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

Sports Editor

November 5, 2012

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 News

Campus Editor

November 5, 2012

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

November 5, 2012

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 & Culture

Arts Editor

November 1, 2012

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

November 1, 2012

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.

News in Brief: Attempted robbery at North Davis CVS/pharmacy

City News

City Editor

November 1, 2012

On Oct. 31 at around 7 a.m., a man wearing a mask attempted to burglarize the CVS/pharmacy at The Marketplace on West Covell Boulevard.

The man fled when employees called for security. The suspect is described as a white male adult, about 6 feet tall. He was last seen wearing a black mask and a black sweatshirt with a marijuana leaf in a white circle on it.

— Claire Tan

Campus Judicial Report

Campus News

Campus Editor

November 1, 2012

Third time’s the charm
A second-year student was referred to Student Judicial Affairs (SJA) for submitting multiple papers that were not his own in a lower division class. This was his third offense. When he met with a judicial officer, the student admitted that he had submitted papers that were actually the work of other students in the class. As a result of this violation, he accepted a one-quarter suspension, Deferred Separation status for the duration of his time at UC Davis, 50 hours of community service and two workshops with the Student Academic Success Center (SASC). Deferred Separation is the agreement to give up your right to a formal hearing if you violate the Code of Academic Conduct again.

Anything for love
A first-year student was referred to SJA for allegedly letting his girlfriend cheat off his quiz in a physics class. In a meeting with a judicial officer, the student denied that he had
allowed his girlfriend to copy from him during the quiz. However, he and his girlfriend
had previously been referred for collaborating on a quiz, and as a result of that incident
he had signed a disciplinary contract agreeing not to sit by his girlfriend during quizzes or tests and to sit in the front row. Therefore, although he denied that he had collaborated with his girlfriend on the physics quiz, he was in violation of the terms of his previous disciplinary agreement. He agreed to be placed on Deferred Separation status until graduation and to do community service and receive counseling at CAPS for stress management. He was also required to complete a reflection paper.

Caught by the web
A third-year student was referred to SJA for plagiarism on a take-home exam. Specifically, the student plagiarized his answers from a previous quarter’s exam that was posted online. In a meeting with a judicial officer, he admitted to the violation. He agreed to Deferred Separation status and 10 hours of community service as his sanctions.

Review: Cloud Atlas

Arts & Culture

Arts Editor

November 1, 2012

Rating: 4/5

Cloud Atlas is a rarity. How can we begin to describe what an accomplishment it is that this film even exists?
Its source material, a novel of the same name by Englishman David Mitchell, was said to be unfilmable: six stories, all distinctly plotted, representing several centuries from the 1800s to the post-apocalyptic future. Mitchell pieced them together in a narrative structure that won him critical praise and landed him on the Man Booker shortlist. But using the same concept for a film? Impossible.

Yet here we are with just that: the film.

The Matrix-famed Wachowski siblings and their good friend Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), a German director, pulled it off by weaving the stories together instead of presenting them at length one at a time. It was the right decision for the nuts-and-bolts reason that it’s easier to remember characters this way (the film is hefty, clocking in at two hours and 43 minutes). It was also the right decision for pacing, to keep things interesting.

Funny, then, that Cloud Atlas starts off ploddingly, making you wonder for the first 45-or-so minutes if the rest of the film will continue floating around lost in space. Perhaps the filmmakers can be forgiven for this, since they had to present a new exposition six times. We should be less forgiving, though, for the unclear distinction between stories, which hampers our ability to connect different events and characters to each plot.

But the film learns to walk. It finds its stride. And finally, it blossoms beautifully. The six stories, deadweight at first, suddenly become intriguing, progressing alongside one another in freewheeling glory. The film’s structure becomes a strength, keeping proceedings tense and gripping with mini-cliffhangers abound. No matter that the film’s grand theme, that everything and everyone is connected somehow, is a bit of an afterthought. Cloud Atlas’ storytelling is thrilling and carries the day.

Tom Hanks is reliably compelling, most notably as an eccentric doctor tending to an ailing lawyer (a convincing Jim Sturgess) aboard a Pacific ship. Halle Berry is resilient as a deep-digging journalist wading into a mess of corruption. Jim Broadbent (of Harry Potter fame) shines as a harried and wide-eyed publisher, tricked into imprisonment in a nursing home and determined, huffing and puffing, to escape. Ben Whishaw (cast in the upcoming Bond film Skyfall) is irresistibly suave as a young playboy musician working for a master composer. And South Korean actress Bae Doo Na is entrancing as a clone in 22nd-century Neo Seoul, a futuristic city stylized as wonderfully as you might expect from the Wachowskis. Make sure you stay for the credits to see which actors played various characters throughout the film.

Most importantly, Cloud Atlas is an experience. It was filmed gorgeously, and its soundtrack is veritably haunting. It takes you on an exhilarating ride and, in breathtaking fashion, ends on as close to a perfect note as you could imagine.

That’s a relief, because, to be sure, Cloud Atlas was far more than a mere gamble. Most filmmakers don’t get $100 million to take a chance on a radically different film, so when they do, we want them to succeed. Their success blazes the path for filmmakers who dare to try something new.

The Wachowskis and Tykwer stumbled a bit, but they got it mostly right. Cloud Atlas is perhaps the most extraordinary feat of imagination we’ll see on the screen in a long time. That, no doubt, is a rarity.

JOEY CHEN can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Student Assistants to the Chancellor aim to encourage student-administrator interaction

Campus News

Campus Editor

November 1, 2012

The 2012-2013 Student Assistants to the Chancellor (SAC), Annemarie Stone, Artem Trotsyuk and Miguel Espinoza, hit the ground running this year, organizing events to bridge the gap between students and the administration at UC Davis.

“We act as liaisons between the administration and the students,” said Trotsyuk, a fourth-year biological sciences major.

The student assistants all come from very different backgrounds, giving them the opportunity to bring something unique to the table.

“We can approach things differently, but we work as a team,” said Miguel Espinoza, a fourth-year women and gender studies major. Espinoza served as an ASUCD senator and member of the Gender and Sexuality Commission before beginning work as a Student

Assistant to the Chancellor this year.

Trotsyuk served as a member of the ASUCD Business and Finance Commission and as a research ambassador for the Undergraduate Research Center.

Stone is a fourth-year English major. Last year she chaired the ASUCD Academic Affairs Commission and was vice chair of the ASUCD Scholarship Committee.

The student assistants work to understand the diverse student body at UC Davis in an attempt to represent and cater to the needs of all students, according to the SAC. Their goal is to ensure that UC Davis serves as a safe, inclusive environment to all of its students.

The SACs do this by meeting with students and the administration separately and coordinating events throughout the year that will allow students and administrators to interact.

According to Trotsyuk, the theme that the SAC is working around this year is student wellness with a holistic view. Programs are geared toward keeping students healthy, both mentally and physically.

Stone said that the SAC wanted to bring the administration to the students this year, as opposed to having the students come to the administration. The assistants are featuring three major programs this year that intend to do just that: Meals with Mrak, Exercise with Mrak and the 5K Wellness Walk.

Meals with Mrak is a breakfast series taking place in the Segundo Dining Commons that will allow students to sit down with various Mrak Hall administrators, including Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi and Provost Ralph Hexter, to talk about their concerns and experiences on campus. These events will take place every quarter.

Exercise with Mrak invites students to speak with various campus leaders in smaller group settings. Activities will include walking and bowling.

Students, parents, administrators and community members are invited to participate in the 5K Wellness Walk later this year. Participant entry fees will raise funds for scholarships.

“A lot of [administrators] like the idea of talking to students,” Trotsyuk said.

The SAC aims to organize events related to current events. Most recently there were presidential debate gatherings in the Student Community Center multi-purpose room.

“Election years are always important in an institution of higher education,” Stone said.

The SAC collaborated with the South East Asian Resource Action Center to coordinate the gatherings. Students were also able to register to vote at these events.

A post-election town hall will be held in November, allowing students and administrators to speak about what the results of the election will mean for the UC Davis community.

The assistants have open office hours, which are listed on their website, sac.ucdavis.edu. Information about how to get involved with current campus events and programs can be found on the SAC Facebook page.

LAUREN MASCARENHAS can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

News in Brief: Fire started outside Olson Hall Wednesday

Campus News

Campus Editor

November 1, 2012

A fire occurred yesterday morning on the east side of Olson Hall, causing students, faculty and staff to evacuate the building. Both Olson Hall and Sproul Hall were evacuated.

According to Nathan Trauernicht, UC Davis Fire Department fire chief, the department received a call notifying them of the fire at 9:14 a.m.

The source of the fire was determined to be a pile of dead leaves in a metal grate outside the building.

Trauernicht said the fire was likely unintentionally caused by someone dropping a cigarette on the pile, which produced a large amount of smoke. The flames, however, were small.

“We knew it was small and easily resolved,” he said.

Students reported smelling the smoke inside Olson Hall as well.

“We could see the smoke coming out of the vents in the ground,” says Jordan Lowery, a student who was in the building for class at the time of the fire.

Lexi Gritlefeld was in the middle of a midterm when the alarm sounded.

“We smelled smoke maybe five minutes before the alarm went off. … We came out and we saw the [UC Davis] fire station,” Gritlefeld said.

— Jessica Grill

Column: Keep reading

Opinion

Opinion

November 1, 2012

Despite Chancellor Linda Katehi’s and UC President Mark Yudof’s statements encouraging the vote as a voice, I am not in support of the idea that voting is having one’s voice heard. In fact, I believe that what’s more important than voting is the depth behind the education of the issue and what one is willing to do with it.

While I do encourage those who can vote to go and do so, I am far more in support of everyone who can read this to inform themselves regardless; to keep reading, or to start.

Speaking of which, here’s a fact from the UC itself: “In 1990-91 the state funded 78 percent of the total cost of education per student. In 2010-11, the state provided 47 percent.”

Another fact from the UC: Prop. 30 or not, state funding for our public education will continue to fall. “As state support has declined, the students’ share of their education costs, net of financial aid, has tripled, from 13 percent in 1990-91 to 41 percent in 2010-11. As the state’s share falls in 2011-12, the student share will rise further.”

Now after that’s understood, how could we not read more?

After that’s understood, how can we not ask why, and how?

Whether we’re voting or not, in history these elections go down as another critical turning point in what continues to be the most pressing time for students of higher education in California today, whether we’re at Pasadena City College, UC Davis or any other public institution.

Another fact, from USC Annenberg: “During the past two fiscal years, CSU’s state funding was cut by $650 million, causing tuition to rise by 12 percent last year and enrollment to be slashed by 10,000 students.”

To me, reading that links all students together, or it reminds me of that linkage in case I’ve forgotten. And I have forgotten. I do forget. And I’m sure you do too.

But it is not my intention to tell you what to do with this information. Right now it is only my intention to ask that you go and seek the information for yourself and encourage others to do so as well.

That you keep reading, or start, because reading is power.

And I believe the moment we learned how to read, we gained the responsibility to share our voice and its findings, to help others find theirs, and to in turn help each other as a whole in the long journey that is moving society forward.

Here is another fact with regards to state funding, from Death Penalty Focus: “A 2011 study found that California has spent more than $4 billion on capital punishment since it was reinstated in 1978 and that death penalty trials are 20 times more expensive than trials seeking a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole … California currently spends $184 million on the death penalty each year and is on track to spend $1 billion in the next five years.”

Regardless of where one stands on the death penalty, it is an inarguable fact that it’s more money not going to education.

The links are there.

But don’t take my word for it, research it yourself. Whether you’ve voted already or are going to or not, keep reading, or start, because your voice depends on it and because others depend on your voice.

And keep reading, or start, because soon you will be asked for your opinion; do it because others will still ask for more than your opinion when they ask you to join them somehow.

And do it because you can.

Because no matter how busy you might be, you are a student of the world and you must be informed.

In the days coming up to elections, like Chancellor Katehi and President Yudof, I encourage you to study the issues more.

Taking things one step further, however, I encourage you to keep reading —or start immediately — and to continue do so well after ballots are cast.

I know it’s not easy and that you have tons of reading to do as it is, but the truth is that as we come of age more reading is simply necessary if we’re to be critical contributors to society.

Here’s one last fact. According to the World Literacy Foundation: “[In 2012] one in five adults, or 796 million people, lack basic literacy skills.”

JIMMY RECINOS is writing to administrators; you can help him at jrecinos@ucdavis.edu.

Aggie Digest

Sports Editor

November 1, 2012

In a pivotal Big West Conference matchup for UC Davis men’s soccer, Cal Poly took down the Aggies by a score of 1-0.

The two rivals exchanged blows, with UC Davis controlling most of the possession time, until the Mustangs got on the board five minutes into the second half and preserved the lead for the rest of the game.

UC Davis battled back and forth in a chippy game that resulted in six yellow cards between the teams — including four issued to Cal Poly — but were unable to get the advantage. Cal Poly had 25 fouls in the game and the Aggies tallied 17.

The Aggies managed five shots on goal to the Mustangs’ four, but couldn’t convert those opportunities.

The loss drops UC Davis to 8-6-4 overall with a 6-3-0 Big West record. Sacramento State faced off with UC Santa Barbara yesterday and had the opportunity to take over first place in conference because of the UC Davis defeat.

The Aggies will square off with the Hornets on Saturday in a battle that will affect their position in the Big West conference. A victory for either team could give them first place in the league, and with it, the chance to host the first round of the Big West tournament.

— Matthew Yuen

Women’s Volleyball Preview

Sports Editor

November 1, 2012

Teams: UC Davis vs. UC Irvine; vs. Long Beach State
Records: Aggies, 12-12 (6-5); Anteaters, 10-15 (5-6); 49ers, 11-11 (6-5)
Where: The Pavilion — Davis
When: Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 7 p.m.
Who to Watch: Putting a twist on a common phrase, ‘consistency is queen.’ In that regard, junior setter Jenny Woolway has been the Queen of her team.

The San Diego native has recorded over 1,000 assists each year she has played for the Aggies and is on pace to shatter former standout Denise Bilbaeno’s school recorder of 3,549 career assists.

Woolway recorded 36 assists in the Aggies’ four set victory against Cal State Fullerton last Friday, totaling 754 for the season and eighth among all Big West setters.

When UC Davis last met LBSU earlier in the season on Oct. 5, Woolway recorded 37 assists, but the effort was not enough as the Aggies dropped a four set loss.

For UC Davis to pull out a win against a tough 49ers team this weekend, expect them to be looking to their setter for leadership.

While Woolway often sports a quiet, unassuming demeanor, there is no doubt that a fire to win burns deep inside her. Look for that fire to come out against two tough opponents this week.

Did you know? UC Davis, Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton are all in a dead tie for third with 6-5 Big West records apiece.

The three schools trail behind second place Cal State Northridge and UC Santa Barbara by a mere one game, while UC Irvine sits in fourth place, also by the slim margin of a single game.

Hawai’i has set itself head and shoulders above the competition with a dream 12-0 record, but second place is very much up in the air. A single loss or a pair of wins can easily boost any one of these teams into a second place advantage.

Preview: There’s no place like home. There’s no place like — UC Davis. While the Aggies did fight for some well-earned road victories, there is no doubt that the blue and gold colors of their home floor will provide some much needed comfort for this well traveled team.

Six of the Aggies’ last eight games have been on the road and while they did achieve an even 4-4 record during the run, UC Davis will look to steal some crucial victories in front of their home crowd.

“When we last played at Irvine, that was a very good match,” said coach Jamie Holmes. “I thought that was one of the highlights of our season so far.”

The Aggies visited Irvine on Oct. 6 and were able to complete an extremely close 25-23, 25-21, 25-20 sweep of the Anteaters.

Senior outside hitter Allison Whitson had a team high 19 kills while defensive specialist Kaitlyn Plum and Woolway led the defense with 14 digs.

“Irvine is a young team that is physically talented,” Holmes said. “They have a talented outside hitter who we did a great job of containing last time. Being able to do that again is crucial to our success.”

As for Long Beach State, the Aggies have not fared too well against their Southern California rivals. UC Davis has not recorded a victory against the 49ers in over 6 years, making their next meeting not only a must-win, but a grudge match as well.

“Long Beach State is always a very well trained team,” Holmes said. “They execute their skill set very well. We are going to have to do a good job of being efficient.”

In their last matchup, UC Davis came out strong and took game one 25-19. However, the 49ers took advantage of a few mental errors in game two and the Aggies could not recover. UC Davis will focus on executing consistently throughout the match in order to take this crucial win.

— PK Hattis

News in Brief: Safe sex service provides condoms for Halloween

Campus News

Campus Editor

November 1, 2012

This Halloween, CloverUp Club, a condom-distributing service, will be working with Davis fraternities and sororities to distribute a large number of sample condoms from Halloween through the weekend, both on campus and at the organizations’ houses. Halloween weekend is historically one of the most sexually active of the year at university campuses.

Throughout the year, CloverUp Club delivers condoms online, providing a cheaper and less awkward way to procure protection. The program is also working with various universities to spread the availability of their product and sex education.

“Sex should be fun, safe and hassle-free,” said UC Davis alumna Marisa Swain, who works in marketing with CloverUp Club. “That’s why we are working for this cause.”

Over the next week, plain, flavored, colorful and glow-in-the-dark condoms will be distributed. For more information, visit cloverupclub.com.

— Rohit Ravikumar

Talent displayed weekly at Poetry Night Reading Series

Arts & Culture

Arts Editor

November 1, 2012

The Poetry Night Reading Series is held at the John Natsoulas Gallery at 521 First St. in Davis on the first and third Thursdays of every month.

The reading series, which starts at 8 p.m. and is free and open to the public, features an hour-long reading from a guest poet followed by an hour-long open mic performance.

Emeritus professor Sandra Gilbert speaks tonight, while English professor Joe Wenderoth performs on Nov. 15 and Sacramento State professor Joshua McKnight performs on Dec. 6.

The Poetry Night Reading Series is emceed by Dr. Andy Jones, writing professor at UC Davis. It started in the summer of 2007 at Bistro 33 and has since moved to the Natsoulas Gallery.

“John Natsoulas is a longtime supporter of the arts and a longtime supporter of my radio show,” said Jones, whose show “Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour” airs on KDVS. “He lets us use his gallery rent-free.”

How does Jones attract guest readers for Poetry Night?

“Because of my radio show and my advocacy of poetry, I know a lot of the readers beforehand,” Jones said.

He also follows the schedules of traveling poets and attempts to work them into the schedule.

“In some cases, poets will come to me and ask if they can do a reading. I may also see a great poet and try to recruit them,” Jones said.

UC Davis English professor Joshua Clover, who has done three readings for the series, loved the experience.

“I have loved the chance to read there,” Clover said in an email. “We usually get a pretty good crowd, often over 100 people. Also, we are able to have drinks, which makes poetry and most other things better.”

The open-mic component was described by Jones as being “stronger” than other local open mic nights because of strict time limits placed on the event. He believes that this leads to a higher quality of work from the readers.

Evan White, the event’s co-producer and a recent graduate in English, had some experience with the open-mic night.

“There is nothing quite so useful to someone who aspires to writing as a live audience, especially a generous one,” White said in an email. “A harsh crowd can prematurely discourage an individual who may have great potential. The Poetry Night Reading Series is home to a happy medium, and aspiring writers, poets, and performers do well to utilize it.

Overall, White finds the experience wholly beneficial.

“I’d say the exposure to so many varied forms of poetry, prose, performance, and everything occupying the spaces between, has been as beneficial to me as any actual class ever was.”

Open-mic participants are encouraged to show up at 7:45 p.m. to sign up. For more information, check out poetryindavis.com.

JOHN KESLER can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

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