UCDavis is regarded as among the superior institutions of public higher education nationally,if not globally.According to the2008U.S.News and World Report survey,UC Davis ranks as the11th best public university inAmerica in terms of learning excellence.However,the presence of some incompetent and ineffective faculty members is an imminent threat that undermines suchreputable standing. Having finished six arduous quarters here at UC Davis,I have always heard students complaining acrimoniously about how their respective professors inefficiently taught their classes.I,myself,have experienced going through suchapredicament in several of my general education and upper division classes in which the professors were terribly lackingtheability to make the concepts of the courses comprehensible to students.Having no means of determining the degree of competence of their professors,studentssuffer the consequences oftaking classes with such instructors.

Californians will likely be able to vote on a $10 billion bond measure to build a high speed rail line stretching from Northern California to San Diego in November. The state legislature has removed the bond from the ballot on two previous occasions, but proponents are optimistic that a bill currently in committee will increase the measure’s chances of staying on the ballot. Assembly Bill 3034 – scheduled to be heard in Appropriations on May 7 – amends and updates some of the language in the original 2002 bond measure to address some concerns of Governor Schwarzenegger as well as those of environmental and business groups.

UC Davis is now beginning to see the first rounds of cuts, which will eventually result in a universitywide budget decrease of $1.4 million for campus units. The Cross Cultural Center (CCC), Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center (LGBTRC) and Women’s Research and Resources Center (WRRC) will be the first to experience the 7 percent cuts. Budget reductions must come from somewhere, but it is important to recognize how vital these campus units are to students at UCD. Back when budget cuts were being proposed, Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef told the campus the student experience would not be compromised. However, protecting Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at the expense of valuable ASUCD units such as CCC, LGBTRC and WRRC is questionable. This year, CAPS will have a net loss of $0 while the CCC will experience a net loss of $2,211, the WRRC a net loss of $8,750 and the LGBTRC a net loss of $996.

Scientific researchconducted on animals hasalways been a contentious topic in terms of the transparency and ethics behind it.Unfortunately,animal rights activists sometimes take extreme and violent measures againstthosescientists conductingtheexperiments.In response,a new state bill has been authored that seeks to limit various tactics used by anti-animal research extremist groups.However,the bill does not promise significant change. Assembly Bill2296allowsUniversity ofCalifornia officials to withhold the names of researchers from public documents in an effort to further guard them.In addition,the billstates that anyone who intimidates,harasses or commits acts of violence against animal research scientists can be subject to punishment ranging from a$25,000fine to a year in prison.

TODAY Student Farm bike tour Noon Memorial Union flagpole Take a bike ride out to the Student Farm and learn how this small, student-run organic farm feeds its members, volunteers and ASUCDCoffee House patrons! Get some free fruit too! Ben and Jerry’s free cone day Noon to 8 p.m. Ben and Jerry’s,500 First St. Cool down with a scoop of ice cream free of charge.

During a barbeque I went to last weekend, a friend of mine was talking about how he had recently (and reluctantly) bonked a girl whom he wasn’t too enthralled about. As usual, a few guys started chiming in and said the only reason why he was lamenting so much was because she was probably fug. He responded that in actuality, she was very pretty – she simply wasn’t funny enough. I asked him if being funny is as important as he made it seem. Likewise, his other friend explained how he preferred to sleep with pretty girls at the moment, while his youth and charm were at their peak. Personality, he mused, can be worried about later, when it really started to matter.

Correction: In Friday’s article “Legislator proposes tax increase on beer,” itstated that the new taxon beercould raise the price by30cents per gallon.The article should have stated that it could raise the price by30cents per can.The Aggie regrets the error.

Candidates forDavis City Council will answer questions and meet with the public at a forumonWednesday.The forum is hosted by the Davis Neighborhood Coalition and the Sierra Club‘s Yolano Group.Davis Bicycles! is co-sponsoring. “We‘re going to be asking them questions about growth issues on our periphery,sprawl on agricultural land versus more growth within the city,parking issues downtown,“ said Pamela Nieberg,chair of the Yolano Group.“We‘ll also look at whether or not they support the democratic process,like Measure J.“ Another goal of the forum is to determine how“green“ the candidates actually are,she said.

Amid the constant dugout ditties, chanting player names – “Meesh-ka! Meesh-ka!” – and the melodious renditions of “Rocky” and “Marco Polo,” the UC Davis softball team showed that it ismore than just a group of sweet voices. For thethird straight weekend, the Aggies won a Big West Conference series, this time taking two of three from the Gauchos. Their record improved to 22-31 (7-8) while UCSB’s fell to 26-22 (9-6) for the season.

A distinct mural splashed with pizzazz adorns the eastern wall of The Paint Chip, an art supplies and custom framing store located at 217 F St. “[The mural is] kind of a way to not only enhance downtown Davis, but also create an eye catcher for visitors,” said the new co-owner of the store Maia Wilson. “It has a local business feel to it and it certainly gets people’s attention. It portrays what downtown Davis is about.” The Paint Chip changed hands in March after continuous ownership for three generations. Previous owner Clint Winger sold the store to Wilson and her fiancé Brian Sturges because he was retiring. Wilson, who served as the production manager for six years at The Paint Chip, loved her job and did not want the art store to change to the hands of a different owner.

A better definition than the current one in circulation: Smartness (noun) – an agility of mind; the ability to assess reality beyond what one has been taught; the capacity to think for oneself, to see for oneself, to draw conclusions for oneself; the creativity to reconfigure given knowledge into new shapes and ideas. Notice the lack of concrete qualifications. No SAT scores here. No spelling-bee ribbons. And while you may agree, precious reader, that a person’s smarts have nothing to do with their résumé, the sad truth of the matter is that most people aren’t like you. Most people utter sentences like, “She’s pretty smart; she got an A on the last test,” or, “Yeah, my brother’s kind of a genius; he goes to Harvard.” For though there may be strong correlates within these statements, the truth of the matter is that these conclusions (good grades/good school equals good brain) don’t follow.

The UC Davis Summer Abroad is extending the deadline to apply to select programstotoday, Apr. 29 and May 1, in the hope of encouraging students to take the opportunity to study abroad and give students who missed the deadline a chanceto apply. “We know there are some students out there who want to apply who haven’t,” said Eric Schroeder, director of the Summer Abroad Education Abroad Center (EAC) program and University Writing Program lecturer. Programs take place during both summer sessions, but only deadlines for programs in the second summer session can be extended.