California bans text messaging while driving Sept.30,2008 California became the seventh state to ban texting while driving whenGovernorArnold Schwarzenegger signed SB28in September.The law,which took effect Jan.1,created a$20fine for the first offense and a$50fine for each subsequent offense.

Since Larry Vanderhoef became UC Davis‘ chancellor in1994,the campus has undergone an explosion in growth.The university has completed$1.6billion in projects over the last ten years alone and increased its faculty and student enrollment by over40percent each. It may seem hard to believe,then,that just three years ago Vanderhoef was embroiled in a scandal that threatened to discredit his leadership.But regardless of how one feels about Vanderhoef’s tenure,he will undeniably have a lasting impression on the campus.

Since the release of their tantalizing indie-pop EP,Chunk of Change,Passion Pit has been gaining popularity among hipsters all over the world. The six-track-long anthology was a Valentine’s Day gift for lead singer Michael Angelakos‘ girlfriend at the time and eventually circulated around Emerson College,where Angelakos was attending school. Soon after the mid-September release ofChunk of Change,Passion Pit’s music has been slowly introduced to the world by corporations such as PlayStation,MTV,Pitchfork and BBC’s Sound of2009.

Polly Gnepa was expected to do big things entering this season.After all,he had run the110m hurdles in14.01seconds – thefastestever as an Aggie – and placed third at the Big West Conference Championships in2008. Gnepa did more than anyone could imagine.

Senior Nate Pistacchio held nothing back in his final year at UC Davis as he helped the Aggies to their first Big West title in school history. He enjoyed his finest season as an Aggie,earning All-Big West Conference first-team honors as well as Big West Golfer of the Month honors for October.

Sophomore sensation Austin Graham had about as good of a year as one can have. His72.0scoring average was tops on a team that skyrocketed to as high as No.24in the country and that captured a Big West Conference title.

MUSIC Multimedia Ensemble Today,8p.m.,free Technocultural Studies Building (formerly the Art Annex) Silent films are like a blank slate for musicians,and the UC Davis Multimedia Ensemble definitely cultivated a new idea when they scored Yasujiro Ozu‘s1934silent filmA Story of Floating Weeds.Led by music department lecturer Sam Nichols,the film is sure to provide an avant-garde and experimental version of one of film‘s early forms. Ian McFeron Band,Shannon Harney Today,10p.m.,$3,21 Sophia‘s Thai Kitchen Any band named after its lead is suspicious,and often terrible (well at least one well-known one is).But the Seattle-based Ian McFeron band shouldn‘t be feared,with their laid-back fiddle,slide guitar,Dylan-esque vocals and major-key strumming.Davisstudent Shannon Harney will perform as well.

The UC Davis Multimedia Ensemble is not dishing up your everyday traditional orchestral performance.They are instead presenting a musical explosion,melding together sounds from horns,drums,bottles,water and even laptops. Under the coaching ofSam Nichols,a lecturer in the department of music,this group of12students from the music and technocultural studies departments has been working to create a soundtrack for the1934silent filmA Story of Floating Weeds by Yasujiro Ozu.

Accompanying the traditional diploma dispersals are graduation guest speakers, who share their own experiences, offer words of wisdom, job adviceand praise the students for a job well-done. This year, students, familiesand friends will get to listen to a combination of current and past UC Davis students and guest speakers at the commencement ceremonies.

MUSE spoke to artist Julia Elsas,a graduating student in the UC Davis MFA program.Elsas and four other graduating students – Crystal Haueter,Cynthia Horn,Evie Leder and Josh Short – present their work at the2009MFA Exhibition,currently on display at the Nelson Gallery in the Art Building.

Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor is receiving national recognition,including the approval of UC Davis School of Law Dean Kevin Johnson.Sotomayor has a range of experiences that make her unique from the other justices,such as her time spent as adistrict attorney in Manhattan.Currently there are no justices with adistrict attorney background.

For many Davis bicyclists,yard waste on the side of the road can be a potential safety hazard and a troublesome obstacle.Yet,following a meeting at the Davis Bicycle Advisory Commission,there is little reason to believe the obstacles will be cleared away any time soon.The City of Davis Public Works department presented to the BAC the results of a Yard Waste and Bike Lanes Survey Project,a yearlong study of yard waste “pile placement” on a dozen Davis streets,to establish the degree to which they obstruct the path of cyclists.