February 21, 2019

F O L LOW U S O N S O C I A L M E D I A

@thecaliforniaaggie

SERVING THE UC DAVIS CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY SINCE 1915

the california aggie

THEAGGIE.ORG

@californiaaggie

VOLUME 137, ISSUE 17 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019

INTRUDER LIVING IN ART BUILDING MAY HAVE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED, HARASSED, STOLEN, VANDALIZED Police found stolen art supplies, projects, citation for trespassing in ransacked professor’s office

V E N O OS M OS H AY E D I / AGGI E

BY SA BRI N A HA B C H I campus@theaggie.org

An individual by the name of Nicholas Chavez has been occupying a professor’s office in the Art Building on campus for several weeks without notice, according to several accounts from students and staff in the Art Department who work in or attend class building, located near Mrak Hall and Shields Library.

Chavez first attracted attention when he allegedly sexually assaulted fourth-year art studio major Stephanie Lee while she was in the building last Fall Quarter. The police arrested Chavez soon after the sexual assault incident occurred, but Lee said she did not know she had to decide to press charges only moments after identifying Chavez at the police station. Since she took time to decide whether or not to press charges, the police released Chavez.

Throughout this quarter, art students’ art supplies and projects have gone missing, a second, separate student was sexually harassed and the bathrooms were graffitied, according to students in the Art Department. Shortly after the sexual harassment incident with a separate female student, Lee received emails about an unauthorized visitor in the art building that matched the name of the individual she identified at the police station. The unauthorized visitor has been living in the office of Professor Julie Wyman, who is currently on sabbatical.

Individuals in the art department were given a description of Chavez: a 5’10” white male with shoulder-length curly hair.

Lee said she later realized there was a connection between her assault and certain incidents occurring in the Art Building this quarter. But once she came to that realization, Chavez was no longer in police custody.

BY CL A I RE D O D D campus@theaggie.org

UC Davis has reclassified its undergraduate economics major as a STEM degree, reflecting a trend that brings the university in line with top institutions such as MIT, Columbia and Yale.

The economics degree, though technically still recognized as a Bachelor of Arts,

J EREMY DA N G / AG GIE

URGENCY ORDINANCE TACKLES HOUSING LOOPHOLE “Mini-Dorms” up for review

A town hall was held in Wright Theatre on Feb. 13 to address the recent events regarding Chavez.

Among the speakers present were Lieutenants Bill Beermann and Mike Green of the UC Davis Campus Police Department, Danesha Nichols from the Harassment and Discrimination Assistance and Prevention Program, interim counseling Director Paul Kim and Jennifer Chow, an assistant director at the Office of Student Support and Judicial Affairs.

Beermann began the town hall by recapping the events that began in November of last year, referencing the Lee’s assault by Chavez. Chavez had previously been kicked off campus property and was told to not return for seven days. That agreement was broken, leading to Chavez’s arrest, but not for the crime committed against the student.

Lee notified advisors about the re-emergence of this individual who sexually assaulted her last quarter, yet she said that there has been no significant response to her report.

“The university released an email last quarter to me, specifically saying that because this unauthorized visitor — Nick — is not a member of staff, faculty or students, they don’t have any jurisdiction over him and his actions,” Lee said. “I believe the police issued a seven-day restraining order on him, but, to my knowledge, those are pretty much useless because the only consequence for breaking those is getting one reissued.”

Lee said the police cannot move forward with arresting Chavez for the most recent incidents of stealing, allegedly sexually harassing a separate student and living on the third floor of the Art Building because the evidence linking him to these allegations is circumstantial.

“Since he wasn’t physically caught there,

ECONOMICS MAJOR RECLASSIFIED AS STEM DEGREE MA R KU S KA E P P E L I / AGGI E

@californiaaggie

Switch will allow international students the option of visa extension

requires students to take courses that test their knowledge of mathematics, data analysis and more. This new classification as a STEM degree is thought to better reflect the content of the major.

Several members of the department view this switch positively, including Dr. Athanasios Geromichalos, an associate professor in the Department of Economics.

“This is very good news for the depart-

none of that evidence can be linked back to him in a court setting,” Lee said. “The only thing they can arrest him for is my sexual assault. That’s why I decided to prosecute even though it’s kind of difficult and it’s going to cost me time and money and transportation and all that, which I don’t have, but it’s something that needs to be done.”

Beermann said the case is still open with hopes that a resolution will be reached soon, as a warrant for the subject’s arrest was placed the week before this town hall.

Since the assault, Lee said her life has been significantly affected, especially in light of the recurring emergence of Chavez.

She stopped staying late after classes and working overnight in the studio. This affected her ability to get her work done and achieve academic success. Professionally, Lee’s job in the art office has her feeling uncomfortable in fear that Chavez will walk in someday.

“Everyone’s just really scared and we just want to know that something’s being done,” Lee said. “We want to make sure that people aren’t just walking around in danger.”

An art student who wished to remain anonymous said that they no longer felt safe in the building after police were unable to locate Chavez after he reportedly made slurping and kissing sounds at a female student.

“I still went back days and days after the event occurred but I’m not the same afterwards because I’ll be in there and it’ll be quiet and I’ll just hear the slightest sound and it’ll trigger me,” the student said. “I’ll turn around, and I’ll be freaked out and I’ll be expecting to see somebody. Even when I take my friend with me and she’ll be just spacing out looking in the direction of the door, I’ll get freaked out because I’ll think she’s looking at him.”

BY STELLA TR AN city@theaggie.org

The Davis City Council considered tackling “mini-dorm” construction through an urgency ordinance. Before the ordinance, people could get away with having more bedrooms on their properties as long as they noted that the rooms would be dining rooms or other rooms. In reality, though, many of the extra rooms have served as bedrooms.

Due to the urgency of the situation to handle housing expansions that dodge through the loophole, Mayor Brett Lee explained that City Council must move forward with an urgency ordinance.

“A normal ordinance typically takes 30 days to go into effect,” Lee said. “First, we would vote on the ordinance, and it would come back for a second review and vote, whereas the urgent ordinance will allow it to go into place right away.”

Gloria Partida, the mayor pro tempore, elaborated that the council would like to have the ordinance go into effect as soon as possible.

“The ordinance is urgent because we would like to have this go into effect soon enough to capture projects that will be coming forward that meet these requirements,” Partida said via email. “We previously had a project come forward that was very large in size compared to its neighbors and because it met all of the remodel requirements the city had to issue a permit and could not review the project for some of the things the neighbors had issue with.

Such as window placement, number of bedrooms etc. Because this is an urgency ordinance meaning it would go into effect immediately it requires 4/5 vote. A regular

ART BUILDING on 11

ment and the major,” Geromichalos said via email. “This change reflects the increasingly technical content of our major, which includes required courses in mathematics, statistics, and econometrics and upper-division classes that rely heavily on quantitative skills.”

Another advantage of the change is that it will allow international students the opportunity to obtain a three-year extension of their visas after graduation.

Geromichalos noted that “these students will not only obtain a high quality degree, but also possibly some working experience in the U.S. after graduation.”

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website describes a program called Optional Practical Training (OPT), which allows students with an F-1 visa to be temporarily employed for up to 12 months after graduation. It notes, however, that if students earn a degree in certain STEM fields, they have the potential to qualify for an additional 24-month extension.

MINI DORMS on 11

Classifying economics as a STEM major will allow international students the opportunity to apply for the additional two years in the United States, as opposed to the standard one year for non-STEM degrees.

As far as the process of reclassification goes, Dr. Giovanni Peri, the Department chair for the Department of Economics, says it has been smooth thus far.

“We had to essentially show that economics has evolved into a deeply quantitative type of major and discipline,” Peri said.

“In fact, we have increased the amount of math and statistics done, and the quantitative classes in economics, such as 100A, 100B, 102 and 140, have become more and more prominent in the major.”

This news, though exciting for the department, may come as frustrating for individuals who are already far along into an alternate STEM major. UC Davis students pursuing a degree in the field of economics ECONOMICS on 11

COMing SOOn to the North Coast Co-op!

Mermaid

Sushi

ONLY AT THE CO-OP! DAVIS FOOD CO-OP

NEW! SPICY OPEN DAILY 7AM—10PM 620 G ST, DAVIS • (530) 758-2667 SWEET POTATO DAVISFOOD.COOP ROLL FreSh, healthy & sustainable @DAVISFOODCOOP Our Sushi

At Mermaid Sushi , we do not use high fructose corn syrup in the sushi seasoning vinegar, aspartame or saccharin in any of our products, like many restaurants and to-go sushi bars do. We emphasize fresh, all natural ingredients. All our seasonal, fresh, sustainable seafood and fresh vegetables are prepared and used in the same day. We are not just focusing on the health of our customers, but also the health of our environment by using sustainable seafood.

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide our customers with convenient, affordable, sustainable and high quality products. We believe that

2 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

CA ITLYN SA MPLEY / AGGIE

Feb. 7 Senate meeting: 11 Senate Bills pass Senator Brandon Clemons’ absences topic of concern

BY R EBE CC A BI H N -WAL L AC E campus@theaggie.org

The Feb. 7 ASUCD Senate Meeting was called to order by Vice President Shaniah Branson at 6:10 p.m. Senators Simran Kaur, Atanas Spasov and Brandon Clemons were absent.

The meeting began with quarterly reports from Entertainment Council and the Office of the External Vice President Affairs’ (OEAVP). A highlight of the OEAVP’s report included the addition of $5,000 in funding for a Davis Community Cooperative (DCC) program related to combating hunger.

Additionally, the DCC has aided in the development of a Senate bill entering California legislature.

The bill, which should be introduced by Feb. 22, will help small family farms make the transition from traditional irrigation methods to drip and other modern irrigation methods which increase efficiency and reduce costs.

“We have a lot of farms big and small [in Yolo County] and people who work on agricultural policy,” said Adam Hatefi, a fourth-

year political science major. “Crops that would be affected [by the subsidy] would be the six most water-heavy crops, one of which is used for grazing.”

Kyriakos Psaras, a fourth-year political science major, was sworn in as chair of the Transfer, Re-Entry and Veterans Committee.

“As a transfer student myself, I didn’t really feel ASUCD had much of an impact on transfer students,” Psaras said. “I never felt I should get involved until later when I thought I should give back to the school.

Transfer students are usually older and already know what they like so they don’t really fit in with freshmen and sophomores.

Being involved with this allows me to help them interact with one another.”

Tayesha Watts and Jonathan Chen were sworn into the Academic Affairs Commission. Both Watts and Chen indicated that they hope to boost outreach to underrepresented and marginalized groups at UC Davis.

“I applied because I saw it as a way to be a voice for marginalized communities on campus and help them better pursue academics,” Watts said. “A lot of emotional

support is needed to help black students in STEM. A lot is put on them including mental and emotional toll.”

Chen focused on the need for sensitivity training for faculty and staff.

“I believe everyone has implicit biases and faculty should be trained to go against those biases,” Chen said. “I feel like there are a lot of things aside from academics that people have to deal with. We should do something to be able to account for those.”

Stephanie Jennings, Jasmine Pomar, and David Rodriguez were sworn in as Gender and Sexuality Commission commissioners.

Some issues that the new members plan to focus on is increasing access to gender-neutral bathrooms on campus and making classroom experiences more accessible for those with disabilities. The new commission members are prioritizing intersectionality and allyship in their new ASUCD positions.

The Senate approved numerous items of old legislation. All that passed were approved without objection.

Senate Bill #36 allocated $1540.44 for battery replacement and installation on vehicles used to transport compost materials for the Campus Center for the Environment (CCE).

Senate Bill #37 changed the interviewing structure for members of ASUCD Senate committees.

Senate Bill #39 brought the bylaws in line with recent changes to the constitution.

Senate Bill #40 reimbursed Entertainment Council for rented sound equipment.

Senate Bill #41 allocated funds for sound equipment for the upcoming ASUCD Town Hall.

Senate Bill #42 removed the Food Secu-

rity Task Force Committee from the bylaws, citing concerns about its efficacy since its topics are being addressed in other areas of the Senate.

Senate Bill #43 removed the Judicial Council Oversight Committee in accordance with recent changes in the constitution.

Senate Bill #44 removed mentions of the mentorship program for ASUCD Senators, which some say has been ineffective.

Senate Bill #49 removed mentions of the Student Services and Fees Administrative Advisory Committee from the bylaws.

Senate Bill #50 allocated funds for refreshments at the upcoming ASUCD Town Hall.

Senate Bill #52 created the Davis Housing Discrimination Committee within ASUCD. Senate Bill #45, which recommended the removal of slates from the bylaws, did not pass due to concerns that it would decrease already low voter turnout among members of the student body. The bill failed with four senators voting in favor, five against and three abstaining because of their absences.

Senate Bill #46, which would allow for unlimited deferments during confirmation hearings, was tabled.

Under new legislation, Senate Bill #53, which would establish the Public Opinion Task Force Committee, was introduced into the ASUCD Senate.

Senator and ex-officio reports were given. During public discussion, Branson expressed concerns about Senator repeated unexcused absences and tardiness at ASUCD meetings.

The meeting adjourned at 11:33 p.m.

Stop leaving behind luggage February 5 “Injured jackrabbit near the grassy strip between curb and side walk by address.”

February 6 “Unattended black suitcase left in the plaza area across from above location.”

February 7 “Coyote seen running through the park. Not aggressive.”

February 8 “Unknown male came into gas station and dropped off backpack.”

February 9 “Loud bass.”

February 10 “Aggressive panhandler in front of store.”

February 11 “Loud rap music coming from the back bedroom.”

February 12 “Female yelling inside a vehicle, looked like she was trying to run over a male who was on the sidewalk.”

M O C K TRIA L AT U C DAVIS / COU RTESY

After big wins, Mock Trial team prepares for regionals Several UC Davis students take home prestigious awards

BY DE A N A M E D I N A campus@theaggie.org

UC Davis’ Mock Trial team had a big win this past month, showing promise for a successful playoff run at the upcoming regional competition.

The team is comprised of an A team, a

B team and a C team, though only the A and B teams attended a competition on Jan. 26 at the UC Berkeley atypiCAL tournament. The A team placed second and the B team placed fourth. UC Davis students Sorcha Wylde, a second-year undeclared humanities major, and Jafar Khalfani-Bey, a second-year political science major, re-

ceived attorney awards while Shasta Fields, a third-year environmental science and management major, received both a witness and attorney award.

Brandon Rizotto, a first-year psychology major and member of the B team, said it felt like a “team award.”

“It was very exciting to see our members win awards,” Rizotto said. “I felt just as excited, if not more excited.”

Member from A team Aarya Chidambaram, a third-year international relations and history double major, echoed Rizzoto’s comments.

“I feel like we’re always the loudest ones at the award ceremony,” Chibambaram said.

“We have a lot of pride and love for each other.”

George Anagnostou, a third-year managerial economics and German double major and the team’s treasurer for the past two years, has seen a lot of ups and downs.

“We were doing well [in the past], but we had a lot of team-destroying events happen, and so the last two years have been rebuilding,” Anagnostou said. “We’ve had some good wins in the past, but this is an upward trend for us.”

According to Anagnostou, that upward trend is due to the improvement of the program as a whole, specifically through “the quality of membership.”

“Freshmen who are first trying out would have been on our B team,” Anagnostou said.

“They’re a great talent. We’re really coming together as a program.”

Although these competitions are not at the same level as regionals, they are just as important given the feedback they provide the team.

“This was an early test for us, to put ourselves against not the best in the country [but still good teams],” Anagnostou said.

“We’ve been going against other small programs like ours. We could lose every single round and still go to nationals if you do well in the playoffs rounds. The reason we go to these competitions is so we can see, for instance, if the judges tell us we talk too fast or if our case theory is too weird.”

The C team had its regionals on Feb. 9 and were one point away from qualifying for the next round.

As for the A and B teams, their regionals won’t be until Feb. 22, but they can’t wait to get started.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019 | 3

Davis Police Accountability Commission hosts first regular meeting PAC discusses new independent police auditor, develops community outreach plan HA N N A N WA L I UL L A H / AGGI E

BY H A N N A N WA L I U L L A H city@theaggie.org

On Feb. 7, the City of Davis’ Police Accountability Commission conducted its first regular meeting. The commission discussed the police department’s strategic plan, the new independent police auditor and the commission’s future community outreach plan. Police Chief Darren Pytel also gave the commission an overview of the Davis Police Department’s current state.

The PAC consists of nine members and one alternate. One of the members, Jonathan Laraque-Ho, represents ASUCD. The PAC has been in the works as a component of the city’s developing police oversight plan since April of 2017. The commission was finalized in fall of 2018.

“There had been concerns of years, if not decades, about use of force in the PD here in Davis and the particular relationship that the police had with people of color in the community and people with disabilities, particularly the homeless as well,” said Dillion

Horton, the PAC vice chair.

Although this was the PAC’s first regular meeting, the commission had conducted a special meeting on Jan. 31. During its special meeting, the commission members received their orientation and were able to become familiar with each other.

“The first meeting wasn’t a regular meeting, so we kind of think of the meeting that happened [on Feb 7.] as the first real meeting,” Horton said. “The first meeting, we had an orientation from the city staff on what our role would be relative to the [DPD] and the police auditor.”

The meeting began with public comment.

Yolo County District Attorney Dean Johansson spoke about how the PAC has been a goal in the community for a very long time.

“Back in 2005, 2006, this was what people dreamed of, is having a commission like [PAC],” Johansson said. “And there are many that aren’t going to be here that fought very long and hard for what [the commission is] now a part of.”

Along with the formation of PAC, the

JER EMY DA N G / AGGIE

Yolo County health report shows an increase in STDs Yolo County Health Council issues health report showing positive, negative trends

BY SA RA H G L I C KL I C H city@theaggie.org

Mixed health trends were revealed in the Yolo County Health Council’s annual health report. Dr. Michael Wilkes, a professor of medicine and member of the health council, delivered the report at the Jan. 29 Board of Supervisors meeting.

Among the positive trends was a decline in Yolo County’s teen pregnancy rate, mirroring an overall downward trend in California. The report also featured data on the number of child abuse and neglect cases in 2017, showing a sharp increase at 282 confirmed cases, up from 196 in 2016.

Another notable trend was a steep increase in the rate of sexually transmitted diseases. According to data from the California Department of Public Health, rates of chla-

mydia, gonorrhea and syphilis all showed an increase in Yolo County since 2008 levels.

Wilkes suggested that a lack of safe-sex practices may be causing the increase, with differing reasons for males and females.

“There is a drug now for men who are having sex with men to prevent getting HIV called PrEP, and it’s super effective,” Wilkes said. “The message, unfortunately, that I think young men are getting is that you can take PrEP every day and go out and have sex and you’re protected, which is true when it comes to HIV, but it has nothing to do with chlamydia, gonorrhea or syphilis, which are far more common. You still need to use a condom.”

The female side may be due to improvements in birth control methods like intrauterine devices, which are inserted into the cervix and prevents conception but not

city hired Michael Gennaco, a new interim independent police auditor, in 2018. On Feb. 5, he was officially hired for a more permanent position. Gennaco is based in Southern Calif. and is under contract. He is not an official city of Davis employee.

“The council had on our agenda [...] a section of a more permanent police auditor,” said city assistant manager Kelly Stachowicz during the meeting. “Because that was just approved [Feb. 5], he is not here this evening. He will start coming to these meetings next month.”

While Gennaco was not present at the first meeting of the commission, he will be present for all future PAC meetings. During this time, he will be able to meet with the commission members and the Davis community.

Afterward, the commision had a brief introduction to DPD’s strategic plan for 2017-2019. While the PAC may not be able to change the plan, its input and criticisms of the plan may affect the new plan that the DPD is drafting for 2020.

One of the responsibilities of the PAC, according to the referendum establishing the PAC, is to develop a community outreach plan. During the meeting, the PAC began discussions of this plan. In the future, the PAC plans to conduct its meetings throughout Davis in order to reach different communities and wider demographics.

“We’re going to need [to] meet some of these people where they are,” Horton said.

“I think we are going to have to make a direct outreach to communities of color and what I like to call constituencies of concern [in order to make] sure that they know that the organization exists and what our role is

and what we can help them do if they reach out to us.”

During the meeting, Pytel also talked about the current state of the DPD. According to Pytel, there are a high number of vacancies in the DPD. In a typical year, the DPD has two or three vacancies; now, there are currently seven.

“One of the questions that I asked the chief [about] was if there was a really strong feeling about the anti-police nature of some of the conversations that have happened in Davis over the last few years that [have made] officers in the DPD feel unwanted or unwelcome in the city,” Horton said. “Not that we were unaware of that, but I think that the chief ’s comments kind of brought that dynamic into sharp release maybe more so than we expected.”

While the meeting went over the scheduled amount of time, according to Horton, there were many aspects of the meeting that he considers a success.

“The first meeting generally went well,” Horton said. “I think the meeting went well in terms of the public comment. I think it went well in terms of we handled the outreach plan early on. And I was also glad we had an opportunity to talk to the chief.

I think really it was good that we had the chance to have a conversation about the 2019 strategic plan, which I think informed some of the questions that we had for the chief for when he arrived later on in the agenda.”

The PAC will meet on the first Thursday of every month at the Davis Senior Center.

Those interested in attending a meeting can find more information on the City of Davis website.

STDs. “The intrauterine device has been perfected and is incredibly safe and incredibly effective,” Wilkes said. “So now they’re using IUDs. When they use IUDs, they, again, don’t think about using condoms and other things because they don’t have to worry about getting pregnant.”

This increase is in line with the rising rates of STDs that have been seen both in California and the United States. The California Department of Public Health monitors the number of STD cases in the state, which health providers and laboratories are required to report, and has seen a 45 percent increase in gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia cases from 2012 to 2017. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks the rate of STDs in the U.S. In 2017, it issued a report showing substantial increases in reported gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia cases.

“CDC is seeing steep and sustained increases in STDs,” said Donnica Smalls, a member of the news media team at the CDC National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, via email, quoting Dr. Elizabeth Torrone, an epidemiologist in the Division of STD Prevention at the CDC. “‘The most recent STD Surveillance Report shows the combined total of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis cases reported to CDC hit an all-time high in 2017, with nearly 2.3 million cases reported to CDC — surpassing the total reported to CDC for 2016 by more than 200,000 cases.

This is the continuation of a persistent and troubling trend. STDs continued to increase for four straight years between 2013 and 2017.’”

Both the California Department of Pub-

lic Health’s and the CDC’s reports show different rates of STDs in certain groups. The CDC’s 2017 report cites research estimating that young people aged 15 to 24 years old acquire half of all new STDs. There are also disparities in STD rates among some racial minority groups, which the CDC contributes to social problems that disproportionately affect minorities, such as poverty, fewer jobs and wealth inequality. The California Department of Public Health suggests that these disparities may be partially due to higher rates of screening and testing among certain groups as well as reporting practices.

This increase in STDs is due to many factors, so a strategy to combat it will require a multi-pronged approach.

“CDPH is monitoring STD levels to track trends and assess risk factors, supporting follow up of persons diagnosed with STD, specifically syphilis, to ensure adequate treatment, and facilitation of testing and treatment of sexual and needle sharing partners, developing of strategic partnerships with key community providers to enhance screening and treatment, and enhancing public awareness of STDs,” said the California Department of Public Health via email.

Wilkes suggested that more communication about safe sex practices among peers may be another solution.

“Studies show that peer education and peer guidance is really important,” Wilkes said. “I think fraternities and sororities should have big urns of condoms when they walk in the door. We’re still a little uptight about this […] it shouldn’t be something that people don’t talk openly about. It’s not a scientific issue; it’s a behavioral and social issue. We just have to make everybody aware that this is a big problem.”

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

4 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019

M IC H A E L L E A H Y/ AGGI E

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH: “PLAY THE KNAVE” An interactive research opportunity in the humanities

BY VINCENT SANCHEZ features@theaggie.org

In an institution where STEM is highly touted, it can be easy to forget the leaps and bounds that are made in other fields. The liberal arts in particular have made incredible advances in the research conducted by various members of the English department.

Play the Knave is an interactive platform that allows students and professors to teach Shakespearean literature through visual and performative methods. Students tackle the dense texts by acting out the various plays that have made Shakespeare a household name. Through this program, students can

teach Shakespeare at any grade level to either introduce the illustrious playwright or to dive deeper into his work and explore its rich history.

Dr. Gina Bloom, the interim English department chair, has worked closely with Play the Knave and was essential to its coming together. Through her teaching internship program, she allows students the opportunity to work with Play the Knave and take the first steps toward teaching with the aid of technology.

“I have undergraduates, mostly English majors, but some from other departments, who work with me to bring Play the Knave into local schools,” Bloom said. “Students

HÄAGEN-DAZS HONEY BEE HAVEN What is it and what does it do?

BY LINH NGUYEN features@theaggie.org

The Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven (called The Haven) is an outdoor museum and demonstration garden that is part of UC Davis’ entomology and nematology department. Located on Bee Biology Road, the public can observe and learn about bees’ roles in nature and about what they can do to help the bee population. The Haven was established in 2009 by the ice cream company Häagen-Dazs on the UC Davis campus.

“The facility was established because Häagen-Dazs recognized that many of the ingredients in their ice cream (the fruits and the nuts) were dependent on bee pollinators,” said Christine Casey, the manager of the facility. “They had heard about Colony Collapse Disorder and health issues with bees and wanted to provide a forum for the

public to learn about bees and their problems and learn what they can do to be a part of the solution.”

Häagen-Dazs provided funding to establish the garden and financial support for the first few years of operation. Casey noted that the Haven is now self-supporting through grants and donations.

“They also gave some money to Penn State,” Casey said. “Penn State did not establish an independent garden like this one; they established a garden that was a part of their arboretum.”

Casye explained that the uniqueness of the garden resides in how it’s a part of the entomology department and is operated by the people who work with bees and do bee research.

“As far as I know, we are the only bee garden in the United States run by entomologists that is open to the public free of charge,

WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE A UNITRANS DRIVER

Unitrans drivers speak on what they love about their jobs

BY ANJINI VENUGOPAL features@theaggie.org

The Unitrans buses driven by undergraduate students are a distinctive campus feature and are described to prospective students as such, but to UC Davis students, seeing the distinctive red buses soon becomes a regularity. According to Bob Black, ASUCD President from 1966 to 1967, the first time a bus ran was on Feb. 28, 1968 during a time of war. Students wanted to show “how [they] could build stuff and run things” because they, “the draftees, wanted a say, wanted a voice and wanted the vote.” 51 years later, Unitrans carries over 20,000 riders a day, from first-year students wanting to go to Target to older students heading back to their apartments after the day’s classes.

Unitrans is managed by ASUCD and hires new employees once or twice a quarter. Weston Snyder, a third-year history and international relations double major and the Unitrans operations manager and route supervisor commuted to school his first year, and having his car meant that he didn’t need to take the bus.

“I really wanted to drive the double decker bus,” Snyder said. “I saw them driving around campus all the time, driving around the city. I didn’t really know anything about Unitrans […] but I just knew I wanted to

drive, so I applied for a job and ended up getting it.”

He applied for the job in January 2017 and, after being accepted, had to undergo training. Employees have a background check and a pre-employment drug screening before they start additional training. Since a Class C license — what most drivers need to drive a car — is not sufficient to drive a Unitrans bus, training starts with drivers going through a classroom-like tutorial to prepare them for the Class B permit test.

According to third-year wildlife, fish and conservation major Mario Mayo, having a Class B license is primarily about the technical features of the vehicle. There are other factors to be aware of, however.

“Based on what other drivers have said and things that I’ve looked up, [Class B drivers] do get penalized more [...] if we’re pulled over,” Mayo said. “Even if we’re driving our own vehicle and they see that we have a Class B [license], there could be a larger fine or whatever it may be. That’s something to know [...] since we have a Class B, they assume that we’re more responsible and that we should be driving a little bit safer.”

After passing the permit test, there is phase training, which consists of 15 phases in which drivers work with experienced student drivers. Then, they take the threepart DMV test in a Unitrans bus, which in-

who are involved are learning how to use Play the Knave in classrooms, develop lesson plans that go online for future teachers to use and other things of the nature.”

The program is shared with local schools of all grade levels, ranging from early elementary to high school grade levels. Bloom believes that these kinds of interactions are great for younger kids who are excited to play and act with avatars, while also being a strong tool for upper grade-level students that seek a deeper understanding of Shakespeare. “[Teachers and students] are really enjoying it,” Bloom said. “Students love it because it engages them in Shakespeare in a way that they don’t tend to be engaged in. Teachers like that it gets students up, performing the lines and speaking the language. It motivates everyone to get engaged.”

After nearly six years of development and perfecting, Bloom’s main goal is to get the program in the hands of as many teachers as possible to begin experimenting at a larger scale. With the help of students, the current recorded results show the beginning of the widespread implications of what the program can bring to the classroom. “[The teaching goals] really depend on what the students are working on,” Bloom said. “We teach close reading skills by having the students read the language and determine what type of movement their avatar should make. There is a lot of digital literacy skills and how you can interact with technology and make it a collaborative partner.”

Bloom also recognized that the platform can be used in other subject matters and that its purpose is malleable in its early stages.

“What I would really like to see is teachers around the country using this and having all the time,” Casey said.

The land the Haven was planted on is filled with labeled shrubbery and flowers.

Hundreds of bees buzz in and around these flowers as they perform their biological niches. Maintenance occurs on the garden daily by Casey herself and volunteers with tasks including pruning, planting, mulching and weeding. Some volunteers who have experience in beekeeping assist Casey in taking care of the beehive as well.

“There are so many different types of bees and so many different types of plants that from week to week, things can look quite different,” Casey said. “There are about 85 species of bees that have been observed here, and there are about 300 that occur in Yolo County.”

The Haven functions to educate the public about the importance of bees in our daily lives, most prominently in our nutrition. According to their website, “bees are responsible for about ⅓ of all the food we eat, including most of the fruits, nuts, and vegetables [...] Bees also pollinate many of

cludes a pre-trip inspection of the vehicle, a skills test and a road test. After obtaining the Class B license, employees become route trainees, who are taught Unitrans policies, the routes themselves and how to drive safely and operate a vehicle with passengers in it. Getting the license itself doesn’t require passengers to be in the vehicle. For Mayo, it took about two and a half months before he became a solo driver.

Unitrans drivers take shifts in order of seniority, and all shifts are decided prior to the start of the quarter. Each driver has to take a few weekend shifts and take some early morning or late night shifts.

Snyder also said that passengers aren’t necessarily aware of everything the drivers have to focus on, including animals and, particularly during winter quarter, the weather.

“Unitrans management tells us that passenger safety is the number one priority,” said third-year geology major and Unitrans driver LeAnne Page. “Which is [why] buses often run late in the rain — because it’s sometimes necessary to drive slower in the rain.”

Page applied to be a Unitrans driver because it paid more than working at the Coffee House and because she loved driving.

She described driving a bus as “the coolest thing possible.”

“If you need a job on campus, it’s definitely an option,” Mayo said. “We hire a lot [...] and it’s like a good community, especially if you don’t feel like you have one on campus. It’s a good place to start for sure.”

When asked about their favorite part of being a Unitrans employees, both Snyder

it be a feature of teaching that can be used in many different ways,” Bloom said. “A lot of teachers I have been talking to are interested in using it for other subjects. I have a history teacher who is very excited to use this as part of a history lesson.”

Play the Knave offers innovations that allow Shakespeare to be transformed and used in many different settings and is not limited to English classes.

As part of the research process for Play the Knave, Rachel Cowen, a fourth-year English major, developed her own lesson plan for an eighth grade classroom. In her lesson plan, Cowen and her colleagues explored how performance affected the learning ability of students. She created an experience that “allowed students to work cooperatively together to create a cohesive scene.” Some students were given the ability to choose their own characters and roles, while others were assigned specific roles to play. As students interacted with one another and watched their peers perform, Cowen found that students “felt it helped them pay more attention to the language of the scene,” which attributed greatly to the students’ understanding of the play. More of Cowen’s research, along with the work of other Play The Knave members, can be found on Play the Knave’s official website.

While this is only one example of liberal arts research, it is one that can be adapted to fit any discipline and any teaching goal.

Students and faculty can work together to create an experience that draws students in and encourages interaction through performance instead of reading. Creating this atmosphere can have great implications for how students interpret and approach important subjects within academics.

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

our wild plants that in turn provide food and habitat for other wildlife.” Each day, about five to 10 groups come visit and tour the garden to learn about what it does. Visitors can safely observe and interact with bees and identify them.

Because nearly half of the maintenance that occurs on the facility is done by volunteers, the Haven welcomes students who would like to be involved in its efforts with the bee population and education of the public. More information on volunteering and the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven as a whole can be found on its website.

J ORDA N CHOW/ AGG IE

and Mayo said that it is definitely the community that they’ve formed with co-workers.

“It’s nice [that] we form that little community,” Mayo said. “All the drivers get together before the buses depart, and everyone’s just super nice and friendly, and they’re always willing to help you out. If you don’t know anything, there’s going to be someone to help you. [...] I definitely have my closest friends at Unitrans, and it’s really nice that we can build friendships that way.”

Despite the fact that Unitrans buses are a key fixture at Davis, many students don’t know too much about what goes into it.

“I think a lot of people don’t recognize a lot of the work that gets done just to keep Unitrans running,” Snyder said. “Like, for instance, I’m a supervisor and five days a week. [...] Supervisors come in at five in the morning and start getting the buses ready, getting all the paperwork ready for the day and then there’s still going to be someone there working, not the same person obviously, but there’s going to be someone working all the way past midnight that night.”

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21 2019 | 5

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE CA I TLYN SA MPLEY / AGGI E

STUDENTS AND “THE BACHELOR” CULTURE The phenomenon of the reality show and watch parties in college B Y ISA BEL L A BE R IS T AIN features@theaggie.org

Every Monday night, millions of people around the world, primarily in the U.S., gather around to watch 25 women compete for the chance to find love with a single

man, the chosen bachelor.

Last year alone, 7.8 million people tuned in to watch Arie Luyendyk Jr., the 22nd bachelor, choose between two women, Lauren Burnham and Becca Kufrin, in what was said to be one of the shows most dramatic

/ AG G IE

PUPPY PALS EXTENDS A PAW TO SERVICE DOGS AND HANDLERS ON CAMPUS Puppy Pals club provides support for service dogs and their handlers and a space for education, fundraisers and socials

BY MARGO ROSENBAUM features@theaggie.org

With the ongoing cultural obsession with dogs, it’s no surprise that a club emerged on campus that is entirely dedicated to the furry companions. Puppy Pals, however, is much more than just a group that appreciates puppies and dogs.

According to third-year wildlife, fish and conservation major Lysi Newman, the events and outreach coordinator for Puppy Pals, the club is dedicated to supporting service dogs, service dogs in training and their handlers as well as educating others about them.

“We also provide opportunities for students to get more involved whether it’s about service dogs and what they do or helping us with education and fundraising for local organizations that train service dogs,” Newman said. “We also provide pathways for student[s] who want to become puppy sitters or puppy raisers for [service] dogs in training.”

The founding members of Puppy Pals started the club last Fall Quarter. The club holds general meetings about once a month, but the timing and topics of these meetings fluctuates.

The club holds many events throughout

the quarter, and third-year genetics major Serene Liu, who is vice president of Puppy Pals, said that around 100 people attend each event. The club hold a social event for their members every quarter, and they also partner with other clubs to do puppy therapy events.

“People love the puppies and our puppies love to be pet by everybody,” O’Rourke said.

“It helps us practice proper greetings with our dogs too.”

The club also holds a fundraiser every quarter to raise money for service dog organizations, such as Guide Dogs for the Blind, Canine Companions for Independence and Starfleet Service Dogs. For Valentine’s Day, Puppy Pals members tabled in the Memorial Union and sold Valentine’s Day grams to fundraiser for these causes.

O’Rourke, who raises puppies herself, said that she wanted to help Puppy Pals bring together students who raise puppies.

Their job is to take in service dogs in training for about a year and a half to teach them basic training and obedience. They train them with over 30 commands and socialize them.

“I thought at a place like UC Davis with all of the animal science around, why don’t we have a club already?” O’Rourke said.

O’Rourke’s current puppy, Fergus, who

WORLD TOUR

SPECIAL GUEST

endings. Each year this show continues to grab at viewers’ emotions, as they are taken on a rollercoaster journey into the personal lives of all 26 people. However, the show does face a lot of backlash with people saying that it “undermines women” and is overtly sexist (McKinley, 2014). So why has it remained so popular and continued to pull in an audience?

Li Dayton, an anthropology Ph.D. student with a designated emphasis in feminist theory and practice, said that this is not due to the nature of the show itself but due to the society in which we live in today.

“When I started to watch the show 15 years ago, I would watch the show by myself, there were not many places where you could express your viewing opinions,” Dayton said, “But I think now it has changed within these 10 years, digital media has changed quite a bit about how people relate to each other, so I think for the younger generations using social media to talk about one particular show or social issue is [a] normal part of their life.”

Dayton believes that it isn’t the show that draws people together to watch but the ability to talk about the aspects of the show that might involve controversy. “[It’s about] talking about the show,

talking about the social issues including gender, politics offline and online that bring them together,” Dayton said. “We become more and more individualistic in this competitive society and the ironic result is that we are eager for collectivism. Popular culture provides this kind of channel to build a new type of social relationship.”

Dayton reaffirmed that the content of the show is not what draws in viewership, but the irony, humor and high tensions, “It’s not the content it’s the emotions,” .

“Those kinds of shows are made to get views, not to send a message, they don’t have real content,” said first-year managerial economics major Paola Marino. “It is fun to get together and comment, it wouldn’t be the same if you watched by yourself.”

Season 23 of The Bachelor is currently airing and drawing in watch parties from students across campus. Whether or not the show is respected for its content or just its ability to strike up conversation about the bizarre emotions exhibited the night before, students are consuming it.

“A lot of my friends watch the bachelor and it was super fun to talk about who we liked or who we hated and the drama that went on each episode,” said first-year economics major Bryn Damon.

she raises for Canine Companions, will go on to become a service dog and help people with a wide range of disabilities, such as those in wheelchairs, veterans with PTSD or those with hearing impairments.

Members of Puppy Pals who lack the time to become a puppy raiser can become puppy sitters. According to Newman, in order to be a puppy sitter or puppy raiser, you must be a paid member of the club. It is $10 per quarter or if a person signs up in Fall Quarter, it’s $25 for the year.

“For puppy raisers, if we have a chemistry or biology lab or a super important midterm that we need just a few hours of uninterrupted time to study, puppy sitters are there to take the dog off our hands for a couple hours,” O’Rourke said.

For O’Rourke and the other founding members of the club, another contributing factor in its creation was to provide support for students with service dogs on campus.

“As a freshman, I experienced a lot of hardship having a service dog,” Newman said. “It felt like there weren’t really resources for people with service dogs.”

First-year animal science and management major Isa Rutten has two service dogs with her on campus. Winston is a psychiatric service dog and her new dog, Groot, helps her with mobility. “[Winston] has been an awesome icebreaker,” Rutten said. “Just having him here has made me [want] to actually stay in college, which is a huge thing.”

Rutten is also one of five members who take part in the Puppy Pals support group for students with service dogs.

“I have been to a lot of their meetings and that community is really nice,” Rutten said.

“It is actually incredibly helpful to be able to go and talk to other service dog handlers on campus and just talk about the things we do that most people do not understand.”

Another reason for creating the club was to provide students and the greater Davis

community with more education about service dogs. Most conflicts with service dogs stem from people not knowing any better, as opposed to people trying to do something against the rules, according to Newman.

“We feel like our campus community could learn a lot about what is polite when you meet a service dog,” Liu said. “Everyone loves dogs but no one is really certain what is allowed and what isn’t, and a lot of times it’s because they don’t know that they [could] do something that could distract the dog.”

Puppy Pals also wants to provide more education about having pet dogs on campus, since many times they may distract service dogs at work, according to Liu. “One of the biggest problems is pet dogs in lecture, they might be barking or trying to come and say, ‘Hi!’ to a service dog and that distracts a service dog, and also the entire class, and the professor may feel the need to say, ‘Hey, can you not bring your service dog to class,’” Liu said.

According to Rutten, she is helping to start an education committee through Puppy Pals.

“We are trying to make something to inform RAs about service dogs because they don’t know that much,” Rutten said. “It’s nothing on them, it’s just education being lost because service dogs aren’t that common.”

The club’s next general meeting is on Feb. 27. A guest speaker, who is a graduate from Canine Companions for Independence, will be speaking about her service dogs and how they have affected her life, according to Newman. To get in contact with Puppy Pals, visit its website davispuppypals.weebly.com or its Aggielife, Facebook or Instagram page @davispuppypals.

“We just want to make sure there is more education at universities in general and more people can raise, if they want to raise, because it is such a vital thing to be able to raise a dog,” Rutten said.

reduce. reuse. recycle.

The aggie

MARCH 7 GOLDEN 1 CENTER TICKETMASTER.COM

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

6 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019

Opinion THE

C ALIFORNIA A GGIE

E DI TO R I AL B OAR D

Ignorance is no excuse for blackface It’s time to educate ourselves about black history

EMILY STACK Editor-in-Chief OLIVIA ROCKEMAN Managing Editor HANNAH HOLZER Campus News Editor KAELYN TUERMER-LEE City News Editor 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 GRACE SIMMONS Newsletter Manager LAURIE PEDERSON Business Development Manager

At the beginning of February, a month dedicated to paying tribute to the oft-unrecognized achievements of black people throughout American history, Gucci’s website displayed a model donning a sweater that was sourly reminiscent of blackface. The distasteful sweater, a black turtleneck that extended to the bridge of the nose and featured a red-lined cutout for the mouth, rightfully caused uproar on social media, compelling Gucci to remove the sweater from its physical and online stores and issue an apology to consumers. In its apology, the Gucci team stated that it is transforming this incident of racism into a “powerful learning moment.”

This is an all-too-familiar refrain. Earlier this month, Virginia’s governor admitted to having unknowingly worn blackface at a college party and last year, a daytime talk show host casually normalized wearing blackface on Halloween. The chronic and recurring nature of these incidents, as well as the continually recycled excuse of blissful ignorance, is alarming. Even more alarming, the person accused usually chalks the incident up to an enlightening learning experience, a problematic trend due to its underlying presumption that there is some sort of rigorous learning curve when it comes to refraining from blatant racism.

If the use of blackface, which once prospered on the American stage in minstrel shows and fully immersed white audiences in a repulsive cocktail of racial subjugation and offensive stereotypes for comedic entertainment, persists to this day, what does that say about our awareness of black identity? What does it say about the usefulness of American education in closing the gap in knowledge between historical and contemporary racism? If the apologies administered

by Gucci and others are any indication, American educational institutions have been lax in teaching black history in its entirety, and Americans have been equally as complacent in accepting these meager helpings of history.

The instances of racist imagery that rear their ugly head every other month cannot be dismissed as mere ignorance or as simply being “out of touch.” The perpetuation of blackface by powerful brands, such as Gucci, are instead reflective of an active willingness to be ignorant.

Many on social media called for more hiring of black people to prevent this and similar instances from happening again, and Gucci has also vowed to implement more diversity hiring for their design team after the incident. While it is absolutely critical for companies to be inclusive and employ a diverse team of staff and Gucci is no exception, it is also problematic to depend on staffers of color to serve as the sole filter for potentially racist imagery that could be propagated by the brand. Everyone, no matter their racial or cultural background, should know and understand that blackface is wrong.

There is no admissible excuse for being culturally insensitive. In light of Black History Month, let’s devote more energy and resources into having conversations acknowledging and vehemently condemning blackface, as well as learning more about the pivotal black figures who have shaped our world. If you feel that cultural awareness is an area in which you are lacking, The Editorial Board urges you to be proactive. Consider signing up for an African American studies class next quarter or do independent research at home. Now is the time to combat America’s lingering racism.

Big Tech and the battle for freedom of information GOOGLE’S MONOPOLISTIC CONTROL OF INTERNET SEARCH ENGINES REQUIRES THAT IT BE REGULATED AS A PUBLIC UTILITY

BY BRA N D O N J E T T E R brjetter@ucdavis.edu

Republican Party lawyer Harmeet Dhillon authored an op-ed in The Daily Caller last week, alleging that Microsoft’s new “NewsGuard” plugin is likely to end up indirectly censoring conservative news sources. Dhillon’s allegation is part of a broader bipartisan worry over the relationship between Big Tech and information accessibility.

In an era dominated by the proliferation of information online, internet access has become a crucial component of everyday life, occupying a functionary role once represented by other technologies in the past. Harvard law professor Susan Crawford wrote that “high-speed wired Internet access is as basic to innovation, economic growth, social communication, and the country’s competitiveness

as electricity was a century ago.”

Through its namesake search engine and its video-sharing subsidy YouTube, Google dominates the online information market. Google is the most-visited site in the world, with YouTube comfortably occupying the second-place slot.

Its near-monopolistic domination of the world wide web is apparent through the degree by which it outshines its rivals. As of January 2019, Google comprises just under 93 percent of the global search engine share.

Google has come under fire before for its alleged role in monopolistic practices.

Since 2010, the European Union has hit the company with three different antitrust investigations, all related to its violation of the European Competition Law. Specifically, the individual cases accused the company of engaging in illegal behavior related to its self-promotion of Goo-

gle AdSense, Google Shopping and the Android operating system. All three cases resulted in formal charges against Google, and the organization has been fined €4.3 billion ($5 billion) by the European Commission thus far.

Observers have noted that Google has become increasingly entangled in American politics, including forming a tight and secretive relationship with the Obama administration. According to a report by The Intercept and the non-profit Campaign for Accountability, Google attended White House meetings more than once per week on average — a degree of affinity unmatched by any other public company. Emails obtained by the Google Transparency Project documented a similar relationship. Google executives met personally with members of the Obama administration while the company was still under an antitrust probe by

the Federal Trade Commission — the first incident of a presidential administration engaging in this type of conflict of interest since Nixon.

In the past, conservative critics have accused Google of deliberately censoring dissenting right-wing opinions. This includes allegations that Google has unjustly blacklisted conservative content, knowingly altered search algorithms against Republicans and unfairly favored liberal news outlets. A leaked video disJETTER on 12

JAMIE CHEN / AGGIE

“Is Growing Food Wasting Water?”

WHY WE CAN’T AFFORD TO GIVE WATER PRIVILEGES TO BIG AGRICULTURE

BY DA N I E L O R O P E ZA daoropeza@ucdavis.edu

If you’ve taken the I-5 south from Sacramento and pulled over to get some Doritos or gas, odds are you’ve ended up in the backroads of one of the world’s most productive agricultural regions — the San Joaquin Valley — and stood in front of some infamous signs posted by agricultural stakeholders trying to justify their overuse of water.

“Is Growing Food Wasting Water?”

Less than two years ago former Governor Jerry Brown lifted the state of emergency prompted by the five-year drought.

Most of us probably remember the dry riverbeds or the residents painting their brown lawns green because of water restrictions while farmers flooded their

fields.

The drought was so bad that many farmers had to extract water from California’s precious groundwater reserves to save their crops from completely drying out. According to a report by NPR, the farmers pumped out enough water to flood the entire state of Pennsylvania with a foot of water. Groundwater pumping over the past century has been so intense that it caused the San Joaquin Valley’s ground level to sink by 200 meters.

Some farmers, usually those within a corporate operation, have been able to sidestep sustainable water restrictions because they acquired a water right before 1914. Most of these large-scale farmers, unlike smaller ones, must comply with “use it or lose it” principles, under which they are incentivized to practice unsus-

tainable water usage.

The agricultural sector already uses 40 percent of California’s water, while the rest of the state fights for scraps. And when farmers were met with resistance from the State Water Resources Control Board about their unsustainable use of water, the court sided with the agricultural powerhouses.

At what point do we say enough is enough?

The Sierra Nevada snowpack is California’s main source of water. During the winter, snow builds up on top of the mountains, melting during spring and filling our rivers and valleys with precious water. Unfortunately, climate change decreases our snowpack, leading to a significant decline in the annual snowmass since the 1980s — and predictions say we can

only expect these shortages to get worse.

It may be easy to forget how bad the drought years were, especially when they were directly followed by one of the wettest years. We might even be tempted to think that the drought was merely an anomaly, and that it’s no longer something we should be worrying about. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

Before leaving office, Brown passed two bills to address California water use: Senate Bill 606 and Assembly Bill 1668.

These bills are a great step forward, but lack teeth. The bills are basically water budgets that are supposed to help use water more sustainably during drought years. They fine urban water suppliers $1,000 a day for water violations if they OROPEZA on 12

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019 | 7

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

HUMOR

New, last minute changes to Unitrans referendum include funds for student eject buttons and sundae bars

CALPIRG member released from contract with the devil after collecting enough pledges

CAN I HAVE EVERYONE PLEASE REMOVE THEIR BACKPACKS AND MAKE ROOM FOR THE HOT FUDGE?

WHAT THE DEVIL ARE THOSE $10 PLEDGES FOR?

BY CO N N E R SH AW cjshaw@ucdavis.edu

From Feb. 19 to 21, UC Davis students voted on the Unitrans Referendum, a piece of student legislation allowing for Unitrans to maintain and improve its services. “All funds raised will be used to pay for wages associated with the increasing minimum wage, bus maintenance, fuel, and all the other stuff that keeps the buses moving,” according to the Unitrans website. At the time of this article’s publication, the referendum will have either passed or failed to pass. And it may be too late.

Whatever the result, there’s something everyone should know: Unitrans encoded a secret message in the fine print of the referendum detailing several changes to the original.

This must raise a few questions for you. How do I know this? How is this possible? Why should I care if I never take the bus? The answer to all these questions is the same: I’m from the future, here to warn you about the fate of UC Davis and, possibly, the world. So you should take what I’m saying as seriously as you can.

Do not pay attention to the “Humor” title. That was just to ensure that agents of

Unitrans wouldn’t look past the headline.

Now listen closely, because there’s little time before they send me back.

Now, I will admit, some of these last minute additions sound pretty amazing.

As I said in the headline, eject buttons.

If you need to get off the bus early or miss your stop, every seat will now have an eject button allowing a passenger’s seat to extend out the side of the bus and shoot that passenger into the air with a parachute. No more waiting for Mouth-Breather McGee to move out of your way. No risk of missing class when the bus is late.

As I also mentioned, the sundae bars seem particularly sweet. After a hard midterm, treat yourself to a hot-fudge sundae with any topping you want. Whipped cream. Caramel. Many nut varieties.

S H AW on 11

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

BY MADE LINE KU M AGAI mskumagai@ucdavis.edu

The California Public Interest Research Group, or CALPIRG, was founded to raise money for some respectable causes in the least respectable way possible. Over the years, thousands of unsuspecting Aggies have been approached by what appears to be a happy, friendly fellow collegiate. Faster than one can say “Gunrock’s left bicep,” a member of CALPIRG can whip out their tablet and trap an Aggie with their five-minute spiel to pledge $10 per quarter for the environment. Many Aggies have been late to class or missed their bus due to the phalanx of CALPIRG members stationed outside the Silo, impeccably positioned to intercept a student coming from any direction.

No one is certain where the pledge money goes or what CALPIRGers have accomplished. Most importantly, no one knows anybody in CALPIRG. Who are they? Where did they come from?

They’re like the randomly generated NPCs in a Sims 3 neighborhood. The only being who might know the answers to these questions is God, but Ephesians 4:20 says, “God Himself is not certain where the members of CALPIRG came

from.”

All we can guess is that members have some quota of pledges that they need to reach. No one has ever obtained the required amount, which is why they come out of the shadows Winter Quarter to collect that moolah.

No one...until today.

UC Davis student George Faust convinced his 666th person to pledge to CALPIRG this morning. As soon as the final student finished typing her name into the tablet, there was a puff of smoke, and the devil himself appeared before Faust. The prince of darkness sneered and handed Faust a scroll.

“Congratulations! You have been freed from your contract with me by getting your last CALPIRG pledge,” the devil said.

“Rad!” exclaimed Faust. “Can I have my family back now?”

KUMAGAI on 1 2

JAMIE CHEN / AGGIE

D ISC L A I M ER: Th e views a n d o p i ni o ns ex p re ss e d by i ndividu al colu mn ists be lon g to th e colu mn ists alo ne and do no t necessari l y i ndi cate the vi ews an d op in io n s h el d by The C al i fo rni a Ag gie. Ple ase addre ss le tte r s to th e e ditor to opin ion@theaggi e.o rg.

ISSUE DESIGNED BY JONATHAN CHEN | PATTIE CHEN | ADAN JUNAID | OLIVIA KOTLAREK | SHEREEN NIKZAD | YOON RHA | TAMARA SHOUBBER | CINDY CHEUNG | AMY YE | SYDNEE RODRIGUEZ

Second Spring Take a GE class online with Foothill College. High quality. Quick. Convenient.

ONLINE

6-Week Session | May 20-June 29

foothill.edu/secondspring

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

8 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019

SCIENCE+TECH

J E RE M Y DA N G / AG GI E

CALLING ALL TEA LOVERS An interest in teapots grew into the Global Tea Initiative for the Study of Tea Culture and Science

BY M I C HEL L E WO N G science@theaggie.org

Gut microbiota. Kombucha. Epigenetic changes in women. These are just a few of the topics that were discussed at the Global Tea Initiative (GTI) for the Study of Tea Culture and Science’s fourth annual colloquium held on Jan. 24. The theme for this year’s conference was “Body, Mind, Spirit: Issues Surrounding Tea & Health,” featuring speakers from Hong Kong, Sweden and Japan in addition to UC Davis faculty.

According to Katharine Burnett, an associate professor of art history and the founding director of the GTI, the colloquium changes every year, but what made this year’s program unique was the involvement U C DAV I S F E E D T H E FUTURE HORT I C ULT U R E I N N OVATI O N LAB / COU RT E SY

of more members from the tea industry. A morning session was dedicated to UC Davis students where they could listen to a panel of experts and learn about internships within the field. In addition, the event’s partners and sponsors from the tea industry hosted tea tastings for attendants to sample.

The afternoon portion of the program was filled with various academic talks given by professors and members of the tea industry. One of these speakers was Ping Chung Leung, an emeritus professor from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who spoke about the scientific values of tea and how to enhance such values. He stated that one single plant could be made into a healthy beverage with various flavors and clinical values just by changing the way the tea is

processed.

“I hope people would be more aware of the true value of tea and start comparing tea with coffee, and realize that all aspects of tea, health support, commercial value, etc., have been underlooked,” Leung said.

Her main area of research being gut microbiology, Yu-Jui Yvonne Wan, a professor and vice chair for research for the department of pathology and laboratory medicine, decided to look into EGCG, a polyphenol abundantly found in tea. Upon further research, Wan delved into how this supplement can shift the gut microbiota and subsequently our metabolism. While she stated that tea is often labeled as an antioxidant, she hopes that people will better understand how it can also shift our microbiota and, in turn, benefit our health.

“When we eat, definitely eat healthy, eat a balanced diet,” Wan said. “Everybody understands that, but then the underlying mechanism is we should eat to feed gut bacteria and find out what kind of food bacteria usually like and to support healthy bacteria to grow. So we don’t want to feed ourselves, we want to feed the gut microorganism [that] live in the guts.”

Weronica Ek, a researcher in the department of immunology, genetics and pathology at Uppsala University, focused more on how tea consumption could lead to epigenetics changes that could potentially prevent diseases. By participating in the colloquium, Ek stated that she gained a broader awareness on various aspects of tea, ranging from its form as an enjoyable hot beverage A LA N B EN N ETT / COU RT ESY

MAKE IT DRY, KEEP IT DRY UC Davis Horticulture Innovation Lab’s DryCard improves the health of communities by testing the dryness of grains, seeds

BY FOXY ROBI N S O N science@theaggie.org

Across several low-income and moderate-income countries, ambient humidity poses a challenge for food dehydration, a traditional method for food preservation.

UC Davis agricultural engineers aim to change this paradigm, offering DryCard to test the dryness of products from the beginning of food production until they reach consumers.

When seeds and grains are not dried properly or are stored in a humid environment, they retain humidity and leave room for mold growth. Aspergillus flavus, a common mold, produces aflatoxin, which has been implicated in liver cancer and physical and intellectual stunting.

“4.5 billion of the world’s population live with aflatoxin in their food because of inadequate food storage for dehydrated foods,” said Kent Bradford, the director of the UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center and professor in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences.

Aflatoxin exposure guidelines vary across countries.

“In India, 40 percent of grain becomes contaminated with aflatoxin above the United States’ 5 parts per billion threshold,” said Michael Reid, an professor emeritus in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences. “16 percent of the grain reaches above the Indian 30 parts per billion threshold.

The United Nations’ aflatoxin guideline is 15 parts per billion.”

DryCard consists of laminated, business card-sized humidity cards that contain cobalt chloride. The card changes color from pink to blue based on a humidity index.

Blue indicates 35 percent humidity, conditions in which it is unlikely for mold to grow and produce aflatoxin. The color scales up to pink, indicating the 65 percent humidity threshold has been surpassed and there is the risk of mold contamination.

“Based on the concept of water activity, if the headspace humidity above a product is less than 65 percent, molds won’t grow,” said James Thompson, an emeritus extension engineer in Biological and Agricultural Development in the UC Davis Horticulture Innovation Lab. “It works across everything, fruits, grains, paper or any biological material.”

DryCard can be applied to any grown material requiring dehydration after harvest.

Growers place a DryCard into a sample of produce. The card changes color based on humidity retained in the product, allowing farmers to make informed decisions based on whether their dry products have lost enough humidity. They can either sell safely dried products to consumers or dehydrate them once again.

Reid got the idea for DryCard from his agricultural extension class in Tanzania.

“I knew my students could tell the water content in grains by using cobalt chloride strips I brought from the United States,” Reid said. “I sent one student to the local market to buy dried grains for us to sample in the class using the strips. We sampled them. My students were surprised about the high water content in the dried foods from their local markets.”

The relative humidity indicator paper with cobalt chloride was originally invented in 1950 to measure humidity in hard-toreach spaces.

Now, the concept is being applied to traders, consumers, rural and local farmers and agricultural businesses across the world, managing their production and health safety.

Potential partners are recruited or contact the Horticulture Innovation Lab, submitting a business proposal and community engagement strategies for review by the lab.

“Our role is to send our partners a starter package to begin DryCard production,” said Anthony Pham, the project analyst for the UC Davis Feed the Future Horticulture Innovation Lab. “We send them all the materials they need to produce 10,000 DryCards, specifications and resources to become local DryCard experts. Once they can produce 10,000, they become self-sustainable, able to buy their own materials and lead awareness efforts for rural farmers.”

The Horticulture and Innovation Lab currently partners with eight businesses across several countries, including Mexico, Thailand, Rwanda and Tanzania, assembling a DryCard consortium for businesses to collaborate and exchange ideas.

The UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center’s Seed Production three-day course DRYCARD on 12

to its cultural and social aspects.

While the GTI is now an initiative endorsed by the UC Davis administration, the seed of this project was Burnett’s interest in tea pots. On being appointed director of the East Asian studies program on campus, Burnett had been striving to raise the profile of the program and came across an opportunity to apply for a research grant which would allow the humanities and arts to be brought together with the scientific field. Through this opportunity, Burnett met up with Darrell Corti, the owner and proprietor of Corti Brothers, and brought along her tea pots because of their prior conversation. “[Corti] picked it up and he looked at it and [...] then he said ‘Katharine, what I don’t understand is why doesn’t UC Davis study tea?’,” Burnett said. “And I went, ‘Ah, what a great question! Why doesn’t UC Davis study tea? UC Davis should study tea.’

Here’s an opportunity to bring tea together, the people who can study tea from the social and cultural perspectives together with the sciences. It’s unnatural for UC Davis. Let’s make this happen.”

This conversation led to the creation of All Things Tea, a faculty research cluster consisting of 12 faculty and librarians, which transformed over time into becoming the GTI. This initiative is now transitioning into becoming the Global Tea Initiative for the Study of Tea Culture and Science which will be the world’s first and only comprehensive research institute to study tea in its entirety through GLOBAL TEA on 12

UC DAVIS RESEARCHERS DISCOVER NITROGENFIXING CORN Indigenous corn in the Sierra Mixe can fix atmospheric nitrogen, diminishing the need for fertilizer

BY JE SS ICA MO NT R OSS science@theaggie.org

Similar to many areas where commercial corn is grown, the mountainous region of the Sierra Mixe in Southern Mexico lacks nitrogen in the soil. In this region, a particular type of corn grows and feeds an entire community — without the help of any fertilizer. Traditionally, it is necessary to add fertilizer to the soil in order to provide the corn plant with the nitrogen it needs to grow. But in the Sierra Mixe, this isn’t the case.

Although there has been speculation for decades that this corn might be able to naturally fix its own nitrogen from the atmosphere, researchers at UC Davis have finally been able to gather conclusive evidence supporting this rare and bizarre phenomenon.

The Sierra Mixe corn species has thick, red and tubular aerial roots bathed in mucus, which contain microbes that are most likely able to fix nitrogen for the plant.

Most other regions where corn is grown do not contain these nitrogen-fixing microbes.

Modern scientific methods have been key in proving information on what has been speculated for the past 30 or 40 years.

“It primarily involves the use of stable isotopes,” said Alan Bennett, a Ph.D. professor of plant sciences at UC Davis. “Nitrogen exists as either N14, which is the most abundant form, or N15, because the ratios of N14 and N15 are different in the air than in the soil. You can look at the ratios of N14 to N15 in the plant and determine whether that nitrogen came from the air or from the soil.”

Since the nitrogen found in the corn is found in ratios similar to that of the air, this provides evidence for the fact that this corn is getting its essential nitrogen from the atmosphere — something many people in the Southern Mexican region have hypothesized for decades. Metagenome sequencing is the other key component of testing the nitrogen fixation in the plant.

“We had known about this corn for a long time but we really didn’t have a good way to study it,” Bennett said. “It wasn’t until metagenome sequencing became a possibility that we started working on the corn. It was really a technical breakthrough in sequencing that made everything else possible.”

The UC Davis team is still in the beginning processes of testing whether this corn has the capabilities to be commercialized.

“Through conventional plant breeding (not GMOs) we could transfer this trait into conventional corn in, say, Iowa,” Bennett said. “This could translate to farmers applying less fertilizer.”

Fertilizer is known to cause numerous environmental problems, so this could be a major step forward in protecting the environment.

“Nitrogen (in fertilizer) has detrimental water quality effects and detrimental effects in terms of it creating hypoxic zones,” said Michael Kantar, a professor in tropical plants and soil sciences at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa.

Hypoxia results in eutrophication, which is caused by algae blooms fueled by an influx of nitrogen from fertilizer in runoff water from farms.

“Commercialization is a really long process,” Kantar said. “The questions we have to ask include what this crop yields in comparison to large scale productions and even whether or not it tastes good.”

The potential of commercialization is accompanied by ethical questions as well. For example, is it fair to study and then commercialize a crop that a small community has been cultivating for centuries? In order to solve some of these questions, the team at UC Davis has coordinated with the Mexican government.

“There’s a treaty on biodiversity and part of that is the Nagoya Protocol, saying that governments own their genetic resources and in order to get access to those resources, we need to have an access and benefit sharing agreement,” Bennett said. “So we developed an agreement that said UC Davis can study the corn and even commercialize it, but if we do commercialize it then any economic benefits that come back to the university will be shared with the community.”

Commercialization through crossbreeding of the Sierra Mixe corn is also expected to help regions suffering from a lack of nitrogen in the soil and inability to access fertilizer, potentially helping with food security. Despite the possible benefits, there are complexities associated with commercialization.

CORN FERTILIZER on 12

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019 | 9

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

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.

AGGIE CLASSIFIEDS Davis Food Co-op is hiring!

JOBS ASUCD Hiring Now See all current jobs at https://vacancy.ucdavis.edu/

WANT TO BE PART OF OUR TEAM? The Co-op is one of the friendliest places to work in Davis!

Join our team! Applications available here: https://davisfood.coop/sustainability/employment

Driver

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

Busy airport shuttle company looking for drivers with excellent customer service skills. Must be 23 or older.

We pick people up at their homes/hotels and take them to the Sacramento Airport and the San Francisco Airport.

And from the airports to their homes/hotels. Tips average $40/day.

SERVICES Love Laundry

Clean DMV required. Get your free DMV printout from their website and email it and your resume to carlorossi33@yahoo.com

Lowest prices in town!

Best music!

Free DRY with Wash

Website davisairporter.com Phone 530-756-6715

1776 E. 8th Street, Davis 5am-12am www.lovelaundry.com

Email carlorossi33@yahoo.com

FREE

CLASSIFIED ADS FOR STUDENTS

Buy-Sell-Announce-Promote-Celebrate Place your ad online today! theaggie.org/classifieds

Place YOUR Aggie classified ad (print or online)

EVER BEEN PUBLISHED?

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

10 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019

Open Ceilings

now accepting: art, photography, short fiction, poetry, memoir, and literary review

O P E N C EILIN GS / COU RTESY

BY A LYSSA I L SL E Y arts@theaggie.org

focused in areas of academia or journalism. Pimley and other creative writers he spoke with have all strugStudent-led publishing company gled to find opportunities to showcase Mechanisms Press has created a new their work and build their portfoliA CHANCE TO BE PUBLISHED IN OUR Mechanisms Press and literary magazine at UCFOR Davis titled os. Through LITERARY MAGAZINE, OPEN CEILINGS, SUBMIT “Open Ceilings,” which will publish “Open Ceilings,” Pimley is hoping to PIECES TO SUBMISSIONS.MPRESS@GMAIL.COM BEFORE MAY 20TH student work, from creative writing to change that. art and photography.

After months of dealing with The company was founded in the the intricacies of creating a legitifall of 2018, when a group of students mate company and publishing body came together to create an outlet for through the campus, “Open Ceilings” @ O Pworks ENCEILING M A G A Z in I N Ethe production stage for its sharing and celebrating creative isSfinally on campus. The mission statement of debut issue. For Pimley, all the hard Mechanisms Press describes their in- work has been worth it. tention as trying to “foster an appreci“I believe that it’s a really importation for literature in our community” ant project for creators, for writers and to “empower unheard voices and and our community,” Pimley said. “I provide the students, staff, and faculty myself am proud to head up a project of UC Davis with an avenue for cre- that will archive and preserve in print ative expression.” the voices of this time period.”

Matthew Pimley, a second-year EnThe magazine wishes to generate glish major and the co-board director, an interest for literature and the arts founded Mechanisms Press. He was among the student body. The Mechinspired to create a literary magazine anisms Press Board hopes to receive when a friend and fellow writer came submissions from a range of voices and to him and expressed disappointment perspectives. Pimley sent announcein the lack of emphasis on creative ments about the magazine to advisors writing on campus, especially in the of all undergraduate majors, instead of realm of publishing. just those in arts and humanities, in “We don’t have a publication on an effort to encourage a wider range of UC Davis campus that is specifically students to submit their work. dedicated to creative writing,” Pimley “I think that our magazine is gosaid. “So we decided to carve out a ing to do a lot to emphasize collabospace for us.” ration among fields and show that the While there may be several pub- arts are not just for music and art and lishing opportunities for student writ- English majors, the arts are interdisciers in Davis, they are predominantly plinary,” Pimley said. “This is a project

open ceilings

BY MECHANISM PRESS

New literary magazine accepting submissions that should be welcoming and encompassing of a variety of fields.”

Third-year managerial economics major Patricia Swing works as the treasurer for Mechanisms Press.

“Outside of what I study, I really love creative arts,” Swing said. “I love creative writing and I’ve always wanted to work in publishing.”

“Open Ceilings” is a path for students to get experience in both the writing and publishing of creative works. The magazine accepts works of short fiction, poetry, memoirs and literary reviews. There will also be a section for artwork and photography.

Second-year English major Helena Sherman, works as the submissions committee chair for “Open Ceilings.”

Sherman is a writer herself but is also excited to help choose content for what the magazine will publish.

Upon receiving all of the submissions, Sherman’s committee will give blind, objective readings to each piece in order to create an ethical path to publication.

“Because this is our debut issue, we are willing to take anything creative,” Sherman said. “We want anything that people are proud of and they want to see in publication.”

Mechanisms Press is planning on publishing quarterly issues of “Open Ceilings” and is currently accepting submissions at submissions.mpress@ gmail.com. Written submissions will be accepted until March 15.

BY C HE YE N N E WIS E MA N arts@theaggie.org

Every week, the Native American Academic Student Success Center hosts Beading Circles where students can learn about Native American culture by doing beadwork. The events take place in the University House, and anyone is welcome to participate.

“A beading circle is where students come and they just bead,” said Deserea Langley, a Ph.D. candidate in the Native American Studies department and leader of the Beading Circles. “We have made earrings, we’ll make necklaces but it just provides a space where students can come together outside of academia and just talk, promote their culture and share.”

No beading experience is necessary to participate. “[Students] will learn how to bead and make a couple things that they can take home to their families or they can keep for themselves,” Langley said. “It’s a way to get out of the academic side of things and just have an event that is dedicated to taking the stress out of their academic life.”

The NAASSC seeks to create a sense of belonging for Native American students. The center provides students with a space to study, access to counseling services and advising, exposure to networking opportunities and other helpful resources.

“It’s really a center that helps Native students succeed in higher education at UC Davis, providing a space for them to be comfortable in being a Native student,” Langley said. “Because I think sometimes it’s difficult

to adjust from coming from a Native community, or maybe you don’t know a lot about your Native American community.”

The Beading Circles offer a space for students to celebrate their culture while promoting a sense of community.

“It’s just about sharing your culture, so in the sharing of culture, it helps [students] feel that their Native American identity is growing and is strengthened by participating in the Beading Circles,” Langley said.

Langley comes from a Native American community.

“I was really interested in working at the center helping Native students because that is a passion of mine because I, myself, am a Native graduate student,” Langley said. “So I like to help Native students feel comfortable in higher education and kind of help them learn how to navigate the higher education institution.”

At the most recent general Beading Circle held on Feb. 13, students participated by preparing pine nuts to be used as beads for necklaces, bracelets, earrings and other forms of jewelry. The pine nuts, once collected, are sandpapered on either end to reveal the inner meat of the nut, which is then cleaned out.

“Part of this process is that you have to collect them [...] or [attend] different events and buy them, which is the easier way,” said Michelle Villegas-Frazier, director of the Strategic Native American Retention Initiatives. “Otherwise, you would have to go out and collect the pinecone, and then they fall out. So it is a process,

Review: Generation Wealth Greenfield analyzes the new American Dream

BY CAR OLI NE R UTTEN arts@theaggie.org

you collect them, you clean them and then you use them.”

Each pine nut takes about 20 minutes to clean. Some necklaces, composed of several strands of pine nuts and other materials, can run around $400 to $600 due to the hours of labor that go into producing them and the material costs. Other materials used in beading include abalone, dentalium and porcupine quills.

There are other beading opportunities at the NAASSC. Michaela Castillo, a fourth-year Native American Studies major, has been involved in Beading Circles since the NAASSC’s opening in 2017. She participates in a separate Beading Circle for graduating seniors to decorate grad caps.

“It’s been pretty successful. We get around ten people every Sunday who come and bead grad caps or gather the supplies for their caps,” Castillo said.

“Mine is in the process of getting finished. [I] teach how to start the cap, the process of it and we’re kind of there on hand if people need help.”

Castillo helped start the grad cap Beading Circles as a way to share culture and connect her community.

“There’re a lot of people who either don’t have the resources or don’t have the finances or don’t know anybody to hire someone to bead their own grad cap,” Castillo said. “[We thought,] why don’t we do a workshop where they can learn how to bead their own grad cap, make their own design and do it themselves. All the beads would be paid for, the grad caps would be paid for, it would all be free. They

Documentary filmmaker Lauren Greenfield spent her career attempting to understand America’s obsession with wealth and status. I was first introduced to Greenfield through her 2012 documentary “Queen of Versailles,” which followed the Siegel timeshare tycoon family attempting to build the largest home in America.

The film turns into a riches to rags story as they ultimately face bankruptcy in the construction process. “Queen of Versailles” and other films of Greenfields, like “Thin,” which follows four teenagers and their battles with eating disorders, all share a common denominator: why do we as a society obsess over materialism or our outward display? Greenfield attempts to get to the root of that common thread and expose it in her 2018 documentary, “Generation Wealth.”

“Generation Wealth” introduces the viewer to an assortment of characters, all of whom share an obsession with wealth and status. We meet cigar-puffing Florian Homm, the German businessman and investment banker who frequently dodges the FBI on charges of fraud; a “Toddlers and Tiaras” star; adult film actress and ex-girlfriend of Charlie Sheen Kacey Jordan; Suzanne, the work-obsessed New York City hedge fund executive; and, of course, the many stiff faces of one-too-many plastic surgeries.

Throughout these narratives, Greenfield explores layering sectors that display America’s toxic materialism — its general obsession with wealth, the commodification of the female body, the lengths to which we go to gain and display our acquired wealth and more. Indeed, many of these interviewees have been interviewed by Greenfield for her earlier work, revisited for the sake of the documentary. The documentary is then almost 25 years in the making and an overarching collection of Greenfield’s work. Such a filmmaking feat is worthy of praise, and the longevity of the project further legitimizes its ideas.

The film argues that the American Dream has changed from a righteous desire to work hard and gain wealth to one of exuberance and aesthetic display. Wealth is therefore no longer simply capital gain but becomes the centerpiece of what gives our society and selves value. Our basic human psyche responded accordingly; our morals, values and behaviors altered.

The challenge of the various niches presented throughout the film, however, is the questionable ability to follow the thought process of the filmmaker. Greenfield balances on a fine line between the creatively explorative and far-fetched. There are times in which the viewer questions how the various interviews connect to the overall thesis of the documentary, which at times diminishes the film’s investigative power and credibility.

One interviewee claims our American society is on the brink of collapse with its focus on wealth, similar to the fall of Ancient Rome. While not a completely ruled out theory, the sensationalism found in various points of the film makes the viewer scratch their head.

Yet the silver lining of the documentary falls in Greenfield’s autobiographical approach, which is an uncommon strategy in this type of film. She ties her family history into the context of the film, and interviews her sons and parents in the process. Yet even she herself is not exempt from analysis and even criticism. By the end of the film, she questions her obsession with her line of work and love for filmmaking. Her desire for more — making more films — mirrors the inherent qualities of the American desire for wealth and status. She, too, is part of this culture.

One scene is specifically powerful in this case. As Greenfield interviews her son on the idea of legacy, her husband takes the camera to film her and ask the same question. She stutters, attempts to grab the camera and is finally forced to answer the question. She is confronted with introspection and finding her place within her own anthropological study. Without such strategy, the extreme cases she presents would seem inapplicable to the average Joe. She brings herself back down to earth, reminding the viewer that no one is exempt from materialism. Not even the omnipotus, theoretically neutral filmmaker.

The film ends on a rather optimistic note. Each of the interview subjects forgoes their obsession with wealth, acknowledging the destruction it has caused them, and

BEADING on 12

GENERATION WEALTH on 12

NAASSC hosts weekly Beading Circles

ZO Ë R EIN HA R DT / AGGIE

JA MIE CHEN / AG GIE

Beading Circles provide community engagement with Native American culture

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019 | 11

ART BUILDING

ECONOMICS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Jesse Vasquez, the lab assistant for the photo areas in the Art Building, echoed concerns that not enough has been done to resolve this situation even after staff and students have followed police directions.

“It doesn’t seem like they’re taking the severity of this [into consideration],” Vasquez said. “The student body’s been very upset and they’re feeling quite abandoned. [The police have] been putting out these alerts that aren’t really getting to anybody. We put up a bunch of signs saying call the police if you see anything suspicious. I wanted to have something that had this guy’s description, his full name and a picture — which the cops have — which they haven’t released.”

Students expressed frustration during the town hall with the lack of information being shared by campus police. At the town hall on Feb. 13, Beermann and Green repeatedly told students that since it’s an open case, not much can be said about it.

Beermann agreed to try and increase foot patrols in and around the art building, but explained it simply isn’t possible for someone to be there constantly.

Another reason students felt uneasy is the fact they don’t know what the intruder looked like, but again, police were unwilling to share such information from an open case. What Green and Beermann proposed instead is a line up containing several photographs so as not to single out the intruder.

In an interview with The California Aggie, Vasquez explained that students are scared because of the access Chavez has to their studio and the disregard he displayed of the no-trespassing citation issued before many of the incidents occured this quarter.

None of the emails informing the Art Department of the situation included information about the sexual assault and harassment incidents and only mentioned

that Chavez is an unauthorized visitor, Vasquez said.

After a female supervisor sent out an email, Vasquez followed up with an email of his own, acknowledging the sexual assault and harassment aspect that was being left out.

“She got back to me immediately saying that she felt like I’m undermining her,” Vasquez said. “That’s not my intention, but the information is not out and people are not going to be taking it for the urgency. I think it deserves if the information is not there.”

Only students within the art department received a notification about an unauthorized visitor, despite the fact that classes for many different departments are scheduled in the Art Building.

In response to the lack of a campus-wide email sent out to inform students and staff about the situation, UC Davis’ Director of News and Media Relations Melissa Blouin said via email that a campus-wide notification was not sent because the individual was not viewed as a current threat.

“A transient person has been causing some issues in the Art and Music buildings as well as Wright Hall,” Blouin said.

“Recently, it was discovered that this same person had been in the Art building a few months ago and allegedly grabbed a student. At that time, he was taken to jail for trespassing. No campus notification was sent at the time because the person was in jail and therefore not an imminent threat.

Currently, police are working with the Yolo County District Attorney to try to get an arrest warrant issued in that case.”

Blouin was unable to provide additional details because the investigation is ongoing.

UCDPD did not responded to request for comment at the time of publication of this article.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

have a choice between a Bachelor of Arts in economics or a Bachelor of Science in managerial economics.

Some opt for managerial economics because of the perceived prestige they feel is associated with a B.S. title. Labeling the regular economics major as a STEM degree, however, gives it the weight that many feel a B.S. seems to bear.

“I’m pretty frustrated I guess, because I really wanted to major in economics but wanted to graduate with a B.S.,” said Olivia Jones, a third-year managerial economics major. “I feel like a STEM degree is essentially the same thing, and I definitely wish I knew this was coming for the economics major before I fully committed to managerial economics.”

Although managerial economics is a B.S., it has yet to be recognized by the university as an official STEM degree. Af-

ter news of the reclassification of economics emerged, many managerial economics students took it upon themselves to express their frustration with a petition titled “Make Managerial Economics major at UC Davis a STEM major!”

The petition’s main argument makes the claim that without a STEM title, international students majoring in managerial economics are not eligible for the additional visa extension, even though the major is technically a B.S. The supporters also assert that the nature of the major is primarily STEM, and thus should be reclassified as such.

The petition was signed by 40 individuals, and the most recent update shows that the plea gained recognition from the agriculture and resource economics department, which is taking the appropriate actions to make the change.

JETTER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

tributed in the aftermath of the 2016 election depicted top Google executives bemoaning Donald Trump’s victory to their employees — doing little to absolve anxieties over the company’s relationship with politics. Meanwhile, a number of 2020 Democratic hopefuls from the party’s more progressive wing have voiced their concerns over what they perceive as Big Tech’s violation of personal privacy.

History has shown that when left unchecked, monopolies use their power to crush competition and stall innovation. As a natural monopoly, search engines possess a high barrier to entry, thus eliminating the ability of the free market to create legitimate competitors.

Google’s unique domination of information access is an especially eccentric case,

as it literally places the ability to control the perception of reality in the hands of a massive tech corporation.

Treating Google’s search engine as a public utility would allow for greater legal oversight over the company’s possible monopolistic and politically-biased practices.

Placing the company under the careful scrutiny of a public utilities commission grants the government the ability to enforce antitrust action in a manner that the free market simply cannot. Additionally, it would create greater transparency over the relation of the corporate giant to the American political class. With the sum of human knowledge at our figureprints, ensuring that unbiased access to collective information remains readily available should be a top concern.

MINI DORMS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

ordinance which would need to come back for 2nd readings and gives the opportunity for members to change their votes requires 3/5 vote and takes longer to go into effect.”

Lee added that people got away with having extra bedrooms by coining different names for the rooms.

“The reason why there was a need for an urgency ordinance was because we literally had someone who had a 1800-squarefoot home with four bedrooms, and they doubled the size of their parcel,” Lee said.

“Rather than calling the rooms bedrooms, they magically had an extra living room and extra dining room, as well as additional bathrooms. When you look at the plans, it’s clear that they’re not going to be used as living rooms or dining rooms — they’re actually used as bedrooms.”

Lee included that for those who still want home expansion, nothing would change if they stayed within the limits.

“If somebody wants to expand their home — as long as they’re not expanding more than 40 percent — then everything stays the same,” Lee said. “If they want more, then there’s additional review by staff to see whether the expansion fits within the neighborhood in terms of the existing design.”

In addition, the City of Davis indicated that the ordinance would be able to solve other neighborly concerns as well.

According to The Davis Enterprise, the city staff noted that, “The urgency ordinance is drafted in a manner to address the majority of the situations that cause neighborhood concern without unduly burdening all new residential construction and additions.”

Partida suggested that the ordinance will also benefit neighborhoods so that they will become more aware and ready for changes

within their community.

“The purpose of this ordinance is so that neighborhoods do not have drastic changes to their neighborhoods and so that neighbors can be made aware of proposed changes to homes in their neighborhoods that they be affected by,” Partida said. “All neighborhoods will be under this ordinance. The mini-dorm referred to the fact that we were addressing construction of projects that seek to add multiple rooms that may exceed the number of bedrooms allowable without a plan review process.”

Lee expanded on how the ordinance will fix problems with the loophole, giving more review to those who want to have “minidorms” or extra living space for renters.

“The way the regulations were before was that technically it was not going beyond the 5-bedroom limit, so the plan was approved,” Lee said. “But now, when you’re going to greatly increase the square footage of parcel or your building, then we take that into consideration. For folks who want to do an addition, it doesn’t add any difficulty for the people who want to create ‘a mini-dorm’ in a residential area, but it triggers an additional review.”

Lee also stressed that the ordinance does not mean to disfavor students.

“It’s not meant to be anti-student — this is not saying people can’t have student rentals,” Lee said. “This is not trying to make it more difficult for students to rent rooms or homes. What this is designed to do is to prevent people from taking an existing single-family home designed for single families and turn it into a rooming house design with 10 to 20 people living in a typical home. We approved a lot of apartment complexes that are more student-oriented, and so I think that this is not meant to be more difficult for student renters.”

OROPEZA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

go over their budgets, and $10,000 in times of drought.

Unfortunately, there is no mention of water rights or similar fines for agricultural uses.

With mega-rich agricultural names like the Resnick family — whose farms use more water than every home in Los Angeles combined — throwing money at

politicians, it is no wonder that not much has been done about these laws. This forces state water agencies to uphold laws rewarding unsustainable water practices.

It’s time to start making policies to strip the already-powerful agricultural corporations of their privileged water rights and to hold large and small farms to the same sustainability standards.

SHAW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

Don’t forget the cherry! The best part — it’s refilled every hour with fresh ice cream made from the milk of UC Davis cows and compostable utensils.

There’s more: live musicians of different genres for every week day; bowling alleys on the top deck of every double decker; changes of dry clothes for rainy days in all sizes.

“Sounds great!” and “Wowee, you said this is bad, weird future man” are two thoughts that likely crossed your mind reading this.

Well it is bad, and I’ll tell you why.

The referendum states that all funding will

come from student tuition. That includes everything I just listed and more. Imagine tuition more than doubling just so Unitrans can have their way. But the worst of it comes in the final line, stating that Unitrans now has “unlimited control over the actions and lives of [their] riders.” As a future Davis denizen, I can assure you, they take full advantage of this. Let’s just say there are only a few of us left fighting the good fight.

However, there’s a way you can stop all of this from happening. All you have to do is —.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

12 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019

CORN FERTILIZER

GENERATION WEALTH

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

“There tends to be a lot of scientists that hope that the improvement of a single crop will change the circumstances for thousands or millions,” said Kristin Mercer, a professor in the department of horticulture and crop science at Ohio State University.

“However, the situation is usually more complicated than that and involve histories of colonialism and dysfunctional develop-

ment. That said, regions with low access to agricultural inputs or suffering from nutrient pollution could certainly benefit from maize that fixes nitrogen.”

Ultimately, the corn is still in the beginning stages of being tested for commercialization, but the discovery of a corn being able to fix its own nitrogen is unique nonetheless.

advocates for moral preservation of what really matters: love and the people we care about. Greenfield too recognizes that she continues to live in the materialist Los Angeles culture of which she criticizes. Nonetheless, culture can be changed and contextualized; knowing this seems to be the

first step toward change. While seemingly lofty, a little cliché and a slight let down to the viewer at first watch, it’s obvious that the concluding sentiment has not been deeply embedded into our collective culture. This documentary would not exist if it had.

NIL GIRALDEZ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

GLOBAL TEA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

all dimensions and disciplines, according to the GTI website. The GTI also began spreading their influence throughout campus, offering a first-year seminar on global tea culture and science, and developing a curriculum for an undergraduate minor in the field. The GTI is also discussing possible research partnerships globally, which would open up possibilities for research collaborations and student and teaching exchanges.

Burnett stated that while there is a lot of information published about tea, much of it is anecdotal or a myth. Burnett also pointed out the need for these statements to be scientifically proven. Aside from the scientific aspect of tea, she also finds the cultural and societal aspects of it to be very important such as its ability to bring people together.

“It’s been fascinating to me to see how important local tea cultures are to people and how people, wherever you are, think that their tea culture is the best,” Burnett said. “Well, I think that’s wonderful. And it’s wonderful because then you can have a conversation and between people who may think that are very different, but discover that as much as their practices may appear superficially different, they really share more than they can anticipate.”

As a research scholar, Burnett stated that tea opens up new ways of thinking about culture at varying levels, from elite to dayto-day. Catherine Nguyen, a research analyst and industry liaison of the GTI, stated that while she didn’t initially know much about tea, she gained a lot of new knowledge by working with the project.

“I definitely had a lot of misconceptions about [tea] until I started talking with more industry members and just members of the tea community,” Nguyen said. “One of the misconceptions I had was that it was not a young people’s drink. But, you know, there’s a lot of different products aimed towards different people and a lot of my misconceptions about tea were shattered once I got into it. There’s a lot to learn.”

Continuing their annual tradition, the GTI will be host a two-day symposium on Jan. 16 and 17 of 2020 in collaboration with the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Sciences. The event’s theme is based on a Tang Dynasty text from the eighth century where “Mr. Wine” and “Mr. Tea” debate their respective benefits. Burnett stated that while each have their own cultural and agricultural components that make them distinct, the two beverages also have similarities that bring out their special properties. She suggested thinking about tea and wine in similar ways, such as examining flavor, aroma, connoisseurship, chemistry and mixology. “[Because of ] this debate that tea and wine have always been brought together as comparatives [...] and because they’re so many remarkable similarities between these two beverages even though one has alcohol and the other doesn’t, but there are very interesting ways of thinking of them that I think, that we think will help people better understand each and shed light on each in ways that we aren’t accustomed to thinking about them,” Burnett said.

KUMAGAI

The harsh Winter Quarter weather hasn’t made a good impression on Giraldez either, who, like many when they first move to California, expected mild weather year round.

Above all, Steidlmayer noted that having an international player, like Giraldez or Tommy Lam — a Hong Kong native who played for the men’s tennis team and graduated from UC Davis last year — provides the team with a different worldview.

“It’s pretty cool for all our guys to get to know somebody from a different country and to have that kind of different perspective,” Steidlmayer said.

Everything happened at once for Giral-

dez, what with being thrown into competition right away along with training and academics, but he is handling it all well, according to Steidlmayer.

“It’s pretty challenging taking a writing class and writing a five-page paper in English when Spanish is your first language,” Steidlmayer said.

Although he is a long way from home and only finished the visa process in December, Giraldez seems to have found his home on the tennis court.

Nil Giraldez’s tenacity and international perspective are emblematic of the UC Davis culture with which he is now ingrained.

BASEBALL PREVIEW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

back, as they scored nine more runs and finished the game with 11 hits.

In the second half of the doubleheader, the Aggies were in a jam in the top of the 2nd inning, already down 1-0. The bases were loaded with one out, until a double play by sophomore infielder Kyler Arenado limited the damage and ended the top half of the inning. The first homerun of the season for the Aggies came right after Arenado’s key defensive play, when Briggs hit the first of his career to left field in the bottom of the 2nd. The game remained a tight battle until the 4th inning, when a double by senior outfielder Garret Kelly brought home two runners, followed by a steal and balk that brought him home as well. The Aggies scored five more in the following inning to go on and win 9-2.

“Obviously when you win two, very happy with it. Especially after the past two

weeks it’s been raining and the tarp has been coming on and off,” Vaughn said.

“For our guys to come out here ready, it was big deal.”

When asked about his thoughts on his team this year moving forward, Vaughn did say it was early, but he felt good about his team.

“We feel like we’re a lot better this year and we’re going to play that way.”

Vaughn said. “The guys have done a great job working towards it and you just gotta make progress everyday. It’s a good start but one day at a time.”

The Aggies finished off their series against Northern Colorado with a 12-0 win on Sunday. After a quick one-gamer at home against Nevada on Tuesday, the Aggies now head to Tempe, Arizona for a three game series against Arizona State this weekend.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

The devil nodded, saying, “Sure thing, my dude.” He snapped his fingers, and Faust’s parents appeared before him.

A few members of CALPIRG looked longingly at Faust. One day, they too would

see their families again and be freed from their own deals with the devil.

“Hi! Would you like to pledge $10 to h-” “NO.” Today would not be that day.

DRY CARD CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

spotlighted agricultural and biological seed production and processing practices, encouraging businesses to consider applying DryCard among other technologies to their current agricultural practices.

Suhas Barge, a production general manager at Kalash Seeds based in India, is eager to incorporate DryCard into onion seed production, leaving the Seed Production course with DryCard samples to test seed dryness across production and storage with local farmers.

“We, [Kalash Seeds], produce 300 metric tons of dry onion seeds with 2,000 individual growers,” Barge said. “If we have moisture in our products, it’s a big loss for our business and consumers.”

DryCard has met challenges in adapting behavior to accept new drying technologies.

“These farmers have been drying for ages, they rely on ancient practices, usually they will bite, crunch or just look at food prod-

ucts to know that they are dry,” Pham said.

“It’s hard to get them to know that food loss, short food life and mold contamination can be attributed to these practices.”

The DryCard aims to meet this challenge by partnering with distributors who are well-known, respected community members. They can create culturally-sensitive DryCards and agricultural education to build community-driven businesses to reshape local agriculture, careers and health.

“People put a lot of effort into drying, but their packaging often is porous or stored in a humid environment, which leads to seed death,” Bradford said. “Moisture combined with either a low or high-temperature environment kills seeds. They will have low shelf-lives. You can put DryCard with plastic seed storage containers and when you look at the DryCard through the container, you can tell whether you need to dry the seeds again.”

BEADING CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

would just have to do the labor themselves.”

All beading circles are free for attendees.

Castillo hopes the grad cap Beading Circles continue after she and other student organizers graduate this year.

“Being here and having the community and having the resources, and somebody willing to teach, a lot more students have learned how to bead and that’s something that’s really cool,” Castillo said.

The purpose of Beading Circles, however, goes beyond producing jewelry and other items.

“Generally, it’s not the beading that’s important, it’s us getting together and talking and connecting, and having these very fluid, general conversations [is] helpful for the students,” Villegas-Frazier said. “So we’re not trying to produce stuff, it’s just a reason to get together.”

The Beading Circle is held every week for one hour. The NAASSC also hosts movie nights, Waffle Wednesday and other events.

More information can be found on their website.

BEACH VB PREVIEW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

accomplish in such a late stage of the offseason. As a general rule, teams typically set their schedules well in advance, and McColloch is already putting together dates for the 2020 season.

“It was hard for me because everyone already had their schedule pretty locked in when I got here,” McColloch said. “Our schedule has Stanford, Cal, Boise State and the Big West Challenge. Our conference, specifically, is really tough and Cal Poly, Hawaii and Long Beach are three of the top teams in the NCAA.” Given the unusual circumstances facing the program, McColloch admitted that her team will face difficult challenges once they step onto the court in March. That doesn’t change her long-standing goals and what she hopes to see the players achieve.

“It’s going to be tough,” McColloch said. “I don’t have expectations for the girls and never have expectations for winning.

Our success is not about winning and losing, it’s about the effort you put in every time you play and doing the best you can possibly do every day.”

McColloch was originally drawn to the coaching job due to her positive impressions of UC Davis Athletics as a whole and the department’s recent progress under Blue.

“When I came on my interview, I was really impressed with the way that Davis looks at their student-athletes,” McColloch said. “When they think of student-athletes, they are students and then athletes. That doesn’t happen at a lot of big D-1 programs.”

“Davis, to me, is really a top D-1 program athletically and they’re showing that in their facilities, making a push for better resources for the players and reaching out to the community to help support those athletes better.”

McColloch also mentioned her admiration for the Aggie EVO program and explained how a similar system would have

greatly impacted her own college experience at UCLA. “When I was done with college, I was still playing volleyball but then after that I had no idea how to write a resume or get a job,” McColloch said. “All I knew how to do was play volleyball and then coach volleyball because I needed money in college. I spent a lot of time learning how to develop relationships, run my own business, but that took me six to seven years to figure it out. When you’re here, they’re trying to help you do that while you’re at school. I think that’s really cool and that’s something I want to be apart of.”

When the team finally plays its first home games on Picnic Day weekend, McColloch hopes to see a lot of fans cheering on the team and enjoying this new environment that has never been seen before at UC Davis.

“We want to make it a really fun and relaxed environment, where it feels like you’re at the beach,” McColloch said.

“That’s pretty exciting and it’s just a matter of the weather clearing up.”

McColloch is currently working with UC Davis Athletics on a plan to create the best possible gameday experience for supporters and make the team’s presence known across campus. Some of the ideas being floated around include a “meet and greet” with the players, movie nights on Howard Field and youth clinics for young members of the community to gain exposure to the sport. McColloch is also teaching a half-unit physical education class on beach volleyball next quarter, which will take place on Mondays and Wednesdays at 1:10 p.m.

All in all, there is a lot of positivity surrounding the launch of yet another Division I sport on campus. Assuming the weather starts to clear up in the coming months, afternoon games on the beach of Howard Field promise to provide a nice change of scenery for Cow Town.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019 | 13

BY ROSI E SC HWAR Z arts@theaggie.org

Esteemed and internationally-recognized poet, feminist, essayist and playwright Cherríe Moraga spoke at the Manetti Shrem museum as part of the “Xixanx Futurity” exhibit on Feb. 14. Students, faculty and community

members were present for the talk titled “Cherríe Moraga in Conversation,” a conversation between Moraga and Susy Zepeda, an assistant professor of Chicano/Chicana studies at UC Davis.

The “Xixanx Futurity” exhibit confronts intergenerational dialogue and attention rooted in understanding the past while work-

JAMI E C H E N / AG G IE

Appreciating Roma Do streaming services fall short of movie theatres?

BY JOSH M A D RI D arts@theaggie.org

It’s Friday evening, and movie posters shine brightly — almost saying, “Watch me!” as moviegoers wait in line for their tickets. The familiar pore-clogging scent of buttered popcorn can’t be masked by even the strongest perfume but the popcorn itself pairs well with a refreshing Coca-Cola. After taking a photo of your ticket stub for your Instagram story, you await the full cinematic experience — a feeling the couch at home can’t quite recreate.

Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón, in “Roma” depicts the intricate and unspoken divide between class and family in 1970s Mexico in the midst of political conflict. The film was released on Nov. 21 in select theatres and was released on Netflix shortly after on Dec. 12. That being said, I recommend watching the film in theatres.

The black and white film captures outstanding images of the life of Cleo, portrayed by Yalitza Aparicio. These images can’t be fully appreciated on a small screen.

The richness of the film production captivates the audience in a multitude of settings.

The cinematography provides stimulating camera angles that are constantly moving, producing an effect as if the audience is watching through their own curiously gaz-

ing eyes. The natural landscape of Central Mexico, the bustling of the city and the serenity of the beach are presented in their respective majesties.

The size disparity between the movie screen and a laptop screen is the most obvious experiential disparity. The images in the film are like a “Where’s Waldo?” book because there is so much to take in, which makes the theatre the more immersive experience. Laptops don’t encourage immersion because one can pause and rewind after getting distracted on their phone.

The surround sound in theatres completes the experience, bringing the characters’ emotions that much closer.

I agree, Netflix has its advantages.

It’s well-suited for on-the-go viewing or binge-watching at home for the entire weekend, but all great things have their limits.

Sometimes, a night on the town to the big screen is in order. In terms of cost effectiveness, Netflix is more bang for your buck, but quantity isn’t always better than quality.

“Roma” is a quintessential example of why the cinema is not going anywhere.

Films like this are worth paying to see in theaters because they foster an appreciation for film that is only achieved in a setting designed for film watching. Next time, trade the comfort of your couch for red reclining seats and greasy popcorn.

area, with only standing area left at the back of the room. As people continued to walk in and listen to Moraga speak, students working at the Shrem greeted and welcomed guests.

Various levels of familiarity as well as personal and academic backgrounds were reflected in the questions that members of the audience asked Moraga after her conversation.

Questions ranged from a Ph.D candidate who referenced a specific, controversial work of Moraga’s to a student who asked about Moraga’s role in accomplishing her Xixanx activism.

Moraga answered all of the questions thoughtfully. She received snaps and cheers from the

The aggie

Writer gives talk as part of “Xixanx Futurity” exhibit

ing toward the future, a focus that Moraga, also a professor of English at UC Santa Barbara, has written about since before she began her professional career. The talk offered further insight into the magnitude and importance the current exhibit holds.

Moraga’s professional life began in 1981 with her co-editorship of the groundbreaking feminist anthology “This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color.” She is also a founder of “La Red Xicana,” a social justice activist “network of Xicana activists committed to indigenous political education, spiritual practice, and grassroots organizing.”

Attendees of the event extended beyond the designated speaker

reduce. reuse. recycle.

Prominent writer Cherríe Moraga speaks at Manetti Shrem Museum

ZOË R E I N D H A R DT / AGGI E

audience when she stated, “this is theory in the flesh,” and “when I walked out of my house, I walked into the Xixanx movement.”

Christina Boyar, a fourth-year cognitive science major, remarked on the difficult topics Moraga navigated through. Boyar felt Moraga offered thorough and candid insights on topics ranging from deeply personal spiritual experiences to the power of art and systems of oppression in both formal institutions and social justice movements. Boyar said this made for a “dynamic, deeply interesting discussion.”

Jaxon Grandchamp, a fourthyear psychology major, said “it was an interesting conversation between three strong women.”

Sundays Feb. 3 – Mar. 17 11a – 1pm 500 1st Street Davis Commons S IDE A 3 3 ⅓ RPM

HIGH FIDELITY STEREO

nobagelsnolife.com

BAGELS, BUBBLES, & BEATS LIVE VINYL • BOTTOMLESS MIMOSAS • BAGEL SANDWICHES

FAQ #5 Q: How do I get my 50% student discount?

A: You can call or visit the Ticket Office, or you can purchase online once you have created a Mondavi Center account with your campus email address.

Ticket Office: 530.754.2787

TA’s Office Hours

BY ROSEY M O R E A RT Y rosey@morearty.org

We Shall Overcome A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. featuring Damien Sneed

FRI, MAR 1 | 8PM Experience a living lineage of music and culture that includes gospel, classical, jazz, Broadway and spirituals. Five singers and a quartet of musicians led by music director Damien Sneed bring together songs that evoke the struggles and triumphs of civil rights activists.

Jodi Kantor MON, MAR 4 | 7PM Pulitzer Prize-winner Kantor helped break the Harvey Weinstein story that sparked the #MeToo movement. Her talk takes audiences behind the scenes of investigative journalism and explores why so many women are now finding their voices and why people are finally listening.

#mondavicenter

mondaviarts.org mondaviarts.org/students

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

14 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019

backstop L AN I - R A E G R E E N / CO URTESY

GETTING INTO THE SWING OF THINGS Meet UC Davis men’s tennis freshman and Barcelona-native, Nil Giraldez

BY BOBBY JO HN sports@theaggie.org

When asking the UC Davis men’s tennis freshman Nil Giraldez about his style of play on the court, he’ll say he’s a fighter.

He’ll fight for every point, fight for every ball, fight for every centimeter of advantage he can get over his opponents. Of course, every tennis player gives all they got to win the point, but there’s something different about this self-described fighter, who hails from Barcelona where his dad put a racquet in his hand at the age of four.

When the men’s tennis team hosted the University of Nevada-Reno earlier this year, Giraldez appeared to have all but lost his first set when he was down 4-1. But he slowly inched his way back and took the TE SSA KO G A / AG G I E

first set from his opponent, 6-4, letting out the occasional celebrational “Vamos!” along the way. He proceeded to win his match in straight sets.

Although it’s not apparent from his oncourt attitude, Giraldez is relatively quiet.

He has only been in Davis for a month, as he started attending classes at the beginning of Winter Quarter. Even though his teammates say he’s struggling a little with English — it isn’t his mother tongue — it is never a struggle to understand what he’s saying.

In a sport where the upper echelons are largely dominated by non-U.S. players, tennis has declined in popularity in the U.S. It’s partly due to the failure of the United States to produce exciting players, apart from the Williams Sisters, since the days of the Andre Agassi-Pete Sampras rivalry.

MCCOLLOCH LEADS NEW ERA OF BEACH VOLLEYBALL

Spanish players have been much more exciting to watch in recent history. Players like Carlos Moya, Tommy Robredo, Juan Carlos Ferrero, David Ferrer and of course, the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal.

Growing up, Giraldez idolized Nadal and his never-say-die attitude on the court but tries to model his play after another dominant tennis superstar, Novak Djokovic, who just won his 15th grand slam title.

While UC Davis is no stranger to international students — they made up 14 percent of the undergraduate population in the 2017-18 academic year — Davis is not exactly a destination for overseas athletes.

What was one of the reasons Giraldez chose UC Davis?

“Having a team,” Giraldez said. “In Spain, when you go to college you can’t combine tennis and studies and you don’t have any kind of team. [Here] It’s like family, you know, that’s one of the reasons I came here.”

When Giraldez started playing tennis, he was pleased with his coordination on the court. Giraldez recalled that he “played it quite well,” and as he got older he started playing better and training more.

In Spain, tennis is played on a clay court.

On a clay, the ball bounces higher and slower, fostering that trademark style of play seen commonly in Spanish tennis players. Slower points, longer rallies, generous use of topspin and overall defensive-minded play.

The drop shot — a trick shot where one player will fake their groundstroke and, with a deft touch, slice the ball so that it barely clears the net — is more of a weapon on clay where both players play further away from the baseline. It sounds like a good shot in theory but often backfires on players on QU IN N SPOON ER / AGGIE

UC Davis’ newest sport prepares to debut in early March

BY BREN DA N O GB U R N sports@theaggie.org

After 10 long months, the wait for UC Davis to introduce its newest sport on campus is almost over.

Last April, the UC Davis Athletics department announced that the school added two new women’s sports programs, equestrian and beach volleyball, to the school’s lineup of 25 Division I teams. Equestrian is already off to a flying start, but now the time is near for another debut and the unveiling of a brand-new facility: the four beach volleyball courts on the south edge of Howard Field, next to Toomey Field.

In early July, Ali McColloch, a former professional volleyball player who has competed around the globe, was hired to be the inaugural beach volleyball Head Coach and build the program from the ground up.

Since she arrived, there has been a race against time to get every aspect of the program in order in preparation for the season opener against Sacramento State on March 2.

Given time constraints and numerous challenges associated with starting a program from scratch, the last eight months have been an absolute whirlwind for McColloch.

She has been tasked with putting together a makeshift roster for the team’s first season, without the luxury of an incoming recruited class. As a result, this year’s 18-person roster is comprised of 14 players from the women’s indoor volleyball team and another four that made the cut during tryout sessions in late December.

“The indoor athletes are extremely athletic and that is very appealing to me,” McColloch said. “They can jump very well, move fast and are prime athletes.”

McColloch isn’t too concerned about the contrasts in playing style between the two sports but more wary of the toll that playing a pair of intense, back-to-back seasons can have on a player’s body.

“The transition is a little hard but not that bad,” McColloch said. “My concern is

transitioning back and forth between the two, and how little time I get with them.

We only have about three months with them. Once they’re done with our season, they go straight into spring training for indoor. They don’t get much of a break which is tough.”

This inaugural season will serve as a trial period for many of the indoor players and help determine how the program’s roster will be constructed in future years.

“It’s a very unique situation,” McColloch said. “It was optional for them to be fully practicing, travel and play with us, or some girls could just use it as training for indoor. This is basically a year-long tryout for all the girls. Next year, if there are players that we think can help the program, we’ll keep them.”

Starting this winter, McColloch had a chance to start recruiting at the high school level for the first time and revealed her ultimate goals for the long-term structure of the roster.

“In the long run, I think it’ll be 90 percent beach-only players,” McColloch stated. “We’ve had a lot of interest from beach-only players wanting to come here.

That was something I wasn’t expecting because most of them are walk-on’s, and there’s not a lot of scholarship money right now. By the end of next year, we should have a full 10-12 person roster [that] is what I’m hoping for, assuming they fit our culture.”

Nonetheless, indoor Head Coach Dan Conners will oversee both programs and continue to work with McColloch to implement a strategy that benefits the longterm prosperity of each team.

“We’ll always leave the option for indoor players to play and I don’t ever want to close that off,” McColloch said. “[Conners] and I work really well together on that.”

In addition to player development, McColloch was also faced with the challenge of compiling a schedule of opponents for the season, which is extremely difficult to BEACH VB PREVIEW on 12

hard courts.

On hard courts, traditional for tennis in the U.S., this slower style of play is harder to pull off. Points are faster, groundstrokes more aggressive and players approach and attack the net more.

This style of play, while not a significant hindrance for Giraldez who has beaten six out of seven singles opponents so far this season, has required some adjustments.

“I have to adapt to this,” said Giraldez when the Aggies played UNR earlier in the season.

“I’m trying to make my serve a weapon,” he added, noting that the serve on clay courts is typically used as a tool to start controlling the point, rather than creating an opportunity to attack.

Just taking a look at his record thus far, it wouldn’t seem that there is a pressing need for him to change. His coach agrees.

“You’ve got 10 years of training behind you playing on clay, so you’re not jumping to doing hard court tennis, nor should he,” said men’s tennis Head Coach Eric Steidlmayer.

Sophomore Dariush Jalali said it’s been fun having another Spanish speaker on the team.

“Nil speaks Spanish, I know some Spanish. It’s fun to talk trash about the other teammates in Spanish and practice my bilingualism.”

Davis is a long way from Barcelona, Spain, and Thamma says Giraldez got a bit of culture shock.

“It’s totally different, but I’m okay,” Giraldez said.

NIL GIRALDEZ on 12

UC DAVIS BASEBALL SEASON PREVIEW The Aggies look to show improvement in 2019

BY O MAR NAVARRO sports@theaggie.org

With spring rapidly approaching, the UC Davis baseball team is ready to take a step forward in 2019 led by Head Coach Matt Vaughn. After posting a 18-35 overall record last year, the Aggies hope to bounce back as they return some of their top hitters from 2018.

Sophomore shortstop Tanner Murray is coming off of a very impressive freshman season where he batted .333 with 64 hits and 22 RBI’s. He earned the Big West Freshman Field Player of the Year as well as a spot on the All-Big West Second team.

Murray will likely be a big piece for the Aggies going forward as will senior infielder Cameron Briggs. Briggs finished third on the team last year in batting average with a .296 as well as 42 hits and seven doubles in 44 games.

As for sophomore infielder Joseph Myers, his second year brings a lot of excitement as well. After posting a .328 batting average to go along with 40 hits in just 39 games, he also earned a spot on the All-Big West Second Team.

On the mound, senior lefty Chris Brown will be the veteran presence in the rotation. He comes off of a year where he posted a 5.14 ERA in 14 starts to go with 35 strikeouts. He also tied his teammate, sophomore right-hander Jared Sasaki, with four wins.

Sasaki earned his way into the rotation and started in 13 games. He finished the season with a 4.34 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 76.2 innings. Fellow right-handed sophomore Brett Erwin appeared in 20 games out of the bullpen and became an All-Big West Honorable Mention.

To round out the rotation on the mound, senior right-hander Blake Hannah looks to build off his 2018 campaign in which he started 12 games and had 22 strikeouts in 35.2 innings.

This year’s key players will have to elevate their game after the loss of big players like Ryan Anderson, who led the confer-

ence in batting average and the team in RBI’s, finishing as an honoree of the AllBig West First Team. Ryan Hooper, Alex Aguiar and pitchers Matt Blais and Connor Loar all graduated as well, meaning that there remain several spots on this year’s team that will need to be filled.

After last year’s big wins over St. Johns and Oregon, the Aggies look to have more statement wins this year. They play four games versus teams in the national top 25 rankings this season. One of those games will be at Stanford, who was 12th in the national preseason rankings. Last season, the Aggies barely lost 3-2 at Dobbins Stadium to Stanford, so they will look to make a statement when they travel to Klein Field on April 16th.

The other opponent in the top 25 happens to be a team in the Big West Conference, Cal State Fullerton. The Titans are ranked 25th and were the coaches preseason poll pick to win the Big West once again. UC Davis travels to Fullerton for a three game stretch in May. Other notable opponents include Pac-12 conference teams Arizona State and Utah, where the Aggies will travel this season as well.

After finishing eighth in the Big West Conference last year, the Aggies are expected to finish in that same spot this upcoming year according to the coaches preseason poll. UC Davis wasted little time in its attempts to prove the doubters wrong, as the start of the 2019 season came with a doubleheader sweep. After getting rained out Friday, the Aggies were victorious in both games against the University of Northern Colorado on Saturday.

In the first game, the Aggies got a couple of great pitching outings from Erwin and senior lefty Chase Lyford in an 11-2 win. Erwin started the game and went for five innings, giving up only one earned run on four hits to go along with four strikeouts. In his relief came Lyford, who pitched the rest of the way while only giving up one run on three hits. After taking the lead 2-1 in the 3rd inning, the Aggies never looked BASEBALL PREVIEW on 12