February 15, 2018

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VOLUME 136, ISSUE 16 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018

Public forum discusses crises in UC system Professor, advocates, gubernatorial candidate offer solutions

BERKELEY PROFESSOR MICHAEL BURAWOY CONSTRUCTS AN OUTLINE OF CRISES WITHIN THE UC SYSTEM.

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

On Friday, Feb. 2, at 1 p.m., the Davis Faculty Association hosted Public Forum: The Future of Higher Education in California in the Art Annex. Featured speakers at the event were Michael Burawoy, a UC Berkeley sociology professor and chair of the Berkeley Faculty Association; Amy Hines-Saikh, the executive director of the California Higher Education Coalition and Delaine Eastin, a UC Davis alumna, a former superintendent of California Public Instruction and a former California Assemblymember as well as a Democratic candidate for California governor.

The forum was attended by UC Davis students, professors and Davis community members.

Jesse Drew, the co-chair of the Davis Faculty Association and a UC Davis professor of cinema studies, welcomed those in attendance and thanked the speakers for their participation. Drew spoke on the importance of the association, saying the faculty should have an independent voice that may not necessarily align with the UC administration.

Burawoy, who has been an instructor for 14 years, began by pointing out the changes in public higher education. He talked about the significantly larger number of students in classrooms and the diversity of demographics. He addressed greater access to higher education for transfer students, ethnic minorities and disadvantaged socioeconomic classes, but called for a push in inclusion within universities after students arrive.

“How should we make students with limited litTAYLOR LAPOINT / AGGIE FILE

eracy — working class backgrounds, students who have to work some 20-30 hours a week, who may have to support family members, students who may be homeless and from time to time go hungry, students who can’t afford to partake in the social life of the campus, students who may be undocumented, or formerly incarcerated — how do we make these students comfortable?” Burawoy said via email “Talk of encouraging diversity as though everyone were equal, misses the point.”

Burawoy went on to outline four crises that contribute to the detriment of public higher education. A fiscal crisis in the UC system as a result of the California legislature severely cutting funding from the UC has consequently led the system to increase fees and tuition to accumulate revenue. The state reduces funding even further and the UC, cyclically, increases its tuition more.

According to Burawoy, a government crisis has destabilized UC faculty and administration by bloating the number of university administration and removing influence from UC faculty. Staffs are increased without increased productivity.

“As universities seek to become revenue-generating and cost-cutting machines, they employ administrators often from the corporate sector, who spiral in, develop their pet projects, that are very costly with unrealistic returns, and they spiral out on the wings of those pet projects, while the university spirals down under the debt generated by those projects,” Burawoy said.

Burawoy said that students’ dependency on loans to get their education and the motivation to do so to get ahead in their future careers has created an identity crisis. This dependency on loans translates to students who, as Burawoy says, “are not getting an education of students but an education of consumers.”

A legitimation crisis comes from the UC not being accountable to the public. Burawoy said the university does not have sway in the state

legislature and does not come into the public eye unless it’s in negative connotation, such as instances of exiled chancellors or sexual harassment cases.

“The university has to be the center of public discussion about its own future,” Burawoy said.

Hines-Saikh spoke on the mission of the CA Higher Education Coalition. Its goal is to “remaster higher education” and return to the California Master Plan of 1960 that calls for accessibility, affordability and quality in the form of tuition-free education.

Hines-Saikh discussed the 48-Fix, a solution to the lack of funding for public education by a surcharge on income taxes dedicated to public education. Hines-Saikh spoke with The California Aggie the day after the public forum.

“The value that I experienced yesterday was that people who were dissatisfied had an opportunity to interface in a way that they could move the ball forward and not feel like they were alone in their despair,” Hines-Saikh said. “When we connect with each other, that’s where the power lies.”

Eastin recounted her college days, reminiscing about the difficulties of college and having parents without a college education. Eastin spoke about young people she has mentored through their college careers during which time she came across what she saw as faults in the California education. She critiqued the priorities of the state government, who might cut the funding of education, and the funding of criminal penitentiaries, which has increased.

Eastin called for investment in the 48-fix and mandatory kindergarten. She also commented on Governor Jerry Brown’s push for online college as well-intentioned, but said the value of reconstructing universities should be refocused first. She emphasized working from within for the betterment of public higher education.

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Formerly incarcerated students publish zine to spread stories Beyond the Statistics joins formerly incarcerated, system-impacted individuals

STUDENTS GATHER TO HEAR TESTIMONIES AND SPOKEN WORD FROM FORMERLY INCARCERATED STUDENTS AT UC DAVIS.

BY AL LY RUSSEL L campus@theaggie.org

Members of the student group Beyond the Statistics as well as friends and allies joined in Hart Hall on Thursday, Jan. 31 to hear from contributors to the club’s newly-released zine.

Attendees also met members and discussed ways to help systematically combat stigmas that surround formerly-incarcerated individuals.

Beyond the Statistics is a student organization on campus for formerly-incarcerated and systemimpacted students who have found solidarity in one another and a platform to tell their stories.

Organized by group leaders, speakers from across the region joined to release the club’s second zine and perform spoken word to break down social barriers dividing students.

Zines — short for “magazines” — have largely served as a platform for counterculture and social justice organizations to spread self-published work, including art, poems, personal narratives and news.

The organization is just over a year old and was acknowledged as an official campus organization this year.

Co-founders Daniel Mendoza, a fourth-year sociology major, and Tina Curiel-Allen, a fourthyear Chicano/a studies major, met after being paired together for a project in class and discov-

ered that they both are formerly-incarcerated students. From there, Beyond the Statistics was born.

Mendoza discussed his time at UC Davis compared to his experience being incarcerated.

“I went from one institution that was meant to keep me in to one that’s meant to keep me out,” Mendoza said. “Transferring was very hard, trying to navigate this big system. I found myself in tough situations my first year, at risk of dropping out and doing dumb stuff.”

Along with building a sense of community and understanding among members, Beyond the Statistics has collaborated with individuals and organizations across the state faced with similar systematic oppression and exclusion from institutions like universities.

Along with contributors to the zine from fellow students at UC Davis, individuals from across the region made the commute to stand with fellow formerly-incarcerated individuals.

Andrew Winn, the director of Project Rebound at Sacramento State University, spoke about Project Rebound’s mission before sharing a personal narrative of his time behind bars.

As a formerly-incarcerated individual, Winn is uniquely qualified to act as a counselor and guide for students working to overcome their experiences in an educational setting.

“Part of what we do is provide round-theclock services to students on campus and stuCHECK OUT OUR

dents that were formerly incarcerated,” Winn said. “I myself am formerly-incarcerated as of two prison terms, and I have been to every county jail in this region.”

Mendoza spoke about his initial attempts to try to find people he could confide in and relate to when he began his academic career at UC Davis.

“There are good people out here with good intentions,” Mendoza said. “But every time I tried to talk to someone, I felt like I had to lie about who I was and change my story so they would feel comfortable.”

Beyond representing formerly-incarcerated students, Beyond the Statistics also works to acknowledge those who are system-impacted and have been marginalized.

Mendoza spoke about how difficult it is for students without a base of support to navigate life at university.

“This system is not built to keep us on this path,” said Mendoza. “It’s easy to fall.”

Members said they hope to reach a broader audience with their recently-published zine. Beyond the Statistics’ zine is filled with poems, personal statements and interviews from members and allies of the movement.

Curiel-Allen, who first and foremost identifies

BRIAN LANDRY / AGGIE

UC DAVIS GRADUATE STUDENTS STAGE A GRADE-IN, JUST ONE STEP IN THEIR ONGOING BATTLE FOR BETTER WAGES AND CONDITIONS.

UAW and UCOP to start collective bargaining in March Preview of UAW, UCOP negotiations

BY SABR I NA HABCHI campus@theaggie.org

The UC Student-Workers Union UAW Local 2865, the labor union that represents student workers at UC Davis and in the UC system, will begin bargaining for a new contract in March of 2018 following the expiration of its current contract. UAW has listed a total of 12 demands.

Amara Miller, a Ph.D. student in sociology and head steward of UAW Local 2865, spoke about the bargaining process that will take place between the UC and UAW. “Essentially how it works with bargaining is that we have a group of graduate students who are democratically-elected members that serve as bargaining representatives for our union,” Miller said. “These bargaining representatives then negotiate with administration to determine the days and times that we actually meet. We usually rotate between every single UC campus and we have bargaining sessions with admin on those campuses as we negotiate our new contracts.”

Speaking to the ability of the greater Davis community to support UAW, Miller explained the concept of open bargaining.

“Open bargaining means that when we go to the table to negotiate with UCOP, all our members of our bargaining team and all [union] members and even community members who have a stake in the bargaining — for example, undergraduates — are welcome to attend,” Miller said. “Everyone who would like to come can come to the meetings and see what goes on in those meetings and also participate.”

In 2014, UAW was successful in negotiating a contract that provided substantial gains for workers covered under the union. Miller mentioned some of the benefits of the 2014 contract.

“We were able to get a 17 percent wage increase over four years that was higher than the cost of living to try to equalize that pay,” Miller said. “It is still not up to par with comparable universities and that is going to be a big ask with this bargaining contract as well. We also were able to get additional health benefits for dependents and access to all-gender bathrooms, which benefit not just graduate students but undergraduate students as well.

We won a pretty substantial increase to the child care subsidies that graduate students have access to which is very exciting for graduate student parents.”

Duane Wright, a Ph.D. candidate in the sociology department and the previous unit chair for the local unit of UAW during the last contract negotiations, talked about the importance of awareness and involvement during collective bargaining.

“The most important part was organizing outside of the bargaining room, because there is an inherent contradictory or antagonistic relationship between workers and management,” Wright said. “Management want to get the most out of workers and so it’s not like coming up with a clever argument is going to get you a better pay raise. Rather, you actually have to put public pressure on them for them to do the right thing.”

Emily Frankel, a member of UAW unit at UC Davis and a Ph.D. student in languages and literature, mentioned the significance and importance behind the demand for housing.

“These demands were not just voted on here on this campus, these are UC-wide demands listed in chronological order of importance,” Frankel said. “Across the UC universities, access to affordable and well-maintained housing comes up as number two. [The demand includes] providing financial support to offset rising

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SENATOR TERM REVIEW: MARCOS RODRIGUEZ Rodriguez sought to increase resources for renters in Davis

FARAH FARJOOD / AGGIE FILE

BY C L A RA Z HAO campus@theaggie.org

ASUCD Senator Marcos Rodriguez was elected to the ASUCD Senate in the winter of 2017. A third-year political

science public service major, Rodriguez’s major platform was increasing resources for renters in Davis.

“Senator Rodriguez has been a spectacular senator who not only completed steady work on his platforms but also advocated fiercely for his passions and communities on the table,” said ASUCD President Josh Dalavai.

Over the summer and early fall, Rodriguez was in charge of organizing Housing Day for ASUCD’s Housing Advising for Undergraduate Students unit.

According to Rodriguez, while his initial intent was to work with HAUS to create advising opportunities for students to discuss their resources for housing, he ended up working closely to organize Housing Day, which helps over 1,000 stu-

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

On Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018 at 6:12 p.m., the ASUCD Senate meeting was called to order by Vice President Adilla Jamaludin. Senator Jesse Kullar was absent.

Guest speaker Sofia Molodanof, a fourth-year English major, gave a presentation on about a proposed Non-Instructional Days Policy, which would provide a day without class instruction or campus events before the start of finals to give students time to focus on well-being and practice self-care. This would entail two non-instructional days per quarter between the end of instruction and the start of final exams. It would not include weekends.

Molodanof stated that between the fall of 2012 and the fall of 2016 UC Davis had one non-instructional day each for Fall and Spring Quarters. However, beginning in the fall of 2016, changes were made due to student advocacy to end Saturday exams.

This shortened Winter and Spring quarters from 50 days to 48 days and rescheduled the required 146 days of instructions during the regular school year to avoid Saturday finals.

dents search for housing options each year. “[Rodriguez] was most prominent and consistent on the table for helping Lauren, the unit director for HAUS, ensure it was a success,” said third-year communication major and interim senator Shaniah Branson. “This including tabling, publicity and ensuring they had all necessary resources.”

For the remainder of his term this quarter, Rodriguez said he hopes to keep working with HAUS to start remodeling the structure the unit is run with. He believes this will enable the unit to start advising operations.

Rodriguez has also been involved with ASUCD’s Housing Taskforce, a joint task force to address the housing crisis in Davis.

“What I have done here is helped on

Findings of these changes presented by Molodanof showed 83.6 percent of UC Davis students favored two non-instructional days per quarter prior to the beginning of finals. 44 percent reported academic performance was affected by stress in the past 12 months, which was 10.2 percent higher than the national average. 62.5 percent reported academics was traumatic/very difficult to manage during the past 12 months, which was 13 percent higher than the national average.

A proposal was made to set mental health services at UC Davis as a high priority. The Senate offered support for non-instructional days and encouraged the promotion of non-instructional days through petition signatures.

The Administrative Advisory Committee confirmed Gabriel Guerin, a fourth-year political science major, as AAC commissioner. Additionally, Manasa Gogineni, a first-year international relations major, was confirmed as Internal Affairs Commission commissioner.

Next, discussion over Senate Bill #26, an ASUCD bill to create a monetary reserve for the ASUCD Technology Reserve, commenced. The IAC and Business and Finance Commission approved this

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proposal unanimously. SB #26 passed the Senate without objection.

Next on the agenda was Senate Bill #31, an ASUCD bill to correct the structure and formatting of the Legislative Process section of the bylaws and to create transparency for ASUCD legislation that mentions members of the UC Davis community.

After a lengthy discussion on the language and the process of the bill ensued, the bill passed the Senate with amendments.

This was followed by work on Senate Bill #32, which is emergency legislation due to the lack of a BNF chairperson. SB #32 proposed the allocation of $980 from Senate Reserves to ASUCD Elections Committee to issue platform flyers during the 2018 Winter Quarter Elections. Items discussed included the number of flyers to print. The discussion also included the amount of current election reserves and if there was a sufficient amount to cover the election.

After discussion, SB #32 was passed with amendments.

The Senate had a break at 8:12 p.m. Roll call was taken for new legislation, and the status of previously passed legislation was signed.

Public discussion followed. Controller Jin Zhang

Jan. 29 “Reporting party woke up from sleeping and called 911 on her cell phone — reporting party asked for an officer to investigate everywhere after hearing strange noises.”

“Children were playing in the puzzle section in library and found various medication which they mistook for candy and ingested it. Children and parents currently in ER. ER requested officer for report.”

Jan. 31 “Group of 5 dog owners usually congregate daily around 1600 hours in the park and let their dogs off leash.”

Feb. 1 “2 dogs off leash attacked reporting party’s bunny, reporting party yelled at the dog owner and the dog owner yelled at reporting party. Reporting party upset that the dog owner yelled at her and got in her face.”

“Male subject was in backyard, reporting party’s dog was barking, and when they went outside they heard a male voice say ‘Oh hello,’ requested area check.”

Feb. 2 “Reporting party requesting to speak with traffic officer regarding bicycle helmet laws.”

“Unitrans into a parked vehicle, non injury — accident notification note left on their vehicle.”

“Unknown male subject on reporting party’s porch — appears to be dancing.”

ate the most long-term changes that affect student lives. I have been with the association three years, and I can proudly say that ASUCD units have some of the most spectacular role models for strength [and] persistence and [the] strongest desire to see their unit succeed.”

In the future, Rodriguez hopes to work in one of ASUCD’s units or volunteer his time in a unit.

“I have known Senator Marcos Rodriguez for all my time in the association,” said Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission chair Julienne Correa. “He has dedicated much of his efforts to his units and committees. His work for Housing Day reflects his passion to collaborate and continue building connections within ASUCD as well as providing for students.”

spoke about the effectiveness of collaboration within the Senate.

“This is a privilege,” Zhang said. “It’s amazing what we can do in a week. If you’re not exhausted at the end of the week because of this position, you’re not doing your job right. There needs to be more of this.”

During public discussion, commission chairs discussed senator attendance at commission meetings.

IAC Chair Jacob Ganz said five out of 12 senators have not attended commission meetings this quarter.

Jamaludin criticized the state of the Senate.

“It makes my blood boil to see this state of the table right now,” Jamaludin said. “I’m disappointed and upset. I’m leaving this table, and I don’t know if you’re up for the job. I don’t want to yell, but I feel like I have to. If the bills that come in every week are from the exec team, that’s disappointing because that’s not an association that should be run by just the exec team. It’s run the by the senators and all the other units involved. Can you blame people when they say we don’t do anything?

That’s the state of this table right now. Do me a favor and prove me wrong right now in six weeks.”

TRANSGENDER AUTHOR JANET MOCK DISCUSSES INTERSECTIONALITY AT UC DAVIS Mock’s memoir chosen for Campus Community Book Project, inspires year of workshops, lectures, panels JORDAN KNOWLES AGGIE FILE

Congregating dog owners

remodeling the model lease that ASUCD sells which encompasses a list of protections for student renters,” Rodriguez said. “My latest project has been working with people from Senior Living Homes to open up housing options there for students in exchange for services like maintaining the property.”

The senator describes himself as a hands-on person when working with his units. In the fall, he worked closely with the Entertainment Council to help create its sponsorship form for Lawntopia.

Additionally, he assisted with making changes to hiring policies in ASUCD bylaws to help units.

“I love working with units,” Rodriguez said. “They are the bloodline of ASUCD, and that is where you can cre-

JANET MOCK’S MEMOIR, "REDEFINING REALNESS."

BY AARON LISS campus@theaggie.org

On Feb. 5, Janet Mock delivered an hourlong talk at the Mondavi Center, followed by both moderator and audience questions.

Mock also took part in a Q&A panel alongside UC Davis and Yolo County lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual advocates earlier that same day at the Mondavi Center. “Redefining Realness: My Path To Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More,” Janet Mock’s memoir, was chosen for UC Davis’ 2017-18 Campus Community Book Project (CCBP).

The CCBP is an initiative started to promote dialogue through a book club with “related events, workshops, panels and lectures, exhibits, film screenings and book discussions exploring intersectional advocacy.” Workshops and discussions centered on “Redefining Realness” took place from September 2017 through February 2018.

Mock is a transgender activist, bestselling author, journalist and TV host. She was former staff editor of “People” magazine online, is a contributing editor to “Marie Claire” magazine, has been profiled by The New York Times and produced the HBO documentary “The Trans List.”

“Redefining Realness” addresses the intersecting topics of LGBTQIA+ and racial identities. Mock’s memoir discusses growing up

non-cisgender; those who are non-cisgender have a gender identity that may not match their assigned birth sex, including transgender, non-gender-binary and gender-fluid folks.

Mock seeks to fight transphobia, sexism, racism, classism and ableism through interweaving the movements, not separating them.

She discussed reframing mainstream feminist and gay activism around “black and brown trans, black and brown queer” and “indigenous queer” narratives, not just around the financially privileged, white and cis-gendered.

According to Mock, society must dismantle the minimizing and discriminatory practices of trans-exclusionary radical feminist aspects of feminism, queer and women’s activism that promote transphobia, classism and racism.

She also discussed the life and legacy of Sylvia Rivera — a seminal transgender Latino protester who, in 1973, was nearly booed off a stage at New York City’s Christopher Street Liberation Day Rally. To Mock, this represented the ousting of transgender people from burgeoning gay rights and feminist movements.

“As I stand here on this stage as a black and Native Hawaiian trans woman, I know that I’m only standing here because of the work of those who put their body’s on the line to fight for self-determination,” Mock said. “I know that our movements must remove structural inequity prioritizing white bodies, cis bodies, able bodies, [and] deeply pocketed bodies over others. I also know too that, specifically for trans women of color, when they do see trans women of color, oftentimes its a celebrity or someone on a TV show. I always have to anchor it to folks who are not household names, and tell parts of their stories. That’s why I bring back Sylvia [Rivera] — I’m not the first trans woman to be on a stage and talk.”

Mock spoke about her activism through the utilization of writing and communication,

“wielding” her “pen like a weapon against racism, sexism, transphobia, ableism and the erasure of black and brown indigenous people.”

“I truly believe that telling our stories, first to ourselves, and then to one another, is a revolutionary act,” Mock said. “My activism began with me sitting down at my desk. You realize that the act of telling is not that simple.

If it weren’t for writers like Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston, I would not be here. If it weren’t for trans activists like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, I would not be here. I think so often, [for] all of us, specifically marginalized folks, queer trans folk, people of color, everything is a struggle.

Quite early, that’s one of the first messages I learned — be quiet, contain yourself, wait until you find a proper space that you can properly express who you really are.”

Mock returned to the message of the power in merging advocacy spaces so that transgender kids will not have to wait to find a proper space like she did. Intersectionality strives to streamline efforts of marginalized groups by creating an overlapping network of identity-based communities like ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender and class. Mock explained how women of color can be erased from discussions of sexism and racism.

“In 1989, [Kimberlé] Crenshaw identified a long-standing problem,” Mock said. “Black women were not truly being seen. We were able to see black men, recognize the racism they face. We’re able to see white women and recognize the sexism they face, but we’re often unable to see black women and recognize the compounding effects of sexism and racism we face. Crenshaw used a simple analogy — a black woman is positioned in the middle of an intersection, exactly where the roads overlapped and met, impacted by both her gender and her race. She did not experience her race and gender separately — she experiences her JANET MOCK on 13

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Revamping Sacramento International Airport Sacramento International Airport pushes for new lounges, incentives for nonstop airlines

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

Sacramento International Airport will be revamping its programs and facilities, procuring new lounges and incentives for nonstop airlines to provide flights to destinations like Europe. Since the Board of Supervisors approved the incentive program on Jan. 9 for its 2018 agenda, the airport is pushing to provide more beneficial services to travelers.

Laurie Slothower, an airport spokeswoman, mentioned that the airport has been looking for new ways to provide and improve its programs. Ever since 2003, the airport has had an incentive program to add enhanced-landing fee waivers that are up to $400,000 in marketing support for international flights.

“Sacramento International Airport is continually advocating for new destinations, new carriers and additional carriers into markets where only one airline flies,” Slothower said in an email interview. “Offering economic incentives and marketing support to make new routes successful is one way to do it.”

Seth Kaplan, a managing partner of Airline Weekly, explained how nonstop flights would be appealing for businesses.

“For businesses in particular, there is an ease of doing business that goes along with having a nonstop flight,” Kaplan said. “Time is money for businesses — if they’re able to fly directly to a city in Europe, they’re going to find it a lot more attractive. They’re more price-sensitive for a nonstop flight, rather than a connecting flight, rather than connecting somewhere or driving to San Francisco or Oakland for a nonstop flight. That’s a huge benefit.”

According to the Sacramento Business Journal, John Wheat, the county’s airport director, stated that low-cost carriers like Condor and Norwegian Air Shuttle are planning to expand their flights.

“We’ve seen that growth mount in the last year and a half, and they’re also coming into secondary cities like Sacramento,” Wheat said.

The airport is considering a wide range of opportunities.

“It’s not just Europe: There are enhanced incentives for intra-California domestic routes, too,” Slothower

said. “Our customers have requested transatlantic and transpacific service. When we see an opportunity, we do our best to make a business case for it with the airlines.”

Air service development is able to gain profit by gaining traction for different airlines.

“Waiving landing fees is not enough to get an airline to offer service if they aren’t enough passengers willing to buy tickets on a regular basis,” Slothower said.

Kaplan described the logistics of the airport providing international flights.

“They have to make the case convincingly using data,” Kaplan said. “It’s typically what airports do. Airlines do their own analysis but airports will help them understand more about the community, like the kinds of local businesses that would use the new flight, [such as] a particular company that travels a lot to Europe, let’s say. They’ll try to educate the airlines about that from the perspective of the airport.”

In addition to pushing for nonstop flights, the airport is currently looking for developers to implement new lounges. The deadline for submissions is March 16.

“If a developer or developers apply, proposals go through an independent evaluation and selection process which concludes when the selected proposal is approved by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, most likely in summer 2018,” Slothower said. “It is unknown when the facility would be completed.”

Slothower added that airline lounges could be beneficial to the airport.

“An airline lounge could offer a variety of services: complimentary food and beverages; a private bar; a quiet area to for business travelers to work; comfy sofas and chairs,” Slothower said. “Any passenger can use it if they pay the fee. It is up to the developer to select a menu of services and the fee.”

The new lounges and destinations could also offer new travel amenities to customers.

“Many customers tell us they would rather fly out of Sacramento International Airport than competing airports, because Sacramento International Airport is

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TH E BOA R D O F D I R E C TO RS O F P E RI O D I NTRO D UCE THE N EW CLU B TO ATTE ND E E S O F I TS F I RST M E ETI NG.

PERIOD holds pad, tampon drive, first informational meeting

Organization campaigns for free menstrual hygiene products on campus

BY JACQUEL I N E MO O R E campus@theaggie.org

On Jan. 31, the UC Davis student organization PERIOD held an information night to celebrate its first official meeting. The event also served as a pad and tampon drive for My Sister’s House, an organization that supports victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.

PERIOD is a nonprofit organization with chapters around the world. It was founded in 2014 with the mission of supporting those in need of menstrual hygiene products. This support can take the form of pad and tampon donations, awareness events and political campaigns for making products more accessible to those in need of them.

The UC Davis chapter of PERIOD is focused on campaigning for free menstru-

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Shelter for homeless

Proposal for 1,000 tiny homes in Sacramento

BY RA BI YA OBER OI city@theaggie.org

Darrell Steinberg, the mayor of Sacramento, proposed building 1,000 tiny homes in the next three years to address the homeless crisis in Sacramento.

“On any given night, there are about 4,000 homeless people and, sadly, half of them are outside because of no fault of their own and because of lack of shelter and affordable housing,” said Bob Erlenbusch, the executive director of Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness.

Jaycob Bytel, the deputy chief of staff of external affairs and the acting director of communications, also recognizes the urgency of this issue.

“We have spent the last year amassing unprecedented new levels of resources to provide assertive outreach, case management, health services, shelter, and we have had some success,” Bytel said.

“Housing is going to be the big focus of 2018.”

Mayor Steinberg also emphasized in a press release the need to address the homeless crisis with urgency, “This [2017 Homelessness PIT count] report is a call to action — no excuses, no boundaries — the only thing that matters is to dramatically reduce these numbers,” Steinberg said. “Let’s get at it.”

The tiny homes project proposed by Steinberg is targeted toward building 1,000 small homes to provide shelter to the homeless population in Sacramento.

al hygiene products for students. One of its campaigns involves stocking restrooms on campus with complimentary pads and tampons.

“The goal is to get free menstrual hygiene products in all campus bathrooms,” said public relations director Anusha Klinder, a second-year global disease biology major. “We’re going to start with the women’s restrooms, but we’re hoping to expand that to all-gendered restrooms.”

Additionally, PERIOD hopes to have a Cramp Car, which would provide students with free menstrual hygiene products in a similar way to the Love Lab, which gives away different forms of contraception at certain times in the ARC. “A really big piece is funding,” said chapter director Annie Wang, a second-year materials science engineering major. “We’re really looking into opportunities to fund those machines.”

At the meeting, the club leaders shared a link to a survey that allowed students and other affiliates of UC Davis to submit their opinions on PERIOD’s campaign for free menstrual hygiene products.

According to Wang, administrators stand behind PERIOD’s efforts to sup-

“Our requirement is that the rooms have a secure roof, a door, plumbing, electricity and dignity,” Bytel said. “They provide dignity to the people staying in them, so there may be variations on the 300- to 400-square-foot home idea. We want to know what is the best way to get from where we are today to 1,000 over the next three years.”

Erlenbusch expressed his concern over the project being a permanent housing solution for the homeless.

“About 1 to 2 percent [of the homeless population] are so severely mentally ill or claustrophobic that they just can’t be in four walls,” Erlenbusch said. “If you can’t place your mom or dad in there for the rest of their lives, then don’t propose it as a permanent solution.”

Bytel, however, referred to the cost of permanent housing as expensive.

“We recognize that building traditional permanent housing is very expensive and it’s very slow, and the problem on the street is now — and it’s real,” Bytel said.

The 2017 PIT estimate of 3,665 individuals in Sacramento County experiencing homelessness on a nightly basis shows a substantial increase compared to previous PIT estimates. Overall, there was a 38 percent increase in total homeless from the 2015 PIT. According to Erlenbusch, homelessness and hunger are not just experienced by the general SHELTER on 13

port students in need of menstruation products.

“UC Davis is very interested in pushing the menstrual movement forward in as many ways as possible with as many organizations as possible,” Wang said.

In addition to campaigning, the UC Davis chapter of PERIOD works to raise awareness about menstruation and students’ need for menstrual hygiene products.

“Because menstrual health is such a sensitive issue, a lot of our work is centered around education,” said programming director Nicole Garcia, a fourthyear communications major.

At the informational meeting, the club leaders held a “Free Flowing Conversation” in order to encourage attendees to break the stigma associated with talking about periods.

Attendees were split into different groups, then asked to respond to questions relevant to menstruation and how it is socially perceived. “[Menstruation is] a topic that is very taboo, and that leads to dire consequences,” Wang said. “That’s why we started PERIOD at UC Davis.”

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Application Deadline: March 15 The first year is an immersion in programming fundamentals.

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Contact us: gradadvisor@cs.usfca.edu Visit: usfca.edu/cs-bridge-Davis

4 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

SHER EEN LEE / AG GIE

Effects of California’s minimum wage law UC Davis eatery raises prices in response to minimum wage increase

BY E MILY NG U Y EN features@theaggie.org

DD M / CO U RT E SY

Davis Dance Marathon: Bad Dancing Saves Lives Fundraising for children’s hospital, dancing in solidarity with kids

BY SAHI T I V EM UL A features@theaggie.org

On Feb. 18, the Davis Dance Marathon, a student-run organization on campus, will be hosting its sixth annual Dance Marathon event at the ARC Ballroom. With the motto that “bad dancing saves lives,” it encourages the campus community to get involved in raising funds for the UC Davis Children’s Hospital year-round and to participate in this event where they raise awareness for children’s health.

Dean Paz, a fourth-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major and treasurer of DDM, finds passion in this organization and the work it does knowing that he is helping children.

“I think the idea of helping the children’s hospital is really something that attracts me toward this organization,” Paz said. “I mean children, they’re amazing. Helping children that don’t have the ability to get out of bed — I mean our slogan is dance for the kids that can’t — so fundraising for children that are really sick drives everyone to help achieve the goal.”

Dance marathons are a nationwide phenomenon on college campuses across the country.

A Children’s Miracle Network initiative allows nationwide fundraising.

“Every year we’ve been trying to [...] expand the movement,” said Olivia Schlanger, a fourthyear psychology and dance double major and the executive director of DDM. “We want to create and generate [...] commitment for the kids across the campus especially because our local children’s hospital is the UCD Children’s Hospital. One of our mottos is: ‘This generation fighting for the next.’ We have to invest in the kids [and] where would any hospitals be without donations?”

The DDM event is meant to bring together the community and celebrate children who often have or had debilitating conditions as they try to heal. A main focus for DDM through the 12-hour event is to keep everyone on their feet and through that fragment of pain to demonstrate empathy toward the children and solidarity with the cause.

“Part of the dance marathon movement is you committing to standing or moving for [a certain] amount of time in solidarity with kids who can’t take a break from their illness,” Schlanger said. “It’s the idea [of ] realizing that it’s an ongoing struggle for these kids — you remaining standing and your legs start to hurt and you realize it’s bigger than just you.”

DDM brings some of the children and their families to the actual event to share their stories and also to enjoy the event with participants.

Michelle Thompson, the associate director of the Children’s Miracle Network at UCDCH helps serve as a liaison between DDM and the hospital itself. She found that children whom she thought didn’t have the energy to stay out for more than a few hours would find so much

joy in the event that they would stay for nearly the whole time. She has watched as children accepted and grew past their limitations. For instance, she recalls a young girl who previously never liked to discuss her illness experience approached the microphone and shared her story with everyone at one of the annual events.

“I help get some families there to attend the event,” Thompson said. “I give tours of the Children’s Hospital so [participants] can understand what they’re fundraising for and actually see the items and the programs and the things that we fund to make it more meaningful to them and [show] that it’s not just a party.”

The programs and tools Thompson mentions include multiple services that the hospital provides the children in order to ensure that they feel some sense of normalcy and have some way of digesting the challenges they are faced with at a young age.

“We pretty much fund all children’s services except for the MIND Institute,” Thompson said. “The CMN raises funds for the children’s hospital. But the way it’s set up here at UC Davis, [...] it also reaches the children’s surgery center, the cancer center, some of our specialty clinics.”

The funds the hospital receives through the event are generally channeled toward areas where the money is most needed. For instance, funding has allowed the hospital to purchase equipment such as isolette beds for the NICU. After pooling in the funds over a few years, the hospital was also able to open a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

“We went to the hospital and got to tour the NICU, and I was just really inspired by all that was going on,” Schlanger said. “They have webcams that the parents now can view the babies from their home [through] so that [they] don’t have that disconnect — and that’s through hospital donations.”

Another area of focus for funding is Child Life. This department provides a range of services, from helping children cope with anxiety before entering surgery to distracting children getting infusions at the cancer center to providing support for the entire family in the Emergency Department. A particular strategy that Child Life has employed to help children normalize their emotional experiences is having children stimulate what happens to them using a doll.

For instance, if a child with cancer is getting a port for infusion, that child can play that out on a doll to better comprehend the experience they are having. The Child Life department also provides art and music therapy and uses funds to purchase more play items for the children.

“Everyone takes something different out of their Dance Marathon experience,” Schlanger said. “I just think that it’s a really fun event, but it’s also really powerful. It’s really emotionally provoking, and it’s really humbling that you are a part of this community and you’re building a better tomorrow.”

In January, the minimum wage in California increased from $10.50 per hour to $11 per hour for businesses with 26 or more employees. This change, though it may seem minute, has significant effects on UC Davis employees.

The CoHo, a well-loved campus dining staple managed by the Associated Students Dining Services, employs over 250 students. Darin Schluep, the food service director of ASDS, projects that, because a majority of the Coho employee base is comprised of students, the minimum wage will have a substantial impact on the CoHo’s overall labor operations.

“The new minimum wage has not changed the way the Coho is being operated on a day-to-day basis, but it is impacting our labor cost,” Schluep said in an email.

“Because a vast majority of our employees are students, whose pay is directly tied to the minimum wage figure, a $0.50 per hour increase in the minimum wage equals approximately $150,000 more in labor costs over the course of a year.”

The CoHo management team decided early on that it needed to slightly modify the prices on many CoHo products this year in order to reflect the higher minimum wage.

“We adjusted the Coffee House, the CoHo South and BioBrew pricing at the beginning of January to offset the costs of the increased minimum wage,” Schluep said. “This was a fairly across-the-board adjustment, but a few items, such as coffee and tea, were not included in the price increase.”

According to Schleup, the CoHo’s consumer base, which consists of mainly students trying to dine on a tight budget, has responded quite positively to the price increases.

“The customer feedback that has been gathered up to this point has been fairly understanding,” Schluep said. “I think it helps that our prices are still, even with a modest increase, extremely competitive and budget-friendly.”

California law is set to raise the minimum wage $1 each year until it progressively reaches a minimum wage of $15 per hour by 2022. In response to this law, Schluep and the CoHo management team expect to institute major changes over the next few years in regards to revenue, pricing and overall efficiency.

“We are taking a multi-faceted approach to the increase in minimum wage over the next four years,” Schluep said. “We are not only looking at gradual price increases, but also [at] how we can better maximize efficiency in the kitchen, leverage some of our buying power and take advantage of some labor-saving technology to keep our costs down. We will attempt to balance these opportunities with our guiding principle of employing as many UC Davis students as possible.”

Kelli O’Day, a production manager and sustainability coordinator for the Associated Student Dining Services, believes that CoHo products are still reasonably priced despite the minor price increases.

“All of the CoHo products are still fairly priced, especially compared to other food operations on campus,” O’Day said. “The management team considered the heavy impact of price changes on students and put a lot of thought into which items would increase. You’ll notice that we only increased items that were necessary and opted to keep our drip coffee the same price.”

Some students, however, disagree with this sentiment. Jacqueline Allen, a fourth-year psychology major, argues that the price increases can and will have detrimental effects on students who are barely getting by as it is.

“I think that we’re all struggling college students for the most part, so I don’t necessarily think it’s fair to increase prices when a lot of us are going off a limited income,” Allen said.

Allen said that if future price increases become too taxing, she will have no choice but to turn to dining alternatives.

“The [price increases] are definitely discouraging,” Allen said. “I might have to find options elsewhere if it starts to impact me financially.”

JA MIE CHEN / AGG IE

Sacramento area museums hold annual Museum Day Free or discounted admission for all ages

BY DYLAN SVOBODA city@theaggie.org

Over 24 Sacramento area museums offered free or discounted admission for the city’s annual Museum Day on Feb. 3.

The event was coordinated by Sacramento Area Museums and Visit Sacramento. The event was sponsored by Sutter Health and California Family Fitness.

FOX40 and Studio40 Live, KSEG 96.9 FM, 106.5FM The End, Outword Media and Sacramento365 provided media coverage of the event.

“Our continuing goal for Museum Day is to introduce the community to the amazing array of arts, culture and museum offerings available in the greater Sacramento region,” said Sacramento Area Museums chair Lynda Walls.

Sacramento Area Museum officials warned the public about how busy they expected the day to be, but some left disappointed about the crowds.

“I’d rather just pay admission tomorrow and beat the crowds,” said Julie Aguiar, a Sacramento resident and Museum Day visitor. “I didn’t realize how crowded it was going to be.”

Some destinations offered special exhibits and activities. Sacramento History Museum offered an interactive gold-panning activity for kids. Powerhouse Science Center Discovery Campus guests experimented with some of the hands-on engineering design activities offered in Design Lab and saw live critters and insects up close in the Nature Discovery Area.

“I went to the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento,” said Fran Keller, a professor of biology and zoology at Folsom Lake College and a Davis resident. “I stared at

art for over three hours — brush strokes, paintings — so wonderful. But what excited me most [were] these dishes from 1740 with beetles and other insects on them.”

Several local restaurants, such as The Firehouse Restaurant, Ten22 and Steamers Bakery and Cafe, offered guests with a Museum Day sticker a discount of up to 25 percent off their bill.

Sacramento Regional Transit offered free rides on all buses and light rail trains for those with a SacRT Museum Day flyer.

“I wish museums were free every day,” said Danielle Bond, a Marysville resident. “I think it’d really good for community education. It’s disappointing museums are only available to those with a disposable income.”

Some venues, such as the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town in Land Park, offered half-price admission rather than free admission due to their proximity to residential neighborhoods and the need to offset parking costs.

Regular admission can be upward of $10 for popular museums such as the Crocker and the California State Railroad Museum.

Most museums regularly offer discounts for students, children, military and seniors.

Officials estimated 68,469 people attended Museum Day this year, with the most-attended locations being the California State Railroad Museum, Aerospace Museum of California and the Sacramento Zoo. In 2017, officials estimated 43,262 people attended the event.

In 2009, Museum Day attracted more than 80,000 visitors, the most ever.

Sacramento’s Museum Day convenes annually on the first Saturday of February.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018 | 5

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

IAN JONES / AGGIE

Rachael McKinney appointed new CEO of Sutter Davis Hospital New leadership, health care experience at Sutter Davis

FROM ASUCD HOUSING ADVISING FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT’S FACEBOOK PAGE

ASUCD hosts Housing Day Annual housing fair provides students with local housing opportunities

BY PR IYA N KA SHRE E DAR campus@theaggie.org

On Feb. 1 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Housing Advising for Undergraduate Students, a unit of ASUCD, hosted the 2018 Housing Day. The annual event provides undergraduate students with

information regarding a variety of housing options in Davis.

Decorated with colorful balloons and posters, the ARC Pavilion was filled with a diverse population of students, from first-years seeking second-year housing to transfer students looking for off-campus housing. The Pavilion was lined with rows

GENESIA TING / AGGIE FILE

UC Davis analysis of USMLE questions reveals gaps in pain competency Focus on pain assessment over pain management linked to opioid crisis

BY B EN JA M I N P O RT E R features@theaggie.org

Last month, UC Davis pain experts published a study analyzing pain-related questions on the United States Medical Licensing Examination, revealing signif-

icant gaps in how medical students are evaluated in their understandings of pain management.

The USMLE is a three-part test that all medical students must pass in order to practice medicine in the United States.

According to its website, it “tests the abil-

Sutter Davis Hospital recently announced a new CEO, Rachael McKinney, who assumed the position on Nov. 27. McKinney replaced Jennifer Maher, who was the CEO of Sutter Davis since 2014 and was recently named CEO at Sutter Roseville Medical Center.

McKinney is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and has had experience in both leadership and healthcare. She was the chief operating officer for VEP Healthcare and served as the regional executive for neurosciences at Sutter Health’s Sacramento Sierra Region leadership team for four years. During her time there, she was involved in the design and implementation of construction projects as well as raising philanthropic donations to improve the care of the patients.

“I think anybody that comes into Sutter Davis Hospital is coming to a unique situation where they have a great, strong culture and a lot of great services that are offered to the community, so I think it’s going to be a positive change,” said Angela Borchert, the communications coordinator at Sutter Health Davis. “Jen Maher was a well-respected leader, and Rachael has stepped in and already has done a great job in the short time that she’s been there. I think it’s going to be seamless, and I think she’s going to fit right in.”

In 2013, Sutter Davis Hospital received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest Presidential honor for “performance excellence through innovation, improvement and visionary leadership.”

“We are excited that Rachael has decided to return to Sutter Health to lead the highly engaged team at Sutter Davis

Hospital,” said Grant Davies, the CEO of Sutter Health Valley Area Hospitals.

“She will fit right in, and we have all the confidence that Sutter Davis will continue to be the high-achieving hospital that it is under her leadership.”

McKinney’s experience also extends to her contributions to the Sacramento area, where she currently resides, as she has been involved in and led community and professional organizations. Her educational background includes a bachelor’s degree from Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota and a master’s degree in health care administration from the University of Minnesota.

“McKinney is a dedicated leader who has a strong understanding of the healthcare market,” said Sutter Davis Hospital in a press release. “She is a champion of community based health care and devoted to delivering care at the highest level.”

of local apartment complexes tabling and handing out brochures, with some offering discounts on deposits and others providing the opportunity to sign a lease that day.

Third-year transfer students Spencer Moss, a biotechnology major, and Alex Rynhoud, a managerial economics major, plan on rooming together next year and decided to stop by Housing Day for tips and information.

“We’re looking for a place to live,” Moss said. “I would say it was [helpful].

It really kicked us into gear to realize how few apartments are left and like, ‘Oh, crap, we really gotta get this going’ and that was really helpful to find out here.”

Moss expressed his frustration over the lack of prompt, easily-accessible information regarding the speed and timeline for housing searches in the Davis community.

“I feel like it should have been better enunciated how quickly apartments go,” Moss said. “Maybe an email just letting us know that housing and lease for apartments in Davis goes really fast, because it’s Feb. 1 and there are like five apartments left at each complex.”

Jackie Freidman, the assistant committee director at Seville at Mace Ranch, described their experience at Housing Day. “We’re just here to advertise about what we have for housing, our floorplans [and] see what students need,” Freidman said. “We definitely got a lot of people so we’re definitely excited about that. [Students have been] super interested. We’ve got a lot of goodies, so that’s definitely attracting people and definitely people are grabbing a lot of brochures so that’s good.”

Dekiary Carter, a leasing manager at The U Apartments, explained the agency’s goal for the event and the main concerns of UC Davis students who approached their table.

“We just want to make sure that everyone at least knows about what options they have here in Davis as far as their housing goes,” Carter said. “Pricing is the big thing, everyone wants to know that they can stay in their budget, so that’s the first question they usually ask. Location is another big [question], because there are so many properties here.”

Carter recommended that students do their research on housing opportuni-

ties and the timing associated with various rents, leases and deposits.

“Definitely take advantage of the programs UC Davis offers as far as the student housing department,” Carter said. “They have a lot of events that are thrown to help with that as well as just taking advantage of the information that’s on Google. Typing in ‘student housing in Davis’ will really help them narrow down where they can find different apartments or homes. [Pay attention to] the timing. Not everyone realizes how soon they have to start looking, some people start as soon as November, December of the previous year.”

Freidman offered advice to students who are currently looking for off-campus housing and stressed the importance of meeting students’ needs.

“Look everywhere and definitely weigh out all your options,” Freidman said. “Make sure you’re hitting all the important [requirements] for your apartment, don’t sell yourself short because you’re going to be living there throughout school and you want to be comfortable.”

ity to apply knowledge, concepts, and principles, and to demonstrate fundamental patient-centered skills.”

“This is the most important test of people’s careers,” said Dr. Scott Fishman, the chief of pain medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine and the leader of the 2018 study, titled “Scope and Nature of Pain- and Analgesia-Related Content of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE).”

“I’ve been in this field for 25 years, and we’ve been looking to improve education around pain for some time but have been failing,” Fishman said. “The public would probably be surprised that pain isn’t taught well. Pain gets forgotten like an orphan. No one ever really established what we want with pain education, the outcomes regarding pain knowledge that we want for someone coming out of medical school.”

Since no official learning outcomes regarding pain management exist, Fishman also worked to publish a set of novel core competencies for pain management that were developed with other medical professionals at an interprofessional consensus summit in 2013.

“A while back, Dr. Fishman and I started looking at the idea of having com-

petencies in pain,” said Heather Young, another senior author of the recent study, an associate vice chancellor for nursing and the dean of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis. “What do people need to know about pain to do a good job?”

The method of organization they developed at the summit breaks down pain knowledge into four domains: Multidimensional Nature of Pain: What is Pain?; Pain Assessment and Measurement: How is Pain Recognized?; Management of Pain: How is Pain Relieved? and Clinical Conditions: How does context influence pain management? Each domain is then broken down into more specific competencies.

The 2018 analysis of pain-related questions on the USMLE used these core competencies to organize and keep track of where the exam’s questions were focused. After a group of raters in secure conditions reviewed 1,506 questions from four randomly selected exams, it was discovered that 28.7 percent of the questions included the word “pain.”

“At first I thought there would be fewer questions related to pain,” Young said. “For roughly a third of the questions to involve pain is quite significant.

It was nice that pain was there, but what

stunned me was the fact that almost 90 percent of the questions only focussed on assessing and recognizing pain rather than on managing it.”

The results showed that 88.4 percent of the pain-related questions fit into Domain 2, focusing on how pain is recognized, with only the remaining 11.6 percent of the questions focusing on the treatment, context and nature of pain.

“We discovered that pain was all over the test, but largely as a descriptor,” Fishman said. “The test reflects the bigger problem. We raised awareness about pain and taught doctors to recognize pain but not how to safely treat it.”

Both Fishman and Young said that that they were pleased to have been granted access to the usually confidential exam forms. Fishman added that he hopes the findings will help to catalyze tangible change in pain education, starting with changes to the USMLE. “This study is really the first of its kind,” Fishman said. “The test has committee after committee looking at it and modifying it every year but has never had an outside group. I’m sure that the USMLE will be revised based on our findings.”

BY H ADYA AMIN city@theaggie.org

MEDICAL on 14

6 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

Opinion the California Aggie EDITORIAL BOARD BRYAN SYKES Editor-in-Chief EMILY STACK Managing Editor HANNAH HOLZER Campus News Editor KAELYN TUERMER-LEE City News Editor TARYN DEOILERS Opinion Editor GILLIAN ALLEN Features Editor ALLY OVERBAY Arts & Culture Editor VERONICA VARGO Sports Editor HARNOOR GILL Science & Tech Editor

CHIARA ALVES New Media Manager BRIAN LANDRY Photo Director CHRISTIE NEO Design Director AMY YE Layout Director MAXINE MULVEY Copy Chief OLIVIA ROCKEMAN Copy Chief JAYASHRI PADMANABHAN Website Manager ALEX GUZMÁN Social Media Mangager MADELINE ONG Newsletter Manager LAURIE PEDERSON Business Development Manager

editorial board

Executive, Senate endorsements: Consider the following The Editorial Board would like to commend the large and diverse body of students who chose to run for senatorial and executive positions in the 2018 Winter Elections. It is our genuine hope that a similarly large and diverse student population votes in this election after seeking out information about the candidates and their respective platforms.

Executive Endorsement: Julie Jung and Julienne Correa (BASED) Julie Jung, a former senator, is running for president, and Julienne Correa, current chair of the Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission, is running for vice president. Both candidates have been involved in ASUCD since their first year at UC Davis, and this experience in office clearly plays to their advantage. The Editorial Board was impressed with not only their clear designation of roles, but also the organization of their platforms. In terms of internal affairs, the duo would like to expand resources for ASUCD volunteers and committees and hold senators accountable for their interaction with adopted units and their budget expenditures. Considering the low candidate turnout rate during the 2017 Fall Elections, the Editorial Board is pleased with Jung and Correa’s drive to improve senator involvement and accountability. The two also showed an in-depth understanding of the ASUCD budget, providing numerous examples of how various funds could be reallocated to subsidize their platforms.

Their knowledge of the budget, along with their confident and intelligent demeanors, assured the Editorial Board that Jung and Correa are qualified candidates for the executive ticket.

Senate Endorsements: Daniel Tillman (BASED) Tillman’s mix of doable platforms, his honest demeanor and his determination when speaking about his plans for office impressed the Editorial Board. Tillman exhibited a charismatic hopefulness to make tangible changes on campus that will benefit the communities he represents and cares about. These platforms include planning for gender-inclusive restrooms in the layout of new buildings on campus rather than starting from scratch on

long-term projects. Tillman also wants to work in conjunction with Housing Advising for Undergraduate Students and Student Housing to tackle issues of housing insecurity.

Atanas Spasov (Unite!)

Spasov displayed an impressive grasp of the inner workings of ASUCD, the roles and responsibilities of an ASUCD senator and the accomplishments that are feasible in office. Spasov presented three extremely well thought-out platforms, which he talked about extensively and with pride. All three platforms — financial scrutiny, sexual health and making class scheduling significantly less stressful — are individually strong, and we hope he gets the opportunity to achieve them.

Ko Ser Lu Htoo (BASED) Htoo was excited to discuss their comprehensive plans for representing marginalized groups on campus — which include expanded resources for the LGBTQIA community as well as working alongside the Whole Earth Festival, with which Htoo is already involved. They arrived to the endorsement interview extremely prepared, and we feel confident they will maintain their preparedness and positive attitude if elected.

Simran Kaur (BASED) Kaur demonstrated a strong understanding of ASUCD and a recognizable passion for her platforms. Her desire to give back to the UC Davis community was readily apparent. One of her goals, which is especially timely and relevant, is to improve studentadministrator relationships. Kaur also hopes to increase cultural awareness across campus as well as work closely with The Pantry to improve food security — goals we find commendable.

The Editorial Board encourages all students to attend the Senate CoHo debate on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 10:30 a.m. and the Executive CoHo debate on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 10:30 a.m.

Elections will be held on elections.ucdavis.edu from Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 8 a.m. until Friday, Feb. 23 at 8 a.m.

Social reckoning aside, male emotional repression should be reexamined CULTURAL NORMS OF BEHAVIOR REVEAL MORE PROBLEMS THAN THEY FIX

BY NICK IRVIN ntirvin@ucdavis.edu In the movie “I Love You, Man,” Paul Rudd plays a newly-engaged real estate agent who has trouble finding a best man for his wedding due to a lack of male friends. In the vein of comedy, Rudd’s character faces ridicule from his coworkers (and his fiance’s friends), kickstarting his search for the ultimate male buddy. We laugh as Rudd bounces between men, who are introduced by sympathetic acquaintances and family members, only to find little connection with them. The comedic value of “I Love You, Man” rests on the fact that men are less likely than women to maintain emotionally open relationships with their same-sex friends — and more likely to have fewer friends in general.

According to Shao Li, a doctoral candidate in counseling psychology at UC Davis, this might reflect how men view their friendships in the context of social norms. Male friendships, Li observes, are often more “like a partnership, rather than [a safe place where] we can talk to about ‘how I feel so hurt today’ or how ‘that person hurt my feelings today.’”

Li, who is writing his dissertation on traditional concepts of masculinity, has seen ample differences in how the average man and woman deal with emotions.

“Stereotypically speaking, males are less likely to express their feelings,” Li said. “For females, it’s at least more socially acceptable to express their feelings. Sadness is expressed kind of differently. Females tend to express sadness directly. Sad is sad, nothing else. Males tend to express sadness as if there’s anger, rather than sadness.”

That the average man has less emotionally satisfying friendships than his female counterpart — and is spoofed for it in movies — is noteworthy for a few reasons. One, it reflects social norms of masculine and feminine behaviors, as Li suggests. And two, it reveals a cultural phenomenon in which men stay fortified against emotions in order to maintain images of power.

The movie “I Love You, Man” isn’t the only cultural icon that elicits the concept of male emotions. In the previous season of “Big Brother” — a reality show famous for filming its contestants 24/7 — there were two men who offered a perfect case study on masculinity.

Cody Nickson, a former Marine, embodied the muscle-bound and

chisel-jawed hunk. His stoicism was notoriously difficult to engage with, alienating nearly everyone on “Big Brother.” When faced with dismissal from the show (and even a near-breakup with his girlfriend), Nickson barely grimaced.

Mark Jansen was also a muscley fellow — and a personal trainer to boot. Yet his personality belied his traditionally masculine exterior: He wasn’t afraid to show his emotions on live television. When Jansen realized his friends were leaving the show, he cried in front of the millions watching at home — and didn’t seem to care.

Two men, two different ways of showing emotion. One was apathetic and stone-faced, a tough military veteran who wouldn’t cry if his life depended on it. The other was a big teddy bear, a man able to show his grief and wear his emotions on his sleeve.

It was, admittedly, shocking to see Jansen bawl on TV. But where does this shock come from? We know that social norms teach boys and men to restrain their “weaker” emotions like Nickson in “Big Brother.”

Meanwhile, the inner Jansens are shunned and buried. Sad emotions IRVIN on 14

Achieving a balance between two separate identities THE EXCLUSION OF IMMIGRANT PARENTS FROM THEIR CHILDREN'S LIVES CREATES A SIGNIFICANT RIFT

BY AKSHITA GANDRA agandra@ucdavis.edu

Growing up, my family friend, an older girl I had always looked up to, imparted upon me the knowledge that we were ABCDs — American-Born Confused Desis.

Desi. Any Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi person living abroad can be labeled a Desi, a term with a positive connotation that I’ve identified with my entire life. The Bollywood song “Desi Girl” has played at countless New Year’s Eve parties with the same Indian family friends I’ve known since I was a baby, and I’ve incessantly ranted about the Desi struggles I face to my other brown friends. “Desi” brings vivid memories of Indian culture melded with an American lifestyle to my mind: celebrating every Indian festival as a child, heavily clad in traditional dresses, only to break off from the adults to go play Super Smash Bros. and watch Nickelodeon shows with my friends. It reminds me of visiting New York City, Chicago, Disney World, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite — yet all of those trips pale in comparison to flying back to India to see my relatives. Nothing beats the thrill of meeting my enormous extended family that greets me with all the Indian food I love and takes me to extravagant, weeklong Indian weddings where we dance for days on end.

Let’s visit the phrase “American-Born.” I was born in Fremont, Calif. in 1999, and I lived in Fremont until 2017, when I came to Davis. I could not imagine my life without having lived in the U.S, and my American identity is something that is so deeply rooted within me that it shapes my aspirations, goals, lifestyle and choices. Some people have asked me to identify as either American or Indian, but I’m open-minded enough to hold the cultures and values of more than one place in my heart.

Finally, “Confused.” Why is “Confused” used to describe Desis, a large population of people who seem to have it all together?

When I first told my mom I liked a boy, she didn’t react with pure cheerfulness or just unhappy concern. She was overjoyed that I was taking a big step in my life, but she immediately became wary of what my relatives and Desi friends would think if I started dating.

Dating before your 20s faces no stigma in the U.S. but is concerning in India, where everyone believed I was too young for that sort of thing. My mother has been an incredibly supportive figure for me throughout my life, and so has my dad, but growing up Desi meant I had to consider both the values of my American identity and my second life back in India.

I recall the many arguments I had with my mother when I was a feisty teenager in high school and self-expression was my first priority. Every time, she worked hard to guarantee that I was happy, but she would not give up the culture she had grown up with her entire life — and I would never want her to. As I’ve grown older, I’ve started to understand how difficult it is to balance two different sets of values.

The U.S. is relatively progressive, and India is getting there, too.

Today, my female cousins live very similarly to me — we all make our own choices in college, such as deciding how to have fun and making decisions about our education. They are valued the same as the men they meet, and they have never been treated in a misogynistic way by anyone in our family. However, stigma is still very prevalent in India, especially toward women. There are some individuals who choose to judge women who date, dress a certain way or make any other choices of which the individual doesn’t approve, and the gossip that ensues essentially defames the reputation of the girl.

I see my mother’s perspective. She does much more for my happi-

ness than many other parents I’ve seen — she wants me to live based on only my own choices, but I also shouldn’t tarnish my reputation in our home country by irritating a handful of conservatives who don’t understand or respect the decisions I make.

This spans many different cultures in the United States — immigrant parents are left out of the narrative of the American feminist movement. They were raised through a different culture and made the huge decision to move to a completely different country, and there is no particular formula outlining the acceptance of one country’s culture over the other. This burden falls upon their children, too, and specifically affects young women, who grow up often restricted by the values of their parents’ cultures and religions and feel liberated

by American culture.

But that’s doesn’t mean it’s always justifiable to reject one’s upbringing and scorn the advice of experienced parents. It’s up to us as the first generation to understand both sides of the issue. We have the freedom to make choices, but only through communication with our parents can we express our needs as children with two identities.

When parents decide to treat a daughter differently than a son — handing out more chores, keeping her from wearing certain clothes or restricting her choices — she should try her best to speak up and communicate with them while rejecting the initial anger she may feel. Sometimes, significant change can come from one conversation.

It’s time we start celebrating our different backgrounds while recognizing them as one hybridized identity. There’s no need to differentiate and alienate the different cultures we come from. Instead of letting a rift form between us and the previous generation, we should try our best to understand the different perspectives and work to create an environment where we can live within our own control while also respecting our rich histories.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018 | 7

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

HUMOR

A History Lesson: How the third floor of the library became conquered by the Greeks WHY WON’T THEY LEEEEEEAVE?

BY L ARA LOPTMAN lrloptman@ucdavis.edu Throughout the course of history, the Greeks have lost many battles. For past examples, here is a comprehensive list of triumphs the Greeks have been involved in and most likely lost — though we at The Aggie are still not entirely sure, because admittedly not all of us are completely literate.

More recently however, for the last couple of years, Ancient Greece has been doing swell in terms of winning battles. The most recent win dates back to four years ago, the time when I started noticing that the Greeks had conquered the third floor of Shields Library.

Though the timeline of the battle is very blurry because it took place so long ago, I will recount the events to the best of my knowledge.

If I remember correctly, the city-state of Sigma Quinoa had a lot of territory at the time, but everyone had agreed that it was time to expand the city-state’s influence because wearing shirts of the neighboring Greek city-state, Delta GoatCheese, was simply not enough to exert their power and influence.

Sigma Quinoa knew it was time to conquer a new breed of citizens, so it took its influence to the city-state of Shields Library, where they planned to take all the good tables with outlets and natural sunlight just to spite the natives who already lived there.

Soon though, the other Greek city-states of Zeta Pie and others like it caught on, and seized the third floor with equal amounts of force. In just a short amount of time, the third floor of Shields became completely ruled by the Greeks, namely Sigma Quinoa and Zeta Pie, who spent their days and nights there pretending to study while really just talking to each other and taking up large amounts of space and outlets.

To this day, the Greeks still are the undisputed rulers of the third floor for some reason. This reason is not actually very clear, considering that the library is made up of four floors and maybe even five, if you count the basement that I’m only 80 percent sure actually exists.

So that’s how the story goes. Essentially, one day a group of people decided to go to a place and then they did. You may think that’s how a lot of history happens, and you are correct. Congratulations on earning your degree in history by reading this article.

All jokes aside, the real lesson we can all learn from the Greeks conquering a single floor of an entire university building is to pick our battles as wisely as the Greeks did. It is only after we choose our battles wisely that we may then fight for our cause, even if our cause is just to go to a place meant for studying so that we can talk with our friends while using tables with outlets, all while wearing matching shirts.

And the Oscar goes to...Gary May in that Christmas video?

WITH JUST SIX WORDS IN A 51-SECOND VIDEO, GARY MAY TAKES HOME THE BIG TROPHY

BY OLIVIA LUCHIN ocluchini@ucdavis.edu CAITLYN SAMPLEY / AGGIE

The Academy Awards have always had controversy around them in terms of nominations. Snubs, undeserving rewards and so on get audiences and filmmakers heated.

But no one can deny that Gary May just won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Feature Film fair and square.

Perhaps you recall the famous Christmas card video that UC Davis released on Dec. 17 to wish Aggies a happy holiday. Mainly, this video circled around three students missing the bus, but the scene-stealer was Gary May, commanding a Unitrans bus with his wife.

After performing in a full-length film (51 seconds long, as they always are), Gary May was shocked when he received the news via carrier pigeon that he was being considered for a trophy of a tiny, naked, golden man.

“Lil’ ol’ me? An Oscar?” May said, clearly blushing. “I mean, first the National Academy of Engineering and now this? Tickle me pink!”

Other actors who were nominated knew that they had no chance once they saw Gary deliver the line “Engage” at the end of his film.

“That man... is an acting GOD,” Tom Hanks said, as he boxed up every award he has ever received and sent them all to May. Gary May utilized method acting in order to get into the headspace necessary for this iconic role of “chancellor commanding bus.”

“First, I became a chancellor so I could really understand the kind

of authority behind my lines,” May said. “You could say that I have been training since I was just a boy for this role,” he giggled.

Gary May also trained to be a bus driver for the video, but he just couldn’t get the hang of it, so they had his wife come in to get the job done.

“Sometimes you gotta bend the knee and give the cool stunts to someone else,” May said. “A good actor knows when they are limited, and I just can’t drive a bus.”

When asked about the famous line “Engage,” Gary May revealed a teensy weensy secret that shook the entire academy.

“I improvised that line!” May said. “‘T’was all me and my creative brain. We needed a closer, and I like to pepper in ‘Star Trek,’ so it worked perfectly. Did you know I like ‘Star Trek?’”

After the entire audience nodded that they indeed knew of his fandom alliances, Gary May hoisted the trophy above his head and gave a beautiful acceptance speech.

“I’d like to thank The Academy, UC Davis, science and my greatest acting inspiration, Will Wheaton!”

With that, Meryl Streep and Denzel Washington gave him a standing ovation, throwing both money and their previous awards toward the man who deserved them more.

Student can’t connect with most people, had WiFi off EVOLUTION IN PROGRESS

BY DREW HANSON andhanson@ucdavis.edu “Millennials can’t communicate with anyone. They’re hard to talk to,” said some person over the age of 30, probably 40. “Although with what they’ve got between their personality and their Messiah complex, I’m not sure there’s much there, anyway.”

“Older generations are so dumb. Of course we can communicate, that’s what phones are for,” a Millennial texted to the interviewer sitting right across from them.

With the proliferation of cell phones, it’s no wonder that many Millennials can’t communicate with adults who prefer face-to-face interpersonal communication.

“I was having sex with my girlfriend, and being the gentleman I am, I texted her asking for consent right before insertion,” said Sam

Cuckingham, who wears sandals in the winter. “She sat there for a minute, and I realized that my WiFi was off. I turned it on and saw her face light up — when she got my message. There was a slight delay because the campus has awful Wi-Fi, especially in lower Olson.”

“I really prefer face-to-face interaction,” said Aggie “writer” Drew Hanson, whose attire is often interpreted as intimidating.

“I’ll try talking to a girl while wearing a Slayer shirt and black jeans, and she’ll have this look on her face like I’m going to attack her right there in the middle of the CoHo. It’s a Slayer shirt, not Patagonia.”

Psychiatrists are often working from home now, with many young clients preferring to talk about their problems over Snapchat.

“I just take a picture of my face — see, a frowny face — and then send it to her,” a sad, depressed student said. “She replied. She said that maybe I wouldn’t feel so hollow and vacuous if I had more

interests. Does vacuous mean like a vacuum? That sounds like it enforces gender roles, so I’m going to have to file a report.”

“We’re beginning to see evolution happen before our very eyes,” human rights expert and world leader in eugenics Holden A. Pare said. “Many of these Millennials are losing the ability to speak rationally and can only use their vocal cords for buzzwords or outcries of victimization. They’re quite prepared for the real world, although this could be more along the lines of natural selection.”

“I’m just glad that you only have to be at least half-competent to be miles ahead of most Millennials,” said rapper Sc00by Dr00.

“I huffed so much Elmer’s Glue you’d think I’d be in a coma, but here I am, a goddamn Millennial genius. If you turn off your WiFi, you’ll be forced to interact face-to-face, where people are real, have feelings and deserve respect. That’s just too much for most people to handle.”

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

ISSUE DESIGNED BY AMY YE | CHRISTIE NEO | CINDY CHEUNG |JONATHAN CHEN | PATTIE CHEN | SHEREEN NIKZAD | LILY LEAVESSEUR | GENESIA TING | NICKI PADAR

8 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

2018 ASUCD WINTER ELECTIONS MEET THE CANDIDATES

BY THE AGGIE EDITORIAL BOARD campus@theaggie.org

Three executive tickets, 22 senatorial candidates

The following candidates are running for elected official positions in ASUCD for the 2018 Winter Election. There are three executive tickets — for ASUCD president and vice president — and 22 candidates running for six open seats in the Senate. The candidates are running on the following slates: The Golden Slate, Unite!, BASED, and Aggie Community Transfers (ACT). All candidates in ACT are running on one of the platforms in the acronym DREAM — diversity, resources, events, advocacy and mentorship.

EXECUTIVE MACLEAN HARTFORD / AGGIE

ALEXA FONTANILLA / AGGIE

ZOË REINHARDT / AGGIE

JULIE JUNG & JULIENNE CORREA — BASED

TONI SANDOVAL & KEVIN BUTT — ACT Toni Sandoval, a third-year transfer student and communication major, and Kevin Butt, a third-year transfer student double majoring in political science and African American and African studies, are running on the ACT slate executive ticket as president and vice president, respectively. Their platforms include increasing the inclusivity of ASUCD by cultivating an inviting and positive environment, fostering transparency in all aspects of ASUCD to make it more accessible to all students and holding members of ASUCD accountable in serving their communities.

“We’re here to promote change,” Sandoval said. “I think our campus is ready to see change within the way ASUCD operates and I believe that Kevin and myself are motivated enough, willing enough and more than qualified enough to do it. It’s going to be a different face for ASUCD, and if [students] want to ASUCD change the way it operates, they would vote for us.”

Julie Jung, a third-year political science and psychology double major and a former ASUCD senator, and Julienne Correa, a thirdyear psychology and sociology double major and current chair of the Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission, are running on the BASED slate for president and vice president, respectively. Their platforms include stronger ASUCD outreach to students, more student involvement with administrative advisory committees and the UC Davis administration and a stronger relationship between the student body and the City of Davis. They would also like to increase resources for marginalized communities on campus and ASUCD committees, units and commissions, support ASUCD volunteers and student activism and raise awareness of ASUCD itself.

“We want to put the focus on marginalized communities and minority groups,” Jung said. “We will be putting an important focus on those who’ve felt they haven’t been heard by their student representatives in a long time.”

MICHAEL GOFMAN & SHANIAH BRANSON — UNITE! Second-year economics and political science double major Michael Gofman, a current ASUCD senator, and third-year transfer student and communication major Shaniah Branson, a current ASUCD interim senator, are running on the Unite! slate executive ticket for president and vice president, respectively. Their platforms include promotion of transparency within ASUCD, an increased focus on disability rights on campus, tackling food and housing insecurity and bridging the gap between transfer and non-transfer students.

“We have the experience needed to create the change that we want to see,” Gofman said. “A lot of people run coming from outside of the association on changing the way it operates, and I’d say we’re the only ticket that wants to do that but also has the experience within the association to know how to create that change.”

SENATORIAL ALLY OVERBAY / AGGIE

HENNA BATTAN Third-year managerial economics major and transfer student Henna Battan is running for Senate under the ACT slate. Battan is running her platform under “E” for events. She hopes to host community events that will connect and unify UC Davis’ diverse student body — something that drew her to Davis in the first place. She is confident that her passion for public service will help her to achieve her goals and that her experiences as a transfer student will give her a new perspective on the position.

JORDAN CHOW / AGGIE

MEENA RUGH / AGGIE

TREVOR GOODMAN / AGGIE

JUMOKE MARAIYESA

BRANDON CLEMONS

Jumoke Maraiyesa is a third-year sociology major with an emphasis in law and society. They are running on the BASED slate on two major platforms: working with The Pantry on food security and having a physical location for people to gather around when hate crimes or sexual assault occurs on campus in order to promote inclusivity.

Maraiyesa is interested in running for a Senate position because they see issues that matter are not being addressed on campus. They want to bridge the gap between the students, administration and Senate. Maraiyesa hopes to do so by setting up programs or workshops to inform the student body about what ASUCD does and to make sure students are aware of what’s going on and how it affects them.

Third-year student Brandon Clemons, a managerial economics, philosophy and psychology triple major, is running for Senate on the Unite! slate to optimize the student experience at UC Davis as he inches toward the end of his own. His platforms include the improvement of academic advising and giving freshman an informal way to access advising in their student centers without appointments. He also wants to improve conditions for studying in Shields Library, such as strengthening the Wi-Fi and collaborating with the CoHo to have coffee and vending machines in the library. In addition, Clemons would like to work with The Pantry, the UC Global Food Initiative and CalFresh to create more opportunities for food-insecure students.

MACLEAN HARTFORD / AGGIE

DANIELLA ALONI If elected senator, third-year communication major Daniella Aloni said she hopes to focus on two communities in which she also finds herself in: disabled students and transfer students. Running on the Unite! slate, Aloni wants to strengthen the Disability Rights Advocacy Committee and increase visibility for students who have different forms of disabilities.

She also plans to work alongside the Transfer and Re-entry Center to create an environment that helps transfer students transition into campus life more easily. Aloni believes ASUCD needs fresh voices to accomplish any significant change — a role she is confident she can fill.

BRIAN LANDRY / AGGIE

BRIAN LANDRY / AGGIE

ALEXA FONTANILLA / AGGIE

KO SER LU HTOO Second-year political science and international relations double major Ko Ser Lu Htoo is running with the BASED slate on four major platforms: more resources for the LGBTQIA community; increasing involvement and engagement at the International Center; increasing the presence of Service for International Students and Scholars and increasing activist and outreach efforts by the ASUCD Senate.

Htoo is running for Senate in order to bring more representation to marginalized groups and to give back to the campus community. They also want to improve ASUCD’s communication and connection with the campus and students by expanding outreach efforts and working to bring students from diverse backgrounds into ASUCD. If elected, Htoo is interested in adopting Whole Earth Festival or Picnic Day, two events that celebrate diversity and bring the campus together.

ATANAS SPASOV Atanas Spasov is a third-year student pursuing a double major in economics and mathematics.

He is also running on Unite! and has been involved in student government for about a year and a half as he worked with Gofman’s campaign.

Spasov has three platforms — financial scrutiny, sexual health and student scheduling. Spasov is especially interested in developing the financial scrutiny of the Bike Barn and CoHo and is interested in adopting either of these ASUCD units. As a child of immigrant parents from Soviet Bulgaria, Spasov has come to appreciate the importance of a representative government and wants to put his talents toward public service.

TERESA LAM Teresa Lam, a third-year political science and history double major, is running for Senate on the ACT slate because she found a community on campus with other transfer students and feels that they have similar mindsets. Her platform is focused on advocacy and awareness. She said she wants to help whichever resources on campus need the most exposure. She is especially interested in raising awareness of the Women’s Resources and Research center as well as the Mental Health Initiative. Lam is interested in running for Senate because she believes this platform will allow her to make a difference on campus.

VALERIA DUENAS Valeria Duenas, a third-year student majoring in political science — public service, is representing the BASED slate while running for Senate in the Winter Election. She wants to put more emphasis on women’s health by working with the Women’s Resources and Research Center to ensure that bathroom dispensaries are properly supplied with menstrual products, such as pads and tampons. Her other main platform revolves around finding a safe space for the Chicano/Latino Community to meet and having more events like La Raza Cultural Days as well as increasing exposure to these events. If elected senator, Duenas also wants to extend outreach to other communities.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018 | 9

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

EMILY STACK / AGGIE

LUKE STOCKER Luke Stocker is a second-year English major and computer science minor who is running with The Golden Slate. Stocker’s platforms include lobbying the city for more affordable housing; being a liason for clubs and increasing club financing and bringing priority class registration, which NCAA athletes currently have, to club athletes with more than six practices per week. He also has plans to streamline the reporting process for sexual assault through the university, make accusations more public and change the organizational structure so that cases are handled more quickly. If elected, Stocker is interested in adopting The California Aggie or working with Whole Earth Festival.

Stocker is also interested in improving the culture of ASUCD by encouraging senators to hold more visible office hours and addressing what he sees as a chronic absentee problem by publicizing senate meeting attendance. He is running for Senate because he sees an opportunity to make positive change with his slate and give back to the campus.

JESSE STESHENKO / AGGIE

MACLEAN HARTFORD / AGGIE

LUCERO VASQUEZ

MOHAMMAD QAYUM

Lucero Vasquez is a second-year undeclared major, but is on the pre-med track. She is running on the BASED slate because she believes that support and community is important and that the BASED slate is diverse and welcoming. Her platforms include emphasizing a welcoming environment to all students — socially, academically and mentally. By doing so, she hopes to increase student club awareness, increase the efficient sustainability of resources and reduce mental health issues on campus.

Vasquez also hopes to improve diversity within the Senate table and encourages students to reach out to senators and ask them questions. Vasquez also stresses the importance of bringing all communities together and stated: “At the end of the day, we’re all Aggies.”

Third-year political science major Mohammad Qayum is running for Senate on the Unite! slate because he believes in the values this slate stands for. He has three platforms: transfer and re-entry student representation, food security and “get out the vote.” He is interested in helping the Veterans Success Center, located on the second floor of the MU. Qayum believes running for ASUCD will give him the chance to get out and give transfer students the representation they need.

VENOOS MOSHAYEDI / AGGIE

BEN MCDOUGALL Ben McDougall is a second-year undeclared major who is planning to declare a political science and economics double major. He is running with The Golden Slate on four major platforms: club finance reform, sexual harassment policy reform, cheating on exams and improving the Bike Barn. He chose to run for Senate because he is interested in politics and would like to work with the Bike Barn, Unitrans and KDVS as adopted units. McDougall also sees room for improvement in committee meeting attendance.

FARAH FARJOOD / AGGIE AGGIE STUDIOS / COURTESY

KAILA MATTERA / AGGIE

COLIN HEURLIN / COURTESY

KIM HELEN QUACH

DANIEL HERNANDEZ COLIN HEURLIN Colin Heurlin is a third-year transfer student majoring in international relations with a focus on peace and security in Latin America. He is running his campaign on the Unite! slate remotely, as he is currently in Washington, D.C. with the UCDC program. Heurlin formerly served as the ASUCD Internal Affairs Committee commissioner and is interested in running for Senate because of his passion for legislation, policy and student government.

Heurlin is running on platforms of creating a learning resource center that would remove the stigma of asking for tutoring or academic help and creating a transfer peer mentorship program where transfer students would be paired with a student who has been at UC Davis for a year or two to share resources and advice. He sees room for improvement in the demographic makeup of ASUCD — he says transfer students are underrepresented at the Senate table — and the expediency of student services and resource availability.

Because he worked at Starbucks for five years and has experience in the customer service and food service industries, Heurlin is interested in adopting the CoHo if elected.

Daniel Hernandez is a third-year wildlife, fish and conservation biology major planning on switching to an evolution, ecology and biodiversity major. He is running on the BASED slate on the platforms of increasing the grants the Community Resource and Retention Centers receive and making Tipsy Taxi a subunit of Unitrans.

Hernandez became interested in running for Senate because he realized that there were areas of improvement and realized that being in Senate would allow him to have a greater impact, as he would have more control over where money is allocated and the ASUCD bylaws. He also wants to make Senate a more inclusive and safe space since he feels intersectional identities are underrepresented.

ANH-TRAM BUI / AGGIE

VENOOS MOSHAYEDI / AGGIE

DANIEL TILLMAN

ALISHA HACKER Alisha Hacker is first-year political science public service major running with the Unite! slate.

Hacker plans to be the voice of the first-years on Senate and was encouraged to run after attending ASUCD meetings where decisions that would affect her were made without representation for first-years at the Senate table.

Hacker’s platforms include increasing housing in Davis, especially focusing on second-year housing opportunities; increasing student advocacy and involvement, including the the registration of students to vote in Yolo county and bridging the divide between Greek life and ASUCD. She hopes to work with the Office of Advocacy and Student Representation and utilize the proximity of Davis to the state capitol.

Daniel Tillman is a third-year political science and history double major running on the BASED slate. His primary goal is to improve student resources with regard to housing. Rather than replace the annual Housing Day event, Tillman would like to work in conjunction with the event and ideally adopt Housing Advising for Undergraduate Students (HAUS) as a unit. Tillman wants to create an online page that provides students with resources such as a timeline of the housing process, how to get a credit report and an outline of renters’ rights.

Tillman has been in contact with Student Housing to achieve this goal and has also to inquired about including more gender neutral bathrooms on campus. He recognizes the difficulty of constructing bathrooms in older buildings and would rather focus his energy on ensuring new buildings include gender neutral bathrooms in their floor plans. Tillman also aims to improve lighting on campus by handing out more bike lights and expanding the Blue Light program, which provides students with emergency call stations across campus. Lastly, Tillman highlights that, as a transgender man, he would like to use his position on Senate to speak on behalf of underrepresented communities on campus.

A member of the ACT slate, third-year English major Kim Helen Quach is running her platform on “M” for mentorship. She would like to promote inclusivity, diversity and advocacy on campus, bridging the gap between transfer and non-transfer students. She would also like to improve bike safety on campus by making bike lights more accessible and working with the blue light program. Quach feels that serving as a senator will give her the authority to make these changes directly, and to better get feedback from the student body.

SIMRAN KAUR / COURTESY

SAM DOOLITTLE Sam Doolittle, a third-year economics major, attended multiple colleges before officially becoming a student at UC Davis this past fall. This experience allowed him to compare and evaluate the transfer student experience here on campus — particularly in regards to where UC Davis can improve. Doolittle, a member of The Golden Slate, has three primary platforms: making it easier for transfer students to form connections with other students and faculty members; increasing funding for and management of club activities and enforcing stricter punishments for those accused of sexual assault and violence. Through these, Doolittle hopes to craft a more inclusive, welcoming and safe atmosphere for all students at UC Davis.

The following candidates did not respond to a request from The California Aggie for an interview: Katherine Elizabeth Elaine Weaver, a thirdyear international relations major with The Golden Slate and Rachel Young, a third-year history major with the ACT slate.

SIMRAN KAUR Simran Kaur is a third-year human development major running on the BASED slate. She is running on three main platforms, which include bringing awareness and expansion to The Pantry, improving cultural awareness to help people from different cultures feel more included in campus life and working to refine relationships between the student body and the UC Davis administration by increasing interaction between the two bodies.

“At the end of the day, we’re all in this community together and striving to get a UC degree in this institution,” Kaur said. “We need to come together and [...] live by our quote which is ‘For Aggies, by Aggies.’”

NICHOLAS CHAN / AGGIE

SHADEN CORTEZ Shaden Cortez is a third-year political science and communication double major. She is running with the ACT slate representing the “D” as her main platform, which stands for diversity and inclusivity. As a Latina, she feels that having equal representation in ASUCD is important and encourages students of all backgrounds to run for Senate. The units she aspires to adopt are the Whole Earth Festival, Bike Barn and Aggie Reuse Store.

10 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

SCIENCE+TECH TAYLOR LAPOINT / AGGIE

EXCEPT FOR THE RAPTOR CENTER, ALL 12 MUSEUMS AND COLLECTIONS ARE IN WALKING DISTANCE OF DOWNTOWN DAVIS.

Biodiversity Day Guide to all 12 museums, collections

Creating the perfect peck of peppers UC Davis students use plant breeding methods to improve characteristics of vegetables

BY JAC K C A RI L LO CO NCO R DIA science@theaggie.org

Imagine a pepper that has the heat of a jalapeño, but the depth and size of a bell pepper. That combination would make a perfect pepper for poppers, chile relleno and other tasty fillings. While this type of cultivar, a variety produced by selective breeding, already exists, some UC Davis students are focused on creating a jalapeño/bell pepper variety that is more sustainable, as well as teaching students how to take on leadership roles.

Jorge Berny, a postdoctoral researcher in the plant sciences department, has been researching peppers since he was an undergraduate. Upon coming to Davis for his Ph.D. in 2012, Berny was introduced to the Student Farm, which is known for its effective sustainability practices. Originally, it was just Berny and a handful of students using space at the Student Farm for K-12 education and the peppers project.

“There were some [jalapeños] that they advertised were big jalapeños, and they were not [actually] big or productive,” Berny said. “We thought, maybe we could do better.”

Saarah Kuzay, now a second-year Ph.D. student, is one of the first people who worked with Berny.

She is currently one of the “mentor” figures of the peppers project and likes how the model of recruiting and teaching students is also sustainable.

“A student would join the project, they would get taught by the senior, the mentee would become the mentor and recruit their own student,” Kuzay said. “It was this neat process of teaching a craft and passing it onto the next person. They liked that model enough that when Charlie Brummer, the current leader of the Plant Breeding Center, joined, he said we should really do this with more crops.

So he wrote this grant proposal to the USDA, and we got a $1 million grant, as opposed to a $10,000 or less a year.”

Berny said that plant breeding is similar to a permit test. The rules could be learned in a book, but that couldn’t replace hands-on learning. Working with undergraduates also gave him room to not just teach, but grow from their observations.

“Sometimes, you just do stuff because that’s how you’ve been doing that for some time,” Berny said.

“There’s always room for improvement.”

The team originally had little space for planting and was lucky to have up to 50 plants for the first

few years. However, with the backing of the Plant Breeding Center and the grant, the project was able to support paying more students and provide space to put out more plant trials.

Charlie Brummer, along with then-Student Farm director Mark Van Horn, thought the project had a unique way of letting undergraduates experience hands-on learning with plant breeding and genetics as well as how to become leaders. They felt the precedent of the peppers project could be applied to other vegetables, which became the tomatoes project and the lima beans project.

“I thought there was a possibility that we could develop some breeding programs on the small scale that would give students actual in-field experience,” Brummer said. “Students could run the project, maybe get some idea on how things work that would then be useful for them later in the job market.”

The main focus of the peppers project is to make a jalapeño with a larger cavity to fit more ingredients like cheese, meat and other vegetables. Kuzay and others on the project produced a short video in 2016 on what plant breeding is, how their research was going and highlights of those who contributed to the peppers project. Kuzay believes the project should be completed within 2 to 3 years, barring any major disasters.

However, with each generation, other plant trials are also tested, allowing research to effectively “restart” a possible failure or even start new projects, like working with orange jalapeños or improving the resistance of bell peppers. Brumer said that, at minimum, it takes 7 to 8 years for a variety to be marketable, since it needs to be durable in the long-term and account for various environmental factors.

“As you get closer to getting something good, you want to trial that around,” Brummer said.

“Make sure it isn’t, for some reason, just pretty well adapted to the student farm in Davis, but doesn’t do particularly well when you put it on different soil types or in different farms that have different managements.”

A concern that Kuzay, Brummer and Berny share is the public’s opinion on genetics. Plants genetics, and genetics in general, has been a difficult topic for scientists to talk about to the public. It often gets linked to biotechnology, which some of JALAPENOS on 14

UC Davis’ unique method to treat humans, pets Veterinary Institute for Regenerative Cures, School of Medicine collaborate to find treatments ZOË REINHARDT / AGGIE

BY RACHEL PAUL science@theaggie.org

Across the UC Davis campus on Saturday, Feb. 17, free museums and collections will be open to the public for Biodiversity Day. Look for the volunteers in matching yellow t-shirts to find the exhibits.

Arboretum and Public Garden; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visitors can take home their own plant and upcycled pot after stopping by the Good Life Gardens near the Mondavi Institute. Melissa Cruz, the outreach coordinator, said prime nursery plants, such as the California poppy, will be available. In addition, volunteers and displays will inform visitors about the importance of pollinators and some creative ways plants reproduce. Spanning 100 acres, the Arboretum houses plant collections and walking paths for visitors.

Bohart Museum of Entomology; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dr. Lynn Kimsey said this museum has the seventh largest insect collection in North America, hosting over 8 million different bugs. At biodiversity day, a live mantis and a petting zoo will join their counterparts. This research collection does specialize in California fauna and mosquitoes, but expeditions are sent around the world to gather specimens.

California Raptor Center; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Meet Sullivan, Juliette, Mad-eye, and all of the other birds of prey at the Raptor Center. Julie Cotton, the outreach coordinator, said about 30 birds will be out for visitors to see, with 10 of them being “on the glove”, which means out of their cages. This veterinary and rehabilitation center hosts golden eagles, redtail hawks, great horned owls and more.

Visitors can see the center’s new museum space, stop by a coloring table, and see an exhibit about American Kestrels made by a local Girl Scout.

Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, only open to the public on Biodiversity Day, is a collection of 60,000 mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles. The curator, Andrew Engilis, Jr., collects specimens come from around the world, and uses them in UC Davis classes, research and outreach programs. Just in time for Biodiversity Day, taxidermists will be working on two California Condors. This critically endangered bird has a 10-foot wingspan and visitors can get an up-close experience at these impressive vultures.

Paleontology Collection; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The research collection contains specimens from 550 million years ago to more recent times. Fossil inver-

BY K RIT I VAR GHESE science@theaggie.org

By using what they learn from treating companion animals like cats and dogs, the Veterinary Institute for Regenerative Cures can help the School of Medicine find treatments for diseases like cancer and diabetes that affect humans and animals alike.

“The science/medicine industry relies primarily on lab-based studies and then on studies in [mice, rats and rabbits] to test therapies prior to starting human clinical trials,” said Dr. Dori Borjesson, the director of the VIRC. “The problem with these models is they don’t replicate [diseases] that are influenced by genetics, environment, et cetera. The goal of using real diseases in companion animals first is that it can help sort through the drugs with the most promise as dogs, cats, and horses are outbred, like people, and get natural diseases, like people. So, you can run a small trial in naturally-occurring diabetes in dogs, test your candidate therapy and then go into your human trial with more confidence and an increased likelihood of success.”

The VIRC conducts clinical trials in a way that is similar to how clinical trials are conducted with humans. Rather than inducing the disease, the doctors try to treat an animal that already has the disease. This is fundamentally different from conduct-

tebrates, vertebrates, and plants are all a part of the big research collection. Typically used for classes only, visitors can see the past contained more than just dinosaurs.

Phaff Yeast Culture Collection and Viticulture Enology Culture Collection; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. According to Dr. Kyria Boundy-Mills, visitors can explore the world of microbiology through yeast collection, a winery tour, microscopes, and coloring and reading materials. Guests can learn how yeasts can be kept alive for hundreds of years, and how yeast can be made into art. Kombucha, vegemite and marmite tasting stations will be nearby a yeast smelling station and agar plates visitors can touch. Used for research projects and work contracts around the world, this is a rare chance for visitors to experience the world of single-celled organisms that are in everything from bread to wine.

Botanical Conservatory 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

With over 3,000 different species, the Botanical Conservatory hosts many unique plants in its greenhouses. The curator, Ernesto Sandoval, is most excited about the fruit on the coffee and chocolate trees. The conservatory also hosts carnivorous plants, orchids, cacti, succulents and more.

Center for Plant Diversity Herbarium 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Aside from being able to browse the 300,000 to 350,000 preserved plants, visitors will have the chance to participate in activities put on by the center. This includes using microscopes, plant pressing, mounting demonstrations and going on tours. A student will also be displaying traditional Hmong medicinal plants. Kids will have the chance to mount their own plants on paper.

Although open to the public during the year, the Center for Plant Diversity works more like a library, according to Ellen Dean, the curator, because visitors come looking for specimens to help identify plants or describe new species. This is the only day to truly look around the massive collection.

Department of A ​ nthropology Museum 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Used before the bow and arrow were created, an atlatls, a type of spear thrower, can be tried out by visitors. It is from Central Mexico and only brought out for visitor use on Biodiversity Day. Dr. Christyann Darwent is also setting up demonstrations of flint knapping, or stone tool making, that will be hosted outside the anthropology building. Inside, in honor of the year of the dog, a dog-themed scavenger hunt will take participants through the anthropology labs and museums. Fossil hominids, primates, and the new anthropology exhibit on the Inuit people will be stopping points along the scavenger hunt.

Design Museum 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Only available until April 22, “It’s Bugged: Insects’ Role in Design” showcases unique interactions between people and insects. Visitors can see art made from insects and insect products. Clothing and photographs of bugs or inspired from bugs will be displayed alongside specimens from the Bohart Museum of Entomology.

Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. This half-acre farm hosts 225 different plant species; Dr. Christine Casey, the manager of the haven, has seen 85 different species of bees. Activities include making seed cookies to plant in your own garden and the ability to use a bee vacuum to catch bees and examine them closely. While primarily used to teach about the importance of bees, the haven is also used for research and classes at UC Davis.

Nematode Collection 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Nematodes, sometimes called worms, are parasitic or free-living organisms found in every type of environment. While a cubic foot of soil may contain BIODIVERSITY on 14

ing a clinical trial on experimental animals where the animals are induced with the disease and then hopefully cured.

Dr. Boaz Arzi is currently conducting a clinical trial for a potential treatment for feline chronic gingivostomatitis and is applying what he has learned to a potential treatment for oral lichen planus in humans. He makes it very clear that while there are potential benefits for humans, the main goal is to find a treatment for the pets.

“When we start the clinical trial, we don’t do it because it’s good for humans,” Arzi said. We do it because it’s good for pets. And [if we’re successful…] we start looking for treatments in humans.”

Humans and companion animals share the same cells and similar genetics, so the cause of the disease and the response toward the disease are often alike. One of the main areas of research is a treatment for cancer.

“Regarding cancer, much has been learned from rodent models. Recent breakthroughs in the field of cancer immunotherapy have further generated interest in pet cats and dogs as models because they have competent immune systems,” said Dr. Robert Rebhun, an associate professor and associate researcher in Surgical & Radiological Science at the Center for Companion Animal Health. “What is really exciting is that these studies have the potential to benefit not only humans, but also our beloved pets.”

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018 | 11

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

Sudoku

Chess BY ARI FREEDMAN

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.

Remember when solving puzzles, if you were the opponent, you would make the best moves to avoid mate, consider your opponent will. This week’s puzzle is an end game. Black to move, and checkmate in 3 moves. Hint: take out that major piece and the rest should flow.

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

Chess Answers In every solution the quickest is the best way to ensure mate. The opponent has a defender, so in order to get the checkmate we must avoid the protected spaces and set up for the checkmate on the opposite coloured space.

1. Ne6 Kb7

2. Qb6+ Kc8

3. Qc7#

reduce. reuse. recycle.

The aggie

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

12 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018

ARTS & Culture Varsity Theater: A Davis Classic JO RDAN C H OW / AGGIE

History behind neon lights explained

BY SY D N E Y OD M A N arts@theaggie.org

Bringing a unique selection of film and theater entertainment to Yolo County since its opening in 1950, the Varsity Theater is a staple of Davis culture. The first film to play at the Varsity Theater on June 9, 1950 was “The Eagle and the Hawk,” thus launching the start of a very long and continuing history for one of downtown Davis’ most recognizable landmarks.

“My grandmother actually worked here in the ‘50s as a teenager,” said 12-year Varsity Theatre employee and lifelong Davis resident Whitney Martinez.

At the time of its opening, the Varsity was

AU TU M N WA R D / CO U RTESY

1 0 -Y E A R - O L D AC TO R DJANGO NAC HMA N O F F, W H O P LAYS TH E RO LE O F THE O, D UR I N G R E H E A RSAL.

Preview: “Pippin, The Musical” Broadway classic comes to Davis with modern twist

BY CARO L I N E RUT T E N arts@theaggie.org

The Broadway classic “Pippin, the Musical” is coming to UC Davis starting Feb. 22 through the Department of Theater and Dance, telling the famous story of a man in search of his identity. But it’s coming with a twist.

“Pippin usually takes places in the Holy Roman Empire, but this one takes place today,” said director and choreographer Mindy Cooper.

Cooper had the idea to adapt the play after using “Pippin, The Musical” as an example in a class. The original production, directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse in 1972, was later revived in Broadway with a circus setting.

Cooper based the show off this revival, but has added a political twist.

“I realized that one of the main characters is a tyrannical leader, power-hungry, doesn’t care about people and is much more into wealth and power than humanity — rings a bell,” Cooper said. “I realized I wanted to do Pippin but to explore the political environment we are in today. I have realized within the last year that our politics is the best theater we have going right now.”

However, to accomplish her own change in setting, Cooper only changed one line in the script to incorporate a modern-day headline. The characters from the original script speak for themselves.

“We’re not impersonating Trump,” said Charlie Lavaroni, a second-year English and theater double major who plays Pippin. “We have some-

considered the “newest, most modern theater in the Sacramento Valley,” with its angular architecture, bright neon letters and chrome detailing, according to an old theater flyer. After the theater’s popularity began to decline throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s, the Varsity was ultimately remodeled in 1992 as a performing arts and conference center.

“Growing up in the mid- to late-’90s, [the theater] was a playhouse,” Martinez said. “When I got here in 2006, we remodeled again.”

The 2006 relaunch transformed the Varsity back into an old-fashioned movie theater, exclusively featuring a unique selection of independent and foreign films. With the help of a programmer, Martinez and theater owner Sinisa Nova-

one who is playing Charlemagne who is like the Trump figure. It’s not impersonations, but we are pulling from this cultural iconography and symbols and mixing that into the story.”

Cook also made sure to add another more modern and progressive directorial decision.

“I have found out how heteronormative the play is,” Cook said. “I know how forwardthinking UC Davis is, and it was created at a time where men put women on pedestals, so I have played that down a lot and tried to make it a little more equal, especially the love story.

What’s written I can’t change, but I can change how they are equals in the relationship.”

Even with the changes to the original setting of the production, the main themes have remained the same.

“Pippin is basically, to put it simply, the story of a young man’s journey into adulthood and finding himself,” Lavaroni said. “It’s an anecdotal tale, so he goes along different paths along the way and learns different lessons and by the end he learns that it’s okay to settle, it’s okay to find happiness in a contained space. It’s about the dangers of this grandiose exceptionality that we all face.”

These themes become especially applicable within the college setting.

“One of my close friends is going through that same crisis of what do ‘I do with my life,’ and we all manifest this in different ways or even suppress it,” Lavaroni said. “It’s really interesting as an actor to be going along with the journey of this character, kinda learning from him and his lessons.”

The fact that it’s a musical production assists in conveying such concepts through its design — there is significance in the emotional juxtaposition, the heaviness of emotion under the flair of song and dance. Cook explained it this way: Musicals sing what you can’t speak.

“Bob Fosse musicals always have a spin of darkness in them,” Lavaroni said. “The song and dance is often used as tools for acknowledging the superficiality of the political world. It’s definitely ironic. I think musicals are in their inherent state frivolous, but there is this heightened reality that brings truth to musical theater.”

Such a play has its inherent challenges within the script that the actors and director

C H RIST I E N E O / AG GI E

“Coco” Offers Accurate Exploration of Culture Disney got it right for the Mexican community

BY CEC I L I A M O RA L E S arts@theaggie.org

As children, we are often blind to the cruel realities of the world and how they shape our lives. The underrepresentation of diverse stories in the entertainment industry and, in general,

the lack of diversity across other media platforms, is one such reality.

Until more recently, I didn’t realize such underrepresentation contributed to the my dislike of my brown skin, the language my family spoke or the inerasable culture my roots were grounded in. Comparatively, it might not seem so cruel.

However, it breeds not only false expectations about who we will interact with but also — especially for people of color — an inescapable

kovic work together to figure out what films students and the Davis community hope to see and how certain films have performed in markets similar to their own.

“Varsity is completely different from other theaters in the sense that they have those independent films that most people may not know about,” said third-year cell and molecular biology major Frida Melgar. “And it’s right

by Mishka’s Cafe, so you can totally just bring your cup of coffee with you to the movies.”

“It definitely seems like a more unique and creative experience,” said second-year managerial economics major Jessica Rasanayagam.

Connected to the neighboring gelato shop, Icekrimski Cafe, the Varsity is home to two auditoriums. Martinez says awards season is the busiest time of the year. In the past year, the Varsity has managed to bring critically acclaimed films such as “Lady Bird,” “La La Land,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” the “Shape of Water” and “Phantom Thread” to its screens.

“My biggest hope for the future would be to add more screens, especially during awards season,” Martinez said. “If only we had more screens, we could have films like ‘Call Me By Your Name’ or ‘I, Tonya.’”

Coming soon to Varsity Theater are “I, Tonya,” “Isle of Dogs,” “The Party” and more. For more information, visit the theater’s website.

need to be aware of.

“It’s a big cast, and there is only one of me,” Cook said. “I am both the director and choreographer, and I’ve done this a lot before, but I usually have more time. There is never enough time.

We rehearse from 6 to 10 p.m., but I get them at the worst time since they all have so much going on, so you have to cheerlead a little.”

In addition, the script calls for a young boy to play Theo, Catherine’s son. While this could have been viewed as a dilemma in a college setting, the role has been filled by Django Nachmanoff, a 10-year-old boy from Davis.

“I get to go into a world that’s not my own and I get to find myself in someone else,” Nachmanoff said. “I love getting parts and finding out what’s realistic from this part to myself.”

According to Lavaroni and Cook, Nachmanoff has been an asset to the production.

“We put a casting notice out into the community […] and the beauty about Django is that I just knew,” Cook said. “He is wicked smart and loves the theater. I do this table work at the beginning of a process where we talk about the piece and take it apart and ask a lot of questions. I ask them to be smart actors, to bring questions and comments. And every day the first hand that was up was Django’s, and he always had something smart to say and interesting questions.”

Django, too, seems to be learning from the production as much as it benefits from him.

“I’m a man of one emotion,” Nachmanoff said. “When I feel an emotion it is usually a superlative emotion; I’m feeling either really happy or really sad. In this character, he is a mix of emotions in some scenes so I have to practice mixing my emotions into the different parts of my body and facial expressions and body language. I’m going to take away that there is nothing to be afraid of in theater. Face your fears and follow what you really want and delete the obstacles.”

“Pippin, The Musical” will be playing in Wright Hall Main Theater Feb. 22 to 24 and March 1 to 3 at 7 p.m. and on Feb. 24 and March 3 at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased on the Davis Department of Theater and Dance website.

CA IT LY N SA MPL EY / AGG IE

HB-Obsessed Helping to avoid studying for midterms

BY R OWAN O’CONNELL-GATES arts@theaggie.org

We interrupt your regularly scheduled program of studying for midterms to inform you that it’s time for a TV break.

HBO has a wide variety of shows that are ripe for binging.

Westworld A mind-boggling spaghetti Western show that plays on the potential level of sophistication that artificial intelligence may reach in the not-too-distant future. In the midst of emerging consciousness and self-awareness, Delores, a humanistic robot created for the guilty pleasures of the rich, begins to question the nature of her existence and the invisible line between her reality and the reality around her. The breathtaking cast is made up of high-profile names such as Thandie Newton, Anthony Hopkins and Ed Harris. Hopkins plays the creator of the western world and introduces fundamental questions of the human existence and our raw nature. Season 2 is on the way, which means the show withdrawals from Season 1 won’t be long-lived.

Game of Thrones Set in Westeros, a world that looks like it’s about the size of California, kings and forgotten queens fight for power over seven kingdoms. If you are uncomfortable around blood, then this is not the show for you. This show probably has more fandom than any other HBO show because it’s a fully submersive world that’s great for getting lost in. One episode is budgeted at $10 million, so it’s safe to assume that the visual production and quality is top tier. The cast is ever-changing, which is a breath of fresh air and great for those like me that don’t mind inconsistency or have learned to deal with it.

Big Little Lies Winner of four Golden Globes, including Best Television Limited Series and acting awards for Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgard and Laura Dern, Big Little Lies sails mom feuds over uncharted waters. First-time television actresses Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley play a range of moms represented in society today (tropes like the stay-at-home mom or the career mom). The show also highlights issues involving domestic violence by addressing realworld scenarios of women debating coming forward in the face of being condemned as a liar.

Sex and the City I couldn’t help but wonder: what’s an iconic HBO show that everyone must watch? “Sex and the City” is always relevant because sex will always be around — as well as the complications that come with it. Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, is joined by her three friends Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda, all with quite distinctive personalities. The four share their sex-capades with one another and try to manage their busy love lives while living in the city. Also, the show is very ‘90s (Millennials’ favorite decade right now), even though most of us were too young to remember it.

Veep Veep is a political comedy that fixates on the struggles of Selena Myer, the vice president of the United States. Sounds fun to be second in command, right? Not really, but Myer does her best to push the envelope under the door of the office of the President — who is never seen on camera. Full of dry and witty humor (my favorite kind), Veep is filled with hidden one-liner gems. Constantly met with public disaster, the relatable Selena Myer, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, is a real knee-slapper. Other cast members include Tony Hale, Matt Walsh and Anna Chlumsky.

HBO is offered through Xfinity on Campus as part of your tuition, so take advantage because when you graduate you may no longer get the most expensive TV network out there — for free. When the Word document has been properly adjusted to MLA format and the header is set up, it’s time for a study break. You deserve it.

feeling of degradation. The critically acclaimed, spirited and endearing Pixar animated film “Coco” helps alter these typically white narratives.

“Coco” follows Miguel, a young boy conflicted by his love of music and his family’s deep aversion to anything remotely related to music. He aspires to follow in the footsteps of his idol and become a successful musician, too, ending up in the Land of the Dead during the celebration of Day of the Dead to prove himself and uncover his family’s history. Miguel is misguided and doesn’t realize what his kin already know and try to push: the ultimate importance of strong familial relationships over individual pursuits, which take away from that.

The movie has been applauded for its stunning visuals, particularly for scenes of the Land of the Dead, but this is to be expected of a Pixar film. What really captured me was the less outwardly vibrant but just as detailed scenes set in the fictional town of Santa Cecilia, Mexico. It brought me back to when I, too, would run through the streets of a small Mexican town like Miguel during summer visits to my family’s city.

From the tamales to the cobbled roads to the zapateria to el jardin, “Coco” stayed true to its country of inspiration.

Elena, Miguel’s eccentric grandmother, is a source of laughs. She is the overbearing, extra-loving grandma many can relate to, but she also embodies attributes of a stereotypical Mexican grandmother, making her

especially poignant to members of the broader Latinx community. For example, she uses her chancla (sandal) as a weapon. If you offend grandma by not eating all the food she puts on your plate, beware of a flying chancla headed your way.

The enchanting music magnified by the theater’s speakers and the magical imagery on screen made me want to get up from my seat and dance throughout the film. It was delightful just to hear the correct pronunciation of Spanish words and the slight, natural accents the characters held when speaking English.

This can be attributed to the all-Latinx cast and, again, demonstrates the crew’s commitment to staying true to culture.

The storyline teaches the audience about the Mexican holiday, the Day of the Dead, while neatly balancing topics of family, heritage, life and death.

This combined with the animation quality, music, attention to detail and inherent liveliness of Pixar productions makes “Coco” an uplifting breath of fresh air in a heavy world atmosphere.

But it’s quite possible, however, that the greatest gift “Coco” has to offer the Mexican, Mexican-American and Latinx communities, is the accurate portrayal of our community and lives — more than most films have offered us. In this way, our people get to bask in a glamorous light we have not often had the opportunity to experience and to expand our culture to a broader, more visible dimension.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018 | 13

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

JANET MOCK CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

race and gender simultaneously. Many of us are positioned similarly, impacted not just by our gender and race but our class, our ability, our size, our sexuality, [and] our religion. Intersectionality upholds our lived realities, how our identities complicate and create levels of systematic injustice and marginalization.”

Mock grew up in a culture that taught her the need for intersectional advocacy in navigating communities, where the fight for marginalized identities should be bridged and not at war with one another.

“I was born in the ’80s in Honolulu, Hawaii to a teen mother and two sisters who were teen mothers and a father who struggled with addiction,” Mock said. “I witnessed firsthand the plight of my neighbors: low income people of color. If growing up black, native and poor wasn’t enough, I also had my own identity struggles as a trans kid. As a young person, I struggled deeply and fought hard to be myself and reveal myself, and express myself, in a culture that mandates that if you’re born with certain body parts, you are not allowed to express who you truly are. Growing up, I had a series of battles with my parents from choosing to wear my hair long to having both of my ears pierced. I was acutely aware and uncomfortable of the fact that I was different, and I tried my best to appease my parents, family and peers by hiding deeper in myself.”

While growing up, Mock saw how someone in her community self-actualized their gender identity in a bold way which inspired Mock. The two are still best friends, Mock said.

“In the seventh grade, a gift came into my life,” Mock said. “The way I saw myself began to shift when I saw my best friend Wendi. She was a 12-year-old trans girl — Filipino, had a green bob, wore short shorts and pranced around schools as if she ruled them. Her boldness and her fearlessness to be fully herself, no matter the consequences, pushed me to to proclaim what I secretly knew about myself all along: that I was a girl.”

Mock discussed the struggle of family acceptance growing up both in her book and talk at UC Davis.

“I remember being adamant with my father about hearing my pronouns and him not being able to process it,” Mock said. “I wrote him that letter 18 years ago about calling me by my right pronouns and my name. And if [you] can’t do that, then don’t talk to me anymore. It’s been a journey.”

She was the first member of her family to attend college, and went to New York University for journalism. Mock talked about all of the “mini-compromises” she made when moving to New York City with regard to “passing” — being physically seen as your chosen gender identity through appearance — and choosing to keep her transness to herself. Transgender, nonbinary and gender-fluid folks must be focused on presentation, or presenting, in ways that cisgendered people are not, according to Mock. She said that she is now privileged through leveraging a passing presentation and financial capital.

“I’m super lucky to do the work that I do, but the irony of my success is that it often deludes many into believing that success is possible for all those growing up like I did,” Mock said. ”The reality is, it isn’t. Just because I made it doesn’t mean others are able to do the same. Many trans people, specifically those from low-income communities of color, are invisibilized and ignored. We need to begin to acknowledge that trans women, that black brown and native bodies, are worthy of our protection and care.”

Mock wrote her memoir with accessibility in mind, including definitions for terminology some may be unaware of. She wanted to “make sure that” she was able to be in “spaces where the aunties and the mothers of the girls that” she was fighting “alongside, and for, are watching.” Mock talked about her experience in an interview with Oprah.

Oprah said she was “scared” of saying the wrong thing to Mock, and Mock replied: “What are you so afraid of? Ask me anything.”

Mock spoke of the double-edged sword of explanation, ridden with expectations of emotional labor. She has had to balance her willingness to educate and recognizes a well-intended naivety of ignorance with the fact that someone’s identity does not beg justification or teaching. There is often a question of who is forced to educate, and Mock said that she tackles this burden so those less privileged than her do not have to.

“It was a language thing,” Mock said. ”No one wants to say they don’t know, right? So it’s hard.

For me, I oftentimes make myself vulnerable to say that I’m gonna take in this stuff so that my sisters and sibling don’t have to do that work. I can distill things and make it plain.”

In the audience question portion, Mock responded to a parent asking about parenting a seven-year-old transgender daughter in politically tumultuous times by telling them to reinforce the concept that their daughter’s “school is her school, [and] knowing that she is not a problem.”

“She is deserving and worthy, and I’d keep on chanting that over and over again,” Mock said.

Mock encouraged the audience to clap, snap and express emotions during the talk. One trans woman who asked a question during the audience Q&A took a moment to mention how a man “felt the need to get up and tell” her “to be a little more quiet.”

“As a trans woman, no — we are not going to be quiet, not now, not ever,” the woman said. ”Everyone that’s in here, you have a responsibility to carry this information forward and resist every single day.”

Hours earlier, a Q&A panel the forum discussion “Reimagining Home: Support Networks and LGBTQIA+ Communities” was held. Sitting on the panel were Mock, Anoosh Jorjorian of Yolo Rainbow Families, director of UC Davis Women’s Resources and Research Center Cecily Nelson-Alford, Community Coordinator for the LGBTQIA+ center Mat Talton, Office Coordinator for the LGBTQIA+ Resource Center Joanna Villegas and Director of the UC Davis Cross Cultural Center Bruce Smail. Smail, who acted as the moderator, asked the five panel members questions that had been previously submitted online by students and the public.

Jorjoria found comfort in her Davis community, which she says has provided an inclusive space for her gender-nonconforming child. Jorjorian said she likes to “check in with asking what kind of pronouns” they want to use “every once a while, not making a big deal out of it.”

“The really great thing now about the younger generations coming up is that my kids never questioned that two women can get married, for example, and it’s happening the same way with gender,” Jorjorian said. “As a parent of a gender-nonconforming kid, there was this really wonderful experience when we moved to Davis, and my younger child went to kindergarten. There was a sixth-grader who was one day helping with kids and the sixth-grader was like, ‘Is this kid a boy or a girl?’ The others were like, ‘Tavi’s both!’”

Jorjorian is also a member of Parents for Equity for Davis Teachers and the founder of Yolo Justice and Action Network. According to Jorjorian, family law in America can become problematic for non-cisgender kids with divorced parents.

“We have issues of children who want to express a certain gender identity, [and] if the parents are divorced, that can be quite contentious,” Jorjorian said. “We’re still trying to navigate how that works.

The reassuring thing is that, here in Davis, in Yolo County, in Sacramento County, we have the resources of the Gender Health Center which is prepared to take on those issues and work on negotiating between partners. Even at the law school at UC Davis there are lawyers who can provide services.”

Regarding national political views on gender, Jorjorian expressed anxiety over the ability for non-cisgender kids and people to be themselves among the social enforcing of a gender binary.

“It is a really uncertain time for really young children who are gender non-conforming because of [...] the Trump administration,” Jorjorian said.

“For young kids who maybe don’t fall within the binary or haven’t expressed a crystalized gender yet, then the question is, ‘Do we change the birth certificate? Do we change the passport if we have to move to Canada because they’re coming after our kids? What kind of legal protections do we need to have in place for our kids?’”

The panel members talked about how their families, friends and support networks function as allies. They grappled with the concept of family, as did Mock in her keynote in her speech at the Mondavi Center later that night, explaining how chosen family differs from birth family and how traditional family can often breed toxic invalidation.

“Cultivating a home space and cultivating who’s invited into that homespace, and in turn is invited to know me more deeply, [is important],” Mock said. “I’ve chosen so many [members of my family], and I’ve been so lucky [that] I’ve been able to choose them and embrace them in my everyday.

But, there definitely are people in my life, part of my growing up, who I set boundaries with or no longer engage in that way.”

Mock spoke about opening up the transgender narrative into a human narrative, where non-transgender based topics and themes should involve transgender folks. While accepting the harsh societal reality and danger of being transgender, Mock talked about wanting to explore the successes and triumphs of transgender folks, normalize them and form a narrative beyond the trauma. According to Mock, the fact that “we have to talk about violence all the time” to make people “realize how urgent things are” is problematic.

“People want to hear the statistics, that it’s sad, that we have a hard time — which is real!” Mock said. “But I know my people and myself to be so much more than just the tragedies that happened to us. We’ve always had these hard times, but we’ve also had great resilience and creativity, and we made new networks to take care of ourselves and each other. You can build communities of people who see you fully beyond just the tragedy porn.”

Nelson-Alford explored the power of intersectionality through sheer necessity. Segregating marginalized identities is a scary reality, according to Nelson-Alford.

“There wasn’t space for me to me black, and queer and poor,” Nelson-Alford said. “It was like, ‘Pick one!’ [That’s] one of those things you have to wrestle with when you sit in multiple fields of marginalization.”

Nelson-Alford explored the concept of straight passing, where she is afforded a “great privilege where” she is “not seen as queer.” According to

Jororian, “stealth queer” is something that many women experience and opens up the question of societal presumptions of sexual orientation, appearance, presentation and passing.

When the panelists were asked how they navigate self-care, Talton responded that they learned the best way to take care of themselves is “just to be myself.”

“When I was growing up, it was this narrative that you need to be the respectful black person, you have to do well in school, you have to talk a certain way, dress a certain way,” Talton said. “That restricted how I presented myself to [the] world. How I’ve learned to take

care of myself is just to be myself. Wearing clothes I want. If I wanna dress masculine one day, that’s cool; if I wanna dress femme one day, that’s cool. That doesn’t change my gender.”

Talton talked about the role of agency in presentation in grappling academic and workspace settings as a non-cis person. Talton also discussed they/them pronouns and how it’s “always scary” because “there’s still people who say “that’s not a real thing, that’s plural.”

Talton has combated this through self-acceptance.

“If they actually care about me, then they should be willing to hear what I have to say,” Talton said.

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The series of speeches ended and led into public discussion, with questions posed by the attendees.

“Students are much stronger when they’re working with other students to figure out these problems,” Drew

said. “I think it’s important for students to get involved in student government, students to do their own research, form their own opinions and don’t just assume that someone else out there is looking out for their interest.”

BEYOND STATISTICS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

herself as a poet, spoke more about what she hoped to deliver with the organization’s second zine.

“This is what the zine was for us, to strategically get out our narratives,” Curiel-Allen said. “Some of our goals are obviously advocacy for formerly incarcerated students on campus and system-impacted and visibility [and] eventually to find resources. Also, to have a say in the narrative.”

At the zine release party, Curiel-Allen told attendees about a seminar that Beyond the Statistics will be facilitating in the spring about education as a freedom

to further combat stigmas and break down divisions among students.

Mendoza discussed being in classes at UC Davis and hearing professors speak about criminology and crime rates from an imperial and detached perspective and realizing they were discussing individuals like himself.

“I was never given the opportunity to show what those numbers really look like,” Mendoza said.

In Spring Quarter, members of Beyond the Statistics will have the opportunity to expand their reach with a seminar class about education as a freedom.

SHELTER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

public, but college students as well.

“Take the UC system, for example, report last year — 5 percent of [the] student body, about 250,000 students, are homeless,” Erlenbusch said.

“48 percent of undergraduates and 25 percent [of ] graduates go to class hungry. They are food insecure.

Homelessness and food insecurity are huge issues for college kids.”

AIRPORT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

so easy to use,” Slothower said in an email interview. “We hope to increase the number of passengers flying out of Sacramento International Airport, offer customers more destinations to fly to, and surprise and delight customers

with the services offered by a new common-use lounge.”

According to the air service proposal, which was approved Jan. 9, the airport considered the customers’ best interests.

Compañía Nacional de Danza U.S. PREMIERE! Carmen

Johan Inger’s Carmen is a visionary retelling of the mythic and universal elements of passion and violence. Winning the Benois de la Danse prize for choreography, this contemporary version tells the tale through the eyes of a child with its heroine a courageous and modern woman.

SAT–SUN, MAR 3–4

A Student Rush Event!

STUDENT RUSH

10

$

Tickets!

Available on the day of event (Mar 3 starting at noon or Mar 4 starting at 1PM) in-person at the Mondavi Center Ticket office. Must bring a valid student ID. Limited availability, first come, first served basis.

Leyla McCalla Quartet

Former Carolina Chocolate Drop Leyla McCalla creates music that is steeped in French, Haitian and Creole traditions, and explores issues of social justice and pan-African consciousness.

WED–SAT, FEB 21–24

UC Davis Student tix start at $12.50

Çudamani

Gamelan and Dance of Bali

Open Mic Nights@MC

Enjoy an evening-long voyage into Indonesian culture with Çudamani, one of Bali’s most respected gamelan troupes.

Hosted by CoCo Blossom and DJ Lady Char.

Sign-ups 5:30PM | Open Mic 6PM Perform or support your friends!

SAT, FEB 24

TUE, FEB 20

UC Davis Student tix start at $20

No cover charge

UC Davis students:

• Your first ticket is FREE! • 50% off all tickets, everyday Restrictions apply. See mondaviarts.org/uc-davis-students for details.

14 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

MEDICAL

IRVIN

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The USMLE is produced by the National Board of Medical Examiners, based in Philadelphia. The NBME’s interim communications director Luise Moskowitz discussed the process of how the exam is written and annually reviewed in committees composed of hundreds of scientists, physicians and medical educators from across the globe.

“All ‘item writers,’ as they are called, receive item writing training by NBME before they do work as part of a committee,” Moskowitz said. “The questions are vetted again by an internal review committee, made up of content experts who are also among our most experienced item writers, before being finally approved for inclusion on the USMLE. Existing questions are also regularly reviewed to make sure they are still relevant and accurate.”

Moskowitz also noted that she thinks the UC Davis study will cause some changes to be made in how the test deals with pain.

“As for the [Fishman 2018] pain management study specifically, recommendations were generally favorably received and most of the topics they recommended will be incorporated into future item writing assignments,” Moskowitz said.

Despite the thorough and rigorous USMLE question writing and review process, outside researchers were able to make discoveries about the content of the test of which the NBME was not previously aware.

Fishman’s 2018 study operates under the premise that identifying areas in which the competency level demanded of medical students is lacking is an effective way to tackle the opioid crisis. Young said that she is surprised at how frequently people are quick to simply identify opioids themselves as the biggest part of the problem without looking further “upstream” at other factors, like how medical students are conditioned to conceptualize, recognize and manage pain.

Young acknowledged that even with reforming pain curricula to better reflect the core competencies, there are still additional challenges that can make it difficult to solve the opioid epidemic.

“Big pharma has had a lot of power over the years with so much marketing to doctors and patients,” Young said. “I think people deserve to have knowledge about possible medications, but I think it’s an industry that clearly needs to be looked at every step of the way.”

Young also explained that not every patient’s pain is best treated with pharmaceuticals.

“Sometimes people will think that medications are the only things that can help them, but we are now seeing the benefits of other forms of treatment, like biofeedback therapy,” Young said. “Pain gets in the way of people being able to do their daily life.

Often, people who are in a lot of pain are also quite depressed and [pain and depression] can feed each other, so it can be difficult to know which one to target.”

From speaking with her coworkers, Young has learned that it can be difficult for physicians to properly identify and treat patients.

“I know from colleagues that it is very frustrating when you see someone in pain and you don’t have the tools to help them,” Young said. “Pain tends to slip through the cracks. Knowing how to deal with people who are in pain is so important because almost half of the people who come to a hospital emergency room are there because of pain.”

Young discussed some of the solutions that she hopes will help tackle the problems associated with poor pain education.

“We’ve been developing learning activities to practice working with a team and doing assessments and develop a strategy to manage the pain,” Young said. “For example, there are situations when patient’s pain may be better addressed if the issue is also brought to a psychologist.”

Young also explained how consulting with specialists in other areas has had many benefits in the process of developing better guidelines for teaching pain competency.

“We have had help from people from the vet school to better understand non-verbal communication,” Young said. “This can be crucial with patients who have trouble communicating the nature of their pain, like with people with dementia.”

Allowing medical professionals with different areas of specialization has been an effective way to address existing knowledge gaps.

Dr. David Copenhaver, the director of cancer pain management at UC Davis, facilitates Project ECHO (Extension for Community Health Care Outcomes). For a little over four years, this program has been conducting video mentoring sessions every week, connecting with about 30 clinics across northern California.

“Project ECHO is a program originally out of University of New Mexico,” Copenhaver said. “A physician who was a liver specialist there essentially wanted to work himself out of a job, so he developed a telementoring program to teach others what he knows.”

The idea of “working oneself out of a job” reflects the goal of the program, which is to increase the number of people with specific competencies.

“This study on the USMLE validates the idea that there is awareness of pain, but that we never taught anybody how to treat it,” Copenhaver said.

“Most medical schools currently devote little time to pain medicine in early years of medical school.

This changes the landscape because you can offer better access and more care [and] teach other people to become pain experts.”

Copenhaver explained why he thinks it’s so important for people to be more knowledgeable about pain in order to avoid over-prescribing pain medications.

“In addressing the opioid crisis, one of the things frequently suggested is to just prescribe morphine products more responsibly, but this often translates to just not prescribing it at all, leaving patients without a solution for treating their pain,” Copenhaver said.

In order to avoid these situations and to ensure that the next generation of medical professionals becomes proficient in the core pain competencies, Fishman and Young think that there must be topdown rather than bottom-up change. They expressed their thoughts on driving change in pain education by co-writing a journal article on the topic in 2016.

“Testing competency in pain management is not part of the fundamental examinations required by state agencies for the licensure of health professionals,” Fishman and Young wrote.

Because of this fact, Fishman and Young argue that more educational institutions and medical bodies need to endorse and adopt their core competencies so that they can be enforced from the top down.

“If the external bodies that regulate and direct curricular requirements of professional health schools adopt these goals, then they will be integrated into the curriculum at each health science education institution,” Fishman and Young wrote.

They also argue that there must be some form of accountability to ensure that medical students meet the pain competencies.

“Schools must know that graduates without competency in pain management will struggle to pass their boards and become licensed professionals, as well as jeopardize accreditation for their program or institution,” Fishman and Young wrote. “Individual schools or programs will design their own educational content, training methodologies, and assessment methods as they strive for institutional accreditation, and individual certification and licensure of their graduates.”

Fishman, Young and Copenhaver all made it clear that they think pain is not a topic that can simply be taught thoroughly in a course or two; it needs to be taught alongside all other subject areas.

“It’s about making sure pain is spread across the curriculum,” Young said. “Pain presents different challenges in different contexts.”

JALAPENO CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

the public does not see in a positive light. Kuzay believes that for some people, the problem lies in the abstractness of a project and how detached the research seems from a person’s daily life.

“I’ve maintained for a long time that [this type of project] starts with an idea and ends with a product, just like how we do inventing,” Kuzay said. “We invent new cars, we invent new things, and we also

invent new plants. That’s kind of what we’re doing.

It’s a creative process that people can benefit from.

They can taste it, eat it, see it.”

She thinks a good way to start re-introducing people to plant genetics is to make it appear non-threatening, accessible and personal.

“It’s not something abstract that’s high and lofty,” Kuzay said. “It’s something that anybody could do.”

BIODIVERSITY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

millions of nematodes, it is believed only 3 percent of species have been described. The research collection of nematodes is used to help understand eco-

logical and farming environments, although visitors will also be able to see really big whale intestinal worms.

are reserved for women, so the mindset goes. Any slip-up, as we see with Jansen, is so incredible because it’s both rare and seemingly hostile to the ideal version of manliness.

The repercussions of this masculine apathy may be more pressing than we realize. Male behavior has been under intense scrutiny lately. The 2016 election revealed the widest gender gap between candidates in modern election history, with (white) men swinging rightward in droves. Many famous and powerful men have been exposed as sexual harassers and abusers, ranging from movie moguls like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey to Charlie Rose, the “60 Minutes” icon. Traditional power structures are eroding and new initiatives are introducing more women to fields like STEM, where men have generally dominated. The Women’s March following Donald Trump’s inauguration demonstrated a renewed vitality among women for women. The specificity here (“women’s” and not “men’s”) should be noted.

If men are under the microscope for bad behavior, it’s reasonable to ask where that behavior originates and what effect it has on society. What do we make of a culture that, while allowing men to engage in such egregious abuse and dominance at the expense of women, has a very real issue with the way men are expected to remain emotionally stunted while women are allowed to release their emotions without consequence?

The same culture that has historically preserved male dominance — in certain lines of work, in earnings, in sexual expression — has itself cultivated a system of male emotional repression that’s severely damaging. Sexual assault and harassment may be linked to this facet of masculinity.

“In traditionally masculine ideologies, [men] care about power, dominance, assertiveness and ambition,” Li said. “So if you possess more resources, that means you’re more powerful, you’re more deserving and you’re more manly” in this system.

According to Li, sex is one of these key resources that plays a role in the culture of masculinity. Objectification of women is another.

“It’s like they’re not human,” he said, speaking from the perspective of abusive men. “It’s like they’re my personal property, so I can take them.

I can use them whenever I want, however I want.

And that makes it even worse.”

Of course, men in power aren’t the only examples of a culture that needs to change. While it’s hard to pinpoint the number of normal men — those outside the millionaire suites that come with Hollywood and media fame — who’ve harassed women, it’s easy to reference social expectations that may influence how some men, powerful or otherwise, act toward women. Could emotional apathy be one of the culprits?

Some blueprints of manliness may offer clarity.

Over at dictionary.com (an old favorite that’s been cited before), “manly” is defined as “having qualities traditionally ascribed to men, as strength or bravery.” “The Art of Manliness,” a lifestyle website

catering to men, offers readers advice on dealing with the fact that “modern men are confused about their role and what it means to be an honorable, well-rounded man.”

Beyond the questions raised by how men are now “confused,” these definitions come at a cost. Social expectations of masculinity — aloof, unemotional, angry, violent — coupled with such ingrained dictionary entries are problematic at best. Men have historically used biological strength as a power-enabler, and social consequences ranging from masculine self-interest to violent behavior have been linked to it.

“Manly” men resort to anger instead of sadness, face timidity with violence and balk at showing weakness. “Real” men are Nicksons instead of Jansens. Is it any wonder that sexual violence has been so rampant in such a culture of repression?

There are welcome signs of a changing attitude.

A former chief of police in Newtown, Conn. — site of the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012 — recalled the mental strain on his police officers in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, yet lauded the cultural shift within police departments in coping with tragedy: “It used to be ‘grab a few beers and suck it up.’

Now, we get help.”

Organizations like the Vera Institute of Justice in New York City have dedicated funds for researching the emotional effects of violent crime around young men of color. Helping Men Heal, a nonprofit covering a swath of the Pacific Northwest, provides guidance for men dealing with trauma.

Yet awareness must spread to include not only men accustomed to traumatic experiences or youth exposed to the violence of inner cities, but to men who encounter an expectation of emotional stunting in their day-to-day lives. According to Shao Li, these masculine ideals can even be damaging to mental health.

“For men, it’s not healthy,” Li said. “It’s not good for their mental health, it’s not good for their behavioral health. It’s especially not good for a lot of things. So it requires more work and also more acceptance from both sides, females and males. We both need to be more accepting of males expressing their vulnerability and not to take it as a symbol of weakness.”

If the mental health of men can be affected by social expectations, then we should be willing to explore options to mitigate both the expectations and their effects. Jolena Pacheco, my former colleague at The Aggie, lamented these very problems in a column suggesting that the lack of resources for men in emotional turmoil is a detriment to college campuses and society at large.

Even so, the so-called Harvey Weinstein reckoning has already made its mark. American society is witnessing a mini-revolution that will have profound repercussions on workplace relations, gender relations and sexual equality. This is an admirable step for a society built on imbalanced power structures. The culture of emotional repression needs to change with it.

UAW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

costs of housing across UC campuses and improving availability and affordability of UC housing.”

Ellie White, a member also working with Frankel on the issue of housing while pursuing a Ph.D. in civil engineering, explained the issue of graduate student housing. Solano Park, which is essentially the only housing provided for graduate students by the university, is set to be demolished in 2020 and housing alternatives are not up to par, according to Frankel and White.

“The houses at Orchard Park are getting old, so the university wants to renovate these places,” White said. “The issue that came up back in 2013 and 2014 was that the UC wanted to replace these houses with luxury housing. The same model that we see in West Village, for example, they wanted to apply to family housing.

These are students who [...] are single mothers and single fathers and they are living on the very little stipend that the UC gives to its teaching assistants and graduate student workers.”

Frankel commented that the university does not publicize its budget, so graduate students living at Solano Park do not know if their rent is being used in their best interest.

“In Solano Park, there are close to 300 units here and if you take into consideration the rents that are being paid, it is $2,800,000 that the university is collecting a year from graduate and undergraduate families, give or take, because there might be vacancies and people moving in and out,” Frankel said. “Solano Park has already been paid for. We do know that obviously that money needs to go to maintenance as well as the salaries of the people who are working at Solano Park. However, a good million and a half of that money is probably not needed for Solano Park.

The question is, where is the money going that renters are paying in to the university — renters who many of whom work at the university and attend school here. We know that the money is going into university reserves.”

Describing the way UC Davis uses most of the money it receives from renters in Solano Park, Frankel is concerned about the possibility of pri-

vate ownership of graduate student housing. “[Administration] uses that money [from the university reserves] to create other housing projects with third-party vendors which is essentially what is going to happen here at Solano Park and Orchard Park as well,” Frankel said. “Once these housing projects are in the hands of developers, we have to really question how sensitive developers are going to be to the lives of students who are working and going to school at the same time and who have families.”

White questioned UC Davis’ true commitment to diversity after hitting obstacles with administration when asking about subsidizing rent for graduate students.

“If UC Davis is truly committed to having a more diverse population, then they would pay us a living wage and they would make affordable housing accessible for us,” White said. “But, with their actions, they are telling us ‘We don’t want your kind here.’ What I see is the university sending a clear signal of ‘You’re not welcome here, we want the people who can afford West Village.’”

Miller commented on the reason that she believed the greater Davis community should care about these upcoming negotiations.

“Our working conditions are the learning conditions of undergrads and I think this is something that is really vital to emphasize,” Miller said. “All of the work that our members due is really vital to the success of undergrad students in this university. Graduate students teach a lot of instructional hours in the UC. I think it should definitely matter to undergraduates, because if we’re underpaid, and we’re dealing with depression, and we don’t have access to treatment, and we don’t have childcare and we have to bring our children to work, these all impact undergraduate students and the quality of the education they receive.”

Miller welcomes UC Davis students and community members who want to support the UAW to come to open bargaining meetings. The location and time of these meetings will be announced on the UAW local website and through social media.

15 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

NEW ERA OF WOMEN’S LACROSSE KICKS OFF WITH CLOSE LOSS TO CAL Suzanne Isidor makes head coaching debut for UC Davis in 11-9 loss

BY B RE N DA N O G B U R N sports@theaggie.org

A new era of UC Davis women’s lacrosse began on Friday evening at Aggie Stadium as head coach Suzanne Isidor made her debut as the leader of the Aggies. She is the third head coach of the program in the last six seasons.

On the field, it was a tightly contested, back-and-forth affair for the majority of the evening until visiting California rattled off five consecutive goals midway through the second half, leading to a 11-9 season-opening defeat for UC Davis.

“There were a lot of positives and we did a lot of great things,” Isidor said. “I think we had our opportunities and maybe didn’t capitalize on as many as we should have.”

The Aggies were led by junior midfielder Taylor Cuenin and sophomore attacker Amanda Outcalt, who combined to score all nine of the team’s goals.

“They did a great job,” Isidor said. “They weren’t being stopped, so they had the green light to keep going. Now we need a few more people to step up.”

The game got off to a very physical start, as both teams had a pair of free position attempts in the opening five minutes. The result was a goal for each side, including one from Cuenin, who received a pass in front of the net and quickly fired a shot in traffic to the bottom-right corner.

The Aggies grabbed their first and only lead of the night three minutes later when Outcalt scored on a breakaway to make it 2-1.

California scored two consecutive goals in a span of eight minutes to jump back in front, before Cuenin countered with her second score of the night to tie things up with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half.

After the Golden Bears scored on a second-chance shot, Cuenin once again netted the equalizer on a quick look in front of the net.

It was an action-packed final minute of the first half, starting with a California goal on a free position shot and a UC Davis goal by Outcalt on the same exact play. The Golden Bears snatched the lead on a goal right as the buzzer sounded to signal the end of the half, stealing the momentum heading into the break.

Less than four minutes into the second half, Cuenin tied the score at 6-6 with an unassisted goal.

The Golden Bears went on a tear for the next 16 minutes, scoring five unanswered goals to take a commanding 11-6 lead with 10 minutes to go in regulation.

“They would score and gain the momentum, and then we would come down and get a shot, but not capitalize or turn the ball over,” Isidor said.

DANCE FOR A CAUSE TAKES CENTER STAGE FOR CAMP KESEM

KA IL A MAT T ERA / AG GIE

JUNIOR MIDFIELDERS SHANNON CROSS (19) AND TAYLOR CUENIN (6) CLOSE IN ON A CALIFORNIA ATTACKER DURING FRIDAY’S 11-9 SEASON-OPENING DEFEAT.

“We couldn’t get that momentum back. Had we put one of those goals in, we would’ve stopped the run but we just couldn’t quite get it going.”

A desperate comeback effort by the Aggies in the final seven minutes came up short, despite a pair of goals from Outcalt and one from Cuenin to cut the deficit to two.

“We’re disappointed that we lost, but it’s over and we’re going to take what we can from it and get better,” Isidor said. “If we can keep getting better each game, then we’ll be successful.”

The Aggies will return to action on Friday afternoon in Eugene, Ore. to take on the Oregon Ducks.

RAU L MORA L ES / AG GIE

Released Contemporary Dance Company hosts fourth annual showcase in support of nationwide organization

BY KE N N EDY WA L K E R sports@theaggie.org

On Saturday, Feb. 10, the fourth annual Dance for a Cause showcase stole the spotlight at the Richard Brunelle Performance Hall, just north of UC Davis’ campus. The yearly fundraiser, put on by UC Davis’s Released Contemporary Dance Company, features 10 of the university’s dance groups as well as two special guest performances. The first and second-place winners, chosen by a panel of four judges, get $200 and $100 toward a charity of their choice.

Dance for a Cause supports and raises money for Camp Kesem, an organization that utilizes college students as counselors to put on free summer camps for children whose parents have or have had cancer. Camp Kesem not only allows these children to participate in a unique experience without the stress of financial costs, but it also enables them to have the opportunity to be a part of a community of thousands of kids going through the same situations in their own families. Founded at Stanford University in 2000, Camp Kesem has grown to reach over 100 different universities in 40 states across the United States, and over 100 UC Davis students are involved in the program as camp counselors.

This year, Dance for a Cause was judged by two Camp Kesem campers, a counselor and a former member of RCDC. Junior director of RCDC Hannah Contois expressed why supporting Camp Kesem is so special to her.

“Dance for a Cause gives collegiate dancers the opportunity to perform for a cause greater than just themselves,” Contois said. “We are helping deserving children attend a life-changing summer camp for free, all while doing an activity that

THE NBA’S COLLEGE QUESTION Lavar Ball’s recent escapades rehash league’s treatment of draft eligibility

BY D O M I N I C FA RI A sports@theaggie.org

Lavar Ball, the flamboyant father of Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball, proclaimed to the world this past December of his plans to launch a basketball league dedicated to showcasing the nation’s top high school graduates who want to forgo playing in college. According to a statement that he shared with SLAM online, Ball is calling this league the Junior Basketball Association. It will be sponsored by his basketball apparel company, Big Baller Brand, and players who participate in his league will have the chance to be paid up to $10,000 a month.

As the Big Baller Brand CEO, Ball has been known for his opinionated personality and often unusual approach to managing the basketball careers of his three sons. Soon after his JBA announcement, Ball decided to pull both of his younger sons from school so that they could play professionally in Lithuania. He removed his middle son, LiAngelo, from UCLA after the 19-year-old was detained for shoplifting during a team trip to China. Ball’s youngest, 16-year-old LaMelo, will also be forfeiting his collegiate eligibility by going pro overseas.

Do not be alarmed; this is not just another clickbait piece detailing Lavar Ball’s unconventional antics in order to satisfy your cravings for sensationalist reporting. Instead, Ball’s dream of a Junior Basketball Association plugs in to a much broader discussion about an issue that the NBA has been struggling with for decades: the rules of draft eligibility.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver, in his annual press conference before the NBA Finals this past June, admitted that “a change” to the minimum age requirement in the NBA’s draft eligibility rules is needed. Silver, although he did not completely shut down the possibility of lowering the age minimum, is with the belief that the minimum draft eligible age should be raised to at least 20 years in order to appease both NBA teams and collegiate athletic directors who are unhappy with the current guidelines.

Silver’s position is understandable. By raising the age minimum above 19, the commissioner hopes to see more young stars staying at least an extra year at their respective collegiate programs. To the NBA

we are passionate about. There is nothing more rewarding than looking out into an audience of our friends and peers and knowing that we are making a difference in the lives of so many children and families.”

On top of supporting an organization that’s very active in UC Davis’ community, Dance for a Cause allows many of the university’s dance organizations to showcase the routines they have been diligently working on all year. The performances feature a diverse range of styles of dance, spanning from hip hop to ballet to hula.

In addition to performing in support of Camp Kesem, the participating dance teams put on their own shows throughout the course of the year. Fourth-year biological sciences major Brooke Neville shared warm remarks about her group, Na Keiki ‘O Hawai’i — UC Davis’ Polynesian club that specializes in hula and Tahitian dance.

“My favorite thing about this organization are the people involved and the sense of family — ohana — we have,” Neville said. “I always look forward to seeing everyone at practices and socials.”

Na Keiki ‘O Hawai’i’s dance chair, Misa Vasquez, a fourth-year human development major, also expressed her fondness for the program.

“For me, hula is therapeutic and a creative outlet, so I appreciate having a break from school, studying and internships,” Vasquez said. “I also love the people in the club. Everyone is unique and offers something different to the club, but one thing we all have in common is our love for dance. Giving back to the community is important to me, and it’s awesome that I can do what I love for a great cause.”

The event’s host group, RCDC, focuses mainly on perfecting the technical elements of contemporary dance and features dancers of many different stylistic backgrounds, including jazz and ballet. The group strives to bring the culture and

coaches and general managers who are critical of the current requirements, an additional season of college experience, in their opinion, will allow players to enter the draft better prepared to play at the professional level. They believe that the current one-anddone college standouts are not ready for the NBA. College coaches and athletic directors share the same position. From their perspective, there are several benefits that coincide with forcing players to stay an additional year. A primary argument that proponents of raising the draft eligibility age make is that it will allow student-athletes to be more focused in the classroom and gain motivation to continue their education beyond just one year. But the bigger concern for AD’s lies in the on-court product rather than academic achievement. With high-caliber players staying in the college game longer, the excitement and attractiveness of play would improve across the board. Programs will also experience more sustained success from year-to-year, likely leading to increased attendance and higher television ratings, which ultimately bolsters the profits for the college athletic programs. None of those profits will go to the athletes themselves.

Ball’s JBA, on the other hand, represents the opposing school of thought that favors a lower minimum age requirement with an option for players to get paid for their talents right out of high school.

Ever since the NBA changed its draft eligibility rules in 2007, critics have disagreed with requiring players to be one year removed from their high school graduations. This effectively forced top high school prospects to either play in college for at least one year or search for limited professional opportunities outside of the United States.

The vast majority of players choose the college route, and for good reason. Playing for a well-known, highly televised college program gives young players the most exposure to NBA scouts while competing against the nation’s best. The college game, boosted by an exciting, single-game elimination postseason, is extremely popular during the month of March.

Cinderella story upsets and the passion of fan-bases across the country is what helps fuel the March Madness fire. Who among the most recent crop of basketball talent would not want to be a part of the NCAA tournament atmosphere?

The truth is, there are plenty of recent high school graduates who are less inclined to continue their education and would rather seek financial compensation for their abilities on the court. Why pursue a degree when you know you could get paid doing something that requires no degree at all? Nevertheless, NCAA basketball has become the NBA’s primary development league without costing professional

basketball a dime.

The NCAA, on the other hand, actually makes a quite a bit of money off the product put together by its student-athletes. In April of 2016, the NCAA extended its March Madness multimedia deal with CBS Sports and Turner Broadcasting to 2032. The deal totals $8.8 billion over eight years (2024 to 2032), meaning that the NCAA stands to gain just over one billion dollars per tournament on top of merchandising and ticket sales. In the announcement of this deal, the NCAA made the assurance that “more than 90 percent” of the deal’s revenue will be “used to benefit college athletes” in some way, shape or form.

Even ignoring the outcries from critics who find the NCAA’s supposed commitment to re-investing in student-athletes dubious, that still leaves the NCAA with a cool $100 million profit –– more than enough to provide some direct monetary compensation to its athletes. Indeed, student-athletes are given generous scholarships that cover the vast majority of tuition and housing costs. But from an economic standpoint, many student-athletes find that the opportunity cost of forgoing the wages they would be making at the professional level is too high. Given the chance, many of these athletes would much rather go pro and get paid than remain an amateur, spending time in a classroom working toward an unwanted degree.

Once again, enter Lavar Ball and his Junior Basketball Association. It may not seem like the most feasible idea given Ball’s history with wild proclamations and relatively limited business experience, but one can not deny its appeal. High school hoops are already receiving more national television coverage than ever before, so the idea of freshly graduated players participating in a highly competitive league ran by one of the country’s most eccentric celebrities is not a ridiculous concept. If Ball could actually pull together the funding to make this league happen, it does not appear that securing a television deal would be difficult to accomplish.

Regardless of whether this league comes to fruition or not, it is already providing the framework for a future solution to the NBA’s college question. Ball’s brainchild has the potential to garner a robust viewership, one that could rival that of the NBA’s G-League. Formerly known as the NBA Development League (or D-League), the rebranded G-League –– named because of a sponsorship deal with Gatorade –– is the NBA’s official minor league.

Currently, each of the 26 teams in the G-League is affiliated with one of the 30 NBA franchises. Rules do not prohibit 18-year-olds from being drafted into the G-League, but it is certainly a rarity for players

beauty of contemporary dance to the Davis community. Fourth-year neurobiology, physiology, and behavior major and the company’s director Marisa Pedroso reflected on her favorite element of RCDC. “I love the bond each and every team member has with one another,” Pedroso said. “I truly feel like we are all there for each other through different highs and lows, and it is such a cool thing to be a part of. We all share such a deep passion for dance, and I love that we all get to move together, laugh together, and just be together.”

Contois also shared her fond sentiments about RCDC. “Without a doubt, my favorite thing about being in the company is having the opportunity to be around such a strong group of women,” Contois said. “All of our members are not only dedicated to the art of dancing, but also their academics, jobs, volunteer work, and other clubs [...] they are a part of. Seeing how determined the women in our organization are encourages me to take on responsibility and work harder in all areas of my life.”

This year, Dance for a Cause raised over $3,000 for Camp Kesem, and Davis Ballet Company was given the first-place nod at the end of the night. Pedroso shared some final remarks about performing for a deserving cause.

“I just really love getting to combine my passion for dance with my passion for helping others, and I think that all of the amazing girls on my company feel the same,” Pedroso said. “We get to do our favorite thing in the world while raising money for a good cause; there really is no other feeling like it.”

PU B L IC DOMA IN

to enter the minor leagues directly from high school.

The G-League has experienced significant changes and growth since it was founded in 2001, and in many instances it has come a long way. In the league’s most recent attempt to increase viewership and exposure, it finalized an online streaming media rights deal with Eleven Sports last month. But despite all of the developments, the G-League is still far from being a significant developmental alternative to the college game. For that, the NBA’s minor league will need significant financial restructuring and expansion so that it will be able to take on the costs of bigger salaries and television contracts more comparable to the NBA standard.

The way things stand at this moment in time, the JBA, if set up properly, could easily compete with the G-League by offering a superior product. Basketball lovers would salivate watching the young, untamed stars of tomorrow’s NBA compete against one another on a nationally-televised stage, promoted by Lavar himself. Players would be pleased to be compensated for their talents without being weighed down by the NCAA’s strict rules and regulations.

This change to the basketball status quo is by no means perfect. It might be unlikely that a league like the JBA will produce players that are more ready to enter the NBA than their college counterparts. On the other hand, the concept of a semi-professional league for high school graduates could become so popular that its existence becomes legitimately detrimental to NCAA basketball, maybe not at big conference schools, but certainly in smaller divisions.

Maybe Ball’s JBA will succeed, maybe similar leagues will blow up later down the road. Perhaps even the NBA will augment its minor league system to take on and pay younger players who do not want to go to college before they are draft eligible. What’s important is that young ballers who are hoping for a career in professional basketball are finally getting their cries for a more viable college alternative seriously considered by those who have the most control over the future of sport.

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