November 18, 2021

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

SERVING THE UC DAVIS CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY SINCE 1915

@THECALIFORNIAAGGIE

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THEAGGIE.ORG

@CALIFORNIAAGGIE

@CALIFORNIAAGGIE

VOLUME 140, ISSUE 9 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021

REFERENDUM FOR ATHLETIC PORTION OF STUDENT FEES PROPOSED AT NOV. 12 COSAF MEETING Members of the Council on Student Affairs and Fees are working to eliminate annual student fees that go toward funding Intercollegiate Athletics

BY SOPHIE DEWEES campus@theaggie.org On Nov. 12, members of the Council on Student Affairs and Fees (COSAF) met to discuss a proposed referendum on the athletics portion of student fees. Each student currently pays $571.41 in annual fees to fund UC Davis Athletics and athletic scholarships as a part of the Student Activities and Services Initiative (SASI) and the Campus Expansion Initiative (CEI) which makes athletics the largest recipient of student fees for both SASI and CEI. The referendum proposes eliminating these fees entirely.

If passed, it would not take effect until fall 2023. As with previous fee referenda, it will require a minimum of 20% participation by the undergraduate student body and, of those 20%, 60% must vote yes for it to pass.

Drawing on the university’s previous fundraising successes, such as the $1.3 billion raised during UC Davis’ ongoing comprehensive campaign, voting member of COSAF and fourthyear political science and history double major Calvin Wong, who provided a presentation at the beginning of the meeting, said that the university has the ability to fund athletics without receiving financial support from its students.

“Fundamentally, that is what this referendum is about: to shift the burden of funding the athletics program to those who have expressed desire and have proven themselves to be capable of being able to fundraise the necessary fees and funds to support the Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA) program without needing student fees,” Wong said.

According to Chancellor Gary May, as quoted on the UC Davis Athletics website from a 2018 interview, the university values the role students play in funding its athletics program.

“I should point out, that our most important donors for athletics are our students,” May said in the article. “Student fees are important for much of what happens in athletics. Like I said, if I think athletics is a priority for the university — and it is — then I have to be involved in making sure it is properly resourced. That includes fundraising.”

In the interview, May then went on to describe a partnership between UC Davis Athletics and UC Davis Health on a $40 million student-athlete performance center project in 2018, highlighting it as “a strong example of how we work together for the benefit of our students.”

As a result of these fees, students are able to attend football games for free. Wong said, however, that the athletics portion of student fees predominantly benefits the approximately 700

student-athletes on campus, who make up 2% of the undergraduate population at UC Davis.

They provide funding for team travel, varsity athletic equipment, coach salaries, medical expenses and athletic scholarships which, Wong said, only impact student-athletes. These fees, he said, are “inherently unjust,” and therefore an instantaneous decrease, as proposed in the referendum, is necessary.

Andrea Gomez Lloret, a fourth-year managerial economics major and a member of the women’s golf team, said in her presentation at the meeting that she believes UC Davis Athletics is only sustainable because of student fees.

“Without the contribution of fees to athletics, UC Davis would not be a competitive, Division I institution,” Gomez Lloret said.

Madelin Smith, a fourth-year biological sciences major and a member of the beach volleyball team who presented at the meeting, echoed Gomez Lloret’s statement.

“Of course we want to be fully supported by the administration, but it seems that it might be a bit unrealistic to expect them to find this money [...] all of a sudden,” Smith said. “I feel that if we weren’t to have these fees, student-athletes would be in charge of having more fundraising which, to be honest, student-athletes really don’t have time for.”

Sunset during UC Davis Homecoming Football Game against Northern Colorado. (Benjamin Cheng / Aggie) Wong noted in his presentation that at other universities within the UC system, students pay far less in athletics fees. At UC Berkeley, for example, students paid approximately $15 to fund the ICA program in the 2019-2020 school year in contrast with the $660 UC Davis students paid that year.

He emphasized that the referendum does not aim to get rid of the athletics program.

“That assertion can be nothing further from the truth,” Wong said. “ICA should be funded by the university, not 98% of students who do not get anything out of these fees.”

RALLY TO BE HELD TO COMMEMORATE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF PEPPER SPRAY INCIDENT Ten years after the incident, members of the UC Davis community discuss the impacts and the state of campus policing

BY EMILY REDMAN campus@theaggie.org Ten years ago today on Nov. 18, 2011, UC Davis Police pepper sprayed a group of protesters on campus in what would come to be known as “the pepper spray incident.”

The students set up tents on the quad as a part of the Occupy Wall Street movement. When asked to leave by campus police, the protestors refused and an officer pepper sprayed the protesters.

Documents were obtained by the Sacramento Bee after the event that showed that the university had spent $175,000 to erase coverage of the incident that reflected negatively on UC Davis and the then Chancellor Linda Katehi.

Ten years later, UC Davis students and staff acknowledge the impacts these events left on the campus. Cops Off Campus is hosting an event on the quad on Nov. 18 to remember the pepper spray incident and protest the continued police presence on campus. Beginning at 12 p.m., there will be coffee, music, art projects and other activities. These will continue until 4 p.m. when there will be a rally and march to close the event.

“Join UC Davis Cops Off Campus and a coalition of student and community organizations as we commemorate the 10th

Former UCDPD Officer John Pike pepper spraying students who were peacefully protesting on the Quad on Nov. 18, 2011. (Aggie File) anniversary of the pepper spray incident, protest the ongoing violence caused by UC Davis Police, and fight to get cops off our campus for good!” a mass email sent to the study body from Cops Off

Campus states.

According to Valeria Cantor Mendez, a second-year community and regional development major and a member of Cops off

Campus, police presence on campus impacts the day-to-day lives of students. With UC Davis’ history of police violence, students and faculty are fighting for institutional change.

“We’re trying to show that this is a struggle that has been going on for such a long time,” Cantor Mendez said. “The people in power, like the chancellor, are not doing what we want them to do.”

In the past ten years, the UC Davis Police Department (UCDPD) has made adjustments to their approach to policing.

“Our philosophy has changed from doing things to people versus doing things for people,” Joseph Farrow, the chief of police at the UCDPD, said.

Since the pepper spray incident, UC Davis has appointed a new chancellor, new police chief and an entire new police force.

“More than half of my department now are students who graduated in the last couple of years,” Farrow said. “I think that’s a good thing because they understand the culture, they understand the campus.”

However, the changes in administration and leadership are not universally acknowledged as a sign of change for the better.

PEPPERSPRAY on 9

THREE NEW MEMBERS JOIN THE VITICULTURE AND ENOLOGY EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP BOARD Three new members join the Viticulture and Enology Executive Leadership Board

BY CHRISTINE LEE campus@theaggie.org

The Viticulture and Enology Teaching Vineyard.

(Quinn Spooner / Aggie)

The Viticulture and Enology Executive Leadership Board gained three new members: Miguel Luna, a UC Davis alumnus and the viticulturist at Silverado Farming Company, Julia Coney, the founder of Black Wine Professionals and Dwayne Wade, an NBA champion and the co-founder of Wade Cellars.

The executive leadership board as an advisory group aims to increase the competitiveness of the department within the industry and investment in research. The members on the board are all experienced in the field of viticulture and the wine and grape industries.

According to Coney, one of her aims in this position is to increase diversity within the field.

“The goal is to get more people of color to

understand that there is a place for them in the wine business,” Coney said.

Wade echoed Coney’s sentiments.

“The biggest thing I want to influence is decreasing the stigma that’s associated with wine and make it possible for more people of color to enter this industry,” Wade said via email.

“The community I come from has less exposure to wine, whether it be because of the price of the bottle or the intimidation of not understanding what it is.

Wade also hopes to inspire young people to take an interest in wine making.

“Like any profession, I think it’s necessary for awareness at a young age and, while that’s a challenge because the legal drinking age is much

older here than our counterparts in the old world wine regions, I’m interested in finding ways to spark an interest in the possibilities of wine business with the next generation,” Wade said via email.

Increasing awareness of this career path for students, Coney said, is a step to create change for the future of the industry.

“I want people to know, especially people of color, that right now is a great time to be in the industry,” Coney said. “It may not happen on your schedule but just know there’s a lot of people who really want to change the industry from the inside out.”

BEACON LEADERSHIP AND INNOVATION AWARD GIVEN TO THE CITY OF DAVIS FOR COVID-19-RELATED TEAMWORK WITH HEALTHY DAVIS TOGETHER City of Davis has been able to keep low COVID-19 infection rate due to testing and vaccination efforts

BY SHRADDHA JHINGAN city@theaggie.org The City of Davis announced “that it was awarded a Beacon Leadership and Innovation Award by the Institute for Local Government (ILG) for cross-agency collaboration for partnering with UC Davis on the Healthy Davis Together (HDT) project,” according to a news statement published on Oct. 22. The news statement said that “Healthy Davis Together helped prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the city and coordinated the gradual return of UC Davis students back into the community.”

Barbara Archer, the communications and customer service manager for the City of Davis, said that the Beacon Leadership and Innovation Award was given to the City of Davis at an online city council meeting.

“The award was given to the City virtually at the Nov. 2 City Council meeting,” Archer said via email. “Chancellor May joined the meeting

for the award item.”

The news statement further explained what accomplishments such awards are highlighting.

In California, 165 cities, special districts and counties take part in the Beacon Program which was created “to provide recognition and yearround support for California local agencies that are working to build more vibrant and sustainable communities.” Not only was Davis awarded the Beacon Leadership and Innovation Award, but so were three other cities in California.

“The Innovation and Leadership Awards aim to celebrate local governments’ efforts to implement collaborative, inclusive and equitable climate resilience and adaptation programming,” the news statement reads. “In addition to the City of Davis, ILG recognized the cities of Fremont, Irvine, Truckee and Manhattan Beach with Beacon Leadership and Innovation Awards.”

Archer further highlighted what role the HDT initiative played, including the reopening of businesses, schools and more in regard to the

COVID-19 pandemic.

“The initiative provided community outreach on testing, business-focused outreach and assistance, advertising to promote healthy behaviours, safe opening plans for businesses and schools and vaccine availability,” Archer said via email.

A recording of the meeting at which the award was given to the City of Davis can be found online. Erica Manuel, the CEO and executive director of ILG presented the award to the city during the meeting.

“So this year, and the reason I’m here, is I’m so excited to announce that the City of Davis has actually won the inaugural award for CrossAgency Collaboration in Climate Resilience and Adaptation for your work in the Healthy Davis Together initiative and partnership with UC Davis,” Manuel said at the meeting.

Manuel added that when reviewing the applications, IG was “impressed by the way that the city and the university banded

Healthy Davis Together Banner. (Quinn Spooner / Aggie) together to address an issue that is impacting community resilience.” With this partnership, the COVID-19 infection rate was less than 3%, lower than the state and region’s infection rates.

Mayor Gloria Partida also spoke at the meeting, recognizing the collaboration and its effects on the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

LEADERSHIP on 9

2 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

FORMER BISTRO 33 LOCATION SET ON FIRE

BY ARSONIST Italian eatery Mamma to open next year in the same building

BY ELLIE LEE city@theaggie.org On Nov. 1 around 5 p.m., the Davis Fire Department received a call about a fire at the building that used to house the restaurant Bistro 33. Fire Captain and Fire Investigator at City of Davis Luis Parrilla arrived on scene, confirming a working fire. He said that they had to force the door open in order to extinguish the fire inside.

“This scene went very well,” Parilla said.

“Working as a team together with the university as well as the City of Davis Fire Department made this a successful incident.”

After a joint investigation by the City of Davis Fire Department and Police Department, it was found that the fire was intentionally set. Parilla says that the incident is still under investigation as it is an open case.

“The cause of the fire is [...] incendiary,” Parilla said. “It was called in by a passerby that saw flames inside of the structure.”

Incendiary incidents are very rare in Davis, according to Parrilla. On the day of the fire, thirdyear human biology major Rebecca Hawthorne was sitting in Temple Coffee Roasters, a coffee shop next door, with her friend.

“A guy working next to us went outside; he was the one who called 911,” Hawthorne said.

“He came back in, saw us sitting, and he was like, ‘Come on out! There’s a fire!’”

Hawthorne saw three fire trucks and about four police cars, and she said there was an ambulance. She did not see who set it on fire, but she clearly saw smoke and firefighters extinguishing the fire.

“They had to break down the gate in front of it,” Hawthorne said. “There were at least two fire trucks using their hoses. They took out all the stuff inside the building.”

Michael Galyen and his chef partner Arnaud Drouvillé are the tenants of the building that was formerly Bistro 33. Galyen said that they still intend to open Mamma, an Italian cuisine restaurant, on the same day as planned, which they hope to be early to mid-June.

Bistro 33’s old location. (Quinn Spooner / Aggie) “There was damage, but it was allocated to a very small square footage area,” Galyen said.

“The landlords have been incredibly responsive on getting the restoration portion of it going. We met right after, a couple days after. I don’t think this actually slows us down at all.”

Galyen said that they are not fearful of any more of these types of incidents, as they have security measures in place in all their restaurants,

and they will have an alarm system in Mamma.

Parrilla discussed how businesses can take safety precautions to prevent fires.

“It’s always good to have an alarm system and a sprinkler system,” Parilla said. “When [staff] leave the business, make sure anything that could cause a fire is off, [like] stoves, lighting, anything that you know could be that electrical. Make sure they lock their businesses at night. Have good

lighting and security cameras.”

Parilla also outlined crucial fire safety guidelines for UC Davis students.

“With homework and paperwork, keep combustibles away from stoves,” Parilla said. “Be careful with candles. Know that when there’s a fire in your home, just go out and stay out and call 911 from the outside.”

BUILDING A TRAUMA-INFORMED YOLO COUNTY Resilient Yolo launches Adverse Childhood Experiences workshop series

BY LEVI GOLDSTEIN city@theaggie.org Content warning: This story discusses topics regarding physical, emotional and sexual abuse and neglect.

On Nov. 5, the non-profit organization Resilient Yolo held the first webinar in a new workshop series. The series will bring awareness to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and teach Yolo County educators, parents and other community members how to introduce ACEs initiatives into their organizations and individual family lives.

ACEs include physical, emotional or sexual abuse, physical or emotional neglect and household challenges such as mental illness, incarceration, divorce, substance abuse and partner violence.

Positive & Adverse Childhood Experiences Connection (PACEs Connection) is a network of different organizations that are implementing ACEs initiatives, which include resiliencebuilding practices and trauma-informed care. Resilient Yolo is the first of many county-based Resilient chapters in the PACEs network building trauma-informed communities.

In the first Resilient Yolo workshop, “Introduction to ACEs and Resilience,” co-chairs Susan Jones and Tessa Smith explained the science behind ACEs research and the importance of becoming trauma informed.

In 1995, Kaiser Permanente conducted a study with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which concluded that at least two thirds of the adult population has experienced childhood trauma, and that trauma is directly linked with various physical health problems and mental illnesses.

“Unresolved trauma makes us sick, both physically and mentally,” Smith said.

Smith is a cultural competence coordinator with the Health and Human Services Agency in Yolo County. She was first introduced to ACEs while advocating for her son and granddaughter in their public school systems, both of whom have learning disabilities.

The CDC-Kaiser study coined the term “Adverse Childhood Experiences” and laid the groundwork for resilience-building and trauma-informed practices.

The next Resilient Yolo webinar is on Jan. 7, 2022. Resilient Yolo is also preparing for their annual Building a Resilient Yolo Summit, which will be held on May 12, 2022 at Woodland Community and Senior Center.

Resilient Yolo has already been very involved in the Yolo

Martin Luther King JR. Highschool. (Kayla Bruckman / Aggie)

community. Martin Luther King Jr. High School, a continuation school in Davis that provides an alternate path to a high school diploma, has implemented ACEs initiatives in their school environment, according to Sharlese Jones, the MLK Jr. High counselor.

“Being able to have support groups where they can be themselves and talk about issues and activism in ways that help them feel empowered is huge for our students,” Sharlese Jones said.

“For a long time, a lot of them did not feel empowered. They didn’t know that they had these resources, and now they know, and it’s helping them feel stronger.”

Sharlese Jones started working at MLK Jr. High School in 2018. She calls herself a “mother figure” to those who come to her for support.

A nurse from CommuniCare is also at the school every Wednesday providing mental health care, medical help and access to safe sex products, cost-free for the students, according to Cristina Buss, the principal of MLK Jr. High.

“There are clinics in Davis that the students can go to,” Buss said. “But they are not great at the follow through of ‘I will make myself an appointment and take the bus to get to the clinic to deal with the situation.’ Having resources available on campus removes that barrier. So they take care of the issue.”

Buss is a UC Davis graduate and worked as a science teacher before transitioning into administration. She got involved with ACEs while working with homeless and foster youth. She believes that helping the teachers become trauma informed is just as important as helping the students.

“None of it works unless the teachers are doing okay,” Buss said. “We have to start by taking care of our staff so that they have the mental and emotional bandwidth to help the students be okay.”

Susan Jones, the co-chair of Resilient Yolo and founder of Creative Behavior Systems, agrees.

“Educators are bringing their lived experiences to the table in ways that they communicate or set up systems or structures,” Susan Jones said. “Most likely, two thirds of them have also experienced some level of trauma. And oftentimes, those lived experiences create layers of oppression.”

Smith said that it’s essential that educators are “interacting in a culturally and linguistically appropriate way that actually brings healing, and not further insecurities, not further trauma.”

MLK Jr. High has also been involved with parents of students, according to Buss.

“High ACEs scores are typically not isolated,” Buss said. “This stuff is generational, and the whole family is often affected. So sometimes the parents need support just as much as the kids do, if not more.”

Sharlese Jones also stresses the importance of extending trauma-informed care to the family.

“I do find myself being that listening ear for parents just as much as I am for the students,” Sharlese Jones said. “They are trying to support their children, and they’re trying to also understand life and be able to navigate life, and be able to teach their child how to do so.”

Already ACEs initiatives are having a huge impact on the Yolo community, according to Susan Jones.

“There’s one story that stays with me all the time,” Susan Jones said. “This mom said, ‘I’m grateful for the work that you’ve done with us, my son’s teacher, myself and my family, because not only did you change the trajectory of my son’s school experience, but you’ve also changed the generations of dysfunction that has been occurring in our family systems.’”

Buss has also seen the impact at MLK Jr. High School.

“Once [students] are part of our community, a traumainformed community that understands the impact of ACEs, they realize it’s valuable, and they want to be part of it,” Buss said. “Slowly building them up, watching them gain confidence as students, watching them start to feel comfortable, and then eventually getting all the way through to graduation, is so cool. [...] They’re taking ownership of their own education. I think that’s the biggest thing.”

Yolo County residents can access the workshops and materials on adverse childhood experiences here. Educational and informative resources on adverse childhood experiences can also be found at the PACEs Connection website.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021 | 3

UC DAVIS COMMUNITY MEMBERS DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH Native campus leaders weigh in on what this month means to them, how students can be better allies to Native communities and the work that still needs to be done

BY SIMRAN KALKAT features@theaggie.org November is Native American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate and honor the rich and diverse cultures of Native and Indigenous peoples. It is also a time to reflect and, for many, begin to learn and understand Native history.

Members of the UC Davis community reflected on the importance of this month and what it means for Native and Indigenous students and the community at large.

Deserea Langley, the associate director of the Native American Academic Student Success Center (Native Nest) and Paiute and Shoshone enrolled member of the Susanville Indian Rancheria, shared what honoring Native history and heritage this month can look like, specifically for members of the UC Davis community, as the campus was built on unceded Patwin land.

“It’s good to think about the way we are supporting Native people and Native nations,” Langley said. “Maybe people can learn more about the native communities in these spaces.

[People can] learn more specifically at Davis about the Patwin people and who those communities are. More than just reading a statement, what are they doing for their people? What are they doing for the university? They provide a lot for the university. But thinking about how [students] could support them and how they could be good guests on their land.”

The Native Nest hosts important programming for students, not just during Native American Heritage Month, but throughout the year. They provide various forms of academic support to Native students on campus, such as career or writing services. They’ve also hosted a meet and greet with Dr. Kathleen Whiteley from the Department of Native American Studies, who is a descendant of the Wiyot tribe and the only individual in the Native American Studies Department who identifies as a California Indian.

Other events have been planned on campus to commemorate the month as well. The UC Davis Cross Cultural Center hosted a poetry lounge on Nov. 18 with Tanaya Winder, a poet, writer, speaker and educator who is a member of the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe. Also on Nov. 18, the Mondavi Center hosted Pamuya, a group that showcases indigenous Inuit culture through “Inuit Soul Music.” The Native Nest will be holding beading circles and a community feast for Native and Indigenous students throughout November as well.

Although some of this programming is specifically aimed at supporting Native and Indigenous students, most of these events are open for all. Langley said that Native American Heritage Month is a time for students and allies to support the work of Native community members and leaders and learn about Native culture.

“Native American History Month is a good time to learn more about Native people and our histories and what we’re doing today and

CHRISTINA LIU / AGGIE

trying to figure out ways how they could support us,” Langley said. “Whether it’s showing up to our events or learning our histories or maybe participating in protests or calling representatives to support certain bills [that affect] Native people. I think for allies, it’s a really good time for them to learn and grow with us.”

Although Native American Heritage Month is an important step toward better honoring and understanding Native history, it also has a complicated history that cannot be overlooked.

Veronica Passalacqua, the curator for the C.N. Gorman Museum at UC Davis, explained why the history of this month is complicated.

“It seems to always come around in relation to Thanksgiving [as well as in schools] and so it is complex, to say the least,” Passalacqua said.

Passalacqua acknowledged the significance of Native American Heritage Month and the shift many communities are making to not honor Columbus Day and instead to commemorate Indigenous People’s Day, but she also points out that naming one month or one day for acknowledging Native heritage isn’t enough.

“It is important [that] things have changed,” Passalacqua said. “[But] my thing is always about, ‘Well, how does this benefit communities?’ My

community is the world of Native artists. How does it benefit Native artists [that] it’s Native American Heritage Month? What does that mean for us and for our community of people?”

Understanding centuries of Native history and the diverse and unique cultures of Indigenous people can’t happen within one month every year but requires a sustained commitment. As students at UC Davis, a good place to start is with courses taught in the Native American Studies Department.

“If students show up [for Native communities] and the university administration sees that, I think that’s really an important step to be a good ally and to understand that we need to make transformative change for Native people and Indigenous people,” Langley said.

For students who are looking to be better allies to Native students and educate themselves on Native history and heritage, there are places on campus where they can start, such as the Society of Native American Poets and Storytellers (SNAPS). Rae Whiteman, a thirdyear communications major and the president of SNAPS, said that their meetings are open to all people and shared how their mission and work promotes Native communities.

“During our meetings, we usually read poetry, songs, creative writing, talk about writers and styles of writing, play games and have workshops for us to practice our creative writing as well,” Whiteman said via email. “SNAPS is open to all students regardless of major, age, or background [or] identity! You don’t have to identify as Native American or Indigenous to join, we just center a lot of our conversations around Native events and writers.”

SNAPS is just one of many organizations on campus where students can learn more about Native and Indigenous history. Whiteman said that while many Native groups on campus welcome students outside of their communities, it is students’ responsibility to support them when invited and work on unlearning a lot of the misrepresentation of Native history that has been historically taught in American schools and portrayed in the media.

“It is not the responsibility of Native and Indigenous people to teach you,” Whiteman said via email. “Do the work yourself, don’t expect someone to drop everything to educate you on areas where you failed to educate yourself.”

CA #75, SB #24 PASSED AT NOV. 4 ASUCD SENATE MEETING The Senate passed two emergency bills and reconsidered and passed four pieces of old legislation

BY JENNIFER MA campus@theaggie.org At 6:10 p.m., Vice President Juliana Martinez Hernandez called the Nov. 4 Senate meeting to order and recited the UC Davis Land Acknowledgment.

Shortly after, two members from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) Student Defenders presented to the Senate table. They discussed their mission in providing support and legal advice for students and ensuring that students’ rights are protected in campus disciplinary proceedings.

This was followed by a presentation from Esmeralda QuinteroCubillan from the UC Student Association (USCA). She discussed their year-long campaign priorities. These include pursuing a $1.5 million budget to provide menstrual hygiene products in bathrooms across the UC, increasing the Pell Grant, ensuring that students do not need to pick between attending class and voting and siphoning funds from policing in order to funnel them into campus-based resources.

Then, Annabel Marshall was confirmed as an interim senator with no objections.

“One of the main things for me is gaining an understanding of the Senate so that as I continue on […] I can have the insight of how the Senate works,” Marshall said.

Next, the point director and the unit director of the Whole

Earth Festival (WEF) provided a quarterly report. Members of WEF have been repairing solar-powered floodlights, purchasing a solar generator, getting the EcoHub into better shape and interviewing applicants to assemble their staff.

“We’re basically operating under the assumption that WEF will be full scale in May,” Cozette Ellis, the director of WEF, said.

Senate President Pro Tempore Kabir Sahni then provided the recommendation for nominee Sadia Sadiq. Chairperson Radhika Gawde moved to confirm Sadiq as a Judicial Council member, and Senator Sergio Bocardo-Aguilar seconded the motion. Then, Sadiq took the Oath of Office and became a Judicial Council member.

Afterward, CoHo Unit Director Darin Schluep presented a quarterly report. Since the beginning of fall quarter, the CoHo opened with about 40% of its staff, only half of its service platforms and reduced hours of operation. Another change this year regarding staffing is the creation of employee “CoHorts” that are scheduled to work in only one or two platforms. This increases area expertise and helps minimize training.

The general manager of KDVS, Jaidyn Alvarez-Brigance, then provided KDVS’ quarterly report. The unit has opened 24/7 for live programming since the start of fall quarter, and it released a COVID-19 operation manual to fit the current UC Davis health

AGGIE FILE

policies. It is the first station to reopen and create a manual, so all other UC stations have used its manual as a guideline.

Following the reports from KDVS and the CoHo, the Student Health and Wellness Committee gave a report. Chairperson Sanjana Battula said they are working on projects like Wellness Wednesday, which provides help with test-taking anxiety and stress from the transition back to in-person classes, and Midterm Wellness, which promotes healthy sleep habits.

Next, one of the co-chairs presented the STEM Committee quarterly report. Its biggest project currently is making STEM a more approachable and social area that interests students; they plan to do this through the Science Fair.

In public announcements, EAVP Shruti Adusumilli highlighted the Lobby Corps event for UCSA on Nov. 13 and the Pepper Spray Anniversary event on Nov. 18.

The Senate then moved into public discussion. Research and Data Committee Chairperson Stephen Fujimoto discussed the issue of transparency of the Equitable Access program.

Martinez Hernandez also brought up concerns regarding high fees for athletics. Hernandez said she was frustrated that the entire student body had to pay for a pool that only roughly 700 studentathletes can use.

Chairperson Jared Lopez expanded on Martinez Hernandez’s sentiments.

“We do not want student-athletes defunded at all,” Lopez said. “[The university has] all the resources to fund it; they’re just putting it on students.”

The Senate then moved to swear Annabel Marshall in, as they forgot to have her take her Oath of Office earlier in the meeting.

The Senators then moved on to legislation. CA #75 is an emergency bill that restructures the makeup of the Elections Committee and extensively lays out what will happen in case of vacancies, recalls and endorsements to ensure impartiality. It passed unanimously.

SR #10 also passed unanimously. It calls for a thorough and independent review by the state auditor to determine whether UC Davis students have been treated fairly in exchange for their initiative fees since 2010.

SB #21, which dissolves the Herbicide Free Committee (HFC) due to low student interest, passed unanimously.

SB #22, a small edit to the ASUCD Bylaws regarding the Volunteer Award Committee, passed unanimously.

SB #23 creates a board instead of a committee to plan the Pride Festival. It will give them autonomy to seek help outside of ASUCD when planning. It passed unanimously.

SB #24 addresses actions that candidates can take during an election. It gets rid of platform flyers, creates changes to the EAVP and Executive tickets and changes the public candidate debate to a public forum.

Sahni moved to pass the bill as amended without the Executive ticket. With a 7-1 vote, this emergency legislation passed.

Martinez Hernandez adjourned the meeting at 11:18 p.m.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

4 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021

STUDIES SHOW STUDENTS’ WELL-BEING TO BE IMPACTED BY COVID-19 UC Davis-led surveys and undergraduates’ experiences give insight into students’ mental health challenges throughout the pandemic

BY MAYA SHYDLOWSKI features@theaggie.org UC Davis students can schedule individual counseling sessions with the Student Health and Wellness Center by calling 1(530)752-0871. For additional resources, visit the Healthy UC Davis or Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center websites.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many people’s stress levels, but even as the world transitions back to life in person, the additional stress of the pandemic — and associated burnout that many have felt — remains prevalent.

When COVID-19 first became prevalent in the U.S. and stay-at-home orders were introduced, many aspects of daily life changed, altering behavior and well-being in addition.

According to a survey from the UC Davis Student Health and Well-Being Data, conducted in spring 2021, the number of undergraduate students who reported either stress, anxiety, sleep difficulties or depression that resulted in a negative impact on their academics all increased from 2019 reports. Another study conducted by UC Davis Health Education and Promotion in spring 2021 found that approximately nine out of every 10 UC Davis students reported that the pandemic increased their stress levels.

In addition to the surveys conducted by various student health groups on campus, researchers in the psychology and human ecology departments on campus have also conducted studies on the effects of the pandemic. One of these professors is Paul Hastings, a psychology professor and researcher at the Center for Mind and Brain at UC Davis. His research has focused on how COVID-19 restrictions have affected different groups of people, including undergraduate students at UC Davis.

He surveyed students’ ability to cope with the changes caused by these restrictions and behaviors that they attributed to trying to cope with restrictions. He explained that when faced with a life-altering situation like the pandemic, people engage in self-protective behaviors, but that due to the nature of COVID-19, some of these common coping mechanisms were made impossible.

“Along with the kind of fight-or-flight response of self-protective behavior, there’s another theory called the tend-and-befriend, which is when under conditions of stress and threat, we seek to forge connections with others, and we build our social bonds,” Hastings said.

“The pandemic conditions really challenged our ability to do that because we were supposed to be keeping our distance.”

Hastings and his graduate students collected 15 months’ worth of data and are preparing to publish a report that focuses on the early stages of the pandemic’s lockdowns. He said that

CHRISTINA LIU / AGGIE those first few months were critical in learning about people’s stress responses. Along with other studies done through UC Davis, Hastings said that his group found that overall stress levels did increase during the pandemic, but not in the way many experts assumed they would.

“There had been a lot of initial thought that what was going to occur was initial stress levels were going to be really high, and then people would get used to this new context of remote school, maintaining social distancing, et cetera, and then things would calm down,” Hastings said. “We saw the opposite — that there was a linear increase.”

Hastings said that since March of 2020, when COVID-19 became widespread throughout the U.S., students have experienced stress related to the pandemic, but they have also experienced other intense stressors not immediately associated with COVID-19. According to Hastings, the survey found a “pivot point” around May 26, 2020, the day after George Floyd’s murder.

He said that this marked the beginning of a steepening increase in stress levels that continued as the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum, leading to instances of violence and inequality dominating headlines. Hastings explained that the past 20 months have been

stressful on a national level for many reasons, apart from the ongoing pandemic.

“We’ve been in a period of enormous social upheaval with regard to the social justice protests around Black Lives Matter, with respect to the [2020 Presidential] election, with respect to the increasing recognition of climate disasters,” Hastings said.

Although Hastings’s group stopped collecting survey data in summer 2021, he said that he has been noticing how different students are coping with the return to in-person classes.

Some students appear to be thriving, while others are being put in even more difficult situations.

Hastings said that more students are using the campus student mental health services and are seeking out academic accommodations as they readjust to life on campus.

Some students have fallen back into a semi-normal routine in which they can better achieve their academic, social and career goals, but for a variety of reasons, other students have struggled with the expectations of returning to in-person learning and extracurricular activities. COVID-19 is still deemed an ongoing pandemic by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and many students are still facing the additional challenges of social

inequality, financial insecurity and compromised health.

Mental health disparities in students remain high even as fall quarter feels “normal” for some.

According to the UC Davis Student Health and Well-Being Data, as of spring 2021, 58.1% of undergraduates were experiencing loneliness and one in three were experiencing serious psychological distress. These numbers may have changed as pandemic-related restrictions have shifted, but stress, anxiety and burnout continue to affect students. Hastings said that for some, the transition back to in-person learning has been just as hard as the transition to online learning was last March.

Molly Hill, a fourth-year psychology major, is a mental well-being project management student coordinator for Health Education and Promotion, one of the organizations on campus that aims to end the stigma around mental health and provide students with support resources.

She explained that stress and burnout can have multiple faces, and students can experience ranging symptoms.

BURNOUT on 9

WHICH COFFEE IS BEST FOR YOU? Descriptions of a handful of Downtown Davis’ most popular study spots

BY SIERRA JIMENEZ arts@theaggie.org The toes of my boots go damp from the fallen leaves as I journey into Downtown Davis in search of a local coffee shop to get the grind on that is college. Although Davis is a small town, the catalog of cafes to choose from can be overwhelming. I went to a handful of coffee shops in hopes of making the decision a little easier for Davis students who are searching for their perfect study spot with finals just around the corner. The environment is such an essential part of studying that it is imperative to find the right spot that fits your personal needs. Hopefully my experiences and descriptions of the coffee shops below will help you find the perfect place for you.

Mishka’s Cafe The old-timey look of the red brick building of Mishka’s Café on 2nd St. is reflected on the inside with the same authentic coffee shop feel.

Classic jazz plays behind the chitter-chatter and the grinding of the coffee maker from behind the bar. Soft yellow overhead lights highlight the persimmon orange walls, accentuating the circulating original artwork displayed for the diverse clientele enjoying the homey ambiance.

“First impression of this place was immediate

Philz Coffee shop in Davis, CA. (Aggie File)

cozy old-world vibes,” Joseph Milro, avid Mishka’s-goer and Davis community member, said.

Given the recent gloomy weather, Mishka’s is an exceptional spot to cozy up and drink a hot cup of Joe while marinating in its old-timey environment. Here, I feel transported to a 1920s New Orleans scene from an old Hollywood motion picture where chatter, jazz and smoke circulate in the coffee-scented air. If you identify as an old soul trapped in a modern world, you will feel at home at Mishka’s.

Although the ambiance here at Mishka’s is ideal for its antique environment, it is notorious for its spotty Wi-Fi. Not only is it required to make a purchase to receive a code for the WiFi, but when busy, the Wi-Fi is so unreliable that most people resort to personal hotspots for laptop usage or transition to paper work.

Milro described the infamous Wi-Fi scandal as a comical representation of the analog environment of Mishka’s — focusing not on modern technology, but rather an old-timey coffee shop cliché. That said, either come with a personal hotspot or old-school pen-and-paper work to complete just in case the Wi-Fi decides to leave this time capsule of a shop.

Temple Standing out from the small-town feel

of Downtown Davis, G St.’s Temple Coffee Roasters welcomes each customer inside with soft house music into a futuristic seduction.

From the placement of the overhead lights to the coffee grounds, each component of this cafe seems strategically positioned to create a cleancut, modern aesthetic. Thematic elements of white paint, glass structures and light golden wood are replicated throughout the design of the coffee shop inducing a sterile and productive atmosphere. There is an abundance of natural light that bounces off the light walls of the shop, keeping customers awake and alert to work. Not to mention, it stays open the latest for you night owls. The absence of indoor communal tables elicits an individual workspace from the singular barstools perfectly lined down the long tabletop.

The Wi-Fi here is free and available to all — perfectly aligned with its conformity to modernity. It seems as though every customer is on their laptop, slaving away to the screen in front of their face almost robotically. Not necessarily a chatty atmosphere, Temple is an ideal place to work when on a deadline. Truly feeling like you are in a temple while perched on the barstools in this coffee shop with its modern architecture and corporate office preciseness, everyone is here to fuel their technological endeavors in this small taste of Silicon Valley right here in Downtown Davis.

Cloud Forest Cafe Perhaps because it resides on the outskirts of the centralized coffee shop square including Mishka’s, Peets, Philz and Starbucks, this artsy little D St. hidden gem is often overlooked when searching for the perfect coffee shop. Throughout the years, Cloud Forest Cafe has been newly remodeled using reclaimed wood for the tables and infrastructure in efforts to preserve trees and do their part in saving the environment — given the name of their cafe, we’d hope they would care! Black-and-white photographs of Bob Dylan decorate the walls while beautiful handmade art presents itself to the customers, begging to be examined and enjoyed.

This quaint cafe, although homey and artsy, is not an ideal place to work on a laptop or internet-based tasks. With limited hours for laptop use and no Wi-Fi available to customers, this cafe is designed to create an atmosphere for conversation and face-to-face interaction.

“NO LAPTOPS PLEASE: Please help us create an environment for conversation! Laptop Hours: 1:30 pm- 3:00 pm,” is written in elegant cursive on a sign next to the cash register.

COFFEESHOPS on 9

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021 | 5

OPINION

THE UC DAVIS PEPPER SPRAY INCIDENT, 10 YEARS LATER

THE

C ALIFORNIA A GGIE

E D I TO R I A L B OA R D ANJINI VENUGOPAL Editor-in-Chief MARGO ROSENBAUM Managing Editor

The Editorial Board reflects on the attack against peaceful student protestors that broke international news When students peacefully protested against a raise in tuition as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement on Nov. 18, 2011, an unprovoked UC Davis police officer sprayed several passive protestors in the face with pepper spray, sparking outrage among students, faculty, staff and the general public. With today marking the 10 year anniversary of this event, termed the UC Davis pepper spray incident, the Editorial Board would like to look back on the subsequent actions, impacts and changes made as a result of this horrific account of violence inflicted on students by the UC Davis Police Department (UCDPD).

The display of unnecessary force used against protestors made international news and became a point of focus in the Occupy Wall Street movement. The reach of the incident is made especially clear by comments from Kamran Loghman, who helped develop weapon-grade pepper spray. “I have never seen such an inappropriate and improper use of chemical agents,” he said in an interview with The New York Times.

Such a negative response to the incident did not reflect well on UC Davis — something the administration at the time apparently felt strongly about. A little over a year after the incident generated widespread news, the university paid a public relations firm to remove references to the incident in Google searches on the university and on then-Chancellor Linda Katehi. This irresponsible and unethical move shocked and disappointed students at the time, and, similar to the pepper spray event itself, today serves as a reminder of the capabilities of powerful institutions.

Even though a decade has passed since this incident, it is necessary to continuously reexamine this institution’s past to maintain the expectations the student body and the public had of the university at the time of the events. On college campuses, from which students graduate and leave every year, and with them their experiences and reactions to happenings on campus, it’s particularly important to think back to why injustice happened, what was promised to be improved and if since, appropriate action has been taken.

In response to the wrongful attack on student protestors, reports were conducted to investigate the events and make recommendations for UC Davis and the UC system, many of which UC Davis acted on. On the Combined Report Recommendations page of the website dedicated to reviewing the Nov. 18, 2011 events, tables show specific recommended actions from different reports and their completion status; most say “Completed,” though several UC System-wide action items say they are still in progress or pending review.

UCDPD has taken action since completing the above recommendations, including its accreditation by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators this year. That being said, as more task forces are assembled and more recommendations are made, the university should issue regular updates on their progress for students, faculty, staff and the public to check their commitment to these issues.

The Report of the Task Force on Next Generation Reforms to Advance Campus Safety was released in June this year, which included eight recommendations to be enacted within two academic years. The task force was assembled in June 2020 in response to worldwide protests against police brutality. We at The California Aggie are committed to holding this administration to this two-year deadline, and encourage the student body and local community to do the same.

While it’s clear that over the past 10 years the university has proven their dedication to ensuring campus policing is regulated, some students and faculty strongly oppose the presence of police officers on campus at all, and still feel unheard by the university on these matters. Today, on Nov. 18, UC Davis Cops Off Campus and other campus groups are hosting a rally on the Quad, providing a space to discuss and protest the threat they claim is posed by campus officers.

While some students and the university may be at odds on the matter of the abolition of campus police, the Editorial Board supports the notion that students may be experiencing emotional distress due to having cops on campus, and that this is only heightened with today’s remembrance of what the police were capable of doing in our community before.

The Editorial Board recognizes the severe impacts of police brutality and the disproportionate harm this abuse of power has on Black individuals and other members of the BIPOC community.

While the pepper spray incident was not reported to be racially motivated, we understand the context of this conversation today and want to acknowledge the stress caused by the recollection of harm done to students by police officers on our campus.

While remembering such traumatic events can be difficult, it is imperative to consider our institutions’ histories, including the mistakes they’ve made and the changes they’ve promised. As we recall the pepper spray incident 10 years later, we appreciate the follow-through on recommended improvements from the past and call on the members of the current administration to maintain their commitment to these issues and consider community concerns as they continue taking action.

SOPHIE DEWEES Campus News Editor MADELEINE PAYNE City News Editor EDEN WINNIFORD Opinion Editor KATIE DEBENEDETTI Features Editor ALLIE BAILEY Arts & Culture Editor OMAR NAVARRO Sports Editor MICHELLE WONG Science & Tech Editor

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

IT’S TIME TO PAVE UC DAVIS’ DESIRE PATHS Dangerous, muddy paths around campus need an overhaul

BY OWEN RUDERMAN opruderman@ucdavis.edu When most people think of UC Davis, they think bicycles, and for good reason: The infrastructure of paved pathways around campus make it easy to get around on a bike. In reality though, many UC Davis students commute, take the bus or walk to school. The sidewalks and paths for these students are much less numerous and developed than those made for cyclists. It’s easy to see this difference just by looking at the number of desire paths around campus.

A desire path, also known as a bootleg trail, is a path that results from erosion by foot traffic. These dirt walkways usually represent the shortest or most easily-navigated route between an origin and destination. You can think of them as student-made shortcuts that have emerged because constructed paths are inefficient or nonexistent.

UC Davis is heavily saturated with desire paths—I’m willing to bet that if you walk to class,

you use one every time. Routes from the Parking Garage to the ARC, the roundabout to Hoagland Hall and the Bus Stop from Hunt Hall are just a few examples of popular desire paths. At first glance, these makeshift walkways seem harmless.

However, a variety of factors can actually make desire paths hazardous to students.

The paths are usually straight lines to the desired destination, and as a result, they sometimes cut though places that students aren’t meant to walk. One example is the path to Hoagland Hall, which pierces right through a bike path. I’ve personally seen many students (myself included) almost get hit by a bicyclist while taking this particular trail. If the desire path was paved and marked by the school, the potential danger of the path would be greatly reduced.

Additionally, as I’m sure many of us have noticed, it’s begun to rain. Rain doesn’t affect

paved walkways around campus too much. Sure, there’s an occasional puddle, but your shoes get nothing more than slightly wet from walking on paved paths. Desire paths are a different story. Because they are dirt, they can become extremely muddy and slippery. Nobody wants to risk ruining their shoes and clothes or falling and hurting themselves just to get to class on time.

Some might make the argument that students just shouldn’t use desire paths if they don’t want to get hit by a bike or muddy their shoes. But if you think realistically, you will recognize that students will always take the shortest, most convenient route.

If a popular desire path was deemed too dangerous and was closed off without a new pathway to replace it, students would just create another bootleg trail. For this reason, the school should pave over and mark existing desire paths, forcing bicyclists to yield to pedestrians who

cross there.

The planning for the path has already been done by the students — now all UC Davis needs to do is pour some asphalt on the dirt paths and mark it up with some paint or signs. The school could cut down immensely on all the potential hazards that arise from these shortcuts by paving the most popular desire paths — likely over this coming summer break, when sunny weather and decreased student traffic will make it most convenient. UC Davis needs to go with the flow of traffic and pave over the campus desire paths.

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.

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

6 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

OPINION

A CASE FOR CANNED FOOD

Canned food is a vehicle for convenient, flavorful and nutritious meals

BY NADIA ANEES nsanees@ucdavis.edu In my pantry one gloomy Monday evening, I had a can of tomato soup, two cans of chickpeas and some eggplant reaching the end of its shelf life. The weather was cold out and the new sunset time of 4:30 p.m. had me in a bit of a slump. I needed comfort, and my way of seeking comfort usually begins with food.

I got creative and turned my store-brand canned tomato soup into a roasted garlicky tomato base for an eggplant chickpea stew.

I remember being in elementary school and donating canned foods to school to keep in bags in case our school ever entered some type of disaster. I don’t remember, thankfully, ever needing to open those bags of canned foods—they’d remain idle in the corner of the classroom forever. I grew up thinking of canned foods as something only for use in a pinch.

I generally feel that people tend to overlook the option of assembling meals out of canned or frozen goods. There is a common misconception that eating food from a can is less nutritious than the fresh version of it. For a good portion of my life, I believed that eating canned food or frozen packaged food was somehow less tasty and nutritious.

When COVID-19 caused global shutdowns, the cans of food collecting dust in the back of the dim pantry in my house were brought out for the first time. Out came chickpeas, green beans, crushed tomatoes, pumpkin puree, panko bread crumbs, tuna and old-fashioned oats. My household started incorporating canned vegetables into our meals, and slowly, I started to see canned foods in a new light.

Now, I base a lot of my meals around some canned item one way or another. I’ve stopped seeing canned tomato soup as just tomato soup—instead, I use it as a rich base for a comforting and hearty stew. A can of tuna is a tasty five-minute tuna melt on sourdough. Canned diced beets are a hearty fall harvest bowl with brown rice, greens and sweet potatoes. I’ve started to think of canned foods as convenient ways to make meals that would dazzle my taste buds and brighten my mood (and all on a budget).

AMY YU / AGGIE For people pressed for time, or busy college students like me, canned and frozen food makes so much more sense to have on hand than fresh produce, which often goes bad in the fridge.

Common misconceptions of canned food, however, can keep people from actually putting their canned goods to use. Some big fears surrounding canned food are that they’re less nutritious, contain unnecessary added sugars or salt and that they have too many harmful preservatives.

There is no significant difference between nutrient levels of raw products after canning, according to a study from the American Journal of Public Health. By a similar token, frozen food is picked at its most ripe and then sent to the factories to freeze and package.

A two-year study found that frozen food can actually be more nutritionally dense than fresh produce because it is picked at peak

ripeness, whereas fresh food is sometimes harvested a few days before full ripeness. This study found that there are similar rates of nutrients among fresh and frozen produce by comparing levels of L-ascorbic acid, trans-b-carotene and folate.

The Centers of Disease Control found that roughly 10% of U.S. adults eat the recommended daily amount of fruit and vegetables, and a previous study cited high cost and cooking time and lack of access contribute to this low number.

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.

CANNEDFOOD on 9

CAN WE LEARN FROM CHINA’S TUTORING BAN? Are our avenues into higher education functioning as they should be?

BY ALEX MOTAWI almotawi@ucdavis.edu Higher education has steadily grown in importance over the past few decades. While people in the U.S. are starting to seek out other ways to progress in the workforce, having a college degree still seems necessary. Above that, getting a degree from a prestigious institution is extremely valuable and can be the career launchpad that all kids and parents dream of. While the cost of attendance for most universities is climbing to what may be considered impossible prices, the benefits of their degrees still outweigh the steep costs, making admittance extremely competitive.

With entrance to these select universities hedging heavily on standardized test results, families will do absolutely everything they can to give their children the best possible chance of success.

It’s only natural for families to invest in their children, but it also heavily skews the fairness of a “standardized test” that has already been facing strife for being biased toward certain groups.

Having more funds to spend on tutors and test-prep courses does in fact correlate with higher scores, which means higher-income families are more likely to have their kids score higher than lowincome families. For what should be a fair aptitude test, family wealth is giving wealthier kids an outsized advantage. The same applies in China, just to a much greater degree — and the Chinese government mustered up the courage to do something about it. Is their ban on tutoring helping curb the fact that wealth affects test scores, and can we follow similar strategies?

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE In China, the college admission process often dominates students’ lives to a much greater degree than in the U.S. Similar to the SAT and ACT, China uses a test coined the “gaokao” to gauge the qualifications of college applicants, and it is almost the sole factor in admissions decisions. In the U.S., students often pursue extracurricular activities to boost their chances, but everything is about the “gaokao” from the instant kids start school in China.

Students (75% as of 2016) do things like attend sleepaway summer camps or hire private tutors to study for years leading up to the test.

For families, the better score these programs earn their students is worth the sky-high prices, but for the government, it reduces fairness and raises the general cost of having a child.

HUMOR

RENDEZVOUS

BY THEA HUDSON trhudson@ucdavis.edu

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

In an effort to be fairer, the Chinese government is stamping out for-profit tutoring across the country. Theoretically, this will even the playing field, lower the accepted cost of raising children (therefore increasing family size) and allow children to develop themselves through other avenues. But is this ban working in China? Only time will tell, but due to the change, over 10 million teachers and tutors are now unemployed, and families are lacking after-school care for their children. Some sources believe the ban will exacerbate the issue, with only ultra-wealthy families able to now afford “black-market” tutoring with disguised teachers that can cost over $400 an hour. While a foundational change like this has been tough in China, the reasoning is still sound, and the transition would be much easier in the U.S. U.S. entrance exams are a mess. It’s proven that wealthier families score higher on the SAT, as do whites and Asians compared to other races. While wealthier families will probably always have higher test scores due to children having more time to study or do extracurricular activities as compared to working-class families, putting restrictions on private tutoring would be a great way to shrink this deficit.

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.

TUTORINGBAN on 9

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

ARTS & CULTURE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021 | 7

COMMENTARY: WHERE ARE THE GOOD MOVIE POSTERS? Movie Posters just aren’t what they used to be, thanks to “Marvelification” rendering them void of creativity

BY ANGIE CUMMINGS arts@theaggie.org The iconic movie poster is truly a lost art form. It is now a rare occurrence that we pay any mind to the design of a movie’s promotional cover when posters of movies past still adorn many of our walls. Some of these icons have even become infamous, like that of Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction,” which is often seen as an immediate red flag to have up in one’s room. Of course, there are famous movie posters that have not been vilified, and still function as great pieces of wall decor, including that of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “Jaws,” “The Godfather” and even relatively simply

designed ones like “The Graduate.”

When the question as to why contemporary movie posters by and large do not compete with these icons is asked, it is easiest to identify one culprit: Marvel Entertainment. Their superhero movie posters have been relentlessly ridiculed online over the years, and yet they keep coming out with these dizzyingly designed posters, often with severe cases of “floating head syndrome.”

While the vast majority of Marvel movie posters are guilty of this, it is necessary to give a dishonorable mention to “Spiderman: Homecoming.” If you were to simply search the title paired with the word “poster,” you’d be confronted with tweets, articles and subreddits

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

discussing how visually displeasing it is. The poster consists of essentially every main cast member lazily photoshopped along the right side of the poster, all floating above the New York skyline. From a design perspective the poster feels disjointed; just looking at it, it’s genuinely confusing what the movie is supposed to be about, as it gives no indication as to what the feeling, theme or concept of the movie is — all we know is that Spiderman is there, as is Iron Man, and that the Washington Monument is in New York?

While I could go on for days discussing my frustrations with just Marvel posters, it is important to recognize this is not just a Marvel problem. Movie posters from across genres and studios have been on a steady decline since the beginning of the 21st century. The “Marvelification” of movie posters has quickly spread across almost any sci-fi or large-scale action film, first hitting the newest Star Wars trilogy, and most recently with the highly-anticipated “Dune” remake. Again with the floating heads…

At least there was some consideration to slightly unify the eight actors floating above a desert, but it is still completely void of any creativity or feeling.

While it would help me sleep at night if this movie poster issue was reserved for these CGI-filled, battle-focused films (that are often driven by the starpower first and the narrative second), this is sadly not the case. “Last Night in Soho,” a beautifully made and musically driven psychological horror film set in London and split between the 1960s and the present, and which many were excited to see simply because it was an original concept, underdelivered in the very first glimpse of the film. Unfortunately, if you blur your vision just slightly, this poster could

easily be replaced with one from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” with its division of red and blue glowing hues, floating heads and the central character placed right in the middle.

Why would such a creative film resort to such an overdone and underwhelming promotional poster? The answer most likely lies in the fact that movie promotion is heavily controlled by marketing analytics, giving way to people creating posters with the first goal being to optimize boxoffice sales and hitting their target audience, rather than making something memorable and striking. Movie posters now often prioritize packing it full of the stars who will draw in audiences, and bright colors to distinguish the good and bad, instead of creating something that is first and foremost visually pleasing and hints at the overall feeling of the film.

While many of the beautiful older movie posters were paintings or handmade collages, it doesn’t take a design major to realize you can still make something truly moving with the Adobe suite. A poster that defied current abysmal poster trends, and has thus boosted the buzz around the film itself, is the new Princess Diana film, “Spencer.” The first poster that came out was minimal and striking, immediately going viral on Twitter, and yet it was just a photo of Diana (played by Kristen Stewart) collapsed into a huge, beautiful gown. This instance is proof that an understated marketing technique can still wow audiences, and prioritizing the emotion of a film (in this case,despair and anguish) over everything bright and flashy won’t tank sales.

I have no hope for Marvel movie posters to turn over a new leaf, but at this point I am begging filmmakers to just put the slightest bit of effort into their promotional images, if only to make it easier to enjoy movies again.

THE GREATEST IN MOVIES VAGUELY RELATED TO THANKSGIVING See below for a list of weird movies that, at the very least, touch on the holiday

BY JACOB ANDERSON arts@theaggie.org Thanksgiving is the fourth Baldwin brother of the holiday season: forgotten, squashed between the superior forces of Halloween and Christmas and known mostly for spawning tremendous family fights. Consequently, just as Mariah Carey signals the masses to forgo the holiday, film producers have wholly decided that we do not deserve movies about this turkeycentric day, and what precious few titles exist are either strange or barely qualify as Thanksgiving movies.

Here are some: “Blood Rage” dir. by John Grissmer (1987): With the genre of trashy slashers teeming already, it appears that the only remaining movie by the late ‘80s was to set these films on the one holiday remaining (Christmas, too, in addition to Halloween, having been rung out already): Thanksgiving. The film is about two identical twins, Todd and Terry, one of whom is framed by the other for murder, only to escape and be framed once more on Thanksgiving Day. It’s short and silly, and unfortunately the fact that it’s set on the holiday barely comes into play. One sort of has to wish one of these movies would include a poisoned turkey breast or something, but apparently such a thing is too much to ask.

“Jack and Jill” dir. by Dennis Dugan (2011): This film is a nightmare, and it also happens to be set on Thanksgiving. While films “so bad they’re funny” get brought up enough, little is said about their malformed cousins, the films “so bad they stack overflow and are not even a little bit funny.” Adam Sandler gets a bad rap for suchlike films, to the point that some have speculated that their productions are scams designed to fund essentially free vacations for the cast. While such conspiracies may sound silly before you traverse the awful experience watching one, the actual content of “Jack and Jill” and its ilk may lead even the most skeptic of viewers to reconsider.

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

“Rocky” dir. by John Avildsen (1976): “Rocky,” as one of the all-time greats, needs no real introduction. One of the greatest sports films of the last century, it also happens to have a famous scene in which a roasted turkey is thrown out of a window. The connection may be loose, but it is there. Direct all criticism to arts@ theaggie.org.

“ThanksKilling” dir. by Jordan Downey (2008): One of a few late ‘00s comedy-horror flicks styled after the best of hokey slashers from decades past. While the humor itself misses often, the film as a whole has a certain charm to it. This also happens to be the only film on this list that is indisputably Thanksgiving-themed, which probably says something negative about the breadth of the genre: especially once it’s taken into consideration that this film is a joke.

Nevertheless, it’s not a totally regrettable watch if you feel so inclined and didn’t get your horror fixings around Halloween already. This thing also has a killer poster — I’d buy it if it were available anywhere.

“Brokeback Mountain” dir. by Ang Lee (2005): This is yet another famous drama with a Thanksgiving scene, this one featuring Jake Gyllenhaal at an actual Thanksgiving dinner, not just one that happens to contain a turkey. This is an excellent film by any metric, so if you find yourself in pressing need of a film that can be convincingly be labelled a Thanksgiving film, you may be well-equipped to bring up this one. What that situation might be, I really can’t imagine.

Dinner canceled on account of a mountain lion outside the patio door? Family held hostage at the whims of an eccentric Thanksgiving-obsessed psycho?

In any case, I hope you’re now equipped with the means to be the delight of any Thanksgiving and cinema-centric conversation, perhaps over your own Thanksgiving dinner.

BY CLARA FISCHER arts@theaggie.org Movie: “Hairspray” (2007) One of my favorite movies as a child, this adaptation of the Broadway musical remains a classic for many reasons. The cast is starstudded and well balanced for all generations, with teen idols Zac Efron and Amanda Bynes playing alongside well-established actors like John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and Queen Latifah. The actual plot of the musical itself is powerful and tackles important issues, such as social justice and fatphobia, head-on. This is refreshing to see, especially from a movie made in the 2000s. Beyond that, the actual soundtrack is super catchy and will have viewers dancing along. I recommend “Hairspray” to all levels of musical enthusiasts — you can’t help but love to see John Travolta fully embody the role of Tracy Turnblad’s mother.

TV Show: “Sex Education” It’s no secret that our society is not exactly friendly to discussions about sex — some school health classes preach abstinence and brush over important information needed to keep young adults safe. “Sex Education” breaks that stigma, tackling controversial issues with no hesitation. Every episode starts off with a pretty risqué sex scene, so viewers know right away what they’re getting into with the show.

While the entertainment industry is no stranger to sexual content, “Sex Education” has a deeper purpose. The characters in the show experience various trials of life, including the teenage exploration of sexuality, abusive parents, sexism, sexual assault and more. By being so candid with these topics, the show sparks very important conversations that otherwise may be ignored for the sake of comfort.

Music: “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)” by Taylor Swift (2021) Taylor Swift truly is a figure of resilience, battling misogyny in the music industry from the very start of her career. Her decision to fight for the rights to her own music by taking the time to re-record her entire discography sends a powerful message to the often exploitative industry that took advantage of her. Swift’s newest (though technically old) album, “Red (Taylor’s Version),” features re-recordings of every song from the original release as well as nine that were previously unreleased. One of the most anticipated was the extended version of “All Too Well” — a fan-favorite song exploring heartbreak and a brutal breakup. Swift did not disappoint: The additional lyrics sung in her more mature voice add new depth to the already poignant piece and will no doubt help many through hard endings to relationships.

Book: “Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2013) Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has written a plethora of novels, with many of her works winning various literary awards. She is also well known for her “We Should All Be Feminists’’ TED Talk, which Beyoncé featured in her 2014 hit single “Flawless.” Adichie is revered for her powerful mastery of language and ability to share her experience with intersectional feminism. “Americanah’’ tells the story of Ifemelu, a young woman who emigrates from Nigeria to the United States in pursuit of furthering her education and her experience as a Black woman in America versus in Nigeria. The novel is an enlightening exploration of culture and femininity, and Adichie has a beautiful mastery of prose that makes the reader cling to every word. “Americanah’’ is a celebration of intersectional feminism and is absolutely worth the read.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

8 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021

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 11/11/2021

CROSSWORD Answer to previous puzzle 11/11/2021

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

reduce. reuse. recycle.

The aggie

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021 | 9

PEPPERSPRAY

LEADERSHIP

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “So they have, for example, brought on a chief whose job it is to say, ‘We’re listening, we know we need to be better, we’re making big changes,’” Joshua Clover, a professor in the departments of English and Comparative Literature, said via email. “It’s hard to imagine anyone takes this seriously.”

Clover has been vocal about his position on abolishing the police presence on campus and said that the only change he has seen has been in the outward face of UCDPD and the stated desire to reform campus policing.

“We have no interest in public relations,” Clover said via email. “We have an interest in getting rid of this immediate danger to the community.”

Meanwhile, Farrow explained that UCDPD has adopted new philosophies that do not include police presence at protests.

“This is a learning institution,” Farrow said.

“It’s freedom of expression, it’s freedom of speech, it’s freedom to gather. The role of the police in those types of incidents really shouldn’t exist.”

The department has been a role model in reforms for others across the UC system. The UC Office of the President (UCOP) made recommendations for police reform for UC campuses, some highlighting the work that UCDPD is doing.

“Our police accountability board and our international accreditation status […] takes standards to a higher level,” Farrow said. “It’s a

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 very difficult process to achieve, but we’re the only UC around that actually achieved that status. The UCOP recommendation now requires [all UCs] to do that.”

On June 15, the Chancellor’s Task Force on Next Generation Reforms to Advance Campus Safety released a report with the Associated Students of UC Davis that outlined ways to evolve and update UC Davis policing.

Members of organizations such as Cops Off Campus, however, do not feel that the reforms that have been implemented or the task force have sufficiently addressed their grievances with UCDPD. “There are organizations trying to do the work to bring awareness and to get people excited for this goal that we have to get cops off campus and to defund UCDPD,” Cantor Mendez said.

According to Farrow, the UC Davis campus continues to acknowledge the history and impacts of the pepper spray incident, and the police department continues to work for the students.

“Pepper spray is a wound that will never heal,” Farrow said. “But the police department that is here today, they are not responsible for that.”

Chancellor Gary May was contacted for comment on Nov. 11 but was not available at the time of publication. According to his communications team, students can expect a statement from his office near the date of the anniversary.

BURNOUT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 “Academic burnout can manifest in a lot of ways,” Hill said. “It can look like difficulties in concentrating, feeling distracted, having difficulty getting enough sleep, procrastinating, feeling easily frustrated or overwhelmed and deprioritizing self-care or personal hygiene.”

Though burnout is common in students — especially those in higher education — it seems to be more prevalent this year. Catarina Duarte, a fourth-year biological psychology major and a project chair for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), explained one theory as to why.

“The same amount of school work prepandemic feels like a lot more work postpandemic,” Duarte said. “I feel like a lot of professors [have been] super accommodating, but others are overworking us by giving us a lot of work and reading that takes me forever and burns me out.”

Hill said that social burnout, such as being exhausted after social interaction or avoiding socially demanding situations, can have similarly damaging effects. Even the most extroverted people can be caught off-guard by how draining a social life can be after a year of interacting with the same handful of people.

“I’m a very extroverted person,” Duarte said.

“I love talking to people and meeting new people, but it can be emotionally exhausting.”

The emotional toll that extroverted people experience is magnified for students who normally feel social anxiety or consider themselves introverted.

Hastings pointed out that though there were many challenges and stressors associated with the pandemic, his research found that students expressed high levels of compassion during the pandemic. He said that though there were reports of people hoarding toilet paper and flour, there were also people hanging up signs to support health care workers.

Hill said that the pandemic put an emotional strain on many students that has amplified the burnout they are feeling.

“In a way, the pandemic has changed student burnout by revealing how stretched-thin many students have been emotionally in the past year,”

Hill said.

According to the study by UC Davis Health Education and Promotion, students were not only dealing with additional stress in their own lives, but they were also worried about the mental and physical health of people closest to them.

The study showed that three in five students were very concerned that someone they care about would get COVID-19, half of students were very concerned that someone they care about will die from COVID-19 and two in three were very concerned about not being able to spend time with the people they care about. Duarte said that she experienced this increase of stress from worrying about people with whom she is close.

“During the pandemic, when people were struggling a lot, my friends came to me,” Duarte said. “Sometimes I was dealing with texting and calling people, and it was a lot because I was also going through stuff.”

This year, Duarte said that she is prioritizing taking breaks and giving herself grace. She recommended taking time between assignments to do something fun, but also emphasized that it is important not to procrastinate. Her biggest piece of advice is trying to avoid being overwhelmed.

She noted that this is a transition, so students should slowly get back into life in person.

Similarly, Hill said that she struggled socially, emotionally and academically this year as she navigated returning to campus. She said that recognizing when she needs to reach out for support and then following up on that has been helpful for her. Organizations like NAMI and Health Education and Promotion are readily available resources for students to turn to if they find themselves needing support.

Hastings, Hill and Duarte all expressed that despite the grief and instability that the pandemic has caused, they hope that the community can learn from the challenges they’ve faced.

“One of the lessons we may have learned is about recognizing just how vitally important it is for us to be interconnected with each other, and supportive of each other, as a community and as a society,” Hastings said. “Then, I think we should seek ways to maintain that lesson.”

TUTORINGBAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 Short-term tutoring only increases SAT scores by 20-30 points (the same as standard error), but 20-30 points matters significantly to colleges, especially for higher scorers. As someone at a prestigious university, based on my test scores, I don’t think I would be here if I scored 30 points lower, and my short-term tutoring class may have made the difference. Doing away with private tutoring in the U.S. would even the playing field and increase the number of acceptances for the lower-income students that truly deserve it.

Ending private tutoring will by no means fix the problem, and wealthy families will always be able to find loopholes, but any change to balance the scales is welcome.

Our society as a whole is much better prepared for the change than China was. We

don’t rely on study sessions as daycare nearly as much, and only students closer to testing time take rigorous courses in the U.S., unlike China, where students take them as soon as they can read. We also already have a substantial amount of extracurricular options for school-aged children to undertake to fill the time that would be spent studying. In addition, the entrance exam matters a lot less to colleges in the U.S. (especially after the COVID-19 pandemic), so the specific studying habit is a lot less ingrained in U.S. society. A ban on private test-prep tutors wouldn’t disturb our society, and it would be a welcome step towards increasing the fairness of our college admissions processes. Let’s follow China’s lead and make the change.

“This collaboration didn’t just benefit our city; it really did ripple out into the surrounding region and I’m very, very proud that UC Davis and the county and all of the stakeholders worked so well together and that we understood that this was really much bigger than the individuals,” Partida said at the meeting.

Chancellor Gary May also spoke at the meeting, where he recognized the Yolo County Public Health and Yolo County Leadership for their work. With this partnership, the infection rate was kept low, there were partnerships with 400 local businesses in Davis and around 40,000 students were able to return to campus.

Chancellor May also stated that since HDT launched in September 2020, over 1 million asymptomatic PCR COVID-19 tests have been performed.

“It’s a wonderful moment to acknowledge our collective efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep the City of Davis and our campus healthy,” May said. “So I want to thank you — Erica Manuel — and the Institute for awarding Davis with this Beacon Leadership and Innovation Award. It’s really deeply gratifying to see this recognition of Healthy Davis Together.”

On-campus testing efforts have also been

working efficiently, though at the start of the year, the lines were longer. However, with more stations and staff now, it has been a smooth process, according to Cindy Schorzman, the medical director of Student Health and Counseling Services at UC Davis.

“On-campus testing efforts have been, overall, going very well,” Schorzman said via email. “We have an amazing team working at the testing kiosk at the ARC. We started the academic year testing everyone as they moved into their on-campus residence, and have been helping the entire campus community meet their testing requirements.”

Schorzman added that “students should be particularly proud” because of the high vaccination rate and the support with testing, vaccine and case investigation or contact tracing efforts.

Ultimately, as a result of all the work with HDT and testing and vaccination efforts, Davis has shown itself to be a role model for the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our positivity rate on campus remains lower than our community, and our community remains lower than the surrounding area,” Schorzman said via email.

COFFEESHOPS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 That being said, although this cafe may openly defy modern technology, it holds a nostalgic oldsoul authenticity perfect for group work, reading, writing or simply having a genuine conversation with another. Not typically busy, Cloud Forest Cafe is a relaxed environment free of electronic distraction and the burden of spotty Wi-Fi. Philz Always bustling, Philz on 2nd St. is the life of the party when it comes to coffee shops. Fastpaced electronic or popular modern rap blast out of the speakers, suffocating the large space.

Personally, the ambiance is overwhelming, but from its apparent popularity, many individuals seem to enjoy this concert-like vibe. There is a variety of seating options, from high tables to couches. There is a spot perfect for any need of comfort. Although modern, there is a surprisingly

homey feel to the atmosphere. Perhaps from the vintage wood pieces or the LGBTQIA+ flags and leisure books lying around, Philz is a conjunction of chaos and comfort.

If the coffee menu is overwhelming, don’t fret. Wi-Fi is free of charge for anyone to use. There is a hybrid of work and play in this environment where chitchat is welcome and work is encouraged. The white overhead lights and natural sunlight mixed with the caffeine rush creates a perfect atmosphere for creativity. The myriad colors and knickknacks elicit a zone of acceptance for the imaginative. There is never a dull moment in this coffee shop. Energy flows out of the constant door-opening of new customers curious about this wonderland. If Temple is too clean-cut and Mishka’s is a bit too old-timey, give Philz a gander — it may be the perfect medium of the two opposites.

UCDFOOTBALLEWU CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 In the next series, Eastern Washington was shaken up by the suddenly re-energized Aggies’ defense as they went three-in-out. Suddenly, the Aggies seemed to regain momentum with an opportunity to put up points in an attempt to extend the lead with their offense on the field.

Hastings was under center once again, and he completed a short pass for five yards to Carson Crawford. Crawford took off running full speed into traffic, as he was hit he was stripped by the defender and the ball came loose as the Eagles pounced all over the ball. The visiting team recovered the fumble in a crucial moment that changed the tide game.

Throughout the third quarter both defenses played lights out. However, game-changing mistakes kept piling on, as UC Davis was penalized 15-yards for pass interference. Those mistakes kept the chains moving for the Eagles and eventually converted into a passing touchdown by Barriere to put Eastern Washington ahead 21-17.

Mistakes and turnovers sunk the Aggies, with Hastings making an errant throw into traffic that was picked off by Demetrius Crosby Jr. UC Davis never recovered from the interception and it kept the Eagles’ potent offense on the field, meaning problems for the blue and gold.

Eastern Washington did what they wanted to, by pounding the rock and making throws look easy against a defense that was on the field the majority of the game. Eventually, the visiting team put up three points off a field goal to bolster their lead 24-17.

UC Davis was desperate to get anything going, as they swapped quarterbacks once again with Tompkins looking to confuse the ball hawking Eagles defense. The Aggies got the run game going with Tompkins using the spread formation to his advantage. However, their pass game was misfiring and their run game could only get them so far until the opposing defense adapted. The Aggies came away with a field goal making it 24-20 with 14:08 remaining in the

fourth quarter.

By then, fog seemingly took over the field as it clustered over the game making it almost impossible to see. The bright lights beaming over onto the field was the only way to see the players’ shadows. Barriere would complete five straight passes down the field to then handing the ball off to Isaiah Lewis for a 10-yard rushing touchdown to put the game out of reach, 31-20.

The defense for the home team became stale as the dense fog took over the game. With Eastern dominating offensively throughout the entire fourth quarter, their quarterback was unstoppable as he showcased his elite arm and even dazzled with his legs by breaking free from the pass rush and completing passes off his back foot. The Eagles ran the ball effectively with a four-yard touchdown by Tamarick Pierce as the game clock expired and put the game away for good, 38-20.

Miles Hastings finished the game with 144 yards passing, one touchdown and one interception. Tompkins finished the game with 15 yards off three pass attempts he also rushed for 65 yards. Eastern Washington finished the game with 625 offensive yards, 414 passing yards.

In contrast to UCD’s 283 total yards, with 159 passing yards. The Eagles had nearly 37 minutes of possession while Davis had the ball for only 23 minutes.

“That’s part of sports that’s part of life. And if you don’t like it you gotta be able to handle defeats without being defeated, on a hero’s journey you gotta learn from your setbacks and there’s a phrase of humility before honor, that’s part of sports,” Hawkins said after the defeat.

The Aggies look to shake off the loss when they play the last game of the regular season on Nov. 20, as cross town rival Sacramento State (82) comes into town in the battle for the Golden Horseshoe. This particular game will have a lot at stake with both teams looking to secure their playoff spots and possibly have home field advantage.

CANNEDFOOD CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 We can debunk the myth that canned food is nutritionally empty. Additionally, when looking through canned food options, reading the ingredient lists can help you make an informed decision on which canned food product is the least processed.

I’ll always be a proponent of frozen and canned food. It’s oftentimes more easily available than fresh food, it lasts longer and it’s a fun

way to exercise creativity in the kitchen. UC Davis and the City of Davis offer a multitude of opportunities to attain free or inexpensive food, including free food fridges located across campus, the ASUCD pantry, the Aggie Meal Share Program, the Davis Community Meals Program and more. The Aggie Compass website is a great resource to get connected with food-related resources and events happening locally.

10 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

SCIENCE AND TECH UC DAVIS RESEARCHERS RECEIVE FUNDING FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY TO STUDY SEMIVOLATILE CHEMICALS IN HOUSEHOLD DUST Children are more exposed to dust than adults, putting them at greater risk for connected health concerns with chemicals on dust particles KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

BY BRANDON NGUYEN science@theaggie.org UC Davis researchers recently received a $1.35 million grant to support research on chemicals and toxins in dust often absorbed and ingested by young children. Household dust is often overlooked by parents as these barely visible particles yield nothing but a sneeze at first glance. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded over $9 million to seven different institutions — UC Davis being one of them — to more closely monitor and study potential chemical hazards in everyday fine particles.

According to the EPA, consumption of dust often leads to exposure to chemicals such as lead, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (ACBs) and asbestos. These chemicals can be connected to health concerns. Wayne Cascio, the acting principal deputy assistant administrator for science in the EPA’s Office of Research and Development, explained the importance of researching household particles like dust for the safety of children.

“It is our duty to protect the health of those most vulnerable among us, including our children,” Cascio said. “The researchers receiving these awards will improve our understanding of how children are exposed to chemicals, which will inform future actions to reduce these exposures and better protect their health.”

Deborah Bennett, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Public Health Sciences and leader of the study, described the kind of chemicals that come from household components and settle into dust.

“So there’s a lot of semivolatile compounds, which have low vapor pressure, used in consumer products in our homes,” Bennett said. “And these chemicals come out of the various consumer products and tend to partition into the dust so things like flame retardants that might be in our furniture, plasticizers that might be in various plastic things in our home, such as vinyl flooring or shower curtains.”

Having low vapor pressure means the chemicals do not want to be in the air and would rather attach to some solid material, like dust particles. Because dust particles tend to settle on the ground and surfaces, Bennett underscored how this can be a problem for young children.

“Kids overall tend to be exposed to more pollutants in their environment than adults do, and that’s in part because kids spend a lot more time contacting surfaces such as the floor,” Bennet said.

“They also put a lot more things in their mouths, so if we want to properly protect kids and properly determine how much exposure

they have, we have to have a better understanding of how much exposure kids have to dust in their home environment.”

Rebecca Moran, the project manager for the study and staff research associate at Bennett’s lab, described how they will look for chemical tracers of dust in children around Davis as part of their sample.

“So the method part of the study is going to use a lot of techniques that we already use for exposure assessment, what we call a duplicate diet,” Moran said. “For a 24-hour period, the parent is going to set aside the exact amount of food that their child eats and put it in a jar and more and then what they drink, so we get an exact sample of what they’ve had to eat and drink in that 24-hour period, and a lab here on campus will analyze that for whole suite of 40 chemicals.”

The duplicate diet ensures that chemicals the researchers identify as potential dust tracers will not be the same as the ones in the food ingested by the child. In addition, Bennett’s team will collect dust samples within the child’s house as well as a wipe from the forearm to see what particles were absorbed on the child’s skin

from the environment.

Both Bennett and Moran echoed sentiments to highlight a greater awareness for manufacturers to change the levels of chemicals in household consumer products.

“We’re not interested in having people change how they maintain their households,” Bennett said. “Ultimately what we want to see happen would be that if there’s chemicals that are in consumer products that are too high in concentration for the amount of exposure that people have than we would like, we would want the manufacturers of those products to either voluntarily remove those chemicals from their products for there to be regulations around limiting the amount of chemicals in products.”

While individuals can lower the risk of health concerns by vacuuming more often and limiting the amount of synthetic products brought into their homes, Bennett’s team hopes that the study’s findings will guide policy-making that protects children from semivolatile chemicals in household dust particles.

NEW RESEARCH COULD PAVE THE WAY TO IMPROVED VOLCANIC ERUPTION FORECASTING CONVERSE seeks to foster communication, facilitate effective volcano science during eruptions

BY SONORA SLATER science@theaggie.org You wake up, roll out of bed to shut off your alarm and pull up the weather app to check the forecast for the day like you do every morning. Seventy-two degrees, light rain in the afternoon and wind gusts northeast at 6 mph — oh, and a 35% chance for volcanic eruption between 3-5 p.m.

This degree of specific forecasting technology might seem like a bit of a stretch, but according to a recent press release, new work by the Community Network for Volcanic Eruption Response (CONVERSE), seeks to improve predictive models of volcanic activity and facilitate more effective volcano science.

Kari Cooper, a professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Davis and disciplinary leader in petrology and geology for CONVERSE, explained that much of the data required to build forecasting models as well as simply to better understand volcanic activity needs to be collected during an eruption rather than before or after. However, this can be difficult to execute when the majority of resources are focused on protecting property and lives.

“During an eruption, the US Geological Survey (USGS) scientists’ mandate is for eruption mitigation and hazards and communicating with the public,” Cooper said. “So they don’t have extra resources or extra time to do science that’s not focused on those specific goals. But there’s a lot of science that could be done and needs to be done when an eruption is actually happening that really then feeds into […] moving us closer to more probabilistic eruption forecasting.”

Cooper went on to explain that CONVERSE was designed to tackle this problem, bringing together USGS scientists and academics to put procedures and policies into place to better facilitate volcano science and encourage research with a diverse array of goals.

“During an eruption, academic scientists get excited about the research possibilities and then everybody tries to get involved,” Cooper said. “And prior to this, the way to get involved was to email somebody that you knew or some contact that you found at the relevant volcano observatory and then volunteer or try to get involved in that way. And that, as you can imagine, leads to people in the observatories being barraged by emails and not being able to respond. They just don’t have the time and energy to deal with these requests.”

CONVERSE seeks to solve this challenge in part through what they call “scientific advisory committees,” which will help channel requests from academics during the time leading up to an eruption.

“The idea with the advisory committee is that this is a body that helps facilitate those communications, and […] talk about what really is feasible, what is realistic to get done,” Cooper said.

According to Tobias Fischer, a professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of New Mexico and volcanic gas disciplinary leader for CONVERSE, the advisory committee for each volcanic eruption will do this through accepting rapid proposals. “[The committee will] evaluate proposals by the community in terms of how scientifically important it is and how important it is to get samples or data right away,” Fischer said. “It’s just a one-page proposal that anyone can submit to the committee, and that committee evaluates it very quickly, and then finetunes the proposal so the work can get done. We really opened up the possibility for anyone to submit proposals, to participate, to collect samples, to collect data.”

Cooper explained that one of the goals of building this sort of structure is to allow for diversity in every form within the research happening during an eruption.

“When you do all of this off-the-cuff, so to speak, the people who end up doing the science are the ones who have these preexisting connections,” Cooper said. “It’s completely natural because [...] there isn’t time to build those relationships during a crisis. I think that having a structure in place that focuses on building those kinds of relationships outside of a crisis [...] will really improve the diversity both scientifically and in terms of the people involved for the science that gets done during the crisis.”

Fischer also spoke to the importance of diversity, specifically mentioning interdisciplinary science and the importance of outside perspectives.

“Bringing in completely new disciplines like computer science or robotics — scientists that are really into the engineering component or computer coding component or machine learning component, get those scientists involved,” Fischer said. “Focusing some of their attention on volcano science would be great for the discipline I think, because we would possibly make some great advances that we didn’t even think about because we didn’t have the right skills to ask the right questions.”

Peter La Femina, an associate professor of geosciences at The Pennsylvania State University and the deformation disciplinary leader for CONVERSE, explained that this process and the scientific advisory committees have been tested multiple times, both through the real eruption of Kilauea in Hawaii last year and through a “mock eruption scenario” set up by CONVERSE. “What we did [...] was we developed an eruption scenario that we did not let the participants know ahead of time,” La Femina said. “Basically we made a mock eruption; that includes getting synthetic data, synthetic warnings on the lead-up to the eruption and not telling people what volcano you’re going to do or anything about it. The idea is that it’s fresh and it’s essentially like it’s happening in real time.”

La Femina elaborated on the goal of this mock eruption.

“The whole idea is to really maximize the scientific benefits from

studying a volcanic eruption,” La Femina said. “[So we] run these scenarios to give people practice on how to make those interactions work and really just think about, what are the fundamental science questions that we want to come out of studying these active volcanic eruptions or active volcanoes in general?”

According to Cooper, many of these fundamental questions involve studying the three main ways that scientists currently monitor active volcanoes: seismic activity or earthquakes, volcanic gases and ground deformation. Although technology used to study these has improved significantly, especially over the past decade, Cooper said that these three monitoring signals will likely remain essential to volcano science in the future.

“Using a combination of artificial intelligence and new modeling capabilities, we are going to be able to start forecasting eruptions better,” La Femina said. “I would hesitate to say that we could say, ‘OK, on Nov. 22 at 2:15, X Volcano is going to erupt,’ because they’re very complex systems, and we don’t really understand all the complexities. But I think we’ll be able to say, within this time window it’s possible that an eruption is going to happen.”

Cooper ended by saying that while CONVERSE is currently a temporary organization, she believes that a permanent establishment of this nature needs to be created.

“If we want to, as a society, try to understand the volcanoes that are in our country and the hazards and how we manage and mitigate their hazards, then we need to have some sort of an ongoing structure to help facilitate this,” Cooper said. “And so, CONVERSE going forward is looking at ways in which we could set up maybe a more permanent structure that could perform a lot of these same roles, on a longer-term basis.”

The crater at the summit of Kilauea in Hawaii, as lava flows from the west vent. (L. DeSmither / USGS)

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021 | 11

CITY OF DAVIS HOLDS MEETING FOR COMMUNITY REVIEW OF 2020-2040 CLIMATE ACTION AND ADAPTATION PLAN City remains committed to its goals of carbon neutrality by 2040 through a community-based approach to environmental sustainability

BY YAN YAN HUSTIS HAYES city@theaggie.org

Transportation and land use actions are related to nearly 75% of the City of Davis’ carbon emissions. (Benjamin Cheng / Courtesy) On Nov. 10, the City of Davis held a workshop to discuss the 29 actions that it has identified in the 2020-2040 Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP) process. The workshop allowed the community to review the recommended draft actions and provide feedback.

At the CAAP workshop, AECOM City Climate Action Plan lead Joshua Lathan said that evaluating potential actions using the city’s Action Selection and Prioritization (ASAP) tool and review from the technical advisory committee, the CAAP team was able to identify the 29 prioritized actions.

“We evaluat[ed] these actions to understand their greenhouse gas reduction potential, their climate risk potential, their contribution to

important community co-benefits and high level implementation feasibility,” Lathan said. “This approach allows us to consider the relative values for those differing types of measures using a systematic, consistent approach.”

The CAAP identifies four key draft action categories including building energy and design, transportation and land use, water and solid waste and climate risk and carbon removal. Lathan explained that because transportation and land use actions are related to nearly 75% of the city’s emissions, the sector has greater representation within the draft priority action list.

“Seventy percent of total community emissions are coming from on-road transportation and the majority of those emissions are from trips

that are coming to or going out of Davis,” Lathan said. “For this reason, we wanted to include draft actions that help people get into Davis with low or zero carbon emissions and make sure that we provided options so that people can move around within the city in low and zero carbon ways too.”

The CAAP workshop gave community members an opportunity to ask questions or express concerns about the plan. Community member Stephen Wheeler said that the plan could take bolder actions.

“Many of the things in this plan are great, but it is lacking in inspiration,” Wheeler said. “It should have bold and meaningful actions that both get Davis to zero emissions and establish it as a global leader. We can be bolder.”

City of Davis Sustainability Coordinator and Climate Action and Adaptation Plan manager Kerry Loux explained that this 2020-2040 CAAP is an update to a climate action plan from 2010 that is set to bring the City into compliance with updates in state legislation. “[It’s] a very aggressive goal,” Loux said. “The state has a goal of carbon neutrality by 2045 so we’re trying to identify actions that we can do in our community to get there. This CAAP approach is intended to create measurable actions that can be enforced and implemented.”

While it is important for Davis to reach this state-wide goal, Loux emphasized the importance of taking a community-based approach.

“The actions that we’ve identified — this CAAP is being developed with significant community engagement,” Loux said. “Rather than telling the community [what] to do, we’re going out to the community and asking what [they] think we should do.”

While draft-prioritized actions do run through the filter of professional expertise to ensure that they are appropriate for the Davis community, the CAAP process is grounded in community input. Because of this, developing, evaluating and implementing ideas can take longer, said Loux.

“We really elected to take a process that is based on community input, and we’re getting to the point now of finalizing these actions from all of the community input we’ve had,” Loux said. “Our approach hasn’t provided all of the answers yet, but the reason for that is that it is a community engagement based approach not an expert-only approach.”

In addition to the technical advisory committee that is largely composed of UC Davis faculty and students, the larger UC Davis student body is also encouraged to participate in the CAAP process, according to Loux.

“Even if you don’t live in Davis, you’re going to school here and participating in the community and having awareness about how we’re going to get to carbon neutrality is really important,” Loux said. “There are so many engaging and informed voices from people at UC Davis. We’re hoping to get a lot of input from students and the best way for people to stay engaged is to check out our website.”

More information about the Davis CAAP and recordings of previous public workshops can be found on the City website. Community members are also encouraged to post on the virtual public forum.

NEW ONLINE REPORTING TOOL HELPS CULTIVATE A HEALTHIER CAMPUS A new study confirms that Tobacco Tracker, a convenient crowdsourcing tool, effectively reduces tobacco use and increases awareness on the campus

BY MONICA MANMADKAR science@theaggie.org A new study published in the Oxford Press Journal inspects the effectiveness of a unique online tool used to cultivate a healthier, smokefree and tobacco-free campus.

Co-authored by Dr. Elisa Tong, a tobacco researcher at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, the study looks into the impacts of the Tobacco Tracker. Tong first became interested in the effects of tobacco as a medical student. Tong said that while she was looking for other ways to help and increase awareness, she pioneered the idea of the Tobacco Tracker, which stemmed from UC Davis’ Thermoostat.

“Since the campus community has contacted our Smoke & Tobacco-Free Policy committees about tobacco use or litter on campus, we wanted to create something similar to Thermoostat where we could crowdsource and visualize information,” Tong said.

There are three ways to access the Tobacco Tracker: through the squirrel icon tile on myucdavis.edu, through breathefree.ucdavis.edu and through the UC Davis app. Once you are on the tool, you can input a submission by noting where you were and what you noticed.

“We strayed away from the word ‘report,’” said Keavagh Clift, the staff lead for the Smoke & Tobacco-Free policy who also contributed to the study. “Through some of the focus groups that we did, [we noticed] students were turned off by that because they felt that they were telling on someone, instead tell us what you noticed.”

In addition to having students report areas where they saw smoking, vaping, litter or any other sign of tobacco use, Clift said that their team also wants to promote clean areas and encourage contributors to notice areas that were particularly clean.

The tool also helps the team understand where the hotspots are and where to install signage such as posters. By putting up signage near these hotspots, the committee can remind users of the Smoke & Tobacco-free policy.

Through the study, the researchers were able to analyze the results of a campus wide survey before and after the introduction of the Tobacco Tracker. After over 1,000 submissions, Tong reported that they discovered that people’s awareness of smoke and tobacco use increased as well as the use of the tool. People became more inclined to aid in keeping the campus smoke and tobacco-free.

According to the study, among the submissions, the main reasons to complete the survey were not only health concerns, environmental concerns and policy enforcement.

In addition to keeping the campus healthy, the study showed that more people are involved because of the negative environmental impacts of smoking and using tobacco. 79% of the 1,163 Tracker submissions were motivated to promote a cleaner environment, especially after participants learned more about tobacco waste’s impact on the environment.

“Cigarette butts are the No. 1 litter problem that leach a lot of toxic chemicals, plus the filters are plastic and not biodegradable,” Tong said.

“E-cigarettes and vape devices have a lot of waste and toxic chemicals too, including heavy metals

and lithium from the batteries and heating coils.

I think we’re finding that there is a lot more awareness and concern about the environment in general and people want to do something to help.”

The tool is focused on education and awareness, not enforcement, Clift stated. She continued that they do not want to force anyone to quit but rather encourage them to comply with the Smoke & Tobacco-Free policy and put forward resources for whoever wants to quit.

According to Tong, among students, less than 10% used tobacco in the past three months, and

many want to quit. There are many resources available at Student Health, including oneon-one counseling and nicotine replacement therapy, Clift specifies.

Tong and Clift hope to expand the tool to the rest of the UC and CSU campuses, which all have a smoke-free and tobacco-free policy.

Waiting for funding, Tong and the team have submitted a research grant proposal for a followup study. Moreover, they hope that the Tobacco Tracker will be a cornerstone of more extensive and comprehensive Healthy UC Davis and Sustainability activities to support the campus.

Dr. Elisa Tong believes that with the Tobacco Tracker, making the campus a healthier environment is much more effective. (UC Davis Health / Courtesy)

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

12 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021

SPORTS #4 UC DAVIS FALLS IN RANKED MATCHUP WITH #8 EASTERN WASHINGTON The Aggies could not contain Eric Barriere’s offensive onslaught as Davis falls 38-20 in foggy Saturday night matchup

BY MARLON ROLON sports@theaggie.org Prior to kick off, UC Davis were ranked No. 4 while their opponent, Eastern Washington, were ranked No. 8 in the FCS rankings. Two top 10 ranked teams in the nation going head to head surely guaranteed to produce a spectacle, and it did.

The Aggies had lost nine straight games to the Eagles heading into the much anticipated match-up. The signal caller for the Eagles, quarterback Eric Barriere, made sure to extend the streak to 10 consecutive games after his dominant performance as Eastern Washington defeated UC Davis 38-20.

The fifth-year quarterback for the Eagles made a statement throwing for 411 yards and three touchdowns. He is the frontrunner to win the Walter Payton Award in FCS football for best offensive player as he continues to separate himself from the pack.

“I’ve had the unpleasant or pleasant experience playing against a number of Heisman trophy quarterbacks or Heisman Trophy finalists,” UC Davis head coach Dan Hawkins said after the game.

“I would put Eric Berriere right in there with any of them. He’s super talented and not only can he run he’s got a tremendous arm he’s tremendously accurate.”

“I tip my hats to those guys. They lost two games, they got on the road and [came] down here and [won] so you got to tip your cap to those guys,” he added.

The 8-2 Eagles broke their two game losing streak in front of 7,344 fans at Health Stadium in Davis. Meanwhile UC Davis falls to 8-2 and remains winless against an opponent ranked in the top 10 and winless against the Eagles.

The score doesn’t reflect what happened in the gridiron, with the Aggies keeping the game competitive until the fourth-quarter.

There were four lead changes throughout the game with pivotal turnovers and missed opportunities that sinked UC Davis.

“Our kids didn’t back down. We played great, battled, gave some blows, took some blows,” Hawkins said regarding his team’s effort.

Eastern Washington’s offense was on the field to start the game, however, their offense went three and out rather quickly against a stingy Davis defense. The Aggies wasted no time marching down the field while showcasing their running and passing abilities with freshman quarterback Miles Hastings and Ulonzo Gilliam Jr.

UC Davis Aggies against the Eastern Washington Eagles.

(Benjamin Cheng /Aggie) leading the way.

10 plays and 49-yards later, the Aggies were first to put up points on the scoreboard with Hastings connecting with Jared Harrell for a one-yard touchdown pass that elicited loud cheers from the roaring home crowd.

Still in the first quarter, standout signal caller Barriere and company began to operate on the Aggie defense at the 27 yardline. His pocket presence and running abilities led the Eagles down the field to the UCD seven yard-line. Once again, the UC Davis defense was exceptional and blocked a field goal attempt, courtesy of defensive-lineman Bryce Rodgers.

With the momentum clearly riding with the home team, UC Davis did not take advantage of it as Hastings was not able to generate any yardage in the air. They turned to Gilliam Jr. and attempted to run the ball, however the defensive effort by the visiting team prevented the Aggies from gaining any traction as the offense stalled and eventually punted the ball back to the Eagles.

Giving the ball back to Barriere was inevitable as he got his hands on the pig skin; the offense was fluid. Eventually, on third and 15 Barriere lasered a pass to wide receiver Andrew Boston for a gain of 12 yards. The Eagles were three yards shy of the first down with the home team expecting a punt. Punter Nick Kokich for Eastern Washington faked a punt and completed a pass to Dylan

Ingram for the first down to end the first quarter.

To begin the second quarter, Barriere completed two consecutive passes for 52 yards. The game seemed to slow down for the Eagles quarterback with his pocket awareness and his poise began to show with his decision making. He dissected the Aggie defense effortlessly by throwing a touchdown pass to Fredd Roberson, however the visiting team missed the extra point, continuing their kicking woes. Eastern Washington capped off a 12 play drive for 84 yards within three minutes while trailing 6-7.

With the momentum swinging in favor of the Eagles, the Davis defense began to break down and their offense seemed to be lifeless. Again, UCD punted the ball back to the opposing team.

Barriere seemed to be in full control of the game picking apart the Aggies’ secondary and leading his team down to the third yard line. On fourth and goal, Eastern Washington elected to go for it with their star quarterback displaying his magic, as the defense blitzed him, which led him to run backwards while he twirled and eluded a defender to then throw a spiral into the end zone for the touchdown. Instead of the field goal, they opted for the two point conversion and with success the Eagles led 14-7.

The Aggies in search of answers decided to make a quarterback switch, inserting “the magic” man Trent Tompkins. With this switch, UC Davis was able to spark the run game with Tompkins running for 35 yards in one play and Carson Crawford following with 24 yards off a run. Their efforts led them to the nine yardline, Tompkins off the pistol formation snapped the ball and swiftly avoided defenders running seven yards into the endzone for a touchdown. The entire Health Stadium erupted until a flag was thrown that immediately sucked the energy out of the stadium. The Aggies were called for holding and the touchdown was neglected that led to a field goal by kicker Isaiah Gomez to cut the deficit, 14-10 into the half.

Entering the third quarter, UC Davis’ offense would get an opportunity to try and get things going by receiving the kickoff.

The offense never got a chance to go on the field as Davis’ own Lan Larison received the kickoff and immediately bolted down the middle, zig-zagged to evade defenders and took it all the way to the house for a 97-yard touchdown in 13 seconds to open the half.

Once again, UC Health Stadium was ecstatic as the home team took the lead 17-14.

UCDFOOTBALLEWU on 9

SPORTS GAMBLING: THE RISE AND DANGERS Gambling is becoming increasingly integrated into sports games and easier to access, but it can quickly become an addiction

BY KATHERIN RAYGOZA sports@theaggie.org

AMY YU / AGGIE The U.S. has a very long history of betting and gambling in sports. There are numerous types of bets that people participate in for enjoyment and there are other types of gamblings that are restricted or have become illegal.

Sports gambling was influenced by early American settlers when they began selling lottery tickets in the 17th and 18th century before income taxes existed. It was a colonist’s “duty” to buy lottery tickets to fund libraries, churches, colleges and even the Revolutionary War. Then in the 19th century, as lotteries and casinos popularity grew in the U.S., gambling entered sports through horse races.

Horse racing is an ancient sport that began in 4500 B.C., and was one of the most common sports in the world even during the 1800s. People found it less difficult to arrange bets, although they weren’t as organized as they are today.

“Lotteries were not the only form of gambling during [the

17th century],” Roger Dunstan said in a report on gambling for the California Research Bureau. “Wagering on horse racing was a popular form of gambling. Not surprisingly, it was not quite as organized nor as elaborate as modern horse racing. Rather, the gambling was limited to a few friendly bets between owners of horses and their partisans. The first racetrack in North America was built on Long Island in 1665.”

Once the American Stud book was published in 1868, horse racing developed into an organized enterprise. Then in the early 1900’s, bookmaking was outlawed which nearly ended the entire sport of horse racing. A bookmaker is someone that “takes money whenever they lay a bet to a customer, and they pay money out every time one of their customers wins a bet,” according to gamblingsites.org.

“You start out with a general premise that in most states, gambling of any type was, by legislative pronouncement, deemed to be illegal,” Dan Etna, the co-chair of the Sports Law Group at Herrick Feinstein LLP, told SB Nation. “Some of this stuff was rather deeply embedded in the states’ DNA, if you will. It wasn’t just the law. Like for instance, at one point in time, New York State, its constitution outlawed gambling of any type.”

Due to these historical events, sports gambling in modern day has been transformed into an entire new era for younger generations since betting is more accessible through the internet.

Saul Malek, 23, for example, played multiple sports as he was growing up, and during his teen years he joined a fantasy baseball league which he describes as a “game where people manage rosters of real players and compete against each other using players’ reallife game statistics; the players are scored by category; and the person with the highest cumulative point totals at the end of the season wins.”

Later on in college, Malek took his first bet for $10 betting that the Kansas City Royals would beat the Toronto Blue Jays. Malek won that bet and he said it made him feel like a big shot. This was the beginning of his horrific betting addiction.

Soon enough Malek discovered that he needed “nonstop action.” Nonstop action means that your sportsbook or bookie (a

company or individual who accepts bets from individual sports bettors) has canceled all wagers on a particular line and no bets will proceed, whether they are winners or losers.

“He would find an online sports book and maybe win enough to pay a former bookie back,” Marie Fazio, a writer from The New York Times, wrote. “More than often, though, he’d lose. Then he would block the bookie’s number, find a new sports book and repeat.”

Melek would make many bets, typically lose, and wouldn’t be able to pay the bookie’s back. His parents had to give him hundreds of dollars to bail him out of any trouble.

“He never considered that sports betting could escalate to an addiction that would lead him to lie, cheat and manipulate people for money. And yet… technological advances have made it easier than ever to wager money on sports,” Fazio said.

Similar cases like Malek’s are strictly emphasized by analysts and bookies so that the risks of addiction decline, especially for young adults since they are the most vulnerable. According to americangaming.org, Americans wagered over $13 billion in legal sports betting in 2019, making the Super Bowl one of the sporting events to have the most bets placed on. Also in 2019, The Gaming Association was expecting over 47 million Americans to place bets during the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament.

Considering how many people in the U.S. make bets, only 1% of adults have a gambling disorder. The core symptom is to continue gambling despite knowing the harmful consequences.

With gambling being easily accessible with sites like FanDuel, DraftKings among others where one could place bets from an app, sports gambling is a high risk, and that is why laws have been put into place.

“We’re now in a phase where the nation has an appetite for sports betting,” Dr. Timothy Fong, a professor of psychiatry with a specialty in addiction at the University of California, Los Angeles, said. “It created this new form of entertainment that society has approved, but that form of entertainment does have a potential for addiction.”

THE NFL’S MIDSEASON CHECK-IN A midseason report on the NFL’s best teams, MVP race and storylines

BY GABRIEL CARABALLO sports@theaggie.org The first half of the 2021-2022 NFL season has been eventful to say the least. With the addition of an extra game, this season was bound to be the longest and most unpredictable NFL season yet. However, it is now the midway point and time to take a look at the best teams, best players and narratives around the league.

Currently sitting atop the NFC divisions are the Dallas Cowboys (7-2) in the NFC East, the Arizona Cardinals (8-2) in the NFC West, the Green Bay Packers (8-2) in the NFC North, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3) in the NFC South. Each of these teams obtained KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE respectable mid-season records, exemplifying the competition for this year’s playoffs spots.

Who will come out of the NFC? Could it be the defending champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the up and coming Arizona Cardinals who have remained the best team in football until this point?

The Cowboys statistically have the best offense in the league with a total yard average of 433 per game, while the Cardinals sit in the top 10 in offense and top five in defense. Surprisingly, the Packers have a spot as one of the top three in defenses in the league.

Moving on to the top teams in the AFC divisions the Bills (6-3) in the AFC East, the Kansas City Chiefs (6-4) retaking the AFC West

lead, the Baltimore Ravens (6-3) in the AFC North, and the Tennessee Titans (8-2) in the AFC South. The AFC teams have a tighter race to the playoffs with little room for error. For each of these teams every game matters. The Titans, Bills, Ravens, and Chargers are all in the hunt for a playoff berth. Each of these teams would make the playoffs if the season ended today. While the Raiders, Bengals, and Colts are three teams fighting to get in.

Going off of records alone, the two projected Super Bowl teams would be the Packers and the Titans. However, the Vegas odds show the Buffalo Bills and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers both favored in their respective conferences at +600. If we’re going based on team stats, there are only two teams that are both top eight in offense and defense: the Buffalo Bills and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Then reported by ESPN, the top four favorites are the Bills, Cowboys, Packers, and Titans. However these teams would be nothing without the players, who have played outstanding for the most part, but also with some hiccups along the way.

A notable mid-season signing came by the way of the Los Angeles Rams, who are not new to big acquisitions. Odell Beckham Jr., previously on the Cleveland Browns, was let go Monday Nov. 8. Just a few days later on Nov 11, he was signed by the Los Angeles Rams whose current record is 7-2. They sit a game right behind the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West. This signing could catapult them from being a contender to

being a favorite, as their explosive offense added another weapon In other player news, Week 8 of the NFL season saw an unprecedented spectacle. Four starting quarterbacks, Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys, Zach Wilson of the New York Jets, Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks, and Jameis Winston of the New Orleans Saints, were all injured, leaving the starting quarterback position to arguably the most important position in football — the back-up quarterback. These four back-up quarterbacks, two of which had their first career starts, Cooper Rush, Mike White, Geno Smith, and Trevor Siemien took over when their teams needed them the most.

Rush and White being the first time starters.

Each won their respective games, with a total of nine touchdowns thrown and only three interceptions between all of them. Mike White’s 37 completions and 400+ yard performance even landed him a Hall of Fame memorial. He had a game worthy of an MVP caliber player.

Lastly, the NFL MVP race remains as tight as it has been halfway through the season in recent years. According to ESPN, there are three top contenders all being quarterbacks. First being Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who has 2,650 passing yards, 25 touchdown passes, five interceptions, with a completion percentage of 67.3%. His odds are +350.

Second is Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills, with 2,555 total yards, 20 total touchdowns by five interceptions, and a completion percentage of

AGGIE FILE

65.5%. Josh Allen’s odds to win are +400. Third is Kyler Murray, posing 2,423 total yards, with 20 total touchdowns by seven interceptions, and a completion percentage of 72.7%. Kyler’s odds are +500. Each of these players has made a case for MVP this early, only time will tell if they can keep it up. Unfortunately Derrick Henry who was a close runner up, was injured and crushed his chances for MVP leaving only the three quarterbacks in the race.

The 2021-2022 NFL season is off to a great start, and more competition for the playoffs and MVP race than ever, especially due to the extra game. As usual no one will know which team and players come out on top until the end.

This NFL season has been engineered to be the most unpredictable season to date, and as teams embark throughout the second half, the road to LA looks like it will give a few surprises.