Campus News

In an abandoned gold mine inSouth Dakota,physicists are building a way to test for dark matter- invisible particles that affect theexpansion of the universe.

The Large Underground Xenon Apparatus (LUX) is a collaboration of seven universities,including UC Davis.Physics professors Mani Tripathi and Robert Svoboda are designing part of the experiment that will be transported fromDavis toSouth Dakota.

"Our role is that we are helping to build part of the instrument itself," Svobodasaid.

Dark matter got its name because though it has a gravitational force,it is not visible to humans.The name is also a pun,because the particles are a mystery to physicists,said Hitoshi Murayama,professor of physics at the Lawrence National Laboratory at UC Berkeley.

Monday marked the beginning of La Raza Cultural Days,a weeklong series of events that celebrate the traditions of Chicano and Latino culture while educating the UC Davis community about social and political issues facing Chicanos and Latinos today.

"It is very important for the Chicano and Latino student population to come together," said La Raza coordinator Gretel Quintero,ajuniorsociology and Spanish major. "We can't forget our culture."

The weeklong series kicked off in the main Quad with live music and activities fair at noon and an art exhibit featuring work from Magdalena Mora,a Chicana and labor union activist during the late1970s in the Memorial Union MU II room.

Two Mixtec migrant activists from Oaxaca, Mexico will be speaking today in an event titled "Indigenous Mexican Migration to the U.S. and its Impact on the Communities of Origin," from noon to 2 p.m. at the HIA Conference Room, located at 5211 Social Sciences and Humanities.

Bernardo Ramírez Bautista is an indigenous lawyer, and the other, Centolia Maldonado Vásquez, is an activist. They will be talking about the situation of indigenous migrants in California and Mexico, and sharing their own stories of struggle. Both have been very active in looking intoissues of social justice and the legal issue of migration.

Stefano Varese, professor of Native American Studies, said it is a great opportunity to hear them share their own experience.

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 6:14 p.m.

Ivan Carrillo, ASUCD president, arrived at 6:30 p.m., left at 7:58 p.m.

UC Davis scored a victory in the court system, as a federal judge ruled in favor of the university in a Title IX lawsuit filed by four women who were dropped from the intercollegiate wrestling team.

U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. ruled that the plaintiffs in Mansourian et al. v. Regents of the University of California failed to notify the campus that they were making broad allegations against the entire Intercollegiate Athletics program.

Nancy Sheehan of Porter Scott, the firm that represents the university, said that while she was disappointed that the court did not render a decision on the allegations in the lawsuit, she was still pleased with the ruling overall.

"I have strongly felt from the beginning that my client was not in violation of Title IX, and we've worked really hard on this case," said Sheehan in a phone interview. "We would have loved to have a ruling on all the issues, but I understand why Judge Damrell did what he did."

The UC Davis Arboretum is hosting a series of events for the public to enjoy throughout May. All events are intended to showcase the features of what many residents call the most beautiful place in Davis.

Birds of Song and Clay

Possibly the only event ever to combine folk music and clay bird making, Birds of Song and Clay will give participants the opportunity to make California birds out of clay while listening to the acoustic trio, MudLark.

Professor and co-director of the Art-Science Fusion Program Diane Ullman will lead the clay bird making workshop. Participants will model their birds after those native to California, and contribute the birds to a large clay mural for Congressman Mike Thompson, who will display it in his office in Washington D.C.

The Campus Rotaract Club of Davis is sponsoring a night of food and entertainment to raise money for street children in Latin America. The event, titled "International Night," will be held Monday from 7 to 10 p.m. at Freeborn Hall.

International Night will celebrate different cultures around the world with food and multicultural performances, said Marcus Tang, co-president of the Campus Rotaract Club.

"The goal of the event is to celebrate international diversity and to fundraise for Casa Alianza, our club's charity project this year," Tang said in an e-mail.

Wednesday night's "Unwrap this:Rollin Rollin Rollin" at the Memorial Unionwas the perfect place to learn how tocorrectly roll sushi,kimbap and spring rolls.Otherfoods demonstratedwere Spam musubi and a dessertcalled halo halo.

This event was one of many for this week's Asian Pacific Culture Week.Thehistory of certain Asian Pacific countries and their foodswas presented by Jonathan Chee,a sophomoremicrobiology majorandco-organizer of the event along withseniorJulienne Cruz,Campus Unions student programmer.

"How many [people] like to eat Ramen? Well inKorea they believe that if you eat it late at night or before an important event,your face will swell up," said Chee in his presentation.

The Senate Governmental Organization Committee approvedSenateBill1596,authored byStateSenator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) on Apr.15.The bill requires theUniversity ofCalifornia to uphold responsible contracts and have competitive bidding processes for contracts every three years.TheUniversity ofCalifornia Responsible Contracting Act will also necessitate the university to keep the contracts in adatabase accessibleby thepublic.

"The bill spurs partly from the UC Davis problem with the Sodexho contract,which has been with Davis for over30years without allowing other contractors to put out a bid,and a case down in[UC] Santa Barbara,where a contract was given to an irresponsible business with a history of bad labor contracts and of not paying taxes,and they left town without pay to all the workers," saidAdam Keigwin,communications director for Lee.

Animal rights activists should consider leaving their red paint at home before attending the next PETA protest,as state legislators are now calling for the protection of university animal researchers.

AssemblyBill2296,authored byState RepresentativeGene Mullin(D-South San Francisco) and sponsored by theUniversity ofCalifornia,calls for a limiting of various tactics used by anti-animal research extremist groups that compromise the safety of university professionals.The decision to write the bill was triggered by various attacks,including arson,bombings,vandalism and harassment on researchers both in their homes and at work.

n an effort to protect mental health services from state budget cuts, ASUCD is urging administrators to retract cuts made to units other than Counseling and Psychological Services that provide counseling services.

University administrators proposed a 7 percentbudget decrease for all units,with some losing as much as $140,000 for next year's budget.The cuts will facilitate a university-wide cut of$1.4million.

ASUCD considersunits such as theCross Cultural Center (CCC),Lesbian,Gay,Bisexual,Transgender ResourceCenter (LGBTRC) and Women's Research and Resources Center (WRRC) crucialto university funding,as many utilize these services for mental health.

"These units do very important work and have a close connection to many students on this campus," said Paul Harms,ASUCD controller andjuniormanagerial economics major. "They shouldn't have to cut any of their funding."

Unlike most students, UC Davis' R4 recycling program was hard at work throughout Saturday combating the largest Picnic Day ever with one of their largest recycling events ever.

The Quad, Fire Station and the entire ASUCD Coffee House featured food booths using strictly compostable or recyclable materials with the goal of minimizing waste and recycling everything.

The Quad was the area most at risk of wasted recycling opportunities; due to the record number of Picnic Day goers, trashcans throughout the university were overflowing.

But Zero Waste coordinator Michael Siminitus and his group saw it coming, and were prepared for the rush.

"We handled the Quad better than any of our areas because we had staffed collection stations. We did have to have trash cans because people brought food in with them, some of which contained Styrofoam, but overall we diverted a great deal of waste to recycling or compost," he said.

DMCA Violation

A senior was referred to Student Judicial Affairs for violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.She allegedly illegally downloaded a game on to her computer.However,upon meeting with an SJA officer,sheclaimed that shewas not aware of having the game in her computer's system.Peer-to-peer software mayhave uploaded the program into her computer without her being aware of it.The student's sanction was awarningfrom theuniversity.

President and CEO of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Joseph A. Aguerrebere will be giving a Distinguished Educational Thinkers Lecture titled "Toward a Strong Profession" today at 5 p.m. in the University Club Lounge.

Aguerrebere is hailed as a national expert on school reform and has held numerous positions in a variety of educational fields. These include service as an elementary school teacher and administrator, professor at California State University Dominguez Hills in Los Angeles, and deputy director of the Ford Foundation in New York.

"His lecture will focus on strengthening teaching as a profession," said executive director of the UC Davis Cooperative Research and Extension Services for Schools Center Mary Vixie Sandy. "It will also focus on the ways in which our systems support and do not support the development of education."

The endeavor to introduce more energy-saving products and services into the homes of Californians received a boost last week, as three donors collectively pledged $1.1million in grants to the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center.

Chevron Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will donate $100,000 per year for the next five years and Goldman Sachs is donating$100,000this year.Each company will also seat a representative on the center's board of advisors.

Founded in2006,theEnergyEfficiencyCenter's "mission is to accelerate development and commercialization of energy-efficient technologies," according to its website.The center has received a total of$5million in funds thus far.