Learning to be accountable for your own actions is one of life’s greatest lessons.From a very young age we’re taught that when a problem arises as a result of our previous actions,it’s up to us to fix it. While such an idealized view of personal responsibility looks great in children’s books or in an elementary school classroom,it’s honestly becoming harder and harder to find real world examples to support such a preposterous belief.

ASUCD Senate meetings are scheduled to begin Thursdays at6:10p.m.Times listed are according to the clock at the May21,2009meeting location,the ARC meeting room for a special event and the Mee Room for the senate meeting. Meeting was called to order at6:24p.m.and again at7:15p.m.

When you apply to be a columnist atTheAggie,I believe there are two assumptions that you make about yourself: (1) that you know something that others don’t and (2) that whatever you know,you think it’s interesting enough to tell other people.In fact,when you submit your application,you have to explain these exact assumptions.When I applied sophomore year,I wrote: “Things happen to me,usually lame things,and I learn from them… I just have stories and I like to tell them.That’s all” (my eloquence at the time just blows me away).

This year marked the second consecutive year in which Safeboats have had a presence at Lake Shasta during Memorial Day weekend. Droves of college students make the holiday weekend an annual boozefest out on the lake,rentinghouseboatsto do so.In an effort to minimize the effects of binge drinking,unprotected sex,dehydration and other obstacles drunk college students manage to create for themselves,the Safeboat is on hand to lend aid.

TODAY Dine with dignity campaign 5:45to7p.m. ASUCD Coffee House View the filmImmokalee:From Slavery to Freedom and listen to a list conversation with a member of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.There will be free popcornfromthe Student Farm. Veer screening 6:30p.m. Davis Varsity Theatre In celebration of May being Bike Month,viewVeer,a movie about five people whose lives are tied to cycling.Tickets are$10at the door,and80percent after the rental fee will go to the Davis Bike Collective. Club meetup 7to9p.m. Griffin Lounge,MU If you’re involved in a student organization,stop by this forum to meet with other students and learn advice about being a club at UC Davis andhow tointeract with SPAC,CEVS and ASUCD. An evening with Jake Kosek 4p.m. MU II Listen to Jake Kosek,author ofUnderstories:The Political Life of Forests in Northern New Mexico,speak.

Amidst the scramble for federal grant dollars,the city of Davis is looking to upgrade its traffic light system. The Davis Natural Resources Commission recommended the approval of a proposal last Wednesday by city engineers to replace existing city traffic lights with LED lighting,or light-emitting diode lighting.The proposal will be voted on at the Davis City Council meeting on June2before being sent to the federal government for review.

One out of seven patients entering a hospital needs blood.Yet,of the four out of ten people in the United States eligible to donate,only one does – if at all. In order to raise that number to accommodate more patients who depend on blood transfusions for survival,the male queer community is insisting that the donor guidelines be updated to include them.

It was a big weekend for the UC Davis baseball team. The Aggies ended their season in style, taking two of three from visiting Cal State Northridge at Dobbins Stadium. The series victory pushes UC Davis’ record to 13-42 overall and 5-19 in Big West Conference play. More importantly, though, it gives a youthful Aggies baseball team some momentum heading into the offseason and the 2010 campaign.

ASUCD’s Academic Affairs Commission held the Seventh Annual Excellence in Education awards Wednesday evening,during which six UC Davis professors were honored for their teaching achievements. The winners,from left to right,are Stephen Lewis from Engineering,Charles Walker from Social Sciences,Jay Rosenheim from Agricultural and Environmental Sciences,Michael Lazzarra from Humanities,Arts and Cultural Studies,Andreas Toupadakis from Mathematics and Physical Sciences,and Douglass Gross from Biological Sciences.

Senator Leland Yee andRepresentativeAnthony Portantino took the podium during last week’s ASUCD Senate meeting,accepting awards given by Lobby Corps for their contributions to higher education. “Senator Yee andRepresentativePortantino have fought tirelessly to ensure funding for the UC,accountability within the system and an end to excessive pay for top administrators,” said Lobby Corps director Talia MacMath in her introduction of the legislators. “They are much needed and appreciated allies in the capitol.“

Attending college is a gamble,and here in the UC system all of us are going for broke.The economy has slipped into a nuclear winter and the job markets we have to look forward to are chilly at best.A degree now means a lot less than it did in1970.For many people,it seems a safer bet to drop out and learn to fix Cadillacs.

Thefifth-yearsenior and cross country team captain stands ready at the podium,speech in hand.Thirty teammates,their parents and coaches fill the tiny room at his final end-of-season banquet.Standing5feet7inches tall with a28-inch waist,he is hardly an imposing figure.Yet the weight of his words and his deeds far surpass his physical presence,a fact not lost on those who have watched him over time.