February 24, 2022

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UC DAVIS ALUMNI COUPLE DONATES $8 MILLION Long-time donors and alumni, Joelle and Michael Hurlston, gift UC Davis $8 million to support two colleges, the Graduate School of Management and Aggie Compass

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VOLUME 140, ISSUE 18 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2022

UC DAVIS LEADS RESEARCH IN ACCELERATED WHEATBREEDING The $15 million project will train a cohort of the next generation of plant breeders

Jorge Dubcovsky, a distinguished professor in the department of plant sciences at UC Davis, walks through a field of wheat. (UC Davis / Courtesy).

BY SONORA SLATER science@theaggie.org UCD donors Michael Hurlston and Joelle Hurlston at the UC Davis San Ramon campus Jan. 29. (Fred Greaves / Courtesy).

BY JENNIFER MA campus@theaggie.org Joelle and Michael Hurlston recently gave $8 million to UC Davis’ fundraising campaign, Expect Greater: From UC Davis, for the world. Their contribution will not only go toward students’ academic and career success but also toward a program working to eliminate food insecurity.

Joelle Hurlston is a 1989 College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences graduate and Michael is a 1988 College of Engineering alumnus. He has also received an MBA and master’s degree from UC Davis, in 1990 and 1991, respectively.

The donation will be split between the Graduate School of Management, the College of Engineering and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences as well as the Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center.

“We’ve tried to reach as many students this time and not just specific to our colleges,” Joelle said. “Whatever [anyone’s] interested in, if it’s pre-law, pre-med, engineering, environmental science, whatever it is, hopefully our gift will be able to touch students.”

According to the couple, they are giving the Dean of Student Affairs discretion regarding the specifics of the Aggie Compass contribution. They believe the university will use the funds as best as they can.

The Graduate School of Management will receive its first endowed deanship, which provides funds for teaching, research and outreach.

In the College of Engineering, the gift will go toward the Diane Bryant Engineering Student Design Center. This center will provide all students, not just engineering majors, with handson experiences and opportunities through creating prototypes, welding and more.

“The College [of Engineering]’s innovation ecosystem sets the Aggie engineering experience apart from other programs and the new Diane Bryant Engineering Student Design Center is the central hub where it all comes together,” Richard Corsi, the dean of the College of Engineering, said via email. “If it weren’t for generous alumni and friends, like Michael and Joelle Hurlston, we wouldn’t be able to build this state-of-the-art facility, so we are tremendously grateful to them for their investment and support.”

Lastly, the donation to the Internship and Career Center for agricultural and environmental sciences students will help foster programs and services for career development.

Shaun Keister, the vice chancellor of Development and Alumni Relations and the president of the UC Davis Foundation, said that he appreciates the holistic nature of the donation.

“It’s really important to [Joelle and Michael] to help all students; that was their real, ultimate goal,” Keister said. “One part of the gift was to support basic needs and food insecurity of students at Davis. So that’s an especially gratifying and impactful piece of the gift. But everything they’re doing is helping students, it’s just in different ways.”

As of Feb. 16, the Expect Greater campaign has garnered $1.5 billion, but this is only 75% of its target goal of $2 billion.

“We want to inspire other people to give back,” Michael said.

“We’ve both received tons of messages from our friends, colleagues, saying how inspirational it is. And we hope that inspiration translates into other people doing similar things.”

Joelle echoed this statement with a call to action for new alumni.

“We want to encourage new graduates, new alumni to maybe not go out to dinner twice in one year and [instead] give $100 a year,” she said. “If everybody gave $100 a year, that would [have] a huge impact on the university. Our gift is a lot, but it doesn’t need to be that much to donate to the university.”

Bagels, crackers, pancakes, pizza, pasta and cereal all have one thing in common: wheat. These popular foods, among others, are the reason why wheat products account for nearly 20% of what people across the planet eat every day.

Between population growth and changing weather patterns, the wheat crop will face challenges keeping up with demand in coming years — but wheat breeders at UC Davis, in collaboration with other researchers across the country, are working to help the crop keep up.

UC Davis is leading a five-year, $15 million research project that, according to a recent press release, will seek to accelerate wheat breeding “to meet [...] new climate realities” and simultaneously teach “a new generation of plant breeders.”

Jorge Dubcovsky, a distinguished professor in the Department of Plant Sciences who is leading the grant research, said that traditionally, wheat breeding involves walking through the fields plot by plot and taking detailed notes to inform the next genome cross. However, the accelerated breeding will take advantage of drone technology. “[The drones] have spectral cameras where you can see the plants in different wavelengths,” Dubcovsky said. “You can estimate the amount of nitrogen, water content and biomass. You can get a massive amount of information from each plant.”

According to Dubcovsky, all this data is being sent to a centralized database in Texas, which will store information about all of the breeding programs in the U.S. Amir Ibrahim, a wheat breeder and a professor at Texas A&M who is involved in the project, explained why their program was chosen to act as the central hub.

“The strength of Texas is automation,” Ibrahim said. “We have a platform, so we have the ability to process data in a fast way and in a very efficient way. [...] For us to make progress in the face of climate change, we have to increase efficiency and the scale of doing things. This is just a tool that will allow us to do more.”

Dubcovsky elaborated on how this will contribute to increased efficiency and accelerate the wheat breeding process.

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#AGGIEMOOVEMENT HOPES TO MAKE A COW THE OFFICIAL UC DAVIS MASCOT A student-led petition is urging UC Davis to replace Gunrock the mustang with a cow in an effort to create unique identity for the school

BY ALINA ISSAKHANIAN features@theaggie.org A group of students led by Mick Hashimoto, a third-year applied statistics and economics double major, have proposed the #AggiesMOOvement, an effort meant to streamline the university’s identity by replacing the current mascot, Gunrock the mustang, with a cow.

Hashimoto’s goal for this change is to create a more unique and unified identity for UC Davis, since he said that many students, like first-year philosophy major ThuyAnh Truong, already associate the university with cows.

“Coming to Davis for the first time, I was actually confused to hear that the mascot wasn’t a cow,” Truong said. “Cows are so synonymous with Davis that it seems fitting they’d be our mascot too.”

Hashimoto is pushing for the change primarily because he feels that the student body lacks school spirit, in part because they don’t feel a connection to Gunrock as the mascot.

“With athletics as well as with a lot of other things, we lack a lot of school spirit,” Hashimoto said. “So for me, to change the mascot is to be

able to [...] have everyone get behind one thing that can help us feel a tighter sense of community here in Davis.”

Hashimoto believes that UC Davis should have a unique mascot that matches the identity of the school, like how UC Santa Cruz has a banana slug and UC Irvine has an anteater.

“In freshman year, I was coming into orientation and I saw the cows by Tercero, and it kind of hit me: ‘Oh, we’re living in a cow town,’” Hashimoto said. “I think it’s a really cool connection that I had with the cows. A mustang is such a basic mascot — nationwide, there are many schools that are Mustangs — so it doesn’t really give Davis a unique identity even though we’re really unique.”

The movement has gained support from many students who agree with Hashimoto, including third-year psychology major Ambika Vaidya.

“I think it’s a great idea, as students have shown more school spirit [in connection] with the cow than the horse,” Vaidya said. “Although Gunrock is an amazing mascot, students have made cows more of a symbol for the school — cows are a major part of the campus and the school’s general atmosphere.”

CHRISTINA LIU / AGGIE Some students have expressed fears that changing the mascot to a cow would erase Gunrock’s history at Davis. ASUCD Senator Celeste Palmer said during discussion at a senate meeting on Feb. 3 that remembering the context in which Gunrock became UC Davis’s mascot should not be forgotten.

“It’s important to remember the actual

history of this mascot,” Palmer said in the meeting. “Gunrock was an actual horse who lived at UC Davis. He was a thoroughbred, not a mustang, and he was brought by the U.S. cavalry to breed at UC Davis. This is an interesting story that actually makes it very unique.”

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS YEAR’S BLACK HISTORY MONTH The Davis community hosted an array of events celebrating Black History Month

BY CHRIS PONCE city@theaggie.org KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

As Black History Month comes to an end, the Davis community organized many events to empower Black voices this month. These events, both on and off-campus, ranged from film premieres to celebrations of beauty and art. As the last few days of February approach, more events are still occurring towards the end of the month.

The UC Davis African American Faculty and Staff Association (AAFSA) held events and meetings throughout the month that were advertised on their website. On Friday, Feb. 18, Dr. David Cooke, the vice chair for faculty development and wellness and chief for the Division of General Thoracic Surgery, spoke about lung cancer’s effect on the Black community.

On Wednesday, Feb. 23, there was a digital screening of “100 Years From Mississippi” along with a Q&A hosted by AAFSA. On Thursday, Feb. 10, AAFSA hosted an event with Dr. Candice Price on her groundbreaking findings regarding insulin sensitivity linked to sex and racial differences.

A long list of non-UC Davis organized events also occurred this month. On Sunday, Feb. 20, The Old Sugar Mill hosted its third annual Black History Month Art & Crafter’s Show. The event

showcased multiple Black artists and featured live music and food.

Event Director Rachelle Wiggins spoke on the event being back in person following the pandemic.

“We are back and really are focused on making this event bigger and better than ever,” Wiggins said. “We have over 25 artists that will be showcasing their art.”

When asked what people should take away from this year’s Black History Month, Wiggins said, “the beauty in the artists and the unity,” and “the unity of all of us coming together to showcase and put together a people presentation.”

In partnership with Black Lives Matter Sacramento, Our Streets Coalition will be hosting a celebration titled “Black History (every) Month Celebration!” on Saturday, Feb. 26. This socially distant celebration will feature “music, food, and activities,” according to a Facebook post made by the group. The event, located at 3229 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd in Sacramento, will last from 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM. Masks are required.

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2 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2022

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH, THE AGGIE RECOGNIZES BLACK ALUMNI Leola Calzolai-Stewart discusses her new film, “The American Diplomat,” and encourages people to explore more diverse accounts of history

UC Davis alumna Leona Calzolai-Stewart (’97) on her new movie, “The American Diplomat,” and the intersection of her international relations degree and film career. She was interviewed for a profile series celebrating Davis’s many distinguished African American alumni during Black History Month. (Leola Calzolai-Stewart / Courtesy)

BY MAYA SHYDLOWSKI features@theaggie.org This article is the fourth in a four-part series in honor of Black History Month in which The California Aggie interviews a few of the many distinguished African American UC Davis alumni. These alumni discuss their achievements, share how they’re uplifting underrepresented communities and offer their wisdom to Davis students.

UC Davis alumna Leola Calzolai-Stewart can now add director to her list of roles that already includes editor, producer, mother and diplomatic spouse.

Although she has always had a passion for film, CalzolaiStewart did not initially plan to be in the industry. As a student at UC Davis, she studied international relations and worked as an international relations undergraduate student advisor, through which she developed a list of opportunities — including grants, internships and fellowships — for students of color pursuing careers in international relations.

After graduating from Davis in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a minor in Italian, CalzolaiStewart went on to earn her master’s in public international law and comparative political and developmental analysis from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, supported by the Public Policy and International Affairs Fellowship.

It wasn’t until she moved to South Africa with her husband, an American diplomat, that she decided to revisit her love for film production. She studied film and video production at Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, South Africa, where she

earned a certificate in motion picture production in 2004.

Since then, Calzolai-Stewart has worked as an editor, producer and now director of documentary films that focus on historical and contemporary societal issues.

“For me, coming into film was a career shift, and I was a little older,” Calzolai-Stewart said. “By the time I started studying film and working in the industry, I was in my late 20s. Post-production often felt like a young, white male space. I wanted to be an editor — which is part of post-production — so sometimes, I definitely felt like an outsider.”

Luckily, she said, she made key connections early on in her second career with organizations geared at supporting female and Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) filmmakers. She attributes her perseverance in the industry to these communities that welcomed her. Calzolai-Stewart is a member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia, which aims to uplift the voices of women of color in nonfiction filmmaking. She was also named a Documentary Lab Fellow in 2019 by Firelight Media, another organization that supports people of color in filmmaking.

“It was more than helpful,” Calzolai-Stewart said. “It has been vital and critical — especially in the past couple of years — in developing myself as a filmmaker and developing this [recent] project, having the support of other Black and Brown filmmakers [and other] filmmakers of color.”

For her most recent film, “The American Diplomat,” CalzolaiStewart and her team received funding from Firelight Media as well as the National Endowment for the Humanities, Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the public radio station GBH and Black Public Media’s 360+ Incubator project. Calzolai-Stewart said that all of these organizations were instrumental in not only funding the project but creating a community.

“Being able to share space with other BIPOC filmmakers to discuss our projects, discuss our challenges, uplift one another and be a resource for one another,” Calzolai-Stewart said. “I can’t stress enough how important that is, especially in filmmaking, when you often feel kind of isolated, to have connections in the community that understand what you’re trying to do and allow you to tell your stories in the media the way that you want them to be told.”

In 2015, Calzolai-Stewart co-founded FLOWSTATE Films with two other women, Rachell Shapiro and Kiley Kraskouskas, to produce films for nonprofit organizations and universities, as well as independent projects. “The American Diplomat,” a one-hour documentary on three African American diplomats in the mid1900s, is their most recent project and Calzolai-Stewart’s directing debut. It can be found on PBS online as of Feb. 15, 2022.

This film has been an opportunity for Calzolai-Stewart to merge her passions for film and international relations. The documentary follows the lives of three groundbreaking Black American diplomats during the Cold War era who struggled with being the faces of the U.S. abroad while facing Jim Crow laws and

racial discrimination back home.

Calzolai-Stewart said that she chose to focus on diplomats, drawing from her own experience being in a diplomatic family abroad.

“We’ve been in the foreign service community for about 20 years now,” Calzolai-Stewart said. “When we go overseas, we’re often one of the few Black families at post, and after a while, you want to understand why that’s so.”

Calzolai-Stewart said that after reading “Black Diplomacy”

by Michael Krenn and hearing her husband’s stories about the first African American diplomats, she decided that she wanted to tell their stories. She brought the idea to her fellow co-founders at FLOWSTATE Films, and they started developing the project together.

“We thought that this was a fantastic opportunity to try to tell a story and hopefully create conversations around representation, diplomacy [...] and why inclusion is important for American foreign policy and American diplomacy,” Calzolai-Stewart said.

She believes that this film has the potential to be a platform for change and hopes that it inspires young people of color to pursue international relations and represent the U.S. around the world.

Calzolai-Stewart said she was excited to use the power of film to reach a wider audience to share the largely unknown history of African American diplomats.

“When you’re a visual storyteller, I think there’s also more of a possibility of being able to connect with an audience and draw them in,” Calzolai-Stewart said. “You can create empathy and create connections between the viewer’s life and the life of the protagonist on screen.”

Calzolai-Stewart has also done this with other films that she has contributed to, like the film “Dear Walmart,” which tells the story of a movement for Walmart workers’ rights. The film follows a handful of individuals who were involved in the movement for better pay and working conditions that ultimately led to wage increases and policy changes within the company in 2015.

Calzolai-Stewart also edited “The Last Song Before the War,” a film about the annual Festival in the Desert, a celebration of music and Mali culture that took place in the northern Mali desert, and why it has not happened since 2012.

As advice for underrepresented students in institutions of higher education and in the film industry, Calzolai-Stewart said to follow your instinct.

“Our voices matter,” Calzolai-Stewart said. “Find the path where you want to make a difference and want to add your voice.

Stay persistent and build that community around you that you need to help sustain yourself in that project, in that field, in that space. When you leave Davis, that’s just the first step of what is going to be a long path toward purpose.”

IN-PERSON JURY SERVICES RESUME AFTER TEMPORARILY SHIFTING ONLINE DUE TO RISE IN COVID-19 OMICRON CASES

The public health officer provides updates on Omicron variant in Yolo County

BY SHRADDHA JHINGAN city@theaggie.org After a one month hiatus due to the rise in COVID-19 Omicron cases, jury trials recommenced in Yolo County on Feb. 7. When the pandemic first hit in 2020, the Yolo Superior Court shifted to remote operations on Zoom for the majority of court hearings, according to a press release published on Feb. 2.

“The technology allowed us to keep our court working without endangering public health,” Daniel Maguire, the presiding judge of the Yolo Superior Court, said in the press release.

“Remote appearance has been a tremendous success — it has proven popular with judges, lawyers, litigants, witnesses and court observers, and the Yolo Court plans to keep it as an option even when the pandemic ends.”

Though court operations could be held online, jury trials need to be held in-person, although there may be breaks again during peaks of COVID-19 cases, according to the press release.

“Jury trials can’t wait until the pandemic ends — the accused have speedy trial rights, victims need closure, civil litigants must have their day in court, and cases must be heard while memories are fresh and witnesses are available,” Maguire said in the press release.

There are also various actions being taken to keep people safe amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. To “streamline litigation and settle cases,” the Yolo Superior Court has been working with their “justice partners” when possible.

JACOB SLOAN / AGGIE They also have close ties with the Conflicts Counsel, the District Attorney, the Public Defender and the private bar, which the Yolo County Bar Association represents. These entities aim to settle cases so that jurors do not need to be summoned.

However, because not every case can be settled without summoning jurors, there are various precautions in place. For example, masks are mandatory in the courthouse and there are social distancing policies for each courtroom and the jury assembly room.

“We have a modern and spacious courthouse, with high-capacity ventilation systems,” Maguire said in the press release. “And we have judges and staff committed to keeping our jurors safe and

keeping the wheels of justice moving.”

John Fout, the public information officer for Yolo County, said that masking is recommended and stated the best way to prevent the onset of COVID-19.

“Our Health Officer, Dr. Aimee Sisson, strongly recommends everyone mask until we reach a moderate community transmission level of < 7 cases per 100,000,” Fout said via email.

“Vaccination and boosters remain the safest, most effective prevention to COVID-19.”

As a result of the pandemic, there was a new development “in jury service: remote appearance for hardship screening,” the press release said.

When an individual gets a jury summons they will first be screened in a virtual courtroom,

though they can also visit in person if they would like.

Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig said that the pandemic also had an impact on the criminal justice system beyond just jury services.

For instance, hearings could be delayed.

“Covid restrictions impacted the rights of all involved in the criminal justice system,” Reisig said via email. “The California Supreme Court issued special orders which resulted in delayed hearings for those accused and victims too. The remote nature of many proceedings infringed on the relationship between lawyers and the parties.

It was not ideal in any analysis.”

However, there has gradually been a return to in person services, which has many benefits, according to Reisig.

“As the Covid restrictions lessen, our staff has returned to a more normal approach to the job,” Reisig said. “In person appearances are a vital part of our adversarial system. We are looking forward to a full return to normal for all.”

Ultimately, as the pandemic continues to evolve, jury service will continue as it is essential but there will be measures in place to prevent COVID-19, according to the press release.

“Jury service is an important act of public service; indeed, it’s the closest thing we have to direct democracy, and it is a bedrock aspect of our justice system,” Maguire said in the press release. “It can’t stop during a pandemic, but the Yolo Superior Court and our justice partners are committed to making the experience as safe and efficient as possible.”

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UC DAVIS RESEARCH PROJECT WITH TIES TO ELON MUSK BROUGHT UP IN PUBLIC DISCUSSION

Vice President Juliana Martinez Hernandez and senators agreed to draft a Resolution regarding the alleged mistreatment of monkeys in UC Davis primate research project

AGGIE FILE

BY KAYA DO-KHANH campus@theaggie.org On Thursday, Feb. 17, at 6:10 p.m., Vice President Juliana Martinez Hernandez called the Senate meeting to order and recited the UC Davis Land Acknowledgement.

Leslie Kemp, the director of the Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center, gave a presentation and navigated through the center’s website to provide information about where one could submit assistance requests for housing, food and other support. The center recently worked with Eat Well Yolo to provide free meals, which

comes to campus on Tuesdays from 2 to 4 p.m. on the MU South Patio.

Next, Provost Mary Croughan gave a presentation about recent improvements, such as the Aggie Launch Program, which is focused on career preparation and exploration for undergraduate and graduate students. Croughan went on to discuss and answer questions about accommodations and academic flexibilities for learning during the pandemic.

Next, Hibah Shafi, the chairperson of the Student Health and Wellness Committee, provided a quarterly report. Shafi discussed the election of new sub-committees and projects such as Wellness Wednesdays, which consists of activities to promote mental health. In terms of social media, the committee has regularly posted campus updates and policies regarding the pandemic on its Instagram.

The Environmental Policy and Planning Commission provided a quarterly report. The Environmental Justice Team has been working to create a survey to gauge environmental justice needs, and the Styrofoam Recycling Team is working on a way to recycle styrofoam to labs on campus. The social media and website team has been posting about on-campus sustainability efforts, and it plans to provide information about a clean-up competition the day after Picnic Day. Next, the senators moved to committee chairperson confirmations.

Yoanna Soliman was confirmed as the STEM Committee chairperson and Tanya Chettri as the vice-chairperson with no

objections.

Senate President Pro Tempore Radhika Gawde gave an update on the Student Advocate Office (SAO). Fourteen new members were recruited, and the office’s staff now totals 21 people. Chair of the Internal Affairs Commission Kabir Sahni brought up concerns about SAO’s hiring process, as applications were accepted via a Google Form rather than through the ASUCD Vacancy website.

Marcos Lopez, the Aggie Housing Advocacy Committee chair, gave a Housing Presentation and explained the Housing Element, an eight-year housing plan outlining land use.

The senators transitioned into elected officer reports and gave updates on their weekly progress and then moved on to Public Announcements.

Jackson Gould, a volunteer captain with CALPIRG, gave an update about the organization’s pledge drive. Gould said they are close to meeting their goal of 1,000 new pledges. CALPIRG is working on their Beyond Plastics Campaign and recently introduced AB #226 into the state assembly.

Vice President Juliana Martinez Hernandez then shared that ASUCD is working on launching a newsletter.

In Public Discussion, Hernandez brought up the UC Davis primate research project funded by Elon Musk that is currently being sued over alleged mistreatment of monkeys. Hernandez voiced her sadness about the alleged mistreatment and said that she thinks the ASUCD Senate should take action. Hernandez and a few senators agreed to begin drafting a resolution.

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THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2O22 | 3

‘COME TOGETHER IN SOLIDARITY RIGHT NOW’: FOUNDER OF CULTURE C.O.-O.P. SANDY HOLMAN TALKS TO THE AGGIE ABOUT RACIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION, ACTIVISM

Holman hosts weekly discussions and “The Cost of Darkness” documentary viewings sponsored by the Yolo County Library Q: Tell me more about your organization, The Culture C.O.O.P. How do you create change and cultivate understanding?

BY LEVI GOLDSTEIN city@theaggie.org

Holman: Creating change is a relative thing, especially when dealing with issues of -isms and racism in particular. We believe that in order for things to be changed, they have to be approached systemically and not all the Band-Aid approaches that you’re seeing where people are doing diversity events, or they’re doing unconscious bias trainings — all things that are important, by the way, but in and of themselves are not going to change anything.

We believe that you have to approach things systemically and go a lot deeper. For example, “The Cost of Darkness,” the showing that we’re doing with the [Yolo County Library] and the [Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency], is trying to point out to people that it really does take tough work to dismantle these huge structures that perpetuate the status quo of what we’re seeing to this day. We focus on economics and education, politics, media, healthcare, white supremacy, Blackness, the criminal justice system. We’re trying to get people to create groups, where each person has their niche, or their specialty, but they come together as a pod to address things systemically, because what happens in economics affects what’s happening in healthcare, what happens in healthcare affects what’s going on educationally, what happens educationally affects what’s going on in the criminal justice system.

For example, they predict prison beds based on reading scores in second and third grade. All these things interconnect. They’re not an island unto themselves, and they create a compounded institutional impact on people of color, on what we’ve referred to as poor people — people who don’t have a lot of money — and those who are different.

Sandy Holman, founder of The Culture C.O.-O.P. (Sandy Holman / Courtesy).

Activist, educator and author Sandy Holman spoke with The California Aggie on Friday, Feb. 4. She described the process that she and her organization, The Culture C.O.-O.P., designed to create lasting change in systems that perpetuate racism and imparted guidance for self-care and resilience for fellow activists.

Holman also provided insight into the politics of Black History Month and racial justice initiatives.

Below is a transcript of the interview that has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: How did you get into anti-racism work, and why is it important to you?

Holman: That’s a long story, but the short version of it is that a long time ago, when I was young, I realized that people had tremendous fears around differences and race in particular.

There’s only one race, the human race. But a lot of our history, globally and in this country, has been based on a caste system where white people are on the top and African diaspora, or Black people, are on the bottom of that caste system. That combined with global white supremacy, eugenics, the treatment of First Nation people — the genocide of them — as well as chattel slavery and the enslavement of African diasporic people set a foundation for everything that we’re seeing today in the world.

Every movement that you see today — the LGBTQIA movement, the women’s movement, the disability movement — all of them have their origins in those two original sins of what was done to First Nation people and African diasporic people. All of that has infiltrated every aspect of our society, from the individual, to the community, to the organizational, to the systemic, to the globe. It is having a catastrophic impact and cost to humanity, especially people of color, or people who are put in vulnerable situations just because of who they are, what they represent and what they look like. So all those years ago, my understanding wasn’t as nuanced as it is now, but I realized we had a lot of hate based on what you look like, based on Black skin or dark skin or difference, and I wanted to do something about it. So [I worked] in schools and eventually [started] my own organization, The Culture C.O.-O.P., and the sister organization, United in Unity, with the mission of promoting systemic change, inclusion, equity, cultural competency, literacy and quality education for all, because I feel that everyone, regardless of your discipline or focus, needs to have the ability to think analytically and understand historical constructs, policies, practices, ways of being and structures that have advantaged or privileged white people over other cultures and why we’re seeing all the inequities we see today.

We all need to look at our systems, our environments and our spaces, and we need to do a scan, from the micro to the macro, every aspect of it, that may be perpetuating things that we say we want to do away with. The hard work is digging deep and having a plan where you look at things even a year at a time and beyond.

You come up with a strategy after you’ve identified everything that’s not helping in an organization or a community. You put in interventions based on historical knowledge of what the root causes of a problem are, and you come up with solutions to address those problems. Then you try them all out, and at the end of the year, you say what worked and what didn’t, and then you throw out all the things that didn’t work and put in things that will work better. You keep doing this until you start to see a dent in systemic change. Again, that’s very difficult. It’s hard to measure a lot of the time, and, I’m being very honest with you, few people are willing to do this systemic work.

We do get indicators, though, of success. When individuals are exposed to the true information and the root causes of what we’re experiencing in each of our institutions, they are often more likely to come up with better interventions and strategies and not just shoot-off-the-hip, Band-Aid approaches or celebratory kinds of things. Again, all those things are beautiful and important, but they don’t get to the heart of the matter. That’s why, in 2022, quite frankly, we’re still dealing with this zoo in the room, and not just the elephant in the room anymore — it’s a zoo. We’re at a tipping point, I believe, because we constantly make two steps forward, but then we crush it. We’re seeing a backlash today in our country.

[The banning of ] diversity studies, ethnic studies, critical race theory — all this is fueled by fear and the desire to continue to have privilege and control power at the expense of others. This is really serious stuff. It really requires serious thought and learning and working collectively to systemically approach change.

Q: What is the purpose of the weekly discussions and “The Cost of Darkness” documentary showings?

Holman: It’s like an advertiser, because obviously four weeks is not enough. It’s not our whole paradigm. We have a paradigm. The documentary is part of a paradigm for transforming individuals, communities, systems and beyond. The documentary is one of eight tools that are a part of that paradigm. It’s a key part of it, but it’s only one tool. There are ongoing presentations that go with it. We have PowerPoints, paper and other things that go with it.

The goal is ultimately to create a mindshare among people so that they understand root causes, historical happenings and structures that have built what we’re seeing today. It’s not the deficit of some cultural group; it’s the systems that were built by design to do what we’re seeing today, and they’re working quite well. This is just a tip-of-the-iceberg introduction, because quite frankly, I’m being honest, people are willing to pay just a skosh more attention because it’s Black History Month. Whether it’s Black History Month, Latinx Month, First Nation Month, LGBTQIA Month, during these months — which should be 365 days throughout the year part of a curriculum and approach — we take advantage

of the fact that some people might be willing to pay a little bit more attention. This “Cost of Darkness” showing is dipping our toes in the water and trying to get people to expand, to begin their journey, individually, organizationally, community-wise and so forth and beyond. They’re not going to finish after four weeks and be ready to go out and do all they need to do. In fact, we have to do all this in parallel now, because we’re in the red zone.

We can’t afford to wait until people get totally acculturated to the foundational aspects of learning to take action. It’s too late to do that. They need to do it in parallel as they’re taking action because we’re in a very, very dire situation as a country and beyond.

That’s what we’re doing — dipping their toe in the water to get them to think much deeper about these issues, not just going to restaurants of different cultures, buying relics of different cultures or learning the language, even, which is a little bit better. Again, all beautiful things. But [we’re] going deeper into the historical interconnections of culture, what’s been done to cultures and what needs to be deconstructed as a result of dominant culture and white supremacy. That’s a lot more painful and a lot scarier for people, which is why we need people who are willing to do it.

Q: How does someone get involved in making change after they’ve gone through the process of education?

Holman: I honestly have most hope with young people. I’m not giving up on people my age. I’ve been doing this for over 35 years. But it’s young people that give me the most hope. Originally, when I developed this paradigm, it was to happen over a year period in parallel with action. So people would be learning, and then I wouldn’t be getting all the kickback as much because they would understand things better, and they would be given assignments to actually take action in their communities or their organizations. I reduced this down to a three-month experience, and that’s why I say these guys are just getting a tippy-toe, although it’s deeper than most of them will ever get because of what they learn from the documentary experience. Hypothetically, in an ideal world, people would go through this paradigm for transforming individuals, communities, systems and beyond, and the assignments they would be getting would require them to interact with real people, real situations and so forth. Also, after developing a whole list, a road map of sorts, for whatever issue they were trying to address, they would connect with other people who were addressing other aspects. Maybe my thing would be education, so I would connect with someone who is trying to address economics, and we would connect with someone who is focusing on the criminal justice system, and we would connect with someone who is focusing on media, and we would connect with someone who is focusing on politics, looking at all of our institutions. Our documentary covers the eight of them. And we work together as a pod — maybe in the Davis community, maybe on campus, whatever our space is — and collectively identify a few top things that we thought were harming people, and we would start there. [With] all the knowledge we would learn from this paradigm and experience, from coming together and dealing with the tough stuff, from creating brave spaces and not just safe spaces, we would act. That’s what would happen.

With these issues, you can’t be safe. People are going to get their feelings hurt and be upset and not like what they’re hearing, so I believe in brave spaces. Over time, we would start to put dents in systemic structures that, hopefully, cumulatively, would make it easier for the next generation. This stuff is going to take a minute.

Systemic change, in an ideal way, takes a minimum of three years. If you don’t have the will of people to do it, if you have saboteurs, and all the things that we do have built into the system, it’s many more years than that, which is why things have not moved. Obviously, certain things have moved tremendously, but others have not. You see, we fall back into old ways. It’s a process. Really, it’s a lifetime journey. But we need to, and we can if we have the will, make faster change. Now, we’re at the point, I feel, that the consequences of not doing so are at their highest levels. It’s been that way for many years for people of color and marginalized groups, but we’re in a place now where it’s even going to affect the dominant culture a whole lot more than it has in the past. That’s what I would say to that. You know you’re making a difference when you’re at least trying. Even if initially you don’t see any difference that it’s making, it doesn’t give you an excuse to stop trying. This is a case where we have to. And we know some things that work. So let’s do it. First, educate ourselves. I’m hoping people come, particularly young people. I would love them to come. I was so happy to see a few high school students. I think I saw one college student. A professor had shared. But, oh my gosh, I would love it to be filled with college students, or young people in general, because they get it, and they’re young, and they want a better world. Again, not saying older people don’t, but it’s a little more difficult.

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YOLO COUNTY TO TRANSITION TO THE CALIFORNIA VOTER’S CHOICE ACT MODEL By this year’s June election, Yolo County will adopt a voting system that aims to make voting more convenient

BY SOFIA BIREN city@theaggie.org The California Voter’s Choice Act (VCA) was passed in 2016 to modernize voting in the state.

The model outlined in it requires that ballots be mailed out 28 days before Election Day. Voters can then submit their ballots by mail, in a dropbox or in a voting center that is open ten days prior to election day, according to the California Secretary of State website.

As of 2020, 14 counties have adopted the model outlined in the VCA. Yolo County will be part of the 12 counties who will be adopting the VCA this year in time for the California Primary Election on June 7.

In a press release, Yolo County stated they are “working on fully transitioning to the model of conducting elections under the California Voter’s Choice Act.” Prior to this, Yolo County adopted a modified VCA model during the 2020 Presidential Election and the Gubernatorial Recall Election in 2021, according to Yolo County Chief Election Official Jesse Salinas.

In the modified VCA model, voting centers in Yolo County were only open for four days, rather than the full 11 days in the official VCA model. Salinas said that Yolo County planned to adopt the VCA model in 2022, but the pandemic forced officials to adopt measures which would make voting in the Nov. 2020 election easier and

AMY YU / AGGIE

safer.

“We were trying to redesign the model for the November election, and that’s why we transitioned into this model,” Salinas said.

“Because we can do a VCA-like model but we can’t stay open the 10 days prior, [...] we were trying to make it a more reasonable amount.

The November 2020 Election saw a record increase in voter turnout in UC Davis and Yolo County. In the 2016 presidential election, Davis student turnout was 43%, but in 2020 the turnout rate was 75.7%. This prompted UC

Davis to win the Best in Class Award in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge.

The effectiveness of the VCA-like model was also clear in Yolo County according to Salinas.

“Of all registered voters we typically have a 76% turnout rate,” Salinas said. “In the November 2020 election, we had an 83% turnout rate.”

Salinas said he is proud of the increase in voters because it shows that although the county did not use a full VCA model, the turnout rate has been the highest it has been when compared

to data from the past 30 years. In comparison, the state of California had an overall voter turnout rate of 70.8% which is the highest it has been since the 1952 election.

The push for more convenient elections is coming to realization with the Voter’s Choice Act. In a press release, California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber stated this model will “provide eligible voters more convenience and flexibility.”

In part of this push to make elections more convenient for voters, the Yolo County Elections Office partnered with grocery stores in the county, most notably Nugget Markets in Davis.

According to Salinas, Nugget Market had such a positive experience with the drop-boxes that they plan on making their stores in other counties available for drop-boxes in future elections.

During the November 2020 election, over 50% of voters in Yolo County used a drop box. In addition to drop boxes, the VCA calls for readily available voting centers during an election. Under this model, one vote center is required for every 10,000 registered voters. At a voting center, voters can register to vote, receive assistance in another language and drop off their ballots up to 10 days before the election.

More information about the Voter’s Choice Act is available on the Yolo County Elections Office website and on the California’s Secretary of State’s website.

4 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24,

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

SUPER BOWL LVI’S NOSTALGIC HALFTIME SHOW A break from pop-centered artists, hip-hop prodigies take the stage, representing ‘90s music and Black culture

BY SIERRA JIMENEZ arts@theaggie.org The Super Bowl halftime show — one of the biggest musical performances of the world, and an iconic American staple — puts pressure on the performers to go above and beyond expectations from years past. We all remember Beyoncé’s queen energy at Super Bowl XLVII in 2013 and dynamic duo Shakira and Jennifer Lopez’s hip shaking performance at Super Bowl LIV halftime show in 2020. Will this year’s show go down in history the same way?

Compared to halftime shows in the past, which seemed to cater towards a younger audience showcasing artists like The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and Katy Perry, this year’s hip-hop legend headliners, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent, were most popular in the ‘90s or early 2000s.

Generation Z, including myself, have an appreciation for older hip hop tunes we would listen to with our parents on the drive to school, but older generations were exhilarated to hear something other than modern pop music on the halftime stage, dancing in front of the screen in reminiscence (we’ve all seen the Tik Tok videos).

The show began with Dr. Dre, elevated into view with the foreseeable but classic “Da, da, da, da, da / It’s the motherf*****’ D-O-double-G” starting off with the legendary Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg song, “The Next Episode.” Snoop Dogg, wearing the colors of the Golden State, joins Dr. Dre atop the grandiose float resembling a large white mansion with convertibles parked out front. The set, a cliché Los Angeles image with city lights projected on the ground below and rooms filled with the stars surrounded by beautiful women, was fitting for the location of the SoFi stadium in Inglewood, CA and the stomping grounds for the SoCal locals Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg themselves.

The camera then transitioned to 50 Cent, who transcended gravity by appearing in one of the stage’s rooms upside down. He performed “In Da Club” as if he was actually in da club instead of the middle of a football field. Mary J. Blige, atop the float in a captivating blinged-out fit, slayed her R&B classics, “Family Affair” and “No More Drama” showing off her incredible musical pipes by hitting all sorts of vocal runs.

Kendrick Lamar then rises out of a box to begin his beautifully executed portion of the performance with a blend of his songs “m.A.A.d city” and “Alright” while dancing in fluidity with the background dancers and funny enough, not making eye contact with the camera whatsoever (which I found comical). The performance then transitions to Eminem and Dr. Dre’s “Forgot About Dre.” Exploding out of the set, Eminem levitated on stage with Dr. Dre on the ivories and rapper Anderson .Paak on drums, jamming alongside Eminem, ending the set with the “Still D.R.E.” performed by Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre himself.

Despite these renowned names in rap music performing legendary nostalgic hits, I was disappointed in comparison to performances in the past. It seemed as though the physical set — the mansion moat — had the most time and

effort put into the performance and not so much the performance itself.

Despite my personal views, the 2022 Super Bowl drew the biggest viewing in five years, according to the New York Times, with an average of 112.3 million viewers tuning in on television and streaming. The halftime show itself averaged 103.4 million viewers, a seven percent increase from The Weeknd’s performance last year.

With a $13 million budget from the NFL, Dr. Dre matched The Weeknd by spending $7 million out of pocket on the performance, according to CNA Luxury, capping this year’s halftime show at $20 million. While this year’s show cost more than The Weeknd’s in 2021, I felt as though the performance didn’t quite match the enormous amount of money put into it.

The dancers were sporadic and there seemed to be no continuity between performers. Where were all the matching outfits? Where was the flashiness of fire, lights and coordination of dancers? The performance was, dare I say, messy?

Kendrick Lamar’s bit was the most put-together out of the whole performance, and Eminimen’s appearance was the most extravagant part of the show.

For viewers who were looking for the spunk and pazazz from previous halftime sets like Lady Gaga atop the peak of the stadium or the geometric lion Katy Perry wrangled, this performance was subpar in presentation to shows in the past. Although I found the overall performance less than desirable, I appreciated, and will not overlook, the messaging and sentiment of the show’s presentation.

Amidst the recent political climate, perhaps this year’s halftime show was focused more on racial awareness and Black celebration than your typical flashy pop-driven halftime show. In the history of the Super Bowl halftime shows, this year’s performance will be the first time hip-hop took center stage, according to New York Times.

An overwhelmingly Black genre, hip-hop has its roots in rebellion and expression of discontent from its origin in the Bronx, NY and lower income communities of color. Dr. Dre, “gangsta rap pioneer,” according to Discover Music, was an ideal lead for this year’s halftime show.

Grappling with racial controversies in recent years, the NFL likely wanted to represent Black artists to showcase diversity. This recognition of Black artists was a long time coming; it took deliberate racial controversy to bring these artists to center stage at the halftime show in which everyone across the country tunes in.

Controversy, from Eminem’s kneeling in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick — though the NFL is reported to deny Eninem permission to do prior to performance — to Dr. Dre’s lyric “still not loving the police” in his song “Still D.R.E,” according to Vanity Fair, and not to mention Snoop Dogg’s allegedly “gang-related” bandana jumpsuit, this year’s halftime show was a balance of celebration and protest.

Whether the actual performance was considered “good” or not, it was an important cultural shift in NFL and American history as a statement to the racial discrimination in the fabrics of American culture and politics. Black artists were finally given a spotlight and those who grew up on ‘90s rap were able to reconnect with the oldies but goldies.

BY JACOB ANDERSON arts@theaggie.org

Pre-game warmups before Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles Calif. (Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 License)

Movie: “Tangerine” dir. by Sean Baker (2015) Sean Baker’s grimy, hilarious, iPhone-shot romp follows two transgender sex workers, one of whom is determined to find the woman whom her pimp/boyfriend had slept with during her brief stay in prison. The film is bright and filthy the whole way through, capturing the complicated and sometimes funny, often depressing lives of its characters. Sean Baker depicts Hollywood in all its debauched, 100-degree charm, treating the characters with compassion in such a way that never detracts from the comedy.

While Baker’s later films are arguably better, and the flat, grainy tone of iPhone footage can be somewhat distracting, “Tangerine” is still a fantastic watch that perfectly marries empathy and comedy.

Book: “I Used to be Charming” by Eve Babitz (2019) In the final release before her death in December of this last year, the mordant and ever confident Eve Babitz also captures Hollywood.

For her, though, it’s a frantic place full of Jim Morrisons and Francis Ford Coppolas and writers of sensational and skeevy erotica. Over a span of 40 years, Babitz’s nonfiction charts Los Angeles as the rock bars decay and a sleeker 2000’s culture rises to prominence through essays on dating celebrities and playing nude chess and a startlingly long piece about the fashion brand Fiorucci. In many ways, the opposite of her contemporary and frequent point of comparison Joan Didion, Babitz lived a life of uninhibited and unskeptical joy, and this last collection completes the impossible deed of summing up that life in 400 pages.

Album: “First Utterance” by Comus (1971) The short-lived, psychedelic folk (among other classifications) band Comus received almost no recognition for the release of their first full-length album, “First Utterance,” but the album has since developed into something like an underground notoriety. And for good reason: The music is terrifying and skillful, sporting 10-minute, jaunty tracks about folklore creatures that kidnap and eat virgins that sound like the hymns of a medieval-themed cult. Clamoring tambourines, violins that sound like they’re about to burst apart and uneasy vibrato from shrill people make the music sound endless and threatening. Despite being sort of upbeat, this is the music one would compose to accompany a human sacrifice.

It’s fascinating, yes, but there’s clear artistry behind the spectacle, inspiring awe in the same volume as incipient terror. The band never saw commercial success for obvious reasons, but this release has still managed to arrest the minds and amygdalas of many despite its unorthodoxy.

TV Show: “Gunbuster” (1988) This classic mecha anime from the ‘80s, which has been referenced and ripped-off in so many contexts across so many cultures and mediums that it’s unlikely they all know what they’re paying tribute to. This TV show has aged tremendously: elegant animation, a great story and one of the most memorable endings from anime of this era. The show’s director, Hideaki Anno, would of course go on the make the infinitely more famous “Neon Genesis Evangelion,” but while that show has at least one part (spanning seven or eight episodes in the show’s beginning and middle) that seems excessively dry compared to the rest of the show, Gunbuster remains fantastic the entire way through — and at only 6 episodes, it’s easily watchable in an afternoon. This is one of the best animated works of the ‘80s and I have a hard time believing anybody could watch it and have a bad time.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | 5

OPINION PROFESSORS, STUDENTS MUST BOTH ADDRESS CHEATING ON HOMEWORK Grading assignments on completion can reduce the incentive to cheat Why do students cheat? Typing this question into Google yields a wide variety of answers ranging from peer pressure to stress to meeting an important goal such as graduating from high school or college. These answers may apply to many students but fail to fully address the situation students may find themselves in when they resort to cheating.

College students agree to codes of academic conduct before taking classes and most believe that cheating is wrong. According to a feature in the American Psychological Association, however, when extrinsic motivation (to pass a class or get a high grade) overcomes intrinsic motivation (to learn and benefit intellectually from the class), cheating increases. And with our current education system that emphasizes grades over learning and where students must seek out help rather than be approached by their instructors when they are struggling, it’s not hard to understand why students may not always feel intrinsically motivated to learn.

Furthermore, grades simply cannot be equated with learning.

Anecdotally, members of the Editorial Board have taken classes where test averages were between 50-60%, and students who earned as low as a D had their grades curved to a B — a nearly failing score curved to a grade that should represent having learned the material fairly well.

This begs the question: If education is truly about students learning material well, why is it possible to pass a class with a 50% in the gradebook? Shouldn’t classes be designed in such a way that students come out of the course with a strong knowledge base rather than with a grade that is semi-meaningless? Additionally, when students have what would be a failing grade based on their overall percentage and are still able to pass, this teaches students not to learn but to earn a high enough grade to move on to their next course. Having such unpredictable grades can add to student anxiety, which can make them feel the need to achieve very high scores on assignments to maximize their grades.

Also, assignments graded on correctness rather than completion can influence cheating, especially with increased technology use and the rise of “homework help” websites that have only made it easier for students to access tools that allow them to cheat. Chegg, for example, is a $12 billion company that, according to a Forbes article, is “getting rich off of students cheating,” with subscriptions to the service spiking during online learning.

This news is incredibly discouraging for faculty since these sites allow students to perform well on assignments and in classes without really learning the material. Additionally, the members of the Editorial Board find the fact that the service requires payment particularly problematic. Students who can’t afford to pay for Chegg may feel disadvantaged, given how many of their peers use it. Sites that not only allow students to cheat but also require payment for cheating only encourage elitism in education.

Chegg “refutes the idea of the company being a mass-spreader of cheating,” according to a Chegg representative. However, professors can upload test questions in advance of administering exams to prevent them from being answered in a given time

period, suggesting that the company is well aware of the way in which their site is used.

When it comes to cheating, it’s easy to blame students for simply being too lazy to study or having no desire to learn.

Professors, however, should understand that many students cheat out of desperation; perhaps they are failing a class that’s required for their major and cannot afford to retake it. While this doesn’t excuse cheating, it can help professors and those outside of this predicament understand students’ mindsets when they cheat.

Having homework that is graded for submission and providing answer keys after the assignment’s deadline could be a solution to help students feel less stressed and more encouraged to learn.

Essentially, the burden to stop cheating is both on students and professors. Students must subscribe to academic honesty and take initiative to learn, but professors can also put in effort to create assignments that focus on learning, rather than correctness.

THE

E DITO R IA L BOA R D ANJINI VENUGOPAL Editor-in-Chief MARGO ROSENBAUM Managing Editor SOPHIE DEWEES Campus News Editor MADELEINE PAYNE City News Editor EDEN WINNIFORD Opinion Editor KATIE DEBENEDETTI Features Editor ALLIE BAILEY Arts & Culture Editor

Below is a list of free tutoring resources for UC Davis students courtesy of the Student Affairs website: Campus location: Bainer Hall — Drop-in Tutoring (Engineering) Dutton Hall — Workshops, Classes, Content Reviews, Individual Writing Appointments (Chemistry, Math, Physics, Writing) Sciences Lab Building — Drop-in Tutoring (Biology) Shields Library (Lower Level) — Drop-in Tutoring (Chemistry, Math) South Hall — Drop-in Tutoring (Economics, Physics, Statistics) University House Annex — The Writing Studio: Drop-in Tutoring (Writing) Center for Chicano and Latinx Academic Student Success — Office Hours (Statistics, Physics, Math, Chemistry) Cuarto, Segundo and Tercero Academic Advising Centers — Drop-in Tutoring (Chemistry, Math) Subject-specific tutoring: Biology — BIS 101, BIS 102, BIS 103, BIS 104, BIS 105 (Drop-in Tutoring) Chemistry — CHE 10/WLD 41C, CHE 2ABC, CHE 8AB, CHE 118ABC (Drop-in Tutoring); CHE 2A Content Review, CHE 2C, CHE 8A Content Review, CHE 8B, CHE 118A, CHE 118C (Workshop) Economics — ECN 1A, ECN 1B, ECN 101 (Drop-in Tutoring) Engineering — ENG 102, ENG 103, ENG 105, Python, EME 106, EME 165 (Drop-in Tutoring) Math — WLD/precalc, MAT 12, MAT 16ABC, MAT 17ABC, MAT 21ABC, MAT 21AD, MAT 22AB (Drop-in Tutoring); MAT 21D, MAT 22A, MAT 22B (Workshop) Physics — PHY 7, PHY 9 (Drop-in Tutoring); PHY 7A, Math Review for PHY 7A, PHY 7B, PHY 7C, PHY 9A Content Review (Workshop) Statistics — STA 13, STA 100 (Drop-in Tutoring) Writing — All

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OMAR NAVARRO Sports Editor MICHELLE WONG Science & Tech Editor

KATHLEEN QUINN New Media Manager BENJAMIN CHENG Photo Director KATHERINE FRANKS Design Director JOELLE TAHTA Layout Director ANNE THISELTON-DYER Copy Chief SABINE LLOYD Copy Chief DARSHAN SHIVAKUMAR Website Manager ANTHONY NGUYEN Social Media Manager JOSHUA GAZZANIGA Distribution Manager JENNA HEATH Marketing Manager JELENA LAPUZ Outreach Director LAURIE PEDERSON Business Development Manager

CAN THE HUMAN BODY PREDICT THE WEATHER? A deep dive into barometric pressure and the human body

BY ALEX MOTAWI almotawi@ucdavis.edu

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

The human body is capable of many amazing things. Take a moment to think about it: The successful creation of the human body, with so many different moving pieces working together perfectly in union, is a miracle in itself. With new developments constantly hitting the forefront, our understanding of the human body has never been better. With many scientific advances, have we finally found the answer to one of those ageold “myths” about humans — that the human body can predict the weather?

Everyone has heard the stories. People who “always” get a migraine slightly before the storm hits their front door. The choice individual who “always” gets an ache in their pinky toe the day before their windows get pelted with rain. We

used to file these myths and legends with other old adages that have never been tested or proven.

These theories were considered folklore, like using persimmons to predict the weather by examining the shapes inside their seeds. The persimmon theory is based on really interesting research and worth exploring but ultimately false; not all secrets in nature have a true known purpose.

However, as science continues to advance, we can truly analyze these stories that were often considered unbecoming. The results made the rest of us look silly. While not applicable to everyone, it is true that certain individuals do have the “power” to predict the weather through their aches and pains, and it all boils down to barometric pressure.

Time for a quick crash course in barometric pressure for the people like me who aren’t scientific geniuses. If we were scientists, I could probably just show you the formula (which contains 10 letters and zero numbers) and everyone would understand, but instead, I’ll take the word approach. Barometric pressure, also called atmospheric pressure, is a measure of air pressure in the atmosphere. It’s highly variable and while not relevant to this discussion, Davis is typically just above 30 inHg (inches of mercury), which is slightly above average.

WEATHERPREDICTION on 9

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.

PESTO TO THE RESCUE! How making unconventional pesto fixed my food waste problems — and how it can help fix yours, too Liguria region. Authentic pesto is made by hand using a mortar and pestle and a minimal list of high-quality ingredients: basil, toasted pine nuts, olive oil, salt and either parmigiano reggiano or grana padano cheese. It is traditionally paired with specific shapes of pasta and is enjoyed just like that.

However, if we’re not making authentic pesto like an Italian grandmother might, pesto can be a very versatile and forgiving condiment to make and utilize at home — especially when that time comes around when you have too many greens on hand and not enough time. It can be made in a pinch with just a food processor or a blender.

PESTO on 9

BY NADIA ANEES nsanees@ucdavis.edu I first learned that pesto was something I could make by myself, in my own kitchen, when I was a freshman in high school, and it flipped my world around. I’d been a big pesto fan but viewed it as a little delicacy I would only enjoy when going out to delis or restaurants.

Almost everyone I know can relate to the inevitable problem of their produce going to waste before they finish it up, which keeps them from buying large quantities of fresh produce like vegetables and leafy greens. I’m here to convince you to look into making non-traditional pesto as a solution to your food waste habits.

Pesto has its origins in Genoa, Italy — specifically in the

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.

KELLIE LU / AGGIE

HUMOR

MY ROOMMATE’S EMANATING A SERIOUSLY BAD VIBE, DUDES Stop declaring your independence from me, Marcus

BY ANNABEL MARSHALL almarshall@ucdavis.edu Guys. Dudes. Bros. Etc. I think there’s something off with my roommate. Like, the vibes are seriously off. No jokes.

We used to be fine. But recently he’s been acting weird. He said he wants me to stop jumping off the fridge and cannonballing onto the couch every morning. But that’s just how I like to start my day. Plus, it saves time to keep the couch in the kitchen. That’s just basic math.

Like, being a STEM major is already a red flag. But he’s taking a coding class “just for fun.”

I don’t think he understands what “fun” means, ‘cause he didn’t want to join in when we were having a competition to see who could eat a whole onion the fastest. He’s from Britain.

Also, last night I woke up and he was slowly turning a steak knife in his fingers, the moon

reflecting off the blade. And, like, I’m an empath, so I felt like something was off.

Lately, I’ve noticed he’s become pretty pale.

Like, I can see the contents of the refrigerator even when he’s standing right in front of it.

Granted, the only thing in our refrigerator is Dijon mustard and four grapefruit White Claws.

But that still seems like a warning sign. Again, he is British, so maybe he just hasn’t been in the sun in a while.

One time I saw him trying on this big powdered wig and ranting against the Federalists.

And I’m pretty sure Halloween isn’t for at least another couple of months, so that could be something.

I don’t wanna be, like, rude or whatever, but I’m starting to think he’s the evil ghost of Thomas Jefferson. I talked to some guy from the internet in Venezuela who said he had a similar problem with Hugo Chavez haunting his outdoor shed.

Honestly, I’d be fine with it if Jefferson wasn’t such a bummer. I asked him if he wanted to do anything later and he said he wanted “to indulge in the rich fields of nature, where alone I should have served as a volunteer if left to my natural inclinations and partialities.” I don’t think we have that in Davis.

He sent me a “Busting Ghosts” kit and told me to refer to it only by that precise name; otherwise, the copyright police would come after me and French braid my intestines. I’m hoping I can just blast ol’ Tommy with the fancy rocket launcher thing without unleashing the full rage of a haunting Founding Father. I think I can get him on the first try ‘cause my frat went to paintball last week and I shot all of the pledges in the forehead at least twice. As long as he doesn’t see it coming.

Guys, the room just became freezing cold. I think he might have been listening to me. If I die,

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

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE tell Joe Burrow I love him.

This concludes the official Yolo County transcript of Peter Chapman’s voicemail to the ESPN complaint line. The police are unsure why Chapman contacted ESPN, but friends of the victim have indicated that is the only number he knows by heart.

6 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2022

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

SCIENCE AND TECH ONGOING CLINICAL TRIAL AT UC DAVIS MEDICAL CENTER IS OPTIMIZING A NEW FORM OF IMMUNOTHERAPY FOR CANCER PATIENTS Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cell therapy (CAR T cell therapy) re-engineers patient’s immune cells to target and fight cancer

BY BRANDON NGUYEN science@theaggie.org

Administering CAR T-Cell Therapy to patient.

(UC Davis Health / Courtesy)

UC Davis Health is one of the few institutions in California and the only University of California campus that is producing Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cells as an immunotherapeutic weapon to help patients fight lymphomas and blood cancers. CAR T cell therapy, an immunotherapy that extracts a patient’s T cells and genetically re-engineers them to target cancer cells, is currently under clinical trial at the UC Davis Medical Center.

Dr. Joseph Tuscano, a professor of medicine at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center and co-investigator of the clinical trial for developing this therapy, described the science behind this immunotherapy rising in popularity.

“CAR T cell therapy is an immunotherapy where we try to fix the patient’s immune system by removing the T-killer cells in the body and then genetically modifying those using a virus called lentivirus that will go in and change the DNA,” Tuscano said. “So what is done is that the T cells are harvested from the patient there, and are modified to carry these new genes that code

for a new receptor that is on the surface of the T cell. This receptor is able to target a protein or ligand that’s on the surface of the cancer cell.”

This receptor on the genetically modified T cell is called the Chimeric Antigen Receptor, from which the therapy derives its name. With newly built-in receptors on the patient’s T cells, its binding to the targeted cancer cells leads to the T cells’ activation and proliferation into an army of immune cells that can now fight the tumor.

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DEVICE DEVELOPED TO DETECT HYPOXIA IN FETUSES HELPS PREVENT UNNECESSARY CESAREAN SECTIONS TFO device measures a fetus’s oxygen saturation levels non-invasively

BY MONICA MANMADKAR science@theaggie.org According to data published in Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2016, 60% of cesarean sections (C-sections) that are conducted due to potential hypoxia are unnecessary. Fetal hypoxia is a condition where the fetus is not delivered enough oxygen to continue growing.

Researchers at professor Soheli Ghaisi’s laboratory in the computer science and electrical engineering department have built a device to detect hypoxia in fetuses which can help decrease the number of unnecessary C-sections. The device measures the babies’ blood oxygen content through a non-invasive method.

“The birth of his youngest daughter started the idea for this device and research,” said Begum

Kasap, a Ph.D. student working on this project at the Ghaisi lab.

The transabdominal fetal pulse oximeter (TFO) is used similarly to ultrasound transducers and generates a graphical user interface to calculate the oxygen saturation content, Kasap explained. Researchers are currently testing the efficacy of this device in pregnant female sheep.

“There is always a need to test the device in-vitro to evaluate the function of the device in large-animal studies,” said Dr. Aijun Wang, a professor in the department of biomedical engineering. “This is one of the reasons that testing with ewes was a better model since there is as large of a physiological difference.”

In order to calibrate the oxygen saturation system, the researchers draw blood from the anesthetized ewes’ fetuses to compare the TFO’s oxygen data to the actual oxygen saturation.

This research and procedure strictly follow all mandates approved by the UC Davis Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

“Within the 13 studies that we’ve done since 2019, we were able to calculate the oxygen saturation with about a 10% mean absolute error,” Kasap said.

Testing of the TFO is extremely important for not only the improvement of the device but also for its integration into hospitals. The device has been tested on a small sample of healthy nearterm pregnant patients. Although the researchers achieved 6.3 beats per minute (bpm) mean absolute error, they would want to have less than five bpm mean absolute error before sending the device for clinical application, Kasap said.

Looking at the future, Wang detailed how the research group hopes to get U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the device and

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE improve it overall. For example, they would want to account for differences in skin color to serve a larger demographic.

To do so, Ghaisi, Kasap, Wang and the other researchers will continue conducting testing in both animals and humans to gather more data for the device’s overall improvement.

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A LOOK INTO THE UPCOMING 2022 TEMPLETON COLLOQUIUM The annual event will feature four experts in early 20th-century West Asia and include a discussion on the intersection of art history and the representation of marginalized communities in the press

BY ANGIE CUMMINGS arts@theaggie.org

UC Davis’ Department of Art History will be hosting its annual Templeton Colloquium, titled “Of Satire and Bigotry: Press Culture, Women’s Rights, and Liminal Modernity in West Asia,” on Friday, Feb. 25 at 4 p.m. The talk will be held in person at the Manetti Shrem Museum, and a livestream will be provided for those who cannot attend.

Made possible by the generous support of UC Davis alumnus Alan Templeton, this colloquium has been held since 2011 and brings together scholars from different institutions and fields of historical art research, providing the UC Davis community with a free and public lecture that tackles contemporary issues in art history.

The event is organized and moderated by a different faculty member each year, and this year, UC Davis Professor and Chair of the Department of Art History Talinn Grigor has assembled an interdisciplinary team of four experts on the first half of the 20th century in West Asia to discuss, “current issues of women’s rights, minorities’ rights and the intersection of art history,” Grigor said.

These complex issues will be examined through the lens of different forms of representation in the press, including satire and caricaturization, as well as the differences between newspapers or artists belonging to historically marginalized communities and mainstream outlets. Each of the speakers will cover one of these different angles within the overarching topic, giving voice to new conversations concerning these issues.

While this lecture is still based in the art-historical method of examining images and objects from a specific time and place of interest, these representations in the press are an entry point for an incredibly multi-faceted conversation that spans sociological, traditional, historical and cultural studies of West Asia. In order to gain something from this informationrich lecture, you only need to have some interest in the intersection of marginalized communities’ and women’s rights and representation in mass culture.

Cover page of the Cairo-based Armenian-language satirical journal, Armenian Cinema (1925–26), entitled “The force of saving the nation,” issue 24, 4 July 1925, showcasing a caricature of Aleksandr Sarukhan (Courtesy of the Archives of the National Library of Armenia, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia)

The first talk will be held by Yasemin Gencer, an art historian with a focus on the “visual culture and print media” from the late Ottoman to early Republican periods of Islamic art. In her talk titled “Modernity, Image, and Liminal Identities in the Early Turkish Republican Press,” Gencer will provide valuable insights on the state of underrepresented identities during the transitional period in which Turkey developed its own nationalism after the end of the Ottoman Empire.

Next, Houri Berberian, who co-authored an upcoming article with Professor Grigor on modernity and the representation of Armenian women in Iran, will discuss “Bogeymen and Birch Brooms: Pictorial Modernity, Satirical Newspapers, and the Armenian Women of Iran, 1920–58.” Berberian is a professor of history and the Chair and Director of the Armenian Studies Program at UC Irvine. She will specifically focus on “how communities mold the image of the modern woman in their own image,” Grigor said.

The third talk will be conducted by Camron Michael Amin, a professor of art history from the University of Michigan, Dearborn. Amin will discuss “Satire and Bigotry in Iranian Press Culture” and will explain a different side of the representation of marginalized communities in Iran, as his focus is on press written in Persian.

Amin’s talk will provide insights on marginalized voices in the press in contrast to the depiction of these communities in the mainstream media.

Finally, Nadia von Maltzahn, an art historian whose research revolves around cultural and artistic practices in West Asia, will present “A Thoughtful Exaggeration: Lebanon’s Early Independent Period through the Eyes of Diran.” Currently working on projects about the development of a “professional field of art in Lebanon,” von Maltzahn will generate a discussion of the famous Armenian-born caricaturist, Diran Agemian, and will shed light on the conception of a national identity in Lebanon and marginalized voices during this process.

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“With all that information, you can use statistical techniques to link which regions of the genome are associated with which traits, and you can start selecting based on the genotype,” Dubcovsky said. “What that allows you to do is predict performance, and you can select even before you see those plants, and before you make crosses with those plants. So it allows you to make the selection process of the new lines and new crosses a lot faster.”

Jackie Rudd, a wheat breeder and a professor at Texas A&M who is taking part in the project, described the traits the breeders are looking for when they’re selecting genotypes.

“It’s really about the growth rate, and that adds to yield, but it’s also about efficiency,” Rudd said. “The water-use efficiency and nitrogenuse efficiency is just extremely valuable. And it’s something that we’ve always worked on, but we can see more of that with the drone too.”

Rudd elaborated on how this ties into changing weather patterns.

“That efficient use of resources really is looking at climate change,” Rudd said. “When we can do things more efficiently, we’re going to come up with something better faster.”

In addition to emphasizing accelerated breeding, the project will also focus on training a cohort of plant Ph.D. students in modern breeding techniques and technologies, according to the press release.

“I’m an old guy; I’ve been around for a long time,” Rudd said. “We want to know that what we’ve learned throughout our career is not going to just go away. And so to work with students is just a joy. Their excitement, their enthusiasm

about everything, everything’s new to them and it’s just fun to be around — they teach me a lot too!”

Dubcovsky highlighted the real-life experience that the training will involve.

“These are active breeding programs,” Dubcovsky said. “It’s not that you read it in a book — you go to the field, you work in the planting, you work the harvest, you walk the rows, you learn how to look at the plants, you learn how to look at the images from drones, you learn how to use that to breed. So you are immersed in the real breeding program that is releasing commercial varieties into the real world.”

He also spoke on why this project is important today.

“People tend to continue reproducing and continue eating,” Dubcovsky said. “If you want to continue eating and you want to fit another three billion people in the next 20 years, you’d better be very good at breeding. If not, there’s not going to be enough for everyone.”

Dubcovsky offered some final thoughts on why the public should be paying attention to breeding research.

“We all think that food is guaranteed, but no,” Dubcovsky said. “Food depends on a lot of people who work very hard to produce that food, and on a lot of people who work hard to make sure that production keeps pace with the needs of our population. A lot of people today don’t think about food because we have enough. But when we don’t have enough, that’s the only thing that you will be thinking about.”

MASCOT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Gunrock is named after an Army Thoroughbred stud horse that was placed at UC Davis for civilian use in 1921. At Davis, Gunrock the Thoroughbred helped make a lasting impact on the school’s and state’s agricultural and veterinary advancements. After Gunrock died in 1932, to honor his impact, the students of UC Davis voted to name their chosen mascot of a mustang after Gunrock.

Other students, like third-year microbiology major Courteney Davis, don’t feel strongly about this history.

“Things are only a tradition because no one has changed them,” Davis said. “That’s what makes a tradition a tradition; [it] doesn’t mean it’s special.”

Hashimoto said that he doesn’t feel that the history of Gunrock the horse is relevant to much of the student body anymore. He said that, in terms of cohesiveness, a mustang doesn’t fit and that during the first few weeks of the #AggiesMOOvement, he had students reach out to him, not knowing what an “Aggie” was.

“If you don’t even know your school mascot or the distinction of your school name, is there any attachment to that for anyone?” Hashimoto said. “I really don’t think there is, and so by making our mascot a simple cow — because I think we are already attached to the cow anyway — it would be easy to convince the student body.”

Hashimoto spoke with ASUCD senator Dennis Liang, who said that in 1993, UC Davis students actually voted to change the official

mascot to a cow, but it never happened because an initiative to carry out the transition was not put in place.

Hashimoto said he believes that this time could be different. He said that the MOOvement, which gained over 1,000 followers on Instagram in less than a week, is expected to do well during spring quarter’s ASUCD elections. Given its popularity and growth in the last month, Hashimoto expects that having this movement on the referendum for this spring’s elections will yield a large voter turnout for campus elections this spring, and he hopes that through this, the student body can be accurately represented. His goal is to get around 10,000 people to vote, about a third of the school’s population.

Hashimoto is also advertising the MOOvement through merchandise like stickers that he hides around campus for students to find, and tote bags, which he said will make their debut at the farmers market this spring. While he is confident in his efforts, Hashimoto said that even if the mascot does not become a cow, he would still consider the MOOvement a success because of how many students it has brought together.

“I think changing the mascot to a cow would heighten the passion and enthusiasm of the community as we could have a mascot that we all identify with and rally around,” first-year physics major Andrew Birch said. “It matches with the campus spirit and culture, and changing the mascot would only increase those two things.”

BHMEVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Freddie Griffin, a U.S. Army 101st Airborne combat veteran who served in the Vietnam war, organized “Salute with Honor and Respect Black History Month.” The event is detailed in an Eventbrite post, “Join us to Salute and Honor our Black Veteran Heroes.” A long list of respected veterans will be speaking and in attendance. This free event is open to the public as long as registered via the eventbrite post.

On Sunday, Feb. 27, a film premiere of “The Talk” will occur at The Guild Theater, with a discussion following the film. The premiere is hosted by Journalist Ed Fletcher. In addition to the film, a Black media panel and live Q&A with the cast and crew will occur.

“The Talk” showcases an African American family giving their child a talk about their race and how the world can view them. Director D’Adonis Moquette described how this film is relatable for many Black individuals in the U.S. “This intimate moment between a parent and their African American son about how to be safe in the world when it deals with race,” Moquette said. “Living as an African American

in America — a lot of people that are in that kind of situation can relate to this talk. I believe it is something that the majority of minority children, possibly African American children specifically, go through with their parents. For me personally, I’ve had this talk several times throughout different times of my life.”

Moquette said he wants audiences to “Come in and leave with an open mind. This film was made specifically for everyone,” Moquette said.

“One thing we’re kind of missing right now in the world is empathy,” and his films seek ”to close that gap.”

Tickets for the premiere can be purchased on Eventbrite. When asked what Moquette wants people to take away from this year’s Black History Month, he focused on the diverse contributions Black people have made to the U.S. “We are more than just Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcom X [in] that we have contributed to society more than our hardships that we’ve had,” Moquette said. “We are inventors, creators, more than just entertainers as well.”

JURYDUTY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 As more and more services return to inperson operation, Fout explained the importance of following public health guidelines. In January, the case rate was 242 per 100,000 when the Omicron variant peaked, and as of Feb. 17, it is 43.8 per 100,0000.

“While that is good news, transmission levels remain high,” Fout said. “We recently adopted the state of California’s new masking guidance, allowing vaccinated people the option to choose to mask or not in some public settings.”

Fout added that masking is still mandatory in nursing homes, schools, detention facilities or jails, public transportation and congregant living facilities. In addition, “the Omicron surge

showed two positive effects not seen in prior variants.”

The first positive effect Fout mentioned was that the rise in cases did not lead to a proportionately higher rise in hospitalizations, meaning that the healthcare system was not overburdened as a result of the new variant.

“Second, Omicron is the first variant with milder severity,” Fout said. “We also have vital prevention with filtered masks and vaccination.

The positives explain our change in masking guidance and signal learning to live with the virus.

Finally, Yolo County will have fewer mandates and more recommendations for residents.”

SENATE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 SB #45, which will establish an ASUCD Board on Engagement and Outreach and implement noncontroversial formatting cleanups, passed unanimously.

SB #52, which allocates $297.39 to the

Gender and Sexuality Commission for an Identity based Open Mic event, passed unanimously.

Martinez Hernandez adjourned the meeting at 10:27 p.m.

As barometric pressure measures how much pressure is exerted on the air, it is a quality weather predictor when used in conjunction with previous data. It works consistently as a predictor of inclement weather in the U.S. In most regions of the U.S., low barometric pressure will mean that air in the atmosphere is rising; therefore, the air is cooling, eventually enough to form clouds followed by possible rain due to the increased humidity. Something to note is that in some more tropical climates, barometric pressure doesn’t work as well as an indicator, but otherwise, it’s a pretty solid method of weather prediction.

Most humans are unable to feel changes in barometric pressure, but not all. If a person is capable of feeling changes in barometric pressure, it’s a very short jump to theorize that they could then apply the knowledge to predict rain, even if it’s done subconsciously at first, which science

supports. It’s one of the closest things we have to having superpowers. However, having superpowers is never easy. The people best able to sense changes in barometric pressure are people with arthritis. In the most comprehensive study we have so far (205 patients), it was confirmed that a lowering of barometric pressure (and therefore ambient temperature) increased pain for a significant amount of people suffering from knee osteoarthritis. It makes sense that someone suffering from arthritis would be able to predict some weather patterns based on aches and pains in their more susceptible joints.

The human body being able to predict the weather is not a myth. While I sincerely hope people are not subjected to the storm of factors leading to this ability, the fact that it exists is truly exceptional. We are discovering more marvels that our body is capable of all the time, thanks to science!

PESTO CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 I like to imagine the components of pesto as a three-part pie chart consisting of the green, golden and brown groups. Different herbs or leafy greens, and even cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, can be perfectly used for the “green” part of this sauce. This is where you can get crafty when your spinach, kale, broccoli or even avocado is about to go bad. Typical nuts you may have around, such as cashews, walnuts or almonds, can be substituted for the pine nuts, making up what I call the “brown” group. Lastly, garlic, parmesan cheese and olive oil make up the “golden” group — I would highly suggest using the same golden group ingredients whether you’re making a pesto with about-to-wilt greens or the traditional way. Regardless of what you use in the green group, the golden group of ingredients is where you get amazing flavor.

Simply throw your ingredients from each

of the color groups listed above into a food processor and blend until smooth. With that, you have pesto! You can use it in sandwiches, pasta, rice or salad bowls, or you can eat it as a dip with vegetables or chips. Not only does it add some color and flavor to your meals, but it also saves you from throwing away vegetables that you wouldn’t get to eat otherwise.

I hope you don’t let the danger of wilting greens keep you from buying the produce items that keep you nourished and well. If buying produce doesn’t fit within your budget, you can pick up leafy greens at the Pantry Monday through Friday from 10:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. or on weekends from 10:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. Making pesto is one of my favorite ways to alleviate my food waste issues, but there are also a myriad of other ways that the internet can help you solve your own food waste problems.

CANCERCELL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 “The immune system plays a very important role in the eradication of cancer and, in fact, most of us are probably developing cancer when we’re very young,” Tuscano said. “And our immune system, using a method that we term ‘immune surveillance,’ identifies cancers and eradicates them all through our lives. So why do we develop cancer? It’s because our immune system fails as we age from exhaustion or from factors like environmental factors, genetic factors, medications, viruses and all kinds of reasons for our immune system to no longer be effective.”

The retraining of a patient’s T cells is not cheap, costing up to $500,000 for a patient to receive CAR T cell therapy if the cells were transported to and modified at a third-party commercial lab. This contributes to inequitable health care which is a concern addressed by the goals of this clinical trial.

Dr. Jan Nolta, the director of the UC Davis Stem Cell Program and Gene Therapy Center, explains the importance of making this therapy attainable by genetically modifying the patient’s T cells on the UC Davis campus itself.

“Giving more patients equal access to CAR T cell therapy is important because we’re in the business of saving lives,” Nolta said. “I hope this could become a frontline therapy soon, as I am a cancer survivor myself, having gone through chemotherapy and everything. So I think making this form of immunotherapy accessible by retraining and growing these T cells in our labs would drastically bring the costs of cancer treatment down for these patients.”

Nolta coordinates the transfer of patients’ T cells from the UC Davis Medical Center to the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Facility for the ongoing clinical trial. Being one of the few institutions that can re-engineer the T cells on campus can reduce the transportation costs incorporated in otherwise commercial products, reducing the overall cost from $500,000 down to even $50,000 for each patient treated.

Once the CAR T cells are grown to become a large population of cancer-fighting cells, they are ready to be infused back into the patient.

However, prior to this infusion, the patient must undergo “lymphodepleting condition,” which is a type of chemotherapy that makes more room for the CAR T cells to expand as they conquer and destroy the targeted cancer cells.

Dr. Mehrad Abedi, a UC Davis oncologist and primary investigator of the clinical trial, discusses the importance of phase I of the clinical trial.

“Our Phase I trial at UC Davis allows us to get more innovative about how we do CAR T cell

therapy,” Abedi said. “For example, because we can transform the T cells on site, we have better control over the quality of the product. We feel this is the best way to ensure the CAR T cells continue to grow over the lifetime of the patient, providing a constant army of re-engineered T cells ready to attack any cancer cells that show up.”

However, with every treatment, there are some drawbacks, which Tuscano discusses the clinical trial is trying to minimize to become an optimal form of therapy.

“There are side effects from the initial chemotherapy, and then, T cells become activated following infusion so you have a very active or overactive immune system, and that overactive immune system can be harmful sometimes,” Tuscano said. “In the process, it releases these hormones called cytokines that cause a lot of what we call morbidity or sickness in the patient.

This is called cytokines release syndrome or CRS, which then can result in drops in blood pressure, neurologic complications called cell-associated neurologic syndrome, where you can have seizures as well.”

Aside from the high release of cytokines and potential neurological complications, a weakened immune system from CAR T cells attacking not only the cancer cells but also normal B lymphocytes in a patient, can predispose them to infections.

“Fortunately, we’ve become very good at identifying and treating these side effects early, so that they’re relatively mild,” Tuscano said. “We monitor the patients very closely and carefully to prevent them from resulting in further health complications for the patient.”

With the rise of CAR T cell therapy as an option to potentially become a frontline therapy for cancer patients one day, UC Davis is also expanding the therapy in other clinical trials to potentially cure solid tumors and cancers.

“We are already expanding into solid tumors.

There’s clinical trials actually right here at UC Davis looking at solid tumors like liver cancer, ovarian cancer and other cancers,” Tuscano said.

“We’re hopeful that if we find the right targets that it will be effective for solid tumors as well, but it’s also being used for other diseases like other autoimmune diseases, skin diseases and infectious diseases as well. It’s a very exciting time and just the idea of being able to take the cells out of the body, genetically modifying them and putting them back is also a big step toward the implementation of gene therapy for many, many diseases.”

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THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

PINTEREST TAKES THE STRESS OUT OF SOCIAL MEDIA The app focuses on creativity, not comparison

BY CLARA FISCHER arts@theaggie.org

KELLY LU / AGGIE

Picture this: It’s Sunday night and you’ve been mindlessly switching back and forth between Instagram and TikTok for four hours as you ignore the essay that you swore would be drafted over the weekend. Your head aches and your eyes burn, but you stay glued to the screen for at least two more hours before you eventually rip yourself away and go to bed.

This might sound a little dramatic, but I’ve found myself in a similar situation more times than I’d like to admit. Social media apps can be highly addictive, given that they’re designed with algorithms that are meant to engage users and keep them hooked on their phones.

But what do you do when the Sunday scaries hit and you need something to distract you from the weekend’s questionable actions? Save reading a book or doing yoga, how are you supposed to effectively procrastinate without compromising your mental health in the process?

Enter Pinterest — the least social media-like social media I’ve ever come across.

For those who have never logged on, the layout of the app comes across as fairly standard on paper. Users create an account complete with a customizable username, bio and profile pic, and they can then create “boards” with pictures they either found on

the app or uploaded themselves.

Pins come in a wide variety, with everything from baking recipes to crafts to manicures to pictures of a beach sunset found on varying boards. There is truly a niche for everyone, which goes hand in hand with a tailored feed for a user-friendly experience.

The app has evolved a bit over the past couple of years as a reflection of the changing trends; what was once all the rage (e.g. infinity scarves and EOS lip balm) is now deemed “cheugy” and has been replaced by strategically posed, oh-so-casual captures of farmers markets, nights out in New York and cowboy boots with long, flowy dresses.

Though similar to other photo-sharing apps such as Instagram in the sense that users can upload their own pictures, Pinterest differs in the central way that it delivers content. While the main focus of Instagram is the community aspect, with your feed being curated with posts from users that you follow, Pinterest is much more about the individual aesthetic of the shot and less focused on the user who took it.

That’s not to say that there aren’t some faces that are more recognizable than others on Pinterest — there are still plenty of people who have been pinned to more boards than others and enjoy successful social media careers (think Matilda Djerf and Devon Lee

Carlson). However, these women didn’t gain their influencer status because of Pinterest. Their pictures consistently go viral because they already have a platform, but pictures that capture a similar vibe are equally as likely to be pinned to a board, just so long as it fits into the aesthetic the user is looking for.

Another key difference between Instagram and Pinterest stems in their underlying purposes. Instagram (whether inadvertently or not) pushes users to curate the appearance of a “perfect life” and amass a massive amount of likes while doing so. The lines between reality and posed pictures blurs, which can be straining on mental health, but Pinterest boards are so obviously made for the purposes of the aesthetic that they don’t place as much pressure to constantly be perfect. Boards are so highly curated that most users can’t internalize it as reality.

The real triumph of Pinterest is the stress-free environment it has created on social media. Logging on and getting to look at pretty pictures while daydreaming about a romanticized future brings me joy in ways that other social apps bring me insecurities.

Each user can completely tailor their experience for themselves and curate aesthetically pleasing boards — however that looks for them.

reduce. reuse. recycle.

The aggie

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2022| 11

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SPORTS AGGIES HOLD OFF ROADRUNNERS AFTER TWO-WEEK LAYOFF Big nights from the trio of Elijah Pepper, Ezra Manjon and Caleb Fuller lead the Aggies to an 81-79 win

BY OMAR NAVARRO sports@theaggie.org

After having their road games against UC San Diego and UC Irvine and home game against Cal Poly canceled due to COVID-19 protocols, the UC Davis Men’s Basketball team returned to action Saturday to face the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners inside the University Credit Union Center.

The first matchup between the two teams was originally scheduled for Jan. 13 in Bakersfield, but COVID-19 issues within the Roadrunners program led to its cancellation. With Big West Conference games running low, UC Davis looked to continue to rack up wins and have some momentum heading into the tournament.

Having won two straight heading into Saturday night’s contest, the Aggies looked to continue the streak against the Roadrunners who were 1-9 in conference play. Still, it was not an opponent to take lightly as they had been in close games prior, just unable to close it out. After the opening tip, it became clear that this game would be a physical one. Trading buckets to open the game, Cal State Bakersfield’s senior forward Shawn Stith went on a personal run, scoring the first seven points for the Roadrunners as well as drawing two quick fouls on the Aggies’ junior forward Christian Anigwe.

The fouls forced head coach Jim Les to sub out Anigwe less than two minutes in to avoid getting into even more foul trouble. Les inserted the 6’11” first-year Francesco Borra to combat the size of Stith. After Bakersfield ran out to a 9-3 lead, UC Davis stormed back with a quick 5-0 run to cut the early deficit to one.

The Aggies took their first lead almost five minutes into the half, as a pair of jumpers by star guard Ezra Manjon gave them a 12-11 lead.

After a response by the Roadrunners, the Aggies proceeded to go on a 9-1 run behind some fast pace and extra passes. The ball movement began to pick up for UC Davis and it led to some great open looks that they converted.

As would be the story all night however, Cal State Bakersfield continued to hang around. Stith continued to dominate the paint and play physical against an Aggies team that lacked some size.

Aside from Stith however, the Aggies did a great job at sniffing out postups and communicating on screens. This tenacious defense allowed them to stay in the lead after a two-and-a-half-minute scoring drought midway through the first half.

A five minute stretch that began around the 10-minute mark of the half saw Bakersfield reassess themselves in the game as free throws and points inside the painted area boosted them up to a 30-25 lead. They also switched to a full-court press after making shots, putting pressure on the Aggies as they crossed halfcourt and set up their offense.

The final five minutes of the half saw the same physicality as the first 15 — but now both teams were in the bonus. With teams exchanging free throws, Bakersfield would prove to be the team to take advantage of the slower pace. With 1:29

UC Davis Aggies Mens Basketball facing against Sacramento State Hornets at Golden 1 Arena in Sacramento (Benjamin Cheng/Aggie) remaining in the half, a three pointer by secondyear guard Kaleb Higgins gave the Roadrunners a 39-34 lead. Following a missed dunk by Manjon, he proceeded to score a layup and some free throws to make the half time score 39-38 in favor of the visiting Cal State Bakersfield.

As a team, the Aggies shot 12-24 from the field in the first half but only 1-6 on threes.

Bakersfield didn’t shoot any better, only going 14-34 and 1-8 from three. But, six Aggie turnovers turned into nine Roadrunner points, and it allowed Bakersfield to still hold the lead despite shooting worse. Manjon led the Aggies with 13 points with forward Caleb Fuller right behind him with 10 points and three rebounds.

On the other side, Stith had more than half of the Roadrunners points with 20 points and four rebounds.

To start the second half, Anigwe was back in for UC Davis after only playing a little under two minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. Five points by Bakersfield’s first-year guard Dalph Panopio extended the Roadrunners’ lead to five. To make matters worse, Anigwe picked up another foul and was subsequently subbed out once again in favor of Borra with three fouls.

A back and forth began to occur on the floor, as neither team gave the other any breathing room. Hard, physical play made up the start of the second half with Bakersfield clinging on to their lead that failed to grow more than five.

An offensive putback by the Aggies finally tied

things up at 50 with a little over 15 minutes remaining in the second half. A three pointer by the Roadrunners was answered back by an Elijah Pepper three for the Aggies — a sign of life from the outside.

A free throw by Caleb McGill at the 12:38 mark gave the Aggies the lead for the first time in over 13 minutes of gameplay. The switch to the zone defense by UC Davis proved to be effective as they were finally able to slow down Stith after his first-half tear. Still, others on the Bakersfield like Higgins, Panopio and senior forward Justin McCall began to pick up the Bakersfield offense.

At the midway mark of the second half, Panopio and McCall began to come alive as the Roadrunners held a five point lead. With the offense sputtering at times, the Aggies turned to some of their more experienced players, as Manjon, Pepper and Fuller began to step up. A midrange jumper by Manjon was followed by five quick Fuller points that let the Aggies regain the lead, 61-60. The Roadrunners called timeout and looked for answers.

The answers wouldn’t come for Cal State Bakersfield as UC Davis never lost the lead for the final 8:27 of the game. Re-entering the game with four fouls, Bakersfield hoped that Stith would find a way to continue his tear from the first half. But, almost immediately after entering the game, he was called for another foul that would end his night.

Even after Stith fouled out, the Roadrunners

kept on fighting. Their guard Higgins continued to attack and scored seven straight points for Bakersfield. On the UC Davis side, Manjon and Pepper scored the next nine for their squad as each possession was played with intensity.

With 2:01 remaining in regulation, the Aggies led by six after a dazzling Manjon jumper that electrified the crowd. A three pointer by Higgins kept the Roadrunners hopes alive, but the final minute or so proved to be a free throw battle that the Aggies would hold on to win, 81-79.

Elijah Pepper finished as the Aggies leading scorer with 24 points and perfect 12-12 from the free throw line as Manjon was right behind him with 23 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Caleb Fuller had 18 of his own as the trio combined for 65 of the 81 UC Davis points. As a team, the Aggies shot 29-35 from the free throw line — an important stat as each was necessary to pull out the win. Although they were only 4-13 from three and never able to get it going against the Bakersfield defense, 32 points in the paint allowed the Aggies to win their third straight game.

UC Davis improved to 11-7 on the year and 4-3 in conference play. With all the cancellations in conference play, that leaves them with only four more games to play. Currently in the sixth spot in the Big West Conference standings, the Aggies will face off against UC Santa Barbara (2/24) and Cal State Northridge (2/26) for their last home games of the season.

A TORNADO OF TRADES FOR THE NBA’S TRADE DEADLINE A summary of the biggest trades this year KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

BY GABRIEL CARABALLO sports@theaggie.org It was a calm Thursday morning when suddenly the NBA world began to buzz. The headline read: “Nets trade James Harden to Sixers for Ben Simmons.”

That’s right. Ten-time All-Star and former NBA MVP James Harden was traded from the Brooklyn Nets powerhouse to their Eastern Conference contender Philadelphia 76ers. It was a trade with enormous magnitude that could flip the Eastern Conference on its back.

The Nets sent Harden and veteran forward Paul Millsap to the Sixers in exchange for threetime All-Star Ben Simmons, veteran center Andre Drummond, shooting guard Seth Curry and two future first-round draft picks. It was probably the biggest trade of the year, especially since Harden was traded to the Nets at the beginning of last year.

“Everybody got what they wanted,” Kevin

Durant, a Nets star player, said.

Coming from now two-time teammate of Harden and an advocate for his arrival in Brooklyn, this showed in what state the situation was in. Durant does have a point, however. The Sixers lost a 40% three-point shooter in Curry, which will only add to the Nets’ explosive offense. By adding another ball handler and a great defensive player in Simmons, the Nets also gained another boost to their offense and defense, while the Sixers added Harden to play in tandem with their star center Joel Embiid.

“Philly was my first choice,” Harden said during his press conference.

Adding more fuel to the fire, it seems as though Harden can’t wait to get into the lab.

Harden has never played with an all-pro center; some could consider his time with Dwight Howard, but others think Howard wasn’t his former self. Nor was Embiid when it comes to guards in their careers. Together, they could add a deadly pick and roll to their game plan.

With this monstrous trade out the way,

people thought it’s all over. But, people only found earthquakes around the league, as the Western Conference had been shaken up by the deadline with many teams making new acquisitions.

Starting off, the Portland Trailblazers sent shooting guard C.J. McCollum, along with forwards Tony Snell and Larry Nance Jr., to the New Orleans Pelicans. In return, the Blazers acquired guards Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Josh Hart, Tomáš Satoranský, Didi Louzada and three future draft picks.

The Blazers broke up what some considered to be one of the “most dangerous backcourt duos” and ended an era that saw them fall short of the NBA Finals. The Blazers added muchneeded play-makers and rotation players to support their star point guard Damian Lillard.

The Pelicans received a high caliber shooting guard in McCollum, as well as rotation forwards to support their stars Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson. However, Williamson is currently out and is not expected to return for quite some

time.

Satoranský and Alexander-Walker were traded in a three-team deal with the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs. The Jazz received AlexanderWalker, and the Spurs obtained Satoranský. This left the Blazers with injured shooting guard Joe Ingles from the Jazz and guard Elijah Hughes.

Either way, all teams were able to round out some of their rough edges.

Speaking of “rough edges,” the Sacramento Kings caused some havoc during the trade deadline by sending talented guards Buddy Hield and Tyrese Haliburton, along with veteran center Tristan Thompson, to the Indiana Pacers.

In exchange, the Kings received All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis alongside guards Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb.

Deciding to put their faith in point guard De’Aaron Fox, the Kings acquired the talented Sabonis to pair with him. The Pacers put their faith in center Myles Turner and are surrounding him with a play-making guard and a lethal three-point shooter, adding some much-needed balance to once frontcourt and backcourt heavy teams.

The last big trade that caused ripples in the NBA’s landscape came by way of the Dallas Mavericks and the Washington Wizards. Dallas sent forward Kristaps Porziņģis and a future draft pick to Washington. In exchange, the Mavericks received point guard Spencer Dinwiddie and forward Davis Bertans, breaking up the tandem of star point forward Luka Dončić and Kristaps Porziņģis.

The Mavericks added play-making support with Dinwiddie, shouldering some of Dončić’s responsibility to move the ball. They are also securing a center to take minutes from the nowtraded Porziņģis. The Wizards receive one of the NBA’s “unicorns” — a seven-footer who can go to the hole and shoot the ball from a distance efficiently. Porziņģis presents an inside threat and can hopefully co-exist with forward Kyle Kuzma.

Both these teams added players that could benefit their futures.

The storm subsided, and all the teams received their player care packages. Some hope to heal for the future, while others plan for an immediate comeback. The trade deadline is over, and, nearing the second half of the season, all we know is that there’s going to be some great basketball as we approach the playoffs.