For many UC Davis students, starting a business may seem like an impossible task. But for one group of student entrepreneurs, not only is creating a business possible, it’s something they can do even before they get their diplomas. Members of the Junior Entrepreneurs and Investors Club recently formed a club dedicated to selling Clean Cart Systems – a sort of dishwasher for shopping carts. Executives of the six-year-old business gave Davis students the rights to sell the systems in Yolo County.

For students, staff and faculty facing fee increases and pay cuts in light of the UC-wide budget crisis, one local professor has placed the blame on the regents with evidence to back it up. Dr. Jerold Theis, a professor in the department of medical microbiology and immunology at the UC Davis School of Medicine, bases this accusation on evidence he discovered while investigating the regents’ use of 19900 General Fund Support [cq], funds allotted by the state to help subsidize the functioning of the UC.

It may save paper, but that online textbook may be lowering students’ grades. In an Arizona State University study, “To Scroll or Not to Scroll: Scrolling, Working Memory Capacity, and Comprehending Complex Texts,” co-author Christopher Sanchez, assistant professor of applied psychology at ASU, found that certain students are not retaining as much information when scrolling through online documents.

A group of American and Russian scientists has discovered a new element that is a missing link to developing some of the heaviest bits of atomic mass ever produced. The element, still nameless, was produced by smashing together an isotope of calcium with the radioactive element berkelium in a particle accelerator near Moscow. Published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the data supports the theory that as elements become heavier, they also become more stable and live longer than other atomic structures produced before. In order for the element to gain an official name, the discovery has to be confirmed at another location. Once confirmed, the element will take its place on the periodic table.

With the passage of the health care reform bill come changes that boost funding for higher education. The Education Reconciliation: Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, found within the health care bill, eliminates the current practice of providing federal subsidies to private student loans, cutting out banks as the middleman. Instead, the government will supply loans to students directly.

Californians will face a number of choices on the June 8 ballot. One is Proposition 15, an initiative which, if enacted, will impose fees on registered lobbyists in California and use the additional revenue to provide funding for political campaigns in the state. Initially sponsored by Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Oakland), the proposal launches a pilot program that will only apply to political campaigns for the Office of Secretary of State in 2014 and 2018. Hancock said the people of California will benefit from Prop. 15 as well as those considering running for secretary of state who do not want to spend years of their life “dialing for dollars.”

When the men’s basketball team needed an offensive spark, they turned to Julian Welch. The 6’3″ guard from Elk Grove, Calif. consistently showed an ability to break down opposing defenses off the dribble while also punishing teams with his long-range shooting.

Last year, when UC Davis came up short to UC Santa Barbara at the 2009 Big West Conference Championships, something clicked in Scott Weltz’s head. “We realized we were a really good team,” Weltz said. “This year, coach [Pete] Motekaitis was telling us that it was in our hands to win championships.”

The recent release of recommendations for computer configurations from UC Davis’s Information and Education Technology department outlines what specifications students should have to achieve maximum functionality. The list, the Recommended Computer Configurations for 2010-2011, has key changes from previous versions. It orients students to have more RAM (random-access memory), bigger hard-drives and a new operating system (for both Macs and PCs). Outdated computers run the risk of not meeting campus cyber security policy, and not achieving desirable functionality both on and off campus.

Tanya Ho has made major contributions to the UC Davis gymnastics team in her four-year career. The senior out of Elk Grove, Calif. has won a total of nine Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week honors since her freshman campaign. She has also captured 13 All-MPSF nods, including vault and all-around for four straight years. Last year she was even named the conference Gymnast of the Year.

Heidi Heintz has made quite an impression. In her first season on the court for UC Davis, the Spokane, Wash. local led the team with a .486 field goal percentage and a .856 free-throw percentage while placing second in points (10.8) and rebounds (4.5) per game.

Players that give maximum effort on every play are rare, but the men’s basketball team has one in Joe Harden. Harden, the Notre Dame transfer from Acampo, Calif., put together another solid season offensively, coming in third on the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game while shooting 43 percent from the floor.