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VOLUME 138, ISSUE 4 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
TOWN HALL MEETING HELD ON CAMPUS FOCUSED ON CANCELLATION OF STUDENT DEBT Davis City Hall to hear issues concerning student debt
LU IS LOPEZ / AG GIE
CITY COUNCIL APPROVES PURCHASE OF $138,000 BULLETPROOF ARMORED VEHICLE FOR POLICE DEPARTMENT Organizers in labor unions, student organizations, and community groups hold a town hall at the UC Davis Art Annex to bring awareness about student debt on Oct. 9, 2019. Photo by Markus Kaeppeli / Aggie.
BY TAYLO R M A RT INE Z campus@theaggie.org A town hall meeting held on Oct. 9 revolved around a discussion of potential strategies to cancel student debt. The event, held in the Art Annex at UC Davis, was open to Davis community members and groups led by California for Student Debt Cancellation — a coalition comprised of student organizations, labor unions and other community groups. The meeting, which began at 7 p.m. and ended at 8:30 p.m., featured various speakers discussing potential ways to tangibly solve problems concerning debt. Dillon Horton, a 2017 UC Davis alumni, spoke about his campaign platform to run for Davis City Council: Horton hopes to tackle student debt by means of addressing housing issues and economics. As a former student, Horton tied in his own experience in seeing gaps with student accessibility that stem from debt. “We haven’t had a student or recent graduate on the city council for a decade, and we have
never had an African-American man on the city council,” Horton said. “I spent most of my time in student government on student accessibility issues. I’m running right now for the city council — mostly focused on the housing crisis and economic development. Those issues are inextricably linked to student debt.” Morganne Sara, a graduate student in the anthropology department at UC Davis, discussed the large impact student debt currently has on millions of individuals. “Total student debt right now is at around $1.6 trillion [for] 45 million people,” Sara said. “Forty-eight percent of our students will graduate with debt. Knowing that my students will be graduating with this amount of debt makes me anxious and angry.” Katie Rodger, president of the University Council-AFT Union, spoke about her experience with the system of loans and student debt, according to a video posted on Facebook. Rodger initially believed she could handle her debt, but interest began piling on top of what she owed.
She now consistently has to keep paying off her loans. “To the best of my ability, I determined that I could shoulder the burden of my debt,” Rodger said. “As a middle-class graduate student, I didn’t have the means to finish my degree without those loans. It wasn’t a question of negligence or responsibility — it was simply reality.” Sara asked rhetorical questions on how students lack freedom when they owe student debt, which can follow them for the rest of their lives. “Let me ask you this — is it really freedom if you chose not to start a family because of student debt?” Sara asked. “I don’t think so. Is it really freedom that you can’t rent an apartment because you have student debt? I don’t think so... I don’t think that’s freedom.” This meeting generated pressure for solutions — the town hall was just the beginning of conversations concerning student debt. An additional town hall meeting held on Oct. 21 at 3 p.m. at Davis City Hall will bring the movement to the consideration of local leaders.
UC DAVIS CLERY ACT DISCLOSURE SHOWS INCREASE IN REPORTED ON-CAMPUS RAPES, OTHER INCIDENTS Director of on-campus CARE center said new statistics may mean reporting has increased rather than incidents
Organizers in labor unions, student organizations, and community groups hold a town hall at the UC Davis Art Annex to bring awareness about student debt on Oct. 9, 2019. Photo by Markus Kaeppeli / Aggie.
BY REBE CC A BI H N-WAL L AC E campus@theaggie.org In accordance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998, UC Davis released its Annual Fire Safety and Security Report the week of Oct. 1. The Clery Act mandates an annual report regarding campus safety. The 2018 statistics reveal, among other things, a slight increase in the number of reported on-campus rapes; in robberies, aggravated assault and motor vehicle theft; and in domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. Other crimes, like arson, weapons arrests, drug arrests and liquor arrests have experienced a slight decrease. “It’s also worth noting that the Clery Act does not include statistics on non-violent theft (bicycles, laptops, phones etc) which is in fact the most prevalent crime on this campus,” said Andy Fell of UC Davis News and Media Relations via email. “We do encourage students to take care of personal possessions, lock up bicycles, keep doors and windows closed etc.” Of the 16 rapes reported during the 2018-19 calendar year, nine occurred in on-campus student residences, as did five of the nine instances
of fondling. Nine of the 13 instances of reported domestic violence happened in on-campus residences as well. But some crimes were less likely to occur in on-campus residences. For example, two of the five instances of dating violence reported happened in on-campus residences, and six of the 16 recorded instances of stalking happened in on-campus residences. Other crimes, including robberies, burglaries, motor vehicle theft and weapons, drug and liquor arrests were more likely to happen elsewhere on campus. Sarah Meredith, director of CARE (Center for Resources, Advocacy, and Education), an on-campus organization that provides support to rape, sexual assault and harassment victims commented specifically on the number of reported rapes. In her email, Meredith noted that these new statistics don’t necessarily mean instances of rapes have increased, but that more people have chosen to report them. “I do think it’s important to be clear about what these numbers are,” Meredith said. “These data represent the number of incidents that were disclosed during the calendar year to a Campus Security Authority (CSA), and were disclosed to have occurred on campus-owned or controlled
property or property adjacent to campus-owned property.” Additionally, Meredith said the data is not “necessarily reflective of the entire number of sexual assaults that occurred in a given year,” but instead represents the number of victims who “felt they could disclose their experience to someone who happened to be a CSA,” which does not include CARE or counseling services. The assault also had to have occured in a “specific geographical area.” “As an example of its limitations, Clery, as a [federal] law, doesn’t track incidents that happened in someone’s private off-campus residence even if the victim is a student or affiliated with the University in another way,” Meredith said. Meredith also described the struggle that victims endure, noting that oftentimes the reaction of the first person they tell may determine how they choose to “move forward” with the reporting process or not. “Many victims will never disclose their assault or abuse to an authority,” Meredith said. “My hope is that even if a victim chooses not to report their assault that they might still access support from a confidential resource like CARE or Counseling Services.”
Members of public questioned whether vehicle was best use of city funds BY TI M LALONDE city@theaggie.org The Davis Police, with the unanimous support of the city council, has been approved to acquire a new Armored Rescue Vehicle (ARV), which will cost the city $138,000 plus sales tax. Davis Police said that the vehicle will assist them in active-shooter situations and other operations. At a city council meeting on Sept. 24, Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel presented his department’s case for funding regarding a new armored vehicle. He began by contrasting the desired ARV with the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAP) that the department obtained in 2014 from military surplus. The council ultimately voted to return the MRAP to the federal government, citing concerns from the community about local police employing military equipment. “Even though there was considerable acknowledgment at the time that having the ability to have armor and offer protection for police use was probably acceptable, really at the time most of the conversation was around the type of vehicle,” Pytel said. Pytel said that newer armored vehicles have less of a military-style appearance than past models, comparing the prospective ARV to an Amazon Prime delivery truck in his presentation. Pytel also said that the new ARV would be less expensive than law-enforcement armored vehicles of the past, such as the Bearcat. “There are new versions of armored vehicles — they look quite different and the cost came down considerably,” Pytel said. The desired ARV is designed in a “defensive format, not an offensive format” Pytel said, and though it is armor-plated, it lacks gun ports or turrets. Pytel outlined several of the intended uses for the vehicle, including rescue and extraction operations as well as tactical medical support in hazardous environments. It can also be used for the transportation of personnel and equipment, he said, in addition to providing ballistic “hard cover” during an active shooter situation. Pytel pointed to two recent police deaths from shootings, those of Officer Tara O‘Sullivan in Sacramento and Officer Natalie Corona in Davis, to argue for the usefulness of the prospective vehicle. He noted that while Corona’s death might not have been prevented by the use of an ARV, the Davis PD did utilize an armored vehicle borrowed from West Sacramento PD during the incident. During the public comment, several Davis citizens argued against approving funding for an ARV. Dillian Horton, vice-chair of the Davis Police Accountability Commission, questioned the present need for the vehicle and suggested that such a purchase request should have been presented to his commission before going to the council. “I just don’t believe it’s impossible for us to see some of the issues before the council does,” Horton said. “I really just want to push for a process that makes that routine.” Some questioned whether the ARV was the best use of city funds while other commenters suggested that the vehicle, regardless of its appearance, still constitutes the militarization of local police equipment. Councilmember Will Arnold addressed public sentiment against the vehicle. “I reject the notion that we ought to enhance police accountability by limiting access to purely defensive materials, that strikes me as somewhat offensive,” Arnold said, according to the Davis Enterprise. Mayor Pro Tempore Gloria Partida expressed some reluctance, but pointed to recent racially-motivated shootings as evidence that the ARV was a wise investment for the city. “It’s a struggle to say ‘yes’ to this, but I think that unfortunately, it is something that in our day and space we need,” Partida said, according
ARMORED VEHICLE on 10