Influential textiles engineering professor
Ning Pan passes at 72
Pan received a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Textile Engineering in China before working at UC Davis
BY ROBIN FRANKLIN campus@theaggie.org
UC Davis Distinguished Professor Emeritus Ning Pan, known for his contributions in textile engineering, passed away on Sept. 7. Pan’s research included work on advancing the engineering of fibrous materials and the applications of nanotechnology in energy storage. He was 72 years old.
Pan joined UC Davis in 1990 and started teaching as a full-time professor in 1999. He was an active faculty member in both the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAE), where he ended his career, and within the now discontinued Textile and Clothing major. He retired from teaching in 2021.
According to his department, Pan’s death was related to ongoing health issues.
In a statement sent to members of the campus community, UC Davis BAE Chair and Professor Fadi Fathallah recognized his contributions and service to the university.
“Professor Pan was deeply
respected as a teacher, mentor and colleague, guiding generations of students with dedication and kindness,” Fathallah said. “His scienti c achievements and personal impact will continue to in$uence the eld for years to come.” Pan was born in Xining, China in
1953. He earned his Masters of Science in Textile Engineering from Donghua University in Shanghai, China and later earned his Ph.D. there in 1985. He was the rst individual to earn a doctorate degree in that eld in the country, according to his longtime colleague and friend Professor Gang Sun. Pan went on
A surge in deportation efforts impacts communities
UC Davis students describe the emotional and situational tolls that immigrant communities face
!e UC Davis Fire Department has o cially sworn in Nathaniel Hartinger, a department mainstay and UC Davis alum, as re chief. For over 25 years, Hartinger has served the campus, aiding in hazard prevention training and the cultivation of new university programs.
“I’m incredibly proud and honored to be sworn in as the 7th re chief of the UC Davis Fire Department,” Hartinger said via email. “Looking back to my start as a student re ghter over 25 years ago, I never could have imagined that I would one day be leading the department!” Hartinger graduated from UC Davis and holds dual degrees in sociology and communication. He began working as a student re ghter as an undergraduate and later worked himself through every rank in the department, including captain, battalion chief and deputy chief. During that time, he was involved in founding the UC Davis Emergency Medical Technician certification program and Health 34, the 24-hour
mental health support unit. As chief, he will be responsible for overseeing these programs, alongside traditional fire services and the department’s almost 60 employees. Hartinger brings a fresh start for the fire department following the indictment of his immediate predecessor Nathan Trauernicht over allegations of misappropriation of public funds last year. Alongside his former Executive Assistant Meagan McFadden, Trauernicht has since been charged in the case.
!e Davis Enterprise has reported, based on search warrant a davits that !e California Aggie has not been able to obtain or verify, that Trauernicht approved fraudulent timesheets over a two-year period that resulted in $42,000 in overtime pay for McFadden. Hartinger has been serving in the role on an interim basis since Trauernicht left the position last October; his o cial swearing-in ceremony took place on Aug. 11.
In a press release announcing Hartinger’s promotion, Chancellor
Gary May commended his dedication to the university.
“Chief Hartinger’s leadership re$ects the best of UC Davis — a commitment to service, a collaborative spirit and a deep love for this community,” May said. “His experience and heart are unmatched, and I’m grateful to have someone of his caliber protecting our campus.”
Hartinger told !e Aggie that he is aiming to get the department more involved in the campus community, and he invites students to say hello to him and other members of his team should they see them doing outreach on-campus — including at sporting events or at new student Moove-in.
“I am so thankful to be surrounded by amazing people at UCD Fire,” Hartinger said. “Our student and career employees are what make our department such an exceptional place to work and are what drive our excellence in delivering service to our community. Talented people are the building blocks of any great department.”
to be a visiting scholar at San Francisco State in 1988 and a postdoctoral associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1990.
One of his most influential contributions in the textiles sector was his invention of the PhabrOmeter, a device for measuring drape and wrinkle
resistance in materials. A copy of the device — which is now widely used in the industry — can be found in Pan’s former lab in Everson Hall.
Alongside his wife, Linda Huang, Pan founded the company Nu Cybertek Inc., which uses the PhabrOmeter to measure fabric quality, according to startup news site Grit Daily. Throughout his life, Professor Pan published more than 200 scholarly papers and was cited in peer reviewed papers 7,533 times, per his UC Davis faculty page. Pan’s work resulted in several awards for his research; he was selected as a Fellow of the Textile Institute and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
He was also honored with the NASA Tech Briefs Nano 50 Award and holds an honorary doctorate from the Technical University of Liberec in the Czech Republic. Aside from his wife, Pan was survived by his daughter, Katherine Pan. His family could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
Beth Bourne undressed to bikini at Davis school board meeting
The Yolo County Chapter Chair of Moms for Liberty stripped to protest locker room policies at Davis middle schools
BY JORDAN POLTORAK city@theaggie.org
At the Sept. 18 Davis Joint Uni ed School District (DJUSD) school board meeting, Yolo County Chapter Chair of Moms for Liberty Beth Bourne removed her clothing and stripped to a bikini. She did so in order to express her thoughts about the policies around locker rooms at Davis middle schools.
!e policy she was protesting at the latest school board meeting is regarding “CA’s insane self-ID gender identity policies,” according to Bourne’s post on X.
“Right now we require our students to undress for [physical education] class,” Bourne said. “I’m just going to give you an idea of what that looks like when I undress.”
Bourne then proceeded to remove her top and pants, revealing a bikini underneath.
“Right now, this school district says [that] depending on a child’s transgender identity, they can pick which bathroom they want,” Bourne said.
At which point Elizabeth Moon, a trustee, told Bourne this was not allowed.
!e board decided to take a recess upon which Bourne claimed they had violated her First Amendment rights
by not allowing her to nish her public comment.
After the initial recess, Bourne returned with her clothes back on.
“May I ask what I did to disrupt the meeting?” Bourne said.
School Board Vice President Hiram Jackson did not answer and continued the meeting.
“You can start your public comment,” Jackson said.
Once again, Bourne removed her shirt and revealed her bathing suit top, to which the board called another recess and got up from their seats. After this recess, the board returned, and Bourne was no longer standing at the podium.
Bourne currently serves as the Chapter Chair for Moms for Liberty in Yolo County. !is organization is “dedicated to the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government” according to their website.
!is is not the rst time that Bourne has expressed her views about LGBTQ+ policies within DJUSD. In October 2023, a temporary restraining order was led against her by the district for targeting teachers that displayed Pride $ags in their classrooms, according to the article.
DJUSD has yet to respond when asked for comment on the events at the latest school board meeting.
Police in riot gear stand behind Beth Bourne as she shouts at protestors. (Aggie File)
UC Davis Professor Ning Pan, whose work focused on textile engineering, died in early September at age 72. (Courtesy of
UC Davis Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents lead an arrested man into a vehicle. ICE increased enforcement operations across the country in summer 2025. (Creative Commons, CC0)
As the school year begins, construction at the Death Star and across campus continues
A look at the ongoing AB94 Seismic Improvement project and the changes coming to one of UC Davis’ most iconic buildings
BY AALIYAH ESPAÑOLRIVAS campus@theaggie.org
e Social Sciences and Humanities Building, one of the most architecturally confusing landmarks at UC Davis according to students, continues to be under construction as the 2025-2026 school year gets underway. Referred to by many as the “Death Star,” it is one of six sites on campus involved in structural and seismic construction as part of the ongoing AB94 Seismic Improvement Project, which uses state funding from the 2013-2014 Budget Act (California Assembly Bill 94) to fund needed improvements.
According to Sandra Mott, associate director of Major Capital Projects for UC Davis Design and Construction Management and main project manager for the AB94 program, the main objectives of the project include safety and general improvements in accordance with UC Seismic Safety Policy.
“The primary project goals are seismic strengthening, $re and life safety upgrades, accessibility improvements and [polishing] things up a little wherever we can,” Mott said.
Other project sites include Jungerman Hall, the Mann Laboratory, Young Hall, Voorhies Hall and the Sprocket Building. Some construction, including at the Mann site and at Jungerman Hall, has already been completed.
e Death Star improvements are the biggest endeavor of the project; Construction began in fall 2024 and is slated for completion in spring 2026. Improvements to the building — which houses the departments of History, Economics, Sociology, Philosophy and the o ces of the College of Letters and Sciences — will cost $25 million.
e construction will also result in the most cosmetic changes of any of the sites in the larger AB94 project. According to Mott, the area that previously featured a large stair pit — located directly across from the A Street Field — will be replaced with a plaza.
“There’s a lot of construction activity happening at the North facade of the building,” Mott said. “But the good news is that there’s new paving,
sidewalks and a pit in$ll where the pit stairs were.”
Additionally, construction fences have obstructed one of the two lanes on the North Quad bike path that intersects with A Street. e bike path is a huge area of concern,” Mott said. “We’re working on it [on a daily basis] with campus partners [...] to try and $gure out how we can make that area the safest possible until it opens again.”
For some returning students, like second-year biological sciences major Uchena Nekes, the construction has proven to be an inconvenience.
“It’s bad,” Nekes said. “I almost get run over by so many bikes every time I’m walking. [Pedestrians] need a bigger space.”
Kai Dodd, a second-year biology major, also communicated her displeasure with the construction, citing biker and pedestrian inattentiveness as a cause for concern.
“Nobody listens to the signs. People
An interview with former ASUCD President Gaius Ilupeju
Ilupeju reflects on historical ASUCD firsts, expansion on basic needs and election reform
BY AALIYAH ESPAÑOL-RIVAS campus@theaggie.org
Associated Students of the University of California, Davis (ASUCD) President Gaius Ilupeju’s 2024-2025 term was nothing if not eventful. Reports about alleged election misconduct and inter-ASUCD power struggles, plus a contested student election this past spring, has marked a challenging term. But, during his time as head of the student government, Ilupeju was a strong advocate for students’ basic needs and reform in the Executive O ce.
Ilupeju sat down with The California Aggie on June 5, 2025 near the end of his term to discuss his time in ASUCD and where he hopes the leaders of the student body will move going forward.
Below is a transcript of Ilupeju’s interview with e California Aggie, edited for length and clarity.
Q: Going o of $nalities, today is your $nal Senate meeting. How are you feeling about the ASUCD and what you all have accomplished this quarter and year?
Ilupeju: I’ve been [in ASUCD] since my $rst year, and the reason I’ve stuck around is because year after year, I haven’t seen the fundamental changes that I believe should be made to make ASUCD a more studentcentric organization that actually serves students, rather than talk about how it can serve students. I feel like this is the $rst year since my time here that
we’ve actually hit that goal, truly being student-centric in the programs and initiatives that we’re o ering.
I think I’m gonna be able to step away from the job with a lot of peace, clarity and pride in what we were able to accomplish this year.
Q: How was it being the ASUCD President? How would you describe your term?
Ilupeju: It’s honestly been the most anxiety-inducing and most rewarding experience I’ve ever had. ere were many weeks when I came into this o ce excited for what could be done, but instead I was faced with student government drama here and there, or administrative di culties with campus leadership. But overall, I think most days I came into o ce realizing that we had a really cool opportunity to get something done that day, or that week we had hit campaign goals. Sometimes I run into students, and I don’t expect them to know who I am. I think we’ve done more on the [communications] end this year.
just put on their headphones and don’t pay attention,” Dodd said. “People are almost getting hit, then they’re getting yelled at and it’s a constant problem. People are getting annoyed and frustrated — it’s scary.”
As of time of publication, the one open bike lane can be utilized by pedestrians, while the sidewalk next to it can be used by bikers. e bike path is scheduled to fully reopen by the end of November.
Incoming students have also found the obstructions confusing to navigate as they acclimate to campus. Isabelle Corona, a $rst-year chemistry major, expressed concern about student safety given the new routes.
“I’m worried about the pedestrians and people getting in [my] way, or even crashing into me,” Corona said. “Students are not being attentive to the signs so bikes and people are using the same path.”
In the meantime, campus o cials call on students to remain aware of the
signage surrounding the impacted area and slow down while on bicycles. In addition, Aggie Host Security O cers will be posted at each end of the bike path in order to aid students with the redirectioning for the $rst few weeks of the school year.
“I’m all for improving infrastructure, but I don’t think it’s okay [when it] come[s] at the cost of student daily life, especially if it’s not going to get done anytime soon,” Dodd said.
Other project sites
Meanwhile, Voorhies Hall continues to be under construction, which began in spring 2025. The building saw the demolition of its perimeter, and remained closed from June through Sept. 12. e building, which houses the English department, Medieval and Early Modern Studies and the University Writing Program (UWP), will see upgrades continue until June 2026. Young Hall enhancements advance
with the recent closure of the southern side of the building in late August. Construction began in spring 2025 and is slated to end in summer 2026. e Sprocket Building, which housed the Food Science and Technology Department before the opening of the Robert Mondavi institute, will see work done through spring 2026. Ultimately, while ensuring the stability and long-term health of these buildings is the main priority, Mott and the design team hope that students will come to appreciate the more structural and visual e ects of their work. e main goal of this project is student safety,” Mott said. “But we also hope that everyone will notice the beauti$cation that we’re trying to get done.”
Full information regarding ongoing Seismic Improvement Projects can be found on the UC Davis and Construction Management website.
News Explainer: What is ASUCD? A guide to UC Davis’ student government and its units
BY VINCE BASADA campus@theaggie.org
For both new students and those returning, the $ve-letter entity ASUCD may prove confusing in its purpose and its logo’s diverse presence on campus: from mental health posters to bus maps. With a budget of $22 million for the 2025-26 academic year, it’s worth taking the time to understand both what ASUCD is and what it can do for you. Firstly, the Associated Students of the University of California Davis (ASUCD, or the Association), acts as both an employer of and governing body for the student population. It has two sides: the elected and highly appointed student o cials who allocate funds and oversee the organization as a whole and the individual units that provide events and services for the student population. Its work can be broadly categorized into four pillars: basic needs/services, advocacy, media and social. On the government side are the three ASUCD branches: Executive, Legislative and Judicial. Led by ASUCD President Amrita Julka, the Executive O ce is the highest representative for all student body a airs. Julka serves as the Association’s CEO, appointing students to oversee internal and external operations as well as a controller to oversee the budget. e Executive O ce also works with some special units; for example, the Student Advocate O ce helps represent students accused of academic misconduct.
e ASUCD Senate is the main student legislative body meeting weekly
to allocate student funds to units and pass legislation on behalf of the student body. It consists of 12 elected senators, two additional voting members – the international and transfer student representatives — and a handful of other student o cers. The California Aggie covers these meetings, which are also open to the general public, providing coverage of important legislation and developments relevant to the student body. Additionally, senators host o ce hours and meetings for individual undergraduates to bring questions to them individually. Under the Senate are a handful of student commissions and committees that help consult on legislation, including the Environmental and Policy Planning and Gender and Sexuality Commissions. Senators are elected twice a year: once in fall quarter and again in spring quarter. e spring voting also serves as the election for the o ce of the ASUCD President and top executive o cials. e Judicial Branch consists of the six justices of the Judicial Council, tasked with reviewing legislation to ensure compliance with the ASUCD Constitution. ey also occasionally hold hearings when ASUCD o cials are accused of misconduct and failing to perform their duties, such as overseeing executive impeachments.
On a daily basis, it is the serviceproviding units which students interact with the most. Some of the most popular are: Unitrans, the bus transit system that runs throughout the city of Davis; the Co ee House (or CoHo) that
works to sell food at a ordable prices; the Pantry, the on-campus food bank; the Entertainment Council, which puts on concerts and music festivals, including Sunset Fest and Lawntopia; and Picnic Day, which organizes the yearly open house of the same name. Units each have directors and a team of paid sta ers, though larger units also rely on volunteers for their operations. e California Aggie and KDVS 90.3 FM, the student radio station, are also ASUCD units, though they are managed and organized independently. Units also make up the bulk of the ASUCD employee population; as of time of publication, the ASUCD vacancy site notes that over 1,000 students are employed at some level in the organization. Altogether, the Association employs more students than any other department at UC Davis. While the inner workings of ASUCD are complex in their vastness, the resources and opportunities they provide are also expansive and widereaching. Few university student governments are as comprehensive or as centralized, and fewer can say they employ students as both bus drivers and concert organizers. ose interested in learning more about their student government or working for an ASUCD unit can visit the ASUCD website for more information.
Editor’s Note: A version of this article originally appeared in last year’s Orientation issue, printed on Sept. 24, 2024, under the headline, “ASUCD — What is it?” It has since been updated with current information and new details.
Students walk past construction at the Social Sciences and Humanities Building, also known as the Death Star, which is currently undergoing renovations. (Aggie File)
Former ASUCD President Gaius Ilupeju. (Aggie File)
Davis City Council and Social Services Commission review homelessness systems of care
Future steps are discussed to ensure the continuity of services for the Daytime Homeless Respite Center
BY KATYA OKS city@theaggie.org
On Sept. 16, the Davis City Council held a meeting to review and discuss future steps concerning the future of the Davis Daytime Homeless Respite Center, which “provides services including laundry, food, showers, telephone, transportation arrangements [...] [and] case management, medical referrals and employment and housing resources” to the Davis homeless population, according to the city of Davis website.
The city council meeting was held in order to “provide feedback to staff on securing a service provider and/or potential locations for Davis Daytime Respite Center services,” according to the Davis City Council Agenda for the Sept. 16 meeting. This step was taken because the current provider (Downtown Streets Team) is ceasing operations on Oct. 31.
The meeting included a staff presentation, a public comment section for concerned and impacted individuals and the commissioners’ and council’s discussion of next steps.
Before the staff presentation, Vice Mayor Donna Neville clarified the purpose and goals of the meeting.
“I want to be very clear that when the Downtown Streets Team stops operations at the respite center on Oct. 31, we want the city to have a very clear plan in place for ensuring continuity of services,” Neville said.
Neville also clarified why temporarily closing the current location of the respite center is being considered.
“What I think some folks may not realize when not at the Respite Center on a regular basis is the physical state of the actual infrastructure [...] itself,” Neville said. “It’s not a place where
people can go to do their laundry — it doesn’t offer that service now because the water pressure hasn’t been sufficient for that purpose for about four months.
Not all the showers are even functioning now, there are 88 compliance issues, there is no shade. It’s not a place that is really conducive to true respite that offers the kind of compassionate care that we would like to see offered for the people in our community.”
“So I want to be just super clear with everyone: we want to continue services, but we don’t see that location as the ideal place,” Neville said.
The meeting then transitioned into the presentation of “Social Services Commission: Subcommittee Report and Discussion” and “Landscape Assessment and Community Navigator Proposal,” submitted by Commissioners Judy Ennis and Chris Ringer.
The presentation highlighted four of their priority findings, including a “high need for shelter of all types, lack of consistent access to mental health professionals, lack of access to
Community Carnival brings music, games and food to Davis
Local vendors and nonprofits join together for a day of family fun and entertainment
BY ALMA CULVERWELL city@theaggie.org
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis (UUCD) held their third annual Davis Community Carnival on Sunday, Sept. 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the UUCD campus.
The event was free and open to the public of all ages and hosted attractions including live music, carnival games, bounce houses, a water slide and food vendors. Additionally, the event featured booths from local nonprofits, and attendees were encouraged to bring non-perishable food donations for the STEAC food drive.
Special guests for the event included Pine Trails Ranch, Davis Local Vocals, Zim Cuisine and Kona Ice. Pine Trails Ranch brought a horse and a pony for children to meet and pet, offering both a fun activity and a gentle introduction to
“The kids are sometimes uncertain at first and then become more relaxed and confident and find they really enjoy petting the horses. Horses have a great ability to reduce stress and encourage us to be calm.”
Kona Ice also joined in the festivities, serving shaved ice to attendees throughout the afternoon.
Nancy Saechao of Kona Ice described her experience working the event.
“It was a pleasure serving at the event,” Saechao said. “The people were friendly and welcoming.”
Similar to Pine Trails Ranch, Kona Ice viewed the carnival as an opportunity to encourage community members to come together.
“I see Kona as a community builder: bringing people together while enjoying a shaved ice,” Saechao said. “What better way to have fun while keeping
Karen Gill, director of Redbud Montessori, explained the school’s involvement in the event. Currently enrolling up to 36 children, Redbud Montessori operates as a full-day, fiveday per week program for children ages 3 to 6. The school employs eight teachers, five of whom are Redbud Montessori-trained, and offers a sevenweek summer camp.
“We did face painting for the children that attended the carnival,” Gill said. “We had six teachers present who face painted and talked with the families about our school. Parents were kind and attentive.”
Beyond the booth, Redbud Montessori staff also appreciated the overall energy present at the carnival. Gill commented on this sentiment.
“I loved the calm, beautiful atmosphere of the carnival,” Gill said.
CITYCOUNCIL on 9
An introduction to thrifting in Davis
A quick guide to some of Davis’ many vintage, thrift and secondhand shops
BY GIA LOOMIS city@theaggie.org
While clothing trends are everchanging, thrifting seems to be the one fashion fad that sticks. Among Gen Z, thrift and vintage store shopping popularity has skyrocketed, resulting in a high demand for unique secondhand shops and collections.
Thrifting, which was originally driven by financial necessity, used to be regarded with an air of taboo. However, the idea of thrifting has shifted drastically over the years. Today, shoppers view it as a way to fight fast fashion and work towards sustainable shopping practices. Younger consumers are increasingly choosing secondhand shopping as a way to limit the environmental stressors of fast fashion, while also satisfying their desire to find unique, one-of-a-kind pieces. Given thrifting’s reputation for sustainability, affordability and unique finds, Gen Zers can’t get enough — and Davis’ student population is no exception. With the growing trend of secondhand shopping, combined with Davis’ younger, college-age demographic, the city has accumulated a fair share of thrift shops over the years. Beginning in 2012, Davis welcomed one of its first small-business thrift shops, Bohéme. Serving as a boutique thrift store aimed at providing affordable and sustainable clothing, Bohéme filled a void in Davis for a buy/sell secondhand clothing store. Bohéme is a great spot to find unique yet cost-effective pieces of clothing and accessories, as most of
Yesterday Vintage storefront located on E Street in Downtown Davis. (Andrew Huang / Aggie) PRESENTED
Community Park in Davis, CA, where the third annual Davis Community Carnival was held on Sept. 14, 2025. (Aggie File)
Davis City Council meeting in the Community Chambers. (Aggie File)
Home away from home
Exploring why place identity makes college towns sites of mixed emotions
BY VIOLET ZANZOT
vmzanzot@ucdavis.edu
One of the most eye-opening conversations I’ve had occurred in my sophomore year at Davis, in passing with a stranger. We were discussing our feelings about Davis; She said she found the town to be interesting because everyone is so friendly, but that she got tired from smiling at people all day. I was shocked.
Apparently an Alabama girl (me) and a Boston girl (her) had very di erent takes on the characters in our shared college town. As a person who grew up smiling and waving often and chatting with people I passed on the street, I didn’t nd Davis locals to be particularly familiar.
e distinction in our varying perspectives on Davis enlightened me. A truth hiding in plain sight: We are who we are because of where we are from, and our perspectives on new things will be forever shaped by the places we have grown accustomed to.
Starting college for me, and I imagine for most, was a signi cant transition. I knew moving across the country would create a sense of unrest, as I was so far from family and friends, but I had no idea just how far I would feel from everything I know to be “normal.”
Moving to a new town introduces the realization that every place has its own individual culture. For people that move around their whole lives, each new space may introduce a new sense of community.
e reason college is speci cally
unique is because everyone is operating based on the knowledge they built o of their own unique hometowns. I think this is what makes it so di cult but also so special — it’s essentially a bunch of people with very di erent place identities coming together into a new space with its own culture.
e idea of place identity, broadly, indicates that our personality, mannerisms and worldviews are shaped by where we are from. As I made the road trip to Davis last summer, I realized that in every place I stopped, people seemed di erent. Sizes of towns vary, demographic make-ups vary, geographic features vary — and yet, it wasn’t intuitive to me that this would make the people who populate all those places vary too.
ere are towns that rely on farming to live, cities that are mostly made up of young people, municipalities with just two roads and others with upwards of two thousand — these features build ways of life. While some people grow up best friends with their neighbors, others may never know them. When we come to college, the thing that brings us together is rarely where we come from.
For me, I didn’t know how to appreciate feeling so culturally out of place: that is, until I realized that we all feel out of place while simultaneously sharing an identity — as students, we are integral to creating the culture of the space we inhabit now. So, why is it so hard to feel like a true part of a new community?
COLLEGEIDENTITY on 9
‘For the good of the people’
A nation divided, unified by hate
BY NEVAEH KARRAKER nakarraker@ucdavis.edu
Political violence is taking hold of our nation.
On June 14, 2025, Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman was assassinated in her own home, along with her husband Mark and their golden retriever Gilbert. ree months later, on Sept. 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk was assassinated during a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) debate at Utah Valley University.
Kirk, the founding activist of TPUSA, is known for boldly debating confrontational topics rooted in Christian and conservative ideals. His death sparked both celebration and deep grief, highlighting a stark divide across the nation.
e question of whether or not he deserved it is at the center of a common quarrel, yet that exact train of thought is what keeps our nation so divided. When we become too focused on who’s more right — the “us or them” mindset, Democrat or Republican — we end up forgoing the life of another human being and even cheering for their demise.
is is exactly what our system craves.
By “the system,” I mean the government principles and political agenda subtly instituted within our country. It is independent of political parties, yet takes advantage of their polarization to play them as pawns in its diplomatic game.
is isn’t about Liberals vs. Conservatives, Black vs. white or rich vs. poor: this is the system against the people. It thrives on division. By deliberately tearing the nation in half, it clears the path for brutality, racism and violence. Being ignorant of this division keeps us conquered — it keeps us manipulated, and it keeps us controlled. at is the agenda of the system: control.
e people in power manage the system and will use this current dispute to its advantage to further separate the chasm. Because the larger the gap between us, the more we ght each other instead of working collectively to dismantle their illusions of power and order.
By no means am I suggesting that we disregard the horri c tragedies that constantly occur in the United States or foreign countries, such as
Immigration officials can now racially profile people
It’s time to pay attention more than before
BY SABRINA FIGUEROA
sfigueroaavila@ucdavis.edu
e United States Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) decision to allow racial pro ling in immigration raids should be alarming for everyone, not just for minorities.
On Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, SCOTUS lifted restrictions on immigration raids across Los Angeles in a 6-3 decision in the case of Noem v. Vasquez-Perdomo, granting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) the permission to stop and detain people based on appearance, accent, language spoken and even employment. In other words, the court has willingly opened the door for discrimination and racial pro ling to occur legally — once again.
e U.S. is stuck in a neverending cycle of singling out the people that make it whole. e government demonizes them through media and propaganda campaigns, gains the consent of the rest of the public and enforces harmful acts and laws against them. en, when the public starts to feel guilty after it’s all said and done, everyone apologizes without fully addressing the problem (sometimes we skip this part) and repeats the cycle. When a country is built upon discrimination and social hierarchy, the very culture and legacy that arises from it are tainted. Everyone knows old, bad habits die hard, especially if you think they keep you safer.
Dating back to the 1700s, slave patrols were created to apprehend escaped slaves and use terror to deter uprisings and crimes against the white community in the antebellum South.
In the 1930s, the Mexican Repatriation Program sent up to 1.8 million American people of Mexican descent to Mexico, regardless of citizenship, based on nothing but the rhetoric that they were stealing “American” jobs and resources. is was followed by the 1940s, when the U.S. sent JapaneseAmericans to internment camps in the name of national security. Even now, mass deportations all over the U.S. are based on racial pro ling and justi ed by the need for security.
Videos of children begging ICE not to take their parents away will forever haunt our history. Pictures of families taken at “Alligator Alcatraz,” posing as if they’re visiting a theme park and not a detainment center, will be photographs that everyone claims to be ashamed of in the future.
Likewise, the Trump administration considering a televised game show for
people to compete for citizenship — as a spectacle for pro t — will eventually seem bizarre and unrealistic to all: perhaps even funny. We will all come to regret what is currently happening someday, and then we’ll allow it to repeat again. In other words, none of what is happening today is new. e idea that discrimination and atrocious acts are okay as long as it’s for the justice and safety of Americans is reinforced by our history. Our very systems are designed to uphold and promote such discrimination. Without proper reform, no changes will be made; People will continue to grow angry and weary. Immigrants are human beings — that alone is enough to make them deserving of the same rights as the rest of us. ey are not aliens, they are not criminals, they are not threats. ey are kind people who have only ever wanted to survive, just like anyone else.
SCOTUS’ decision to lift this lower court ban tests the boundaries of our institutions — not only the checks and balances within the government, but of the people they govern. e wave of fear that has engulfed many
the Evergreen High School shooting that occurred the same day as Kirk’s assassination or the murder of Ukrainian immigrant Iryna Zarutska. But, if we become preoccupied by whether one man deserved death or not, we miss the larger point altogether. It’s no coincidence that in the past year, Donald Trump, Kirk and even Brian ompson were shot by young, educated males — omas Crooks, Tyler Robinson and Luigi Mangoine, respectively. For Kirk, several reported shooters, as well as accusations of AIgenerated images of Tyler Robinson and false identi cation of his father’s occupation as a sheri , thicken the complex web. Furthermore, a witness was ignored after claiming the shooter was located close to Charlie’s tent rather than a distant roof across the campus. Whether Robinson is the actual culprit or not is beside the point. Something isn’t adding up, and something is being swept under the rug — but the speci cs are unknown. If Kirk was assassinated in broad daylight, what else is going on behind the scenes? What else is currently being staged, and who else is blackmailed? All of this indicates some clearly dark things about the future.
is isn’t about Kirk or any other victims claimed by the system. is is about you — the people of America. Our Constitutional rights and our freedom of speech are endangered: an opposing opinion is now a justi cation for violence.
We can clearly see that youth are the primary targets time and time again — they are the system’s unfortunate scapegoats. And, either the education system has failed students — teaching that hostility is an appropriate default response — or the covert plays of our government are much deeper than we know.
By confusing the masses and ooding the media with fragments of the truth, o cials delay the real story until everyone forgets. It’s a classic ploy to divert attention away from the mistakes of those in power.
Yet now, more than ever, the people cannot forget; We cannot forget. e only thing that uni es this country is hatred. It’s time we changed that.
Disclaimer: e views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held by e California Aggie.
Life in technicolor
Seeing red, feeling blue and tickled pink
BY MOLLY THOMPSON mmthompson@ucdavis.edu
immigrants and Latinos, which stops them from going to work and leaving their houses, will not end there. If we do not stand against this decision, we only provide our consent to let it happen over and over again. e biggest mistake we can make in a changing world is giving into the false perception of safety; If you allow your government to dissolve the rights of some, you risk the government dissolving the rights of all in the future. Right now, it’s easy to give in to despair — the thought that there is nothing left for us to do. But, not all hope is lost. In Los Angeles and San Diego alone, communities have mobilized to keep their people safe, patrolling neighborhoods to look out for ICE agents and documenting ICE’s unlawful activity for the public to see. ese sel ess acts from volunteers encapsulate the power we have to protect each other, to hold our government accountable and to address the problems at hand. So long as there is hope, there is a way.
Disclaimer: e views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate
When I was in rst grade, one of my most beloved elementary school teachers would call me “rainbow girl” because of my constant propensity to dress myself in an array of vibrant neons and cheerful pastels. I would enthusiastically accompany my dad on his trips to Home Depot just so I could stare at the wall of paint chips (and squirrel the prettiest ones away to keep on my bookshelf at home). My bedroom, my wardrobe and even the contents of my desk drawers have always been full of a spectrum of saturated hues, and to this day, you’d be hard-pressed to nd black in my closet. Needless to say, I love colors. My fervent adoration of anything colorful led to a similar fascination with color psychology — the science behind how colors a ect us. While certain people tend to gravitate towards certain colors more than others, there’s a relatively small group of colors that we all tend to prefer. For example, light, bright or muted shades of blue, purple, green and pink are generally favored over hues like brown, orange, yellow or in-between shades mixed with green. is is likely due to our intrinsic biological adaptations. We like colors that represent positive things (clear skies, green foliage, clean water, ripe fruits) and we’re repulsed by colors that represent negative things (rotten foods, feces, illness, decay). So as a species, we’re naturally much more drawn to brighter or lighter colors than darker or muddier colors. Similarly, we also like colors that we’ve personally associated with positive things. You might like red because you grew up loving Spiderman or Lightning McQueen, or you might prefer baby blue because that was the color of your favorite childhood stu ed animal.
While our perception of colors and what they mean is contextual and dependent on many external factors, every color also a ects us in its own way. Red, which is bright and eyecatching, can elicit feelings of passion and excitement, energy, danger and urgency. Red has also been known to bring out hunger, which might be linked to the fact that red is a common naturally occurring color in food. Yellow is known to be optimistic. While it’s also attention-grabbing, it’s generally warmer and more inviting than red. Yellow has also been shown to enhance feelings of hunger, which is why red and yellow are some of the most common colors in grocery packaging and restaurant branding. Most fast food chains use red or yellow as their most prominent colors — think about McDonald’s, In-N-Out, Burger King or Jack in the Box. ese companies use colors like red and yellow intentionally to subconsciously nudge their customers towards purchasing more food. Colors like green and brown are used much less frequently in food marketing because they have the opposite e ect and tend to make people feel less hungry or less ready to eat.
But green still often evokes positive emotions like tranquility, peace and renewal. Likely because we associate green so closely with nature, certain shades tend to make us feel safe, rejuvenated and calm. at’s why so many wellness brands use green as their primary colors; green feels balanced, relaxing and generally good for you. Green is also sometimes associated with jealousy, envy or greed, but that can be attributed more to arti cial cultural ties than an inherent emotional connection.
Purple often feels mysterious or spiritual, likely because it mimics the depth of the night skies or dusky sunsets, which also feel mystical. COLORTHEORY on 9
NOVA MAI / AGGIE
JASON XIE / AGGIE
NOVA MAI / AGGIE
DARXIA
VARELA
MEDRANOI / AGGIE
The Editorial Board’s guide to getting to know California’s College Town
WRITTEN BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD
opinion@theaggie.org
It’s the beginning of a new school year, and we on the Editorial Board all know what it’s like to get back into the rhythm of the quarter system each fall. Whether it’s !nding hidden gems on campus or soon-to-be haunts downtown, we encourage you to explore all that Davis has to o er.
To get you started, we have selected some of our favorite places and practices to share. We hope that you get some use out of our recommendations and make habits this quarter and this year that make life here a bit more manageable, enjoyable and fun.
Alyssa Crevoiserat, Editorin-Chief: Archives and Special Collections
As a former Archives and Special Collections employee, it is my duty to share this hidden gem of Shields Library. Despite being located in the center of the !rst oor of the library, this department remains somewhat niche and underutilized. e Archives and Special Collections obtains rare materials — manuscript collections, books and pamphlets, photographs, maps, University Archives and even e California Aggie — and preserves their condition for accessibility.
My !rst visit to the Archives was part of an introductory art history course, but class visits are not the only way for UC Davis students to access this resource. Information on how to !nd and request materials for research projects or to simply feed curiosity can be found on their website. Due to the sheer number of incoming boxes and vast amount of the shelves I encountered, there is no shortage of history and learning the Archives provides.
However, if you’re looking for a way to experience the Archives with minimal e ort, check out their exhibits located on the !rst oor of the library. Exhibits like “Community in Bloom: A history of the UC Davis Arboretum” and “In Camps, Under Trees and Evicted: Farmworkers and People Living Close to the Line in Northern California” can be viewed until the end of September. ere’s always something new to check out, and this is a low-stakes way to learn more about the new area you’re now a part of! I de!nitely lost some of my “cool” factor when I left the Archives and Special Collections, and I recommend it as a resource for any UC Davis student looking to explore niche topics, learn about local and state history and get some archival dust on their hands.
Maya Kornyeyeva, Managing Editor: Appreciating the “inbetween” moments
Slipping on your backpack and heading out the door for your !rst day at UC Davis can feel both thrilling and intimidating. Swept up in the chaos of bike circles, Unitrans buses, new classes and new faces, it’s fairly easy to become overwhelmed — there’s so much “newness” to adjust to. While getting through the quarter may feel like a mountainous challenge, it is crucial to take everything step by step; to gently acclimate yourself to the people and places around you. During my three years at UC Davis, I found the most clarity and wonder in passing moments. Clicking play on a podcast while walking from one lecture hall to another, eating a Co ee House scone and sipping a cold brew plopped outside on the grass, studying on a bench and watching a squirrel devour its pinecone: these little moments — when I take a pause to appreciate my surroundings — remind me to get out of my head and slow down. Not everything in life is a race; my biggest piece of advice is to !nd your own pace or routine, along with comfort in knowing that you’re not in this alone — the 40,000(ish) students at UC Davis are right there with you.
Whether it’s discovering your favorite study spot, making a blast out of your weekly Trader Joe’s trip, !nding community within a student group on campus or wandering downtown’s many shops, Davis is a place that can be shaped and molded to suit your unique style, personality and way-of-life; While it may seem lonely or strange at !rst, I promise you it won’t always be this way — all you need is a bit of curiosity and an openness to take on the unknown.
Vince Basada, Campus News Editor: Academic Assistance and Tutoring Centers
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with school work in the quarter system. I often joke that everything after Week 3 of the quarter constitutes midterm season, and not without good reason I should add. During my time on the campus news desk,
I’ve written about and covered many of the academic resources o ered here at Davis — both those organized by students and those run directly by the university — and it’s hard to choose just one to recommend. But I feel it would be irresponsible not to mention the Academic Assistance and Tutoring Centers (AATC), which is UC Davis’ largest cross-subject educational support program.
Most returning students are probably aware of the AATC’s main center in the basement of Shields Library, which o ers drop-in tutoring on some of the most popular and di cult courses in biology, mathematics, economics, chemistry, physics, statistics and writing. But the AATC has also recently expanded. It now incorporates the new Student Success Pathways unit, incorporating the formerly independent Pre-Grad/ Pre-Law advising and the Success Coaching and Learning Strategies service. ose are housed in South Hall o the West Quad. e AATC also o ers specialist appointments and some workshops in Dutton Hall. e AATC is the most comprehensive of the university’s tutoring services, with their sta including both students and professionals, so I highly recommend you at least check out what they have to o er. Drop-in tutoring starts on Oct. 6 and fall appointments with Student Success specialists are open now online.
is fact has been drilled into the heads of you incoming students by orientation leaders and community advisors this past week, but it remains true: Seek help early and make sure your foundations in each course are set. Nothing’s worse than realising you still don’t understand concepts from Week 2 in Week 8.
Jordan Poltorak, City News Editor: Try everything
Davis is a big school — there’s no denying it. So, instead of feeling overwhelmed by it, take advantage! One way to make this school feel smaller is to !nd your people. Knock on doors of people on your dorm oor or attend !ve club meetings in one week just to see which ones you like. e involvement fair is Oct. 15; go check out everything that Davis has to o er and discover a hobby or passion you never knew you had.
Similarly, the quarter system can de!nitely be overwhelming at !rst, but I’ve come to !nd it as an exciting opportunity to try new things every few months. Take a class on rivers in California and you might !nd yourself rafting in e American River. Or, take a class about psychological e ects of media on children and !nd yourself analysing a “Spongebob” episode. Or, try the renowned co ee-making class, which now has its own co ee lab. Take advantage of these unique opportunities during your time here.
Over the past three years, I’ve watched friends perform in musicals and improv shows and even tried my hand at taking a choir class that performed at the Mondavi Center.
One of the great things about going to such a big school is that there is a community for you — it’s just waiting for you to !nd it.
Molly ompson, Opinion Editor: Weekly reset at Temple Co ee
In the midst of all the stress, new routines and unfamiliarity that comes with the start of a new quarter (or even more with the start of college as a whole), it’s instrumental to !nd ways to keep yourself grounded. We all need a little bit of a reset every once in a while, so building regular breaks into the week can go a long way.
I found Temple Co ee Roasters on the corner of 3rd Street and G Street downtown during my !rst week as a !rst-year at UC Davis (Zoey Mortazavi, Features Editor, and I met there for the !rst time before our !rst classes even started) and I remember feeling instantly calm and centered when I walked through the door.
For more than two years now, every Sunday morning I’ve taken my book, my lipgloss and a cute tote bag downtown to spend 30 minutes turning the pages of my current read while sipping an extra-hot chai latte with almond milk. With an incredibly friendly team of baristas, dark wood counters and stools, a case of gourmet pastries and an abundance of natural light from the expansive glass windows that line the shop, Temple Co ee is a perfectly comfortable space. I always leave feeling grounded, optimistic and ready for the week ahead of me — no matter what I’ve dealt with in the days prior, that 30 minutes of tranquil quiet rejuvenates me more than anything else I’ve ever tried.
It doesn’t have to be going out for co ee (although I highly recommend checking out Temple if you get a chance), but !nding something that lets you proverbially “force quit” your mind on a regular basis is crucial. Maybe it’s going for a walk in the Arboretum or grabbing lunch with friends, but working dedicated
times to unwind and decompress completely outside of school or other responsibilities has been paramount to my success and mental stability. Especially in the wake of collegiate academic and social stress, I can’t recommend checking it out or !nding your own reset ritual enough.
Zoey Mortazavi, Features Editor: Exploring Davis’ live music scene
I have been involved in music in one way or another for most of my life; when I arrived in Davis, I was beyond excited to !nd spaces where I could both enjoy and perform live music. Davis is a town that truly loves music and there is something for everyone, whether you’re a performer, an audience member or just a new student looking for an event to attend. Local bands featuring both students and Davis community members frequent events like the Davis Farmers Market; I have spent many a Saturday sitting on a picnic blanket in Central Park, enjoying one of Davis’ live jazz bands playing a morning set. Local businesses like Delta of Venus and Cloud Forest Cafe also host regular live shows, which you can !nd information about on their websites or Instagram pages.
Student and local groups like KDVS 90.3FM, UC Davis’ freeform radio station, Whole Earth Festival and Eclectic Collective host live shows and events throughout the school year — these are a great way to meet other students, and the events are a lot of fun! Information on all of the above can be found on their respective Instagram pages. UC Davis also hosts many live music events throughout the year; the Entertainment Council plans events like Sunset Fest and Lawntopia, which are typically hosted at larger venues (or even on the Quad) if you’re not always searching for a backyard show. No matter if it’s a special occasion or just any weekend throughout the year, there is no shortage of live music to be discovered in Davis. In addition to the local music scene, UC Davis’ o cial student music groups host shows every quarter, including jazz combos (I might be a bit biased here, but their shows are de!nitely worth attending!), big band, choir shows and many others. ere are so many opportunities to connect to Davis’ music scene; the town has a fascinating musical history, and our house show culture has become one of my favorite parts of our eclectic college town. Even if you don’t !nd yourself frequenting local music events, at least take the time to research some of the iconic artists who have performed in Davis in the past; I can almost guarantee that you’ll !nd that an artist or band that you love is also a piece of Davis’ extensive musical history.
Savannah Anno, Arts & Culture Editor: ird Space Art Collective
As the arts & culture editor, it only feels right to recommend a space that will help foster and maintain your creative side. I became familiar with ird Space through my work at e Aggie, conducting my !rst-ever interview with their President, Jord Nelson, who has been leading the collective for almost 10 years. While ird Space has evolved into many di erent shapes and forms, its mission to make art accessible to everyone has never changed.
ird Space serves as a studio for artists-in-residence, a music recording space and a community hub for free art supplies and activities. e collective is home to a free art supply pantry, fully maintained through donations and stocked with almost anything you can imagine: yarn, pastels, paint, origami paper, books and even jewelry-making supplies. If you’re an art studio major trying to !nish projects on a budget or someone just looking for a new hobby, the pantry welcomes visitors every ursday evening from 6 to 8 p.m.
Beyond material o erings, ird Space also regularly hosts workshops, house shows and their own selfcurated exhibitions. If you’re itching to show o work of your own, the collective is almost always holding at least one open call for an upcoming art display, welcoming all mediums and skill levels. If you’d rather get creative as a pastime or distraction from the quarter system, ird Space partners with Delta of Venus to host Crafter Hours each week, free workshops led by local artists that range from printmaking to needle felting. While I’m no artist myself, I’ve spent hours at these classes drawing, collaging and hot gluing to my heart’s content. e perfect environment to meet new people, learn a new skill and engage with the highly creative community that is Davis, ird Space Art Collective is eager to welcome you with open arms.
With 248 journalists killed while reporting the genocide in Gaza, now is not the time to look away
WRITTEN BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD opinion@theaggie.org
As of September 2025, 248 journalists have been killed in the Gaza Strip — unprecedented numbers spanning any modern con ict. In fact, more journalists have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 than in the Iraq War, Afghanistan War and in Ukraine, according to Newsweek.
A new statement from the United Nations (U.N.) on Sept. 3, 2025 reads: “States must stop Israel before all journalists in Gaza are silenced.”
A team of four Al Jazeera journalists including Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qraiqea, Ibrahim Al aher and Mohamed Nofal were targeted and killed in a drone attack on a journalists’ tent outside the main gate of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Aug. 10, 2025. After Israeli o cials had claimed the bombing was an accident, later reporting clari!ed the attack was, in fact, intentional. ese are just a few names of the many who have been silenced for their reporting. It has become increasingly clear that these are deliberate attacks on the truth; recent reporting has shown that Israel feels a decreasing need to hide these deliberate attacks as time passes. In recognizing the work of these journalists, we barely scratch the surface of this problem and cannot even begin to imagine their reality.
In addition to the journalists who have been killed for documenting the truth, over 64,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, with the actual death toll estimate being signi!cantly higher.
Censorship and retaliation Today, accurate reporting from Gaza is simultaneously more important and more limited than ever, as the brave individuals risking their lives to show the reality of the situation are being targeted for doing so. When examining Western media outlets, it is clear that many fear retaliation from both the Israeli and United States governments, as the Trump administration remains !ercely loyal to Israel’s plans to cleanse the Gaza Strip completely.
Despite concerns, Western news organizations still have a responsibility to provide accurate and truthful information about global a airs to the public. Many established media outlets have yet to address the situation head on, and articles covering the Israel-Palestine con ict use selective phrasing and passive
language to protect themselves at the cost of ethical, transparent journalism. In contrast to the mainstream media, students in the U.S. continue to speak out against the actions of the Israeli government. Students on visas from countries all over the world have faced consequences for protesting the actions of the Israeli government, and student journalists, as well as activist movements, are largely being treated as problems worse than the issues they are !ghting for.
e Editorial Board condemns the Trump administration’s e orts to censor the press and discourage media outlets from justly and accurately providing news coverage. While Western journalists fear retaliation for speaking out against this genocide, their struggles cannot begin to compare to those of Palestinian journalists — we are not losing our lives, loved ones and livelihoods simply for showing the truth.
Journalistic integrity and ethical reporting
Over 250 media outlets from over 70 countries have staged a frontpage protest to honor the bravery of these journalists. e United Nations Educational, Scienti!c and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also recently condemned these killings, as have over 250 of the most highly regarded human rights organizations across the globe. Leading human rights organizations in Israel, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, have also stated that they believe Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. ese are the very organizations that we should rely on to call out human rights violations; yet, even with their proclamations that it is in fact a genocide, no real progress has been made in terms of accountability.
Review: Final season of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ keeps its love triangle alive until the very end
The popular romantic drama toes the line between tension and frustration in its final season
BY JULIE HUANG arts@theaggie.org
Airing from July 16 to Sept. 17, the third and nal season of “ e Summer
I Turned Pretty” promised to nally answer the question of who Isabel “Belly” Conklin would ultimately end up with. Would she choose her childhood best friend Jeremiah Fisher or his older brother — and her rst love — Conrad? Would she stay single or nd someone completely new? e previous seasons had set up a love triangle between Belly and the Fisher brothers, which was complicated by the discovery that Conrad and Jeremiah’s mother, Susannah, had a terminal illness. Season two speci cally explores their grief following her passing and how it a ected their relationships with one another.
By the start of season three, Belly and Jeremiah attend the same college and have been in a longterm relationship for four years after Susannah’s death, each holding onto the other as a reminder of a time when she was still alive.
Meanwhile, Conrad has been attending Stanford University on the other side of the country, seemingly disconnected from his past in Cousins Beach and with Belly. When he nally returns home for his mother’s memorial, he nds that Belly and Jeremiah are engaged to be married.
To his dismay, the couple hopes to alleviate growing tensions within their relationship through nuptials, and the fallout of this decision comprises the bulk of the nal season’s content.
Eight episodes out of eleven are spent depicting the wedding preparations, during which anything that can go wrong goes wrong at least once. Instead of strengthening their union, Belly and Jeremiah’s relationship grows noticeably more strained during their e orts to organize the event, and Belly begins to nd companionship in Conrad’s presence while they stay in Cousins Beach for the summer.
Moments between Jeremiah and Belly that should feel loving begin to feel uncomfortable, but neither is there any true comfort to be found in the moments shared by Belly and Conrad. Every instant is charged with tension that could be thrilling, but instead becomes excruciating, as every character doggedly ignores their true feelings. With no resolution in sight, a silent love triangle plays out for eight episodes, bringing the audience into the same purgatory that Belly now resides in: torn between two extremes but unable to nd a remedy for her internal guilt.
When the actual wedding fails to go on at all, there are a scant three episodes left to clean up the emotional battleground left behind for both the characters and the viewers, who have sat through eight weeks of build-up and now con ict that rips all three leads away from each other. ree episodes may have been enough time to provide a satisfactory denouement, if not for the show’s nal, and arguably most important task: showing Belly and Conrad’s permanent physical and emotional reunion.
In the wake of eight episodes of poor communication, was it
possible for the nal season to put on a convincing portrayal of their everlasting love story? Perhaps not. It becomes clear that the believability — and rootability — of the “Bonrad” connection su ers from the lack of time available to re-establish an onscreen romance. Even the characterization of sharing a meaningful past, or the physical chemistry between their actors Chris Briney and Lola Tung, could not completely overcome the awkward choices surrounding the season’s structure and pacing.
e nal episode, in which “Bonrad” nally reunites, tries hard to hit all the right emotional notes and make up for the palpable absence of time dedicated to showing their reconciliation. Some of the dialogue between Belly and Conrad sounds directly targeted at the audience, attempting to dismantle popular criticisms of the show or its characters.
Conrad’s declarations that “it was not on [Belly] to keep [their] family together” and “we all broke it” especially stand out as a dismissal of viewers who blame Belly for the love triangle con ict. e episode also tries to smooth over previous grievances between characters, as Belly and Conrad acknowledge moments in past seasons where they crossed each other’s lines.
eir dialogue adds more context to how the characters were feeling back then, making them more sympathetic while conveying that they have grown and matured.
Belly and Conrad nally nd themselves in the same place, having both gained enough maturity to
BY
IQRA AHMAD arts@theaggie.org
Movie: “Drive Me Crazy” dir. John Schultz (1999)
admit that they hurt each other. Together, they re ect on their mistakes while keeping a healthy amount of emotional distance from the pain of their past.
Previously this season, both leads spoke around their pain or let it speak for them, and yet neither could completely acknowledge it to the other. In the nal episode, they ask and answer questions that viewers, too, have been asking all summer. ey hear each other, and it is satisfying. At the same time, it’s di cult to forget that it took eleven long weeks to reach this point.
A year has passed in their universe, but the memory of Belly and Conrad’s pain is not as distant for viewers as it is for the characters themselves.
e feeling of tension lingers even while the story onscreen signals to its audience that all has been resolved for good.
Prime Video has announced the existence of a follow-up featurelength lm, which may explain the sometimes puzzling and frustrating pacing choices of the show’s nal season.
Showrunner Jenny Han, who authored the original novels on which the television series was based, stated that “ ere is another big milestone left in Belly’s journey,” alluding to further onscreen development of Belly and Conrad’s story.
e upcoming lm may alleviate concerns surrounding the depiction of their journey back to each other. On its own, however, the nal season fails to be entirely convincing in its portrayal of a love story that spans in nity.
Commentary: Why is everyone always so nostalgic? A
BY NATALIE SALTER
the past
the melancholic comfort of nostalgia.
Perhaps a fragment of a Norah Jones song accompanies pictures of old Barnes and Noble interiors and skinny jeans tucked into Ugg boots, with commenters bemoaning that they’ll “never experience a true 2000s autumn.” Maybe it’s a string of old videos from 2019, supposedly the most glorious time to experience high school. e sentiment — an intense, romantic yearning for an unreachable past — is always the same.
Nostalgia is, of course, nothing new. For generations, writers and poets have explored the golden loveliness we have a xed upon our own memories, convincing ourselves that our present is not half as beautiful as our past. To yearn for something long gone may just be an inherently human quality. Nonetheless, this rosy vision of the past is rather faulty. It would be amazingly wrong to claim that 2019 never saw any political con ict or that the 2000s were a safe and easy time to live for everyone. is aesthetic romanticization involves a great deal of cherry picking, extracting only the most comforting and visually satisfying pieces of an ultimately awed time.
It’s hardly surprising that so many of us entertain this nostalgia, considering the overwhelming state
Remember when all a teen romantic comedy needed was a scheme, a makeover and a Britney Spears song to seal the deal? “Drive Me Crazy” is that late 90’s teen rom-com that is charmingly predictable. Based on Todd Strasser’s novel “How I Created My Perfect Prom Date,” the lm pairs Nicole Maris (played by Melissa Joan Hart), an A+ student and dance committee chair, with Chase Hammond (played by Adrian Grenier), the toocool prankster next door. Once childhood besties — now sworn opposites — they hatch a fakedating plot to make their exes jealous. Cue the inevitable: messy feelings, stolen kisses and the shocking realization that, “gasp,” opposites attract. e plot is straight out of the rom-com starter pack, where a preppy girl meets a rebel boy, jealous exes stir the pot and someone learns that true love looks better without an “easy out clause.”
Song: “Man I Need” by Olivia Dean (2025)
Some songs politely ask for your attention — “Man I Need” demands it in the smoothest way possible. Built on a laid-back groove with a hint of bossa-nova, the track feels like warm summer air drifting through an open window; It’s intimate and irresistible. is song is about wanting someone to show up, speak up and not be afraid of asking someone to be the person you need them to be. Lines like “I kinda like it when you call me wonderful” balance sweetness with a playful con dence, while the repeated refrain of “Talk to me” becomes both plea and command. It teeters between irtation and urgency. is song pulls you in with its catchy vocals, and is great for anyone with a sweet spot for pop and classic melodies.
TV Show: “My Lady Jane” dir. Jamie Babbit and Stefan Schwartz (2024)
“Was that a withering look? Consider me withered.” If you love witty banter, historical fantasy with bouts of romance and a little bit of magic, “My Lady Jane” is the perfect, binge-worthy show for you. is one-season wonder reimagines the story of Lady Jane Grey, who nds herself married o to the dashing Lord Guildford Dudley after her father’s death leaves the family in need of security. But Guildford isn’t just a pretty face with a quick wit; He’s hiding a secret. He’s an Ethian, a human who can turn into an animal — in his case, a horse. Meanwhile, Jane herself is secretly named heir to her cousin King Edward VI’s throne, who soon vanishes under mysterious circumstances. Suddenly, she’s thrust into queenhood. But what happens when you have to navigate treacherous politics, dangerous plots and a marriage complicated by an unbreakable enchantment? A clever, must-watch twist on history that asks what might have happened if fate — and a little magic — intervened: “My Lady Jane” has all the answers. Books: e “Mara Dyer” trilogy by Michelle Hodkin (2011)
A series as eerie as it is addictive, Michelle Hodkin’s “Mara Dyer” trilogy has it all: psychological suspense, supernatural twists and a swoon-worthy romance in its midst. It all begins when Mara wakes up in a hospital bed, unable to remember the tragic accident that killed her friends and left her the sole survivor. After being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), she moves with her family to a new town in hopes of starting fresh; However, trauma continues to follow her. Strange visions blur the line between reality and hallucination, leaving both Mara and the readers questioning what’s real. Hodkin’s writing thrives in that tension, slowly unspooling the mystery piece by piece.
What makes the trilogy stand out are its characters. Mara is both awed and de ant, which is what makes her so compelling. Enter Noah Shaw: dark, witty, compassionate and hands-down one of the most beloved young adult love interests out there. Rounding out the cast is Jamie, the sarcastic, steadfast best friend every heroine deserves, whose humor and loyalty shine through the darker moments. With creepy scenes and unsettling side characters, this series is perfect for readers who want all the chills without any of the nightmares. Whether you’re drawn in by the psychological mystery or the unforgettable romance, the “Mara Dyer” trilogy delivers a wild, engrossing ride.
of the world today. ere is so much stress and chaos in our sociopolitical environments, and coupled with the more personal struggles of one’s day-to-day life, it can be di cult to romanticize the present. If everyone wants to escape into yesterday, it speaks volumes about the conditions of our current world. e gap in maturity between our current and past selves is important to note as well. While the late 2000s may seem blissfully calm to those of us who were only children, adults of the time would remember a period of economic crashes and social unrest. A past where we didn’t have the concerns we carry now is undoubtedly appealing, but would you still have appreciated it if you were just as burdened? Further betraying our romanticized perspectives, it’s remarkably easy for us to distill pockets of the past into perfectly curated, aesthetic icons and symbols. Autumn in the 2000s was certainly not all pumpkin spiced lattes and Rory Gilmore sweaters, no matter how comforting that imagining of it seems.
Is there such a coordinated aesthetic for 2025? Certainly not, just as a couple of Pinterest photos are not an accurate representation of the
whole mid-2010s. If we can recognize how complicated the present is, we should be able to apply that logic to the past. Sweet as it may look, the perfect picture that social media paints of a bygone era is a tiny shred of a deeply complex period of time.
It might leave you wondering whether one day, we’ll be nostalgic for this very year.
Time, it seems, has a way of smoothing out rough edges and painting the mundane in a more golden light.
e boring rituals of your present everyday life may one day make your heart ache with fondness. You won’t miss everything, just like no one cares to romanticize the bad parts of the past. But it ought to make you appreciate the here and now just a little bit more, even if nostalgia hasn’t yet touched it.
It’s only going to be here once — don’t live so far in the past that you let it pass you by.
Disclaimer: e views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held by e California Aggie.
“The Summer I Turned Pretty” poster for the show’s final season. (Amazon MGM Studios / fair use)
SAVANNAH BURGER / AGGIE
Investigating the revival of retro pixels and the digicam craze
Capturing
moments with intentionality, through a vintage lens
BY IQRA AHMAD arts@theaggie.org
What’s in your bag? Click. Shutter. Flash. Snap. No, it’s not 2007, but it sure does look like it. In the age of Y2K revival and internet nostalgia, digital cameras are everywhere. Whether thrifted from resellers or dug out of a forgotten coat closet, your parents’ point-and-shoot has o cially graduated from a junk drawer item to an accessory. Why does everyone seem to have a digicam? And what, exactly, is behind this retro comeback?
For many, it’s about chasing a feeling.
“It looks like memories, because it’s blurry and imperfect,” Katie Glasgow, a 25-year-old from New York, said in a BBC article. “It looks more like how we remember things.”
In a world where smartphones and lters ensure every photo is polished and curated, digital cameras bring back the magic of selectivity. Instead of instantaneous shooting, digital cameras allow you to decide which moments are worth capturing.
“Those images make us feel nostalgic, and I think people are chasing that,” Elizabeth Gulino, a freelance reporter, said in an article with NPR.
Digital cameras o er the unique opportunity to encapsulate moments that feel more authentic, marked by retro-tinge and saturated hues that add signi cantly to the storytelling.
Others attribute this growing admiration to the slower, more intentional experience of shooting with a digital camera.
“Digital cameras also enable presence: You need to remember to carry the camera around, and in return it won’t give you noti cations or show
you other apps while you’re shooting,”
Tim Gorichanaz, an assistant teaching professor of Information Studies at Drexel University, wrote for e Conversation.
e charm is in that simplicity — a device that does exactly one thing: take photos. It’s refreshingly deliberate in a world where everything happens too quickly. Using a digital camera forces you to consider the moment in front of you before you press a button. en, there’s the ritual: the everso-long pause between taking a photo and seeing the result. is process of transferring images from the camera to a computer, selecting which ones to save and which ones to share, builds anticipation. What could feel inconvenient instead feels like it matters; like it’s not just another picture in your endless camera roll. Every photo is weighted by the process and memories tied to it — in some ways, a keepsake. Using digital cameras feels like a true activity. A little hassle, sure, but worth it for memories that don’t just vanish into the cloud.
Whether it’s snapping a soon-tobe-viral sunset photo, a simple co ee date or cute out ts, digital cameras o er an authenticity that smartphones lack. ere is a yearning among young people for photos that look real, especially of themselves,” Photographer Casey Fatchett said in the NPR article. “ ere’s a feeling there that you can’t get from your cell phone camera.”
Maybe that’s the heart of the resurgence: a collective longing for something that feels intentional and human, all within the click of a shutter. And if it happens to make your Instagram look e ortlessly cool? Well, that’s just the megapixel cherry on top.
Review: Laufey is enchantingly honest in new album, ‘A Matter Of Time’
The bewitching singer-songwriter’s third album takes her music in a wilder, more vulnerable direction
BY NATALIE SALTER arts@theaggie.org
e contemporary dating scene
— one so emotionally barren that the term “situationship” has emerged to de ne almost every romance — tends to make true love look like a distant, almost illusory prospect. Is it really old fashioned to expect a lover who will show you utter a ection and devotion? Does love from fairytales and romantic comedies even exist in reality?
These questions have eternally tormented the Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter Laufey, who waltzed onto the music scene in 2020 with hopeless romantic dreams and a hearty appreciation for the classics. With a sirenic voice and a catalogue of jazz standards at her disposal, she has staunchly refused to give up on her belief in “happily ever after,” no matter how hard the world tries to shake her faith.
Laufey’s third full-length album, “A Matter Of Time,” is undoubtedly her most daring. ose who found solace in her previous starry-eyed daydreaming, however, will still be satis ed with her latest project, where these feelings burn brighter than ever. “Lover Girl” infuses the infectious sparkle of breakout hit “From e Start” with a summery twist. On the other hand, “Snow White” picks up threads of past insecurities and lets them loose, Laufey’s voice cracking and aching over a quiet string melody.
Perhaps Laufey’s specialty is her ability to paint stories of love lost and found, so grand they feel like lm scenes, only to remind the listener that she’s living in as much of a desperate reality as they are. On “Clockwork,” a magical tale of a rst date set against a jazzy backdrop, she wonders if her lover is running late because, “like me, he probably had to regurgitate.” e contrast between the album’s strikingly raw lyrics and swelling musical soundscape may be an echo of how its creator’s romanticism is out of place in our modern world. ough she wants her Prince Charming, she’s stuck with an insecure ex who spends his days “screaming at the TV / Cussing out opposing football teams” (“Tough Luck”). Her potential beaus waste time mansplaining Homer and Edgar Allan Poe: “You’re just a stoner patronizing me,” she eyerolls on “Mr. Eclectic.”
Laufey’s dissatisfaction soon nds itself sinking into agony, though the result of her despair is heartwrenchingly beautiful. On “ForgetMe-Not,” a fluttering, ballet-esque ute swells into a powerful chorus, during which the singer dances between
English and Icelandic to beg for her eternal remembrance. e bridge of “Too Little, Too Late” is one of her most memorable, capturing her crying out desperately for a lover who is engaged to another. On tracks like “Carousel” and “Cuckoo Ballet (Interlude)” Laufey’s ability to craft melodies infused with pure enchantment is stunning. e faintest of instrumental details — a twinkling chime, a brief sound of accordion, a grand clock ringing — elevate the entire song with their delicate beauty, like golden engravings on an ornate music box. Her songs are pockets of exquisite magic, as if she has given melody to glowing stardust and childhood dreams. What truly elevates “A Matter Of Time” beyond its predecessors, however, is Laufey’s willingness to let her own flaws crack open this enchanting world. As much as she wants it to be, her life is no tale of true love; she’s not even a perfect princess
herself. e album’s closer, “Sabotage,” is the ultimate culmination of this admission. e track is torn apart by explosive moments of unadulterated cacophony — instruments screaming and grating in a picture of her anger, grief and self-doubt. It’s this portrayal of her hopes and fears, side by side, that makes “A Matter Of Time” feel like a more complete, authentic image of the singer’s psyche. Laufey might have the answer for the old souls desperate for a seemingly impossible soulmate. is world is messy and complicated and will often leave you bleeding; nothing, and no one, is ever perfect. But that’s no reason to give up on love. Rather, to hold onto your romanticism with bruised hands, refusing to relent when it would be so easy to become jaded and hopeless, is the most courageous thing you can do. And, if Laufey won’t let pretentious posers or failed situationships ruin her lover-girl tendencies, you shouldn’t either.
Your favorite video game is getting an adaptation
Following the release of titles like ‘The Last of Us,’ ‘Until Dawn’ and ‘The Minecraft Movie,’ is this even good news?
BY BELLA PETERSON arts@theaggie.org
On Sept. 5, Prime Video announced that the beloved “Life is Strange” video game — following an 18-year-old Max Caufield who rewinds time in an attempt to save her best friend’s life — has been greenlit for a live-action adaptation. Called “a cultural touchstone” by executive producers Dmitri Johnson and Mike Goldberg, fans must have taken this announcement as good news…right? Instead, producers were met with mixed reactions from the gaming community and publicly criticized by a co-writer of the game for not involving the original creative team in the adaptation.
Video game adaptations are hardly a new thing. is year alone, fans have seen the release of the second season of “ e Last of Us,” “Until Dawn,” “A Minecraft Movie” and others. The majority of these adaptations received an overall negative response from the fans of their original games, with “Until Dawn” and “A Minecraft Movie” earning 5.7 and 5.6/10 ratings on IMDb. The criticism for these adaptations can be traced back to one major problem: continuity within the canon of the original story.
HBO Max’s “The Last of Us” initially received plenty of positive feedback after their rst season of the show. Despite some changes that were made, the majority of the fans enjoyed the adaptation and were looking forward to the second season. After the release of the second season’s rst episode, those same fans found themselves disappointed with choices made by the creative team — particularly the highly anticipated casting of Abby, the antagonist of the game’s second installment. As the season ended, the show began to see a loss of loyalty within the audience it had originally solidi ed. e shift in opinion was purely a result of the creative freedom the show took with the story — almost completely stripping away the identity of the video game itself. Even regular watchers found themselves disappointed after the show broke the golden rule of storytelling: “show don’t tell.” e show’s key gure, Ellie, explains her motives to the audience in a repeated monologue format as the story progresses, rather than taking advantage of full, detailed
scenes. By disregarding the element of mystery, the showrunners left the audience lacking that sense of intrigue. With the “Until Dawn” lm, fans were in disbelief after the trailer revealed the story would be completely separate from the original game. e movie only ended up including easter eggs as a way to pay homage to its namesake — but is that fair? e inclusion of taking elements from the game but diverting from everything else is a major risk in adapting something, evident in the lm’s IMDb rating of 2.5/10 stars.
With an entirely di erent setting, cast of characters and reimagining of the universe’s time-bending rules, “Until Dawn” became just another run-of-themill, hollow horror ick. While “A Minecraft Movie” may have not had any canon lore to divert from, that didn’t stop the adaptation
from taking creative liberties.
“Minecraft” is a timeless game, one that has over 200 million active players each month. However, with a lack of linear storytelling, it’s hard to evolve the world into a watchable lm. e movie managed to become more of a joke than an actual adaptation, viewers enjoying the theatre experience more than the actual lm itself.
Luckily, not all adaptations can be grouped in with this trend. Prime Video’s video game adaptation of the “Fallout” series proved to be a distinct standout amongst most other executions. Instantly popular, the series has already garnered a renewal for season three prior to the release of the second season.
Rather than trying to copy-paste directly from the source material, this adaptation is so successful because it created a new story that stayed true to
the game’s universe — tying back to the lore of the games and sparking praise for its fresh, unique take. It didn’t erase the genius of the games; it embellished the story by building upon what was already there.
New announcements of video game adaptations are popping up everyday: casting reveals for “The Legend of Zelda” characters Zelda and Link, a movie adaptation of the “Bioshock” series’ rst game and most recently, the announcement of the “Life is Strange” adaptation coming to Prime Video. With constant reveals of which of the public’s favorite video games are being adapted, there’s no shortage of concern in their respective communities. ese announcements don’t bring about a hive of excitement because there is so much evidence pointing to altered characters, completely di erent settings and unconvincing plot points.
Speci cally in the case of “Life is Strange,” there is substantial concern for sticking to the canon — due to the fact that the original video game uses a choice-based mechanism as its main source of gameplay. With endless possibilities and more than one ending, there is almost a guarantee that the adaptation will stray from the source material. It feels nearly impossible to adapt a game like “Life is Strange” in a way that will satisfy each fan. As a video game fan nowadays, the possibility of your favorite game getting an adaptation isn’t a hope; it’s a fear. A fear that something you have grown to love will become entirely unrecognizable.
Not every video game needs an adaptation — a lesson that studios would bene t from learning sooner, rather than later.
Cover art for “Life is Strange,” a critically acclaimed narrative video game that’s being adapted into a live-action TV show. (Square Enix / fair use)
Singer-songwriter Laufey performing in London in 2024. (Creative Commons, CC by 2.0)
LANHUI ZHEN / AGGIE
Shield Library’s Archives and Special Collections offer rare materials to students, researchers
Head of the department, Kevin Miller, encourages undergraduates to use the unique resources collection of-
BY RACHEL GAUER features@theaggie.org
Whether it be for a cram-session with classmates before an exam or for just a quick hour between classes, many students often nd themselves frequenting Peter J. Shields Library — some, perhaps, more than they would like to admit. Even the most seasoned library goers, however, may have never entered into the mysterious Archives and Special Collections section on the rst oor.
Kevin Miller, the head of Archives and Special Collections, acknowledged that the space can seem daunting but encouraged students to visit.
“We’re open to everybody,” Miller said. “We’re de nitely open to students. We’re open to the general community — it’s part of being a public land grant university. But, we know that the reading room can look a little intimidating: students walk by and they look in and ask, ‘what is that place?’”
So, what exactly is the Special Archives and Collections? To start, the room visible to the common passerby serves as the archive’s reading room, where researchers of any kind can consult the content provided by the archives, which include rare or old books, manuscript collections and archives speci c to UC Davis.
Miller explained the reason why these materials cannot leave the library’s premises.
“Because of the nature of the material, whether it’s rare or fragile or just has a weird binding, we can’t let it leave the library,” Miller said. “But, we bring it out to the reading room, and students and anybody else can access it there.”
e small room itself is decorated with books and other artifacts that are in some way rare or unique to UC Davis’ collection. Beyond the reading room, however, is perhaps Shield’s best kept secret: carefully preserved, humidity and temperature controlled rooms lined with century-old books and rare materials. Miller explained the science behind the preservation techniques.
“We maintain the environment here very speci cally for preservation purposes: we keep the temperature within ve degrees of 62 degrees and we keep the relative humidity around +/5% of 45%,” Miller said. “We are able
to monitor that 24/7 with sensors that connect to a software that can provide us real time data and send us alerts if it goes outside of the range.”
Christine Cheng, the instruction and outreach librarian, coordinates class visits that allow students to enter the classroom space, which holds up to 22 students, to visit and learn about certain materials. Miller explained the program’s valuable impact for students.
“It’s a really important program, because it brings students right into the space,” Miller said. “ ey get hands-on training with primary source materials in the classroom, and are encouraged to come back and access more.”
For an Introduction to Late Medieval & Early Modern Worlds (MST 020B) course, Cheng had prepared a variety of materials dating as far back as 4,000 years. Among her display for the classroom visit were 3,000 and 4,000 year old Sumerian clay tablets, a 12th century Greek bible and Shakespeare’s second folio from 1632.
Cheng explained that the second Shakespearean folio, which contains a collection of his plays, functions as a correction from the rst which was published in 1623.
“Between the rst and second folio,
Sudwerk’s Wednesday night trivia draws young and old Davis residents
Led by Dr. Andy Jones, the event is one of the brewery’s most frequented
BY PIPER AWEEKA
city@theaggie.org
On Wednesday nights, the line at Sudwerk Brewing Co. extends beyond the brewery’s front doors. Each outdoor patio table is covered with pieces of paper that read “Reserved.” By 7 p.m., seats begin to ll with patrons. Sudwerk trivia takes place every Wednesday night and has grown a loyal following over the years. Jessica Garver, a UC Davis alumna, expressed her fondness for the Sudwerk trivia night.
“We’ve been coming every week for the past couple of months,” Garver said. “It’s a really nice and fun space to have a weekly scheduled event, to come together and bond over something like trivia. It’s always fun to see what questions get thrown out, and it’s always fun when you know an answer.” Dr. Andy Jones, host of the weekly Sudwerk event, maintains a loyal following evident within the crowd.
ey’ve been coming every year or every week for the last 14 years, so I’ve made a lot of friends here,” Jones said.
e story behind Sudwerk’s trivia night extends back many years. Jones, prepping for the pub quiz to commence, explained his own background and the origins of the event.
“I’ve been teaching at UC Davis for 35 years,” Jones said. “About 20 years ago, I was invited to attend a pub quiz in Sacramento by one of my close friends from graduate school, and then we just started going every Sunday for a few years until my third child was born. en I had to give it up.” Despite a growing family, Jones soon became involved with trivia again.
“A few years later, I was in a
conversation with the owner of Bistro 33, which was the restaurant where Mamma is now. He said he was trying to think of a new way to get people into the restaurant, and I was already hosting poetry readings there, so I told him he should try a pub quiz,” Jones said. “He said, ‘Well, who could host such a thing?’ So I said, ‘Well, I could.’
I started the Bistro 33 pub quiz in about 2008, then I moved to the Irish pub in 2012, and then I came here about two years ago.”
ough locations have shifted over the years, Jones has found Sudwerk particularly accommodating for both his loyal followers and himself.
“It’s the biggest venue that I’ve hosted a pub quiz in,” Jones said. “I like that I can do it all outdoors in this kind of post-pandemic era. And then I’ve got some teams that have followed me from pub place to pub place. You can see as they’re bringing out more chairs that this place can accommodate more teams than other places where I’ve hosted. I think our record is about 50 teams.”
Kiera Sauter, the lead server at Sudwerk Brewing Co., acknowledged the popularity of the Wednesday night event.
“It does have a reputation,” Sauter said. “It’s one of our busiest nights of the week. It’s great for us, and it brings in a consistent crowd with familiar faces every week.”
With patrons filling every seat available, Sudwerk’s pub quiz proves one of the most popular trivia nights in Davis. As patrons cheered, Jones rallied the crowd by acknowledging the acclaim that the event had garnered.
“Make everyone in Davis wish they were attending the Sudwerk pub quiz,” Jones said.
hundreds of errors were corrected, but there are still errors in this one,” Cheng said. “In those days it was really hard to correct printing errors.”
Aside from the rare nature of the text, Miller emphasized that the piece is particularly noteworthy because of its unique backstory of how it made its way into the Davis collection in the 1950s.
ere was a very large rare book donation that came out of Europe that was acquired by the UC system, and the books were being distributed across the campuses,” Miller said. “Among all these books that were being donated was the second folio and the question was, which university was going to get it? e university librarians were trying to decide how to gure this out and it just so happened that the World Series was coming up. Each campus drew the name of a team, we drew the New York Yankees. It ended up being a seven game series between the New York Yankees and the Milwaukee Braves, which is what they were called at the time. e Yankees took it — and we got the Shakespeare.”
ough there are certainly some infamous names like Shakespeare found in the collections worth admiring, Miller explained that there are also unique
and useful collections for research and original data. Miller emphasized that he encourages students to consider using the collections for original research, as many of the materials are rare or unpublished.
“I think what a lot of undergraduate students don’t realize is that they can do original research here at UC Davis, and we welcome them in,” Miller said. “We have collections that were not distributed very widely — things that are harder to nd. It’s a great way to spice up a term paper. You know, you really impress your professor if you do some original research with primary sources.”
Miller explained that aside from archives from UC Davis, such as archives from e California Aggie, KDVS and other on-campus units, the collections also house important information produced by notable professors or a liates.
“We work with particularly prominent faculty from across all subjects, who really made a mark on their subject, or made a mark through their instruction or made a mark at UC Davis through their administrative work or in the profession, and we take in their papers,” Miller said. “What that usually
involves is all the stu% that they [...] accumulated and created during their career that supports their publications and augments their publications and can have further use by researchers or students. It might be a dataset and might be photographs, or their own notes, depending on their work.”
Providing original materials speci c to UC Davis or the local regions is the collection’s speciality, as the local materials tend to be rare copies unique to the university.
Miller emphasized the peculiar nature of the material found in the archive.
“In some ways, it’s kind of the heart of the library, because it’s all of the unique material. It’s the stu% that, in many cases, no other library has, no other place on earth has,” Miller said.
“It’s really exciting to be able to o%er those unique resources to students.”
Cheng also highlighted the archive as being particularly noteworthy for its one-of-a-kind materials. is really is the coolest part of the library,” Cheng said. “ ese are rare materials and if they’re damaged in any way, it’s very di cult to replace them. We can’t help but be the best part of the library with the coolest items.”
The conservatory is facing the risk of closure amid university budget cuts
BY RIVERS STOUT campus@theaggie.org
In late August, the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory competed in the Waterlily Weigh-Off, an international competition between gardens, greenhouses and botanical conservatories to see whose plants can hold the most weight. UC Davis’ submission earned 10th place, with the conservatory’s 46-inch diameter waterlily holding 80 pounds.
Ryan Booke, a sixth-year plant science major and conservator, oversaw UC Davis’ participation in the competition.
“I [originally] started this by myself, with my own money,” Booke said. “I just donated the plants; that’s how I got [access to] the pools and all.”
e project began in fall 2023, with Booke growing the Victoria amazonica lily pads — known for being di cult to grow and which serve as a sign of prestige among conservatories — from seeds. He was later able to better their conditions and grow larger lily pads by working with the conservatory.
Booke eventually took over the conservatory’s social media accounts; After posting a video of a lily pad holding water, he was invited to participate in the competition, organized by the Denver Botanical Gardens.
“We were asked through a direct message ‘Would you like to join?’” Booke said. “I’d love to join to show [that] we at [the] UC Davis Botanical Conservatory are able to do this and
put our name on the map even more.”
e contest’s ultimate winner was the Bok Tower Gardens in Florida, whose waterlily held 183 pounds.
Participating in this endeavor was part of the conservatory’s larger educational mission of providing a space for people to enjoy the greenery. To do this, Conservatory Curator Marlene Simon said that they turned their focus on outreach to bring in more visitors.
“We have people who come almost everyday: it’s their regular route to destress,” Simon said. “Everyone knows that green spaces are calm. Science shows that being near plants [relieves] stress. We have students from di%erent countries who will come in and see a plant from there, and, if they’re homesick, they say they feel a little less homesick. e climate there is very soothing — just being there with the plants in a quiet space.”
Simon estimates that some 30 to 50 people pass through the conservatory every day, with an additional 900 student visitors from a biology course quarterly and some 1,500 on Picnic Day. But the future of the conservatory and the refuge it provides to these visitors has been threatened by university budget cuts and reductions in federal funding, with administrators now considering closing the facility.
“To clarify, no budgetary decision has been made regarding the conservatory’s future,” Dean Mark Winey of the College of Biological
Sciences said via email. “ e recent discussions about its potential closure stem from an exercise designed to provide a clearer nancial picture of the College of Biological Sciences’ budget as UC Davis prepares for severe budget cuts in the 2025-2026 scal year.” In since deleted Reddit and Instagram posts from earlier this year, conservatory sta%ers asked community and campus members for support, which Simon notes they have received. ere’s budget cuts going across the board so I’m not surprised by anything, but everyone rallied,” Simon said. “We have an incredibly good support system. I believe we were the fourth most donated-to entity on campus [during Give Day]. It also coincided with our plant sale and we sold most of our stock — way more than I could have ever thought.”
Still, the conservatory’s funding is not guaranteed.
“This is a challenging time,” Winey said. “While our commitment to providing an excellent education — including hands-on learning opportunities like those the conservatory o%ers — remains steadfast, the landscape of the college and the university as a whole, will likely change as nal budget decisions take shape.” In the meantime, while the conservatory remains operational, Booke will continue to care for the waterlilies.
“We hope to get to 100 pounds for next year’s competition,” Booke said.
The Archives and Special Collections’ exhibit, Third World Forum, from 2024. (Aggie File)
Dr. Andy Jones reads off the questions for Sudwerk’s Pub Quiz, hosted every Wednesday. (Aggie File)
The UC Davis Botanical Conservatory houses the Victoria Amazonica, a giant species of waterlily. (Aggie File)
Sudoku
Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row, column and 3x3 square must contain each digit. Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing.
Crossword
CITYCOUNCIL
FROM PAGE 3
!e options were to either to keep operations at the Davis Respite Center temporarily, look for another contractor for the respite center to replace the Downtown Streets Team, nd a di erent location to house the respite center or to tell sta that the site would be closed starting Oct. 31.
!e meeting then opened for public comment.
Ezra Beeman, a Davis resident with three children, testi ed to his children’s experience and his community’s views on the respite center.
“I’m proud to live in a community where we try to do the right thing and we look after the weakest [members],” Beeman said. “I do worry that if we don’t manage the fraction of folks that are breaking the law, threatening our kids, threatening me — which is what happened walking [home] through downtown. My kids have been chased, my neighbors have had someone on their roof taken down their ag poles — that’s going to really turn members of the community against being compassionate. […] We need to address [this issue] in the right way, but it’s in the interest of the community who support this initiative that we deal with that.”
Another public commenter who shared only their rst name, Alex, noted the importance of not closing the respite center, even temporarily. Alex, a volunteer at the Davis Night Market, recounted their personal experiences.
“I don’t think it’s feasible — or really right at all — to shut down the respite center for 90 days,” Alex said.
“!at’s just not an option for so many of our unhoused folks here in Davis.” Alex also highlighted the impor-
tance of compassion in such discussions.
“I’ve interacted with many homeless folks in Davis because of the volunteer work that I do. […] I just want to say that being scared of someone or having a negative interaction with someone does not take away from their humanity. And fear doesn’t always mean harm is being caused. We should always try as hard as we can to lead with compassion and empathy for other people, even if sometimes they make us [feel] uncomfortable or scared.”
At the conclusion of the meeting, the motion for there to be no disruption of services — as well as to maintain the current location — passed unanimously.
COLORTHEORY FROM PAGE 4
Purple is also often associated with luxury or creativity, which is another arti cial connection we’ve made as a society. Purple dyes have historically been more rare and expensive than other colors, so only the highest-class citizens (usually royalty) could a ord to wear or own purple things. !at association has persevered throughout centuries, and purple still feels more luxurious than many other colors. Black and white both have a lot of cultural connotations that vary across the globe, but black is intrinsically mysterious and depressing. We tend to think of black as negative because darkness and shadows are so unknown. Anything could be lurking in a black swath of an unlit forest glen or a room with the lights o , and that’s scary. White is the opposite; it’s clean, pure and open. White is safe because it’s bright, it feels safer and more positive than black does.
Blue is the most commonly-loved color in the world, with 42% of people claiming it as their personal favorite. Blue is calming, relaxing and cool. It’s the color of the clear sky and the ocean, so it’s familiar and safe. It’s sometimes associated with sadness or depression, but that also tends to be a cultural connection rather than a natural one. Gray carries some similar connotations but is more naturally justi ed because it re ects storms and dreary weather. Blue also often elicits feelings of trust, clarity and serenity, which is why so many nancial companies use it in their logos — they want you to trust them with your money. Colors are powerful. If used strategically, they can have a signi cant e ect on how people feel and act. Department stores, dining establishments, nancial institutions and even Disneyland designers use colors in very speci c ways to get you to subconsciously behave one way or another. Colors can be used to hide things in plain sight, draw you in, make you trust one thing over another or repel you from something else. Because colors hold such strong natural a%liations, we tend to judge new things based on their colors before we even get a chance to make a logical decision about them.
Your favorite color is probably your favorite color for a reason — it might say more about you than you think.
BACKTOSCHOOL FROM PAGE 5
Megan Joseph, Sports Editor:
Time management and utilizing the ARC
As I am now entering my fourth year here at Davis, I have de nitely learned a lot. I’ve learned how to properly use a bike circle, how to avoid early and late classes and where to get good co ee without a line. So, the two biggest pieces of advice I have are to nd a good stress outlet and to utilize the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) as much as possible. Time management is crucial to surviving college. You are going to be constantly thrown into stressful new situations, whether it’s classes, friends or just overall business. !us, the best thing you can do is to nd a way to release that stress in a way that is productive or bene cial. !is can be running, walking outside, reading, baking or even just listening to music alone. Finding what works best for you is key. One of the best places on campus that people often forget about or overlook is the ARC. I know it can sometimes feel like everyone is watching you if you are working out or just sitting around, but I promise you, everyone is in their own world. In the ARC, you have access to so much. You can study for a test in the study rooms or the tables outside. !ere is a Peet’s Co ee, which never has a long line, for co ee or tea. !ere is also a rock climbing wall, basketball courts and racquetball courts, all of which you can pre-book and use whenever!
So, my advice is to utilize the ARC as much as possible and nd either a fun new study spot or a new activity!
Overall, you are going to have the best time in Davis. Just relax and enjoy however long you have at UC Davis and give yourself time to adjust to the new environment. You’ve got it! Katie Hellman, Science & Technology Editor: Guide to Davis I’m here to hit you with the Davis favorites! Davis may be small, but there’s a lot to do and see if you set your mind to it. Whether you’re looking for a cozy co ee shop to grab a drink before class or a quiet place on campus to study, we’ve got you.
For great food options, check out Guad’s (Mexican food, very close to campus and free chips!), Sophia’s !ai Kitchen (also a bar… so the best of both worlds), Crepeville (they have everything breakfast-related but beware of long lines) or Burgers and Brew (a bit pricey but great options nonetheless).
For co ee shops, check out Temple, Pachamama (you might see Maya working!), Frenzy or Philz (especially for yummy seasonal drinks). If you’re craving boba, make sure to visit Teaspoon, iTea and ShareTea.
For some fun activities to do on and o campus, stroll through the UC Davis Arboretum; Bring a good book to read at the benches, pack a picnic with some friends or sit and watch the ducklings to relax after exams. Or, for fresh produce, handmade gifts, owers and food, visit the Farmers Market: from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on
SCIENCE AND TECH
So what really makes a good coffee?
The UC Davis Coffee Center is one of the leading research facilities in the world dedicated to advancing coffee science and education
BY NAREN KRISHNA JEGAN science@theaggie.org
From a cup at the Dining Commons to a stroll to Starbucks, many people’s mornings start off with a cup of coffee. 2024 estimates posit that nearly three in four Americans drink coffee every day, and extending globally, over one billion people drink it every day.
UC Davis is an emerging leader in coffee research, creating a dedicated coffee center that focuses on coffee science and engineering in aspects such as energy optimization, packing and manufacturing, as well as studies investigating environmental conditions on the quality of coffee production.
Moreover, the Department of Chemical Engineering has offered a popular undergraduate course (ECH 001) that introduces students to principles of chemical engineering using coffee-making as an effective platform.
Tonya Kuhl, the chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering at UC Davis, explained the science behind coffee and the inspiration behind the course.
ere was a need to introduce a course with more interactive labs that was open to an increasing number of undergraduate students,” Kuhl said.
“Back in the early 2010s, I read a paper in a journal focusing on chemical engineering education that mentioned a brief discussion of coffee-making as a medium for instruction, which got me thinking about how to implement this at Davis.”
Later in 2013, ECH 001 debuted as a first-year honors course in the spring, and in the following 2014 winter quarter, it expanded to the undergraduate population. Since then, it has continued to grow in number every year.
“Coffee was selected over other drinks such as teas or sodas because coffee had a variable life cycle, and there were lots of different ways you can roast or pull it, all of which affects the quality of taste,” Kuhl said. “We wanted students to experiment with these factors and learn how to think like a chemical engineer.”
Students do a variety of handson experiments, including many experiments done within the Department of Chemical Engineering and at the UC Davis Coffee Center.
e Coffee Center is one of the only scientific facilities in the nation purely dedicated to the study of coffee. Tim Styczynski, the head roaster of the Coffee Center, shared some of the ongoing projects that the Coffee Center is involved in.
One area of interest the Coffee Center focuses on is green Arabica seed defects. Coffee is primarily made of two seeds: Arabica and Robusta, with a majority of Americans drinking Arabica on a regular basis. Prior to roasting, Arabica seeds are green and share many similarities with other natural products such as bruises, scratches and discoloration. In order for batches to qualify for standards such as a specialty blend, many of these initial seeds must be free of any defects; even four defective beans within a hundred to a thousand samples may demote the rating of a
“In the Green Coffee Lab, we plan on helping re-standardize how we classify Arabica defects,” Styczynski said. “Although there are seeds that may look different, they are similar in quality to their nondefective counterparts. We want to help restandardize the current scale to reflect these natural qualities of beans.”
e team plans to take defective samples and blend them with traditional roasts of coffee in a variety of ratios prior to roasting. Once roasted, they plan to test these cups with volunteers to determine if there are any differences in the perception of taste between batches. When asked about the qualities that make up a good coffee, both Kuhl and Styczynski emphasized that each person has their own unique tastes and opinions, but there are a variety
Experts use AI to predict the next pandemic
Data regarding viruses from animals and their potential to spread to humans is analyzed with the help of artificial intelligence
BY KATIE HELLMAN science@theaggie.org
With new COVID-19 cases on the rise, we are reminded of the ongoing effects of the pandemic that wreaked worldwide havoc. To stay on top of data regarding future possible pandemics, UC Davis experts are using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify viruses that have the potential to become global health threats.
e Biothreats Emergence, Analysis and Communication Network (BEACON) project has a disease surveillance program, which will be combined with UC Davis’ Virus Intelligence & Strategic reat Assessment (VISTA) project and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).
BEACON utilizes data from disease-tracking systems and then uses AI to organize the data and assess the level of threat that each virus
poses, and it is the first open-access surveillance program for infectious diseases with this purpose.
“Leveraging advanced artificial intelligence (AI), large language models (LLMs) and a network of globally based experts, BEACON rapidly collects, analyzes, and disseminates information on emerging infectious diseases affecting humans, animals, and the environment,” BEACON’s website reads. “By providing timely and actionable insights, BEACON’s mission is to empower communities and public health officials to take proactive measures, preventing outbreaks and mitigating the spread of diseases.” e goal of these projects is to conduct risk rankings for pandemic threats with the help of AI tools. ese risk rankings specifically analyze which viruses have the greatest risk of spillovers from animals to humans and which may result in the greatest incidence of illness and mortality. Over half a million animal samples
from 28 countries were collected for this project, and 900 wildlife viruses were analyzed to rank the likelihood of spillover from animals to humans. e benefits of using AI for these methodologies are further discussed in an article by the Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida.
“Mechanistic models, the traditional way to model disease outbreaks, aren’t perfect,” the article reads. “ eir reliability depends on accurate data. In large quantities, this data is overwhelming, often simplified and sometimes unavailable for modeling. To add another layer to the laboriousness, data from satellites, social media and search queries requires time-consuming efforts to sift through and manually extract useful information.”
is is where AI comes in to help; there are so many ways to utilize its functions to analyze and assess data, leading to improved pandemic surveillance and preparedness.
of factors that can play a role in these preferences. ere are many different ways coffee can be prepared, and every intermediate step in preparation — from farm to mug — plays a role in the taste of coffee. Styczynski and Kuhl both mentioned how various different regions of the world have different environmental conditions, including, but not limited to: humidity, climate and soil quality, which all impact the growth of coffee plants. Coffee is not an American-native plant but is sourced from a variety of countries across the globe. is transport also has an impact on the quality of the seeds, which depends on packaging, gas exchange and environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. In addition, the method of preparation can affect the taste of coffee, from the coarseness of
grounding beans, the temperature of water, pressure, mass and the method of extraction.
e study of coffee is an exciting interdisciplinary field, where researchers are aiming to understand not only what makes a good coffee but also why this makes a difference. In essence, coffee serves as more than just a morning ritual — it’s a rich platform for scientific inquiry, engineering application and global collaboration. While the answer to this central question may vary from person to person, the department of chemical engineering and the UC Davis Coffee Center hope to share their work and findings within the community to further coffee science.
Illustration of COVID-19 map. (Courtesy of Freepik)
The UC Davis Coffee Center is the first academic research and educational center dedicated to the study of coffee. (Veda Jadaprolu / Aggie)
blend.
SPORTS
Despite creating many chances to score, the Aggies struggle to hit the mark
BY COLINA HARVEY sports@theaggie.org
UC Davis men’s soccer entered the 2025 season as reigning conference champions. Last season, they defeated UC Santa Barbara in the Big West final to claim the trophy and qualify for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament — the team is hoping to replicate its past success this season.
However, the Aggies have played seven games this season thus far, and are still chasing their first win. eir season opened on Aug. 21 against the University of San Francisco (USF) Dons. USF outshot the Aggies, leading to the lone goal being scored by the Dons early in the second half.
In their next game, Davis nearly secured a win against Santa Clara University (SCU). A perfectly placed shot in the first half by Cason Goodman, a fourth-year communication major, put the Aggies ahead for the majority of the game. However, an 89th-minute goal by Santa Clara turned what would’ve been an Aggie win into a draw.
On Aug. 24, their game against the University of Washington Huskies yielded a similar result. e Aggies took the lead early in the second half with a goal from second-year Zachary Neuls. e Huskies responded with a goal in the 76th minute, once again leaving the Aggies winless.
In the Aggies’ Aug. 31 game against Stanford University, they were well-matched with their highly-
ranked opponent. e game remained scoreless until the 76th minute, when Stanford found an opening and scored, beating the Aggies 1-0.
Neuls explained that, while their results so far this season are not as positive as they may have hoped, the outcomes do not always match their quality of play.
“We’re doing the right things, but we’re just not getting the end result […] We’re just missing that final step,” Neuls said.
e team’s home opener against Saint Mary’s College on Sept. 3 was another example of the mismatch between results and level of play. UC Davis outshot Saint Mary’s 24-7 and had 14 shots on goal, compared to only three by their opponent. However, they only netted one goal, which was scored by fourth-year international relations major Zack Lillington in the 66th minute.
Despite the fact that the Aggies had many more chances to score against Saint Mary’s, the game ended in another draw.
“Our defense is the same, if not stronger [than] last year,” Neuls said.
“But the thing that we need to work on is probably scoring goals, cause I feel like that’s what’s holding us back from winning games and replicating our success from last year.”
eir recent 4-0 loss against Seattle University (SU) at home told the same story. Seattle scored in the fourth minute, putting the Aggies behind early. Although Davis went on to outshoot the SU Redhawks significantly, they could not convert
any of their shots and ended the game scoreless.
On Sept. 18, the Aggies played the University of the Pacific at home. ey took the lead early on with a goal from fourth-year Chase Tanon in the seventh minute. Despite the strong start, Pacific was able to equalize by the 22nd minute and scored the gamewinner in the 59th minute.
e team is looking to improve their game luck, starting with weaknesses from the past season.
“I think last season, we had some early success, but [...] towards
the beginning of [the] conference, we struggled a lot like midseason. I think this year we want to be more consistent, but that also starts with winning,” Neuls said.
e Aggies are aiming to repeat last year’s achievements and become Big West champions once again, hopefully going as far into the NCAA tournament as possible. Although they’re not seeing the early success that they saw last year, there’s still time to turn the season around.
“Our big goal is to obviously qualify for the NCAA tournament.
at either means ranking high, which might be tough now that we haven’t gotten the results that we want, or winning the Big West — which is definitely our goal to win the Big West again,” Neuls said. “If we can replicate the success from last year, we want to go even above and beyond, like getting further into the NCAA, and you know, trying to win a national title is ultimately [...] the final goal.”
On Oct. 1, the team will travel to San Luis Obispo to take on California Polytechnic State University in their first Big West matchup.
Victory captured by the men’s team while the women’s team grabs a competitive fourth place
On Sept. 13, the UC Davis men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled to River Oaks Golf Course for the Kim Duyst Twilight Cross Country Invitational. Two weeks earlier, the men’s team took second place and the women’s team took fifth place at the University of San Francisco Invitational to kick off their seasons. In this second meet, both teams improved upon their placement, as the women took fourth place and the men claimed victory over their interstate rival UC Berkeley. e Aggies’ men’s team was led by third-year Donavan Cheruiyot, who placed third overall with a time of 23:31.2, a career best. Joining Cheruiyot in setting a personal record was fourth-year Muhammed Ahmed, who finished shortly behind in fourth place with a time of 23:33.5. Scoring depth proved crucial for the Aggies’ victory, as the squad’s third and fourth place runners also finished in the top ten. Fourth-year Ethan Brooks placed seventh with a time of 23:38.4, just ahead of Chris Coles, a fourthyear biochemistry major, whose time of 23:47.3 netted him an eighth-place finish. e Aggies’ final scorer was Frank Ramisch, a fifth-year cognitive science major, who placed 36th with a time of 24:58.5.
e race’s final team scores placed all three schools on the podium within a few points of one another, with the Aggies’ hardly edging out UC Berkeley and Chico State University. e Aggies’
top five runners combined for 54 points compared with UC Berkeley’s 61 and Chico State’s 64. In addition to their formal placement victory, the group also recorded the fastest total time, running 1:59:28.
On the women’s side, the team’s strong performance was led by Fiona McGrath, a second-year biochemistry and molecular biology major, who finished in fourth place with a time of 21:03.4. Behind McGrath was Stormy Wallace, a third-year biomedical engineering major, who came in 12th place, running 21:26.8. e remaining scorers were Shae Hill, a fourth-year biochemistry and molecular biology major in 20th place, Kayla Ruiz, a fourth-year managerial economics major in 30th place and Cassidy Kajita, a second-year environmental science and management major, in 36th place. ose five combined for a team score of 97, which placed them within range of the podium. e race was won by Stanislaus State University, which just edged out Sacramento State University by a score of 75-76. Again, depth proved paramount for the group’s success, as all five scorers finished in the top third of the race. After a successful start to the season, the Aggies will hope to continue their momentum heading through a monthlong break before their next meet. is meet will be held at the University of Oregon on Oct. 10: a tough test for the group against one of the nation’s
schools. e Aggies will have two
meets, also in the month of
State defender holds UC Davis
UC Davis cross country team competed in the Kim Duyst Twilight Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 13. (Courtesy)
Come as you are and try a new sport
BY MEGAN JOSEPH sports@theaggie.org
Did you play a sport in high school or have you been interested in exploring or trying out a new sport?
Well, UC Davis has just the thing for you. ere are over 30 different recreational sports for students, faculty and school affiliates to get involved in through the UC Davis Rec One Sports Pass.
Participants have the option between competitive teams, which compete usually once a week, or recreational teams which allow players the freedom to decide when they want to play. Both options offer players a way to stay active and connect with others.
Additionally, players have the opportunity to compete in one of the three types of leagues for each sport: CoRec, Women and Open. All three leagues have both levels of competition but will also offer participants the chance to play with their friends no matter their gender identity.
Leagues for each sport are about one month of competition with each team playing one game per week. At the end of the four weeks, teams will be ranked by performance and seeded for playoffs. Once in the playoffs, the teams compete for two weeks to determine the league champion. ese leagues can range from 5-on-5
basketball and outdoor 8-on-8 soccer to 4-on-4 grass volleyball and 7-on-7 ultimate frisbee.
If one month of playing for a larger league isn’t enticing to you, UC Davis also offers another type of competition called mini leagues. ese competitions are essentially smaller versions of full leagues with three weeks of competition and two weeks of playoffs. Mini leagues are less strict with participation requirements and offer players an alternative to the more intense regular league games. Some of the mini leagues available are 5-on-5 tube polo, tennis and blindfold bocce ball.
On the other side of the spectrum, UC Davis also offers tournaments for many different sports. ese are smaller competitions that range from a couple of hours to a couple of days. ese competitions are held for various sports and activities such as spike ball, badminton and even poker palooza. In order to play in the tournaments, you must complete registration online before showing up to play.
In addition to joining leagues and playing in tournaments, UC Davis offers lessons and resources for students and affiliates to learn how to play the sport. You can join the Archery Club on Howard Field to learn the archery basics and get a chance to shoot a target with a bow and arrow. At only $10 per class for students and $20 for non-students, it’s a great way to branch out and try
something new.
Moreover, if you have ever wanted to try gymnastics, classes are taught by the UC Davis gymnastics team at Hickey Gym. Similarly to archery, the class fee is only $10 for students and $15 for non-students. ere is no limit to the amount of classes an individual can sign up for, and it is a beginner class with no experience necessary. Lastly, another opportunity UC
BY DANIELLE WIRNOWSKI sports@theaggie.org
Folsom County held the 2025 Folsom Pro Rodeo from July 3 to 5 at the Dan Russell Rodeo Arena. is year’s rodeo was proclaimed “Western Rodeo Days” by Sarah Aquino, the mayor of Folsom, for its 64th annual run.
While the rodeo was established in 1960, it has since then become a beloved Folsom summertime event, meant to celebrate Western heritage, local Folsom community pride, family togetherness and love.
e Folsom community honored Charlie Grows, a retired firefighter and a longtime volunteer for the rodeo, as the 2025 Grand Marshal.
e rodeo consisted of the standard Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) events, including but not limited to bull riding, barrel racing, team roping, saddle bronc riding and steer wrestling. e rodeo also consisted of plenty of supporting events, such as the Painted Ladies Drill Team, Flying Cowboys Motocross and mutton busting.
While most of the public knows what bull riding and bronco riding are, all the other events in the PCRA can be confusing for a firsttime rodeo attendee.
e events are split into three categories: timed events, rough stock events and specialty events.
e events that fall under the “timed” category are barrel racing, breakaway roping, tie-down roping, team roping and steer wrestling. Barrel racing and breakaway roping are solely women’s events, while the other events are men’s. Timed events are scored
purely based on the clock: e fastest team wins, but any mistakes made can add seconds or even wipe the run completely.
Barrel racing is an event that involves a horse and its rider racing in a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels as fast as possible. For this event, the horse and the rider must put speed and precision at the top of their skill list.
Breakaway roping is when a rider ropes a calf until the rope “breaks away” from the saddle horn, and time is called.
Tie-down roping is all about speed, control and horsemanship, in which a cowboy must rope a calf, dismount and tie three of its legs together.
Team roping, on the other hand, is dependent on teamwork and timing to be successful. Two riders, a “header” and a “heeler,” each tackle roping the steer’s horn and roping the hind legs, respectively.
Steer wrestling is similar to tiedown roping, minus the roping aspect.
A cowboy must jump from his horse onto a running steer and wrestle it to the ground by the horns. On the other hand, rough stock events include bareback riding, saddle bronco riding and bull riding. ese events are scored on a 100-point system, with half the points allocated to the rider and the other half to the animal.
Bareback riding consists of a cowboy riding a bucking horse with only a rigging strap to hold onto. Judges score based on spurring technique, control and matching the horse’s movements.
Saddle bronc riding, while similar to bareback riding, is when a cowboy tries to stay on a bucking horse using a specialized saddle and
rein. Judges focus on rhythm, control and a smooth spur stroke in time with the horse. Bull riding, the most anticipated and famous event, is where riders attempt to stay on a bucking bull for eight seconds. Scoring for this event is based on control, balance and the ability to stay centered on the bull throughout the whole ride.
e Painted Ladies Drill team, specializing in precision horseback performances, and Flying Cowboys Motocross, featuring specialized freestyle dirt bike stunts, were woven into the PCRA events, along with various other family-friendly activities. ese performances added crowd thrills and filled the silences between events. Arguably, the best part of a rodeo — for the kids anyway — is mutton busting. Children, typically between the ages of 4 to 7, attempt to hang onto a woolly sheep for as long as possible, essentially making it a miniature bull riding event.
While the rodeo is packed full of events and chaos (in only the best way), it is celebrated more for its community spirit and the importance of its heritage rather than for competition results. e best, and really the only way to experience this rodeo, just like any other, is to get out there and witness all these nightly events in person. Two upcoming rodeos near Davis, the Marysville Stampede in Marysville (Sept. 13 to 14) and the Clements Stampede in Clements (Oct. 18 to 19), are sure to capture your attention.
Davis offers is tennis lessons, designed for beginner and intermediate players and provides rackets to players who do not already have one. e class is also taught by teachers and coaches directly from the UC Davis tennis team and program. So, check out all of the respective sites for information regarding registration and class times for fall quarter 2025. ese few athletic opportunities mentioned are not all UC Davis has to offer, so be sure to check out all of the university’s intramural sports. If you are interested in trying a new activity or are looking to fine-tune sports you already play, the freedom and flexibility of intramural sports at UC Davis may make it the choice for you.
A mix of wins and losses for the Aggies
BY DANIELLE WIRNOWSKI sports@theaggie.org
While most of the student population may not have been in Davis for the summer, the UC Davis women’s soccer team was here, with plenty of supporters.
e women’s soccer team started their season with a nonconference opener at the Aggie Soccer field here in Davis, against Fresno State University on Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. In addition to being the opener for the Aggies’ season, it was also the debut of Head Coach Kat Mertz.
Despite the opener ending in a tie, it was a strong start to the season, especially under a new coach. e game demonstrated the motivation of the women’s soccer team for the upcoming season, as the team made plenty of attacks and total shots taken.
UC Davis bounced back from the tie three days later with their game against the University of the Pacific, having won the match 2-1. is game also highlighted Sarah Canavan, a fifth-year communication major, as she assisted both goals scored throughout the game. She demonstrated strong playmaking and teamwork to help the team secure a win.
After the win against Pacific, the Aggies welcomed San Jose State University (SJSU) to the Aggie Soccer Field on Aug. 21. Although UC Davis lost with a score of 1-2, there were still 12 shots on goal, with six coming from corner kicks.
UC Davis was extremely competitive against SJSU; However, they conceded in the closing minutes of the match, a painful repeat of some of their past late-game struggles.
UC Davis’ game at Lamar University on Aug. 28 was a defensive struggle overall. Each team had several chances to score, but neither team could capitalize on them. UC Davis had plenty of offensive threats coming from various players, but there were only three Aggies who had chances to take shots.
e fifth game of the summer was on the road as well, at Louisiana State University (LSU) on Aug. 31, which had a strong start with the Aggies in the lead within the first half, having scored twice by the 35th minute and only allowing LSU to score one goal. Unfortunately, UC Davis lost the lead in the second half, as LSU went on the attack and turned the game quickly. LSU scored two goals in quick succession to take the score to 3-2.
Cat Pieper, a fourth-year political science major, had six saves as the goalkeeper, despite being under constant pressure in the second half.
While UC Davis secured a lead
LSU’s second-half surge. e Aggies then welcomed Saint Mary’s on Sept. 4, presenting a strong challenge for the Saint Mary’s players. Unfortunately, Saint Mary’s defense limited the shots the Aggies were able to take — only four total.
UC Davis’ defense, on the other hand, held up as best they could, only allowing Saint Mary’s to score one goal.
e Aggies then traveled to Loyola Marymount University (LMU) on Sept. 11, after a week-long break. LMU pressed heavily during the first half, forcing goalkeeper Pieper into action, stopping all shots on the goal.
UC Davis then pressed in the second half, taking 20 shots in total; Unfortunately, they could not score on LMU. Defense and offense for UC Davis showed resilience against LMU, highlighting issues that caused losses earlier this season.
UC Davis then hosted Montana State University on Sept. 14, controlling the ball for most of the game but failing to pull through to score. e Aggies took 17 shots against Montana, while Montana only took eight and scored a goal. With this match being their second 1-0 loss in just over a week, it does raise some concerns about the strength of offensive conversion — something for UC Davis to focus on for their upcoming season.
64th Annual Folsom Pro Rodeo:
DARIXA VARELA MEDRANO / AGGIE
DARIXA VARELA MEDRANO / AGGIE