January 21, 2021

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VOLUME 139, ISSUE 12 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021

LAWSUITS CLAIM UC UC DAVIS’ AGGIE SQUARE PROJECT BRINGS GENTRIFICATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS TO OAK PARK NEIGHBORHOOD The university is planning to move forward with its schedule for design and construction of Phase 1 despite the lawsuits, according to a UC Davis administrator

BY ANNETTE CAMPOS campus@theaggie.org Sacramento Investment Without Displacement (SIWD), a local community group, and UC employer union AFSCME 3299 have filed lawsuits against the UC Davis’ Aggie Square project being built in the Oak Park neighborhood in Sacramento.

The lawsuits filed against the UC Board of Regents claim that the Aggie Square project, a $1.1 billion investment from UC Davis, is in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) through its failure to properly mitigate air pollution and housing displacement.

The project is being designed as an innovation hub that will bring forth new research facilities for students and employees.

“We don’t seek to stop or delay Aggie Square,” said Erica Jaramillo, a board member of SIWD and long-term resident of Oak Park. “We only seek to ensure that it’s the best project it can be for UC Davis, our city, for our community. We’re seeking to ensure existing residents, predominantly lowincome communities of color, equitably reap the benefits that the project can bring. We want to make sure that the residents that are currently here who aren’t making a lot of money right now, especially because of the pandemic, are going to be prioritized.”

AFSCME 3299’s lawsuit states similar concerns about the Aggie Square project, with some UC employees being directly impacted by it.

“AFSCME Local 3299 represents more

than 3,000 Sacramento area workers, including hundreds that live in the neighborhoods that will be most directly affected by the proposed Aggie Square development,” Todd Stenhouse said, the spokesman for AFSCME 3299, via email. “Aggie Square’s Supplemental EIR fails to comply with the CEQA statute in a number of substantive ways—including (but not limited to) its failure to analyze or address the housing, health and transit needs of the families that will inevitably bear the

brunt of this development’s impacts on air quality, traffic congestion and housing affordability.”

Despite the lawsuits, Matt Dulcich, the UC Davis director of environmental planning and local government directions, stated in an email that the university is planning to move forward with its schedule for design and construction of Phase 1. Dulcich referred to UC Davis’ compliance with the CEQA and its completion of the environmental review of the impacts of the

A digital illustration shows future development at Aggie Square in Sacramento, California. (UC Davis / Courtesy)

project and said that UC Davis cannot comment on the legal aspects of pending litigations.

Mayor Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento, who has been collaborating on the project with UC Davis, along with Sacramento Councilmembers Jay Schenirer and Eric Guerra, released a joint statement criticizing the SIWD lawsuit, commenting on the lawsuit’s potential delay on the project and calling it both, “unfortunate and, ultimately, unproductive.”

“There is no community benefits agreement without a project. Five thousand union construction jobs and 3,500-5,000 ongoing jobs, many of which will be reserved for local residents, will be lost without a project,” the statement reads.

Kevin Ferreira, the executive director of the Sacramento-Sierra’s Building and Construction Trades Council, also commented on the lawsuit in the same statement.

“This lawsuit sends a direct message to thousands of would-be workers that it is better for them to receive unemployment checks than to have a job that pays living wages and benefits,” Ferreira said.

Jamarillo, however, said claims like Ferreira’s are meant to scare people and the aim of the lawsuit is to ensure UC Davis follows state laws..

“The narrative that the city is putting out is fear, saying that this is going to threaten that investment from happening, this is going to threaten people’s opportunity for jobs,” Jamarillo said.

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UC DAVIS EXTENDS COVID-19 VACCINATIONS TO PATIENTS UC Davis Health is now offering vaccinations to some patients 75 and older and hopes to expand to more priority groups soon

BY KATIE DEBENEDETTI features@theaggie.org On Jan. 12, UC Davis Health began vaccinating patients less than a month after they first administered shots to their healthcare workers. UC Davis Health has been on the faster side of administering vaccines, vaccinating 12,000 employees and 400 patients as of Jan. 15 according to Steve Telliano, their assistant vice chancellor of strategic communications. “[Jan 14] will be the one month anniversary of receiving our first vaccines,” Telliano said. “We have done 12,000 employees in the month since we’ve received vaccines, and that’s the schedule which we expected to be on. It’s pretty aggressive and our vaccine clinic was open 16 hours a day to make that happen.”

Even though much of the vaccine that has been distributed is still waiting to be used due to slow rollouts by individual hospitals across the country, UC Davis Health is having the opposite problem. Telliano said that what they need is more doses.

“Our plan is to further expand in terms of locations when we get more vaccine doses,” Telliano said. “Really, what’s limiting us at this point is the number of doses of vaccine that we have. If we get more, then we’ll be able to open more locations and do more patients.”

As of now, only patients over 75 with certain existing comorbidities are eligible for the vaccine.

According to a press release put out by UC Davis this week, these prioritized patients are ones who have heart disorders, sickle cell disease, diabetes, cystic fibrosis or a history of cancer or strokes.

Soon, the center hopes to expand to all patients over 75 and patients over 65 when they receive more doses and are able to open more vaccination sites. Telliano is hopeful that once they are able to vaccinate these at-risk groups, they will be able to drastically reduce the number of COVID-19 deaths.

“What we do know for certain is that the more people we vaccinate, the more illnesses we prevent,” Telliano said. “Especially if we start vaccinating down to 65 and older, we will be able to prevent the majority of the deaths that have happened. Almost three out of four deaths from COVID-19 have been people 65 and older, so if we can really move quickly and vaccinate that group quickly, we can really head off the deaths from COVID-19.”

He also shared that students who have UC Davis Health coverage will be able to receive their vaccination through the center when their tier is eligible. Dr. Cindy Schorzman, who is in charge of co-leading the COVID-19 UC Davis campus vaccination, said that other students at UC Davis will also be eligible to get the vaccine through UC Davis’ Student Health and Counseling Services

(SHCS).

“We will offer vaccinations to all registered students when [they are] allowed by public health guidelines based on this tiered approach and subject to vaccine availability,” Schorzman said.

“Student employees will be eligible at the same tier as other campus employees when essential on-

campus personnel become eligible.”

Telliano said that the reason UC Davis has been so successful in getting vaccinations out quickly is because of the nature of the health center.

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The Student Health and Wellness Center on the UC Davis Campus in Davis, California. (Aggie File)

GREATER SACRAMENTO REGION’S ICU CAPACITY DROPPED TO 9.4% AS OF JAN. 13 Davis mayor explains local ICU beds could fill up with patients from around the region

BY JELENA LAPUZ city@theaggie.org

KATHERINE HUNG / AGGIE

As of Jan. 13, the Greater Sacramento region’s intensive care unit (ICU) capacity dropped to 9.4%, which could affect the number of ICU beds available in Davis and Yolo County in the future.

City of Davis Mayor Gloria Partida explained her concern for Davis regarding the number of hospitalized patients during this surge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When a city or a county is out of beds, they will start sending people to the surrounding areas,” Partida said. “Even though we are doing a good job with our numbers, we will still be impacted by the surrounding areas.”

Sacramento County licensed clinical social worker Darina Kellom described that people must fight off pandemic fatigue in order to flatten the curve.

“We’re all feeling the effects of pandemic fatigue,” Kellom said. “A lot of people are just emotionally, physically, mentally over it and they

want to live a normal life, but I think we cannot do that unless we take this seriously.”

In an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19, the City of Davis and UC Davis worked collaboratively to create the Healthy Davis Together program. According to its official website, this program would “[…] facilitate a coordinated and gradual return to regular city activities and reintegration of UC Davis students back into the Davis community.”

Partida added why she thought it was especially important to test asymptomatic people frequently.

“I recently read a report that said half the infections are coming from asymptomatic people, and this is specifically what we are testing for with our Healthy Davis Together program,” Partida said. “There are a lot of people who are going around who think that they’re not sick because they don’t have any symptoms, but they’re able to infect other people.”

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THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

Reconstruction on La Rue Road Bridge is now complete The bridge is now seismically sound and safe

Construction at La Rue bridge at UC Davis is now complete, allowing access to the bridge and walkways through the western section of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. (Justin Han / Aggie)

BY AARYA GUPTA campus@theaggie.org Visitors of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden can stroll through the seismically sound completed La Rue Road Bridge, which includes two protected sidewalks, dedicated bike

lanes and wider lanes for car traffic.

According to the Interactive Map on the UC Davis Design and Consideration Management website, the project cost of the La Rue Road Replacement Bridge was approximately $12.8 million.

CH2M Hill Inc., now acquired by Jacobs Engineering Group, is listed as the designer.

Specializing in earthwork grading, damage, repair and restoration, Gordon N. Ball Inc., a company from Alamo, CA became the contractor for this project, with a bid of $6,755,000, according to their website.

“The bridge also features an artistic steel arch that smooths out the more vertical and horizontal lines of the bridge, forming a graceful visual connection between both banks,” said Andrew Fulks, the assistant director of the Arboretum and Public Garden, via email.

This arch, constructed from COR-TEN steel, was designed by Landscape Architect Christina DeMartini Reyes.

According to an article published by UC Davis, Reyes remained cognizant of an old concrete bridge—commonly referred to as the “old Putah Creek bridge” or “old A Street bridge”—when conceptualizing the redesign and reconstruction of the La Rue Road bridge.

“Our campus landscape architect had the idea of the steel arches as an accent and it was approved by all,” said Kurt Wengler, the associate director of engineering at UC Davis design and construction management, via email. “The gentle arch of the bridge itself was chosen to help break up the straight lines of the bridge deck, and the monument columns announce the entry points to the bridge without taking away from the clean lines of the deck.”

Wengler also said that simplicity of the new design was intended to augment the scenic landscape of the Arboretum. The selection of pathway paving and finishes, choice of railings on the bridge and pathways and treatment of slopes and waterway banks were an effort to amplify the

natural beauty of the space.

“Maintaining the ‘Arboretum Experience’ was paramount in our designs,” Wengler said.

Katie Hetrick, a senior communications manager of finance, operations, and administration, said via email that landscape features have not yet been completed.

“Landscape features [...] will begin soon and further enhance the Arboretum’s collections on either side of the bridge which include the campus’ conifer collection, rebud collection, and California Foothills collection,” Hetrick said. “Planting is planned to take place this spring.”

Associate Vice Chancellor and University Architect Jim Carroll said via email that the project endured significant obstacles.

“Most of the complex issues arose in response to the project site itself,” Carroll said. “California has stringent requirements for construction work within a wildlife zone, and the University’s goals for the continuity of the Arboretum operations were important and well-documented, with safety and environmental considerations being paramount.”

Wengler noted one specific instance when a black phoebe bird laid an egg under the bridge, during which work had to be halted for about six weeks.

“I can personally say that my favorite part of working on this project was seeing the new Arboretum paths completed,” said Emily Griswold, the director of GATEways horticulture and teaching gardens at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, via email. “After years of planning and then enduring the trauma of major construction, seeing the quality of improvements is tremendously gratifying.”

UC Davis Health Novavax vaccine trials prioritize high-risk populations including minority groups Existing inequities and disparities faced by minority groups have been aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic

BY MICHELLE WONG science@theaggie.org As UC Davis Health begins phase three of testing the Novavax vaccine, researchers are prioritizing participants from communities that have been severely affected by COVID-19 for their clinical trial, including Latino, African American and Native American populations, according to a recent press release. Loralyn Taylor, a lecturer in the public health science department at UC Davis, expressed how the pandemic has not only brought to light already existing health disparities faced by minority groups, but has also increased their severity.

Taylor explained how social determinants of health—such as education, economic stability, access to healthcare, culture and where one lives— are the driving forces of health disparities. For example, from an economic stability standpoint, Taylor stated certain populations are at higher risk for contracting COVID-19 based on where they work. Service industry workers, who tend to be minorities, are often forced to work and unable to social distance. She added that in her hometown of Napa, CA, many outbreaks of COVID-19 occur

MARIO RODRIGUEZ / AGGIE

among farm workers because they must work in the vineyards and often live in close quarters with others in farmworker housing.

“We already have these inequities and

disparities in our country, and COVID-19 has really amplified that and is showing us how much those determinants matter, and how much historically they’ve already affected health and are

continuing to affect health,” Taylor said.

In addition to one’s workplace, other factors that put minority groups at risk are a lack of access to healthcare, tendency to live in multigenerational homes and chronic health conditions.

Taylor expressed how it is important to consider how intersectionality plays a role in the health outcomes of these groups. For example, a person of color who is young and healthy likely experiences the pandemic differently from a person of color who is older and has a chronic health condition.

“People aren’t just their race,” Taylor said.

“They’re also their age and their socioeconomic status and their health status. So, I think thinking about that too and the intersectionality of how those compete together in the COVID-19 pandemic is important.”

Prachi Verma, a fifth-year global disease biology major and co-director of social services at Bayanihan Clinic, added that these social determinants of health can be thought of as symptoms of the systemic inequities and structural racism that currently exist in society. Although she believes it is hard to see the direct impact this inequity has on patients, studying health disparities can help one realize the larger umbrella under which these issues exist.

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Yolo County Board of Supervisors begin new term after being sworn-in virtually Board members to focus COVID-19 crisis, homelessness and climate action in the new term

BY YAN YAN HUSTIS HAYES city@theaggie.org On Jan. 4, all Yolo County officials elected in the 2020 election cycle were sworn in during a virtual ceremony held via Zoom.

Among those sworn in were Yolo County Supervisors Oscar Villegas, Jim Provenza and Angel Barajas from Districts 1, 4 and 5 respectively. This marks Barajas’ first term on Yolo County’s Board of Supervisors after having served as a member of Woodland’s City Council. Barajas is the only new board member elected in 2020.

Angel Barajas talked about his recent appointment to the Board at the Jan. 12 Board of Supervisors meeting.

“I want to thank everyone that was able to participate in me getting this position back in March, and I want to thank everybody in the transition staff who filled me in so I can hit the ground running,” Barajas said. “I know that there are a lot of issues we need to continue to tackle, and I look forward to working in a collaborative manner with everybody to get things done.”

Beginning his third term, Yolo County Supervisor Oscar Villegas expressed gratitude for his reelection to the Board of Supervisors. “[I am] honored to have the opportunity to continue to serve the residents of West Sacramento and Clarksburg,” Villegas said via email. “Their trust in electing me to continue to serve as their representative on the Yolo County Board of Supervisors is something I really take to heart.”

Going into the new term, Villegas explained

that adressising the COVID-19 pandemic will take precedence.

“This public health issue has adversely impacted segments of society and although we are on the road to recovery, this matter will remain prominent before every state and local jurisdiction,” Villegas said via email. “I will continue to focus on [reinforcing] and/ or rebuilding our health care delivery system to respond to this crisis and to manage our budget accordingly.”

At the Jan. 12 meeting, Supervisor Jim Provenza also talked about the COVID-19 crisis and described an upcoming summit where community members will be able to discuss the many impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. “[The summit is] different from what we do normally,” Provenza said. “We will have a number of panels and hear from others in the community like health providers, businesses, union representatives, community organizations and others who we don’t usually hear directly from. I think it will be very informative and allow us to be informed on different viewpoints.”

Villegas explained that despite the extraordinary circumstances under which the new term has begun, new and returning board members must continue to address other pressing issues as well.

“There remain many other serious matters that require our attention,” Villegas said via email. “[This includes] housing and homelesness issues, preservation of wildlife and agricultural land, transportation and road infrastructure, climate action plans, juvenile justice restructuring and a

comprehensive water solution for the state.”

Villegas explained that citizen participation in policy matters that will be brought to their elected officials is crucial.

“If recent events have taught us anything, it should be that the government is designed to work in the interest of the people,” Villegas said via email. “Local government is participatory and works at its highest level with community engagement. I encourage everyone to minimally

KAITLYN PANG / AGGIE

provide public comments in areas of interest or to volunteer to serve on a city/county committee or commission.”

The Board of Supervisors typically meet on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. Residents are encouraged to participate either by attending a meeting or submitting a statement. Information can be found on Yolo County’s website along with a list of upcoming meetings and recordings of previous meetings.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 | 3

Proposed emergency DREAM fund tabled, meeting dedicated to committee, unit adoption SB #47, which would establish a fund for AB540 students, has been tabled until Jan. 14

BY KATHLEEN QUINN campus@theaggie.org The Jan. 7 ASUCD meeting was called to order at 6:10 p.m. by Vice President Emily Barneond. The majority of the meeting was spent confirming adopted units and committees, with new and old legislation referred out to committees or tabled.

The new pieces of legislation, SB #48, #49 and #50, were referred to committees for action, and old pieces of legislation SB #40, #41 and #42 were tabled awaiting a senate vote to return to the agenda.

Senator Maahum Shahab, a second-year international relations and economics double major, and Senator Kristin Mifsud, a secondyear political science major, were accepted to the Sexual Assault Awareness Advocacy Committee (SAAAC) and the Gender and Sexuality Commission.

“I’m very interested in helping to expand the scope of what SAAAC formerly did and to see if there’s advocacy we can do around sex-based violence and its arise during the pandemic,” Shahab said. “It’s something I’m seeing a lot of in my community.”

Recently, the UC Davis Panhellenic formally separated itself from the Interfraternity Council

(IFC) following multiple allegations of sexual assault against members in IFC chapters.

As an emergency bill, the DREAM Committee proposed SB #47 to allocate $9,800 for basic needs to AB540 students.

“I’m introducing it as an emergency because we already owe the students the money,” said Senator Roberto Rodriguez Ibarra, a second-year biological science major. “It took the administration a long time to know what the money was going towards or how they were going to get it to students.”

Previous funds that have been established for the same purpose have failed to reach students; the new fund intends to present $100 each in relief to 98 students.

“We need a clear structure for this,” said Senator Alexis Lopez-Perez, a fourth-year economics and political science double major. “I’m not even sure we have someone that is in charge and going to lead this effort right now.”

After concerns were raised, the motion was tabled until ASUCD’s next scheduled meeting on Jan. 14.

“If a bill were to pass next week and it has a good structure and a strong plan of action for distributing these funds, I’ll sign it the minute the meeting is over,” said ASUCD President Kyle Krueger.

Yolo.Boutique features local products via an online store As the pandemic continues, local businesses face financial challenges

BY SHRADDHA JHINGAN city@theaggie.org When the pandemic first hit, Carla Wroten, the owner of Steady Eddy’s Coffee House in Winters, CA, and her husband realized that there was an opportunity to sell items online. Thus, they started Yolo.Boutique, a virtual marketplace that features local products from Yolo County.

“My husband and I have owned the coffee shop named Steady Eddy’s Coffee House for seven years and business has been steady but when the pandemic hit, we realized we could boost our coffee sales and sell other local products as well online,” Wroten said via email.

The store is organized by Yolo County cities and features items from other vendors across the county. The items are reasonably priced and can be delivered within the local area, picked up at Steady Eddy’s or shipped, according to Wroten. All costs are taken care of by a handling fee of 10%.

The online store features a variety of shops and brands from Woodland, Davis and Winters, including FIT House, a Davis workout studio that offers a variety of classes and sells apparel through Yolo.Boutique. Co-owner of FIT House Blanche McNaughton explained via email how her

business is involved with Yolo.Boutique.

“We don’t have an online option for customers to purchase any of our retail products so we tried Yolo.Boutique,” McNaughton said via email. “It’s super easy […] and allows for us to start selling online right away.”

McNaughton explained that the ongoing pandemic has taken an incredible toll on local businesses.

“Our community is a third of what it was last year, but they need us more now than ever,” McNaughton said via email. “As this pandemic drags on, FIT House is determined to continue doing whatever it takes to see this through so that someday we can reopen the doors to our beautiful indoor studio and welcome our community back inside [...].”

Public Health Director for Yolo County Brian Vaughn explained how students can continue supporting local Yolo County businesses during the pandemic.

“Students can get takeout, not meet up with other students or friends, continue to wear a mask whenever they are outside their home and maintain social distance when out in the community,” Vaughn said. “The more they play their part to reduce infections, the quicker we will be able to get through this surge.”

CATHY TANG / AGGIE Wroten added that residents interested in supporting local businesses can do so in numerous ways: “Order to go, shop online, buy gift cards from us and continue supporting local restaurants, shops and places of business that also support the community,” Wroten said via email.

Ultimately, McNaughton stressed how crucial it is that the community continues supporting local businesses.

“Now’s the time to shop local,” McNaughton said via email. “If not today, we may not be here tomorrow.”

Sierra Club Christmas Bird Count reveals bird ranges shifting north due to warmer year-round temperatures Fires, heat and drought pose key threat to bird populations, which can result in an overall loss of range

BY RACHEL SHEY city@theaggie.org Every year for the past 50 years, the Yolo Audubon Society has run a Christmas Bird Count in the Putah Creek area. Data from these bird counts provide information about trends in avian diversity. On Jan. 14, the Sierra Club gave an online presentation analyzing this data, titled “Avian Responses to Rapid Climate Change: Examples from the Putah Creek Christmas Bird Count.”

Webinar presenter Steve Hampton described Christmas Bird Counts as “a huge citizen science data collection effort.”

“In the 1800s, there was a tradition on Christmas Day for the men in the family to go out and have a contest to see how many birds they could shoot with a gun,” Hampton said. “Some conservationists in 1900 got together and said ‘We’re not going to do that, we’re going to count birds.’ And they created the Christmas bird count circle; it’s a 15-mile diameter circle, which adds up to around 200 square miles.

Inside that circle, they’ll have teams of people go out, and they’ll count all the birds they can find and do a survey.”

One of the most marked changes over time is a northward shift in bird ranges, which is a result of food sources becoming more available year-round.

“Increasingly, we’re finding birds that normally winter in Mexico, or Central America—birds that we expect to see in the summer, but not in the winter,” Hampton said. “The western tanager is a bird that was never recorded on the Christmas Bird Count until 1996, and now we expect to see one or two every year, which would have been a huge rarity in the past, but it’s not a rarity anymore.”

Western tanagers are not the only birds which have increased their range, according to Hampton.

“The other bird that has really increased on the Christmas bird count is the turkey vulture,” Hampton said. “We used to have zero to five turkey vultures on the Christmas Bird Count, and now we have 200 to 300, because we don’t have fog that much anymore. They don’t like fog; they like to soar on the thermals, on warm air, and now that our winters are warmer, the turkey vultures are just here, all year long.”

This quantitative increase in birds may seem like a good thing, but Hampton stated that this northward shift can also result in an

overall loss of range.

“There’s winners and losers,” Hampton said. “Right now, in winter in Davis, we have a lot more birds because we don’t have freezes anymore. In Southern California deserts, they’ve seen a collapse of their bird communities, because it’s too hot and dry in the summer.”

Fires also decrease the diversity of birds seen during the Christmas Bird Count, according to UC Davis Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology Assistant Professor of Teaching Robert Furrow.

“The area that I covered is a UC Davis reserve—Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve—and it was completely burned over the last summer,” Furrow said. “The most common thing we found was the wrentit—that’s a species that’s highly localized to these kinds of habitat[s] in California: chaparral, dry scrubby habitat[s]. We saw a pair of golden eagles, but in general we had really low diversity and really low numbers this year, because this is the first year after a fire.”

Some birds, such as the wrentit, are unwilling or unlikely to adapt to climate change, according to Furrow. “[Wrentits] really do not like to fly,” Furrow said. “They do fly regularly, but they don’t fly long distances. They only fly small jumps of a few feet. If their habitat is being lost, they often behaviorally aren’t comfortable flying to new areas, or if the fire becomes more frequent, and they need to leave the chaparral to find other habitats, they might just end up being too afraid to fly and literally burn up in fires.”

Hampton described birds as a canary in the coal mine for what humans will face as climate change worsens.

“What’s happening with birds is happening fast—it’s happening faster than people realize, and that’s probably because birds are so incredibly mobile, so it’s just kind of a symbol of what humans are facing,” Hampton said.

Hampton stated that the changes in climate are “exactly what happened 55 million years ago, with the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, which was this massive global warming event. The problem now is that the climate is warming at 10 to 20 times the rate of that change.”

Furrow also emphasized the concerning speed of climate change.

“Evolution is on a timescale of generation time for organisms,”

Furrow said. “So for birds or mammals, that’s many years. Evolution needs to occur over thousands of generations, that’s thousands of years, whereas the changes we’re making are over decades or centuries, which is much faster.”

A bird grooms itself while perched on a piece of debris in a pond by the North Davis Greenbelt in Davis, CA. (Justin Han / Aggie)

4 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

How the UC Davis community celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year Students and faculty reflect on Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy

AGGIE FILE

BY LYRA FARRELL features@theaggie.org Over the years, UC Davis students and faculty have taken part in many celebrations and dedications honoring Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy. King’s assassination on April 4, 1968, had such an emotional impact on the UC Davis School of Law students, many of whom were active supporters of his mission, that they endeavored to have the law building named in his honor. About a year later, on April 12, 1969, King Hall was given its official name.

King’s wife, Coretta Scott King, spoke at the UC Davis School of Law’s commencement a little over a decade later in 1981. Every year, the UC Davis School of Law holds the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service and Celebration around the community and at King Hall.

This year, although no events were held in King Hall, law students, faculty and community members spent the day in service by participating in a blood drive at the King Hall parking lot and donating essentials that went toward Saint John’s Program for Real Change. Some participants also received training a few days in advance so they could inform community members in webinars where they provided information on CalFresh, housing evictions and how to determine eligibility for government benefits on the 18th.

Kevin Johnson, the dean of the UC Davis School of Law, helped plan this year’s service day with King’s values in mind.

“The UC Davis School of Law community will help people in our community who are in need,” Johnson said via email.

“Helping others is what Dr. King stood for.”

Elisa White, an associate professor of African American and African studies spent time in past years, before Martin Luther King Jr. Day was a federal holiday, working with organizations who were pushing for the holiday to be nationally recognized. This year, White said she spent the day in quiet reflection.

“After four years of the Trump administration and the larger administrative initiatives that were mostly antithetical to anything

King would have advanced in terms of equality and rights in the U.S. and globally, it’s nice to step back and see what has happened in the past four years and reflect on why we still consider these same issues and have to every day,” White said.

Isabel Nelson, a second-year international relations major and African Diaspora Student Success Center assistant, was the president of her high school’s Black Student Union and celebrated the day in past years by attending a walk with her family down Martin Luther King street in her hometown of Riverside, CA. As an artist, she created a digital portrait of King this year in celebration of his legacy. Nelson said that he thinks if King were alive to witness the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, he would have responded with dismay.

“I know he’d be out there as the voice of our black community saying something about, ‘If those people were Black people, they would not have reached anywhere where they reached when they

rioted,’” Nelson said. “Because if they were Black people, they wouldn’t have even gotten up the gate, they would have been shot dead, and I know he would have made that known and verbalized that to everyone.”

Armani Peterson, a senior career advisor for the Internship and Career Center, celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day by participating in walks that supported charities with his family and watching documentaries on the civil rights movement. Peterson believes that Americans can refer to King’s values when practicing patriotism.

“What we can learn [from King] is that we can still care deeply about this country and still recognize the downfalls,” Peterson said via email. “We can be grateful to be an American but acknowledge the flaws in its execution of the laws. In order for us to be patriotic is to ensure that every person has an opportunity to pursue the best this country has to offer.”

Discord use prevalent on campus through rise of UC Davis-related servers

Students join servers to connect with peers, ask questions and stay up-to-date

KATHERINE HUNG / AGGIE

BY AARYA GUPTA campus@theaggie.org The beginning of a new quarter entails a wave of social media posts emerging across a variety of online platforms. Platforms like Facebook are littered with screenshots of Schedule Builder from students who are eager to compare courses with their peers. The comment sections of these posts include requests from students to be added to group chats with their classmates.

Oftentimes, students inquire about Discord, asking for an invitation to join specific servers and connect with individuals.

According to its website, Discord is a “voice, video and text communication service used by over a hundred million people to hang out and talk with their friends and communities.”

In addition to the over 200 colleges and universities that have turned to Discord, according to their website, UC Davis students

are actively integrating Discord into their daily methods of communication.

Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication Laramie Taylor said that autonomy and connectivity are fundamental factors that contribute to Discord’s appeal.

“I think that there is certainly a role for anonymity or maybe it is the lack of institutional affiliation,” Taylor said. “[With] Piazza, your professor sets it up and is monitoring it, there are some things you won’t talk about. That’s not just about academic dishonesty, that’s things that are personal or just that sense of [...] ‘How can we connect with others while still having a sense of autonomy?’”

Undeclared first-year student Justin Ding said via Discord Direct Message that Discord is the platform he primarily uses to communicate with other students, especially since he is currently living at home.

“The app has also presented me the opportunity to meet people and form friendships that I would not have been able to with COVID-19,” Ding said via Discord Direct Message.

Second-year student Ravneet Rajasansi, majoring in global disease biology, echoed similar sentiments via Discord Direct Message.

“Discord has tremendously helped to bridge the gap of social interaction within virtual classes,” Rajasansi said via Discord Direct Message. “With hundreds of students on some of these servers, it is really easy to have your questions answered. Students are also willing to host study sessions or explain complicated concepts or problems to each other.”

Discord servers can grow quickly. One server titled “UCD Club/Server Directory” has already accumulated 4,647 members as of Jan. 14. This server provides designated spaces accessible to students who are looking to build connections over similarities.

According to the “#info” channel within the server, user @ Sammy said that official UC Davis affiliated servers for clubs and organizations recognized by the university and Center of Student Involvement, community servers, dorm hall servers and course

servers can all be found within the “UCD Club/Server Directory.”

This quarter, Denis Tran-Le, a first-year majoring in the biological sciences, created a course-specific Discord server for BIS 2C: “Introduction to Biology,” currently taught by professors Joel Ledford, Jason Bond and Jorge Rodrigues. Over 717 members have joined Tran-Le’s server as of Jan. 12.

“I created this server for everyone to help each other in the course as I sometimes struggle understanding a concept,” Tran-Le said via Discord Direct Message. “With the server, people can ask a question without being scrutinized and someone can answer, providing a solution as well.”

Taylor said that as an instructor, he had encouraged studentto-student interactions long before the pandemic.

“Students have done just what we were hoping they would do all along, which is reach out in a very open way to each other, share information across lots of their peers and do this virtually,” Taylor said.

But, Taylor cautions that such collaborative spaces can also warrant academic misconduct. According to an article published by Student Affairs, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of students referred to the Office of Student Support and Judicial Affairs (OSSJA) has been twice the amount prior to COVID-19.

“It’s also become clear that Discord and other platforms or sites [can lead to] academic dishonesty, where people organize cheating at least time-to-time,” Taylor said.

However, Taylor recognizes the benefits of using platforms like Discord, especially with unidirectional communication through online learning.

“In a face-to-face classroom [...] a lot of the communication is reciprocal,” Taylor said. “The instructor talks or presents, but the students—through their body language, through their expressions, through their fidgeting—communicate a lot about how effectively they are learning.

ONLINEPLATFORMS on 11

Succeeding in asynchronous classes: Professors and tutoring service staff offer tips and tricks Professors and tutoring administration share the behind-the-scenes work of asynchronous classes and tips for students’ success

BY FARRAH BALLOU features@theaggie.org As asynchronous classes are becoming increasingly encouraged universitywide, students and teachers have had to pivot to new educational practices.

Gregory Dobbins, an English professor, outlined the difficulties behind conducting asynchronous classes. Dobbins said that they are hard to take and even more difficult to prepare for. He often spends three hours producing a 30-minute lecture, and when COVID-19 first broke out, he estimated that he was on his laptop for 14 hours a day trying to conduct and redirect plans for his courses.

Ethan Scheiner, a political science professor, stated that he has experienced the same issue.

Normally, Scheiner would prepare for classes by reviewing past notes, however, now he needs to construct more distinct plans to make his videos as succinct and clear as possible, making the process more time consuming.

“It took me close to a full day to do any given lecture,” Scheiner said. “I probably put six to seven hours [in] per lecture.”

Dobbins believes that students retain

MARIO RODRIGUEZ / AGGIE maximum information and focus when there are quick breaks every 10 minutes during class. With online classes, this practice is difficult because he wants to keep videos concise. Thus, he is experimenting with taking pauses when lecturing to keep students engaged.

Global situations have made it increasingly difficult for professors to maintain their original plans overall. In addition to the pandemic, Dobbins noted that since transitioning to online classes last winter, a large scale event has periodically occurred around week seven or eight of each quarter that impacted lesson plans.

He referenced the Black Lives Matter protests as a reaction to the death of George Floyd that happened near the end of Spring Quarter. During summer session, week seven marked times of displacement and power outages as California communities were ravaged by wildfires. Finally, Dobbins said that this past fall, the university and professors were prepared for the worst as the elections approached.

With all of the circumstances students and professors have to adjust to, Dobbins and Scheiner shared their tips for staying focused.

As the days pass by, Dobbins suggested that students add structure to their lives by forming new habits. Beginning March 14, the day of the statewide stay-at-home order, he began to listen to a different underground rock-n-roll album every day, which soon became an important part of his routine. This scheduled event gave him structure and new discoveries within his otherwise monotonous day.

“If you can somehow register and mark how time passes, [then] it’s not just all this undifferentiated mess but there’s one thing that makes this day different than the next day,” Dobbins said.

Similarly, Scheiner encouraged students

to implement structure throughout their day.

Though his lectures take hours to complete, he combats procrastination by ensuring videos are produced every Thursday. He sympathized with students and examined his own past as a “flaky college student.” He said that he eventually broke his cycle of procrastination because he hated the anxiety of finishing his work at the last minute.

“At a certain point I internalized and kept that voice inside of me and just said to myself, that feeling is too horrible and makes me feel so awful,” Scheiner said. “The fear of that voice and that horrible stressed out feeling [...] made me internalize deadlines.”

Beyond personal projects and creating a routine, students can utilize campus resources such as the Academic Assistance and Tutoring Center (AATC) for direct academic support.

During COVID-19, the AATC has rapidly shifted its services online to safely accommodate students. In fact, Carol Hunter, the executive director of AATC, believes that their services are more advantageous now than they were during in-person sessions. Previously, she mentioned that drop-in rooms had 50-75 students all seeking help at once. Now,

ASYNCHRONOUS on 11

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 | 5

OPINION THE

C ALIFORNIA A GGIE

E DI TOR I AL B OAR D

ANJINI VENUGOPAL Editor-in-Chief MARGO ROSENBAUM Managing Editor SABRINA HABCHI Campus News Editor EDEN WINNIFORD City News Editor CALVIN COFFEE Opinion Editor SOPHIE DEWEES Features Editor ALLIE BAILEY Arts & Culture Editor OMAR NAVARRO Sports Editor MADELEINE PAYNE Science & Tech Editor

JUSTIN HAN Photo Director KATHERINE FRANKS Design Director JOELLE TAHTA Layout Director KAITLIN ARAGHI Copy Chief ALEX WEINSTEIN Copy Chief KESHAV AGRAWAL Website Manager BEN CHENG Social Media Manager JOSHUA GAZZANIGA Distribution Manager LAURIE PEDERSON Business Development Manager

Martin Luther King Jr. paved the way for the ongoing fight against injustice The BLM movement and grassroots organizing is an extension of what King stood for Though the 1950s and 60s—the era of the Civil Rights Movement—may seem like the distant past, the fight for racial equality is far from over. Images of the violence with which police responded to peaceful protestors 55 years ago in Selma, Alabama are striking, yet not unfamiliar. In this country, there continues to be instance after instance of racial injustice and police violence. When considering the current movements, such as the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, we can see echoes of the Civil Rights Movement in their struggle against injustice.

On Monday, the nation celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day, a holiday created in honor of one of the most influential leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Some may not see this day as particularly important, viewing it instead as just time off from school or work. Others may not have recently learned about King in school and may have forgotten his immense accomplishments. MLK Day should, however, be used as a time of reflection on the history behind the day and the man that became a political icon, influencing and inspiring the social justice leaders of the 21st century.

The establishment of MLK Day was neither a straightforward nor easy process. Four days after King’s assasination in 1968, John Conyers, the congressman from Michigan at the time, called for the creation of a holiday in honor of King and his achievements. It wasn’t until 1986, however, that the holiday was officially recognized.

Only with years of advocacy by the Congressional Black Caucus, the collection of six million signatures in support of the holiday and the drumming up of public support through a gathering of civil rights participants in 1983 on the 20th anniversary of the March on Washington, did it become officially instated.

The amount of time it took for the holiday to be established is astounding—it took 18 years from King’s death for it to be nationally recognized. To this day, some states such as Alabama and Mississippi concurrently celebrate Confederate General Robert E. Lee, a man who led the fight for the continuation of slavery. This celebration does not only dishonor King’s memory but also comes across as a violent stance against equality and inclusion. The third Monday of January should not be spent celebrating a proponent of racial violence and slavery, as it, by extension, celebrates one of the most shameful period of American history that led to the institutionalized racism that King actively fought against.

Furthermore, many leaders within the Republican Party, such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, former Vice President Mike Pence and Texas Senator Ted Cruz have recognized the holiday; Pence stated King’s accomplishments were “incredible” and that they “inspire” him, despite representing a party that is increasingly moving toward white supremacy and that tried to suppress the Black vote in the 2020 election.

Though many may now view King as an example of gradual reform, he was, in fact, more radical than some might remember.

An opponent of the Vietnam War and an advocate for Democratic socialism, King was in favor of drastic change.

“I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: my own government,” King said in a 1967 speech regarding the Vietnam War. The BLM movement is a 21st century expansion of King’s efforts. We must remember that while the battle for justice will always continue, it is only with intentional steps toward justice that we can capture our freedoms.

For King, who was blackmailed and harrassed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation until his death, leading a resistance movement paved the way for modern extensions in the fight against injustice everywhere. Protesting against racism and police brutality, the BLM movement has been met with an ignorant, offensive “All Lives Matter” crowd that refuses to acknowledge ongoing injustice.

Time and time again, with movements of resistance and protest like King’s in the 60s or the BLM movement now, the greatest obstacle of freedom is the complacent white moderate. As King echoed in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, those who are more devoted to law and order than justice need to understand that law and order exist for the purpose of justice—when they fail to provide justice they only impede progress.

Since Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi created the Black Lives Matter hashtag and movement in 2013, Black women have been the backbone of one of the largest ever movements in U.S. history. The leaders of the BLM movement understand that Black liberation movements have mostly left women, queer and transgender people behind and strive to include LGBTQ voices in conversations about race, gender and police violence.

Hopefully telling of a more progressive time, on Jan. 5, King’s successor at Ebenezer Baptist Church Raphael Warnock won Georgia’s special election and will become the first ever Black Democratic senator from the South. Home to the country’s youngest population, Georgia’s election of a pastor from King’s pulpit gives us hope for more diverse representation as we fight injustices ahead.

In Georgia, the grassroots work done by Stacey Abrams and many others—especially Black women like Atlanta Mayor Keshia Lance Bottom, LaTosha Brown and Nse Ufot—serves as a reminder that community organizing can win elections, no matter the obstacles.

In yesterday’s groundbreaking inauguration, Vice President Kamala Harris became the first Black woman and Asian American to hold the position. Harris’ election is hopefully telling of a shift toward greater diversity and representation in high offices.

“While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last,” Harris said in a speech on Nov. 7. Harris’ multicultural background represents the future of our country. Holding one of the most powerful positions in the world, she’s an icon that young people can look up to for years to come.

She would also not be where she is today without the work and persistence of Martin Luther King Jr.—hopefully the many pioneers who come after Harris continue that trend. True pioneers expand freedom and spark justice for those who come after them.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is not only a day to celebrate and commemorate a heroic activist in the history of the U.S., but it also serves as a reminder that doing what is right will always be necessary, no matter how difficult. We all have a duty to live intentionally, to pursue equality and to actively fight against visible and implicit injustice. We cannot sit idly by when there is an attempted coup at our nation’s Capitol in which rioters propagate symbols of hate or when police brutally attack peaceful protestors whose only crime was to push for change.

More than half a century has passed since the Civil Rights Movement, but we still see widely spread violence and hatred, often encouraged by people in positions of power. Moving forward, we must do better as a nation and as individuals to live by King’s words: “The time is always right to do what is right.”

Why we need to start making the first move on Zoom Recapturing in-person moments in a virtual landscape is vital for our mental health

BY RENEE WANG reswang@ucdavis.edu The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted our interactions into virtual territory, where we are not only confined by the four walls of our bedrooms but also the four lines that make up the Zoom screen we stare at daily. With the implementation of online learning, gone are casual conversations and funny classroom antics. While in-person learning offers us endless ways to make connections, this new terrain offers us little creativity in social navigation.

It’s hard to make conversation with a blank screen when our movements and speech are at the mercy of our internet connections. On Zoom, conversations are stilted and the silence in breakout rooms is deafening, so most of us think it is better to not try at all and retreat behind our muted mics and closed cameras.

Zoom classes are mind-numbing, isolating and straining. But that doesn’t mean we should give up and retreat behind our screens. Although the pandemic has led to fewer opportunities to connect with others, we should not accept it as our new normal. Habits like sleeping through class or refusing to participate in breakout rooms only worsen the online learning experience and add to our sense of isolation.

If you are in a position to turn your camera on, do it. If you are not able to turn your camera on, there are other ways you can interact as well.

If you are in a breakout room, participate. When

someone says something over Zoom, don’t leave them hanging. If you want to ask a question, do it. By continuing traditional learning habits we can add value to online classes. We can make a virtual landscape like Zoom more accommodating and human.

Zoom is taxing because all the simple moments we once took for granted, like walking past our classmates and striking a conversation or bonding over Tercero cows and bike roundabouts, are missing. Zoom is not passive, you have to be intentional if you use it.

We gain nothing from shutting ourselves out on Zoom. Everyone has a pace they are comfortable with when interacting, but the important thing is to just try. Even the smallest conversation can make online classes a lot more humanizing for you and your classmates. The beauty of our new virtual landscape is that we have more control and flexibility. For example, the chat function is an easy avenue to give kudos when a classmate makes an engaging comment.

Online classes are not permanent, but until we return to in-person classes we should utilize the benefits of online classes and take initiative. When we do this, we make a lonely virtual terrain more accessible.

Until we return to normal, we shouldn’t treat life like a transition period and waste the quarter wishing things could be better, when we can try to recapture the connections and conversations we lost out on because of the pandemic.

I’ll be honest, I did not follow any of this

KAITLYN PANG / AGGIE advice last quarter. As I reached the halfway mark of the Fall Quarter 2020, I stopped trying. I would fall asleep in my morning classes and cram lectures at double speed over the weekend.

As I reflect on my Fall Quarter, the enjoyable moments I do remember are the engaging breakout room discussions I had or the impromptu pet show-and-tell we did in one of my classes. These stick out because they make me realize how much I, like many others, miss the everyday moments

we once took for granted. The moments that we need to start making for ourselves again. When everything around us is virtual, making the first move sets a welcoming precedent in these trying times.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held by The California Aggie.

6 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

HUMOR

Oh no! What to do when you’ve been caught buying dog food The beginner’s guide on how to get away with buying dog food when you don’t own a dog

BY EAN KIMURA etkimura@ucavis.edu We’ve all been there: caught red-handed buying dog food by someone who knows that you don’t own a dog. Or maybe the Trader Joe’s cashier asks what kind of dog you have after noticing the dog treat advent calendar in your basket and you foolishly tell them you don’t own a dog. Whatever the reason may be, you probably don’t want people remembering you as the dog food-dunce. Unless, of course, you’re a proud dry food junkie—then good for you, read no further. But here are some excuses I’ve created for those closeted kibble cretins.

It’s for someone else’s dog We’ve all made this excuse. It’s boring, but it can be effective. The trick is always to lie simply. Too many details will definitely make it look like you are trying to convince the world that you don’t eat dog food, which of course you do, but we can’t have that. You can’t fool everyone with this one though, so you might have to get a little more creative.

I’m a dog trapped in a human’s body This is a little more creative. Sure, it’s kind of derived from the premise of the hit film “The Shaggy Dog,” its sequel “The Shaggy D.A.” and if you are really shag-crazy the two-part made-fortelevision comedy film “The Return of the Shaggy Dog,” but it just might work. You might have to pee on something or get fleas to sell it. The only problem is that you might just seem more insane than if you just admitted you eat dog food.

It’s over, just admit it Let’s face it: there aren’t a lot of ways to get out of this one. The gig’s over at some point—just confess. There’s nothing wrong with eating dog food. Dogs eat our food sometimes, so it’s kind of messed up that we can’t get a bite of theirs from time to time. I mean, we’ve all enjoyed a nibble of kibble. It’s pretty much just dog granola.

Wait did you actually admit it? I can’t believe you actually did that. Seriously, you eat dog food?

Wow, I didn’t think anyone reading this actually ate dog food. You are a very strange person. Just eat normal food like a normal person. Good lord, what a freak.

Disclaimer: (This article is humor and/or satire, and it’s content is purely fictional. The story and or names of “sources” are fictionalized.)

A bowl of dog food. (Getty Images)

Combating the Freshman 150

BY RUSHI TAWADE rntawade@ucdavis.edu

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 | 7

Students share why they plan on receiving the COVID-19 vaccine According to three UC Davis students, everyone should be vaccinated when possible and put their trust in the science behind the vaccine MARIO RODRIGUEZ / AGGIE

BY NORA FARAHDEL features@theaggie.org As the COVID-19 pandemic continues into 2021, society is still struggling to contain the virus. Although cases are still rising, a step toward potential change began on Dec. 14, 2020, with the first administration of the COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. Amid the nationwide rollout, the choice to take the vaccine is becoming a more pressing issue.

A study released on Dec. 3 revealed that 60% of Americans plan on receiving the vaccine when it becomes available to them. As the conversation continues, three UC Davis students shared why they believe taking the vaccine is the right choice.

Jane Casto, a second-year gender, sexuality and women’s studies and political science: public service double major, has decided to receive the vaccine when it becomes available. In response to the recent statement released by the UC President confirming in-person courses in fall 2021, Casto suggested that getting the vaccine is essential for the safe return of in-person classes.

“If instruction is going to absolutely be in-person, we’re putting everybody who is [...] high risk in severe danger if we don’t get the vaccine,” Casto said. “And I don’t think there’s any sufficient evidence that [the vaccine will] be problematic for people, or be something that’s legitimately dangerous.”

Especially given this context, Casto shared her trust in science to deliver a safe vaccine to the public.

“When it comes to something like the vaccine for [the] global pandemic, I absolutely do put my faith in the scientists who came

up with that vaccine, especially given the gravity of the situation,” Casto said.

While she is hopeful for the future, she emphasized the importance of continuing to sustain safety protocols. People who receive the vaccine could still experience an infection, and scientists encourage a continuation of social distancing after vaccination because they have not determined if a vaccinated individual could still spread the virus.

“I’m definitely hopeful for the future in terms of our potential to go back to normal,” Casto said. “What I would hope is that people can understand that we’re not going to get there as quickly as we may hope for, but it’s going to be something that we end up getting later.”

Thor Emblem, a second-year aerospace engineering major, is also planning on being vaccinated when possible.

“I don’t want to get the virus,” Emblem said. “I believe that [the virus is] real and that it’s actually potentially fatal, and I trust that the vaccine is safe.”

Beyond his trust in the data supporting the vaccine, Emblem shared his views on the importance of getting the vaccine to ensure the safety of others.

“Some people have legitimate reasons why they can’t get vaccines,” Emblem said. “So not getting a vaccine lowers herd immunity for those who can’t get it and makes it even more likely to contract the illness. Not only is it not dangerous [to receive the vaccine], but it’s actively endangering other people to not get it.”

After the pandemic struck, Emblem moved back home and left his job at UC Davis. For Emblem, the pandemic has had negative financial and social impacts, and he looks forward to returning to

normalcy.

Safa Sareshwala, a second-year sociology and human development double major, received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in early January. Sareshwala works at the UC Davis Testing Center and was cleared to receive the vaccine during Phase 1 as a frontline worker.

“I thought it was a good opportunity to serve my community and also get the vaccine, not only for personal benefits [but] also so I can continue to serve my community,” Sareshwala said. “It’s just for the betterment of everyone.”

As a younger member of society, she was grateful to get the vaccine.

“I was actually honored because I’m only 19, one of the youngest people to get the vaccine so far,” Sareshwala said. “So it feels good.

I didn’t have any major symptoms or anything like that. Just the normal sore arm and a small headache, but it went down in about 48 hours, which is normal.”

As Sareshwala continues to face exposure to the virus, she comes closer to reaching immunity as she is set to receive her second dose on Feb. 5. She encouraged those who are unsure about whether they should receive the vaccine to commit themselves to learning more in order to make an informed decision.

“I would suggest doing your own research, dedicating some time to read about the vaccine, educating yourself about the process of how vaccines are made,” Sareshwala said. “And then after that, I guess you just have to put your trust in the officials. Everybody has a job, and it’s their job to make us feel safe. So we just have to trust them.”

Why is Trader Joe’s such a fan favorite?

An authentic aesthetic, private brand and friendly employees have granted Trader Joe’s a cult following

KAITLYN PANG / AGGIE

BY MUHAMMAD TARIQ arts@theaggie.org When you hear the name “Trader Joe’s” what often comes to mind is a moderately sized, old-timey grocery store with eerily similar-looking employees in different colored Hawaiian shirts and a casual atmosphere.

The first Trader Joe’s shop was established in 1967 in Pasadena, CA by Joe Coulombe who launched a small chain of convenience stores around the Pronto Market area of Los Angeles. As of April 2020, there are 504 Trader Joe’s stores in 42 states with annual sales of over $14 billion.

Knowing that customers enjoyed a variety of foods with the average American having an increasingly diverse palate, Coulombe began to introduce foods from all over the world under the Trader Joe’s private brand. Introduced in 1970, the first of these products was granola, then considered a novelty item. Between 80-85% of the food items at a Trader Joe’s food are from their private brand.

The chain store is famous for its small-town shopping vibe and highly curated selection of high quality, affordable food items, fresh produce and a medley of frozen dishes from cuisines around the world—from Indian chicken tikka masala to Chinese steamed pork soup dumplings to the tried-and-true American classic Mac ‘n Cheese. Seasonal products are often sought after, like the fallinspired Pumpkin Biscotti, wintertime favorite Peppermint Bark and Thanksgiving-inspired Turkey Pot Pie. Trader Joe’s even has its own beer and wine label.

If you’ve been to Trader Joe’s, it’s obvious why many people prefer to shop there. The employees are taught to engage with customers, always offering smiles and helpful directions when a shopper cannot find what they are looking for.

Its friendly staff and calm atmosphere has made it a popular shopping destination for UC Davis students. As Anika Patel, a thirdyear computer science and engineering major, put it, “[The] friendly employees always make me feel welcome. [Trader Joe’s] consistently has the lowest prices so they are the best economical option in Davis, [… and] they offer unique products I really like.”

Elizabeth Hershey, a fourth-year English major, also appreciates the kind Trader Joe’s staff. “[The] staff as well typically are more friendly than Safeway and Target,” Hersey said.

It comes as little surprise that Trader Joe’s has acquired a cultlike following with a loyal customer base and as a popular shopping destination for college students thanks to its plethora of frozen meals and affordably priced food items.

When asked what the appeal to Trader Joe’s was, Shambhavi Mishra, a fourth-year biochemistry and molecular biology major,

answered, “Trader Joe’s has really unique snacks. They have a wide variety of foods you won’t find anywhere else. They don’t sell basic or mainstream brands. They sell their own Trader Joe’s brand and have their own unique stuff.”

Trader Joe’s also offers a social experience. “[It’s] always super fun to walk down the aisle. I like to talk to friends about recs. [It] has become a super mainstream thing in social media where people even do Trader Joe’s hauls,” Mishra said.

Not only that, Trader Joe’s also boasts its own social media fan pages such as @traderjoeslist, an unaffiliated Trader Joe’s food item finds page with over 1.5 million Instagram followers.

By emphasizing unique ingredients and having branding that feels authentic, Trader Joe’s is able to give each customer a unique shopping experience. In addition, the Trader Joe’s shopping model is not convenience-based, in which one click of a button can do all the shopping you need, but rather promotes an environment in which shopping is fun and interactive.

The classic aesthetic of the grocery store—Hawaiian tiki designs, wood paneling, fake palm trees and cute, hand-written item signs with dad jokes—contributes to the excitement of shopping there.

“I feel like Trader Joe’s has a younger crowd. Sounds silly, but [it] gives me a nature-outdoorsy hippie vibe, especially in Davis,” Hershey said.

The effort Trader Joe’s puts into store appearance makes all the difference. “In my brain it’s a chain store, obviously. It is always exactly the same,” Hershey said. “What makes it feel different is they do all their own branding. [It] makes it feel more like a homey, smaller grocery store. [Its] the branding that really sells it—small signs made out of construction paper. It’s just not like regular stores.”

Whether Trader Joe’s is your go-to grocery store or a treasurecove of uncommon food items that you can bond with friends and family over, it has become increasingly ingrained into popular culture. There are numerous recipe pages, food-bloggers and Instagram accounts dedicated to Trader Joe’s with loyal customers always curious about the next binge-worthy food item.

Simply put, Trader Joe’s might just be a grocery store, but it has become a curated shopping experience that customers keep coming back for.

8 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

UC DAVIS STUDENTS REFLECT ON THE DISNEY PIXAR FILM, ‘SOUL’

Students discuss the portrayal of people of color in Disney movies and the overall message that they took from the film

BY SNEHA RAMACHANDRAN features@theaggie.org Near the end of last December, Disney Pixar released a new animated film, “Soul.” The film explores what it means to have a purpose in life.

One of the main characters, a middle school band teacher Joe Gardener (voiced by Jamie Foxx), finally gets his big break as a Jazz musician, stumbles into a sewer hole on the streets of New York City and travels to the “Great Before.” It is here where Joe is tasked to help a stubborn soul, known as 22, find a way to gain interest in the human experience. Throughout the movie, the characters explore the idea of what it means to be alive.

Fourth-year English and neurobiology, physiology and behaviour double major Taylor Silva discussed the most important takeaways for her from the Disney Pixar film.

“I think the moral of the movie was to slow down and take a step back from your own life and analyze what you consider priorities,” Silva said. “We get wrapped up into things like our jobs or school and there’s this general feeling like we have to have some great purpose and that our life has value because of what we do or where we work.”

Silva further explained how “Soul” was a reminder of the simple pleasures in life.

“The daily interactions that we usually disregard are important and beautiful in their own way and we don’t appreciate them enough,” Silva said. “Instead we get wrapped up in who we need to be or who we want to become.”

As a pre-med student, Silva found the movie to be particularly reflective of her own struggles to complete the rigorous medical school requirements.

“I feel like, as someone who hopes to enter the medical field, there is a lot of pressure to be someone who is super driven and outperforms others,” Silva said. “I think ‘Soul’ emphasized the idea that your purpose is not equivalent to your profession; there is no such thing as having

a single purpose, and the purpose of life is just living itself.”

Silva noted that the film had a profound message that could be applied to her life.

“Don’t get caught up in the race of life,” Silva said. “It’s okay to not always be the best or be productive 24/7. The theme of the movie kind of reminded me of the quote ‘stop and smell the roses.’”

When the film was released, Pixar faced some backlash because the main character, Joe Garderner, who is a person of color (POC), was transformed into a non-human form. This theme has been seen in other Disney movies, with main characters who are people of color, such as “The Princess and the Frog” and “Spies in Disguise.”

UC Davis 2020 graduate, Tobi Ayo-Ajibola, discussed these concerns in greater detail.

“My main gripe with the movie and with other Disney movies with a Black lead is that the main character is almost immediately transformed into a non-human lifeform,” AyoAjibola said. “While this movie is spun to have the main Black lead as the center of the narrative, a character voiced by Tina Fey, a white identifying comic, quickly racks up screen time, and, in my opinion, steals a lot of the spotlight.”

Ayo-Ajibola noted that although the film employed a message that spoke to the trying times everyone has been facing over the past year, the motif of transformation of POC characters was a bit disappointing.

“They settled into this habit of setting up a story [of a POC], but then settling upon their continued success found with non-POC characters,” Ayo-Ajibola said. “Don’t get me wrong, I love waiting for how quickly Disney will introduce a character of color and then turn them into an inanimate object or a non-human life form, it’s actually comedy. But I’d venture to say that because of this trope, there have been very few true Disney stories centered around the narrative of a POC.” Fourth-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major Alyssa Ghose noted how unlike “The Princess and the Frog” and “Spies

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in Disguise,” the use of non-human forms was necessary in the context of the movie plot.

“I read an article about the transformation of POC characters before I had seen the movie, so while I was watching ‘Soul,’ I had those comments in the back of my mind, but I thought this movie was a little different,” Ghose said. “I agree that transforming the characters into a frog in ‘The Princess and the Frog’ and a pigeon [in] ‘Spies in Disguise’ was unnecessary for the plot of those movies. But in ‘Soul,’ Joe changing into a blue soul creature did not feel like it was undermining his identity and who [he was] as a person, and I think it would have been difficult to have the concept executed if he stayed a human throughout the whole movie.”

Disney Pixar movies are known for plot lines that have deeper thematic meanings regarding existential issues. In the movie “Soul,” the overarching motif was about understanding the purpose of life. Ghose detailed how the movie helped her reflect on her own life.

“I kind of got the message that there is not one sole thing that gives you a purpose in life but rather a collection of your experiences, and the idea of actually making the most of your life gives it purpose,” Ghose said. “I do think there is such a thing as finding your purpose, but I think oftentimes people put a lot of pressure on themselves and think that their career is their purpose and I think that is the wrong way to go about it. I’m not sure if I can confidently say that I have found my purpose in life, but I am excited to keep living and having new memories and experiences to find out.”

COVID-19 has taken a toll on everyone, but according to Ghose the movie “Soul” delivered an important message for the audience to take away.

“Life is about the little moments, especially during times like these,” Ghose said. “I want to make the most of this year and try to not to take those little moments for granted.”

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: THIS SEASON’S ‘THE BACHELOR’ CONTESTANTS Which girls I loved and which ones made me roll my eyes

BY JACOB ANDERSON arts@theaggie.org

Movie: “The Most Hated Family in America” dir. by Geoffrey O’Connor (2007) The Westboro Baptist Church has been picketing funerals for decades, drawing completely understandable ire and generally making fools of themselves under the classic assumption that no publicity is bad publicity. However, due to their highly insular and antagonistic behavior toward outsiders, few have managed to actually capture the true nature of those involved. Louis Theroux manages to put together a pretty compelling portrait of the Kansas family that populates one of the most infamous hate groups still present today. The self-deception and thinly veiled sadness of those involved comes through consistently despite Theroux’s occasionally obnoxious demeanor and a fairly lean runtime. This thing should probably be hyperlinked in the Merriam-Webster entry for cognitive dissonance.

Book: “The Loser” by Thomas Bernhard (1983) Bernhard provides one of the most haunting depictions of competitive neuroticism ever written. A nameless narrator, standing in the door of an inn, recalls his attempt to become a professional pianist alongside his friend Glenn Gould. Gould’s virtuosity is so earth-shattering that it instantly sends both the narrator and his friend into a years-long death spiral out of sheer naked inferiority, leading to Gould’s suicide—all in a single unbroken 40,000 word paragraph. Just about every page has a line that demands to be reread or re-reread. Bernhard’s control of language is unrivaled and seems to display the very same innate power he ascribes to Gould. Infinitely memorable and sad, “The Loser” is a winding, monstrous reminder that when we meet the very best, we have to give up.

Album: “Codename: Dustsucker” by Bark Psychosis (2005) Moody and subtle, “Codename: Dustsucker” is a sprawling soundscape of abandoned cities and mistuned pianos, all aimed towards the same point way off on the horizon. It’s atmospheric, beautiful and sometimes unsettling. I would not recommend giving this one a listen while walking home at night. (I tried and it wasn’t a good time.) There’s nothing specifically scary about it per se, but there’s probably never been a more cohesive musical depiction of living in a fallout shelter, and no album containing a track titled “The Black Meat” is gonna be entirely comforting. It’s excellently produced and creates a mood you won’t experience anywhere else. Give it a listen if you get the chance.

TV Show: “The Wire” (2002) Hey, it’s “The Wire!” You know, that show your dad likes. So, bad news—it’s really good. Yes, it’s largely scenes of 30-something alcoholics and drug dealers repeatedly having the worst day of their lives, but it’s also impeccably written—it’s realistic and enthralling and unbelievably satisfying, not to mention really not boring at all, despite what the cultural representation of the show might have you believe. Season five gets just a twinge goofy, with McNulty fabricating the existence of a serial killer to rouse an increase in police budget and somehow getting away with the whole thing, but besides that, “The Wire” is consistently amazing and certainly worth the time investment.

Matt James (center) and the cast of season 25 of The Bachelor. (ABC)

BY ITZELTH GAMBOA arts@theaggie.org I am fairly new to Bachelor Nation. My first season of “The Bachelor” was Colton’s season in 2019—my housemate was watching the first episode during breakfast and the beloved sloth girl came on. Once I saw that, I just had to watch the rest of the season. But I gave up the show when Peter was the bachelor in 2020 and started making questionable decisions.

I stopped watching with a bitter taste in my mouth, so much so that I had to leave the rest of his season unfinished and skip Clare’s season of “The Bachelorette” in 2020 in order to mentally prepare myself for this most recent one.

With that said, I’m excited for Matt’s season.

His first speech was one of the most memorable speeches that a bachelor has made. I also appreciate the face he made when Chris said “the first limo is about to pull up.” His look of pure panic was absolutely priceless. After watching the first episode, I’m excited to see how it goes for Matt with this group of women. But of course, we don’t know much about any of them yet, so here is a list of my first impressions.

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

Alicia I don’t know if it’s because I used to do ballet when I was younger, but I loved Alicia. Maybe it’s just the fact that she reminds me of my old ballet teacher that taught with patience and love, but there’s something about her that was special.

Sending her home was a mistake—we were robbed of an amazing season with Alicia.

Chelsea When Matt said, “Wow, she is wearing

that dress,” I couldn’t agree more. The classic introduction dress is the sparkly mermaid v-neck; it’s the one we see on almost all of the women that go in. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the sparkles. But Chelsea’s cut-out dress was original and gorgeous. There’s a reason she’s a runway model.

I also love the way she speaks to the other women in the group. Even when she speaks to Victoria (this season’s narcissist) she manages to do so in a calm and friendly manner. From the first episode, it looks like Chelsea doesn’t have any malintentions and is genuine with the other women. While I do watch “The Bachelor” for the drama, I always appreciate the girls that treat others with kindness.

Khaylah As someone who learned to drive in a truck and is now emotionally attached to the vehicle, Khaylah’s entrance made my mouth drop. I love it when contestants bring something from home that represents them and I felt like Khaylah incorporated that part well. She and Matt also had a nice moment where they realized they shared their hometown roots. If I am rooting for anyone in this season, it’s Khaylah.

Illeana Illeana’s introduction was probably the one I liked the least. But it was for one reason and one reason only: she touched the food. I don’t know what it is about someone touching food and then having someone else eat it, but I think it’s the most unromantic thing ever. While I’m aware she was trying to be funny with the meatball sexual innuendo, it didn’t settle well with me.

Sometimes the jokes make me cringe more than BACHWOMEN on 11

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 | 9

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

Answer to previous puzzle 01/14/21

crossword

Answer to previous puzzle 01/14/21

10 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THE UC DAVIS PATIO APP AIMS TO HELP STUDENTS STAY CONNECTED DURING THE PANDEMIC The student who assisted in launch of UC Davis Patio reflects on how the app allows new students to connect with one another

BY LIANA MAE ATIZADO features@theaggie.org During the pandemic, students have found it difficult to establish connections with their fellow Aggies. One way that new UC Davis students are connecting with each other online is through an app called Patio.

Patio is an app designed for college students to form groups based on their shared interests. In order to make an account, a user must be a verified student with a college email address from one of the select campuses recognized by Patio. After making an account, students can choose groups that they would like to join based on their interests, clubs or classes.

Ray Huerta, a first-year environmental toxicology major, helped coordinate the launch for the UC Davis Patio. Huerta met with one of the founders of the app, Andrew Martin, who was looking for university students to assist in introducing the app to the UC system. This past September, the UC Davis Patio app was put into effect and began allowing students to join.

Upon making an account, UC Davis students are added to a central group chat for all Aggies. From there, they can join groups that are catered towards their interests or create their own.

“We have over 200 groups on the UC Davis Patio that can range from sports to music to Aggies who are passionate about movie-watching or finding new places to eat in Davis,” Huerta said. “It makes it very easy to find people that go to your college and have similar interests as you. If you don’t find a group that you like or you fit into, you can even make your own.”

While students were able to successfully connect with other students and establish new social circles on Patio, Huerta states that there is still room for improvement. Huerta noted that students do not use Patio as frequently as they did when it was first launched.

In addition to this, not many students on campus are aware of the app or interested in utilizing it.

“I think the app would have been a bigger success if it launched way before instruction started,” Huerta said. “The app is also very difficult to promote to Aggies that already have experience at UC Davis because they have formed their own groups and friendships.

Hence, they are not looking for new people to meet as much as incoming first-year students and transfer students. Also, this pandemic has not made it any easier for anyone and many people that were introduced to each other on the app could not meet up in person.”

One way that Patio is planning to expand its reach is by creating platforms for seniors in high school who have been accepted to college. This would enable them to connect with other students who got accepted to the same school well in advance of the beginning of instruction.

“I think this will definitely attract more people to the Patio app because the priority of incoming freshmen is finding new people to build friendships with and Patio does just that,” Huerta said. “I remember as a senior in high school, joining the Facebook group

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chat for my class was a great way to connect with people, but Patio makes it easier to connect with other admits one-on-one.”

While UC acceptance letters have not been released yet, Huerta is working with other UC Davis students to introduce the next class of freshmen to Patio ahead of time.

“My partner and I are very excited to get the class of 2025 on the app as soon as possible,” Huerta said. “I think introducing Patio to incoming freshmen early on is going to be essential in the success of the app. I think Patio will become the new app that college students use as the years go on.”

Huerta made note of the way the pandemic has been a large obstacle to developing strong social networks on campus.

“Socially, I wish I had more friends at Davis and connected with them more because there is only so much you can learn about

someone online,” Huerta said. “I have never met any of my UC Davis friends in person besides one of them so it is very hard for me to call it a friendship.”

Despite the added difficulty brought by the pandemic, Huerta encourages students to step out of their comfort zones and reach out to others with confidence.

“At first it was very difficult to meet people and make friends at Davis, but I put my nervousness and pride aside and just addressed the people I wanted with confidence,” Huerta said. “My advice is to never be afraid to talk to anyone, because at the end of the day, we’re all just human with the same flaws and problems. Things that make you uncomfortable or scared will only help you grow in the long run, so why not just do those things while you can?”

UC DAVIS RESEARCHERS DETERMINE STRUCTURE OF PHOTORECEPTORS ALLOWING PLANTS TO SENSE BLUE LIGHT The Shabek Laboratory focuses on researching plant signaling pathways and molecular responses to light

BY FRANCHESKA TORRES science@theaggie.org UC Davis researcher and professor Nitzan Shabek and his laboratory were examining cryptochrome-2, a blue-light receptor, from the plant Arabidopsis thaliana when they determined part of its crystal structure, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communication Biology. The part of the molecule that they identified undergoes a structure change when it reacts with light particles, meaning that it transforms from a structure with one unit to four attached units, also known as a tetramer.

Shabek—an assistant professor at the College of Biological Sciences in the Department of Plant Biology—completed his postdoctoral at the University of Washington in Seattle. He originally focused his studies in cellular and molecular biology before gaining an interest in structural biology, which led to his current studies in plant molecular pathways.

He founded the Shabek Laboratory in the summer of 2018, where he and his team focus on researching plant signaling pathways and studying plants at the molecular level when they react to light.

“We are investigating at a molecular level, but also an organismal level how plants can sense their environment,” Shabek said.

In a recent paper by the Shabek Laboratory, researchers mutated plant genes to learn more about how plants sense blue light. They found that when the genes were mutated, the plant did not respond to blue light.

To determine the structure of the gene that underwent a change from one to four units, a protein was purified and crystallized so that a particle accelerator from the Advanced Light Source X-ray facility at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory could shoot an X-ray beam through the crystals. The results would make it possible to form a calculation that gives the coordinates of where every atom is in space and ultimately the structure.

Samuel Deck, a junior specialist and lab manager at Shabek’s Laboratory, assisted with part of the project, including identifying when a plant is in a photoactive state.

“We took the crystals and were able to look at them with a spectrophotometer, and by the characteristics we could identify the oxidation or reduction states of the [flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)] which is a key component molecule in the protein,” Deck said.

Researchers decided to use an insect cell expression system to make enough proteins for crystallography, instead of the more common bacterial expression system. Though the Shabek Laboratory tried using a bacterial expression system, E.Coli did not produce an active state protein and it was not well behaved, so the insect cell expression system was used instead.

“It was definitely a difficult and expensive process,” Shabek said.

Shabek’s main protein structure was compared to many other protein structures. He was surprised that small changes

were visible during the comparison, which otherwise would have been overlooked by viewing the main protein structure alone.

These changes determined whether a protein was non-active or photoactive.

“It’s amazing to see what is causing a response in plants,” Deck said. “You could see the small details and that’s what really surprised me.”

Deck stressed that it is important to educate the public on these types of processes and how they are applied in science. One of the goals of the laboratory is to provide the fundamentals for understanding the pathways of plants to any individual who is curious.

When looking at the molecular level, it is possible to see the implications of how the whole organism works, according to Shabek. Organisms such as plants are able to sense their environment and react immediately. For example, it is simple to acknowledge at the phenotypic level that trees lose their leaves in fall. It is the molecular mechanism that causes this to happen that needs to be investigated.

A crucial aspect of exploring the question of how plants sense light is to study how they sense different spectrums of light. The variation in how they react in the dark versus in the light, as well as what sensors detect specific colors of light, need to be taken into consideration.

The Shabek Laboratory is currently interested in looking at the cryptochrome mode of action and gaining a structure level understanding of its interactions with other proteins. The lab also plans to work with hormone signaling pathways in plants and to explore how different organs in the plant communicate with other organs and the environment.

The process of proteins getting destroyed in a regulatory manner in the cell is being examined by the laboratory as well.

When a protein is done performing its function, it will need to be removed or it will continue with the same function, which can implicate disease. The lab is interested in how the plant system recognizes the protein and destroys it.

Researchers at the Shabek Laboratory determined the crystal structure of part of cryptochrome-2, a blue-light photoreceptor in plants pictured above. (Shabek Laboratory / Courtesy)

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 | 11

AGGIESQUARELAWSUIT

NOVAVAX

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “That’s not what this is about, the litigation is holding UC Davis accountable for [failing] to follow state rules.”

In addition to more jobs, Aggie Square is also planning to develop more than 700 housing units, 400 of which are planned to be affordable.

“That’s breadcrumbs,” Jamarillo said. “We have over 11,000 [estimated] unhoused people here in Sacramento [...] who are being violently swept by law enforcement with the city. If we’re not adequately equipped to provide housing for them, we’re not equipped to give housing to people who are not even here yet.”

She stated that, with the project bringing new jobs and housing, it is estimated that over 7,000 new residents will be joining the surrounding area. With more people coming in than housing being built by UC Davis, she said she worries housing demands will displace existing residents.

Despite the City of Sacramento, UC Davis, SIWD and other community groups being in communication of developing a community benefits agreement, Steinberg announced they will no longer collaborate with those involved in the lawsuit, but continue to be in communication with other local groups and residents.

“The recent comments made to the press by the city [...] and refusing to work with us any longer are unfortunate,” Jamarillo said. “Our concern is also, why is the mayor, who works for

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 us, for Sacramento, being the spokesperson for UC Davis?”

Alberto Marcado, another SIWD organizer and resident of Oak Park, also expressed concern on how the Aggie Square project will impact the community.

“I’m interested in making sure this is not going to affect local residents like myself, because it is something that UC Davis has done with other projects,” Mercado said, mentioning that despite UC Davis Medical Center being the local community hospital, it does not always accepting Medi-Cal, despite many of the local residents who use it as their primary health insurance.

Mercado, who has been a resident of Oak Park since 1997, said he has seen the on-going effects gentrification has had on his community over the years.

“It was a community where you saw a lot of communities of color: You saw Hispanics, African Americans, Asians—it was very diverse,” Mercado said. “In the last 10 years, a lot of our neighbors have lost their homes due to a lot of financial difficulties and values of homes [increasing]. Now what we’ve seen is a lot of white people have come in there because they have more money and secure jobs and so they’ve been displacing communities of color to the point where on my street, we are one of the only ones of color living there.”

SACICU CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Public Relations and Media Relations specialist for Kaiser Permanente Northern California Chyresse Hill provided an official statement from Kaiser Permanente via email about the importance of adhering to safety guidelines.

“We encourage everyone to protect themselves, their families and others by adhering to State and County orders, wearing a mask, maintaining physical distance, practicing hand hygiene, avoiding crowds and monitoring yourself for any COVID-19 symptoms,” the statement reads. “Following these measures is crucial now to stop the rising tide of these infections.”

Kellom remarked on the necessity of the current safety measures in place to limit the spread of COVID-19.

“In the short-term, it may be hard and challenging for us because we all want to live normal lives, we all want to travel, we all want to go dine and celebrate and be with one another,” Kellom said. “In continuing and encouraging people to wear masks and socially distance—it’s going to protect us in the long term.”

Kaiser Permanente’s statement further detailed their plans and priorities regarding COVID-19.

“Our priority is the safety of our members, employees and the communities we serve,” the statement reads. “Like most health care providers, Kaiser Permanente is seeing an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations, significantly above our previous peak in June. We have maintained a continuous state of readiness for additional COVID-19 patients since our initial preparations in the Spring.”

Kellom described that at the hospital she works for, staff is continuing to do their best to provide for patients and families

“On a day-to-day basis, we are trying our best to take care of the patients and their families and to support them,” Kellom said. “We’re just putting our heads down and working as hard and as best as we can.”

Kaiser Permanente’s statement further detailed their precautionary measures regarding California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

“Kaiser Permanente is contributing to California’s Roadmap for reopening the state which includes increased hospital capacity to address a surge of 35% above normal capacity, and we have the ability to increase our hospital bed capacity,” the statement reads. “Additionally, we have planned for an additional increase in staff above and beyond the normal winter season by securing travel nurses. We have planned for additional capacity for both ICU and Medical/ Surgical needs.”

Kellom emphasized the importance of appreciating life as it is now in order to cope with the pandemic.

“When I go to work, the patients that we see don’t get to see their family,” Kellom said.

“We have a very closed visitor policy. This whole past year has really helped me recognize how important my family is—just being able to enjoy the simpler things in life like coming home and having dinner with your family.”

Partida added a final note of encouragement regarding the vaccine and eventual return to normal.

“I’m very hopeful with the vaccine being on the board now that we are going to be able to return to our normal lives—hopefully by the end of this year,” Partida said. “I know it’s been very difficult for people. It’s been very taxing, but I’m very proud of the work that people have done to take everyone’s health into consideration.”

VACCINATIONPLAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “This is what UC Davis does,” Telliano said.

“Our role in the healthcare system as UC Davis is to be disaster and emergency response experts.

We have the ability to address emergencies and disasters because that’s what we plan to do.”

Telliano explained that as the pandemic progressed, the center created similar action plans for eventually getting vaccinations.

“We knew vaccines would be coming because that’s how the pandemic would end, and we’ve known for a long time there would be vaccines and we would need to move quickly to administer those vaccines,” Telliano said. “So we’ve been planning for months how we would do this and do it safely so when the vaccines arrive we would be ready to go.”

Tellianio explained that UC Davis Health is making vaccination such a priority because vaccination is imperative to ending the pandemic.

“In a global sense, the way that we’re going to stop this pandemic is to get everyone vaccinated,” Telliano said. “The sooner the better because the sooner we get everyone vaccinated, the sooner we’re going to end this pandemic.”

Given that vaccination is key in reducing the spread of COVID-19 and ending the pandemic, Telliano urged everyone to get the vaccine when it becomes available to them. For people worried about taking the vaccine, Telliano explained that the vaccine’s safety has been thoroughly tested.

“It’s very well researched,” Telliano said. “In fact, it was researched here at UC Davis [...]

and we’ve also taken it ourselves. Healthcare providers, and the healthcare workers who will be providing the vaccine, have taken it themselves so that they can show that it’s safe, but also so that they can be well to assist patients.”

He also said that the hospital itself is a form of “proof ” that the vaccine works to prevent infection. Since the center began vaccinating last month, the weekly number of employees being out of work with COVID-19 each week has decreased by over 50%. Telliano said that he expects the number to drop even further in the coming weeks as the healthcare workers receive their second dose of the vaccine and become fully protected.

Telliano said that since the vaccine rollout began, many healthcare workers are beginning to feel hopeful that the end of the pandemic is in sight.

“The healthcare workforce and people that I’ve talked to that are coming out of the vaccine clinic are just incredibly happy that this is now available,” Telliano said. “Both from a personal standpoint, in that they know it’s extremely unlikely that they will be spreading the disease [...], but also that we’re nearing the end of this pandemic, because as we all know it has been terribly depressing. To see that we are beginning the end chapter of this pandemic has been really great and has reinvigorated a number of our healthcare workers.”

BACHWOMEN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 Kit

I love Kit, but I don’t love her for the right reasons. She reminds me of Demi from Colton’s season and although I loved Demi, she wasn’t ready for marriage. Just from first impressions, I don’t think Kit is necessarily the best pick for Matt. Her confidence sounds a little more like cockiness and I can’t imagine someone with her attitude being ready for a serious relationship, let alone marriage. But from what we’ve seen so far, she will be at the forefront of the drama this season.

Abigail I know it’s reality TV and I know that producers and directors can easily cut things out and clip other things together. I know that they can quite literally make a false reality that everyone eats up. But it did look like Abigail and Matt had

chemistry during their starting conversation and when she got the first impressions rose. I found myself smiling at their conversation, that is, until they kissed. Then I gasped.

It’s clear why she got the first impression rose. He had the goofiest smile on his face as she walked away from him. Abigail seems like a down-to-earth girl that everyone falls in love with—she’s practically America’s sweetheart already. I can see her being the next bachelorette if it doesn’t work out with Matt.

What I admire most about these women is that they all have these impressive careers and are respectful towards one another. Jealousy and drama is bound to happen in a show like “The Bachelor,” but it’s nice to see them not get too catty. We’ll see how long that lasts.

“When things like systemic oppression, racism, the diversity of patients and inequity aren’t addressed, it promotes the idea that structural inequities have no impact on health and a patient’s access to health,” Verma said.

Through her social service work in Bayanihan Clinic, Verma has learned the value of listening to patients’ stories of how different factors, such as lack of transportation or stable housing, impact patients’ health and access to healthcare. She explained that by recognizing the history of the Filipino community and understanding the role this history plays in a patient’s living situation or income, the clinic strives to provide treatments catered to specific patients. For example, if it is known that a patient has financial challenges, the clinic’s staff make an effort to find cheaper prescriptions that the patient may be able to afford.

Verma believes that understanding structural inequities, diversity and cultural humility are all important in order to ensure patients receive culturally sensitive and relevant care.

“Without understanding the diversity in communities’ cultures and history and experiences and circumstances, patients don’t receive the care that’s relevant to their specific situation, and then overall care and overall outcomes are ineffective and unsuccessful,” Verma said. “Then lower quality of care can reinforce mistrust in healthcare and medicine, and then that in turn can lead to patients avoiding seeking healthcare and then that leads to further inequities and it just becomes a cycle.”

Statistics increasingly show minority groups disproportionately being affected by COVID-19 compared to white people. According to a recent article by National Public Radio (NPR), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released data that Latino, African American and Native American populations are being hospitalized at rates 4.5 to 5.5 times higher than non-Hispanic white people.

Taylor expressed that when looking at these statistics, it is important to consider the proportion of the population that has COVID-19 in comparison to the number of people of that race that live in the country.

In the same article by NPR, data shows nonHispanic white people contribute to 61.1% of the population and 51.1% of COVID-19 deaths while African American and Hispanic populations, which contribute to 12.3% and 17.8% of the U.S. respectively, each account for 21.1% of COVID-19 deaths.

“I have to believe that [these statistics are] both a result of things that have come about like being forced to work or needing to work and not being able to work from home, and preexisting conditions or those social determinants of health that put them at greater risk,” Taylor said.

Despite the health disparities these minority populations are facing, Taylor described how these groups have historically been left out of many treatments. She commended UC Davis for acknowledging that such disparities exist and that these populations should receive front-ofthe-line prevention.

“Minorities and people who experience health disparities are less likely to get access to healthcare—less likely to get access to new treatment,” Taylor said. “So putting them at the front of the line is great in the sense that you’re trying to bypass that historic disparity of them not having access.”

In order to address these health disparities, Taylor expressed the importance of educating oneself using reputable sources and speaking up when it is apparent that something is inequitable.

Verma added that a large part of action and advocacy is awareness. She encourages students to uplift the voices of marginalized community members and listen to their stories to better understand the systemic and structural inequities they face. Taylor also advocates for change at the state and federal level to make sure healthcare can be accessible to all.

“We need to make sure people have access [to healthcare],” Taylor said. “The big problem we’re seeing in the U.S. is especially in these rural communities, they may not have access to a health provider. Just because we give them health insurance doesn’t mean they can then access it.

So I think affordable and accessible healthcare will really help with health inequities.”

ONLINEPLATFORMS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 It is much more difficult to get that two-way form of communication with Zoom or with any other online instructional community.”

Online communities, like servers on Discord, allow for students to reach out and ask questions and for students to advocate for themselves and for each other to their professors.

“If the Discord conversation skews towards ‘Does anybody have any idea what [the professor] was saying?’ [...] hopefully someone—even if they did understand—will reach out and say, ‘Hey, people were not understanding this, can you clarify?” Taylor said.

Second-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major Emma Proctor said via Discord Direct Message that, though she personally has not connected with any classmates via Discord, it has helped her stay up-to-date with her classes.

“Without in-person classes, I always feel like I’m missing something, didn’t read an announcement, or forgot about an assignment,” Proctor said via Discord Direct Message. “People are constantly talking in Discord about what’s going on in the class. So, by checking Discord everyday, I don’t have that feeling of, ‘What am I forgetting?’”

Isabella Boren, a second-year psychology major, said via Discord Direct Message that Discord helps her identify and compartmentalize important points within an influx of information.

“I tend to get overwhelmed really easily, so large group chats can be difficult to navigate because everything is one thread, and oftentimes it can feel like too much,” Boren said via Discord Direct Message. “But with Discord it’s so easy to locate information you need with the search tab, or to organize your class needs into categories, such as general, homework help, and more.”

First-year cell biology major Mahboba Ansari said via Discord Direct Message that she is still getting used to the server and prefers other applications.

“I prefer Instagram or GroupMe, which is designed for things like these,” Ansari said via Discord Direct Message. “People already have Instagram, and there is no need to download an extra app. So, we usually go for Instagram.”

Although Ansari said it hasn’t helped her that often, she still feels that she can use the platform to get her peers to answer her questions.

“Twenty years ago, when the World Wide Web was young, there was a lot of utopian discourse around the Internet,” Taylor said. “This idea that future communication would shift being online and school would be online and work would be online, [...] it’s all here. It’s really remarkable that we have the ability to continue to work and conduct school as normally as we have with these communications tools.”

ASYNCHRONOUS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 Now, students can sign up for individual remote appointments and get free one-on-one tutoring.

Inez Anders, the director of AATC tutoring services, also gave tips to help students remain focused and diligent with their work.

“Form studying groups with peers […], find time to watch class together for that built-in accountability,” Anders said.

She also recommended forming Zoom study or silent groups that would mimic the space of being in the library with your classmates or friends and watching videos put out by the AATC for help on topics from math to writing.

For videos on developing better mindsets, Hunter recommended the Office of Educational

Opportunities and Enrichment Services (OEOES), which she said provides workshops that help students delve into subjects ranging from positive thinking, time management and grit.

Both Hunter and Anders encouraged students to begin tutoring or seeking help early on in the term before major issues can arise.

Furthermore, Hunter said, students should try not to be intimidated by the prospect of seeking help.

“We try to meet the student where they’re at,” Hunter said. “We don’t have expectations of all the material that you should know when you’re coming in for tutoring because that’s what tutoring does, it fills in that gap for you.”

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

12 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

SPORTS Women's participation in Olympic sports have evolved across the world Across the globe, women have challenged societal norms in sports, but some countries are tougher than others

BY KATHERIN RAYGOZA sports@theaggie.org Today, men and women are allowed to compete at elite levels in sports or any physical pursuits. But, this wasn’t always the case for women. Olympic organizers thought that if women were included it would be impractical and unaesthetic. Society agreed with the organizers and restricted women’s participation until the early 1900s. From then on, the presence of female competition became revolutionary. It was a long battle to get to the present day, but the triumphs from the past cannot go unnoticed.

In Australia during the colonial times, women encountered regulations as to when and where they could participate in sports, whether it’d be for fun or for competition. Sports like croquet, among others, were encouraged for women to participate in so that they wouldn’t challenge the gender norm. Women were also not allowed to swim in the proximity of men, therefore they were banned from access to public swimming pools, beaches, and were forced to wear loose clothing.

In the year 1900, the first female lawn bowl and golf teams were formed. In the 1930s, other sports such as track and field for women were introduced. From the 1970s and onward, male and female-only sports began to merge. Now that cricket has grown into popularity in Australia, the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) sign a contract that all men and women would receive equal pay, a monumental step in the progression of equal rights in sports.

In Russia, Amateur Sportsmen and Victorian Football (Soccer) Clubs were created in the 1880s.

Although these sports were preserved for men, women did take an active part in professional sports. Gender roles were strictly enforced until 1903, when the country added equality in education, civil and political rights and sports.

Despite the ruling, women have ignored the dismissing from male leaders about their participation in “harmful” sports—soccer, ice hockey, judo, weight lifting, water polo and long-distance running. For example, in the 1980s, Soviet women held four national judo championships and a world judo championship, and as many as 15,000 women were registered in judo clubs.

“The idea of a healthy lifestyle, which does not mean giving up anything in your life but taking

Female track and field athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. (Pixabay) on something sporty and cool, has become very popular in Moscow,” said Alexandra Boyarskaya, who helped set up one of the first running clubs in Moscow. “It’s a big shift from five years ago.”

Today the female sports community across Russia is taking action to inspire and motivate girls to pursue a sport. The difficulty women face is that this cultural shift is challenging social norms such as how women use public spaces and helping to reverse gender discrimination that exists in the country.

Even though some countries support women to engage in physical activities, Iraqi women are constantly battling gender norms, in sports and outside of it. Some people in the country believe that it is inappropriate for women to participate in sports and their negative attitudes towards

women are usually reflected when women play sports. Because of the stigma on gender in Iraq, women choose not to take part in physical activities.

This is quite apparent in the opinion expressed by Nihad Mohamed Qais, a 22-year-old student at the Faculty of Art / Arabic Language.

“I don’t like women’s participation in sports. It is not a civilized phenomenon. Therefore, I will not allow my sister or a female relative to participate in sports or to join an athletic club or faculty,” Qais said.

Some women support the interaction of females with sports, while men do not. One particular supporter is Dhikra, a 20-year-old young lady who lives in Iraq. “I do encourage women’s engagement in sports, provided that

they do their exercises in the absence of men so that they will feel at ease, at least concerning wearing the sports uniform.” Dhikra said. “I believe that religious considerations are the main reason behind the families’ objections to their daughters joining faculties of sport”.

These days, countries from around the world are on the rise to helping promote the empowerment of women and young girls. Both professional and recreational sports are changing cultures to embrace more activities, healthier lifestyles and encouraging others to do the same.

Women are overcoming social, political and religious barriers to assert their right to sporting life and participating in activities they were barred from before.

MLB sees a cold stove this offseason Uncertainties surrounding Major League Baseball’s future is just one of the many factors of this slow offseason

BY OMAR NAVARRO sports@theaggie.org What was once an exciting time for fans of Major League Baseball (MLB), the offseason has become a drag. With elite talents hitting the free agent market more often in baseball than any other sports, the “hot stove” would come at a perfect time and create levels of excitement for the upcoming season. But, as has been with recent years, the hot stove has been turned off and has become ice cold.

Although it’s been years in the making, many are still surprised to see major free agents in baseball moving closer to signing in February than in November or December. Teams have been more reluctant to spend less compared to the beginning of the century, where major contracts were being given out left and right. Now, amid an ongoing pandemic and some teams experiencing losses of over $100 million compared to previous years, it’s no wonder the league’s top stars haven’t gotten paid.

Coming into the offseason, Trevor Bauer, George Springer, J.T. Realmuto, D.J. LeMahieu and Marcell Ozuna were the top players available.

The only one to sign was LeMehieu, who inked a six-year $90 million contract to stay with the New York Yankees. The rest await the slow moving market, not knowing if they will get the value they would have in previous years. As a result, we have begun to see some moves that we would otherwise not see in the past.

Trades like those for former Cy Young winner Blake Snell, runner-up Yu Darvish and former All-Star Josh Bell have been the highlight of the offseason so far. The common theme with them and players being traded is control. Having the control based on their contract seems to be what teams have been chasing, as the financial uncertainty would rather have them going after cost-efficient players. On the other hand, the teams trading these stars signal that they are in fact trying to cost-cut. The pandemic has hit some owners hard, and saving any money they can has been the focus of a lot of these clubs.

Players of their caliber are rarely available by trade and usually reach the end of their contract, which is why it is not normal to see these moves.

It is unknown whether fans will be allowed into the stands, and to what capacity. As we saw in

the National League Championship Series and the World Series, it is possible to hold a percentage of fans at a stadium. However, given that the state of the country is uncertain at the moment, there is no assurance that teams will have any fans once again. With fan attendance being a major factor of the revenue and a projected $640,000 being lost each empty game, owners are left in a situation where only a few are willing to host a contending team this upcoming year.

The frustration is not only from the fans perspective, but also the players’ whose livelihood depends on it.

“MLB offseason [has] become the worst in terms of action and keeping fans excited,’’ said Chicago Cubs free agent infielder Jason Kipnis.

“Also, when the hell are we starting this year?

KIYOMI WATSON / AGGIE

Feb? March? It’d be nice to let us know maybe.”

As MLB continues to struggle in growing their audience, their upcoming TV deal has come at an unsuitable time. With some teams altering their video markets and simultaneously facing the pandemic, the deal could be substantially less than projected, contributing to the financial losses the league may face. With a TV deal supplying a large portion of a league’s revenue, the impacts may not only be felt this year, but also possibly further in the future.

“There are still lots of free agents of varying skill levels floating on the open market,” said Jon Erikkla of Fansided. “Every fan will see in due course where their club’s ownership falls on the spectrum. We know the teams who have already struck their moves and are building for today. We

have serious suspicions about who will be saving for a rainy day and putting off competing.”

Again, this is not a new issue. Free agency had been slowly progressing toward where it is today. The pandemic, however, has sped up that process, bringing us to the current conditions.

The reluctance to spend is a result of the unknown that awaits the owners of baseball clubs. It is quite possible that fans may be allowed to a certain capacity this year, but the question is how much. With no answer coming soon and the new season set to start soon, we may begin to see penny-pinching changes that will last a couple of years and affect free agency.