Features

Lisa Peters watches as her son, David, excitedly points out the different plastic characters stationed on a perfect two-foot replica of the Black Pearl, which sits on the living room table. Another wooden ship of the build-it-yourself variety sits next to it. David ignores the "doll ship" and continues to show off the Davey Jones miniature and the Black Pearl's launchable rockets.

David is just a normal two-year-old boy with a fascination for pirates. No one would have guessed that this skinny, blond, grinning child began life in a medical lab's petri dish.

Peters, 44, understands what it's like to want children but not be able to conceive one. After many failed attempts, a medical screening confirmed that she and her husband could not have children.

TODAY

Ice cream eating showdown

Noon to 1 p.m.

Memorial Union Patio

Go cheer on your fellow students in the fastest ice cream showdown ever! This is a Picnic Day pre-week event.

Davis Police Department planning meeting

3 p.m.

2124 Wickson

The Davis Police Department is preparing to develop its new three year Strategic Plan. Help them brainstorm and prioritize community issues and problem statements. Information about this process and notes from previous forums can be found at www.city.davis.ca.us/police.

During a weeklong celebration of Native American culture, UC Davis' Native American Culture Days group offered several educational and entertaining opportunities for students to learn about the traditions of indigenous peoples inter-continentally.

Easily the tastiest of these tutorials was the Native Foods Demonstration and Tasting at the Silo Union on Apr. 9.

Chef Robert Faris of the Blackfeet Tribe from Redding, Mont. taught students and Davis residents alike how to make three different dishes that utilize Native American recipes. Attendees of the Native American cooking class were served American Indian tacos, buffalo stew, blackberry cobbler and a generous helping of breathtaking music.

TODAY

Raptor Center field trip

8:30 a.m.

California Raptor Center

Join the CRC for a wildlife hike highlighting the raptors of Yolo County! Call 752-9994 to reserve a spot by telephone message.

California Indian basket weaving

Noon to 1 p.m.

3201 Hart

Learn about basket weaving at this Native American Culture Days presentation by Kathy Wallace.

Jusco. That's right, the place across from Fuji Chief has a real name. I wish to inform any readers that I actually planned to write this review of Jusco. I did not go to Fuji Chef, see the big line and then decide to go to the sushi place across the street.

In fact, as someone who has done that before, I would advise against doing so. Even entertaining the idea of going to Fuji Chef is setting oneself up for disappointment if one is going to end up at Jusco.

Editor's note: In the first half of this two-part series about female egg donation, the pros and cons of giving eggs are weighed against each other and the process itself is discussed. The second part of this series, where an individual's firsthand accounts of going through the procedure are presented, will be in The Aggie next Wednesday.

For college students, the "help wanted" section in newspapers screams easy money. Sometimes, the offer is enough to afford a movie, but on rare instances, it can pay for the majority of a year's worth of college tuition.

If you open up Friday's copy of The California Aggie, there will be a posting that says "compensation $5,000-8,000" for female egg donors. It seems like a pot of gold, but how easily attainable is it?

TODAY

Summer abroad enrollment day

Noon to 4 p.m.

Education Abroad Center, corner of Third and A streets

Secure your spot in a summer study abroad program and get extensions for important forms by visiting the EAC. Enrollment is first-come, first-served. The last day to enroll is Friday by 5 p.m.

Emerson Jr. High carnival

4 to 10 p.m.

14 Cannery Park St.

Help the Emerson Junior High School PTA raise funds for the school! Rides can be purchased individually and day passes are $25 at the door. Day passes are available for $20 at Carousel Stationary and Gifts at 706 Second St.

Chemistry Club meeting

5 p.m.

281 Chemistry

Those interested in participating in the Picnic Day magic show should attend this practice session.

Trivia night

5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Silo Café and Pub

Show off your knowledge of random factoids!

Math Café

6 to 8 p.m.

Scholars' Center Study Room, Surge IV

Get a good serving of mathematics at this weekly tutoring session with the Women's Resources and Research Center. Women and men are both welcome.

Sigma Mu Delta barbeque night

7 p.m.

Chaparral Lounge, 2689 Sycamore Lane

Get to know the brothers of this pre-health fraternity over ribs.

TODAY

Farmers Market

11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

East Quad

Get fresh fruits, veggies and snacks at this convenient farmers market.

Career advising for women

Noon to 1 p.m.

104 North Hall

Still trying to figure out what to do with your major, career or life in general? Drop in and talk with an Internship and Career Center counselor.

TODAY

Chemistry Club meeting

5 to 7 p.m.

179 Chemistry

Get involved with this club's popular Picnic Day magic show! To participate in the show, you must attend the meeting or e-mail the president at snavarro@ucdavis.edu.

Wildlife Society meeting

6 p.m.

1227 Haring

Geography graduate student Megan Wyman will give a talk on her research of bison communication.

Acquiring clean water is not something that requires much effort for most of us. We can turn on the faucet and drink directly from the tap. Or we can easily purchase a high-tech filtering system, or pick up a fancy Evian bottle at the grocery store.

For communities in the Rukwa region of Tanzania, Africa, obtaining clean water is much more difficult. But thanks to a generous donation from the Winters Rotary Club and the hard work of two UC Davis professors, this process will be improved and simplified for many Tanzanian villagers.

Monique Borgerhoff Mulder, an anthropology professor at UC Davis, and her husband Tim Caro, a professor of wildlife, fish and conservation biology, recently received a $6,000 donation from the Winters Rotary Club to help Tanzanian villagers build drinking wells.

A lack of funding and resources in America's public education system has made a large impact on public schools in low-income areas. The absence of properly trained teachers is one reason why children in those areas receive poor levels of education.

Teach For America seeks to eliminate this problem. In an effort to close the country's achievement gap, the nationwide TFA program recruits and trains highly motivated individuals to teach in these disadvantaged regions.

"By the time children in low-income levels are nine, they are back three grade levels. I had fourth graders who couldn't read [the] Harry Potter [series]," said Amber Saloner, Pacific Coastal Senior Recruitment Director for TFA.

"We want to equip them. We want you to empower the students," she said.

TODAY

Sunrise ceremony

6:15 a.m.

Putah Creek fire pit

This early morning ceremony opens Native American Culture Days. Refreshments will be provided.

Math Café

5 to 7 p.m.

104 North Hall

Get a good serving of mathematics at this weekly tutoring session with the Women's Resources and Research Center. Women and men are both welcome.

Native American film festival

5 to 8:30 p.m.

Silo Café and Pub

When do you ever get to go to a triple feature for free? There will also be a two-spirit program and a presentation on D-Q University. Free refreshments provided at this Native American Culture Days event!

Biotech talk

5:30 to 7 p.m.

2005 Plant and Environmental Sciences

Join the Biotech Club for a guest lecture on vegetable oils and commercialization!

The American Cancer Society says "cancer never sleeps," and for 24 hours, neither did the participants of Relay for Life.

Approximately 1,700 participants took part in the American Cancer Society's 24-hour relay-style marathon and fundraiser Saturday at Toomey Field, organized by the UC Davis Colleges Against Cancer chapter.

By press time, Relay for Life had raised at least $123,685 for the ACS for cancer research and advocacy, though Ashley Stark, Relay for Life co-chair, anticipates the number will be higher after final counts have been made.

UC Davis' Relay for Life has been the top college relay in California for three years, Stark said.