ASUCD fall elections called after two disqualifications: 6 students elected to serve as student government senators
Senator Jenna Younes won her bid for re-election, while Aggie Alliance Slate members Ryan Kan and Aaron David Heth were disqualified
BY VINCE BASADA campus@theaggie.org
The ASUCD Fall Elections have been called, with six students elected to serve one-year terms on the ASUCD Senate.
e senators-elect are, in rank order of votes received: Rosa Linda Martinez Ruano (UNIDAD Slate), Jenna Younes (Warda Slate), Nate Little (Independent), Ezra Rubin (Independent), Kelly Zamudio (UNIDAD Slate) and Mia Oscanoa (Aggie Alliance Slate).
13 total candidates appeared on the ballot, though two were disquali ed before voting closed Friday evening: Ryan Kan, a thirdyear political science and economics double major, and Aaron David Heth, a third-year political science major. Both were members of the Aggie Alliance Slate. Before being disqualified, Kan and Heth were the rst and second place candidates respectively, according to raw elections data results published by the ASUCD Elections Committee.
ASUCD bylaws require that any candidate or slate that accrues three violation points during the course of a campaign be disquali ed or dissolved by the Elections Committee. Both Kan and Heth accrued three violation points, according to the committee.
ASUCD Elections
O cer Jack Wang, a thirdyear political science and sociology double major, did not provide comment on why the violation points
were given. However, bylaws state that they can be assigned for breaking ASUCD rules on campaigning, endorsements or campaign spending. Heth, in an interview with The California Aggie late Monday, declined to give comment on his disquali cation or the reasons behind his violation points. Heth plans on contesting the decision with the ASUCD Judicial Council, responsible for adjudicating contests to election results. Kan also con rmed to e Aggie
that he will be appealing his disquali cation. If Heth and Kan’s disquali cations are overturned, it is unclear what would happen or if any senators-elect would have their wins overturned or revoked. ASUCD uses a rankedchoice voting system, with student voters able to rank as many or as few of the candidates as they prefer. The rankings before the disqualifications were: Kan, Heth, Little, Younes, Ruano and Oscanoa. Per elections data, 2,132
Davis Joint Unified School District hosts outreach events to discuss district redesign
The district faces a potential loss of 1,000 students over the next 10 years
MADELYN SEVIGNY city@theaggie.org
On Oct. 30, the Davis Joint Uni ed School District (DJUSD) announced a community outreach series to discuss and receive feedback from the community about a possible district-wide redesign. Any potential adjustments are in response to declining enrollment, with the district expected to lose around 1,000 students in the next 10 years if residential developments in the City of Davis are not passed by voters in 2026. e school board is expected to make its decision by the spring of 2027, with the changes set to go into e$ect for the 2028-2029 school year.
e DJUSD outreach events were meant to gather input from the community on how best to cope with the possible challenges the district will face. DJUSD held three meetings, one on Nov. 3 at Davis Senior High School, one on Nov. 5 at Emerson Junior High and the last on Nov. 13 at Da Vinci Charter Academy.
e Nov. 5 meeting started with a presentation by DJUSD Chief Strategy O cer Maria Clayton and DJUSD Superintendent Matt Best. Clayton began the presentation with a review of the issue of declining enrollment, with the projected loss of 1,000 students representing the “worst-case
scenario.” Clayton o$ered several reasons for this potential loss, which included a declining birth rate and the expensive housing costs in Davis; she described the housing market as “very competitive.” For context, the median sale price of a home in Davis being $764,000, according to Red n. e City of Davis is currently reviewing two major a$ordable housing developments: Village Farms and Willowgrove, which, if passed, would mitigate much of the student population decline. Clayton explained that things remain uncertain as the housing projects continue to be reviewed by the city.
“We know the projection is that we’re declining, but we also know there’s these huge potential housing projects that, if they’re built, would bring a bunch of kids into a very con ned area,” Clayton said. “So, we have the %ip side of two problems: one is that you either have not enough students to sustain or we’re going to have enough students [...] It’s all happening in real time and we need to plan for the worst, so that’s what this activity is about.”
Clayton also provided her perspective on the reasons for the decline in young families in Davis.
“Over time, there was nothing new built, and so there
voters participated in last week’s election — about 6.67% of the undergraduate population. Wang, whose one-year term ends this quarter, attributed some of the low turnout to poor weather on ursday, Nov. 13 and Friday, Nov. 14, a$ecting tabling and outreach e$orts. He said that he hopes that his successor will be able to increase turnout for the spring election.
“I think we can do a better job improving awareness of the student government, because I think the student government
is more important than a lot of people perceive it to be,” Wang said “A lot of students know that there’s an election, but they don’t really feel compelled or feel convinced to vote.”
As new senators, the winning candidates will join the student government’s highestpro le legislative body and take responsibility for overseeing the Association’s $22 million annual budget. ey replace the seats left vacant by Senators Nanki Kaur, a fourth-year biomedical engineering and South Asian
studies double major; Lexi Raben, a second-year environmental sciences and management major; and Umar Shaikh, a third-year political science major. Two interim senators are also set to vacate their roles at the end of the quarter: Livreet Sandhu, a third-year political science major, and Shaina Taebi, a second-year political science and philosophy double major. Younes, a fourth-year international relations major, was the only currently serving senator seeking reelection. Rubin, a thirdyear international relations and classics double major and former senator, will be returning for a second term after leaving ASUCD in the spring. Both members of the UNIDAD slate are set to join the Senate table from other positions in ASUCD. Ruano, a third-year sociology and community and regional development double major, currently serves as the chairperson of the ASUCD Undocuscholars Advocacy and Aid Committee. Zamudio, a fourth-year political science and sociology double major, currently serves on the ASUCD Academic A$airs Commission as its vice chair. New faces will be joining the table as well. Little and Oscanoa are both rst-year political science majors who will join the Association for the rst time.
Alongside the other winners, they are set to be sworn-in at the last Senate meeting of the quarter on Dec. 4.
‘Who got the power? We got the power’: UC workers go on strike
AFSCME 3299, representing more than 37,000 service, patient care and skilled craft workers system-wide, alleged unfair labor practices
BY KHADEEJAH KHAN campus@theaggie.org
Some 100 workers at UC Davis went on strike Monday, Nov. 17 over alleged unfair labor practices, failure to reach a contract and sta ng shortages.
The demonstration was part of a two-day system-wide strike across the University of California (UC) system, including 10 campuses and ve medical centers. e workers are members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 (AFSCME 3299), representing more than 37,000 service, patient care and skilled craft workers.
Aggie)
was a pressure as UC Davis got bigger, a lot of the students were moving into housing that was being vacated by [families],” Clayton said.
Best proposed two options to address the potential loss of students.
Concept A includes the closure of Patwin Elementary School in the 2028-2029 school year and the relocation of the Davis School for Independent Study (DSIS) to the Patwin campus. Under this plan, there is a high likelihood that additional school closures would be required in the future.
Concept B involves a district-wide redesign. It proposes the closure of both Patwin Elementary School and Birch Lane Elementary School in 2028; transitioning all sixthgrade students in DJUSD to junior-high campuses; moving Da Vinci Junior High students to the Da Vinci High School campus; and relocating Davis School for Independent Study (DSIS) to either the Patwin or Birch Lane campus. e plan would also require the addition of up to 12 portable classrooms in order to accommodate additional student enrollment at the remaining campuses.
Best spoke about the future impacts of implementing the Concept B plan.
AFSCME 3299’s picket line began at 7 a.m. on Hutchison Field, where strikers shared co$ee and bagels in preparation for a demonstration. Passing cars at the intersection honked to express solidarity with the workers as they chanted “Who got the power? We got the power,” and “Sí, se puede.”
e UC claimed that their “last, best, and final offer” provides $25 an hour for employees, e$ective July 2025, in addition to $1,500 per year in healthcare premium credits, according to a university press statement.
“Despite UC’s continued outreach, AFSCME has not presented any substantive counterproposals since April 2025,” the press release reads.
“Absent AFSCME’s engagement, the University cannot engage in meaningful negotiations for this critical workforce. Nonetheless, we remain hopeful and committed to working towards a fair and sustainable agreement that supports our employees and advances the University’s mission of service, education, and research.”
However, AFSCME 3299 members maintain that the UC’s o$ers fail to cover rising costs.
“During nearly two years of bargaining, UC has spent billions of dollars acquiring new facilities, lavishing exorbitant raises on its wealthiest executives and funding housing assistance programs to help these same ivory tower elites buy mansions or second homes — but it won’t o$er its frontline workers
enough to pay the rent or keep pace with the skyrocketing cost of groceries,” AFSCME 3299 President Michael Avant said in a press release. Teresa Macias, a custodian who joined the strike, recalled how she used to pay $57 every two weeks in healthcare premiums; that number has now increased to $357. She viewed the action of going on strike as a way to address the a$ordability crisis. “We have some co-workers living in their cars,” Macias said. “We have some co-workers asking for food stamps and now [the federal government is] cutting food stamps. We are striking for good bene ts, because that is why we came to the UC in the rst place.”
AFSCME’s strike was the rst major systemwide labor action in the 2025-2026 academic year. In the 2024-2025 year, AFSCME went on strike four times, most recently in May.
AFSCME has also led two unfair labor practice (ULP) charges last year with the state’s Public Employment Relations Board. e rst charge alleged that UC’s lack of notice and failure to bargain over the hiring freeze violates state law and legal precedent. e second followed the UC’s decision to deny employee bene ts to workers absorbed by UC’s acquisition of six Southern California hospitals.
AFSCME has been negotiating with the UC since January 2024, with their patient care and service contracts expiring in July and October of
that year. Two other unions had planned to join the strike before calling o$ their demonstrations in the days leading up to Monday. The University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications Workers of America (UPTECWA) 9119 announced they would strike earlier this month but reached a contract agreement with the UC on Nov. 8 after 17 months of bargaining. e California Nurses Association (CNA), which represents more than 25,000 registered nurses across UC healthcare facilities, planned to host a sympathy strike alongside AFSCME 3299, but reached a tentative agreement with the UC on Sunday.
“Going into this round of bargaining, it was our priority to ensure UC nurses were given the resources to care for our patients and ourselves after years of shortsta ng and under-resourcing,” CNA Bargaining Representative Kristan Delmarty said in a press release. “We achieved our goal and now we stand together with our AFSCME colleagues, whose essential work demands the same resources guaranteed by a fair contract.”
By 8 a.m on Nov. 17, strikers had begun their rst march of the day, walking from Hutchison Field and stopping at the UC Davis Student Health and Wellness Center, the Segundo Market and the Segundo Dining Commons.
The elected senators of the fall 2025 ASUCD election. (Courtesy)
Sign in front of Da Vinci High School in Davis, California. (Isabel Reyes /
UC Davis workers on strike at Hutchison field on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (Jessie Baltaxe / Aggie)
Students, advocacy groups express disappointment following veto of SB 509
Despite support, Newsom recently shot down the bill aiming to address transnational repression
BY KHADEEJAH KHAN campus@theaggie.org
With activists facing stalking to threats of violence, transnational repression (TNR) has been on the rise throughout California’s Central Valley. For UC Davis members of the Sikh Punjabi diaspora like Harshpartap Dhillon, a secondyear biological sciences major and ASUCD senator, advocating for diaspora students is an action that is more essential than ever.
“We need to instill within our community the importance of organizing and mobilizing, and how important it is to actually understand these bigger things going on in the world,” Dhillon said. “Our liberty and rights are never guaranteed. ey have to be acquired and worked toward.”
e FBI de nes TNR as cases of foreign governments extending beyond their borders to intimidate, harass or silence members of their diasporas or exile communities. Transnational repression has impacted various diaspora communities, including the Sikh Punjabi community.
California is home to 250,000 Sikhs, with the majority residing in the Central Valley — comprising roughly 40% of the Indian American diaspora population in the state. In India,
Sikhs are a minority, making up less than 2% of the population.
At the statewide level, SB 509, a bill aiming to address transnational repression, was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom in October. SB 509 would have provided training to California law enforcement to recognize and respond to TNR. It would not create a new class or type of crime, but rather would provide ways to respond to TNR.
The bill was supported by various advocacy groups, including Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Sikh Coalition and the Jakara Movement. Prior to the veto, SB 509 passed the California Assembly by a unanimous vote of 47–0.
In a statement explaining the veto, Newsom expressed his belief that federal authorities working alongside state administrators are best equipped to address TNR, arguing that the bill could impede on the state’s #exibility.
Prior to the veto, ASUCD passed SR #2 in support of SB 509 in an e$ort to encourage Newsom to sign on. Senator Noblejot Singh introduced the resolution, which was coauthored by Senator Dhillon. For ASUCD President Amrita Julka, a third-year political science major who
co-sponsored SR #2, passing the senate resolution felt like a powerful recognition of not only the Sikh Punjabi community at UC Davis today, but the community’s historical role in California.
“The Punjabi Sikh community has been on the Davis campus for a very long time,” Julka said. “But it’s a community that does not often get a lot of recognition. For us to recognize [transnational repression] — I think it is really impactful for those students whose lives are impacted by it, especially students from the Central Valley.”
With TNR impacting the community on a statewide scale, Dhillon believes the veto of SB 509 represents how students often have to protect one another during times when the state cannot.
“We passed a resolution through the Senate emergency resolution, encouraging Governor Newsom to sign the bill, but he didn’t,” Dhillon said. “I think it shows me that we can’t rely on these systems to come in and protect us, because a government is supposed to protect the rights and the liberties of its citizens. I think sometimes, as minorities, we don’t feel that we are being protected.”
Bezos Earth Fund gives grant to UC Davis AI nutrition project
Swap it Smart seeks to develop healthy and ethically sourced recipes using AI
On Oct. 23, the Bezos Earth Fund announced that they will donate $2 million to the Periodic Table of Food Initiative, an organization managed by the American Heart Association, in order to create the Swap it Smart project. Led by two UC Davis professors, the project plans to develop arti cial intelligence (AI)-based recipes aimed at developing healthy and ethically sourced foods using large language models (LLMs) and machine learning.
The grant was issued alongside 14 others, all aimed at using AI to benefit the environment and as part of an investment into AI technologies.
Started by UC Davis Professors and Co-Principal Investigators Ilias Tagkopoulos and Justin Siegel, Swap it Smart aims to use AI to create recipes for both chefs and the general public, using an app.
“We got an award from the Bezos Earth Fund and this consortium of multiple parties to use AI and create meals that are nutritious,” Tagkopoulos said. “ ey will probably use ethically sourced foods that are sustainable and will have the right nutrients to support our diet.”
The Bezos Earth fund acts as a philanthropic arm for its namesake, Amazon founder Je$rey Bezos. It was founded in 2020 with an initial commitment by Bezos of $10 billion for grants to address issues in the climate and nature.
“At the Bezos Earth Fund, we’re focused on making AI work for the environment — not the other way around,” Amen Ra Mashariki, the director of AI at the Bezos Earth Fund, said in the grant press release. “ ese projects show how AI, when developed responsibly and guided by science, can strengthen environmental action, support communities, and ensure its overall impact on the planet is net positive.”
However, the fund has recently faced some scrutiny, with allegations that the nonpro t has acted to further Bezos’ economic and political interests. Both the fund and Bezos himself
faced criticism early this year when they cut funding to the Science Based Targets initiative, an international climate certification group.
e move was seen by some as a bowing down to the Trump administration and its distancing from climate change action.
Tagkopoulos’ and his partners’ labs have been working with AI in the form of machine learning and LLMs in the context of food sciences for years. However, the Swap it Smart project is new and has yet to be completely #eshed out. Tagkopoulos indicated that it will take years and more funding to fully develop, but the onetime $2 million grant is getting it started.
“We have no idea [how it’ll work],” Tagkopoulos said. “We will work with our partners at the American Heart Association and the Periodic Table of Food Initiative to get the right data, then we will develop the methods, AI methods and computational methods to mix and match foods that are more sustainable and nutritious.”
While Tagkopoulos is hopeful that the project will work toward a greater good, UC Davis postdoctoral scholar, AI ethicist and researcher Carrie Alexander noted that using AI puts a strain on natural resources and can be harmful to the environment.
“We should remember how costly the environmental implications of AI are,” Alexander said. “ at is often not thought about or seen, and we have not adequately addressed it. It’s always in the background.”
e largest issue with using AI is the large energy resources needed to power and cool energy and data centers — mostly water, according to Alexander. While LLM providers and Big Tech companies have not always been transparent about the environmental costs to develop and use their models, estimates and predictions by researchers at Cornell University place AI as a big driver of data-center construction in the United States, greatly increasing energy and water needs to develop and power these models.
“There are definitely
policing
environmental implications that mean we will be leaning more heavily on those resources in order to fuel the [creation and use of models],” Alexander said. When asked about the possible contradiction created by an AI tool designed to help the environment, Tagkopoulos answered that the use of LLMs was not inherently different from any other use of natural resources.
“I don’t know if they’re bad for the environment,” Tagkopoulos said. “Anything that consumes power can be intense on resources. Whether the benefit you get for the human race and our planet is bigger than the resources it actually consumes is a di$erent story.”
Another risk posed by AI models in health guidance are issues referred to as a “hallucination,” or what AI ethicists such as Alexander call a “lie.” ey happen when an LLM provides a nonsensical answer that ranges from harmless to deadly. A Center for Countering Digital Hate report revealed the ease by which people could get ChatGPT, an LLM that Tagkopoulos said Swap it Smart would use, to encourage self-harm and enable harmful habits related to eating disorders.
“I think there are a lot of cases where something is inaccurate or can’t be used without being checked,” Alexander said. “Maybe something is added that’s toxic, or an allergen. I don’t want to sit here and speculate to nd ways to knock out ideas without checking out their safety precautions; I want to hear them out. But what we know about LLMs is that they would need safety precautions, but they would require effort and in some ways possibly defeat the advantages posed by AI.”
Tagkopoulos said that their project would use domain experts in order to verify that recipes do not contain any hallucinations. He added that the app they hope to develop would likely not have the same domain experts but would have additional automated safety features built into the AI and programs to verify safety.
The meeting featured a presentation by the Office of Independent Review Group
BY KATYA OKS city@theaggie.org
On Nov. 3, the Davis Police Accountability Commission held a meeting to discuss the potential role of arti cial intelligence (AI) in policing. e meeting was led by Michael Gennaco, a founding member of the O%ce of Independent Review (OIR) Group. The OIR Group collaborates with community members and local governments, as well as police agencies, to address oversight and accountability, internal investigations into misconduct and conduct training to ensure law enforcement is following upto-date practices.
Gennaco also served as the chief attorney for the OIR in Los Angeles County, with expertise in law enforcement reform. Gennaco began his presentation with a working de nition of AI for the purpose of the topics he was set to discuss. He then re#ected on the current state of policing and the criminal justice system through his work in the OIR Group.
“In Santa Clara County, which we monitor, [...] [there was] a murder in their jails in January this year [of an] incarcerated person,” Gennaco said. “Unfortunately, he was killed by [other inmates] and
beaten to death. e assault [...] went on for several minutes, and there was a camera in the dorm that captured all of it. [...] No one was watching this assault happening in real time that led to this person’s death.”
After describing the incident, Gennaco cited the lack of resources as a potential contributor to the event.
“There are hundreds of cameras in the two jails in Santa Clara County, so there are not [enough] resources for a person to keep eyes on these cameras at all times,” Gennaco said. “AI may be able to x that.”
Gennaco transitioned to discussing another issue concerning the nature of policing. He noted that the footage from officers’ bodyworn cameras are crucial to investigations, evaluating complaints and more.
“One of the things that we do as auditors when we are reviewing the way the police department has handled a complaint is [by] looking at the police report [and] the recordings of any interviews. We also look at any body-worn camera that the o%cers activated that showed them responding to the event,” Gennaco said. “[But because] there are so many interactions that the police are recording and upload[ing], [...] at some point [the footage goes] away and no
one ever looks at [it].” Gennaco o$ered a proposal on how the integration of AI could potentially help to resolve this issue. rough training an AI model to sift through footage and watch out for “discourteous language, profane language, racial epithets” and “whether an o%cer is using force in the eld,” according to Gennaco, the policing system can catch these instances more e$ectively. “AI can now do the work of sifting through all of this — tons of evidentiary material and identifying issues — and then the supervisor is able to take appropriate action,” Gennaco said. “ e same can be done for good o%cer behavior as well [to create] positive reinforcement.”
View of California State Capitol from 10th Street in Sacramento, California.
(Courtesy of Andre M. / Creative Commons, CC by 3.0)
BY RIVERS STOUT campus@theaggie.org
The Bezos Earth Fund grants $2 million to UC Davis to support AI tools for healthy and ethically sourced foods. (Courtesy of Yu Hosoi / Unsplash)
Mark I. Rosenblatt named new vice chancellor of Human Health Sciences Rosenblatt to oversee UC Davis Health, university medical schools
Dr. Mark I. Rosenblatt has been appointed by Chancellor Gary May as the new vice chancellor of Human Health Sciences, responsible for leading UC Davis Health and the two UC Davis graduate health schools. As part of his portfolio, Rosenblatt will oversee three hospitals — the UC Davis Medical Center, UC Davis Children’s Hospital and UC
Davis Rehabilitation Hospital — as well as the UC Davis School of Medicine and Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. He is set to start in the role on Jan. 19, 2026, with an annual compensation of $1,370,000; primarily coming from health service clinical revenues, according to UC Davis Chief Marketing and Communications O cer Dana Topousis.
Rosenblatt received his Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Miami, where he also later completed a joint Medical Doctor (MD)
and Ph.D. program. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from New York University and a Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) from the University of Illinois, Chicago. Before working as a hospital administrator, Rosenblatt practiced optometry.
Rosenblatt is currently the G. Stephen Irwin executive dean at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and chief executive o cer (CEO) of the University of Illinois Hospital and Clinics. Rosenblatt has also worked as an assistant professor
Yolo County District Attorney charges two individuals over TPUSA event in April
UC Davis graduates Joanna Clara Sodke and Chloe Love Peterson face felony and misdemeanor charges
BY VINCE BASADA campus@theaggie.org
e Yolo County District Attorney (DA) has led charges against two individuals over their alleged involvement in a protest during a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) event held on the UC Davis Quad on April 3, 2025. Joanna Clara Sodke, a 22-year-old Sacramento resident, and Chloe Love Peterson, a 22-year-old Davis resident, both face felony charges for conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor and misdemeanor battery charges. e two are both recent UC Davis graduates.
Sodke pleaded not guilty at her arraignment trial on Friday, Nov. 14. She is out of custody on a $10,000 bail bond, according to e Davis Enterprise. Her next court appearance is a pretrial conference set for Dec. 15. e TPUSA event garnered national attention after videos of several physical altercations between protestors, attendees of the event and other members of the UC Davis community went viral. e event was hosted by the Davis chapter of TPUSA; the event featured right-
wing in$uencer and TPUSA contributor Brandon Tatum as a guest speaker on campus. On April 3, Sodke and Peterson joined a group of protestors who had begun organizing a demonstration several days prior to the event — in part through the promotion of student group Cops Off Campus, according to court documents published by e Enterprise. Alongside unnamed “co-conspirators,” they moved toward attendees of the TPUSA event.
Several unnamed coconspirators are listed as having thrown objects, while one is said to have removed a “Make America Great Again Hat” o% an individual’s head, which Peterson picked up. Members of this group are also said to have destroyed and taken items from TPUSA.
Additionally, Sodke is described as having punched an individual identi ed in court documents only as “B.B.”
In a video of the event posted on Reddit, local Moms For Liberty Chapter Chair and then-UC Davis employee Beth Bourne, known for her antitransgender rights activism, approached a group of marchers
before being struck on the back of the head by a protester. It is unclear if the attack on Bourne is the same as the incident described in court records.
Soon after the event, Yolo County DA Je% Reisig said that the protestors’ behavior and conduct at the event constituted criminal activity. e attack directed at a peaceful student-sponsored event was outrageous and clearly criminal,” Reisig said. is hateful conduct will not be tolerated in our community.”
In a separate statement, UC Davis Chancellor Gary May condemned the physical altercations that occurred and said that the university would continue to support free expression.
“What happened was appalling and completely unacceptable,” May said. “ ere is zero tolerance for violence on our campuses — zero. ose who were attacked did nothing but express themselves, in a non-violent manner. ey were peacefully expressing their views — as is their right — and they should be able to do so without fear, intimidation or violence.”
impact.” May has commended Rosenblatt’s work and expressed optimism toward his appointment.
“Mark brings to UC Davis deep experience in academic hospital systems,” May said in the press release. “He has a proven record of collaborating with faculty and staff across medical and other disciplines to leverage the best that a comprehensive university like UC Davis has to o%er.”
Rosenblatt’s appointment comes at a time of rising insurance costs and potential cuts to Medicare.
Rosenblatt said that he is planning work to ensure that patients are getting the assistance they need to retain their coverage. ere is work underway focused on how we can provide more access to quality care while also controlling costs,”
Rosenblatt said via email.
“UC Davis Health already provides a signi cant amount of uncompensated care and the magnitude of this ‘charity care’ is likely to increase.”
“UC Davis Health represents the best of what an integrated academic health system can be, and I am extremely honored to join UC Davis and its extraordinary community of clinicians, scientists and educators,” Rosenblatt said in a press release. “Serving as the vice chancellor and providing leadership at this pivotal time in healthcare is a true privilege and a chance to make a profound
UC Davis Health serves both Northern and Central California, with a recent expansion of a UC Davis School of Medicine training program to Humboldt, Nevada and Shasta counties to ll a gap in primary and psychiatric care.
Aside from the three hospitals and medical schools, Rosenblatt will also oversee 17 primary care clinics across Northern California. As part of his role at the University
of Illinois, he has visited and managed several regional campuses, which has allowed him to garner an understanding of the challenges faced by smaller communities.
“I am excited to help serve Northern California by making more expert clinical care [available], training more physicians and nurses who will practice in rural environments and performing more research that provides innovative solutions to the complex problems patients face in these rural communities,” Rosenblatt said.
Rosenblatt also commented on UC Davis’ role in the region as a center for health education and research.
“With the challenges we face, we need to be even more intentional about the investments that we make in research,” Rosenblatt said. “Creating a very focused and shared strategic vision for areas of research excellence will be important.”
Rosenblatt will replace Interim Vice Chancellor Bruce Lee Hall, who has served in the role since Feb. 15; Hall will return to his prior role as chief clinical officer of UC Davis Health.
“I hope I can help UC Davis Health further improve how we communicate with our communities, e%ectively tell the stories and provide the data that resonates with our patients and solidify our academic medical center as a source of trusted medical advice,” Rosenblatt said.
UPTE-CWA 9119 reach contract agreement with UC after over a year of negotiations
The contract agreement includes pay raises, paid holidays and increases union representation
BY KHADEEJAH KHAN campus@theaggie.org
e University of California (UC) and the University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications Workers of America 9119 (UPTE-CWA) have reached a contract agreement after 17 months of negotiations, announcing the end to their contract bargaining on Nov. 8. e union represents over 21,000 researchers and technical workers across the UC system. In the 2024-2025 academic year, they went on strike four times.
UPTE-CWA had planned to strike from Nov. 17-18, along with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 (AFSCME) and the California Nurses Association (CNA), but called off their demonstration after reaching a contract agreement.
“Our tentative agreement is a hard-won victory for 21,000 healthcare, research, and
technical professionals across UC — and one that will bene t millions of UC patients and students, as well as people across the world who bene t from UC’s cutting-edge research,” Dan Russell, UPTE-CWA president and chief negotiator, said in a statement.
UPTE-CWA began negotiations with the UC in June 2024, prior to the expiration of their contract in October 2024.
A joint statement by the UC and UPTE-CWA said that the two parties reached the contract agreement following three weeks of mediation.
“The finalized agreement re$ects the University’s enduring commitment and UPTE’s advocacy for our employees who play critical roles across the University,” the statement read. “ is outcome was the result of constructive dialogue and a shared commitment to finding common ground while maintaining financial responsibility in uncertain times. Both parties acknowledge and appreciate the collaborative spirit
that allowed us to move forward and reach a resolution that supports our valuable employees and the University of California’s mission of excellence.”
The agreement included wage raises of 8% in 2025, 7% in January 2026 and 6% in 2027 and 2028. UPTE-CWA members working at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory would receive 7% wage raises across the board in 2025 and 2026 and a 6% raise across the board in 2027 and 2028. e agreement also placed caps on healthcare premiums in 2027 and 2028 and is set to provide union members with full holiday pay, an additional floating holiday and up to 12 months unpaid parental leave for birth parents. Additionally, the agreement would increase the union’s unit representatives to at least one representative per 100 workers. e agreement is tentative, and will require a union vote — currently underway through Nov. 20 — in order for it to be rati ed.
UPTE on 9
LILY KENROW
Dr. Mark Rosenblatt has been appointed as UC Davis vice chancellor of Human Health Sciences. (Courtesy of Mark Rosenblatt) of Ophthalmology and Vision Science and practiced medicine in a UC Davis Clinic in Sacramento from 2005 to 2008.
UPTE strike in 2018. (Aggie File)
A Turning Point USA (TPUSA) sign on the ground at a TPUSA event at UC Davis on April 3, 2025.
(Christian Cendejas / Aggie)
OPINION
Why we need trade unions
Unions play an important role in securing worker protections
BY SAGE KAMOCSAY skamocsay@ucdavis.edu
Union participation in America is at an all-time low. As working conditions worsen and average pay lowers compared to the cost of living, this decline in union membership is especially concerning. Workers are increasingly left without necessary protections — a reality that could be avoided if we reincorporate unions into common practice.
Workers should understand that their employers are materially interested in paying as little as possible for as much labor as they can get. A worker cannot obtain truly livable conditions and wages through the trust of their employer or the ballot box alone; those provisions, unfortunately but realistically, must be fought for and won in opposition to employers.
is is what unions do: ey bring together the common people and provide them an avenue through which to ght for good working conditions. They harness the power of the masses to compel high-up businessmen to listen to their demands. If enough workers want to change a policy, unions can force employers to make that change via the passion of their members. In theory, this goal can be achieved through more civil means, like private discussions between union representatives and company heads. But the real power of the union lies in what they can do if companies refuse to listen.
Strikes are a common example of this power. Union members will refuse to work until their demands are met, targeting a company’s bottom line. Pro ts decrease, stock prices fall, and C-suite sta salaries are threatened. When lower-level employees don’t work, they don’t produce value for the company. Even with replacement workers, employers often struggle to outlast a prolonged strike. It’s a war of attrition — the winner
will be whoever can a ord to continue the strike. However, unions typically pick fights they know they can win — and it is far less costly to organize a strike than to endure one. Companies thus often lose this game of tug-of-war, and in many cases, ultimately meet union demands rather than risk longterm nancial damage.
Strikes can also help to raise public awareness for a cause. Demonstrations allow non-workers to see the plight of the strikers and can drastically bolster the e ects of strikers’ e orts, putting further social and monetary pressure on company owners to improve working conditions.
Unions can also facilitate change through the judicial system. Large unions often have lawyers who can bring lawsuits against their companies and the government to the courtroom in order to secure restitution and empirical institutional improvements.
But what are these conditions, exactly? What do unions seek to protect through strikes and litigation? Wages are one example — with the minimum wage currently below what’s realistic for living, unions can incentivize companies to pay their workers fairly. Unions can also help employees secure better job bene ts, shorter hours and
safer facilities, all of which help to give them better and more ful lling lives while making sure they are properly compensated. Any union worth its salt is also a democratic process; the issues that workers are most upset about are the ones that will be bargained for by the union representatives. Unions are designed to help workers in real, tangible ways. With all this being said, unions are facing increasing attacks from the government. Federal workers are being stripped of their right to organize; the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been hijacked by the Trump administration to represent the wishes of employers and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, which helps to mediate labor disputes, has laid o 95% of its workforce; an action that will cause mediation to grind to a halt, leaving labor disputes unsolved. e e ectiveness of unions in protecting their hard-working members is in jeopardy. While now may not be the easiest time to join a union, it certainly remains important to do so. Even if you can’t join one yourself, go out and support workers on the picket line. With the support of the masses, unions can stay safe and powerful — which is exactly what we as a society need.
The colonization of food
Heirlooms of flavor and family
BY NEVAEH KARRAKER
nakarraker@ucdavis.edu
I had the privilege of growing up in an “ingredient household.” As a chef, my dad constantly lled the house with the aromas of new concoctions and rows of potions wafting over the countertops.
To others, “candy meat” is a weird conjunction of words. Yet to my family and I, it’s a delicious traditional dish of pork shoulder coated in a mouth-watering brown sugar rub. It’s born from a kitchen crowded with siblings sneaking bites and parents taking the time to teach us the proper ways to use a knife, all while music blasts in the background.
ere’s no tangible recipe for this dish. It’s rather a culmination of dozens of tests, several cookbooks and the nesse of experience. It’s derived from an intimate familiarity with earth’s provision of whole foods, not from the soulless assembly lines inside of factories. In the United States, the wide accessibility of convenient fast food — making up 60% of the total caloric intake — has unfortunately caused the loss of culture passed down through food. After all, stereotypical “American food” is massproduced burgers, french fries and frozen dinners. Recipes physically passed down through crumpled pieces of paper or via verbal instructions are as authentic as pleating dumplings with technique,
love and connection. It’s a palpable transference of history and passion. What’s more, the gesture of making food with our own hands — the zesting of the orange, the kneading of the dough — is more than culture: It’s a tradition of servitude.
Yet today, the servitude and invaluable heritage that used to de ne our society has zzled out. Grocery stores have exploited healthy ingredients by controlling the influx of microwave meals, challenging our discipline in turn: How much time and e ort is our health and wellbeing worth?
Post-World War II, the evolution of industrial kitchens transgressed into automation. e commercialization of air fryers, microwaves or similar appliances has replaced the authentic expertise of humans. Our reliance on these machines has diminished our skills, softened our hands, degenerated our cultures and robbed future generations of inheriting that priceless knowledge.
Junk food corrupts our bodies and minds into lazier, more lousy versions of ourselves. Further, society harbors a sel sh mindset; a “what can I get out of this” in lieu of “what can I give?” We prefer the overconsumption of popular items to a homecooked meal and quality time if it means less work for us.
e kitchen is a center of unity. Our past, language and ethnicity is irrelevant when it comes to enjoying a meal together; the sensation of $avors and a grateful smile
The Dodgers aren’t
ruining baseball
Calls for a salary cap are misguided at best and greedy at worst
BY THEO KAYSER tfkayser@ucdavis.edu
Many are arriving at the presumption that “the Dodgers are ruining baseball” after the recently concluded 2025 Major League Baseball (MLB) season. Such a conclusion has its merits on the surface, especially if one were to view the past two seasons in isolation from all of the seasons which preceded it. After all, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ much maligned payroll has enabled them to create a roster over$owing with superstar talent which far exceeds, and in some cases multiplies, the budget set by their competition.
The argument would then follow that MLB needs to implement a salary cap in congruence with other leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA), in order to create a more competitive and fair playing field. This discourse is by no means new — the 2011 blockbuster lm “Moneyball” tackled this same issue — however, it has recently gained traction in sports media and has even been labeled an “issue” by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.
While it is fair to point out the obvious fact that the Dodgers, along with the New York Mets, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres and other “big market” teams have a competitive advantage due to their enormous nancial resources, the argument
in favor of the salary cap made by many fans is far $imsier than it appears. Firstly, to suggest that MLB faces a competitive balance issue compared to other popular sports leagues would be to entirely ignore the past two decades of their results. Since 2000, MLB has seen the championship won by 16 di erent franchises, as compared with 13 franchises in the NFL and 12 in the NBA.
e Dodgers being back-to-back Champions in the years 2024 and 2025 has revived ire for the lack of a salary cap, but they were the rst team in MLB to repeat since the Yankees concluded a three-peat in 2000.
Comparatively, the NFL has seen two repeat champions since 2000 and the NBA has seen four. is very basic step of viewing MLB compared with its peers, beyond a miniscule sample of just two seasons, paints an entirely di erent narrative; one which sees baseball as a beacon of parity compared to the NBA and NFL, who have been longdominated by the dynasties
Money, money, money makes the world go… to trade schools?
As Gen Z heads to trade schools, it’s time to talk about how we view college education
BY SABRINA FIGUEROA AVILA sfigueroaavila@ucdavis.edu
is all we need. In a way, food sustains the memories that we make with people and allows us to savor special moments in ways we’d never be able to otherwise. Each clang of pots and pans, each tear shed from an onion and every recipe shared is an act of preservation.
Hence, the table where a meal is shared is a physical representation of fellowship, provision and sustenance. It’s built by the strength of family, the service of grace and the secrets of the obscure elements that form it. is anksgiving, I encourage you to purposefully spend time not only at the table, but in the kitchen with your family. ere’s something so satisfying and enriching about repeating the same techniques as our elders did, transforming mundane ingredients into unforgettable meals and serving others the food we worked hard to make. Inherit that knowledge, and with it, an indispensable heritage. If you’re unsure about your own traditions, then let this be an inspiration to create some. Be an advocate to prevent the novelty of food (and in turn, culture) from dissipating. In time, I hope to construct a kitchen like my dad has; one lled with the aroma of creativity, care and love.
Disclaimer: e views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held by e California Aggie.
At the end of high school, my peers and I were constantly swarmed with questions about our plans after graduation. Many were heading o to a traditional college or university, but a few opted for trade schools instead. Although university is still the dominant choice, it seems as though the trade route is gaining more traction, especially amongst members of Gen Z. is has been credited (at least in part) to increasingly high costs of university tuition, which has “more than doubled in the 21st century,” according to e Education Data Initiative. In just one academic year, “the average in-state student attending a public four-year institution and living on-campus spends $27,146” — simply not an attainable metric for many people. In comparison, trade schools (depending on the program type and location) cost, on average, cost roughly $3,800 to $16,000 total. Not only are these programs often cheaper, they’re shorter — some can be completed in less than a year. And, due to federal initiatives like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, certain industries that require trade school training are experiencing a job boom; yet, there’s a lack of skilled workers t for the open roles. This high demand and low supply situation makes trades especially appealing for recent high school graduates — they allow you to make money faster than attending college does.
As the cost of living continues to rise, our survival is increasingly based on our abilities to financially sustain ourselves and, for some, our whole families. If you can make that essential income more immediately by going to trade school, why would you
consider getting a college education in the rst place? Why struggle with nding a job after attending a four-year university when you can directly enter a market in demand of labor?
What we have forgotten is the beauty of education as a form of liberation; it helps us learn critical thinking skills necessary for solving real-world problems and systemic issues, for knowing when we are being deceived by people in power and for progressing into the future rather than regressing and repeating history.
Beyond what you learn in lecture halls, you’re able to become part of a community; interacting with people from different walks of life that have plenty to teach you and vice versa. e value of higher education is far greater than the sum of its parts; more than just a path to a career, college and university impart crucial life skills and experience on their students.
By no means is this to suggest we should stay away from trade schools, which are still great opportunities that people should take advantage of to pull through in this society. e problem lies with how we’ve begun to treat college or university as nothing more than a means to an end — a replacement for job training, the rst step in an inevitable chain of events that lead to a career — and nothing else. is mentality creates room for anti-intellectualism; “why do you study [insert any poorly
with that?” after sharing your major as a social science or humanities student is not only annoying, but a consequence of how we as a society have begun to devalue education. When we fail to recognize that the privilege of knowledge and learning is useful beyond our need to accrue wealth, it’s easy to say going to college is a waste of time.
We assess the value of any given experience on a monetary basis — a consequence of capitalism — but this is ineffective, deceptive and problematic when we apply it to education. Failing to appreciate the value of higher education only keeps us going in circles where we continue to fall in line in a system that puts pro t over humans.
We should be able to study something simply because we nd it interesting or amusing — without feeling like we’re wasting our time and our money. e value of a collegiate education extends far beyond the career opportunities it can provide. Although it’s not the world we live in today, we can strive for it in the future with more accessible tuition rates, the elimination of barriers that dissuade students from attending university and a greater focus on pursuing higher education overall.
Disclaimer: e views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held by e California Aggie.
WREN TRAN / AGGIE
SAMUEL CERVANTES / AGGIE
of the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors. By arguing in favor of a salary cap, what fans are mistakenly doing is ideologically attaching themselves to the political and monetary ambitions of the greedy, uber-wealthy owners of $oundering franchises like the Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins and Oakland Athletics.
The Editorial Board’s fall 2025 interview with Chancellor Gary May and university leadership
UC Davis administration discusses federal funding cuts, SNAP/EBT benefits, research innovations and protection of undocumented students
WRITTEN BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD
On Nov. 17, e California
Aggie’s Editorial Board met with Chancellor Gary May, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Mary Croughan, Associate Chancellor and Chief of Sta Carl Engelbach, Chief Marketing and Communications O cer Dana Topousis, Vice Chancellor of UC Davis Finance, Operations and Administration Clare Shinnerl, Vice Chancellor for Inclusive Excellence Renetta Tull, Chief Campus Counsel Mike Sweeney, UC Davis Police Department Chief Joseph Farrow and Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Life, Campus Community and Retention Services Sheri Atkinson.
Below is a transcript of the meeting that has been edited for length and clarity. Note: Part of the $rst question was not recorded, so that section of the response was not included.
Editorial Board: UC Davis has ranked within the top 10 of the nation’s public universities for the $fth year in a row, according to the U.S. News Best Colleges Ranking. What do you believe contributed to this success, and how does the university plan to uphold this standard in the future?
Editorial Board
ALYSSA CREVOISERAT Editor-in-Chief
MAYA KORNYEYEVA Managing Editor
VINCE BASADA Campus News Editor
Chancellor May: We were ranked No. 2 up behind only one of our UC peers in the Wall Street Journal public school rankings. And the rankings just kind of demonstrate that we create opportunities for our students to be successful. I mentioned that Wall Street Journal in particular because that one measures your success after graduation. So, that’s more meaningful than how much money we have in our endowment, right? So, that’s something that we’re proud of. It’s a testament to the faculty and the quality of their work and the research that they do preparing our students for their careers and for graduate school, and our sta who support students throughout their time here, and for admission to graduation, making sure their basic needs are met, and all the resources are available, and questions are answered, and also re ects the commitment of you, the students. You guys excel academically. You represent us well. You’re ambassadors for us before and after you graduate. I think one of the things I said when I came to UC Davis eight years ago was that I want us to no longer be the best-kept secret in higher education, as I was calling it, and I think this is one way we’re showing we’re no longer a secret and people are recognizing the quality.
(UC) system compensating and is the state providing additional $scal support to the university’s research mission?
May: I’ll just start by saying this has been a really big challenge for our university and most other universities around the country. Last year, we received about $450 million in federal grants, which is about a little less than half of the total funding that we got in research, and those funds cover both direct costs of the research, as well as what we call indirect costs associated with the conduction of research.
Editorial Board: How is UC Davis adapting to federal changes in funding for research grants? How is UC Davis and the University of California
=It’s no secret to say that the reductions occurring in those funds have a really devastating impact on research that we do and innovation that results from that. Some of the global leadership and national leadership that we’ve had, you probably are hopefully seeing some of the features that we’ve done. We’ve done a workshop called Labs to Lives, which talks about how the research that we conduct actually translates to improving the quality of people’s lives. We couldn’t do that without the federal support, so we’ve been doing a lot to try to mitigate this. We have litigation that we’re involved in, we have lots of advocacy work, we meet with regional and national elected o cials regularly to raise awareness and to plead our case here about the proposed changes.
To sweet treat, or not to eat
Exploring the culture of cravings and indulgence
DARIXA VARELA MEDRANO / AGGIE
BY VIOLET ZANZOT
vmzanzot@ucdavis.edu
e spontaneous and unruly feeling of craving compels us to question how much we should indulge; it’s so easy to irt with that which we think is “bad” for us, because we know it would make us feel good. But, to what extent should we act on those compulsions?
This Thanksgiving, for instance, should we go for a third serving of mashed potatoes? Should we call our exes because we’re both home and we really want to know how they’ve been (among other things)? Should we allow ourselves to act impulsively because we know it will echo inside our heads until we give in, or do we refrain because we “know better?”
As we near the holidays of consumption — when food, material goods and quality time are all ampli$ed — we encounter cravings at every turn. As the air turns crisp and the leaves turn orange, I become all too aware that moderate gluttony is in my future. I also know that, shortly after, I will feel some remorse and make a promise to myself to do better in the new year — thus, the cycle begins anew.
I don’t think the problem is that I’m a tragic (or at least not uniquely tragic) person. Rather, it’s natural for a thoughtful person to have a complicated relationship with indulgence. When you’re acutely conscious of your own actions, decisions are not merely based on desires. Instead, choices are based on analysis: why you want it, and whether or not wanting it should warrant actually having it.
Adrian Meule, an eating behavior and psychology researcher, made the distinction between craving and hunger.
“Craving can be di erentiated from feelings of hunger through its speci$city and intensity,” Meule said in a research paper on the topic.
This clarification creates space to ask about indulgence. It makes it clear the solution to hunger is to eat, but the solution to a craving is a di erent question altogether. How much should we allow ourselves to act upon an uncontrollable whim?
Di erent cultures have their own unique responses for this quandary — that is, whether to “indulge” or “restrain.” Social psychologist Geert Hofstede’s research speaks to this; in working to understand what de$nes a culture, he identi$ed that the value of indulgence versus restraint is signi$cant in di erentiating cultural groups. Some countries o er long lunch breaks and give their workers plenty of vacation time, while others cut maternity leave and prescribe Ozempic-like Advil because they encourage a norm of overconsumption. Considering how much of our mindsets are shaped by cultural interference, it is clear that we need to challenge this relationship between denial and indulgence. In the United States, we have a culture that demonizes indulgence. is creates an “all or nothing” mentality, in which we either don’t eat any chocolate cake or we eat the whole thing and feel horrible, or we try to deny ourselves the treat we really want, eat something else that doesn’t satisfy that craving and end up back at the chocolate
Recently, the other chancellors and I, along with President James B. Milliken, endorsed what’s called the Fairness, Access, Inclusion, and Representation (FAIR) model, which is a new model for indirect cost recovery. We hope that that will be something that’s accepted by the administration and sort of get us back to a reasonable amount of what we can charge for the cost of doing research. It basically modernizes the reimbursement process and the structure to make us both accountable and transparent for the research that we do. Our O ce of Research is doing a regular series of projects to actively help our faculty and scholars navigate new projects and work within this shifting landscape. at includes both appealing grants that we’ve lost as well as trying to strategize for how to win new grants.
The
cake that we were trying to avoid in the $rst place. Vilifying our desires is far too often counterproductive — there are lots of normalized solutions to the cake-craving dilemma, but none that taste quite right. There must be some mystery ratio of the perfect amount of indulgence and self control. I like to believe that, whatever that recipe may be, it does not involve any guilt. e addition of guilt is certainly cultural. It comes because even though we are taught to put our oxygen masks on before others on an airplane, other times we are taught that eating too many calories and reckless spending lead to empty pockets and overfull stomachs — self preservation is expected but self indulgence is catastrophic; it is
“... it’s natural for a thoughtful person to have a complicated relationship with indulgence.”
Violet Zanzot
con ated with overconsumption. In the same way hunger is different from craving, indulgence is different from overconsumption. e key is to $nd the balance. ere is a way to enjoy it without abusing it. It’s high time we embrace indulgence: Let yourself eat your mom’s pecan pie, but maybe not more than one Reese’s pumpkin. Splurge on the pair of nice earrings, not the cheap pack that will turn your skin green. Don’t text your ex, even though you want to — it’s always a bad idea (unless it’s not).
Most importantly, enjoy the holidays with your family without feeling guilty or punishing yourself for your choices; eat the mashed potatoes and spend hours on the couch with your family and friends. Chase your cravings, but not down a rabbit hole.
Disclaimer: e views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held by e California Aggie.
JORDAN POLTORAK City News Editor
MOLLY THOMPSON Opinion Editor
ZOEY MORTAZAVI Features Editor
SAVANNAH ANNO Arts & Culture Editor
MEGAN JOSEPH Sports Editor
KATIE HELLMAN Science & Tech Editor
Managing Staf
JENNA LEE Photo Director
NOELLE ESCALANTE Layout Director
SAVANNAH BURGER Design Director
SAM RUIZ New Media Manager
KAYLIE HUANG Social Media Manager
JULIAN MONTANA Website Manager
JULIA CROSSAN Distribution & Outreach Director
YILAN LI Translation Director
CARMEN RODRIGUEZ-ZARATE Translation Director
JENNY DYE Copy Chief
ALYSSA PULIDO Copy Chief
LAURIE PEDERSON Business Development Manager
billionaire obsession with surrogacy
America’s elites are exploiting working-class women to produce the next upper echelon
BY ANJALI IYER amiyer@ucdavis.edu
In 2023, Rebecca Smith (a pseudonym) agreed to become a surrogate for Silicon Valley venture capitalist Cindy Bi. Once Smith signed the contract, she was promptly impregnated with a male embryo and saddled with binding legal ties to Bi and her husband. Despite the fact that Bi had budgeted over $200,000 for the birth of two embryos, Smith was compensated with $45,000 to put her body, profession and life at risk.
The pregnancy began relatively smoothly, as Bi took it upon herself to micromanage every aspect of Smith’s lifestyle. Bi went so far as to allegedly share Smith’s health records on an anonymous Facebook account in an abhorrent violation of Smith’s Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rights. Suddenly, at the 29-weekmark, Smith began experiencing abnormal bleeding and nearly died from a hemorrhage. As she fought for her life in a hospital bed, Bi’s only priority was to coerce her into signing yet another contract. Unfortunately, the baby was stillborn. Bi and her husband were understandably devastated, but Bi’s sadness quickly turned to anger. She attacked Smith on social media, blaming her for the baby’s death, claiming it was “1,000 percent preventable.” She refused to pay Smith, doxxed her online and even went so far as to attempt to put her in jail by smothering her with a barrage of legal charges. In a chilling quote, Bi describes how she felt compelled to respond to the death of her baby with every form of revenge possible to prevent looking weak to investment founders, instead of taking the time to prioritize her healing from this tragedy.
As surrogacy has become an increasingly common method for having children, it’s moved to the forefront of a contentious cultural discussion. Personally, I take no issue with a mutually beneficial decision between consenting adults. Surrogacy is a great option for couples who are unable or are unwilling to have biological children through typical reproductive means. Often, the surrogate is someone they know, such as a sibling or close friend. However, in many cases, a surrogate is found through an agency that matches couples with women willing to birth children for monetary compensation. As re ected in the Smith and
Bi case, stranger surrogacy can lead to mismatched expectations and a dangerous power imbalance. Bi’s willingness to weaponise her wealth to exact revenge and sacri$ce Smith in the process is indicative of her attitude towards the woman she used to birth her children. In recent years, billionaires and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have become enamoured with surrogacy in a bizarre attempt to circumvent the declining birthrate and produce genetically designed superbabies. Notorious pronatalist Elon Musk has conceived numerous children through in vitro fertilization (IVF) and surrogacy. He intends to produce as many “elite” children as possible by taking advantage of his role as the chief executive o cer of X to scour the site for potential mothers. To ensure his success, Musk also coerces his female employees into having his children, allegedly using his position of power to $nancially reward and punish his surrogates as he so chooses. is rising trend reveals a more troubling insight into the minds of a class so removed from society that they feel entitled to the bodies of anyone less wealthy, whose lives are seen as expendable. e way in which these billionaires exploit their surrogates seems re ective of the business practices that brought them to the top — using money and power to control both their subordinates and financial outcomes. is pattern is also re ected in the surrogate project run by billionaire Greg Lindberg, whose methods include $nding women with Aryan traits and coercing them into donating their eggs without disclosing his eugenicist intentions — he has dubbed this venture his “baby project.” In one case, he pressured his girlfriend Anya
(a pseudonym) into donating over 20 eggs to impregnate a surrogate mother, for which she was provided with $1.5 million to waive her parental rights. In hopes of creating up to 50 “elite” Aryan children, Lindberg has built a network of contractually obligated women to donate eggs and birth his children in furtherance of his deluded cause. Bi, Musk and Lindberg’s obsession with surrogacy highlights the growing divide between the ultra-wealthy and a weakening middle class. ese business moguls embark on relentless pursuits to ensnare willing surrogates that they can use as disposable wombs, only to abandon them the minute they consider the fetus “imperfect.” Or, more insidiously, they attack their surrogates with litigation to drain their resources. More often than not, billionaires’ search for surrogates is nothing more than a self-aggrandising quest to produce what they consider to be “superior” children. Billionaires are often plagued by an obsession with perfection and a compulsion to achieve “greater goals:” no matter the cost. But, when you have the means to solve every problem with money, tensions arise in situations where money cannot account for every variable. Pregnancy is an organic process with so many possibilities and risks; while having access to wealth decreases the maternal and infant mortality rate, no amount of money can prevent unforeseen emergencies. Perhaps it’s time that Silicon Valley billionaires understand that wealth has no power over nature.
Disclaimer: e views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held by e California Aggie.
ARTS & CULTURE
BY MIRIAM RAMAKRISHNAN arts@theaggie.org
With e California Aggie’s quarterly Couch Concert coming up on Friday, Nov. 21 from 7-10 p.m. at 116 A St. it was only tting that the Arts and Culture desk review a few songs from two of the featured bands.
“Missing Letters” by Shmoozi (2025)
Shmoozi, the recent winner of Patridge Records’ Battle of the Bands, will be one of the local groups taking over e California Aggie’s basement. I was lucky enough to get access to one of Shmoozi’s soon-to-be-released tracks, “Missing Letters.” e clear, punchy guitar that kicks o this track continues throughout the song, lending to the energetic feel of the entire band. e drums are sharp and playful, punctuating the guitar with restless bursts of rhythm that make the listener feel like the two are constantly in communication with each other. Closing the song out are smooth, melodic vocals that cut above the instrumentals, adding a new dimension to the track. If you’re looking for unique, textured indie rock, this may very well be your new favorite band.
“East Bay Girl” by First Name Basis (2025)
Also playing at the Couch Concert is First Name Basis, a Sacramento-based band with breezy guitar tones and an unpretentious charm to boot.
“East Bay Girl,” from the band’s April release of their rst self-titled record, consists of light and airy guitar that reminds the listener of a day at the beach. Reminiscent of bands such as Hot Flash Heat Wave and Plums, this song has a bright and fun air to it — which is only reinforced by the bold drum line and understated vocals. Toward the end of the track, the guitar takes over for a crisp solo and underlines the technical skill inherent in this band.
“Desert Song” by First Name Basis (2025)
“Desert Song,” from the same album by First Name Basis, has more of a moody and intense feel to it. e raw vocals are the star of the show in this track, but the guitar and snare drum continue in the background to bring a strong, surf-rock energy. A darker and more winding ri than “East Bay Girl” weaves through the mix, creating a brooding atmosphere and reminding the listener of a dusky desert sunset — perfectly tting the title.
To see Shmoozi and First Name Basis perform alongside two other local bands (Inglenook and Suits), stop by e California Aggie’s Couch Concert on Nov. 21. Tickets will be sold at the door with a sliding scale of $8 to $15, with no one turned away for lack of funds.
Couch Concert headliner Shmoozi is constantly evolving
‘We’re finally hitting our stride’: the local band discusses their growth over the past two years
BY IQRA AHMAD & SAVANNAH ANNO arts@theaggie.org
By the time Friday night rolls around, one thing is certain: e California Aggie’s Couch Concert isn’t ready for Shmoozi. What started as rst-year UC Davis graduate student and lead guitarist Alex Liesegang’s high school dream has crystallized into a full, ve-member force. Two years in the making, Shmoozi’s present-day lineup came to fruition at the beginning of this fall quarter.
Shmoozi’s roots stretch back to Liesegang’s time on the East Coast, where he brought together a guitarist from his high school, an old middle school friend who played the drums, a fellow boy scout who knew bass and his calculus tutor who was trained in opera to lead vocals. Together, the group created Schmoozi, the rst iteration of the band that students know today.
While they’ve dropped the letter C, Shmoozi is named after a German phrase Liesegang was inspired by during a trip abroad in 2021, which can be translated to “we snuggle” or “we cuddle.”
“I liked how it sounded phonetically, and the word ‘schmooze’ in English means to sweet talk someone,” Liesegang said. “I liked the idea of our music ‘schmoozing’ the audience.”
When the high school iteration of Schmoozi disbanded after graduation, Liesegang found himself wanting to continue his musical momentum at UC Davis.
“I thought to myself, ‘I need another band,’” Liesegang said. “It’s such a good connection and a great way to make community, so I tried starting one in the dorms. I’m actually the only original member of that Schmoozi.”
During that first year,
Shmoozi was able to create an original song, “Our Own Worst Enemy,” that they still play today. After a year of performing and working to get their name out there, the band changed forms once again, and Liesegang found himself looking for a new drummer at the end of spring quarter.
“I printed out old-school $yers, and I cut up my number across the bottom,” Liesegang said. “I only got one response. It was from our [now] drummer, Nathaniel [Ewing], but it was right before summer — I had to set up a reminder two weeks before fall quarter started to see if he was still interested.”
Luckily, Ewing, a thirdyear environmental policy and planning major, still expressed interest in joining the band. At the beginning of 2024, the drummer’s new presence made Shmoozi feel complete. In the following weeks, however, Shmoozi found themselves in yet another tight spot that called for adaptation.
“At our first full band practice, our singer quit and we were down to three,” Liesegang said. “We were $oundering for a while, and then our bassist quit too.”
Just like that, Shmoozi was back to square one. Having worked out so well with Ewing, Liesegang returned to posting $yers around campus in hopes of sourcing a new bassist and rhythm guitarist.
Not long after, Shmoozi discovered a perfect match in bassist Asher Ekberg, a secondyear entomology major, who had been looking for a way to continue his passion for music after moving to Davis.
Shmoozi also brought on Ash Agal, a third-year math major at Woodland Community College, to play rhythm guitar. Agal was chosen because of his natural chemistry with the group, according to Liesegang.
“It doesn’t matter how good the band is if you’re not having
fun,” Liesegang said. “If you’re not having a good time being up there on stage together, that’s going to show. It doesn’t matter if you play $awlessly.”
With Liesegang, Ewing, Ekberg and Agal, Shmoozi began to solidify into a staple of the Davis music scene.
Performing as a four-piece, bassist Ekberg took on both bass guitar and vocals during the band’s search for a long-term lead singer.
“I just love playing the bass more,” Ekberg said. “I started learning it around my freshman year of high school when singing began to feel very limiting. When I picked up the bass, I had a lot more creative control, and it became an extension of my body.”
At the beginning of this fall quarter just over a month ago, Shmoozi welcomed Mia Armenta, a fourth-year biological sciences major, to the band as lead vocalist. Armenta’s clear, strong voice made her the nishing touch to perfecting Shmoozi’s sound and energy, according to Ekberg.
“ e rst time we had her at practice we were like, ‘oh geez, she’s so good,’” Ekberg said.
“Our only note was that we didn’t have any notes.”
e current Shmoozi, now a full ve-piece group, broadly described themselves as a rock band. With ve members all pulling inspiration from various musicians, the band’s inspiration stretches far beyond the genre’s boundaries.
“We all have very di erent musical tastes and backgrounds, and rock is such an allencompassing genre,” Liesegang said. “I think we really lean into that, and our setlist is really diverse.”
Beyond covers, the process of creating original music for Shmoozi is a wholly collaborative one.
As they continue to perform across the city, the group is developing their song-writing
process through trial and error.
“We keep throwing out ideas until we like something, so it ends up taking a lot of time,” Agal said. On Nov. 21, Shmoozi plans to debut their third original song, “Brain Fuzz,” at e California Aggie’s Couch Concert. With Armenta now on vocals, the band hopes that all of their original tracks will soon be recorded and ready for streaming.
“We’re super excited to start making more original music,” Liesegang said. “I think we’re nally hitting our stride, and we have a lot of exciting things coming up.”
For the members of Shmoozi, performing at a local live show like the Couch Concert is a full-circle moment.
“When I first moved up to Davis, even though I wasn’t playing in a band, I was going to every single show, every single weekend,” Armenta said. “All those bands that I would watch during my rst year at Davis, like Shmoozi and First Name Basis, I’m here playing with them now.” Similarly, Liesegang became interested in performing at e Aggie o ce after attending a Couch Concert during his rst year.
“One of my favorite bands freshman year was Cowboys After Dark,” Liesegang said. ey played [at] the Couch Concert, and I thought it was such a cool venue — I think it’s the only basement venue in Davis. It was a very di erent vibe.” Now, Shmoozi gets their turn at that same spot. On Nov. 21 from 7-10 p.m. at 116 A Street, Shmoozi will be headlining the Couch Concert alongside Inglenook, Suits and First Name Basis.
With new members, a diverse sound and the debut of an original song, they’re eager to keep showing Davis who they are.
The Aggie’s fall quarter literary magazine, ‘A Certain Slant of Light,’ is now accepting submissions
Until Nov. 25, Davis artists and writers are invited to submit their creative works to be published on our website
By NATALIE SALTER arts@theaggie.org
One of The California Aggie’s most exciting new traditions is our quarterly literary magazine. Accepting creative submissions from UC Davis students and Davis residents, our lit mag o ers a unique opportunity for members of the local community to share their imaginative works with the world. From poems to short stories to hand-drawn art, submitting pieces is a chance for participants to express themselves artistically and connect meaningfully with the magazine’s readers. This year’s lit mag, “A Certain Slant of Light,” derives its title and theme from Emily Dickinson’s poem “There’s a certain Slant of light.” In her stirring, conceptual style, Dickinson describes a beam of sunshine during a winter afternoon that gives its witnesses “heavenly hurt” and “imperial
a iction.” She a xes immense feeling upon something so simple as afternoon light, making the mundane into a source of intense emotion and transformation. e magazine invites writers and artists to use wintertime as a backdrop for the complicated feelings, memories and dreams that they’ve experienced or imagined during the season. Our theme creates space for submissions to capture the ephemeral, abstract feeling Dickinson produces in her poem in whichever way feels true to them. Submissions of poetry, both ction and creative non ction written pieces, photography and visual artworks are currently being accepted. All submissions are due on Nov. 25 at 11:59 p.m; UC Davis students, faculty and local residents alike are welcomed to submit their entries. Interested creatives can complete our Google Form, which can be found through our Instagram page @thecaliforniaaggie.
All submissions that are selected for the magazine will be published digitally on e California Aggie’s website at the end of the quarter. If you’re interested in participating but are unsure where to start, you can nd plenty of inspiration in Dickinson’s other poems as well. Her poem “Snow $akes” takes a more hopeful outlook on the natural splendor of wintertime, while “The Snow that never Drifts” entangles the season with the ache of memory.
For visual artists, inspiration can be sourced in the somber, intriguing winter landscapes of Edvard Munch. Works like “Winter Night” and “Snow Falling in the Lane” depict shadowy forests and a sense of wistful serenity; perhaps you may nd a willing subject in the season’s natural scenes, or a fond holiday memory from your childhood home.
Submissions are meant to re$ect the artists’ personal, imaginative ideas as much as
the magazine’s theme, so unique interpretations are encouraged. Prospective artists and writers may nd it helpful to consider which emotions they have felt most poignantly during wintertime.
Does the end of the year and the cooling of the weather stir feelings of melancholy or longing? Perhaps your holiday joy is tinged with nostalgia for a bygone time. Or, you may wish to capture the sense of change and temporality inherent to life as you witness the trees shed their leaves in the cold.
Even if you feel skeptical about submitting or are worried that your submission doesn’t t the theme, you are nonetheless encouraged to send it in anyways. e themes of any lit mag hold di erent meanings and messages to everyone, with both readers and editors eager to hear your unique perspective.
It’s an invaluable opportunity to share your imaginative and artistic skills with the Davis community.
Rock band Shmoozi. (Courtesy of @edphotography._ / Instagram)
The California Aggie’s literary magazine. (Kaylie Huang / Aggie)
Sacramento band First Name Basis provides a unique take on indie rock
A staple in the local scene, the band will perform at The California Aggie’s Nov. 21 Couch Concert
BY JONAH BERMAN arts@theaggie.org
An energetic and unique indie rock band composed of UC Davis alumni has begun to make a name for themselves within the flourishing local music scene.
at band is First Name Basis, a Sacramento-based group consisting of Andrey Pravdić on vocals and guitar, Vicente Valdebenito on guitar, Moon Winokur on bass and vocals and Kian Abulhosn on drums.
The band’s roots began when Pravdić and Valdebenito rst met as undergraduate UC Davis students. Pravdić later met Winokur, who introduced the band to Abulhosn, completing the group’s current lineup.
e band’s name has a rather humorous origin.
“ e name First Name Basis is a bit of a joke,” Pravdić said. “What ended up becoming the band started with a couple of jam sessions with Zane, who was our rst drummer. When we were exchanging numbers, he forgot to put my name in his contacts, so he had no idea what my name was.”
The group’s freewheeling spirit, evident in the creation of their name, is imbued within their style and songwriting.
“We like to say that the songs are less lines to remember and more like rooms that we live in, decorate and develop in di$erent ways,” Pravdić said. Currently in the process of
mastering their rst full-length album, First Name Basis’ creative process follows no strict dogma. Instead, the band members described their writing as collaborative and nuanced, often originating from jam sessions.
“For all of us, any ri$s that we come up with and end up humming in the shower are keepers,” Pravdić said. “If they get stuck in our heads, we think they’ll get stuck in [the heads of our audience members].”
Although nominally an indie rock band, First Name Basis is no stranger to a variety of in uences. Pravdić noted his appreciation for folk artists like Toh Kay and Shakey Graves, along with punk acts such as Black Flag and Bad Religion. In addition, his upbringing has been prominent in forming the band’s sound.
“My family’s from Bosnia and Herzegovina, so I grew up listening to a lot of Balkan folk,” Pravdić said. “I use a lot of the motifs, scales and techniques from that style of music in my leads and melodies.”
Abulhosn also noted how his past experience as a drummer has contributed to his work within First Name Basis.
“I used to play a lot of speed drumming and metal,” Abulhosn said.
“While I wouldn’t say it’s in uenced the music, sometimes that skillset de nitely comes in handy for lls and fast parts.”
e band noted that they are extremely proud to be part of the music scene of greater Sacramento, a place whose
Local band Inglenook thrives off of experimental sounds
The drum and synth duo shared their musical process, origins and plans for the future
By HANNAH OSBORN arts@theaggie.org
Like many bands before them, the drum and synth duo, Inglenook, arose from the ashes of another music group. Jacob Heim, a second-year environmental science major, and Caleb Rankin, a fourth-year applied mathematics major, now respectively comprise the group.
“Caleb and I met in San Luis Obispo practicing for a band that didn’t work out, but in between terrible songs we would play this weird, jazzy, hip hop-esque, trance-like synth and drum stu$ that immediately interested me,” Heim said. “ e only time I enjoyed practice was when we were doing that kind of thing, so we kept doing it outside of practice.”
As for the name, Heim explained that “Inglenook” refers to the interior recess next to a replace, a concept that came up in conversation with Rankin.
“ e name is pretty much [Rankin’s’],” Heim said. “We were talking about architecture one time, and he asked me if I knew what an inglenook was. I just liked it.”
Before forming Inglenook, Rankin and Heim both possessed a long history with music and performance. Rankin transferred his knowledge of piano to playing synthesizer as his contribution to Inglenook’s sound.
“I got into music via writing film scores and improvising on my piano back home,” Rankin said. “ e majority of my performance history lies in playing solo piano shows at colleges and shady bars in [San Francisco].”
Heim started playing the drums at an early age, encouraged by his father who is
culture Pravdi ć describes as “weirdly creative.”
“You really don’t expect it, you sorta expect a sleepy little town full of government workers starting families,” Pravdić said. “Not only is there a lot of history of independent groups that came from [Sacramento], like Deftones, Death Grips, Destroy Boys and e Philharmonik [...] but that culture of weird and wonderful smatterings of sounds still lives on.”
Speaking fondly of the local scene, the group noted how willing local audiences are to support edgling groups from a variety of backgrounds and genres. ey also noted a concert at UC Davis as one of their favorites that they’ve performed.
“Honestly, one of the best shows we played was at the Hutchison parking garage with Something Wicked from Humboldt and Rat Therapy from Sacramento,” Pravdić said. “It was super [do-it-yourself (DIY)], but a bunch of people showed up and had a great time.”
An affinity for jamming permeates the community, according to the group. While the local scene has changed over time, older generations have o$ered appreciation for the quality of its present state.
“A lot of the oldheads in the scene talk about how now is the best time for live music in Sacramento,” Pravdić said. “A lot of musicians lament the loss of mixed-genre shows from the ‘90s — I’m pleased to report it’s alive and well.”
Beyond music, First Name Basis remains steadfastly passionate about uplifting the people around them.
“There’s only one way to stop the erosion of our communities and what’s left of our democracy,” Pravdić said. e way is to build from the ground up. I encourage everyone to look into unionizing their workplaces, joining tenants unions and getting involved with political organizers.”
Dedicated to their community in every sense of the word, First Name Basis’ fondness for originality and connection shines through in their words, actions and jam sessions.
“We mostly just want people to have a good time and have their ears tickled by sounds that they don’t expect,” Pravdić said. “Ideally, they have no idea what the next song will sound like, but do know they’ll be dancing.” If you are interested in
taking First Name Basis up on their invitation to dance, feel free to come to e California Aggie’s Couch Concert on Nov. 21, hosted in the basement of e Aggie O ce at 116 A St. from 7-10 p.m.
After making a donation of $8 to $15 (although no one will be turned away for a lack of funds), audience members can enjoy sets from four di$erent local bands, one of which is First Name Basis.
Indie band Suits refines personal creativity through collaborative efforts
The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of musical and personal experiences
also a musician. He noted the impact it had on his musical development.
“I’ve been playing the drums since I was a toddler,” Heim said. “My dad is a gnarly musician, plays pretty much everything. He threw me on a kit when I was two so he could play guitar and jam with somebody. I’ve been playing for a little over 20 years now which is crazy to think about.”
These strong musical backgrounds have coalesced into the music the pair now creates as Inglenook: drum and synth beats that play with new experiential sounds found in each song.
“I would say Inglenook’s style is hypnotic and experimental,” Rankin said. “We like to explore grooves for a while, playing with the push and pull of certain elements. Underlying this, there can be a vague euphoria or sentiment, but it’s always implicit in the music. It inevitably seeps into it, but not by design.”
Rankin and Heim discussed their creative process as a collaboration between the two of them, in which they improvise sounds to create cohesive music. From this, they produce a resonant, hypnotic sound.
“Our creative process varies, but usually begins with a ri$ on my synthesizer,” Rankin said.
“[Heim] will identify something he likes and work out something to go along with it. From the core idea, we branch into variations and evolutions.”
Heim noted that their artistic sensibilities emerged as a product of their musical relationship with one another, and are less a$ected by outside in uences.
By JULIE HUANG AND SOPHIE LIN arts@theaggie.org
On Friday, Nov. 21, Suits
will be performing at The California Aggie’s quarterly Couch Concert, held in e Aggie O ce basement at 116 A Street from 7-10 p.m. e local indie band came together in early October of this year. Lead guitarist Destiny Thephavong, a fourth-year history and Spanish double major, explained that she was rst inspired to form the band during a UC Davis Summer Abroad program in Vienna.
ere, she met Callum Clark, a second-year history and music double major, who is now the band’s drummer. Realizing they shared a passion for music, Clark and ephavong encouraged each other in pursuing their ambitions of starting a band together.
“I feel like I’ve just been waiting to be in a band in college,” ephavong said. “I’ve always wanted to do this.”
Athena Seiple, a third-year art history major and lead singer of the band, credited ephavong’s e$orts as central to the formation of Suits.
“It was scary at rst, but I feel like we’re pretty con dent now,” Seiple said. “Destiny is a very organized person and she brought all of this together.”
Seiple cited alternative artists like My Chemical Romance and e Beatles as the band’s biggest in uences. ephavong also noted that Seiple’s own original lyricism adds a distinctly nostalgic feel to Suits’ music.
“Athena’s writing brings a lot of small-town, girl-nextdoor vibes to our songs,” ephavong said. “I thought that was appropriate since we’re in Davis: a small town.”
Suits’ bassist Madeline
Kracht, a second-year political science major, described Suits’ sound as reminiscent of an early 2000s or ‘90s movie plot.
“Some of our songs sound like they could be on the tracklist for ‘Ten ings I Hate About You’ or ‘Clueless,’” Kracht said.
These recurring themes in Suits’ lyricism are typically unplanned. Rather, they are most commonly an organic result of Seiple’s uninhibited songwriting process.
“Songwriting is selective word vomit,” Seiple said. “You kind of just barf everything out and then gure out what works. I’m from a semi-close-knit town, and that comes up in my writing a lot.”
Seiple noted the similarities between the process of writing songs for Suits and her general identity as an artist, including her experiences as a poet and short-story writer.
“I would say that for everybody that makes art, a lot of it is subconscious,” Seiple said. “It’s tough to say you’re going to write about something speci c and then stay on track. It’s usually something that ows out of you.”
Thephavong also drew on non-musical personal experiences to contextualize her contributions to the band; speci cally, the role that team sports have played in shaping her attitudes towards collaborative work.
“I’ve played sports my entire life, so I’ve always been used to working in a team,” ephavong said. “I think my inspiration for leadership comes from just being in a team, because I love to work with people and collaborate on things.”
A sense of teamwork is not only crucial for the band to stay technically organized, but improves the quality of the band’s musical output, according to Seiple.
“When I bring lyrics to practice to show to everybody, it’s always di$erent by the end, in a good way,” Seiple said. “When you’re writing by yourself, things can get pretty binary.”
Each band member o$ers distinct insights, enabling them to work in tandem and add depth to each piece they create.
“Athena comes in with the lyrics, and after hearing her play the songs acoustically, I [know] what I want to add immediately,”
ephavong said. “I’m far from a producer, but when I hear her work, I can envision how I want the other parts to sound.”
These differences in perception and approach result from each member’s distinct musical experiences.
“We all come from very di$erent musical backgrounds, and when we come together, those differences influence how our songs turn out,” Clark said. “I’m more of an orchestral percussionist, so I don’t play kit [drums] a lot, but I think it really helps us blend our sound.”
No single member can take credit for Suits’ unique sound; every member is essential to the creative process at some point.
“It’s been really cool to see how everyone perceives a song and how they change it up to create something new, something that belongs to all of us,” Seiple said.
Suits’ emphasis on musical creation as a product of dynamic collaboration imbues the band’s day-to-day operations with a unique sense of individual freedom. Having played in punk and rock bands in middle school before joining her high school marching band, Kracht had a wide range of musical experiences to compare with her time in Suits.
“I toured California in an all-girl punk band the summer before my freshman year at Davis,” Kracht said. “Still, what resonates most with me are bands like Suits because I like the
experimentation, which is fun.” For Thephavong, being a part of Suits represents the culmination of a long-awaited dream.
“I’ve always loved the idea of being in a band since I was 12, but my early e$orts zzled out,” ephavong said. “In college, I had an identity crisis because I wasn’t as involved in music as I used to be. Luckily, I was able to nd the rest of my missing pieces musically, and that’s where I am now.”
When it comes to performing, Suits’ strong sense of cohesion works to create a smooth, enjoyable experience for both the members of the band and for audiences. Kracht approaches her participation in the band as an intrinsically fun and liberating experience, which helps her ward o$ nervousness before a live performance.
“I feel like many bands forget this, but you’re supposed to look like you’re having fun when you’re onstage performing,” Kracht said. “Reminding yourself that you’re with your friends doing something fun makes it easier to relax during a show.” e sense of exhilaration that comes after stepping o$ the stage can feel addictive at times, the band shares, proving more motivational than any doubts that may arise before a show.
“It’s like an adrenaline rush,” ephavong said. “If I’m nervous, I’ll remind myself that I love doing this because of the way I feel after a show ends.” ough Suits as a band is relatively new, its members are optimistic about the future, buoyed by their dedication to the music and to each other.
“I want to keep playing shows this year because I’m graduating,” ephavong said. “When choosing colleges, it didn’t matter where I went. I just knew that I wanted to play in a band. I really hope that we can continue playing together.”
Indie rock band First Name Basis performs at Cafe Colonial in Sacramento, California.
(Courtesy of First Name Basis)
Indie rock band Suits. (Andrew Huang / Aggie)
Drum and synth duo Inglenook. (Courtesy of Inglenook)
On Nov. 22, the City of Davis will hold the 37th annual Turkey Trot
Behind the scenes: logistics, planning and community-building initiatives of the Davis Turkey Trot
MICHELLE
Every year, alongside the observance of the anksgiving holiday, the City of Davis hosts an event known as the Turkey Trot. is is a running event that features multiple races for all ages. is year will be its 37th year of operation, and the event will take place on Saturday, Nov. 22.
Dave Miramontes, the executive director of A Change of Pace Foundation, spoke about the creation of the Turkey Trot.
e Davis Turkey Trot was born out of a simple idea — to bring people together through fitness, fun and community spirit during the holiday season,” Miramontes said.
What began in 1988 as a 5K/10K run has evolved into a full day of races and activities.
is day of celebration includes competitive runs, kids’ runs and a dog-friendly division. With a variety of activities, Davis residents of all capabilities are welcomed to participate.
Miramontes explained how the event has changed over the years.
“While the event has grown in size and sophistication, the heart of the Turkey Trot remains the same: celebrating community, health and gratitude,” Miramontes said.
For newcomers, the Davis Turkey Trot o ers an immersive experience. Participants
are greeted by enthusiastic volunteers, the North Davis fall landscape and a festive atmosphere which combines athleticism with the city’s charm.
“You’ll enjoy a supportive, family-friendly atmosphere, post-race refreshments and the chance to be part of a local tradition that’s been bringing people together for over 37 years,” Miramontes said.
e event’s inclusive design ensures that everyone, from active runners to children, nd a place to participate. For instance, toddlers can participate in the Toddler Trot, which is held as part of the Kids Fun Runs in the morning. e 2-Mile Dog Jog, sponsored by the Yolo County SPCA, is a crowd favorite as well. This event celebrates these companions while also supporting animal welfare and adoption programs.
e Davis Turkey Trot is deeply rooted in philanthropy.
e event organizers partner with local school clubs, organizations and nonpro ts, all of which play a vital role in the event’s production. is year, the event will be supporting the Cancer Champions, which is committed to helping individuals facing cancer improve their health during or after treatment.
Miramontes noted how the event would not be possible without philanthropic partnerships.
“These partnerships re ect what the Turkey Trot is all about,” Miramontes
Pence Gallery opens 50th anniversary season with sculptures by Robert Ortbal
The exhibit blends humor, community engagement and everyday materials to challenge viewers’ ideas about identity
said. “Coming together as a community to promote health, happiness and heart — all while giving back to causes that make a real di erence.”
Organizing an event of this magnitude takes careful timing and planning. Planning begins in January, weeks after the previous year’s race concludes, according to Miramontes.
“We start by reviewing feedback, updating permits and con rming key dates with the City of Davis,” Miramontes said.
These recorded logistics include the course routes, safety planning and vendor coordination. Each factor is addressed early on, in order to ensure the event’s success and allow ample time to brainstorm new ways to elevate the event. Miramontes explained that each year, the course through North Davis remains relatively consistent, but there are small adjustments made in order to navigate any safety concerns.
“It’s a route runners have come to love, but we’re always looking for ways to make the experience even better,” Miramontes said.
For Miramontes, the most rewarding part of the Turkey Trot isn’t the logistics, but seeing the Davis locals come together.
“I especially enjoy seeing many familiar faces year after year, along with multiple generations participating and passing this tradition down through their families,” Miramontes said.
Paddy on the Binge blends Irish tradition with distinct, Davis energy
The band channels traditional Irish and Scottish tunes into collaborative, community-centered events
LAILA
In 2015, a handful of musicians — including ddler Obin Sturm, guitarist and multiinstrumentalist Vince Wolfe and ute, guitar and bodhrán (Irish drum) player Skyler Blakeslee — began holding a weekly open jam session at Delta of Venus in Downtown Davis. For Sturm, this routine quickly became a lifeline in a sea of student anxieties.
“It was probably the hardest time [when] I was an undergrad, the most miserable time of winter quarter,” Sturm said. “But every ursday, I would get to come [to Delta of Venus] and play the best music ever.”
When Delta eventually shifted ursday nights over to DJ sets, the sessions came to an end — but the three musicians weren’t ready to stop playing together.
“Sessions are kind of hard to pitch to places,” Sturm said. “You usually have to pretend that you’re a band and say we’ll play a show, but then you just keep it a session. So we were like, okay, we need to come up with a band name.” They settled on “Paddy on the Binge,” borrowing the title of one of the tunes in their repertoire, and began performing at venues across the region. Today, Paddy on the Binge consists of Sturm, Wolf and Blakeslee alongside ddlers Maragraet Graham and Emma Ware. e band plays traditional Irish and Scottish music, often introducing audiences to the genres for the first time —
something Ware expressed taking pride in.
“I like it when people tell me they haven’t heard Irish music before,” Ware said. “When people say, ‘Whoa, that went a lot harder than I expected traditional Irish music to go,’ or that they’ve never seen certain instruments — it’s always cool to show people that.” at instinct to welcome newcomers into the fold is woven into the band’s broader philosophy. As Sturm explained, the group gives real thought to what it means to carry a traditional musical lineage forward.
“We love this music, so we think a lot about it and we try to do new things with it,” Sturm said. “Because I think tradition is not a conservative, mintcondition, frozen-in-a-museum thing. Tradition is changing. Tradition is what we make it. But we’re de nitely informed by where it came from — so when we play, I like to think it appeals to people who are deeply familiar with it and people who have never heard it.”
Last year, in collaboration with the City of Davis, the group hosted their rst “St. Pat’s in the Park” event, bringing their tunes to Central Park for St. Patrick’s Day. Recordings from that performance are now in production with the help of Rowan McGuire at JumpDog Studios.
e band is also working on their rst studio album. It’s been an adjustment from their typical live format, according to Ware.
“We’re not used to not playing with each other,” Ware said. “We’re not used to listening
to people in your ears and being the only one playing at a time. So that’s been really interesting.” ey currently have around eight hours of material prepared, varying their set from gig to gig and tailoring their music to the specific needs of each show. They’ve played everywhere from classic Davis venues such as Delta of Venus and Sudwerk Brewing Co. to Bay Area house shows — even once performing at California Medical Facility (CMF) in Vacaville, a mediumsecurity prison, as part of an event called “Prison Palooza.” For them, the social life of the group is as essential as any formal rehearsal.
“We definitely don’t call them rehearsals,” Sturm said. “We don’t even call them practices. [Wolfe] usually calls them ‘warming up,’ and it usually involves going over to his house and drinking whiskey and talking for like 80% of the time — and then playing through less than a third of our setlist.” eir friendship is ultimately what powers their music, according to Sturm.
“It’s more important to get the social cohesion,” Sturm said. “Isn’t that funny? at’s what helps the music. Like, I’m out of town a lot, and if I’ve been away for a while, it’s good to see them and have a hang before we have to show up, lock in and do all the music stu . Falling into each other’s rhythms conversationally has a pretty much one-to-one mapping with being able to lock in musically in the moment.”
When Paddy on the Binge performed on the Davis Party Bike, a multi-person bike which hosts events for people to
The Pence Gallery has launched its 50th anniversary programming with a wideranging exhibition by Emeryville-based artist Robert Ortbal, known for transforming everyday materials into imaginative sculptures that blur the boundaries between human, animal and abstract forms. e show brings together several of Ortbal’s ongoing series, including his Da odil gra%ti works, his mask heads, his Samaritans gurines and his barter-based performances at local farmers markets.
Ortbal is an art professor in the Sculptural Department at Sacramento State University, with a career that spans major exhibitions and which has garnered national recognition. He has presented solo shows at the Oakland Museum of California, 911 Media Arts Center in Seattle and Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art in Colorado. His work has also appeared in group exhibitions at institutions such as the University of California (UC) Berkeley Art Museum and Paci c Film Archive, the Bedford Gallery at the Dean Lesher Center for the Arts and e Lab in San Francisco.
More recently, Ortbal was included in the 20th anniversary exhibition of the San Francisco Museum Of Modern Art (SFMOMA) Artists Gallery. His awards include the Leff Davis Foundation Grant, a residency at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and a research grant from the
College of Arts and Letters at Sacramento State.
Natalie Nelson, the Pence Gallery director who developed the exhibition over the last several years, explained how she rst became intrigued by Ortbal’s work.
“I was interested in his work following a studio visit to his place in Emeryville,” Nelson said. “He proposed including several series in the exhibit, including his Da odil gra%ti, his trading at Farmer’s Markets, the mask heads and the Samaritans, a series of tiny gures and matching cases.”.
Nelson recalled her experience participating in one of his past performance events at the Davis Farmers Market.
“I was really interested in how he used events as a means of engaging the community,” Nelson said. “So, I put on a bunny head and participated in one of his events at the Davis Farmer’s Market in spring 2024. I really enjoyed the experience, especially how the public seemed to be delighted by the interactions with his costumed players. It’s a novel experience when a normally dressed person from the neck down puts on a giant bunny, cat or dog head; his heads are a marvel to see.”
Nelson explained how Ortbal’s materials are intentionally ordinary.
“People are amazed that most of the materials Robert uses are everyday materials — paper, cardboard, wire. It’s his inventive transformation that really is remarkable, where the gure merges into an animal, object or plant-like form.” e installation at the Pence Gallery rises nearly 15 to 20 feet,
using conduit as a framework to suspend Ortbal’s sculptural heads throughout the gallery. Nelson commented on the messaging behind Ortbal’s work on display in the exhibit.
“I think the artist wants [us] to question our own identity, our own species and its ability to morph and shift into other forms,” Nelson said. “And [he wants us] to laugh; he uses parody and humor as a means of making us question social constructs. For example: Why do we trade money for an object? What if we went back to barter? Who decides what is a valuable unit of trade?”
As the rst exhibition in the Pence Gallery’s 50th anniversary schedule, Nelson noted that Ortbal’s work felt like the “right way” to begin.
“We wanted to start with a di erent type of exhibit for us,” Nelson said. “One that is really widespread and connects to the community in a di erent way.” Nelson also hoped that visitors leave inspired; not only by Ortbal’s creativity, but also by the accessibility of his approach. She also hoped the exhibit will draw more community members into the gallery throughout its anniversary year.
“I hope that people will take away from the exhibit the idea that art can be made out of everyday materials, and that anyone can be a force of change,” Nelson said. “Humor and satire can be a means of provocation and can be disruptive in a way that other modes of communication just [aren’t]. And, of course, I hope that they come back to the Pence, where admission is always free and the exhibits are always changing.”
chat, drink and enjoy the sights around Davis, Violet Ichel, a third-year design major, joined.
“I randomly slid up on a social media post about doing it with them, and I’m so glad I did because I had a blast and also sweat profusely,” Ichel said. “We of course took dance breaks at di erent stops too; this is de nitely a fond memory of mine.”
When performing, the band maintains this lively energy audiences enjoy by ensuring crowd work plays to the members’ strengths.
“I take all the stage banter for rowdy audiences,” Sturm said. “For some reason, that’s just my role. I’m good at yelling at an audience in a way that gets them to yell back. [Wolfe] has got a background as an educator, as a teacher and later a principal, and he’s now an instructor. So he’s good at explaining what all of these weird, indigenous
instruments are, and giving some of the cool background on that.” e band holds the Davis scene, in particular, in high regard.
“Davis has the best dancers. People are the quickest to get down on the dance oor [in Davis],” Sturm said. “And what we play is dance music, so it really means a lot when people are dancing.”
Ware emphasized the collaborative spirit of the Davis scene, noting how the spaces and venues shape the spirit of their performances.
“In Davis, it always feels like we’re hosting with Delta, we’re not just going to Delta to play a show,” Ware said. “It’s us and them. It feels way more collaborative than ‘We are a paid band coming to your venue.’ It feels more like, ‘Hey let’s throw a show together.’” Ware continued by describing each performance as
a project shared with everyone involved — from the musicians to the venue hosts to the audience.
“Same thing with the audience, it’s not like ‘We are playing for you,’” Ware said. “It’s like, we’re doing this together. We’re having a Paddy on the Binge show, which includes us but it also includes the audience.”
For Sturm, this collaborative spirit — reminiscent of the band’s genesis as a group hosting open sessions — is the highlight of his time in the band.
“When we’re playing for a dancing crowd and essentially become one with the crowd, like there’s no di erence between me playing the beats or [Wolfe] drumming the drum or [Ware] playing the tune, there’s no difference between that and people dancing, it’s all just the exact same thing,” Sturm said. at’s my favorite part. Easily.”
pedal,
BY
AZHAR features@theaggie.org
BY
BEKHTEL city@theaggie.org
BY ALMA CULVERWELL city@theaggie.org
Pence Gallery in Downtown Davis. The gallery is featuring an exhibit by Robert Ortbal on found materials. (Andrew Huang / Aggie)
Local band Paddy on the Binge plays at Davis’ first St. Pat’s in the Park event in March 2025.
(Courtesy of James Kitchens)
Runners begin the half marathon for the 36th Annual Davis Turkey Trot on Nov. 23, 2024. (Christian Cendejas / Aggie)
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FROM PAGE 1
“A key di erence with Concept B is that, under the current projections, this approach would likely not require a junior-high closure within the decade,” Best said in a summary video presentation on the DJUSD website.
Best also shared six assumptions that the district used when developing the concepts. ese include that the district has enough identi ed funds to cover the facilities needs; elementary schools with fewer than 350 students are not viable; consistent school models are applied across town; the district will attempt to maintain existing choice programs; the district will not close the campus with the greatest number of students furthest from opportunity; and the district will not increase the number of grade-level transitions.
Families, teachers and members of the community were then asked to participate in a feedback activity, in which they visited various stations that focused on concepts such as instructional programs, nances and student support. At each station, they had the opportunity to ask sta members questions about the speci c concept, engage in discussion and provide feedback via sticky notes.
Amanda Rayls, president of the Davis Teachers Association and rst-grade teacher at Willet Elementary, explained how the potential school closure would a ect teachers and students.
“My site would absorb some students, [...] so that does have an impact because then it means more students on campus,” Rayls said. “ ere are also contractual things as far as class size goes and as far as transfers and re-assignments.
So, when we’re looking at a school closing, it’s not necessarily that those teachers will lose their jobs; it’s how
they get transferred and placed around the district according to what our bargaining agreement says.” e main union for DJUSD is the Davis Teachers Association, which handles matters of collective bargaining. eir bargaining agreement outlines conditions of employment, including reassignments.
Chris eg, a parent of two students at Patwin Elementary, shared how his family would be impacted if their school were to close.
“Our whole family is involved with the school,” eg said. “My kids would have to switch in the middle of their elementary school career and all their friends would go to di erent schools [...]. I live about a ve-minute walk from the school, and that’s part of the reason I bought my house. So, it would be very disruptive for us.” eg also explained his thoughts on the district’s current course of action.
“We need more options, and we need to have a values discussion. ere were some assumptions that were used to make these options, and the assumptions haven’t been vetted or discussed with the community.”
To watch a recording of the presentation and share feedback on the proposals, visit the DJUSD website.
At each stop, members said a series of chants.
“UC, UC you’re no good, treat your workers like you should,” strikers said. “What do we want? A fair contract. When do we want it? Now.”
Leticia Garcia-Prado, a medical assistant at the Student Health Center, noted that she was disappointed by the UC’s o ers, because they fail to address rising healthcare premiums and in$ation.
“What is generous to them
might not be generous to us,”
Garcia-Prado said. “Because, if you’re increasing my salary by 3%, but then you’re increasing my medical [insurance] by $200, that doesn’t cover that. And then they want to keep increasing the parking. Every time you turn around they give me two dollars, but then they’re taking away three dollars and four dollars from the other pocket.”
Some students joined in solidarity with the workers at the picket line, including members of the Young Democratic Socialists of America at UC Davis and the Revolutionary Student Organization. Hilario Aguirre, a custodian at UC Davis for 13 years, was heartened to see the show of student support.
“What I’ve seen during my time working here, most students are really united with us workers,” Aguirre said. “It makes it worth it that our voices are being heard.”
By 4 p.m., the strike at Hutchison and La Rue Road had packed its gear away, ending the demonstration.
SB 509 emerged as a reintroduction of a similar assembly bill, AB 3027. e former was authored by Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains following the June 2023 killing of prominent Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a gurdwara, a Sikh place of worship, in British Columbia.
Nijjar’s activism was part of a movement to create an independent Sikh homeland called Khalistan. Following the incident, then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada was investigating “credible allegations” of Indian government agents being involved in the murder.
e impact of Nijjar’s killing rippled into California, with e Sacramento Bee reporting that Sikh activists in the Central Valley received threats just days after the shooting.
The Sikh Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy group, expressed disappointment after the bill’s veto, especially following the amount of community support and solidarity by Iranian, Muslim, Kashmiri, Japanese and other diasporic communities who have supported this advocacy.
“This is not the end of our advocacy work on Indian transnational repression, whether in California or elsewhere,” the Sikh Coalition wrote in a statement. “We are committed to continuing to support bills to combat transnational repression at the state and local level, but also to investing in non-legislative options like law enforcement training, policymaker brie ngs and more.”
As students like Dhillon look to the future of community activism, the veto doesn’t signal an end to advocacy, but rather, a point to mobilize in the future.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a defeat for us,” Dhillon said. “If anything, it just gave an impetus to our cause and to the community. It just encourages the community to do more to mobilize, to unite and to not rely on a single person or a single politician, but to rely on the power of the community and the power of the people as a whole.”
chef and in$uencer
Stephen Cusato, who also runs the YouTube channel “Not Another Cooking Show,” said that he has doubts about the use of AI for culinary purposes. ere’s [a] sense in having an entity to bounce ideas o of, but you still have to be a cook,” Cusato said. “I’m not trying to be someone who doesn’t embrace the world that’s changing but there’s a level of balance. e ability to taste food an AI lacks. You have to be rational and know when to approach it.”
Although Cusato feels his brand is safe from AI due to the repertoire he has developed with viewers, Cusato noted that there’s a limited audience interested in seeing LLMs used in the food space.
“Anything AI-related with my audience seems to invoke a viscerally negative reaction,” Cusato said. “I also have an older audience. My [core] audience ranges from their 30s to 50s. e channels you see with AI videos, you can bet [that] they have an 18 [to] 25 [demographic].”
While he believes there’s limited use for AI in the kitchen, Cusato commented that he wouldn’t want to be secondary
to it.
“My recipes are the result of the picky eater inside of me that was a kid and now has all the knowledge I have of 20 years of cooking,” Cusato said. “I’m a control freak. I would never give control to the AI.”
In order to safely make use of AI, Alexander said that two things can be done: slowing down development and having productive conversations between people critical of AI and industry members.
“It seems people, more often than not, tend to be in camps about AI,” Alexander said. “I don’t sense that there’s a lot of openness, to the point that we should say, ‘Yes we should look at this and pause.’”
In the meantime, Tagkopoulos, along with Siegel and their partners, are focused on developing Swap it Smart and keeping the health of both potential app users and the environment in mind.
“Everything we [at the lab] do looks toward planetary health as a whole,” Tagkopoulos said. “I wouldn’t be too fast to judge LLMs at this point.”
Amy Fletcher, a chair of UPTE-CWA’s UC Davis chapter and state union treasurer, noted that a key priority for the union is educating members about the contract’s agreements for the rati cation vote. With AFSCME and CNA going through with their strike, Fletcher expresses solidarity with the unions who are currently in negotiations.
“We continue to stand with our AFSCME and CNA siblings as they strike, and we hope that they’re able to reach their deal soon,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher says that UPTECWA leadership is encouraging
“We usually just throw stu at the wall [at] each other until something we both like sticks,” Heim said. “ ere truly isn’t much thought put into what people are gonna like, or the traditional line of creation.” The motivation for Inglenook lies not in material bene t or notoriety, but the opportunity to work within a reciprocal creative space. e heart of their music lies in their enjoyment of experimentation.
“I make music for fun,” Heim said. “ is isn’t about being famous or making money for me. I’ve been playing so long it’s kind of just what I like doing and what I’m good at, relatively. is project is just about making stu I would like to listen to in my house, in my car, in my studio. It’s not going to chart the way other music will, but that’s the point.” For those interested in Inglenook’s music and activity, as well as the individual musicians, the band and pair can be followed @inglenookband, @ cal.rankin and @jakeh31m on Instagram. Heim explained that the duo is beginning to build a body of work for fans to listen to digitally, as well as become more active in the local music scene.
“You can nd us on Spotify and Apple Music,” Heim said. “We only have our rst EP up at the moment but there will be more soon. Keep a look out for us live as we’ll be gearing up to play a lot more shows.” If you want to see them in concert soon, Inglenook will be playing at e California Aggie’s Couch Concert on Friday, Nov. 21, from 7 to 10 p.m. at 116 A St. members to vote yes. The contract is expected to be approved for rati cation.
Celebrity
UC Davis students reflect on Thanksgiving Break Instagram Reels versus TikTok
UC Davis students weigh in on their different experiences between apps
BY GRACIELA TIU features@theaggie.org
them feel better emotionally and mentally.
with, some students perceive signi cant di erences between the apps’ algorithms.
One student described how the content on both apps can differ, especially in how the videos make them feel.
BY AMBER DUHS features@theaggie.org
As fall leaves grace the air and the rainstorms roll in, UC Davis undergraduates bubble with excitement as the light toward the end of the fall quarter tunnel arrives: Thanksgiving break.
Whether you celebrate the turkey-centered holiday or simply enjoy the extra time without classes, the two-day break from academics allows students a short pause from midterms and looming deadlines — or does it?
At UC Davis, students are given two full days of no instruction — the ursday of anksgiving and that following Friday. With both in-state and
out-of-state students travelling to visit family or hometown friends, the question arises whether two days is truly enough of a break for busy students.
“I don’t think that they give us enough time out of instruction, because a lot of people have plans where they have to travel to visit family that don’t live nearby, and a lot of time[s] those trips take a lot longer than two days,” Julia Brossia, a first-year human biology major, said. “So only having two days o from school kind of doesn’t account for most students’ plans.”
For students who live outof-state, or even in Southern California, travel plans either involve long and laborious road trips or, more commonly, a ight back home.
While air travel is inherently
more convenient than multihour drives, pre-determined ight times don’t always align with class schedules, and the onset of flight cancellations and re-bookings as a result of the recent government shutdown continue to cascade and a ect bookings.
“ is year will be especially tricky since there’s a chance my ight will get canceled due to the shutdown,” Sienna Monnier, a rst-year animal science major, said. “In that case, two of my days o will be spent in the car, which I’m really hoping doesn’t happen.”
The solution to this uncertainty and lack of time that many students have turned to is missing instruction prior to or after the anksgiving holiday.
“I’m going home a day early just so that I can have more time
Davis Curry Club: Culture meets affordable eats
A crucial, cultural food source amidst the SNAP crisis — made for students, by students
BY VRITI SHAH features@theaggie.org
The Davis Curry Club (DCC) is a student-run small business that sells South Asian curries with student-friendly prices.
With weekly menus posted on their website, daviscurryclub. com and on their official Instagram account, Davis residents have the opportunity to order food during the week to be delivered during the weekend.
Recent menu options have included North Indian selections like saag paneer, aloo gobi and Punjabi chole and South Indian items — drumstick sambar, mysore rasam, beans usili and chow chow kootu — along with the various rice o erings to choose from. The small business emphasizes availability and affordability, which is demonstrated through their “student-friendly prices” and delivery options.
“The mission of Davis Curry Club is really just to o er students and [the] general Davis community access to [a ordable]
and tasty Indian food, delivered right to your doorstep,” Saanvi Bapu, a fourth-year biology major and the DCC head of logistics, said.
e delivery option is vital for students who may not have means to pick up their order, according to Sohan Dillikar, a third-year statistics major and the DCC’s head of engineering.
“Initially, when we were planning out the logistics of Davis Curry Club, we were considering a pick-up option because that would be easier on our side,” Dillikar said. “But we went ahead with the delivery [option] because it would just be a much better experience for students.”
e club’s services are also beneficial for students who are unable to nd the time to cook food as they juggle their educational, extracurricular and job commitments.
“I remember when I transitioned from [my] rst year to my second year, it was really challenging to be able to nd a ordable food options when I was just learning to cook on a regular basis,” Atmaja Patil, a
e rise of TikTok in the late 2010s brought about a larger videos.”
With the rise of this shorter video content, research has continued to show that mindlessly scrolling on either app can have a signi cant impact on brain health and attention span. Keeping this in mind, some users choose to try to consume content that makes
fourth-year biological systems engineering major and the DCC head of marketing, said.
e issue, [which] I learned from talking to fellow college students, is not just wanting to cook or knowing how to cook; rather, [it is] the time it takes to actually make that meal. It takes 30 minutes to an hour to make a meal, and after coming home from a long day of schoolwork, that’s often not something that I am able to do or that fellow students are often able to do.”
Not only is DCC an affordable, accessible food option, but the small business’ cultural roots allow all students to connect with Indian heritage through authentic food.
“Our primary market is college students, and I know that a lot of college students maybe don’t have as much time to cook every week,” Bapu said. is gives them an opportunity to have easy meal prep and also a way to connect with their community — especially [for] people of Indian or South Asian [descent] — and be able to have food that reminds them of home.”
Both TikTok and Instagram have explained how their algorithms push out content based on user signals, interactions and data, though neither company has explained the specifics of how their algorithms work. ough they both cater to the content that people are more likely to engage
Students discuss the two-day holiday and the lack of time it warrants for a true break
at home, because two days isn’t enough,” Saeesha Gudipati, a rst-year biochemistry and molecular biology major, said. “I feel like it kind of defeats the purpose [of a break].”
This option of skipping classes or front-loading work before the break becomes even more inevitable when students attempt to split their time between their immediate and extended family.
“I have to go to Fresno to see my extended family — which would take up the entirety of the time that we get o from school, and I wanted to have enough time to spend in my hometown with my friends,” Brossia said.
“So now I’m actually going to be missing two days of school to stay longer to make sure I can visit the other people that I want to visit.”
In establishing their small business, DCC has created a taste of South Asian “hominess” for all Davis residents, across both the university and the City of Davis.
“Part of Davis Curry Club’s work has been to collaborate with several clubs across campus — whether that’s ISA [Indian Student Association] or Project Rishi — and form some connections and community, [despite being a] sort of an online-operated small business,” Patil said. “We’ve spoken to a lot of our customers and learned that oftentimes, for people who come from South Asian households, this food brings them back to home. So, that’s been a really unifying point for people who nd it similar to their home cooked food.” Patil continued to discuss the cultural togetherness that DCC has built; not just for South Asians, but for individuals throughout the Davis community.
“We found that a lot of people trying out Davis Curry Club were not really from a South Asian background and just wanted to explore a new cuisine,” Patil said. “And so, bringing those folks and celebrating [the] Indian community with them, I think, was really powerful to see.”
Small and affordable businesses like DCC are a crucial source of nutritious food, especially amidst the recent Supplemental Nutrition
“Reels definitely can be super mismatched,” Drew said. “It almost feels like the on Instagram instead. “I think Instagram content is more creative because I believe more in the Instagram algorithm than TikTok,” Andrea Modonesi, a thirdyear economics major, said. “I sometimes use TikTok, and I use Instagram all the time, so maybe that’s also why I’m biased.”
This shortened break creates additional di culties for students who have multiple families or groups of people they want to split their time between.
“Only having two days o means that I have a lot less time to spend with my family since I will be switching between my mom’s and my dad’s,” Monnier said. “If we had more time o I could spend more quality time with them.”
While this speci c feature to the academic calendar is frustrating to many students, they also acknowledge the logical status of the shortened break, as the quarter system necessitates every minute of time to be used.
“Finals are coming up in a rush, so I feel like a lot of instructors need this time to get through the nal chapters,” Brossia said.
With only 10 weeks of instruction and a late start compared to many other universities, it’s no mystery why Davis opts for the shortened break over allocating another week that could be used to teach or review material.
Despite the limited time o and the tight travel plans most students are preparing to endure, there seems to be a sense of gratitude for the existence of a anksgiving holiday; a tradition that allows students a break before the onset of midterms and nals. “It’s nice that we do get a little break right now, especially with all the midterms that have been going on,” Brossia said.
Assistance Program (SNAP/ EBT) cuts that left millions of people unable to obtain food. e EBT crisis makes it harder for students to not only purchase a good, healthy amount of food, but to also purchase nutritious options,” Dillikar said. “ e curries that we sell are already quite nutritious. We sell curries that are primarily vegetable-based.”
Bapu continued to detail that DCC will always be an a ordable option for anyone in need of food, no matter the circumstances.
“I guess food is one of those things that people always need, regardless of [anything] political, economic [or] whatever else is
going on in the world,” Bapu said. “That’s going to stay a constant. We’ve been doing this since before [the EBT crisis], and will continue to, and if it gives people an opportunity to have access to more a ordable food, then that’s great.” Other food distribution centers are available for SNAP/ EBT recipients throughout Davis. Davis residents are also able to make donations and sign up for volunteer opportunities at these distribution centers. For more information on local emergency food options, visit https://yolofoodbank.org/ ndfood/.
Logo of the Davis Curry Club. (Courtesy of Nitin Kanchi)
JASON XIE / AGGIE
SCIENCE AND TECH
A peek inside UC Davis labs — highlighted by the Labs to Lives campaign — demonstrates the future of human health
From neurobiology to metabolism, UC Davis research depends on federal funding to continue improving human health
BY KATELYN BURNS science@theaggie.org
UC Davis’ Labs to Lives campaign comes at a time when federal funding uncertainties are impacting university labs across the country. The campaign highlights a range of UC Davis projects — from neurobiology to metabolism — and underscores how much of that work depends on federal funding. e Labs to Lives campaign also provides statistics about funding sources, o ering both a platform for expert voices and a chance to share your own story and donate to scienti c research.
is year, universities across the United States have faced budget cuts, funding freezes and the uncertainty caused by the recent government shutdown, resulting in disruptions to university research, which is primarily federally funded. e projects featured in UC Davis’ Labs to Lives campaign highlight what federal support makes possible, and how recent federal funding uncertainties disrupt that work.
Brian Trainor, a professor at UC Davis in the Department of Psychology and director of the Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Lab (or Trainor Lab), was featured in the Labs to Lives campaign. He shared his research on oxytocin.
“In animals, we’ve seen that the effect oxytocin has on behavior depends on what else is going on,” Trainor said.
ere’s this idea called social salience that oxytocin makes good experiences better and bad experiences worse.”
e Trainor Lab studies how
social stress a ects the brain mechanisms of California mice and the role of oxytocin in social behaviors. However, how does this research impact humans?
Oxytocin, also known by nicknames like the “love hormone” and “trust hormone,” is suggested to amplify the e ects of social experiences — for better or worse. Despite its nickname the “trust hormone,” in some trials, such as the 2013 pilot study a%liated with the UC San Diego Medical Center, oxytocin has been associated with the opposite — decreasing trust and
increasing anxiety. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of unknowns surrounding the mechanisms of oxytocin in
humans — research in humans is more complex, making it di%cult to tell when a result is causal or correlational. Hence,
California mice are used to better understand the mechanisms. The development of improved treatments for people with anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) isn’t the only way UC Davis research can impact lives. e Labs to Lives campaign highlights several other projects as well.
Mark Huising, a professor at UC Davis in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior and director of the Huising Lab, was featured in the Labs to Lives
Early chemical exposure and ‘A Game of Whac-A-Mole’
UC Davis study finds concerning levels of chemicals interfering with early development in children aged 2 to 4
BY JOANNA ABRAHAM science@theaggie.org
A new study published in July 2025 in the Journal of Environmental Science & Technology found several chemicals that interfere with early development in children aged 2 to 4. Following this study, researchers are now calling for stricter federal biomonitoring. e study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published by authors from several institutions across the United States, including UC Davis.
Between the years 2010 and 2021, researchers collected urine samples of 201 children from four states (California, Georgia, New York and Washington) between the ages of 2 and 4, as well as that of their mothers during pregnancy. ese samples were then tested for 111 analytes (or colloquially, “chemicals”). Some of the relevant ndings include:
1. 96 analytes were detected in at least ve children
2. 34 analytes were “ubiquitously detected” (present in over 90% of participants). Nine of these analytes (benzophenone-1, triethyl phosphate and metabolites of six phthalates and one alternative plasticizer) are not routinely monitored through surveys such as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey program.
3. When compared to prenatal levels, the levels of certain analytes (bisphenol S, three pesticide biomarkers and two phthalate biomarkers) in children aged 2 to 4 were signi cantly higher, suggesting that exposure typically occurs during early childhood.
Dr. Deborah H. Bennet, an author of the study and a UC Davis professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences, brie y summarized and commented on the results of the study in a UC Davis press release.
“Our study shows that childhood exposure to potentially harmful chemicals is widespread,” Bennet said. “ is is alarming because we know early childhood is a critical window for brain and body development.”
Given these ndings, what
makes these chemicals so widespread and harmful? Consider phthalates, several metabolites of which were among the 34 analytes present in over 90% of participants.
“Phthalates can be found in most products that have contact with plastics during producing, packaging or delivering,” an article published by the NIH reads. “Chronic exposure will adversely a ect the endocrine system and functioning of multiple organs, which has negative long-term impacts on the [...] child growth and development.”
is is just one of the nine analytes that are not federally biomonitored; a cause for concern for researchers who are calling for stricter regulation and monitoring of these chemicals.
[ e study] brings attention to compounds we’re exposed to,” Bennet said via interview. “We need stricter regulations on chemicals that, for example, are used in food packaging and pesticides. By showing that we do have exposure to these chemicals, hopefully that can lead to better regulation.”
Another of the nine analytes that is not currently subject to federal biomonitoring is called an “alternative plasticizer.” As more research became available in the early 2000s on the disruptions phthalates (plasticizers) caused to the endocrine system, stricter regulations on the use of phthalates were eventually imposed. One of these regulations is 15 U.S. Code § 2057c - Prohibition on sale of certain products containing speci ed phthalates, set in 2008. is regulation is the reason why alternative plasticizers such as 1,2-cyclohexanedioic acid diisononyl ester (DINCH) began rising in popularity as a replacement for phthalates.
However, “less is known about the e ects of [alternative plasticizers] on humans,” according to an article published by Dr. Wenzel et al. in the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
So, to what extent is public policy e ective in limiting exposure to harmful chemicals?
Tracey Woodru , director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environ-
ment at UC San Francisco, commented on current public policy in an interview with KQED.
“We’re always playing catch-up,” Woodru said. “ e way laws are set up in the U.S., you don’t have to fully test a chemical before you substitute it for something else. [...] It’s a game of Whac-A-Mole with chemicals.”
Bennet echoed Woodru ’s sentiment, noting the cyclical nature of research and response.
e [Center for Disease Control (CDC)] is always working to expand the set of compounds they’re evaluating,” Bennet said. “Once chemicals are measured in people, they end up getting brought into the set that is analyzed in national data sets [...] ere’s so much out there that we’re exposed to that we don’t have measurements for yet. ”
In other words, relying only on federal regulation to eradicate harmful chemical exposure may inevitably prove unsuccessful. e UC Davis press release additionally urged families with young children to take steps themselves to mitigate early chemical exposure. ese include washing produce thoroughly to avoid the consumption of pesticides, choosing products labelled “para-
ben-free” or “phthalate-free” and using high-e%ciency particulate air (HEPA) lters for in-home ventilation.
However, these preventative measures may not always be feasible for everyone.
e study noted disproportionately higher levels of chemical exposure among racial and ethnic minority groups that are socioeconomically disadvantaged. E ective public policy is essential to making safer products accessible, even if it cannot eradicate all harmful chemical exposure, according to Bennet.
“Less expensive products often have higher levels of chemicals,” Bennet said. “We want to focus on regulatory approaches because it shouldn’t be the case that with more wealth you can reduce exposure.” Ultimately, the UC Davis study brought to light the widespread nature of harmful chemical exposure in young children.
While researchers are calling for stricter federal biomonitoring, the study has also raised questions regarding the general e ectiveness of public policy in mitigating harmful chemical exposure.
campaign, where he shared his research on pancreatic cell communication.
“Some of the current diabetes drugs that bene t millions of Americans with diabetes are able to cause a sustained beta cell activation that leads to insulin secretion long after the drug is washed away,” Huising said via email. “It is almost like these beta cells remember that they were recently exposed to these medications.”
The Huising Lab studies pancreatic islets, which are clusters of cells in the pancreas that produce hormones regulating blood glucose levels. While beta cells release insulin, they aren’t the only cells in the islets.
Alpha cells release glucagon and delta cells release somatostatin, two types of hormones involved in regulating blood glucose levels along with insulin. While insulin can lower blood glucose levels, glucagon raises them; on the other hand, somatostatin is an inhibitor, capable of preventing the release of both insulin and glucagon when necessary. By unraveling how these cells communicate, scientists can better understand how stable blood glucose levels can be maintained, why they break down with diabetes and even improve treatments.
e Trainor and Huising labs demonstrate the value of foundational research in improving human health. However, both rely on consistent federal support. e Labs to Lives campaign makes that connection clear, drawing public attention to the bene ts of university research in a time when federal funding uncertainties are making that research more di%cult.
Examining the various theories and evidence about life before the extinction of the dinosaurs A look into dinosaur ecosystems and its insights on evolution
BY EMILIA ROSE science@theaggie.org
66 million years ago, an asteroid of similar size to Mount Everest collided with Earth with the power of 10 billion atomic bombs. Not long after, on a geologic timescale, nearly 75% of all animals died out; among the most notable creatures to perish during this era were the dinosaurs.
Among scientists in the eld, a question remains: Were the dinosaurs already in decline, doomed before the asteroid hit, or did they die purely due to a sudden cataclysm?
One commonly-held theory argues that dinosaurs were already on the path to extinction prior to the impact of the asteroid. In a 2016 research article, paleobiologist Manabu Sakamoto commented on the speci c evolutionary statistical trends within dinosaur populations.
“We nd overwhelming support for a long-term decline across all dinosaurs […] where speciation rate slowed down through time,” Sakamoto said. “Our results highlight that […] dinosaurs showed a marked reduction in their ability to replace extinct species with new ones, making them vulnerable to extinction and unable to respond quickly to and recover from the nal catastrophe event.”
By looking at the rate at which new dinosaur species evolved, researchers found that this rate was slowing down,
leaving them more vulnerable to extinction. us, when the asteroid hit, they didn’t have that evolutionary bu er to keep them from dying out. However, a problem with these ndings remains: How do we know that these findings support every dinosaur species, and not just a few?
“Because the fossil record has long been known to be incomplete, it is possible that the observed slowdown and downturn are byproducts of undersampling,” Sakamoto said. “ is assumption would imply that there is a systematic downward bias in the phylogeny toward recent times.”
In this way, regions with more complete fossil data can disproportionately influence the assumed global trend. It is essential to note that, although Sakamoto and his team accounted for these biases in their calculations, this factor raises a concern about assuming general patterns of decline to be consistent across all regions.
DARIXA VARELA MEDRANO / AGGIE
SAMUEL CERVANTES / AGGIE
SYLVESTER CHEN / AGGIE
SPORTS
Field hockey falls to Delaware in inaugural MPSF championship game
Although Aggies scored first, they were unable to equalize after Delaware netted two goals
BY COLINA HARVEY sports@theaggie.org
On Nov. 8, the UC Davis Field Hockey team’s season wrapped up with the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championship match against the University of Delaware. e game was the rst-ever MPSF Championship and was hosted by the Aggies. Although UC Davis fought hard until the end, they fell to Delaware with an end score of 2-1.
The Aggies struggled throughout the season, nishing with an overall record of 6-10. Although the team faced challenges, they still found moments to celebrate.
“Our culture was really good this year, just celebrating the small wins. Like, whenever a goal was scored, everyone on the eld or the bench is just cheering like crazy,” Karly Redman, a fourth-year environmental policy, analysis and planning major and forward, said.
Redman pointed to the Aggies’ win against Ball State University on Sept. 5 as a special moment for the team. Going into the fourth quarter, the Aggies trailed 1-3. Despite Ball State scoring again in the fourth quarter, the Aggies were able to stay in the game with three of their own goals, tying
the game.
“We took them into overtime, and then we ended up winning. It was just really hype and fun,” Redman said.
After the regular season wrapped up, the Aggies had a chance to win the inaugural MPSF championship. Although the Aggies came out strong, Delaware responded quickly to their early goal.
“We ended up scoring rst o a de ection goal. at just brought really good energy, and we were winning, but then Delaware ended up scoring two minutes or so after,” Redman said. “ ey just quickly caught us on our back foot.”
Throughout the match, the Aggies outshot Delaware and remained competitive, but ultimately su ered a loss. e team especially struggled with converting plays and shots into goals.
“We just tried to attack as much as we could, but just came up short,” Redman said.
“[We] couldn’t tie it, but [...] I just feel like we gave it as much as we could. [...] A lot that we focused on leading up to the game, in practice, was converting on our short corners — we just weren’t converting on them. It’s pretty much just a straight shot on goal, and just our set plays weren’t working. I think if we capitalized on those, we could have gotten more goals.”
Although the Aggies were not able to secure the MPSF championship, many players were given MPSF honors to commemorate their work. Redman won the MPSF Offensive Player of the Year award, and Addy Collingwood, a rst-year business major and goalkeeper, won Freshman of the Year. In addition to Redman, several other players
hold on to their lead. Fifth-year sociology major Ian Simpson scored the first touchdown of the game within the first eight minutes, catching a 29-yard pass. The second and third quarters proved to be more challenging for the Aggies, as Montana scored three touchdowns and a field goal. The fourth quarter offered a change of pace, with UC Davis’ fourth-year managerial economics major Samuel Gbatu scoring a touchdown for the Aggies and fourth-year communication major Hunter Ridley scoring a field goal. However, Montana scored two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, defeating the Aggies. The Aggies secured the first-place spot in the Big West Conference play with a win over UC San Diego. The team also set a new team win record, securing 14 conference game wins this season. Fourth-year aeronautical engineering major Jade Light had yet another stellar performance, leading the offense with 15 kills and 10 digs. The Aggies won the first two sets with scores of 25-18 and 25-21, but lost the third set 20-25, forcing the match into another set. The Aggies came into the final set strong, winning 25-13 and securing the overall match 3-1.
were selected to the MPSF AllConference Team; Hayden Ma, a fourth-year cognitive science major and defender; Beth Munro-Morris, a fourth-year design major and mid elder; Ella Franken, a third-year international relations major and mid elder; and Morgan Caldera, a third-year cognitive science major and mid elder.
“It feels really good [to be
awarded]. I just think all the work we put in in the o -season just really shows,” Redman said.
As the eld hockey season has o cially come to an end, the UC Davis athletes will now focus on o -season training and improving their gameplay.
Overall, the team had a mixed season; they hope to focus on re ning their team strategies and improving their results for the next season, according to Redman.
“I think [we need to work on] solidifying our style of play,” Redman said. “I think throughout the year, we’d kind of dip at times with the connecting passes, so I think if we just really hone in on our key concepts and just strengthen those, then I think we’ll be pretty solid.”
From high school sports to college athletics
A
deep dive into the college athletics recruiting process
BY MIKALA SLOTNICK sports@theaggie.org
The professional athletes you see on television have all been recruited in one way or another. Many began playing in elementary school and continued to do so through high school, continuing their sport all the way to college and eventually going on to play for the big leagues. ough there are some exceptions to the rule, such as Los Angeles Angels baseball player Mike Trout, who was recruited out of high school in the 2009 MLB draft, most athletes start their careers playing in college.
For student-athletes interested in playing on a team in college, the speci c division of the university they choose to attend is an important factor to consider.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which is the largest college sports association, has over 1,100 member schools and three di erent divisions. Each division has a di erent set of requirements, with Division 1 (D1) being the most popular and the most challenging to get into. Universities such as UC Davis, Stanford and Texas A&M University are all colleges that are part of the Next College Student Athlete (NCSA) College Recruiting, the largest college recruitment organization in the United States. Other sports associations include the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), which is commonly used for smaller, private schools, and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) for students interested in twoyear colleges.
Recruiters gather information about studentathletes using websites such as Rivals, 247Sports.com and NCSAsports.org. College coaches recruit for universitylevel sports using several methods, including looking through highlight videos and statistics, attending games, showcases and tournaments and contacting the student athlete via email or phone call.
Before any type of communication occurs, athletes should do their research about the university and the coach, according to Coaches Insider. is can be done by athletes attending their chosen sports athletic events at the university, reading the coach’s bio or even connecting with other players who are already on the team.
If an athlete chooses to contact a recruiter or a coach, the NCSA says that “email is the
best way to introduce yourself to college coaches.” Social media platforms may also play a role in capturing the attention of potential recruiters.
The most popular social media platforms for this purpose are Instagram, TikTok and X. Instagram and TikTok allow potential recruits to upload highlight reels that capture their most successful plays on the court or eld, while X is mainly used by coaches to engage and promote their college team.
When a player sets up their social media platform, athletes may consider including their location, high school/ community college/club team, class year, GPA, a highlight video and their NCSA pro le, according to the NCSA website. It is also recommended that you dress in the uniform for the sport that you play and include your real name. An important rule of thumb, according to NCSA, is to give credit to the people who helped you, such as teammates or coaches. It’s also recommended to talk about your athletic and academic achievements and showcase parts of your personality outside of the sport.
ough engaging recruiters via social media is often an e ective strategy, it can also be a disadvantage to those who go against community guidelines or the school’s code of conduct by posting vulgar or discriminatory material, political opinions or engaging in any form of online bullying or harassment.
Once a student-athlete is on the recruiter’s radar, the recruiter typically creates a list of prospective athletes. e recruiters often send out questionnaires, camp invites or recruiting letters.
A recruiting questionnaire is a form that prospective student-athletes ll out to share information about themselves with a college program, which can either be mailed or emailed to the student athlete. Filling out this form puts the student’s measurable statistics — such as height, weight, sports played and any connection to the school — into the university’s database.
Examples of recruiting questionnaires are the University of Oklahoma softball questionnaire and the Texas Christian University volleyball form.
However, it is important to note that when a university sends a student-athlete a questionnaire, it does not mean that they are being recruited; it only signi es that they are on the university’s radar. After the initial questionnaire, recruiters will conduct an evaluation that assesses a candidate’s physical ability, coachability and academic achievements. It is in this evaluation that the recruiter will decide whether to extend an o er to play for the team. In most cases, a recruitment o er comes with an athletic scholarship, which helps most student-athletes pay for college tuition. These scholarships range from covering only a portion of tuition to covering room and board expenses. e o er becomes official when the student athlete signs their contract and commits to the university’s athletic program. While there is always potential to be a Mike Trout, a student-athlete can also be a Jalen Hurts or Aaron Judge, who were recruited from high school to college through these processes. Given the di erent parts of the recruitment process, student-athletes have a variety of potential paths to playing a collegiate-level sport.
UC Davis Forward Karly Redman dribbles the ball down the field in the game against the University of Delaware on Nov. 8, 2025.
(Everett Smith / Aggie)