March 13, 2013

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volume 132, number 37

wednesday, march 13, 2013

The Laundry Lounge extends services as others close

Researchers working on cure for those wild weekends

Davis’ sole laundromat owners discusses laundry businesses

Pill would make hangovers a thing of the past

By KELLY MITCHELL Aggie Science Writer

Abigail Alcala / Aggie

The Wash Mill (pictured), a Davis laundromat, closed in January.

By MEREDITH STURMER Aggie News Writer

On Jan. 6, the Wash Mill Laundromat on East Eighth Street closed its doors after 40 years of business.

Another laundromat, the Quick Clean Center, used to be located on G Street but is no longer in business. After the closure of these laundromats, there remains only one laundromat in the city of Davis: The Laundry Lounge, located in the Anderson Plaza behind Save Mart.

According to Dina Connor, owner of The Laundry Lounge, they have expanded their hours to accommodate the increase in demand for laundry services. They now open at 8 a.m. on the weekends and 7 a.m. on weekdays and close at 10 p.m. night-

News iN Brief

Assault investigated as hate crime An assault that occurred on Sunday at around 3 a.m. left 31-year-old Mikey Partida with major injuries after being severely beaten.

Partida was attending a house party at the 300 block of I Street.

On his way back to the party to retrieve his keys, a man began kicking and beating Partida while yelling out homophobic slurs, according to the Facebook page Mikey’s Justice Fund.

The Facebook page was created to raise money for Partida.

Davis Police are currently investigating the incident as a hate crime.

According to Lt. Glenn Glasgow, Partida may have been targeted due to his sexual orientation.

Partida suffered a fractured skull, brain hemorrhaging, multiple face fractures and a head laceration, according to Mikey’s Justice Fund.

Additionally, he suffered bruising and swelling around his eyes, and trauma to his ear.

Glasgow said to The Davis Enterprise that details are still vague and Davis Police have not determined if there was a witness.

A UC Davis Medical Center spokesperson said to The Davis Enterprise that Partida was listed in good condition Monday afternoon.

Another man was involved and suffered minor injuries, but refused medical aid. His relationship to Partida is still being determined.

— Claire Tan

Today’s weather Sunny High 77 Low 50

ly, with the “last wash” now at 9 p.m. instead of 8:30 p.m.

Prices to use washing machines range from $2 to $6.50, depending on the machine. Dryers are 25 cents for six minutes.

“I personally think there is a demand for only one laundromat [in Davis],” Connor said. “Sundays are a bit busier, but before the other ones closed we were barely scraping by.”

The recession of 2008 impacted many individuals, including small business owners.

“We signed our lease right before the recession started. We had to raise our prices, and we lost a lot of business to the Wash Mill,” Connor said.

“It was hard. Our landlord’s rents are very competitive and in that sense, he’s very fair, but we haven’t been able to negotiate a rent decrease.”

Laundromats also face competition from companies such as Coinmach, the “industry leader in multifamily laundry equipment,” according to the Coinmach website.

Coinmach is the largest laundry equipment service provider in the U.S., operating equipment at over 80,000 locations in need of laundry facilities, such as apartment complexes.

Companies such as Coinmach partner with managements and provide and service the laundry equipment for communal laundry facilities.

“Apartments essentially have minilaundromats,” Connor said. “The laundromats in Davis are competing against that. We have to pay our own

See LAUNDRY, page 4

The dreaded hangover — the punishment of a night out for college students.

With the headache, nausea and sensitivity to light, it will ruin your next day and make you regret everything when you have three midterms and a lab report due that week.

What causes a hangover in the first place? “[It is a] combination of factors including too much alcohol, which is a toxin and is metabolized to even more toxic substances, like acetaldehyde, that must be further metabolized and excreted to prevent further toxicity,” said Thomas J. Ferguson, the Medical Director at the UC Davis Student Health and Wellness Center. “The most important factor is to avoid ingestion of too much alcohol.”

UC Davis brewing professor Charles Bamforth has a similar opinion.

“I preach moderation and responsibility — i.e., do not get the hangover in the first place,” Bamforth said.

Dedicated partiers should not fear, for doctors have been researching a real hangover cure.

Researchers at UCLA have put together two enzymes in a pill that, when tested, significantly increased the rate of alcohol metabolism in the body.

"We used two enzymes, alcohol oxidase, capable of oxidizing alcohol into acetaldehyde and hydrogen

peroxide, and catalase, capable of decomposing toxic hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen," said Yunfeng Lu, professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UCLA and the principal investigator for this project.

Paired together in a polymer casing, the two enzymes work as a team to help remove alcohol from your system. One enzyme will break down the alcohol while the other will complete the processes by then breaking down the hydrogen peroxide, which the first enzyme creates, to water and oxygen. These extra enzymes take the strain out of your liver and make your recovery much faster.

This product has been studied thoroughly and no side effects were reported in the researchers’ experiments. The lack of side effects is especially promising since the researchers hope to be able to use their product on humans.

“I am certain that as described, this medication would come under some pretty close scrutiny because the enzymes that metabolize alcohol may have other effects in humans. That is, they could interfere with other metabolizations and potentially place the individual at risk,” Ferguson said.

There are still some steps to go before the medication could be approved, but the researchers are already halfway there.

See HANGOVER, page 4

Whistleblower report calls for change in UC Medical Centers University denies report’s allegations of depleting quality

By LAUREN MASCARENHAS Aggie News Writer

A whistleblower report was recently released alleging a myriad of issues within the UC Medical System that are supposedly detrimental to patient care.

The report, titled “A Question of Priorities: Profits, Short Staffing, and the Shortchanging of Patient Care at UC Medical Centers,” was released by AFSCME 3299, the statewide union of University of California service and patient care workers. It compiles a list of concerns about practices at the five centers that make up the UC Medical System: UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC San Diego and UCSF. These concerns were brought forward by patient care advocates, independent investigations and frontline care workers at the medical centers.

The main problem alleged in the report is a fundamental shift in priorities in the UC Medical System, leading to a decrease in proper patient care.

“The biggest problem that needs to be addressed is the problem of priorities. There’s been a culture shift that is a result of the policy passed a couple years ago that gives budget autonomy to each medical center,” said Kathryn Lybarger, president of AFSCME 3299.

The UC Medical System earns $6.9 billion a year in operating revenues and millions in profits, according to the report. With each medical center keeping and controlling the money it brings in, the

report states that there is incentive for management to run medical centers as individual profit centers instead of state institutions. Efficiencies, or cost-cutting measures, have been implemented across UC medical centers, but the report claims that many of these efficiencies are saving money at the cost of serving patients.

UC spokesperson Steve Montiel said UC is at a standstill with the union in negotiations regarding contracts. “[AFSCME 3229] has a habit of trying to negotiate contracts in the news media rather than at the bargaining table. We have reached an impasse in negotiations and this is nothing more than a tactic to try to gain bargaining leverage.

Our medical centers are some of the best in the country, with highquality coverage and very highquality treatment,” Montiel said in response to the report.

The university is still in negotiations with AFSCME 3229, according to Montiel.

Union workers have been attempting to gain the attention of management at medical centers for some time and put together the report in hopes that it may serve this purpose, according to Lybarger.

The report includes a number of accounts — from independent reports, inpatient discharge data and frontline care providers — that raise concerns about not only the quality but also the safety of care given at the medical centers.

Instances of patients falling

Forecast Spring weather continues. Nice and toasty for an afternoon study session before finals. Enjoy a nice ice-cream while on break and soak up that sunshine California Style!

Roberto Martinez, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team

when trying to go to the bathroom and dried blood being left in the crevices of operating tables are mentioned in the report. Lack of sanitation can lead to dangerous infections in patients.

“Some of the examples are really egregious,” said Todd Stenhouse, a member of AFSCME 3229.

The report highlights Findings of Immediate Jeopardy, which according to the report is defined by the State of California as “situations in which the licensee’s noncompliance with one or more requirements of licensure has caused, or is likely to cause, serious injury or death to the patient.”

Instances in the report include a sponge being left in a patient post-operation and a surgical incision being made in the wrong eye of a patient.

“Patients and their families suffer devastating consequences when infections occur during hospitalization. My own daughter suffered this fate and was left permanently disabled for the rest of her short life from a surgical site infection. I have personally witnessed the lack of cleanliness and surface disinfection that is needed in any healthcare setting,” said Julia A. Hallisy, founder and president of the Empowered Patient Coalition, in an email interview.

Understaffing is also an issue listed in the report.

“Bedside staff no longer [have] the time to comfort and educate their patients, which leaves them frustrated and questioning

Thursday

Friday

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whether or not they want to stay in their profession. They have lost the joy that should be an integral part of being a healthcare provider,” Hallisy said.

The report also claims a lack of adherence to sanitation standards and VIP care being given to some patients over others. Financially, the report highlights a disproportionate amount of funds going to management income and hiring, while frontline care workers are being cut. There is also a focus on building new facilities when current ones are not being properly maintained, according to workers, advocates and AFSCME. The report claims that all of these larger issues boil down to one thing: a shortchanging of patient care.

“We are not opposed to growth, but growth at the cost of patient care is not OK. It’s hurting real people,” Lybarger said. “The lack of care results in compromising patients’ dignity and maybe threatening their lives.”

A set of recommendations was offered in the report, focused around increasing oversight (with legislative hearings) and implementing more investigations by the California Department of Health. The report also calls for an increase in training to improve staffing and safety standards.

It remains to be seen if any changes will be made in the UC Medical System because of the report.

LAUREN MASCARENHAS can be reached at campus@ theaggie.org.

Wise words of the day: “Every angel has a past and every sinner has a future.”

Amanda Nguyen

page two

2 wednesday, march 13, 2013

daily calendar dailycal@theaggie.org

WEDNESDAY Beyond the Bush Pump: Microworlds of Humanitarian Design Noon to 1:30 p.m.

1246 Social Sciences and Humanities Join us for a talk by Peter Redfield, associate professor of anthropology and STS scholar at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

THURSDAY Last Kirtan Night of the Quarter & Langar 7 to 8 p.m.

CA House Come to join Sikh Cultural Association in the last Kirtan Night of the Quarter at the CA House. There will be food so come hungry! It is open to everyone and anyone.

You do not have to be Sikh to attend.

FLASH: A New Choreography 8 to 10 p.m.

Wright Main Theater Come see a new work devised and choreographed by Granada artist-inresidence Qudus Onikeku, whose Yoruba culture-based work often fuses hip-hop, capoeira and Nigerian dance with acrobatics and explores themes of identity and exile.

FRIDAY Infectious Disease Seminar 12:10 p.m.

1005 GBSF Dr. Frederic Bushman will be giving a talk on “Systems Biology of HIV.” Dr. Bushman is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.

His research focuses on host-microbe interactions in health and disease with particular focus on studies of the human microbiome, HIV Pathogenesis and DNA integration in human gene therapy.

Richard III 7:30 to 9 p.m.

Wyatt Pavilion Theater Come down for this free performance of Richard III, written by William Shakespeare, presented by ShakespeareOn-a-Shoestring. For more information, go to theatredance.ucdavis.edu.

SATURDAY Richard III 7:30 to 9 p.m.

Wyatt Pavilion Theater Come down for this free performance of Richard III, written by William Shakespeare, presented by ShakespeareOn-a-Shoestring. For more information, go to theatredance.ucdavis.edu.

To receive placement in the AGGIE DAILY CALENDAR, email dailycal@theaggie. org or stop by 25 Lower Freeborn by noon the day prior to your event. Due to space constraints, all event descriptions are subject to editing and priority will be given to events that are free of charge and geared toward the campus community.

Campus judicial report Take one for the team

perform 10 hours of community service.

Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) referred a student to Student Judicial Affairs (SJA) for using a stolen parking permit. In a meeting with a Judicial Officer, the student claimed that his friend gave him the parking permit and that he was unaware it was stolen. However, he would not disclose the name of the friend who gave it to him and therefore agreed to take responsibility for the use of the parking permit himself. The student agreed to accept a disciplinary probation as a result of his misconduct. In addition, he received a TAPS fine of $223.

Come what may After a professor noticed two exams with similar incorrect answers to a short answer problem, she met with the students who had the highly similar responses. In separate meetings one student denied cheating and the other student admitted she had copied her answer from the other student. The professor then referred the student who admitted to cheating to SJA to help decide on an appropriate sanction. In a meeting with a Judicial Officer, the student agreed to receive deferred separation and

Was that today?

A professor referred a student to SJA for suspected dishonesty when requesting an exam re-grade. When the professor met with the student, the student claimed that his scantron had been graded incorrectly and he deserved more points.

The professor asked the student to bring his scantron so that he could take a look at it but the student kept saying he had forgotten the scantron at home or he had already made plans with his friends.

This caused the instructor to suspect that the student was trying to buy extra time in order to borrow a classmate’s scantron, and when the student finally turned in the scantron for a re-grade, the professor noticed strange discrepancies on it. Suspecting dishonest conduct, the professor referred the student to SJA. In his meeting with a Judicial Officer, the student admitted that he had altered a friend’s scantron so it would appear to be his in order to receive a higher grade.

The student agreed to accept deferred separation and to complete 30 hours of community service for his dishonesty.

or draw elaborate concept maps to describe what they were taking in.

The tested students understood the material more fully, scoring higher when Sean questions required them Lenehan to make inferences about the text. They also remembered the information longer than their counterparts.

We shouldn’t spend too much time re-reading textbooks or scrolling through lecture slides. Instead, make flash cards, or devise some other way to directly test inals week is nearyour recall ability. Practicing ly here. There shall the art of remembering is be too much cafessential to doing well on a feine. There shall be too lit- test, no matter how well we tle sleep. There shall be rafeel we know the material men and writing papers all just by reading. night. There shall be the Also, stop highlightScantron 2000. ing, stop underlinSharpen your No. 2 pening. A study published cils, steel your minds and by the Association for prepare to run the gauntlet. Psychological Science Normal working hours do found that these are among not apply anymore, if they the least effective tools in did at all before. test preparation.

We will remember what The analysis shows there we’ve learned, or learn to re- is no measurable benefit to member all of it the night highlighting. We might as before the exam. Whether well save the ink and just we’re cramming or not, read the text. Similarly, rememorization is an inescap- searchers say summarizable ritual of finals week. ing the main points of maTo be fair, UC Davis is terial is time that could be not based on rote learnspent more efficiently in ing. Professors do not priother ways. oritize mindless memoriCovering a variety of mazation over a deeper underterial within one study sesstanding of material. Some sion, like interspersing differrepetitious ent types of drilling is math probnecessary, ... remember that rehearsing lems, aids rebut many the test is the best way to call and comteachers do prehension. prepare well by reAccording quiring us to a study to think done by the critically University of South Florida, about our subjects. this is superior to blocked Nonetheless, we will studying. As they put it, inmemorize if we want that stead of “aaabbbccc,” think framed diploma, and the “abcbcacab.” In this way, we job that might come with it. can compare and contrast So, some information on the things we learn more dihow to memorize your way rectly, giving them a more to an A: distinct place in our mind.

Don’t find one quiet Also, committing to place to study. Find several. shorter study sessions, over A study by UCLA’s Robert longer intervals of time, A. Bjork, detailed in an arti- aids recall. In other words, cle by The New York Times, we should study smaller found that studying in two amounts of material each distinct locations is better week, rather than cramthan studying in one. ming it in during a blearyThis is because our eyed all-nighter. minds are constantly If you are anticipating an searching for ancillary asall-nighter, know that sleep sociations for our memois crucial in forming memries. We may be focusing ory. There likely will be a on reading Plato for a polit- point where sleeping will be ical science final, but we’ll more helpful than studying. also remember the smell of Finally, stimulants like the dank corner of the liAdderall should be treatbrary, the hum of the fluoed warily. They offer inrescent lights. human focus and energy, Moving outside to the but with serious risks atcourtyard, with the fresh tached. These medications air and sunlight, to study are a class 2 controlled subtectonic plates for geolostance, the same as cocaine. gy class will make those Taking them irresponsimemories, and their assobly can lead to dependency, ciations, distinct. Thus, reneeding higher and highcall during the test will be er levels to remain funcmuch easier. tional. Anxiety, depression Next, remember that and sleeplessness are severrehearsing the test is al other side effects. Taking the best way to prepare.

Adderall may be self-defeatStudies done by researching in the long run. ers at the University of With that, may your penPurdue found that retrievcils be unerring, and your al practice is the best way papers and projects imto retain information. pervious to red ink. Best of Students who took a luck everyone. memory test after reading did better than students SEAN LENEHAN thanks you for reading this that were made to study quarter. He can be reached at splenehan@ the material repeatedly, ucdavis.edu.

How to study

F

earthquake accuracy The California Aggie strives to ensure that all of its facts and details are accurate. Please bring any corrections to our attention by calling (530) 752-0208.

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Cont. from page 3 reproduce what researchers hope are naturally occurring patterns of earthquakes. Virtual California is one such program that models the crust in 3 x 3 kilometer sections overlaid with known faults that trade off stress to one another over long stretches of simulated time.

“We don’t know what the state of the earth is now, but we let it run forward and hopefully there will be regular patterns,” said Eric Heien, lead developer for the UC Davis-based Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics, a group which develops computer model simulations for deep-earth processes.

While forecasts speak in the language of probabilities, short-term prediction

COCAINE Cont. from page 3 doing so, she hopes to be able to prove the drug’s role in shutting down the prefrontal cortex.

Despite whether the diminished functioning is a cause or a result of the addiction, as far as Szumlinski is concerned, the effects are not necessarily permanent.

Though certain brain circuits may be damaged, she does not believe they are

can get a taste of what you’re buying. But you shouldn’t expect this every single time, especially if you only pick up Leo small amounts. And if Ocampo you do get offered a sample, respect their time and try not to get too stoned and melt onto their couch for hours.

If you’re still new to everything and don’t feel According to Urban like getting high at some Dictionary, “shake” is all strange apartment, just the “small bits of bud that kindly decline the ofsettle to the bottom of fer and I’m sure they your broken-up stash … won’t be too heartbroken some dealers try to sell about it. it by calling it ‘pre-grindYour connect is most ed,’ but don’t fall for that likely going to tell you bullshit. Buying shake is it’s real good weed, that like buying a bag of dorritheirs is the best stuff to [sic] crumbs. Wouldn’t around right now. They you prefer regular dorrimight even show it off tos [sic]?” to you under a magnifyAs particular as this ing glass or a flash light. definition might seem, Humor them. it brings up a lot of good They might try to impoints, not only about press you with some fanwhat decent weed should cy, exotic names, like look like, but also about “Baby Panda Champagne” things that you should be or “Houdini’s Morning careful about when makDump,” but don’t think ing a purchase. too much into these.

Again, shake is essenMost strains are randomtially weed crumbs, and ly named with something is usually full of leaves, that’s meant to be weird stems and seeds, all of or trendy. which add up to an ugly And while some peobowl and a lousy high. ple might disagree, you While it isn’t completely also shouldn’t care too useless, it is pretty worthmuch about whether the less. One gram of shake weed you’re buying is a should not be worth anySativa or where near an Indica. as much as ... sometimes you just can’t Sativas one gram know for sure if it’s good supposedof good ly produce weed until you smoke it bud. a body In high, while fact, you Indicas are can usually buy an ensaid to produce more of a tire sandwich bag full head high. of shake for about $20, But to be honest, it’s all which is how much it the same (in a good way). costs for about two grams Weed in general is going of good weed here in this to get you high and it’s golovely part of Northern ing to be great. It’s hard to California. expect certain things from If a connect ever a high when highs are altells you they’re sellready weird and trippy to ing for $10 or $20 a begin with. gram, but then they Finally, if you ever do bring out some shake, end up with shake, you they’re most likely tryshouldn’t be too bummed, ing to rip you off, and as it can come in pretty you should just buy the handy sometimes. It can lowest amount possibe boiled into a tea, or it ble and never go back. can be used to make butOr, if you’re comfortable ter, which can be used to confronting them, ask make edibles. if they’ve got anything First-time smokers else, or don’t buy anymight actually prefer thing at all. smoking shake to actuIf you’re going to pay al weed, since it producanything over $10 a gram, es a lighter, less intimiexpect sticky, stinky nugs. dating high. Those who Expect bud that is mostare trying to slow down ly free of leaves and that their weed intake might is not so dry that you can also benefit from shake, easily crumble it up with since it’ll allow them to your fingers. continue their smoking Some weed is purple, habit without having to some is covered in goldingest as much THC. en, syrupy crystals. Some Or if you’ve got some weed smells like dead kief saved up in your skunk, others like Fruit grinder, sprinkle it over Loops. your shake for a cheap, It’s a little difficult but potent, high. to describe what good If you don’t know what weed looks like, not kief is, check out Urban only because good weed Dictionary, which is comes in all sorts of where I just happened shapes and colors, but to find out that a “Leo” also because sometimes is someone who is “goryou just can’t know for geous and funny and sure if it’s good weed un- sweet and a gentleman.” til you smoke it.

Some connects will ac- LEO OCAMPO is very thankful for your tually roll something up time. Email him at gocampo@ucdavis.edu or pack a bowl so you and he’ll buy you some Doritos.

Picking up

has held out the promise of certainty — the type that would be needed, for example, to evacuate an area prior to an earthquake. But such certainty has been elusive, in large part because definitive precursor signals have been notoriously inconsistent.

UC Davis geology professor Donald Turcotte said that while laboratory studies of fracturing rock and other simulated earthquake experiments suggest that seismic precursors should occur as stresses build toward an earthquake, foreshocks are by no means consistent precursors to major earthquakes. This seems to suggest that the geophysical mechanisms of earthquake formation are still far from understood.

Turcotte said he is also skeptical of efforts to detect non-seismic precursor signals, such as electromagnetic emissions that some researchers have sought to connect to earthquake for-

too far gone to potentially be rebooted.

“We rationalized that if we could identify behaviorally relevant changes in protein function within the prefrontal cortex, and [if ] the protein was ‘druggable,’ then we might be able to reverse protein dysfunction and return behavior closer to that of a non-addicted brain,” Szumlinski said.

So the goal was clear: find something to reboot the damaged brain. And find something they did. Using

mation. The basic problem is separating any perceived precursor from background seismicity.

“There are periods of time where people think they see glimmers of hope, and then they seem to recede,” Turcotte said. “The hope of doing accurate short-range prediction is not all that good.”

Despite the many uncertainties inherent in earthquake science, one certainty stands out: the growing danger of natural hazards to global populations.

“One of the reasons that disasters are so much larger these days is because global populations are moving into risky areas,” Rundle said. “It’s certainly not true that the earthquakes are on average bigger, but people’s exposure is growing exponentially and therefore so is the cost and the death toll.”

OYANG TENG can be reached at science@theaggie.org.

medications already approved by the FDA, they were able to reactivate the prefrontal cortices of cocaine-addicted mice.

Unfortunately, the news is not all good. Because our society does not fully recognize addiction as a disease, health insurance companies have very limited coverage for such medications.

According to Szumlinski, a person can only obtain coverage for drugs related to ameliorating addiction for a maximum of three months,

but addiction is a chronic, relapsing disorder. Thus, such policies are ineffective for truly treating the disease and essentially only prolong the time until the next relapse.

In order for drug addiction to be truly treatable, at least through medication, substantial policy changes will need to be made to incorporate these new findings.

KYLE SCROGGINS can be reached at science@theaggie.org.

Science &Technology

wednesday, MARCH 13, 2013 3

The california aggie

Getting ready to rumble UC Davis researchers work to improve earthquake forecasts

Suckers

By OYANG TENG Aggie Science Writer

As natural disasters go, earthquakes are among the most destructive, as well as the most mysterious. Originating beyond the range of direct observation, miles below the surface, they usually strike with little or no warning.

The magnitude 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan on March 11, 2011 was a humbling reminder that even the world’s most earthquake-prepared nation could be overwhelmed by sudden catastrophe.

But such megaquakes are rare, once-in-a-1000 year events in a given region. The majority of earthquake damage, according to UC Davis geophysicist John Rundle, is caused by earthquakes in the range of magnitude 6 to 7. Because the magnitude scale is logarithmic, every whole number represents 10 times the power of the preceding whole number, meaning that a 9.0 earthquake releases 100 times the energy of a 7.0.

These relatively smaller, but still powerful, quakes might occur in seismically active regions every decade and can wreck a city, as in the case of the 7.0 Haiti quake of 2010 or the 6.3 Christchurch quake of 2011.

“These earthquakes are much more significant, they occur much more frequently and there’s a reasonable chance of forecasting them,” Rundle said, speaking from Japan.

He traveled there last week to help establish an institute for multi-hazard studies as a collaborative ven-

tant to realize that plants are just as capable of dropping the kids off at the soccer field as the rest of us. They harness the wind to disperse spores, and produce a thick layer of Alan cells around embryos called Lin an integument. The integument and seed coat are incredibly resilient innovations and also protect from sidecollisions. Some plants grow thorns to catch would-be predators. n some dialects, the term symbiosis that “sucker” refers to one who One is easily swindled or de- formed to aid the plants with ceived. The natural world dispersal came several thouisn’t without its share of suck- sands of years ago. Animals ers in this sense. For instance, were drawn in by the carthe cuckoo is a species of bird bohydrate-rich fruits that whose key reproductive strat- contained seeds. Through egy involves laying eggs in the time they began to nest and nests of unsuspecting other live near these plants. In exspecies. The unfortunate par- change for the sugary fruits of ents fail to notice the differ- the plants, the animals proence and raise the newborn vide protection. Essentially, at no cost to the cuckoo. A for little to no cost, these sucker could literally be born plants would grow undisturbed and could actually every minute. experience higher reproduc Of course, suckers exist tive success. outside of the world of birds.

There’s a story that involves Of course, not all partnera very specific relationship. ships are equal. Often, cirBut before we get into that, cumstances change, one steps away a I’d like to clear victor talk about and the other ... plants are just as capable some of the trou- of dropping the kids off at the is left a suckbles that soccer field as the rest of us er. One literal sucker is the face plants common carin their ib hummingday-to-day bird, native to Indonesia. lives. A plant doesn’t necessarily care about matters These birds have long exof immigration, the econ- isted with a particular speomy or if Kim Kardashian cies of flower, the heliconia. is getting married ... again. Hummingbirds are burdened Instead, they’re focused on with an incredibly high enermore local affairs. More typ- getic demand for daily life — ically, a plant will dedicate they beat their wings absurdthe lion’s share of its ener- ly fast, at a rate of 12 beats per gy to ensuring that most of second. This high energetic its leaves are receiving prop- demand means that the birds er light, and that any off- cannot go too long between spring will be properly pro- meals. The heliconia have tected and distributed. evolved a cunning system to Counterintuitively, modern keep the birds coming back parenting in humans has for more. By rationing the seen a shift away from sun- nectar released, the heliconia can keep the hummingbirds light. around to pollinate the plant Humans like to considindefinitely. The birds are ener themselves innovators. slaved by their plant and will They’ve created spectacufight beak and claw to enlar transport systems like the sure they have a steady supHonda Odyssey and Chevy ply, much like some Northern Suburban to facilitate the safe transit of offspring. It’s imporSee LIN, page 5

I

courtesy

A computer model of a 7.1[a]-magnitude quake in the Bay Area. ture of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, which includes UC Davis.

Rundle is part of a team of physicists, geologists and computer scientists at UC Davis working to improve statistical models that forecast the likelihood of medium-to-large earthquakes in specific areas within intervals of months or years. The basic principle is to use sequences of smaller earthquakes to find patterns that can be used to predict larger ones.

One of the key foundations of such work is the well-established relationship between the number of small earthquakes and the number of larger earthquakes on a given fault system, known as the GutenbergRichter law.

A major challenge facing

earthquake researchers is the lack of direct measurements of the stresses along a fault system that lead to the rupture we feel as an earthquake. Instruments placed in boreholes can sample only isolated points along the system, and even then, only measure changes, rather than absolute values, of the mechanical stress of the constantly shifting crust.

By sticking to observables — the sequences of earthquakes recorded by seismometers around the world as well as sedimentary records of past events — some regularity in earthquake behavior can be detected over long periods of time. The challenge of forecasting has been working these statistical generalizations down to reliable

forecasts on timescales relevant to disaster planning and risk management.

One outcome of this effort is Open Hazards, a company Rundle and his colleagues founded to make the practical results of their work on earthquake forecasting available to the public. Among other things, its website allows users to produce personal earthquake forecasts based on location. (Davis locals can rest easy, with a 0.09% chance of an earthquake greater than magnitude 5 hitting within 50 miles in the next month.)

Another approach to forecasting attempts to model the physical interaction of earthquake faults with each other to

See EARTHQUAKE, page 2

Memory networks Graph theory reveals memory processes

By VICTORIA TRANG Aggie Science Writer

Researchers from UC Davis and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston have revealed the various parts of the brain that work together to recollect memories.

According to Andrew Watrous, the lead author of the study and a UC Davis graduate student, other researchers and doctors have looked at the brain through fMRI scans, but with less direct methods.

“The problems [with past methods] are first, indirect measurements and second, slow resolution or time to develop,” Watrous said.

In contrast, the new method provides new insights by taking far more detailed brain scans and taking scans of a larger area. “[We] recorded different areas of the brain simultaneously such as the frontal and parietal lobe and areas that were thought to be key in memory retrieval. [The] advantage is that we’re recording brain activity

in various areas while we are spatially aware of them,” Watrous said.

Using these recordings, the researchers could record not only which parts of the brain were activated, but when they were activated as well.

“We were the first group to combine these recordings and graph theory,” said Arne Ekstrom, senior investigator and an assistant professor at the UC Davis Center for

See MEMORY, page 5

Cocaine addiction studied through brain activity Research finds decrease in prefrontal lobe activity in cocaine addicts

courtesy

Cocaine addicts exhibit decreased frontal lobe activity.

By KYLE SCROGGINS Aggie Science Writer

All people from all social classes and ethnicities are vulnerable to the ubiquitous presence of drug addiction. Yet research into a cure gets less than 2 percent of the funding of other, more mainstream diseases like cancer.

To make up for this discrepancy, Karen

Szumlinski, professor of psychology at UC Santa Barbara, has paired her research with that of more designer diseases in order to gain the necessary funding she and her team would otherwise have been denied.

Fortunately, her method worked, and in an article recently published in The Journal for Neuroscience, Szumlinski and her team

have found a potential site for attempting a cure for cocaine addiction: the prefrontal cortex.

“The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that is primarily implicated in making decisions and thus plays an important role in impulse control,” said Griffin Downing, a research assistant at the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience.

Through her research, Szumlinski has definitively shown diminished activity in this part of the brain, implying an inability to control the urge to take more of the drug. This finding fights the notion that addicts are just weak-minded people.

Rather, they are physiologically unable to stop themselves from doing the drug.

The circuit in their brain that would tell them not to just isn’t firing.

Though she focused primarily on cocaine in her study, Szumlinski points to similar findings from a plethora of other research showing that the dimin-

ished function exists in addicts of many different abused substances.

“For me, it’s not even about having a good time anymore. I’ll drink even when I don’t want to. I just see the bottle and the next thing I know it’s in my hand,” said an anonymous student with a self-described alcohol addiction.

These feelings of helplessness may be alien to some, but for people with a real addiction, it can control their lives.

Furthermore, such research begs the age-old question: which came first?

Are people with less activity in the prefrontal cortex more likely to become addicted, or is the drug really damaging the prefrontal cortex?

To answer this question, Szumlinski and her team are focusing on cocaine and turning to animal studies using rats as the model organism. By do-

See COCAINE, page 2

Save some time while studying

By KYLE SCROGGINS Aggie Science Writer

The problem: Finals are just around the corner. We all know what that means: the library has never been so packed and you are Googling the symptoms of a caffeine overdose (just to be safe).

The icing on the cake? In that post-midterm slump you decided to treat yourself to a few days off of class. It’s no big deal, right?

And besides, your professor podcasts each lecture anyway. All you have to do is listen to the podcasts on your own, sometime when you aren’t so tired, and it’ll be like you never missed class at all.

Well, time’s up. It’s now or never. That final date just keeps getting closer and nothing you can do will change the fact that you still actually have to sit there and listen to multiple hours of lecture.

The solution: Audacity Shorten the podcast. How? “Audacity,” a program available for both Mac OS and Windows, that enables you to change the pace of almost any sound file. A quick Google search will take you to the app’s website, where you can download it for free.

Once installed, simply open the program and drag the podcast you need to shorten into the window. It may take a few seconds to upload. Then highlight the whole track (Ctrl + A), go to the “effect” menu and choose “change

tempo.” From here, you can make it as fast as you want (or as slow, if you’re a tad masochistic). I recommend choosing 20 percent faster if it is your first time going through the material. This will shave roughly 10 minutes off of a 50-minute lecture.

At this speed, you can still clearly understand most professors and will be able to take notes on the most important concepts. If you want to listen to the podcasts of lectures that you actually went to, you can go all the way up to 30 percent faster. This will take off closer to 15 minutes, but it also starts to become a little too fast to understand easily, so having at least some memory of what was said will be useful. Though saving 10 minutes may not seem worth the hassle, just think of how many classes you have and how many hours of lectures that will be, and you might reconsider.

Pro-tip: Don’t try the “change speed” effect. It will make your professor sound like a chipmunk, and trust me, it’s impossible to learn from a chipmunk. Also, this program is originally designed as a music editor. As such, it is capable of doing far more than simply speeding up podcasts.

So when finals are over, try your hand at making remixes. It’s pretty entertaining and a great waste of time if you don’t have plans for break.

KYLE SCROGGINS can be reached at science@theaggie.org.

4 wednesday, march 13, 2013

The california Aggie

HANGOVER

laundry

Cont. from front page “The digestion of alcohol in the human body consists of two steps, from alcohol into acetaldehyde, and from acetaldehyde into acetic acid. We have developed the enzyme for the first step,” Lu said. “We are currently making the enzyme for the second step.

Once this is done, we can pack the enzymes together and will have a complete solution, a product everyone can use within two years.”

Though this is a discovery on its own, Lu and his colleagues have done more than just fix your hangover. The creation of a nanocomplex of enzymes is the first step in creating solutions for a wide range of problems.

The new doors being opened can potentially lead to a wide variety of “cures” for behaviorinduced sickness.

Cont. from front page utility costs, and they [companies such as Coinmach] don’t have to.”

Laundromats also face the issue of being privately operated enterprises that also provide a service, according to Max Connor, co-owner of The Laundry Lounge and brother of Dina Connor.

“Laundromats provide a community service, but they’re also a business,” Max said.

“There are certain realities involved with running them as a business.”

These realities include the competitive nature of the market system.

KELLY MITCHELL can be reached at science@theaggie.org.

thrift Cont. from page 6 located at 106 West Main St. in Woodland.

“We sell a little bit of everything.

We have all clothing, including kids’ clothing, [women’s] and also [men’s] clothing. We have miscellaneous items that can range from kitchenware to living room items for decoration, to furniture or electrical items,” said store manager Esther, who did not provide her last name due to personal reasons. “We try to have a little bit of everything that you need at home or for yourself.”

The store only accepts donations and does not perform any buy-sell transactions. A portion of the proceeds supports the United Cerebral Palsy organization.

With daily sales and prices gen-

erally ranging from 59 cents to $4.99, the Thrift Shop Outlet has gained much attention from customers of all ages.

“I think [thrift shopping] is an easy way to budget,” Esther said.

“As a student, you have expenses you have to worry about, like tuition, books, gas and food. You can have great finds at a thrift store, but you might find other items that you weren’t thinking of buying as well.”

For a place closer to home, some students check out the UC Davis Bargain Barn, an on-campus, university-affiliated thrift store. “[The Bargain Barn] was started because there was a need to keep things in reuse and help departments get rid of items that [they] didn’t use,” said Michelle Borba, coordinator of the Bargain Barn/Salvage Operations. “We sell computers, laptops, microscopes,

“The Wash Mill was a typical laundromat — no attendant, open 24 hours a day and [the owner’s] costs were so low because she had no employees and a very low rent,” Dina said.

“Businesses aren’t forced to be competitive when their rent is so low.”

The former owner of the Wash Mill, Sharon Miller, could not be reached for comment. On the Wash Mill door there was a sign that read: “To all of my friends that have used my Laundromat for 40 years, I would like to thank you.

The landlord has given me 30 days.”

According to the Connors, the center that included the Wash Mill was sold, and the new leasing agent began charg-

lab equipment, office furniture and then an assortment of random stuff. Pretty much anything the university is getting rid of will come through here.”

The store opened in the 1970s and moved to its current location, across from the Tercero Residence Halls on La Rue Road, about eight years ago.

“It’s a constant Tetris game in here; we are always trying to figure out where to put stuff,” Borba said. “Students I think are attracted to it because they can get a really good deal sometimes. If they lose their power supply to their laptop, they can come in here and get one for maybe $5 to $20.”

Although the store is only allowed to sell university-owned property because departments are required by policy to dispose of their items through the service, all items are open for students and

ing market value for the rent. A Goodwill store will now be located at the Wash Mill’s former location.

The Connors looked into opening another laundromat at the former Quick Clean Center location on G Street, but they said it was not financially feasible. It is not evident that another laundromat will open in Davis any time soon.

“No one has signed a lease yet,” said David Macko, leasing agent for Nor Cal Commercial Real Estate in regard to the G Street property. “We are talking to several parties, but my role is to find the most suitable tenant for the building.”

The Laundry Lounge is considering other ways to expand their services for the commu-

the public to purchase.

“We are a self-supporting unit on campus, so the majority of the funds that we generate do go to supporting our business,” Borba said. “If an item has a value of $75 or more, we give departments the opportunity to consign it through us, in which they get a part of the proceeds and we get a percentage as well.”

Along with being a great resource for students to use, Borba said using the Bargain Barn is environmentally friendly too.

“What is important to me is that I am helping to reduce landfill waste and I’m keeping things in reuse,” Borba said. “I think a lot of students these days are focused on recycling and sustainability and what they can do for their environment. There’s all kinds of stuff that they can get here for really cheap and [opportunities for

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nity after the closure of the Wash Mill.

“We’re looking at something called laundry taxi — we’ll pick up your laundry for a nominal fee, you go here yourself and do your laundry and then we’ll drop it back off for you,” Dina said.

The goal of this service is to make laundry easier for those without cars so they do not have to haul loads of laundry by foot, bike or bus, according to Dina.

“We’re going to start offering it this spring and see if there is a demand for it,” Dina said. “So far we’ve heard from one person who is interested.”

MEREDITH STURMER can be reached at city@ theaggie.org.

them to] help support sustainability at the same time for UC Davis.”

Another option for thrifting in Davis is French Cuff Consignment, located at 130 G Street. According to the store’s website, the boutique was started by a mother and daughter who aim to “provide their customers with great clothes and accessories at great prices.”

In addition to finding unique treats while scavenging for a good deal, many appreciate the people they meet in thrift stores as well.

“You will just never find a more interesting group of folks; everyone here has an interesting back story,” Kurtz said. “Coworkers to customers, everyone I have met here has been a very interesting individual, and it’s very cool.”

RITIKA IYER can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

FOR RELEASE APRIL 16, 2010

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Fire starter?

4 Squabble 8 Exorbitant 13 Mo. in 1781 in which Cornwallis surrendered 14 “__ Really Going Out With Him?”: Joe Jackson hit 16 Volcanic flowers?

17 Princeton jazzman?

19 Retirement legislation acronym 20 One way to run 21 “Egg-laying for Dummies,” etc.?

23 Disappear 25 Par __ 26 Subj. including grammar 27 What a New York baseball owner would do to ensure player fitness?

32 It’s hard to cut through 33 Company with toy trucks 34 Young hooter 37 LAX datum 38 Its youngest British member, Elise Tan Roberts, was admitted at age 2 39 Pres. Jefferson 40 Like Wiener schnitzel 42 Sign outside a boarded-up JFK? 44 Joker 47 Figure of speech 48 Hard to endure 50 Little Londoner?

54 Rte. through Houston 55 Litmus reddeners 56 Carpet-cleaning android?

58 Indian royal 59 Parts of some support systems?

60 100% 61 Imitators

4/16/10

By Dan Naddor

62 Latin infinitive 63 Hope unit DOWN 1 Desert known for Joshua trees 2 Nickname for a player who performs under pressure 3 Like espresso 4 Bonn pronoun 5 Fired (up) 6 Author Sholem 7 Pad __: Asian noodle dish 8 Record holder 9 Sullied 10 Not a good sign 11 Facility 12 Jr.’s exam 15 Abbr. often following a comma 18 Brew follower?

22 Classic Welles role 24 “Let it stand” 28 Genesis 29 Shipping container weights 30 Day star?

Tuesday’s Thursday’spuzzle Puzzle solved Solved

(c)2010 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

31 Airport safety gp.

32 Squad car cop, often 34 Taxonomic suffix 35 Choppy seas feature 36 Nancy’s region 38 Dole 40 Author Harte 41 Quarrels 43 Works

4/16/10

44 Bachelor pad amenity 45 Colored circle around the pupil 46 One way to break the news 49 Get-up-and-go 50 Legal hire 51 Underwear initials 52 Sprint 53 “ER” areas 57 “What’s the __?”

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So must every column, as must every 3x3 square. Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing.

wednesday, march 13, 2013 5

The california aggie

SOFTBALL PREVIEW Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal State Bakersfield Records: Aggies (11-13); Roadrunners (2-13) Where: Roadrunner Softball Complex — Bakersfield, Calif.

When: Saturday at noon and 2 p.m.

Who to watch: Leading the Aggie offense during their weekend away in Tempe, Ariz., sophomore Amy Nunez proved to be a vital component to the team’s success, batting .600 in the Aggies’ two days of play. Nunez’s bat began to heat up during crucial situations in the Diamond Devil Invitational, recording five RBIs over the entire weekend, with four on the final day of play.

Coach Karen Yoder attributes Nunez’s recent success behind home plate to her diligent work ethic and constant strive for success. There is no doubt that the team will rely on Nunez as a goto leader once the Aggies’ conference games begin starting on the 29th of this month.

“She has been really focused

and has been doing a lot of extra things on the side in terms of tape analysis and asking a lot of questions, and really being open to help from the coaching staff,” Yoder said. “I think that that is key when an athlete is willing to study film and want their abilities to be even better. That hard work pays off and that is exactly what she has done. She has put in the extra time and energy truly preparing for competition.”

Nunez’s offensive prowess this season is displayed in her teamhigh batting average with .309, and the team’s highest slugging percentage by far with an enviable .471.

Did you know? During her first year as an Aggie last year, sophomore Justine Vela managed to boast an enviable 20-17 record, while finishing with 272 strikeouts and a 2.12 ERA on the year.

Such stats landed Vela an endless list of awards including the title as the Big West Conference Freshman Pitcher of the Year, topped by her title as the Big West

Memory Cont. from page 3 Neuroscience.

The approach of graphing the recordings of areas of the brain provided a fresh perspective for the study of memory recollection.

In order to record the activity, electrodes were placed inside the skull.

“We work with a neurosurgeon, such as Nitin Tandon. He dissects part of the skull and places the electrodes on the brain in multiple locations, puts the skull back on and the patients recover,” Ekstrom said.

The patients were individuals suffering from epilepsy. Due to their history, the researchers understood what parts of their brain were affected by epilepsy and how they might have been involved in recollecting memories.

In addition, according to Watrous, the neurosurgeon placed the electrodes on both the healthy and the epilepsy-affected parts of the brain to fully comprehend the

lin Cont. from page 3 Californians.

As animals, people have a pretty high opinion of their own agency within relationships. That is to say, we often consider mobile animals as the ones who set the terms and conditions. But even in inter-

Conference Pitcher of the Year.

Currently with 24 games under her belt in her sophomore season and 28 more to go, Vela possesses a 7-1 record, accompanied by a 2.28 ERA and 76 strikeouts. Out of her 12 starts on the season, six have resulted in complete games, while her opponents’ batting average has been a dismal .183.

With not even half the season complete, and conference games still on the horizon for the Aggies, there is no denying that Vela has been and will continue to be an essential component to the Aggies’ Amy Nunez sophomore continual success.

Preview: After splitting the weekend against a stacked schedule hosted by the nationally ranked No. 3 team in the country, Arizona State, the Aggies left the weekend with a successful record of 11-13.

Recently, the Aggies have been

process of memory recollection.

“You can place the electrodes on top of the brain and they can be read through the scalp. So what is unusual [about this method] is the number of electrodes placed, [providing] unprecedented access to the different signals into the brain,” Ekstrom said.

The more electrodes are used, the more accurate the readings will be, since each electrode is responsible for recording a smaller part.

Through the study, the researchers found that there were different frequencies regarding the type of memory, such as temporal versus spatial.

“The brain resonated at a lower frequency [when considering judgments about space in comparison to judgments about order or time],” Ekstrom said.

The researchers observed these frequencies by considering their oscillation as recorded by the machinery.

“Think of a wave on the ocean. A surfer at the top of the wave has a lot of potential energy that they use as they ride down.

actions with humans, some plants just scroll to the bottom and click OK. The modern iterations of corn, grains, legumes and even apples and oranges have integrated so perfectly into the prevailing system ensuring not only survival of their respective species, but many prosperous generations to come.

Humans have done a number of

maintaining their pitching dominance, but have since improved their offense, capitalizing with runners in scoring position more consistently and leaving fewer runners stranded. A variety of players, including both Nunez for the offense and Vela for the defensive side, have proved themselves to be leaders for the entire team.

With a young and inexperienced team this year, the Aggies have proved themselves to be up to the multiple challenges featured in their schedule. In fact, Yoder believes that the team has not only benefitted significantly from their pre-conference schedule, but have also placed themselves in the perfect position with their conference starting in a few weeks.

“We are in a good position in the season, and we are just really excited about our last three

We can use these recordings to estimate the frequency components using a variety of methods, such as Fourier transform and wavelet transform,” said Christopher Conner, a researcher on the University of Texas team responsible for data collection.

“Low frequency waves have very high amplitude. These are the huge waves the surfer actually rides. They come once every 10 to 20 seconds. Very high frequency waves have small amplitude. These are the little ripples you see on the top of the wave — just a couple inches tall, hundreds of them per second,” Conner said. “If you look at the wave, there are more ripples at the top than the bottom.

It’s the same way with our recordings. What we did was to see how the high amplitude, low frequency waves coordinated the smaller ripples between areas. To push the metaphor to the extreme: Tsunamis travel thousands of miles, ripples don’t. So if you want to send information a long way, use the low frequency range to do it.”

Those ripples or frequencies were recorded while patients learned about new

things to alter the success of these plants — they’ve selected for dramatically altered genomes, setting the stage for plants with high rates of disease resistance and low probability of detrimental mutation. They’ve cleared unfathomable areas of land for the growing and maintenance of crops, and they’ve developed efficient gathering and pollination systems to

non-conference games before we open up conference,” Yoder said.

The weekend ahead features a double header in Bakersfield against the familiar Roadrunners of CSU Bakersfield. Although the Roadrunners defeated the Aggies in UC Davis’ second tournament of the season, the Stanford Invitational, the Aggies have since refined their game and will be more than prepared for the challenge ahead of them.

Despite the Aggies’ previous loss to the Roadrunners, Yoder expressed positivity about her team’s prospects not only for the weekend, but for the rest of the season.

As for the strategy in the Aggies’ quest for redemption this weekend, Yoder stressed the fact that the team just needs to continue doing what they are doing.

“If we do the things that we need to do, that we did this past weekend, then the Aggies will prevail this weekend. It’s in our hands, not theirs,” she said.

— Alli Kopas

environments or a specific order of activities in the day. When patients attempted to recollect those memories, the researchers would examine the frequencies and the areas involved in recalling the memory.

From this study, researchers glean another insight toward how the human brain works.

“In that sense, we must know how they communicate with one another. This work represents a crucial step in that direction — that areas can use different carrier frequencies to align information transfer,” Conner said.

For future expansion of the study, Ekstrom has considered studying two ideas: what happens if we disrupt the network, and the use of fMRI to map graphs of the human brain to facilitate understanding of the memory recollection process.

According to Conner, brain function can only be truly understood in the context of how the whole brain network operates.

VICTORIA TRANG can be reached at science@theaggie.org.

ensure an uninterrupted supply.

However, consider that millions of man-hours every year are dedicated to the proper maintenance of these crops. Yes, the effort isn’t wasted … people all over the world benefit from the rewards reaped from plants. However, the plants aren’t the ones dramatically changing their lifestyles for the sake of people. With or without

the farmer, the orange tree will continue to photosynthesize and produce fruit. Ironically, it is us, the humans — tillers of fields and planters of seeds — who have unwittingly allowed ourselves to become slaves to the crops we think we control.

It is us who are the suckers.

ALAN LIN can be reached at science@theaggie.org.

6 wednesday, march 13, 2013

Is

that

The california Aggie

your grandma’s coat?

Davis thrift shops offer unique shopping experiences

Nathan Chan / Aggie

The Yolo County SPCA Thrift Store has a variety of products.

The Yolo County SPCA Thrift Store is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Bohème is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. and Monday from 1 to 4 p.m.

All Things Right and Relevant/ R&R are open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Thrift Shop Outlet is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Bargain Barn is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and on the first Thursday of every month from 4 to 7 p.m. French Cuff Consignment is open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Nathan Chan / Aggie

Furniture is put on display in front of the store.

Nathan Chan / Aggie

The thrift store is located at the corner of Third and I streets.

By RITIKA IYER

Aggie Features Writer

If you’re looking to channel your inner 1970s Barbra Streisand, going with a $15 metallic pink sequin drop V-neck dress might be your best bet. Look no further, because Davis thrift shops and consignment stores have you covered.

“I actually really enjoy fashion and I love putting together different types of clothes and patterns,” said third-year nutrition science major Jessica Stark, who enjoys thrift shopping in Davis. “I think thrift shopping is cool because unlike retail stores focusing on one type or brand of clothing, there are many different types of clothing, and you can mix and match with them.”

Whether you’re on a search for a ridiculous Halloween costume, a hipster sweater, a Gucci purse or a sofa for your awkwardly cramped living room, there is one thing that most people will never pass up: a good deal. Most college students would agree that getting an item for over 70 percent off its original price, even if it may be used, is a undeniable offer.

“Quite frankly, I am broke,” said Emma Kurtz, a cashier at the Yolo County SPCA Thrift Store. “I’ve been paying my way since I was 13 years old. Thrift stores gave me the ability to find things I couldn’t find anywhere else.”

Kurtz has only been working at the nonprofit thrift shop, located in downtown Davis at 920 Third St., Suite F, for the past year and a half but said the store has expanded immensely in the past 20 years.

The Yolo County SPCA, a foster-based organization in Woodland for abandoned animals, is funded by the Davis thrift shop, which is completely independent from the national Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). “[The proceeds go] mainly towards feeding the animals, and medical bills are huge,” Kurtz said. “We pay for all [of ] the animals’ shots and [for them to be] spayed/ neutered so that more animals won’t overpopulate. It’s very driven towards keeping animals off the streets and out of shelters.”

All items sold in the store are donated, and buy-sell transactions are not accepted. Items for sale include clothing, furniture, electronics, jewelry, shoes, hardware and kitchen items.

“They had a wide variety of clothing, including purses and shoes,” Stark said. “It was pretty well-priced, I thought.”

Kurtz said that many UC Davis students assist in donations and act as customers for the store. In order to encourage more student support, the store offers 20 percent

off all items to anyone with a student ID. Students are also offered the opportunity to volunteer time at the thrift store. Kurtz said most currently paid employees were volunteers at some point.

If you’re feeling thrifty, another place to go in downtown Davis is Bohème, located at 409 Third St. Most items are between $6 and $12, with brands ranging from Old Navy and H&M to Banana Republic and Citizens for Humanity.

“Bohème has fun, quite unique and affordable clothing and items for women and men,” said Bohème owner Dawn Donahue. “We try to provide interesting, practical and affordable used clothing.”

Donahue described her store as different from most thrift and consignment shops, because she will buy selected clothes from the public immediately, as opposed to waiting for the item to sell before paying those who bring clothes to her.

“I believe in thrifting,” Donahue said. “If I don’t think I can sell [an item] or if [it’s] not selling, then I donate it.”

Combining the aspects of consignment and thrift stores is also a characteristic of the All Things Right and Relevant consignment store and R&R Thrift.

These two nonprofit stores are located next to each other at 2801 Spafford St. in Davis. If an item in the All Things Right and Relevant store is not sold after 45 days, it becomes the property of R&R Thrift.

The longer an item sits on the shelf of the stores, the cheaper it becomes.

“The money [earned] is distributed equally to 10 different health and mental health agencies,” said store employee Renae Owens.

Along with the funds going toward mental health organizations in Yolo County, consigners get a portion of the proceeds. The store’s systems manager, Kay Ormsbed, said college students are always encouraged and invited to consign or volunteer with the store.

“It’s a positive environment for mental health clients to work and participate in the R&R family,” Ormsbed said. “People can make money from their treasure that will be valuable to someone else.”

Both stores sell a variety of items ranging from clothes to furniture.

Areas surrounding the city of Davis also boast many thrift shops that may appeal to students.

The Thrift Shop Outlet is known for having one of the largest varieties of items in town. The closest store to UC Davis is

See THRIFT, page 4