time to not only raise money for all-expensespaid children-care camps, but also provide emotional support to the children who need it. Camp Kesem is a summer camp sponsored by Camp Kesem National for children with a parent who has or has had cancer. The free overnight camp is planned for children between ages 6 to 16 to enjoy a fun-filled week of enjoying life and just being kids. The camp is open to all children regardless of race, religion, national origin or financial status. Fifty college students spend the entire year before summer raising $60,000 to send at least 90 well-deserving children to camp for free. They continue to help those children by working as camp counselors throughout the week at camp. “Everything we do at Camp Kesem focuses on our goal of giving campers the most fun week possible, while providing the extra support and attention they need,” said counselor Ashley Wolf, a secondyear biochemistry major. Camp counselors are put into four groups: arts and crafts, drama and music, sports and nature, or adventure. Throughout the year, they join together to plan benefit concerts, a 5K race called the Caterpillar Run, formals, bake sales, a camp reunion with the kids, Relay for Life and Make the Magic, a live silent auction. Executive members on Camp Kesem’s board plan and facilitate fundraisers, sometimes working with different clubs and organizations on campus throughout the year. They also plan and schedule camp activities, recruit counselors and campers, and plan reunions. “There are way too many memories to narrow it down to just one. I do have one favorite activity, however. It is probably the funniest scene anyone could ever stumble upon. We call it [the] Messy Olympics, where there are a bunch of games and activities where ev-
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eryone ends up getting covered in some of the grossest things — like spaghetti, mustard, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. By the end of the activity it is just a mob of kids and college students trying to hit each other with flying ketchup,” said cochair Lauren Mackrell, a fourthyear community and regional development major. An important activity during camp is the Empowerment Ceremony, where everyone from camp comes together and shares their stories of why they are part of Camp Kesem. This night is often extremely emotional and kids of all ages lean on one another and look to each other for strength and comfort. “Camp Kesem has been the defining experience of my time at UC Davis. It is through this organization I have met some of the greatest people and my best friends. It has also provided me with skills of leadership, honesty, hard work, organization, really more skills than I can even begin to describe, not to mention a family away from home,” Mackrell said. The counselors do all that they can to hold fundraisers to raise money for these kids so that the kids can come to camp just to be kids and meet others who know what they are going through and share similar fears, according to Mackrell. “ We have this camp so that the kids do not have to think about if their dad is going to have the energy to take them to the park or if they are going to have to make sure their younger sibling gets their homework done so that their mom can rest,” Mackrell said. One of the biggest fundraisers coming up is called Make the Magic, a live silent auction that is projected to raise enough money to send 25 kids to camp. Ticket prices include a fullcourse meal, entertainment and notable speakers. Those who attend can learn more about the current mission and goals of the Camp Kesem Davis chapter as well as help send campers to camp for free. “My sister went to a silent auction and she was won over by how caring and sweet the counselors were. By the end of
the night, she donated a lot of money and gave me enough information that I tried to get involved as well,” said Mona Nguyen, a first-year psychology major. In 2000, the first Camp Kesem project was founded at Stanford University. It was a project of Hillel at Stanford, a nonprofit organization serving Jewish students, and it was developed by a group of student leaders who sought to create a magical summer camp experience for children in need. After assessing the needs of the community, the students found that children who have or had a parent with cancer could benefit the most from a summer camp experience with peers who faced similar challenges. Camp Kesem at UC Davis was founded in 2005, and so far they have held seven camps. “People should apply [to be a counselor] because when a parent is diagnosed with cancer, the whole family is affected. For children, the carefree joys and adventure of childhood are replaced with new responsibilities, anger, guilt and the fear of losing or loss of a parent,” Wolf said. “There are few services available to these children, and I am excited to have the opportunity to help make this summer’s session of Camp Kesem Davis a magical one for this often overlooked population.” Applications are available during both Fall and Winter Quarters for those interested in becoming a camp counselor. Meetings are held throughout the year in Wellman 7 at 8 p.m. on Sunday nights. “Even though I haven’t had a chance to be a counselor, I try to help out as much as I can by going to their fundraisers and small events that they have,” Nguyen said. “I sometimes go visit their table at the Quad and learn about the children who suffer such hardships simply by having a parent with cancer. Camp Kesem is an awesome experience that does incredible things for well-deserving kids.” ALICE LEE can be reached at features@ theaggie.org.
At your destination Once you have landed and collected your baggage, you can use the MetrO app to find public transportation. The app, which has data on 400 cities around the world, allows users to download cities they need and search routes via subway, bus, tram and railway without an internet connection. When you finally arrive at your destination, the first thing you may want to do is check in on Facebook or post a photo on Instagram. But if you want to share photos with family and friends who don’t have social media, try Postagram. Take a photo with your phone and send it to loved ones as a postcard. Expensify helps users keep track of their spending. It creates expense reports and stores digital and paper receipts after users synchronize the app with their credit cards and bank accounts. Users can take photos of their receipts for cash purchases, and all other digital pur chases are tracked as they happen. Finally, users can let their friends and family know that they have arrived safely through imo messenger. This all-in-one app supports multiple messenger apps including Skype, MSN, Facebook and Yahoo Messenger, which allows users to message and call everyone from one app. “It’s a great communication tool for students either when they’re just taking a trip or when studying abroad,” said Brandi Kolmer, a UC Davis alumna and head of marketing for imo. “Or maybe even doing an internship or they’ve graduated and they move away from their family. It’s also for when they’re at school when a lot of students don’t have their family nearby. imo is great, because it’s free.” Smartphone applications have entertained and connected users. With a little exploration and adventure with different apps, they can broaden your technological horizon too. JOYCE BERTHELSEN can be reached at features@theaggie.org.
Doin’ it ... Caffeinated EPPC’s “Doin’ It Green” Series Editor’s Note: The Environmental Policy and Planning Commission (EPPC) is an ASUCD commission responsible for researching environmental issues affecting the campus and its surrounding area, and providing recommendations for improvement. Doin’ It Green is a new feature that provides tips and ideas for being green. With finals fast approaching, many of us are turning to caffeine in its most delicious form: coffee. Whether it’s to get through the 8 a.m. review session or to pull an all-nighter, coffee is something that helps all of us during this stressful week. If you are one of the more fortunate who happens to own a Mr. Coffee machine or an espresso maker, then good for you. But if you’re one of those students who wakes up three minutes before class with only enough time to brush your teeth and hop on your bike, then I would advise you to continue reading. For those of us who lack the time and skills to brew our own coffee,
I think it’s generally agreed upon that the CoHo is the way to go. Every day Swirlz is swamped with students trying to get their organic, Fair Trade coffee (or Yerba Mate) fix before class. Finals week is a week to study and focus on work, and I understand that the environment may not be in the forefront of our minds (although it should), but there is one easy tip that we can follow to not only better the environment, but also save a little pocket change to buy that chocolate espresso cookie you were eyeing in the baked goods section. Something as simple as bringing your own coffee mug to class can make a huge difference. Not only does the environmentally friendly CoHo give a discount for those who bring their own cup, but your delicious coffee will stay warmer longer and you can bike with your coffee and not worry about spills. Also, you are also doing the environment a favor by using a reusable cup! These cups can easily be acquired at Rite Aid, the bookstore on campus and Starbucks (in the Silo), so there’s really no excuse for not having one. Try and do the environment a favor, and good luck with finals!