Column

The Democratic Party needs to start fighting harder for our democracy and the people they represent   By SABRINA FIGUEROA — sfigueroaavila@ucdavis.edu   The past two months have been marked by chaos and political rhetoric that sounds like it came straight from the 1940s. If you’re exhausted, anxious, angry or upset, chances are you are […]

How midterms expose our crippling procrastination   By NEVAEH KARRAKER— nakarraker@ucdavis.edu   It’s midnight already. After burning through an entire pencil in three days and chugging energy drinks, time is nothing more than an abstract concept. Yet, as the hours blur together, I’ve barely finished a single assignment.  It’s a never ending cycle of work […]

“Louis, I think this is the dissolution of a beautiful friendship”   By ABHINAYA KASAGANI— akasagani@ucdavis.edu   The collapse of an “everyday friendship” is unlike the dissolution of any other relationship. One must procedurally split their assets, sign papers agreeing on an amicable separation system that is fair to both parties, chronicle their collapse of […]

Breaking down the social pressures to appear smart   By TARA ROMERO— tcrome@ucdavis.edu   In every single class across campus, there will inevitably be that one student (sometimes two or three) whose sole desire is proving that they are smarter than everyone else in the room. You can all imagine exactly who I’m talking about: […]

The Trump administration’s policies on cutting NIH and CDC funding and the impacts on future medical advancements   By NAREN KRISHNA JEGAN — science@theaggie.org   On Jan. 30, 2025, my principal investigator (PI) began our lab meeting with a voice of concern.  “This will be our hardest year,” he said. “We may struggle financially, and […]

My unique experiences living on both sides   By ELLIE NOH — eenoh@ucdavis.edu From the West Coast’s popular hamburger chain In-N-Out Burger to the East Coast’s famous bagel bakeries, where do the biggest distinctions between the two coasts lie? Growing up on the East Coast and attending college in California, one of the main differences I […]

Spotify playlists are much more than folders of organized music, they are time capsules full of memories    By JHANA RHODES—jsrho@ucdavis.edu I’m the Chief Executive Officer of Spotify. Who would’ve thought? Well, not me per se, because I’m totally lying. However, with all the money I spent on the monthly subscription to keep Spotify, I […]

No matter the question, cookies are always the answer   By MOLLY THOMPSON – mmtthompson@ucdavis.edu Sometimes, I wonder if my roommates look forward to midterm season because it means our cookie jar will always be full.  Like many of us, I’m a stress-baker — when I’m overwhelmed, I head to the kitchen. There’s something undeniably […]

Exploring the role of political incorrectness in humor   By VIOLET ZANZOT— vmzanzot@ucdavis.edu   I figured the perfect introduction for this topic would be a good joke. I was going to write in “pause for laughter” and that was going to be even funnier. I figured a good dad joke would serve best, so I […]

Exploring drag’s history of resistance and how it inspires us right now   By TARA ROMERO— tcrome@ucdavis.edu   Drag is so much more than the new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race (however, Onya Nerve, a writer for The California Aggie is rooting for you). Drag is queer expression. Drag is gender. Drag is racial identity. […]

Finding meaningful experiences amongst life’s inherent limitations is easier said than done    By JHANA RHODES—jsrho@ucdavis.edu   I feel existential and have been this way for over two weeks. As I stood in front of one of the many towering bookshelves in The Avid Reader Bookstore, vibrant mosaics of books — from Edgar Allan Poe […]

Finding the value in social sciences in an era of animosity    By SABRINA FIGUEROA — sfigueroaavila@ucdavis.edu   As someone majoring in the humanities and social sciences, I have my fair share of “What are you gonna do with that?” questions. I used to answer genuinely, putting all of my energy into a beautifully crafted […]