September 30, 2021

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VOLUME 140, ISSUE 2 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

UC DAVIS ACHIEVES HIGH RANKINGS AMONG TOP UNIVERSITIES U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 university ranking places UC Davis in the top 10

BY CHRISTINE LEE campus@theaggie.org UC institutions ranked high on national and public rankings published by the U.S. News and World Report, with UC Davis at No. 10 on national public university rankings and No. 34 among national universities.

“These rankings underscore the worldclass education UC provides,” UC President Micheal Drake said in a press release. “Access, affordability and excellence remain hallmarks of the University. We are pleased that U.S. News and World Report continues to recognize UC for its achievements.”

The U.S. News and World Report collected data on over 1,850 schools and ranked 1,466 bachelor’s degree-granting universities.

Categories such as graduation and retention rates, undergraduate academic reputation and faculty resources for the 2020-2021 academic year were weighted the highest in ranking calculations.

Other factors included financial resources per student, social mobility, graduation rate performance, student selectivity for entering class, graduate indebtedness and average alumni giving rate. Within some categories, there are further percentage breakdowns to give a deeper

analysis of the impact the schools have on their students during the academic year and into the future.

UC Davis also tied with UC Santa Barbara as No. 16 in the U.S. News and World Report’s Social Mobility list. Forbes’ U.S. public university list placed UC Davis at fourth and No. 20 on the national list.

Ilias Tagkopoulos, a professor of computer science and the director of the USDA-NIFA/ NSF AI Institute for Next-Generation Food Systems, has been teaching students for 12 years and contributing to programs that allow UC Davis to rank high on college lists.

“UC Davis has a wide variety of programs and is active in an impressive span of research areas,” Tagkopoulos said via email. “It is rare to find schools that combine both depth and breadth of academic programs. Having excellent researchers and leaders in agriculture, food, computer and plant science allows us to create collaborative teams that can create and deliver more than the sum of the parts.”

In addition to benefiting from UC Davis’ financial and academic achievements, new students find the campus environment an important experience as well.

“Everyone is pretty nice and friendly here,”

Sign for UC Davis Campus. (Aggie File) Jennifer Kao, a first-year chemical engineering student, said. “We are a very diverse campus.

Everyone is unique and will find their path in their own way.”

NEW DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF LETTERS AND SCIENCES TELLS THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCESS, DIVERSITY, A LIBERAL ARTS EDUCATION Dr. Estella Atekwana shares how her education experience informs her leadership today

BY KATIE DEBENEDETTI features@theaggie.org As many students have just arrived on campus for the first time, so has Dr. Estella Atekwana, the newly named dean of the College of Letters and Sciences. Though she never expected herself to work in the field of university administration — or live in California — Dr. Atekwana was drawn to UC Davis because of the way that the values of the university aligned with her own values and her student experience.

Atekwana was born in Cameroon in West Central Africa, where she lived until she was 19.

After graduating from high school, she wanted to enroll in university, but said that there was only one university in Cameroon at the time, and courses there were taught entirely in French.

Atekwana grew up in the English speaking region of Cameroon, and even though that region accounts for 25% of the country’s population, the university taught no courses in English. Ultimately, Atekwana decided to search for higher education elsewhere and ended up attending Howard University in Washington, D.C. for both her undergraduate and masters programs.

Atekwana says that the reason she moved to the U.S. for school was because she had to follow the access — to courses taught in her language and scholarships that she needed to continue school — that were presented to her.

“This is what a lot of students face today,” Atekwana said. “How do you pay for school? I was a foreign student, and how do you pay for school as a foreign student when it will be more expensive? If your parents can’t afford it, then you’ve got to figure out ways of paying for it.”

After completing both her bachelors and masters degrees at Howard, studying geology, Atekwana made another international move. She attended Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia,

Estella Atekwana, Dean of the College of Letters and Sciences photographed in the Social Sciences and Humanities Building on August 18, 2021. (Courtesy) Canada, where she got her Ph.D. in geophysics.

After her time at Howard, Atekwana wanted to advance her education further, but she struggled to find universities in the U.S. that would give her scholarships as an international Ph.D. student. During her time in the masters program at Howard, one of her advisors suggested that she apply to schools in Canada, which ultimately led to her moving to Dalhouse.

“That is why I think that faculty members have such a big role to play in influencing students and their career pathways, as well as opening up opportunities for them,” Atekwana said. “That’s what happened in this case. He told me, ‘You should apply to schools in Canada,’ and I did apply to schools in Canada, and I got in and

they gave me a scholarship.”

Atekwana said that she never expected to work in university administration when she was in school; her goal was to get her doctorate degree and teach geology at a university. After graduating from Dalhousie, she returned to the states, and began to fulfill that dream, teaching at Western Michigan University (WMU). While she was in her first year working at WMU, her department chair at the time, Dr. Thomas Strew, noticed her leadership skills and suggested that she would serve well in an administrative role.

“The department chair who hired me recognized some leadership qualities in me and started saying, ‘You would make a good department chair,’” Atekwana said. “It didn’t

register to me, because I never really saw administration have a career path for me, but as I continued in my career, teaching students, mentoring students, I started appreciating the challenges that students were going through and also opportunities of how we could really enhance the success of our students. I also saw potential in the departments that I was working in, [...] and I was also really interested in department governance.”

Atekwana said that for many years, she didn’t consider taking on an administrative role; however, over a decade later, while she was teaching at Oklahoma State University, she was given the opportunity to become a department chair and she took it.

“I could have a lot more influence if I became a department chair, to help shape the direction of the department, and also to help shape the lives of the students,” Atekwana said. “I decided that even though I was heavily, heavily ingrained in my research, that if I wanted to have more influence and truly impact most students I could do that in a service position as a department chair.”

Since then, Atekwana has served in many administrative roles. Most recently, Atekwana worked at the University of Delaware as the dean of the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment.

She said that she often wishes Strew could see where she is now, so many years after he first mentioned her knack for leadership.

“I always wanted to serve, and I’ve always been somebody who’s very interested in making other people’s lives better, making things work for people,” Atekwana said. “He just recognized that in me, and he mentioned it to me. I was thinking about him the other day and wondering where he is to see where I am today. I’m sure he would be very pleased.”

DEANPROFILE on 10

UC CAMPUSES DEVELOP DIFFERENT COVID-19 POLICIES Classes at UC campuses are navigating COVID-19 policies for the new year

BY EMILY REDMAN campus@theaggie.org In July, the UC system released a final plan for a vaccine mandate across all campuses but they did not include system-wide policies on testing or symptom monitoring.

Across nine UC campuses, there is a variety of testing, symptom monitoring and quarantine policies in place to protect students and faculty.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an emergency temporary standard that requires daily symptom screenings of employees “before each work day and each shift for COVID-19 symptoms.”

UC campuses are utilizing daily symptom surveys in different ways. Students at UC Santa Cruz can receive daily text and email reminders to complete their symptom monitoring.

“Your daily reminders will prompt you to complete the symptom screening survey every day,” the UC Santa Cruz Student Health Center website states.

Across UC campuses, students are experiencing some differences in how symptom surveys are being monitored.

“They don’t check our clearance badges at all,” Emily Eaton, a second-year political science major at UC Berkeley, said. “I feel like it’s more of an honor system.”

To access buildings on many campuses, there are specific requirements for unvaccinated and vaccinated students to participate in asymptomatic testing.

Unvaccinated students on the Davis, Los Angeles, San Diego and Merced campuses are required to get tested every four days or twice a week. On the Berkeley, Irvine, Santa Barbara and Riverside campuses, unvaccinated students are required to be tested weekly.

Asymptomatic testing for vaccinated students have different requirements that vary widely by campus. UC Irvine and Riverside are choosing students at random to test.

UC Irvine’s Covid Resource Hub stated that “5% of all other fully vaccinated students will be randomly selected for testing each month.

Students will be notified directly and advised to schedule their testing appointment.”

UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz and UC Merced are making asymptomatic testing optional for vaccinated students.

“Asymptomatic screening in addition to LQA [Lot Quality Asymptomatic] screening is optional for vaccinated individuals,” UC Merced’s Campus Ready web page states. “Vaccinated academic appointees, staff and students may utilize UC Merced-sponsored testing at no cost.”

Testing for vaccinated students at UC Davis, UC San Diego and UC Berkeley is more frequent. UC Davis requires vaccinated students to get tested every 14 days and UC San Diego students must test weekly for the first four weeks of fall quarter.

“For vaccinated students, faculty and staff surveillance testing is not required for 180 days from the date you are fully vaccinated,” the UC Berkeley University Health Services website states. “Then you schedule a campus surveillance test two weeks before the testing badge is set to

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expire (not before that two-week period), and then [the] testing badge will be green/cleared for another 90 days.”

Outside of testing and symptom surveys, UC campuses are providing resources for students to receive information about COVID-19 policies.

UC Santa Cruz and UC San Diego provide a detailed “Daily Dashboard” that updates the daily COVID-19 statistics for each campus. It includes features such as daily testing counts

and positive results counts. On both websites, statistics are updated daily.

“The UCSC testing data in the dashboard will be updated daily,” the UC Santa Cruz Tracking COVID-19 webpage states. “This data will help inform decisions about on-campus operations and activities.”

2 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORT STUDENTS WITH FOOD INSECURITY BY PROVIDING NECCESSITIES Yolo County recognizes college students’ needs

BY ELLIE LEE city@theaggie.org

At UC Davis, 44% of students face food insecurity, according to survey data collected by the Chancellor’s Student Food Security Task Force in May 2018. Organizations such as Yolo Food Bank and the ASUCD Pantry offer to distribute necessities while students study for their college degree.

Yolo Food Bank has been serving nutritional needs of Yolo County residents, including UC Davis students. Located in Woodland, they organize and coordinate on a massive scale.

Joy Cohan, the director of philanthropic engagement at Yolo Food Bank, said that the food bank has been collaborating with UC Davis students in many ways, especially to create an equitable food system to feed all county residents and students.

“There were existing needs before the pandemic,” Cohan said. “The challenges of the pandemic showed a spotlight of what people’s needs were. That opened the door to provide robust services.”

Yolo Food Bank has already been making efforts with UC Davis organizations like Aggie Compass and Solano Park Apartments.

They are starting food distribution at the Quad in the next few months.

“The genuine interest in being a good neighbor in supporting food insecurity has been heartening,” Cohan said.

The ASUCD Pantry, a student-run organization, supports all UC Davis students with food, toiletries and menstrual products.

Unit Director Jason Kwan discussed the importance of the food pantry and the urge to help students thrive at Davis. However, he considers the service to be a short-term solution.

“People can grab food everyday, and I’m glad it helps them,” Kwan said. “But food insecurity is more than just having the food; it’s about having access to resources.”

Kwan detailed that The Pantry works with iCompass, saying that this center could be a long-term solution to solving issues like food insecurity. iCompass assists students with enrolling in CalFresh and informs them about picking up groceries and basic needs. Kwan discussed his hope to incorporate a range of cultural foods during his time as a director.

“We are a wide and diverse community, and I feel that we need to start moving toward being able to have more culturally relevant foods so everyone is comfortable with the foods they get at the pantry,” Kwan said.

The Pantry director emphasized that they no longer use a point system; a student can take 40 items per order. Students can order in advance on the website. They could also scan a QR code in person to schedule a time to walk in or pre-order a food bag.

“People think they are taking away from others if they use The

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

Pantry but that’s not the case,” Kwan said. “The more students use The Pantry, the more money we get and the more students we can help out.”

He encouraged UC Davis students to visit The Pantry, located in MU 167 between the market and the Aggie Compass.

Madison Rasmussen, a fourth-year student majoring in sustainable agriculture and food systems, went to The Pantry daily during the 2019 school year when school was in person. She visited The Pantry for the first time during the 2021 fall quarter on the first day of classes. Rasmussen grabbed almonds and said that The Pantry has snacks available as well.

She also utilizes the Freedge, a public refrigerator funded by the Green Initiative Fund that allows community members to share food with each other.

Rasmussen recognizes that food insecurity affects many students.

“A lot of people on campus don’t know how to cook,” Rasmussen said. “Some students will skip meals and not eat three meals every day. I think that a lot of people choose junk food because it’s quicker to eat, and you get a lot more calories. It’s not as good for you and has more preservatives.”

HEALTHY DAVIS TOGETHER EXPERIENCES STAFFING SHORTAGE UC Davis hiring student COVID testers

BY RACHEL SHEY city@theaggie.org

Healthy Davis Together Banner. (Quinn Spooner/ Aggie) As UC Davis students and the COVID-19 delta variant converge in Davis, the amount of staffing necessary at testing sites has rapidly increased, according to UC Davis Health Director of Business Development Tod Stoltz.

“The Delta surge hasn’t caught us by surprise but it certainly has been significant in creating a demand for testing,” Stoltz said. “We’re trying as hard as we can to meet that demand in light of this situation with our staff. We’re definitely in a hiring mode right now.”

Stoltz explained that thousands of people are being tested every day.

“We’re setting records for how many people have been tested every day: north of 7,000 a day when you combine Healthy Davis Together and the student operations,” Stoltz said. “At 7,000 a day, that’s half the population of Davis every week. Every other week, we are testing the whole population of Davis. Our goal is to test the whole population of Davis every week.”

UC Davis is joining in the hiring push.

College of Biological Sciences Dean Mark Winey sent out an email to College of Biological Sciences students to promote the new position.

“As I told the incoming students at the College of Biological Sciences Welcome this morning, there is a critical need for workers at the COVID testing kiosks. Part-time positions paying $17.82/hour are available now. This work will involve you [and] the health and well being of our campus community,” the email read.

The student COVID-19 testers could work at the UC Davis Activities and Recreation Center or at any Healthy Davis Together site, according to Stoltz.

“At the end of the day, Healthy Davis

Together and the ARC are one and the same.

The hiring that will happen could happen at either location, it just depends on the demand,” Stoltz said.

Stoltz explained that it took some work for Healthy Davis Together to be able to support student employees, who are mostly part-time workers.

“The job is open to Davis residents, and recently, only very recently, it’s been opened to students,” Stoltz said. “The reason is, we try to keep the jobs open for people that could work full time, and only recently have we been able to position ourselves to work with people like students, who can only work part time.”

To accommodate the influx of testing, some Healthy Davis Together staffers have pivoted from their normal positions, Healthy Davis Together medical director Dr. Sheri Belafsky told the Davis Enterprise. “[When] Delta hit like a hammer, we had to pivot,” Belafsky said to the Davis Enterprise.

Getting tested for COVID-19 is important, even when vaccinated. Stoltz said that about 30% of those who test positive for COVID-19 are vaccinated.

“Roughly 30% of our positives are people who are fully vaccinated,” Stoltz said. “Now, we have to be careful, because that doesn’t mean 30% are break through cases, it means that 30% of the people who are testing positive are vaccinated. Around 80% of the total population in Davis is vaccinated. I can’t tell you the break through rate of vaccinated people, but what I can tell you is that about 30% of our positive cases are break through cases.”

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 | 3

THIRD DOSE OF THE COVID-19 VACCINE APPROVED FOR THOSE WITH A WEAKENED IMMUNE SYSTEM, ACCORDING TO YOLO COUNTY PRESS RELEASE The FDA authorizes booster shot of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for various groups

BY SHRADDHA JHINGAN city@theaggie.org Yolo County announced in a press release published on Aug. 20 that “emergency use authorization for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines has been expanded to approve a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine for people ages 12 and up with moderate to severe immune compromise.”

Those who “believe that they are eligible should contact their health care provider for consideration of an additional dose,” the press release said.

Frank Schneegas, the communications coordinator for Yolo County, said that the doses are not being distributed through the county, and people should contact their health care providers.

“Yolo County isn’t administering third doses as we don’t have access to people’s health care records and third doses are for those who are immunocompromised,” Schneegas said via email.

“Primary care providers are better suited to providing third doses as they can determine if an individual is eligible.”

The press release provides a list of “treatments associated with moderate to severe immune compromise” that individuals may be receiving.

These treatments include those who have “received an organ transplant and are taking medicine to suppress the immune system,” “received a stem cell transplant within the last two years or are taking medicine to suppress the immune system” and have “moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency, such as DiGeorge syndrome [and] Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.”

Schneegas said that “the list above has likely been updated by CDPH, but this is what was initially announced by CDPH.” The press release also said that the third dose should be “from the [same] vaccine manufacturer as the original series” if possible.

Additionally, the press release said how long after the second dose the third dose should be administered to individuals. “A third additional dose of vaccine should be administered no sooner than 28 days after their second dose,” the press release reads.

At this time, the third dose is not available to those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or “to fully vaccinated individuals who are not moderately or severely immunocompromised” as per the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization.

“Studies of additional doses of Johnson & Johnson for immunocompromised persons are ongoing,” the press release reads.

These studies will help inform whether those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can obtain additional doses.

Person receiving a vaccine. (Aggie File) “The results of these studies will determine if and when additional doses of vaccines are needed for immunocompromised persons who received a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine,” the press release reads.

On Sept. 22, the FDA announced in a news release that the booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine has been authorized for some groups.

These include those aged 65 or older, those between the ages of 18 and 64 who “are at high risk of severe COVID-19” and those between the ages of 18 and 64 “whose frequent institutional or occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2 puts them at high risk of

serious complications of COVID-19 including severe COVID-19.”

The Pfizer vaccine is authorized for the “use of a single booster dose, to be administered at least six months after completion of the primary series” for the groups mentioned above.

More information regarding the authorization and data can be found in the news release.

For help with the “Yolo County COVID-19 program,” people can visit the website, call 2-1-1 Yolo for relevant resources and information or follow Yolo County on their social media, linked in the press release, for updates.

CITY OF DAVIS ASKS RESIDENTS TO CUT WATER USAGE Governor Newsom called on all Californians to cut water usage by 15%

BY RACHEL SHEY city@theaggie.org

On Jul. 8, Governor Gavin Newsom urged Californians to voluntarily cut water usage by 15%, amid a severe drought which has lowered lake and reservoir levels, reducing the amount of water available to residents. On Aug. 26, the City of Davis posted a press release requesting that residents voluntarily cut water usage.

“If the voluntary, statewide reduction in water use is not met, the state may look to require mandatory water-use reductions in future months,” the press release reads.

For the month of September, for example, this reduction is likely to be taken from a comparison of the water production in September 2021 with the water production in September 2020, according to city conservation coordinator Dawn Calciano via email.

“Water agencies do report water production and other water information on a monthly basis to the State Water Board, so the reduction percentages are likely to be a comparison of aggregate water usage for the City overall by month compared to the same month(s) in 2020,” Calciano said.

Calciano explained that there was more water production in Davis in 2021.

“Likely due in part to the unprecedented heat waves in the early summer and it being the second dry year without much precipitation, the City saw increases in overall water production for April, May and June 2021 as compared to the same months in 2020,” Calciano said via email.

“There was a small decrease in water production for July 2021 compared to July 2020. August water production information is due to the state in mid-September and when available will be updated on the City’s website.”

Much of the water supply in Davis comes from the surface water of the Sacramento River.

Under Term 91, a water usage curtailment which usually takes effect in the summer, the surface water is now limited, forcing Davis to use more groundwater instead. An information page from the city regarding water supplies states that if Term 91 continues into November, there may be less surface water available.

“Historically, Term 91… is set in place during the summer months,” the website reads. “If Term 91 is in effect between November to March of any year, which has been the case in five of the past seven years, the ability to divert water from the Sacramento River may be limited.”

Davis has always used a mixture of groundwater and surface water. According to city councilman Dan Carson, while usable, the groundwater may have distinct differences from the surface water.

“All of the water we provide is safe and useful, but there’s a quality to the surface water that it’s got fewer minerals and other things to remove from it in its treatment, and that, for example, we noticed that when the city switched more heavily toward surface water, our outdoor landscaping liked that a lot more,” Carson said. “People will notice differences in taste and things like that, without question. My understanding is that the mix can be different in different parts of the city.”

Carson also noted that Davis may be forced to switch completely to groundwater in November,

“Home is where the sprinkler is” by Robert Couse-Baker. (Creative Commons)

but assured that it’s unlikely for Davis to run out of water entirely.

“Our water supplies in the aggregate will exceed our demands,” Carson said. “We’re really fortunate that by obtaining the surface water rights and having a good system of deep water wells, we are not at risk of running out of water. That said, we are encouraging folks to conserve, because we have an obligation, like every community, to use water as efficiently as possible.”

If the drought continues and Californians are not able to voluntarily dial back their use of water, mandatory restrictions may come into place, Carson said.

“When the governor made his request for the voluntary statewide water restriction in July, the state signaled that depending on how things play out, additional state requirements are possible,” Carson said. “We’ve done a good job. For example, there have been underlying mandates from the state in the past that we reduce our per capita water use to certain goals. The city of Davis has met and exceeded those goals.”

Some of the best ways to reduce water usage are listed on the city’s website. These can include simple and easy things like fixing leaks, irrigating efficiently and taking shorter showers, or more involved tasks like replacing thirsty lawns with drought-tolerant plant species.

4 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

INCREASE IN WILDFIRES POSES HEALTH RISK TO DAVIS COMMUNITY The new school year brings new challenges for health-related concerns

BY YAN YAN HUSTIS HAYES city@theaggie.org With the start of the new school year and the return to in-person instruction, new challenges arise in maintaining the health and wellness of the Davis community. In addition to COVID-19 concerns, Davis residents face fire-related health risks.

While this may be all too familiar for returning students and California natives, the increase in severity and frequency of extreme weather events has necessitated clarifications regarding what measures to take in such situations.

UC Davis Environmental Health Sciences Center Director Irva Hertz-Picciotto explained that these health concerns have not gone unnoticed.

“UC Davis Health faculty are conducting research on the health effects from wildfires,” Hertz-Picciotto said via email. “Major health effects are respiratory symptoms including asthma and wheeze, cough, [and] irritated eyes. Fine particles, which are smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter (1/7th the diameter of a human hair shaft), are harmful and do enter the respiratory tract [and] are associated with higher cardiopulmonary impairments.”

According to Hertz-Picciotto, fires also pose a risk to mental health.

“Major health effects [include] mental health from various fire-related stressors,” HertzPiccitto saidl. [This includes] anxiety about the air quality, the growing threats from climate change and, for some people, evacuations.”

Hertz-Picciotto explained that limiting exposure to fine particles is key in preventing fire-related health problems. “[There are] several ways that students can reduce their exposures,” Hertz-Picciotto said.

“Stay indoors as much as possible and if you must go outside or have a ‘leaky’ residence, then wear an N95 mask.”

Hertz-Picciotto said that it is safest to use N95 masks instead of other masks that only block out larger particles.

“The N95 refers to the percent of fine particles that are blocked if the mask has a tight (closed) fit—these are available at hardware stores and other outlets,” Hertz-Picciotto said.

“The ‘surgical’ masks that are typically sold at pharmacies are not adequate to block those particles.”

Hertz-Picciotto recommended that students and Davis residents check the particle

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE concentration even when the air doesn’t smell.

“Because the particle concentration in ambient air can be high even when you don’t smell anything, students can go to AirNow.gov to get the current concentrations,” Hertz-Picciotto said. “It’s also on the weather reports on [your] phone.”

UC Davis News and Media Relations Specialist Julia Ann Easley said that in situations of poor air quality, UC Davis makes decisions informed by the best public health practices and scientific research.

“Based on recommendations from a UC systemwide review of air quality protocols, UC Davis has adopted the attached decision matrix and uses the U.S. EPA’s AirNow Current Conditions AQI as its official source of air quality data,” Easley said via email. “The matrix outlines required and recommended actions regarding campus closure, cancellation of classes, athletic

events, and other operational considerations.”

Campus services will close based on how critical they are in the event of an emergency or any hazardous conditions, according to Easley.

“UC Davis policy provides for any temporary change to the status of campus operations due to an emergency event or hazardous condition,” Easley said. “The campus may reduce or suspend non-critical functions and services or close facilities at one or more locations.”

Easley recommended that students who have any health-related concerns should contact the Student Health and Counseling Services.

“They can send a message to a nurse or medical provider through the Health-e-Messaging system or make an appointment as well,” Easley said.

“SHCS also provides counseling support if students are [experiencing] anxiety or worry about potential fires.”

More information about wildfires as well as

guidelines for class cancellations can be found on the UC Davis website.

Fourth-year Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior major Crystal Tran recalled the class cancellations caused by the 2018 Camp Fire.

“When I was a freshman during smoke week, there was a lot of uncertainty because we didn’t know if we were going back to class or not,” Tran said. “It turned out that we would not go to class for a week.”

Tran explained that while she is worried about more smoke, she is more optimistic about instruction during smokey weeks.

“I’m worried about the smoke and the air quality but I think because of Covid and remote learning for the past year we can switch back online pretty easily,” Tran said. “We won’t have as much uncertainty as back then.”

UC DAVIS FIRST-YEAR STUDENT’S VIRAL TWITTER ACCOUNT LETS FOLLOWERS KNOW IT’S FINALLY THE WEEKEND @CraigWeekend account owner Miles Riehle’s followers look forward to the same post every Friday

BY LYRA FARRELL features@theaggie.org Miles Riehle, a first-year student majoring in environmental policy analysis and planning, runs a Twitter account (@CraigWeekend) with nearly 500k followers, where he posts the same foursecond video clip every Friday. As Twitter users scroll down the feed of @CraigWeekend, all that can be seen is an out-of-context clip of Daniel Craig introducing Canadian singer The Weeknd, while hosting Saturday Night Live (SNL). The same exact clip is posted on every Friday — the only factors that change are the time of day Riehle posts it and the captions accompanying it.

Before Riehle started his account, he had admired other accounts on social media that offered followers the same picture or clip on a reliable calendar basis. However, Riehle said, he wasn’t sure right away which piece of media to choose that would be worthy of his own audience.

One afternoon, as he was watching SNL, Riehle said he saw potential in a particular moment of the show: 007 star Daniel Craig looks to the camera, and with a slight shrug of his shoulders, makes his now-famous announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, The Weeknd.”

Riehle said that this clip opened his eyes to the possibility of giving Twitter users a lighthearted reminder that it’s the end of the work week every Friday.

“It’s kind of a double-entendre,” Riehle said, “He’s welcoming The Weeknd, and it’s even funnier if people don’t know who The Weeknd is, because it just sounds like he’s welcoming in the weekend.”

Some of the account’s followers have mentioned in the comments that there’s a specific manner to Craig’s movements and the tone in his voice that make the clip especially funny and keep them coming back to the account every Friday. Others follow the account purely for the ‘vibes.’

“Not to get too mushy about it, but it’s kind of wholesome that people are just sharing good vibes around,” Riehle said. “I think that the community of good vibes that was created is really cool and unexpected.”

Riehle has now received numerous media requests from major publications, including the Los Angeles Times, the Telegraph, and the New York Times, all seeking to cover Riehle’s famous Twitter account. A professional photographer for The New York Times was even sent out to have a shoot with Riehle at his home in Laguna Beach.

“When I got this email from the New York Times, I was like, ‘OK, this is probably where I’m going to peak,’” Riehle said.

According to Riehle, he intends to continue posting on @CraigWeekend every Friday for as long as he can — until either his following decreases or until posting starts to affect his mental health.

Miles Riehle of CraigWeekend. (Miles Riehle / Courtesy)

“I don’t know if it will ever die out,” Riehle said. “At some point, I feel like everyone will get tired of seeing it on their timeline and be like, ‘Dude, you’ve got to stop tweeting the same video out, it’s getting old,’ but at the same time, this has been going on for almost a year at this popularity.”

As a newly-arrived freshman at UC Davis, Riehle hasn’t yet gotten the opportunity to let many other UC Davis students know about @ CraigWeekend.

“I haven’t done any icebreakers yet where I have to share a fun fact about myself — if I ever did, I think my fun fact would be this account,” Riehle said. “But it’s not something I like to bring up when I’m just chatting with people.”

Riehle said he didn’t initially start the account to give Twitter users a wholesome environment free from the toxicity of the internet, but regardless, this is how it was received by many over time.

“I’m more happy that it turned out that way than anything else, and I think that that sort of community of good vibes and joy is certainly rare on the internet today,” Riehle said.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 | 5

OPINION THE

C ALIFORNIA A GGIE

E D I TO RI A L B OAR 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 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 KESHAV AGRAWAL Website Manager ANTHONY NGUYEN Social Media Manager JOSHUA GAZZANIGA Distribution Manager JENNA HEATH Marketing Manager JELENA LAPUZ Outreach Director LAURIE PEDERSON Business Development Manager

PUBLIC FIGURES SHOULD NOT USE THEIR INFLUENCE TO SPREAD COVID-19 MISINFORMATION Trust doctors, not celebrities With the rapid rise of social media over the years, the connection between fans and people with a platform has only strengthened. Having a way to interact with their favorite artist, athlete or actor has linked these fans with celebrities in ways that are new to our generation. There are occasions where that has turned out to be a positive thing, but amid COVID-19, some people have done more harm than good.

Whether it is Joe Rogan claiming he used the horse dewormer Ivermectin to treat COVID-19, rapper Nicki Minaj claiming her cousin’s friend had a terrible side effect to the vaccine (which was later debunked by the Trinidad and Tobago Health Minister) or NBA star Kyrie Irving refusing to get the vaccination and liking social media conspiracy posts about a secret society putting microchips in the vaccine, many influential individuals have made and backed dangerous claims. These celebrities have a large following, and their comments and false claims

put a lot of people at risk.

The truth is, being a celebrity and someone of this stature comes with a responsibility. Whether celebrities ask for this or not, they have platforms that can reach thousands and sometimes millions of people. When it comes to celebrities and athletes, some can have more influence on people than certain politicians, and using it irresponsibly could affect the lives of many people.

While we understand hesitancy about a new vaccine, sharing misinformation and disinformation is not an appropriate use of a platform when over 686,000 people in the U.S. have lost their lives in the pandemic. The research is there, and it points to the vaccine protecting people from COVID-19 as well as reducing the risk of spreading it.

With only 56% of the U.S. population being fully vaccinated, the outspokenness of anti-vaccine celebrities and athletes is not what we need at this moment. The misconceptions

about COVID-19 can be answered, and if celebrities claim they need to do more research, they shouldn’t be publicly discussing the COVID-19 vaccine at all. Publicizing personal vaccine concerns based on misinformation puts celebrities in a position to affect other people’s decisions, which jeopardizes public safety.

As expressed by Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, “The [basketball players] who claim ‘the bloggers who’ve never picked up a basketball’ are out of line for criticizing them are now doing the same tactic with science, except it truly is life or death.”

And it’s true. While taking skincare advice from celebrities is probably okay, when it comes to COVID-19, it’s a matter of life or death. Look to medical professionals when making health decisions.

Written by: The Editorial Board

GUIDE TO SUBMITTING GUEST OPINION COLUMNS, CARTOONS Students, professors and community members can send their pieces to opinion@theaggie.org

BY EDEN WINNIFORD opinion@theaggie.org My name is Eden Winniford, and I’m the editor for The California Aggie’s opinion and humor desks this year. The opinion desk not only gives student columnists, humorists and cartoonists the opportunity to share their thoughts with the campus community weekly, but it also gives members of the wider Davis community the opportunity to publish guest opinion columns and cartoons. Guest columns can be responses to previous pieces the opinion desk has published, including other guest columns, or they can be about entirely new subjects.

To submit a guest column, anyone can email opinion@theaggie.org a copy of their full

piece, which can be as short as a paragraph but no longer than a page in length. I would lightly edit the piece for grammar and clarity, and then I would email it back to the sender for their approval before publishing it. As long as a piece is factual, respectful and relevant to the Davis community, it will likely be published, although it is up to editorial discretion.

The Opinion Desk also accepts guest cartoon submissions, which can be humorous or political in nature. If you have an artistic flair and think it would be neat to see your work published, then I highly encourage you to consider sending in a cartoon. It can be one to four panels and can contain as much or as little text as you’d like.

Above all, it is vital that any cartoons submitted are respectful of any people or things that they depict.

Guest submissions are incredibly important to the opinion desk and The Aggie as a whole since they offer different perspectives that might not be represented in our newsroom. Our yearly Diversity Report makes it clear that some groups are overrepresented in our newsroom while others are underrepresented, and The Aggie is committed to increasing staff diversity.

We have taken and will continue to take steps to address this imbalance — we hired an outreach director, have committed to publishing annual diversity reports and are transitioning from stipended positions to positions with hourly wages, which is important since hourly pay will allow staffers to be compensated more appropriately. And in the short term, publishing guest columns from a wide range of voices is another way The Aggie can best serve UC Davis’ diverse community.

HUMOR

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ANNOUNCES NEW DIAGNOSIS: ANXIETY CAUSED BY FUN FACT ICEBREAKERS Meditation and tea aren’t even enough to ease this one GEL 10 discussion?

In an effort to gain a better understanding of the psychological hardships caused by icebreakers, the WHO representatives met with students at a local university. While they were met with a lot of tears, they were also met with one particularly frustrated student: “playing fun fact ice breakers is like if you asked a bunch of saltine crackers to do improv. Nothing interesting comes out of it. You get a lot of ‘I have two dogs’ and ‘I’m double jointed.’”

Seeing the anxiety and frustration these icebreakers cause students, the WHO suggested some alternative ways to bond with random students in your classes.

BY KATE HARGES klharges@ucdavis.edu Local Rite Aids are running out of medication. Therapists are booked for weeks in advance and semi-questionable CBD gummies are sitting on everyone’s bedside tables — all because of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recent announcement of a new medical diagnosis: A.C.B.F.F.I., or Anxiety Caused by Fun Fact Ice Breakers.

In a press release on Sept. 22, WHO representatives said sweaty palms, heart palpitations and loss of sleep are all directly correlated with the incorporation of fun fact icebreakers into one’s daily life. Both the pressure of public speaking and the desire to appear “cool” is all too much for today’s youth.

The founding fathers never had to share what they would want to eat on a desert island with one another. Nor did Mark Zuckerberg ask his interns to share their summer plans. So why am I required to tell a group of strangers a fun fact about me in my

ANXIETYWHO on 11

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

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

THE AGGIE’S 106TH ANNIVERSARY

BY RUSHI TAWADE rntawade@ucdavis.edu

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

6 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

UC DAVIS ALUMNA OPENS MICRO-BAKERY INSPIRED BY HER COLLEGE EXPERIENCE Deirdre Feeley reflects on how her time in Davis ultimately led to Driftwood Baking

BY KATIE DEBENDETTI features@theaggie.org UC Davis alumna Deirdre Feeley wanted to be a pastry chef growing up, but like many people, pastry became more of a hobby as she grew older and her interest in plant science took precedence as a possible career path. However, during her time at UC Davis, her passion for pastry resurfaced, and she now operates her own micro-bakery in North Oakland, Driftwood Baking. Feeley attributes much of the success of Driftwood to her undergraduate experiences at UC Davis.

During her time at Davis, Feeley lived in the co-operative Turtle House, where two of her roommates began an “underground supper club” in 2016. Feeley joined the club — called “Tortuga” — as the pastry chef when they were getting started and mostly cooking for friends, but she said that the club began to take off not long after.

“I joined on as a pastry chef and we developed menus together and hosted [meals],” Feeley said.

“At first it was friends, but then it quickly turned into strangers and adults from the community who were coming and eating.”

Eventually, Tortuga became a monthly pop-up. Feeley and the founders, Larry and

Kaia, began taking reservations and serving two seated dinners each month. Feeley said that this experience was pivotal in her decision to pursue a culinary career.

“It brought back my passion for pastry,” Feeley said. “I feel like that moment and that project re-unlocked pastry for me, and I just decided to try it.”

During the summer of 2016, while Feeley was still living at Turtle House, she began baking croissants out of her home kitchen. Croissants are Feeley’s favorite food, but she said she could not find quality croissants when she moved to Davis, so she decided to make and sell her own.

“That’s when Driftwood first came into fruition,” Feeley said. “That was super tiny. I was putting out as many croissants as I could make on the weekends and taking pre-orders. I was selling like 40 croissants a weekend. It was at a very tiny scale.”

When fall quarter began, Driftwood was put on the back burner. Feeley refocused on her plant science studies, internship at UC Davis’s student farm and work at a viticulture lab on campus. It was at that lab that she met a mentor — Professor Alan Tenscher — who inspired her to follow her dream to become a chef.

“He called it ‘killing the dream,’” Feeley said.

“He said if you have a dream, you either [...]

Deserts made by Driftwood Bakery. (Driftwood Bakery / Courtesy)

chase it down and it becomes a reality, or you put it to bed and decide that it’s not your dream anymore and it’s not what you want to be doing.”

Feeley was approaching the end of her time at Davis and was not sure whether she wanted to begin looking for jobs in plant science. She still felt drawn to pastry, but was not sure if it was a feasible career path.

“I was currently studying plant biology, working in a viticulture lab — I was on [that] track,” Feeley said. “This pastry thing was a passion that had come up, not related to anything I was doing and [Tenscher] said, ‘you either chase your dream [in pastry] and then you come back to plant science, or that dream becomes what you’re doing.”

Feeley decided to take Tenscher’s advice, and upon finishing her undergraduate degree in 2018, she began working in pastry at Tartine Bakery in San Francisco before getting another position at Acme Bakery. When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March of 2020, she felt lucky to keep her job at Acme Bakery, where she was working in recipe development, but she wanted to make a change in her career trajectory.

Many of Feeley’s industry friends had lost their jobs when COVID-19 closures shut down their bakeries and restaurants, prompting them to open independent “pop-ups” serving their

own food. Seeing this, Feeley was inspired to leave the corporate kitchen and pursue a pop-up herself.

An independent micro-bakery “aligned well with where I was feeling professionally because I was feeling without opportunities to express myself creatively,” Feeley said. “I wasn’t in a position where I was chef, so I didn’t have a lot of creative say. I was doing recipe development, so I was having more creative expression than others, but not enough for me.”

Feeley re-opened Driftwood Baking in December 2020, offering a menu of holidaythemed cookies and candy boxes. Since then, she has been hosting monthly pop-ups featuring new pastry menus each month, as well as taking custom cake orders. She operates this microbakery out of her home oven, and creates four to seven new recipes monthly.

“I view this as a creative outlet and a creative project more than just a bakery or a means to an income,” Feeley said. “I really enjoy getting to continuously create new recipes.”

DRIFTWOOD on 11

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 | 7

ARTS AND CULTURE PENCE GALLERY’S ANNUAL ART AUCTION CONNECTS DAVIS COMMUNITY TO LOCAL ARTISTS From Sept. 1st through 25, the Davis-based art gallery held an auction of over 100 artists’ work to raise money for the rest of the year

BY ANGIE CUMMINGS arts@theaggie.org When most think of an art auction, ideas of exclusivity and elitism might come up; however, this is not the case at the Pence Gallery’s annual Art Auction. The non-profit gallery makes it clear that the primary vision and values of the auction are the community behind it and the ability to create an incredibly welcoming space. With enough variety in style and medium of pieces for anyone to find a favorite artwork at the show, the Pence’s auction reinforces how art really is for everyone.

According to Natalie Nelson, the curator and director of the Pence Gallery as well as the primary organizer of this event, the Pence has “fulfilled the need in town for showing a wide range of visual art” since its opening in 1975 and the creation of the Art Auction over 25 years ago.

The auction is not only the Pence’s major event

to raise funds for the year, but also a great chance for artists to get their names out to the entire community, the perfect place for community members to buy a piece of local art and just a fun show to walk through and appreciate art.

Given the nature of the auction — a show with the goal to sell the work off the walls — artists tend to stick to their signature styles so as to guarantee the work they chose to bring will end up helping the Pence in the long run. Artist and Davis local Karen Fess-Uecker stuck to what she knew, providing the auction with two beautiful landscapes. “[Since the pandemic] I probably have over 50 paintings up in my studio, but chose landscapes [because] you want to pick what’ll sell,” said Fess-Uecker.

With 130 artists and 143 works being shown

at the auction, landscapes — both naturalistic and stylized paintings — definitely have a large presence throughout the gallery, and yet there is still more than enough room for the myriad other kinds of art, from ceramic sculptures to fully abstracted works.

Whereas the previous Art Auction was held completely online due to the stay-at-home orders during September 2020, this year, the Pence was able to welcome the community back in and held a public reception on Sept. 10 as well as an artist party on Sept. 18 to express their appreciation for all the artists who contributed to the show.

One aspect kept from last year’s auction was the online bidding, which allowed for bids to easily be placed remotely. “[Both this year and last year] we’ve had buyers from all over, since it’s all online… it used

Pence gallery. (Aggie File)

‘SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS’ IS A SMASH HIT How Marvel is diversifying a very uniform industry

BY CLARA FISCHER arts@theaggie.org Marvel Studio’s latest project is taking theaters by storm. Grossing $90 million over the Labor Day weekend, despite concerns surrounding the Delta variant, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” has dominated the box-office for four consecutive weekends.

The project features Destin Daniel Cretton as the studio’s first Asian American director, along with a star-studded predominantly Asian cast.

Among these actors are Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Tony Leung and Fala Chen.

Continuing Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Shang-Chi” showcases a fresh take on action movies. The intricately choreographed fight scenes between Leung’s and Chen’s characters feel more like murderous dance numbers than the violent brawls typical of Marvel. Stunt coordinators made a point to accurately portray martial arts moves in the fight scenes to pay homage to the film’s cultural background, resulting in a film that, at its core, is an action movie, but also packs a punch with culturally relevant imagery and artistic cinematography.

Moreover, fans were pleased that the film’s team stayed true to the Asian American experience in their portrayal of traditions, rather than depicting a watered-down American impression of them.

“A lot of POC are underrepresented in the media… and if they are represented, it’s in a stereotypical way,” said Jocelyn Morales, a third-year animal biology major. Since “ShangChi” is spearheaded by an Asian cast and crew, its storyline is actually in keeping with real traditions.

Marvel’s 2018 smash-hit “Black Panther” was the studio’s first project to star a BIPOC actor,

and the numbers attest to the importance of representation in the media — the film is one of the highest-earning U.S. superhero movies of all time.

“Shang-Chi” appears to be following in “Black Panther’s” footsteps in breaking down barriers for another marginalized community.

“I grew up seeing a lot of white people,” Morales said. “More representation of a little bit of everybody would help little kids see ‘Yeah, there’s people like me that are successful.’”

“Shang-Chi” has all the trademarks of the Marvel movies fans know and love. There is no shortage of action, heart-wrenching backstory or super wordly elements to keep audiences entertained. More importantly, it opens the door for future generations to see themselves in a beloved hero on the big screen.

“It’s so important to have all communities represented in film,” said Kayla Isaacs, a secondyear human development major.

Given Hollywood’s ugly history of whitewashing and general lack of diversity, fans are excited to see the cinema giant finally step up and promote representation for a community other than heteronormative white men. The revenue speaks for itself — modern audiences want to see media that actually represents a beautifully diverse world.

Shang-Chi movie poster.(Marvel Studios)

to just be Davis,” said Nelson.

This community-centered art auction is the perfect culmination of Davis’ friendly reputation and presentation of the often overlooked yet thriving local art scene. According to Davis local and featured artist at the auction Carrie Cenisroz, Davis and Northern California were considered “a mecca for painters and all kinds of artists [in the mid 20th century]” and the community created around the Pence Gallery and Davis have a very similar love for the arts.

8 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

LOOKING BACK AT NORM Macdonald’s not going anywhere

BY JACOB ANDERSON arts@theaggie.org On Sept. 14, Norm Macdonald died of leukemia, and the world of comedy was deprived of one of its most polarizing and stealthily intelligent members. Macdonald’s humor was as reserved and patient as it was quick, seeking to bewilder listeners with precise bluntness. He was singular; few other comedians are brave enough to intentionally bomb on television.

While he’s had a Netflix show and a robust, successful stand-up career, most still recognize him from his iconic tenure as the host of the Weekend Update segment on Saturday Night Live from 1993 to 1998. His unusually straightforward style charmed audiences, but he was sometimes embroiled in conflicts with the managerial elements of the show on account of his nonchalant attitude toward controversial topics. When he wasn’t calling Michael Jackson a “homosexual pedophile” or ribbing the Clintons, his trusty muse was O. J. Simpson, whose eleven-month double murder trial served as Macdonald’s succor and punching bag so reliably that by the end of his time on the show his mere mention could induce waves of nervous laughter from the audience.

Don Ohlmeyer, the president of NBC’s West Coast division, removed Macdonald from the segment in 1998 as a result of his casus belli causing a drop in ratings. Macdonald, however, has publicly attributed his termination to Ohlmeyer’s long-standing friendship with Simpson.

Macdonald had a string of other shows afterward, most notably an unexceptional three-season sitcom in the Seinfeldian vein titled “The Norm Show,” but it saw an abrupt cancellation just like the rest. His 2018 Netflix show “Norm Macdonald Has a Show,” saw no renewal following his comments in support of Louis C.K. and

Roseanne Barr.

It’s difficult to pick out a single moment that captures all the monotonic dexterity of Macdonald’s humor, but a serious contender would be a joke, delivered on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” told with such lengthy discipline that it’s not hard to imagine him placing 20th in the 2007 World Series of Poker or writing a winding, skillful comedic quasi-novel like “Based on a

True Story: A Memoir.”

Macdonald’s influence on modern comedy has been pronounced since his days with Saturday Night Live, but even with mobs of amateur stand-ups aping his every move, nobody has been able to replicate the furtive allure that makes Norm Macdonald himself.

Norm Macdonald. (Greg2600 / Creative Commons)

BY ALLIE BAILEY arts@theaggie.edu

Music: “MTV Unplugged in New York”

by Nirvana (1994)

Book: “Daisy Jones & The Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Movie: “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” dir. by Morgan Neville (2021)

After I stumbled upon a showing of this performance at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle this summer, followed by the stellar Nirvana exhibit around the corner, I immediately had this live album on repeat.

The set includes both hits and lesser-known tracks, with a particularly sandpapery sound from Cobain on the live recording. The intimate performance comes through on the album, with snippets of the band’s comments lingering at the end of songs and blending into the following track — it’s worth listening to in order. Some standouts are “Dumb,” which I prefer to the original recording, and “Polly,” but their iconic cover of David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold The World” takes the cake — I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up at the top of my Spotify Wrapped this year.

Told in the format of interviews with members and friends of a fictional ‘70s rock band, “Daisy Jones & The Six” is one of the most captivating stories I’ve read, thanks to the intimate nature of the first-person tellings of the group’s history. The famous rock stars’ accounts, often contradicting each other due to ego, drugs or both, tell the story of the world-renowned band, Daisy Jones & The Six, with a focus on the complicated relationship of Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne, the band’s main songwriters and vocalists. The trials and tribulations of sex, drugs, love and rock and roll take you on an exciting yet heartbreaking ride where, in typical rockstar fashion, the highs are high and the lows are low. A twist at the end leaves you wanting to reread the story with a new perspective — but it shouldn’t take too long, since this one’s tough to put down.

I think what made this film so good — other than Bourdain’s charm and the honest, enamored accounts of his life by friends and colleagues — was the pure quantity of footage we got to see of the beloved chef-turned-author-turnedTV-show-host. The movie starts with clips of Bourdain in his apartment, talking with his wife or at his restaurant, complaining about his fish delivery being late. He was filmed before his rise to stardom, and these moments humanized him, giving us a starting point from which to analyze the rest of his brilliant life. Much more of the footage, of course, came from outtakes or other filming related to the two TV shows he went on to host, which, while retaining his authentic character, developed into an on-screen persona we got to know, mainly on “No Reservations” and “Parts Unknown.” “Roadrunner” stripped some of that back, revealing who he was and why, or at least as much as his friends and the camera could capture about his curious, complex love of life.

TV Show: “The Chair” This Netflix limited series follows the newly appointed chair (played by Sandra Oh) of a dwindling English department at an esteemed liberal arts college. Oh’s character comes on with goals of modernizing and reinventing the department, only to be faced with firing tenured professors, an unhinged colleague and old white men dictating her new role, not to mention the implicit racism and sexism running rampant in the bureaucracy of collegiate institutions. A campus scandal with the aforementioned unstable colleague (who also happens to be a love interest) highlights the fine line between accountability and cancel culture, only adding to the relevancy of the show. It’s funny, heartwarming and probably one of the most well-done shows I’ve seen in a while.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 | 9

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

Answer to previous puzzle 09/16/2021

CROSSWORD Answer to previous puzzle 09/16/2021

Scan this QR code to subscribe to The California Aggie’s Newsletter!

reduce. reuse. recycle.

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10 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

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DEANPROFILE

DRIFTWOODBAKING

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

When she got the opportunity to come to UC Davis, Atekwana said that she went through the process she always does when career opportunities arise. She asks herself, “What is the direction of this institution? Does it align with my own priorities?” Atekwana said that she found that UC Davis was a perfect match.

Not only did she see her philosophy reflected in the values of the university, but also her own experience.

“I’ve really been interested in the social mobility of students, because I saw myself coming from Africa,” Atekwana said. “UC Davis is in the top ranked in social mobility. I also like the fact that it’s a number one destination for international students; I was an international student myself at one point in time. Forty percent of students at UC Davis are first gen students; I was a first generation student. [Davis has] a high percentage of underrepresented minorities, [...] and I’m a minority myself.”

Atekwana also said that she was drawn to UC Davis because of its faculty.

“Even though it’s a number one institution with faculty that are award winning faculty, [...] [they’re] still passionate about teaching students,” Atekwana said. “That’s what I’ve always wanted.

The best researchers should also make the best teachers. They should bring their research, the excitement of that research, to the classroom to inspire students.”

Since she arrived on campus on Aug. 1, Atekwana has been busy acquainting herself with the departments in the College of Letters and Sciences, as well as preparing for students to return to campus after 18 months online. She said that one of her biggest projects for the fall and potentially winter is her “listening tours,” which have already begun, and have allowed her to hear directly from faculty in Letters and Sciences departments.

Atekwana said that at this moment, handling the return to campus amidst the COVID-19 pandemic is her top concern. She is prioritizing making sure campus is not only a safe environment for students and staff, but also that it is the best learning environment during this time. She said that increased awareness of mental health and student success are crucial at

this time. Atekwana is especially interested in making sure that the school addresses students affected by the pandemic in an equitable manner.

“The pandemic was really challenging on all of us, but disproportionately affected more women and underrepresented minorities than other populations,” Atekwana said. “So the question that I’m asking myself right now [...] is how do we send our students and our faculty and our staff up for success?”

Atekwana’s first plan to address these student needs is ensuring that the college has enough counselors and advisors to guide students through academic and mental health challenges.

She is also working with student affairs to connect students with resources that UC Davis has available for their specific situations.

Aside from the pandemic, Atekwana has lofty goals for her first year on campus. She said that her three goals for the year are getting to know the college as a whole, highlighting the importance of a liberal arts education and creating a new strategic plan for the new direction of the college.

She also wants to prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion in all of her decision making.

“I’ve also been a big champion of diversity, equity and inclusion,” Atekwana said. “That’s going to be fundamental in everything that I do, to integrate more equity and inclusion. We already have the diversity in terms of students, but unfortunately, our faculty demographics do not match our student demographics. That is something that we need to work on. There’s an opportunity for growth in that particular area.”

Ultimately, Atekwana hopes to raise the status of the College of Letters and Sciences.

As the largest college on UC Davis’s campus, Atekwana believes it is important to remind the community of the importance of the college and of a liberal arts education.

“I think the skills that we provide our students — critical thinking, writing skills, communication skills, problem solving skills — are skills that employers want and they need,” Atekwana said. “Our students probably would better weather the flex of the changing job landscape because they have the skills that will allow them to be very flexible.”

ANXIETYWHO CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 1. The Lame Fun Fact Game: Everyone in the room says a lame fun fact about themselves…oh wait.

2. Twister with ketchup and mustard: There’s nothing like learning each other’s names while cleaning dried ketchup out of your ears.

3. Deep analysis of your professor: There’s no better way to bond than to form a common enemy (Victim 1: The Professor).

Jokes aside, take care of yourself during these difficult times. Fun fact ice breakers can really do a number on you.

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

Despite the success of Driftwood over the past nine months, Feeley is not looking to expand. She recently moved to Los Angeles and is pursuing a career outside of the kitchen, as she does not want to rely on it for income. She also does not particularly want to grow Driftwood, as she has found it invites a “toxic” kitchen environment that is prevalent in the industry.

Feeley said that corporate kitchen culture can be full of anger and violence, and that in corporate kitchens, she has found that sexual harassment commonly goes unchecked. By keeping Driftwood small, she hopes to keep it away from that toxicity.

“It’s a little precious thing that I don’t want to be compromised,” Feeley said. “I don’t want to have to try to rely on it for my income because then I don’t want to be pushing production first.

I want it to just be a creative project where I have another income and then I’m able to let the products shine.”

Despite Driftwood being a “hobby” for Feeley, it is a time-consuming production. She said that the two weeks before pop-up menus go live, she spends the majority of her time preparing recipes. Sometimes, recipes can be perfected in just three iterations, but others she ends up testing more than six times before she is content. Generally, she spends one week brainstorming recipe ideas and researching ingredients, and another week perfecting cook time, measurements and ingredients.

As for recipe creation, Feeley is inspired by the seasons and what she learned about seasonal produce working at the student farm at UC Davis.

“I let my creativity lead,” Feeley said. “I draw a ton of inspiration from my time at Davis. [My] experience really honed my love of nature and my appreciation of how the seasons ebb and flow and how nature really provides for us. Every

different season a new fruit is coming in. In the winter it gets cold, but then there are oranges that are full of bright juice. I really tried to emulate sentiments in my desserts [and] highlight the season at that moment and its beauty.”

She also prioritizes sourcing local ingredients for her recipes, both to lessen her environmental footprint and maintain the quality of her food.

“Even if you don’t focus on ‘sustainability,’ I think it’s important to emphasize the fact that these methods just lead to better food,” Feeley said. “Sustainability is appealing beyond environmental impact and social impact because when you eat local and when you eat well-grown food, you can taste it.”

Feeley sources hyper-local produce from California and neighboring states and does not use products grown with heavy pesticides. She also prioritizes working with farms that pay living wages to their staff and foster healthy working environments.

Currently, Feeley is preparing for her October pop-up, for which she is brainstorming a pastry menu that captures the current season — the transition from summer to fall. One ingredient she feels captures this essence is fresh pears.

“I love pears and chocolate, but for me personally, it feels too warm for chocolate,” Feeley said. “I view chocolate as very heavy in that it warms me up in the winter, so I would turn to something lighter like almonds. Almond frangipane goes really nicely with pear so maybe I would do those together and kind of play on this early autumn, late summer flux point where warm spices are welcome, but we still want a little bit of juicy brightness from the summer.”

For information on the date and location of Feeley’s October pop-up, which will be in North Oakland, as well as for custom cake orders, visit Driftwood’s website or follow the bakery on Instagram.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 | 11

SCIENCE AND TECH 2018 CAMP FIRE PROMPTS ‘TRUE EXPERIMENT OF NATURE’ Fertility, timing of birth and pregnancy loss observed in Rhesus macaques following exposure to wildfire smoke

BY AARYA GUPTA science@theaggie.org

The California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC) at UC Davis conducted a “unique case-control” study investigating birth outcomes in Rhesus macaques. This species’ breeding period was affected by the Camp Fire, according to a research paper published in the journal of Reproductive Toxicology.

The U.S. Census Bureau has deemed the Camp Fire, originating in Butte County in Northern California, “the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California History,” according to their website.

“My colleagues and I took advantage of two events that coincided,” Dr. Bill Lasley, professor emeritus of the Department of Population Health and Reproduction at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine said via email. “One event was the natural breeding season of the outdoor [Rhesus] macaque colony and the other event was the [Camp Fire wildfire].”

Smoke from the Camp Fire yielded poor air quality, affecting 500 mature female Rhesus macaques, or non-human primates, enclosed in an outdoor field at the CNPRC. This facility is located approximately 100 miles away from the origin of the fire, according to the paper.

“These two temporal events coupled with the unique properties of the nonhuman primate for modeling human reproduction was a coincidence that needed to be documented,” Lasley said.

Lasley said that this research was “a true ‘experiment of nature.’”

Wildfires produce organic and inorganic carbonaceous particulate matter, which are air pollutants, according to the paper.

“Many previous studies have shown that air pollution, including wildfires, threaten human pregnancies,” Lasley said. “However, we do not always know the mechanism of toxic effect or when, in gestation, this adverse effect takes place.”

The objective of the study was to observe how fertility, timing of birth and pregnancy loss was affected in Rhesus macaques following the dissemination of wildfire smoke.

According to the paper, pregnancy loss is defined to be “no live birth after confirmation of pregnancy or delivery of products of conception.”

Of the 500 mature females that were observed, 66 females were randomly selected to be a part of the 2018-2019 Camp Fire-Exposed Cohort,

Rhesus Macaques. (WikiCommons) according to the paper.

“Given the acceleration of the climate crisis and the increasing threat of wildfires, this study underscores the need to address climate change and the potential need for pregnant women to take precautions in areas exposed to [wildfire smoke],” staff research associate at the Lasley Lab at the Center for Health and the Environment Nancy Gee said via email.

Gee said the results of the study showed a reduction in live births in the non-human primate model, and that these results can be applicable to humans.

“The [non-human primate] is the most applicable model for reproductive studies due to the similarities in reproductive pathways including pregnancy,” Gee said. “The results serve to inform and drive further research into the effect of [wildfire smoke] in pregnancy. This is especially important in the very early critical windows of development in early pregnancy when many women are not yet aware that they may be pregnant.”

Lasley said that he hopes this research will inform the public.

“Hopefully it will serve to warn the public,

especially pregnant women, about the potential danger of unneeded exposures to severe wildfire smoke,” Lasley said.

Many departments came together to collaborate on this project.

“The study is an excellent example of harnessing the power of multiple resources available across the UC Davis campus including the CNPRC, School of Medicine and the Center for Health and the Environment at the John Muir Institute of the Environment,” Gee said.

UC DAVIS STUDENT CREATES NEW DISCORD FEATURE INSPIRED BY UC DAVIS DISCORD DIRECTORY A new feature called “Discord Student Hubs” serves as a place to find and add servers to connect with classmates at your school

BY SONORA SLATER science@theaggie.org Discord, an instant messaging system characterized by small chat rooms or servers, is rolling out a new feature known as Discord Student Hubs. This update was inspired in part by the Discord UCD Club/Server Directory, a creation by a UC Davis student.

Samuel Petruescu, a fifth-year applied physics major, created the directory on Discord in 2019 as a way to have a common location for links to join UC Davis-related servers for clubs and courses. Today, thousands of students have joined the directory.

“I wasn’t expecting it to grow this much, but I just started by adding servers I already had and starting telling students about this server I made,” Petruescu said via Discord. “Before I knew it, people from Reddit and other servers started joining, and it just kind of grew. Another big factor was orientation last year being online and students getting the link from each other.”

The server includes separate sections for announcements, university programs and resources, official UC Davis-affiliated clubs, dorm hall-specific servers and more.

Petruescu went on to explain that a UC Davis ambassador from Discord reached out to him saying they were impressed with the directory and wanted to model a new feature after it. Petruescu answered their questions, and they began developing the Hubs feature.

According to the Discord Student Hubs FAQ page, the feature is meant to serve as “a place for students to meet classmates from their school.” Similarly to the UC Davis directory, Discord Student Hubs lists servers added by students for different communities and courses and is not officially affiliated with or managed by schools. However, in order to enforce the university community aspect, each hub can only be accessed by users with an email address associated with their school.

The Student Hubs do not include university programs, and any student can list a server, so there’s no separation between official clubs and communities.

“Students will be able to find other classmates that have joined the hub, add their servers to the hub, and find their classmates’ servers, all in one place,” the Student Hubs FAQ page says.

Petruescu talked about how access to a resource like the UC Davis Directory has helped

students to connect, especially during the year of online schooling.

“I’ve gotten a lot of DMs from students explaining how much the directory has helped them meet new people and not have to stress so much about joining clubs or communities or handling courses throughout the pandemic, which has been a big motivator for keeping the directory as well,” Petruescu said. “I think it serves both as a tool and as a symbol that the UC Davis community is resilient throughout, and that we as a community are built and dedicated to helping each other grow, which I hope the directory helps to enable.”

Isabelle Carrel, a third-year cognitive science major, detailed how Discord has enabled her to make connections in the UC Davis community. “[A] few of the clubs I’m in have online Discords, and that’s been incredibly useful for helping people connect during the pandemic,” she said via Discord.

According to Carrel, she had gone to a few meetings of a club called Side C before the pandemic but wasn’t very active in the organization. During the pandemic, she was able to find the club again through the directory and become more involved.

As UC Davis transitions back to in-person

classes, students will be able to interact with their classmates in real life, rather than solely through digital platforms, but Petruescu believes that the server will continue to be useful as a resource and tool.

“Even if it isn’t used as much, that’s okay,” Petruescu said. “I’ll still keep it maintained in case it can help just one more student… I’m definitely not complaining but it was quite difficult to maintain at times with my class schedules, but I’d still do it all over again even if it meant just helping a handful of students.”

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

12 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

SPORTS MEN’S SOCCER KICKS OFF CONFERENCE PLAY The UC Davis Men’s Soccer team looks to repeat as conference champions after long layoff

UC Davis soccer team against Gonzaga on 9/2/2021. (Quinn Spooner / Aggie) it.

BY OMAR NAVARRO sports@theaggie.org After a layoff of almost two years, the UC Davis Men’s soccer team will look to defend their Big West Conference crown.

Winning both the regular season and tournament title, the Aggies’ taste of NCAA Tournament play in 2019 has left them on a mission to repeat. With both veteran and young presence at each position, UC Davis is ready for whatever the tough Big West Conference may throw at them.

Since the cancellation of fall sports by the Big West Conference in 2020 included soccer, the Aggies were unable to suit up last year due to COVID-19. Itching to get back on the field, the team got their chance to return against the #9 ranked Washington Huskies after two exhibition games. The hard-fought battle against the highly ranked Huskies went back and forth but unfortunately for UC Davis, they fell in double overtime.

After another loss to Seattle University a couple days later, the Aggies traveled back home for their home opener against Gonzaga.

In this game, UC Davis was unable to find the back of the net and fell victim to a late goal once again that sunk them, starting off their season with three straight losses. The rough start to the season only continued, as the team traveled south to San Jose State and gave up five goals in a 2-5 loss. Just a couple of days after the team traveled to San Diego, they suffered their fifth straight loss against the red-hot San Diego State team.

Despite the five straight losses to start the season, the team wasn’t too worried. The class of opponents they played in their non-conference schedule were high, and following a long layoff like the one they endured, they knew that they could improve from

“We played at the University of Washington to open the season and they’re 7-0,” head coach Dwayne Schaffer said. “We gave them everything they could handle, but unfortunately it didn’t go our way. We played at San Diego State — which is another Pac12 associate member — and they’re ranked in the top 20 in the country. I feel really good about our team.”

The tough start didn’t deter the mindset of the team as shown in their last four games since then. A win at the University of San Diego by a score of 3-0 gave the Aggies their first win of the year.

Having had all of those games on the road, the return to Davis was a welcome one for the team, as they went on a tear throughout their three game non-conference home stretch. Hosting Saint Mary’s they shut them out as well by the same score of 3-0 following a brace by sophomore midfielder Max Arfsten — who has six goals in nine games played thus far. Almost a week later, the Aggies had a scoring flurry again as they beat the University of San Francisco 4-1 and later on that week closed off their non-conference schedule with a 1-0 thriller against University of Pacific.

“Unfortunately the results didn’t go our way in the first five games but now they are,” Schaffer said after the win against Pacific.

“It’s all because their effort and attitude is incredible in getting better. We also have a ton of talent and we got a great group of senior veteran players in the group that are improving daily.”

Closing out non conference play with four straight wins was exactly what the team needed as they entered Big West Conference play. In the preseason poll, the Aggies were tied as favorites with the always great UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. In their opening game, the team will travel to La Jolla and take on new Big West member UC San Diego on Sept. 29. In their conference home

opener, the Aggies will take on none other than the Gauchos in an early season clash on Oct. 2 at Aggie Soccer Field. UC Davis beat out Santa Barbara in Davis in the 2019 Big West Tournament Championship game and in their first matchup since, the two are bound to deliver again.

On Oct. 6, the team’s homestand continues as they host UC Riverside before they go on a quick two game road trip to Southern California to play a 2019 Big West Tournament rematch against Cal State Fullerton and against UC Irvine — two teams also ranked highly in the conference. After a home game on Oct.17 against Cal State Northridge, the Aggies will travel to Bakersfield and San Luis Obispo before they close out Big West Conference play at Aggie Soccer Field in the Causeway Classic on Oct. 30 versus Sacramento State.

“I don’t think there’s one key ingredient [to win the conference again],” Schaffer said. “I think we have some great players that are getting better and better. These guys didn’t play a real meaningful game for almost two years, so we’re just starting to come around where we should’ve been at the beginning of the year.”

After such a long layoff due to the pandemic, the Aggies seem to have found their groove that won them the Big West once again.

With players on all lines having experience and a lot of talent in all facets of the game, UC Davis is prepared to compete once again and with the start of classes, the fans at Aggie Soccer Field may be the extra juice that the team needs in order to repeat again.

“It’s awesome that our crowds are starting to get bigger,” Schaffer added. “As I just told our student-athletes, if you perform well, people will want to come and watch you. Our supporters are starting to come back into the mix which I think is cool. I thank all the Aggie soccer supporters for coming and supporting us.”

TOO RICH TO HANDLE? NBA Superagent Rich Paul’s rise through the ranks has many people wondering if it is good for the league — but it is nothing new

BY OMAR NAVARRO sports@theaggie.org National Basketball Association (NBA) agent and founder of Klutch Sports Group agency Rich Paul’s rise through the ranks is a story that is unlike many others. He went from selling vintage jerseys from the trunk of his car to having one of the biggest agencies not only in basketball, but across many different sports. After befriending Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James in a chance meeting at the airport almost 20 years ago, his relationship only grew from there, and he has managed to build an empire.

His story is more of what you’d see in a movie, but despite his story-like rise, his influence, voice and power in the NBA now has some wondering whether it is affecting the game negatively.

Since the start of Klutch Sports nine years ago, Paul has represented some of the greatest players in the NBA like James, Anthony Davis, Trae Young and many others. He is now one of the major competitors of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), and his name has stayed in the headlines over recent seasons. The main thing that started to put Paul’s name in the headlines was when then-New Orleans Pelicans all-star Anthony Davis requested a trade in 2019. After Davis signed with the agency in 2018, his unrest with the Pelicans eventually led to his request. This differed from prior requests, as Paul told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

“Anthony wants to be traded to a team that allows him a chance to win consistently and compete for a championship,” Paul said.

“Anthony wanted to be honest and clear with his intentions and that’s the reason for informing them of this decision now. That’s in the best interests of both Anthony’s and the organization’s future.”

While this may seem like a normal request, Davis was fined $50,000 by the league and his list of teams also raised some eyebrows. Placing the Lakers at the top of his destination list, the Klutch connection and close friendship of LeBron and Paul had some thinking there was some sort of collusion between both sides and the best interests were not at the front of the agency’s mind.

“We cannot have players and agents colluding to stack super teams,” NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said. “We can’t have players dictating who is going to play together.

Guys are sharing agents and stacking teams. That

ain’t right.”

Davis eventually got his wish and landed in LA, winning his first championship in his first season. But many were left with a sour taste in their mouth, wondering if Paul’s connection with James was much more than just agent-to-player relationship.

Fast forward to the present day, people’s questions have been raised even more. In early September, NBA player and former Klutch member Nerlens Noel filed a lawsuit against the agency, claiming losses of over $58 million were due to Paul and his agency’s failure to let Noel know of team’s interests. Among many other things, the lawsuit claims that Noel was convinced by Paul to turn down a $72 million contract from the Dallas Mavericks in 2017, leave his agent and join Paul at Klutch. He did that and took a $4.2 million offer instead to try and bet on himself for a bigger payday.

The payday never came. While if true Paul could have violated some NBA rules, this is not the first time something like this has happened.

Players Victor Oladipo and Robert Covington have undergone similar situations in the past and it worked out the same. The truth is, these situations are a risk and when some player’s decide to roll the dice, it could come out empty.

“The truth is Nerlens is not innocent in this,” an agent told Bleacher Report. “If you’re silly enough to turn down that kind of money, that’s not on Rich.”

The accusations of collusion are not new, and other agents have anonymously felt the same.

Whether validated or not, many do not like the connection between Paul and his superstar companion — even going as far as saying Paul is not the one in charge of his agency.

“The worst thing that LeBron is doing is forcing this power with Rich Paul and what that is, in terms of, he’s a player, but he has prowess in the media space,” an anonymous NBA agent told Ben Standig and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.

“But now that they’ve jumped into the agent game, which the reality is, it’s illegal for a player, particularly if you’re in the state of California, to be licensed to represent talent.”

Accusations may be coming from an emotional standpoint, not a logical one. The fact of the matter is that NBA superagents have long been a staple of the league. Back when Michael Jordan was winning championships, his agent David Falk held similar power to the one Paul has now. Even then, Falk may have had even more

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

of a stranglehold on the league — with some even saying he was the second most powerful man in basketball behind the commissioner. He facilitated moves of many superstar players at the time and also got similar hate and dislike from others around the league — just like Paul.

Superagents are not anything new and not just in the NBA. Looking around at every major league, there are people that are the same. The difference between them and Rich Paul, however, is Paul’s connection. Because of his link to LeBron James, there comes this extra attention. While agents are usually in the dark and not known, the casual NBA fan has heard about Rich Paul — and that is due to his link to the superstar.

To put it simply, whenever there is something that has a connection to LeBron James, it is going to be blown up.

“I heard what Charles [Barkley] said about Klutch and you want to root for him and make Klutch into the ‘bad guy’ but, come on, you know this has been happening in the NBA for decades now,” one general manager told Heavy.

“This isn’t new. They were very, very clumsy about the Davis trade, it all looked bad. But that was just bad optics. It was nothing new. It is a story that has happened 1,000 times and will happen 1,000 more. But it was LeBron, it was the Lakers, so it got blown up.”

The player empowerment movement has been felt the most in basketball and over the years, the NBA teams and executives have tried to do things to limit that. However, it might be something that is here to stay.

Whether it’s the current Ben Simmons saga ongoing this offseason or the countless other examples that arise every year, it’s just the current reality of sports. There is no evidence of “collusion” and it seems as though these claims are baseless and not facts. NBA agents having power is not anything new — nor will it ever be.

The current reality of the game is one of newfound power and taking control of their own careers. Besides, at the end of the day agents work for their clients — not the other way around.