October 11, 2018

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VOLUME 137, ISSUE 3 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2018

A L EXA FON TA N IL L A / AG GIE

J EREMY DA N G / AGG IE

Café-dwellers, beware!

Robberies at various coffee shops around Davis

BY STELLA TR AN city@theaggie.org

UC may have repeatedly violated state law; UC denies charges

BY SABRI N A HA BC H I campus@theaggie.org

The University of California is facing allegations from unions and complaints from the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) regarding violations of California state law.

John de Los Angeles, a spokesperson for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — which represents over 24,000 UC employees — commented on the union’s allegations in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the case AFSCME vs. Janus which effectively weakened the power of labor unions.

“The university, after the Janus decision, had been sending out mass communications to employees about the Janus decision,” de Los Angeles said. “Essentially, what they were handing out was instructions on how to drop your union — very much in violation of the law.”

De Los Angeles referred to AB 119 and SB 285, both of which were passed last year. AB 119 required

public employers to provide unions “mandatory access to [...] new employee orientation,” while SB 285 forbid public employers “from deterring or discouraging public employees from becoming or remaining members” of unions. Both laws were placed under the jurisdiction of PERB, a state agency which adjudicates issues between public employers and their employees.

Felix de la Torre, PERB’s general counsel, likened the agency to an “independent court system for labor relations…[that enforces] the state’s labor relations statutes” for public employers only.

AFSCME took grievances to PERB about the UC’s alleged violation of these state laws. In response, PERB filed complaints against the UC. “In this case, what happened was UC sent out a communication to all of its representative employees at the end of June after there was a Supreme Court decision involving the rights of employees to join or support unions, and it did so without complying with the law,” de la Torre said.

Danielle Smith, a media relations officer for the

University of California Office of the President, said via email that “the University of California disputes the union allegations and will address them in the proper forum.”

De la Torre explained why the agency believes the university was in violation of state law. “[The UC] didn’t ask the unions if they wanted to meet or confer, and it didn’t allow them to send out a simultaneous communication with [its] communication,” de la Torre said. “We agreed that, if those allegations were proven true, UC will have violated the state law on a number of occasions. I say that because UC not only sent it out initially in June, it continued to send things out in different formats throughout September.”

According to de la Torre, the next step following the filing of formal complaints would be to hold trials at PERB’s administrative hearing division.

“Those trials are to allow the parties an opportunity to present evidence to support the allegations and to give UC the opportunity to defend itself against these allegations,” de la Torre

HA N N A H HOLZER / AGGIE

Anti-Semitic fliers posted throughout campus Students call for stronger, more substantive administrative response

BY H A N N A H HO L ZE R campus@theaggie.org

ASUCD President Michael Gofman was on his way to class on Monday morning when he saw a Facebook post from a friend reporting the presence of an anti-Semitic flier posted at Young Hall. By 3

p.m., Gofman received reports of the fliers at the Memorial Union, Hunt Hall, Wellman Hall and Hutchison Hall.

“I’m not scared for my safety,” Gofman, who is Jewish, said. “But a lot of my friends are. A lot of my friends texted me saying, ‘I’m worried about being on campus today.’ A lot of my friends are texting me

PERB on 11

saying they’re fearful someone is going to attack them, they’re scared, they’re horrified.”

The fliers, which are credited to a local division of The Daily Stormer, a known neo-Nazi site, depicted recently-confirmed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh surrounded by politicians and individuals — including a likeness of California Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who are both Jewish — with a Star of David on their foreheads. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her, is depicted with the words “Good Goy” written on her forehead.

“Every time some anti-white, anti-American, anti-freedom event takes place, you look at it, and it’s Jews behind it,” the flier stated in large, bold type.

Gofman removed a copy of the flier, found by a student, that he had tacked to a bulletin board in his office on campus and observed it — “it looks like it’s from the Nazi era.”

“From my experience, Nazis have gotten a little more subtle with their marketing approach,” he said.

“But this is just right out of Nazi propaganda.”

This is not the first time an anti-Semitic incident has occurred on campus. Last year, a sermon given at the Islamic Center of Davis called for the annihilation of Jews. In 2016, UC Davis printers received anti-Semitic fliers by The Daily Stormer.

Also in 2016, UC Davis ranked in a list of universities with high incidents of anti-Semitism.

And in 2015, swastikas were spray painted on the

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COFFEE BURGLARIES on 11

Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi’s house in Davis.

“This is a historically anti-Semitic campus — this is not the first time this has happened, this is not even the first time this has happened in my time here,” Gofman said.

In the city of Davis, one day before the fliers were posted on campus, fourth-year political science major Noah Dickman said he found swastikas carved into the concrete at Arroyo Park.

Since the discovery of the fliers on Monday, UC Davis officials and student leaders have responded swiftly and in resounding opposition of antiSemitism on campus.

A statement released online by Chancellor Gary May addressed the fliers, stating the university is “working to identify those responsible for posting them.”

“The message on these flyers is reprehensible and does not represent who we are as a community,” the chancellor’s message states. “In addition, the person or person responsible violated our posting policy. Our Principles of Community expresses our dedication to mutual respect, understanding, compassion and caring for everyone, regardless of their religious affiliation, culture, ethnicity or gender.”

May’s message concluded by informing the campus community he will not stand “for intolerance of any kind.”

On her professional Facebook page, student ANTISEMITISM on 11

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Filed complaints charge UC with illegal, union-busting activity

The Davis Police Department identified four stunts of coffee shop robberies in Davis and surrounding areas in the last few weeks. Students and coffee-goers alike are advised to be more aware of risks.

Andy Fell, the public information representative for the UC Davis Police Department, indicated where the robberies occured.

“There are four cases that Davis PD brought to our attention,” Fell said. “Most recent is Peet’s Coffee on E Street in downtown. Before that, there was yet another Peet’s on Covell Boulevard and Temple Coffee on G Street in August as well as the Starbucks in Dixon.”

Paul Doroshov, the Davis police lieutenant, elaborated on the information they have so far about the robberies.

“All of these robberies have been perpetrated by young males,” Doroshov said in the Davis Enterprise.

“In these cases the suspects entered a coffee shop, looked around, and began grabbing laptop computers. In some cases, the suspects grabbed computers out of the hands of people sitting at tables conducting business or studying.”

Even so, the Davis Police Department is still investigating for more information about the perpetrators.

“Davis PD is still investigating this, and we ask if anyone has information to please contact UC Davis Police or Davis PD,” Fell said. “Davis PD believes that they are linked because all the crimes are similar.”

Virginia Roden, the store manager for Peet’s Coffee, described her reaction when she first heard about the incident.

“I was discouraged and angry,” Roden said. “I was notified the night that it happened, as it’s part of our policy to let the store manager know if there are any incidents like that at the store. I will say that I was not aware of the fact that so many other coffee houses — not only in Davis, but throughout Sacramento and Dixon and other areas — have been having this issue.”

Furthermore, Roden noted that she was upset about a lack of communication which, if corrected, might have prevented the robbery from occurring.

2 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2018

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

CAITLYN SAMPLEY / AGGIE

Senator, commission chair boycott president’s speech at first Senate meeting In Facebook post, Ethnic and Cultural Affairs commissioner alleges Gofman is discriminatory

BY G EORG E L I AO campus@theaggie.org

The first ASUCD Senate meeting of the year was held on Sept. 27 in the Mee Room on the third floor of the Memorial Union. At this meeting, a new interim senator and new association members were sworn in, President Michael Gofman delivered the State of the Association address and the introduction of new Senate initiatives was presented by Vice President Shaniah Branson.

The first meeting also saw contention, with a prolonged conversation during public discussion.

This took place after a declaration from Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commissioner Rina Singh and Senator Ko Ser Lu Htoo that stating that they would not work with Gofman.

The meeting was called to order at 6:11 p.m. by Branson. A roll call was taken with eight senators in attendance, Senator Gaven Kaur was absent and Gofman was late.

Gofman gave the State of the Association Address. A key point of his speech was the association’s planning of this year’s Sunset Fest, a new event on campus. Gofman said that the event “was supposed to be a $5,000 loss,” but ended up being “a $9,000 profit.”

Gofman also addressed the resignation of three senators, all of whom were elected last Fall — Danny Halawi and Andreas Godderis resigned last year, and Jake Sedgley announced his resignation recently.

Gofman said that resignation announcements

over the summer, as in the case of Sedgley, are not unusual and the association will need to quickly fill the open seat. Gofman concluded by saying he has high hopes for the year and thanked everyone in the association for their work.

The proceedings then moved to a discussion of the ASUCD budget. With Controller Meital Machulsky present, Gofman discussed three changes that occurred during the summer: the Sunset Fest made more money than expected, Office of Advocacy and Student Representation Director Edgar Malagon successfully negotiated down the University of California Student Association’s fee for UC Davis to $3,000 and the Creative Media services plan of making bulk purchases to save money.

Discussion then moved to the salary for Angela Ruan, third-year managerial economics major, who was later confirmed as assistant unit director for Aggie Reuse. The original budget for this position was set at $7,600. Ultimately, the budget was raised to $9,000.

Up next was the budget proposal for OASR. Malagon proposed using existing funds for positions including Public Engagement Assistant Director, Assistant Director of City and Community Affairs and Chief of Staff. The OASR budget was approved without objection.

The President’s budget for Creative Media was discussed next. Gofman said purchases of association-branded goods for Sunset Fest were done in bulk. He also said tabling material that could be generated by Creative Media were outdated and in order

for the association to grow, new items would need to be purchased. The budget was approved without objection.

The proceedings moved from budget to Senate pro tempore elections. Sedgely was previously in this position but, due to his recent resignation, the position was opened. The candidates were Senators Alisha Hacker and Htoo.

Votes were taken, Hacker received seven votes and Htoo received three votes with two votes abstaining. Hacker was selected as Senate pro tempore.

Next on the agenda was unit and committee assignments. Senators volunteered to work with units and committees for the new academic year.

Mental Health Initiative Committee member confirmation came next. Deborah Widjaja, a fourthyear neurobiology, physiology and behavior major was confirmed without objection.

The interim senator confirmation to replace Jake Sedgely came next. Devo Leichter, a fourth-year political science major who served as a council member on the Judicial Council, applied for the position.

Gofman said Leichter had already helped him work on legislation. And Leichter said he was interested in a “constitutional cleanup amendment” to organize and format the Senate Bylaws with clarified terminology. Leichter was confirmed without objection.

Next was confirmation for the Environmental Policy and Planning Commission chairperson. Alice Beittel, a fourth-year environmental science and management major, was the EPPC chairperson before she studied abroad Spring Quarter. Beittel was confirmed without objection and the remaining members of EPPC were also confirmed.

A slate of new legislation for upcoming Senate sessions was listed. Among these were: ASUCD Constitutional Amendment #55 and #56 and ASUCD Senate Bill #1, #2 and #3. These bills and amendments can be found on the ASUCD web pages.

A break was held from 7:27 to 7:41 p.m.

Vice President Shaniah Branson presented goals, expectations and reminders for the new year. The detailed list of initiatives included the following: third-floor improvements, marketing and branding changes, an ASUCD digital calendar, ASUCD social media outlets and changes in Senate table attendance policies.

Among other proposals, Branson suggested setting Senate meeting time to a maximum of four hours.

Public discussion was next.

Fourth-year biomedical engineering major Kia Aliakbar, the chairperson for the committee on com-

mittees, discussed UC Davis’ 10-year strategic plan, also known as the To Boldly Go campaign. Because the campaign received limited response from students during the summer, Aliakbar urged the Senate to offer any suggestions and recommendations before the deadline in April.

Singh, the Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission chairperson, said that ASUCD was getting pushback from marginalized communities and sought input from the table.

“There’s so much stuff happening: racism, assault is all taking place, but we don’t even know about it,” Singh said. “How can we address it if we don’t even know about it?”

A recent ECAC Facebook post announced the commission’s plans to boycott the president’s State of the Association Address, alleging Gofman did not hold the commission’s values of inclusion and equity. Gofman “haha” reacted to the post on Facebook.

Singh brought this up during public discussion, she asked what message his choice to react to the post sends to the commission.

Htoo, who also boycotted the address, also penned a Facebook post explaining the decision. “[Gofman] has been disrespectful to members of the LGBTQIA community, minorities, and refuse to listen to members of this Association,” the post read.

“He is racist and refuses to use gender-inclusive language. He had conducted interviews with unfairness and injustice. He has been divisive and not trustworthy. With that being said, I don’t believe anything he said or will be saying. I don’t trust him.”

Gofman denied the allegations, he stated that he has not, nor has he ever been, purposefully discriminatory.

Gofman said that he doesn’t understand why “two people have decided to make a political stand on grievances that were stated on abstract terms.”

In response, Senator Jumoke Maraiyesa asked Gofman why he “haha” reacted to ECAC’s Facebook post, saying “your actions are speaking louder than your words.”

“I’m not going to apologize at laughing at a further attempt to further divide the association,” Gofman said. “This was someone else’s attack. If you want to spend another 25 minutes talking about a laugh react on a Facebook post go ahead.”

At another point in the meeting, Gofman spoke about the recent disagreements between UC Davis and the City of Davis about housing.

No public announcements were delivered.

Ex-officio reports were then entered into record and followed by elected officer reports and approval of past meeting minutes.

The meeting adjourned at 9:37 p.m.

FARAH FARJOOD / AGGIE

UC Davis receives high marks in numerous national rankings University placed in top 10 of best public universities REBECCA CAMPBELL / AGGIE

BY EL I Z A BE T H M E R C A DO campus@theaggie.org

UC Davis received multiple top 10 placements over the summer as one of the country’s best universities.

U.S. News and World Report, The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education awarded its rankings in September, while Washington Monthly gave its public and private institution rankings in August. UC Davis tied with the College of William and Mary for 10th place in U.S News’ 2019 Top Public Schools listing.

U.S. News and World Report determined its rankings through surveys distributed to university leaders. Based on their responses, the organization created an estimate of prestige for each institution, according to Melissa Blouin, director of News and Media Relations for UC Davis Strategic Communications.

“Reputation is another aspect sometimes put into ranking,” Blouin said. “This recognition shows that UC Davis is on an upward swing with a lot of different kinds of programs and I think it’s a testament to the fact that people in those programs are working hard to do the things that would help get them recognized.”

The Wall Street Journal’s best public university ranking placed UC Davis at fifth, one place above its ranking last year. And Washington Monthly ranked UC Davis in tenth place in its 2018 ranking of best National Universities.

Washington Monthly determined UC Davis’ ranking on its “contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility, research and service.” According to Steve Weisler, interim associate vice chancellor for enrollment management and chief data officer and senior advisor to the provost, social mobility is “the change in earnings from the parents of students who come to a university compared to their own earnings later after they graduate.”

Money Magazine ranked UC Davis eighth in its 50 Best Public Colleges and 11th in its 727 Best Colleges in America.

One third of Money Magazine’s methodology for determining its ranking, according to its web-

site, is quality of education, with 60 percent of that third focused on graduation rate. The other twothirds are composed of affordability and financial outcomes of the university’s students.

“The rankings are not, for us, a goal in and of themselves,” Weisler said. “They’re one mirror that reflects the performance of the institution. The factors the rankings rely on that we consider important and that we wish to excel at or improve at, we take those particularly seriously.”

Among rankings in Innovation, Best Colleges for Veterans and Ethnic and Economic Diversity, U.S. News and World Report ranked UC Davis 32nd in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs and fourth in biological and agricultural engineering.

“We are, of course, greatly pleased to see the quality of our program recognized in this way as we strive to provide the best education a student in this field can get anywhere,” said Bryan Jenkins, a professor of biological and agricultural engineering and department chair.

Weisler went on to state that the rankings UC Davis received also serve as a means of identifying areas for improvement — not only by being compared to other institutions in search for aspirational characteristics, but also in highlighting potential initiatives within the university.

“Several months ago, the provost charged a committee called Equality Metrics Committee,” Weisler said. “It’s in the process of finalizing and distributing a report. That report is meant to look across all these rankings [...] and to try to identify the areas that happen to be in those rankings that also correspond to areas for continuous improvement. It’s trying to find a correspondence between what rankings care about but also what we care about.”

From an administrative perspective, UC Davis’ placement is meant to invigorate current students and encourage potential ones.

“The rankings really speak to how talented and energized our students and our faculty are,” Blouin said. “I think it’s a real point of pride for the students that are looking at UC Davis and also those who are here that we are considered to be one of the best in the country.”

All students required to acknowledge Academic Code of Conduct online Department of Education found university had not sufficiently validated student attendance

BY CLARA ZHAO campus@theaggie.org

Starting this quarter, all students were required to acknowledge the Code of Academic Conduct for each course they were registered in as part of the new Academic Participation program.

According to the UC Davis website, the purpose of the acknowledgement was to keep track of which students had begun coursework.

“In 2017 the US Department of Education determined that UC Davis had not done enough to validate that students actually attended their registered classes,” the website stated. “In order to comply with this ruling, a method of allowing students to confirm that they have started work on a course was developed in cooperation with the Academic Senate and other key University stakeholders.”

In addition, it was recognized that more could be done to ensure students were aware of their responsibilities regarding academic honesty and the Code of Academic Conduct. The current acknowledgement process was designed to help educate students in this area as well.

Starting the first day of instruction, students received emails prompting them to accept the code.

A student could do so by logging into their myUCDavis account, reading the Code of Academic Conduct and checking the boxes next to their registered courses to verify their acceptance of the code.

Professors and instructors were also encouraged to help enforce the new program by reminding their students on the first day of class to confirm participation online, familiarizing themselves with faculty responsibilities for enforcing academic honesty as well as adding information about the new requirement into their course introduction materials or syllabus.

According to the email sent out to students, failure to participate could bring significant consequences including prevention from registering in the next term and lowering or complete removal of financial aid.

In addition, the email made it clear that failure to acknowledge the Code of Academic Conduct did not relieve students of their responsibility to know and follow the code.

Despite the program’s good intentions, some students, such as fourth-year international relations major Lily Jenkel, were not convinced that the acceptance process would achieve its desired effects.

“I think most students won’t actually read it, they’ll just click submit,” Jenkel said.

Some professors and instructors also had mixed feelings about the new program.

“I think it’s good that it reminds students to look at the rules,” said Dr. Pamela Demory, a lecturer in the University Writing Program. “But it also feels a little heavy-handed, because it implies that students are likely to break the rules.”

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11 , 2018 | 3

CITY COUNCIL APPROVES WATER METER OPT-OUT PROGRAM JAMIE CHEN / AGGIE

SHEREEN LEE / AGGIE

Some Ubers are just that nice September 29 “Reporting party’s friend is refusing to get out of the Uber that they took home.”

September 30 “White male adult tried to open the back screen door, and was tampering with the front door, male subject urinated and defecated in the back patio and then rubbed his butt on the window.”

October 1 “Can hear unknown subject on the roof of his house with possible running water and hose being turned on.”

“Reporting party and his 3 housemates left apartment for approximately 30 minutes and just returned and advised they are unable to open the apartment door — reporting party thinks unknown subject is inside and locked them out.”

October 3 “Two males were walking down the street and jumped onto two parked vehicles parked at reporting party’s location and threw trash cans into the street and are now westbound on Russell passing this location [...]”

October 4 “At west gate — male standing at gate trying to get in.”

“Male subject driving a dark grey Toyota past half hour — stopping and then going, driving slow then put the vehicle in reverse and then doing donuts.”

October 5 “Cones knocked out of line and causing hazard; some cones are flattened/broken.”

“50 people in the park.”

“Hammering type noise — reporting party spoke with the neighbor who laughed at him.”

Residents concerned with adverse health effects of radio transmissions

BY H ANNAH WALIU LLAH city@theaggie.org

An opt-out option for the city’s new water meters was approved during a public hearing on Sept. 25. The vote was 3-1, with Councilmember Dan Carson not approving.

Through the water meter upgrade project, new advanced metering infrastructure meters have been installed in every Davis household.

These water meters give residents online access to their water usage spending.

However, some residents have requested an option to opt-out of adapting to these new water meters. The main concern that prompted this is the potential harmful effects of the radio frequencies emitted from the AMIs. Though there have only been 27 requests — less than 1 percent of the Davis population — the city staff developed a plan for an alternative water meter. These residents would retain the manual function of their water meters.

Davis residents who choose to opt out must submit an application to the public works wa-

A MEANINGFUL BICYCLE EXPERIMENT Donations needed for The Bike Campaign

JAMIE CHEN / AGGIE

BY STE L L A T RA N city@theaggie.org

The Bike Campaign, a nonprofit organization in Davis, aims to provide people with the opportunity to use biking as a means of transportation. The organization seeks out bike donations throughout the year but particularly during the fall when people are settling into their new places and may not need their bicycles anymore.

Maria Contreras Tebbutt, the director and founder of The Bike Campaign, explained why she created the nonprofit.

“There are schools in our county where there are very few kids who ride their bikes to school in Woodland,” Tebbutt said. “As Davis prides itself as a bike friendly community, I would like to share that wonderfulness with all our neighbors. There was a hideous amount of traffic around schools, and I knew that the economic picture of families who attend these schools is pretty dire.”

Tebbutt indicated that the organization accepts bicycle donations year-round, but it is looking for donations at this time especially because many students leave their bicycles on campus after they stop using them.

“We are always looking for bikes for donation, especially in certain times of the year like when students are thinking about moving in August,” Tebbutt said. “They don’t have a bike rack, so what are they supposed to do with a bike? Often times, bikes get abandoned, and we’d like to offer a much better alternative. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you donated your bike and, next semester, a student who cannot afford a bike is presented with a free bike? On top of that, they can get all the education and encouragement and support they need to have a great riding experience.”

Marlene Andrade, a third-year linguistics major

transfer student at UC Davis, first came to Davis without knowing much about bicycling. She got the help she needed from The Bike Campaign.

“I came to UC Davis during Summer Session II,” Andrade said. “I was in a class called Healthful Living (PHE 44), and in this class [Tebbutt] came to present to us about safety. Since we’re more about healthy living — psychological and mental — that day, it was more about physical fitness. Maria came over from the bike campaign to talk about biking. I got to know her a little more as well as the organization.”

The Bike Campaign also has a bike buddy program so that people like Andrade can recieve bike education. After joining the organization, Andrade was given a bike buddy, Sarah Davis, a volunteer at The Bike Campaign.

“It’s been awesome so far, and I’m new at [being a bike buddy],” Davis said. “It’s been fun to share a little bit of knowledge about bicycling with people who don’t have that much experience. I’m really impressed with people who come to Davis who take that on because it could be quite daunting.”

Andrade elaborated on her decision to join and get assistance from a bike buddy.

“I wanted to join, and the reason why is because I came from a city where people mostly commuted,” Andrade said. “I didn’t have knowledge and experience about biking. I usually bike for fun, but I wanted to know a little more. There are so many intersections around the city, and I knew that I needed a bike buddy.”

Tebbutt noted the importance of bicycling and promoting bicycling education.

“Sometimes people don’t equate the fact that we are feeding vehicles thousands of dollars to the point that we do not have money to feed ourselves,” Tebbutt said. “I wanted to help alleviate that kind of situation.”

Tebbutt also stressed the importance of tangible experiences when it comes to learning about how to use a bicycle properly.

“Just because you know how to ride a bike does not mean that you are comfortable with riding a bike in traffic,” Tebbutt said. “We have 10 events scheduled where we work directly face-to-face with UC Davis students. You may be a good driver but you may be terrified of riding a bike in traffic. This is something that has to be learned and practiced.

An important ingredient is that the experience needs to be shared.”

ter division. The agreement would appoint a city staff member to visit the resident’s house once a month to manually measure the water usage. Residents would be charged a fee for the manual reading and labor cost.

“Each individual has a variety of reasons for [opting out], but basically it all boils down to the radio transmitter systems,” said Mike Webb, the city manager, during the hearing.

“So what staff has worked on is to develop a proposal that would provide an opt-out alternative.”

The residents who want to opt-out claim the the radio frequency may be a cause for adverse health effects. According to Ellen Cohen, who spoke during the hearing, 13 local governments in California have banned these smart meter installations, including Santa Cruz.

“These devices can cause arrhythmias and other heart problems, and fertility issues, cognitive impairment,” Cohen said. “Residents and cities around the country in which radio frequency water meters are used are increas-

ingly complaining of headaches, dizziness, tinnitus, nausea [and] insomnia, since their installation.”

One resident, Karen Bloomquist, presented a map to the council which details all of these areas where there are high volumes of radio frequency. “[The map] shows the frequency strengths that are occuring along the street where people walk,” Bloomquist said. “Some of those areas are highly dangerous. I can picture a child walking down the street and just being radiated while they do something. Think about that.”

While the monthly fee for the manual water meter was originally set at $37.50, this was due to the duration (one hour) of the reading.

However, Mayor Brett Lee amended it so that the estimate is lowered, as the reading should take no more than 30 minutes.

Carson was the only councilmember who didn’t vote yes on the proposal. He explained how he had done the research, and his conclusion was that the radio frequencies were not adversely harmful.

“I guess I’m guided by a career of believing in science and understanding that you have to take the weight of the evidence,” Carson said. “You can always find a particular study that says something different [...] I want you to know I took those emails and those comments [that residents] made seriously, but I come out the other end feeling this program doesn’t make sense, and so I can’t support the opt-out program.”

While Councilmember Will Arnold and Mayor Pro-Tempore Gloria Partida agreed that the evidence behind these claims may not have been substantial, they approved of the resolution.

“I share [Carson’s] belief behind the radio frequencies,” Arnold said. “That however, doesn’t lead to the same conclusion — I support the opt-out program. If folks want to opt out, they can opt out. We have in front of us a breakdown of the fees [and] I personally think that those fees seem pretty reasonable.”

Fees for opting out of the water meter program will once again be reconsidered in a year once more data is available about the popularity of the program and its true cost of labor.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

4 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11 , 2018

UNDECLARED FRESHMAN TALK ABOUT THEIR COLLEGE

EXPERIENCES

Advice from former, current undeclared college freshman JAMIE CHEN / AGGIE

BY R A BI YA O BE RO I features@theaggie.org

Heading out into the world as you graduate from high school and walking into “adult life” in college can be challenging enough as it is. If you don’t know what you want to study, you might think you’re in for a tough time, but that really might not be the case. UC Davis offers 100+ majors to its students, and while many begin their journeys as “undeclared,” eventually they find their way to their ideal academic pursuits.

“Some of my friends knew exactly what they wanted to do right after college, what job they wanted and I knew I wanted this general field but I had no clue what I wanted exactly,” said second-year cinema and digital media and communication double major Michelle Demoss. “I just kind of took my time…Oh, these classes kind of sound interesting and they fill up my GE’s so I’ll go for them.’”

Demoss talked about her experience of choosing classes as an undeclared major.

“Most classes I took were related to the field that I wanted to do, like cinematography and media of sorts,” Demoss said. “But I did take classes that were very random since I wanted to see if I would

like them.”

Demoss tied these classes into her choice of a career path that she discovered through her courses.

“I’m taking college more like an experience altogether,” Demoss said. “Even if I don’t work in communications in some way or if I don’t work in film, which will be really sad, but I at least had a good time in college and had a rounded experience and I know ‘science’ stuff, or I know how to build stuff because of my job in theatre.

I’m trying to do as many different things so if I don’t get something similar to my major, [I’ll still be prepared].”

First-year seminars are another campus resource available to undeclared students that can offer guidance. These classes are typically between one and three units, with a grading or pass/no-pass option, and cover topics ranging from the meaning of life to “drawing and the art of meditation.”

“First-year seminars are always interesting,” Demoss said. “Nowhere near my major but I thought it was very enlightening. The one I took was ‘Hunter Gatherer Society,’ and the violence between them. That was really weird but it was a fun experience.”

Max Lemann, a first-year undeclared student talked about his experience as he entered college without a specific major.

“I feel like coming in undeclared took a weight off of my shoulders, allowing me to just take the classes that interest me in hopes of learning more about myself and what I will want to major in when I must decide,” Lemann said.

His thoughts on having over 100 majors available at UC Davis are similar to those of Demoss.

“Having 100-plus majors is a large pro for me,” Lemann said. “I enjoy the comfort of knowing that I have options. When I figure out what area of study interests me most, there is such a large chance that there will be a major available for me.”

When asked his thoughts on whether or not people end up in careers they majored in as an undergraduate, Lemann said: “I know that my dad majored in history and anthropology but is now an entomologist and museum curator, and my mom was a communications and journalism major who is now an elementary school teacher. I would try not to build judgments around that, but they certainly did not go into the field that they majored in.”

Choosing classes when you don’t know what will count towards your degree and what won’t is a challenging task for a lot of first-year students.

First-year undeclared student Amy Lu spoke about how she chose her classes as an undeclared major in order to best suit her academic plan.

“I am signing up classes by interest at this point, also by my potential study area,” Lu said. “For example, I am considering majoring in political science, that’s why I signed up for ‘Intro to Comparative Politics’ just to see if I actually like the content.”

These three undeclared students gave their advice to those who might be in a similar place in their collegiate journey. Demoss favored trying new things and remaining stress-free in the midst of your decision.

“Try new things,” Demoss said. “Have a social life. Don’t freak out, but study. Don’t worry too much about grades. This is gonna sound bad. But. You’re already in college, this is what my dad would always tell me. You’re already in college. Don’t stress yourself. The hard part is over. A doctor that has all Cs is still a doctor.”

Lemann highlighted avoiding nervousness and instead trying to find coursework that excites.

“I would just say that incoming undeclared freshman should not be nervous if they are,” Lemann said. “Look for classes that excite you and enjoy your studies as best you can.”

Lu told students to be cautious in their decision since it is long term, encouraging them to take steps necessary, no matter how long they are, to find the right fit.

“Be open-minded and don’t rush to make your decision, because sometimes it takes time to understand your true passion.” Lu said.

If you are currently an undeclared major, there are plenty of resources through advising, first-year seminars and your peers to help you gain insight toward what you want to do. But, from some students who have been in your shoes, the advice seems to connect around trying new things and approaching topics you feel most excited.

COOKING FOR YOURSELF AS A HUNGRY COLLEGE STUDENT Students offer support on how to stay fed while managing school, work, clubs

ALLYSON KO / AGGIE

BY ALYSSA HA DA features@theaggie.org

Transitioning from the dorms to living off campus is a change for many students. Students have the option to live with their close friends, have their own bathroom and live wherever they choose. However, some note that they soon find stress in the fact that they no longer have the dining commons readily available to them. Cooking for each meal can take a lot of time out of a student’s busy day, and with a full workload, spending time cooking can be an issue with a student’s schedule.

Justine Saruca, a fourth-year design major, found ease in cooking by using cooking gadgets to cut down on her time spent in the kitchen.

“Sometimes it’s too difficult for me to cook at home with such a busy schedule,” Saruca said. “I have an air fryer and a steamer that I use a lot. My steamer helps me steam food like vegetables and dumplings. It’s really easy to use and it only takes about a minute to cook. My air fryer is really helpful because I can just work on homework while I wait for my food to cook and it’s pretty healthy too. I mainly utilize that when I don’t have as much time to spend cooking.”

Other appliances, like a sous vide or crock-pot, can be used to cook food even when students are away from home. Many of these appliances can be turned on remotely using an application on a phone. They help students cut down on cooking time and have their meals prepared for them by the time they return home from a busy day on campus.

Christina Chang, a third-year statistics major, also uses cooking appliances to prepare her food on a busy schedule.

“I always cook rice ahead of time and my timer on my rice cooker is a huge lifesaver,” Chang said. “When I have class, my rice will start cooking at home at the time I set it to. I also cook a lot on the weekends and eat my leftovers throughout the week, too.”

In preparing her meals for the week, Chang provided some insight on how she decides what her weekly menu may look like.

“I get a lot of inspiration for what I want to cook from restaurants,” Chang said. “I’ll take note of what I like to eat when I go out and think about how can I make it at home. I really like Mexican food, but I always pay over $10 for it when it’s super easy to make something like a quesadilla at home. I really just think of ways that I can recreate meals at home; it’s so much easier. Plan ahead to see when you have

free time; you need to buy groceries, prepare everything and cook your food. Make sure you have all the food that you need and make sure you have time to cook.”

Students often agree that the initial switch to cooking for themselves can be difficult, but is something they quickly become accustomed to.

Yuanfen Liang, a fourth-year psychology major, described what she did to cope with the initial change, and how her experience in the kitchen has changed over time.

“When I first transitioned into having my own kitchen, I did eat out very frequently,” Liang said. “I definitely take advantage of when I go home; I’ll bring a lot of home-cooked food back with me. Now, I try to do a lot of meal-prepping; I’ll cook a week’s worth of food on a Sunday or Monday and eat that for the rest of the week. If I’m craving something else, I’ll cook a meal in the middle of the week if I have time, but meal prepping definitely helps when I’m too busy. I’ll also go out for food with my friends every once and a while, but when I’m on campus I tend to buy food from the Silo or the CoHo.”

Liang noted that treating cooking as a fun activity with friends definitely elevated her time in the kitchen.

“I cook with my friends very frequently,” Liang said. “We cook together on the weekends, because that’s when we’re most free. On some Fridays, we’ll have potlucks where my friends would each cook and bring their own food to share with everyone, and we would have a big dinner all together.”

While juggling classes, clubs and work, students have found that it can be challenging to make the time to prepare food for themselves. If all else fails, students have noted that some meals are much easier to cook than others, and can be done with extremely minimal time and effort.

“Pasta is one of the easiest things that I ever cook,” Liang said. “It’s so easy to cook a huge pot of noodles and just cook sauce separately. If you don’t know how to cook sauce, it’s super easy to just buy sauce and have salad on the side. I find that it’s a really good meal for a college student after a long day.”

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2018 | 5

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ENCHANTED CELLAR IS A HIDDEN HALLOWEEN EMPORIUM UC Davis Theatre department offers a wide variety of costume rentals for Halloween VENOOS MOSHAYEDI / AGGIE

BY SNEHA RAMACHANDRAN features@theaggie.org

With Halloween on the horizon, students are awaiting the moments when they can freely express themselves and who they are within, whether that be a ghost, a meme or a historical figure. For those who are filled with glee at the idea of becoming someone (or something) else for a night, the Department of Theatre and Dance’s Enchanted Cellar offers accessible costumes for UC Davis students to achieve their spooky dreams.

Fourth-year human development major Brooklyn Sofley explained why Halloween is her favorite time of the year.

“Halloween is the only holiday that lets you freely express yourself,” Sofley said. “If I were to walk around dressed as Guy Fieri on any other day of the year people would question me, but on Halloween it’s embraced and appreciated.”

If you’re lacking creativity or DIY skills this Halloween, the Department of Theatre and Dance has a solution for those looking for a costume of theatrical quality as opposed to Halloween store quality.

The basement of Wright Hall is home to one of Davis’ hidden treasures: The Enchanted Cellar.

Roxanne Femling, an expert costume designer and Davis’ very own costume shop director, ex-

plained her role in the Enchanted Cellar.

“I take care of all the staff and students including the undergraduates and MFA students who come in to do costume design,” Femling said. “We are basically training them to work in a costume shop in terms of design and helping the [students] navigate designing costumes for a show.”

The idea of costume rentals started back in 2004 and has been an ongoing tradition upheld by the department. Femling explained how a good portion of the costumes are actually designed and put together by students of the department.

“We’ve been renting out costumes for 14 years,” Femling said. “People are always surprised when they come down to the basement, which is why we named it the ‘Enchanted Cellar’ because a lot of people don’t know that we’re even down here. It’s fun watching people think of something crazy and different and it helps the students and faculty get creative.”

Since last year, the Enchanted Cellar began exclusively renting out kits for Halloween-goers.

Femling explained how the kits contain a variety of different props and makeup to make the costumes as intricate as possible. Students and faculty together researched different aspects of the costume and tried to implement those features into the kits.

HALLOWEEN on 12

EXPERIENCE NON-TRANSFERRABLE What it’s like being a transfer student at UC Davis CAITLYN SAMPLEY / AGGIE

Learn.

BY EMILY NGUYEN feature@theaggie.org

UC Davis admitted roughly 10,000 transfer students for the 2018-19 academic year. For many newly transferred students, most of whom have previously attended a junior college, learning the ins and the outs of the UC system can be a challenge all on its own. But then you also have to factor in housing, transportation, meal prepping and a multitude of other often stress-inducing elements pulled from the ever-so-mountainous pile of collegiate obligations. For some students, the transition from a junior college to a four-year university is a walk in the park. For others, it is nothing short of a nightmare.

UC Davis harbors a robust population of transfer students. In fact, nearly one-third of the entire student population is comprised of students who have transferred. One major roadblock that these students often encounter is unfamiliarity with the fast-paced nature of the quarter system. Natalie Boone, second-year transfer student and psychology major, said that she was slightly overwhelmed with just how rapidly a quarter can fly by.

“I realized when I got here that the pace was a lot quicker,” Boone said. “I signed up as a clinical nutrition major, which is a B.S. degree, and I still had some chemistry classes. I will compare those chemistry classes to the same chemistry [classes] I took at community college. I was an A or B student at community college, but when I first started here I was a B or C student. In the semester system you have some time to breathe, whereas the quarter system goes by a lot faster.”

Sara Abou-Adas, first-year transfer student and neurobiology, physiology and behavior major, recalled feeling not only surprised by the rigor of coursework at a UC campus, but the difficulty of life outside of classes.

“The first week I was really homesick and I kind of didn’t even want to be here because I didn’t really know the bus routes or anything like that,” Abou-Adas said. “Moving away and living on my own, I feel like I’m kind of behind and everyone [else] has already done all of this.”

This experience is not unique to Abou-Adas. In efforts to combat these kinds of feelings and ensure that students have a relatively easy time acclimating to campus life, UC Davis offers a variety of clubs, organizations, outreach programs and resources to its students.

These resources can, however, be obscure to

newly transferred students. Abou-Adas pointed out a major flaw that many organizations and clubs often overlook when trying to recruit students — accessibility.

“All of my classes are by the Silo, and I heard that most of the tabling is done here [at the Memorial Union], so I don’t even really get to see anything of that stuff,” Abou-Adas said. “All of the [organizations] that I am going to join is through word-ofmouth, not from a club approaching me.”

Daniella Aloni, a second-year transfer student, communication major and current ASUCD senator, shared these sentiments regarding the success (or lack thereof ) of UC Davis’ transfer-student outreach programs, saying that the school can definitely do more to educate students on the resources available to them.

“I feel like there are efforts that have been made to inform incoming transfer students about these various resources, clubs, organizations and so on but there is always room for improvement,” Aloni said.

Aloni extended her point by illustrating frustrations expressed by other transfer students about the school’s inability to create a campus that feels inclusive toward transfer students.

“To this day, I’m surprised by the amount of things I didn’t know about on our campus, and continue to find out about every day,” Aloni said.

“I’ve heard complaints from other transfer students about how little they knew when coming to the campus. For the most part, from what I have noticed and been told, anything a student finds out about is from other students, or their professors who mention things in lecture.”

According to Aloni, college is only as good as you want to make it. Aloni advised all transfer students to go out of their comfort zones during their time at university and take the initiative to seek out any resources necessary.

Aloni also stressed the importance of experimenting with new activities, classes and even friendships, because doing so allows students the opportunity for professional, social and personal growth.

“A piece of advice I’d like to share with any incoming or current transfer students is ‘try everything,’” Aloni said. “We have such a short amount of time on this campus and it flies by. This is your time to do anything that you have wanted to try, so don’t hold back. You are meant to be here. You earned this [...] and deserve to be on this campus just like anyone else.”

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6 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2018

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

Opinion editorial board

the California Aggie EDITORIAL BOARD

Every vote matters

EMILY STACK Editor-in-Chief

Exercise your right, register by Oct. 22

OLIVIA ROCKEMAN Managing Editor HANNAH HOLZER Campus News Editor KAELYN TUERMER-LEE City News Editor

Fall midterm elections are approaching at the same pace that chaos is erupting in Washington so much so that people’s faith in politics and democracy is withering away. This should be all the more reason to vote.

The last day to register to vote online or send in a mail-in registration in California is Monday, Oct. 22.

A paper application is also available at the Yolo County elections office, any DMV field office and many post offices, public libraries and government offices. If you miss this pertinent deadline, you can conditionally register to vote using a paper application and cast a provisional ballot on Election Day, which will be validated once your eligibility to register is determined.

To check your registration online, go to voterstatus. sos.ca.gov. On this page, you can also check where you are registered to vote, and your political party and language preference for election materials as well as the status of your vote-by-mail or provisional ballot.

You may also find your polling place on this site. It’s important to check your registration and follow up with officials at your local county elections office if you detect anything is peculiar or amiss, especially in the face of the thousands of erroneous registrations recently disclosed by the DMV. It’s equally important to note that, if you’re currently registered in your hometown, you need to send a mail-in ballot or re-register in order to vote at polling places in Davis.

TARYN DEOILERS Opinion Editor OLIVIA LUCHINI Features Editor LIZ JACOBSON Arts & Culture Editor DOMINIC FARIA Sports Editor HARNOOR GILL Science & Tech Editor

SYDNEY ODMAN New Media Manager BRIAN LANDRY Photo Director TREVOR GOODMAN Video Production Manager OLIVIA KOTLAREK Design Director JONATHAN CHEN Layout Director HANNA BAUBLITZ Copy Chief CECILIA MORALES Copy Chief ZOË REINHARDT Website Manager HALI ZWEIGORDON Social Media Manager

But more than just proper registration is needed to induce real action. The last day to cast your vote is Tuesday, Nov. 6.

Voter turnout among the college student population has historically been 10 percent lower than the national average, an unfortunate and regrettable statistic that students could pay for in the form of higher tuition, less student aid and job insecurity upon graduating. While voting only takes a few minutes, these obstacles related to higher education can have long-lasting impacts on college admission rates and students’ futures.

The importance of informed voting and choosing candidates who represent your belief system and enact change in the House of Representatives, Senate and the governor’s office cannot be overstated in these tumultuous times. By exercising your right to vote, you can weigh in on pervasive issues that are at the forefront of everyone’s minds: women’s rights, education, gun reform, immigration and healthcare. Critical decisions such as the recent confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court by a slim margin of 50 to 48 has both renewed vigor in voters and revealed the impact of a single vote. Those who have been disappointed by the route that the country has taken have a chance to convert that disappointment into influence by voting.

The Editorial Board urges voters to make their voices heard at the crossroads of American politics and get themselves to the polls on Election Day.

GRACE SIMMONS Newsletter Manager LAURIE PEDERSON Business Development Manager

Why activism at UC Davis can’t diminish LEGACY OF STUDENT ACTIVISM CONTINUES TODAY IN DAVIS

BY KAUSE R A D E NWAL A ksadenwala@ucdavis.edu

UC Davis adopted the Principles of Community in 1990, which served as one inspiration to create the Cross Cultural Center. On May 14, 1990, students from marginalized communities at UC Davis collaborated and engaged in student activism to fight for a space that the campus desperately needed. Acquiring this space, beloved to all of us now, was only possible through student engagement in activism, and preserving it is essential to upholding the beautiful traditions on campus.

In 2016, Chancellor Linda Katehi was placed on administrative leave because she was accused of nepotism for hiring and significantly increasing her daughter-in-law’s salary. The fact that Katehi was put on a paid administrative leave was outrageous. If any of the members of, say, AFSCME 3299 were to have faced the allegations that Katehi

faced, a 90-day paid vacation would be considered preposterous. The urgency of student activists compelled Katehi to resign and therefore prevented the infiltration of injustice on this campus.

And today, Muslim students are fighting for their rights to pray on campus. For Muslims, the five daily prayers are an obligation –– one of the five pillars of our faith. The Student Community Center (SCC) on campus has a Reflection Room, where hundreds of Muslim students utilize the space to pray on a daily basis. The Muslim Student Association (MSA) uses the cabinets in the room to store prayer rugs, clothes and books –– all of which the students benefit from every day. In 2012, the President’s Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture and Inclusion, which was established by UC President Mark Yudof in 2010, sent a team to assess the experiences of Muslim and Arab students across UC campuses. On page 12 of the report, it stated, “Prayer space on campus should be centrally-located, accessible to students, clean, accommodate a large seating capacity, and should

be thoughtful about providing bookshelves for educational materials, shoe racks and storage space...The team found that Muslim students did not have a robust infrastructure on or near campuses as may be the case for other religious groups, such as Jewish Hillel houses.”

Yet I was approached on multiple occasions by a campus administrator who asked me and a few other MSA board members to remove the prayer rugs and Islamic books. I understood the foundational principles this university abides by; John Locke’s argument for separation of church and state governs our constitution, and yet I could not fathom why exactly we were being asked to remove our material now of all times, when our community is burgeoning by the day.

This administrator could not understand our needs and resorted to assuming ‒ because we are Muslim, because we are a marginalized ADENWALA on 11

Blame the Democrats for Brett Kavanaugh WHY GOING “NUCLEAR” IS KILLING AMERICA

BY N I C K I RV I N ntirvin@ucdavis.edu

America is lilting toward the latter half of the motto, “United we stand, divided we fall.” It’s a scary thought, ripe with tension and borne through the electoral bickering that has defined a generation of extremely partisan governance.

Here’s another scary thought: A man with credible accusations of sexual assault was just confirmed to the highest court in the land. Now there are two Supreme Court justices with sexual misconduct hanging over their heads — both conservative, and both confirmed following scandalous hearings.

We should blame Senate Republicans, of course, for voting in Kavanaugh. But that’s too easy. Part of the blame lies with Obamaera Democrats as well.

There hasn’t been a judicial battle like Brett Kavanaugh’s — confirmed by a 50-48 vote on Saturday — in recent memory.

Democrats are furious; Republicans are euphoric.

We all know this.

Kavanaugh’s position on the Supreme Court was never really in doubt because confirming him was simply a numbers game.

Republicans only hold a slim 51-49 majority in the Senate –– before last year, a two vote margin was not enough to confirm a nominee.

How did we get to the point where a simple Senate majority could determine the Supreme Court?

In 2013, Democrats held the Senate majority under the leadership of Harry Reid. After Republicans marshalled filibusters to a level unseen in modern American history, the Democrats wanted a quicker path through the Senate for executive nominees to lower courts and other federal positions.

Reid passed a measure that fall which eliminated the long-held 60 vote requirement for executive nominations. The new rule, carrying the undignified title “nuclear option,” allowed a simple majority vote for federal judicial appointments (excluding the Supreme Court).

Mitch McConnell — a Republican and the current Senate majority leader — invoked Reid’s example during Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation hearings in 2017 by holding a vote to allow a simple majority to determine positions on the Supreme Court. It passed.

These aren’t the only times the nuclear option has been used. But they may be the most impactful.

We are witnessing the repercussions of Reid’s decision today. By setting a new standard of partisanship, Reid opened the floodgates for a more sinister political culture that McConnell exploited.

IRVIN on 11

The hypocritical gaps in Republican party’s pro-life stance BEING “PRO-LIFE” OFTEN STOPS AT POLICIES CONCERNING ABORTION

BY H A N A D I JOR DA N hajordan@ucdavis.edu

The majority of people are indeed “pro-life” — it’s just that liberals are generally not willing to trade the life and free will of women for the life of an unborn child. The real question is the degree and duration of one’s “pro-life” position. It’s understandable if voters feel that conservative pro-life principles start at conception but, ironically, these principles are terminated at birth — when conservative policies tend to leave children and their families to fend for themselves.

Republican attitudes toward affordable health care and adequate education are most telling. While the Affordable Care Act, in conjunction with the Children’s Health Insurance Program, is largely responsible for providing 95 percent of American children with health

coverage, the ACA was widely and vehemently contested across the Republican party. The position seems to be that all humans have the right to life — just not the right to maintain one. The fears of many people who choose to have an abortion trace back to this very issue: caring for their child. Many simply don’t have the financial means to do so, and the problem is exacerbated when the government makes access to healthcare more difficult and expensive.

The United States seems to fall even shorter when it comes to education. Public investment in K-12 schools has declined drastically. For the 2017-2018 school year, at least 12 states cut the primary form of state funding for elementary and secondary schools, known as general (or formula) funding. General education funding in those states was reduced by 7 percent per student over the last decade. Seven of the 12 states (Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan,

Mississippi, North Carolina and Oklahoma) also enacted income tax cuts that cost up to hundreds of millions of dollars annually. While this gave tax payers back some of their money, it also specifically reduced funding for education. The current administration’s plans to further reduce federal education funds will magnify this problem.

Just how pro-life are conservatives then?

The Trump administration’s child separation policy is a bold manifestation of this apparent disregard for human life. While children were being ripped from their parents, babies torn away from their mothers — even while breastfeeding — the pro-life movement was notably silent. Even with the discovery of photos of children being kept in cages and recordings of them crying out for their mothJORDAN on 11

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2018 | 7

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

HUMOR

Student with part-time job and two internships, member of four clubs and taking 21 units: “I have too much free time”

FOR THIS STUDENT, “SENIORITIS” COMES VACCINATED

BY CON N ER SH AW cjshaw@ucdavis.edu

Everyone knows students have it difficult this time of the year. For some, it’s the first time they’ve ever lived away from home, met hundreds of people in a single day or seen a clique form and exclude them completely, leaving them utterly alone and hopeless. For others, it’s the annual occasion when they decide they had a good run, but this year is just not it, chief.

For one, and that one being fourth-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior, computer science and political science triple major and well-known annoying tryhard Rebecca Griswold, this quarter has wrought an unfortunate reality: She just has too much free time.

“The weekend before school started, I was doing my weekly calendar reorganization, which is usually my favorite pastime,” Griswold said. Her hands wrung nervously as she spoke, both legs restlessly jumping up and down with each syllable. “After putting down my classes — I’m taking 21 units by the way, in case I didn’t already tell you (she did) — and my two internships at the UC Davis Health and Wellness Center and a local tech startup, then adding my hours as a waitress at Sophia's and of course all my clubs and honor societies I'm part of —” Unfortunately, at this point in the interview, our tape recorder mysteriously stopped working for the next two hours.

We were unable to write down every single detail of Griswold’s extensive schedule, including her specific study time allocations and exactly how much time she allows her boyfriend to kiss her while she studies

organic chemistry. Oh no! Too bad!

Fortunately, our recorder miraculously started working again as she finally started telling us about what we originally asked, as it concerns her free time.

“— but anyways, after I got all that in order, I took one final look at my work,” Griswold continued. “That’s when I realized there was this hulking, hour-long gap on Wednesdays from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

A full hour of time when I have nothing going on. I just don’t know what I’m going to do with myself. It’s just way too much extra time.”

Extra indeed.

Griswold’s horrendous situation obviously warrants plenty of sympathy from her friends and coworkers.

“Um. Ok, we’re talking about Rebecca Griswold, right?” asked Kat Perkins, Griswold’s manager. “Alright, yeah, so when Rebecca comes into work, she goes into the bathroom and screams about how stressed she is for about 20 minutes. If anyone tries to come in to console her, she yells something like, ‘SERIOUSLY IT’S NO BIG DEAL BUT THE STRUGGLE IS REAL’ until they leave. So. Yeah. I’m going to say that she probably needs the free time more than anyone.”

Help: There’s

a spider in my bathtub, this is

one BIG BOY PLEASE COME HELP NOW

BY AARON LEVI NS adlevins@ucdavis.edu

Oh SHIT this guy is big...Where did I put that fly swatter….FUCK….Why did God make spiders this big….Where is the fly swatter!

There’s a gallon of gasoline on the patio….

Why the fuck do I have a gallon of gasoline on the patio?

I’m gonna burn this whole thing down...I can’t live in an apartment that has spiders this big...Damn, that’s One Big Boy! I just wanted to take a bath….I just wanted to soak in my lavender-scented bath bomb that I got at the farmer’s market….a fair trade, organic homemade nice-ass bath bomb!

I could use an atomic bomb right now…

Fire...burning...the flames lick up the sides of the apartment...within, the big boy black widow spider is atomized by one of the most basic elements...the element of destruction… .I must destroy….I must sacrifice my home... all the things I own….I must appease the spider god….or it won’t stop….it’ll never stop unless I destroy…

But I can’t do it...to appease the spider gods I must destroy all that I love…….I must... must…..but the authorities will want me... arson….I must tear it all down….This social

veneer can constrict me no longer…..What is a social life….school…..loved ones….in the face of the looming, ever present, big boy spider god that will sink its fangs into all I love...I must destroy what I love in order to survive….in order to build a new life…

Pour pour pour….faster pour…. matches…..light it…..drop it…..FLAMES! FLAMES! FLAMES! Run…..

My feet patter on the ground…..Behind me the flames grow higher….People are shouting but I must run run run……..There are no second chances…..The old me has been consumed in flames……..It’s over…...

The god has been appeased…...I must move on to a new life…...In this new world I will fashion, there will be no big boys….only me and my humanity……

J ER EMY DANG / AGGI E

JE RE MY DANG / AG G IE

Adulting

BY R OSEY M ORE A RT Y rosey@morearty.org

DISC L A I M ER: Th e vi ews a n d o p ini o ns ex p re ss e d by i nd i vidu al colu mn ists be lon g to th e colu mn ists alon e and do no t necessari l y i ndi cate the vi ews and o pi ni o ns hel d by The Cal i for n ia Ag g ie. Le t te rs to t he e d i to r can be addre ss e d to opin ion @ th e aggie.org.

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8 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2018

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SCIENCE+TECH VICTOR IA SWEN SON / COU RT ESY

Why archeologists dislike Indiana Jones Part one of a continuing series about experiences on an archeological dig in Poland

BY RAC HEL PAUL science@theaggie.org

Indiana Jones, Laura Croft, “The Mummy” movies. These famous depictions of archeologists are often pitted against powerful, rich enemies that seek to loot and destroy archeological sites. In reality, looters are rarely criminal masterminds that steal treasures from famous sites. Instead, they’re often just ordinary people looking for cool stuff to collect. Additionally, these archeologists are more often portrayed as looters than scientists.

“The site is right here, I mean someone could come up and walk away with human bone,” said Tiffany Loera, a student from the Slavia

Foundation, which ran the archeology school I attended while in Poland.

The site we worked on was in the middle of farmland in Poland; the students and I excavated Bronze Age and 16th to 18th century materials while surrounded by wheat. Just looking on the surface, one could see tiny fragments of bone and pottery from these eras. And just like Indiana Jones, others could have and probably did loot items from the site.

Archaeology is the study of past material goods in order to understand past societies and cultures. In this way, we can understand why we are where we are today and hopefully it will help us for the future.

“People don’t really understand why it’s bad...they go to these big

sites and they just take stuff, and it’s like why, it’s just going to go and sit in a museum,” said Ashley Stewart, an osteologist at the field school.

“And it’s like well we know what it means, you know, when it came from, we know who made it, we can look at, like pottery for example.

We can source it and see where it came from. And if you have it, we’re not doing any of that, but also the knowledge isn’t being expanded for everyone, the whole populous can’t enjoy it and learn from it, which I think is the most important thing.”

By this definition, Indiana Jones acted more like a looter than an archaeologist. For instance, when Jones took a gold statue from a temple in the tropics, he never stopped to study the temple or anything near the statue. This information is valuable in figuring out why the statue was so important to the people or what it represented. By simply taking the gold statue, the information about where it was found and what materials were found with it are completely lost.

Every archaeologist’s worst nightmare is someone who took artifacts from a place without documenting anything about it. In this way, artifacts are seen as neat trinkets instead of valuable pieces of information that can be used to understand and piece together daily life hundreds to thousands of years ago.

In Poland, we excavated a graveyard that had Bronze Age items and 16th to 18th century coffin burials. Everything we found held important information about the people that lived at the time. Coins found on the bodies could help show how old the burials were and parts of skeletons could help piece together what life was like during that era.

Unfortunately, there were some disturbances we called “potato pits”.

These pits were about six feet wide and randomly scattered around. The most likely explanation for the pits was that looters came through the cemetery not too long after the burials occured. It is not known what they were looking for, but everything in the pits was either destroyed or messed up in some way. “[The potato pits did] a lot of damage to the burials...their grave was just cut in half because there was a potato pit like right above it,” said Victoria Swenson, the field school’s osteology instructor. “And a couple years ago we had one [a pit] that was just full of femura sitting up vertically and random bones. And then the graves that were nearby, that they cut into, were just destroyed.”

Anyone who disturbs a grave for a keepsake not only ruins future academic research, but also shows that they do not respect the dead or the dead’s living relatives. Not only is valuable information lost for those trying to understand past peoples and cultures, but the final burial place for someone is also obliterated. So next time you see a cool old trinket, please leave it alone. At the very least, don’t tell Indiana Jones about it.

A LLYSON KO / AGGIE

Flies, Traumatic Brain Injury and the Tau Protein UC Davis assistant professor awarded prestigious grant to study tau protein in TBI

BY KRI T I VA RG HES E science@theaggie.org

Kassandra Ori-McKenney, an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, was recently announced as a Pew Biomedical Scholar. She was awarded a four-year grant totaling $300,000 to study the role of the tau protein in the degeneration of neurons caused by traumatic brain injury (TBI).

The tau protein is a microtubule-associated protein partly responsible for stabilizing microtubules. Microtubules act as roadways for the transport of important materials and organelles like the mitochondria, which is responsible for energy production within the neuron. If this transport is disrupted, the neuron is affected. When tau is hyperphosphorylated or has too many phosphate groups attached to it, it aggregates into an insoluble form, which may affect the microtubules and lead to neurodegeneration. This hyperphosphorylation of tau has been connected to both TBI and also Alzheimer’s disease.

“We know that tau is a very significant hallmark of Alzheimer’s so it’s important to study how phosphorylation affects tau and its behavior,” said Tracy Tan, a first-year graduate student in the biochemistry, molecular, cellular and developmental biology graduate group.

While part of the research involves studying the protein itself, another part of the research goes into monitoring the origin and spread of tau in the brains of flies with TBI, as well as the behavioral effects on the flies. In the future, there could also be experiments comparing the effects of repeated

low-impact injury and one high-impact injury. Flies were chosen because their behaviors are well-documented and well-characterized and they serve as an excellent genetic model system.

“Drosophila are a really wonderful genetic organism,” Ori-McKenney said. “We can therefore genetically determine which kinases are involved in modifying tau. The fly system is the most optimal system to do this because there is a published, validated assay to inflict traumatic brain injury on these flies and we have the genetic tools to be able to knock down or overexpress each of the genes that encode the different kinases.”

If DYRK1A happens to be the initiating kinase that responds to injury and is one of the first kinases that heavily modifies tau, it could lead to the potential of inhibiting that kinase within a specified time window directly after an injury to prevent brain trauma.

The Pew scholarship provided Ori-McKenney with the resources to meet other scientists as well, giving her the chance to interact with other scholars studying fly behavior and fly genetics.

“Professor Ori-McKenney is quite deserving of this prestigious award based on her impressive past productivity and based on her outstanding promise for future discoveries, some of which could have significant impact on human health,” said Mark Winey, dean of the College of Biological Sciences and a Pew Biomedical Scholar alumnus. “The Ori-McKenney lab studies a variety of proteins that bind the microtubules, some of which move on the microtubules, and they study how the proteins are controlled. Defects in the function of these proteins can contribute to neurodegenerative diseases.”

reduce. reuse. recycle.

The aggie

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2018 | 9

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Sudoku Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row, column and 3x3 square must contain one of each digit. Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing.

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

10 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2018

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DIANA LI / AGGIE

ZOE REINHARDT / AGGIE

VINYL AND MUSIC FAIR

Chinese wedding dress exhibition comes to UC Davis

Local record shop, KDVS scheduled to co-host music vendors

BY JOSH MADRID arts@theaggie.org

Armadillo Music and KDVS will co-host a vinyl and music fair at the Davis Senior Center on Oct. 13. The event begins at 9 a.m., but early birds that want first pick can pay a $5 fee for early entry starting at 8:30 a.m. The event will feature a wide variety of music genres and vendors selling CDs, cassettes, music memorabilia and, of course, vinyl records.

Paul Wilbur, the manager at Armadillo Music, shared his thoughts on the prospering community around vinyls that has become noteworthy over the past few years.

“We have a generation of new music fans that had no connection to the artists they love,” Wilbur said. “It allows people to feel more invested in the music they love rather than having an iPod filled with MP3s they never listen to.”

Wilbur also discussed the sense of community that vinyls create.

“Being able to share music in the moment together is something that the last generation missed out on and this new one is showing an appreciation for it,” Wilbur said. “Nobody ever went to anyone’s house to look at an MP3 collection.”

Chloe Breaker is in charge of booking at Arma-

dorm shower horror

dillo Music and has been part of several vinyl fairs in the past three years she’s worked there.

“I like seeing different people’s collections,” Breaker said. “Each vendor always has a different feel and something to offer.”

Breaker reminisced on her first exposure to vinyl records when she was younger.

“When I was in high school, my mom got me a portable record on vinyl,” Breaker said. “I got The Black Keys’ “Turn Blue” album and I realized that this is how records are supposed to sound.”

Many UC Davis students resonate with this revived obsession for vinyls and enjoy what comes with it. Rodolfo Pascual, a second-year economics major, feels that Davis is a good place for vinyl culture to continue thriving.

“Vinyl culture for Davis plays an integral part in defining what Davis is,” Rudolfo said. “Davis within itself is a city that doesn’t conform to the stereotypes of other cities. There are no huge skyscrapers or corporate conglomerates in Davis.

Vinyl culture allows for Davis to maintain a sense of a time that allows for it to carry a state of timelessness.”

The fair will also feature a live performance by Yo and the Electric at 1 p.m. Information regarding the fair can be found on the Armadillo Music website as well as the event page on Facebook.

Confucius Institute hosts Jiangnan University research group

BY LIZ JACOBSON arts@theaggie.org

On Oct. 6, at the International House, the “Double Happiness: Traditional Chinese Wedding Dress” exhibition made its California debut. The event was co-hosted by the China National Arts Fund, Jiangnan University, Jiangsu Intangible Cultural Heritage Research Base, the UC Davis Department of Design, the UC Davis International House and Davis Confucius Institute. The exhibition was on display from Oct. 6 to 9.

Professor Pan, assistant dean of the School of Design at Jiangnan University, chose to bring the exhibition to UC Davis because of the two schools’ history.

“Because Jiangnan University and UC Davis have collaborated before for more than 20 years in many fields, they picked this location,” said Michelle Yeh, a distinguished professor of Chinese, who translated for Pan. “Also, he feels that people on the west coast tend to know more about chinese culture.”

All of the wedding dresses and accessories on display were designed and created by Jiangnan University design students. Part of a larger multi-institute research project, these dresses represent the

evolution of Chinese wedding dresses and Chinese wedding culture. “[I am] very appreciative to have the opportunity to come here, to display and transport the traditional culture,” Chen Ying, a graduate student at Jiangnan University said to a translator.

The grand opening of the exhibition featured a lecture by Pan explaining the significance of a traditional Chinese weddings and how practices have changed throughout Chinese eras. It also informed Davis residents and UC Davis students of the customs and etiquette of a Chinese wedding.

Furthermore, he discussed how the weddings are complex and solemn as well as deeply influenced

by Confucianism.

One symbol mentioned was the significance of the color red, which symbolized vitality, passion, and festivity and the recurring images used in designs. Pan also discussed the new integration of tradition and modernity as a result of social progress and globalization. Current Chinese wedding customs are demonstrating a revert back to traditional imagery and motifs. And classic visual elements serve as a source of inspiration for modern design.

After the lecture, there was a question and answer segment. Those in attendance also had the opportunity to try on some of the pieces displayed.

BY GENEVIEVE RYAN geryan@ucdavis.edu

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2018 | 11

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COFFEE BURLARIES

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“The following day, I was pretty upset to find out that there was really no communication from the police department in regards to this,” Roden said. “I feel like we could have been more proactive to prevent this from happening in our store.”

Roden elaborated on how the crime was carried out at the Peet’s Coffee on E Street.

“On the night of the incident, two perpetrators came in and they were dropped off by a vehicle,” Roden said. “They walked in and went to the bathroom area, and in less than four minutes from the time they walked in until the time they turned back around, their car circled the block and came back up. On their way out, they both had their eyes on particular laptops, and they grabbed the laptops and ran. Both of the victims ran after them and

police were notified.”

In order to prevent an incident from happening in the future, Roden noted that educating guests would be beneficial.

“First of all, by notifying our guests that there is an issue and letting them know that when they are sitting in areas that are close by the door or they’re positioning themselves where they are not aware of their surroundings, they are potentially putting themselves at risk [by] just not being present and aware of people around them,” Roden said. “Often times, students would get up and walk away from their stuff. Unfortunately, they are too comfortable in an environment that’s not always safe — just making the public aware that there is an issue so that they can be more proactive.”

ANTISEMATISM CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Senator Alisha Hacker called the postings “a horrific display of anti-Semitism” that “should not go unnoticed.”

“All students should feel safe from this kind of bigotry at UC Davis,” she wrote. “Jewish students should know that student government and all of their elected representatives, including me, are here for them.”

Gofman posted about the fliers on his personal Facebook page, saying his office “is working with administration to investigate this further.” His post was shared over 300 times.

Both Gofman and fourth-year communication major Dana Benavi, the president of UC Davis’ Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi chapter, a Jewish sorority, made a personal offer to assist any students who feel unsafe.

“I was sitting in my class when I got messages from the Jewish community about this incident,” Benavi wrote on Facebook. “I started crying in class because of how upset, frustrated and sad it made me. I have already met with the campus staff to work on resolving this hateful anti-Semitic incident.”

Students have also expressed frustration with what they see as a lack of substantive action on the part of university administration.

In a Facebook post, the Davis College Democrats condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the fliers posted on campus, and also urged UC

Davis administration to take a stronger stance to fight “neo-Nazis and other hate groups.”

“Chancellor May, you need to make more than a generic statement of condemnation, and send a campus-wide email informing the student body of this horrifying incident rather than let students find out on their own via word of mouth or social media,” the post read. “We look forward to the results of the investigation into this incident and to hearing the administration’s plan to stop these events from occurring again.”

Gofman said there was no official response or action taken after a friend of his reported having found a “massive swastika” carved into a bathroom stall a year ago. Every time an anti-Semitic incident occurs, he said, “it’s swept under the rug.”

At the present time, Gofman and other student officials are working with administrators in attempts to find additional information about the posting of the fliers. They are also drafting a resolution in response to the incident and working on an anti-Semitism training event with help from the Anti-Defamation League.

“In my opinion, there’s only one group of people that can stand up for the Jews, and that’s the Jews, because no one else is going to do it,” Gofman said. “We’re not going to be silent about this. We’re going to make sure people know about this and do everything in our power to make sure this will never happen again.”

HALLOWEEN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

“With our pre-made kits you get props such as wands and glasses for a something like a Harry Potter costume,” Femling said. “On average our kits start at $35 which includes everything from the wig all the way through the shoes and everything in between, our highest price would be about $65, and these fees also include dry cleaning fees.”

Femling detailed the most popular costumes that have been rented out over the past few years.

“A lot of people like the Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI as a couples costume,” Femling said. “We also rent out a lot of Peter Pan and fairytale costumes, fairies and pirates. We did a whole Greek section as well as ghouls and goblins and next year we plan to do a section on villains! We do try to keep up with what’s with the media, so Game of Thrones costumes have been very popular and we actually built a set for that.”

These costume rentals are not only for students alone. Femling explained how a lot of people throughout the Davis community come down to visit the cellar.

“We get a lot of Davis students who rent from us and we also do get a good amount of faculty and staff members and even maintenance workers

who rent from us which is always fun,” Femling said. “We even have people come down from the chancellor’s office and they always say ‘I didn’t even know this was here!’ ” This year Halloween rentals will start October 17 and continue until the following Friday. The Enchanted Cellar will be open from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. from Wednesday till Friday, but anyone is welcome to make an appointment by contacting the Enchanted Cellar. Renters who purchase a kit this Halloween can keep the costumes until November 2. Aside from Halloween, the community is welcome to rent out costumes throughout the year as long as an appointment has been made at least 24 hours in advance.

“Anyone can walk in and look at kits,” Femling said. “We have a room open for people to try things on. If they don’t see anything they like we are more than happy to put a kit together and make an appointment so we have more time to get you what you want.”

For more information about the Enchanted Cellar visit the website or the Facebook page and book your appointment for your costume needs this Halloween.

said. “Those are scheduled now for mid-November, and those are before an administrative law judge.”

This entire process could take a year or more because there is an appeal system involved.

“Once the judge issues a decision, either party could appeal to the five-member [PERB] board here appointed by the governor, which acts like an appellate body,” de la Torre said. “They’ll review the judge’s decision and find whether they agree with the judge or they don’t, and they’ll write their own decision. Then, that could eventually be appealed to the state’s appellate courts, so it could be a long road before we get to the final resolution on this matter.”

PERB went to court last week in an attempt to get an injunction against the UC. “UC was continuing to violate the law despite the fact that we’d issued those complaints,” de la Torre said. “The court today ruled to deny that request, which is unfortunate, because one of the problems that PERB is going to face in this case is that, assuming the unions show that UC did violate the law by circulating these communications, it’s difficult to remedy after the fact.”

If the allegations against the UC are true, repercussions will potentially be complicated because employees cannot unread communications that are allegedly continuing to circulate.

“There have been numerous examples where UC has continued to circulate the letter,” de la ADENWALA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

group fighting for unscrupulous watchlists like Canary Mission to be condemned, because we are a religious student organization operating (with the extensive resources we provide) almost like a non-profit organization ‒ that we can endure our needs being silenced.

We wanted our questions answered. In a meeting with the aforementioned administrator, we realized that, because of our Muslim identities and our struggles with simply finding a space to pray, we were outcasts –– strangers of faith, swimming in the waves of suppression. During every occasion in which we were asked to remove our materials, we made compromises and removed everything that we weren’t utilizing on a daily basis. Understandably so, the space itself is not merely for prayer, but for meditation and resting as well. The fact of the matter is, however, that more than a hundred students utilize this space for prayer every single day.

A lack of understanding, on part of administrators, silences the vital needs of a marginalized group of students. The Reflection Room’s existence reminds us to honor the work of previous students that aid-

SAT, OCT 13 | 8PM

Most known for “Touch the Sky,” the theme song from Brave, Julie Fowlis is anything but a one-hit wonder. A native of the Outer Hebrides, she is one of the preeminent modern interpreters of traditional Gaelic songs.

Be enchanted!

UC Davis student tickets start at $12.50.

SFJAZZ Collective

WED, OCT 17 | 7PM

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not one.

Harry Reid did what seemed necessary for shortterm political gain under the Obama years. But his myopia induced recklessness. Reid and his colleagues failed to predict the dystopian possibilities should Republicans take the nuclear option further.

What worked five years ago is now haunting the nation.

Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed with the nuclear option this weekend.

Rules designed to safeguard the American experiment from the “tyranny of the majority” — at least in terms of judicial nominations –– are gone. How long will it take before the Senate majority reduces the 60-vote requirement for passing legislation to 51?

We must take this very seriously indeed.

JORDAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

ers and siblings, the pro-life movement remained blaringly mute on the matter. It’s an ideological fallacy to think you can advocate under the pro-life title while simultaneously ignoring the detainment of children because of their nationality. Harming innocents in an attempt to deter immigrants is decidedly anti-life. The pro-life community, in the spirit of their fundamental beliefs, has an obligation to speak out.

Roy Moore, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, was the 2017 Republican nominee for senator of Alabama. The race between Moore and Doug Jones, the Democratic nominee, gained national attention when several women accused Moore of sexual misconduct — some of whom were teenagers at the time of the alleged incidents. Moore was even banned from the local mall

ed in its creation and to commemorate the beauty of cohabitation.

As members of an array of disparaged communities, we must acknowledge that our predecessors have worked relentlessly to ensure activism is preserved and safeguarded. Those who are not part of minority communities must also understand that the weight of fighting for a space to practice faith should not have to fall on the students’ shoulders, and yet it continuously does –– hence, the profound necessity for activism.

The inspiring tradition and legacy of student activism and advocacy is clear on this campus in the development of the SCC, which has become a paramount center and resource for so many of our communities. Through activism, students have been able to hold those in power accountable, as exemplified by the Katehi scandal. Perhaps in the future, the Reflection Room will also be considered a prayer and meditation room. But until then, this legacy should be preserved and actively upheld because it benefits us all and promotes a vibrant, unified community.

Julie Fowlis

IRVIN If Reid and the Obama-era Democrats hadn’t gone “nuclear” in the first place, McConnell would have been hard-pressed to justify transferring this rule to the Supreme Court hearings. He may have applied this nuclear option to the Supreme Court anyway — McConnell is not one to avoid morally questionable tactics in the name of “party first.”

But why give McConnell the ammunition? It was a disastrous decision, and one that paved the way for a bitterly contested man like Brett Kavanaugh to alter the ideological balance of the Supreme Court for decades to come.

Republicans shouldn’t be absolved of blame.

Obama’s presidency was marred by Republican grandstanding that bordered on the absurd — witness the birther movement and the rise of the Tea Party. America’s divide is the work of two parties,

Torre said. “When we were in court on Monday, UC didn’t deny the violations, it just argued against the order, claiming it had now gotten itself under control.”

AFSCME represents service workers and patient care workers throughout the UC system. De Los Angeles said he believes it’s important for students to be familiar with current and past allegations against the UC. “The university is proposing to let health care premiums rise, they’re proposing to lift the retirement raise, they’re proposing to hold employee wages flat, they’re excluding outsourcing from the conversation to allow for more outsourcing,” de Los Angeles said. “These things represent a significant cost-savings for the university and at the same time that they’re doing this to workers, they discuss tuition hikes year after year.”

De Los Angeles believes there’s a common thread between the way the university treats its workers and the way it treats its students.

“While they’re asking students to possibly pay more and workers to accept less, they’re pocketing the extra money,” de Los Angeles said. “It’s really important to take a hard look at what’s happening to these workers because they are very much in line with what students are going through. Students are having a hard time affording education, there’s a high level of food insecurity, and this is all coming from the same source.”

for making young girls feel uncomfortable. Rather than trying to distance itself from Moore, some members of the Republican party — most notably the Trump administration — rallied behind him instead. While Moore thankfully lost the election, he managed to garner 650,436 votes. Where were the pro-lifers when a representative of their party had credible accusations of assault and pedophilia waged against him?

All of these policies — and many more — reveal the limits of pro-life sentiments held by conservatives. They’re only willing to be pro-life when it means blocking abortion rights. Above all else, it seems that conservatives put loyalty to party over loyalty to their so-called pro-life principles. At the risk of offending conservatives, I have to ask: Just how pro-life are you?

Eight of the finest performers/ composers in jazz today celebrate the works of bossa nova master Antônio Carlos Jobim (“The Girl from Ipanema,” “Desafinado” and “Corcovado”).

UC Davis student tickets start at $12.50.

FAQ #1 Q: Aren’t the free tickets just for first-year students?

A: Not anymore. Every UC Davis student gets ONE FREE TICKET! Go to: mondaviarts.org/students for details.

#mondavicenter

mondaviarts.org mondaviarts.org/students

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OLIVIA KOTLAREK / AGGIE

NBA returns after busy offseason Rebuilt and refocused teams look to dethrone Golden State Warriors

BY BRADLEY GEISER sports@theaggie.org

As the 2018-19 NBA season approaches, much has changed since the Golden State Warriors hoisted their third championship trophy in four years in June. Player transactions, coaching changes, offcourt drama and shifting landscapes have dominated the offseason. It was an offseason which saw former San Antonio Spurs all-star

Manu Ginobili say goodbye after 16 seasons, while dozens of new young players say hello. After an extremely busy offseason, the new NBA season promises to be one of intriguing new storylines and continuing storylines from previous seasons.

As former superstars like Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, Atlanta Hawks forward Vince Carter and Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk

Nowitzki are headed into the twilight of their careers, a new generation of talent, such as Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton and Dallas Mavericks guard/forward Luka Doncic are hoping to make their names synonymous with greatness. Sacramento Kings forward Marvin Bagley III will look to prove why he was selected second over all, while Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. will look to show the thirteen teams who passed on him why they were wrong for doing so. While the story is yet to be told for these young players, others are looking to write a new chapter.

Out in the western conference, there was no bigger story than LeBron James’ move to Los Angeles, Calif. to play for the Lakers. Although James is headed into his 16th NBA season, when many players have long-since fallen off, he showed no signs of slowing down. However, after eightstraight seasons in the NBA Finals while dominating the Eastern Conference, continuing this streak out west will prove difficult for the NBA’s most prominent player.

In Minnesota, the saga of Jimmy Butler’s imminent departure from the Timberwolves appears to be ongoing, and where he lands could prove vital to the outcome of the season. The Houston Rockets have lost some of their depth with the departure of forward Trevor Aliza, but they hope to revitalize former perennial all-star Carmelo Anthony, who struggled last year in Oklahoma City. Still, with all the movement, the Golden State Warriors shocked the NBA world by acquiring all-star center DeMarcus Cousins on a one year deal. Cousins will miss the first part of the season as he recuperates from a torn Achilles’ tendon which ended his previous season in New Orleans. Should Cousins come back to anything resembling his all-star level, the Golden State Warriors, already considered perennial fa-

vorites after four-straight trips to the NBA Finals, should once again prove tough to beat.

In the eastern conference, the entire landscape shifted after James’s departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers. After four-straight trips to the NBA finals, the Cavaliers, now led by all-star forward Kevin Love, appear to be in a rebuild. The Boston Celtics, who found themselves just short of a trip to the NBA Finals despite a season and playoff-run which were plagued with injuries, hope to overtake that vacancy left by James’ exodus. In Toronto, where former NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard was traded for all star forward Demar Derozan, the Raptors and new head coach Nick Nurse hope to repeat their previous regular season success and shake off the reputation that they cannot get it done come playoff time.

The Philadelphia 76ers may not have made a major splash on the free agent markets, but with a young core of Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Markelle Fultz, who missed most of the previous season for reasons which are still mysterious, the expected improvement of these three players may be enough to put the Sixers in contention as well. With the East headed into a brand new chapter, the intrigue that was gone while James dominated for nearly a decade should prove for an exciting race to the top.

With so much change, and a variety of brand new stories that have made for an intriguing offseason, the league appears to be headed for an exciting season with more questions than the past four seasons, where the same two teams met in every NBA Finals. However, with all the moving pieces and rising stars who are looking to make an immediate impact on the league, the number one question surrounding all of these will still be whether or not anyone will have what it takes to beat the Golden State Warriors and forge a dynasty of their own.

JOHN TRAINOR / FLICKR

New Season, New Controversy New “roughing the passer” rule regulations surround NFL in controversy

BY AJ SEYMOUR sports@theaggie.org

As the first quarter of the 2018 National Football League regular season comes to a close, fans and players alike are dumbfounded by the interpretation of a newly-emphasized rule. Rule 12 Section 2 of the league’s official rulebook, which stated the exact laws of player safety, to this day has not been altered after being implemented in 1995.

However, the NFL Competition Committee, the entity in charge of making changes to the rule book, put a major emphasis this year on quarterback safety with regards to hits to the head or being tackled into the ground with excessive force. Essentially, the main purpose of this new focal point is to ensure a quarterback who is important to the NFL’s viewership does not go down with an injury, like the way Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers did last year. After a rampant increase in “roughing the passer” penalties this year compared to last, the masses of fans and even a handful of members from the Competition Committee are unhappy, and calling for changes to be made.

The league has done everything it can to protect quarterbacks, but have they gone too far?

According to fourth-year English major Paris

Lucci, they absolutely have.

“I feel that the penalties are taking away from the game, and that football is a full contact sport,” Lucci said. “Knowing it’s a contact sport allows viewers to be entertained and cheer loudly for their respective teams. However, implicating [these new] penalties downgrades the game of football because it diminishes the whole aspect of a ‘contact sport.’”

Considering the NFL was founded in 1920, it is understandable to see long-time football enthusiasts exasperated with the changes to the game they hold so dear. In 2017, there was a total of 106 roughing the passer penalties, an NFL record, equating to an average of 6.24 calls per week. Out of the past eight seasons, however, the lowest single-season total for roughing penalties was 85, coming in at 5.00 per game in 2016.

That number has skyrocketed in 2018, with a grand total of 38 roughing the passer penalties called through only 4 weeks of play, culminating in an average of 9.5 called per week.

Second-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major Enrique Chavez is fed up with all the outside noise and distractions encapsulating the NFL, and explained how it is taking away from the actual sport.

“Basically all the penalties have pushed me a little away from the entertainment of it all, es-

pecially since there’s so much media drama with the NFL at the moment,” Chavez said. “From the health dangers to the political controversy, the penalties don’t really help at all.”

Although the NFL took these precautionary measures to purportedly protect players’ safety, many feel that the league has overcalled this one penalty to the point where fans feel alienated.

Fourth-year applied mathematics major Slava Zinevich had some strong words regarding the first few weeks of the NFL season and how the new rules have changed watching the game.

“It [makes] the experience worse, breaks the continuity of the game, as well as forces the players to change their game to an unnatural style they are not used to, due to the artificiality of the new rules,” Zinevich said.

It is clear, to these students, that the new rules’

emphasis has been an exceedingly detrimental addition to the league and its viewability. One official on the Competition Committee believes that fans will see a change going forward, with less penalties being called, which most fans will be ecstatic to hear. If this turns out not to be true, the league could face a potential drop in ratings, which is what the $74.8 billion dollar company was attempting to avoid in the first place.

Hence, UC Davis students patiently wait for the fifth weekend of regular season play with their excitement plagued by the lasting effects of previous weeks’ officiating catastrophes.

Although it might be farfetched to conclude that these students, and other Aggies, will be entirely shutting out professional football for good, it is undeniable that many will approach this weekend with apprehension.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2018 | 13

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

JAMIE CHEN / AGGIE

DAVIS WHALEN / AGGIE

Recent changes to Recreational Sports UC Davis Recreational Sports adds new fees, new leagues to program

BY KEN N E DY WA L K E R sports@theaggie.org

The Intramural (IM) Sports program has taken full advantage of the new school year and had completely rebranded itself. Now known as Recreational Sports, the program’s recent changes add in new leagues and requirements, with more opportunities for students to get involved with recreational sports.

Aside from changing its name, one of the most prominent changes to the Recreational Sports program is that all people wishing to participate in any sport must now purchase a Rec Sports One Pass.

An annual pass is offered for $60 and lasts for the duration of the academic year. A quarterly pass sells for $25. These passes will replace the team entry fees that were required in the previous years. However, those living in approved University Housing,

including first-years, resident advisors, and transfer students living in residence halls and student housing apartments, do not need to purchase a pass, as their pass is sponsored by the Student Housing department.

Third-year cognitive science major, Jonathan Davis, who works for Recreational Sports as a manager, commented on the change in fees.

“I believe this change was made because team captains would complain a lot that their teammates never paid them, either for the team registration fee or forfeits,” Davis said. “Personally, I think the idea of not having all the payment responsibility fall on one person is a good thing. However, if I was someone who wanted to play one and only one rec sport and I still needed to pay the quarterly pass, I wouldn’t be a happy camper.”

The sports program also added a new league to its roster. In addition to being able to compete in a competitive league with rankings, playoffs and prizes for the top teams, participants now have the option of competing in the Recreational league; this league is centered around being more of a social setting for beginners in a certain sport, and it does not offer playoffs or prizes at the end of the season. Participants are also now allowed to compete on one additional team per recreational sport, as long as the two teams are in separate divisions.

Bijan Askari, a second-year supervisor for Recreational Sports, shared his thoughts on why the option to compete in different leagues was added.

“I am guessing that this new shift in competitive versus non-competitive leagues offer a more laid back system for people who just want to play with friends and for those that want to compete for the prizes,” Askari said.

Farah Sevareid, a second-year genetics and genomics major who serves as the Athletics Chair

for her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, explained why she views the addition of different leagues as a positive change.

“Often competitiveness from just wanting to win can cause players to act aggressively, so with the added awards and playoffs, players may become more eager and desperate to win,” Sevareid said. “It was smart of UC Davis to add a recreational team without playoffs so beginners or [...] people who do not like competition can play peacefully.”

Davis also expressed his opinion on Recreational Sports’ choice to add in more leagues.

“We’ve always had multiple leagues representing different levels of skill. I think that by doing this, you are catering to as many students as possible, of all skill levels,” Davis said. “The fact that the recreational leagues won’t have playoffs or awards shouldn’t hinder participation by much, if any at all. I say this because I assume that those who choose to play in the recreational league are playing for the purposes of enjoyment or exercise, and aren’t all about competition and winning.”

The first week of the Recreational sports seasons are now known as preseason week, where the game will not count in the competitive standings. Weeks two through five will continue to be in the regular season and will count toward rankings. The Captain’s Meetings have been moved to online and now involve passing a quiz with a few questions regarding the topics covered in the meeting and the rules for individual recreational sports. This quiz is required for all league sport captains. Residence Hall teams are not required to take the quiz, but the program highly recommends it.

For more information about the recent changes to Recreational Sports or to learn more about participating in a sport, visit the UC Davis Campus Recreation and Unions website.

JAMIE CHEN / AGGIE

Field hockey outlasted by Pacific in penalty shootout UC Davis falls to 6-8 with agonizing loss at home BRIAN LANDRY / AGGIE

BY B RE NDAN OGBUR N sports@theaggie.org

How college football is changing for players and coaches NCAA rules allow play without full-year commitment

BY B OBBY JO HN sports@theaggie.org

The 2018-19 season is the first year in which Division I college football players are able to play in a total of four games throughout the season without burning a year of eligibility, otherwise known as redshirting. The NCAA announced this in June, and has since received positive feedback from most coaches.

Under previous guidelines, players who participated in even just one snap had to use up an entire year of eligibility. The exception to this being the medical redshirt, where if a player was injured and played in less than 30 percent of the team’s regular season schedule, the player would still be allowed to save a year of eligibility.

Associate Commissioner for Compliance and Governance of the Big Sky Conference, Jaynee Nadolski, said one of the reasons this legislation was brought to the NCAA is because of the high number of injuries in college football. If a player injured himself and could not play, the only replacement for him may very well be someone who was planning on redshirting for that year.

In the 2015-16 season UC Davis, wide receiver Brandyn Lee played as a true freshman because of multiple wide receiver injuries. Lee was called upon to play in 9 games that season. Lee, now a junior, is a defensive back. In a case like Lee’s and when a team lacks depth in a position, a four-game cushion could buy precious time for a coaching staff to search for a roster solution.

The American Football Coaches Association unanimously supported this change to redshirt rules. Todd Berry, AFCA executive director who has coached in several capacities at the FCS and FBS level, thinks the opportunity is invaluable for players.

In January, the AFCA met for its annual convention, Berry said it was hard to find something that all coaches can agree on.

“Very rarely will you find any coaching group or probably any part of society that is unanimous

across every level,” Berry told reporters.

There is no doubt that coaching staffs across the country appreciate the opportunity to test out newer players without sacrificing a full year of their eligibility. But as the season rolls on, some have criticized the rule. Most notably, Alabama head coach Nick Saban cited player transfer decisions as a drawback.

“It’s a little bit of a slippery slope when players start to decide whether they’re going to play or not,” Saban told reporters on an SEC weekly conference call. “I’m not saying there aren’t some circumstances out there where it’s not beneficial to the player to save a year so that he could play in another circumstance.”

Only time will tell if more players like Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant, who is playing as a graduate student this season, will take advantage of the new rule and decide to transfer. Bryant made the decision to change schools after he lost the starting job to freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

“I feel like it’s what’s best for me and my future,” Bryant told The Greenville News. “I was just going to control what I could control and try to make the most of my opportunity, but at the end of the day, I just don’t feel like I’ve gotten a fair shot.”

Among other notable players who announced their decision to transfer are Oklahoma State wide receiver Jalen McCleskey, Arkansas wide receiver Jonathan Nance and Auburn tight end Jalen Harris.

UC Davis featured 19 freshman on its roster this year and head coach Dan Hawkins likes the rule.

“I think it’s a great rule and we want to take advantage of it, if they get an opportunity to play four games we’re going to get them in four games,” Hawkins said. “I think it’s a great reward for those guys, it’s hard to redshirt, I’ve done it and it’s not a lot of fun.”

CFB is only five weeks in and without coming to any major conclusions about how this new redshirt rule will affect the game, it is likely to impact roster decisions made by coaches and allow players on the fence about their confidence, to test the waters without risking a year of eligibility.

The UC Davis field hockey team dropped its second consecutive America East Conference game on Friday afternoon, losing to the visiting University of Pacific Tigers in a game that went to double overtime before being decided by a penalty shootout.

The teams were tied 1-1 for the majority of the second half and remain deadlocked through a pair of 10-minute overtime periods. In the middle of the shootout, both sides scored with two straight goals to keep things tied. After each team had five attempts and the score was still knotted, the shootout moved to a sudden-death scenario. UC Davis had the first chance to win the game, but a shot by redshirt senior Kelley Kramer barely sailed past the bottom-left goal post and went out of bounds.

Pacific found the net on the very next play for the game-winning goal.

“The game could have gone either way — both teams were playing at the tops of their games,” said UC Davis Head Coach Britt Broady. “This is the way we aim to compete in every game, the results will come. It’s just unfortunate we didn’t earn the ‘W’ after such a great team performance.”

The Aggies have made positive strides so far this season with a young, 24-player roster that is comprised of 17 underclassmen and nine freshmen.

Broady, in her second year at the helm, has continued to foster an inclusive and upbeat environment around the program, which has helped younger players quickly adapt to the standard of competition found at the Division I level.

“We work on our team culture and team chemistry so that a team member’s class does not determine their value or role on the team,” Broady said. “With such a large number of newcomers it was vital to our success to have them trust that concept so they could play and feel comfortable taking risks. I think the upperclassmen were able to welcome our newest members and get them on board quickly… so that no one on our team plays like a ‘first year.’ We play like a team of experienced veterans.”

No matter how the rest of the schedule plays out, this season has surely been an improvement from last fall when the Aggies suffered through a 1-17 campaign.

“I am very pleased and proud of the progress this team has made in just over a year,” Broady said.

“Last year we fought with everything we had — the heart and work ethic this team showed was remarkable.”

Broady credits her team’s hard work during the off-season as a big reason for its success and continued improvement thus far.

“After a winter and spring of technical and tactical focus, we are able to compete at a high level with

any opponent,” Broady said. “We’ve continued our progression through this fall and have an incredibly strong defensive unit matched with sustained attack and the ability to score. We are confident when we step on the field that we have a game plan which will allow us to win if we’re able to execute.”

On Friday afternoon, the Aggies started out well and got on the board just over 10 minutes into the first half. Freshman forward Siena Dwyer possessed the ball down the sideline and into the right corner, before quickly firing a pass to freshman midfielder Eline van den Bosch in front of the goal. Van den Bosch swiftly guided the ball into the bottom-left corner of the net to put UC Davis ahead 1-0.

Van den Bosch has taken the league by storm in her short time with the Aggies so far, setting program records and leading the team with 19 points and eight goals. In a game at Ball State on Sept. 24, she became the first Aggie to record seven points in a single game. Her hat trick in that contest was also the first three-goal performance in program history in the past seven seasons.

The game went scoreless for the remaining 25 minutes of the first half, despite an onslaught of shot attempts by Pacific. Nonetheless, the UC Davis defense held its ground and came up with several blocked shots. In addition, junior goalkeeper Chelsea Bigelow had three saves between the pipes.

“We dominated the first half by sticking to our game plan which included transferring through the midfield and neutralizing [the Tigers’] greatest scoring threat — their incredibly skilled drag-flicker on attack corners,” Broady said.

Pacific finally broke through in the 42nd minute on a penalty corner play. The Aggies deflected a shot in front of the goal, but a Pacific forward quickly scooped up the rebound and put it into the back of the goal for the equalizer.

“Pacific is a fast and highly skilled team, so we knew a 1-0 halftime lead would not be the final score,” Broady said. “Unfortunately, we were unable to capitalize on our second half scoring opportunities.”

Pacific once again dominated possession for the remainder of the second half, but UC Davis didn’t give in defensively. Both teams had their opportunities in the two overtime periods, but nothing materialized. The Aggies now sit at the bottom of the America East Conference division standings, having dropped both of their league contests so far.

The team lost 5-0 at Stanford last Sunday to open up the league schedule.

UC Davis originally started the season on a 6-6 run in non-conference play, which included a long East Coast road trip with contests at Virginia, Vermont, Ohio, and Indiana. The team will finish out its regular season with back-to-back games against UC Berkeley, as well as meetings with Pacific and Stanford again.

14 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2018

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE