December 5 2019

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

@THECALIFORNIAAGGIE

SERVING THE UC DAVIS CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY SINCE 1915

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

@CALIFORNIAAGGIE

@CALIFORNIAAGGIE

VOLUME 138, ISSUE 10 | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2019

THEAGGIE.ORG

YUVAL PERES, MATH PROFESSOR WITH SERIES OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS LEVIED AGAINST HIM, GIVES LECTURE AT UC DAVIS Peres, who worked at UC Berkeley for over a decade, left position at University of Washington under threat of investigation

Memorial Union on the UC Davis campus housed ASUCD before it was temporarily relocated to 116 A St. (Photo by Quinn Spooner / Aggie)

ASUCD ELECTIONS ACCUSED OF BEING UNCONSTITUTIONAL Suits filed with Judicial Council over Fall Elections

BY ALLY R USSELL campus@theaggie.org

Professor Yuval Peres, facing allegations of sexual harassment, recently gave a lecture hosted by the Mathematics Department at the Mathematical Sciences Building on the UC Davis campus. (Photo by Quinn Spooner / Aggie)

BY R EBE CC A BI H N -WAL L AC E campus@theaggie.org Yuval Peres, a mathematics professor known for his work in the probability research field, gave a lecture at UC Davis on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

Peres, who previously worked as a professor at the UC Berkeley from 1993 to 2006; as an unpaid affiliate at the University of Washington (UW) from 2006 to 2012; and as a researcher in the Microsoft Theory Group from 2006 to 2018, has been publicly accused by three women of sexual misconduct.

Peres did not respond to The California Aggie’s requests for comment regarding the allegations against him. He had previously addressed his behavior in an email from November 2018.

“I regret all cases in the past where I have not followed this principle [of not making invitations to junior researchers that may be viewed as intimate],” he said in a recently publicized letter to a group of mathematics professors. “I had no intention to harass anyone but must have been tone deaf not to recognize that I was making some

people very uncomfortable. As I wrote above, I promise to adhere to this principle in the future.”

Abigail Thompson, the current chair of the math department at UC Davis, which advertised the lecture on its website, said that the department is currently “addressing this issue.” She said she did not know if anyone in the department knew about the allegations against Peres before the event took place.

Peres’ accusers include Dana Moshkovitz, an associate professor of computer science at the University of Texas, Austin; Animashree Anandkumar, the Bren professor of computing and mathematical sciences at CalTech and Lisha Li, the founder and CEO of Rosebud AI, a company that produces tools to create and edit photographs and videos.

The UW Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action confirmed that Peres resigned from his affiliate position in 2012 “after receiving notice that the university would be investigating allegations of sexual harassment.”

A source stated that Peres had left the Microsoft Theory Group and that the company had noth-

ing further to share about his time there.

Moshkovitz said that she was harassed by Peres while still a Ph.D. student at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel in 2007. In a 2009 public statement, Moshkovitz said that she had first met Peres as an undergraduate student in 2004 while touring the U.S. “[The trip] influenced my life in many ways I did not expect,” Moshkovitz wrote. “Some of those ways were quite unfortunate.”

While in the U.S., Peres was friendly and introduced her to his family and his colleagues, with no indication of the behavior that was to come, according to Moshkovitz.

In 2007, Moshkovitz received an email from Peres saying that he was in the U.S. and wanted to meet regarding her postdoctoral studies. Moshkovitz agreed to the meeting. In her statement, Moshkovitz wrote that Peres moved their meeting from a coffee house to his home, where he offered her wine, even though she told him she did not drink alcohol.

PERES on 11

MAN WHO HELPED CONSTRUCT TERCERO DORMS SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON Earl “EJ” Thompson convicted for insurance fraud, wage theft after causing total loss of over $2 million

Wall Hall at the Tercero residence hall area on the UC Davis campus. According to the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office, a contractor who helped build UC Davis dorms was sentenced to prison for committing insurance fraud, wage theft and perjury. (Photo by Quinn Spooner / Aggie)

BY M A D EL E I N E PAY NE city@theaggie.org A man who helped construct the UC Davis South Tercero Dorms was sentenced to 10 years in prison for insurance fraud, wage theft and other related charges.

Over the course of the Tercero project, Earl “EJ” Thompson stole $633,199.55 from the

You Are Invited!

wages of over 60 employees. He also defrauded $359,011.43 from the California State Compensation Insurance Fund, his employee’s compensation insurance carrier. Other charges against Thompson included multiple acts of perjury, conspiracy and grand theft.

Deputy District Attorney Jennifer McHugh, the lead prosecutor of the case, explained the magnitude and severity of Thompson’s crimes.

34 Annual Holiday Meal th

LET’S BUILD COMMUNITY AROUND GOOD FOOD AND FUN!

“This was a huge fraud case for the Yolo County’s District Attorney’s Office,” McHugh said. “It was over $2 million that were lost, and the complexity of the case was also much more significant than the average case. The amount that Thompson had stolen from his employees and the insurance company was the third highest in the state at the time.”

Thompson’s California Contractor’s License was revoked before the Tercero project, yet he convinced his wife and an employee to start a new business under their names — Russel/Thompson — which Thompson ran with a fraudulent contractor’s license. He underbid other contractors to work on the construction project referred to as Tercero South Student Housing Phase II, which included the construction of Wall, Campbell and Potter Hall.

One reason Thompson was able to commit fraud on this level was due to the secretive agreement between him and the official owners of Russel/Thompson, as McHugh describes.

“Thompson was hiding the fact that he was really running this company and so that could explain how this wasn’t discovered right away,” McHugh said. “But they did quickly find that the wages weren’t being paid just a few months into the project, and so then they started doing the investigations and referring it.”

The case took six years to prosecute, mainly due to the amount of witnesses the prosecution needed to contact.

FRAUDCONTRACTOR on 11

Hosted by the Davis Food Co-op December 24th, 2019 / 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM At the Veteran’s Memorial Center Corner of 14th & B Street, Davis Join us for this free admission, festive meal for the entire community.

We’ll serve a full vegan and traditional dinner to everyone.

Donations of desserts are always welcome.

If you want to volunteer, you can sign up at our Customer Service desk starting on December 2nd.

Live music by Ron Goldberg. Head chef Carolyne Short.

This is a FREE event but we ask that you RSVP at 34holidaymeal.eventbrite.com

Following a number of mistakes made by ASUCD officials during the recent Fall Elections, members of the Thrive slate have filed two complaints with the ASUCD Judicial Council accusing the entire election of being unconstitutional.

The elections kicked off without an official Elections Chair nor any official members of the Elections Committee. Instead, an Emergency Elections Committee was organized just a few weeks before the elections, giving members much less time than usual to organize an election.

After the Elections Chair quit in early October, ASUCD scrambled to put together an emergency Elections Committee made up of ex-officio elected members of the ASUCD Senate. Members of the Thrive slate immediately accused the emergency committee of bias, partially because many members of the committee belong to the BASED slate. In response, Vice President Shreya Deshpande, who ran on the BASED slate, gave up their voting position on the committee.

After voting opened, half of the ballot measures were left off the original electronic ballot on Tuesday, Nov. 12 — the first day students could vote. This error was due to an administrative oversight corrected later that day, according to the emergency Elections Committee. For Alisha Hacker, a third-year political science major and former senator working with the Thrive slate, the damage was already done.

Hacker filed a complaint with the Judicial Council later that day claiming that the election was fraudulent, disenfranchised voters, lacked transparency and was biased in favor of BASED candidates.

Since the proposed constitutional amendments were added to the elections website late, students did not have a full 72 hours to cast their votes, which violates the ASUCD Bylaws — mandating that elections last at least 72 hours.

In an attempt to reach out to affected voters, the Elections Committee emailed individuals asking them to vote on constitutional measures via email, violating the premise of a secret elections ballot.

In addition to having the opportunity to email their votes, students also could re-vote once the measures were posted online, giving students the opportunity to potentially vote twice.

“The anonymity of voters was compromised when an email was sent out regarding amendment votes,” Deshpande said. “It was realized shortly after that voters could have gone back to the website and cast their vote for the amendments without having to email.”

Later that week, following the results of the election, Adam Hatefi, the ASUCD vice president of external affairs, resigned from a position he held on the emergency Elections Committee and commented on his reasons for his resignation via a Facebook post.

“While I believe in the integrity of the Elections Committee and the intentions of its members, I also believe that the process of this election, despite the best efforts and the good intentions of the Executive Office and the Senate, was tainted by multiple potential violations of the Bylaws,” Hatefi wrote.

While only one of the four proposed constitutional amendments passed, the Judicial Council voted to apply a temporary injunction to constitutional measures, stalling any of the amendments from moving forward.

ELECTIONS on 11 OPEN DAILY 7AM—10PM 620 G ST, DAVIS (530) 758-2667 DAVISFOOD.COOP @DAVISFOODCOOP

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

2 | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2019

UC UNDERGRADUATE EXPERIENCE SURVEY RESULTS FOR 2018 RELEASED Overall academic experience slips across UC schools, but UC Davis students report same level of academic experience R A B I DA / AG G I E

BY JESSICA BAGGOTT campus@theaggie.org The results of the 2018 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES), which collects data about a variety of topics and is conducted by the UC Office of the President (UCOP) every two years across all UCs within undergraduate populations, were released on Nov. 13. These include academic as well as co-curricular activities and services offered by the university.

Although the survey was only started in 2006,

the data reveals that academic satisfaction across the UC is slipping: in 2006, 82% of respondents reported being at least somewhat satisfied with their academic experience. In 2018, however, the number dropped by 3% — to 79%. At UC Davis, overall academic experience was at its lowest in 2014, with 78% of respondents reporting that they were at least somewhat satisfied. The 2018 survey results at Davis only showed a 1% lower overall academic experience from the first survey in 2006: a change from 81% to 80%.

Erika Jackson, the assistant director of student success within the Office Budget and In-

stitutional Analysis, said via email that different factors at each UC campus affect survey results.

“Each campus has its [own] culture and strengths, and our campus shines on general satisfaction and ratings of climate,” Jackson said.

“When we compare ourselves with the group of other campuses, a higher percentage of Davis students rated satisfaction and specific climate items favorably.”

With 83% of UC Davis students reporting that they felt they belonged on campus in 2018 compared to 78% of UC students reporting feeling like they belonged at their respective campuses, the data reflect Jackson’s claims.

Current students also echo this sentiment.

“There’s so many people here, and it’s a very diverse group of people, so you can literally talk to anyone about anything and if you [look hard enough] you can probably find your people here,” said Emujin Unenbat, a third-year civil engineering major.

Along with highlighting the university’s strengths, the survey results also revealed areas for improvement.

“In the past, the food insecurity revealed by UCUES contributed to the establishment of the UC Davis Pantry,” Jackson said. “We are concerned that many students report food insecurity, despite the economic gains since the recession ended.”

Furthermore, Jackson explained that mental health and stress continue to be important to students at UC Davis.

“A sizeable percentage [of respondents] report depression or emotional stress that impacts their academic success,” Jackson said.

The amount of UC Davis respondents reporting that feeling depressed, stressed or upset has been an obstacle to their academic success

is almost exactly the same to the UC average.

With 26% of respondents reporting that feeling depressed, stressed or upset has frequently been an obstacle to their academic success, and 14% reporting that it has been an obstacle all the time, a total of 40% of students are affected strongly by mental health related issues.

UCUES data is used in a number of ways, including to report on the quality of academic programs to campus academic senates, to complete self studies for Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation and to evaluate the quality and use of student services.

Collecting data on such a large scale is no easy task.

“Typically the phases are: 1) preplanning— such as coordinating with the UCOP on the timeline and materials needed; arranging the survey marketing, incentives, and messaging; 2) monitoring the survey while it’s happening—e.g., adjusting messaging, responding to questions, drawing and distributing survey prizes; and then 3) doing post-survey work, such as “debriefing” with the other UCs about what worked and what didn’t, analyzing the data, and discussing the best ways to share the findings with the campus,” Jackson said.

The survey typically runs for 10 weeks and will take place again in 2020. Completion rates for the survey range from 27–30% of invited students during the years 2012–2018.

“We’re very interested in comparing the experiences of different student groups, such as their perceptions of campus climate, ratings of their academic major, and post-graduate plans and aspirations,” Jackson said. “We also compare UC Davis’s results with those of the other UC campuses and schools in our nationwide consortium.”

ASUCD SENATE PASSES BILL TO IMPROVE

UC-AFT UNION CONTINUES BARGAINING

ELECTIONS PROCESSES IN WAKE OF FALL

SESSIONS FOR CONTRACT ACROSS THE UC

QUARTER ELECTIONS

Lecturers demand job security, fair pay, fair workload, instructional support

Quarterly reports, confirmation of commissioners, commission chair among action items

MICHA EL LEA HY / AGGIE

CA ITLYN SA MPLEY / AGGIE

BY AARYA GUPTA campus@theaggie.org The ASUCD Senate convened its Nov. 21 meeting at 6:17 p.m. in the Memorial Union East Wing Lounge. Scheduled to take place from 6:10 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., the meeting continued until approximately 11:30 p.m.

Following the roll call, the members present at the ASUCD Senate meeting delivered their ex-officio reports, emphasizing their progress and accomplishments for that week, along with action items to complete for upcoming weeks. Vice Controller Shambhavi Gupta and External Vice President Adam Hatefi were absent and Controller Kevin Rotenkolber was late. Senator Lylah Schmedel was absent and Senator Victoria Choi was late.

In his ex-officio report, ASUCD President Justin Hurst mentioned dealing with legislation concerning the recent ASUCD elections, receiving updates on UCPath, attending an event in which students could offer input on hiring provosts, conducting interviews for extending the chair position for various committees to students and discussing issues regarding Sunset Fest and legislation affecting the Entertainment Council’s large show reserves.

From an alternative perspective, Deshpande communicated their interest in hosting a sustainable career fair, a project spearheaded by the Environmental Policy and Planning Commission (EPPC) in their ex-officio report.

“I went to EPPC to talk about starting a sustainable career fair,” Deshpande said. “I [am] also talking to engineering folks that are pursuing the same projects. They are talking about how engineering career fairs are largely centered around oil and defense companies that come and contract engineering students. There are folks that want to be more in line with our UC Davis Sustainability Goals, and want to divest from that and talk about alternatives.”

Additionally, in their ex-officio report, Desphande said that further updates need to be received on UCPath, and its ramifications.

“I had a UCPath meeting with administrators regarding potential issues [for] people who are signed up on the UCPath system,” Deshpande said. “Like late fees, potentially the fact that students aren’t getting their checks delivered on campus, but have to go off campus and then conversations about compensation.”

Elena DeNecochea, chair of the Gender and Sexuality Commission (GASC), talked about the recent Transgender Day of Remembrance.

[Nov. 20] was Transgender Day of Rememberance,” DeNecochea said. “I will say going onto social media, in my opinion, there wasn’t enough posts on this subject, and there isn’t enough attention to it [...] We have to counter that, help and be allies. It’s very close to my heart, and I am really happy that you all stand in solidarity with us today.”

Following ex-officio reports, the meeting was marked by a series of quarterly reports. Creative Media, the EPPC, the Committee on Committees, the Campus Center for the Environment, Entertainment Council and the Ethnic Cultural Affairs Commission all delivered presentations in front of the ASUCD Senate.

Creative Media, a “full-service digital creative agency,” summarized its projects for this quarter, according to its presentation. Specifically, it highlighted its extensive involvement in the marketing of Sunset Fest, the rebranding of ASUCD, the promotion of elections and Aggie Studio’s photography and videography projects.

EPPC reaffirmed its overarching goals, including “represent[ing] the student body’s interest in issues of sustainability,” according to its presentation.

Based on commissioner interest and project selection metrics, EPPC solidified six projects: the operation of an internal affairs team and an external affairs team, the creation of a comprehensive environmental survey, establishment of waterwise and green infrastructure across campus, analysis of how products procured by the UC system are produced and the creation of a sustainability career fair.

Aside from these core projects, EPPC plans on fostering collaboration with People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty through Education, or P.E.A.C.E, to promote the regard for animal rights and increase the accessibility of vegan options in Student Housing and Dining Services; maintaining its partnership with Climate Reality Club and supporting commissioners delving into topics like UC climate policies and disposal of laboratory waste.

The Committee on Committees recently hired seven academic senate student representatives, who are “extremely qualified and dedicated students, have been accountable and responsible, and [...] have ideas about working with faculty on international education issues,” according to its presentation.

Yasmeen Qursha, chair of the Committee on Committees, discussed an overall theme that representatives are encouraged to focus on: “emphasizing diversity and the new culture of ASUCD” and “how diversity relates to the Principles of Committee.”

Qursha also presented the Campus Center for the Environment’s quarterly report. She detailed the impacts of three of its projects: Project Compost directed by Karl Zahlhass Liebner, Project Challenge led by Lauren Jozefov, and Project Garden overseen by Sabrina Denton and Aiyun Liao.

The Entertainment Council, “responsible for booking and hosting concerts, open mic nights, movie screenings and other events on campus for the student body,” according to their website, mainly debriefed Sunset Fest in their quarterly report.

SENATE on 11

BY GRASCHELLE FARIÑAS HIPOLITO campus@theaggie.org UC-AFT, the union representing librarians and lecturers among other non-Senate faculty working throughout the UC system, has continued to push for different benefits in bargaining sessions with the UC Office of the President (UCOP).

The bargaining sessions, which began at UC Davis in April with UC-AFT Local 2023, have since occurred across all UC campuses. Union members are passing proposals and negotiating with UCOP for a new contract.

“Right now, the university refuses to make an investment in its teaching faculty, and wants the flexibility to let us go whenever they want, to swap us out with other faculty members and generally deprive students of stability and mentorship that they need to succeed,” said UC-AFT President Mia McIver in an article in The Daily Californian. “In our current contract, the university basically refuses to make any commitment to retain our faculty beyond one semester or one year.”

The UC-AFT bargaining coalition is made up of more than 6,500 UC employees and union members have expressed frustrations over UC behavior during the negotiation process.

“It seems like the UC negotiators don’t really want to engage with the proposals we have passed,” said Erika Strandjord, a UWP lecturer at UC Davis and a member of the UC-AFT communications team. “We keep passing proposals, then we don’t hear anything back from them about counter-proposals. Our contract is expiring on January 31, 2020 and it feels like they’re not engaging with us like they should.”

Strandjord stated that UC-AFT’s main bargaining goals are to achieve increased job security, fair pay, a fair workload and instructional support. These goals aim to not only equalize tenure and non-tenure track educators on UC campuses but to also maintain longevity of mentorship and adequate resources for students.

In regards to job security, lecturers are hired on year-to-year contracts or on a quarter-to-quarter basis until they reach their sixth year of service.

Strandjord expressed how indefinite job security compromises stability for both lecturers and their students, as up to 40% of all undergraduate courses are taught by lecturers rather than professors.

“If you’ve taken a class with one lecturer and want to take another class with them or you want

a letter of recommendation, they might not be there the next year,” Strandjord said.

During bargaining sessions, UC-AFT has pushed for fair wages and a fair workload that accurately reflects the work that lecturers do outside of teaching, including professional development and writing letters of recommendation for students.

On average, UC professor salaries can range from $90,000 to $200,000. The median pay for a UC lecturer is $19,900, according to a UC-AFT press release.

“If lecturers can’t afford to live where they work, that makes them less available to students,” Strandjord said. “If you’re having trouble putting food on the table or paying for rent, you don’t have a lot of time to focus on your job.”

Additionally, another big aspect of UC-AFT’s contract negotiations is instructional support, including office space for lecturers. Strandjord mentioned that she is not in an office with the rest of the UWP faculty, many of whom have offices in Voorhies Hall. Instead, she has an office space on the lower level of Shields Library.

Although Strandjord enjoys hearing students’ work and acknowledges that she is lucky to have a dedicated office space that some other faculty members do not have, she noted that she is isolated from her colleagues in a lot of ways.

The UC is proposing to take away lecturers’ offices, saying that they can get by with a locker for personal items and a shared conference room to meet with students for office hours and appointments. However, UC-AFT union members argue that adequate personal office space is integral to protect student privacy and optimize a comfortable learning environment for students.

“I have multiple office hours a week and I always have students in here, so it’s clear that the university doesn’t understand the work that we do outside of the classroom,” Strandjord said.

Other proposals from UC-AFT include further restrictions on the termination of “pre-six” faculty — faculty who have worked less than six years for the UC. Union members are also pushing for more support during summer sessions, in which they are paid less than during the academic year and equitable health and retirement benefits in the long-term contract to acknowledge the significant role of lecturers within the UC. The tenth bargaining session will be held on Dec. 3 at the UCLA campus and sessions will return to the UC Davis campus prior to the union’s contract expiration in January 2020.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2019 | 3

MAYOR BRETT LEE JOINS OTHER CALIFORNIA MAYORS, REPRESENTATIVES IN CALLING FOR A CUSTOMER-OWNED PG&E In a letter to state officials, over two dozen local representatives from California urged company to transition to publicly owned entity

KATH E R I N E F R A N KS / AGGI E

BY TIM LALONDE city@theaggie.org Davis Mayor Brett Lee was one of over two dozen California representatives, including 21 other mayors, who signed a Nov. 4 letter addressed to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and Governor Gavin Newsom.

This letter called for the replacement of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) with a customer-owned entity.

The coalition of local leaders’ appeal came on the heels of multiple controversies surrounding the utility company that provides power to many of California’s major cities, including Davis. PG&E declared bankruptcy last January, af-

ter accumulating $30 billion in liabilities when the company’s equipment was connected to wildfires, according to The New York Times. In October, PG&E shut off power during high-risk weather conditions, affecting millions of people and generating widespread social media backlash among customers, the Times reported.

The letter, posted online by KQED and other outlets, supports a proposal spearheaded by Mayor Sam Liccardo of San Jose that the utility giant emerging from bankruptcy proceedings be replaced by a customer-owned or public power utility.

“Based on a foundation currently in the Public Utilities Code, we will propose transforming PG&E into a mutual benefit corporation — in

essence, a cooperative owned by its customers,” the letter reads.

Lee, along with Yolo Supervisor Don Saylor and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, were among the county and city leaders who signed the letter. The coalition of local officials outlined its “serious concerns” regarding how bankruptcy restructures the process of the utility company.

PG&E is undergoing the process of working with the CPUC to reorganize in accordance with state bankruptcy code, which — according to the letter — requires that the company propose a model that is “feasible, financially stable enterprise, [and] able to perform its functions for the long-term”.

Mayor Lee said that he signed the letter because he felt PG&E has, for many years, failed to prioritize the utility needs of its customers over its shareholders.

“It’s important [that] California has a safe, reliable source of power, and — as demonstrated over the past decade or so — PG&E has not demonstrated that their priority is the provision of safe and dependable power for our communities,” Lee said. “As an investor-owned utility, their main obligation is to their investors, not to people they serve. As a private business entity, they depend on customers, but their ultimate obligation is to shareholders — and I think that doesn’t make sense for California. ” The coalition’s letter echoes a similar sentiment, saying that PG&E’s actions represent a betrayal of public trust by privileging shareholder interests.

“To the extent that the public continues to believe that a profit motive has dominated PG&E’s decision making, the enterprise will never regain the trust of its customers, its regulators, and public policy-makers,” the letter reads. “It is time to pass control of the company from geographically distant investors to its customers.”

Lee said that PG&E’s decision to cut power

DAVIS COMMUNITY CAMPAIGNS TO RENEW 1 PERCENT SALES Measure Q will be on March 2020 special election ballot KI YO M I WATSO N / AGGI E

BY EDEN WINNIFORD city@theaggie.org Measure Q, a renewal of a 1% sales tax on goods sold within the town of Davis, is on the March 2020 ballot. On Sep. 3, the City Council of Davis unanimously passed Resolution No. 19137, a declaration of a fiscal emergency, stating that a special election is to be held on the issue of Measure Q. The election will be on March 3, 2020. Measure Q requires a simple majority, or a vote of more than 50%, to pass. If it is not passed, it will expire on Dec. 31, 2020. According to City Councilmember Dan Carson, the sales tax has existed in some form for roughly 20 years. This version of the tax has been in place since 2014.

Despite the tax, Davis’ sales tax rate — which currently includes the 1% sales tax referred to in Measure Q — is in the same range as the neighboring cities at 8.25%. For comparison, Sacramento’s rate is 8.75%, West Sacramento’s is 8.25% and Woodland’s is 8.00%.

Unlike other sales taxes for the state and county, all money raised from the Measure Q sales tax is spent exclusively in Davis. Revenue from this tax makes up about 16% of the City’s total General Fund.

According to the City of Davis’ website, all nonessential goods will be subject to the tax.

However, any good labeled as a “Necessity of Life” — as determined by the California Revenue and Taxation Code — is tax-exempt, including “groceries, prescriptions [and] certain medical devices.”

Assistant City Manager Kelly Stachowicz listed the city programs that revenue from the sales tax goes toward.

“The sales tax dollars have been spent on things like fire and police, parks maintenance and recreation programs — all the things that go to the different city services,” Stachowicz said.

Resolution 19-137 outlined the steps City Council would be forced to take if revenue from the tax was lost.

“Whereas, the loss of the $2.2 million [...]

UC DAVIS HAS ACCUMULATED $1.2 BILLION IN DEFERRED MAINTENANCE

Upcoming 2020 GO bond will hopefully allow campus, larger UC system to update, improve facilities

Walker Hall on the UC Davis campus currently undergoing reconstuction and seismic retrofitting. UC Davis has recently accrued $1.2 billion in deferred maintenance costs. (Photo by Markus Kaeppeli / Aggie)

BY LINH NGUYEN features@theaggie.org In the year 2018, UC Davis had accumulated over $1. billion in deferred maintenance investments — in other words, there is over $1 billion worth of facility maintenance (buildings and systems upkeep) that the university has been unable to collect due to a lack of funds. The campus’s backlog is the highest out of all of the UCs in the UC system, with the average ranging around half

a billion dollars.

The UC Davis campus spans over 5,300 acres of land with over 1,000 buildings that require regular maintenance to meet safety requirements and maintain the infrastructure as well as new security features, as many of them were built over 50 years ago. It is the largest campus within the UC system. Earlier in the quarter The California Aggie’s Editorial Board sat down with Chancellor Gary May, where he addressed some of the campus’s deficiencies.

would require the City Council to determine how to reprioritize among critical city services, reducing or cutting numerous City programs including public safety (Police and Fire); maintenance of city roads, sidewalks, bike paths and parks; and community programs,” the resolution states.

City Councilmember Dan Carson stated that revenue from Measure Q makes up $9 million of the city’s total annual $60 million general fund.

“We wouldn’t be able to maintain the quality of life we have in Davis today if we didn’t have these revenues,” Carson said. “We would be struggling with really severe deficits. And if we lose this, that’s exactly what we face down the line.”

Carson commented that Davis would struggle with “severe deficits” without the revenue from Measure Q. According to David Greenwald of The Davis Vanguard, however, Davis already faces a deficit.

“Our fiscal estimates are that we are short eight to ten million per year for at least the next 20 years,” Greenwald writes. “And without intervention, that number probably gets worse, not better.

“The problem is that, even if we pass this, all we are doing is securing the status quo funding level,” Greenwald continues. “This does not add any money to the general fund — it simply preserves what we have.”

Due to the necessity of the tax, Carson states that it has been met with a “very positive public outcome.” About 100 community leaders and organizations publicly support the measure so far, according to Carson.

Endorsers of the Yes on Q Campaign include all City Councilmembers, the Davis Chamber of Commerce, the Davis Police Officers Association and the Davis City Employees Association.

“We’re building a strong campaign that’s positive and aspirational,” Carson said. “We’re trying to emphasize to folks that Measure Q stands for ‘Quality of Life.’”

If passed, the tax will stay in place indefinitely. There will be some taxpayer oversight through the Finance and Budget Commission, however, which is an advisory board to City Council comprised of Davis residents.

“We have more than a quarter of the system’s whole deferred maintenance here in one campus,” May said. “We have seismic problems, we have 13 buildings rated at a six or above, and six [is] bad — higher number means worse in seismic [...] We’ve been spending, of our own resources , about $70 to $80 million a year, but if the number that you’re trying to get to is $1.2 billion, it takes a long time to get to.”

Although there is over $1 billion in backlog on facilities maintenance, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the necessitour buildings and systems are unsafe. The Design and Construction Management and Campus Planning teams work to proactively address needs before they become urgent. This way, they can avoid an increased accumulation of deferred maintenance backlog from costly failures and repair needs.

The university developed a three-year deferred maintenance plan in 2018 regarding how they would address the problem. It was stated that this plan would be working concurrently with the already in place 10 year capital investment plan.

Similarly, AB-48, a California bond measure for a $15 billion bond, will be on the ballot this upcoming Mar. 2020, with these funds directly intended to “improve seismic safety of various buildings, address deferred maintenance and expand the physical capacity to serve California students.” This bond, referred to as a general obligation (GO) bond, was signed by Gov. Newsom and would be the first GO bond in support of the UC since 2006. May explained that roughly $2 billion would be allocated to UC Davis.

“The GO bond that’s going to be on the ballot [is] a $2 billion bond that will allow us to do more construction around campus and modernize some of our deferred maintenance problems,” May said. “Hopefully the GO bond and some other fundraising things will help us with [meeting our deferred maintenance amount].”

to millions of customers only bolstered the argument for the transition to a publicly-owned utility.

“The blackouts came after our desire to take back control over the power system,” Lee said.

“But if anyone needed any proof — if they were skeptical about why we would want a municipality running the power system or why we would want the state of California running the power system — the blackouts coming shortly thereafter, I would think, would be proof to many that the ideas were at least worth considering.”

Representatives of PG&E, however, have pushed back against calls for cooperative ownership. In a statement forwarded to the Sacramento Bee and other outlets, the company resisted any suggestions of a transition from a private corporation to a publicly-owned entity.

“We remain firmly convinced that a government or customer takeover is not the optimal solution that will address the challenges and serve the long-run interests of all customers in the communities we serve,” the statement read. “We remain focused on fairly resolving wildfire claims and exiting the Chapter 11 process as quickly as possible. PG&E is committed to working with all stakeholders to make the necessary changes moving forward to build a stronger and safer PG&E and be the company our customers and communities want and deserve.”

During a press conference in late October, Newsom said that he would consider a state takeover of PG&E if the company failed to pull itself out of bankruptcy by June 2020, according to CNN. “PG&E as we know it may or may not be able to figure this out,” Newsom said. “If they cannot, we are not going to sit around and be passive. If Pacific Gas and Electric is unable to secure its own fate and future [...] then the state will prepare itself as backup for a scenario where we do that job for them.”

SHEREEN LEE / AGGIE

Beware of roommates November 22 “Garage door opener taken from vehicle last night.”

“Reporting party advised she and her husband were in a physical, male threw a hamburger at reporting party and reporting party slapped male.”

November 23 “Complaint of group of people cheering too loudly for runners.”

“Customer with dog inside the store refusing to leave.”

November 24 “Reporting party’s resident egged by unknown suspect. Reporting party hears other units being egged at this time and request area checked.”

November 25 “Reporting party stating that roommate has stolen her ID, contaminated her food and punctured her air mattress.”

“Two Amazon packages in the bushes, appears unopened.”

November 26 “Female just tagged a tree at Cindy’s and may have spraypainted/tagged other things in the area.”

November 27 “Reporting party located a brand new bike on bike path with tire off — bike still has original tags on it.”

“Non-electric vehicle parked in electric/ charging parking spot.”

Allen Tollefson, associate vice chancellor of facilities management at UC Davis, did not reply for comment.

The aforementioned three-year plan’s guiding principles include capitalizing on opportunities with the highest return, addressing needs before they become urgent, striving for sustainability and improving the campus appearance and work spaces. It also makes clear that no new facilities or major renovations will be approved without a long-term funding plan for maintenance.

In the meantime, while the GO bond is still pending, these projects are funded by state and local funding.

“State funds are those provided from sources outside of the UC Davis campus,” Jim Carroll, the university’s architect and associate vice Chancellor in charge of design and construction management, said via email. “These could be from bond sales, budget set-aside from the State, budget set-aside from the University of California (Office of the President), or others. Local funds are those provided from sources within the UC Davis campus - over the past few years, UC Davis has significantly funded deferred maintenance through a few sources, such as the century bond program, annual budget allocation(s), or as part of capital improvement projects, when appropriate.”

However, drastic cuts in state funds allocated to these maintenance projects saw dramatic cuts recently, worsening the already insufficient funds.

UC Davis was given $90 million in 2015 to address the “campus’s most critical deferred maintenance needs over a five-year period,” but this amount is still under 10% of what it really needs.

Moreover, this five-year period will be coming to a close, as 2020 is only one month away.

According to the deferred maintenance plan, “the campus believes that based on its status as a public institution, MAI NTENANCE on 1 0

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

4 | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2019

50 FACES OF FALL QUARTER

Here’s what students had to say about their love for the community and experience at UC Davis

Elyse Martinez

Nichole Albuja

Sofia Roll

Asmath Shafi

Alexis Gibbs

Ashley Rodriguez

Jacob Kline

Nicolas Lai

Steven Spivak

Dylan Johnston

Ethan Lindgren

Kyle Dennis

Camille Gomez

Mak Soller

Maya Deshmukh

Shayan Kaveh

Julius Ratemo

Kipland Fletcher

Natalie Jacob

Christopher Maravillas

Jasmin Sanchez

Casper Heys

Xeyla Huinac

Joseph Dizon

Shreyan Mohanty

Gisselle Gutierrez

Hammad Quereshi

George Kuesis

Madeline Dei Rossi

Julia Castro

Faiza Alvi

Ashaka Mali

Mehrab Hussain

Cameron Gonzales

Devi Jayakrishnan

Olivia Jones

Will Richardson

Ethan Sin

Tiffany Hirokawa

Justin Kern

Dan Fernandez

BY ANJINI VENUGOPAL and CLAIRE DODD features@theaggie.org HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE DAVIS IN ONE WORD? “Friendly,” said Elyse Martinez, a first-year statistics major. “Especially these past two weeks, because I have crutches now and even though it’s a really big campus everyone’s really kind, helping me open doors and [carrying] my stuff.”

“Beautiful,” said Nichole Albuja, a third-year economics major. “I love the nature and it feels very welcoming.”

“Sunny,” said Sofia Roll, a first-year communication major. “So far, it’s been really sunny and bright here. Also, everyone’s personality is really sunny too. It’s really a kind environment.”

“New,” said Asmath Shafi, a third-year international relations and transfer student. “Everything is new to me.”

“Comfortable,” said Alexis Gibbs, a fourthyear animal science major. “I just feel like the people here and all the greenery are really nice.

It feels like home.”

“On-the-go,” said Ashley Rodriguez, a thirdyear biological science major. “I see a lot of students always on the go and always in a rush to get from one place to another. I just think it’s a really busy environment.”

“Lonely,” said Jacob Kline, a third-year political science major and transfer student. “I feel very isolated here. I don’t live on campus, I live in Sacramento. But every weekend I leave, [...] I just go back home and visit [my friends]. Granted, it’s my first quarter here.”

“Cow,” said Nicolas Lai, a third-year economics major. “I always smell cow — every day, every night.”

“Family,” said Steven Spivak, a fourth-year biotechnology major. “I feel like it’s fairly interconnected, and I at least feel that UC Davis does a pretty good job at trying to bring everyone together, and while some people might be a bit bitter and say that UC Davis doesn’t try their best, I really don’t think that’s the case. I really feel that, even as a transfer where that’s especially hard, they do a pretty good job at trying to get people involved in the community, and I really appreciate that.”

“Supportive,” said Dylan Johnston, a fourthyear animal science major. “I’m part of the gay community, and I know there’s a lot of support resources for all sorts of social minorities. It’s a really supportive and inclusive community that I really love.”

“Dynamic,” said Ethan Lindgren, a fourthyear psychology major. “It’s a place that accepts people from so many backgrounds, and it can also propel people into so many different paths of the world.”

Alexander Kehl

Milin Khunkhun

Jasmin Zeng

Veronica Lorente

WHAT IS THE MOST FASCINATING PART ABOUT DAVIS? “Honestly, the squirrels,” said Kyle Dennis, a second-year aerospace engineering major. “I came here from Tennessee. It’s very strange, I’ve never been in a place where the squirrels were around everybody and the animals came up to you and basically asked you for food.”

jor. “That’d be great.”

“I was most excited about how we’re the bike capital of the world,” said Camille Gomez, a studio art and communication double major alumna. “In fact, I didn’t even learn how to ride a bike until I came to college here.”

“I’m excited to take upper division classes,” said Shreyan Mohanty, a second-year computer science and engineering major. “They’re cool, [because] you really get into the nitty gritty of your subjects.”

“I like the seasons,” said Mak Soller, a thirdyear psychology major. “I’m from SoCal, so we didn’t get a whole lot of changing seasons growing up. I like how in winter, you get a lot of rain and the summers’ extreme heat.”

“Since this is my first year, [I want to] become more independent and just learn how to navigate my way around UC Davis,” said Gisselle Gutierrez, a first-year biochemistry and molecular biology major. “[And] to find out what I’m interested in.”

“The breadth of opportunities,” said Maya Deshmukh, a first-year global disease biology major. “I come from a smaller town, so this is quite a big environment for me. I’m trying to learn the ins and outs of coexisting with so many people from so many different backgrounds.”

“It’s sweet to find so many different people with different dreams and goals and to share that all as a community together,” said Shayan Kaveh, a fourth-year environmental toxicology major. “[I found] communities that were things that I never even imagined would really exist until I came to college.”

“I like the research,” said Julius Ratemo, a third-year civil engineering major and transfer student. “It gives you more opportunities to explore your major and find out more than studying that you can apply your knowledge to.”

WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR? “Figuring out my major,” said Kipland Fletcher, a first-year undeclared major. “I want to find something that inspires me.”

“So far a lot has already happened, and that’s exciting in itself,” said Natalie Jacob, a first-year English major. “I’m excited to see how things will play out for me in the year to come. I’d like to change as a person and grow into a better version of myself.”

“I’m excited to join clubs on campus,” said Christopher Maravillas, a second-year economics major. “I didn’t really get the opportunity freshman year since I was still adapting to a new environment. But I think as a sophomore I can just be more outgoing.”

“Graduating,” said Jasmin Sanchez, a fourthyear psychology major. “But also I’m thinking of minoring in sociology, so I’m looking forward to taking classes different from my own major.”

“I’m excited about racing for Davis as a cyclist on the club team; that’ll be pretty great,” said Casper Heys, a third-year food science major.

“I’m most excited to take upper division classes,” said Xeyla Huinac, a second-year design ma-

“I’m looking forward to getting through my second year,” said Joseph Dizon, a second-year cinema and digital media major. “Maybe I’ll start focusing more on my major instead of just trying to get GEs and just be a little bit more relaxed than last year.”

“Living it up before I graduate, I guess,” said Hammad Quereshi, a fourth-year managerial economics major.

“I’m most excited to play water polo with my friends and hang out with my friends,” said George Kuesis, a fourth-year animal science major.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT DAVIS? “Meeting a bunch of different people from all backgrounds,” said Madeline Dei Rossi, a firstyear anthropology major. “The diversity has been a really big change for me and something really refreshing.”

“Easily the people,” said Julia Castro, a fourth-year genetics and genomics major. “Everyone is really welcoming and there’s just a general sense of community.”

“The trees and the squirrels, because it’s just kind of cute,” said Faiza Alvi, a second-year aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering double major. “You’re walking on campus and then, ‘Oh, squirrel!’”

“I love that it’s a small town,” said Ashaka Mali, a fifth-year psychology major. “It’s a college town and I love that it gives you a nice college experience. And the campus is beautiful in the fall.”

“It’s the sense of community that the city and the university — and just everybody — has here,” said Mehrab Hussain, a second-year cell biology major. “I just feel really at home and included, and very safe and comfortable. It’s a very good environment to learn and to grow in educational and personal ways.”

“My favorite part about Davis is the cows,” said Olivia Jones, a fourth-year managerial economics major. “And [...] all the trees and the bikes. It’s just a really wholesome place.”

“The fact that in a school that’s so big, with so many people, it still feels like such a small community,” said Will Richardson, a fourth-year economics and English double major. “It’s a big town as well, but it’s all communal and friendly.

You bike around, you see people you know and say ‘hi,’ it’s a very open place.”

“I like a lot of things about Davis,” said Ethan Sin, a third-year linguistics major. “One of my favorite things is the environment and the people.

It’s very chill.”

WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR WHEN YOU FIRST CAME TO DAVIS AND HOW HAS THAT CHANGED? “I was pretty anxious about going to a big school because I came from an all-girls Catholic high school,” said Tiffany Hirokawa, a second-year biological sciences major. “So coming over here was like a big, big change, but I think just putting myself out there just kind of helped relieve a lot of those anxieties and people here are so nice. It honestly made it so much easier.”

“I would say my biggest fear was keeping up with the academics,” said Justin Kern, a fifth-year sociology major. “Hearing about all the chaos that is the quarter system, I wasn’t really sure.

And being able to balance everything is still a little difficult, but I’m definitely much more prepared for life than I was back in junior college.”

“I was scared of how hard college would be — not just in classes, but in making new friends and trying to fit in with groups of people,” said Dan Fernandez, a second-year biomedical engineering major. “But now I feel like I’m staying afloat all my classes, and I’ve made a lot of new close friends and I feel like I belong here.”

“I wasn’t [scared], so I guess it hasn’t changed,” said Alexander Kehl, a fourth-year pharmaceutical chemistry major. “First, I thought Davis was really ugly, but then once I moved here it kind of grew on me.”

“Adjusting to the quarter system because I transferred this year ... from a semester [system] community college,” said Milin Khunkhun, a third-year managerial economics. “The course load — adjusting to that was a little bit of a fear.

But now being in it and actually working hard, I’m getting used to it and I can actually like it more because [I’m] just constantly focused on school.”

“The people and the attitude of everybody,” said Cameron Gonzales, a third-year psychology major. “Everybody’s willing to help others even if they don’t know them.”

“Socializing,” said Jasmin Zeng, a third-year international relations major. “I wasn’t sure what type of friends I would make, and I wasn’t confident in myself. But then I joined some clubs and I know some super cool people.”

“Well, I’m on my way to student counseling center,” said Devi Jayakrishnan, a fourth-year biomedical engineering major. “That’s been super helpful for grad apps, so I’d definitely say that’s one.”

“Definitely organic chemistry,” said Veronica Lorente, a second-year psychology major. “But, so far, it’s been working out. I thought it would be harder, but so far it’s been pretty good.”

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2019 | 5

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

Opinion THE

C ALIFORNIA A GGIE

E DI TO R I AL B OAR D

UC Davis students deserve adequate time to study for finals

KAELYN TUERMER-LEE Editor-in-Chief

Implement dead week!

HANNAH HOLZER Managing Editor KENTON GOLDSBY Campus News Editor STELLA TRAN City News Editor HANADI JORDAN Opinion Editor CLAIRE DODD Features Editor LIZ JACOBSON Arts & Culture Editor DOMINIC FARIA Sports Editor CECILIA MORALES Science & Tech Editor

HANNAN WALIULLAH New Media Manager JUSTIN HAN Photo Director SYDNEE RODRIGUEZ Design Director ARIANA GREEN Layout Director SABRINA HABCHI Copy Chief ISABELLA BLOOM Copy Chief

Finals are on the horizon, and students are suffocated in projects and assignments with approaching deadlines. Due to the pressures of studying for finals week, students simply need more time, and the 10 week quarter system leaves no room for anyone to catch a breath.

“Dead days” were eliminated from the UC Davis academic schedule so that students don’t have to take exams on Saturdays. But universities that employ dead weeks still function without holding exams on Saturdays. Some students are left rushing to the finish line to submit their essays right on the day when they are supposed to take a final for a class. These deadlines and lack of time force students to ask themselves tough questions: Should students sacrifice studying time for their finals over submitting an assignment, or should they turn in a lackluster submission to cram in an extra couple hours of studying?

Students remain torn over an unforgiving system that forces them to compromise their grades and, ultimately, their health. Tight deadlines can promote rising apprehension amongst students, which exudes a sense of testing anxiety that especially affects physical and mental health. In order to mitigate and provide preventative action toward student distress, the administration should consider implementing time off for students to catch up on both their assignments and studies.

Rather than addressing a serious issue regarding students’ health and academic success, UC Davis simply advocates for students to change their attitude. The Editorial Board feels that this overview places full student responsibility on their distress during the testing season without consideration for systemic causes of testing

anxiety.

While UC Davis has implemented a texting option for students who want to talk about their mental well-being, this does not replace actual in-person counseling session appointments for which often get backed up for months at the end of the quarter. Since the quarter system is so restrictive when it comes to deadlines, professors rarely give extensions to make up for lost time, although students may be facing incredible distress. And a texting service does not offer students a tangible coping method.

Universities like UC Berkeley officially have a “Reading, Review, and Recitation” (dead) week, understanding that students need such time to synthesize a copious amount of material, advocated for in 1961. Even though UC Davis is on the quarter system — compared to a longer semester at universities such as UC Berkeley — students still need ample time to prepare for exams, especially when some professors hold finals during week 10, some of which are not even during designated class times.

For instance, finals during UC Davis’ Spring Quarter starts right after the day that students end instruction.

With just one night to study, students are left to scramble and cram in all necessary information.

UC Davis has no excuse in ignoring possibility of days off for students to study, as other UC campuses on the quarter system, like UC Santa Barbara, have also successfully implemented a dead week. While it is long past 1961, there needs to be a call to action to bring back time off before finals week for students at UC Davis — for the betterment of student well-being and success.

ZOË REINHARDT Website Manager SYDNEY ODMAN Social Media Manager LAURIE PEDERSON Business Development Manager

Women of all ages and backgrounds deserve to have their stories shared TELLING THE STORIES OF WOMEN MEANS TELLING STORIES ABOUT A VARIETY OF WOMEN

BY SI M R A N KA L KAT skkalkat@ucdavis.edu

KAT HERIN E F RA N KS / AG GIE

In anticipation of season three of “The Crown,” which was released on Nov. 17, there was one thought circling in my head: I was finally going to be watching a show in which the lead is a middle-aged woman.

“The Crown” isn’t the first historical show to feature a middle-aged female lead, but it’s definitely a part of the slow and stubborn tide to cast older female leads. It’s common knowledge that there’s a diversity problem in Hollywood and film. An annual report from USC Annenberg’s Media, Diversity, and Social Change Initiative looked at different metrics of diversity in film, including gender. Of the top 700 top-grossing films between 2007 to 2014, 30.2% of the speaking characters were female. Furthermore, only 11% of those films had female characters with roughly half of the speaking roles.

These trends are disturbing, and they don’t get much better when looking at the representation of middle-aged and older women in film. The report found that, “In 2014, no female actors over 45 years of age performed a lead or co lead role.” It’s not common to see middle-aged characters in movies, but in 2014 — of all the middle-aged characters — only 19.9% of them were female.

This was disheartening and discouraging to read for a multitude of reasons. I began to realize that many of the movies and TV shows I watched over the past year featured few middle-aged women, lead role or not. In an interview with NPR’s Fresh Air, Reese Witherspoon shared her experience working within the entertainment industry and taking initiative to begin correcting the gender imbalance in movies and TV shows.

In 2010, the entertainment industry began to lose a third of its business with the drop in revenues from DVDs. As a result, studios began to cut down on production and development in smaller budget films, which happen to be the movies in which actresses predominantly star.

“The first [movies] to go are the [movies] that have the smallest margins [...] which is where women live,” Witherspoon said in her interview with Fresh Air. “From ‘Legally Blonde’ to ‘Sweet Home Alabama.’ You know, that was the kind of the budget level of films that I was working on.”

When she began to confront studios about their plans to develop materials for women, she was met with a disappointing answer.

“With the exclusion of one studio, everybody said nothing — nothing with a female lead,” Witherspoon said. “One studio had said, ‘Well, we already have one movie starring a woman this year. We can’t have two.’”

This incident prompted Witherspoon to address the matter on her own. Witherspoon, an avid reader, decided to self-fund a company that would turn books with substantive, complicated, intriguing female characters into movies.

“I thought, ‘Well, this isn’t just about me trying to create parts for myself,’” Witherspoon said. “I want to create better parts for women. I want to have more female authors get their stories told.”

Witherspoon produces and sometimes stars in many of these movies. In 2017, “Big Little Lies,” based on the novel by Liane Moriarty, was released on HBO. The leading cast of “Big Little Lies” is a group of women of different ages and backgrounds whose lives are changed when there is a murder in their small California beach town. The

show is exciting because it is a story of five mothers who, at the outset, may seem to be leading very similar lives, but are all going through their own complicated, confusing and difficult times.

They are all going through turning points in their lives, tackling complex and important issues that deserve to have a place on our television screens. Placing women at the center of movies and TV shows doesn’t just make for great entertainment; it also creates a substantive, rich and vibrant storytelling experience.

In 2014, Witherspoon starred in and was the executive producer of “Wild,” based on the 2012 memoir from Cheryl Strayed, who hiked over 1,000 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail in the name of self-discovery. Witherspoon told Fresh Air about the experience of finding good roles in her 30s,and the importance of being a part of “Wild.”

“Many women are so deeply connected to nature, yet it’s not something we’ve explored,” Witherspoon said on Fresh Air. “We’ve seen every iteration of a man versus a bear, versus the Wild West, on hiking adventures [...] But I haven’t seen a lot of a woman alone on film as well. And what is that singular journey for a woman to find herself alone in the wilderness?”

There is something exciting about reading and watching these stories of women whose life experiences we often gloss over or pay little attention to. There are so many great books out there written by women, waiting for their stories to be shared, discussed and featured in our cultural sphere. By excluding their voices, we are all missing out on enriching, valuable stories that many of us need — whether we realize it or not.

reduce. reuse. recycle.

The aggie

6 | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2019

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

IS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ACTUALLY POSSIBLE? And how should we define it?

KI YO M I WATSO N / AGGI E

BY B E N JA M I N P O RT E R bbporter@ucdavis.edu

One of my environmental policy professors concluded a recent lecture about environmental justice (EJ) by asking the class whether or not we think achieving EJ is actually possible. One student eagerly raised their hand as if they had some very strong opinions about this and said, “I have some very strong opinions about this. I don’t think that environmental justice is achievable until we completely dissolve capitalism.” Much of the class responded by snapping their fingers.

This attitude concerns me. I can agree that rogue, unregulated, Wild West capitalism is to blame for a substantial portion of the environmental injustice that we observe and feel the consequences of. We must acknowledge, however, that there’s an inflection point — the good that capitalism does and can do to protect society from the worst environmental injustices outweighs whatever smaller environmental costs are created as a byproduct. In other words, the baseline actions that protect us from the least tolerable

environmental harms and injustices will always have some environmental costs, which are worth taking on. But they are only worth taking on if the systems meant to regulate and mitigate those costs and harms are functioning properly. Unfortunately, they currently are not.

Our institutions, like the EPA, can actually achieve a lot when they are not corrupted, as they currently are under the Trump administration. We need to ensure our environmental enforcement mechanisms are working, which can happen in a capitalist society. A lot of people don’t understand that capitalism and democratic socialism, which promises social justice, are compatible. People at the other extreme think that anything but pure capitalism is communism. Pollution regulation works and protects people when it’s carried out properly, so thinking that we have to tear everything down anyway implies that our institutions as we know them are not capable of creating change. This belief only creates indifference toward the increasing levels of damage Trump is doing to our environmental regulation apparatus.

This indifference is misguided because

the damage of this deregulation crusade is tangible and will have consequences that reach far and wide. If people become indifferent, they will learn less and less about the environmental injustices being ignored or exacerbated by the Trump administration. Consequently, these people become less conscious of how much their vote could actually make a difference. Ironically, this belief that the change we need is likely impossible can make people neglect the importance of achieving smaller environmental goals, like those that can be achieved simply by voting Trump out of office.

The more damage Trump is allowed to do, the harder it will be to defeat environmental injustices in the future. And confusion over what success looks like in terms of EJ issues makes it harder to assess our progress. Conflicting understandings of basic terminology has helped fuel this confusion.

The EPA defines EJ as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

This goal will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards, and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.”

This definition is quite interesting because it promises procedural justice — that is, equal access to the decision- and policy-making processes. It then states what EJ would look like in theory but makes no promises about how to get there and no guarantees of actually achieving just outcomes.

The Environmental Justice Network has criticized the EPA’s definition and rhetoric.

The Network’s website reads, “Environmental racism is the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on people of color.

Environmental justice is the movement’s response to environmental racism. ‘Environmental equity’ is not environmental justice.

‘Environmental equity’ is the government’s response to the demands of the environmental justice movement. Government

agencies, like the EPA, have been coopting the movement by redefining environmental justice as ‘fair treatment and meaningful involvement,’ something they consistently fail to accomplish, but which also falls far short of the environmental justice vision. The environmental justice movement isn’t seeking to simply redistribute environmental harms, but to abolish them.”

I think that it’s possible to do our best to abolish these injustices while also trading a certain acceptable degree of environmental cost for some level of benefit. A recent story in The New York Times shed light on how Teviston and Fairmead, two small, low-income communities in the Central Valley with contaminated water supplies, have still not been connected to larger water systems.

This story repeats across the Central Valley and across the country. But we’re not as far away from solving these issues as some would think.

Research from UC Davis on the tens of thousands of people in the San Joaquin Valley who live in disadvantaged unincorporated communities (DUCs) — communities with less than 80% of California’s median household income that are outside incorporated city boundaries and lack adequate water infrastructure — is promising. The report found that in those DUCs, 44% of people live within 500 feet of a connection to safe drinking water and 22% live within a mile. This is encouraging. We just need the political will to accomplish these infrastructure projects in order to bring clean water to these communities and eliminate the environmental injustice.

When I saw this research presented as part of a lecture series at the UC Sacramento Center last summer, it made me optimistic that solutions to many EJ issues are attainable. But it requires us to push back against a resistant system, not tear it down. This takes work. And we will not be successful if we waste time, as a speaker at UCCS did a few weeks after that lecture when worrying about whether it was politically correct to refer to DUCs as “disadvantaged.” Let’s focus on actions, not words. These places literally don’t have access to clean water. That sounds like a pretty big disadvantage to me.

HUMOR

INTROVERT LEAVES PARTY TO THERAPY FLUFFIES TO BE REPLACED BY THERAPY TURKEYS “GET SOME AIR,” ONLY TO NEVER RETURN Gobble your troubles away MA RIO R O D R I G U E Z / AGGI E

BY J UL I E T TA BI S H A RYA N jsbisharyan@ucdavis.edu

With any fleeting quarter comes student stress. Stress is whack, as it can negatively impact day-to-day activities, resulting in poor mental health and a lack of motivation.

Since 2010, UC Davis has single-handedly annihilated student stress by introducing the Therapy Fluffies program.

Therapy Fluffies allow students to hang out and snapchat pets at the Shields Library courtyard, usually during midterm season.

Interacting with pets has been proven to reduce stress, lower blood pressure and lift spirits. It’s also a great way to take a break between mental breakdowns.

Unfortunately, due to unknown circumstances (probably Gary May’s deadly

allergy to dogs), the university was unable to borrow puppies for the quarterly event.

After a heated change.org petition was created to bring back the Therapy Fluffies, the university decided to comply with a cheaper and more festive alternative: Therapy Turkeys.

Notorious for terrorizing the streets of Davis, university Chancellor and mental health connoisseur Gary May said it was not difficult to find the turkeys.

“As I was backing out of my driveway one morning, a herd of turkeys starting ganging up on my car. Normally, I’d be a little irritated, but it gave me the perfect idea. The students just had to see them!”

Unlike the former event, there was a sharp decline in attendance when introducing Therapy Turkeys. Still, many students have expressed excitement. .Second-year student Sara Lee said Therapy Turkeys helped her remain calm during her most stressful quarter.

“Doctor Feathers has been super helpful! I ranted to him about my stupid stats professor, and he actually listens. Even though he bit me, I have to say that it’s been a while since I’ve felt anything, so I wasn’t even mad!”

Shockingly, others have reported that the turkeys are causing more stress.

“Is this allowed?” fourth-year Mitchell Bernardo asked. “When I first heard the news I thought it was from one of those humor articles, you know where the news is just a joke? Is anyone here laughing?”

THE CORRECT WAY TO PRONOUNCE “THE MU”

BY MA RI O ROD R IGU E Z marrod@ucdavis.edu

This introvert has mastered the art of the Irish goodbye

KA IT LY N PA N G / AG GIE

BY K E LS E Y ST E WART kcstewart@ucdavis.edu

Last Friday, Colin Meyers, a fourth-year classics major, reluctantly accepted an invitation to a house party.

After pacing outside for 15 minutes, Colin found the courage to open the door. This is your time to shine, Colin, he whispered to himself while striking a power pose.

To his shock and horror, there were already at least 30 people there grouped together on couches, in the kitchen pouring drinks and pairing off to hook up in the bathroom. Music was blasting, and Colin could only assume that it was Fetty Wap. Awkwardly playing with his hands, he scanned the faces of the partygoers, only to find he didn’t recognize anyone. His next plan of action was to find a quiet, secluded spot, but it seemed as if every crevice of the house was contaminated with people.

An individual came up to talk to him, though the conversation was flat and made Colin want to die. They discussed the rain, what their majors were and who they knew at the party. The momentum petered off aggressively fast, but the individual hung

around in Colin’s periphery just enough to concern him and make him self-conscious about his quietness.

Well, s**t, Colin exclaimed inside his mind. He could not think straight while the bass pounded a sensitive part of his skull.

He had no desire to continue this conversation. He also had a sneaking suspicion that everyone in the party was looking at him and wondering who invited this socially awkward, human embodiment of a blunt crayon.

He decided he needed to leave at this very moment. “I’m gonna get some air,” he told the unknown individual, even though he had only been inside the party for 10 minutes. He could not help but strut towards the door, intoxicated by the fantasy of cold night air and quietness.

I’m just getting some air; I’ll go back in soon. I am not falling back into my isolated, antisocial ways, he lied to himself sweetly as he exhaled loudly and looked at the moon.

He had never felt so in touch with the moon before and considered the moment oddly spiritual. One second later, he said “f**k it” and walked home, saying goodbye to no one.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2019 | 7

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

STUCC HOSTS ITS LAST COMEDY SHOW OF FALL QUARTER A look into the rise of the new stand-up club on campus

BY N A HI M A SH AF F E R arts@theaggie.org

TV Show: “Queen of the South” As with most TV shows, I found “Queen of the South” while looking for something to watch on Netflix. I’ve been hooked ever since. The USA Network drama-series is an adaptation of the bestselling Arturo Pérez-Reverte novel of the same name. The series stars Alice Braga as Teresa Mendoza, whose life changes drastically when she falls in love with a member of a successful Mexican drug cartel. After his murder, she finds herself wanted by the head of the cartel while also working as a drug mule for his wife’s operations in Dallas, TX. Caught between the cross-fires of the couple’s power-grabbing rivalry, Teresa quickly rises to start her own drug empire, but not without sacrifice. Overall, the show is dramatic, action-packed and romance-filled.

Movie: “Love Jones” When I heard “Love Jones” was going to be added to Netflix, I was super excited. It’s very rare for me to enjoy or even care to watch romantic comedies, but “Love Jones” is one of those exceptions. The 1997 film directed by Theodore Witcher chronicles the love story of Darius (played by Larenz Tate) and Nina (played by Nia Long). Darius, an aspiring photographer, and Nina, an aspiring writer, meet one night at a Chicago jazz club. As their instant connection blooms, the couple faces doubts about the seriousness of their relationship. , Things become even more shaky between the two when Nina heads to New York to mend things with her ex-fiance, leaving Darius to date other women. The film blends the art of poetry, photography and cinema visually and scripturally as it tells Darius and Nina’s complicated love story. It’s real yet romanticized in a way that a lot of rom-coms aren’t.

Book: “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” by J.K Rowling Ahh, the holidays! People turn to comfort food, fuzzy warm blankets and their favorite holiday movies. Personally, I’ve been revisiting my favorite book and movie series of all time: “Harry Potter.” I’ve been listening to the books again via Audible and wanted to give a shoutout to my favorite of the series: “The Half-Blood Prince.” I find that the plot becomes especially exciting in this sixth book of the series when the overarching narrative starts to really pick up.

Set during Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts, the book delves into the past of his nemesis Lord Voldemort and Harry’s preparation to overcome him. In this book particularly, readers get more insight into Voldemort’s development. Also, the book focuses quite a bit on Harry and Albus Dumbledore’s relationship as they set off to hunt for Horcruxes (dark magic soul-splitting objects). I like this book because the overall tone is much darker than it is in the rest of the series. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this as a first introduction to the series, but for fans who are looking to pick it back up, It’s always my personal go-to before engaging in the final novel and films.

Album: “Chixtape 5” by Tory Lanez Tory Lanez released his highly anticipated “Chixtape 5” album earlier this month. “Chixtape 5” is the fifth and latest installment of his mixtape series, known for remixes of old-school Rhythm and Blues songs. This time, Tory Lanez chose to focus exclusively on flipping early 2000s R&B hits. With features from Snoop Dogg, Mya, Ludacris, T-Pain, Fabolous and more, the album is sure to put you in your feels. With remixes of songs like Snoop Dogg and Pharrell’s “Beautiful,” T-Pain’s “Sprung,” or Chris Brown’s “Take You Down,” the album is really an ode to the early 2000s with a modern edge. What’s even better than taking these older songs and remixing them is that in almost every case, Tory Lanez was able to get the original artists on the songs. Overall, “Chixtape 5” is a monumental step in segmenting the series’ legacy and perpetuity.

Members of stand-up comedy troupe StUCC performed at room 1100 at the Social Sciences & Humanities Building on Sunday, Nov. 22, 2019. (Photo by Quinn Spooner / Aggie)

BY ITZ E LT H G AMB OA arts@theaggie.org The Stand Up Comedy Club (StUCC) hosted its last show on Friday, Nov. 22 — although the show lasted two hours, from 7:15 to 9:10 p.m. at 1100 Social Sciences and Humanities Building, much of the audience lingered outside to meet and further applaud the comedians.

StUCC is a new club on campus that welcomes everyone, as well as non-students. Their club is built on the motto: “If you want to perform, we will give you the chance.” They hold four to five performances each quarter and each performance has about 13 comedians who get a five-minute set each. Every show is free, but the club welcomes donations and sells stickers.

“I have big, specific plans to carry out in the coming years,” said Will Alpers, a second-year political science major and director of StUCC. “Because I have a long time left at this college, I intend to use that time to make this club as big and important and visible to everyone on this campus as possible. I’m excited to make that happen. I want our club to not just be entertaining, but to serve the community — not just put on shows.”

StUCC meets twice a week. During meetings, members participate in workshops where comedians perform their jokes in front of club members and receive feedback.

“It happens very often where […] a comedian’s routine changes noticeably because they added suggestions from the club,” Alpers said.

“And this is what professional comedians in the industry do, too. They workshop with each other on their own time.”

Not every workshop is required for members.

Currently there are no set rules that is required in order to be considered a member of the club. The requirements to perform in a show are to show up to two meetings and do two workshops.

“In high school, I did a lot of public speaking,” said Cameron Evans, a first-year pre-landscape architecture major and member of StUCC. “I got a feel for that adrenaline rush to perform — that’s the kind of adrenaline junkie I am. I don’t do roller coasters. I do crowds.”

Although the club has been active for a few years now, this past year it has grown significantly, almost tripling its number of members. They now have about 50 members who attend weekly meetings.

“It’s just about getting more people to do good stuff in terms of comedy, and I think we’ve definitely been doing that,” said Ean Kimura, a third-year managerial economics major and president of StUCC. “We’ve been more open to having people join us. It’s just about giving people an opportunity to perform.

READ FULL ARTICLE ONLINE

8 | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2019

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

COUCH CONCERT: ALFHA RECORDS

More than just a rap collective, Sacramento-based group gives back, empowers youth

INITIATIVE TO BUILD RESEARCH CAMPUS GAINS SUPPORT THROUGHOUT DAVIS

Students, professionals working to pass the Measure R vote for Aggie Research Campus RA B IDA / AG GIE

Members od Alpha Records. (Photo by Alayé Sa nd e rs)

BY ALLIE BAILEY arts@theaggie.org It all began with a fist bump. Not just any fist bump — when Sam Lauderdale and Thaddeus Turner met up on the playground in middle school ready to fight, something unusual happened. “He squared up with me,” Turner said, “And then he threw a punch and both of our fists connected at the same time, and I watch anime so I was like… this is meant to be… and after that, everything’s been Gucci between me and him, like that’s my brother.”

Alfha Records is a rap collective comprised of five artists: Sam Lauderdale (Alfha Sam), Alayé Sanders (Alfha Bliss), Thaddeus Turner (Alfha Blu), Nick Miles (Alfha Nick) and Tex Wambui. Although they are all associated through this group, they are individual artists under one label, and they “all want to capture a different essence” with the most important thing being staying true to themselves.

The five artists met in middle school, not as epic a meeting as that first fistbump, but nonetheless special enough to form friendships that would bloom into brotherhood.

Alfha is an acronym for the message the group wants to share, each word reflecting a different part of their lives.

“Alfha itself gives a perfect explanation,” Sanders said. “Artistry, being creative and not being sucked in by the industry; loyalty

to each other, loyalty to who we started off as and why we wanted to do this; family, because we’re always about family, always about bringing back to our respective communities; honesty, in terms of not capping in our raps; and then just the Alfha symbol, beginning to end, making sure we are concise and clear and cohesive as a group.”

The cohesiveness of the group is based in the similar struggles some of the members faced growing up in South Sacramento. “[We] just kinda got a connection, just being on a team together… going through hardships,” Miles said.

For some of them, support through these hardships was crucial.

“When our families didn’t have food, we’d go to the other’s house and scrounge with each other together,” Turner said. “Feed our families together. That’s exactly what we’re doing now.”

The experiences are what makes this group’s message authentic: They recognize where they’re from and what they’ve been through in their music and use that to write genuine lyrics with meaningful themes.

A distinctive quality of the collective is the mindset they have when making music. The men took inspiration from artists like Kendrick Lamar, who “was a beacon of hope… [who] showed us that you can pop off and make money and give back to your community READ FULL ARTICLE ONLINE

BY LEI OTSUKA features@theaggie.org Among the thousands of universities across the country, UC Davis is part of an elite group of 115 universities that are considered “R1” by the prestigious Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education annual list. R1 is the highest achievable classification, meaning UC Davis is deemed to be a “very high research activity university.”

In fact, many research universities have their own research campuses intended to attract science and technology companies and provide accessibility to labs and equipment.

Top-ranking universities such as UC Berkeley, MIT and UNC all boast research campuses, and their students are often regarded as benefiting greatly by the employment opportunities and additional opportunities for real-life applications of their studies.

UC Davis, though classified in the same “R1” ranking among these prestigious campuses, does not have a research campus — yet.

The closest alternative to a research campus is Inventopia, a coworking space in Davis for engineers and scientists. The founder of Inventopia, Tim Keller, who received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UC Davis, realized the need for such a workspace. The realization came after his experience with his startup VinPerfect, which created an oxygen-regulating wine cap.

“There were a lot of things that were very hard in starting that company that shouldn’t have been,” Keller said. “It was easier for me to go to Napa and find some unused space there than to stay here [...] in Davis, even though Davis is the wine science capital of the universe. I wanted it to be easier for future entrepreneurs to do what I had done and not have to worry about things like lab space or tools.”

Keller said Inventopia is not able to address all of the needs of the entrepreneurial minds of Davis — startups require a “temporary light industrial and commercial space” to build their prototypes, which neither Inventopia nor the commercial real estate in Davis is able to provide.

Any new growth in Davis must pass through a measure R vote, and previous initiatives to build a research campus — which would provide such a space — have narrowly failed due to both a lack of voter turnout and a vocal minority opposed to new housing establishments. Molly Mermin, a third-year pharmaceutical chemistry major and executive director of the Davis College Democrats, is familiar with this opposition.

“There’s been a core group of people very opposed to a lot of housing developments,” Mermin said. “For example in Spring 2018, on the June ballot there was a housing development that would be near campus, and this project got sued.

READ FULL ARTICLE ONLINE

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2019 | 9

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.

Answer to previous puzzle

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

10 | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2019

TABLETS: THE CONVENIENT ALTERNATIVE TO HAND-WRITTEN NOTES More students use tablets in addition to their laptops, notebooks RA BI DA / AG G I E

BY M A RG O ROS E N B AU M a nd AL M A M EC KL ER-PAC H E CO science@theaggie.org On the UC Davis campus, it seems that more and more students are supplementing their school materials with tablets. Sleek and light, tablets provide an effective alternative to the old-school style of pen and paper. Yet, although laptops and tablets seem similar in many ways, key differences stand out in students’ selections of which tablet to purchase.

Studies have proven that typing notes on laptops decrease Students’ abilities to understand information relative to writing notes by hand.

This has resulted in many students seeking new technological ways to handwrite notes.

An experiment run by Pam Mueller of Princeton University and Daniel Oppenheimer of UCLA found that the way students take notes affects learning. After the students watched and took notes on TED talks, researchers concluded that the method of note-taking did not affect their ability to remember facts. When asked to explain concepts covered in the videos, however, the students who hand-wrote notes scored higher, according to their study published in “Psychological Science” in 2014.

Tablets provide one option for students to hand-write notes digitally. Digital pencils and styluses, like Apple Pencils and Microsoft Surface Pens, allow for tablets to be easily used for note-taking. Across lectures, students can be commonly seen opting for tablets to take notes, with 52% of college students owning a tablet.

“I use my tablet mostly for readings and no-

tetaking in classes,” said Karina Delgado, a fifthyear statistics and political science major. “I have an Apple pencil that makes highlighting [and] taking notes on documents really easy.”

With tablets, students only need to carry around one device that encapsulates all of their notes and materials, providing mobility benefits.

“I like using a tablet because it’s easier to carry since my laptop is pretty big,” Delgado said.

Additionally, Delgado said that she likes the ability to directly write on her iPad, which she cannot do with her laptop.

“The pros include that I can annotate my lecture slides and can catch what the professor is saying about the topic instead of copying slides, slide by slide,” said Somandeep Gurm, a second-year microbiology major. “I can rewrite things over and over again without taking up other resources.”

With a plethora of tablets for sale, students have many options for brands, sizes and features.

Amazon created their version of a tablet, the Fire, ranging from seven to 10 inches screen size and with storage capacity from 16 to 32 gigabytes (GB). While the Fire mostly encourages Prime services and apps, its is a reliable tablet that gets the job done.

Samsung offers a Galaxy tablet, the newest version has a screen size of 10 inches and up to 32GB of storage. From the basic version of the iPad to the iPad Pro, Apple offers a large selection with a range of sizes and styles that each cater towards a different purpose. Microsoft sells 2-in-1 tablets which run Windows 10 and when connected to an attachable keyboard become usable laptops.

FBWRAPUP CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

At one point in October, defensive coordinator Robert Tucker and his unit had to prepare for three contrasting styles of offense in three weeks, battling the triple-option attack, spread offense and a traditional power run game.

This provided some serious challenges for the coaching staff and scout team, who were responsible for implementing a game plan and getting the starters prepared in practice.

Never a dull moment Through all the ups and downs of the last three months, UC Davis never failed to keep its fans on the edge of their seats. Early on, the Aggies came relatively close to upsetting California and then grabbed their first victory over San Diego when King saved the day with a forced fumble at the goal line on the final play of the game. During consecutive wins against Cal Poly and Southern Utah in October, the Aggies started fast but almost squandered huge leads by letting their opponents mount large second half comebacks.

“For whatever reason, our guys are better with their backs against the wall,” Hawkins said, following the win over Southern Utah.

“They do not like smooth sailing. The saying is ‘smooth waters never made a good sailor’ and they like it when the wind blows and the ship starts rocking.”

In season-defining losses to Weber State, Montana State and Sacramento State, UC Davis had ample opportunities to seize control of the game in the second half but failed to get the job done in the fourth quarter.

Overall, Davis was competitive in every single game outside of the blowout defeat against Montana.

“It’s probably the first time in my two and a half years here that I felt like we got out-coached, out-energied, out-executed and out-desired,” Hawkins later admitted.

Looking back, a 45-28 win over Portland State in early November was likely the most complete performance of the season. The Aggies, fresh off their bye week, piled up a season-high 649 yards on offense and thoroughly dominated for four quarters.

“I think it was the first time this year we played off of each other in all three phases, which was really good to see,” Hawkins said after the game.

Maier says goodbye UC Davis fans got to enjoy one last season of watching Maier call the signals under center. The second-year transfer from Long Beach City College officially finished his career as the all-time leading passer in program history, amassing 11,163 yards and shattering numerous other statistical records.

Beyond the X’s and O’s, Maier garnered unlimited praise from everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him. He built a reputation on being an unbelievable teammate, a selfless leader and an individual who represented the school in a classy and respectful manner.

Each week, opposing head coaches always had something nice to say about Maier, who never failed to leave a positive impression on everyone around him. Hawkins could talk for hours about Maier’s lasting impact on the program and was cognizant of the “thousand invisible moments” that Maier expended to become such a successful player.

“Last year, one of the key reasons why we won a championship and Davis football turned a corner is because of Jake Maier,” Hawkins said after the loss to Montana State.

“You’re not going to be around a more humble, hard-working and dedicated person. He’s got an unbelievable rage to master his craft. For a school that’s had as many great quarterbacks, he’s going to go down as arguably the best guy to ever play at UC Davis.”

The future is bright Like most years, UC Davis will be hit hard with the loss of 18 graduating seniors. There will be lots of holes to fill, especially on the defensive side of the ball where defensive linemen Jordan Franklin and Brandon Jamison and linebackers Nas Anesi and Eric Flowers will all have to be replaced.

Obviously, the search for a new starting quarterback will be one of the main talking points leading up to the 2020 season. Hawkins has recruited heavily at the position and currently has five players to choose from, in advance of another incoming freshman class.

There is a ton of talent left on this roster and more help on the way, as Hawkins and his staff have continued to churn out stacked recruiting classes every year.

The fall of 2019 was an unfortunate stumbling block along what promises to be a special journey in the Dan Hawkins era of UC Davis football. Hopefully we will look back on this season as a valuable learning experience that provided opportunities for growth and development.

At the end of the day, the college football experience is supposed to serve as a metaphor for life in general. And as we all know, Coach Hawkins is a fan of a good metaphor.

“Hardly ever, when you first learn how to fly a kite, do you just get it up in the air and it just goes the whole time,” he explained in late September. “You’ve got to lose a kite in the electrical lines or trees before you figure out exactly what you’re supposed to be doing.”

MAINTENANCE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

the state should play a role in addressing and supporting campus deferred maintenance reduction efforts.”

According to the minutes of the meeting of the Financial and Capital Strategies Committee of the Regents of the University of California on Sept. 26, 2018, the UC system as

a whole has received $35 million to address deferred maintenance, but the total required funds for all its campuses adds up to $4 billion.

As of 2019, the university has not announced any updates to the deferred maintenance plan, nor has the website detailing this issue been updated since 2018.

acne?

Just plain tired of

Be part of a clinical research study aimed at acne treatment.

To find out more, call the Center for Dermatology and Laser Surgery at:

+1 916-454-5922

Eligible Participants: • • • •

Be at least 16 years of age Suffer from moderate facial acne Treatment & examinations at no cost Receive compensation up to $2,000

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2019 | 11

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

PERES

FRAUDCONTRACTOR

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

He then sat close to her on the sofa and repeatedly grabbed her hand, insinuating that her behavior in 2004 had led him to view their interactions in a romantic light.

When Moshkovitz tried to leave, he followed her out of the house.

“He told me that he was sorry, he misinterpreted my behavior,” Moshkovitz wrote.

“I was quite stunned by this last remark. That man had invited me to a ‘job interview.’ He had pretended it was a job interview for almost the entire meeting. I acted like a person in a job interview, which I thought I was, until I realized otherwise. This ‘I must have misinterpreted your behavior’ is outrageous.”

Moshkovitz said that although she was supported by friends and family after the incident, the experience “undermined her trust in people.” She added that “sexual harassment is not about sex. It is not about love.

Sexual harassment is about hunting down.”

Moshkovitz said she contacted officials at the Microsoft Theory Group in Redmond, Wash., where Peres was working at the time.

She received an email saying that they were “concerned about what happened and that [they] were looking into it,” however, she said she never heard from them again. She later learned that Peres had been promoted shortly after the incident.

Microsoft has faced criticism for its treatment of women. According to a 2018 article in the Seattle Times, it remains the most male-dominated tech company compared to Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and LinkedIn. In the company’s “engineering ranks,” the higher the pay grade, the fewer women there are. Between 2009 and 2018, 16 women sued Microsoft in both state and federal courts for “gender discrimination, sexual harassment, or gender-related retaliation.” Microsoft won only one of the cases that went to trial. And, according to The Guardian, “Between 2010 and 2016, women in technical jobs at the company lodged 108 complaints of sexual harassment, 119 complaints of gender discrimination, eight complaints of retaliation and three complaints of pregnancy discrimination.”

In a The Seattle Times article, one Microsoft intern said no charges were filed after she reported to both the company and the police that she was raped by another intern after an event. Another woman alleged that her manager repeatedly propositioned her and sent her inappropriate emails. After she reported the behavior, she was moved to a different unit, only to find that her office was “just two doors down from her harasser.”

Another female employee was confronted by her supervisor after reporting his “demeaning behavior” and “unfair performance reviews.”

Following the publication of the Seattle Times article, Microsoft president and chief legal officer Brad Smith provided a summary of the company’s efforts regarding diversity and inclusion, citing the progress the company has made in the last several years.

Christopher Hoffman, a current professor at UW who frequently visited the Microsoft Theory Group to work on projects, had heard from several sources that Peres was attempting to “re-integrate himself back into the mathematical community” following the allegations.

“I am a big believer in forgiveness, but before we get to a stage of forgiveness there has to be some honesty about the women who he harassed and the lies that Yuval told to enable their harassment,” Hoffman said. “I think the math community would be making a big mistake if they re-integrated someone and started the forgiving progress before there was any honest appraisal of what had happened.”

Hoffman did postdoctoral studies with Peres at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem from 1996–1997, and later worked with him at UW. He said that Peres was “very generous towards [him],” and found his later resignation from UW abrupt, adding that he received no explanation from the university for his departure. He did not hear about the sexual misconduct allegations until later.

“The more information I heard and the more detailed [the allegations have] become, definitely, the more upsetting they’ve been,” Hoffman said. “The first things that I heard were all very vague and third-hand and now I’ve read statements that people have written and that was definitely much more upsetting than just hearing rumors.”

Peres’ pattern of behavior was not limited to his time at UW. In November 2019, Lisha Li, a former Ph.D. student at UC Berkeley, said on Twitter that she and another graduate student studying probability both experienced similar harassment. “About time it is called out so that no more students are harassed,” Li wrote. Animashree Anandkumar, a professor at CalTech, wrote on Twitter in November 2018 that she “had a nauseating experience with Peres when [she] was younger,” adding that at the time she “was junior and felt powerless.”

Lior Pachter, who worked as a mathematics professor at UC Berkeley from 2001 to 2017, and who now works as a Bren professor of computational biology, computing and mathematical sciences at CalTech, said via email that concerns were raised in the equity committee of the math department at UC Berkeley after Peres had left his full-time position at the university.

When asked why he did not immediately file a report regarding Peres’ behavior, Pachter said that he felt the report was already being adequately addressed by the committee handling such concerns. Following a public records request by The Aggie, UC Berkeley said it had no information regarding any sexual misconduct by Peres.

Thomas Scanlon, who currently chairs the equity committee in the math department at UC Berkeley, said in an email that he heard about Peres’ behavior only after Peres had gone to work at UW and his position at UC Berkeley had converted to adjunct sta-

tus. The departmental website indicates that Peres held an adjunct position at Berkeley until 2011.

“It is not the role of the equity advisor to address complaints of misconduct,” Scanlon said. “In practice, most complaints pass through the Department Chair. Since I do not have firsthand knowledge of how such reports were investigated by our administration, it is best that I not speculate on what may have happened.”

After he was contacted by The Aggie, Michael Hutchings, who was recently appointed as mathematics department chair at UC Berkeley, wrote that he “would not help [...] try to dig up rumors and allegations about the Berkeley math department.”

Later, after Peres resigned from UW and no longer worked at Microsoft, Pachter chose to publicize a November 2018 letter written by computer science, applied mathematics and mathematics professors Irit Dinur, Oded Goldreich and Ehud Friedgut, who currently work at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

The letter warned the mathematical community about allegations that had been made about Peres and alleged that Dinur, Goldreich and Friedgut knew of “at least five additional cases of him approaching junior female scientists, some of them students, with offers of intimate nature, behavior that has caused its victims quite a bit of distress since these offers were ‘insistent.’”

Goldreich said via email that he disagreed with the publication of the email. When asked why he had chosen to publish the letter, Pachter said that “it corroborated for me what I had heard. When I saw this letter from a lot of these colleagues, I thought I should make this public [...] because it’s dangerous to have a sexual harasser working with students. I thought that students should know.”

In December 2018, the Centre de Recherches Mathématiques at the Université de Montréal released a statement condemning Peres’ actions. They said they were not aware of the allegations against him when he was the André-Aisenstadt Chair at the Centre.

Goldreich clarified in an email that while he and his colleagues have no official documentation about Peres, “We acted based on information revealed to us, in person and privately, directly and indirectly, by several of [Peres’] victims. The dilemma we were facing was whether or not to remain [silent] in [the] face of this information, which we considered reliable although it was not subjected to any formal legal procedure.”

Goldreich wrote that this feeling was not unique — others had faced the same moral dilemma.

“We believe that many others in the research community, who have (directly or indirectly) heard of similar [incidents] involving Peres or other people, faced the same dilemma,” Goldreich said. “The choice of doing nothing is a default one, but it has a huge cost in a reality in which there are no adequate ways of handling such instances, which are not [in the] realm of criminal law.”

Goldreich noted that many victims have legitimate reasons for choosing not to file complaints. He said that the current social climate in academia affects who chooses to formally complain to supervisors about this behavior.

“The aforementioned refusal [to file a complaint] should not cast doubts on the allegations nor should it be viewed as a personal (moral or ethical) failure on the part of the victims; it is actually the rational choice given this reality,” Goldreich wrote.

Karen Kelsky, founder and president of The Professor Is In, “which provides advice and consulting services on the academic job search and all elements of the academic and post-academic career,” wrote to The Aggie about the impact that sexual harassment can have on women pursuing careers in academia.

“What my research on sexual harassment in the academy revealed to me is that harassers (almost entirely men) have multiple kinds of impact on their victims (almost entirely women),” Kelsky wrote. “They might impact career options, in that women are forced to change programs or institutions or fields, to their own detriment (perhaps losing grant support or mentorship or years of credit along the way).”

She noted that such experiences can have serious effects on women’s mental health and can deter them from pursuing job opportunities at institutions of higher education. According to Kelsky, “a strong, unequivocal response” is necessary to ensure that survivors are not those who end up facing professional and personal consequences because of their choice to, or not to, report.

“Time and again, these perpetrators, even when found guilty, are permitted to rehabilitate themselves after just a few months or years, and given the chance to reclaim their authority and status,” Kelsky wrote. “That not only re-victimizes victims, but gives the perpetrator access to new victims, and tells other vulnerable individuals that they are not safe, and that they do not really ‘belong’ in academic spaces.”

She described the ripple effect that this kind of institutional decision-making can have.

“In the end we are all impoverished because one perpetrator often silences scores or hundreds of people whose scholarly contributions the world will never get to know,” Kelsky said. “This is why I created the #MeTooPhD hashtag.”

Hoffman similarly believes that academic institutions need to be more proactive in the way that they handle allegations of sexual misconduct.

“I hope that [universities] do not just try to end their affiliation but try to actively make sure that the complaints of victims are investigated,” he said.

According to a press release from the Yolo County’s Office of the District Attorney, the case “included over 35,000 pages of discovery, over 60 defrauded employees, and involved 26 felony counts.”

It was also delayed when Thompson switched attorneys and claimed to be incompetent to stand trial due to multiple sclerosis. The competency trial took about two years to resolve, according to McHugh.

“At a competency trial — unlike a normal trial — it’s the defense that has the burden to show that it’s more likely than not that he is incompetent,” McHugh said. “And at that competency trial they didn’t put on any evidence so the court found him competent to stand trial.”

Ultimately, Thompson pleaded no contest to the charges. On Nov. 13, he was sentenced to 10 years in state prison without probation. The court’s decision reflected Thompson’s history of fraud and the impact on his victims — some of whom lost thousands of dollars in only a few months, McHugh said.

“For several of the victims, it was over $20,000 that had been stolen — and we’re talking about in a five or six month period of time,” McHugh said.

“When you think about it being in 2009, that’s when the housing crisis happened and a lot of people were losing their jobs and having a difficult time

paying their mortgages or their rent.”

Paul Hillegass, the lead district attorney investigator for the case, elaborated on how fraud can affect not only the direct victims but also the surrounding economy. “[Thompson] took advantage of the employees who were just glad to be making a wage that was higher than what they were making — but without knowing that they should’ve been making even way more,” Hillegass said. “When you [multiply] that [by] 60 individuals — how much would they have spent with that money in the surrounding economy? How much did it hurt the UC system in having to deal with the issues from this construction project? The cost gets spread out among everybody, so crimes like this really start affecting the economy.”

The county does provide outreach to educate the community about fraud, especially regarding the rights of employees and information on license contracting. When reducing the acts of fraud by businesses, Hillegass mentions how this case can be a deterrent in its own right.

“The prosecution is a part of outreach to let them know that people do get caught,” Hillegass said. “So this is also a deterrent and education at the same time.”

ELECTIONS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Most recently, it was announced that ASUCD would hold a special election this week, allowing the three constitutional amendments that failed to be voted on again by students Allegations that this election is against the Constitution and Bylaws have also surfaced.

Despite Thrive candidates winning four of the six senate vacancies, Thrive slate leadership, including Hacker, alleged that candidates received direct threats and an unfair distribution of violation points during the campaign. They also criticized the Elections Committee over a perceived lack of transparency, citing the committee’s decision not to release the names of the members to candidates as one example.

Deshpande addressed concerns raised by the Thrive slate and the student body regarding voter disenfranchisement.

“The Executive Office is deeply regretful of the circumstances that has led to feelings of voter disenfranchisement,” Deshpande said. “The student body deserves a fair election and we had tried to do our due diligence within the parameters of our positions to ensure the process was unbiased and transparent.”

Other members of the Thrive slate brought up issues regarding how the election was run.

Newly-elected senator José Benito Martinez III, a second-year political science major, ran for Senate on the Thrive slate. The Elections Committee accused Martinez of elections fraud on Nov. 10 via email. After initially asking if he would be willing to be interviewed, the Elections Committee later retracted their request and claimed they would make the decision regarding the allegation without input from Martinez. All updates regarding his case were conveyed to Martinez via email.

Specifically, the Elections Committee accused Martinez via email of “asking students to open their ballots and telling them how to vote which is considered election fraud under the ASUCD bylaws.”

Martinez asserts that he did ask students to vote for him and told voters where they could vote online, but claims this is not election fraud.

By not allowing Martinez to offer a formal statement in his own defense, it would seem the Elections Committee violated ASUCD Bylaws, according to Martinez. This email, saying he did not need to speak to the committee, was the last correspondence about the investigation that Martinez received.

“I really think they know they’re lying when they sent this email,” Martinez said. “This is just a form of sabotage, trying to distract me from my campaign.”

Martinez also brought up an instance where he was confronted by Kevin Rotenkolber, the ASUCD controller, in the MU. Martinez alleged that Rotenkolber told him passing out flyers to voters was not permitted in the Memorial Union, to which Martinez asserted that this was, in fact, allowed. Martinez

also claimed members of BASED were in the MU passing out flyers.

In response, Rotenkolber did confirm at the time he believed campaigning in the CoHo was not allowed, but he has since recognized his mistake.

In the past, candidates were prohibited from campaigning in the CoHo. In an effort to minimize confusion regarding where students can campaign, Senate Bill #68 was passed in Winter Quarter 2019, authorizing campaigning in the CoHo. Upon being informed by Martinez about other BASED members, Rotenkolber said that he left to address them as well.

“I then walked back into the Coffee House and looked for anyone potentially canvassing as well as anyone I may have recognized as a candidate,” Rotenkolber said via email. “I did in fact see three BASED candidates preparing to campaign in the Coffee House, but had not begun yet. I informed all of them that they were not permitted to campaign in the Coffee House and that if they wanted to campaign they would have to do so outside.”

Martinez was not aware that Rotenkolber brought his same concerns to BASED candidates.

Martinez and other members of Thrive, including Hacker, maintain their slate was unfairly targeted for election point violations.

Rotenkolber addressed allegations of election bias.

“While the Office of the Controller is under the ASUCD Executive Office officially, the operations of the two are independent of each other,” Rotenkolber said via email. “I am neither Based, nor Unite, nor Thrive, and I do not believe that anyone currently on the Senate table would claim otherwise.”

Hacker commented further on the lack of leadership involved in the elections process.

“I have a lot of sympathy for the newer people on the [Emergency Elections Committee],” Hacker said. “But at the end of the day, you took this on and you are in this association. These ballot measures not having the fair chance they needed to to potentially pass have major consequences for ASUCD.” Beyond ballot measures, the Thrive slate had complaints about the entire elections process.

Without going into detail, Hacker alleged that Thrive candidates were deliberately excluded from decision-making processes throughout the election.

“I know as someone who was very up close and personal with this election that I have seen countless times they have broken bylaws to advantage certain candidates over others,” Hacker said.

Moving forward, ASUCD President Justin Hurst proposed that an entirely new special election could take place, which would disregard the results of this election. For the six newly-elected senators, this would invalidate their recent wins and force them to run again. This would also impact elections scheduled for Winter Quarter 2019.

SENATE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

Lastly, Ethnic Cultural Affairs Commission, or ECAC, which “[aims to] represent historically marginalized groups who face barriers in terms of institutionalized, internalized, and systemic oppression,” outlined its accomplishments, according to their presentation.

For instance, ECAC has spread awareness about its work and its mission at the involvement fair. Additionally, the commission presented to Davis College of Democrats and addressed cultural appropriation at the Whole Earth Festival.

The confirmation of commissioners was also a prominent part of this senate meeting.

EPPC, GASC and Academic Affairs all had commissioners confirmed to their commissions.

Similarly, the Disability Rights Advocacy Committee confirmed a chair.

“This is a committee that has not been running for a long time,” Deshpande said.

“It is very exciting to have somebody take on the initiative. It’s very important to establish community building and having a voice like Nasaki’s that will reach out to a variety of students to be able to build this community and advertise the resources we have for disabled, differently-abled folks on campus is extremely important.”

The senate meeting rounded out with consideration of old legislation. By the end of the meeting the following constitutional amendments had been passed: Constitutional Amendments #63, #64, #65 and #66.

CA #63, is “a constitutional amendment to shift the Winter ASUCD Elections to Spring Quarter.” Specifically, this amendment was written to “prevent the necessity for the ASUCD to hold a special election every Winter Quarter and prevent a violation of Article

II, Section 1, of the ASUCD Constitution that mandates one (1) year terms for every elected official,” according to the amendment itself.

CA #64, is “a constitutional amendment to reform the structure of the Judicial Branch of the ASUCD.” CA #65 is “a constitutional amendment to create the Student Workers Rights Commission”, or SWRC. Specifically, the SWRC would “act as a representative body for, investigate concerns, and advocate for the welfare of undergraduate student workers employed by the Association and UC Davis workers as a whole.”

“I think it would be really vital to have another chairperson on the table to advocate specifically for student worker rights,” Deshpande said.

“Just having that extra voice on the table would provide a lot of context, getting their reports on what they’re constantly doing, and the level of campus engagement they’re having with our student workers functionally gives them a lot more agency.”

CA #66 is “a constitutional amendment to add the process of impeachment and removal of elected officials to the ASUCD Constitution.”

Concerning elections, SB #16 was also passed. SB #16 is “an ASUCD Senate Bill to introduce crucial regulations with respect to ASUCD elections.” This bill was passed in response to the Fall Quarter 2019 elections.

Specifically, “candidates abused loopholes [...] there were [...] a number of logistical failings [...] and [there was a] lack of an Elections Committee Chair.”

Senate Bill #8, Senate Resolution #1, SB #12, SB #14 and SB #15 were tabled.

12 | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2019

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

UNPREDICTABLE SEASON REACHES AGGIES TAKE WWPA CHAMPIONSHIP FINISH LINE FOR AGGIE FOOTBALL UC Davis men’s water polo dominates UC San Diego to

UC Davis endures the highs, lows of a disappointing fall

clinch NCAA tournament spot

From left to right: UC Davis wide receiver Khris Vaughn (9) carries the ball to reach the 1 yard line during the first home game of the season against LeHigh. UC Davis quarterback Jake Maier (15) looks to make a pass as the Cal defense closes in on him during the first game of the season at Cal. UC Davis running back Ulonzo Gilliam (34) rushes to gain yardage during a home game against Cal Poly. (Photos by Justin Han / Aggie)

BY BRENDAN OGBURN sports@theaggie.org It is hard to believe that the 2019 season is already in the books for the UC Davis football team. The journey of the past three months was a rollercoaster ride of epic proportions, with each week providing a different twist to the tale.

When this adventure finally reached its conclusion, the only thing remaining was a disappointing 5-7 record that left something to be desired. UC Davis was never short on talent or ability, but simply lacked the final touch to push itself over the line and become a great team — instead of just a good team with high aspirations.

Although the ball didn’t always roll their way, the Aggies still managed to put together one heck of an interesting season and left us with a multitude of storylines to look back on.

Dealing with expectations Following what was widely considered to be the program’s greatest season in its 101year history, expectations were sky-high heading into this fall. The Aggies had good reason to believe they could defend their Big Sky Conference title and make a return to the FCS playoffs, where they earned a first round bye and defeated Northern Iowa before bowing out to Eastern Washington in a thrilling battle. UC Davis received a fair amount of recognition leading up to the 2019 season, placing in the top-five of several preseason rankings polls and garnering numerous individual honors.

Although former Walter Payton Award finalist Keelan Doss moved on to the NFL, the Aggies still entered the season with all the tools for a lethal offensive attack, led by senior quarterback Jake Maier, who was last year’s Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year.

Even as frustrating losses started to mount, the team never navigated away from its core principles of staying focused on the process, instead of getting caught up in the results and outside chatter. The only outlier to this mentality was an ugly 45-20 home loss to Montana in late September when Head Coach Dan Hawkins felt his team got caught up in the expectations and stopped having fun playing the game. Besides that one performance, Hawkins was extremely pleased with the team’s mindset in every other week of the season.

Although the players inside the locker room took it one week at a time with the same focus, other teams around the league seemed to have extra incentive to knock the Aggies off their perch.

“When you go win the championship, every team and staff that plays you will go research the heck out of you, figure out how to stop you and study your film,” Hawkins said after the Montana loss. “They’re gearing up for you.”

Mastering the details Throughout the season, Hawkins frequently referenced the need for his team to clean up the avoidable mistakes and be more methodical with executing the small, vital details necessary for long-term success. This was one of the main themes of the entire season and a key factor differentiating the 2018 team from this year’s squad.

Just like last season, the Aggies played in many tight games decided in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. The team suffered from a little bit of bad luck, yet UC Davis did itself no favors by committing crucial penalties in the biggest moments and making minor but fundamental mistakes that wound up costing it wins. The Aggies often struggled with open-field tackling and dropped passes.

Overall, the Aggies just seemed to lack a certain sharpness in many of their performances and could never get firing on all cylinders for extended periods of time. They put themselves in situations to succeed, but the overall execution was slightly awry, leaving room for improvement.

“When everything goes well and you score 50 points in a win, everyone tells you how great you are,” Maier said, following the loss to Montana. “When [losses] like this happen, you’ve got to own it because you own the 50 points and the wins. We’ve got to be more disciplined. We keep turning the ball over and getting penalties in big situations.”

In a memorable showdown against North Dakota State, UC Davis outgained the Bison and was in position to win the game late in the fourth quarter, but a pair of Maier interceptions and some untimely penalties proved to be the difference. Two weeks later, the Aggies once again traveled to face the University of North Dakota but were unable to close out a win in the final minute largely due to some late mental errors and multiple penalties.

Both road losses could have easily changed the course of the season had a few plays gone differently and the Aggies came out on top.

But, as Hawkins always says, every game comes down to about three plays, and UC

Davis simply could not get the job done.

Inconsistency As the season wore on, UC Davis kept finding itself on the wrong end of these close games and could not find a way to climb out of the hole and string together some momentum. Every week felt like a roller coaster of its own, and the exhausting whirlwind of fortunes surely had to take a toll on the team after a while.

If the Aggies had been able to pull out a win in either one of their trips to North Dakota, the season could have looked a lot different. But that early three-game losing streak, coupled with a brutal home record at UC Davis Health Stadium, prevented the Aggies from turning their season around.

Offensively, the Aggies were wildly inconsistent, rattling off points in bunches at times but then going completely silent for long streaks. The team was continually plagued by lengthy scoring droughts that kept the defense on the field for long periods of time.

This was not exactly an unfamiliar problem for UC Davis, as last year’s 10-win team dealt with the same issues on several occasions. The only difference was that the 2019 Aggies were not clinical enough in crunch time, failing to step up and make enough meaningful plays to wrestle victory from the jaws of defeat.

Injuries Like most teams, UC Davis had to deal with nagging injuries to some key players throughout the season. And with a late bye in the schedule following nine straight games, there was hardly any time to rest and heal up.

On offense, the Aggies lost two important playmakers early in the season, forcing other teammates to step up and carry the load.

Sophomore wide receiver Carson Crawford was an instrumental part of the aerial attack, but barely made it out of September before suffering a season-ending ankle injury in the loss to North Dakota. Junior running back Tehran Thomas, an effective change-of-pace weapon in the backfield, got nicked up in the first month of play and had to sit out the final seven games.

As a result, sophomore tailback Ulonzo Gilliam was thrust into the spotlight, a position he took full advantage of. Gilliam, an All-Big Sky Second Team honoree, took almost every snap at the running back position after Thomas’ injury and was the Big Sky’s leading rusher with 1,249 yards and 11 touchdowns. He had five games with 100+ yards and also proved to be a valuable asset in the passing game, leading the team in catches.

In the absence of Crawford, junior Khris Vaughn and redshirt freshman Lance Babb II became the primary receiving options on the outside, combining for over 1,300 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Young superstars emerge on defense If nothing else, the 2019 season provided the platform for a pair of young defensive superstars to burst onto the scene.

Sophomore defensive back Devon King was already a known commodity around the Big Sky, having started 11 games as a freshman and earning Hero Sports First Team Freshman All-American honors. But King turned things up a notch and took his ballhawking abilities to another level this year, racking up team high’s in solo tackles (62) and interceptions (3). King, the only Aggie to be named to the All-Big Sky Conference First Team, will continue to be the leader of the secondary for a couple more years.

Redshirt freshman linebacker Nick Eaton was equally as impressive from start to finish, playing in all 12 games and establishing himself as a force in the middle of the defense.

Eaton, who led UC Davis in tackles for loss (12), sacks (6.5), pass breakups (6) and forced fumbles (5), developed a knack for making impactful plays when his team needed them most. As a result, he took home several accolades, including the Big Sky Freshman of the Year. He was also one of the 20 finalists for the Jerry Rice Award, which recognizes the top freshman in the entire FCS. The hero’s journey It’s impossible to ignore the strenuous conditions UC Davis was faced with from the outset, starting with a daunting schedule of just five home games and nine consecutive weeks of action before the bye week. A pair of trips to North Dakota in three weeks, both ending in heartbreaking defeat, put the Aggies behind the eight ball and significantly decreased the margin for error before conference play even began.

Overall, UC Davis knew it had to be on its “A” game every single week with a slate of talented opponents that included seven eventual playoff teams and five of the top-six ranked teams in the FCS postseason bracket. The Aggies went just 1-6 in those contests, only beating San Diego on the road in week two.

Each Saturday provided a unique challenge in its own right, with every Aggie foe bringing different attributes and strengths to the table.

FBW RAPU P on 10

UC Davis men’s water polo team competing against California Baptist University at Schaal Aquatics Center on Sept.

20, 2019. (Photos by Quinn Spooner / Aggie)

BY FRANKIE VEVERKA sports@theaggie.org The top-seeded UC Davis men’s water polo team triumphed over UC San Diego 14-5 in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) championship game on Nov. 24, securing the program’s third WWPA crown in four years. The title-winning performance also earned the team an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

“I couldn’t be more proud of how hard our players have worked to get to this point. It’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of hours, and it’s not always pleasant,” said Child And Meisel Families Director of Men’s Water Polo Daniel Leyson. “We stuck together through thick and thin and came together at the end. We’re honored to represent our conference at NCAA’s, and we can’t wait to find out who we play.”

The WWPA Conference Tournament took place on the weekend of Nov. 22-24 in Riverside, Calif. The Aggies came into the tournament as the league’s top-ranked team and had faced all seven other WWPA teams before, making them ready for play.

To get to that championship game, UC Davis had to first beat out Fresno Pacific, which it did in dominating fashion. Redshirt-sophomore center defender Matthew Whipple led the Aggies with four goals, while UC Davis gave up a season-low three goals in a 21-3 win.

Heading into the semi-final match, the Aggies knew they would need to continue to play their game and come out strong. Their opponent, California Baptist, was fourth-ranked and put up a tough fight, but the Aggies did not let up. Trailing by two at the half, UC Davis roared back, as junior attacker Jack Stafford netted three second-half goals to help push the momentum back onto the Aggies’ side. Both teams excelled defensively in the final quarter, thanks in part to junior goalkeeper Jonah Addington, who accumulated 10 saves in the match. UC Davis ultimately prevailed 14-9, securing a spot in its fifth straight WWPA title game.

On Sunday, Nov. 24, the Aggies came prepared to seek vengeance, as they took on reigning WWPA champions, UC San Diego. In 2018, UC Davis fell to the Tritons in a nail-biter by a score of 11-10. In their three previous meetings this season, the team from La Jolla got the better of the Aggies twice, but UC Davis took the most recent contest in its final game of the

regular season. Now, facing UCSD for the fourth time in 2019, the Aggies knew it was their chance to return to the National Collegiate Water Polo Tournament.

Big plays were made for the Aggies by several players: junior utility Kyle Reilly finished with two goals and a pair of assists, senior attacker Holden Tamblyn tallied a goal and three assists for a four-point day, and the man in the cage, Addington, recorded 14 saves.

In addition, redshirt-sophomore center defender Spencer Towill, sophomore center Nir Gross and senior attackers Yurii Hanley and Max Somple all finished the game with a pair of goals each.

The match stayed level throughout the first quarter and into the second quarter, but then UC Davis began to distance itself from its competition. With the game tied at three early in the second period, the Aggies rattled off eight straight goals to stretch their lead to 11-3 into the third quarter. Seven different UC Davis players scored goals during the Aggies’ eight-goal run. Addington also blocked another penalty shot in the second half.

The Aggies put the game on ice with Somple, Hanley and Reilly netting one more goal each in the fourth — capturing a 14-5 win for UC Davis.

One of the main reasons UC Davis was able to pull away and take over the game was Addington’s tireless efforts in front of goal. He was named the WWPA Tournament Most Valuable Player — rightfully so as he helped keep the Tritons off the scoresheet for 14 minutes between the second and third quarters and accumulated a tournament-best .653 save percentage. Addington has 178 saves this season and an average of 10.47 saves per game, making him a defensive powerhouse.

“We felt like we were going to get better as the season went on because many of our players were new to their roles, and be able to catch up with some teams with more experience,” said Leyson.

“We gradually got closer to [UC] San Diego and were able to take the last two.”

The championship win was UC Davis’ ninth straight victory, meaning that the Aggies now have a record of 16-7 on the season.

Their season is not over yet, as now the Aggies will head to Stockon, Calif. on Thursday, Dec. 5 to face Pepperdine in the first round of the NCAA tournament.