THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE
serving the uc davis campus and community since 1915
VOLUME 132, ISSUE 48 | THURSDAY, May 30, 2013
Police actively investigate alleged hate crimes, double homicide
MARK ALLINDER / AGGIE
Protesters demonstrate in front of the Monsanto campus in Davis as part of the worldwide March Against Monsanto.
Suspect in March beating due in court June 7 By PAAYAL ZAVERI Aggie News Writer
UC Davis Police are continuing their investigation of an alleged hate crime that occurred on May 12 near the UC Davis Arboretum. According to the UC Davis Police Department (UCDPD), neither the victim nor the suspects are UC Davis students. The police report stated that the incident occurred when the victim was walking along Levee Road, and the suspects slowed down near the victim. The suspects then allegedly exited the vehicle, a burgundy Jeep SUV, and repeatedly assaulted the victim, physically and verbally with “sexual-orientation bias slurs.” UCDPD Lt. Greg Murphy said the police are actively investigating the crime but can’t reveal too much information right now because it might jeopardize their search. “We talked to the victim, victim’s father and one of the other people from the suspect’s car,” said UCDPD Sergeant Don Malloy. “The case is still open and we are investigating.” Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi and Mayor Joe Krovoza sent an email to the campus community addressing the crime. “While such behavior is inconsistent with our values, so too, is silence or indifference in the face of such a crime,” the email stated. “As Chancellor of UC Davis and as Mayor of the City of Davis, we want everyone to know that our communities deplore crimes of bias and that we are speaking out to reassert our lack of tolerance for acts of hatred and bigotry.” See HATE on 10
Movement attempts shutdown of Monsanto office in Davis Activists vocalize anger, concerns over GMOs By MEREDITH STURMER Aggie News Writer
As early as 6 a.m. on May 24, around 100 protesters had already gathered at the Davis office of Monsanto Company at 1910 Fifth St. — known to most as just Monsanto — to express their discontent with the actions and legacy of the multinational agribusiness corporation. “We’re just trying to spread awareness about their history and eventually bring them down,” said Kim Sloan, lead activist with the Anti-Monsanto Project (AMP) who was present at the protest. The protest was initiated by the Anti-Monsanto Project, a movement composed of over 30 North-
ern California groups and organizations, as part of the worldwide March Against Monsanto movement. The movement aims to “bring awareness to health, agricultural, environmental and political issues associated with Monsanto,” according to the demand letter issued by the AMP. That letter, according to Sloan, was sent to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the California Department of Agriculture, Gov. Jerry Brown and California Attorney General Kamala Harris, among others, as part of the lobbying efforts of the AMP. The AMP lobbied at the Capitol on May 22, in addition to marching at the Capitol on May 25 and attempting to shut down the Davis Monsanto
UC President presents report on state of UC system Report outlines recent trends in financial aid, applicant pool By LILIANA NAVA OCHOA Aggie News Writer
University of California (UC) President Mark Yudof presented the Board of Regents with a report outlining the current state of the UC system, in comparison to the previous six years, during a May 15 regents meeting. “To the best of my ability, I’ve tried to outline the good, the bad and the ugly — and there’s some of each,” said Yudof in a UC Newsroom press release. Yudof has been president for the past five years and will be retiring in August. Yudof’s “white paper” report was drafted with the intent of providing a data-driven report about what has occurred in the past six years within the system in regard to trends and policies that might await his successor. “With a transition in sight, he thought it his duty to document what had transpired in the past six years — framed not by opinion or memory, but as a set of neutral facts. It is an unusual report in this way, and it also is what makes it so effective,” said Peter King, UC Office of the President public affairs director.
The report outlines the financial aid trends that have occurred throughout the past six years. From the 2007-08 fiscal year to the current one, there was a 27 percent decline in UC state general fund allocations from $3.257 billion to $2.377 billion. Despite the decline in general state funding, tuition has nearly doubled in the previous six years from $6,636 to $12,192. Although the University has experienced a decrease in state funding, in 2011-12, 65 percent of UC undergraduates received financial aid, with the average being $15,784 per student. Four out of 10 UC students with family incomes less than $50,000 are Pell Grant eligible, which according to the report, is almost double the average in comparison to other public universities admitted to Association of American Universities. The report also outlines trends in enrollment, applicants and graduation rates. There is a 23 percent increase since 1997 in four-year graduation rates with three out of every five UC students now earning a diploma. “Graduation rates for undergraduates have risen dramatically over the past 20
years, and it is taking less time than ever for them to complete their degrees,” said UC Provost Aimee Dorr in a UC Newsroom press release. Enrollment has also increased significantly, with 238,252 undergraduates enrolling for the next academic year, an increase from 213,646 students in 2006. In addition, the applicant pool has also increased. Since fall of 2006, there has been a 32 percent increase in undergraduate applicants. UC Merced and UC Riverside have the greatest applicant growth, at 57 percent and 47 percent, respectively. The applicant pool has also grown more diverse. For example, for the first time in UC history, Latinos were the largest ethnic group among applicants. Moreover, for the Fall 2012 freshman class, 45 percent were first-generation college students and 26 percent came from homes where the primary language was not English. “My reaction was that [President Yudof’s] instincts were correct — that his vision of a data-driven, neutral document was the right approach. It has been well-received by a broad range of interested Californians,” King said. Yudof’s full report is available online at the UC website.
office. Protesters blocked off the driveways leading into the office parking lot from Fifth Street, although the building was still accessible from a back driveway. On multiple occasions, drivers, possibly Monsanto employees, attempted to drive into the lot from Fifth Street before realizing they were blocked and driving away. Protesters formed a human chain across the back driveway at approximately 7 a.m., but let police officers through. “We’re just out here keeping the peace,” said Davis Police Lt. Ton Phan. “So far there have been no issues and we like that.” At approximately 7:30 a.m., a man on a bicycle approached the chain, telling the protesters, “I’ll run you down,” if the protestors refused to move and let him pass. See MONSANTO on 10
OPINION Pages 2 & 3
NEWS Pages 4 & 5
MUSE Pages 6 & 7
SCIENCE Page 8
LILIANA NAVA OCHOA can be reached at campus@ theaggie.org.
Shrem Art Museum to break ground next year
DIRTY BUSINESS: a guide to campus bathrooms
University still seeking funding for museum
Page 9
By LAUREN MASCARENHAS Aggie News Writer
Plans are in motion to open the new Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at UC Davis next year, but the university still needs at least $5 million to outfit the building and officially launch. The capital budget for this project is $30 million, which has been approved by the Capital Resource Management group and will be provided by donations and campus funds. In addition the start-up costs, the university aims to raise an endowment of $5 million to $20 million to allow the
BACKSTOP Pages 13 & 14 BRIAN NGUYEN / AGGIE
ONLINE museum’s program to expand, according to Karen M. Nikos, senior public information representative at UC Davis in an email interview. “There are four components to launching the new museum: an architecturally signif-
icant building, an innovative program, an endowment to sustain the institution and the art collection to be exhibited in the new galleries,” Nikos said. See MUSEUM on 10
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