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Women’s soccer year in review

Sports Editor
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Women’s soccer had a season focused on rebuilding. With so many new faces on the roster, the team worked on building chemistry and showcasing its new talent. While the Aggies did not close the season with the record they were hoping for, they put together some amazing performances.

UC Davis closed the season with a 8-9-1 record and with a 3-5-1 conference record. The Aggies earned most of their wins at the beginning of the season but their best soccer came in the second half of the year.

Head coach MaryClaire Robinson mentioned the inherent unfairness in a game of soccer where the outcome of the game is dependent on a split second of play as opposed to the 90 minutes as a whole.

“Soccer is a very unforgiving sport sometimes,” she said.

Although Davis struggled to earn conference wins this year, it was never blown out by an opponent. Every conference loss was decided by a single goal, and toward the end of the year, the Aggie offense struggled to gain momentum in the first half of its games.

The first-half lulls led to many second-half offensive assaults and near comebacks. Ultimately the Aggies lost to the best two teams in conference by a single point. The opportunities were certainly there but the finishing simply was not.

Defensively the Aggies were always strong. Sophomore goalie Taylor Jern spearheaded a defense that only allowed three goals in one game against conference opponent Hawai’i. Aside from that one game, UC Davis’ defense held opponents to one goal, sometimes two goals, a game. That effort combined with Jern’s spectacular .800 save percentage indicates how strong the Aggies are on the defensive side of the pitch.

While UC Davis may not have earned a bid to the conference tournament this year, it can definitely set its sights on the conference tournament for next year. The team is only graduating three seniors this year. The loss of senior Allison Kelly certainly detracts from the strength of the offense but Robinson is returning a huge roster of young talent.

Several freshmen rose to the occasion this year, becoming some of UC Davis’ biggest impact players. Jern took over the role of goalkeeper and she ended the season allowing only 21 goals throughout 19 games.

Freshman Sienna Drizin had an outstanding year as well. Drizin was one of Davis’ most promising recruits, hailing from a Las Vegas high school team that was consistently one of the best teams in Nevada. The freshman started all 19 games this season. She earned four goals and an assist in her first year of collegiate play.

Drizin’s efforts earned her a spot on the All Big-West Conference Second Team as well as a spot on the All Big-West Conference Freshman team.

Robinson was happy to have Drizin on the squad this year.

“I think it’s an excellent start to her career. Among the things that Sienna brings is such spunk and such fight. When you have that kind of pace and that kind of fight wrapped into one player, she’s a handful to defend,” Robinson said.

With the season over, the Aggies can take a little break. They can learn from the mistakes they made and continue to build on the good minutes they put together.

With an abundance of talent and several months to improve the offensive chemistry, UC Davis women’s soccer looks to be a real threat in conference play next year. More than anything, it wants to be holding the championship trophy come this time next year.

KIM CARR can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Lights, camera, fashion!

Features Editor
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Sporting shiny black disco pants, a mustard yellow sheer cardigan, a black felt boater hat and bold black creepers, Jennifer Im with her spunky look is more than your average girl. Walking among UC Davis students as a fourth-year communication major, Im is also a fashion blogger and YouTube star with over 196,000 subscribers.

At 22 years old, Los Angeles-born Im has created a name for herself in YouTube’s fashion community as the co-founder of the channel Clothes Encounters. The channel — a personal video blog showcasing Im’s fashion and lifestyle — is known for Im’s thrift store style, a cheap and ideal way to shop.

“My channel is essentially a hub where you can be more open with your style, and you can [also] see my lifestyle a little bit,” Im said. “You can see the places I go [and] my friends even. You can see the food that we eat. I’m going to branch out once I get more time, but right now it’s mostly about fashion, a little bit about beauty, but it’s just like getting to know me as a person.”

Clothes Encounters was created in February 2010 for the sole purpose of reserving the screen name. However, Im and her former co-host did not begin uploading videos until the following June. After moving to Davis to attend the university in 2011, Im took over the channel and has been working alone ever since. With 147 videos over only two years, the channel continues to grow with an increasing number of subscribers.

With a new video and look every week, Im’s fashion consists of a wide range of styles. However, she said that she is not a “hipster,” and says that the word should be burned.

“I think it’s about putting labels aside and just focusing on what you generally like,” Im said. “Sure, it could be hipster, but it could also be hip hop, country even, metropolitan, clean, sleek, anything. I like everything. It all depends on my mood for that day.”

Im’s thrift store shopping is appealing to broke college students wanting to look fashionable. While other women shop at Forever 21, Im says she buys clothes from thrift stores that look like they might have been from her grandmother.

“Sometimes stuff that I would probably look over at a thrift store, [Jennifer] is always like, ‘Oh, I found this at the thrift store,’” said Paola Tobias, alumna sociology major and Clothes Encounters subscriber. “I’m like, ‘Wow, I never would have put that together,’ but I think her style fits her, and I think it’s very fashionable. It’s fun to see how she interprets it.”

Although some fans say Im’s style is too bold for them with her dark leathers and creepers, they nevertheless enjoy watching her videos.

“I like her style,” said Michelle Tin, a sophomore chemistry major. “It’s more bold than I would do. But it’s nice to see other people’s style, especially when they have their actual defining style.”

Im’s distinctive style, in fact, is influenced by whatever environment she is in. She said that she does not have one source; rather, she takes inspiration from everything and everyone around her before incorporating her own spin to it.

“I was in San Francisco this summer, and I saw this homeless man wearing this camo shirt with leather pants,” Im said. “And I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s a sick outfit.’ So I incorporated a camo jacket into my own wardrobe and the leather with little shorts.”

Im devotes at least six hours a week to brainstorm, film, edit and upload a weekly video, while continuing as a full-time student, hanging out with friends and going to house shows. Im said she had always wanted to live in Northern California, and was therefore excited when she was accepted into UC Davis.

“I just needed a change,” Im said. “I lived [in L.A.] for 20 years, so that’s enough time there. I was like, ‘I’m ready to move, I’m ready for a big change.’ And I’m glad it’s NorCal, because everyone’s a lot more accepting here, and it’s a lot more free-flowing, which I really like.”

The YouTube star has reached international heights, having been featured in UK-based Company Magazine.

“That was mind-blowing to me,” Im said.

On a national level, fashion social networking site Chictopia sent Im to cover the infamous New York Fashion Week last September.

“Fashion Week was really fun,” Im said. “It was really hectic. I met a lot of amazing people, but I feel like I’m going to meet amazing people regardless of where I am.”

Despite Im’s national and international achievements, she remains a bubbly, confident and humble young woman, insisting that she is not a YouTube celebrity.

“She could be someone’s celebrity stylist,” Tobias said. “She’s very intelligent when she talks. I think when you look at gurus on YouTube, they’re not. Not that they’re not intelligent, but they’re not sophisticated in the way she talks or the way she uses words to describe things.”

Im wants to continue Clothes Encounters for as long as possible, hoping that it inspires her viewers to take a jump at different styles. She said that it is a confidence issue and she wants to make her audience more confident.

“You should wear exactly what you’re feeling,” Im said. “If you want to wear all black and wear a fucking blue wig, cool.”

JOYCE BERTHELSEN can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

Tuition to increase by $2,400 should Prop. 30 fail, Student Regent says

Campus Editor
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Tuition to increase by $2,400 should Prop. 30 fail, Student Regent says
Student Regent Jonathan Stein and Student Regent-designate Cinthia Flores stopped by the UC Davis campus on Friday to speak about Proposition 30, a sales and income tax increase initiative on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Prop. 30 would increase taxes on individuals with earnings over $250,000 for seven years and would implement a quarter-cent increase in sales tax for four years. Should the proposition pass, UC will receive money from the state legislature that would negate a fee increase for this year. If Prop. 30 fails, the university will not receive that money and students will see a $250 million cut.

The failure of Prop. 30 will have an immediate impact on UC students, according to Jonathan Stein, Student Regent and UC Berkeley law and public policy student.

“The administration has said that if they need to find $375 million, they will need a 20 percent fee increase by January; that is roughly an additional $2,400 for every UC student by the end of January 2013,” Stein said.

Many No on 30 proponents say that the proposition is ruse by California legislators to receive more tax dollars.

“If Prop. 30 passes, we could have the worst business climate in the nation…Education should be a critical priority for California’s legislators, but Prop. 30 does nothing to advance that laudable goal, or hold our legislators accountable for responsible allocation of limited resources,” an Oct. 28 article by the San Francisco Examiner states.

UC Davis was the final stop for Stein and Flores on their annual tour of the UC campuses.

As Student Regents, Stein and Flores work to relay information gathered at meetings with the Board of Regents to students so that they know exactly what is going on with their education system. They also want to spread information about increasing state disinvestment in the UC and present students’ qualms to the Board of Regents.

Through the speaking tour, they aimed to provide a forum where students are given the opportunity to ask questions and share their perspectives about the impacts of this proposition.

Stein said that if Prop. 30 fails, it will send a signal to state lawmakers that the California public is not concerned with higher education and that the system will continue to be defunded to the point that UC will be a private institution before the end of the decade.

“We were once a state that believed in making public investments. If Prop. 30 fails it’s a sign that the California I envision is not the California that exists,” Stein said.

Flores explained that as student representatives on the Board of Regents, they gather information on specific campuses from  administrative and student leadership so that they are best informed on the problems facing specific UC campuses when they meet with other regents.

“When these propositions are presented … we speak on those props with a holistic understanding on how it will impact the system and how it will individually impact campuses,” Flores said.

Both Stein and Flores said the proposition’s failure would not decrease enrollment, but the racial and socioeconomic makeup of the university could potentially change.

“Enrollment will not decrease; however, we will get a different kind of student body, that is more wealthier students and fewer middle-income students,” Stein said.

Additionally, the failure of this proposition would directly impact all families and their expenses.

“Personally, my sister is a high school senior and is currently applying to universities. She cannot afford anything but a state education and in a real way this proposition will impact her future and thereby the future of my family,”  Flores said.

Students are also rallying behind the proposition in support.

“The short-term implications of seeing this bill fail outweighs the adverse effects of the seven-year tax life of this bill,” said Jonathan Finau, a fouth-year political science major.

Stein and Flores met with Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi after the forum and discussed maintaining the excellence of the university without having to raise tuition annually.

According to a survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, 48 percent of voters will likely support the measure, while 44 percent are opposed and 8 percent are undecided.

Prop. 30 will appear on the ballot in Tuesday’s election.

NATASHA QABAZARD can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Opinion: First times

Opinion
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In life, we experience many things for the first time. A first kiss, a first date, a first relationship, a first love and so on. But as we go about hitting these primary milestones, we tend to get a little lost along the way. In a society built upon fairy tale endings, our desire for perfection often slows us down from reaching our goals in the time allotted.

We’ve been taught through Disney Channel original movies that first times are supposed to be special, so we’ve created unrealistic expectations for our love lives.

But does this hinder us rather than help us? When it comes to love, if we fail to meet these societal expectations, we’re often subject to the scrutiny of society because we haven’t hit a specific deadline yet. At age 16, we’re expected to have our first kiss, lest we be seen as abnormalities to the dating system. The same thing applies to virgins over 25 and unmarried people over 40.

With all the time spent waiting for “the one” and “the perfect moment,” have we lost track of time and ignored our deadlines? Or are we right in being picky rather than picking mediocrity?
When it comes to the race known as love, if we miss a first do we come in last, or does slow and steady win the race?
A couple weeks ago, I talked to a friend about this exact conundrum. She is a 17-year-old senior in high school who hasn’t had her first kiss yet — otherwise known by society’s standards as a romantic defect. After an hour of gossip, we came across the question that plagues singles of all ages.
To settle or not to settle?
According to my friend, it’s better to get your firsts over with. To her, those who have had their first kiss are lucky because they’ve met society’s standards and are now able to kiss whomever they like without the added pressure of perfection — essentially killing two birds with one stone. Along with these benefits, settling also allows one to gain experience — a valuable key to setting a dater apart from those who are still waiting.
Could this be true? In the cutthroat competition of dating is it really better to just settle? Perhaps first times are like Band-Aids we need to pull off as quickly and painlessly as possible. Maybe instead of waiting for the perfect moment to come, we should just settle for a not-so-perfect one because that might be the closest thing we’ve got.
When I asked my friend why she held out this entire time despite her feelings, she replied that she just wanted a good story to tell.
In a romance-hungry society, a good story about your love life is equivalent to verbal crack for gossipers. That is, if anyone asks you about it.
Think about it — when was the last time anyone asked you how your first kiss was? That sort of question only exists in the minds of nosy interviewers and the sleepovers in Nickelodeon television shows. It’s like the proverbial saying of the fallen tree in the forest — if you have a first and no one’s there to hear about it, does it even matter?
With all the signs pointing to settling, why do we even bother to wait?
In the race of ready-set-go, perhaps the only reason we haven’t gone is because we’re not ready.
After our many dodged kisses and close encounters, could these innate instincts be trying to tell us something?
Maybe those who are settling aren’t actually settling, but just preparing for what’s to come. Everyone is different. We can’t pick a set time for when we’re ready to accomplish a specific feat.
We all become ready at different times. If you feel you can wait, go ahead. If you feel like you can’t or you slip up one night, that’s fine too. Mistakes happen; it’s not the end of the world. People aren’t perfect — neither is love.
Instead of abiding to these rules that society has set for us, we should write our own. Who cares if we had a first a little early or a little late? In the long run, the only opinion that matters is our own.
Love isn’t a race we compete in. It’s a journey we take at our own pace.

Be the first to email JASON PHAM at jpham@ucdavis.edu.

Aggies rise and fall in weekend women’s volleyball series

Sports Editor
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Aggies rise and fall in weekend women’s volleyball series

The Aggies started the weekend off with a bang, reaching a level of play that they had worked for all season in a satisfying three-game sweep of UC Irvine on Friday night.

The attack was balanced, and the serves were hard and well placed in smothering the Anteaters.
Perhaps the best part of Friday’s win was that every player contributed to the victory. Don’t look for inflated stats or standout players here, for the Aggies are at their best when they act as one cohesive unit.
However, the smooth sailing came to an abrupt end as the waves from Long Beach State crashed hard over the Aggies’ deck.
The Aggies fell to the visiting 49ers and dropped to third in the Big West Conference with a record of 7-6 in Big West play and 13-13 overall.
With over 70 assists for the weekend, setter Jenny Woolway edged closer to UC Davis’ all-time assists record and her spot on the Aggies Wall of Fame.
UC Davis will travel to Cal Poly and Santa Barbara next week in pursuit of their first second-place finish in league since 2009, before returning to Davis for their last home stand of the season on Nov. 16.Friday — UC Davis 3, UC Irvine 1
The Aggies completed their second three-game sweep of UC Irvine this season on the day of their annual “Dig Pink” match — a UC Davis-sponsored campaign to bring breast cancer awareness, research and hope to the world stage.
The event seemed to spark a fire of inspiration in the players as they displayed perhaps their most spirited effort of the year in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd.
It seems only fitting that the Aggies out-dug the Anteaters, finishing with a total of 64 digs on the night. Senior outside hitter Allison Whitson contributed a team high of 14 digs to go along with 13 kills, while setter Jenny Woolway had 37 assists and 12 digs of her own.
Last week, coach Jamie Holmes expressed her team’s need to shut down both of Irvine’s dynamic outside hitters to pull out a victory.
While the Anteater’s freshman outside Marisa Bubica did tally a match-high 16 kills, UC Davis stepped up in key moments with a crucial block or kill in a match that featured 32 ties scores, with 17 in the final set alone.Saturday — Long Beach State 3, UC Davis 1
And the streak continues — only this streak is not one that will please the UC Davis community. Saturday’s loss to the 49ers makes UC Davis 0-17 all-time against their Southern California opponents.
In true Aggie fashion, the game was no giveaway. UC Davis held a lead for about half of each game before the 49ers’ balanced offensive came alive and carried them to the win.
The Aggies came out with a much more aggressive mindset after a tough second-set loss, pulling out a 25-21 victory in the third.
However, the 49ers pieced together an early offensive surge in the fourth game and never looked back.
UC Davis will move on to play Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara next week. Much like this past weekend, they will play a team they have done well against in the past in the Mustangs, then turn around to face a team that has had their number all season.

The team will look to harness the power of momentum and slip back into the second-place slot in their conference.

PK HATTIS can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Opinion: Why be bad?

Opinion
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I just came back from some fetch quest, possibly with a can of dog food that’s highly valued in whatever apocalyptic world I’m visiting. I meet with the woman who gave me the quest and I have two options: I give her the can of dog food she asked me for and receive a small reward, or I kill her and feed my own dog. I’m an “evil” character in this playthrough, so I decide to kill her, keep the dog food and take the reward she promised me.

Wait, what?

Role-playing games (RPGs) have a long history and a large fanbase, and they are usually very large in scale. With all this going for them, it’s a wonder my only option after my 18th fetch quest from this same girl is to give up my hard-earned dog food, or kill her.
That’s how these games work, though. You’re given the choice to be either a gallant hero or a violent menace in the cloak of a truly evil villain.
Sure, I can altogether avoid speaking with the woman, but killing her is my only method of increasing my “evil” notoriety — because killing the defenseless old lady, who is only concerned with keeping herself and her dog alive in her small shack out in the middle of nowhere, is the best way to tell the world who’s in charge.
I have come to the conclusion that the “evil” path included in an increasing number of video games is added for the sake of children who happen to play. Often, the evil choices consist of killing anything and everything that crosses your path, and going out of your way to kill things not in your path — all in spite of people’s eagerness to help you in your journey and your lack of motivation for violent action, except a small boost to experience.
It turns out the great “evil” we attempt to explore is simply anarchy: mindless killing and an every-man-for-himself mentality in a world full of people offering help.
Bioshock introduces us to a real dilemma early in the game. After killing a Big Daddy we are momentarily given power over the fate of the Little Sisters they protect: orphaned children made overly pleasant and slightly creepy by exposure to a substance important to the plot of the game. We plainly choose to save or kill the children when we encounter them.
The protagonist is a man trapped in an underwater city after a plane crash. His overall goal is to survive and escape. And yet as an “evil” character, he feels compelled to murder the harmless, puppy-eyed orphans (an action which adds no real weight to the brilliant Ayn Rand-inspired story; seriously, you should play this game if you haven’t yet).
Most of the time, an interesting story is left nonsensical in light of the choice to be unambiguously “evil.” The main character in inFAMOUS has plenty of reasons to be pissed at the people of the city who blame him for an explosion and plague, but the plot of the game forces him to help them — with no underlying evil scheme and no plan for an overthrow of leaders or the ultimate destruction of the city.

His anarchistic decisions (made by the player) are largely ignored in the course of the game for the sake of story progression and at the cost of coherency.

Story crafters for video games turn a blind eye to evil actions and motivations, elements which are meant to be a whole 50 percent of the story due to the lack of ambiguity in actions. To keep the overall story linear while keeping the impression of player influence on the world presented in the game, game designers tack on “evil” actions that amount to mischief and mayhem, themes that are generally only popular for players from ages 4 to 14.
In video games, evil is a very adult theme that lacks an adult execution. Most real-life decisions are complex and evil itself is often a matter of opinion. For the difficulty of exploring evil, games are left to add only universally evil decisions to make the options feel balanced.

Videogame evil is a failure, only to be saved by the simple decision of exploring the gray area and ignoring the extremes.

NICK FREDERICI is tempted by the dark side; tell him where he belongs at nrfred@ucdavis.edu.

News in Brief: Buy gifts at the Holiday Craft Affair

City Editor
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The Davis Senior Center at 646 A St. will host the Holiday Craft Affair on Nov. 8 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Crafts such as wreaths, jewelry, candles and other items will be sold by over 25 local artisans.
Entertainment and gift wrapping will be available. Free refreshments will also be provided by the Courtyard Healthcare Center.
The event is free of charge.

— Claire Tan


Provost plants trees with students

Campus Editor
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As part of The Fall Weekend of Service, Ralph J. Hexter, provost and executive vice chancellor, planted trees with students at Tree Davis on Saturday at 9 a.m.

The Fall Weekend of Service encourages students and faculty to volunteer for various large causes in the Davis, Woodland and Sacramento areas.

A weekend of service is held every quarter by The Community Service Resource Center (CSRC) on campus, a branch of the Internship and Career Center (ICC).

“[It’s] encouraging that someone so busy came out to help the community,” said Vina Nguyen, a first-year biological sciences major.

Past volunteer locations have included Albert Einstein Residence Center, Davis Farm To School, Putah Creek Council and the Sacramento Public Library.

“[You should] not just to live for yourself but live for others and impact on the future,” said Kathleen Furtado, a first-year animal science major. Furtado also said she thought that Hexter was “down to earth” and spoke with him about the proper way to plant trees.

Tree Davis, located at Fourth and J streets, aims to expand Davis’ urban forest and inspire student and community members to plant and care for trees. According to the Tree Davis website, over 8,000 trees have been planted since 1992.

The CSRC website provides a community service database, with over 500 opportunities with nonprofit agencies and enables students to search for various community service opportunities in close proximity to them. Students are also invited to speak with advisors about locating volunteer opportunities.  Advisors can be visited at South Hall Room 225 and more information on future weekends of service can be found on the ICC website at iccweb.ucdavis.edu/cs.

— Muna Sadek

U.S. Green Building Council proposes LEED v4

City Editor
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In early November 2010, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) opened the first public comment period for its fourth version of its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating program.

Currently known as LEED v4, the proposed rating system was initially named LEED 2012. On June 4, President, CEO and Founding Chairperson of the USGBC Rick Fedrizzi said in a blog post that the council decided to push the ballot on LEED 2012 until June 1, 2013 due to the community stating they would like more time to consider and prepare for the proposed updates.
Since then, the USGBC has held four public comment periods, with a fifth one in process from Oct. 2 to Dec. 10.
According to the USGBC, the LEED rating program focuses on fostering the construction and management of green buildings. LEED-certified buildings use less energy, save money and reduce carbon footprints.
“More than 49,000 projects are currently participating in the commercial and institutional LEED rating systems, comprising 9.1 billion square feet of construction space in all 50 states and 130 countries,” the USGBC website stated.
The current version of the LEED rating system, LEED v3, was released on April 27, 2009. LEED v3 builds upon its predecessor and consists of three components: improvements to the LEED’s credits and points system, updates to LEED Online and a new building certification model. LEED Online manages the LEED documentation process and allows project teams to review documents and project details.
LEED v3 is on a 100-point basis for new construction and major renovations. Sustainable sites can receive 26 possible points; water efficiency, 10 possible points; energy and atmosphere, 35 possible points; materials and resources, 14 possible points; indoor environmental quality, 15 possible points; innovation in design, 6 possible points; and regional priority, 4 possible points.
LEED-certified buildings are given 40 to 49 points, LEED Silver buildings are given 50 to 59 points, LEED Gold buildings are given 60 to 79 points and LEED Platinum buildings are given 80+ points.
USGBC said the anticipated changes of LEED v4 include new market sectors, increased technical vigor and streamlined services.
Media Manager of USGBC Ashley Katz said in an email that v4 is better for multiple reasons.

“It’s simple, streamline and usable: [an] improved documentation process, more resources and tools in development,” Katz said. “[It] continues to drive energy and water efficiency while still providing a starting point for newcomers to the green building world. [There will] be more solutions for more markets, [such as] data centers, warehouses, existing schools, existing retail, hospitality and mid-rise residential.”

Katz said that most changes to the current draft of LEED v4 are minor and are based on the feedback given in the public comment periods.

“Unprecedented engagement from the green building industry resulted in a superior product,” she said.

All University of California (UC) schools will have to adhere to the new LEED rating system once it’s been formalized. The UC system began to commit to constructing green buildings in 2002. According to a UC press release, the UC system is the first American university to hit 100 LEED-certified buildings.

UC Office of the President Sustainability Manager Matt St. Clair said because there are significant changes that are planned for v4, the USGBC delayed its implementation until next year.

“There’s nothing to think about for another two or three years for us,” St. Clair said. “No projects will have to register with the v4, according to the USGBC, until 2015. The new one only applies to new buildings that register.”

UC Davis currently has four newly constructed buildings that are LEED Platinum: Gallagher Hall and its corresponding Conference Center; Gladys Valley Hall; Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences; and the August A. Busch III Brewing and Food Science Laboratory and the Teaching and Research Winery.

LEED Gold buildings consist of the renovated Coffee House, Cuarto Dining Commons and Robbins Hall. New constructions include the Student Health and Wellness Center, and Tercero Student Housing: Wall, Campbell and Potter Halls.

The Segundo Services Center and the Student Community Center are awaiting LEED certification. There are also seven other buildings that are either under construction or are in the process of being renovated or constructed.

In response to LEED v4, the UC Davis Design and Construction Management (DCM) team said they will evaluate the proposed changes to the rating system when the time comes.

“Just as we do with code changes, I’m sure our office will be reviewing the changes and considering how these work with our campus standards and goals,” said Julianne Nola, assistant director of project management of UC Davis DCM, in an email.

Similarly, Gary Dahl, director of project management of UC Davis DCM, said they have yet to consider the impacts of the changes to their program since the newest LEED program will not be adopted until 2013 at the earliest.

“It is likely that a greater impact to our projects will be from significantly more stringent California energy efficiency requirements also slated to be adopted next year,” Dahl said in an email. “Regents and campus policy require that we exceed the most current version of the California standards (“Title 24”) by 25 percent or more.”

Senior Project Manager of UC Davis DCM Susan Rainier said quantifying the costs of each green building on campus is difficult. She said achieving a platinum rating is costly since it requires the use of renewable resources, but planning ahead has cut some of those costs.

“If the team is thinking about the most sustainable building they can from the very beginning, those costs are woven in,” Rainier said. “Green buildings live longer and their facilities are affordable.”

Additionally, Rainier said the availability of water is at a critical point.

“Some scientists in Europe are saying the world will be out of water in 2050,” she said. “So we’re focused on that now.”

Rainier also said the campus has many old buildings that need repurposing.

“In the green world, the oldest buildings are the greenest. New buildings can be [built to be] sustainable,” Rainier said. “The future is really bright for sustainability.”

CLAIRE TAN can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

News in Brief: Sexual assault at Russell Park

City Editor
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On Oct. 30 at 4:10 p.m., a victim was walking through Russell Park from work when a male subject on a bike rode up from behind. The victim moved out of the way to allow the biker to pass.

Feeling suspicion, the victim began to walk back to work. The male subject followed her and grabbed the victim’s butt. The victim escaped and continued to walk back to work, the suspect still following her. Once at the front door of the victim’s workplace, the suspect turned his bike around and rode north through Russell Park.

According to the UC Davis Police, the suspect is described as a 5’11”, 140-pound black male adult in his early 20s. He has brown eyes and short black hair and is very thin. The suspect was last seen wearing a blue T-shirt, blue jeans, a blue baseball cap and a red lanyard.

 — Claire Tan

Aggies shut down the Hornets 2-1 in Big West Thriller

Sports Editor
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Aggies shut down the Hornets 2-1 in Big West Thriller

After 20 games, 31 goals and countless celebrations and road-trips, the UC Davis men’s soccer team find themselves in the No. 1 spot in the North Division of the Big West Championships. The Aggies officially clinched the top spot after defeating No. 2 seed Sacramento State at home in front of a season high of 1,349 fans.

“I just think it was a good battle between two good teams,” said head coach Dwayne Shaffer. “Sacramento State is a very good team and today was our day. I thought we were prepared and played well and did everything we needed to do to score the goals to win the game. I’m extremely excited for the team. We’re champions of the North and I think it is well-deserved. We’re looking forward to competing in the Big West Tournament and hosting a game on Wednesday and I hope all the Aggie supporters come on out.”

Sophomore forward Matt Wiesenfarth led the team to victory with goals in the eighth and 46th minutes of play. At the 8:06 mark, Wiesenfarth fired a shot of the season with a header into the top right corner.

Junior forward Alex Aguiar chipped a shot over the Hornet defense to Wiesenfarth, who managed to head the ball just over the hands of Hornet goalkeeper Bryan Oliver into the back of the net.

The Hornets responded with a goal with 36 seconds left in the first half. Max Alvarez got a pass from Adam Rodriguez and sprinted across the field toward the goal. Alvarez proceeded to fire a shot into the bottom right corner of the goal past the range of junior goalkeeper Omar Zeenni.

Fortunately, the Aggies regrouped during the halftime period, shaking off the collapse in defense in the last few seconds of the first half. The UC Davis defense came out stronger than ever in the second half, leaving the Hornets scoreless for the duration of the game.

Just over a minute into the second half, Wiesenfarth scored the game winner. Junior forward Alex Henry slotted a pass across the goal from the left side and Wiesenfarth, unable to make a turn in the box, backheeled it behind him into the lower right corner of the goal, giving UC Davis the 2-1 lead.

Overall, the Aggies outshot the Hornets 9-6 in the second half. Sophomore defender Ramon Martin Del Campo put a header on goal off a corner kick by junior forward Kevin Schulte, but a Horner defender was in position and managed to deflect it.

Prior to the commencement of the match, seniors John Joslin, Mustafa Chopan and Ethan Shawlee were commemorated in the pregame ceremony.

“We have three very good seniors in our program and all three of them added so much to the team,” Shaffer said. “They all showed so much leadership, so much fight and determination. Those three guys have been incredible to the program and they’re seeing the fruits of their hard work over the last four or five years today with the North Division title.”

The Aggies will host a semifinal game of the Big West Conference Tournament on Wednesday, Nov. 7 at a time that is yet to be determined. UC Davis will face off with Cal State Fullerton, a team they beat this season by a score of 2-1.

VEENA BANSAL can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Senate Brief

Campus Editor
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ASUCD Senate meetings are scheduled to begin Thursdays at 6:10 p.m. Times listed are according to the clock at the Nov. 1 meeting location, the Memorial Union’s Mee Room. The ASUCD president is not required to attend Senate meetings.

Meeting called to order at 6:14 p.m.

Yena Bae, ASUCD vice president, present
Kabir Kapur, ASUCD senator, present
Jared Crisologo-Smith, ASUCD senator, present, arrived late
Bradley Bottoms, ASUCD senator, present
Justin Goss, ASUCD senator, pro tempore, present
Anni Kimball, ASUCD senator, present
Paul Min, ASUCD senator, arrived late
Don Gilbert, ASUCD senator, present
Joyce Han, ASUCD senator, present, left early
Erica Padgett, ASUCD senator, present
Beatriz Anguiano, ASUCD senator, present, arrived late
Patrick Sheehan, ASUCD senator, present

Presentations
Joe Kiskis, UC Davis Professor and Chair of the Academic Senate Special Committee on Athletics was  invited by ASUCD to speak about the Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA) and the need for student oversight in the ICA. He spoke about student involvement in the Athletics Advisory Committee  and the money allocation in physical education courses.

Appointments and Confirmations
Three candidates were confirmed to the Outreach Assembly. They spoke about interacting with the student body to increase involvement with ASUCD.

Two candidates were confirmed to the Entrepreneurship Fund (E-Fund.)

Consideration of old legislation
Senate Bill 121, authored by Sergio Cano, Internal Affairs Committee (IAC) commission chair,  makes the Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission (ECAC) Chairperson a permanent voting member of the ASUCD Scholarship Committee. The bill passed unanimously.

Senate Bill 130, authored by Cano, would establish General Programs and Grant Presentations prior to budget hearings. The bill was tabled and referred to the Gender and Sexuality Commission (GASC) and ECAC.

Senate Bill 15, authored by Renner Burkle general manager of KDVS, would allocate $36,000 from capital reserves to fund a radio tower for the campus radio station. The tower would enable the station to broadcast to a larger audience in Sacramento. The table discussed issuing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The bill passed unanimously.

Senate Resolutions
Senate Resolution 2, authored by Sheehan, demands an increase in student influence and transparency in decisions that concern any appropriations to the ICA. The resolution was tabled.

Public discussion
Members of the public were concerned about the passage of Senate Bill 15, claiming that the KDVS radio station does not have mainstream music selections and the money that will be used to fund the radio tower could be better allocated.

Open positions within ASUCD can be found at vacancy.ucdavis.edu. MUNA SADEK compiles the Senate Briefs. She can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Column: More men’s soccer

Sports Editor
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Well, the comparisons between UC Davis men’s soccer and the San Francisco Giants persist.

UC Davis closed out the regular season with a strong performance against Sacramento State this past weekend, sweeping the season series with the Hornets with a second victory over the Causeway rivals.
While this is extremely exciting, it is by no means unexpected. UC Davis has been showing signs of brilliance since early last year.
The Aggies have pulled in three huge recruiting classes to stack up their roster.
Out of their roster of almost 30 players, UC Davis has graduated less than five players in each of the past two years. The Aggies are stacked to do great things in the years to come.
Although nobody really wants to hear me talk, I can talk for a very long time about why our men’s soccer team’s future is bright. Or perhaps that’s because I have no one to talk to. Either way, here goes.
UC Davis is 7-2 in the past nine games after a disappointing 2-4-4 start including a three-game losing streak right before the Aggies got hot. This is no accident.
First let’s start with the defense. The defense is like the different levels of protection for the Sorcerer’s Stone. Even if you get past one of the tasks, how much of a chance do you really have next time? Though hopefully, the Aggies, unlike some of the best wizards at Hogwarts, are capable of keeping three 10-year-olds from getting through.
In the goal, there’s junior Omar Zeenni. Since he was a freshman, Zeenni has spent substantial time eating up minutes in the goal.
He has gotten used to the defense around him and is incredibly bright, both of which factor into his ability to command the back line into the impenetrable barricade that it is.
The backline consists of, for a majority of the game, a combination of sophomores Brian Ford and Ramon Martin Del Campo as well as one other player. Ford and Martin Del Campo are absolute monsters. Honestly, together, they could top Sulley for the scare record.
Ford has led the defense since he arrived at UC Davis, playing the most out of any player, including Zeenni. The reason being he has incredible judgment and perception.
Getting past Ford to even get to Zeenni should be considered a goal in itself. Rarely will you see him out of position being beat by an offensive charge. Martin Del Campo is in for the intimidation factor. Checking in as one of the bigger players on the field, Martin Del Campo’s size and athleticism make for a tough compliment to Ford’s defensive prowess.
There isn’t quite a special mechanism that is the secret formula for the Aggies, but it seems they have many options on the forefront.
UC Davis has scored goals from 11 players this year, seven of which have multiple goals. The Aggies had trouble scoring last year, with then-freshman Matt Wiesenfarth providing most of the firepower with five goals on the year.
This year, though Wiesenfarth just scored his first two goals of the season, many of his teammates have found the back of the net, including juniors Kevin Schulte, Pat Reese and Alex Aguiar.
Any combination can work — from Wiesenfarth’s fancy footwork or Alex Henry’s southpaw boot — and UC Davis finally seems to be piecing it together.
One of the secret weapons the Aggies have is freshman Ryan Gross. It is not often that people are feared for their throwing ability in the game called “football” across the world.
But Gross’ throw-ins are essentially corner kicks, seeing that he can throw the ball from the sideline into the goal box from almost anywhere on the same half of the field. So the defense really has to be careful to think twice before it knocks the ball out of bounds. There really is no escape.
In the end, all the strengths of the Aggies’ individual positions culminate to a unit with about the same amount of force as Brian Wilson’s beard, which has a life of its own.
There is no telling how far UC Davis can go, since they appear to be getting hot at just the right time.
Lucky for UC Davis, we will have the chance to witness the next step in UC Davis men’s soccer development, as they have earned, with the top seed in the conference, the chance to host a Big West tournament game.
Most likely, this will be against Cal State Fullerton, a team the Aggies took down on their path to this first-place finish. Though there are no certainties, UC Davis is definitely on a path where every turn’s a surprise, with new horizons to pursue.MATTHEW YUEN may have written his first real column. Though he can’t be certain because he doesn’t know what a real column is. Critique at sports@theaggie.org.

CD Review: State Radio

Arts Editor
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Artist: State Radio

Title: Rabbit Inn Rebellion

Rating: 4.5

“This is rock; unrefined, hard and volcanic.” So declares the website of Massachusetts-based rock band State Radio. Listening to the band’s newest album, Rabbit Inn Rebellion, one would be hard-pressed to disagree.

State Radio has returned not only to the studio, but also to their hard rock roots. The album conjures up images of a dystopian future led by ruthless oligarchs and ravaged by war. In particular, the track “Big Man” echoes the recent Occupy movement. Through their driving beats and thought-provoking lyrics, State Radio’s newest release will entertain new and old fans alike.

If you like hard rock and indie bands, give State Radio’s newest CD a listen. “‘We didn’t care if it was [a] little messy or not perfect, if the energy and the driving nature and sense of urgency was in it, then we would go for it. That’s what carries the album,’” said Stokes, the lead singer, on the band’s website. “This is totally a full steam ahead, pedal-to-the-metal album. You can feel the blood coursing through it.”

Check out these tracks: “Roadway Broken,” “Big Man,” “The Bridge is Burning.”

For Fans of: The Black Angels, Calexico, Coheed and Cambria.

BRETT BUNGE can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Vegan culture becomes Aggie Culture

Features Editor
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Vegan culture becomes Aggie Culture

As students of UC Davis, we carry the honor of being called Aggies — but don’t forget the root of this title. We call ourselves Aggies because of our agricultural readiness and abundance of farms. According to peta2, more and more UC Davis students are taking this a step further and going vegan, awarding our university as runner-up in the nationwide most vegan-friendly college contest.

The vegan station in the dining commons, the ASUCD Coffee House’s great variety of vegan meals, the Davis Food Co-op and city events like the farmers market have fostered the local vegan culture in recent years.

“[Turning vegan] had always been in the back of my head because of animal cruelty and films like Food Inc., but the UC Davis dining commons gave me that small push that I needed,” said John Caccamo, a second-year biological sciences major and vegan of one year. “The Blue Onion’s wide selection of vegan foods made the choice much easier by exposing me to delicious foods I didn’t know I could eat if I became vegan.”

While the dining commons are not easily accessible for students without a meal plan, there are many vegan options at the ASUCD Coffee House (CoHo), serving tofu or other vegan-friendly replacements at nearly every food station.

“I love the vegan food that they sell at the CoHo,” said Jessica Villa, a third-year political science and sociology major and vegan of four years. “Some of my favorites include the vegan pho, the tofu platters and the vegan burritos. Of course, you can always get a salad, but the CoHo does a really good job with the vegan varieties they offer.”

A common problem for newly established vegans is being ignorant of what you can and cannot eat. According to Villa, many people are intimidated by turning vegan because they are afraid they will never have the opportunity to taste good food ever again.

“People have this wrong notion that we only eat salad. I don’t eat salad and I’ve been a vegan for a long time. There is plenty of great vegan food out there and the CoHo is an example,” Villa said.

Caccamo believes that another reason why it is difficult to become vegan is a lack of passionate, personal desire. For many, veganism is only a trend that lasts a brief period. He said people who are considering veganism should have a more personal reason to become one rather than just to follow a trend.

“I saw several videos on animal cruelty; the way they treated [the animals] was so inhumane that it made a huge impact in my life. Also, at Warped Tour, I was surprised by the amount of bands promoting veganism,” Villa said. “These two events are the reasons why I decided to change my diet on a personal level.”

The impact of going vegan or vegetarian is not only limited to the individual’s diet, but it also affects the environment and the planet as a whole.

“Vegans save more than 100 animal lives every year, simply by leaving meat, dairy products and eggs off their plates, [decreasing] support of an industry that slaughters 1 million animals every hour and devastates the environment,” said Ryan Huling, manager of College Campaigns & Outreach People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. “According to the United Nations, factory farming is one of the biggest contributors to the most serious environmental problems at every level — from local to global. Going vegan is the best way for students to combat this devastation, while also keeping off the ‘freshman 15’ and helping reduce animal suffering.”

Not surprisingly, Huling said that UC Davis has earned praise in recent years for its wide array of vegan food, showing that Aggies are following suit on a larger national trend.

“According to a study by food-service provider Bon Appétit, the number of college students who identify themselves as vegetarian has risen by 50 percent since 2005 and the number of vegan [students] has more than doubled during the same period,” Huling said.

UC Davis has adopted vegan culture and turned it into Aggie culture. The institution’s prevalent awareness of the environment has located us as national leaders of eco-friendly behaviors and innovations.

“The vegan revolution is in full swing,” said peta2 associate director Marta Holmberg in a press release. “Nowhere is that more evident than at UC Davis and other schools across the country.”

DANIEL RIESGO can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

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