At noon Thursday, thousands of students, staff and faculty filled the east quad to rally support for a system-wide UC walkout; by 1p.m., their numbers and voices had risen and they were marching to Mrak Hall to make their message loud and clear.

Linda Katehi joined the UC Davis family just last month as chancellor after previously holding the position of provost at the University of Illinois,Urbana-Champagne. Born in Greece,Katehi studied electrical engineering throughout her academic career,going on to merit16U.S.patents for her research in electrical engineering and a chair in the National Academy of Engineering.

If you see one of the golfers on the UC Davis team around campus and they seem relaxed or at ease at all,it’s because they haveagood reason to be. Though the Aggies have been unable to win either of their two fall tournaments,they have been hanging around at the top of leaderboard in each one.

As you walk through campus,look around:Greek letters are everywhere.Glued onto wooden signs,arching across the backs of t-shirts and short-shorts,or perched atop houses on RussellBoulevard.You might be able to decode a few of the letters,but you might still wonder, “What do they reallymean?”

Like most UC Davis students did either last year or even three years ago,the class of2013moved in and settled in to the dormitories this past weekend. First year student enrollment is slightly lower than in the past,with around4,600students.Of those,about97percent choose to live in the dorms,said Branden Petitt,associate director of Student Housing.

After the first two cases of West Nile virus in Yolo Countythis yearwere confirmed last week,Davis residents should take all precautions against mosquitoes– especially considering recent high temperatures.An older man between the ages of55and74and a younger boy between10and18years old,both from Davis,were the first human cases of West Nile in Yolo County.

It’s two weeks before school starts on a Saturday night and I’m walking around Aggie Stadium. The football team is in the midst of a very compelling game against No.4Montana and over9,000Aggie Pack faithful are there to see it.

One theory behind escaping a recession is that things have to hit the proverbial “rock bottom,” before they can build themselves back up. The same may be true for UC undergraduate student tuition fees. A proposal released earlier this month would raise basic undergraduate fees for California residents to $10,302 by next fall – 44 percent higher than they were in the fall of 2008,according to an article in the Los Angeles Times.

First-year coach Vianney Campos uses phrases such as “an opportunity to grow” to describe her team through its first eight games. This stretch for the Aggies has been nothing shy of that,as not one player on the roster had Division-I game experience prior to the start of the season.

1.Avoid looking like a freshman.Do not wear your ID around your neck– dead giveaway.Don’t walk down RussellBoulevard with more than two people at night.Peoplewill yell “Freshman!” out their car windows.Try not to carry a map with you at all times,and just FYI:most people don’t wear a bike helmet (although it is safer).

Whether you’ve just made Davis your new home or you’ve been here for years,exploring the town’s culture is a must.Davis isn’t a metropolitan area but it has a surprisingly active art scene.Profiled here are several choices for the art-minded among us.Luckily,admission to these galleries is free.

TheUC Davis cross country team has wasted no time finding success this season on both the men’s and women’s sides. The Aggies‘ first meet,the USF Invitational,resulted in sixth and third place finishes for the men and women’s teams respectively. “We split our squad and sat probably the top half on both sides,” said coach Drew Wartenburg. “That was a meet to allow some of the newcomers and a few returners to get their feet wet early.“