On Jan. 27, administrators shared information about meetings with students, spring graduation, affordable housing and carbon neutrality
The Editorial Board meets with a panel of UC Davis administrators, including Chancellor Gary May, each quarter to ask questions prepared in advance. These are some of the main points from the one-hour meeting, along with our thoughts on the discussion. For more detailed information, a full transcript of the meeting can be found here.
Multiple administrators emphasized their preference for conversations with students over petitions or ASUCD resolutions. They highlighted that students can always email their offices to set up in-person meetings or phone calls with administrators — May even said he has “never turned down a meeting with a student.” We were impressed with their dedication to making themselves available, but we don’t think many students are aware that they can request these meetings. A social media post from UC Davis’ account or an email outlining what each administrator is responsible for and how to get in touch with them would be helpful for connecting concerned students with the relevant administrators.
Spring graduation is planned to be in person, with three large ceremonies taking place on June 10, 11 and 12. Students from different colleges will be able to attend the same ceremony, unlike previous years in which ceremonies were separated based on a student’s college. Eligible students will be able to register for graduation in March. Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Pablo Reguerín also shared some helpful tips for students preparing for post-grad life, including being active on Handshake and adding at least an hour of job hunting to their schedule every week.
UC Davis is in the process of building enough housing for 50% of its student population. Since West Village and other UC Davis-owned accommodations tend to be expensive compared to some housing options in Davis, we were concerned about the affordability of these new units, especially Orchard Park family housing. Their goal is to charge 30% below market price for Orchard Park units, which we think is a good start to making affordable housing more available to students.
May said he was proud to describe UC Davis’ progress in its Big Shift project towards the UC-wide goal of being carbon neutral by 2025. We were also glad to hear that a plan outlining how to make UC Davis completely carbon free is due at the end of 2022 with an expected end date of 2030. We hope that the university can stay on schedule, especially given that they missed a deadline for their zero-waste goal in 2020.
The administration didn’t share any progress they might have made for funding UC Davis Athletics if the Student Activities and Services Initiative and the Campus Expansion Initiative are eliminated next fall. They emphasized that they can’t rely on donor gifts to make up the potential gap, and they also can’t speculate about any potential consequences yet.
Written by: The Editorial Board
