April 14, 2022

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VOLUME 140, ISSUE 23 | THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ENROLLED IN SPRING QUARTER 2020 RECEIVE REFUND Students who were registered for classes in the 2020 spring quarter may be eligible for a small refund

BY SYDNEY AMESTOY campus@theaggie.org

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE Eligible students may have received a refund based on the modifications made to campus services in the 2020 spring quarter, when many facilities closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Undergraduate students who were eligible for the refund received up to $7.76, while UC Davis law students could have received up to $2.04.

To be eligible for this refund, students had to have been enrolled in classes during the 2020 spring quarter. Students enrolled in most graduate level professional degree programs were not included.

Eligible students should have received their

refund through the MyBill portal by March 15, according to a press release from the university.

If students did not receive a digital refund, a physical check will be mailed to them.

In June 2020, then UC President Janet Napolitano decided to issue these refunds to compensate students for the impact COVID-19 had on campus services in the 2020 spring quarter.

The UC Office of the President (UCOP) released a letter answering frequently asked questions about this refund and discussing how the amount being refunded was decided upon.

Napolitano had ordered all UC campuses to analyze which campus fees they would need to refund based on the service’s unavailability or change in service.

Ultimately, UC Davis decided upon the roughly $7 refund based on a calculated $236,381 total of unexpended and unencumbered fees. The refund was spread evenly among those eligible.

Some students, however, feel that this refund was not sufficient.

“I don’t think $7 was enough to cover the cost of all the services lost in the spring quarter of 2020,” said Paulina Frost, a third-year public health major. “Maybe a few hundred.”

Third-year managerial economics major Jericho Delong echoed Frost’s sentiments.

“Tuition is a lot, especially out of state, and all that was lost in that quarter; $7 doesn’t seem like enough,” Delong said.

Other students, such as second-year engineering major Vi Bui, felt the refund was an appropriate sum.

“With as many students here, I think that is a reasonable amount to make up for campus resources,” Bui said.

The total amount refunded differs per campus and in some groups of students, such as law students and undergraduates, according to the UCOP’s frequently asked questions.

Expended fees were excluded, as were fees regarding financial aid and long-term projects extending past the 2020 spring quarter.

A written disclaimer is now posted on the official Tuition and Fees website informing students of the refund and that only the spring quarter of 2020 will be refunded, not any of the other quarters disrupted by COVID-19.

LAWSUIT FILED TO CHANGE MISLEADING BALLOT STATEMENTS WRITTEN BY OPPONENTS OF THE DISC 2022 DEVELOPMENT PROJECT Despite a double-sided victory, the opposing campaign said that, as a result, they’ve been put in a difficult position

BY LEVI GOLDSTEIN city@theaggie.org On March 22, City of Davis council member Dan Carson filed a lawsuit for false and misleading ballot statements written by the opponents of Measure H. Measure H, which Davis citizens will vote on from May through June, proposes the construction of the Davis Sustainability and Innovation Campus (DiSC) 2022. DiSC 2022 includes new retail spaces, a hotel that will create jobs in the city, 460 residential units and office and laboratory spaces for UC Davis researchers, according to the City of Davis website. The City Council originally declined the initial plan for DiSC in 2020. The developers, Ramco Enterprises and Buzz Oates, submitted another application with a revised plan in July 2021.

Advocates for the DiSC 2022 project approve of its promise to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040 and its support for environmental scientists.

In addition, the project is economically beneficial to the City of Davis, according to Carson.

“We see it as an important economic strategy for our city to leverage that relationship with UC Davis to the benefit of our town,” Carson said. “There are companies that are partnering with UC Davis in research that would love to be able to locate in our town, but there’s insufficient space for them to do so. The property and sales taxes that we would get from this project would generate about a $4 million net gain for the City of Davis.”

Those who disapprove of the project believe that it will worsen traffic congestion on an already busy commuter street, according to Alan Pryor, the principal officer and treasurer of the opposing campaign.

“The traffic on Mace Boulevard is horrific,” Pryor said. “The project will add 12,000 additional car trips a day. I don’t think they have nearly sufficient mitigations proposed to handle this.”

There are also concerns that the developers will not fulfill their obligations for sustainability and that the retail space will negatively affect small business owners.

Carson filed the lawsuit on March 22 in his capacity as a voter in the City of Davis, not as a council member. California Election Code 9295 requires that an individual plaintiff file the suit, but Carson said he was representing the entire “Yes on Measure H” campaign as its honorary chair. Election Code 9295 also requires the suit to name the city, the county and the parties of interest; the suit included the names of the persons that wrote and submitted the ballot arguments. Carson said that the City of Davis and Yolo County had no objections to the changes.

The hearing was held on March 29. Daniel Maguire, the presiding judge for the Yolo County Superior Court, ultimately ordered that two statements be amended in the voter information

KELLIE LU / AGGIE guide.

Firstly, the word “only” was removed from the statement, “Their only promise is to develop a Traffic Demand Management Plan if the project is approved,” as the baseline project features include nine commitments to improve traffic in the area.

Secondly, the opposition wrote that “DiSC is projected to produce 54 million pounds of new greenhouse gasses annually.” However, the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the project listed 20,000 metric tons as the actual projected number for emissions. The “Vote No on DiSC” campaign made an error in converting metric tons to pounds, and “54 million pounds” was reverted back to the original number.

The other three challenged statements were not altered. Despite a favorable ruling, the opposing campaign was put in a difficult position because of the lawsuit, due to its existing financial disadvantage.

“The fact that our grassroots campaign was sued has imposed a huge financial burden on us and compromised our ability to campaign against deep-pocketed developers,” Pam Gunnell, a member of the “Vote No on DiSC campaign,” said in an article for the Davis Enterprise.

Pryor and other opponents of DiSC 2022 expressed concern that Carson is using his position as a council member to gain public support for Measure H and the DiSC project. Pryor also said Carson was suing as a deliberate political move.

The “No on Measure H” campaign had just days to acquire legal representation and had to do so at a reduced fee, according to Pryor.

“The intentions here are clear,” Pryor said. “And that was to put the ‘No’ side in a chokehold politically and financially. This was

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an orchestrated effort on their part, designed to inflict the maximum possible damage.”

Opponents worry that the “Yes on H” campaign’s lack of financial struggles is symptomatic of political corruption and reveals Carson’s collaboration with corporate interests, according to the Davis Enterprise and the “Vote No on DiSC” website. The “Yes on H” campaign website clarifies that the campaign received donations from one of the DiSC developers, Ramco Enterprises. Moreover, Dan Ramos, the vice president of Ramco, said during the city council meeting on April 5 that he directly funded Carson’s lawsuit.

On April 7, the attorneys of the defendants, who were from the Strumwasser & Woocher law firm, filed a motion in court requesting the reimbursement of over $71,000 in legal costs.

“In my experience, it is highly unusual for a sitting public official to sue their own citizens over ballot arguments,” said Beverly Grossman Palmer of Strumwasser & Woocher in a press release. “None of the attorneys in my firm can recall a similar situation in any of our collective years of practicing election law.”

Pryor said in a press release that he “regret[s] that these actions are necessary” but that the campaign had little choice.

Despite the contention surrounding the lawsuit, Carson believes it was a win for democracy.

“We are thankful that Judge Maguire has taken a stand in support of truth in politics at a time when the spread of political disinformation is a growing national concern,” Carson said.

The upcoming election will be largely mailin. Voting begins on May 9 and ends on June 7.

UNITRANS RESUMES OPERATING L LINE The L line, which was operated by Yolobus during fall and winter quarters, will again be operated by Unitrans

A Unitrans Double Decker bus at UC Davis Memorial Union terminal (Aggie File)

BY ISABELLA KRZESNIAK campus@theaggie.org As of April 4, Unitrans resumed service of the L line, which Yolobus operated since the beginning of the 2021-22 school year due to Unitrans staffing shortages.

“Our staffing situation has improved a little bit, so, since we do have more drivers than we had in fall, we decided to take back the L line,” Unitrans General Manager Jeffrey Flynn said.

Unitrans stopped operating the A and L lines at the beginning of fall quarter. Lines which had a higher proportion of community riders as opposed to student riders were passed off to Yolobus. The A line is currently still being operated by Yolobus.

“Unitrans has a lot of student riders, and we thought it would be easier for the students to recognize and expect the red bus driving by [...] instead of looking for a white bus,” Flynn said.

Staffing issues arose once remote instruction was implemented in March 2020, according to Flynn.

“When we went into remote instruction, a lot of our staff quit and left Davis,” Flynn said.

“It was really hard to get people to apply for the job, and we still have issues with recruitment.”

These staffing shortages are not unique to Unitrans, according to Flynn.

“Most campus departments are having this problem,” Flynn said. “There are staffing shortages across campus, so we aren’t a stranger to that.”

Marnie Lee, a third-year animal science major and a Unitrans student driver, said that it is especially difficult for Unitrans to maintain adequate staffing levels.

“We almost only employ students,” Lee said. “We lose people quite regularly when they graduate [or] have other career commitments […] or simply because the job becomes too difficult to manage while being a student.”

Lee also said that poor pay can contribute to staffing shortages on campus more generally.

However, Lee does not think this is the case for Unitrans.

“It is the best paying student job on campus, and, from my experience looking for employment in Davis, it was the best paying job I encountered,” Lee said. “We also get paid premium as of right now due to working in person in the midst of the pandemic.”

Flynn expects that Unitrans will again experience a staffing shortage this fall. Because of this, Unitrans may reduce service levels for the next academic year.

Flynn is primarily concerned with restoring a pre-pandemic level of service, which is directly tied to how many drivers Unitrans has.

“We really need to get our driver numbers up and fully staffed before fall next year, as we do expect campus to be back to normal,” Flynn said.

Unitrans is hiring drivers, and students can apply at vacancy.ucdavis.edu.

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VOICES OF THE SACRAMENTO TEACHERS, FAMILIES AFFECTED BY SCUSD STAFFING CRISIS As the strike organized by the Sacramento City Teachers Association comes to an end, teachers and families share their thoughts moving forward

BY CHRIS PONCE city@theaggie.org On Monday, April 4, students and teachers returned back to the classroom following a strike in Sacramento that lasted more than a week. The strike, organized by the Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU), began on March 23 to protest a staffing crisis of substitute teachers, according to an announcement on the SCTA website.

As the strike continued into its second week, the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) announced on its website that the school district and the unions had come to an agreement. The SCUSD Superintendent Jorge A. Aguilar declined to make a statement to The California Aggie but referenced the official statement made on the SCUSD website that included the terms of the agreement.

“The agreements balance the needs of students and employees through the use of onetime funds and ongoing spending that we hope to manage successfully in the near future,” Aguilar said in a statement posted on the Sacramento City Unified School District’s website. “The agreement with SCTA also includes a framework for achieving health care savings by defining how they are defined and applied to bring equitable learning opportunities for our students.”

The negotiations resulted in a victory for the unions. According to the school board, the agreement includes a 4% salary increase and a 3% one-time stipend to respond to employee

compensation. There was also an increase in composition for substitute teachers. This includes an additional 14 days of sick leave for teachers absent because of COVID-19 reasons.

Substitute teachers who filled in for teachers who were absent during the current school year will also see an increased daily rate of 25%.

While the strikes have come to an end, a lingering feeling of distrust has been left on teachers in Sacramento against the school board and superintendent. Kara Synhorst, a high school English teacher at Luther Burbank High School, was regularly involved in the strikes and picketed at her school every morning. She mentioned that while the healthcare demands by the union would not necessarily affect her directly, she still went on strike for those who are affected.

“I have Kaiser, not HealthNet (the health plan that would have cost teachers a lot more out of pocket), and I’m at the top of the pay scale after having taught for 22 years, so striking for *myself* wasn’t really at the top of my priority list,” Synhorst said via Facebook Messenger.

“But knowing that we are continually short of custodians, campus monitors and bus drivers, as well as the poor treatment of the nutrition workers in the cafeteria really strengthened my resolve to see this through to the end.”

Synhorst is pleased with the agreement made between SCTA, SEIU and the school district.

However, she is still skeptical about the school district and those in charge. She worries a new

contract will have to be made in the future and is also concerned about how the school will make up the eight days lost to the strike. Synhorst has been greatly affected by the strike and is proud of the work she did.

“The strike affected me both negatively and positively,” Synhorst said. “I missed my students, and the days that were lost were part of important preparation time for my students and their upcoming IB exams. I also will lose a decent chunk of money, most likely. But on the other hand, I knew all along that I was doing the right thing and acting in accordance with my principles.”

Leslie Stair, a parent of a teenager attending a Sacramento High School and the spouse of a special education and special day class high school teacher, has also spoken out about the strikes. Stair is very involved with the education community, having worked with families for over 20 years. She also works as a substitute assist at a preschool. Stair spoke about the cruciality of the strike.

“This strike seemed pressing and necessary considering that teachers have not had a contract for so long, since the previous one that was signed a few years ago was basically taken back by [the superintendent],” Stair said. “I’m still unclear about the justification for that.”

She continued to express how she felt ignored by the school district and the superintendent.

“The strike seemed completely necessary to

get any response from [the] [superintendent],” Stair said. “It is very telling, I think.”

Stair felt that the strike was very revealing about the nature of the Sacramento City Unified School District and the superintendent. She spoke about carelessness on behalf of the school board.

“During the strike, the [superintendent] and board showed their true colors,” Stair said.

“Manipulating data, misleading parents with emails only showing their side of things, banning teachers from commenting on public forums on social media, demonizing teachers constantly and simply not showing up hardly at all during the negotiations.”

Stair is not the only person who feels wronged by the superintendent and school board. Ashley Penny expressed how her family was personally affected by the school board.

“My husband and I just had our second baby,” Penny said. “I am on maternity leave and teachers have to pay for their sub when they are in leave. That cuts my paycheck in half and then my husband was not paid for the time he had to strike. It was a huge financial burden that we weren’t expecting. I think that the superintendent should know the struggle he created for many families that were already recovering from COVID-19.”

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

PEACE GAVE A PRESENTATION TO REFORM THE CALIFORNIA NATIONAL PRIMATE RESEARCH CENTER DURING APRIL 7 MEETING The People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty through Education adressed the California National Primate Research Center’s violations of the Federal Animal Welfare Act and stated a desire to work with the senators to pass a resolution addressing the issue

BY KAYA DO-KHANH campus@theaggie.org On Thursday, April 7, at 6:15 p.m., Vice President Juliana Martinez Hernandez called the Senate meeting to order and recited the UC Davis Land Acknowledgement.

Britney Sun and Tristen Dillard were confirmed as Gender and Sexuality Commissioners with no objections.

The senators moved to elections committee member selections, in which Persabel Tecle, Daniel Mojica and Arthur Wong were confirmed as committee members with no objections.

The People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty through Education (PEACE) gave a presentation on reforming the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC), an organized research unit of UC Davis. The organization addressed the CNPRC’s violations of the Federal Animal Welfare Act and touched on the UC Davis primate research project funded

by Elon Musk. PEACE stated that UC Davis should follow Harvard’s lead in shutting down the primate research center as Harvard shut down its New England National Primate Research Center in 2015. In the future, the organization wants to pass a resolution addressing the issue, and they plan on holding protests and demonstrations.

Next, Mackenzie Field was confirmed as the Environmental Policy and Planning Commision chairperson, and Anoushka Basu was confirmed as a member of the Disability Rights Advocacy

Committee (DRAC) with no objections.

Unit Director Jason Kwan and Assistant Director Abigail Nonnarath gave The Pantry’s quarterly report. Their updates included the addition of new coordinators and the celebration of the Pantry’s 12th anniversary. Kwan provided statistics for the current school year up until February, with a total of around 143,440 pounds of food distributed compared to 92,316 pounds from the 2020-2021 school year.

The Senate table transitioned into elected officer reports, and senators gave updates on their weekly progress.

Next, President Ryan Manriquez confirmed that all previous legislation had passed, and the senators moved on to the consideration of old legislation.

SR #25, which urges a response to complaints received by DRAC regarding the refusal of academic departments to provide disability accommodations and to encourage best practices was revised and passed unanimously.

SB #70, which clarifies and provides more information about the training requirements for the members of the Senate table, corrects errors in the chapter on the student government administrative office and enacts a formal evaluation mechanism for activity managers to review employee performance, passed unanimously.

AGGIE FILE SB #68 and SB #69 which place the Elimination of the Intercollegiate Athletics Portion of the Campus Expansion Initiative Fee (CEI) Referendum and the Elimination of the Intercollegiate Athletics Portion of the Student

Activities and Services Initiative (SASI) on the Spring 2022 ASUCD Ballot, respectively, were tabled.

Martinez Hernandez adjourned the meeting at 9:40 p.m.

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THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022 | 3

CALFRESH FINANCIALLY SUPPORTED ALMOST 5,000 UC DAVIS STUDENTS IN 2019-2020 Students share their experience with the CalFresh program at UC Davis

BY JENNIFER MA campus@theaggie.org

CalFresh, also known federally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), helps individuals and families with monthly food assistance. This is done through food stamps and Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards. According to the CalFresh website, it is the largest food program in California.

CalFresh financially supported almost 5,000 UC Davis students in 2019-2020, according to a California Policy Lab study. This equates to about 15% of the student population and is higher than the systemwide average. The 15% does not, however, represent the entire student population that experiences food insecurity. The data from the study is based on the student enrollment rates in CalFresh rather than who is eligible. In fact, at UC Davis alone, 39% of undergraduates report low or very low rates of food security according to the UC Undergraduate Experience Survey from 2020.

Jonathan Kha, a third-year human biology and Asian American studies double major, shared his experience with CalFresh.

“I remember when I had first moved in and was in the process of applying, I just spent a lot of money out of pocket,” Kha said. “I didn’t realize that that was a hindrance on my family’s finances overall, just because things slowly add up. And for me, it was my first time paying for groceries.

Also, when I had to spend money out of pocket, I was very stingy on what I ate and most of the times, that translated to bad eating habits.”

According to Kha, his participation in CalFresh ended up getting him access to more nutritious foods, but there was a period of time where he did have problems with the program.

“Every once in a while, CalFresh asks for those who are part of the program to report their income for the past month and such,” Kha said.

“And so I assumed [because I work] a campus job, I wouldn’t have to really report it because it’s like work study. In doing so, I had CalFresh terminated for about two to three months, and while I was trying to get in contact with them, it took a while for me to get all that money that I was supposed to receive in CalFresh or EBT benefits. It took a really long time to get that compensated.”

Monica Lui, a third-year managerial economics major, shared similar sentiments about communication difficulties associated with the program.

“I applied for CalFresh in September 2021, and I started getting benefits in October 2021,” Lui said. “I feel like the process wasn’t too bad.

They were really efficient, but there were a few miscommunications here and there. Sometimes I felt like it was hard to reach out to their specific offices when I had specific questions.”

Lui also mentioned that the program can only give out benefits to so many people, and widening the eligibility requirements would allow more students to have access to a stable source of food.

Eligibility requirements include being classified as a student and meeting other criteria, such as being approved for workstudy or working at least 20 hours per week.

However, if a student does not meet one of these requirements, they may still be eligible. Those that are undocumented, with a student visa or are DACA/AB540 are not eligible, according to

Aggie Compass office located in UC Davis Memorial Union. (Kayla Bruckman / Aggie) the CalFresh website.

CalFresh Outreach Coordinator Martin Tellez, however, stated that there are solutions for those ineligible.

“The Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center can also help students find other food resources they can access​without meeting any eligibility requirements, like the ASUCD Pantry, the Eat Well Yolo​food distribution, Fruit and Veggie Up​!, and more,” Tellez said via email. “Just visit

aggiecompass.ucdavis.edu.”

Tellez also mentioned that students who are interested in CalFresh can apply online at any time, or they can call 530-752-9254 to make an appointment with a CalFresh outreach team for application support and to better understand eligibility requirements.

DOS COYOTES BORDER CAFE CELEBRATES 31ST ANNIVERSARY The restaurant features anniversary special and jobs for undergraduates

BY RACHEL SHEY city@theaggie.org

Dos Coyotes Border Cafe in north Davis. (Quinn Spooner / Aggie) Dos Coyotes Border Cafe, a Southwesterninspired “people’s restaurant,” is commemorating 31 years of business this year. Dos Coyotes started in Davis, but is now a 10 store chain across Northern California, with the Market Square at Arden Fair location reopening soon after closing for COVID-19. However, the founder of the chain, Bobby Coyote, is originally from Southern California, where he began his restaurant career.

“I ran a restaurant, a very very high volume restaurant, in West Hollywood, for about 12

years,” Coyote said. “It was a lot of fun in my twenties, but then I ended up getting married, and had a baby on the way, and it wasn’t really going to be conducent to starting a family.”

Dos Coyotes was inspired by Coyote’s love of the red and green chiles of Southwestern cuisine.

Coyote envisioned a more casual, affordable restaurant, where it would be mostly self-serve but also feature good quality food.

“One of my ideas was to do this New Mexican inspired, quick casual, restaurant quality people’s

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restaurant,” Coyote said. “It would be more on the affordable side, people might have to do a little work, for example, with the salsa bar, with getting their own drinks. The food was gonna come out on really nice plates with really nice glassware and it was gonna be really restaurant quality food and not fast food, so to speak.”

Coyote chose Davis as his location for the first Dos Coyotes, after his sister who was living in Davis told him about the marketplace where the restaurant is currently located. Thinking that it would be good business to open a restaurant near a high concentration of college students, Coyote decided to move to Northern California.

“Living out in LA, I didn’t want to be a little guppy in a big ocean,” Coyote said. “My wife had family up north, and we were looking in the Sacramento area but my sister came upon a marketplace and told me about it. She said it was really cool, has a lot of artwork. She said it could be a really good area for students because there were a lot of apartments and homes around it.”

The first Dos Coyotes was significantly different from today’s Dos Coyotes. It had a much shorter menu, according to the website.

“The first Dos Coyotes opened in The Marketplace in North Davis on January 5th, 1991,” the website reads. “The menu was a little smaller than it is today. Our original tacos were – literally – two warm corn tortillas, tender, flame-broiled steak or chicken, onions, cilantro, a charbroiled cebollita green onion and whatever salsa you liked.”

Coyote said he experienced a bit of culture shock from Southern California to Northern California. Since he first arrived, Davis has changed immensely “for the better,” according to Coyote, who described it as “still on the verge of being a cowtown” in 1990.

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up there was Safeway and Long’s, which became CVS,” Coyote said. “A lot of places weren’t open yet. It was definitely culture shock. Back then it was mid 1990 when I left civilization, so to speak. I came to Davis and I just remembered that things were a lot different. Way more birkenstocks up here.”

Coyote also noted that Dos Coyotes has provided leadership experiences and gainful employment to many UC Davis students. Some students work at Dos Coyotes for their entire undergraduate experience, eventually becoming assistant managers.

“Once they figure out they are managers, they’re leaders, not followers,” Coyote said.

“There’s something that rings with that and has propelled people into their careers. Maybe they’ll go into management in whatever field they’re studying, and they end up being leaders instead of just followers. So it’s very good for the character and we’ve had a lot of students who’ve done that.”

Coyote is also proud of his profit share program at Dos Coyotes, which has helped out many employees when they retire or leave the restaurant. Former employees have received over a hundred thousand dollars after leaving the restaurant through plans from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

“It’s an ERISA plan and we usually fund about 5% every year of payroll,” Coyote said.

“There’s stipulations, like you’ve got to be 21 and you’ve got to work X amount of hours. It’s a voluntary retirement plan that we do, kind of like an IRA, [and] we usually have done about 5% every single year. I’ve had a lot of really big payouts to people, a hundred thousand, one person just got 163,000, another person just got a little over a hundred thousand.”

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FOURTH-YEAR ARPA BOGHOZIAN ON CHOOSING DAVIS, VITICULTURE, FRESHMEN ADVICE This spring, seniors reflect on their time at UC Davis and share their post-graduate plans

Fourth-year Arpa Boghozian. (Arpa Boghozian / Courtesy)

BY JALAN TEHRANIFAR features@ucdavis.edu This is the first story in The California Aggie’s five part series profiling seniors graduating from UC Davis this spring. Throughout the quarter, The Aggie will be speaking with seniors about their UC Davis experiences, favorite memories and plans for after graduation.

Arpa Boghozian is a fourth-year viticulture and enology major graduating this spring quarter. Growing up in Orange County, she

actually was not introduced to her future college major until a Picnic Day at Davis, which she said makes graduating from the university feel like a full circle moment for her.

“I chose to come here because of the [viticulture and enology] program initially,” Boghozian said. “I was kind of introduced to the idea of winemaking by my mom. We were here for the 100th annual Picnic Day, and I saw the UC Davis viticulture and enology float, and my mom said ‘You can study winemaking here, and its chemistry and biology but with winemaking so it’s fun.’ I was 13 or 14 at the time.”

Boghozian found that her mother’s description of the major was not the entirety of

the area of study, but a lot of it still rings true to her. She feels that viticulture and enology allows her the perfect mix of science and creativity.

“I chose the major because it’s a great intersection of science but also the outdoors, and if you go into winemaking you have the option of being a creative and making the wine that you imagine people would love,” Boghozian said.

“The plant science side is also really cool, because you get to be out with nature all day and observe the seasons as a part of something bigger.”

Although she said that she feels like she lost many college experiences due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Boghozian said the time she spent here during her freshman and senior years has been really special.

“I think freshman year, the community that existed in Davis was super fun,” Boghozian said.

“There was Sunset Fest and Picnic Day and I wouldn’t trade those two events for anything.

Everyone was out, everyone was having a good time on campus exploring and making new friends […] There was nothing like it.”

Boghozian said that one piece of advice she has for younger students is to take advantage of the many opportunities Davis has to offer for undergraduates.

“I started off doing a pruning internship for mostly orchard crops at the Student Farm [during] my freshman year, and that kind of fed into another program that was through the farm called SCOPE, which is an organic plant breeding program,” she said. “I had another lab opportunity that was more about spinach, alfaalfa and barley breeding. That kind of brought those two internships together, where I did more

of the lab side, and I also did a lot of field work, like cross pollination.”

Along with her research, internships and field work, Boghozian has also worked a viticulture job at the Student Farm during her time at UC Davis.

“I managed the small vineyard on the Student Farm, it’s a table group vineyard,” Boghozian said. “The first year you’re under someone’s wing, and the second year you choose your mentee and work through the vineyard with them and apply the skills you learned in class.”

During her junior year, Boghozian began working on a laboratory project that studies smoke tank analyses of grapes that she plans to continue after graduation, while she pursues a Ph.D. at Davis.

“I will be joining the horticulture and agronomy graduate group,” Boghozian said. “My research will be focused on viticulture, specifically in grapevine red blotch virus and the enzymatic effects of the virus on cellulose.”

Boghozian said that the advice she would give her freshman self and any underclassmen just arriving in Davis is to get involved in oncampus activities.

“I always think about doing more,” she said.

“I think as a freshman I would’ve joined clubs that didn’t particularly pertain to my major. I joined the wine club and that was super fun, I met a lot of people, [...] but I sometimes wish I had joined other things that have interested me or clubs for things I didn’t know how to do and wanted to learn.”

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ARINA NEMCHUK’S TATTOOING BUSINESS COMBINES HER ACADEMIC, ARTISTIC PASSIONS UC Davis student discusses her therapeutic connection to tattooing and artistic inspiration

BY MONICA ROBERTS features@theaggie.org Arina Nemchuk, a third-year psychology major, does not have a typical student job.

Instead, her job as a tattoo artist combines her passions for therapy and art to create permanent body murals with just a needle and ink.

Nemchuk said that her parents, who immigrated from Russia and raised her in San Francisco, support both her academic and artistic careers.

Her first experience with tattooing was as an experiment with her friend when she was still living in San Francisco at age 18. It was not until a year later that she developed an interest in tattoo work, but she said that she cannot remember a time when she was not making art in some form.

Nemchuk described her first original tattoo as life-changing. She had always been creating art, but it was an entirely different experience seeing it on skin.

“There was a shift from when I was making art on paper to when I had someone wear my art,” Nemchuk said. “I felt like my art was immortalized.”

Once she began tattooing, she scraped up as much money as she could for a tattoo machine and began practicing on artificial skin. Six months later, she began tattooing as a profession.

Nemchuk said that her friends were many of her first clients — leading to an explosion in referrals. She said that the uptick in business was overwhelming at first, but she managed her

Nemchuk said that her original designs often combine surreal and natural elements. Above is one of her original sketches of a snail done for a client. (Arina Nemchuk / Courtesy) stress well as she transitioned from tattooing friends for fun to having a packed schedule of appointments.

Nemchuk started taking incall tattoo appointments in San Francisco and has now been working for over two years. After moving

to Davis, she began working professionally in a tattoo shop in Sacramento, but she also takes incall appointments in her home in Davis and does outcall appointments in clients’ homes.

Nemchuk said that a lot of her original work is concentrated on surreal concepts. When

creating original art, she said that she focuses on lines, line weight and the overall flow of the design.

“I love tattooing mushrooms and snails and curved patterns the most,” Nemchuk said.

“Most of my art is abstract and surreal. Nature and meditative states bring [me] the most inspiration.”

Nemchuk creates mostly psychedelic pieces that she feels are healing and uplifting. She believes that trauma can be healed through artistic expression and personally uses art as a form of therapeutic release.

As a psychology major, Nemchuk feels as though she is combining her academic interests with her artistic interests through her tattooing.

“When you’re tattooing, you are both emotionally and physically close to that person,” Nemchuk said. “I find it liberating to decorate your body. It can be a way to celebrate an accomplishment or cherish a memory.”

Nemchuk described tattooing as great practice for her future career as a therapist. She loves listening to her clients’ stories about the meaning behind their tattoos as she works, and she sees her work as a release of emotional pain through physical pain.

After graduation, Nemchuk plans to get a license in Marriage and Family Therapy (LMFT), focusing on psybicilin therapy for anxiety and depression.

“Even though I want tattooing to be a side career to therapy, I want to tattoo my whole life,” Nemchuk said.

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DAVIS TRICERATOPS COMMUNITY OFFERS NEW WAYS TO SOCIALIZE THROUGH SCAVENGER HUNTS The online community crochets tiny dinosaurs and hides them in discrete locations around campus for students to find

BY KRISTIN TRENT campus@theaggie.org Despite the extinction of dinosaurs 66 million years ago, triceratops have been popping up around the UC Davis campus. Crocheted by hand, these fuzzy and colorful triceratops are the work of a community known as Davis Triceratops. Formed over winter break in 2021, founder Jennine Eng, a second-year animal science major, found herself with spare time and got to work crocheting different animal patterns she found online.

The simplicity, cuteness and efficiency of the triceratops pattern encouraged Eng to make many triceratops and hide them in a scavenger hunt format. Through this idea, the Davis Triceratops community has been bringing students together through hunting for these stuffed animals hidden around campus ever since.

Gaining 2,150 members to their Discord as of April 8, Eng found herself needing help managing the group and invited her friends Ada Lei and Sebastian Carpinter, first-year students majoring in biology and managerial economics respectively, to help organize future scavenger hunts.

“I didn’t expect it to grow this quickly,” Carpinter said.

Originally advertised in the Discord for those living at The Green, the managing team quickly created its own Discord for Davis Triceratops.

The group has been active for the past three months, and hosted its first drop on Jan. 6.

The community attributes some of its success to the collectability of the triceratops.

The crocheted dinosaurs themselves have an exclusivity that keeps students and community members hunting, according to Lei. “The horn colors change every month so after the month, you can’t get the previous colors anymore [...] that way it has a collectible aspect,” Lei said.

Drops, which happen multiple times per day, work similarly to a scavenger hunt, in which triceratops are hidden ahead of time for hunters.

The triceratops are wrapped in cellophane bags and hidden in a place like the Silo or the Memorial Union. A close up picture and general location information is sent to the Discord and Instagram to give hunters an idea of where to look.

“When we were walking out there, we saw so many groups staring at their phones trying to figure out where [the triceratops] could be based on the photo hints,” Lei said. “I think it’s so much fun for so many people because we have a great community, and it’s a way for people to get out of the house. Because we started during pandemic times, [hunters] told us they used [the drops] to go outside.”

The Davis Triceratops Discord has a channel called “hunting together” that allows students to meet up and look for triceratops as a group.

“A lot of people have met through the server creating new friendships which is so nice to see,”

Tiny crocheted triceratops made by the Davis Triceratops community. (Arthur Poggenburg / Courtesy) Carpinter said.

Once a triceratops is found, the new owner is asked to assign themselves a role of “triceratops parent”’ which helps them make connections with other triceratops owners on the server.

According to Eng, the online platform paired with in-person events has helped students, particularly those that transferred to UC Davis during the year of online schooling, form a sense of community on campus despite pandemic conditions.

“Transfer students already have a limited amount of time on campus and online classes limit our ability to meet new people and make new connections,” said fourth-year computer science major and discord moderator for Davis Triceratops Arthur Poggenburg. “This community offers a way to meet people [despite those barriers].”

Davis Triceratops has plans to establish a chapter of Davis Triceratops at UC Berkeley.

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THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022 | 5

OPINION GETTING THE MOST OUT OF OUR EDUCATION MEANS BEING AS PRESENT AS POSSIBLE

THE

C ALIFORNIA A GGIE

EDITO RIA L B OA RD ANJINI VENUGOPAL Editor-in-Chief MARGO ROSENBAUM Managing Editor SOPHIE DEWEES Campus News Editor MADELEINE PAYNE City News Editor EDEN WINNIFORD Opinion Editor

Students and professors must prioritize in-person attendance while still accommodating those who need access to virtual education

KATIE DEBENEDETTI Features Editor ALLIE BAILEY Arts & Culture Editor OMAR NAVARRO Sports Editor

Despite the fact that in many ways we’ve returned to life as it was before the pandemic (social gatherings, in-person classes and the like), there are some ways our culture has shifted away from prioritizing being physically present. Members of the Editorial Board have noticed that some classes are being canceled with recorded lectures posted as replacements. Additionally, some of us have had classes where professors reuse lectures from previous years instead of holding classes in person.

And while we now have online methods of learning and professors generally have valid reasons for canceling class or shifting lectures online, it is essential that instructors do not use these platforms in a way that detracts from students’ educational experiences. Not only is there so much to be gained from physical attendance, but also instructors must respect that attending UC Davis requires both funds and effort and with the fast-paced quarter system, each lecture is crucial.

Many UC Davis students have had a year and a half of college fully online and now that the campus is reopened and most classes are once again taught in person, students should have the opportunity to be physically present in their courses.

That being said, after more than a year of virtual meetings and lectures, the members of the Editorial Board understand that it can often feel taxing to attend every scheduled event in person. It may seem easier to move in-person meetings to Zoom or to watch a recorded lecture after the fact, and it’s going to take time for

everyone to once again feel obligated to be physically present. It is, therefore, the role of both students and instructors to normalize inperson attendance and create a productive and interactive learning environment.

While in-person lectures can help students feel more engaged, we’ve gained extensive knowledge from our time functioning fully online that can be incredibly useful in terms of increased accessibility. Office hours held virtually and lectures recorded through lecture capture allow students easier access to education and assistance with their classes.

It can be difficult, however, to have an engaging live class if simultaneous Zoom options are provided, since those on Zoom may miss out on opportunities to ask questions and it’s more difficult for everyone to interact with classmates when some are virtual and others are in person. Some students have important reasons for not attending in person, but others may attend on Zoom simply because it is more convenient — something we’ve all done on occasion. But as we safely continue our transition back toward normalcy, we need to realign our priorities back to being present in person. Learning together is better, and the Editorial Board encourages students to attend class in person whenever possible.

Students and instructors must collaborate and be open to providing and receiving constructive feedback as we navigate new approaches to education in a (not quite) post-pandemic world.

MICHELLE WONG Science & Tech Editor

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

WRITTEN BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD

LAURIE PEDERSON Business Development Manager

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN AN INSTRUMENT There are a variety of benefits, too!

BY OWEN RUDERMAN opruderman@ucdavis.edu Many of us can remember a time when we first learned a musical instrument. For me, it was middle school, where I learned to play the recorder. I don’t remember much of the lessons — all I know is that when I learned “Hot Cross Buns,” I would have rather been trading Pokémon cards out in the quad. Many of my friends have shared this experience as well.

Interestingly, people often express to me that they wish they had continued their music lessons when I ask. When they were younger, though, they couldn’t focus enough, or they hated their teacher or their parents forced them to learn. But now they look back and wish they continued learning to play.

My question is: If you want to learn how to play an instrument, why not give it a try?

Although buying a brand new instrument can be expensive, it is possible to find used instruments for a good price from online marketplaces like eBay, Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.

Anyone with access to an instrument can teach themselves how to play with the amount of free teaching material on sites like YouTube. A quick search turns up results for guitar, piano, bass and

banjo lessons, to name a few. All it takes to learn is a healthy amount of self-discipline and time.

If you’re like me, though, it can be difficult to keep yourself motivated. Having a teacher can help immensely with reducing procrastination and establishing routines. You can actually get one-on-one lessons with a music instructor through UC Davis. The UC Davis Department of Music offers “intermediate to advanced music lessons” that all UC Davis students are eligible to sign up for. This is more pricey than teaching yourself, however, as it costs $300 a quarter for 10 sessions of 30-minute lessons.

I opted to take piano lessons from a different program back in my hometown. At first, I was worried that I might not be able to ever play very well, considering I was already an adult when I started. There seems to be this idea that you will never be good at an instrument if you don’t start learning when you’re a toddler. This is simply not the case. There are people over 60 years of age learning in my program and are at the same skill level as me. These folks are living proof that it’s never too late.

Over the two years I’ve been playing the piano, I’ve steadily improved. Now I have the tools to play most of the songs I want to. But if learning how to play your favorite songs still is not enough motivation, it turns out that there are actually a variety of benefits to learning an

KELLIE LU / AGGIE instrument. Playing an instrument can actually increase the capacity of your memory, improve your reading and comprehension skills and more, according to various studies.

As long as you have access to an instrument and an internet connection, you can start learning an instrument right now. If you’re

interested, why not give it a try? Even if you don’t get around to learning your favorite songs, you might just end up reaping some of the benefits of learning an instrument. And there’s no time like the present to get started.

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

DEVELOPING PAP TEST ALTERNATIVES WILL SAVE LIVES Pap tests are highly effective for detecting cervical cancer, but many find the procedure uncomfortable

BY EDEN WINNIFORD opinion@theaggie.org Once someone with ovaries turns 21 in the U.S., it is recommended they receive routine cervical cancer screening, commonly known as the Pap test, every three years. Regular Pap tests save lives by detecting cervical cancer at an early stage, which is usually caused by HPV. Although Pap tests are important and effective, the process of completely undressing and having a doctor insert a swab into the vaginal canal and collect a sample from the cervix can feel invasive and uncomfortable.

Some patients also have little choice about when to get a Pap test. Medical providers can (and do) withhold birth control from patients who are overdue for their Pap smears, which takes reproductive autonomy away from people and can make patients feel forced to undergo the test when they are not mentally prepared. This practice ignores that for many, birth control is essential medication. People should be able to make their own reproductive choices no matter what, and using birth control as a bargaining chip is disrespectful toward patients and their bodily autonomy.

Pap tests can be uncomfortable for anyone, but they can be especially upsetting for transgender individuals, people who have experienced sexual assault and people who have a disability. Body shame also discourages many people from getting regular Pap smears. As of 2019, 23% of women were overdue for Pap tests, compared to 14% in 2009. A different study found that only 27% of transgender men who required cervical cancer screening had one in the past year. Additionally, people of color, low-income individuals, people from rural areas and those without health insurance have limited access to Pap tests. The Pap smear is highly effective for detecting a treatable cancer, but many people still aren’t getting it.

There are, however, alternatives to the Pap smear and ways to reduce risk for cervical cancer. The HPV vaccine is effective at decreasing HPV transmission rate — although only people with a cervix can get cervical cancer, everyone can spread HPV and should get vaccinated.

Some countries have also transitioned to using HPV tests for cervical cancer screening instead of the Pap smear, which can be done at home but also involves vaginal insertion.

Additionally, an alternative to the Pap test that does not involve insertion is finally being

AGGIE FILE studied. Research published in 2021 suggests that testing menstrual blood from sanitary pads for high-risk HPV had a higher accuracy rate than the Pap test. Although doctors also tend to perform physical examinations in conjunction with the Pap test, the option to mail or walk in menstrual samples would give people more agency about their bodies. It could also increase the number of people who receive life-saving HIV screening, especially for those who feel

uncomfortable about Pap tests.

There are better ways to encourage regular Pap tests than holding a patient’s birth control hostage. More research should be done on menstrual blood testing, and U.S. hospitals should offer at-home HPV tests as a more comfortable alternative for their patients. The Pap test has already saved countless lives, but expanding care options will save even more.

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

6 | THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022

ARTS & CULTURE

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

MANETTI SHREM MUSEUM OF ART RECEIVES RECOGNITION AS ONE OF THE BEST MUSEUM BUILDINGS OF THE PAST 100 YEARS The space integrates values of the Davis community at the core of its mission

The Events Plaza welcomes visitors and is a primary gathering space for events and performances.

(Iwan Baan / Courtesy of SO—IL and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson)

BY CLARA FISCHER arts@theaggie.org UC Davis’ very own Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art was recently named one of the 25 best museum buildings of the past 100 years by ARTnews. The distinction becomes especially poignant considering that only four museum spaces located in the U.S. made the list.

“The Manetti Shrem Museum was really born out of a dream of lots of people who thought it was important to have contemporary art on the university’s campus,” said Randy Roberts, deputy director of the Shrem. “There was a spirit of experimentation and innovation in art that’s

very much aligned with a lot of the work that continues to come out of UC Davis.”

The space, created by architectural design firms SO-IL and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, as well as contractor Whiting-Turner, was designed with the values of the university and its surroundings in mind. The design was inspired by and was meant to emulate the Davis landscape, with “elements of interior and exterior fluidity [that were chosen] because of where we are,” as described by Roberts.

The mission of the Shrem is multifaceted and designed with visitors in mind every step of the way.

“It’s really about centering art experiences in the ways that people are finding their place in the world,” Roberts said. “The notion being

that art is about ideas, and that artists are asking questions that are of importance to all of us.”

Roberts cited the Grand Canopy as an example of these integral aspects of the museum’s design. As the main spectacle of the Shrem, not only is the massive 50,000-square-foot aluminum structure visually stunning, but it also “creates shade in a place that’s very hot. It’s very much about being here, serving students, but it also is of a building that ranks among the top in the world for seeing art.”

This duality is exactly what makes the museum so special. Both intended as a place to view art and as a place for the community to come and unleash its creative side, the Shrem was created with purpose in mind from its conception.

“One of the important things about the Manetti Shrem is that we are here to serve all disciplines,” Roberts said. “Like the library or the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, the idea that we bring forward is that art is central to all of our lives and can be a way that we are all exposed to new ideas and new questions and learn how to look in different ways.”

This all-encompassing approach to education and art appreciation is what sets the space apart from traditional informal educational settings — perhaps this is what made the Davis institution stand out from its more world-renowned peers.

“It isn’t the biggest museum; it doesn’t have the largest collection, but what this museum does is put education at the center of what we’re doing,” Roberts said. “There’s a third of the museum space dedicated to education, and the exhibitions themselves are positioned as a way for people to interact with art as a way to open their lives.”

Given that UC Davis prides itself on being a well-established research institution, it logically follows that the Shrem would build on this hands-on method of learning.

“Art makes sense when somebody is connecting and interacting with it,” Roberts said.

“Everything is built around the idea of people in the space, which is different than a lot of art museums.”

For example, the Community Education Room has a glass door that opens up and recedes into the ceiling, allowing for the room to be transformed from a traditional classroom setting into a larger space where communities can come together.

Through collaboration with the Design Construction Management Unit at UC Davis, the Shrem was conceptualized with sustainability in mind. The building is LEEDv3 NC-Platinum certified and has achieved both a 57% reduction in irrigation water use and a 44% reduction in general water use through efficient fixtures. It also hosts a cutting-edge light system that is both environmentally friendly and in service of the best art-viewing experience.

“We have a very advanced LED lighting system where we can adjust the brightness from one piece of art to the next — we can show all different kinds of work,” Roberts said. “Who knows what the next form of media will be? [The architects] wanted to tie in as much flexibility as possible so that we could show whatever comes next.”

Above all, the Shrem is a place meant to be available for everyone. Describing museums as “holders of shared culture,” Roberts emphasized what is truly special about the unique space on campus.

“We really want people to leave feeling like museums are for them,” Roberts said. “It’s important that people see that the museum is for all of us — regardless of whether you’re an artist or not an artist or an art historian.”

Admission to the Shrem is free for all — as per the museum’s mission — which is made possible by the university and a variety of donors.

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JOHN MULANEY STARTS ‘FROM SCRATCH’ Mulaney returns to the stage to address his road to recovery, recent publicity and distaste for scientists and rioters

BY SUN YIE arts@theaggie.org

John Mulaney at PaleyFest Fall TV Previews 2014 for the TV show “Mulaney”. (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0) Though John Mulaney had incorporated quips that alluded to his previous experiences with addiction in his earlier specials, such as “The Comeback Kid” and “Kid Gorgeous at Radio City,” he dives deeper into his addiction and his relapse in 2020 in his new set “From Scratch.”

He reveals he had experienced addiction during the pandemic, listing xanax, klonopin, percocet and cocaine as a few examples of substances he used, until December of 2020, when his friends had staged an intervention.

At his April 8 show in San Jose, Mulaney recalls with a sheepish grin that he had showed up two hours late to his own intervention and that everyone had been mad at him, even though he had believed it was a friend’s dinner party. He claims he realized it was an intervention when he

opened the door and saw Seth Meyers. He then lists all of his other acclaimed friends, such as Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, Natasha Lyonne and Nick Kroll, in his declaration of gratitude, claiming he would not be where he is today without them.

He leaves the audience to revel in this touching and sincere moment of vulnerability for a few more seconds before he moves on to make a dig at Kroll, his best friend. He reveals that the rest of the intervention group had made a group email about the best way to approach him about his addiction, but had forgotten to include Kroll, who had started the intervention conversation and had berated Mulaney for being a “bad friend.” After this, Mulaney breaks out into a hearty chuckle before continuing, “Nick Kroll was upset that I wasn’t asking him enough questions about him at my intervention,” and his amusement at this memory quells the gossip among fans that the two have lost their friendship; in fact, Mulaney’s delight in recounting this memory serves as a testament to their close bond.

Afterwards, Mulaney transitions from addressing his road to recovery to addressing the audience, making this set seem much more immersive and intimate than his former shows.

He first chooses a teenager from the audience and launches into a lighthearted spiel against substances, warning them against becoming like him. He then turns to the more mature crowd and questions whether anyone had previously experienced addiction and had gone to rehab like him. A man in the front row opens up about his own story, informing Mulaney that he, too, had been using substances since he was a teenager and that Mulaney’s own tumultuous journey to recovery had incentivized him to reclaim agency over his life as well.

Mulaney’s new, active approach in incorporating his audience as a part of his show felt so much more raw than his former shows.

Although I enjoyed consuming his goofier, more chaotic bits that included “Dr. Bittenbinder” and “Victorian ghost girl,” I found that this show was a tasteful way for Mulaney to make his return to comedy; rather than adopt a new persona or ignore what some say is bad publicity, he embraces the controversy surrounding his relationship with Anna Marie Tendler and Olivia Munn in a way that makes the audience relate to and sympathize with him.

Mulaney feels so much more like a tangible person in “From Scratch,” which is an apt title that reflects his reformation after his rehab, his return to comedy, and introduces the possibility that he will produce more shows like this one, where he drops his goofier and more chaotic facade for the sake of sincerity.

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BY CORALIE LOON arts@theaggie.org Album: “Glow” (2021) by Alice Phoebe Lou Alice Phoebe Lou, a South African singer and songwriter, combines spacey synth-pop with almost folk-like vocals in her third album, “Glow.” While her second album, “Paper Castles,” is definitely worth a listen, “Glow” is a good place to start for those who haven’t heard Lou’s name before. Her songs are eloquently and diversely paced but tied together by an ambiance that makes me want to dance and fall into a deep sleep at the same time. Maybe the lyrics of the title song say it better than I can: “I swim out of the window / And into the night / I am smiling, I am screaming / I am glowing from inside.” This album is perfect for taking a shower (or a steamy bath), night driving or painting with friends.

TV Show: “Love on the Spectrum” (2019) Reality dating series can be exhausting, especially when they all depict straight, conventionally attractive and neurotypical people. “Love on the Spectrum” isn’t exactly a dating show, but it does follow real people on the autism spectrum in their real pursuits for love. Some of their experiences are more successful than others (don’t worry Michael, I’m still rooting for you!), and the show does a good job of not overly-dramatizing moments of interpersonal tension in the same way conventional reality dramas do, making for a more “realistic” portrayal of a variety of autistic experiences with love and dating. Of course, “Love on the Spectrum” is not a documentary and could be improved by fact-checking some of the rhetoric and advice that is given to its stars, not all of which is useful or accurate. But, overall, it does a good job of committing itself to neurodivergent and queer representation, and is both an insightful and emotionally rich series to watch. The two seasons of “Love on the Spectrum” can be streamed on Netflix.

Movie: “CODA” (2021) dir. by Sian Heder For those who’ve stayed up-to-date with this year’s Oscars, the name “CODA” may sound familiar. It was the winner of Best Picture and, in my humble opinion, rightfully so. This deep-dive drama into the life of a Child of Deaf Adults (CODA) brings a perspective to the big screen that is often ignored, focusing on the nuances of deaf culture as it intersects with the hearing world. Capturing experiences of those who are hearing impaired is naturally challenging to do in film, a format that caters toward hearing people. But “CODA” circumnavigates this divide by zooming in on the child, Ruby, who wants to pursue a singing career but also has a meaningful and beautiful relationship to her deaf family members. I won’t lie — I did cry three separate times while watching this film: as each powerful moment came and went, I didn’t expect its emotional reach to be able to extend any farther.

But, from the minute of complete silence as Ruby’s parents watch her recital, to her climactic audition for Berklee, this film continues to outdo itself, earning its spot as one of the best films of the year.

Book: “The Secret History” (1992) by Donna Tartt If the title alone isn’t enough to capture your interest, here’s your nudge to pick up the book that put Pulitzer Prize-winning author Donna Tartt into the literary spotlight. “The Secret History” is a book that’s hard to compare to any other book I’ve read, but it can be described in a few ways: captivating, beautifully written and at least a little disturbing. It follows a narrator who comes into contact with a group of characters studying Greek at a preppy university who, over the course of their studies together, develop an exclusive friendship. The narrator, partially an outsider himself, is the perfect candidate for only giving the reader a spoonful of information at a time, a technique that can hardly ever do a psychological thriller wrong. While “The Secret History” is slow and meandering at times, its tone so richly encapsulates the reader in its abnormal world that I almost wanted it to be slower, just so I could remain captivated for a minute longer. This book is for lovers of dark academia, cozy (or not so cozy) mysteries or watching the morality of rich kids slowly decay.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

ARTS & CULTURE

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022 | 7

REVIEW: BRINGING BACK THE CLASSICS WITH A MODERN SPIN ON ‘WEST SIDE STORY’ A dazzling rendition of everyone’s favorite musical — songs, dance and all

BY SIERRA JIMENEZ arts@theaggie.org The Oscar nominee for best motion picture of the year, Steven Spielberg’s 2021 remake of Robert Wise’s 1961 film “Westside Story,” is a must watch for musical lovers. Even if you aren’t a musical fanatic, the film is worth watching — from its vibrant use of color to its beautifully executed take on character roles from a movie that left big shoes to fill.

With leading roles Tony played by Gold Derby Film Awards nominee Ansel Elgort and Maria played by rising actress Rachel Zegler, this pairing perfectly conveyed the characters’ extreme love for each other challenged by the looming hatred between the Sharks and Jets.

Anita, played by Academy Award winner for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Ariana DeBose, was the real star of the show. She fully deserved this award with her passionate dancing capabilities combined with her exquisite acting skills. Personally, I felt every emotion from her every move, her every word, her every song as if I knew her personally.

Choreographed by Justin Peck, this film was a fresh take on the original film’s iconic choreography, with eccentricity radiating from the blend of ballet, jazz and mambo.

Speilberg’s rendition brought a modern spin on the antiquated classic while keeping most of the film the same. The vibrant colors of the costumes and set brought to life this world of darkness. The use of the cool and warm colors in the gym scene visually reflected the clash between the Sharks and the Jets.

This 2021 version of the classic musical also underscored many social issues that were somewhat glossed over in the original. The racial divide between the Irish and Puerto Ricans has always been the prime theme of the film, but with more open conversations about racism today, this film portrays this divide through a modern lens.

From interracial relationships to segregation, these social issues continue today. To view these issues in film through song, dance and acting, the viewer has a different perspective of real life matters.

Another issue that was emphasized in the newer film was the stress on women empowerment and sexuality. The nameless character who tirelessly tries to fit in with the Jets featured in both the original and remake brings to light the matter of gender identity and gender nonconformity. Played by Iris Menas in the 2021 version of the film, they display a rejection of femininity.

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

At first, the Jets laugh at their identity, but at the end, the Jet boys come to call them “buddy boy,” fully accepting who they are. This is a big step up from the original film, which did depict the gender-noncomforming character, in and of itself is a big deal for the LGBTQIA+ community, but in the remake, the character explicitly shares their gender identity when they say they are not a girl when sitting on the girls bench in jail.

Additionally, the women empowerment present in this film was quite considerable. Rather than having a male actor playing the role of the drug store owner, Rita Moreno played a brand new character, Valentina, who is based on Doc in the original screening.

Being the mother figure of the troubled boys, she provides consolation and hope for a better future.

This is not the first time we’ve seen Moreno. In fact, she played the original role of Anita in the 1961 film. Her debut in Speilberg’s new release was a fitting nod to the original that brings “West Side Story’’ full circle.

This musical is bold, emotional and tackles real issues, but does it in a beautiful masterpiece of song and dance. The original “West Side Story” is an all time classic, and this new rendition only adds to the brilliance.

REVIEW: ‘DETRANSITION, BABY’ IS AN AUTHENTIC TELLING OF WHAT IT IS TO BE A PERSON Torrey Peters’ debut shines out in a sea of mediocrity

BY JACOB ANDERSON arts@theaggie.org In the world of MFA-sphere contemporary fiction, one pretty much knows what to expect. As many have pointed out, the insular, upper-class mores of academic-trained fiction seem to be incapable of producing anything artistically innovative because those for whom spending massive amounts of money on a degree with no economic value is an option are typically not the same people living interesting, varied and strange lives — and those living interesting, varied and strange lives tend to make the best art as a rule.

For this reason, it’s of some import that Torrey Peters is able to produce a novel like “Detransition, Baby,” which actually manages to feel sincerely alive at times. After all, writing a novel that is at its core is about your life is a dangerous endeavor: if your life is boring, as most of ours are, the novel will be boring (unless you’re some kind of John-Updike- or David-Foster-Wallace-type scoundrel with prose so impressively overwrought that your lack of personal importance seems to fall away). Peters’ novel has been able to gleam through the refuse heap of MFA-produced fiction because the problems — and people — it illustrates have been ignored in all but their most superfluous elements by commercial publishers until recently. Up to the last half decade or so, Penguin Random House would’ve turned up their collective nose at the prospect of publishing a novel about trans people, especially one in which nobody gets murdered at the end.

“Detransition, Baby,” uneven and occasionally populated by flatlined characters though it may be, is able to dodge the narcotizing effects of semi-autobiographical fiction and put forward a story that fuses the personal with ongoing social struggles that strike much closer to the heart of contemporary culture than the novels of Peters’ contemporaries. This is a glowing attribute and doubly so for something coming out of a huge publisher.

On a basic level, “Detransition, Baby” is about identity and the sometimes antagonistic relationship between self-perception and the way one has to slot oneself into the world: Peters’ characters — namely Reese, the destructive, neurotic trans woman seeking motherhood, and Ames (or Amy), the eponymous detransitioner and comparatively stable Dartmouth grad — have a tendency toward self-reflection. This trait serves to make the book’s internal conversation about what it is to be a person much stronger; a large part of the book comprises episodes in the histories of these characters, such as Reese’s various affairs with abusive men and Ames’ college experiences leading up to their transition, all of which Peters is able to display in frank and charming detail, never slipping into over-indulgence.

At times, though, it feels like Reese and Ames are the only proper characters in the book. Others, like Katrina, Ames’ boss whom they’ve impregnated, feel distinctly fake, as if they existed only to provide opposing forces and perspectives to balance everything else out. One can’t help feeling that the novel would’ve been stronger if these characters, plot-driving or otherwise, were worked out of the story. Maybe the worst offender is Reese’s lover, Stanley, who gives the impression of a villain from a particularly awful animated family film rather than any sort of realistic human being. What’s most attractive about Peters’ fiction is the continuous, internal changes found in its central characters, and when it has time to focus on nothing else, it shows indisputable skill, but the presence of these less convincing elements poses a threat to verisimilitude.

Regardless of whatever flaws might be present, “Detransition, Baby” is an attractive and sincere first novel. It doesn’t take much imagination to consider the possibility that it might be indicative of stronger works in the future, too, once any kinks in the road are worked out.

Cover of Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters. (Courtesy of One World/Random House)

8 | THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

SUDOKU Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces.

Every row, column and 3x3 square must contain each digit. Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing.

Answer to previous puzzle 04/07/22

reduce. reuse. recycle.

The aggie CROSSWORD Answer to previous puzzle 04/07/22

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Boghozian also urged younger students to say yes, within reason, when new and unexpected opportunities do arise.

“You never know where it might take you,” Boghozian said. “Internships, clubs, friend

groups, literally anything. This is your time to grow as a person — it’s not all about academics.

Enjoy your time here and have fun — also study — but have fun.”

TATTOO CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 Although Nemchuk is content with holding two very different careers, she hopes that one day she can combine both worlds, maybe even by practicing art therapy.

Currently, Nemchuk is donating 50% of her freelance tattooing proceeds to Sunflower of Peace, an organization that supports Ukranians

affected by the Russian military invasion. She explained that this cause is meaningful to her because of her Ukrainian heritage. The majority of her family resides in Eastern Europe, and many have been personally affected by the war.

Her artwork and bookings can be found on Instagram (@art_snaail).

TRICERATOPS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 This is planned to take place fall 2022, with the team gearing up to provide supplies for the community.

The community is looking for more members for their production team and welcomes new hunters to join the Discord.

With control of the game, the Aggies came out a bit lackluster in the fourth quarter, leading to two Oregon goals in the first five minutes of the final quarter. Coach Isidor called a timeout to regroup, and it worked as the Aggies scored another coming off the discussion with their coach.

“We just wanted to regroup,” Isidor said about the timeout in the fourth. “We just needed a little ‘Okay, that’s enough.’”

Oregon fought until the very end, but it was too little too late, as UC Davis finished senior night with a 17-12 victory. Brislin finished with a career-high five goals including a perfect 3-3 from free position attempts. Goalkeeper Laing finished with eight saves including one from eight meters, and Agnew finished with a careerhigh six assists — every one of them crucial in the Aggies’ control of this game. Agnew now sits at eighth place on UC Davis all-time assist leaderboard. Regan Arkless and Kendall Seifer each finished with hat tricks to their name as well, as the Aggies finished with seven different goal scorers in this contest.

Before the game, seniors Ally Deremer, Natalie Wilson, Annie Dalton, Kendall Seifert and Brooke Long were honored as they celebrated senior day. They were able to celebrate the win, as

their stamp on UC Davis and the team will not be forgotten.

“Every class is special and I think what this group has is their personal relationships with everybody are so strong,” Isidor said about the seniors. “We talked about it in the locker room, what they mean to everybody and everybody said how they felt that [the seniors] genuinely cared about every person and each of them have such big hearts. They’ve really shown up for us and grown into that leadership role.”

The Aggies only have three regular season games remaining on their schedule. On April 16 they will take on the Cal Golden Bears in their final home game at UC Davis Health Stadium.

To finish off the year, they will travel to face a familiar foe in San Diego State on April 24 before their final game on April 30, where they will visit USC who is ranked No. 13 on the Inside Lacrosse Poll.

“Building on this one, we have a little momentum,” Isidor said of the last couple games.

“Consistency has been our problem. We’ve been a little up but also down. So, I think maintaining that consistency in practice and we’ve got some good competition in our traditional rivals here on the West Coast so we’re just looking to keep building on today.”

SHREMMUSEUM CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 While traveling to far-off places with a rich offering of museums and galleries alike is no doubt worthy of its own merit, it is certainly exciting that one of the most well-lauded sites of the past century is so near to home. The Shrem

NBAPLAYOFFPREVIEW has a multitude of exciting offerings hosted by the museum for students and non-students alike to take advantage of, all from the comfort of this very own little town.

MULANEYSHOW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 In “Kid Gorgeous at Radio City,” Mulaney admits he feels the need to please everyone, but in “From Scratch,” he vocalizes that no one will ever find happiness from others, insinuating that he’s unlearning these toxic habits as well.

The comedian shares touching moments of vulnerability with the audience in between his more random topics that bear no correlation; for instance, he announces that he doesn’t actually care about science and claims his indifference comes from the illogical way dinosaurs are constructed. He jests, “I imagine after the scientists have finished assembling a dinosaur skeleton, they discover two small bones that they missed and they just put it on a T. Rex.” He

then switches from denouncing science to joking about the insurrection, claiming, “This never would have happened if Baby J [Mulaney] was in town,” as he was in rehab when the insurrection occurred.

There isn’t any coherent structure in Mulaney’s show after he indulges the audience with anecdotes about his experience with addiction, and yet, in a way, this seems almost more on-brand for Mulaney after the past couple years. He ends the show claiming, “In the darkest time of my life, I never thought I would have gotten out and I’m grateful that I can still be here and do this,” which echoes the point of Mulaney’s show in the first place — to start from scratch.

BIODIVERSITY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 “It’s hard, because historically, people have been put in charge of these collections to protect them from people,” Kimsey said. “And now we’re trying to turn that on its head because what I find is that people we have coming in here, you don’t have to protect anything from them, they’re very respectful. The public pays for this, and they deserve to make as much use of it as possible.”

Boundy-Mills talked about another challenge that the Phaff Collection faces in terms of portraying their importance to the community.

“We don’t have beautiful butterflies, we don’t have the public come look at our freezer full of yeasts,” Boundy-Mills said. “I spend hours and hours updating each field in the database, counting yeasts, inventory, data entry, and it doesn’t look very glamorous when it’s being done.

But finding new species that could potentially help solve the big problems the world is facing, it really makes it all worth it.”

According to Kimsey, the success of these collections truly relies on the experts who devote their time and knowledge to them. In California alone, there are around 100,000 species of insects, as compared to around 300 species of plants, Kimsey said. The Bohart Museum houses nearly 8 million species.

“Even though we’re experts in insect identification, we’re only capable, each of us, of doing maybe 2,000 species in our groups of specialization,” Kimsey said. “That doesn’t get

you close to 100,000. I just don’t think we know that much. There are so many groups that no one is working on right now.”

Boundy-Mills took over the collection in 2001 after Herman Phaff died. According to Boundy-Mills, even after he officially retired he continued to come to work every day until he was 88 years old, teaching Boundy-Mills about the collection and the organizational system he had maintained. ““This is only possible because generations before us collected, preserved and maintained these yeasts,” Boundy-Mills said. “It’s lucky I was there, and I had worked with [Phaff]. If I wasn’t there, it would’ve just been a room full of test tubes with data sheets of squiggles that no one else understood.”

She went on to emphasize the growing importance of these biodiversity collections as science and technology develops.

“During the screening process for a research project, we’re looking through yeasts that were collected 30 to 40 years ago for the purpose of basic research about what yeasts are and how they interact with other organisms in the environment,” Boundy-Mills said. “They’re now being used in all sorts of different ways — medical, agricultural, biofuels [...] It makes you think, what are people going to be doing with these 50 years from now? Probably something I can’t even imagine.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 The reigning world champions Bucks are taking on the Bulls in the first round in the 3-6 matchup. The Bucks retained their core of forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, sharpshooter Khris Middleton and point guard Jrue Holiday.

Together they garnered a top 10 offense and remain a title contender. However, they’re facing the all-star pair of forward DeMar DeRozan and shooting guard Zach Lavine who give the Bulls their horns on offense.

The last Eastern Conference first-round series is between the 76ers and the Raptors. The Sixers have an MVP contender in center Joel

Embiid and star James Harden to combine for a deadly pick-and-roll threat, while the Raptors have all-star point-guard Fred VanVleet paired with forwards Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes helping the team to a top 10 defense. This is definitely an exciting matchup waiting to be seen, as we see a veteran team in Philadelphia try to win amid the pressure of a championship.

The play-in and first-round of the playoffs are upon us. After a season filled with magnificent basketball, it’s only fitting that the playoffs will be just as magnificent — if not better.

10 | THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

COMMUNITY MEMBERS DISCUSS EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON DISORDERED EATING, EATING DISORDERS Students share how the pandemic has impacted their mental and physical health

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

BY MAYA SHYDLOWSKI features@theaggie.org Content warning: This article discusses eating disorders and disordered eating.

The long-term effects of COVID-19 extend beyond what scientists call “long COVID.” There’s also the myriad mental health struggles, including disordered eating, that have been triggered by different aspects of the pandemic.

Although it may sound like the same expression, disordered eating is slightly different from the more commonly known phrase, eating disorder. Disordered eating is a more inclusive term that extends beyond the three eating disorders defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health (DSM).

This manual is the standard for information in psychology and psychiatry, according to the American Psychiatric Association. It categorizes psychological struggles with eating into three disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder, the last of which was only added to the DSM in 2013 and is less wellresearched.

Dr. Debbie Fetter, an assistant professor in UC Davis’ Department of Nutrition, said that disordered eating is more common than formally diagnosed eating disorders, and that, often, the narrow scope of eating disorders identified by the DSM limits people’s perception of what may be signs of disordered eating.

Teaching about eating disorders in a more inclusive manner is critical for identifying signs and getting help for people who need it, Fetter said.

“Right now a lot of the resources and support aren’t very inclusive when it comes to eating disorders and are not targeting all communities that are affected by eating disorders,” Fetter said.

“That’s something that we need to see: we need better materials, better diagnostic tools, better awareness and better support.”

Fetter explained that, during the pandemic, many people, especially young people, have

experienced disordered eating, whether their patterns are included in the DSM or not.

Surveys of hospital records show that by August of 2021, the number of adolescents admitted to hospitals for eating disorders had increased 25% since March 2020, the beginning of the pandemic in the U.S. The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) reported a 40% increase in calls to their helpline in the first year of the pandemic as well.

Another survey reported that 70% of people previously diagnosed with anorexia nervosa experienced an escalation of symptoms during the first stages of the pandemic, while, at the same time, 46% of these people had less doctor visits.

A lot of research has been published on how the pandemic may increase the risk of disordered eating, including major stressors that may induce eating disorders and reduce access to recovery aid. Across both research studies and news articles, a few patterns for the major causes of this epidemic have been identified. Some of these patterns include isolation from support systems, distress about the future, increased health-related anxiety, more time on social media and food insecurity.

An anonymous student shared her story about how the pandemic has affected her mental wellbeing and has given rise to an unhealthy pattern of eating. She wished to remain anonymous because, while she believes this is an important topic to discuss, she wasn’t comfortable attaching her name to some of the personal details shared in her story.

She explained that her eating disorder stemmed from severe anxiety that affected her appetite. She was previously diagnosed with anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), which heightened during the pandemic, especially during 2020. Isolation from friends and the removal of many social outlets led to an increase in her symptoms of anxiety and caused her to experience panic attacks.

As pandemic restrictions were lifted and COVID-19 vaccination rates increased, she was able to be more social, which helped reduce

her anxiety, but the transition posed different challenges, she explained.

“My OCD is more about thought rumination and feelings of guilt,” she said.

“I think as restrictions were lifted and people were starting to see each other more, the moral dilemma became a little difficult because I would get really in my head about potentially exposing somebody. Then I would get stuck on that idea for a long period of time, and my mind would always go to the worst-case scenario.”

This contributed to her distress, which had negative impacts on her physical health, she said.

She started feeling constantly nauseous, which resulted in a “complete loss of appetite.”

Talking to someone about your feelings or the symptoms you may be experiencing is one piece of advice that she suggested for anyone struggling with mental health issues. She said that she found an outlet with her mom, whom she would call whenever she was having an especially tough time. However, talking to a professional was also important for her.

“I’m a huge therapy enthusiast,” she said. “I think anyone can hugely benefit from talking to a professional, even if you don’t have a diagnosed mental health problem.”

Makena Diehl, a fourth-year nutrition major, said that she also experienced disordered eating that stemmed from a high-stress environment.

She said that she experienced periods of disordered eating throughout high school because of her involvement in ballet, among other factors. Diehl said that ballet is known to support a culture of intense competition and can lead to disordered eating among many dancers as they strive toward the image of the “perfect” ballet body and endure hours of demanding exercise.

She found that some difficult college courses fostered a similar competitive environment.

Diehl said that she was so focused on doing well in school that the competitive and comparative mindset that had fueled some of her earlier disordered eating returned.

“It’s never about the food,” Diehl said. “It’s always something else that turns into an eating

disorder.”

Unlike some others’ stories, Diehl said that the pandemic probably saved her. She struggled with disordered eating throughout her second year in 2019 and early 2020, before the pandemic forced her to return home in March 2020. She said that going home allowed her to “look in the mirror and actually see the difference” in her appearance and patterns.

“When it was happening, I had no idea that I was struggling,” Diehl said. “But then when I could take a step back and actually focus on myself, it was like that time [at home] made me realize what I had to prioritize.”

Part of what forced her to face her struggle with disordered eating was her parents’ involvement.

“It’s so hard for a friend to say to you, ‘Are you okay?’ but your parents are going to say it straight-up,” Diehl said.

After going home, Diehl was diagnosed with an eating disorder and began seeing a therapist and a nutritionist to help in her recovery. Diehl said that she saw changes to her energy, mood and relationships once she began her recovery journey.

“I saw more people gravitate toward me because I was smiling again, and I had my personality back,” Diehl said. “I feel like that just pushes you to want to heal and be better.”

Now, Diehl said that as she is further along in her recovery process, she is able to enjoy her life more by fueling her body and finding balance.

Something that has stuck with her throughout her recovery is the phrase, “Every body’s different.”

This has a dual meaning, she said — it can mean everybody or every body. Regardless, she finds it a helpful reminder for herself and anyone else who may be struggling with body image issues.

Fetter tries to teach this message in her nutrition classes. She said that she gets a lot of students in her classes that say they want to lose weight or cut body fat, but she tries to teach them that there’s “more to food than calories,” and that food is necessary to fuel everyday activities.

“I really try to talk about size diversity,” Fetter said. “All of us are built differently. We’re all meant to look differently, and we have a different optimal body composition for our own unique needs.”

Fetter said that one of her goals is to identify students who may be struggling with disordered eating and refer them to resources on campus, including registered dieticians and counselors in UC Davis Student Health and Counseling Services, that offer help. The university also offers individual or group therapy for students experiencing disordered eating and has information online about eating disorders and weight stigma for anyone who wants to learn more.

There are also anonymous ways of getting help, such as NEDA’s helpline, which includes options for calling, texting or messaging online.

All of these resources offer life-saving help for those experiencing disordered eating. Fetter said that anyone who believes that they or someone they know might be struggling with disordered eating should reach out to these resources.

“My number one piece of advice would be to talk to a trained professional,” Fetter said Resources can be found embedded throughout the online version of this article.

JENNY TAN BECOMES DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR THE CITY OF DAVIS Former Public Information Officer for Yolo County highlights the importance of collaboration in community building

BY SHRADDHA JHINGAN city@theaggie.org In a news statement published on March 23, the City of Davis announced that Jenny Tan had been appointed as the Director of Community Engagement by City Manager Mike Webb. Tan was also chosen as Yolo County’s Woman of the Year by California State Senator Bill Dodd. Tan’s new position started on April 4, as the previous Director of Community Engagement, Diane Parro, retired on April 1.

Webb expressed excitement at having Tan join the city of Davis and highlighted her previous work. Tan was an integral part of the COVID-19 outreach and response efforts in Yolo County.

“The City is excited to have Jenny join our team,” Webb said in the press release. “Jenny was a key part of the robust COVID-19 response and outreach when she was Yolo County’s Public Information Officer. She showcased leadership, collaboration and a commitment to transparency that aligns perfectly with the City’s values.”

Tan stated that so far, the new position has been a fulfilling experience. She said that the staff has been kind, and the role is a good fit for her.

“I started on April 4 and it’s been wonderful so far,” Tan said via email. “Staff have been welcoming and engaging. I’ve learned that I feel and work best when my values correspond with the place where I work and the City of Davis is a great fit.”

These are not the only factors that have made the role an enjoyable experience. Tan explained that the combination of the City Council’s goals, its values and her passion has made the role an enjoyable experience.

“The City Council’s Goals of economic stability, equitable community and thriving neighborhoods especially resonate with me,” Tan said via email. “I am passionate about the positive impact of local government and am greatly enjoying this new role.”

Earlier, Tan was the Public Information

Officer for Yolo County. In this role, she managed the communications aspect of handling the COVID-19 pandemic. Her duties included “clarifying complex health orders for the public” and appearing in videos called “Daily Briefing” on Twitter and Facebook. She also helped create a network of various organizations, including UC Davis, the city of Davis, Healthy Davis Together and Yolo County.

“Tan also oversaw the County’s 2020 Census effort that bridged demographics of multiple communities and led to higher participation rates across Yolo County,” the news release reads.

Tan also explained what the role entails, stating that there are many parts to it. These range from marketing to public affairs to community relations.

“This role includes many facets,” Tan said via email. “I provide administrative direction for public affairs, community relations and engagement, and marketing-related activities and am responsible for coordinating activities involving other City departments, officials, outside agencies, and the public. I can also serve as a spokesperson for the City at community events, public relations activities or emergencies, among other duties.”

In a TED talk, “leadership development and transformational coach” Gretchen Krampf defined community engagement and emphasized its collaborative aspects.

“This definition of community engagement is people working collaboratively through inspired action and learning to create and realize bold visions for their common future,” Krampf said.

Tan also mentioned the importance of teamwork in community engagement. Tan stated that community engagement “also means telling the Davis story” and showing what the city of Davis staff have been doing within the community.

“To me, community engagement is about working with residents and stakeholders in a transparent, equitable, and positive manner to develop meaningful solutions that improve and sustain the Davis community,” Tan said via

Jenny Tan is the new Director of Community Engagement for the city of Davis. (Jenny Tan / Courtesy)

email. “I hope to better engage the community in long term and sustainable relationships, collaborations, and processes.”

Ultimately, as Tan highlighted, everybody plays a vital part in the betterment of our community. This will allow important resources to be sustained for future generations, Tan said.

“As a Davis resident and alumni of UC

Davis, I strongly believe that we all have a role to play in improving the community where we work, live, or go to school,” Tan said via email.

“Public service is a calling that not everyone hears but is important in sustaining key programs and services that benefit our residents and future generations.”

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

SCIENCE AND TECH

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022 | 11

A MAJORITY OF WOMEN EXPERIENCE AT LEAST ONE FALSE-POSITIVE MAMMOGRAM ACROSS A DECADE OF TESTING UC Davis researchers studied the effects of digital tomography versus mammography

KELLIE LU / AGGIE

BY MONICA MANMADKAR science@theaggie.org Research led by UC Davis Health found that over half of women in the U.S. will experience at least one false-positive mammogram across a decade of annual breast cancer screening.

The study, published in JAMA Network Open, aimed to estimate the long-term probabilities of women experiencing at least one false positive and a biopsy recommendation over a decade of repeated examinations. A false positive is when a mammogram is determined to be abnormal when there is no cancer in the breast.

“We were primarily interested in whether 3D mammography

reduced these probabilities compared to 2D mammography,” said Michael Bissel, an epidemiologist in the UC Davis Department of Public Health Sciences and the first co-author of the study, via email. “We were also interested in whether there were clinically important differences for annual vs biennial (i.e. every other year) mammography screening or differences by a decade of age or breast density.”

He explained that breast density, which measures the composition of fat and fibrous tissue in the breast, influences the probability of being recalled for additional workup — such as further screenings or biopsies — since it is considered an important breast cancer risk factor and impacts the ability to identify cancer on the mammogram itself.

Before beginning the study, researchers were prompted by the importance of screening mammography to decrease breast cancer morbidity. However, false-positive results are common, with 12% of examinations overall being false positives, and up to 60% of women are likely to experience a false-positive result over 10 years.

That puts quite a bit of stress on women in terms of anxiety, time and financial commitments, Bissel said.

“It is important for women to understand that false alarms are an expected part of breast cancer screening—and that the advent of 3D mammography has not changed that very much,” said Dr. Anna Tosteson, a professor of oncology and of community and family medicine at The Dartmouth Institute, via email.

The researchers found statistically significant reductions in false-positive results when using a digital breast tomosynthesis compared to digital mammography for women screened annually.

A tomosynthesis is an advanced form of mammography, where more detailed and high-resolution images are produced through a lower dose of X-rays.

One key finding of the study was that regardless of whether digital breast tomosynthesis or digital mammography was used, the cumulative probabilities of false-positive results were substantially lower for women who screened every other year versus women screened annually.

The researchers also found that false-positive results were generally lower among women with lower breast density, meaning with less fibrous tissue in the breast. Additionally, Bissel and the researchers found lower false-positive results as the age of the women increased, possibly due to lower breast density as women age and having multiple exams over time with which to compare previous exams.

Bissel said that the frequency of examination had the largest impact on the number of false positives. He suggested that women should have detailed discussions with their healthcare providers to personalize their medical care based on their own individual risk factors.

Looking to the future, the researchers are working on a new paper that will help identify which women are at the highest risk of being recalled for additional workup. This research can help prioritize certain patients to have their mammogram read and have any additional testing done in the same visit, which can reduce anxiety associated with being recalled on a different day.

CAR T-CELL THERAPY CURRENTLY IN UC DAVIS HEALTH CLINICAL TRIAL STUDY AS POTENTIAL CURE FOR HIV CAR T-cell immunotherapy may become the alternative option to current life-long retroviral therapy for HIV patients

BY BRANDON NGUYEN science@theaggie.org According to the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS/HIV or UNAIDS, around 38 million people worldwide live with HIV, a retrovirus that destroys a host’s own immune cells and can progress into AIDS if left untreated.

To put this into perspective, around 150,000 people are living with HIV but 68% of them are virally suppressed due to adherence to life-long retroviral therapy.

In efforts to search for an alternative option to life-long treatment, UC Davis Health has commenced a study testing the efficacy of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell Therapy (CAR T-cell Therapy) and its potential as a cure for HIV. CAR T-cell therapy involves the removal of a patient’s immune system’s T-cells and genetically modifying them to recognize and attack HIV-afflicted cells in the host.

Dr. Mehrdad Abedi, a professor of internal medicine, hematology and oncology at UC Davis Health and the principal investigator of the study, further explained the process in administering CAR T-cell therapy to a patient.

“For this study, we will educate the cells by inserting a gene to target cells that have been infected by the HIV virus,” Abedi said. “The idea is these modified cells will attach to the

HIV-infected cells and destroy the cells that are infected while also stopping the infected cells’ ability to replicate.”

Modification of human patient T-cells into CAR T-cells has revolutionized patient care, especially for cancer patients. This technology has become widely used in the field of oncology and blood cancer patients, as training one’s T-cells to recognize tumors from normal, healthy cells is a novel method to search and destroy tumor cells throughout the blood. This would be impossible with radiation or surgery.

Dr. Paolo Troia-Cancio, a clinical professor of medicine with the infectious disease division and co-investigator for the HIV study, described how the study came about as a result of success stories of patients with HIV and cancer.

“It has been shown to be possible to cure HIV because so far there have been three individuals that have been cured of HIV, but they have required bone marrow transplants,” Troia-Cancio said. “Two of the three patients were administered more conventional allergenic bone marrow transplants and the third person got a transplant from cord blood stem cells. I hope with this type of research that we take what we have learned from these three individuals and apply them in a way that we could modify a patient’s immune system in a way to make it resistant to HIV.”

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE However, bone marrow transplants are not the ideal or first option for patients with HIV. “While these stories provide inspiration and hope to finding a cure for HIV, a bone marrow transplant is not a realistic option for most patients,” Abedi said. “Such transplants are highly invasive and risky, so they are generally offered only to people with cancer who have exhausted all other options.”

Nonetheless, these three fortunate cases offer hope for a cure, or at least a “functional cure,” which Troia-Cancio explained as patients being able to control their HIV without medication.

With an optimistic outlook for HIV patients, Troia-Cancio underscored the potential for CAR T-cell therapy to revolutionize the healthcare industry in treating other immunological disorders.

“There are other diseases where CAR T-cells are being looked at,” Troia-Cancio said. “So I think there’s a potential for this therapy to become more widely used for other areas where having essentially a modified immune system could potentially lead to either long term control or omission or even a cure for a disease.”

UC DAVIS BIODIVERSITY COLLECTIONS SUPPORT RESEARCH, EDUCATE PUBLIC Some of the collections have recently been featured by the university during Biodiversity Museum Day on March 6 and an episode of UC Davis Live on March 31

BY SONORA SLATER science@theaggie.org Hidden behind the UC Davis Physics Building, in the Academic Surge on Crocker Lane, the R.M. Bohart Museum of Entomology houses more than 7 million insects, arachnids and crustaceans. Visitors to the museum — which is open to the public — are greeted by informational hallway displays in plastic cases and colorful banners with art showcasing biodiversity.

Inside the room are live tarantulas, stick bugs and more, along with hundreds of trays of mounted specimens carefully organized in row after row of cabinets.

The Bohart Museum is just one of dozens of biodiversity collections at UC Davis, all of which collect and preserve an enormous diversity of species. Others include the Arboretum, the California Raptor Center, the Botanical Conservatory, the Phaff Yeast Culture Collection and many more.

Kyria Boundy-Mills, the curator of the Phaff Yeast Culture Collection, explained during a UC Davis Live featuring biodiversity collections on campus why these collections exist.

“It’s because of how science is done,” Boundy-Mills said.

“We make a discovery, and we have to be able to repeat that and prove that it was true. Science is built by building upon previous discoveries. And one of the most important things that biodiversity collections are involved in is documenting what species has been found where.”

The collections on campus primarily support the research community, as well as centering on teaching and outreach. Lynn Kimsey, a professor of entomology and the director of the Bohart Museum, explained how the research community interacts with their collection.

“We’re a repository for research vouchers, and we’re a lending library for genetic sampling as well as for scientists around the world who want to study a particular group of insects,” Kimsey said. “Because the problem with insects is, with the exception of the very small number of large bodied, showy things, you can’t field-identify them. The only way to know where and when a specimen occurs is to have a physical specimen with that data on it.”

Boundy-Mills gave examples of how yeasts in her collection are currently being used for research projects.

“There are yeasts used for bread and wine and cheese, but there are others that will turn excess sugar into oil, and store that oil inside the cell,” Boundy-Mills said during the UC Davis Live.

“That oil is very similar to vegetable oil, so if we find the right varieties, it could become a biofuel substitute for petroleum, or it

JACOB SLOAN / AGGIE could be a substitute for fat in plant-based meats.”

Kimsey said that along with supporting research initiatives, the Bohart Museum also has a goal of promoting education.

“We provide specimens or tours,” Kimsey said. “And we also do tours for school grounds, libraries, state county fairs, stuff like that. And finally, we serve as an information source; if you have any questions about spiders or ticks, we can answer them, we can do identifications for people. If someone has a killer spider in their bathtub, we can reassure them, tell them it’s really not dangerous.”

Finally, some of the collections integrate public outreach into their mission.

“We have the petting zoo,” said Kimsey, gesturing toward a rack full of cages holding tarantulas. “That’s what I call it, anyways.

We also have carnivorous plants, stick bugs and we have displays in the hall.”

Ernesto Sandoval, the manager of the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory, talked during the UC Davis Live about some of the public’s favorite plants in the collection.

“We have a really large diversity of succulents that are recognized across the world, and then our carnivorous plants,” Sandoval said. “Both are really popular for the visitors. In all our collections, we sort of have those ambassador species that bring in and attract people to look at the greater diversity of plants that we have.”

Kimsey described some of the challenges that can come along with outreach.

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12 | THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

SPORTS

UC DAVIS WOMEN’S LACROSSE TEAM CRUISES PAST OREGON ON SENIOR DAY The Aggies display their offensive firepower as a couple of stars notch career-highs

BY OMAR NAVARRO sports@theaggie.org Coming into the game having lost three of their last four games, the UC Davis Women’s Lacrosse team was able to cruise to a 17-12 victory over the Oregon Ducks on senior day. With great team play and execution, the Aggies took control of a game that started off tightly contested.

“I think it was a great win for us,” head coach Suzanne Isidor said after the game. “We put into play a lot of things that we’d been working on. We had two weeks from our spring break game, and it was nice to regroup, focus on us and focus on Oregon.”

Entering Saturday afternoon’s matchup with a record of 4-5, UC Davis was looking for a win to get back on track. But, with the Ducks controlling the opening draw, they were able to open the scoring after an early free position attempt shot that got past junior goalkeeper Ashley Laing. The Aggies, focused on getting that back, took the draw the other way and put pressure on Oregon’s net for the first time. Despite missing a free position attempt wide, the Aggies kept possession and set up a play where first-year Ella Brislin was able to get her 15th goal of the season off an assist by junior midfielder Alex Agnew.

The goal gave UC Davis some confidence early and after a save

by Laing, the Aggies went the other way. A setup play found a cutting Natalie Wilson across the middle, who calmly put it away to give the Aggies their first lead of the game, 2-1.

After a bit of a back and forth from both sides on offense, UC Davis earned another free position shot. This one was sent in however, as senior Kendall Seifert rifled it past the goalkeeper for the 3-1 lead. Coming off the goal, the Aggies again controlled the draw to earn another free position attempt — this time sent in by Brisling for her second of the afternoon — and took a 4-1 lead.

The Ducks, however, would not go down that easily. After a turnover by the Aggies, they put pressure on the goal and were able to cash in on another free position attempt. Despite being able to gain draw control, UC Davis went cold, being unable to convert on their shots. Oregon took advantage of this, as they were able to score another goal to make it a slim 4-3 UC Davis lead.

Riding some momentum, Oregon once again controlled the draw, but a save by Laing stopped their run for a moment. The remaining three minutes saw both teams battling on the defensive end, trying to avoid conceding a goal. A late opportunity was deflected by the Aggie defense, bringing the first quarter to an end with the Aggies still leading 4-3.

“I think defensively we were doing well,” Isidor said about the brief Oregon comeback. “Their first two goals were off of eight meters, and we just needed to get more disciplined to not put them on the eight meter.”

The second quarter continued with the Ducks momentum, as they were able to capitalize on a turnover by UC Davis, tying the game up at four.

Despite allowing three unanswered goals, the Aggies didn’t fold. Rather, they came right back and controlled the ball to set up a perfect play that ended with a goal. In just over a minute, the Aggies regained the lead, 5-4.

Freshman midfielder Ella Brislin defeats two opponents as she scores one of her many goals in the victorious game against Oregon on April 9th, 2022. (Dipenbrock / Aggie) From then on, the UC Davis defense locked in, contesting every shot and giving the Ducks almost no room to produce a comfortable shot or even pass. Another save by Laing was cleared, and a perfect lob over the top by Agnew for Seifert, who got it past the goalkeeper, made it 6-4 UC Davis. After the Ducks responded again with a nice spinning goal, Brislin came back and put a move on her defender, freeing herself enough to get a bouncer past the goalkeeper for another goal. The rest of the second quarter saw more of the same, as crisp passing in the offensive area led to more Aggie goals, and they went into the halftime break up 10-6.

After UC Davis started the third quarter with a turnover, the Ducks capitalized on the missed opportunities to open the second half scoring. But about 40 seconds later, a cutting Wilson —

assisted by Agnew — found the back of the net on a powerful upper deck shot to push the lead to four again. The Aggies were cruising and a minute later, added another one for their largest lead of the game, 12-7. The rest of the third quarter was much of the same, as the UC Davis onslaught continued and they led by a whooping 15-7 entering the final quarter.

“Everybody started to step up,” Isidor said about their dominating run. “They started to face guard Alex [Agnew] and she did a good job occupying a defender. They were so worried about her that other people were able to step up.”

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AN NBA PLAY-IN, PLAYOFF FIRST-ROUND PREVIEW A preview of the Play-In games and the first round of NBA Playoffs

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

BY GABRIEL CARABALLO sports@theaggie.org A fantastic basketball season filled with broken records, medical disputes, blockbuster trades, season-ending injuries and much more is coming close to a conclusion. The teams who have persevered past the obstacles of the regularseason are now making it to the promised land, the NBA Playoffs.

With the newly added NBA Play-In Tournament, a competition between the Eastern and Western Conferences’ seventh through 10th seeds for the last two places in the playoffs, more teams have a chance to change the fate of their season.

Taking a look at the Western Conference, the teams competing for the play-in are the Minnesota Timberwolves (46-36) who currently occupy the seventh seed and the Los Angeles Clippers (42-40). Yes, the Clippers — not the Lakers who unfortunately fell short and missed the playoffs — are the current eighth seed. Then, in the ninth seed are the New Orleans Pelicans (36-46) and, finally, the San Antonio Spurs (3448) are in the 10th spot.

The T-Wolves are set to play the Clippers in the play-in for the seventh seed in the playoffs.

Star players Karl Anthony-Towns and Anthony Edwards have helped maintain the T-Wolves explosive offense, which happens to be top 10 in offensive rating in the NBA. While the Clippers have maintained a top 10 defense, with players

like Paul George, Reggie Jackson and Nicolas Batum anchoring the defense. These two teams will make for an exciting matchup, for sure.

Next is the play-in matchup between the Spurs and Pelicans. The Spurs have an all-star point-guard in Dejounte Murray to lead their team. The Pelicans on the other hand have shooting guard CJ McCollum and previous all-star Brandon Ingram at the small forward position. The winner of this matchup will go on to play the loser of the Timberwolves and Clippers game to compete for the eight seed in the playoffs.

On the topic of the playoffs the teams who sit atop the Western Conference the order is as follows: 1. Phoenix Suns (64-18) 2. Memphis Grizzlies (56-26) 3. Golden State Warriors (53-29) 4. Dallas Mavericks (52-30) 5. Utah Jazz (49-33) 6. Denver Nuggets (48-34) The No. 1 seed Suns will play whoever wins the eighth seed, which means they could play the Timberwolves, Spurs, Clippers or Pelicans in the first round. With an incredible backcourt in Devin Booker and Chris Paul helping lead the team to top 10 spots in both offense and defense in the league, whoever they matchup with is in for a long series with the defending Western Conference champions. It’s a similar situation with the Grizzlies who play the winner of the seventh seed. Led by all-star and explosive point guard Ja Morant who is surrounded by all-

around complimentary players, the seventh seed is going to have to be smarter than the average bear to beat this team.

As of now the Warriors are set to play the Nuggets in the first round. The Warriors have championship DNA on their side with stars Klay Thompson at shooting guard and power-forward Draymond Green to lead the offense and anchor the top three defense. Unfortunately their star and face of the team Stephen Curry is currently out with an injury with no planned return date.

However, while talking on ESPN’s Bird and Taurasi Show Curry hopes to “return for game one of the playoffs.”

Curry will hope to be back in time to help his team take on reigning regular season MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. Jokic also happens to be leading the MVP odds for this season as well, stoically leading his team to a top 10 spot in offensive rating. This matchup will display two spectacular offenses at odds against each other.

The last Western Conference matchup is between the Mavericks and the Jazz. The Mavs have the miracle worker Luka Doncic commanding their offense at point-forward, along with complementary players Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie occupying the guard positions. The Mavs have a top 10 defense in the league under new head coach Jason Kidd and are no slouch on offense either. They face the Utah Jazz with dynamic shooting-guard Donovan Mitchell and former defensive-player of the year Rudy Gobert, who have the No. 1 offense in the league. Overall a matchup worth watching

between two teams that will desperately look at this as a must-win series.

Moving to the Eastern Conference, the playin teams consist of the Brooklyn Nets (44-38) in the seventh seed, Cleveland Cavaliers in the eighth seed (44-38), Atlanta Hawks (43-39) in the ninth seed and the Charlotte Hornets (4339) occupying the 10th seed.

The Cavaliers are set to play the Nets for the seventh seed in the play-in tournament. Allstars Darius Garland at point-guard and center Jarret Allen have made a name for themselves this season and got the team to a top 10 defensive spot. Still, they have to face the “Slim Reaper” in forward Kevin Durant and “Uncle Drew” in point-guard Kyrie Irving playing for the Nets.

The two offensive superstars will hope to lead their team to victory, but the Nets lack a primary defensive presence. This could be a wildcard of a game with a lot of implications on both sides.

The second play-in matchup is between the Hawks and Hornets. Atlanta has an all-star point-guard in Trae Young to lead their offense, which happens to be No. 2 in the league. He’s accompanied by players forward John Collins and shooting-guard Bogdan Bogdanovic to compliment the offensive prowess — which they hope can cover their iffy defense. They’re facing the Hornets who also have an all-star point guard in LaMelo Ball and occupy a top 10 offense in the league. Ball has teammates, Terry Rozier as a complementary guard and Miles Bridges at forward to help with the offensive load. These teams are set up for an offensive show like no other, as they will be playing for their seasons in what will be a fun matchup between two young squads.

The winner of the Cavaliers-Nets game goes onto the seventh seed in the playoffs. While the loser plays the winner of the Hawks vs. Hornets game for the eighth seed. In turn, the eighth seed will go onto play the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the seventh seed will play the second seed. The teams on top of the Eastern Conference are currently: 1. Miami Heat (53-29) 2. Boston Celtics (51-31) 3. Milwaukee Bucks (51-31) 4. Philadelphia 76ers (51-31) 5. Toronto Raptors (48-34) 6. Chicago Bulls (46-36) The Heat will take on the winner of the eight seed. With forward Jimmy Butler, point guard Kyle Lowery and shooting guard Tyler Herro, the Heat are top 10 in both offense and defense. Whoever they face in the first round it’ll definitely be a scorching matchup — especially if it’s Brooklyn. In the exciting 2-7 series, the Celtics will have their all-star Jayson Tatum at the forward accompanied by star shooting guard Jaylen Brown. They have the No. 1 defense in the league and are top 10 in offense as well, which has propelled them to their scorching end of the season, and whoever the seventh seed ends up being is a match up to be watched. The obvious wild card in these first round series are the Nets, who can make a first round matchup unlike one we’ve ever seen.

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