The UC Davis Regional Center for Change is conducting an unprecedented study on the Sacramento region’s youth to better understand the disparities in youth well being. The study will focus on four different sectors – education,health,employment and civic engagement.

Readers– as this is the last column the hard-working and parsimonious gang atTheAggie will let me publish this year,let me say its been one king-hell of a ride writing for you.My coverage of the obscure and important,I hope,has helped you to see more elephants in the room than a schizophrenic pachyderm.

Ladies andgentlemenof the class of2009…wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future,sunscreen would be it. But I have a lot of column left,so I will offer you more.The rest of my advice,though,is a wholly owned subsidiary of my experience,and may or may not have any applicability to yours and may or may not get you into a lot of trouble.

This past Memorial Day weekend I did something I’ve never done before.And no,I didn’t take three consecutive body shots of three different liquors off the bellies of three different sorority girls for three days straight; I wasn’t on houseboats,sorry to disappoint. Instead,I went to Raging Waters.But more on that later.

The Imaginary Zebra (TIZ) was born out of a mixture of graffiti and modern art, freedom of expression and imagination. Founded in 2006 by junior managerial economics major Benson Chou, TIZ specializes in custom designed clothing – currently, T-shirts with an aim to expand – and creative performances at events. TIZ began as Chou’s graffiti crew in high school. Upon graduation, he transformed the crew into the professional company that it is today.

I’ve been writing for The Aggie for a little over two years now, and I have a confession to make: I’ve always wanted to be the weather(wo)man. Really, though, Aggie weatherman Jon Gold’s got a pretty sweet deal. He gets his own space every Monday through Thursday to comment on anything he wants – and on the front page, to boot! Having my own column, I suppose I get the same perks. But they say that brevity is the soul of wit, so 20 column inches of “well-focused” text sometimes makes writing feel like a burden more than a blessing.

Event:NCAA West Regionals Where:Hayward Field – Eugene,Oregon When:Friday and Saturday; all day Who to watch:Just like last year,senior Kim Conley qualified in both the1,500m and the5,000m for the West Regionals. Unlike last year,she will compete.

When U.S. Representative Jackie Speier was 16, her family got a letter in the mail asking for contributions to Leo J. Ryan’s California State Assembly campaign. Speier didn’t have much money to contribute, but she did have time. She signed on as a campaign volunteer, soliciting support at shopping centers and community events. Reflecting on that pivotal event in her life, Speier advises: “Don’t wait to get involved – start now. Don’t think you’re too young to make an impact. And don’t feel like you have to know someone to get involved – just knock on your assemblymember’s or congressperson’s door.”

In the summer of 2005, the Activities and Recreation Center offered UC Davis students the chance to practice the sport of judo in a recreational class. Four years later, the class has developed into a club sport – one that has already emerged as a national powerhouse. The UC Davis judo club most recently took 16 competitors to the National Collegiate Judo Association Championships in San Jose, Calif., finishing with the No. 2 national ranking.

America is a strange nation. She is a country that produces the very best and the very worst, whether in political, economic or cultural aspects. Everything and anything happens in America. Take its politics. America’s politics are bitterly partisan, often divided around staunch, sometimes less-clear, battle lines. Republicans and Democrats represent the dual extremes of two highly polar positions, but swing moderates, special interests groups and think tanks also exert influence. Thus the process to win votes are frequently organized and mechanized.

Former UC Davis wrestler Urijah Faber will compete against featherweight champion Mike Brown for the second time in a World Extreme Cage fighting event on June 7. “Brown vs. Faber II” has been dubbed the greatest featherweight bout in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) history. “This is definitely the biggest fight we’ve ever done in our 10-year history,” said WEC General Manager and Founder Reed Harris. “It’s not often that you get to see the No. 1 and No. 2 fighters in the world compete in the same weight division.”

Until now, UC Davis students without cars have had to get around by bike, bus or the occasional pity ride from their more fortunate friends. This may soon change. Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) is currently working on a contract to bring Zipcar to UC Davis before fall quarter, said TAPS Director Clifford Contreras.