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Inside the game with…

Sports

Sports Editor

February 15, 2012

Normally, The Aggie does not run these Inside the Game stories on student-athletes twice in their career. Yet, seeing that this Aggie was last featured in the mid 90s, we made an exception.

Head Coach Jennifer Gross is quite possibly one of the best players to ever grace the women’s basketball program at UC Davis, and has full proof in the UC Davis record books.

This year, Gross has stepped into her new role as head coach following UC Davis legend Sandy Simpson’s retirement, and has adjusted nicely. The Aggies currently hold a 15-8 overall record, and are 7-4 Big West Conference.

Though Gross had been featured back in her days as a player for UC Davis, she sat down with Aggie Sports Writer Matthew Yuen to discuss her return to UC Davis after a stint abroad as a professional, her new role as head coach and why basketball coaches yell so darn loud.

What brought you back to UC Davis to coach after playing professionally in Denmark and Israel?

I never thought I wanted to get into coaching so I got into some other things after I got done playing. I got a job working for a sports marketing company down in San Diego and when I was down at my old high school’s game, the coach asked me if I could come out and help. The very first day I went out and helped there was something inside me that said ‘wow this is really fun.’

Two years later an opportunity came to coach with Sandy Simpson, and there were a lot of things at the time that could have kept me in San Diego, my family, friends and I had a good job, but there’s something special to me about Davis. There’s something really unique about what the previous coaches have built and the people and kind of student-athletes that UC Davis attracts.

What does it mean to be back coaching here at your alma mater rather than another school?

I wore the uniform here. I remember tearing up the last time I took my jersey off because it meant that much to me. Having played here as a player and being able to come back and compete as a coach, there’s something different about that. This is my dream job because UC Davis is such a special place for me and I want to see our program do well. I want to be a part of helping it grow.

What’s it like, seeing players on your team reaching milestones like Kasey [Riecks]’s 1000 points and Hana [Asano]’s steals and assists?

It’s exciting to me. I played in a different era; we were [Division] II and we were a very competitive program, but it’s really hard to compare. Playing against some of the best [Division] I players in the country is fun and challenging. I get excited when kids reach those milestones because that shows how consistent they’ve been all their years for the program.

Do you ever see things happening in games and think ‘I would have done something different’?

We like to relive the glory days all the time and now my mind says I can do this, but my body says no you can’t. Each one of our kids bring a lot to the table, and I’ll tell you one thing: they’re a lot more athletic than I was and they can do a lot more physically than I could. The days where I think of myself as a player rather than a coach are gone, my goals now as a coach is to maximize our players potential and help them be the best that they can be.

As head coach, it looks like you’re yelling a lot during games and it appears to be anger, from the audience’s standpoint. Why is that?

A lot of times when I’m up, it’s just communication, I’m saying things in an urgent tone and the volume is high so the players can hear me. Ninety percent of the time I’m talking to our players and communicating with them. Visually it might come across as frustration or anger but really it’s just communication and trying to motivate your team. The other 10 percent of the time, it’s just trying to make sure our officials are staying on top of it.

Have you ever been issued a technical foul?

When I was coaching high school I got one, but I have a long way to go to reach Coach Simpson in that category [laughs].

You were playing here while Davis was Division II and you first came to coach at the beginning of the transition into Division I. How has UC Davis basketball changed over your time here?

When I first got here, Coach Simpson and I analyzed our program at the time: where we wanted to go and what was possible for us at the time. We wanted to become one of the top teams in the West Coast, and in the first four years we were eligible, we won the Big West Conference and made the NCAA tournament. We’re happy about our accomplishments, but our goal is to reach our potential and our potential is to go deep into the NCAA tournament. I think we’re building that mindset and the mentality to get ourselves there.

Have the goals for the program changed in your time here?

We all know what we want to achieve and of course we want to be cutting down those nets at the end of the year. My coaching philosophy has nothing to do with basketball, it’s about helping our student-athletes achieve so much more — all kinds of values they can use throughout their life and we get to use basketball as a fun medium for that.

Finally, you recently had your son Joshua. What’s it like as a new parent and coaching alongside your husband, coach Joe Teramoto?

Having Josh, our son, has changed our approach on things. We’re coaching somebody’s daughters, and we look at how parents are coaches — they coach their kids everyday. The kinds of things we’re trying to teach our son we’re trying to teach our team. It’s challenging at times to be a great coach and a great parent, but you have to have balance in your life. Sometimes in our profession you can get caught up being successful and achieving stuff that you forget that it’s supposed to be fun.

MATTHEW YUEN can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Newly opened SCC popular with student body

Campus News

Campus Editor

February 15, 2012

Newly opened SCC popular with student body

Operational for just over a month, the new Student Community Center (SCC) is boasting strong student usage of the center’s numerous services and study areas.

Centrally located on the corner of Hutchison Drive and California Avenue, the SCC offers students a wide variety of community shaping facilities, programs and quiet places to study. Extra student fees for funding the creation of the SCC were approved by ASUCD in 1999.

“Since the first day we opened, students seemed to settle right in,” said Events Coordinator for the SCC and the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) Rebecca Miller. “From what I’ve observed, everyone coming in seems to really love the space.”

The first floor of the complex includes the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center (LGBTRC), the Cross Cultural Center (CCC), the Student Recruitment and Retention Center (SRRC) and a satellite office to the Women’s Resources and Research Center (WRRC). The ground floor also includes a lounge, café, reflection room and an extended study space that works much like the 24 hour-room in Shields Library.

Director of the Cross Cultural Center (CCC) Steven Baissa emphasized the importance of having the CCC located at the SCC.

“The center, as we like to call it, is really a home away from home; meaning for all students,” Baissa said. “We are primarily a retention program for students who come from marginalized, unrepresented, and under served communities. We have students who feel isolated; we try to connect those students who really feel unrepresented.”

Baissa cited a hunger strike by four UC Davis students in 1990 stemming from numerous racist and sexist actions that were taking place on campus, as the origin of the CCC. A temporary cottage was erected in 1992 as a short-term location for the center, yet not until the opening of the new SCC did the CCC have a permanent address.

“We feel like the vision that was created back in 1990 has finally come to fruition”, Baissa said .

The second floor of the building contains the Undergraduate Resource Center (URC), five media rooms, a large multipurpose room, two outdoor terraces and an IET computer lab.

“The whole building is very spacious and quiet, the computer room isn’t as crowded as the library’s,” said first-year biological science major Estefania Mendoza.

Student staff member Allison Keneis said the overall student reaction to the new center has been positive.

“They really like that they can rent out the meeting rooms for two hours at a time for studying and the computer lab gets used a lot,” she said.

Baissa attributed the success of the SCC to the fact that all of these centers are now located in the same space.

“It’s fantastic to have all the centers in the same building,” Baissa said. “It’s really bringing in a lot of traffic.”

MAX GARRITY RUSSER can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

New fraternity to open on campus

Features

Features Editor

February 15, 2012

“Build your own legacy” can be read on the white and blue signs and banners that have sprung up about UC Davis’ campus, with an unfamiliar set of Greek letters: Pi Kappa Phi.

This quarter, Pi Kappa Phi alumni who work for the national organization visited UC Davis to recruit students for the new chapter.

Pi Kappa Phi was established in 1904 under the name Nu Phi, translating to mean “non-fraternity.” The fraternity was an attempt to form a group that focused on leadership and other ideals that were unlike those of the rest of the greek system.

After some failures, the fraternity was renamed and lives on under the name Pi Kappa Phi; it now has 167 chapters and has initiated over 110,000 members.

One of these members, Matthew Osorio, the consultant for the Northeast region of Pi Kappa Phi, has helped to establish chapters at schools such as Pennsylvania State University.

“We are a fraternity, but we want to shatter the stereotypes of a fraternity,” Osorio said in a recent informational meeting.

Pi Kappa Phi was previously established at UC Davis; however, after the brothers strayed from the values, it was shut down in 1984 because Osorio said the guys lost the vision.

Jonathon Baza, a senior communication major, was the first UC Davis student to be contacted and to sign as an official founding father of the UC Davis chapter of Pi Kappa Phi. After he visited a friend in Pi Kappa Phi at CSU Long Beach, he was interested in the fraternity and wanted to be a part of reestablishment at UC Davis.

“Pi Kappa Phi didn’t have the greatest reputation when they left here in 1984 and I would love to be able to [erase] that at UC Davis,” Baza said. “With the individuals we have here, we’re going to make sure that Pi Kappa Phi starts now and stays here forever.”

Pi Kappa Phi seeks out very specific types of people to advocate its ideals. The national members referred to the acronym men of CLASS, or Character, Leadership, Achievement, Scholarship and Service, to portray the various expectations of a member.

First is character, referring to an individual with integrity and therefore one against hazing new members, one of the things that the previous UC Davis chapter lost sight of, Osorio said.

Second is leadership, one of the biggest focuses that Pi Kappa Phi has. Albert Lam, a senior environmental science and management major, said that the leadership emphasis was a large part of why he chose to join.

“I want to be a better leader because I am leaving UC Davis and you just have to go out there and use what you learn,” Lam said.

Baza sees this, and the idea of guiding other members, as a contributing factor of why he likes the aspect of being a part of Pi Kappa Phi, after the experience he has had with his mentor at the law firm where he works.

“I want to be able to give back to other gentlemen here in the same way that I have been able to receive from my mentor,” Baza said. “I would love to see a great group of guys pass on wisdom to future generations that follow in our footsteps.”

Following leadership comes achievement. Adam Roose, the consultant for the Pacific Northwest region of Pi Kappa Phi, described how members of the fraternity are expected to strive to achieve.

“When you join, [the others] are going to push you to achieve,” Roose said in the informational meeting. “It’s great to be in a brotherhood that will push you to better than yourself.”

Another trait that is sought for in a new member is scholarship, ensuring that while these students are leaders, achievers and of good character, they must also retain good grades to set an example for others within the fraternity and on campus.

Lastly, Pi Kappa Phi members are expected to immerse themselves in service. Pi Kappa Phi is unique because it founded its own philanthropy, Push America, and its members continue to run and operate it.

Push America helps disabled children by holding events that encourage them to be the best they can be. In addition, a bike ride across America is held, called the “Journey of Hope” which helps to raise money for the disabled.

But above all of these qualities, the current 20 UC Davis students who are signed on look forward to being a part of starting something new and creating a fraternity from scratch.

“The opportunity to become a founding father is more extraordinary than just becoming a member of something that has already been established. You are actually building something that is left behind,” Baza said.

“It’s like playdough,” Lam said. “We get to morph what we want to do.”

Currently, the chapter is still in its beginning stages, recruiting enough members to be considered competitive with other fraternities on campus. Eventually, elections for officers will be held, followed by writing the constitution and establishing a budget.

It is also a hope that within a couple of years, a Pi Kappa Phi house is established in UC Davis as well. While there is a lot of work ahead, Baza shows optimism in through the entire process.

“If we have a good set of great guys, and we all have the same cohesive vision, anything can happen,” Baza said. “Within the next couple of weeks, it will be up to us to make Pi Kappa Phi a reality.”

Those interested in joining Pi Kappa Phi can visit the table at the UC Davis Silo on Wednesday and Thursday and at the Memorial Union on Friday. For more information, e-mail Roose at aroose@pikapp.org.

DEVON BOHART can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

ASUCD City/County Affairs to host Housing Day Thursday

Campus News

Campus Editor

February 15, 2012

Do you know where you’re living next year?

On Thursday, ASUCD City/County Affairs is putting on Housing Day 2012 in hopes of connecting students with various housing options and relieve the stress of apartment hunting.

“Living in Davis, students are very fortunate in that there is never a shortage of housing. Students are at a great advantage with tons of options for where to live. This means students should be picky, find the apartment complex that is right for them, and make sure their landlord respects their renter’s rights,” said Director of City/County affairs Jeanna Gindi.

Housing Day Coordinator Sabrina Dias emphasized that many students do not know “the tips and tricks” to living in an apartment and Housing Day’s main priority is to provide students with that valuable information.

Housing Day brings together managers, complex owners and representatives to students, rather than having students go out on their own to find valuable information on available housing units for Fall.

“The ASUCD Office of City/County Affairs brings over 60 apartment complexes and other housing related businesses to the campus so students looking for housing for the upcoming year have all the resources in one place at one time” Dias said.

The organizers of Housing Day hope to provide students with different information regarding looking for housing and moving in to a new apartment.

“We have an information booth in the lobby to provide students with renter’s information guides and many other brochures and pamphlets about moving into an apartment such as what to look for in a lease, how to navigate the waters of a security deposit, and much more,” Dias said.

Housing Day is also offering students special offers and freebies for attending the annual event.

“This year along with all the freebies that individual booths give out, we will have a stamp card. If a student visits all booths on the card and receives a stamp, they can turn in a completed card for a chance to win an 11 inch MacBook Air,” Dias said.

Gindi said that looking for housing can be confusing and difficult for students.

“It is hard to know what rights you are entitled to as a renter, which apartments give you the most for your money, and what you should be looking for when moving into off campus housing. At Housing Day, students can find answers to all these questions,” Gindi said.

Housing Day 2012 will be held in Freeborn Hall on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

GHEED SAEED can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Priscilla Mendez competes on MTV’s “The Challenge”

Features

Features Editor

February 15, 2012

Few can say that by age 20 they’ve lived in a house with seven strangers, watched themselves cry on national TV and flown to the Dominican Republic three weeks into a school year to compete for $150,000. But junior psychology major Priscilla Mendez says that being a part of MTV’s “Real World: San Diego” in addition to her latest reality show, “The Challenge: Battle of the Exes” has changed her life.

“It’s surreal. I remember getting that first call from MTV saying that I was selected to be on “The Real World” and saying, ‘Thank you, you’re changing my life right now,’” Mendez said.

After a summer spent enjoying a whirlwind experience as a cast member of “Real World: San Diego,” Mendez thought she was through with reality TV stardom. However, soon after moving to Davis, she was given the opportunity to return to television on “The Challenge: Battle of the Exes”, currently airing on MTV Wednesdays at 10 p.m.

Unlike “Real World”, “The Challenge” is a “Survivor”-style sister show where cast members from other MTV reality shows compete in physically grueling challenges for a cash prize of $150,000. Mendez was eliminated after the first episode of the show.

Mendez said that she had no idea that she would be selected to return to the TV network that initially changed her life, as she thought that two of her co-stars from “The Real World” would be chosen based on their physical fitness. However, after just three weeks of arriving at UC Davis for Fall quarter 2011, she abruptly packed up and left for the Dominican Republic where the show was being filmed.

“As long as MTV continues to offer me life-changing and exciting opportunities, I’m going to take them,” Mendez said.

This season, which is the show’s 22nd, is centered on the idea that ex-couples must work together in order to complete each challenge and win the grand prize. Though Mendez says that her teammate, Nate Stodghill, could hardly be considered an ex, they were partnered up as a result of a brief romantic encounter on “The Real World.”

Mendez and Stodghill were eliminated after one episode of the show. After Stodghill’s failure to successfully complete their first challenge, the pair was automatically placed into an elimination challenge. Subsequently, Mendez was the first to lose in elimination.

She said that her physical endurance could not withstand the intensity of the task.

“If you watched “The Real World,” you saw how girly I was. I wasn’t really the ‘working out at the gym’ kind of girl. And since I was in school for three weeks before I got the call, there was no time to train,” Mendez said.

Mendez described the first time she saw herself on TV as incredibly weird. After being filmed 24/7, she said the experience is one requiring complete openness, and watching yourself cry on television is like watching a movie. She said it was funny to see herself weeping with sad music playing in the background, the way most people would imagine their lives to be if their everyday life had theme songs.

Though some might be worried about what close friends and family would think of their appearance in reality TV, Mendez said that she continues to have a very strong connection with her friends and family.

“My mom wasn’t surprised to see anything. We’re extremely close. We talk about everything,” Mendez said.

Lilian Mendez, Priscilla’s mother, said her daughter’s ability to be open and herself landed her the spot on “The Real World,” in addition to the invitation to be back on “The Challenge.”

“She’s not afraid to be herself. Whether it’s a good quality, or bad quality, she don’t cover up her good qualities. But on the other end, if she has things other people might try to hide, she doesn’t. She’s not afraid to show them, and learn from them, because that’s what’s real about her,” Lilian said.

The 20 year old says that many of the speculations about reality TV are misconceptions. MTV does not pay for the cast’s recreational activities, and does not condone underage drinking. Additionally, she said that she is saddened by the notion that reality TV stars are faking their personalities for the sake of entertainment.

“Some people have told me that they don’t want to watch the shows because they don’t want to see me in a negative light. It is impossible to fake your life for three months. What you see on the show is truly me,” Mendez said.

Senior psychology major Rahael Solomon said that she couldn’t imagine being in Mendez’s position; being a college student in the midst of being a reality television star could prove to be invasive.

“I’d be uncomfortable with the fact that everyone would know my business. I couldn’t deal with people judging me before they got to know me” Solomon said.

Though Mendez didn’t win, she says she is currently still watching the show, and enjoying her life as a full time student.

“I’d love to keep doing this. But for now, my time and place is school,” Mendez said.

KELSEY SMOOT can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

Campus Chic

Campus News

Campus Editor

February 15, 2012

Jack Leng, junior history and design double major

The Aggie: What are you wearing?
Leng: “A double-breasted wool coat with epaulets, a funnel-neck from All-Saint’s, a random white shirt, $2 jeans from China and Steve Madden leather boots.”

How did you decide what to wear today?
“I like to look as if I take class and work seriously, so I start with a collared shirt. From there, I try to layer on things that will work with it. Then I toss on a coat that will keep me warm.”

Where do you find inspiration?
“My parents taught me to dress for the job I want, so I just try to keep it classy.”

What’s your advice for staying chic during the winter?
“Do something different. Spending a lot of money on clothes won’t guarantee that you’ll get a look that you want. Try to layer things that complement each other. Try to be playful with it if you can.”

STEPHANIE B. NGUYEN can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Evolutionary “founder effect” detected

Science & Technology

Science Editor

February 15, 2012

Thomas Schoener and David Spiller, both professors in the UC Davis Evolution and Ecology Department, are among the co-authors of a new study appearing in Science magazine that provides evidence for an evolutionary phenomenon called the “founder effect.”

The founder effect is the evolutionary theory that a small number of “founders,” or initial members of a population in a specific location, can have a long-lasting effect on the genetic composition of subsequent generations.

“We actually saw a hurricane [in 2004] wipe out a population of lizards on small islands that we had been monitoring,” Schoener said . Since the cays, or tiny islands, were cleared of lizards, they were able to introduce male and female lizard pairs on a number of island cays as an experiment to test the possible effects of the founder effect.

“Most of the vegetation [after a hurricane] survives,” Schoener said . “The other things come back fairly quickly. Spiders get completely extirpated, but most of the arthropods can come back pretty quickly. Either they fly, or with the case of the spiders they balloon.”

Schoener, as part of a previous study, had introduced larger founding populations to small islands, with a ratio of three females to two males. For the current study, however, the researchers decided to test the smallest possible number of lizards which could potentially form a founding colony: one female and one male.

“That’s as small as you can get,” Schoener said .

They chose seven pairs of lizards from forests containing large trees on a large island to be introduced on seven small cays where there were small bushes.

Scientists monitored the lizards to see if the lengths of the lizards’ hind legs became shorter over subsequent generations. They measured the leg lengths of the male and female founders on a particular cay to see if the founder leg lengths had a lasting effect on subsequent generations or whether processes such as natural selection or genetic drift were enough to explain the lizards’ evolving leg lengths.

Schoener found that both natural selection and founder effects were involved in the leg lengths. They were able to find lasting influences of the initial leg lengths on subsequent generations.

“Adaptive evolution,” said David Reznick, a biology professor at UC Riverside who was not involved in the study, is “genetic change in populations that makes them better able to survive and produce offspring in a given environment.”

For example, lizards living among small bushes would be expected to develop smaller hind legs after successive generations to facilitate walking on the small branches.

It was not known whether “just one male and one female harbor sufficient genetic variation for adaptive evolution to be possible,” Reznick said . “Their experiment suggests that’s true and that was not expected.”

“I think the uniqueness of this study derives from its focus on an evolutionary process that doesn’t get much attention. Natural selection certainly dominates the study of evolution and the public’s perception of it,” said Michael Kinnison, a biology professor at the University of Maine who was not involved in the study. “However, in reality, natural selection is one process among several that are thought to shape genetic diversity.”

“What their study shows is that there was in fact a founder effect,” Reznick said. “There’s a real trace of adaptive evolution there and it happened very fast, in spite of the very small number of founders.”

For the current study, Schoener said, “We kind of took a chance, and it paid off.”

BRIAN RILEY can be reached at science@theaggie.org.

UC Davis fights back against food poisoning

Science & Technology

Science Editor

February 15, 2012

Over the past 60 years, E. coli has been the primary model organism for gene sequencing and recombinant DNA experiments. While the majority of these E. coli strains are harmless, there exist a few strains that, when present in the human body, cause severe food poisoning and intestinal havoc.

UC Davis is a member of a large-scale research project funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) geared toward reducing amounts of the E. coli pathogen in cattle and processing plants. They also seek to educate both restaurants and individual consumers in safe storage and preparation methods.

According to the USDA grant proposal, there are 9.4 million cases of food-borne illness every year, with an estimated social cost of $1.4 trillion in sick days and loss of productivity. One of the primary culprits behind these extreme cases is the E. coli strain 0157:H7, but other harmful strains include the 0104 strain.

“Over 50 people were killed in Germany [in 2011] by the 0104 strain,” said Terry Lehenbauer, the associate director of the UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center (VMTRC).

The strains the researchers are looking to minimize are in the groups Shigella and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC). The Shigella strains produce toxins, known as Shiga toxins, which are responsible for dysentery, colitis and renal failure. The EHEC, of which 0157:H7 and 0104 are members, produce other toxins called verotoxins that cause bloody stools, and infection and inflammation of the large intestine.

E. coli can infect anyone, but the highest at-risk groups are the elderly, young children and people with diabetes.

The portion of this project based in Davis is focused on eliminating the presence of these bacteria on animal hides and looking for ecologically sound methods of making food processing safer. Researchers are using specific electrical currents that are harmless to the animals but inactivate E. coli cells.

The research will also focus on learning more about these endemic pathogens.

“Know your enemy,” said James Cullor, director of the VMTRC. “We are working on diagnostic methodologies so we can find these things, track them and find out their biology.”

Davis’ role in the project also delves into the consumer side of prevention. Davis will be developing intervention strategies and training programs to teach proper handling and preparation of potentially contaminated food products.

“We videotaped a group of people preparing hamburgers and salads and saw that less than half of them used soap when washing their hands,” said Christine Bruhn, director of the Center for Consumer Research at UC Davis.

Bruhn’s research has shown that the majority of infections are due to poor sanitation in the home and kitchen, so she will be part of an effort to work with hospitals and health care providers to teach people about proper preparation and sanitation.

These programs will work to teach new generations proper food preparation methods that were common knowledge to previous generations.

“Less than 2 percent [of people] feed the other 98 percent. Each generation is getting farther and farther away from the basic knowledge of food safety,” Cullor said.

The USDA project is a five year, $25 million endeavor with specific goals set up along the way. Aside from UC Davis, the other involved institutions include University of Delaware, New Mexico State University, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, the University of Arkansas and the USDA Agricultural Research Service.

HUDSON LOFCHIE can be reached at science@theaggie.org.

Column: Meals for sanity

Opinion

Opinion

February 15, 2012

Considering all the stress we get from recessions to tuition, it is safe to say that college is the insane asylum for the academically gifted. Unfortunately, when it comes to stress, keeping a buckle on your waist line can be just as difficult as holding onto your marbles.

All too often, nutritional health is forgotten in the midst of stress. You forget breakfast, snack on fast food and even succumb to emotional eating. It’s difficult to care when you’re upset. But what if the food you eat actually determines your stress level?

Foods are nutritional drugs. When you eat them, they alter mood chemicals in your body. The fact is, if you don’t eat the right ones, your ability to make happy hormones and energy for your brain will be low. As a result, you can have a difficult time being happy and thinking your way out of stressful situations.

Only certain types of protein, for example, effectively boost your mood. These are proteins high in tryptophan, tyrosine and phenylalanine (TTP), which are needed to make your behavioral chemicals, serotonin and dopamine. Serotonin controls sleep, memory and mood, while dopamine regulates decision-making, attention and ability to experience pleasure.

Deficiencies in TTP contribute to anxiety and depression, while increasing your consumption through food can better your sense of wellbeing. TTP is best absorbed from dairy and soy, rather than meat sources, along with fibrous grains. While high fiber carbohydrates are not highest in protein, they increase TTP absorption and are rich in vitamins.

Whole grains are also typically higher in B vitamins, which along with iron are crucial to feeling upbeat. Unfortunately, these are also common deficiencies, which can lead to increased stress. B vitamins can prevent anxiety in many ways, from making hormones to letting your brain use sugar to think. Iron is also essential for mood improvement because it allows your body to use oxygen, preventing irritability and exhaustion. Vitamin C helps with the absorption of iron.

While the above nutrients work to enhance your mood and energy, keeping your brain cells healthy with omega 3 fats will make all of this possible. So include these oils in your diet to improve all of your brain’s processes.

As you can see, these nutrients work in symphony for stress-prevention, which is why eating them instead of popping pills is your best solution. Better yet, combine all of these into easy meals for every part of the day.

I recommend starting the morning with yogurt, topped with fruit, granola and walnuts. It’s as easy to make as it is uplifting. In minutes you have put together a breakfast with omega 3-rich nuts, dairy protein and fibrous oats for TTP absorption and B vitamins and iron for energy. Not to mention, the vitamin C and extra fiber from fruit will further boost your ability to use these happy-nutrients.

For lunch, I suggest a whole grain tuna salad sandwich with a little mayonnaise, celery, parsley and a tiny bit of lemon juice for vitamin C, black pepper and salt. If you are a strict vegetarian, have a soy patty with spinach instead, which are still high in omega 3s.

In the evening, grill some salmon in soybean oil with iron-rich dill weed. This will provide you with loads of TTP and omega 3s, and adding steamed broccoli and potatoes will add the vitamin C, fiber and B vitamins.

Last but not least, I recommend all-natural ice cream or soy ice cream with raspberries, mint and wheat germ. This dessert is high in fiber, vitamin C and B vitamins. And believe it or not, both raspberries and mint are high in iron, too.

While we would all like to think that a B.S or B.A. in [insert major here] is a sign of mental clarity, reality proves otherwise. As students, remember that we are complex machines. Put crappy oil in a car, and it won’t function. Put the wrong nutrients in our bodies, and we won’t either. How you eat is vital, but it never has to be a difficult feat. So eat these nutrients for stress, and quit worrying about your health — it will go away at some point anyway.

For more meals that prevent your academic mental breakdowns, contact THERESA RICHARDSON at terichardson@ucdavis.edu.

California community colleges crack down on casual students

City News

City Editor

February 15, 2012

California Community Colleges (CCC) Chancellor Jack Scott presented Student Success Task Force recommendations to the Board of Governors of the CCC in its January 2012 meeting. These changes would allow transfer and graduation rates to improve.

According to the CCC Director of Communications Paige Marlatt Dorr, the CCC Chancellor’s Office is moving toward a phased-in, coordinated implementation of the recommendations that will include consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. She said legislation will be introduced by Feb. 24 due to legislative deadlines.

“This is a comprehensive plan that will result in more students completing certificates and degrees and transferring to four-year institutions,” Scott said in a press release.

The Student Success Task Force was created in compliance with Senate Bill 1143 (SB 1143), which was proposed by Senator Carol Liu (D- La Canada Flintridge) and approved by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sept. 28, 2010.

SB 1143 required the Board of Governors of the CCC to adopt a plan for promoting and improving student success and to establish a task force that examines the best practices for accomplishing this success. In addition, the board is required to report the contents of the plan and the recommendations of the task force to legislative committees by March 1, 2012.

“It was a one-year process, where a task force would meet with a variety of people with different perspectives on community colleges,” said Legislative Director for Senator Liu Robert Oakes. “We looked at ways to improve transfer rates, potentially improve funding and at the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office in relation to the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems.”

Oakes said a report was issued in the last few weeks that led out a series of recommendations on how to improve the CCC system.

According to the Student Success Task Force recommendation summary, the reforms include: giving students the tools they need to succeed; prioritizing student enrollment; increasing transparency and closing the achievement gap; improving basic skills education and using technology to help students and create greater efficiency.

“[Senator Liu’s] primary interest was two-fold,” Oakes said. “One was to look at transfer rates and the other part was to look at the whole system and how it operates.”

According to Oakes, the number of people who attend a community college saying they would like to transfer to a CSU or UC is dramatically higher than the number of people who actually do transfer.

“Only 24 percent of them do that and sometimes it takes them up to six years to transfer,” Oakes said. “There’s a disconnect; why aren’t students who want to get into a CSU, UC or private four-year getting there faster or in greater numbers?”

CCC share funding with California K-12 schools, but funding is not necessarily tied to performance. Oakes said funding is based on the number of students who enroll in the class, but not based on the number who finish and earn degrees.

“The de facto rationing system is disproportionately harming first-time students,” Scott said. “Historically underrepresented students would benefit from the enrollment priorities recommended by the Student Success Task Force.”

According to Oakes, many students who accumulate a large number of units at a community college do nothing with them.

“At some point, we wonder why we’re holding up people who want credits to transfer when there are people who have been taking classes for many years over and over again,” Oakes said. “We will probably see several bills and individual community college districts doing some changes to try to make it harder to be a casual student.”

With reforms, causal students in community colleges will have lower priority and a harder time obtaining classes. The Student Success Task Force recommends instead of having registration priority be given to those with the most units, priority should be given to returning and first-time students who have taken a diagnostic exam, participated in orientation and have developed an educational plan.

“The idea is to improve efficiency,” Oakes said. “If it saves costs and still provides high-quality education, we definitely want to do that.”

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

Olive Drive fence poses an inconvenient change for some local residents

City News

City Editor

February 15, 2012

Olive Drive fence poses an inconvenient change for some local residents

Ever tried crossing the railroad tracks near the Amtrak station to get to the other side to see friends or to get a haircut? Well, times have changed and so has this crossing.

Since September 2011, Union Pacific (UP) has constructed a 3,800 foot long fence stretching three miles east starting from Richards Boulevard. Due to UP policy which upholds that a fence be put up on tracks in populated cities, a white fence was put up against the requests of Davis City councilmembers to wait for an at-grade crossing to be approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

According to City Councilmember Sue Greenwald, “an at-grade crossing would allow a crossing like a gate that warns when a train is coming; people would go straight through, not cross over or under.”

Greenwald said that city council submitted an application for an at-grade crossing, but it may be expensive and difficult to get.

Between 1998 and 2011, a total of five deaths occurred along the tracks. Although it is illegal to cross the tracks, some people still manage to make their way onto the track, only to be pulled off by workers of the Amtrak station.

Greenwald and other city councilmembers met up with the city manager and UP to negotiate alternatives. These alternatives consist of an aesthetically better-looking fence that would make the area look nicer and/or an at-grade crossing, Greenwald said.

Instead, UP went ahead with procedures and built the fence.

Andoni Chaniotakis, a junior plant science major, frequently visits friends who live in the area. Before the fence was built, he would cross the tracks about four times a week.

Although he sees that “it serves a purpose to keep people off the tracks, it should have a crossing point. People don’t like to take the long loop if there is a shorter way available (crossing the tracks).”

In addition to the physical barrier the fence imposes, it also creates a sense of division among the community located between the fence and the Interstate 80. The fence causes a divide that does not need to be there, Chaniotakis said.

“Now they [residents of Olive Drive] are very far away,” Chaniotakis said, “so it cuts off traffic toward a great neighborhood.”

Breana Moreno, a junior neurobiology, physiololgy and behavior major, also stated that it is an inconvenience since she goes to church right across from the tracks. Things would be much easier and less time consuming if the fence was not there at all, she said.

It is a huge inconvenience, but change is always difficult. For Chaniotakis, the fence “has not affected the frequency of his visits, only the length of walking.”

So far, no one has officially complained and people have gotten used to the fence, Greenwald said.

For now, the wait continues for the CPUC to approve an application for an at-grade crossing.

MEE YANG can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

Statistics professor finds second love rescuing huskies

Features

Features Editor

February 14, 2012

When UC Davis statistics professor Christiana Drake saw a news segment about a woman in Woodland who was left with 12 huskies after her husband died, she put her whole heart into the situation and got involved.

That was 10 years ago, when the Northern California Sled Dog Rescue (NorSled), a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding homes for Nordic breed dogs such as Alaskan Malamutes and Siberian huskies, went to a TV station to alert the public. From then on, Drake has been highly involved with the dog adoption process as a volunteer for NorSled and as the founder of a freshman seminar called “Why Do People Relinquish Their Dogs?”

NorSled, founded in 1998, is an offshoot of the Siberian Husky Rescue and Referral of California SHRRCA. While NorSled’s events are in Northern California, they provide a refuge for Nordic breeds throughout the state, covering an area equivalent to the size of New England. A large responsibility comes from the action of volunteers because there is no central facility; all members work from their homes.

Jane Cordingley, president of NorSled, explained that most of the compassionate, hard work comes from volunteers like Drake, as they foster the dogs, get them the medical care and training they need, take them to adoption fairs, learn their temperaments, meet with adopters and do home visits to help the dogs adjust.

“After the news broadcast we had hundreds of phone calls and e-mails of wonderful people offering to help. Professor Drake contacted us and offered to help take each of the dogs to the Woodland Veterinary Hospital,” says Cathy Sparks, one of the founding members of NorSled. “She worked tirelessly every day transporting dogs to and from the vet for spaying and neutering.”

Four years ago, Drake decided to combine her experience with NorSled with her experience as a professor by starting a freshman seminar on campus, which addresses some of the concerns she has faced when dealing with the rescue of Nordic breeds.

“The purpose is to increase an awareness of the plight of homeless animals and, at the same time, to teach students about how to use scientific methods in defining and exploring any subject, as well as proposing possible solutions,” Drake said.

In the seminar, Drake explains the uses of science in addressing the concerns regarding the treatment of homeless dogs. Epidemiology is not only an interest for many of the students that attend the seminars; it is also a study which can be applied to the use of euthanasia on homeless animals. The seminar is intended to be a tool for students to utilize the scientific method in researching and analyzing the ways in which homeless, non-adopted animals are treated.

The use of euthanasia is a mutual concern of Drake and NorSled. Drake represents one of the many volunteers of Norsled who invest their time, energy and money into making euthanasia either a last resort or an impossibility.

“Should we turn down a good dog and let it be euthanized?” Cordingley said. “No. We try to save those dogs as much as possible and will pay for kenneling until a foster home opens up. There are some great kennels who have worked with us — and while they give us a discount, they cannot do this for free. We spend thousands on kenneling a year.”

Within the last two years NorSled has spent an average of $60,000 a year to rescue dogs with medical needs, such as torn ACLs, broken legs and heartworms. The shelter helps these dogs until they find homes.

“We have had dogs in rescue for three years looking for homes,” Cordingley said.

NorSled values the adoption process, making sure that all of the dogs are being transported to what Sparks calls a “forever-home.” Once Drake heard from NorSled about the 12 huskies on the verge of being homeless, she volunteered and contributed to helping with the process and even adopted two of the 12.

“Professor Drake has helped NorSled save numerous dogs since helping with the ‘Woodland 12,’” Sparks said. “Two of the 12 ended up coming back into rescue, and Eddie and Star now spend a glorious life with Professor Drake. The volunteers make NorSled what it is — an incredible dog-rescue organization.”

To get involved with NorSled, visit norsled.org.

DOMINICK COSTABILE can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

Disney Channel star trades acting for books

Features

Features Editor

February 14, 2012

Sophomore history and classics double major Lindsey Black, like most college students, has a back-up plan. If earning a Ph.D., traveling to Europe to study and possibly becoming a professor doesn’t work out, Black may end up working as an actress in Hollywood.

If that seems a little bit backward to you, you’re probably not alone. But it’s the truth for Black, who transferred to UC Davis this past fall after spending her high school years starring in the Disney Channel television show “As the Bell Rings” and in the soon-to-be-released feature film 16-Love.

Now, though, completing her degrees and living the most “normal” life she’s had since being discovered at a Disney casting call in Dallas is Black’s number one priority.

“Here [in Davis] it’s like, ‘Oh, its neat that you act, that’s cool that you did that,’ but back in L.A. when I’m talking about school people are like, ‘It’s good to have a fall back plan,’” Black said. “So it’s different perspectives, and not that one’s right or wrong, but I think school has definitely become my focus.”

After spending years participating in local theater and acting classes in her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, the then-14-year-old Black begged her parents to take her to a casting call with Disney representatives. She eventually beat out thousands of other girls for a part on “As the Bell Rings”, a series of five-minute-long episodes about a group of high school friends.

“It was one of those crazy out of the blue amazing experiences. I had worked hard and I knew how to take a script and be prepared to perform it quickly, but as far as booking a job like that, no, it was completely random,” Black said.

With her mom in tow, Black moved to Los Angeles, hired an agent and manager, and began working on “As the Bell Rings” playing Lexi, the new girl in school.

In between learning her lines, getting her hair, makeup and costume ready, and filming scenes with the other cast members, Black worked with an on-set tutor to keep up with schoolwork.

Black’s best friend, Belmont University English literature major Lindy Law, said she always knew Black was a talented actress and wasn’t surprised when she landed the role.

“The first time I saw her [on “As the Bell Rings”] the TV was on at a friend’s house, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s my friend!’” Law said. “I was just proud of her.”

The series ended in 2009, and at 16 years old, Black finished her high school requirements. Not satisfied with only a high school diploma, she enrolled at Santa Monica City College while simultaneously going to auditions.

Black estimates that she went on about 160 auditions, booking commercials for products such as tampons. The process, she said, was a huge lesson in confidence.

“Your parents always tell you, ‘You’re so unique, you’re such an individual, we love you,’ and if you make it into a callback for a bigger film or show, suddenly everyone looks like you and talks like you and you feel like you’re surrounded by 20 of your sisters. It’s very bizarre,” Black said. “You just realize there’s so many different factors, and you have to do as well as you can and feel good about that instead of if you booked this role or that role.”

In 2010, Black did book a role, playing the main character’s best friend in the high school comedy 16-Love. The film was recently picked up by Warner Brothers and will begin showing in select theaters and online next month.

The film was shot in locations around San Diego, so Black lived in various hotels throughout the three-month shoot, finishing schoolwork between scenes.

“With a series you slip into this routine of knowing what to expect. With the film, the hours aren’t consistent the entire time. Or maybe the director will have this crazy burst of, ‘Let’s shoot through the night!’ So things are a lot more unpredictable,” Black said.

Ben Wiggins, an assistant director for 16-Love, was impressed with Black’s work ethic and professionalism.

“As an assistant director, you don’t interact closely with the talent,” Wiggins said. “But in Lindsey’s case, we had several deep conversations. She’s several years younger than me, but she can hold her own in many situations. She’s very precocious.”

After filming wrapped this past fall, Black moved into the Cuarto dorms, where she enjoys the “normal” life she missed out on after moving to Los Angeles. She currently works as a research assistant for a professor writing for National Public Radio, dabbles in singing and songwriting and only occasionally gets asked for an autograph.

“I get to be a 19-year-old, as opposed to someone who’s in a 19-year-old body but one, treated like a product — my business card is a picture of my face — and two, constantly being around people who are not your age, and looking at what they can gain from casting you,” Black said. “No one’s looking at how I look when I walk into class, it’s what I contribute with my papers and discussions. It’s such a wonderful breather to be in Davis.”

Black will be holding a discussion with students in the Department of Theater and Dance Performance Lab A on Friday from 4 to 5 p.m.

ERIN MIGDOL can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

UC Davis students take part in Red Dress Project

Campus News

Campus Editor

February 14, 2012

Eight UC Davis students unveiled their red dresses for the department of design’s third annual Red Dress Project — a nationwide project for awareness of heart disease — on Feb. 3.

The red dresses, which were featured in the invitation-only Women’s Heart Care Education and Awareness Forum for Community Leaders, were showcased in Sacramento. The UC Davis Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine Program presented the red dress forum.

“We want to make the younger generation aware of the risk [of heart disease],” said Adele Zhang, design department lecturer who mentors for the project. “It is a great visual message to campaign for this.”

Zhang brought the project to UC Davis three years ago.

Students who are involved with the project design the dress in two ways. They must design with the technical skills, while also sending a positive message behind a physical object.

Each student designer receives a certificate from the Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine Program for participating in the project, Zhang said.

There is no theme to the project. Each designer is encouraged to use their feelings and research in order to create their own theme, Zhang said.

The student designers used inspiration such as physical and emotional heartbreak to convey their message through the red dress.

“My dad had a heart attack last year; it was so shocking, and I was emotional about it because I am very close to him,” said Minn Chau, a junior design major. “I thought about portraying the physical pain of a heart attack and the emotional pain for the family in my dress.”

Many designers used techniques such as piping in order to convey the appearance of veins, as Chau did in her dress.

“My inspiration was butterflies; they are similar to a heart,” said Charlotte Pong, a senior design major. “They are strong since they can fly long distances, but they are also very frail at the same time. There are over 50 butterflies on my dress, each signed by someone who knows or who supports funding for heart disease awareness.”

Pong said that she plans on adding butterflies to the tail of her dress until it is no longer in her possession.

Designer Yuan Yuan Song, a senior design major, used Lady Gaga as inspiration for her dress, which is a heart-shaped dress that gives the illusion of pumping when the model walks.

“My dress inspiration comes from pre-colonial Indian architecture,” said Faizan Dar, a senior design major. “The red dress emphasizes the color of the bricks and is in the shape of a dome. Red is considered a positive color where I’m from, whereas here, it can have negative connotations.”

Designer Faye Lessler, a junior design major, was inspired by the physical idea of a heart literally breaking and the emotional heartbreak of the family.

All designers said they would participate in the project again.

There are still discussions of how to extend the positive message of the Red Dress Project to a broader community.

One idea is to have a free fashion show at Picnic Day, which happened last year, Zhang said.

Three of the dresses from last year’s Red Dress Project were donated and are on display in the Mondavi Center until March 16.

Heart disease is currently the number one killer of women in the United States.

ALICIA KINDRED can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Happy ending to long weekend

Sports Editor

February 14, 2012

The UC Davis softball team capped the Aggie Stampede with a 2-0 victory over Nevada, the lone win in the weekend tournament.

The Aggies squeezed in two and a half games on Sunday, finishing a halted game from the previous day.

UC Davis opens the season 1-4 after the first weekend of action.

Friday — Loyola Marymount University 5, UC Davis 3

The softball team had its home opener spoiled thanks to a five-run third inning for Loyola Marymount, who hung on for the win.

Rachel Miller put the Aggies back in the game with a two-run home run in the fourth, but couldn’t muster up any offense after that. UC Davis scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the second, scoring on an RBI double by Chandler Wagner.

“I think we need to sharpen up a few things defensively but hopefully we got the jitters out of the way,” said head coach Karen Yoder. “We need to do a better job at taking advantage of runners in scoring position and fixing those defensive miscues.”

Jessica Thweatt started for the UC Davis and threw 2 1/3 innings. She escaped some trouble in the top of the second after the Aggies committed two errors. Justine Vela made her UC Davis debut, shutting out the Lions on one hit in 4 1/3 innings of relief.

Saturday — Loyola Marymount 5, UC Davis 1; Nevada 6, UC Davis 3 (finished Sunday)

UC Davis jumped out to an early one-run lead in the bottom of the third inning, but Loyola Marymount used a four-run sixth inning to break free. Danielle Smith was 3 for 3 and Sam Fischer had a three-run homer to help the Lions win for the second time in as many days against the Aggies.

Wagner picked up the lone RBI, knocking in Megan Guzman after she doubled. Vela earned her first collegiate start and was practically flawless through five innings, allowing only two hits.

After reaching a 3-1 advantage Saturday evening over Nevada, the game was halted due to darkness and resumed play early Sunday morning.

The Aggies couldn’t carry over the momentum, as the Wolf Pack battled back for a 6-3 victory. Another big inning was UC Davis’ undoing, as a four-run sixth put Nevada in front.

The Aggies rallied in the bottom half of the inning, loading the bases with just one out, but couldn’t get that clutch hit and Nevada escaped unscathed.

Sunday — Boise State 3, UC Davis 0; UC Davis 2, Nevada 0

UC Davis managed just three hits in its first shutout loss of the season.

The Aggies seemed a bit sluggish after their early morning game. The Broncos posted two runs on three hits in the fourth inning to break open the scoring.

UC Davis struggled to get anything going at the plate, putting just one runner in scoring position and stranding four runners on base for the game. Vela had a tough-luck loss in a complete game for the Aggies.

In the final game of the Aggie Stampede, UC Davis manufactured two early runs that proved to be the difference in the win over Nevada.

After blowing the lead in the early game, Thweatt led the Aggies in their rematch with the Wolf Pack.

“I’m proud of the girls and how they battled,” said Yoder. “We were in every game this weekend and we learned a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of our team.”

Thweatt was solid through five, but Nevada loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth inning. Vela came in and struck out the last batter of the inning and retired the Wolf Pack in order in the seventh. Kelly Shulze posted two hits with an RBI and scored on Kylie Fan’s RBI.

UC Davis will stay home this week, hosting Stanford on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.

RUSSELL EISENMAN can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

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