Campus News

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awarded $8.2 million in fellowships last week to 190 artists, scholars and scientists in the United States and Canada. Out of more than 2,600 applicants, 18 of the selected few are University of California faculty, greater than any other system with just under a whopping 10 percent of the winners. “[The UC system is] very pleased that 18 members of our faculty have been honored by this very prestigious award. The broad range of faculty recognized and their specialties highlights the tremendous strength of our faculty in a diverse set of fields,” said Chris Harrington, spokesperson for the UC system.

UC Davis graduate student Benjamin Hanken was one of the 25 students chosen from across the nation to participate in the first annual student program at the Idaho National Laboratory this summer. Hanken, an alumni of Oregon State University, started his graduate studies in chemical engineering and materials science at UCD this year. Hanken was offered a scholarship from the Idaho National Laboratory to attend Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User facility summer session from July 16 to 20. “I first heard about the summer session through Professor Niels Jensen, one of the principal investigators for the project I’ll be working on for my thesis,” Hanken said in an e-mail interview.

With Picnic Day Parade just a few days away, staff members at the Education Abroad Center are making final preparations for their group’s float. But they will have to march without their prized centerpiece: a giant papier-mâché globe, which vandals destroyed. EAC Outreach Coordinator Jake Hosier said he lives close to the EAC, located on the corner of Third and A streets, and was driving by the office on the morning of Apr. 5 when he noticed shreds of papier-mâché throughout the street. Vandals had apparently detached the four-foot diameter globe from its base and rolled it around the street, Hosier said. One side of the globe, whose structure was made out of wood and chicken wire, was completely collapsed, he said. The globe cannot be repaired in time for the parade, Hosier said. “It’s one of those things that you don’t expect … to happen in Davis,” Hosier said. “We can’t even have a float in the parade because someone goes and does this kind of stuff. It’s really frustrating and disheartening.”

Wednesday’s Rail Jam event, hosted by ASUCD and the Ski or Snowboard Club (SOS), has been postponed due to a breached agreement between the Rail Jam promotion company and the equipment provider. The event was scheduled for Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. at Aggie Stadium and was intended to showcase winter sports in a competition setup. ASUCD planned to bring snow to campus from Lake Tahoe and allow students to attend free of charge. According to ASUCD Senator and event coordinator Jesse Rosales, the equipment provider previously owed the promoting company money and planned to compensate by providing UC Davis the equipment for the event. The equipment provider then backed out of the agreement, asking instead for $12,000, which ASUCD funds could not provide.

ASUCD Senate meetings are scheduled to begin Thursdays at 6:10 p.m. Times listed are according to the clock at the Apr. 10 meeting location, the Memorial Union’s Mee Room. Meeting started at 6:15 p.m. Ivan Carrillo, ASUCD president, absent Molly Fluet, ASUCD vice-president, present Rebecca Schwartz, ASUCD senator pro tempore, present Andrew Bianchi, ASUCD senator, present Sergio Blanco, ASUCD senator, present

Archaeologists work to uncover peace Efforts by Ran Boytner, an archaeologist at UCLA, and Swartz Dodd, an archaeologist at USC, could aid the peace process in the Middle East. The two have led a team, comprised of highly regarded Israeli and Palestinian archaeologists, in creating an agreement as to the disposition of historical artifacts if a Palestinian state is formed. “Israelis and Palestinians never previously had sat down to achieve a structured balanced agreement to govern the region’s archaeological heritage,” said Dodd in a press release. “Our group got together with the vision of a future when people wouldn’t be at each other’s throats and archaeology would need to be protected, irrespective of which side of the border it falls on.”

Patients undergoing cornea transplant surgery can now have confidence in using cornea tissue from donors over 75 years of age, thanks to a recent study published by UC Davis professor and chair of the department of ophthalmology, Dr. Mark J Mannis. Before Mannis’ five-year-long national study of cornea transplant patients, doctors were hesitant to use old cornea tissue for fear of worn down cells. Now, after finding that the success rate for older cornea tissue is the same as that of younger cornea tissue, the donor pool has increased by approximately 30 percent. Corneas, located in the front of the eye over the iris, protect the eye and focus light entering the eye. Cornea injury, the number two cause of blindness behind macular degeneration, is caused by a range of disorders and accidents, from the herpes virus to a simple chemical burn.

In the Apr. 10 issue of The California Aggie, the article “Decline in African American and Hispanic graduation rates” incorrectly states that the number of graduating African Americans in 2004 dropped 33 percent. In reality, the rate dropped to 33 percent from 38 percent between 1975 and 2004, a difference of 5 percentage points. Similarly, […]

World-renowned primate researcher and conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall came to UC Davis Wednesday evening to melt the ice around the human heart. For nearly two hours, Goodall spoke to a crowd of 1,774 about the plight of Earth and its denizens and what the audience members could do to help. Goodall is best known for her groundbreaking work in East Africa researching chimpanzees. She is widely credited with discovering tool-making behavior in chimps, in addition to finding that they are omnivorous.

After over a decade of research, UC Davis scientists have found five strains of grape rootstocks resistant to several strains of soil-born pests in California vineyards. The rootstocks were released to commercial nurseries on Mar. 31. Howard Ferris, professor of nematology at UC Davis and Andrew Walker, professor of viticulture at UC Davis, conducted the study along with assistance from staff research associate Liang Zheng.

In an effort to address campus cultural barriers, the Students of Diverse Affiliations are sponsoring anti-bias training in an all-day event Saturday titled “Lost in Colors.” The event will begin at 9:30 a.m. in Hart Hall. Students of Diverse Affiliationscoordinator Hanh Le said the program is a series of workshops to teach students how to properly communicate with all cultures and identities. The Women’s Resources and Research Center, Student Recruitment and Retention Center, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Resource Center, Cross Cultural Center, and Counseling and Psychological Services will make presentations during the event. UC Davis chemistry lecturer Bryan Enderle, the keynote speaker, will discuss how to communicate inclusively.

The national average graduation rate of African American and Hispanic students has decreased significantly in the last 30 years, according to a recent study conducted by Michal Kurlaender, an associate professor of education at UC Davis. According to the study, the number of graduating African Americans in 2004 dropped 33 percent, while the Hispanic student graduation rate dropped 34 percent nationally. The increase in dropout rates has grown in tandem with an enduring increase in enrollment to college by minority groups overall. Kurlaender said that there are several possibilities for this phenomenon. “There are many reasons for [students] to drop out: They may find employment that is more lucrative, have no taste for school or find they aren’t good at it,” Kurlaender said. Kurlaender also cites that some students may experience a lack of preparation due to a misalignment between high school academics and the intensity of college coursework, as well as financial constraints due to rising tuition fees. All of these factors may contribute directly to the dropout rate of minorities in college, who are more likely to come from low-income families and may be dependent on financial aid. She stressed that these reasons are not mutually exclusive.