May 26, 2022

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LAWNTOPIA BROUGHT THE FUNK — AND MORE Headlined by Duckwrth, and featuring local and student openers, this concert on the Quad was the ultimate springtime celebration

BY ANGIE CUMMINGS arts@theaggie.org In case you somehow missed it, Lawntopia was an event put on

by ASUCD Entertainment Council (EC) on Thursday, May 19, serving as spring quarter’s biggest show that highlights a variety of performers and school organizations — providing students with an exciting and free concert right on the Quad.

“This is the first one since covid [...] the focus is definitely on the music and musicians,” said Vanessa Gonzalez, the assistant director of Entertainment Council and a fourth-year cinema and digital media major. “We try to get local artists and one big headliner. We also work to spotlight student orgs [organizations] and have activities for students to enjoy while the show’s going on.”

Due to the pandemic, the hunger for live entertainment is at an all-time high, and Lawntopia delivered on its promise to serve up a good time to the UC Davis student body. Put simply, “it’s a great opportunity to get outside and have fun,” said Caden Velasquez, a second-year international relations major who goes by stage name DJ Mellax and was one of the openers at the show.

Right at 7 p.m., the show started with pulsing beats and exciting remixes by three opening DJs, two of them being current

Duckwrth performing at Lawntopia presented by ASUCD. (Benjamin Cheng / Aggie)

students and one a recent UC Davis graduate, followed by a local Sacramento singer, Yelly. The whole event was brought home by a lively set from the much-anticipated headliner Duckwrth.

“We’ve had him [Duckwrth] in consideration for several months now; we were so excited that he agreed to come!” Gonzalez said.

The entirety of the East Quad was filled with students taking part in all that Lawntopia had to offer, including sitting on the grass and painting on vinyl records, chowing down on snacks from the food trucks parked alongside the grass and dancing to the electrifying music. It was an extremely joyful scene, only amplified by the perfect weather and greenery, something artists appreciated.

“The fact that it’s in the Quad, with all the trees around, it’s like the perfect venue,” said Gino Lacson, also known as GMunny, a managerial economics major who graduated this past winter quarter and was another one of the opening acts of the night.

The three opening DJs — DJ Homsy, DJ Mellax and GMunny — got everyone up and the energy high, with a wide variety of musical inspirations for their respective sets.

“I started djing with Latin reggaeton and really got into house music and techno bass … I definitely have a large repertoire,” DJ Mellax said.

GMunny described equally vast yet distinct musical influences: “I play house music … I’ll go into techno and I’ll find that inbetween … I’ll do disco. I just try to keep it funky,” he said.

By about 9 p.m. the whole crowd (myself included) was properly hyped-up and ready for Duckwrth to take the stage. With a small band of just a drummer and bassist, as well as his amazing backup singer Liv (who some might argue almost stole the show with her own charisma and talent based on cheers from the crowd), Duckwrth’s set felt as intimate as it could get with hundreds of people cheering from across the Quad.

Just after the first song, there was a small pause in the show, as Duckwrth got the crowd to make space for a student who had passed out right in the front row — safety comes first, even at a concert. After the student was out of the crowd the party resumed, with an uninterrupted almost hour-long set that had everyone (safely) jumping, singing and dancing the whole time.

“Feel free to shake your a**,” Duckwrth said partway through his set — an entirely understandable suggestion given the grooviness of the music booming across the Quad. After every song the crowd was begging for more, and at approximately the halfway point of the show, Liv (Duckwrth’s fantastic backup singer mentioned before) received a much-deserved several-minute long standing ovation. One student held up a phone with the words “you are carrying miss thing” which perhaps is what incited the extended cheers of admiration.

Even though Duckwrth was not able to be interviewed for this coverage of his show through ASUCD EC (and did not respond to my request for a quote via my phone screen in the crowd), it truly felt like he was having just as much fun as everyone dancing to his music. After that performance, it’s likely he attracted some more regular listeners, or at the very least earned himself a spot on some playlists this summer.

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VOLUME 140, ISSUE 29 | THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022

ASSISTANT WATER POLO COACH ARRESTED ON CHARGES RELATED TO CHILD PORNOGRAPHY Daniel Noble, an assistant coach for the UC Davis Men’s Water Polo team, will be arraigned in federal court on May 20

BY SOPHIE DEWEES sports@theaggie.org On Thursday, May 19, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested Daniel Noble, an assistant coach for the UC Davis Men’s Water Polo team on charges related to child pornography. Noble was a part of an online chat room where young girls and others shared sexual photos and videos.

He allegedly distributed videos and images of minors engaging in sexual activity.

Following his arrest, Noble was placed on administrative leave and will be arrested should he return to campus.

“These allegations are highly disturbing and antithetical to the values of UC Davis,” Chancellor Gary May said in a statement on the arrest on May 20. “We will cooperate fully with the FBI investigation. As always, the safety of our students and the broader community remain my highest concern.”

On May 20, UC Davis began an investigation led by Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen London to determine the scope of Noble’s involvement in campus programs and if he “engaged in sexual misconduct associated with his coaching activities,” according to the statement released by the university. London will compile a report based on her findings.

“Chancellor May is completely committed to transparency of those reports, and they will be posted on the UC Davis website to the fullest extent that the law provides,” said Chief Campus Counsel Mike Sweeney in the Editorial Board’s quarterly meeting with campus leaders on May 23. “Hopefully no one was harmed, but we’re allowing for the possibility that individuals were and we care very much about that.”

During that same meeting, Director of Athletics Rocko DeLuca stated that UC Davis Athletics will continue to work with the Office of the Campus Counsel and law enforcement.

“I personally met with the water polo team on [May 20] before the news was public, and we’re just trying to provide the support we can,” DeLuca said.

UC Davis encourages those who may wish to report instances of sexual misconduct to contact Harassment and Discrimination Assistance and Prevention Program (HDAPP), according to the statement.

UC Davis Men’s Water Polo Coach Daniel Leyson did not respond to a request for comment as of May 23.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on May 24

UC TO WAIVE TUITION, FEES FOR NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENTS UC campuses will begin waiving tuition and fees for Native American students who are state residents and members of federally recognized tribes

BY JENNIFER MA campus@theaggie.org On April 22, UC President Michael Drake announced the launch of the UC Native American Opportunity Plan, a program that aims to make the university more affordable for California’s Native American students.

This program will fully cover tuition and fees for California residents who are members of federally recognized Native American, American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. There are 109 federally recognized tribes in California, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Federal Recognition.

The plan will be funded through a combination of existing state and university financial aid programs as well as other resources.

California residents from non-federally recognized tribes could still benefit from this program, according to the letter Drake sent out to UC chancellors.

“Tuition scholarships for California residents from California’s non-federally recognized tribes may be available through external organizations,” Drake said in the letter. “More information about these scholarships will be provided by [UC Office of the President]

at a future date.”

The program is set to begin in fall 2022. Both Native American undergraduate and graduate students are eligible as long as they meet the previously stated requirements.

“This program will provide opportunities and support for Native American, American Indian and Alaska Native students

— a community that contributes to the academic and student achievements of our campus,” Chancellor Gary May said via email.

“At UC Davis, we recognize this program as another step on a path of atonement and respect to the Native community and Native Nations. This program will help us remove barriers for Native students and reaffirms UC Davis is within reach.”

Data from fall of 2021 shows that 1,467 combined undergraduate and graduate students identified as American Indian or Native American across the UC system. At UC Davis specifically, there were 185 students that identified as American Indian or Native American; these students constitute 0.5% of the student body.

“Native American students are among the most underrepresented groups within higher education, including at UC, and we hope this program will encourage more of them to apply for and choose to enroll at a UC campus,” said Ryan King, the associate director of media relations for the UC Office of the President.

As of May 19, the Native American Academic Student Success Center at UC Davis did not respond to a request for comment.

Photo of Mrak Hall taken on May 20. (Kayla Bruckman / Aggie)

UC DAVIS STUDENTS RALLY FOR ABORTION RIGHTS IN RESPONSE TO SUPREME COURT DRAFT OPINION The voices of the protesters at UC Davis’ “Rally for Roe” march

BY CHRIS PONCE city@theaggie.org

Protestors march on Tuesday, May 10th in support of Roe V. Wade. (Benjamin Cheng / Aggie) On Monday, May 2, a leaked Supreme Court draft majority opinion revealed the Court plans to overturn the long-standing 1973 Roe v. Wade case. This decision by the Supreme Court would end federal protection over abortion access in America. States would have the final say in the legal standing of abortion and 26 states are expected to outlaw abortion should the decision be put into place, according to the Guttmacher Institue, a pro-choice research organization.

Students swiftly responded to the majority opinion: On Monday, May 9, the Instagram for the ASUCD External Affairs

Vice President advertised a protest called “UC Rally for Roe” on May 10. The protest was organized by multiple associations such as the Gender and Sexuality Commission (ASUCD GASC), Students for Reproductive Freedom (SRF) at UC Davis and the Office of the External Affairs Vice President.

“Come out tomorrow to join us in the quad for our UC Rally For Roe and make your voices heard!!” read the caption of the Instagram post by the External Affairs Vice President.

One of the organizers was Isabella Holmes, a fourth-year English and communication double major. Holmes is the copresident of SRF, a student-led organization that advocates for intersectional reproductive justice, according to the SRF Instagram. Holmes shared her reaction to the Supreme Court draft surrounding Roe v. Wade.

“It’s obviously super upsetting, but I wasn’t surprised,” Holmes said. “People in reproductive justice and I think a lot of people have known this was coming for a long time.”

As students began showing up at the Quad at 11:30 am on May 10, protesters made cardboard signs and shared markers and materials to help create rally signs that read slogans like, “Bans off my body.” Holmes spoke about why people were gathered that day.

“We wanted to have a protest at Davis to kind of just show students that like we’re there for them and we care and people right here on campus are doing something about it,” Holmes said. “I know a lot people want to get involved but they don’t know where to start. So I’m really hoping this will kind of direct people towards like joining the [organizations] that are on campus and donating to abortion funds and local clinics if they can.”

SRF’s Instagram highlights the importance of intersectionality related to reproductive justice. Holmes talked about the organizers’

attempts to keep the rally diverse and inclusive to all people.

“Another thing is, we kind of wanted to have a protest that is explicitly catered to everyone who is impacted by this,” Holmes said. “We wanted [to have] a protest that is very gender-inclusive and is very pro-abortion and intersectional. Because, a lot of times more like centrist feminism takes that away and it only caters to, like, middle-class white women.”

At 12:00 p.m., protesters began marching around the Quad.

The organizers led the march, emphasizing the importance of using gender-inclusive language in their chants. For eight minutes students marched around the quad chanting slogans such as “Bans off our bodies,” “Trans rights are human rights” and “Protect Roe v. Wade.”

After eight minutes, students walked to the center of the Quad where everyone gathered to speak about Roe v. Wade. A student read a poem that described the importance of abortion. The organizers invited other students to share their opinions.

Students proceeded to march in front of the library and then loop back to the quad. As they marched, they were met with cheers of support from onlookers. A first-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major, Valeria Cera, attended the rally and shared her reaction to the news regarding Roe v. Wade.

“I was kind of pissed, man,” Cera said. “I do believe a woman should have the right to abortion and the abortion laws already set in place already have limitations to protect the child. Even though we are pro-abortion doesn’t mean we’re going to take a child out of a woman who’s in her third trimester.”

ROERALLY on 9

2 | THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022

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SENATE TABLE CONFIRMS DRAC NOMINEE, HEARS CALPIRG PRESENTATION, INTRODUCES SR #32 AT A VIRTUAL MEETING The meeting took place over Zoom following a member of the Senate table testing positive for COVID-19

BY ISABELLA KRZESNIAK campus@theaggie.org Internal Vice President Juliana Martinez Hernandez called the meeting to order at 6:14 p.m. and recited the UC Davis Land Acknowledgement. The meeting was held over Zoom after a member of the Senate table tested positive for COVID-19.

Disability Rights Advocacy Committee (DRAC) Chair Sarah Theubet nominated third-year pharmaceutical chemistry major Rima Vyas to become a member of the committee. One of Vyas’ goals as part of the committee is to work toward the full implementation of lecture capture.

“I think what’s important is making lecture capture available to all classes,” Vyas said. “I find it absurd how it hasn’t been implemented already.”

Vyas was confirmed.

The UC Davis chapter of the California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG), which aims to protect the environment and encourage civic participation, provided a presentation on its recent accomplishments and future goals. Representatives from the group discussed their Beyond Plastic campaign, which aims to reduce plastic use.

“We want to move beyond plastic by not producing plastic in the first place, and we’ve made a lot of progress on this,” said CALPIRG Representative Philip Mariam. “Our long term goal is to pass a ballot measure in August at the State Assembly to vote ‘Yes’ on our bill AB 2026. Overall, despite the organizational difficulties we’ve had this quarter, we’ve been successful.”

Representatives also discussed their pledge drive, where students support CALPIRG by paying a voluntary $10 fee every quarter. They received around 2000 pledges.

They also discussed their intent to canvas for their Save The Bees campaign, which aims to ban pesticides that are harmful to bees. The group also seeks to increase voter registration through their New Voters Project.

Additionally, they discussed their Make Textbooks Affordable campaign. Their goal is to spur the UC Regents to pass an open textbooks grant, where students could reduce the amount of money they are spending on textbooks. CALPIRG would like to host a roundtable discussion with students of different majors to discuss textbook costs.

Martinez Hernandez then moved to approve minutes from the previous Senate meeting.

Next, the table moved into a discussion of new legislation.

SR #32, authored by Senator Owen Krauss, was introduced. The

AGGIE FILE resolution calls on the university to allocate funding currently being used for the “design and fabrication of parts and systems for earth-propelled nuclear weapons systems” to environmentallybeneficial research. The measure was amended and passed on May 22.

Martinez Hernandez adjourned the meeting at 7:03 p.m.

AS ROE V. WADE FACES POTENTIAL REVERSAL, UC DAVIS ORGANIZATIONS AND LARGER COMMUNITY HAVE RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE SEEKING ABORTIONS UC Davis students gather to protest Supreme Court decision, amplify local resources

BY MALERIE HURLEY features@theaggie.org On Tuesday, May 10, students gathered on the Quad to march in response to the recent leaked draft of the Supreme Court majority opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade. Two students, fourth-year English and communication double major Isabella Holmes, co-president of Students for Reproductive Freedom, and second-year international relations major Celene Aridin, organizing director from the External Affairs Vice President’s Office of ASUCD, worked their way to the front of the circle waving their arms for silence to share resources for abortion access on campus and lay out guidelines for the march, attempting to corral the passionate students in their midst.

“Last week, we all saw what the Supreme Court’s thoughts were, and it was just honestly devastating to see, especially in a country that says that everyone has political freedom and rights,” Aridin said. “Clearly there are people that no longer are allowed to have them, especially in some states. It’s super important to make sure that people know that they have support and that people know that we want to reach the pinnacle of what we can get.”

Students marched around the Quad chanting a variety of prochoice slogans in conjunction with rallies occurring simultaneously at UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego. Students were angry, pouring out their frustration at the reversal of the SCOTUS decision that has protected citizens’ reproductive freedom and that will adversely impact so many marginalized groups in red states. While the expected overturn will likely have little effect on California residents, many students, especially outof-state students returning home to red states for the summer, may be feeling a lot of anxiety about the state of abortion access in the future.

In the face of this uncertainty, coordinators at the Love Lab, a cart operated through Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS), are committed to providing safe sex products and helping direct students who need abortion services to local providers.

Located on the third floor in the Health and Promotion office of the Student Health and Wellness Center, the Love Lab is a mobile cart stocked with safe sex products and informational pamphlets on STI testing, HIV awareness, pelvic health and other important sexual health information.

Staffed by knowledgeable student coordinators and sexual health specialists trained to advise students of all backgrounds, the Love Lab also provides counseling, and is able to talk pregnant students through their options and support their needs.

Alyson Kahn, a third-year medicine major and Student Coordinator for the Sexual Wellbeing Team at Health and

Students for Reproductive Freedom Tabling at the Memorial Union. (Benjamin Cheng / Aggie) Promotion, shared Love Lab’s approach to providing abortion counseling and directing students to local services available.

“We do not currently offer abortions in house as SHCS, but in January of 2023, all college health centers in California will be required by law to provide medical abortions, which involves taking two pills,” Kahn said. “A medical abortion is not the same as a surgical abortion, and as of right now we will be referring [pregnant] students, if they want to have an abortion, to the Women’s Clinic at Sutter Health in Davis, or Planned Parenthood in Woodland or Sacramento. For students with the UC Health Insurance SHIP plan, these services will be covered.”

Medication abortions, or self-managed abortions, involve taking two pills, mifepristone and/or misoprostol, and can be done at a doctor’s office or with guidance at home.

Holmes recently led a Students for Reproductive Freedom meeting educating students about self-managed abortions and said that she hopes to spread the truth about these procedures to students who may rely on this option — especially those returning home to red states for the summer.

“Self-managed abortion is available, even when it is illegal,” Holmes said. “You can access the abortion pills online, and it can be delivered to your house. In a lot of places it’s not illegal, and it’s more of a telemedicine thing, but in some states where it would be against the law, it’s pretty accessible if you have the funds, very safe and 95% effective.”

According to Plan C, a site which provides abortion seekers with information about how to obtain abortion pills delivered right to their door, “Abortion pills block pregnancy hormones (mifepristone) and cause cramping and bleeding (misoprostol).

This causes the pregnancy to end and come out of the body. It is like a miscarriage. You can expect a few hours of heavy bleeding and cramping and several days of lighter bleeding.” Websites like Plan C and Hey Jane also offer medical professionals on hand to guide users through the process.

It’s important to note that medication abortions should be performed within the first 11 weeks of a pregnancy, as the procedure is more painful and less effective if used later. The first method of medication abortion, using both mifepristone and misoprostol, is the most common and effective form of medication abortion.

But, because mifeprostone is an abortion pill and requires a prescription to obtain, the first method may not be accessible to those in red states where medication abortions may be restricted or banned should Roe v. Wade is overturned. Thus, another medication abortion method, which involves taking only misoprostol, can be used for those in states where abortion is illegal. Commonly sold as an over-the-counter anti-ulcer drug, misoprostol does not require a prescription, is 85% effective in ending pregnancy and is endorsed by the World Health Organization for those who don’t have access to mifepristone.

While many have negative associations with self-managed abortions, self-managed abortions are incredibly safe, with a less than 1% risk of complications, according to Doctors Without Borders.

While health services like the Love Lab and other organizations remain committed to ensuring students have access to abortion, organizations like Students for Reproductive Freedom aim to fight restrictive laws that will likely be triggered in some states once the formal decision is released from the court sometime in June. In collaboration with organizations like Planned Parenthood and Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity (URGE), student activists are now engaging in lobbying work and direct actions to demand that Congress codify Roe v. Wade into law through the Women’s Health Protection Act. Indira D’Souza, a third-year global disease biology major and co-President of Students for Reproductive Freedom, shared resources for students who want to get involved in fighting for reproductive justice and ensuring access to abortion nationwide.

“People should call their representatives at the national level to tell them to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act,” D’Souza said. “I know that it got voted on and failed recently [...], but continue to keep the pressure on your elected officials. Additionally, donating to abortion funds and local clinics is probably the most immediately impactful thing that you can do that has a tangible difference in the life of someone who needs an abortion.”

UC Davis students should understand that there will continue to be abortion services available in the state and local and national

ELECTION FOR YOLO COUNTY’S NEXT SHERIFF COMING UP Deputy Tommy Hayes challenges current sheriff Tom Lopez

BY RACHEL SHEY city@theaggie.org JACOB SLOAN / AGGIE

Voters in the June 7 primary election in Yolo County will be able to select Yolo County’s next sheriff. Tom Lopez, the current sheriff, is running for re-election, while a current deputy, Tommy Hayes, challenges Lopez. The sheriff’s department patrols the unincorporated portions of Yolo County, according to Lopez, in addition to performing many other important duties.

“We provide patrol just like a police department does, however, our patrol area is the unincorporated area of the county, which means that the folks that live there don’t live in a city,” Lopez said.

Lopez described the sheriff’s department as quite farranging, taking care of many other integral services in Yolo County.

Lopez is not only a sheriff but also the public administrator, which addresses the burial and belongings of people who die without someone to arrange their burials.

“We also have several different divisions that a police department doesn’t have,” Lopez said. “One of those is a detention division; the sheriff has a county jail and we house all inmates in Yolo County. We are in charge of the care and custody of up to 450 inmates. Currently today we have about 280 inmates in our jail.”

Both candidates strongly emphasize the importance of treating people with respect. According to Lopez, his respect for Yolo County citizens comes from his days as a resident deputy, a role which involves policing your own neighborhood.

“My philosophy is that when we come in contact with folks out on the street, everybody should be treated as a neighbor,” Lopez said. “One day you might be helping your neighbor build a fence, and the next day you may have to arrest your neighbor for a crime they may have committed. But the day after that, you’re still neighbors. You need to treat people with dignity and respect.”

Hayes cites the same need to respect those that the deputies deal with, but said that this as a function that the current sheriff’s department has failed to perform. He said he hopes to address this issue if he is elected.

“Starting off, I want to change the dynamics on how it’s run from the management,” Hayes said. “Our management runs it in the old ways of doing things. Policing used to be basically, ‘You’re gonna do this because I have a gun and a badge.’ Nowadays things have changed, now you ask people to do things before you use force or anything like that.”

One of the ways that Hayes hopes to increase transparency between citizens and the sheriff’s department is to create an advisory committee, which would include citizens from several

cities in Yolo County.

“Another thing I want to do is provide a citizen’s advisory board, which will work in direct communication with citizens throughout the whole county,” Hayes said. “There will be select citizens from each area in Yolo County and they can directly have meetings with the sheriff and discuss what they need for their area and what they expect.”

Lopez is currently working on body cameras for deputies, a project which has been underway for two years. Although the sheriff’s department is one of the last departments in the county to obtain body cameras, it was the first to have dash cameras.

“Anyone can go out and buy a camera and put it on their shirt, but there’s a lot of work that goes on in the background, like where do those recordings go, when we get public records request, who’s going to redact the information?” Lopez said. “In this fiscal year, we received the positions that will make the body cameras work, and we are in the process of selecting the body cameras that we are going to be using. By December, we will be up and running with body cameras.”

Hayes also stated that body cameras would be part of the changes that he hopes to instate among the deputies. He was not aware of Lopez’s plan, and cited this as an example of the lack of transparency in the department.

“Our agency is the last agency to have body cameras in the county,” Hayes said. “I know other agencies are looking at newer technology. If our agency is looking at body cameras, it has not been communicated to us, which a lot of information isn’t, since we aren’t very transparent with our own employees let alone our own community.”

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THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022 | 3

YOLO COUNTY HOSTED ‘RETHINK YOUR DRINK DAY’ ON MAY 11 Program encourages people to replace sugary drinks with water

BY SHRADDHA JHINGAN city@theaggie.org In a press release published on April 27, Yolo County announced that Rethink Your Drink Day would be held on May 11. The event was held at various CommuniCare health centers throughout Yolo County.

The press release explains that Rethink Your Drink Day is part of a larger movement across the state of California encouraging people “to ‘refresh better’” by replacing sugary drinks with water. At the event, people had the opportunity to try infused waters for free alongside recipes to create on their own. Attendees were also able to obtain resource guides that can help track how much sugar is in various popular drinks.

Laurel Denyer, the outreach specialist for Yolo County, explained further what the program consists of.

“The Rethink Your Drink program happened [...] in the month of May in California, so it’s a statewide program and it’s done by local public health departments like ourselves where we promote having [...] water instead of sugary beverages,” Denyer said.

Denyer added that in addition to water in place of sugary drinks, the program also promotes healthy eating options such as produce and fruits. “[...] The number one source of added sugar

in American diets is through beverages,” Denyer said. “So, it’s all about two things: water for health reasons – prevent obesity and types of diabetes – as well as tooth decay and cavities.”

According to Healthy Food America, soda composes 65% of the sale of sugary drinks. In Yolo County, in addition to water, an alternative to sugary drinks is the apple juice sold at the Apple-A-Day stand at the Farmer’s Market, whose only ingredient is apples.

Carlene Upton, the manager of the Apple-aDay stand, explained that the product is a staple in Davis, and many people come to try it.

“We’ve been here — I want to say — about 30 years, and it has been popular with the students and the residents of Davis all along,” Upton said. “Even today, a young person came back and said they had it as a kid. They bring their children back. Every time that people have had Apple-a-Day apple juice, they come back.”

Denyer further explained that the event held on May 11 was held in three different CommuniCare health centers across Yolo County: Davis, West Sacramento and Woodland.

“We had free infused water samples, as well as stickers and freebies for kids, as well as recipe cards for the water that we had as well as other recipes people could make, they could try at

home,” Denyer said.

In addition to samples for people to try and other ways people could make their diet healthier, there were also interactive activities.

Denyer explained what the activities consisted of.

“And then we had a wheel that would spin and it lands on different kinds of [sugary] beverages, and we would help them figure out how much sugar was actually in that beverage,” Denyer said. “So that’s what we did on May 11, last week, and there was a KCRA 3 interview as well [...] to promote it.”

For those who are looking for other ways to cut back on sugar, and replace sugary drinks, UC Davis also offers the Healthy Beverage Initiative.

More information can be found on its website.

Denyer explained that in addition to the Rethink Your Drink program on May 11, the team was also at the Aggie Compass Basics Need Fair and among other things was also distributing water.

Such programs help Yolo County residents, as well as the foster community in Yolo County, make healthier choices. This is especially important after more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, where many local businesses struggled.

“It’s been a pleasure trying to stay open in

spite of all the difficulties, but what made it much easier is the fact that our regular customers showed their support by showing up and by generously tipping our employees,” said Sinisa Novakovic, the owner of Mishka’s Café, in a previous interview with The Aggie about the transition to purple tier for local businesses during the pandemic.

Yolo County Supervisor Don Saylor highlighted the importance of retaining community and positivity, which such programs can help to do, especially as a result of the pandemic.

“We are catching sight of the light at the end of the tunnel, but our culture has been forever changed. I see this in the businesses I frequent and hear about it from people in our community and beyond,” Saylor said via email. “In general, prices are higher, personal interactions are different, and our way of navigating the world has shifted. I am hopeful that our resilience, our determination, and our commitment to each other and our community will keep us strong as we persist through this, and any future, challenges.”

CHRISTINA LIU / AGGIE

YOLO COUNTY LAUNCHES TEXTILE RECYCLING PROGRAM Yolo County Central Landfill now accepting fabrics for resale and reprocessing

BY LEVI GOLDSTEIN city@theaggie.org The Yolo County Central Landfill (YCCL) opened a textile recycling program for Yolo County residents, according to a press release on May 9.

Marissa Juhler, the Yolo County landfill operations and waste reduction manager, said that YCCL operates several waste disposal and recycling programs in order to meet Yolo County’s strategic plan sustainability goals and California state law SB 1383 targets for waste reduction, including for electronics, hazardous materials, liquids, soil and even mattresses. “[We’re] running an efficient operation here for our customers so that we’re a one stop shop,” Juhler said. “That’s probably the most important thing is that when folks come out here to the landfill that we have something -- to its highest and best use -- to divert the stuff they’re trying to get rid of.”

Davis Community Meals and Housing (DCMH), a local nonprofit organization that serves individuals experiencing housing

CHRISTINA LIU / AGGIE

insecurity, receives donations of second-hand clothing that they redistribute, according to DCMH Executive Director Bill Pride.

“Living in the streets, you go through clothing pretty fast,” Pride said. “It gets dirty. There’s not a real easy way to wash it. What happens is you end up looking for new stuff quite frequently.”

DCMH won an Environmental Recognition Award for their efforts to reduce food waste. However, they currently do not have a textile recycling program, nor has Pride heard of one existing in the county. The new fabrics recycling program fills a niche that is greatly needed in the community.

“People just tend to overbuy stuff,” Pride said. “You either wear it or don’t wear it, and after a little bit, it gets thrown out.”

Now, Monday through Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Yolo County residents can bring clothing, rags, bedsheets, shoes and sleeping bags to the YCCL textile recycling bin. According to Juhler, the collection is sent to the ICL Thrift Store in Woodland, which sorts the items into what is to be resold in their store and what is to be shipped to facilities in Los Angeles to be reprocessed into area rugs.

The program has certain limitations. Currently, it cannot accept wet fabrics. Juhler said they are still trying to get operations to run as smoothly as possible.

“When things get wet and soiled, they start to mold, and they can contaminate the whole entire bale of clothing,” Juhler said.

“We’re going to have to figure out the staffing to be able to monitor that bin and that area in the public dropoff so that things that need to truly go to landfill go to landfill and that we can still recover as much as possible.”

Residents are encouraged to continue to donate to organizations like DCMH and local thrift stores. Still, the new recycling program is proving to be helpful, with about 4.6 tons of fabric brought to the YCCL since its founding.

“There wasn’t a place to take the stuff that doesn’t have a reusable life,” Juhler said. “Really getting the word out that we have a home for that material now is important.”

This week in Davis

May 14 “Two eight-11-year-old children pushing a merry-goround with hands” May 15 “Black jeep with male hanging out the window” “Ongoing issue with people egging his/her house” May 16 “Cardboard boxes dropped in the middle of the roadway” “Heard only street racing” May 18 “Black ‘90s BMW sedan doing donuts” “Riding his bike past the area and saw a person brandishing and throwing a spear at a tree” May 19 “Yelling and passing around cigarette” “No obvious distress heard, possibly snoring in the background” May 20 “She was singing” “Mattress blocking lane of traffic”

4 | THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

TIPSY ASTROPHYSICS: SUDWERK BREWERY’S ASTRONOMY ON TAP UC Davis students behind Davis’s AoT chapter discuss the organization’s mission and what community members can expect at monthly presentations

Sudwerk Brewing Company in Davis, CA. (Alexa Fontanilla / Aggie)

By MONICA ROBERTS features@theaggie.org Physics majors and astronomy lovers alike are gathering at Sudwerk Brewery Co. every third Thursday of the month for a chance to crack open a cold beer and learn about the stars.

Astronomy on Tap (AoT), an organization founded by Yale researcher Meg Schwamb and astronomer Emily Rice, began hosting events in 2013 in New Haven, CT and has been a boozy staple for astrophysics students ever since.

Since then, AoT has expanded across the country and even to four different continents.

“There is a [astronomy on tap] chapter almost anywhere with an Astronomy department,” Bolan said.

Victoria Strait, a UC Davis alumni and astrophysics researcher, opened Davis’s very own chapter of AoT at Sudwerk Brewery Co in 2018, according to fourth-year UC Davis astrophysics grad students Pratik Gandhi and Patty Bolan.

AoT at Sudwerk grants customers a free astronomy lecture with their beer, but drinking isn’t required. Sudwerk Brewery is an all-ages venue and welcomes curious minds — no matter how young or old — to come and learn about our planet and beyond.

Both Gandhi and Bolan help organize Davis AoT events and introduce guest speakers as MCs. They also keep audiences engaged during event intermissions with a donation-based raffle and free-for-all trivia.

“When you have that age range from kids

to people in their 60s to 70s, it is hard to find that common ground,” Gandhi said. “Sometimes we will have talks that are geared toward understanding everyday phenomena such as phases of the moon, but other talks are going to be [about] Starlink [or other things] that can affect all of us in the future,” Gandhi said.

According to Gandhi and Bolan, the majority of guest speakers at Davis Aot events are associated with the Physics and Astronomy Department at UC Davis.

While the two joked that they have pretty much hosted every UC Davis astronomy and physics professor as speakers, there is no degree requirement to speak at AoT. People of all experience levels are welcome to share their interests in astronomy.

“Typically a lot of the topics are about people’s personal research, but people are allowed to talk about whatever they’re interested in,” Gandhi said. “Often, people [present their research] because it’s the easiest thing to talk about and something they know very well.”

Second-year UC Davis astrophysics grad student Kelsey Glazer said that AoT is a more digestible way for people to learn about astronomy.

“I think that astronomy is meant for everybody,” Glazer said. “We may be stuck in our labs with our heads pointed to the sky, but it’s nothing if we can’t share it with others and get other people excited about it too. [...] That’s really what science is; It’s the sharing of studies and thoughts with other people in whatever setting you can.”

Although the crowd is typically older — Gandhi said that many are usually retirees — not all audience members are experienced in astronomy. Michael Spiegel, a third-year condensed matter physics graduate student, said that he wished more astronomy beginners felt comfortable coming to AoT events, since their goal is to teach the science in a more laid-back and approachable way.

“The thing about astrophysics and astronomy is that it’s super relatable,” Spiegel said. “There are always profound applications of topics like extraterrestrial lives and black holes. It always stays interesting.”

UC Davis undergraduate students have also spoken at AoT events at Sudwerk. Chloe Neufeld, a fourth-year astrophysics major, presented for the first time on April 21 of this year, delivering her research on early galaxies to the crowd.

Neufeld said that the non-formal setting of AoT made her first in-person presentation easier.

“This was a lot of fun because it was less serious and more laid back and I could talk about what made me excited specifically about the field rather than going super deep into the science behind it,” Neufeld said.

Daniel Polin, a fifth-year astrophysics graduate student, added that the unexpected setting brought in a broader crowd that can benefit from the information presented.

Polin’s work heavily focuses on astronomical cameras such as the LSST camera (now called the Rubin Observatory, according to Polin) and Starlink’s impact.

“I want to raise awareness about Starlink and what it’s going to mean for astronomy,” Polin said. “I don’t feel enough people are paying attention to it. I think we are boiling the frog by slowly adding more satellites in the sky and 10 years from now, it’s going to be a pool of lights.

People don’t realize that is happening.”

Ultimately, the students behind Davis’s AoT chapter said that their goal is to provide an opportunity for the Davis community to learn about astronomy in an understandable yet meaningful way.

“With all the anti-science movements and societal attitudes about whether people should trust scientists and if they have a hidden agenda, It’s a way of showing people that there are people doing really cool research, there are people doing really important research, and that it’s something that you can trust,” Gandhi said.

EMILY TRAN DISCUSSES CHOOSING HER MAJOR, FAVORITE COLLEGE MEMORIES, CAREER TRAJECTORY This spring, seniors reflect on their time at UC Davis and share their plans for post-grad

Fourth-year Emily Tran reflects on her time at UC Davis as she prepares to graduate this spring.

(Emily Tran / Courtesy)

By JALAN TEHRANIFAR features@theaggie.org This is the third 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.

Emily Tran, a fourth-year biological sciences major from Alameda, CA, will be saying goodbye to UC Davis at the end of the quarter — but she said that the university will always be a part of her.

Although Tran’s deep-rooted interest in science is what led her to choose biology as a major, she said that her mother’s career played a role in her choice of minor: education.

“I chose education as a minor partially because my mom is a teacher,” Tran said. “I wanted to learn more about what she does and also I had to take a few education classes to become a peer tutor. I had already taken half the courses required for a minor so I thought I might as well take the rest and the classes were super interesting.”

Tran said that she ultimately chose UC Davis after visiting the campus because of the college town environment.

“I actually toured twice before I decided to come here,” Tran said. “I really liked the environment here. Davis is close to home too, so that was a plus.”

During her undergraduate experience, Tran joined clubs and interest groups that mostly involved working with children, including Princess Pals. Club members dress up as princesses and visit children in foster homes, hospitals and shelters who love Disney with the hopes of brightening their days. Tran said that she served as a general member of the club during her first and second years at Davis before serving as the outreach director and eventually president of the club.

“It’s honestly my favorite club because it’s such a fun group of people to be around and you get to do fun activities with kids, which I really like,” Tran said.

Tran is also a part of Project Catalyst, which, she explained, combines her interests in education and science.

“What [Project Catalyst] does is go to the elementary schools around Davis and Woodland and give them science experiments to do,” Tran

said. “We give them a presentation and walk through it with them. We’re just trying to inspire the next generation of scientists and get them interested in the stem fields.”

Tran said that though she chose to major in biology, her interest in science extends to other specializations, including chemistry.

“I’ve been doing research with Dr. Gulacar, who teaches the General Chemistry series,” Tran said. “His research is focused around Chemistry education, which is really fun. I have a couple papers published and we’ve been presenting at conferences too.”

After graduation, Tran hopes to take a gap year to travel and reconnect with friends before attending medical school and possibly specializing in pediatric care.

Her advice for future and current students is to be open to exploration and adventure.

“I feel like I’ve always been a very cautious person and I always hesitate to do things, but I think I’ve learned to be more spontaneous,” Tran said. “Everything always works out and ends up being fun.”

As she prepares to say goodbye to UC Davis, Tran said that she has been recounting the many great memories she has made over the past four years — especially during her freshman year. She said that though she will be leaving in just a few weeks, Davis will still feel like her home.

“I feel very connected to this place now,” Tran said. “After the four years I’ve spent here, I feel like I’ll always have a very strong attachment to this school and this town.”

UC DAVIS PLANS TO HOLD GRADUATION CEREMONIES IN-PERSON FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE BEFORE THE PANDMEIC This year, commencement has been consolidated into three ceremonies

By ANGELINA ANGELO campus@theaggie.org

CHRISTINA LIU / AGGIE

UC Davis will host graduation commencement ceremonies in-person for the first time since 2019. In lieu of holding college-specific graduation ceremonies, there will be three commencement ceremonies for all undergraduates held on June 10, 11 and 12.

“The campus is energized to be holding the first full, in-person commencement season since the pandemic began,” said Julia Ann Easley, a news and media relations specialist for UC Davis.

“Chancellor Gary S. May wanted to change the emphasis to ‘UC Davis’ commencement, instead of college commencement, to put more emphasis on our institution as a whole, as one of the leading public universities in the nation.”

UC Davis announced this consolidation of ceremonies on May 29, 2019, but this year’s ceremonies will be the first to occur in this new format.

“Our students are graduating from ‘UC Davis,’ and we want the world to see them as UC Davis grads,” May stated in the 2019 announcement.

In the past, college-wide ceremonies were held in the University Credit Union Center.

This year, the three commencement ceremonies will be held in the UC Davis Health Stadium.

Each ceremonial date is designated for particular majors, and students can view these assignments online.

One challenge associated with graduation that some students may face is acquiring sufficient tickets for friends and family members, according to Maddelyn Hunt, a fourth-year global disease biology student.

“It is frustrating; my friend from Chico State has more extra tickets than the number of tickets I have,” Hunt said. “I am still waiting on my request for extra tickets.”

This year, each graduate was allotted four tickets, and students were able to request extras via an online portal.

“An update about tickets will be provided this week, and beginning May 31, students will be issued tickets,” Easley said.

With limited ticket options, graduation will be live-streamed for family and friends who cannot attend. After each ceremony, festivities, photo-ops and more will be provided for graduates on Hutchinson Field. Attendance is not limited in this portion, so the whole family can join.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022 | 5

OPINION SUPPORT LOCAL ART IN DAVIS All artists should be compensated for their work and time Whether it is dancing at a concert, reading poetry, perusing a gallery or watching a film, almost everyone can find a way to enjoy and appreciate art. Local art is especially important to celebrate and support. Smaller artists must be celebrated as their work provides unique perspectives, often very different than mainstream art and pop culture.

Throughout the pandemic, we missed opportunities to see live art and music, and as the world returns to normalcy, the Editorial Board is so happy to visit art galleries, markets, museums and music venues once again. With the pandemic being especially hard-hitting on the arts, now more than ever is a time to support local artists and spaces.

Artists should be paid fairly for their work. Some say there’s “an assumption that artists can and should work for free,” which we believe should not be the case. Just like other jobs, artists should be adequately compensated for their time and effort. When attending free galleries, concerts or shows, some artists ask for donations — we strongly encourage everyone to offer this support if feasible. If you cannot purchase their work or donate, showing up to their events, posting on social media or promoting them via word of mouth is also very helpful for growing artists.

If you’re interested in supporting the local art scene, check out the many small venues, galleries, theaters, art markets and more that host frequent events in Davis. The Pence Gallery, John Natsoulas Gallery and The Artery are just a few of the local art galleries we recommend checking out in Downtown Davis. If you want to support student artists, the Basement Gallery is run by undergraduates and features exhibitions of student work. The Varsity Theatre, which is over a century old, features smaller films and offers a more intimate experience than larger chain theaters.

Armadillo Music is locally owned and sells records from many smaller artists.

Local DIY shows are a great way for students to engage with local musicians, many of them students, and also support smaller traveling artists. Turtle House, the well-loved blue house on 2nd Street, hosts semi-regular shows in their basement and on the porch. Their Picnic Day shows featuring a long bill of artists are especially enjoyable. The Domes, a co-op housing community based on the principles of “affordable living and learning,” also host music shows both inside the classic round structures and on the surrounding land.

Lastly, art markets are an enjoyable way to meet local artists and browse through their work. The Davis Craft and Vintage Fair, held at Central Park two Sundays a month, features local vendors, homemade arts and crafts as well as vintage clothing. Additionally, if you are already downtown for the Farmers Market, you can check out the Davis Art Market, which occurs every Saturday on 3rd and B Street. This community-organized market offers a space for local artists to sell paintings, jewelry, stickers, music, clothes, zines and more.

While this list does not include all of the amazing spaces for local artists, it provides some suggestions for where to seek out the local art scene. At The Aggie, we acknowledge the importance of local art, and we strive to ensure our coverage includes smaller artists, bands, art markets as well as DIY venues and galleries in Davis. Through our Couch Concerts, we provide a space for local musicians to share their work and reach new audiences.

Enjoying art is a wonderful way to destress, learn new things, build community and celebrate work created by others. By compensating artists for their work and effort, the local art scene can continue to flourish in Davis and elsewhere. And by attending local art fairs, galleries, music venues and shows, we can help support and promote the work of smaller creators who would likely appreciate it much more than larger, mainstream artists.

WRITTEN BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD

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 KATIE DEBENEDETTI Features Editor ALLIE BAILEY Arts & Culture Editor OMAR NAVARRO Sports Editor MICHELLE WONG Science & Tech Editor KATHLEEN QUINN New Media Manager BENJAMIN CHENG Photo Director KATHERINE FRANKS Design Director JOELLE TAHTA Layout Director ANNE THISELTON-DYER Copy Chief SABINE LLOYD Copy Chief DARSHAN SHIVAKUMAR Website Manager ANTHONY NGUYEN Social Media Manager

THE EDITORIAL BOARD HIGHLIGHTS VALUABLE RESOURCES UC DAVIS STUDENTS Here are some ways for students to receive support and save time and money While being in college isn’t always easy, there are many perks associated with being a student at UC Davis. From unique discounts with certain companies to invaluable on-campus resources, Davis has many often underutilized resources that can save students both time and money. As six of the nine Editorial Board members are graduating this year, these are the resources we wished we knew earlier in our college career: Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center From financial to mental wellness resources, the Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center is one of the most useful organizations for students on campus. It is built and designed specifically to serve students; according to their website, the mission of Aggie Compass is to “ensure that every student has safe, secure housing, access to healthy food, and financial stability, that will help them succeed at UC Davis and in life.”

Their housing resources are valuable for students experiencing any level of housing hardships. The Aggie Compass website provides information on specific student-based programs like its rental assistance program, which offers grant assistance for students who may be struggling to pay rent due to unforeseen circumstances, and contacts and organizations on campus and in the city of Davis that can provide help with broader housing issues. Aggie Compass recently helped an Editorial Board member’s housemate acquire a hotel room when their roommate tested positive for COVID-19 and wasn’t eligible for isolation housing.

Aggie Compass also can direct students to programs aimed at reducing food insecurity that every student can access. For example, the ASUCD Pantry offers free perishable and nonperishable goods, menstrual products and toiletries for all students. It operates within the MU and is open daily. Another program, Fruit and Veggie Up!, distributes fresh fruit and vegetables twice a week that are sourced from local farms. Aggie Compass also can help students fill out applications for CalFresh, a state-run program that offers longterm food assistance.

Peter J. Shields Library Resources The Shields Library is a helpful resource when it comes to academics. Not only can you schedule an appointment with a librarian who specializes in a specific field to help you research for papers and projects, but you can also parse through their preprepared research guides on how to organize your research and utilize library resources. Better yet, there are a number of indoor and outdoor spaces available for those looking to collaborate and talk with others and those looking for quiet study spaces. (There’s a reason Shields was voted Best Study Spot in the Best of Davis this year.)

Shields offers a number of practical resources as well. These include first-come, first-serve private study rooms on the second and fourth floors and a number of rentals from the front desk, including laptop and phone chargers, portable battery packs, white boards and markers, graphing calculators and noise-canceling

JOSHUA GAZZANIGA Distribution Manager JENNA HEATH Marketing Manager JELENA LAPUZ Outreach Director LAURIE PEDERSON Business Development Manager

headphones. It also has computer rooms and workstations as well as printing, copying and scanning for a small fee.

Student discounts Being an Aggie and a student also means getting some pretty sweet discounts. This includes complimentary access to The New York Times using your UC Davis email address, a bundle subscription of $4.99 for Spotify, Hulu (with ads) and Showtime for students and reduced subscription prices on apps like Headspace and free access to Microsoft’s Office 365. Also, students enjoy access to the ARC through student fees and educational pricing and tech support for various products at UC Davis Stores.

Mondavi Center Not only does the Mondavi Center draw performers from around the world, students get half off single ticket prices for all Mondavi Center events, as well as one free ticket for any event presented by the Mondavi Center or the UC Davis Department of Music over the course of their time at UC Davis. Once a quarter, the Mondavi Center also hosts a study session before finals, during which students can prepare for their final exams while listening to classical music.

While this list is not exhaustive, these resources are some of the Editorial Board’s favorites — we encourage you to utilize these as well as others to help save time and money while working hard in school.

WRITTEN BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD

WHAT MAKES A GOOD VIDEO GAME? Depth in gameplay, replayability and community all contribute to making a game great play makes “Elden Ring’s” gameplay rich and complex. opruderman@ucdavis.edu Replayability is another important aspect of depth that can enhance a game. Once you complete “Elden Ring,” you can start a New CHRISTINA LIU / AGGIE Game+, where you carry over your current character and play through the game again with harder bosses. Or you can create an entirely new character with new weapons and spells to tackle the game in a different way. If you get tired of single player, you can try invading other players’ worlds. The replayability of “Elden Ring” is staggering for a game that is mostly single player.

Some extremely popular games, like “League of Legends” and “CS:GO,” push replayability to its maximum potential with the inclusion of multiplayer.

VIDEOGAMES on 9 Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held by The California Aggie.

BY OWEN RUDERMAN

If you’ve been paying attention to the world of video games, you will have heard of “Elden Ring,” an unforgiving open-world role-playing game by Japanese game company FromSoftware.

Despite its popularity (12 million copies sold in just over two weeks and overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics), “Elden Ring” got some backlash from western game developers who couldn’t seem to wrap their heads around its success. These developers complained on Twitter about “Elden Ring’s” lack of traditional user experience and quest design, among other things.

The popularity of “Elden Ring” without these video game staples got me thinking: If it isn’t user experience or quest design that makes a video game “good,” what exactly is it? I’ve played hundreds of video games in my time, spanning

all different genres. After giving it some thought, I’ve managed to extract the one thing that every enjoyable game has — depth. Depth comes in many forms, but to me, the top three that contribute most to a positive game experience are gameplay, replayability and community.

For a game to be enjoyable, the gameplay has to have depth. This means that the player needs to have some way to express themselves through the game or be able to choose how they want to play. “Elden Ring’s” lack of intuitive quest design is outweighed by its incredible amount of gameplay depth. The player is allowed to choose the way they want to build their character and approach battles, and they have the opportunity to explore any part of the map that they want.

The sheer amount of things to do and ways to

HUMOR

STUDENT SWITCHES FROM MAJOR THEY HATE TO MAJOR THEY WILL END UP HATING EVENTUALLY Guys, guys, guys — this is my life’s passion. For real this time

BY ANNABEL MARSHALL almarshall@ucdavis.edu Two people crossed paths in front of the CoHo. From an outsider’s perspective, they had nothing in common, no reason to stop or even glance at each other. Two ships passing in the night.

But soulmates are real, at least for this one time.

Sophia Frances. Art history major. She’s an amateur scorpion breeder, much to her landlord’s delight. She only shaves above the knee. When she types “Grindr,” it autocorrects to “Gryffindor.”

In her apartment, all of the walls are painted

a shade of green she found at the thrift store. The paint probably contains uranium. On her desk, she has a framed photo of J. D. Salinger that she tells everyone is her grandfather from “the war.”

Liam Gallagher, no relation. Biochemistry and molecular biology major. His best attempt at a pick-up line is, “Do you know Italian?” He doesn’t know Italian. His ex-girlfriend just came out as straight again. She thought she was gay, but it turns out it was just him.

In middle school, his claim to fame was that he could vomit on command. Currently, he receives about four texts per week. All of the remaining notifications are from Reddit. When he types Grindr, it autocorrects to Gryffindor.

Lately, Sophia has been mulling over something. She’s been pondering it in the way

only Elliot-Smith-listening, Doc-Martenswearing, Emerson-reading new-age hippies can.

And she’s come to a conclusion: It’s time to switch majors.

Turns out art history isn’t just appreciating the old masters with a reverence that grants inner peace. You also have to memorize an avalanche of names, and the ones that aren’t Ninja Turtles are hard to remember.

And all of her friends are in bands, which is emotionally exhausting. It might sound fun to have friends in bands, but that’s only until you’re being asked to three gigs a week at different janky bars, and someone is always trying to hand you a CD of their latest LP, and you don’t have the heart to tell them that you don’t even have a CD player. Also, it’s not actually the most lucrative

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

CHRISTINA LIU / AGGIE major. Pause for surprise. Now she thinks it’s time for a 180 into everyone’s classic Plan B: pharmaceutical research.

Liam isn’t doing too hot either. He just heard a professor say, “Actually, everything you’ve learned about this up until now was massively oversimplified,” for the fourth time this quarter. .

MAJORS on 9

6 | THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE’S 2022 LITERARY MAGAZINE UNTITLED

BY ANONYMOUS We are not.

The California Aggie accepts submissions from community members and students every year for our Literary Magazine. This year, we asked that submissions relate to our theme “On Power”: finding power, losing power, seeking empowerment or any other interpretation of this theme.

UFS

BY MATRYOSHKA ISHII I always found it rather odd that IT took over a year for my sister to introduce her “best friend”.

She would speak of his greatness, of his love, of his heart, and yet, I never met the man who called himself, “Scottie”.

I remember the summer when I had returned to Davis from the East Coast. I was attending my freshman year of college at Franklin & Marshall College (F&M). I was beyond heartbroken that I had to return to the ugly fuck shit (UFS).

So, I shut myself into small desolate places and dark spaces.

Only on the outside, I had overindulged in food.

I had gained an atrocious amount of weight.

Although, I have always said, “I’m five foot one”.

I am not.

I am, five foot and three-fourths of an inch.

I was always annoyed by that.

Why did I have to hit puberty by the age of 9?!

Why didn’t I get growth hormone shots like my younger sister?

Why oh, why!

Halsey had not yet released her album, “If I can’t have love, I want power”. [Scottie’s favorite album, as he so proudly claimed].

I did not realize until now, that I was never a martyr.

My mom’s partner would always say I acted as such.

That also annoyed me.

Who was she to say I was a martyr?

Who was she to silence my trauma because I was no longer six years old?

I was ten years old when she was first introduced into my life.

Four years out of the orphanage, and I could not express my trauma.

Beyond damaged, I found solitude in silence.

I escaped into isolation.

At least, she was claustrophobic.

How weird.

I didn’t even have a face to put his name to.

Who was this, “Scottie”?

Why did my sister keep telling me that I would love him, that he would help me?

My sister recognized my pattern of shrinking into dark spaces.

She didn’t want to lose me again.

I had broken her heart.

I had shattered our mother’s love.

Who was this “Scottie” who had repaired my sister’s heart?

Maybe, Just maybe, he could repair me.

I fought hard to not shrink.

I wanted to be strong.

I wanted my mother and my sisters to know that I could survive leaving our home.

I found myself wandering into darker and darker spaces.

Spaces only my mind wandered to.

Why did it take over a year for my sister to mention his existence? One summer, the summer after I returned, I peeked outside my apartment window, and caught a glimpse of “Scottie”.

I lived downstairs.

My sister lived in the apartment upstairs from mine.

She had caught me peering through my window, and texted, “I see you, why are you acting weird?

Just stay in your apartment”.

My sister and “Scottie” were walking back to her apartment.

I was not strong.

I was fighting every ounce of my mind.

I wanted to live.

I knew I needed to die.

I am not a cat to be called upon, when I’m walking home to school, home to work, home to anywhere, even to the seven eleven right around the corner. My sisters are not bodies for you to grab, at the grocery store where one works, or at the shopping mall where the other is trying simply to walk to her car. My best friend is not a piece of candy to be picked out by a man much too old, much too interested in her cute concert top. She is not yours to call sweet or yours to ask to come home with you. We are not objects, for you to follow, to stare at, to yell at, to claim as your property, to touch us in places we don’t want to be touched. We are not yours. We are not yours. We are not yours. I will repeat it until you know.

Get your hands off me. Drive me home now. We are not doing this anymore, you don’t get to make me feel bad for not wanting to do this right now, I don’t care that you bought me dinner. Buying a women dinner does not mean you automatically get to fuck her. You don’t get to decide for me. For us. Because we are not yours. We are not yours. We are not yours.

UNTITLED

BY SONORA SLATER Pretty much everything I know about life, I learned from one of three places: Phineas and Ferb, Mythbusters, or my dad’s Bible stories.

Phineas and Ferb covered the bee life cycle, what our pets do when we’re not at home, and aglets.

Mythbusters covered what to do when you can’t sleep, how to survive alone on an island with nothing but duct tape, and the best ways to break out of jail.

My dad’s Bible stories covered hope, love, and power. (and what is adult life if not experiencing love and knowing what an aglet is?)

To be fair, these lessons might not have clicked right away. Like, if you asked me what “power” meant when I was six, I would probably say that it was the ability to eat cake whenever you wanted. (having eaten cake out of a tupperware with a fork last night at approximately midnight, can confirm it’s great) But when I was six, my favorite Bible story was ‘Daniel in the lion’s den’ — as evidenced by extensive crayon marks on the page — and even if it was just because I liked cats and therefore loved the entire concept of lions, kids are pretty smart sometimes, and I think I was onto something.

(I teach kids ballet, and last week one of them came up to me and told me, “I’ve been tired, like, since I was BORN.” So yeah, I’d say kids have a better understanding of the world than we give them credit for) In ‘Daniel in the lion’s den,’ some men become jealous of Daniel for being the king’s favorite, and so, knowing that Daniel prays to God, they convince the king to sign an official proclamation saying that anyone who prays to someone other than the king for the next month will be thrown into a pit of hungry lions.

Daniel continues to pray to God despite knowing the risks, so the king apologetically tells him that the proclamation must be carried out, and Daniel is thrown into a pit of lions. However, an angel comes to close the mouths of the lions, and Daniel remains unharmed throughout the night.

Daniel had faith enough that he chose to continue praying to the God he believed in — and because of this decision, he was thrown alone into a pit to be eaten, cast down into weakness. But there, his strength was revealed, and he was saved.

How horrific to think like that.

How fucking dark.

This isn’t to say that power is inactive, that it’s always submissive, that it simply waits for danger to overtake it rather than fighting back. What Daniel did was defiant. He knew the law and yet he chose to continue doing what he believed was right.

I compared myself to the likes of Harry Potter.

I never really got into the movies.

Who was I to shrink?

I was the one who had gained so much weight.

What it does say is that in times of weakness, strength is often found — and sometimes it is found in accepting your insufficiency, and having faith in the sufficiency of another.

My mother used to read the books out loud to my sisters and me. And then she got married.

In 6th grade, while seated at the dining room table, My mother’s partner mentioned my weight.

She claimed I was developing a stomach.

I weighed at most 110 lbs.

And at least 105 lbs.

I became self-conscious.

(I dunno maybe you can fight a family of hungry lions successfully but personally I trip over the laundry room door every single week, so we can just make this about my personal insufficiency if that’s easier)

I had hit puberty by the age of nine.

Damn.

Now, I must be fat.

When I see friends getting COVID, there is physical weakness, and fear, and loneliness among the sick, and there is strength in others filling in the gaps of their insufficiencies by caring for them.

Her voice no longer read books.

I no longer saw colors in her words.

I was hurt.

I loved seeing her words turn into colors.

Colors I could create from.

Colors that made sense to me.

Instead, I escaped into silence and dark small places.

I put away my “foolish” behavior.

My need to hear my mother’s words.

I clung onto my childhood memories.

I was given an ultimatum by my mother’s partner.

Either pay for my education or come back to Davis. Consequently, I chose to come back.

I knew I would shrink myself back into the silent dark Alice, who found peace in small dark spaces.

The Alice who no longer could use her ears to see colors. The Alice who was just the martyr.

The problem child.

No. wait!

She must be the middle child.

She acts just like one.

And yet, I was the middle child.

I shrunk myself into their image of me.

I shrunk myself so I could be ignored.

I clung onto my mother’s voice until I shrunk myself more.

I ate and ate.

My mom always loved to cook.

I figured I’d find her love in food.

I weighed one-hundred-and-forty pounds, when I agreed to return to Davis.

I knew my mother would see-through my weight.

I worked hard to lose the weight as fast as I could.

I fought every day to not overindulge.

I had nowhere to hide.

I was 140 lbs.

I was unhappy.

And my mother’s love was shattered, and my sister’s heart was broken.

And I was told that it was my fault.

I fought the urge to lose myself.

I found it odd, that after a year of not seeing my mother and my sister; I was blamed.

I found it even more strange that my sister hadn’t told me about her so-called best friend. She spoke so highly of him.

Fortunately, YouTube existed.

I obsessed over my weight by the time I was 12 years old. I never looked at myself in the mirror.

I was ugly.

Right?

I must be ugly!

At least I had the iPad. The iPad my sisters and I would sneak to each other every night. I watched weight loss videos.

I didn’t sleep at night.

I was bad at completing assignments.

Fuck!

I forgot I had actual homework to do.

I need out of this town.

I need to find myself.

I can’t even look in a mirror.

I don’t even see myself through reflections.

Damn.

My brain is bleak.

No. Wait.

It’s not bleak.

Within the suffering happening because of the war in Eastern Europe, there is weakness, and darkness, and there is strength in communities coming together and supplementing each others’ insufficiencies of food, of clothing, of housing, of finances, and of hope.

There is power in recognizing that we cannot do something on our own and believing that we don’t have to. For those in Eastern Europe, their communities are walking alongside them, and for Daniel, God was walking alongside him, protecting him from a danger he was otherwise powerless against.

When I am weak, then I am strong.

When I let go of control, then I have power. I eat cake sometimes at ungodly hours of the night.

And I know that I will fall short, I will fail, I will be and am insufficient, but there is someone who is sufficient, and they are my strength.

UNTITLED

BY AUBREY NGUYEN People always say there is power in numbers.

Nine is for speak your mind Eight is for control and create Seven is for ask questions Six is for be brave and take risks Five is for strength, confidence, and drive Four is for fight for more Three is for the power is me Two is for the power is you One is for we are the power, the journey has begun.

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

It’s turning into darker and darker shades.

I can’t even get out of the dark.

Maybe if I learned to sleep…

Fuck!

I have assignments to complete.

My mom’s partner will cut my hair again. I hate school.

Everyone taunts me.

They call me gay.

They call me ugly.

They laugh at my hair cut.

They don’t even know my name.

Why did I have to feel triggered?

Hair is just hair.

Right?

Damn.

I have homework to do.

Fuck!

It’s 4 am.

I hate myself.

Fuck, I really hate myself.

Who am I to complain...?

Didn’t I get adopted at the age of 6?

Why should I protest about my life?

I’m not in an orphanage anymore.

I don’t have to dream for a life filled with art.

I have access to all the arts now.

Right?

Fuck, It’s 5 am.

Everyone will start waking up by 6 am.

I haven’t slept.

Shit, Did I just get my period again?

Did I forget that I’m 12 and bleeding?

Fuck, I must get ready for school.

I must make sure my mom doesn’t see the bags under my eyes.

Fuck, this is embarrassing.

There’s blood on my sheets.

Blood on my clothes.

I don’t love myself.

I just keep bleeding.

Who am I to complain?

Aren’t I just a martyr?

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022 | 7

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE’S 2022 LITERARY MAGAZINE ON POWER ELEPHANTS DON’T EAT PEANUTS

BY YARELY It was hot. Oven-like heat spewed out of the sky, the air, the clay soil and everything and anything that Tulip squinted at. There was no reason to squint really, but to Tulip everything around her deserved to be peered at. Everything was flawed. Afterall, she was thirteen. It was Tulip against the world.

She kicked at the soil with the tip of her shoe, painting it a rusty, copper color. It was a slow day today. Traffic across Interstate 10 was the same as usual, but the curious travellers who made an abrupt stop to pull onto The Ten’s Zoo dirt lot, blocking traffic (but only “momentarily”, they reasoned) and ensuing a series of causal, “Move over!”s and “Idiot!”s, were relatively few. But to Tulip, the tourists were always the same. The same goggle-eyed, tanktop-wearing, sunglasses-loving (but only on vacation!) people with slobbering, dehydrated children who always needed to use the outhouse, which, reminded Tulip, has not been cleaned since the day they bought it.

Even when a new car, a rickety, teetering, van she had never seen before rolled into the lot, she knew the people would never be any different.

“Settle down, Billy, settle down,” Tulip heard the father say as he stepped out of the vehicle.

“But I want to see the elephants daddy, I wanna see them.”

“You won’t get your elephants if you don’t settle down and lemme tie this harness on you.”

“But I don’t want my leesshh daddy, I wanna see the elephants.”

“It’s leash Billy. Now settle down or we’re not going anywhere. Sandra, wake up.” Sandra was the wife. She groggily opened her eyes and stared at the small-shack-of-a-zoo in front of her.

“Is this a prison?”

“No mommy we’re going to see the elephants. They were on the big sign. Didn’t you see it? The big sign?”

Sandra blinked and turned around towards the fading THE TEN ZOO sign. Only the trunk and an ear were left of the elephant. “Oh.” The family stepped out of the van and started to make their way to the entrance of the zoo. Billy pulled and tugged at the leash. Tulip’s name rang across the field of rocks and dirt. “I’m going, I’m going,” she muttered, kicking at the barren ground. She wouldn’t have been involved in the “family” business if she had a choice. Or, at least, chose to see the consequences of such other choice. But she didn’t wish to see. No, she just couldn’t do it. So she had no choice.

“The family depends on it, Tulip,” her father had started after she had once chased off a family of visitors like an angry goose, flapping her arms wildly. “Your family depends on it. The money we earn barely, but most thankfully, covers our food and rent. More than my old job. You know that.

Once we have enough money from this stint, we’ll be able to move away, into whatever house you want, think about that, and resell these animals into larger zoos, large like the one we visited in New York, and ranches, where they’ll run free with ample grass and wide plains. I’ll promise you that. We only have to work together. Okay, Tuly?” But her family depended on it. And that settled it.

At the entrance, leaning on the badly splintered sides of the gate as her father had taught her, she lamely greeted the guests.

“Hello and welcome to Ten’s Zoo. We’re a roadside zoo attraction aimed to ease the mindnumbing roads of your travels. We have a variety of well-cared and well-trained animals like horses, sheep, chickens, and elephants, for your amusement. Follow me to the horse stable…”

They followed, eyes jumping all over the zoo as they entered. It was a small zoo. Or, at least, as Tulip first protested when her parents bought the land, a small quarter of rocks and dirt and snakes and highway.

“You can’t buy animals here,” she had cried, covering the page-long advertisement with her large, growing hands. If she couldn’t see it, it wasn’t there anymore. Out of sight out of mind. “There’s no space for any animals. Barely any space for us. They’ll be miserable. You know that. Don’t you?”

“Tuly…” her mother had reassured. “You know we need this work. And this property gives us the opportunity to do so.” Oh, how she hated that name, Tulip thought now. It was only two syllables, her name was, so why couldn’t she just say her name? And her mother’s voice, soft like cotton but stubborn and unyielding like those thorny tumbleweeds. The hypocrisy! She couldn’t stand it. But she couldn’t say anything either. Who would hear her? Nobody.

So they bought the land. Moved southwest. She left her friends and left her enemies, who both poked fun at her abnormally large hands and feet. But she never said anything. She couldn’t. Maybe they were right. She didn’t miss them too much though. They were lousy, fake, just like everyone else around her. Or at least, she reminded herself of this when she sat drawing faces and animals with a stick in the hot dirt. Though they always seemed to glare at her. Everything now always did.

Her parents did what they could in building makeshift pens and stables out of planks and bent nails for the new animals, but when the roof of the chicken coop, which was really, in her eyes, a shallow sandbox with tangled wire mesh, collapsed onto the chickens and crushed their eggs, they had to hire some “professionals”. But this didn’t work out well either. Her dad had underpaid them severely.

Now, as she showcased Morris’ stable to the tourists, she could still see the crude work. Low roof for an Arabian, the box too narrow to comfortably turn around and stretch. Shabby stable doors.

Poor lightning.

“This is Morris. We got him when he was just over a foal. He’s three years now. He’s an Arabian horse. They’re really quite strong and calm compared to other breeds. They’re valued for their stamina, and can run up to 40 miles per hour, if you let them reach their fullest potential.”

“What type of horse is he?” Billy and his father were both gawking at Morris, transported somewhere else. Morris only stared back. Tulip always wondered what they could see through those horizontal silts. What they could think. Did he think as she did when she wandered along each animal pen, gazing at those shabby walls, the pile of fecal matter overrunning each corner, those eyes? How she averted those eyes! She hoped they could not. She hoped they were dumb and ignorant and stupid. For their sake.

Thinking herself quick thinking, Sandra positioned herself afar to snap a photo of this perfect bonding moment of her two “boys”.

“What type of horse is he?” Billy’s father repeated, not turning around.

“He’s an–” Tulip suddenly found herself furious. “He’s brown, that’s what he is.”

After a long stretch of staring and posing, Tulip urged them to the next pen. She couldn’t seem to withstand them much longer. Her head swam. Her cheeks burned. She suddenly felt her feet and hands grow larger.

“Here are the chickens, with two white bantams. These chickens are actually omnivorous, and sometimes like to eat the wild lizards that roam around here.” Click, click, click, went Sandra’s camera. The chickens poked their heads curiously under the lopsided roof. Billy poked his sticky, dirt-caked (at least Tulip hoped it was dirt) fingers through the wire mesh.

“Come here, chicky chicky! Oh, daddy look at the white one! That white one! Chicky, chicky come here!” The chickens scampered to meet the hands of the boy. They pecked his fingers and titled their heads. Food, food! Food, food? The thought of such thinking made the parents laugh, roar even. Deceived, tricked. Made more pitiful and lousy than before, she thought. Like animals, they’re treated. Just like animals. And was she any better? What did she do. Nothing.

“Here Billy,” Sandra said sweetly. “Would you like to give the chickies some bread? I’ll tear some bread from my sandwich.” Sandra tore off chunks of her bread crust but Billy eagerly swiped the entire sandwich from her hands.

“Here chicky chicky! I have a tasty snack chickies!”

Tulip raised her hands. “Stop, don’t feed the chickens. They’ve already been fed, please just leave them alone.”

But Billy was faster. He unlatched the wire door and hurled the sandwich into the coop. They scrambled, then brawled beak against beak over the bread. Squawks and shrills rang from the cramped coop, almost shrieks. A storm of orange, black, and white feathers flurried inside. Blood spilled, dust and dirt was kicked into the air. It suddenly smelled strong of bird feces. “Stop! I told you to stop! Why didn’t you listen to me? Why didn’t you–” Now the parents were laughing even harder.

“Look at them go!” Their round bellies moved up and down, up and down. A deep haw haw haw. Haw haw haw.

Billy was now crying. “Mommy, I want to see the elephants now. I want to see the elephants. I don’t want to be here. Mommy!”

“Okay baby,” Sandra stopped. “We’re going to see the elephants now.” Sandra motioned at her husband. Billy’s father abruptly turned to Tulip. “Er- my son would like to see the elephants now miss.” Only she couldn’t move. She could only stare at the hurricane of feathers before her. Of the red soil beneath her tattered shoes. Her feet were tight. Of the mechanical sun above her. Tick-tock, it went. Tick-tock. Why couldn’t she be back in New York? Why couldn’t she do enough to stop her parents from founding this? Why couldn’t she do anything? Her ears ringed. Haw haw haw. It was so hot.

“Okay, I’ll take you to Amandla.” The chickens had finally devoured their meal. As Tulip led the tourists away, the chickens pecked at the ground pathetically for crumbs.

It was merely a box, a little wider than Morris’ but not by much. The roof, thatched with old planks and dried palm leaves, covered more than half of the pen. Hard-packed rey soil laid at the bottom, leaving Tulip to often wonder how Amandla could stand on such ground for so long until she picked one of Amandla’s feet while bathing her and noted the sharp blisters. During sweltering days and windy nights, the pungent smell of feces would waft through the windows, through the vents, and then through the rooms of their home. It did not seem to bother anyone anymore though. She always avoided Amandla’s pen. Not Amandla specifically, but her enclosure, her pen, her cage she always wanted to say.

But she couldn’t. Something would always happen when she would try to say these words. Her heart would sting, her throat would clog, her knees would buckle, her hands would shake. So she stuck to safer words. They weren’t outright lies but they were comforting. And in saying them she almost believed them. Almost.

“So where do you live?” her classmate had asked her at Tulip’s new school. Her classmate then proceeded to give her whole address.

“Oh wow, that’s kind of far isn’t it?” Though Tulip had no sense of geography of her new home-

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE state. But she didn’t want to let down her new friend by being ignorant. She hated ignorant people.

“I’ve seen your home on the maps and stuff, and it’s pretty far.” she continued. “Though, I live near interstate 10. On a zoo.”

Her classmate’s eyes grew. “A zoo? You mean like a petting zoo? My mom tells me they’re sad all the time, sleeping all day and searching for food. She works at one, but I also know that there are good zoos as well, that rescue injured animals and free them into the wild. What type of zoo?”

“A rehabilitation zoo. Well-cared for animals. They’ll be released soon. Not like a stint or anything like those roadside attractions you know.” A rehabilitation zoo. It had almost sounded true.

But she knew then it had yet to be proven false. Yet. Amandla was watching the tourists carefully. She was a juvenile, and relatively small in size compared to other juveniles of her species. She was always shy of strangers, choosing to stand in the darkest corner of her enclosure and emit a low rumble, a low trumpet noise. She did not flare her ears in aggression or widen her eyes in fear as other elephants did in books. When Tulip’s father had bought her and placed her into her pen, she reached for his arm to latch onto. Her trunk had squeezed his arm, only slightly, as he would often explain again to Tulip, for he was quite fond of Amandla and would often recall those small, warm memories to dissuade the equally persistent, heart wrenching memory of Amandla’s cost.

Though, they have never taken her out of her enclosure since she was bought. It was almost as if she feared sunlight, preferring the dark veils of shadows and the damp, matted straw. She cowered away from anyone other than Tulip and her father. She was calm and pensive, and Tulip sometimes found herself lost in her deep, sad eyes. Like wells, they went down down down, into a honey pit of flitting memories of her mother, her grandmothers, the towering trees, the rain, the golden fields, the sparkling river, the warm sun. Amandla had also delved into the turbulent eyes of Tulip when Tulip had first spent the night with her, shivering in the cold. But Amandla would never share what she saw with the others. Only hope.

“I just have a few visitors Amandla, is that okay?” She did not move. “Okay, I’ll let them come near you now.” Billy dashed to the side of the enclosure and rapped loudly on the fence. “Elephant, come here. Come here AmanDUH, come here. I have peanuts, just for you AmanDUH.” She let out a low rumble and then was silent.

“Elephant, come here!”

“Billy,” his father warned. “You have to be patient. Maybe the elephant doesn’t want to come out right now.”

“But Daddy we came here to see the elephants. And it’s not coming out Daddy, it’s not.”

“Well maybe toss in some peanuts Baby,” his mother said. “Elephants eat peanuts. They rather like them.”

“Elephants don’t eat peanuts,” Tulip said. “At least wild ones don’t. Maybe only in circuses.

Just listen for once, please. You don’t want to aggravate her, since she’s very shy and doesn’t like the company of too many people.”

“Well, but it’s your motto isn’t it? Like the symbol of your quaint little farm here? Shouldn’t she have more attention?”

Tulip shook her head defiantly. “Not my zoo. My parents’. My familys’. It’s how they make their living, but it’s now what I want to do. Not what I chose to do. I don’t really have a choice though.

It covers the food and the house though, according to my father. But she, she shouldn’t be here. No animal should, and it almost drives me insane.” She felt herself growing taller, her shadow extending up and up.

“Dumb elephant,” Billy snapped. “Dumb elephant, take the peanut.” He threw a handful of peanuts towards Amandla, who backed away fearfully against the end of her pen. She trumpeted loudly.

Tulip reached for his hand. “Stop, you’re scaring her.”

“Alright Billy, that’s enough,” his father said, taking his son’s hand.

“Noo Daddy, I have to see her. She won’t come out. Come out AmanDUH. Come out, I have some peanuts!” He wriggled from his father’s grasp and continued to toss handfuls of peanuts at Amandla. Now she was bellowing. But not in aggression or anger. But distress.

“Stop! Elephants don’t eat peanuts! She doesn’t see it as food, she sees it as a threat! She wants to leave but she can’t! That’s why she continues to back up against her pen! But it’s too small, everything is too small!”

Sandra and Billy’s father scrambled to control their son, who was now thrashing and flinging the peanuts wildly.

“I want to see the elephant! I want to see the elephant!”

“Now Billy…”

“Sandra hold the goddamn kid, goddamit!”

“I wanna see it, I just wanna see it!”

A peanut notched the end of Amandla’s eye. She bellowed and shook her head, her tail now erect.

Billy was flailing and kicking.

“Lemme see it, I wanna see it!”

A trumpet, a bellow, a cry. Tulip’s feet were unmoved. She could hear her parents calling her from a long distance, and could almost picture their weary faces. They were getting old now.

Wrinkles and furrows in their brows. Those troubled, adult eyes. Like marbles. Another bellow.

Amandla was in pain. She wanted to get out. How could they? They treat them like animals. Just like animals. But they’re more than that, she thought. I’m more than that. The sun was still blazing mercilessly above. Everything and anything almost seemed to be in a mirage. Tick-tock, Ticktock, went the sun. She could hear running footsteps now. And panting. Her heart was thumping, throbbing as the wind whistled past her ears. First Morris. The latch went clink. And Morris did not jump or run but glided among the dirt, the weeds, the wide plains he would ultimately reach. Then the chickens. Clink, clink. They didn’t fly but bounded, among the stars, the moon, where there’s no need for a coop. Then the sheeps and the goats. Clink, clink. They didn’t jump but galloped among the mountains, through the streams, over the caverns.

And then she found herself back to Amandla. It was only Tulip and Amandla. The thrashing, the whining, the pleading shouts, the yells, did not seem to touch them. Time swayed. The air was stagnant. The sun’s savage breath was brutal. Then, Clink. Amandla was free. And, like the others, she did not run, jump, or fly. She soared, and Tulip could feel her taking through the golden fields, the rain, the sparkling river. But mostly she tasted these things. The sweet, youthful taste of rebellion.

8 | THURSDAY, MAY 26, 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 05/19/22

reduce. reuse. recycle.

The aggie CROSSWORD Answer to previous puzzle 05/19/22

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

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022 | 9

ROERALLY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 At approximately 12:30 p.m., the organizers thanked everyone for coming out as they ended the rally. Some people in the crowd chanted, stating they wanted to march downtown next.

Cho, a molecular and cell biology major from UC Berkeley, who did not provide their last name, joined their friend Cassandra at the rally.

They are very active in their local community and try to stay politically active, so they proudly attended the rally with their friend. Cho said

what they would tell a student who is pro-life.

“I’d encourage people to take a pause,” Cho said. “It’s really easy for us when we have our ideology [to] really hold to it and not be open to listening to anything else. Really take a pause and realize what that means for you and what does it mean to have control over somebody’s entire life and somebody’s entire choices with their body.

Take a deep breath and listen to what people are saying.”

VIDEOGAMES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 The play area and goals never shift in these games, but the unpredictability of human opponents always keeps it interesting.

The last aspect of depth that makes a good game to me is community. “Super Mario 64” was released in 1996, and yet its speedrunning community is still going strong to this day. I’m willing to bet that if the speedrunning community didn’t exist, “Super Mario 64” would have faded into obscurity long ago. The community and the competition gives people a reason to play, keeping the playerbase alive. For a game to be successful, it needs to foster an engaging community. “Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim,” released in 2011, is another

example of a game with a lively community. The modification support that was implemented makes the amount of community content nearly endless, thereby keeping it interesting and adding to the overall depth of the game.

It turns out that to me, it isn’t just user experience and quest design that is important.

It isn’t even graphics or animation. What’s important is that a video game has depth to it in the form of gameplay, replayability and community. Next time you’re wondering why the game you’re playing is boring, ask yourself: does this game have depth?

MAJORS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 It has been weeks since he’s made eye contact with someone who didn’t look like they wanted to set their backpack on fire.

He buys four cartons of ice cream in different flavors to prepare for the aftermath of a conversation he’d been dreading for nine months.

He is telling his parents that he is dropping out of biochem to pursue a graduate program in museum studies, the first step in which was majoring in art history. In fact, he is on his way home to call them up.

He doesn’t even register Sophia as she passes, flouncing in a skirt that was forty dollars more than the retail price because it was from a vintage store in Portland. She doesn’t bother to look at

him, his lab goggles still imprinted on his face, running on forty minutes of sleep.

In this moment, they are perfect.

And they are oblivious. They have no idea of the harmony of their souls, that they vibrate at the same wavelength. They have no idea that exactly one year later, they will be in exactly the same place, walking the same way. Liam will be wearing Teva sandals and sipping an oat milk latte. He will have spent half of his paycheck on oat milk. Sophia will be clutching an unfinished pre-lab and will be texting her friends to say, no, she can’t make it tonight. Or any other night.

They will be exactly as happy as they were a year ago.

EVERYTHINGEVERYWHERE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 Given Evelyn’s proclivity of hurting the people closest to her, it comes as no surprise when the villain is revealed to be Joy or, at least, another version of Joy. Alpha Waymond teaches Evelyn to “verse jump” to help her acquire necessary combat skills from other versions of herself to defeat Jobu Tupaki. He informs her that the jump into different multiverses can only be achieved if she acts in improbable and illogical ways — she later proves to be quite adept at this, as she snorts houseflies and even pees herself during her confrontations with Jobu Tupaki and her henchmen.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” seems to have fun playing around with the concept of infinite possibilities existing through a multiverse, as this is where the elements of absurdism, sci-fi, fantasy and even pop culture references intersect; for instance, Evelyn travels to one universe where she is a chef and her coworker is controlled by a raccoon, because she confuses “Ratatouille” for “Raccacoonie.” There are other universes in which Evelyn and Joy fight as two-dimensional scribbles, glutinous blobs, styrofoam puppets and even rocks with googly eyes — truly, these artistic decisions reflect the limitless possibilities of storytelling in itself.

The film’s multiverse exists between the boundlessness of imagination and liminal spaces, and suggests that even though people might appear to live in stasis, as Evelyn does with her failing laundromat business, there is that much more room for their unfulfilled potential — they’re presented with bottomless possibilities

of who they could be. Alpha Waymond relays this wholesome message to Evelyn, who at first doubts her ability with a comedic twist: “Every rejection, every disappointment has prepared you for this moment. You’re the worst Evelyn, but that’s why you’re the key to saving reality.”

The culmination of all of these different elements produce a pandemonium, making the film’s overall message a little difficult to follow, although I wonder if this was a deliberate artistic choice as well — perhaps the directors, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, had intended for the audience to find their own meaning within the chaos of this film, as the characters do in its closing scenes.

In Joy and Evelyn’s last confrontation, they have exhausted themselves from fighting, and Joy has been reduced to her original self, although the effects of Jobu Tupaki’s influence still linger within her. She is left with the nihilistic belief that nothing matters, because the universe is so large and humans are such an insignificant part of it, but Evelyn counters: “Since nothing matters, the only thing that can matter is the choice you make.”

Within their last confrontation, the two also nod to the possibility of leaving the movie’s interpretation in their audience’s hands. Joy laments, “Here, all we get are a few specks of time where anything actually makes sense,” to which Evelyn then replies, “Then I will cherish those few specks of time,” emphasizing the importance of choosing to find value in the present moment and redefining what it means to be human.

FILMFEST CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 This impromptu gathering after such a long period of virtual meetings and anxiety around social gatherings reminded me of just how much we were missing out on and how crucial the arts are as a facilitator of our culture. The coordinators of the event acknowledged this and described

the UC Davis Film Fest as “a vibrant supporter of voices that do not often get the chance to be heard” — which is just about as accurate of a description of the festival’s significance as anyone can give.

DECENTACTION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 Soon enough, the band was offered their first gig at an Eclectic Collective, a “community space for the artists and musicians and tree climbers/ huggers and silly little people everywhere,” as stated in their Instagram (@eclecticcollective_) bio, during Winter quarter in Davis. They had two weeks to figure out their band dynamic, songs to play, and of course, a band name. The genesis of the band, like its name, was sporadic and accidental — but for them, it works, and the Davis music community sure appreciates their recent involvement.

“It was one of those things where, at the beginning of fall quarter, you just say yes to everything and then see what sticks. And this was one of them,” said Koide, a fourth-year design and political science double major.

“Decent action stuck,” Eng added.

Playing gigs all over Davis, Decent Action has been far from decent. This small town’s music scene has become a hot spot for both up-andcoming and acclaimed bands from around the area, and Decent Action has played a prominent role in this legacy.

“It’s crazy to be on the other side of [the music] where we’re able to see all these really crazy creative people putting this together, it’s so cool,” Eng said. “There’s a lot of energy to the Davis music scene, and we’re really lucky to have that.”

Having played shows over three consecutive weekends, starting with their performance on Picnic Day, followed by the ASUCD Entertainment Council Local Limelight show and finally Whole Earth Festival, Decent Action has made their mark in the Davis music community. Practicing nonstop while having nonstop fun, their passion for music makes the commitment (compared to the equivalent of 25 units at UC Davis, according to Eng) fun and worth it.

“It’s not a chore,” said Sadler, a third-year religious studies and history double major.

They’re not only bandmates, but now, also close friends jamming together.

“Most of our practices are really just us hanging out,” added third-year design major Mitra.

When asked about what their creative process looks like, they responded “dynamic” and as an “open environment,” where anything and everything is accepted and respected without judgment.

Writing and performing songs that they have written either together or from years prior to the band forming is considered an emotional and personal process. Sadler explained how although it is strange to express those deep parts of herself while performing her songs, it is also exciting to see the audience enjoy that intimate side of her.

Considering the growth from their first performance to their most recent at Whole Earth Festival, Mitra said, “I feel like we’re all at a point where we could just have fun on stage and not really care about how we look or making a mistake. If anything, that makes it more fun.”

“I also think it’s important that people know we don’t always know what we’re doing,” Eng said. “We’re kind of just bouncing things off of each other and it kind of just falls into place.”

Along with their playful energy in and out of the music environment, their sound as a band is not just one thing, but a “million things,” Sadler said. With influences from rock to experimental to late 80s industrial punk, this relatively new band is still figuring out a concrete sound to stick to; as of now, they’re just drawing influences from their shared interests.

From their song “Maneteen” which makes Eng feel like she’s “underwater” with its simplistic Kurt Cobain-esque lyrics and beachy vibe, to “Not a Girl Band” which gets the crowd

moshing, it is fun to see how the audience reacts to each song, the band explained.

“Not a Girl Band,” written by Mitra, they revealed, is about a worm. They explained that the thought behind this idea was a little earworm constantly telling you what you are, something you can’t get out of your head.

As a non masculine-dominated band in a predominantly male industry, this song reacts to that evident issue in the industry by directly responding that they are not just a girl band.

“We just have this expectation that we’re supposed to prove ourselves that we can play just as good as any other boy band,” Mitra said. “But we’re not playing to prove ourselves, we know that we can play well, and we do. We just play because we want to, not to show that we can do this too.”

Decent Action pours their heart and soul into their music, and this far into their journey,

“it feels like we’ve played like 400 years at this point, in the best way possible,” Sadler said.

Not knowing that jamming at a Halloween party would lead to “having a song that we made stuck in my head,” Eng said, “that’s a crazy sentence to say.” This speaks to their evolution as not only a band but as friends too.

Busy with constant shows, they hope to practice more and write songs together over the summer, and eventually record some songs and put out an EP. After the Couch Concert, Decent Action will be playing at the next Eclectic Collective event tentatively scheduled in early June, so keep an eye out on their Instagram, @ decentactionband, for more information to come.

Decent Action was featured in a Couch Concert on May 25 with The Aggie. A video of their performance will be posted on our YouTube channel.

BOXING CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 In an interview conducted by Showtime, Mayweather sounded off on his displeasure with the sport of boxing having too many champions.

With so many champions in each weight division, the fans are left wondering who the real champion is within the division. The addition of multiple champions defeats the purpose of the meaning of “champion” which in turn is suffocating the sport.

“There’s too many champions in the sport of boxing right now. It’s no such thing as a super champion, not at all,” Mayweather said.

Due to the involvement of politics amongst promoters and too many belts in each weight class fans are left with unknown fighters being champions and predictable match-ups. This is why boxing is on the decline in terms of popularity and PPV sales.

However, Canelo Alvarez is changing the dynamics of boxing and setting the tone in terms of the best fighting the best. Canelo has won titles in four different weight classes.

Starting at Jr. middleweight (154 pounds), then he conquered the middleweight division (160 pounds), super middleweight (168 pounds) and light heavyweight (175 pounds). Boxing has never seen anything like this, a fighter moving up in weight after every fight and capturing world titles against established champions within those divisions.

Canelo has already cemented his legacy into the conversation of the best ever. Yet, he is still seeking to challenge himself in every fight. He wants to continue to make history, something he has stated in post fight interviews after every fight.

“It’s important for me and Eddy [trainer] because very few people have achieved becoming undisputed champions,” Canelo said. “And that’s a short-term goal for us. To win all the titles at 168 pounds.”

On Nov. 6, Canelo accomplished his goal.

He beat all the champions at 168 pounds and unified the belts to become the first undisputed champion of Mexican origin.

Canelo aimed to unify all the belts at 175 pounds, already claiming one belt at light heavyweight, Canelo bit off more than he can chew. He suffered his second defeat of his illustrious career against Dmitry Bivol. Canelo himself looked shocked, however instead of losing stock it seemed as if the boxing world praised him for taking on such a challenge.

Fighters like Canelo aren’t around anymore, he is an old school mentality with swift boxing abilities. That is the reason why when Canelo fights fans tune in to watch the legendary fighter.

“I’ll fight anybody, I don’t care,” Canelo said in an interview conducted by multiple reporters during fight week.

Fighters like Canelo are what fans want to see. They want someone who isn’t afraid to lose, someone who has the courage to seek the best challenges out there, someone who is willing to maximize their potential, someone who wants to make history, someone who wants to be the greatest fighter of all-time, someone who dares to be great.

“I think it’s important, not just for me, but for all fighters,” Canelo said in an interview with RingTv. “To make history in boxing is very important, I think. It’s very important to me to leave behind a legacy in this sport. And that’s why we’re doing this. To keep making history and so when people talk about boxing, they always remember me.”

Canelo’s mantra is “Dare to be great.” If fighters in boxing can live by this, then the sport can potentially rise back to its glory days, where boxing should be. With so much young talent on the rise at the moment, they have an opportunity to revive the sport.

NILGUIDELINES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 “I’m fired up,” said P.J Fleck, head coach for the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team.

“I’m fired up about name, image, and likeness.

I think it’s tremendous. Our location, the Twin City area, the three and a half million people we have in our city, the 18 Fortune 500 companies, this isn’t a small, little college town. We have businesses galore and now have the ability for our players to benefit off their name with all of these companies.”

Since athletes can get profit from personalities and identity, this means that they can benefit financially by “providing services for their pay.”

This can be seen in the form of being paid millions of dollars to promote a company or get a few hundred dollars from starting a YouTube channel or helping run a summer camp.

“Before the NIL floodgates opened in 2021,” said Alex Kirshner, a writer from Global States Matter. “Plenty of people around college sports claimed that compensating athletes would distract them, overwhelm them, or make it harder for them to focus on competition and schooling. In the months since NIL deals were allowed by the NCAA, athletes have instead found that the new rules are not only often lucrative but freeing.”

Universities and colleges benefit financially from these athletes, especially basketball and football players. While these student athletes work hard — not only in their sport, but also are full time students. These players win championships for their schools, and the schools are profiting from the athletes. Championships bring in revenue such as championship merchandise and

the student athletes don’t receive any percentages from the profits.

An example of this is Texas University running back Bijan Robinson who after returning from an injury in April 2022, signed his sixth NIL deal with a Texas Lamborghini dealership a month later. He announced his partnership on Instagram.

The biggest downside about NIL is that international student athletes cannot receive any sort of payment in the U.S. and more than 20,000 NCAA athletes are left out. Visas that are provided to students-athletes only allow limited employment, whether that is on or off campus work. If these rules are broken serious consequences can occur such as being removed from the team, deportation and unable to renew a visa.

Canadian hammer thrower Camryn Rogers, who attended UC Berkeley, is a supporter of loosening endorsement plans for athletes.

But a UC Berkeley compliance officer warned international athletes they could possibly be deported.

“That word hit me very, very hard,” Rogers said. “To see it come to fruition is so exciting, but at the end of the day for international studentathletes, it’s like it never happened.”

There is no clear prediction what will happen with the name, image and likeness of the athletes in the future. But with several opposing viewpoints on NIL, it will continue to be one of the most talked about topics of this next season.

ARTS & CULTURE 10 | THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

COUCH CONCERT: DECENT ACTION IS FAR FROM JUST DECENT The recently-assembled local student band is getting their spotlight in the hot Davis music scene

BY SIERRA JIMENEZ arts@theaggie.org When asked about the meaning behind the band’s name, Decent Action band members chuckled to themselves, saying they usually ambiguously respond with “it what you think it is.” While this answer intentionally leaves questions unanswered, the band decided to reveal to The California Aggie the true story behind this unorthodox name. The “big reveal,” as they called it, was simply a typo.

Yes, a mistake. While brainstorming names for their band in a group note, Siri autocorrected “Deceptacon” — a reference to the hit Le Tigre song — to, you guessed it, Decent Action.

“And then I went, okay, I think that’s it,” said Cassie Eng, a third-year managerial economics major.

Decent Action performing on Picnic Day 2022. (Courtesy / Decent Action)

The group comprises Eng, who is the lead guitarist, Kinu Koide on keys and bass, drummer Molly Sadler and Candice Mitra, the lead singer.

Funnily enough, the band’s name perfectly embodies the dynamic of this group that “all kind of fell into place unintentionally,” Eng said.

At a Halloween party this past fall, Eng picked up a guitar and started to play. Drawn in by the magic of music, they all chimed in with their musical talents, and joked around that right then and there they could make a band with all their various instrument strengths. Little did they know that this would be the beginning of a friendship, let alone a prominent name in the Davis music scene.

DECENTACTION on 9

REVIEW: FINDING MEANING AMIDST ‘EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE’ Through the exploration of infinite possibilities in a multiverse, the film reminds us that we should cherish and celebrate our finite, current lives

BY SUN YIE arts@theaggie.org Spoiler warning: The following article contains spoilers about the film “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

A24’s latest film, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” follows the story of Evelyn, a Chinese-American immigrant, as she struggles to navigate the complexities of American life with her family. Divided into three arcs, the film defies any traditional classification of a genre, stitching together elements of absurdism, sci-fi and fantasy to produce a narrative that is concerned with mending generational trauma and finding individual purpose in the absolute mayhem of the universe.

The film opens with Evelyn engaged in a heated discussion with Waymond, her kind and soft-spoken husband, about Gong Gong, her father, and his arrival from China. Their

conversation is conveyed mostly in Mandarin, but the flow of their dialogue is often interjected with bits of Cantonese and English vernacular, reflecting their precarious attachment to their identities as immigrants. Though Evelyn’s husband does his best to allay Evelyn’s anxieties, she seems locked in a frenzy and unable to situate herself in a stationary setting — in fact, she is quite literally everywhere at once, flitting between a desk flooded with tax receipts and other legal documents about their failing laundromat business, and the rest of the room, which is shown to be equally claustrophobic in its chaos.

Evelyn’s pride and stubbornness prevents her from turning to Waymond or Joy, their daughter, for help, and her forced insistence that things are fine has pushed all of them to their breaking points. She remains ignorant of the pain she inflicts on others, as she harbors a deep resentment toward her husband, who she often calls “stupid,” and blames him for the failure of

UC DAVIS FILM FEST HIGHLIGHTS STUDENT TALENT WHILE BRINGING COMMUNITY TOGETHER

Image from GAPs (Film Fest 2021) directed by Liang Ye, Zhuojie Wang, Yulu Lin. (Courtesy / Film Fest at UC Davis)

On May 16 and 17, Varsity Theater held the annual UC Davis Film Fest. Back in person for the first time since the start of the pandemic, the event showcased works under eight minutes that were directed, filmed and edited by undergraduates, graduate students and alumni.

The first night featured 16 short films, while the second saw 10 showings. Ranging from experimental cinema to stop motion to documentary-style films, the selection of genres was eclectic and widespread. This was fitting, given the variety of students that occupy the Department of Cinema and Digital Media Department at UC Davis.

A plethora of related artistic departments, including Art Studio, Art and Art History, Cinema and Digital Media, Design, Music as well as Theatre and Dance, are also involved.

The incorporation of various departments demonstrates all of the best parts of the fine arts — a sector that is truly enriched by collaboration in a way that few others are.

The energy in the theater was high as the community gathered to watch the selected works.

The excitement reflected the love that the Davis community feels for the arts, whether from wellestablished artists or, as in this case, passionate students who are just starting out.

For someone who doesn’t consider themselves an expert in cinematography, the selection of films was perfectly balanced: innovative and intriguing without being too experimental or

EVERYTHINGEVERYWHERE on 9

Theatrical release poster of Everything Everywhere All at Once. (Courtesy / A24)

BY JACOB ANDERSON arts@theaggie.org

The two-night event was back in person this year after being celebrated virtually for two years

BY CLARA FISCHER arts@theaggie.org

their laundromat business; yet, it is only through Waymond’s efforts that their family survives, although she isn’t conscious of this until much later in the film.

Additionally, she introduces Joy’s girlfriend, Becky, as a “friend” to Gong Gong when he visits, invalidating her daughter’s sexuality and identity and rendering their already damaged relationship almost irreparable. Evelyn is too concerned with impressing Gong Gong to stop Joy from storming out, and she is then left alone to navigate her tax files with Mrs. Deirdre, her IRS auditor, without a translator. This event triggers Evelyn’s exposure to the multiverse, where she meets “Alpha” Waymond, another version of Waymond that has traveled from the “Alpha” universe to enlist her help in stopping Jobu Tupaki — the villain of the multiverse who has grown fond of hunting and murdering multiversal Evelyns.

trite.

One of the crowd’s favorites, “Perspective,” directed by students Milou Korthouwer and Dominic Dal Porto, featured a clever, Matrixesque storyline that started as a humorous depiction of the average college student’s day, which then devolved into something deeper and more philosophically provoking. This was accomplished with the help of several kinds of visual effects, including glitches and play with the picture’s saturation level.

Seeing this kind of visual manipulation on the screen was a testament to the skills that students of these various departments have obtained during their time at UC Davis and emphasized the importance of the Film Fest’s mission “[to showcase] the variety of student talent through animation, documentary, narrative shorts, and experimental films,” according to the event’s program.

Other standouts included “unconditional.,” directed by students Jada Simone Hayes and “Welcome to Sunnyvale,” directed by Bea Alexa Rondon. Both of these shorts were recognized in the awards ceremony at the second night’s conclusion, and the directors went home with both a titular win and a cash prize.

Following the conclusion of the awards ceremony on the second night, the audience gradually wandered out and eventually ended up congregating outside to mingle and talk amongst themselves; filmmakers, family, friends and plain old lovers of the arts included.

FILMFEST on 9

Movie: “Bonnie and Clyde” dir. by Arthur Penn (1967) Seen by many critics as the turning point of American independent cinema, “Bonnie and Clyde” was highly controversial at its release for both its frank depiction of violence and sexuality and its presentation of the eponymous criminals as proletarian heroes —- frustrated symbols of depression-era class hatred, loved by everyone except the police. Penn’s most famous film is also possibly his best: Bonnie and Clyde come across extremely well as a pair of misfits carving an idyll out of one of America’s most troubled periods by any means necessary. Beyond the fantastic performances and script, “Bonnie and Clyde” also carries one of the most explosive and memorable endings of any film from the decade. It’s thrilling and genuine in every frame — so check it out if you get the chance.

Book: “A Tomb for Boris Davidovich” by Danilo Kiš (1976) “A Tomb for Boris Davidovich” is one of Yugoslav author Danilo Kiš’s best works. It’s a collection of stories about rebellion and death, all occurring under the omniscient, opaque, almost supernatural panopticon of Soviet bureaucracy. Each is reported by Kiš in his famously terse and perfect style, which injects poetry into simple sentences without fail. The world of “A Tomb for Boris Davidovich,” more than just a setting of dreary tyranny, manages to create something funny and wondrous out of the impossible plots, imprisonments and murders experienced by his menagerie of easternEuropean thinkers and killers. Every page of this book is full of life, even when the characters within are chained or dead. Harold Bloom included this in his canon of 20th-century fiction for a reason — there’s very little else that approaches Kiš’s mastery. Plus, at a slim 140 pages, it shouldn’t be too hard to make the time to finish this. Couldn’t recommend it more.

Album: “Cull Ficle” by Asian Glow (2021) Internet darling and prime representative of a recent explosion in emo-shoegaze-esque Bandcamp releases from South Korea, Asian Glow has quickly earned a name in the world of independent rock. “Cull Ficle” sounds a bit like if Indian Summer’s self-titled album and Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” were played at the same time — blown-out acoustic guitars and percussion blare over invisible, boyish vocals. Sometimes tracks halt and resume at different tempos or seem to dissipate completely into a wave of crushed noise. One of the most impressive things about this album is how adroitly it fuses the extremes of musical intensity: an ambient break can crackle and detonate in a way indistinguishable from the climax of another song. There’s not much — outside of the South Korean group Parannoul and a few western analogues like Weatherday — that sounds like Asian Glow, and despite some roughness in the production, “Cull Ficle” was without a doubt one of the best releases of last year.

TV Show: “Mythbusters” (2003) Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage’s notorious show is probably best known for its stunts. Every week, Hyneman, Savage and a crew test the veracity of various myths, and at their disposal is a huge workshop with all sorts of industrial machinery and heavy-duty explosives. Despite a relatively standard presentation and format, “Mythbusters” remains one of the most rewatchable and pleasant shows on television. It’s not quite as good nowadays, but the cast is eminently likable and the experiments are always distinct and interesting. If there’s one episode that deserves recognition among the others, it’s doubtless the 72nd, in which Savage nearly dies while testing whether a car door can open after falling into a body of water before it’s fully submerged. As it turns out, Savage could have easily died while filming.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022 | 11

SCIENCE AND TECH PEDIATRIC PATIENT BORN WITH ORGANS OUTSIDE OF ABDOMINAL CAVITY TRANSFORMED

BY MULTIDISCIPLINARY UC DAVIS HEALTH TEAM Everly Jacobsen was diagnosed with an abnormally large omphalocele, a birth defect that only affects one in 5000 children

Everly Jacobsen examined by Dr. Brian Goudy (Leading physician in Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension Program) and Nurse Practitioner Robin Huey Lao. (Courtesy / UC Davis Health)

BY BRANDON NGUYEN science@theaggie.org Born in 2020 with her internal organs protruding outside of her abdomen, Everly Jacobsen was diagnosed at UC Davis Health with a birth defect known as omphalocele, a condition that only affects one in every 5000 births. However, Everly’s omphalocele was larger than most omphaloceles, which is associated with higher mortality rates and a high risk of comorbidities.

Brianne Jacobsen, the mother of Everly Jacobsen and resident of the city of Redding above the Sacramento Valley, described feeling overwhelmed upon discovering her child’s condition through an ultrasound.

“As a first time parent along with the fact that it had taken us a

while to get pregnant, I of course didn’t want anything to be wrong,” Jacobsen said. “So when I first found out about Everly’s condition, it was like a gut punch — lots of tears, lots of anxiety and I didn’t know what to do next.”

Fortunately, with the help of a multidisciplinary team of UC Davis Health professionals ranging from cardiologists, pulmonary hypertension physicians, pediatric surgeons, nurse practitioners and many more, Brianne’s anxiety turned into optimism. Robyn Huey Lao, a pediatric surgery outpatient nurse practitioner at UC Davis Medical Center, grew close to the Jacobsen family and supported Everly’s development throughout the process.

“All of Everly’s abdominal organs were encased in a membrane when she’s born, and hers was a giant omphalocele, three times what we usually observe in babies with this condition,” Lao said. “Usually the usual treatment is we just ‘paint and wait,’ and what we mean by

that is we put on a cream called silver sulfadiazine, a white cream that you kind of paint all around. You then use a wrap to keep it moist to help that membrane become more durable, because when they’re born, it’s pretty thin.”

Silver sulfadiazine is typically administered to patients with second and third degree burns to toughen the skin. Once the membrane becomes durable, the omphalocele can then be slowly compressed over time into the abdominal cavity, after which a surgical operation can be conducted to close the skin. However, due to the abnormally large size of Everly’s omphalocele, the team had to adopt creative measures to resolve her condition.

The team tried several topical creams including the default cream of silver sulfadiazine, but after much trial and error, Lao found the right formula: Vashe, a solution of hypochlorous acid that cleans wounds, paired with UrgoTul silver, a flexible, polyester mesh contact layer bandage. Once the skin fully healed over the omphalocele, compression dressings were applied over time to gradually push Everly’s organs back inside.

From the size of a cantaloupe to a mere outie belly button, this successful progression could not have been possible without the UC Davis Fetal Care and Treatment Center as well as the pediatric pulmonary hypertension multidisciplinary clinic. Dr. Brian Goudy, a pediatric pulmonary hypertension specialist and leading physician for the clinic, described the significance of the case for the team of UC Davis Health medical professionals.

“She exemplifies a case where families are really benefiting from the multidisciplinary approach where multiple providers are able to manage her care on an outpatient basis,” Goudy said. “And that makes it easier for families, because it not only allows them to have less visits to the hospital, but it directly puts providers in the same room, and we can collaborate on her management in ways that would be much more difficult if you’re treating the patient individually.”

Everly is now two and half years old, and Brianne Jacobsen reflected on the miraculous journey that her daughter had undergone with the help of UC Davis Health.

“I really thought Everly was never going to eat and she’s never gonna be able to drink properly, as she’s always going to have to use this feeding tube,” Jacobsen said. “Then one day it just clicked with the help of the amazing staff, and now she’s doing all this stuff. She couldn’t walk because she had that giant belly and all she could do was sit up, but now she’s started sliding across the floor on her little bottom and then like a month later, she was up walking, no longer needing the ventilator or impeded by her stomach, doing what energetic little kids do outside.”

UC DAVIS STUDENTS WITH FOOD ALLERGIES SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES IN RECOGNITION OF FOOD ALLERGY AWARENESS MONTH Students describe dining common accommodations and offer advice for how peers can support friends with food allergies CHRISTINA LIU / AGGIE

BY SONORA SLATER science@theaggie.org May is Food Allergy Awareness Month, which recognizes a condition that affects around 6-8% of adults in the U.S. and ranges from causing mild hives and itchiness to lifethreatening reactions, according to a recent press release from UC Davis Health.

If you’ve ever contemplated how your dairyfree roommate lives without cheese, or struggled to remember not to bring a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to lunch with your friend, this might be a chance to learn about how you can support them.

UC Davis students with food allergies talked about their experience so far at college, especially when they were freshmen eating at the dining commons (DCs).

Melinda Ma, a third-year animal science major with a dairy allergy, said that it was sometimes difficult to find options at the DCs. “I’m very grateful that [Segundo] was pretty consistent with labeling the allergens so I didn’t have to worry about accidentally eating dairy,” Ma said over text. “But some days there weren’t that many options for me except the salad bar or one soup and the vegan option that wasn’t always great.”

Alex Chang, a third-year biological sciences major who is allergic to dairy, seafood and peanuts, said that he was pleasantly surprised by the availability of allergy-friendly dishes at the DCs, although the options were still somewhat limited.

“When I went to the Tercero DC, my diet consisted of burgers, salads, Mongolian wok, soups, and vegan cookies,” Chang said over text.

“They also usually had some sort of meat dish either at the Pacific Fusion or the Bistro.”

The staff was very accommodating and helpful if they had specific requests, such as removing cheese from burgers, removing a sauce that contained dairy or asking for dairy-free ice cream, according to both Ma and Chang.

“There was never a day that I went to the DC where I could not find something to eat,” Chang said. “Although, sometimes when my friends got salmon or cheesy pasta, the smell was so overwhelmingly good that I was jealous that I couldn’t eat it.”

Dietary accommodations for food allergies are only available in the Residential Dining Commons — Segundo, Tercero and Cuarto — which does not include Latitude. Student

Housing and Dining Services was contacted for comment but did not respond as of May 23.

Latitude features cultural cuisine from around the world and attempts to accurately represent authentic culinary traditions, according to the website. Because of this, the dishes served may contain major food allergens, which is why dietary accommodations through the Dietary Support Program are not offered at Latitude.

Chang said that he did find it hard to eat at Latitude due to a lack of variety.

“Almost every single dish there had either seafood or some kind of dairy, either mixed into the dish or baked into it, so it was impossible for the staff to serve it dairy-free,” Chang said. “On most days, the only thing that I was able to eat was the shawarma. My friends kept on going to [Latitude] to try out all the exotic dishes, but I quickly tired of the shawarma and returned back to the comfort of Tercero DC.” Daily menus for each DC are published online in order to help students know what is being offered, according to the Student Housing website. These are resources that Chang said he regularly took advantage of.

“I would check both menus online to see what kind of foods that they had to offer, and would choose my dining common accordingly,” Chang said. “There were the rare days that Latitude served ramen or steak, both of which were allergen free, and I was always the first of my friends to know about it.”

All dishes in the DCs are also labeled for wheat, gluten, soy, dairy, shellfish, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame and coconut. Allergy-friendly options in each DC are available at the Bistro, where a variety of dishes without any major allergens can be found. However, the DCs are not certified allergy-free or gluten-free facilities since other dishes served may contain major allergens, according to the Student Housing website.

Chang said that while he did know about the daily online menus for the DCs, he wishes he had known about some of the other resources available to UC Davis students with food allergies.

“I [...] recently learned of the ‘Food Allergy and Dietary Accommodations’ page on the Student Housing and Dining Services Website, which detailed all the information and accommodations that the dining commons and other on campus food offerings would make,” Chang said. “I wish that I discovered this page sooner, as there were many options that I was not aware of in my freshman year.”

Apart from the accommodations the university offers, there are also ways that students can help support their peers who have food allergies. In a recent press release from UC Davis Health, pediatric allergist and immunologist Victoria Dimitriades suggested some tips to help those with food allergies.

These include taking the time to learn what your friend is allergic to, reading labels, washing your hands to reduce cross-contamination, disclosing allergens in cooked food and knowing what to do if your friend is exposed to allergens.

Ma offered some advice of her own to students wanting to support their friends in this

way.

“We feel very loved when you remember and check in with us about food options,” Ma said.

“But no worries if you forget [because] we can always make do with the options we have. And

no need to feel bad or feel like you are restricted to not eat what we are allergic to in front of us, unless it’s a severe nut allergy or something. [...]

We want you to enjoy what we can’t eat.”

12 | THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

SPORTS ANALYZING THE NFL QUARTERBACK LANDSCAPE

Elite talent, big money and questionable quarterback rooms make an interesting quarterback landscape

By PATRICK FIGUEROA sports@theaggie.org The major portions of the NFL offseason, such as free agency, the draft and the schedule reveal, have passed. While there still may be transactions in the future, it is a good time to analyze the current quarterback landscape in the NFL. With elite names, controversies, young players looking to take the next step and questionable quarterback rooms, the quarterback position around the league is at an interesting spot.

Starting with the upper echelon of the position, the elite quarterbacks in the NFL right now include Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Josh Allen. These quarterbacks have all played at very high levels in big moments, along with being the primary reasons for their teams’ success.

Patrick Mahomes is arguably the most talented quarterback ever and despite having a regular season below fans’ expectations, he still managed to throw 48 touchdowns along with 5,896 yards across the regular season and postseason. Aaron Rodgers is coming off back-to-back MVP seasons after posting an efficient 37 touchdowns to just four interceptions. Tom Brady continues to beat father time after finishing second in the MVP race and posting 5,316 yards, 43 touchdowns and a passer rating of 102.1 during the 2021 regular season. Josh Allen is a new face in this tier of quarterbacks, but has earned this spot after a phenomenal 2021 postseason where Allen threw nine touchdowns, had no interceptions and had a passer rating of 149.

The next tier of quarterbacks are franchise quarterbacks whose teams are comfortable paying a high salary because of their talent.

All of these quarterbacks have the potential to move up to the upper echelon of quarterbacks as well. In this tier, there is Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, Matthew Stafford, Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray and Lamar Jackson.

From this list of players, one of the more notable players is Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray. Coming off a season where he threw 24 touchdowns for 3,787 yards while also accumulating 423 yards and five touchdowns on the ground in 14 games, Murray was an early season MVP candidate before suffering an injury. However, the season did not end well after a disappointing 34-11 Wild Card loss versus their division rival, the Los Angeles Rams. Murray was in the headlines earlier in the offseason after unfollowing the Arizona Cardinals and scrubbing the team from his social media in early February. Analysts speculated that Murray wanted a new contract and the lack of negotiations upset Murray.

However, he would later restore all of his Instagram posts in March and respond to questions regarding these decisions.

“I’m an Arizona Cardinal,” Murray said. “I’ve done nothing but give my all to the Cardinals and will continue to do that.”

Murray is tied to the Cardinals for at least two more years

before his rookie contract is up. He will be worth keeping an eye on to see if he will receive a contract extension anytime soon.

Another quarterback from this tier worth mentioning is Russell Wilson. Traded from the Seattle Seahawks to the Denver Broncos, Wilson looks to return to elite form after an underwhelming 2021 season highlighted by a thumb injury. The injury hampered Wilson as he only threw for 3,113 yards and 25 touchdowns in 14 games.

However, going to the Broncos will give him an opportunity to bounce back. The Broncos have talented offensive players like wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, wide receiver Courtland Sutton and running back Javonte Williams that can help Wilson do so.

In the next tier of quarterbacks, these are guys who are good quarterbacks but are heavily reliant on having a good surrounding core of offensive players around them to succeed. This tier includes Derek Carr, Ryan Tannehill, Kirk Cousins, Matt Ryan and Jimmy Garoppolo.

Derek Carr recently signed a contract extension for three years that is worth 121.5 million dollars. While making him the fifth-highest paid quarterback in the NFL stands out, Carr has performed well in recent years. He looks to help the Raiders compete in a competitive AFC West, especially after adding star wide receiver and his former college teammate Davante Adams.

Matt Ryan was traded to the Indianapolis Colts for a third round pick prior to the NFL draft. He is yet another new quarterback in this Colts’ quarterback carousel, which has now featured a new starting quarterback every year for the last five years. The Colts hope the 37 year-old quarterback can offer some stability for at least a few years, and help the Colts make the playoffs.

Jimmy Garoppolo was expected to be traded earlier this offseason, but is yet to be moved. Possibly due to shoulder surgery, the quarterback was not traded and remains on the San Francisco 49ers’ roster. This makes the 49ers’ quarterback room intriguing, as

DESPITE THE RECENT LOSS, CANELO ALVAREZ CONTINUES TO SHOW BOXING GREATNESS In an era where fighters duck the best, Alvarez continues to dare and be great JACOB SLOAN / AGGIE

By MARLON ROLON sports@theaggie.org Every generation has one or two prize fighters who are the face of boxing. Between 2003 to 2017, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio carried the sport. They dominated opposing fighters, collecting championship belts in multiple weight classes.

For years fans wanted to see arguably two of the best fighters of all time go head to head. Unfortunately, boxing promoters were in the way of letting that come to fruition. However in 2015, Mayweather and Pacquaio finally stepped into the ring — six years too late. Pacquaio was on the decline due to his come forward fighting style that takes years of a fighters career.

The fight sold 4.6 million pay-per-views, a record that has not been broken since. This was at a time when Maywether, who is considered “The Best Ever,” was selling one million PPV’s no matter who he fought and so was Pacquaio. No matter the opponent, these two fighters sold out the arena and had the boxing world buzzing. They attracted casuals, fans, and people who didn’t watch boxing but tuned in because they were can’t miss attractions.

However, in 2017 Mayweather retired from boxing and in 2021 Pacquaio, who was a shell of himself retired way past his prime — a common theme in the sport. It seemed like boxing followed these two fighters into retirement.

That is until Saul “Canelo’’ Alvarez arrived. Alvarez started to gain popularity in 2010 when he was 19 years old fighting veteran champions. At 23, he fought Mayweather. Although Canelo lost to Mayweather, his stock rose as more eyes outside of boxing started to recognize his fighting style.

Capturing a world title at just 20 years old, Canelo was considered the one to carry the sport. After his first professional loss to Mayweather, Alvarez did just that, beating 16 world champions to go along his 57-2-2 record.

Canelo undeniably is the face of boxing, selling out arenas wherever and whoever he fights. In 2021, Canelo beat Billy Joe Saunders at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX — the home of the Dallas Cowboys. He set an indoor boxing attendance record of 73,126 fans filling the arena. Primarily, the prize fighter tends to fight in Las Vegas where he sells out the T-Mobile Arena every time he fights.

However, Canelo’s PPV numbers are not what Mayweather was accustomed to. In fact, his biggest PPV sold was against Mayweather himself — the fight generated 2.2 million PPV buys.

His second biggest PPV fight was against Gennady Golovkin at 2 million buys. His average is between 8,000,000 to one million sales in PPV which is not bad considering the lack of star power that’s missing in the sport.

Since boxing sales through PPV’s are not what they used to be, companies like DAZN have offered contracts to fighters like

Canelo to fight under their streaming services which is available to audiences who subscribe to the streaming service for an affordable monthly fee of $19.99. In Canelo’s case, DAZN offered him a lucrative 365 million dollar contract for 11 fights within fiveyears. This ensures to generate substianal revenue for both parties involved.

Besides Canelo, there is no one else that can sell close to his PPV numbers. Boxing has been on the decline for a few years now. This has to do with promoters and the addition of so many championship belts in every weight class.

Promoters dislike each other in the world of boxing. For example, Golden Boy Promotions run by Oscar De La Hoya, has been feuding with rival promoter Top Rank owned by Bob Arum.

Mayweather Promotions is also feuding with Top Rank. De La Hoya and Mayweather used to fight under the Top Rank banner but due to allegations against Top Rank taking the majority of the purse percentages, they don’t want to do business with Bob Arum.

It’s not just with Top Rank though, other promotion companies don’t want to do business with other promoters and that’s how it is in boxing. Promoters create their own stable of boxers and fight their fighters with other fighters within the same stable in order to maximize the profits associated with sales. This is done so that promoters don’t have to split a certain percentage of revenue with other promoters. However, there are times when a fighter from a particular promotion company has to or requests to fight other fighters from opposing companies. For example, if a fighter holds a title belt and wants to unify a belt which a fighter may have from an opposing promotion company, then they have to fight each other.

Another relevant issue that is holding boxing back is the addition of so many championship belts. There are four sanctioning world titles, the World Boxing Association (WBA), the World Boxing Council (WBC), the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and the World Boxing Organization (WBO).

These sanctioning bodies hold multiple title belts under the same organization. For example, the WBA holds the “regular” and the “super” champions. If a fighter wins the regular belt then they hold the WBA belt. If that fighter wins a belt from the opposing major sanctioning body then they become the “super” champion of that organization. This then leads to the regular belt being vacant for other fighters to fight for it.

This can be said about the WBC, they have the “Diamond,” “Eternal Championship” and the “Silver” belt. Every major sanctioning body also has the “Interim” champion. The reason for this is because if a fighter can’t defend his belt due to medical issues then two other fighters fight for the belt. When the true champion is back from his injuries he still holds the championship belt. This means there are multiple champions in each division. It is a very complex order that can make it clear why some people would rather not keep up with boxing that closely. There are a lot of moving parts.

With promoters keeping their fighters from fighting the best fighters out there, boxing has hit a wall. Fighters now avoid the best challenges out there to avoid a loss in their record. In today’s boxing, promoters along with fighters protect their boxing record by fighting the easiest possible opponent. If they can maximize PPV sales with minimal risk to their record then they’ll do it.

With the addition of more championship belts, fans are sold on a “championship fight” with low risk and high reward. The more a promoter can keep his fighter with an undefeated record, the better it sells. This leaves the promoters making more money, the fighter significantly more profits and holds a belt while leaving the fans unsatisfied.

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second year quarterback Trey Lance appeared to be the team’s new starting quarterback for the 2022 season. Will Jimmy Garoppolo be traded soon or will there be a quarterback competition between Garoppolo and Lance for the starting job? That’s the question that will follow the 49ers the rest of the offseason.

Speaking of Trey Lance, he and other young quarterbacks make up a tier of quarterbacks with uncertain futures. Many of these players have the potential and opportunity to be franchise quarterbacks, as well as a high draft pedigree. However, they must make a successful transition to the NFL. In this tier, there is Trey Lance, Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Justin Fields, Mac Jones, Tua Tagovailoa, Jordan Love, Jalen Hurts, Davis Mills and Kenny Pickett. Some of these players have much higher potential than others, but there is an element of uncertainty with each one.

Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love is in an interesting position. A first round pick in the 2020 NFL draft, Love’s ingame action has been limited because he is playing behind Aaron Rodgers. With Rodgers signing a contract extension worth 150.8 million dollars over three years, this means that Love’s rookie contract is set to expire before Rodgers’ new contract. Ideally, Love should have been traded this offseason, but he was not. The former first round pick’s future is uncertain.

The final tier of quarterbacks are players who are low-end starters and are more likely to be short-term options for their respective teams. In this tier, there is Carson Wentz, Jared Goff, Jameis Winston, Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, Sam Darnold and Marcus Mariota.

Baker Mayfield stands out in this tier of quarterbacks. The former first overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft is sitting on the trade block after the Cleveland Browns acquired quarterback Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans, leaving Mayfield to look for a new team.

Mayfield was rumored to be traded to the Panthers on draft night, but the negotiations fell apart as there was disagreement on which side would pay the rest of Mayfield’s $19 million dollar salary. The Panthers also drafted young quarterback Matt Corral from Ole Miss in the third round, which effectively ended any chance of the Panthers acquiring Mayfield. With no clear trade partner, Mayfield remains on the Browns roster. Cutting Mayfield would result in the Browns taking nearly a 19 million dollar cap hit, but it may be their only option at this point.

The quarterback position is vital to team success. When comparing the best quarterbacks in the NFL to the bottom tier, it is night and day. With a high-end quarterback, there is much less uncertainty regarding what on-field product teams will receive, and a clearer picture of teams’ futures for the 2022 season and beyond. It is why teams will do anything to get “their guy.” With offseason training ramping up, it is time for these quarterbacks to step up and lead their team into the 2022 NFL season.

NAME, IMAGE AND LIKENESS GUIDELINES COULD CHANGE COLLEGE SPORTS

New NIL guidelines lay groundwork for the future of college athletics AMY YU / AGGIE

By KATHERIN RAYGOZA sports@theaggie.org The question whether college athletes should get paid is often brought up and is constantly enduring changes in the legislature, especially for future athletes. Name, image and likeness (NIL), the elements comprising “right of publicity,” is the only thing able to answer this question.

Part of the debate includes that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) generates over $1 billion annually from athletics. The other part of the debate is that college athletes are considered amateurs and paying them would mean they have to be considered professionals.

“One of the NCAA’s greatest obligations to players,” writes Erik Cilburn, a writer from Insight Into Diversity. “Especially those who come from communities of color and low-income households, should be ensuring they are prepared for a future that may not include a lucrative professional sports career.”

Federal legislation has allowed NCAA Division I student athletes to receive pay by their NIL. That includes receiving endorsement deals, using social media to profit from their sport and they can now use their signatures on memorabilia for profit.

“With the variety of state laws adopted across the country, we will continue to work with Congress to develop a solution that will provide clarity on a national level,” said NCAA President Mark Emmert in a statement. “The current environment — both legal and legislative — prevents us from providing a more permanent solution and the level of detail student-athletes deserve.”

In the past, the NCAA prohibited athletes from receiving any sort of income from their sport by arguing that it would change the sport and that it would make fans less likely to watch or buy tickets. Fans who are college sport enthusiasts support NIL, and 63% of them said that NIL should continue on in the future.

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