June 8, 2017

the California Aggie SERVING THE UC DAVIS CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY SINCE 1915

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VOLUME 135, ISSUE 30 | THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2017 IAN JONES / AGGIE

Registered student organizations to be charged to reserve on-campus meeting spaces

Student Affairs no longer able to cover costs to Conference and Event Services due to budget constraints

BY JAYASHRI PA D MANAB H A N campus@theaggie.org

On May 16, registered student organizations (RSOs) were notified via an email newsletter that they will be charged to reserve on-campus meeting spaces starting on July 1. Previously, the Division of Student Affairs made a financial commitment to RSOs for the 2016-17 school year so that organizations could continue to receive the previous year’s free allotment of spaces. RSOs are currently allowed four hours of meeting reservations per week and three special events per quarter in general assignment and classroom spaces. UC Davis Conference and Event Services also charges fees of $45 for paid spaces and $10 for general assignment spaces exceeding the allotment.

Third-year geology and history double major Minda Moe is the president of Quiz Bowl at UC Davis. Moe is worried about the policy because their organization does not have enough money to pay for reserved spaces.

“They haven’t told us how expensive it will be,” Moe said. “I’m worried that we’ll either have to

limit the number of meetings or wander around the building looking for open rooms.”

Moe is concerned that there will be not enough spaces or that organizations may have to share rooms. They explained that meeting off campus is not always feasible because it is difficult to get everyone to the meetings.

“I know a lot of organizations that book rooms every week,” Moe said. “All I see is a bunch of organizations wandering around and trying to get room space.”

Third-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major Mahitha Murali is similarly concerned about being able to get together and afford spaces.

“It poses a great risk for student-led organizations, especially those that focus on philanthropic efforts to continue building their organizations,” Murali said via email. “Visions at UC Davis is solely run by a team of students who are focusing on raising funds for education in different parts of the world, and this policy may affect how often we meet and whether our team will be able to continue our fundraising initiatives to support the education of youth in Ethiopia, India, Nicaragua and Sri Lanka.”

IGNITE at UC Davis is hosting a Facebook event encouraging student organizations to send emails to petition for the removal of rental fees for the next year.

Second-year sustainable agriculture and food systems major Abigail Edwards, the secretary of IGNITE at UC Davis, received the email notification, immediately updated the club officers and spoke to Center for Student Involvement Director Kristin Dees about possible actions. Edwards then began to formulate plans to involve the more than 800 clubs on campus that could be affected by the new rule.

“I discussed these ideas with our officer team and we decided we needed to mobilize the UCD community, specifically RSOs, not only for the survival of our own [organization], but for the survival of all the UCD club programming which support students’ well-rounded education,” Edwards said in an email interview.

IGNITE also drafted an email template that organizations can send to Dees, who is acting as a liaison between the students and the administrators at Student Affairs responsible for the fees.

“The email template is intended as a way for stu-

dent [organizations] to voice their concern without having to draft a whole new email — we are all students and it’s week nine so we’re trying to make this as accessible as possible,” Edwards said. “The more feedback they receive, the better.”

Edwards said the response from students has been very positive and that many students were unaware of the increase or concerned about how the fee would impact their clubs.

“This year, they are $10 to $45 per hour (depending on whether you are collecting money or not) which is a lot for student [organizations] working with a tight budget,” Edwards said.

Edwards believes that the fee increase has the potential to decrease the number of student organizations or deter new organizations from being created because of the lack of accessibility and ability to be involved.

“To be honest, I don’t think there would be so many clubs on campus without access to free spaces to organize,” Edwards said. “Student organizations utilize these spaces to connect with other students with similar interests, which is such an important part of the Aggie experience.”

BRIAN NGUYEN / AGGIE FILE

MORGAN TIEU / AGGIE

Senate constitutional amendment to limit budgetary autonomy of UC Regents

Academics Without Borders aide in developing countries

SCA 14 would implement changes in 138-year-old governing system of UC Board of Regents

Nonprofit organization works toward sustainability

BY KIMI A A KBA RI campus@theaggie.org

On May 23, California State Senator Ed Hernandez proposed Senate Constitutional Amendment 14 (SCA 14) with the primary objective of curbing the budgetary autonomy of the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) and implementing changes to the UC Board of Regents.

According to a press release from Hernandez’s office, the reports from the state audit following the UC tuition hikes created a need for more accountability in how the university system is governed.

Some of the proposed changes include more faculty, student and staff representation on the Board of Regents as well as the presence of the Chancellor of the Community Colleges. Furthermore, SCA 14 would reduce the appointed members’ terms from 12 years to four years and set a limit of three terms.

The press release added that constitutional authority of the UC system was last amended in 1976.

At the time, the state’s population was around 20 million people and the annual tuition for in-state UC students was $630 (about $2,700 in today’s dollars). The state population has since doubled and tuition prices have risen to $13,500 for California residents.

“California has grown and changed since 1976,” Hernandez said in the press release. “It is only natural that we have a conversation about how the University of California’s governance can best reflect and adapt to those changes.”

In regards to budgetary practices, if SCA 14 passes, UCOP will have its budget allocated by the state legislature.

Duane Wright, a graduate student in the UC UCOP on 11

et

G Stre

620 G Street at 6th davisfood.coop

6th Street

620 G ST

5th Street (Russell Blvd.)

Open 7am—10pm

BY AH ASH FR ANCI S city@theaggie.org

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of charities and nonprofits that work toward helping developing countries by sending aid money and materials its inhabitants may need. This multitude of organizations makes people wonder why there are still so many prevailing issues in third-world countries, when there seems to be millions of dollars and lots of aid going into building up these countries.

There is a new nonprofit in town that may have an answer to that question.

Academics Without Borders USA (AWB-USA) is a nearly three-year-old nonprofit organization with strong ties to UC Davis. Its primary goal is to “increase the capacity of colleges and universities in developing nations” to shape the engineers, doctors and teachers that these countries so desperately

need in order to face their problems. AWB-USA sends trained academics and experts in their respective fields to universities and institutes all around the world to “teach the teachers.”

AWB is unique in its proposal process. Rather than taking suggestions for projects from professionals here in the United States, the nonprofit has a year-long cycle in which they take proposals from the foreign institutes they assist. When the board decides which projects they are going to fund, they either connect the institute with the experts they need or build on established relationships between foreign institutes and academics that they have already been in contact with.

One of AWB’s recent projects was in Sri Lanka at the University of Peradeniya. Dr. Michael Wilkes had already been involved at the institute, traveling NONPROFIT on 11

2 | THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2017

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

DANIEL TAK / AGGIE FILE

International undergraduate, graduate students face increased fees, elimination of childcare grant

International Student Administrative Fee for undergraduates to increase by 428 percent next year

BY KENTON G O L DS BY campus@theaggie.org

International undergraduate students at UC Davis are facing a 428 percent increase in International Student Administrative Fees (ISAF) starting in the 2017-2018 school year. Additionally, a childcare grant that some international students currently qualify for will be changed, prohibiting certain international students from receiving it.

The ISAF has historically been a $159 one-time fee, paid upon entrance into the university. Under the new plan, international undergraduate students will be charged $210 per academic year, starting in 2017. This $210 price tag will increase incrementally until the fee is $348 per year by 2021. The final percentage increase from current rates to 2021 rates will be approximately 775 percent.

While this fee hike is currently only applicable to international undergraduate students, this was not initially the case. According to numerous international graduate students, it took significant effort, including contacting the labor union, to prevent the fee hike from affecting them.

“It is still affecting only international undergrad students, which we think is discriminatory,” said Rebeca Rubio, an international graduate student and

an associate instructor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. “[…] I think the most important action that we took was contacting the union and submitting a grievance to labor relations, saying that this fee hike was a violation of our contract.”

According to a copy of the grievance supplied to The Aggie, the union claim was based on Article 20, Section A.1 of the BX contract.

“Given that ASE [Academic Student Employees] enrollment rests on one’s enrollment as a student, and enrollment rests on the successful payment of fees, the ISAF represents a form of discriminatory wage theft based on national origin, a category protected under Article 20, Section A.1 of the BX contract,” the grievance reads.

Although the fee increase has been revoked for international graduate students, some still fear that international students will be a target for a later fee hike.

“Right now, [international students] are easy targets for the university to go ahead and obtain whatever funds they want, but at what point are domestic students also going to be targeted as well or are also going to end up having to pay more?” said Emily Frankel, a graduate student in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. “[…] I think that the university needs to be more transparent with its funding.”

With regard to the grant for child care, the grant being eliminated for certain international students is the Community Based Care Grant (CBCG). This grant is worth between $1,200 and $1,600 per quarter beginning next year, depending on the age of the child, according to Julia Ann Easley, a media relations officer for UC Davis.

“These changes are being made to better reflect the goal of the need-based grant to provide funds for required care for present children so the UC Davis student can attend to their studies for the completion of their degree,” Easley said via email.

This change is coming about because of closer analysis of visa and spousal support, according to Sandy Batchelor, a work-life coordinator for the Heitman Staff Learning Center at UC Davis.

“The statement is indicating that if the student receives specific dependent care resources on their Visa (enumerated for number of dependents) — there is a separate allowance line specifically for dependent care (not living expenses, nor school costs), they are unable to receive the CBCG,” Batchelor said via email. “[They] are still eligible for [Graduate Student Child Care Grant] funds, so essentially, they already have two sources of income specifically for dependent care expenses. […] If the spouse is in-eligible [sic] to work it goes to the question of

necessity of outsourcing childcare. While the child care may be desirable, the necessity of using these limited need-based funds come into question. These students are still eligible for the GSCCG funds of up to $3600 per year for outside child care.”

The concern on the part of the international students interviewed is that there was a lack of transparency and information regarding these changes.

“No one included us, there was no survey, there was nothing,” said Elena Atanasiu, a graduate student in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

“We were just communicated that this was what was going to happen. And when we asked why, they said that the [Campus Community] Council [which is headed by the current UC Davis chancellor] decided that as their priority, and their priority to distribute funds wisely.’”

Anastasiu described the strain that eliminating the CBCG will put on international graduate students with families.

“Part-time day care is [over $600] per month,” Atanasiu said. “So basically, you will not be able to take your kid to daycare. How are we supposed to live here and how are our kids supposed to learn about the culture and the language and meet other people and feel good? This is our home, too. We live here for six, seven, eight years. Davis is our home.”

PROTESTERS SHUT DOWN WOODLAND MONSANTO

NIKKI PADAR / AGGIE

Activists fight against GMOs in modern agriculture

BY NICO LAS RAG O city@theaggie.org

While California was waking up on the Monday morning of May 22, the Anti-Monsanto Project was already on the move. As early as 4 a.m., the Anti-Monsanto Project assembled in front of the Woodland Monsanto for a protest. While the protest began with numbers above 30, the crowd eventually thinned out as the Yolo County Sheriff ’s office arrived at the scene, with only the most faithful protesters remaining.

“There were a group of protesters outside the business,” said Sergeant Matt Davis of the Yolo County Sheriff ’s Office. “A number of them made the decision to sit down in front of the driveway that effectively blocked the entrance, ingoing and outgoing, from the highway onto the property.”

Police Logs:

HANNAH LEE / AGGIE

BY IVAN VALENZUELA campus@theaggie.org

NIKKI PADAR / AGGIE

Week 10 vibes

BY SAM SOLOM O N city@theaggie.org

May 28 “Residents above pounding intentionally on the floor. RP has already asked them to quiet down and believes that they are retaliating.”

“Male on a bike peeking into driveways.”

May 31 “Male was punching a parked vehicle.”

June 2 “Driver under the influence of marijuana — circling neighborhood in white Ford Explorer.”

June 3 “RP requesting advice for legality of selling old swords online.”

“3 juvenile females just urinated on the lamppost.”

On May 25, the ASUCD Senate held its weekly meeting on the third floor of the Memorial Union (MU). The meeting was called to order at 6:12 p.m. by ASUCD Vice President Adilla Jamaludin. Senator Michael Gofman was absent at the start of the meeting and President Josh Dalavai was not in attendance.

The meeting began with the selection of a new pro-tempore. Senator Samantha Chiang, who resigned the previous Monday, previously occupied the position. Senator Julie Jung, nominated by Senator Jose Meneses, was selected to fill the position.

The first item on the agenda was a presentation by the Environmental Policy and Planning Commision. Sarah Risher, the chair for the commission, spoke to the Senate about important environmental facts, the commission’s participation in recent events such as the Aggie Food Connection Fair and the new toilet talk posters they distributed around campus.

Afterward, the Center for Advocacy Resources and Education provided consent training, touching on a number of issues such as sexual assault and intervention. The training, which included the entire table, lasted just under an hour.

During break, senators headed to the first floor of the MU to gather for a photo.

Senator Daniel Nagey was absent at the beginning of the second half of the meeting, which began with the unit report for Experimental College Garden, a group focused on sustainable gardening and health.

Next, the Senate moved to confirm a new chair for the DREAM Committee. Enrique Lopez, previously the vice-chair, was selected for the position.

Afterward, the Senate motioned to reopen the ASUCD 2017-18 student government budget. With Jamaludin excusing herself for the budget process, Jung served as the presiding officer while Senator Simran Grewal served as interim pro-temp.

The Senate moved to correct a pay issue with the Student Government Administrative Office, whose pay was previously approved as stipended. The Senate motioned to approve the salaries to hourly with

Davis explained the situation and his interactions with the protesters: “They were advised to move or they would be arrested, and 10 individuals chose to remain,” Davis said. “And they were taken into custody.”

Davis then commented on the nature of the protesters: “The individuals were cooperative,” Davis said. “There was no incident, other than they stood up, they were placed in handcuffs and walked to a nearby van. It was as simple as that.”

Although the protesters blocked the entry and exit points for a little over an hour, Davis witnessed no further interaction between the protesters and employees of Monsanto.

“I didn’t see any interactions between any Monsanto repreMONSANTO on 11

10 yes votes and one abstention.

Next, KDVS, which hired a news media director, had its budget approved with 10 yes votes and one abstention.

After motioning out of the 2017-18 budget, the status of previously passed legislation was discussed.

New legislation was then introduced. The legislation considered included a senate bill to shift the funds allocated to the Office of Advocacy and Student Representation by the 2016-17 ASUCD Budget, a senate bill to allocate $173.62 for food and art supplies for Senator Anastasia Ruttkay’s “It’s Time to Reclaim Our Bodies” sexual assault prevention event, a senate bill to establish the Food Security Task Force Committee and a senate bill to allocate $175.00 for the purchase of ASUCD graduation stoles. The senate bill for the purchasing of new stoles, SB #108, has since been withdrawn.

Afterward, the consideration of old legislation began.

The first bill presented was SB #102, which would allocate $1,000 for the ASUCD Volunteer Award. Authored by Jung, the bill originally intended for six people to receive awards of $150. The bill was amended so that 10 people would receive awards of $100. With 10 yes votes and one abstention, SB #102 was passed.

Next on the list was SB #103, which would make the budgetary seminar a mandatory seminar. With 10 yes votes and one abstention, SB #103 was passed.

Afterward, emergency legislation was introduced to the table. With Nagey joining, all senators were present.

The first piece of emergency legislation, which moved to hire a new chair, vice chair and three director positions by the end of the quarter for the elections committee, was unanimously passed with 11 yes votes.

Next, a senate bill to amend the procedure for ASUCD scholarships was introduced. The ASUCD Scholarships Committee normally receives information on students’ financial needs from the financial office after their applications are submitted to the committee. Afterward, the committee interviews potential awardees. Calling the process redundant, the bill would amend the bylaws to remove the interview portion.

With 11 yes votes, the bill passed unanimously.

The last piece of emergency legislation was a senate resolution introduced by Nagey. SR #14 moves to support students in their efforts to advocate against a number of administrative issues with the University of California, including calling on reversing recent tuition hikes, redistributing funds to university workers and restructuring the UC system in a more democratic way for students and workers.

The resolution also calls on the senate to endorse a petition demanding these reforms, as well as demanding the resignation of UC President Janet Napolitano. Gofman moved to remove the inclusion of the petition, which failed with three yes votes, five no votes and three abstentions.

Next, Jung moved to call the bill into question. With nine yes votes and two no votes from Gofman and Senator Matthew Yamaguchi, the resolution was passed by the Senate.

Lastly, ex-officio and elected officer reports were given, with the table updating one another on recent developments. With the approval of last meeting’s minutes, the meeting adjourned at 11:40 p.m.

THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2017 | 3

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ANSWERS TO PREVIOUS PUZZLES

CHESS White’s defense is trying to slow down black’s offense. By taking the best defense into consideration, white will block.

If white moves the king to b4, rook checkmates on a4.

Chess

Sudoku

This puzzle is a mate in 3 moves.

Black to move. Checkmate in 3 moves.

There may be alternatives to white’s defense but the mate is inevitable to any move made by white.

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

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4 | THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2017

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ASUCD units in EcoHub face numerous problems Issues include rats, cockroaches, lack of adequate space

BY ALYSSA VANDE NB E RG c ampus @the aggie .org

SAHAR FOROUZANFAR / AGGIE

MORGAN TIEU / AGGIE

Davis City Council adopts cannabis policies for commercial businesses City expects local cannabis businesses to apply, open for business later this year

When six ASUCD units moved to the EcoHub three years ago, the unit directors were told that the move was only temporary. However, it now seems that the units, which include Whole Earth Festival (WEF), Experimental College, Aggie Reuse, Campus Center for the Environment (CCE) and Project Compost, will remain there indefinitely.

“The move was originally temporary, but it now appears to not be temporary,” said Amelia Evard, a fourth-year sociology and Spanish major and one of the WEF unit directors. “I don’t know of any plans to move any of us [the units] elsewhere.”

The units have dealt with numerous issues since moving into the EcoHub. According to Nicole Garcia, a third-year communication major and the unit director for the Aggie Reuse Store, housing the units in close proximity has been beneficial in some ways, but the units all need more space than what the EcoHub is currently providing.

“It’s been a great experience for us to be able to work closely with the other unit directors, as we’ve been able to forge mutually beneficial relationships with them over time,” Garcia said via email. “But as a drawback, we are all sharing the same space; and as the units grow, particularly ours, we often need more and more space. For us, that’s space we’re using from CCE and WEF, being that the space given to us by ASUCD is incredibly lacking. Our unit in particular holds a variety of events throughout the year, ranging from small-scale to large-scale [...]

Additionally, as our team approaches sixty to seventy people for next year, the space concerns become even more alarming — that’s more than sixty people in our unit alone, using this space day in and day out.”

Evard and Jess Tierney, a fourth-year environmental science and management major and one of the WEF directors, said that the WEF unit has experienced many difficulties since moving into the building, including a lack of sufficient space.

“On the one hand, some units don’t have an office space, so we are obviously really happy that we do have the EcoHub

BY B IANCA AT U NE Z c ity@the aggie .org

During its meeting on May 23, the Davis City Council voted to adopt a zoning ordinance permitting commercial cannabis businesses in the city. The ordinance outlines the cannabis business regulations involved in manufacturing, research and development, testing and distribution. These businesses will soon be allowed to apply for permits and open doors in Davis in the second half of this calendar year.

With the passage of the ordinance, the council has allowed for the use of volatile and nonvolatile solvents for manufacturing processes, the distribution of cannabis from the cultivators and/or manufacturers to dispensaries, the testing of marijuana and its products in laboratories and research and development purposes within city limits.

Existing ordinances already regulate indoor cultivation for medical use as well as outdoor cultivation for medical and personal use.

“We voted unanimously to move forward with permitting zoning ordinances that would allow for three or four different types of commercial businesses to be established in the city,” said Mayor Robb Davis. “We feel that the businesses fit within [current zoning regulations] — we don’t necessarily have to create any new businesses-type zones.”

This could open up the production of marijuana products, such as edibles, topicals and oils, in Davis, while also opening doors for different ways of regulating the once-illegal drug.

However, marijuana is still federally illegal, preventing research within UC limits due to the university system’s federal funding.

The council has yet to establish retail regulations for cannabis use but expects to dial down on those policies next. City officials note that the community seems to have very few, if any, instances of controversy in regards to commercial regulation. Most citizens have general concerns with this part of the

and that we do have a space where our staff can meet, but on the other hand we just got told this year that we’ve been in this room for three years with this furniture and all of a sudden we found out [from Student Affairs] that it’s a fire hazard,” Evard said. “We know that as a unit we are fairly lucky with how much space we have, especially given that there’s a lot of things we need to store for the festival, but I think it also feels like we don’t have, us and I think the other EcoHub units, don’t have adequate space.”

While Student Affairs agreed to provide Evard and Tierney with the new furniture, Evard noted that the building itself is still a safety hazard, as it is made out of wood but has no sprinklers.

According to Evard and Tierney, there are also rats inside the building. When the building’s couches were moved outside for WEF, there were rat droppings inside one of them, and many of the outlets in the building no longer work because rats have chewed the wires. Tierney said that one afternoon, she saw a rat in the WEF office.

Currently, there are several rat traps throughout the building. Above one rat trap there is a sign that states “finger-shattering mouse trap nearby.”

Evard said that she and Tierney have emailed ASUCD Business Manager Janice Corbett, who has in turn sent requests to facilities, but the rat issue has remained about the same.

Evard said that there are also cockroaches in the building, and that earlier this year there was a gas leak in the front room, which Evard believes is now fixed.

Two former WEF directors, who wish to remain anonymous, said that during their time as directors they also saw numerous safety issues. In addition to the rats and cockroaches, they stated that there was a light structure hanging by a rope and nails on the ceilings as well as a lack of hot water in the kitchen.

Evard, Tierney and Garcia all wish that ASUCD made more of an effort to recognize the problems the units are dealing with regarding the EcoHub. ECOHUB on 12

process, but community involvement and opinion is expected to pick up once the council beings to tackle cannabis retail policy.

“The public comment at that meeting was definitely in favor of the ordinance that was brought forward,” said Ashley Feeney, the assistant director of the Davis Community Development and Sustainability Department, a multi-departmental team that is leading the City of Davis’ efforts to bring forward cannabis regulations for council considerations. “There wasn’t any public comment that I can recall that was dissenting.”

The cannabis industry is likely to create more jobs and is therefore expected to positively impact the Davis economy.

“Specifically for the manufacturing ordinance that was adopted, those type of businesses are not too dissimilar to other manufacturing businesses that operate in the manufacturing spaces,” Feeney said. “The difference would be the product –– the input that is put in for the product they manufacture.

Those types of businesses would typically have professionally trained chemists, engineers and a multi-line staff at those businesses, so certainly it would make a positive contribution to job creation within the manufacturing field.”

Moreover, taxing cannabis and cannabis-related businesses is a question for the city council and a concern for citizens.

Measure C allows the city to tax these businesses up to an additional 10 percent on top of existing state and sales taxes. Some citizens are concerned about the taxation of medical marijuana in particular, as the lack of federal regulation of the drug by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration makes the process seem a little unclear.

“Please make sure that medical marijuana is not taxed,” said Davis resident Donna Russell, according to The Davis Enterprise. “You tax liquor, tax candy; you don’t tax medicines.”

The city council is accounting for these concerns when creating new cannabis policies to ensure that vulnerable populations and those who use cannabis for medical purposes are included in the conversation.

LGBTQ youth counseling group established New group fights social stigmas in community

CAITLYN SAMPLEY / AGGIE

BY EL I A N A SI SN ER OS city@ th e ag g i e . o rg

Amid turbulent political and social climates, the Davis community aims to foster and support its local LGBTQ adolescents. Beginning this summer, Davis will welcome its first LGBTQ youth counseling group in an effort to provide local teens with resources for healthy social and emotional development.

The first LGBTQ group session will be held on July 24 and will be facilitated by Julie Weckstein, a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in working with LGBTQ youth. Weckstein recognized

the value in establishing the counseling group and considered how the adolescent participants would react to the dynamics of its therapy.

“The kids [and] the issues these days are different,” Weckstein said. “For almost all the kids that are in the group so far, being gay is not the issue anymore.

Mostly these kids just want their own safe space to be social and to get support.”

The LGBTQ youth counseling group will strive to provide its participants with social connections and emotional support within the guidelines of traditional therapeutic boundaries. Other goals of the group include the promotion of indi-

vidual self-esteem, support from others and the acquisition of proper communication skills for dealing with stressful situations and potential discrimination.

While the greater LGBTQ community continues to affirm its identity, presence and rights in a rapidly changing political and social climate, Weckstein explained that the adolescent members of the LGBTQ support group are more comfortable with their identity and social integration compared to previous generations.

“It’s amazing to me how articulate these kids are,” Weckstein said. “They already know what feelings are. They are much more communicative and have good relationships with their parents.

These kids are just very different.”

The current generation of young LGBTQ individuals aims to break down barriers and rethink identity labels.

Although the word “queer” was once deemed a slur by the LGBTQ community, members of the current generation have largely reclaimed the word as a positive term of self-identification. Weckstein noted that several of her younger

clients have adopted the term “SAGA,” or Sexual And Gender Acceptance, as an all-encompassing and alternative group identifier for the terms “LGBTQ,” “LGBTQIA” and “LGBTQ+.”

Lawrence Shweky, a licensed therapist and youth activist, worked with Weckstein to establish the LGBTQ youth group via the EMERGE Center for Social and Emotional Learning. EMERGE caters to local adolescents in need of social and emotional growth by normalizing discussion of mental illness. As the executive director of EMERGE, Shweky assessed the unique needs of LGBTQ adolescent community in Davis.

“There’s a lot of really wonderful, positive things about growing up in Davis,” Shweky said. “But it can be a difficult environment in ways that adults don’t often understand.”

While Davis is a liberal and diverse city, the presence of a large university can also cause added stress and difficulty for local adolescents. Shweky highlighted the necessity of providing them with proper guidance and encouragement through “culturally relevant and age-appropriate”

services.

The LGBTQ youth counseling group may help participants to transition from a high school to a college environment.

According to Monique Merritt, a recent UC Davis alumna, having exposure and information regarding the LGBTQ community prior to attending college benefits incoming LGBTQ college students.

Monique identifies as a queer, black, cisgender woman. During her collegiate career, Monique worked at the UC Davis LGBTQIA Resource Center as its high school outreach community coordinator.

Merritt believes that social networking within the LGBTQIA community can positively impact the self-esteem of queer adolescents.

“Outreach lets younger folks know that they are not alone,” Merritt said.

“It’s important to remind folks that their identities are valid, that their identities should be celebrated and that they will find other folks like them in the future.”

For more information regarding the LGBTQ Youth Counseling Group, please contact Julie Weckstein, LCSW at jaw@jps.net.

THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2017 | 5

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

N ICHOLAS CHA N / AGGIE

Aggie Profiles: Michael Valenzuela

From Los Angeles to Davis, from mentee to mentor

BY GILLIAN ALLEN featu res@ th e a ggi e .o r g

Michael Valenzuela, an advisor at the UC Davis College of Letters and Science Dean’s Office, has an undying passion for college and loves his family and life in Davis more than words can describe. However, Valenzuela did not always have the luxuries he now has today.

Valenzuela describes Davis as the “photo negative” of the environment in which he grew up. Raised on the edge of what most people would call East Los Angeles proper in the San Gabriel Valley, Valenzuela refers to his hometown as, for lack of a better description, “the hood.”

“I must have been wearing a hard look on my face for a lot of my formative years and thereafter when I was in L.A.,” Valenzuela said. “It actually wasn’t until I got to Davis that I started feeling more comfortable and I started letting my guard down. It was not until [...] deep into my life I had realized I am way goofier than I had even realized. I am just one big dork, and I love the fact that Davis has allowed me to find myself in that way.”

Born into a Chicano family that had a long history of serving in the United States Coast Guard, there was no room for dorkiness growing up amidst the unfriendliness of the valley. As a high schooler, Valenzuela’s father told him not to concern himself with talk of college because on the day he was to

graduate high school, he would walk into the recruitment office and sign up for the Army. Just as he was beginning to write off college for good, his father passed away, which allowed him to pursue higher education.

“I was the first male in my family to not go into a uniform service either straight out of high school or before high school graduation,” Valenzuela said.

“College, for me and for my family, provided that blessing which is why in some part I am so passionate about college. I challenge you to find somebody who loves the idea of college more than I do.”

After graduating from a high school where less than 5 percent of its graduating class went on to college, Valenzuela attended community college for two years and then went on to California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). Valenzuela vividly recalls his registration day at CSULB, as well as the fear and pressure he felt of college before it had even begun.

“I was so scared,” Valenzuela said. “I was afraid to ask anybody about the process because I really didn’t want to embarrass myself, and I didn’t want anybody to know I was way out of my element. I stumbled around that auditorium for the better part of about two or three hours and then finally I remember pausing for a moment [saying] to myself: ‘You can’t figure out in two hours what most people figured out in 20 minutes, you are in way over your head, you just don’t belong here.’”

As he packed up his materials and headed for the

exit, he noticed somebody off in the distance staring at him. He looked back, and saw someone standing — looking out of place, just like himself — but also looking like somebody from back home.

“I saw a veteran Chicano who was sitting behind a table, you know, with tats and [more] tats,” Valenzuela said. “He gave me [a head nod] and where I come from, when you get one of those you have to return that or it’s just disrespectful.”

The man, who Valenzuela later learned was a Chicano studies professor at the university, approached the young Valenzuela, inquiring why he was leaving so soon. He then sat him down and went over the registration process. In 30 minutes he had Valenzuela convinced that he in fact did belong in college.

“That’s the day that I kind of abandoned all my thoughts of my being in complete control of my reality,” Valenzuela said. “[I thought] destiny was in my hands. When I had a moment thereafter to process what happened, I realized this man in 60 seconds changed the course and direction of the rest of my life.”

He explained that this man seemed to be almost waiting and expecting him to be there on that day.

“This man did some things he shouldn’t have in his younger days, but he recreated himself from the ground up and was probably the best professor I had ever had and one of the best friends ever,” Valenzuela said. “He really was my savior. I promised him that I would spend the rest of my career paying back what he did for me, so I’m just trying to save one soul at a time, one student at a time. So here I am, decades later, still trying. I hope I’m making him proud, I really do.”

Valenzuela is doing much more than just making his mentor proud. Every day, he advises students on classes, study habits, life skills and how to pursue their individual passions and dreams. Anyone who is lucky enough to have a conversation with Valenzuela will see that he gives his undivided attention to whomever is sitting on the other side of his desk, whether he has known the person for years or if he is meeting them for the very first time.

“I would love to believe that my colleagues on this campus and other campuses are as passionate about working with undergraduates as I am,” Valenzuela said. “It’s no secret [that] I’m not getting rich working for the state here at UC Davis [...] but college is my passion. This is where I belong. There is nothing more rewarding than somebody looking you in the

eye when it’s all said and done and saying you made a difference — it’s almost magical.”

Taking more of a tough-love approach, he also pushes anyone he meets to work exceptionally hard because he expects great things out of the students at UC Davis.

“I want to believe in one way shape or form I’m emulating [my mentor’s] lessons and allowing people to find their own path,” Valenzuela said. “I got three big passions in my life: First and foremost is family, secondly college, thirdly I love emergency response and first-responder activity. I guess I always am attracted to some kind of soul-saving activity of some sort, academic or otherwise.”

Perhaps Valenzuela’s passion for emergency response stems from growing up surrounded by family members who had all served in the Coast Guard. He speculates that all the years of the drilling and programming planted a sort of patriotic calling in the back of his mind to do his part and serve in uniform.

“Everybody asks about that! It looks cool, right?”

Valenzuela said when asked about the framed certificate from the United States government that hangs on his office wall.

“I was in an arm of the U.S. Coast guard when 9/11 occurred, and so it was the result of all that when the Department of Homeland Security was created,” Valenzuela said. “They swept a number of agencies into the newly-formed Homeland Security and all of us who were in these agencies became literally founding members and so they recognize us as such.”

Proud to have served his country for a decade before coming to Davis and to have been involved in this monumental part of history, Valenzuela brings his involvement in the armed forces back to his inherent passion for helping people, even those he does not know.

“It stands among one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever experienced to put on a uniform of your country, but for me it’s a little bit more than that — I love helping people and if given the opportunity, I would love saving lives,” Valenzuela said.

Valenzuela is also on one of the training teams for the UC Davis Police Department, specifically the community response to active shooter team. His team teaches people how to respond in the event of an active shooter.

PROFILE on 11

Accessibility for disabilities: Beneficial for all AdMIN works to make accessibility, accommodations for employees with disabilities a norm

BY KRISTEN LEUNG featu res@ th e a ggi e .o r g

From top-of-the-line voice recognition software to tables that height-adjust depending on load weight, UC Davis’ accommodations for employees with occupational and cognitive disabilities are becoming increasingly ubiquitous. However, many issues still persist.

Tim Kerbavas, the special event support technical director for UC Davis’ Academic Technology Services, was working at an event when he fell off a stage and sprained his ankle. Coming back an hour later in crutches, he started to consider the circumstances those with disabilities face daily.

“The aisles are too narrow and I can’t get past the chairs,” Kerbavaz said. “I came back with a temporary disability and realized I [couldn’t] get around this event that I’m running. It was this wake up call, like, ‘I am contributing to all these events.’ I’m a part of the problem here.”

Those without disabilities often find it difficult to identify the widespread lack of accessibility across campus and the daily problems it causes for those with disabilities. Kerbavas spoke at UC Davis’ fourth annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) on Thursday, May 18 amongst other concerned UC Davis faculty and staff working to engage with more accessible university practices.

Many GAAD speakers emphasized how accessibility improvements help not only those with disabilities, but the entire population as a whole.

Application of a concept called Universal Design accomplishes this.

“We would like more instructors, faculty and [teaching assistants] to be aware of these principles and to be applying them,” said Dr. Cara Harwood-Theisen, an education specialist at UC Davis’ Center for Educational Effectiveness.

Universal Design encapsulates the idea of access for all, anticipating the needs of a wide range of potential individuals by considering factors such as height, reading skill and auditory and visual capabilities.

“Rather than designing experiences with the average user in mind, we consider what we know as a diverse population and their needs,” Harwood-Theisen said.

While California’s population of working-age individuals with disabilities is the largest in the country, California’s total number of individuals with disabilities is 42nd nationally. Disabilities are often not congenital and instead are acquired through work and aging among the common population.

“It’s one thing that will hit all of us at some point — as we get older, the more disabilities we’ll have,” said Joshua Hori, an accessible technology analyst for UC Davis’ Student Disability Center. “I didn’t

N ICHOL AS CHA N / AG GIE

have tinnitus when I was younger. I didn’t have anxiety when I was young. As the environment changes, so will your disabilities.”

Though widely varying depending on type of work, UC Davis’ departments have set practices to anticipate, prevent and accommodate injuries and disabilities. All of its delivery and mail staff have lift gates and hand trucks to carry heavy items. Faculty and staff with offices choose from three types of chairs and endless combinations of keyboard, monitor and desk configurations, as office work can often result in repetitive motion injuries.

“We spend a lot of time coaching and training supervisors so that they understand [disabilities] law,” said Dave Ritz, vocational rehabilitation counselor for UC Davis’ Disabilities Management Services.

“We have developed partnerships and case coordination meetings monthly with large departments so that we’re able to do on-the-spot training, talk about

cases [and] talk about accommodations.”

Ritz explained the organic conversation an individual with an injury or disabilities can have with their employer to receive effective job accommodations through the American Disabilities Act of 1990-mandated Interactive Process.

“The Interactive Process is a good faith conversation with an employee about what we can do to help you,” Ritz said. “There’s no right words, there’s no wrong words, there’s no buzzwords, there is no step A, step B, step C.” Supervisors engage in the Interactive Process with their employees to assess their limitations, often review a medical note and determine the best way to make accommodations. Employees’ precise disabilities remain confidential and usually are not disclosed at all.

DISABILITIES on 11

Joel Sandoval Community Health Care Worker SRJC Graduate Read my story: stories.santarosa.edu

This Summer, Save $$, Take Classes At SRJC May 8 Open registration – online and in person June 19 Classes Start!

Plan and enroll today: www.santarosa.edu/start Summer Session – 6 and 8 weeks Earn lower division credits – only $46 per unit Santa Rosa, Petaluma, online and countywide Instant Admission Free Assessment, Counseling, Financial Aid The Sonoma County Junior College District does not discriminate on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, ethnic group identification, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic condition, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information or sexual orientation in any of its policies, procedures or practices; nor does the District discriminate against any employees or applicants for employment on the basis of their age. This non-discrimination policy covers admission, access and treatment in District programs and activities, including but not limited to academic admissions, financial aid, educational services and athletics, and application for District employment.

C17x.DAVIS.11.625x5.375 APR27.2017.indd 2

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6 | THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2017

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE JERO REAL / AGGIE

Clear path found only in retrospect UC Davis faculty reflect on transitions out of undergraduate careers

SUSAN TABER AVILA

BY EM I L I E D EFA Z I O fea tu re s@ t he ag g i e . o rg

Professor Susan Taber Avila’s first thought after her graduation from UCLA in 1982 with a degree in textile design was a feeling that many students can relate to this spring.

“I kind of panicked,” Avila said. “I enrolled in a typing class. I thought [that] I better learn how to type so I can at least get a job as a secretary.”

With commencement just around the corner, UC Davis students — both those graduating this quarter and those finding

themselves simply thinking of “the real world” with an air of desperation — are thinking about, and doubting, what they should do next.

Avila, now the chair of the Department of Design, found her way not by deciding immediately what she wanted to do after graduation, but by taking every opportunity she encountered. She spent the first few years after graduation restoring antique textiles, working as a studio assistant, selling handmade belts, scarves and matching vests on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles and exhibiting her own work.

“At school you’re paying to learn stuff,” Avila said. “The next year out, you’re still learning stuff but you’re not necessarily paying to learn stuff anymore. I think students put too much pressure on getting the perfect job right away, and sometimes the imperfect job is just what you need.”

After moving to Oakland for cheaper studio space, Avila found a day job at Planned Parenthood and decided to go back to get her master’s degree the ‘90s.

After graduating from UC Davis with her Master of Fine Arts in textile arts and costume design in 1996, she took the opportunity to teach as an adjunct professor and has been a faculty member at the university ever since.

“It’s sort of a circuitous route that got me here, but I think my own experience has made me keenly aware of students,” Avila said. “I’ve had many a student come to me just crying because they don’t know [...] what they’re supposed to be doing. There’s designers out there who didn’t study design, who came to it later in life or by other means. If you have a passion for something, there’s no reason why you can’t shift and do that.”

Encouraging students to take advantage of faculty connections, internships, research and projects that come with a university environment is one of her focuses as department chair, as any kind of experience can lead a student in a direction they had never before considered.

But still, the question prevails of how one can get out and meet these opportunities head-on.

“I get that some people worry that they’ll become a Cheez-Its-eating lounge lizard [after graduation], not doing anything — [but] I don’t think so,” said professor of nutrition Liz Applegate.

“You have a discipline you developed here at UC Davis, and you [will] keep that intact. You got here by being disciplined [and] by being a hard worker.

You’re going to still be that way.”

Before becoming a professor of nutrition and the director of the sports nutrition program, Applegate spent her undergraduate and graduate careers taking advantage of opportunities that helped her forge her own way on campus — something she couldn’t predict when she started on a pre-med track as a biochemistry major at UC Davis. Also,

if it weren’t for her major professor who told her that she had to improve her writing skills, she would never have written her books, graduate thesis or articles for magazines like Runner’s World.

“I wish I had known [in my undergraduate career] how important writing was for my success,” Applegate said. “Every letter, every word is painful — I’m not comfortable with writing, but I do it all the time. I can’t emphasize enough to students that […] both written and oral communication skills are of the utmost [importance] and I was never told that.

The [worker] that is the better communicator is the most successful, in my mind.”

Applegate’s success in her postgraduate career came through dedication and hard work, but not without a price. Applegate described a feeling of self-doubt once she graduated, something anyone embarking on a new chapter can identify with.

“I [had] always felt like I was inadequate, that there’s got to be other people who can do a better job,” Applegate said.

“While smarts and intellect is part of your performance, the other part of your WHAT I WISH on 12

University of California stereotypes: Students from different UC campuses share ideas about each other

BY EL I Z A BE T H M A R IN fea tu re s@ t he ag g i e . o rg

Ever wonder what other UC students think about UC Davis? Bikes, cows and agriculture are all words often used to describe Davis. It’s that one farming school in the middle of nowhere, right? Not exactly.

But since California residents and students tend to generalize each of the UCs, labels get thrown around to describe every campus, helping spread surface-level conclusions.

California has nine undergraduate UC schools, and each has its own personality. There are a lot of preconceived notions about each campus and, whether they are correct or not, they circulate throughout California’s population. For example, Jason Chay, a fourth-year mechanical engineering major at UCLA, sees Davis as a bike-friendly agricultural town.

“Davis has cows, a lot of cows, a lot of bikes. [It’s] flat and very ag-based,” Chay said.

According to Derik Bessler, a second-year aerospace engineering major at UCLA, even people who do not know much about the area know that Davis is farm-centric.

“The first thing that comes to mind is that it’s a cow town, you know, farm-y,” Bessler said. “When I think of Davis […] first thought is maybe like ‘oh they didn’t get into a certain UC they wanted.’”

While UC Davis is ranked high academically, some students refer to it as “UCDidn’t get into LA or Berkeley.”

But UCLA students also get labelled as students who likely did not get their first-choice UC. “We are Berkeley and Stanford rejects,” Chay said. “We are the kids who tried really hard to get into Berkeley but got rejected but now still try hard.”

The UCLA stereotypes reach further than the reason the students are there, according to Bessler.

“There’s lots of hills [here] so everyone is like, ‘Oh, so you must have really good legs and calves’ — UC Legs and Ass — that’s what people say sometimes,” Bessler said. “Everyone is really into school spirit, I feel like more people who go here are very pro-UCLA, like they’ll let you know they are going there.”

According to David Sun, a fourth-year civil engineering major at UC Irvine, UCI is commonly described as a commuter school.

“One of the biggest things that you’ll hear is that UCI is a commuter school, which a lot of people experience in their first year,” Sun said. “Most of their friends go home from the halls even if they are dorming — which is something that I definitely experienced — a lot of times people will say the social life is kind of dead on campus.”

While Irvine isn’t known as party city, UC San Diego is the campus that has been dubbed “UC Socially Dead.”

“Socially dead, that pretty much sums it up — […] but the location is really nice,” Bessler said.

UC San Diego is known to have a quieter social scene but is in a gorgeous area of California, which draws students in. Similarly, UC Santa Barbara boasts a wonderful location, but its main draw for students is the social scene.

“Well, I know everyone thinks that we party too much and that it’s just a big party school and that there is a lot of drugs and alcohol — kind of like a no-rules place,” said Ian Schwann, a third-year psychology major at UC Santa Barbara.

Whether or not UC Santa Barbara lives up to its stereotype, students from all over the UC system know Santa Barbara as a beachy party town.

“From a social standpoint, you definitely think it’s one of the higher party schools of the UCs,” said Austin Chadwick, a fourth-year molecular biology major at UC Santa Cruz. “Strong Greek life

Special Collections offers peek into the past Archives include artifacts from around the world, Davis

BY ABI G A I L WA N G arts @ th e ag g i e . o rg

It’s certainly not every day that you get to look at a 1974 B.C. Sumerian clay tablet and Shakespeare’s second folio in the same place.

At Special Collections, however, it’s just another day on the job. Established in 1966, Special Collections is located inside Shields Library and houses the library’s rare books and pamphlets, photographs, manuscript collections and university archives.

Commonly utilized by students and faculty for research, Special Collections is the perfect place to get in-depth knowledge for any paper or project.

“The reason why primary sources are so important is that everything you are getting is from the open stacks and from the general stacks has already been interpreted,” said Christine Cheng, the inMEANE RUGH / AGGIE

presence, beachy, a lot of skateboarding and good weather is probably the stereotype. I’m picturing short-shorts, tank-top riding around on a little Penny board, very bro’ed out, a lot of like social gathering — that’s kind of how I’m picturing them.”

One UC in particular is known for its competitive cutthroat nature, according to Drew Fagerlin, a first-year economics major at UC Berkeley.

“Everybody is a try-hard,” Fagerlin said. “People are mean, competitive, always busy, and they think they’re better than everybody.”

Since UC Berkeley is known for having a “knowit-all” crowd, it is interesting to see how many other UC students are upset about being more or less Berkeley rejects.

“People who go to Berkeley are very smart, some of them have an ego,” Bessler said. “They are very academically motivated and driven, very liberal [with] hippie kind of vibes there.”

And while Berkeley is thought to have a lot of hippies, it is nothing compared to the Slug Capital of the UCs — Santa Cruz.

“UCSC is definitely super liberal, a lot of like hippie, nature stereotypes,” Chadwick said. “I think a lot of people think of it as a forest because it’s like very outdoorsy and natural, like a free-spirited kind

struction and outreach librarian at Special Collections. “It is meant for publication, meant for mass consumption, so it has already been filtered for you. When you’re working with primary sources, these were things that weren’t meant for the public eye, so that’s why it’s so important to have that experience with eyewitness firsthand account.”

The staff at Special Collections also makes sure to support researchers in whatever subjects and time periods they’re studying.

“It’s helping the patrons find the materials that they need for their research projects and then helping them put together the pieces of the puzzle to find more,” said Sara Gunasekara, the public services and archives specialist. “I really like thinking about it as detective work.”

Cheng also enjoys working with the objects themselves.

“In terms of self-interest, I just like handling the uniqueness,” Cheng said. “[...] it is not everywhere you can handle an original second folio of Shakespeare’s plays and comedies. It’s not every day you could handle a Sumerian clay tablet.”

The story of how UC Davis came to own Shakespeare’s second folio is interesting, to say the least.

“That was acquired by betting on a game — the World Series. It was the New York Yankees playing against the Milwaukee Braves, and at the time the Yankees were the underdogs,” explains Cheng. “So UCLA and Berkeley already had their copies of Shakespeare’s second folio, so that left UC Santa Barbara, Riverside and us. So, to determine who would AARON KEOKHAM / AGGIE

of thing, compared to most of the other UCs that are more urban and city-like.

According to Bessler, UC Santa Cruz is one of the most relaxed UCs in the system.

“My first off-the-bat thought when I think of stereotypes of [UCSC] is that they are all super laidback stoners,” Bessler said.

While Santa Cruz is thought of as a chill scene, other UC’s, such as Riverside, are known for their rave culture.

“UC Riverside’s nickname is Ratchetside,” Sun said. “A stereotype is there is nothing to do in Riverside so the gyms are really packed and people get really fit just because there is nothing to do. A lot of them are very into raves.”

According to Sun, UC Riverside can be summed up in one sentence: “People there know how to party, they have good concerts, they are buff [and] there is nothing to do,” Sun said.

Last but not least is UC Merced, the newest addition to the UC system. Young in age and located in central California, it is often forgotten, according to Alex Benson, a fourth-year economics major at UC Davis.

“Where even is Merced?” Benson said.

have the second folio, [...] instead of doing a coin toss, they decided to bet on the World Series [...] So Richard Blanchard, who was the university’s librarian, bet on the New York Yankees, and they ended up winning.”

Now artifacts are either donated to Special Collections by professors or they are purchased. Each UC has its own Special Collections Library, each with different strengths. UC Davis’ strengths are viticulture culturology, agricultural technology, agriculture, apiculture, brewing, beekeeping, entomology, zoology, religion, British and American literature and British history.

It also has significant collections in the humanities, including 19th and 20th-century social movements and the history and contributions of women, queer folks, Native Americans, Chicanos, Asian Americans and African Americans.

“My favorite part of working in Special Collections is the constant learning,” said Jenny Hodge, a Special Collections assistant. “Every time a researcher or a student comes in you learn more about that specific project they are doing outside the box. And we have such a breadth of subject matter here it’s impossible to know everything, but it’s really fun to poke your nose in everything and get a taste for what’s there.”

Special Collections is located on the first floor of Shields Library and is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also contact Special Collections via its website.

MEANE RUGH / AGGIE

MEANE RUGH / AGGIE

THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2017 | 7

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

SCIENCE+TECH CHRISTIE NEO / AGGIE

Increased SJA allegations in Computer Science Department

Computer Science Department experiences rise in academic dishonesty complaints

Home remodeling project leads to mummy discovery

San Francisco discovery leads to study of mummified child

BY KR I T I VA RG HE S E s ci ence@ th e a ggi e .o r g

In a strange twist of events, a seemingly normal home remodeling project turned into an archaeological excavation led by archaeologist and UC Davis anthropology professor Jelmer Eerkens when the mummified daughter of an elite historical San Francisco family was uncovered. The California Aggie dug deeper to learn more about the findings.

The mummy, later identified as Edith Howard Cook, from the affluent Cook family, was exhumed almost 150 years post-mortem and offered UC Davis researchers and their teams a source of archaeological analysis.

Angela Evoy, an archaeometry lab technician, was especially excited about the news that a mummy had been found.

“I was very excited because it’s not something that you come across very often,” Evoy said. “And you know, you hear about mummies, you think of Egypt. So [to] find out that there was a mummy in San Francisco, it’s pretty amazing, it’s pretty phenomenal that it was preserved.”

The research team submitted the mummy’s hair samples for various lab analyses, including carbon, sulfur, nitrogen and hydrogen testing.

“Hair is nice because it grows over time,” Eerkens said. “We have about one year’s worth of hair growth [...] Based on dental corruption patterns, we estimated [the girl] was about 2.5 years old — we had information about the girl that was preserved in her hair from about a1.5 to about 2.5 years before she died. Given new analytical techniques, we can use really small pieces of hair [...] we cut it into small sections and we do analyses on each of those different sections. It gives us sort of a picture of what the girl was eating and where she was during the last year of her life.“ During analysis, the research team found that the nitrogen isotopes that would normally come from one’s diet started being sourced from her own body, indicating starvation. This led to the belief that the girl most likely died from malnourishment, possibly brought on by an infectious disease. However, the sulfur isotopes, normally used to indicate the presence of medicine in the body, showed no

signs of any medication given to the child before she died.

The process of submitting the samples for analysis was the most tedious step in the process, as the team had to submit around 630 samples for analysis.

“There are always roadblocks when it comes to dealing with samples that are that tiny,” said Bryna Hull, an archaeology Ph.D. student and former archaeometry lab technician. “So even with the [hair], we occasionally had issues with static. Not only do we have to worry about getting it out of the vial, but sometimes when you go to remove it, it will start climbing around in the vial due to static electricity.”

With the process being so frustrating, it was no wonder that there were a large number of team members working on it.

“People are involved in it together,” Evoy said. “We got to do some really cool stuff here, but there’s a lot of other people who put in a lot of work to make it happen. It’s a huge project. The people in San Francisco who originally initiated this project and the people who are doing the DNA analysis [...] and also the people at the stable isotope facility get left out of a lot because they’re sort of more in the background, but they run all of our samples for us through their inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS), which gives us their data. Without them, we wouldn’t have anything.”

The most unexpected result from the research was actually being able to find the child’s identity. Evoy said that it made her take a step back and think about the person behind the skeleton.

“It’s really exciting because sometimes when you’re working with archaeological collections, you can tend to forget that it’s a human being,” Evoy said. “You’re working with a person, somebody’s loved one, somebody really cared about this. You’re so hyper-focused on just getting your sample to cooperate or get some data [that when] they give you a name, and then you have a picture, and then you see family members, you realize that this is a person and that people actually care [...] It sort of brings it all home and in this way, doing a sort of historical project, you get to find out a little bit more than you probably would within an archaeological collection that’s really old where there are no living descendants.”

Baboons use clues in their social neighborhoods to organize Simple social rules help predict where wild baboons will position in groups DEREK KEATS (CC BY 2.0) / FLICKR

GENESIA TING / AGGIE

BY H ARNO O R G ILL s cience@thea g g ie.org

There has been a remarkable surge in attraction toward the computer science (CS) major over recent years, and computer science courses have gained an immense amount of popularity among students at UC Davis. Unfortunately, accompanying this increased interest is a dramatic increase in the number of students being referred to Student Judicial Affairs (SJA), the department at UC Davis that deals with academic dishonesty and plagiarism.

“I have noticed more incidents of student plagiarism on homework assignments, but not on exams,” said Vladimir Filkov, a UC Davis computer science professor. “It is difficult to say if this indicates a changing attitude among the students though, as the increase in SJA referrals is tracking the growth in CS student population. Our classes have been growing in size by leaps and bounds over the past 3-4 years, ultimately doubling the size of our undergraduate majors.”

Plagiarism lurks behind a non-traditional mask in this new wave of SJA referrals in the Computer Science Department.

Code, the language of computer scientists, can be effortlessly copied and pasted from the internet or from one student’s program to another.

“We try to be as clear as possible as to what “cheating” means, but within a community in which code sharing is part of the culture, the concept of plagiarism and code sharing might be difficult to understand,” said Patrice Koehl, a UC Davis computer science professor. “The key is to understand that we do not try to catch situations of cheating for the sake of finding them. Our interest is to train students enrolled in computer science to be proficient computer scientists, meaning that they master the languages used in CS and they are able to use them efficiently and adequately.”

Still, there has been a growing consensus in the student community that the Computer Science Department has gone too far in trying to bring justice to academic dishonesty, often dragging innocent students in as collateral damage.

“Teachers are doing a ‘refer first, think later’ policy and one-third to one-half of classes are getting sent,” an anonymous CS student said.

One professor has even established the notorious “Butcher Bill,” a list of the number of people this particular professor has been sending to SJA in the recent years.

He frequently shares these lists with students to warn them

BY G E O RG E U G ARTEMENDI A s cience@thea g g ie.org

New research on the spatial organization of baboons was recently published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society. UC Davis assistant professor and senior author Margaret Crofoot contributed to the data collection portion of this project.

Over eight days, 26 wild baboons in Kenya were affixed with collars which constantly monitored their locations.

The collected data was analyzed to create a model of spatial organization for each baboon in the troop.

“We did this study where we collected simultaneous and continuous GPS data, so we were recording at really high resolutions, one GPS location per second,” Crofoot said.

“We knew where everyone was all the time for a baboon troop over a relatively short period of time.”

The research team found results suggesting animals use cues from the local neighborhood of group mates to determine how to organize and place themselves. Some animals rely on a couple of close neighbors, while others used larger neighborhood networks to determine their placements.

“We were all surprised at how such a simple mechanism, which is to follow a smaller or larger number of neighbours, can robustly generate organisation that from the outside seems so complex,” said lead author Dr. Damien Farine in an email interview. “When you sit down and think about it, or think about the mathematics behind it, it’s pretty obvious, yet [no one] had really thought about this before.”

about the perils of cheating.

Another CS student, who also wishes to remain anonymous, recounted his anxiety-inducing experience with SJA. “Toward the end of the quarter, I received a very unpleasant surprise: an email from SJA, telling me that I had been accused of cheating on an assignment from a few weeks prior,” the student said. “I had absolutely no idea what this referred to, and my academic record up until then was spotless, so I walked into the initial meeting with the judicial officer with a great deal of confusion [...] I was upset, but confident that I would prevail; after all, I knew I was innocent, and the question I was accused of copying was so short that he couldn’t possibly find any reasonable cause to find me guilty.”

Much to the student’s dismay, the matter was not resolved easily. After the meeting with the judicial officer, the student’s professor pursued the issue further, and the student was subjected to the ordeal of a hearing, in which he was given a guilty verdict. Unwavering in his innocence, he immediately appealed this decision, and the university administration finally agreed to overturn the original verdict.

Many other CS students have undergone similar experiences, varying in degrees of seriousness. Consequences have ranged from a warning to a permanently tainted academic record.

The climate of the CS department is one of tension and paranoia, hardly fit for learning the difficult and time-consuming language of coding.

Reddit forums have popped up within the last few months, showing concern over the mass amount of referrals and warning those considering studying CS at UC Davis of the risky present conditions.

It is important to note, however, that UC Davis is not alone in this dilemma of overwhelming academic dishonesty complaints in the CS department. UC Berkeley, Harvard, MIT and Stanford are just some of the other schools that have experienced similar problems, making this a nationwide issue that begs resolve.

Fear of being accused of cheating also discourages teamwork, which is vital in this field.

“I think that’s really detrimental to the program and it’s a huge shame because working in teams like that is really important for CS majors, both as experience for working in industry and also just to learn different viewpoints and see other ways to work out a problem,” said Matthew Benitez, a current UC Davis CS student. “Conversation and brainstorming is really important, and I think that currently the state of things is skewed too far towards paranoia.”

The science of how animals communicate and behave together in groups has fascinated researchers for centuries.

Whether admiring birds flying together in mass migrations or witnessing massive schools of fish weaving and bending to steer clear of predators, complex behavioral activities have been an intense area of study for researchers.

“For food, for predators, where you are in your group is really important,” Crofoot said. “But, of course, where you are in your group is an emergent property. You don’t choose where you want to be independent of the choices of your group mates because it’s a dynamic system.”

The findings contribute observational evidence to scientists and researchers studying how animals organize themselves dynamically in social groups. Certain confounding factors were accounted for, but kinship ties were not considered in this study.

“We looked at the influence of age, sex and dominance and found that there is relationship to all those things,” said co-author Dr. Ariana Strandburg-Peshkin. “There was also variation among the individuals. Even though, on average, the adults tended to be more on the periphery than the subadults, there were some adults who did tend to be more central. So it’s not just about your age and sex, it can also be about your individual identity.”

Theories regarding spatial organization of animals have been considered for decades, and confirmation of social cues such as neighborhood size helps researchers understand more about how animals group together and form complex webs of interactions.

BABOONS on 12

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THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

Opinion editorial board

the California Aggie EDITORIAL BOARD BRYAN SYKES Editor in Chief EMILY STACK Managing Editor

Keep meeting spaces free and accessible UC Davis to implement hourly fees for on-campus meeting spaces

HANNAH HOLZER Campus News Editor KAELYN TUERMER-LEE City News Editor TARYN DEOILERS Opinion Editor GILLIAN ALLEN Features Editor ALLY OVERBAY Arts & Culture Editor VERONICA VARGO Sports Editor HARNOOR GILL Science & Tech Editor

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

On May 16, UC Davis student organizations and clubs were notified by an email bulletin from the Center for Student Involvement (CSI) that, as of July 1, reserving and using on-campus meeting spaces will require an hourly fee. The exact fees have yet to be announced.

Such spaces were available free of charge during the 2016-2017 school year for up to four hours per week or three special events per quarter. Renting spaces in excess of this allotted time was subject to a $10-45 hourly fee.

The Editorial Board is troubled by the fact that this fee hike has been implemented without transparency or a clear explanation of what the money is going toward or what has changed since last year.

Student organizations have rallied together in repudiation of the fee, providing an email template for clubs and individual students to express their disagreement with the decision. The Facebook page "UCD against Student Org Room Fees" urges the university to consider the importance of extracurriculars and the harm that a fee hike will cause to student organizations.

UC Davis’ own mission statement encourages student involvement outside of the classroom, stating that the university offers “opportunities for personal development and academic enrichment through undergraduate research, work-learn experiences and extracurricular student life.”

On-campus meeting spaces are vital to the success of studentrun organizations, whether they’re being used by creative clubs, charities or any of the 800-plus student organizations on the UC Davis campus. Without the space to organize and collaborate, students’ ability to further their professional careers or pursue extracurriculars is stifled.

Failing to provide students with easily accessible meeting spaces — both in terms of location and of affordability — is a detriment to UC Davis students and their greater aspirations, whether professional, charitable or recreational.

Many student organizations run without turning a profit, relying on fundraisers or quarterly dues paid by their members. Such organizations fundraise on an as-needed basis, with little leftover to spend on weekly meetings. Not only does instituting a room fee put an additional burden on already cash-strapped students, but it also creates an access barrier for students and small clubs that cannot afford to pay membership dues.

Though $10 per hour may be a doable fee for weekly clubs, it’s unfeasible for others. For performance-based organizations like a cappella or theater groups, on-campus practice spaces are often rented for extended periods of time, especially before shows. With the implementation of this fee, using on-campus spaces would no longer be plausible for student-run organizations that hold a fourhour, five-days-per-week rehearsal schedule.

UC Davis is already notorious for charging the highest University of California undergraduate campus fees, which are allocated to provide various services and programs for students. It’s concerning that such resources are becoming increasingly inaccessible for UC Davis students.

The Editorial Board believes that student organizations have a right to free and accessible campus meeting spaces in order to foster student extracurriculars. Given the administration’s lack of transparency regarding the fee implementation, we support student organizations and their efforts to combat this decision by the university.

Hard lessons from The Aggie opinion desk Opinion Editor Eli Flesch on four life-changing years of college journalism

BY E L I F L E SC H ekflesch@ucdavis.edu

It took me a long time to figure out exactly what Joan Didion meant in Slouching Towards Bethlehem when she wrote that “writers are always selling somebody out.” After four years of working on The Aggie’s opinion desk — two as its editor — I think I understand a little better.

To be an effective writer you need to betray some sense of loyalty — to your subjects, your editors, even to your friends and family.

Otherwise it’s impossible to write candidly and honestly.

But most people, I would guess, enjoy many of their subjects and editors, and even love their friends and family. I certainly do. These last four years have been the best of my life for that reason.

So what gives? Are writers just back-stabbers? Is that Didion’s game?

Probably not. Because there’s a higher loyalty in being honest, especially when it means talking about uncomfortable truths. And

if you’re an opinion writer, that loyalty comes when you tell your truth — the one you’ve come to after a life of unique experiences and lessons. It’s been a distinct privilege of mine to have been exposed to so many wonderful individuals through The Aggie.

I’ve always made a point of editing and writing for Aggie readers first. When I hired columnists, I made sure to hire liberals and conservatives alike. My goal was to facilitate dialogue. College newspapers should not be safe spaces. Editors and reporters disrespect their readers when they sanitize or refuse to publish material with the potential to offend. I’ve seen this self-censorship play out at The Aggie, and I often resisted out of a sense of obligation to the readers.

The vigorous pursuit of alternative opinions is the moral responsibility of every writer and reader. Ideas that go untested, no matter their strength, are simply not credible. So we better get as much writing as we can out there — to create those oppositional forces that improve our society.

Having felt those oppositional forces against my own work has made me a better person.

I’ve written dozens of columns and stories for The Aggie — the overwhelming majority of which would normally be considered liberal or progressive — and yet it was perhaps one, maybe two, that effectively cemented my reputation in some circles on this campus as a white supremacist, deserving, as one person notified me at a bar one night, of being beat up.

And while threats of violence I can never justify, I’ve always welcomed and encouraged criticism that compels me to reevaluate my own biases and preconceived notions. Publishing letters and interacting with the community has been one of the most rewarding aspects of this job.

But I would still advise against the tendency, regrettably common today among the left, to demand moral purity. The idea that a person can be free of deep contradictions and flaws needlessly creates enemies out of potential allies — dangerous at a political moment requiring unity.

FLESCH on 12

Asexuality: Questioning the age-old playbook on romance, intimacy, love, sex Davis ace community discusses experiences of being overlooked members of LGBTQIA community

BY TA RYN D E OI L E R S tldeoilers@ucdavis.edu

When Claire Rapp was in high school, she began to notice a difference between her and the rest of her classmates. Rapp, who had numerous relationships with religious men practicing abstinence, was confused as to why she able to brush off sex so easily. After all, she wasn’t religious herself and saw no moral imperative to wait until marriage. Her confusion culminated during her senior year, when she was in a relationship with a man for whom she especially cared.

Rapp didn’t understand why she had no sexual interest in someone with whom everything — at least on paper — aligned. She searched for answers online. One just clicked: she is asexual.

“I thought I was super normal and everyone was just bonkers,” said Rapp, a fourth-year environmental policy analysis and planning major. “And then over time you sort of realize that your experiences aren’t normal.”

Asexuality is defined as a lack of sexual attraction, although “aces” — an umbrella term for anyone who identifies as being somewhere on the asexuality spectrum — experience varying levels of interest in sexual activity. Demisexuals may experience sexual attraction only in the context of a powerful emotional connection, while gray-asexuals fall somewhere between asexuals and allosexuals (people who aren’t asexual).

Asexuality, like other sexual orientations, is not a choice, and

therefore differs from celibacy — the intentional abstaining from sexual activity. Although some asexual individuals do decide to remain celibate, many also choose to engage in sex for various reasons, such as compromising in a relationship, wanting to have children or experimenting to better understand their sexuality.

For most allosexual individuals, sexual and romantic attraction have always been bundled together, making it hard to imagine them as two distinct, separable phenomena. But ace individuals often still feel romantic attraction toward others, as well as a drive to cultivate intimate, loving relationships — just without an intrinsic interest in pursuing the sexual aspect.

“When I try to explain it to my coworkers when they ask, I’ll usually say, ‘You know how if you ever go somewhere and you’re trying to hook up with someone, you’ll look at them and think, ‘I’d be down to have sex with them’? My thing stops with, ‘I want to cuddle with them,’” said Nicole Neeley, a fourth-year microbiology major.

“I’ve never looked at anyone and been like, ‘I’d tap that,’” she added with a laugh.

Diverse romantic identities span the asexual community, but all ace people share the desire to feel connected with others — a feat that can sometimes be challenging in an overwhelmingly sexual world.

When Rapp, a heteroromantic asexual person, first arrived at Davis, she struggled through a phase common in the asexual experience: a poignant loneliness grounded in the feeling of being different than seemingly everyone around her.

“The narrative in college, especially during the orientation process, is a whole lot of safe sex ed, a whole lot of sex positivity — which is fantastic and important and healthy and wonderful, and I’m so glad they do it,” Rapp said. “But it’s incredibly isolating when you’re asexual.”

In search of others like herself, Rapp looked to the LGBTQIA Resource Center but was disappointed to learn that, save a binder of information, UC Davis didn’t offer any resources for aces. A few months later, however, the center asked her to participate in an ace awareness event they were planning. Rapp and another asexual student soon began hosting weekly educational, discussion-based meetings about asexuality, which Rapp registered as the official Ace Club at the start of her second year. The organization has since expanded from a mere two members to a vibrant, diverse community of aces who span the spectrum, peaking at 36 members at the beginning of last fall.

“The ace community was one of the driving forces in me coming to Davis,” said Caitlyn Sampley, a first-year cinema and digital media and theatre and dance double major and panromantic ace. “I had no idea where Davis was, or what it was, or what I was going to do when I got there, but I was walking around in the Quad and the Ace Club had their A-frame out. And everything in me just stopped, and I was like, ‘This is real! There are ace people besides me!’”

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Why nostalgia culture holds us back MODERN SCIENCE FICTION LOOKS TO THE PAST INSTEAD OF THE FUTURE

BY NOA H P F LUE GE R - P E T E R S napfluegerpeters@ucdavis.edu

Science fiction, by definition, is a genre about the future. It’s about places we haven’t discovered and technologies not yet invented. In all cases, sci-fi looks beyond the real, modern world and tries to think of what might become rather than what is. Yet for all its foresight, modern science fiction seems to be equally — if not more — interested in the past. In fact, science fiction plays a huge role in our nostalgiaobsessed culture that, if anything, holds us back.

One of the most obvious examples of this is the new Star Wars films. The Force Awakens essentially retells the original ‘70s film, A New Hope, but with new characters. While it still made for a compelling story, it’s clear that J.J. Abrams and company wanted to remind the audience of the thrills of A New Hope — bringing back the original actors, using a familiar storyline and reviving a universe that had not been seen on screen for 10 years. The original Star Wars was a trailblazer in special effects technology that still holds up today and portrayed futuristic technology, even if the film claims to be set a long, long time ago. The Force Awakens returned to this past moment of innovation and tried to recapture its spirit rather than innovate its own.

Another more prevalent example is superhero movies. Though superheroes have evolved to become cultural icons in our present moment, they’re all based off of characters that were created in the past. Superhero films repurpose past characters for the modern world

instead of creating something totally new. Classic franchises like Star Trek, Mad Max, Alien and Blade Runner have also found new life in the modern world, reviving what was instead of looking forward to what could be.

Netflix’s hit show Stranger Things is one of the best examples of sci-fi looking back instead of forward. It’s without a doubt a scifi show, yet it shamelessly places itself in the 1980s. The costume design, the lighting, the music, even the characters explicitly recall ‘80s sci-fi movies like E.T. through the means of science fiction. The characters interact with futuristic technology and fearsome creatures, but the show is more about evoking the feeling of retro sci-fi than using these elements to say anything about the future. It’s more about nostalgia than futurology and in a way seems to say that yesterday’s future is brighter than today’s.

This is all part of the nostalgia culture that dominates America in 2017. The romanticized glory days of the prosperous post-war period are gone, and the country has been in decline for at least the past couple of decades. America’s role in the world has dramatically changed as well, from being a strong, righteous leader to being seen as an aggressive bully around the world and an embarrassment among first-world countries for its turn toward regressive social policies. The economy is also not what it used to be, particularly in rural parts of the country, and many of the industrial jobs that propelled economic prosperity either no longer exist or have been outsourced to the detriment of the working class.

America arguably hit peak nostalgia when it fell into the trap that was Trump’s campaign to “Make America Great Again,” based on the idea that there was a past, “great” America to which we could return by electing him.

As America continues to decline, the future for many Americans continues to look more and more bleak. The country’s problems with racism, education and income inequality become clearer and messier by the day and can seem unsolvable.

It’s easier to look back than forward, harder to imagine a bright future with the dark state of the modern world. Success in the future from our point in history will require radical change — something many are uncomfortable with. The institutions, policies and customs that brought prosperity in the past are no longer working as smoothly and require updating as they slowly decay. Nostalgia culture is a way of keeping these institutions alive by yearning for a past when they worked instead of confronting the realities of their decay.

The sooner the world leaves behind nostalgia culture and stops romanticizing the past, the sooner we will be able to deal with the world’s decaying institutions, find solutions and move toward a prosperous future.

Science fiction is as popular as it has ever been, but it needs to take this popularity and use it for innovation. Instead of reviving the settings and cultures of the past, it should take after past sci-fi’s visionary qualities and look forward into our future, wherein lies a better tomorrow if we work for it.

HUMOR NASA discovers 7 UC Davis students containing signs of life SPRING QUARTER ALL BUT WIPES OUT THE SPIRIT OF THE STUDENT BODY

BY B RI A N L A N DRY bjlandry@ucdavis.edu

As the end of the quarter nears, signs of life within the student body are getting harder and harder to find. Campus morale is lower overall, with the Facebook memes pages taking some dark turns, even for college meme pages. Students are burning out mentally, as well as astrologically — whatever that means.

But not all hope is lost. The National Apricots and Sandals Administration (NASA) recently discovered that there are still seven students on the UC Davis campus who contain minimal signs of life.

One of these students is Amanda Towell, a second-year managerial economics major and owner of the second-largest collection of moldy citrus in her home state of Wyoming.

“I don’t have much of a life to be honest, so it’s nice to get this recognition,” Towell said. “Lit-

tle does stupid and also dumb NASA know, the only life I contain is the miniature version of the board game I carry around in my backpack at all times, just in case something crazy happens. I've actually been dead for years — for as long as I can remember, really,” she said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Another lively student discovered by NASA is Michael B. Michael, a first-year English major and author of his autobiography, Michael Michael by

Michael Michael, a Michael Michael Story.

“I think what keeps me alive is myself,” Michael said. “I’m just really great. The other day I was shopping at Michael’s and I just decided to buy everything. All of it! Because I deserve it.”

Although five other students were discovered along with the two listed here, none of them were interesting enough to be included in this article.

Sad. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go find my son.

D ISC L A I M ER: The views a n d op i n io n s ex p re sse d by in d iv i dual co l umni sts be l o ng to the co l umni sts al o ne and do not necess arily indicate the views and opinions held by The C alifor n i a Ag g i e. Le t te r s to t h e e d ito r ca n be addre sse d to o pi ni o n@ the aggi e.o rg.

ISSUE D ESI G N ED BY AMY Y E | C H R I ST I E NE O | CINDY CH E U NG | J O NAT H AN CH E N | PAT T IE CHEN | SHER EEN NIK ZAD | LILY LEAVESSEUR | COR R I MALONEY

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

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ARTS & Culture

COMMSCOPE (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) / FLICKR

Summer concerts galore at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento From Bruno Mars to Lady Gaga, there’s something for everyone

BY C A RA JOY KL EINR O C K arts@theaggie.org

This summer at the Sacramento Golden 1 Center, there will be plenty of concerts to attend in order to get your music fix.

At this venue alone, there are 15 concerts to choose from. Here are some suggestions to get those summer vibes flowing.

Bruno Mars 24K Magic World Tour Bruno Mars is known for his ener-

getic concerts and unforgettable performances. Tickets to his July 18 concert are a little pricey, but he is sure to put on a great show.

Lionel Richie: All The Hits Tour Lionel Richie and very special guest Mariah Carey will put on a show for the ages. The tour was rescheduled from May 2 to July 22 due to Richie’s knee injury.

Be sure to get your tickets, because this is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Make sure your dancing shoes and vocal cords are ready, too.

John Mayer: The Search For Everything World Tour John Mayer is coming to Sacramento on July 27. He’ll be accompanied by a full band and will play both solo acoustic and trio sets. There will be lots of Mayer to enjoy (who doesn’t love that?), and tickets are on sale now at reasonable prices.

Ed Sheeran: Divide Tour Ed Sheeran is on tour with special guest James Blunt, and the pair will inevitably perform crowd favorites. Sheeran will be performing from his new album,

Divide, which will surely melt hearts.

This concert will kick off August with a show on the first of the month.

Neil Diamond 50th Anniversary Tour Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Neil Diamond will be coming to Sacramento on Aug. 2. The legend himself will put on an incredible show. Diamond fans know this show will be iconic.

Kendrick Lamar: The DAMN. Tour In addition to Kendrick, this concert will feature opening performances

by Y.G. and D.R.A.M. The show will be held on Aug. 13 and is not one to miss. Any fan of his new album DAMN. should be sure to attend.

Lady Gaga: Joanne World Tour After her successful album and Super Bowl performance, Gaga is now gracing the world with an international tour and making a stop in Sacramento on Aug. 15.

She is known for her amazing concerts, so make sure to get tickets for this one.

Her show would be a great way to kick off the new school year.

GENESIA TING / AGGIE

MORGAN TIEU / AGGIE

5 Films to Watch This Summer

California Road Trip: Secret Locations

Check out movies that everyone can enjoy, from thrillers to rom-coms to documentaries

Less than quintessential, but equally as memorable, locations in the Golden State

BY PARI SAG A F I arts@theaggie.org

Terrified of not having enough summer movie options and being forced to watch the dreaded Emoji Movie? No need to fear — here’s a short list of films to provide you with a well-rounded movie-going experience this summer.

The Beguiled — Psychological Thriller (June 23) A wounded Union soldier in the Civil War (Colin Farrell) takes shelter at an all-girls boarding school in the South and inevitably shifts the dynamic between the women as rivalry, lust, anger and seduction suddenly come into play. Yet, the women — led by the stellar trio of Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning — become aware of this foreign disruption of harmony and attempt to restore order by any means necessary.

Director Sofia Coppola sticks to her typical aesthetic when it comes to the film’s cinematography, creating a dreamlike atmosphere of hazy hues and soft pastels. As usual, it works well with the externally beautiful surroundings, which serve as a stark contrast to the film’s subject matter. This ominous Southern Gothic thriller has already garnered Coppola a Best Director win at the Cannes Film Festival and is sure to be a sizzling psychodrama for the summer.

The Big Sick — Romantic Comedy (June 23) Here we have a typical love story: Pakistani boy meets white girl, boy decides he cannot see a future with white girl due to societal and familial pressures, couple breaks up, girl falls into a coma, but, eventually, a relationship develops. Through extended hospital visits, the cultural gap is bridged, and a great love results.

So maybe the plot isn’t so typical. Based on the real life love story of Silicon Valley’s Kumail Nanjiani and his wife, Emily V. Gordon, this movie is one to watch. The romcom navigates tricky multicultural differences and romantic expectations in an endearing, funny and ultimately touching way.

It Comes At Night — Horror (June 9) This summer’s cabin-in-the-woods zombie thriller may have you rethinking your camping trip. It has everything you could need from this specific genre of film: claustrophobia-inducing tight quarters and the palpable

tension of knowing that the characters can turn on each other at any moment — all illuminated by flashlight.

The film has been so far well-reviewed and applauded for being “not over the top,” with all of its terrors and characters being somewhat realistic, therefore creating an even more terrifying movie experience. Hollywood Reporter reviewer Sheri Linden made important observations that the film inspired: What does it mean to protect your family at all costs, and when does survival become meaningless?

Whose Streets? — Documentary (August 11) When unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police in the suburb of Ferguson, Missouri, it marked the breaking point for a community. Driven by deep sadness, anger and a demand for change, residents took to the streets to protest. This activism ushered in the phrase “Black Lives Matter,” which ultimately became a national movement.

Directed by Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis, this documentary chronicles the beginnings and progress of the Black Lives Matter movement and the profound impact of that fateful 2014 event. It may have been three years since Brown was killed, but he has certainly not been forgotten, and neither have the black deaths at the hands of police that have happened since. The directors noted that they made this film “as a tribute to our people — our deeply complex, courageous, flawed, powerful, and ever hopeful people — who dare to dream of brighter days.”

Beatriz at Dinner — Comedy/Drama (June 9) Called “The First Great Film of the Trump Era,” director Miguel Arteta’s Beatriz at Dinner invites audiences to experience what may be the most cringe-worthy dinner party to ever be captured on film. Salma Hayek plays a holistic medicine practitioner who ends up attending a wealthy client’s dinner party when suddenly her car breaks down, and she meets a rich, loudmouthed hotel owner named Doug.

Their first encounter is awkward, to say the least: he asks her if he can “get another Bourbon, hun,” assuming that she’s the help instead of a guest. It only goes downhill from there. With Doug interrupting her, disrespecting her and asking her if she is in the country legally, the film addresses topics that are relevant now more than ever, but in an entertaining and funny way.

BY CAR OLI NE R UTTEN arts@theaggie.org

People who live in California know that the north and the south are definitely not the same state — from Eureka to San Diego, every city in between seems to have its own distinct culture and sites that comprise the state’s unique dynamic. Indeed, this state seems to follow the Gestalt principle: California is greater than the sum of its parts. As such, the bucket-list road trip through California cannot be complete without a stop in each and every region.

With such vastness, unknown attractions seem to hide amid every mountain, forest and sandy beach. This summer, take time to explore the unknown of our own backyard.

Here’s your starting map: Northern California 1. Emerald Pools — Nevada City, California The emerald pools in the South Fork Yuba River are true to their name — bright, crystal-blue waters rest between large rock walls that create an isolated area naturally made for bouldering, cliff jumping and even slacklining. Accessible via a short and rocky hike, the Emerald Pools take visitors off the beaten track of Lake Tahoe to a “road less traveled by.” This illusive Tahoe location makes all the difference in a California road trip.

2. Albany Bulb — Albany, California An inherent contradiction rests in the makeup and design of Silicon Valley. An area that produces, promotes and praises its clean and forward-thinking technology and innovation is actually a massive waste contributor.

This underground and well-kept secret of the industry has inevitably been a catalyst for artistic counter-expression. A walk through the nearby Albany Bulb — a former landfill in the San Francisco Bay — paints an oh-soperfect irony.

A walk through this dystopian landscape and art display grants a different perspective

than the glitters of the Bay. Along the Golden Gate skyline are graffiti-covered rocks and even grotesque statues of people composed of rusted metal and wood, the most poignant of which is a woman with her arms pleadingly stretched toward the sky. Introspection and travel seem to go hand-in-hand; the Albany Bulb is a site of profound thought, a spark of commentary concerning the detrimental cost of our technological advancements.

Central California 1. Forestiere Underground Gardens — Fresno, California A labyrinth of sedimentary blocks and carefully-placed cobblestone highlights complex architecture. In 1901, Sicilian immigrant Baldassare Forestiere created this expansive 10-acre home by hand in his free time over the course of 40 years while pursuing a career in citrus farming. Taking inspiration from his home country, he constructed an expansive display of catacombs using only the simple farm tools that he owned. More impressively, Forestiere left no written records or blueprints for his property, creating the whole historical landmark as he went — a display of genuine artistic genius. Forestiere Underground Gardens is an intriguing beauty amid the Central Valley’s desert landscape.

2. Trona Pinnacles — San Bernardino, California The Trona Pinnacles appear straight from Mars: the flat, dirt landscape gives rise to small hills with jagged 140-foot rock formations on the top. It’s no wonder, then, why multiple science-fiction movies, like Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Battlestar Galactica and Planet of the Apes, have been filmed here; the eerie feel from the vast expanse of the natural formations feels unearthly, wild. With only a small, sparsely inhabited town nearby, the Pinnacles’ unique geographical features create an isolated space all its own.

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NONPROFIT

UCOP

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Davis Department of Sociology and a member of the UC Student Workers Union (UAW Local 2865), expressed his support for countering the unchecked power of the UC executives while still maintaining concerns regarding transparency within the UC administration.

“As a defender of public education, I support efforts to counter the unchecked power of UC executives,” Wright said. “However, I also know that Sacramento has been complicit in the privatization of the UC and has often looked away while the administration does what it wants.”

Wright hopes to see some changes integrated into the university system as a whole.

“It has always been students and workers who have been the fiercest fighters for accessible quality public education, and I want to see reforms in the UC system that would increase student and worker power within decision-making structures of the university,” Wright said.

According to the LA Times, a number of regents have spoken out against legislative control of the UC, emphasizing that the 10 UC campuses developed into the nation’s top public research university under an autonomous regents system.

The article also included concerns from Re-

gent John A. Pérez, a former Assembly speaker, who asserted that UC budget practices should be handled by regents rather than legislators.

“The level of depth that’s required to rightsize this and to deal with the complexity is appropriately, both constitutionally and functionally, with this board,” Pérez said at a UC Regents meeting.

Ricardo Vazquez, the UCOP director of media relations, echoed the same sentiments with regard to maintaining financial autonomy, expressing that amending the state constitution based on the audit findings would be a mistake.

“We continue to believe that the UC Board of Regents is best placed to provide fiduciary oversight to the Office of the President, which includes appropriating the Office’s budget […] UC’s constitutional autonomy has ensured that the university’s mission, vision and values emanated from its students, faculty and staff, free from political or sectarian influence,” Vazquez said via email.

Vazquez also noted that UCOP is currently implementing all of the state auditor’s 33 recommended changes.

If SCA 14 passes with a two-thirds vote from the state legislature, it will be scheduled to appear on the November 2018 ballot.

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sentatives and the protesters,” Davis said. “I don’t know if there was, prior to us getting there. I didn’t see that take place, though.”

The Anti-Monsanto Project made a public statement on Facebook, claiming responsibility for the protest and commenting on the day as a whole: “Yesterday [May 22] we gathered at our meetup spot,” the Anti-Monsanto Project said. “Once there was a sufficient crowd, approximately 4:15 [a.m.] we gave a ten minute brief, then began shuttling people to the main gate to begin coordinating where to position people.”

The statement also mentioned the arrests: “Now, we have held shutdowns of Monsanto facilities for five years, and never before had there been arrests, until yesterday,” the Anti-Monsanto Project stated. “Within moments, the [sheriff ] gave a warning that he would make arrests. Undeterred, the protectors remained seated. Then came the call of an unlawful order, and three minute warning before arrests would be made.”

The statement elaborated on the time spent in jail, after the arrests: “While doing jail support, several others joined us as we awaited our allies’ return,” the Anti-Monsanto Project stated. “Some brought food, some brought beverages and snacks, some brought good vibes and compassion. As each individual was released, they left the jail to be greeted with cheers from those outside. After about seven hours, the last of the #Monsanto10 was released.”

Chris Horner, the testing and operations man-

ager at the Woodland Monsanto facility, provided a statement on the event over email.

“The more than 20,000 people of Monsanto are committed to having an open dialogue about modern agriculture and how food is grown as we focus on using digital tools, data and research to find solutions that balance the need to feed people and protect the planet –– we’re proud of the work we do, and we’re eager for people to know more about us,” Horner said. “Through innovation and collaboration with farmers and partnering organizations, we develop new tools that help the world’s farmers grow food using less of the Earth’s natural resources. We know people have different points of view on these topics, and it’s important that they’re able to express and share them.”

Emily Radusovksy, a first-year environmental science major, voiced her opinion on Monsanto.

“As far as Monsanto goes,” Radusovksy said.

“A lot of what they do is very unethical because they have so much power. I don’t think any group should ever be given that much power.”

Despite the arrests, the Anti-Monsanto Project does not plan on halting their crusade against Monsanto.

“We may not have succeeded in shutting down Monsanto yesterday, but we proved our conviction and showed that we support each other,” the statement read. “This won’t be the last attempt. We will begin early, and push to have even more people.

Next episode, we will shut them down, arrests or not!! We will be back, and we will be stronger!!”

back and forth over the course of a couple of years.

Last year, AWB got involved by providing grant money to fund travel expenses for Wilkes and for Patricia Conrad, a professor in the Veterinarian Medicine Department at UC Davis as well as the rest of their team. While Sri Lanka has come a long way from the war-torn third-world country it was at the beginning of the century, problems have continued to come up in the 21st century. Chronic kidney disease, rabies, malaria, Dengue fever and environmental issues with conservation and agricultural impacts are all serious issues the small island country is still facing. Wilkes and Conrad looked to address these problems by helping the future leaders of the country — the students and faculty at the University of Peradeniya — learn how to solve problems together and be leaders. They taught the One Health research approach used at Davis, focusing on collaboration between different fields.

“There’s a lot of overlap between all these schools: veterinary sciences, medicine, nurses and doctors,” Wilkes said. “They learn a lot of the same things. So by teaching these students and faculty how to learn and collaborate, we can get a lot more done.”

A second program in Haiti was also funded by AWB this past year. Dr. Anthony Phillips and Dr. Douglas Gross had already been in contact with the Hôpital de l’Université d’État d’Haïti (HUEH), visiting a few times before AWB started funding their efforts. In developing countries, medical experts are often given general training without any specialty or subspecialties due to their lack of resources or even lack of knowledge. Imagine having a general surgeon perform cardiac surgery, or an OB specialist forced to perform spinal surgery. Phillips and Gross addressed this problem by bringing a new subspecialist

with them on each visit to help the students, faculty and residents at HUEH learn how to deal with more specific health issues. On their most recent trip, they brought with them Dr. Jong Hee Chung, a hematologist. Sickle-cell anemia is a huge issue in Haiti, and teaching doctors how to treat blood-related diseases will go a long way in making the country more healthy.

“It’s not good enough to visit and just leave them with a bottle of pills that will run out within a month.

We try to make sure everything we teach them is sustainable,” Phillips said.

Sustainability lies at the heart of AWB and all of its projects. The typical AWB grant for travel expenses is around $5,000, which is paltry in comparison to the millions donated by the Red Cross or even the Gates Foundation. But all of these experts are aware that what these developing countries and people need is training, resources of knowledge and experience.

“We’re pretty frugal,” said Bob Agee, the chairman of AWB. “We don’t fund buildings; we don’t fund equipment. It all goes into getting an expert there for enough time to make a difference. We have a high cost-benefit ratio. We’re proud of that.”

What makes AWB unique is the “people” approach. As Agee stresses, the core of the nonprofit is “people who know people.” There is already enough money going into these countries, but that money and aid only provide short-term solutions. For a country to change and for problems to be fixed, real change has to come from among the people themselves. Sending experienced academics and experts abroad to teach willing professionals who only lack resources and training seems like a new, effective model to aid countries in need.

PROFILE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

A college enthusiast, patriot and altruist, Valenzuela consistently makes a point to ask students how they want to be remembered, reminding them to listen to their inner voices and chase after their passion with everything that they have.

His journey to the life he lives now was not an easy one, but he believes that if people are able to look in the mirror each day and confidently say that they gave their best effort, then they will

reach even seemingly impossible heights.

“It’s going to sound corny, but I just want to be remembered for making a difference and I want to be remembered or embracing life,” Valenzuela said. “I really believe in living in the moment — it didn’t always used to be that way.

I now just love life — as people can probably tell I’m a big dork and I know it, but I just love life.”

Discreet, Convenient, Quality

TRAVEL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

Southern California 1. Salvation Mountain — Calipatria, California A large, bright, multicolored monument is not exactly what one would expect to see in the middle of the Imperial Valley. Built by ardent Christian and self-trained artist Leonard Knight in the 1990s, the massive structure was sculpted out of adobe and paint — and even out of trash from a nearby dump — in order to make a statement proving Knight’s faith. Indeed, “God is Love” is clearly painted on the site’s main attraction.

However, a trip to Salvation Mountain is not necessarily a religious feat, but often a focus on the concept of love and understanding coming from the most unexpected places. In

the middle of the desert with little civilization nearby, there can be life, color and a statement of love.

2. Sunny Jim Sea Cave — La Jolla, California What would a Southern California stop be without a beach location? After descending a stairway walk and going through a small rock tunnel, the visitor enters a vast cave filled with multicolored sea rocks. Waves enter the cave and crash among the rocks. What draws visitors, however, is the profile of the cave’s entrance: it resembles the profile of a man with a pointed beard. The enchantingly serendipitous opening is a landmark different from any conventional beach location.

For New Patients and Referrals:

DISABILITIES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

With some resources and creativity, UC Davis employers usually make accommodations with no loss to any party and rarely find providing accommodations unattainable.

“For example, we have some custodians that have bad knees.” Ritz said. “We let [them] use the elevator. Now, that person can’t clean the stairwell and so they have to clean more bathrooms or vacuum more and somebody else is going to clean the stairwell. [...] That’s why we can make accommodations for everything if we try to think about it.”

Especially when compared to other employers, UC Davis offers a variety of solutions for employees with disabilities.

“I’ve never had [this support] anywhere else,” Hori said. “Here, I have a slew of options. PG&E, Wells Fargo, [...and] even on military bases — nope, nothing.”

With new accessibility technology created every year and several university units dedicated to implementing them, the percentage of UC Davis’ population helped by disability services has tripled since 2007 to 4.4 percent, according to Ritz.

Medical Cannabis Delivery in Davis

However, many of UC Davis’ employees do not report their disabilities or have not been reached by the services. Accessibility still has much room for improvement.

“I feel bad touting [campus accessibility] like a good thing because we should have been doing this forever,” Kerbavaz said. “How do we fix these things before it affects [...] an attendee or presenter’s ability to be a part of an event?”

Despite lack of complete accessibility, UC Davis recognizes disabilities as part of campus diversity and accessibility as part of social equity. In the past, and even presently, many institutions have not.

“Being told you can’t fly, you can’t do this, you can’t do that,” Hori said. “There’s going to be somebody who’s going to prove you wrong. We have a blind optometrist here. We have a deaf music professor here.”

Ritz said that while supervisors on an individual level readily make accommodations for staff with disabilities, fear of lawsuits under disabilities law historically has driven much of the systematic change toward universal accessibility in colleges.

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12 | THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2017

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

WHAT I WISH BABOONS

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performance and your success is being a hard worker, respectful to others, organized [and to] get your work done on time.”

English professor Frances Dolan has found that this feeling of inadequacy unfortunately prevails all through life, and that figuring out one step in a post-graduation career path does not provide a solution — thankfully, this kind of feeling is what grounds even the most impressive graduates.

“Either you have a robust and inaccurate sense of your worth, or you’re most of us,” Dolan said. “Most of us are really haunted by the sense that we’re not smart enough, [and that] we don’t belong here. We all have those feelings.”

Dolan walked to Loyola University in Chicago from her parents’ house all four years of her undergraduate career to study English and classics and immediately pursued a graduate degree in English literature across town at the University of Chicago.

Growing up with an Irish-Catholic background, it was out of the norm in her family for her to move to a different neighborhood after graduation. Because of this, Dolan remembered being excited to move on but recognized that she was working on autopilot.

“I worked really hard as a college student and then — boom — there I was in graduate school,” Dolan said. “In some ways I had a very limited scope of action [and] in many ways it would have been great for me to work or do something else after college. Sometimes I think when I talk to students they want to know if I had this vision of my life, which I completely did not have.”

Despite the immediate transition into graduate school, Dolan’s path didn’t come without some perfectly-timed failures.

Dolan spent many summers and school years working in her father’s office, being berated by bosses for her performance as a program assistant in the Newberry Library and even walking around the Weebles department store dressed as Mr. Potato Head — a job that taught her “that I have no dignity.”

“Don’t be afraid to fail — I learned the most in my life from the stuff that I did badly,” Dolan said.

“It’s precisely because I had actually moved directly through [my academic career] in this way that I tend to encourage students [...] to do some different things. The more experience that you get, the more

“The strength of this project is that it integrates high-tech data collection, state-of-the-art analytical methods and new theory,” Farine said.

“Most field studies suffer from a key weakness which is that the study is only observational — it is only by doing experiments that you can really test a hypothesis.”

New directions for this research include experimental studies of spatial organization and studying multiple large baboon troops simultaneously.

Adjusting tracking methods to include kinship data among animals would strengthen future studies.

DEOILERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

The asexual movement emerged in 2001 when David Jay, an asexual activist and at the time an 18-year-old college student, launched the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN), a website devoted to providing education about asexuality and a supportive online community for aces. Over the years, AVEN has become the primary place for ace individuals across the globe to assemble and discuss their identities. The organization now champions tens of thousands of members worldwide.

“I really wanted to create a space for us to come together and [...] talk about what it meant to be asexual in a culture that a lot of times assumes that if you’re not forming a sexual relationship you’re not really achieving emotional intimacy,” Jay said in a phone interview. “A lot of us really wanted to challenge that idea, and I think we have in a lot of ways over the years of our community.”

Thanks to support from the broader LGBTQIA community, Jay and other ace activists have translated the energy from AVEN into wide-reaching, tangible change — from getting asexuality delisted in the DSM-5 as a mental disorder to successfully advocating for ace-inclusive sex education in schools. The ace movement was built on decades of empowering activism by other sexuality and gender identity-based communities. And many ace youths, such as Rapp, have flocked to and found refuge in their local LGBTQIA centers — which have welcomed them with open arms and hearts.

Still, some members of the LGBT community have questioned whether asexuality holds a legitimate place in the overall queer community. Compared to other identities within the LGBTQIA community, asexuality doesn’t carry the same history of systemic discrimination and violence, and it’s important for ace individuals to recognize that their sexuality alone doesn’t necessarily topple their other platforms of privilege. The level of quantifiable discrimination shouldn’t be a qualifying factor in their ability to identify as queer or a part of the LGBTQIA community. The experiences of two different LGBTQIA identities shouldn’t be pitted against one another. Individuals of all LGBTQIA identities have confronted alienation that has pushed them to seek a community in which they can relate to one another and feel supported. The ace community is no different in this respect.

It’s also crucial for allosexuals to understand that aces — whether they possess intersecting identities or not — face their own prejudices, challenges and feelings of isolation and demonization from outer society. Because sex and intimacy are often considered intertwined, many people wrongly perceive aces as being fundamentally broken and in need of a “cure.” And according to one academic study, asexual individuals are frequently characterized by heterosexuals as machine-like, emotionless and inhuman. The study also found that, out of all sexual identities, the surveyed population wanted the least

amount of contact with asexuals, and were even less willing to hire or rent an apartment to an asexual person.

“There’s so much placed heterosexuality in every movie, in every book, in every sense of what you see in the world, that it seems just unnatural and wrong and awful to not feel some kind of sexual attraction — which is I guess why people are afraid of it [asexuality] or admonish it,” Sampley said.

With an estimated 1 percent of the population being asexual, and with a considerable amount of them choosing to remain silent about their sexuality, many people go their entire lives without coming across an “out” ace individual.

Accurate media portrayals of ace individuals play an integral role in creating visibility and dispelling misconceptions about asexuality. As of now, there have been few complex, nuanced depictions of aces in the mainstream media — most likely because asexuality is generally misunderstood and television writers don’t know how to construct intriguing storylines for ace characters.

Fortunately, groups like Aces of L.A. are visiting writers’ rooms to pitch compelling ace plotlines beyond the archetypal narrative of inescapable loneliness and the inability to form romantic relationships. Well-written ace characters are vital to helping asexual viewers feel more represented and less alone while also educating audiences that wouldn’t have been reached otherwise.

Ace-inclusive education — for which Jay recently advocated in New York — is another effective way to spread awareness and foster acceptance. This kind of education is important not only in helping ace youths discover their identities, but also in unspooling the complex relationship between romantic and sexual attraction, between love and the desire for sex as well as the need for communication and consent in relationships.

Although the ace movement began as a way to support other aces, activists like Jay are now hoping to help everyone examine the ingrained playbook of romantic relationships. He wants a broader discussion of sexual expectations and stereotypes entrenched in different cultures, belief systems and even neighborhoods.

All people, regardless of sexual orientation, could benefit from challenging the script of how good, healthy and traditional relationships function — as well as questioning what it means to be intimate, to develop meaningful connections and to simply be human.

“There is a real desire among everyone to break out of the script of intimacy that exists in our culture,” Jay said. “As aces, we’re leading the way. We’re not walking away from everyone else — we’re creating a path that everyone else wants to follow.”

The Davis Ace Club meets every Friday at 4 p.m. in the LGBTQIA Resource Center and is open to aces and allies alike.

you think of every experience as an opportunity.”

As Dolan moves along in her career, she reminds herself to take everything a year at a time, and advises graduating seniors to do the same.

“It has worked well for me in life to often think ‘well, what would I enjoy doing for the next year?’

— which is not exactly not a long-term plan,” Dolan said. “The more you can actually value your own responses and scrutinize them […is] really helpful.

And you never stop doing it.”

Susan Keen, an associate dean and professor of biological sciences, decided to take two years to work as a lab technician after her graduation from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

“I thought I would always go back to school,” Keen said. “That real-world experience gets you in good stead.”

However, while at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor for her graduate studies, Keen decided to take a year to assist a colleague with their research — in South America.

“At the time i was very worried that the whole year will damage my career,” Keen said. “And it was silly — but at the time, I didn’t know that was silly.

I think very little can actually derail your whole life.

At least, that’s my suspicion.”

According to Keen, very few people have a plan from birth that they set out on and accomplish in an ideal time frame. Instead, she described it as a process, with one step taken at a time. Expecting that every step will work is “just not realistic.”

“Sometimes you learn more when it doesn’t work than when it does work,” Keen said. “You also think that you’re supposed to have a path, and really almost nobody has a path unless they look backward.”

What’s important to remember at any turning point is to ground oneself in a search of happiness and self-improvement — no pressure from outside sources or what one believes is expected of them can justifiably forge a life outside of an undergraduate career. After all, this is not the beginning of life, it is “just a part of your life.” “[If I could go back] I would tell myself to calm down, it’s going to be okay, you’ll land on your feet,” Avila said. “Lifelong learning is really important.

Maybe I thought I was done with learning, but the reality is that I’m constantly learning, and the more I learn the more I need to learn.”

ECOHUB CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

“I don’t really know if senators have even been in our office or know what it looks like,” Evard said. “And I just think that if you’re a senator you really should work more closely with the units [...] I think it becomes difficult to make people understand the issues we are dealing with in our office when they don’t even necessarily know where the EcoHub is.”

Evard said that both of WEF’s current adopted senators, Jose Menses and Yajaira Ramirez Sigala, have been to the EcoHub, and that Menses has attended a WEF staff meeting. Menses and Ramirez Sigala did not respond to The Aggie’s request for comment.

“I think that ASUCD is trying but they’re not really [...] they’re just moving people around to different places,” Tierney said. “You can solve one problem, but then you create a whole host of new problems.”

Garcia echoed a similar stance on the situation.

“We’ve mentioned it to ASUCD in the past, specifically several times with the various executive offices (I’ve been with the Store, working with ASUCD for 3 years now, seeing many exec officials in and out of office),” Garcia said via email. “Executive’s short answer is that although there are processes in place to handle these issues, such as URSAC (Unit Relocation and Space Allocation Committee), there are other units who have priority above us when it comes to space concerns.”

Additionally, Garcia said she has brought up these issues to ASUCD senators.

“We’ve also brought it up to Senate several times, especially last year, and they did not have any suggestions or ideas for solutions,” Garcia said via email.

FLESCH CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

CLUB SOFTBALL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

us off a lot because by the end, you could feel there was a little bit of tension in the dugout. So I think one thing I really want to improve on is having that communication across the team, so that everyone is on the same page and we can all calm down a little bit. That way, if we’re not doing well, we’re not pinning that on any players and we’re taking a loss as a team.”

Since the club is completely student-run, the players must be dedicated to all aspects of the game. Officers not only play on the field, but

also orchestrate game schedules and fundraisers, communicate with the NCSA League, handle paperwork, and coordinate fields and umpires.

Although this a lot for any college student to take on, the passion for the game and the team make it all worthwhile.

“The seniors last year were so awesome,” Hinojosa said. “Our president was just so welcoming. Probably 20 minutes into the tryout, I knew I wanted to do it. I was really excited about joining the team.”

Thank you to the 2016-2017 Aggie Staff for leading a successful print revival and for your dedication to this newspaper!

In some of my proudest moments at this paper I’ve defended teachers unions, criticized private schooling and searched for ways universities can best serve low-income communities.

(I’m also so proud to have defended Milo Yiannopoulos’ right to speak on this campus.)

But I’ve never been perfect in my efforts. And any claim I may have to certainty now will surely be blunted by age. So I’ve learned to be as careful as possible with what I say, how I say it and where I say it (tragically, you’ll never see me stoop down to argue on Facebook or Twitter).

The saving power of journalism still exists, even in this age of “fake news” and “alternative facts.” The best writing gifts readers the ability to pause — to have a moment of skepticism in which judgement and self-righteousness give way to consideration and openness. In that moment, violence is impossible.

Ego vanishes. This is to say, writing makes life immeasurably rich.

I think by writing. I find it difficult to speak to other people. I’m often inarticulate. My mind runs with stopgaps and pauses and loops that are impossibly frustrating. Those vanish when I write. Or at

the very least I can work through them to the point where they don’t appear on the page. It’s for this reason that writing has been the great love of my life.

It’s why I’m so invested in the impossible task of getting it right, and it’s why I lapse into self-loathing when I don’t.

People have helped along the way. They’ve humbled me with their hard work and humor, and in the process they’ve made that self-loathing feel a little bit more common. I must conclude my Aggie career by acknowledging a few of these people, for whom I feel nothing but gratitude.

I need to thank Scott Dresser for not only employing me and defending my work, but being a friend. Stephen Magagnini deserves recognition for showing me the kind of mettle it takes to be a capable reporter. Taryn DeOilers, my successor, for leaving me absolutely confident in the continued success of the opinion desk. Ethan Victor for helping to bring some humor to this thing. Zach Moore, my rock. And the rest of my lovely columnists and humorists, who somehow trusted a person who never uses semicolons to be a strong judge of their work.

Thank you. Thank you.

KIERRA DAVIS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

that she is in charge of her own destiny, and if it comes with the awards then so be it.

As the coach, what do you feel needs to be implemented in order for Kierra to continue to have the success she has been having?

I believe that she needs to continue to listen, and be a student of her sport, and she will con-

tinue to get better and better. I don’t feel that the Olympic Games are far off for this young lady.

To represent the United States of America, you represent all nationalities. You may not know their names, but they will be shouting yours, and I believe that she is headed in the right direction. I also believe that she is the best recruit we have had in the last 10 years.

THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2017 | 13

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

BACKSTOP Kierra Davis earns Big West Women’s Freshman of the Year MARK HONBO / UC DAVIS ATHLETICS

I started really running track my freshman year of high school. I always was kind of fast, but I always told myself that I was going to run track in high school. My dad really pushed me to try and do track, so that is what really got me to do it. Freshman year is when I started, but sophomore year is when I started to really get serious.

How does it feel when you were given the Big West Women’s Freshman of the Year Award?

It is honestly surreal. I have been going through the motions and everything, but if you step back and see that this is real, it is a great experience and I am just very grateful for it. It is an honor because everybody is talented, but for this to actually happen, I am just really grateful.

How did the team react to you winning this award?

They have been really supportive. Our sprint squad specifically is a big family, so they have been very supportive and at the Gunrock Gala they were yelling and voting for me, so I really appreciate all of that.

Track and Field sprinter Kierra Davis has standout year, earns multiple honors

BY RYAN BUG SC H sports@theaggie.org

In an impressive year from the UC Davis track and field team, earning second place at the Big West Championships, one sprinter in particular has caught the eye of many. Track and field sprinter Kierra Davis earned Big West Women’s Freshman of the Year, the first Aggie to earn this award since 2014. Davis also took home the Female Newcomer of the Year Award at the Gunrock Gala, an awards banquet put on by UC Davis to recognize and award student athletes for their amazing performances.

Davis finished fourth in the 200-meter dash and seventh in the 100-meter sprint at the Big West Championships. Her 100 meter preliminary heat time of 11.70 seconds ranks fourth in UC Davis outdoor history, and her 23.84 time at the University of Nevada Las Vegas Invitational earned her third in the school record books. She joined the No. 2 relays that helped win the Big West Conference title. She was named Big West Women’s Track Athlete of the Week on March 21, an honor which was attributed to her personal record of 11.86 in the 100-meter and 24.46 in the 200-meter sprint. At New Mexico’s Don Kirby Invitational, she ran a 24.46 in the 200, which now ranks second in UC Davis annuals.

The California Aggie had the chance to sit down with Kierra Davis to talk about her success on the track.

How long have you been running track and field, specifically sprints? What got you into the sport?

What is the ultimate goal for you to achieve athletically at UC Davis during your next few years?

I want to make it to Nationals. I already know our relay team can make it in the next few years, but I really want to do it individually. I told myself that after college I was going to be done, but it would be the Olympic year [2020], so we will see what happens. I am not saying anything for sure, but whatever happens, I am just going to go with the flow. * * * Rahn Sheffield, the Director of Cross Country and Track and Field, sprints coach and the coach of numerous Olympic track and field athletes, added comments about Davis and where he sees her future in the track and field world.

Did anything stand out about Kierra that you don’t normally see in other athletes?

Her strength to deal with adversity. We are talking about a lot of pressure. She delivers in that environment, which is hard to do, especially for a freshman. Usually, you see a freshman have a bad day or a bad year, but she doesn’t have that. She can deal with all the nerves and the pressure of not just her family, but the invisible weight of UC Davis that you cannot see, and go out and deliver.

Why do you feel that Kierra was chosen to receive this award?

There are people that wait for greatness and there are others that go for greatness, strive for greatness, and Kierra is one of those athletes. Whatever is going to be, she is a strong enough athlete and knows KIERRA DAVIS on 12

JODI HINOJOSA / COURTESY

UC Davis club softball makes appearance at NCSA World Series Pacific conference champions fall to Penn State, Ohio State

BY L IZ JACO BSON sports@theaggie.org

The UC Davis women’s club softball team played in the National Club Softball Association (NCSA) World Series in Columbus, Georgia from May 19 to 21. Arriving in Georgia as the Pacific Conference champions, the Aggies were seeded second for pool play. Once bracket games began on the second day of the tournament, the Aggies fell first to Penn State and then to Ohio State.

In order to qualify for the NCSA World Series, the Aggies needed to become one of the top two teams in the Pacific Conference. The Aggies were undefeated in the regular season and were crowned champions of both the Pacific Conference Central Region and later of the Pacific Conference after defeating Grand Canyon University 5-4.

In Columbus, after pool play, the now tenth-seeded Aggies lost to Penn State 9-3 and 11-1 to Ohio State.

“To be honest, the biggest thing with us this year was the traveling,” fourth-year human development major Alex Baez said. “[It] took a really big toll having to go that far. We were the only team from California. [...] We just kind of had trouble mesh-

ing and we just couldn’t hit the ball. We couldn’t be as consistent as we were during the season. The teams we were seeing, we couldn’t get used to them as quickly.”

The UC Davis club softball team is entirely student-run, unlike other club teams that enlist the help of outside coaches and managers. The team’s current president, Baez, also acts as a head coach, alongside the team’s vice president. Baez and Jodi Hinojosa, a third-year biological sciences major, both believe this to be a contributing factor to the lack of communication on the field at Nationals.

“This year was really the first time we had to deal with having a player who’s also coaching, who’s on the field and doing everything,” Hinojosa said. “[...] I think people had a hard time adjusting to that because they didn’t really know how to react. I think Alex [Baez] was very stressed. It’s so hard to be out on the field, have to come back in the dugout, calm down, and make the line-up or have to make substitutions.”

The Aggies are already looking forward to next year. Looking ahead, the team has its eyes set on making some improvements.

“I think a lot of [our post-season performance] was just being aware of that big change we had to deal with,” Hinojosa said. “I think that really threw CLUB SOFTBALL on 12

CORBIN ELLIOTT (CC BY 2.0) / CREATIVE COMMONS

Quincy Amarikwa: Professional soccer player and entrepreneur

Former UC Davis soccer player leads successful double life

BY ROWA N O’CONNELL-GATES sports@theaggie.org

It’s a spring evening in San Diego. UC Davis men’s soccer head coach Dwayne Shaffer sits in the stands overlooking the fields of the 2005 San Diego Nomads soccer club showcase tournament.

The tournament is hosted by the Nomads, a powerhouse soccer club in Southern California. Shaffer is at the tournament to see a coveted prospect play, but on another field across the way, an unknown striker by the name of Quincy Amarikwa is putting on a show.

“I kept hearing the roars from the crowd,” Shaffer said.“Eventually I just started watching from afar and I noticed [Amarikwa] right away.”

At that time, Amarikwa was a 17-year-old high school senior with no realistic aspirations for Division I soccer. Coming from a small club team known as the Bakersfield Alliance, Amarikwa had always played the sport with a competitive edge and fiery work ethic, but he had never received the recruiting exposure that bigger clubs provide.

“I watched for literally 30 seconds before I was like ‘Wow, who is that?’” Shaffer said. “It took me about a minute before I was already setting up an official visit.”

Amarikwa’s skills during the San Diego Nomads showcase tournament carried over to UC Davis.

During his time as an Aggie, Amarikwa was honored as an All-Big West second team selection and he took UC Davis men’s soccer to its first ever NCAA tournament. But perhaps his most memorable accomplishment took place against perennial Big West contender UC Santa Barbara.

“He drew a bicycle [kick], a special goal of a lifetime, but that’s what the special strikers and attacking players do,” Shaffer said. “They do something different than anybody else, and Quincy had the confidence in himself to take that opportunity.”

The goal eventually earned Amarikwa the Big West Conference Goal of the Year. After the NCAA tournament, Amarikwa completed his degree in biological sciences at UC Davis, graduating in only three years. Much like his high school days, Amarikwa had no intention of moving onto the next level of soccer, but during his final year at UC Davis, Amarikwa attended the Major League Soccer (MLS) Combine, where his performance was strong enough to warrant a third round pick by the San Jose Earth-

quakes in the 2009 MLS Superdraft.

Today Amarikwa is in his ninth full year as a professional, and, after bouncing around with other MLS teams, he is back with the Earthquakes. In his second stint with San Jose, Amarikwa sustained the first major injury of his career.

“It was a really bad knee injury,” Amarikwa said.

“I tore my IT Band, my ACL, my LCL, my bicep femoris, so I tore my hamstring muscle from the bone as well as my patellar tendon.”

While this would devastate most professional athletes, Amarikwa accepts the injury as a new challenge.

“The second it happened, I kind of chuckled to myself,” Amarikwa said. “When I felt what happened to my knee I knew I had messed it up really badly, but I laughed to myself because I knew this was a great opportunity for me to overcome adversity.”

Amarikwa has been recovering for upwards of eight months now and while he has yet to return to the field, the other side of Amarikwa’s passion has greatly benefited from his time off from the soccer field.

“This is an opportunity for me to really triple down on the things that I’ve been working on outside of soccer,” Amarikwa said. “And really get an understanding of what will be possible for me post-career.”

While soccer is a significant part of Amarikwa’s life, he has ties to the business world as well.

“My real-life aspirations or goals is that I am a serial entrepreneur, I love starting businesses, marketing, and online advertising,” Amarikwa said.

“Since my injury my businesses have really, really grown in a great capacity.”

Amarikwa co-authored his first book in 2015, increased his fan outreach and invested in real estate throughout the San Jose area.

“My plan is to play soccer as long as they’re willing to pay me and I always know business opportunities, ventures and entrepreneurship is always going to be there,” Amarikwa said. “I can do both which I have been doing the entire time I have been playing, so I don’t see any reason to change that up now.”

Amarikwa expects to return to the field this season, where he’ll be joining an Earthquakes squad that currently sits at fourth place in the Western Conference table of the MLS. Regardless of when he returns to the soccer pitch, however, Amarikwa is on a successful path that will have significant implications for any area that he decides to focus his time and energy.

14 | THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2017

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