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When U.S. Representative Jackie Speier was 16, her family got a letter in the mail asking for contributions to Leo J. Ryan’s California State Assembly campaign. Speier didn’t have much money to contribute, but she did have time. She signed on as a campaign volunteer, soliciting support at shopping centers and community events. Reflecting on that pivotal event in her life, Speier advises: “Don’t wait to get involved – start now. Don’t think you’re too young to make an impact. And don’t feel like you have to know someone to get involved – just knock on your assemblymember’s or congressperson’s door.”

TODAY Campus Judicial Board Sno-Cones 10a.m.to2p.m. MU Patio CJB and Student Judicial Affairs will be giving out free sno-cones in front of the MU for all who attend.Chill out before finals,and don’t cheat! East Quad Farmers Market 10a.m.to2:30p.m. East Quad Support local farmers and buy some fresh produce,nuts,flowers and more! Pick up some tasty treats for a fun springtime dinner or a nice afternoon snack. Take the real food taste test 11a.m.to1p.m. ASUCD Coffee House Stop by and taste some real food!

090527_fe_stratton.cNotes:Make headline italicsHeadline: Channeling the chancellorLayercake: Maril Stratton to play critical role in acquainting new chancellorBy LAUREN STEUSSYAggie Staff Writer The pens on Maril Revette Stratton’s desk are parallel and the pencils are sharpened. Stratton is ready for work. She walks to her file cabinet, where folders are no doubt labeled alphabetically and chronologically and […]

Barry Bonds.Shawne Merriman.Alex Rodriguez.Marion Jones.The list goes on,and so too does the ethical debate that surrounds athletes and their use of performance enhancing drugs.In the shadows of this ever-evolving controversy,though,lies an ethically similar but contextually different issue:“brain doping.“ Last year,as an April Fools‘ joke,a faux-press release by The National Institutes of Health (NIH) circulated the Internet.It stated that there were new initiatives to combat the use of brain enhancing drugs.The World Anti-Brain Doping Authority (WABDA) was to enforce the set of regulations among scientists.

Ernesto Sandoval knows his plants.From theAmorphophallus titanium to the CucumberTree,the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory is a plethora of plants for Sandoval to study. What is your occupation? I am director of the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory.Kind of like the head librarian at a library of living plants. What do you do at the conservatory? I supervise and manage a cadre of interns,student employees,volunteersand part-time staff.I make a lot of the decisions of what to transplant,propagateand otherwise manipulate as well as when,how and how many.

A silent killer is on the rise among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.As high rates of chronic hepatitis B,a leading cause of liver cancer,continue to afflict the burgeoning population,some experts predict a surge in liver cancer for these ethnic groups in the U.S.during the next20years.Liver cancer incidence is unevenly skewed within the American population,as the disease tends to strike people ofcertain ethnic groups more often.A recent study from theJournal of Clinical Oncology projects that the number of new liver cancer cases among Asian Americans will jump by134percent compared to an increase of28percent among non-Hispanic whites by2030.

People take the ability to read and write for granted,assuming everyone can,but the evidence suggests that it shouldn’t be. Twenty percent of Yolo County is considered functionally illiterate,according to theYolo County Library Servicesand Facilities Master Plan2002to2006.

TODAY Dine with dignity campaign 5:45to7p.m. ASUCD Coffee House View the filmImmokalee:From Slavery to Freedom and listen to a list conversation with a member of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.There will be free popcornfromthe Student Farm. Veer screening 6:30p.m. Davis Varsity Theatre In celebration of May being Bike Month,viewVeer,a movie about five people whose lives are tied to cycling.Tickets are$10at the door,and80percent after the rental fee will go to the Davis Bike Collective. Club meetup 7to9p.m. Griffin Lounge,MU If you’re involved in a student organization,stop by this forum to meet with other students and learn advice about being a club at UC Davis andhow tointeract with SPAC,CEVS and ASUCD. An evening with Jake Kosek 4p.m. MU II Listen to Jake Kosek,author ofUnderstories:The Political Life of Forests in Northern New Mexico,speak.

UC Davis senior Shanna Wagner has Type I diabetes.Rather than accept her situation,she decided to do something about it. Wagner decided to help in the battle against diabetes by leading the Diabetes Dash at UC Davis,a two mile run/walk set to take place at the Arboretum on Sunday,May31at10a.m.The money raised will be donated to the UC Davis Medical Center for endocrinology research.

TODAY Thursday Trivia Nights 6 to 7:30 p.m. First floor, Silo Union Test your knowledge of random facts and potentially win fabulous prizes along the way!

A button fell out of an undergrad’s coat as he walked through the quad in the 1930s. A girl lost her ring in between thick blades of grass when it slipped from her finger one afternoon in 1962. And last week, a couple of quarters fell out of your pocket after you bought lunch at the Whole Earth Festival. Long after their owners have moved on, these possessions lay hidden in the UC Davis quad. But they can all be recovered – if you know how to find them.

Editor’s Note:For this edition of Ten Questions,The California Aggie spoke with senior communication major Kyle Dubs to get a feel for day-to-day life as a UC Davisstudentresidentfirefighter.The program,which began in1955,teaches firefighting skills to a select group of UC Davis students.