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volume 132, number 30
thursday, march 14, 2013
Russell Park Primate research center Apartments appeals citation of maltreatment of monkeys explosion court trial today
USDA does not issue fine, animal rights group continues to protest
Bijan Agahi / Aggie
The USDA cited the California National Primate Research Center (pictured here) for maltreatment of the animals.
By STEPHANIE B. NGUYEN Aggie News Writer
In response to a complaint filed by an animal rights group, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cited the California National Primate Research Center at UC Davis for maltreatment from 2009 to 2010, specifically the death of 19 monkeys. UC Davis appealed the citation, and after continued investigation, the USDA recently decided not to issue a fine due to improvements since the deaths occurred. Between October 2009 and June
2010, 19 rhesus macaque monkeys died in the outdoor breeding colony, and in response Ohio-based animal rights protest group Stop Animal Exploitation NOW (SAEN) sent a complaint to the USDA. The USDA issued a preliminary intent to cite and inspected the research facility as well as the necropsy records of the 19 primates in February 2011. However, since this number is within the acceptable rates of mortality in large breeding colonies, the Primate Research Center and the university appealed the citation. After a prolonged period of appeals
protesting, the USDA publicly issued the inspection report on Monday. The USDA did not levy a fine for the research facility. “There is no penalty action that will accompany the results of this inspection,” said David Sacks, USDA spokesman for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. “The UC Davis primate center is working to improve the care of its primates, and that is a good thing.” Dr. Dallas Hyde, center director and professor of veterinary medicine at UC Davis, said animals in the wild have a threefold death and illness rate than in the center’s colonies. “The large majority of deaths occur in young animals in which there is a short window of time to discover and treat the illness or injury,” Hyde said. “We’re doing as well as any other facility in the country in terms of statistics. The USDA let the citation stand, but they didn’t fine us because the remedial steps that were taken to address the problem were impressive. We tried to find improvements everywhere we could.” According to the inspection report issued by the USDA in February, and made public on Monday, appropriate methods were not used to prevent, control, diagnose and treat diseases and injuries of several non-human primates housed at the facility. A majority of the primates died from lack of adequate nutrition and/or parental care. The Primate Research Center is
David Snyder, a junior researcher who allegedly caused the Jan. 17 explosion at the Russell Park Apartments, will be tried today in Yolo Superior Court. Snyder was released on a $2 million bail after he was arrested on Jan. 19 in connection to the explosion, according to a UC Davis News press release. Under the conditions of his release, Snyder is not allowed to return to UC Davis without notifying the UC Davis Police Department (UCDPD), said Claudia Morain, UC Davis spokesperson, in an email interview. After Snyder was arrested, he was placed on leave from his junior specialist appointment, which ended on Jan. 31. He is not currently employed at the university. Snyder was also charged with felony violations of California Penal Code 18715, custody of an explosive, California Penal Code 18720, possession of substances or materials used for making destructive devices or explosives, and two counts of holding a firearm on campus, according to a press release. The UCDPD is conducting a criminal investigation of the case, and further charges may be made. Several agencies are handling the case, including Yolo County Bomb Squad, FBI, UC Davis Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), according to Matthew Carmichael, UC Davis Police Department Chief of Police. Carmichael also said the explosive materials and substances that were in Snyder’s apartment were destroyed by bomb squad experts close to the scene of the incident. The volatile items were destroyed in a field on the Student Farm using a process called thermal treatment.
See PRIMATE, page 7
See EXPLOSION, page 7
Chancellor’s 2020 Initiative to begin this May Initiative aims to increase student population by 5,000 between now and 2020 sors and a better environment for mentoring our students,” she said. “The most critical thing is to make sure we do it right ... We are not going to allow ourselves to fail.” Students, who fear that the increase in student population may lead to a decrease in access to services offered on campus, should not worry, Katehi said. According to her March 7 announcement, revenue generated by this initiative will support staff and services. Rahim Reed, associate executive vice chancellor for Campus Community Relations and member of the chancellor’s cabinet, assures that this initiative will be focusing heavily on the needs of the students. He also conducted the Campus Community Survey earlier this school year, which assists with the goals of the initiative. “The survey is designed to give us feedback on what kind of campus climate we have, what it’s like to be a student, to be a faculty member and staff here, to teach here and to learn here. Knowing this kind of information will help us to address, and be
By SASHA COTTERELL Aggie News Writer
Last week, Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi announced new developments in the 2020 Initiative — a strategy she has been working on to improve the university, announced Sept. 21, 2011 during her fall convocation address. As one of the main components of the initiative, there is a plan to increase the student population by 5,000 — international, in-state and out-of-state students — in order to increase the school’s excellence and create a more diverse campus by 2020. To offset the increase in student population, there will also be an increase in faculty by about 300 and additional classrooms to support the growing campus. While these changes are major, they will be occurring gradually. “We are going to start slowly,” Katehi said. Katehi said that she, along with her advisors, will be working to ensure they address every need of current and future students. “We need more TAs, better advising, more advi-
Junior UC Davis researcher to be tried in Yolo Superior Court By KELLEY DRECHSLER Aggie News Writer
New research lab safety regulations to be implemented after delay
Undergraduates, researchers expected to wear protective equipment
See 2020, page 6
News iN Brief
Yolo MoveOn to host community forum
Snapshot Photo Campaign organized for Picnic Day 2013
On March 26, Yolo MoveOn will host a forum on “Creating Democracy and Challenging Corporate Rule” from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m. at the Davis Branch Library Blanchard Room, 315 E 14th St. David Cobb, an attorney and organizer of the Move to Amend campaign, will be a guest speaker. He will discuss the recent U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC) and speak about how local residents can work to abolish “corporate personhood” and reestablish the government to be of, by and for the people. Move to Amend is a coalition aimed at ending corporate rule, building a democracy accountable to the people and advocating for social and economic justice. According to the Move to Amend press release, the forum will focus on ways Yolo County can join the national movement against corporate personhood.
The Picnic Day 2013 team is organizing the Snapshot Photo Campaign for Picnic Day 2013 and asking for submissions of photos of the “perfect” Picnic Day. Selected photos will be compiled into a collage that is to be displayed at the MU, ARC and SCC during Picnic Day, according to the online event page. The contest is open to students, staff, faculty and community members. Participants can submit photos to specialevents@picnicday.ucdavis.edu or turn in a 4x6 hard copy to the Picnic Day office at 349 MU. The submission deadline is tomorrow.
— Claire Tan
— Muna Sadek
Today’s weather Sunny High 79 Low 49
Forecast Clear and sunny days are ahead. Perfect for studying right? But here’s a word of warning: the pollen count on Friday and Saturday will be in the highs. Prepare your sinuses. Raymond Chan, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team
courtesy
The University of California’s new policy regarding protective personal equipment has been delayed to allow for more comments.
By NATASHA QABAZARD Aggie News Writer
In an effort to reduce students’ exposure to lab risks, UC officials released new policies regarding lab safety that were to be put into effect March 1. However, the implementation of these policies has been delayed in order to allow for the review of more comments from campuses about the new regulations. These regulations include required personal protective equipment (PPE) students must wear at all times while they are inside a lab. PPE is chosen by supervisors based on their assessment of hazardous materials in the workplace and will be provided to students at no cost. This new policy applies to students enrolled in academic courses where PPE is required by the instructor
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High 78 Low 47
and/or indicated in the course syllabus. These new policies came as a response to an accident at UCLA, where research scientist Sheri Sangji died in a lab fire four years ago after a small quantity of a chemical compound that ignites when exposed to air was spilled during an extraction from a sealed container. There have been many reports about the accident and the ensuing lawsuit against the UC and her supervising professor, Patrick Harran, who faces up to five years in prison if convicted of the charges. Some examples of PPE include flame-retardant lab coats, gloves, foot protection such as steeltoed shoes, eye protection which includes safety glasses or goggles, protective hearing devices like
See SAFETY, page 7 It’s Pi Day! For your entertainment, try singing the line “pi, pi, 3.1415” to the tune of Don McLean’s “Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie.” Amanda Nguyen