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Men’s Soccer preview

Sports Editor
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Teams: UC Davis vs. UC Santa Barbara

Records: Aggies 7-6-2 (5-2-0); Gauchos 9-5-1 (2-4-0)

Where: Meredith Field at Harder Stadium, Santa Barbara – Calif.

When: Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Who to watch: Alex Aguiar scored his second goal of the season in the Aggies’ victory over Cal Poly on a penalty kick.

The sophomore midfielder has started every game and is tied on the team for most shots taken. Aguiar took three shots last time UC Davis played the Gauchos and four shots in the Aggies’ most recent game against Cal Poly.

Did you know? Some teams enjoy home field advantage, but UC Santa Barbara is in a league of its own.

For the past four years, UCSB has led the nation in average attendance. Last year, they totaled 70,471 fans over the season, giving them an average of 5,873 fans per game. A full game at UC Davis consists of about 1,200 fans.

The perennial soccer powerhouse offers giveaways like the pros. Their last offer on Saturday – megaphones – brought in over 4,900 fans.

It is also tradition for the Gaucho fans to toss celebratory tortillas on the field after their team wins.

Preview: Having won its past three games, and five of its last six, UC Davis holds a winning record for the first time since it opened the 2009 season 2-0.

The Aggies stand atop the Big West Conference at 7-6-2 with a 5-2 league record and are now the team to beat.

UC Davis has really gotten the ball rolling, sweeping the conference awards for the second consecutive week.

For the second time in a row, sophomore goalkeeper Omar Zeenni was named the Big West Defensive Player of the Week for being essentially impervious as goalie.

Sophomore Kevin Schulte followed freshman Matt Sheldon as the Offensive Player of the Week after providing the two goals that stunned the No. 4 UC Irvine.

UCSB has not played up to expectations and currently stands in sixth place in conference, but is in no way a walkover. They are 2-4 in league, but one of those victories was over UC Davis. Head coach Dwayne Shaffer knows not to underestimate the Gauchos, but is also excited about playing in Santa Barbara.

“That is the greatest place to play men’s college soccer…When you go down there, it gets you jacked up to play,” he said.

Shaffer, as he has said the whole season, believes his team’s performance has improved every game and will give the Gauchos a good fight.

“They’re so mentally tough now because each game has been close. You can’t train that kind of fight in practice, you just have to experience it,” he said.

This experience is a guarantee for the upcoming game, as the Aggies hope to continue their winning ways in front of the toughest crowd in college soccer.

– Matthew Yuen

Inside the game with …

Sports Editor
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For junior linebacker Byron Gruendl, the years are flying by.

Since arriving on campus in 2009, the Danville, Calif. native has played in every UC Davis football game, and has done so with tremendous success.

Last year Gruendl was All-Great West Conference Honorable Mention on defense and won the Palmer Moody Award, given to the Aggies’ most outstanding sophomore.

In this 2011 campaign he is currently second on the team with 37 tackles and one sack.

Gruendl took time to sit down with California Aggie sports writer Caelum Shove to discuss the season thus far, his career as a UC Davis football player and life away from the field.

I think it’s fair to say this season hasn’t gone the way you guys would have wanted. What’s your attitude at this point with four games remaining?

This season’s been really different than other seasons I’ve been here, just the fact that our team’s been way closer. When I first came in here the offense and defense were basically separated into two teams. This summer we really made an effort to come close and bond together. When we hit those first couple weeks, somewhere along there we got into a funk. We had no confidence as a team; we weren’t clicking on all cylinders. In all aspects of the game we were struggling.

Four games left in the season and they’re all really winnable games and we have a lot of talent on this team. I think we’re going to win. I think we’re going to go 6-5 on the season.

If you go 6-5, you win against Cal Poly and you win against Sacramento State. Do you consider this season a success?

I would never think of the season as a success until we make the playoffs. I think its something we can always build on going into next year. You come in with two goals every year – it’s to make the playoffs and to win conference. It’s all about just taking responsibility for our actions and seeing if we can do something about it. I think if we win conference if we win out, then it’s just something to build on for next year.

You came onto campus as a freshman in 2009; you’ve played in every game since you got here. What’s it been like to be entrenched in the football program for three full years now?

Time has flown by. You put so much work into this thing. And you put so much time and effort. You don’t realize that the years and the practices and all those workouts all fly by. You don’t realize the seniors that are on this team, you probably won’t see them that much after this season. It’s just weird how life is, and it’s how the season is. I’ve been extremely fortunate to be part of the program for this long.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned through three years of Division I football?

Division I football has shaped me all around as the person I am today. My work ethic, my time management skills, where my priorities are, the things I value in life. My position coach [defensive coordinator Mark Johnson] always says, “Football is life within 100 yards,” and I always look at it like that. Football is just life, it’s shaped who I am today.

You came into the program at the same time as Johnson. What’s that been like and how has it affected your relationship?

Johnson has been the best coach I’ve ever had – easily, hands down. He’s taught me all I’ve known about football. The guy is perfect for this program. He’s a father figure. He’s a guy that every guy on this team looks up to and respects with all of our hearts. He’s really changed the program, at least the defensive side of the ball.

How have you matured as a football player in your three years here, besides getting bigger?

Besides getting bigger? [Laughs] Just confidence. That’s the thing I look at. I understand the scheme way better. I understand the whole defense and the concepts of our blitzes and our coverages. When you finally get that understanding you can go out there and play with confidence; you don’t have to worry about making mistakes.

Is there a moment you can point to when on the football field you thought, “This is exactly where I want to be, this is exactly what I want to be doing right now?”

Cal Poly last year was so sweet. We were down 21-3 going at halftime and coach Johnson brings up the defense and says, “There’s no pixie dust, there’s no magic potion, you guys gotta go out and want it.” Next thing you know we go out the second half, we create three turnovers, score 22 unanswered points and we win with about 30 seconds left in the game. That’s what football is all about. That’s when I knew I loved the guys I’m around and the coaches I’m with. That was probably the pivotal moment in my career.

What are you studying?

Econ.

How’s that going?

It’s going well. When I first came here I had no idea what I wanted to do. Then the last couple years I did a few econ classes and decided – besides the fact that they forced me to declare a major – that econ is something I’m really interested in.

And then, post college plans. Nothing yet?

Graduate, get a job, and make lots of money. [Laughs]

Fair enough. We’ll bring it to closer plans. What are you doing for winter break?

All my roommates are Niner fans and I’m a huge Steelers fan, so we’re going to go to the Monday Night Football game at Candlestick.

You played wide receiver in high school. Do you ever miss playing on offense?

Dude, I love offense. Every time I get a chance I’ll try to go on scout offense. I always remember my freshman year. I told Randy Wright every time, I’m just like, “Dude, I don’t care where I’m at, just throw me the ball.”

You think Coach Biggs will ever let you get in there, maybe on Senior Day?

No, not at all.

For all football news and updates, you can follow CAELUM SHOVE on twitter @CaAggieFootball. He can be reached at sports@theaggie.org

White children more likely to receive CT scans

Science Editor
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A recent study found that white children are far more likely to receive CT scans than are African American or Hispanic children. Led by JoAnne Natale, medical director of the UC Davis Children’s Hospital Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and associate professor of pediatric critical care medicine at UC Davis School of Medicine, this study is an analysis of previous research, which found a prediction rule for CT scan use.

Natale analyzed a group of 40,000 children by looking primarily at the effects of race and ethnicity, though not the costs, of obtaining perhaps unnecessary CT scans.

The initial impetus for pursuing research in CT scanning of children younger than 18 years old is two-fold, according to Nathan Kuppermann, chair of the UC Davis department of emergency medicine and lead author of the previous research.

“[Because] CT use in this country is increasing at a very high rate and clinicians are using CT scans without good evidence, the purpose of this study was to generate evidence around CT use for children with head trauma, particularly because radiation is a real risk for children,” Kuppermann said.

Natale’s most recent study found that for children with more severe head trauma, there was no significant difference in the CT rate between the three race categories of children. However, in the low-risk group – that is, the children who probably are not in need of a CT scan – there was a greater difference with white children receiving CT scans more frequently.

Reasons for a disparity in CT scan usage among white, African American and Hispanic children are admittedly complicated, according to Natale and Kuppermann.

However, the study’s findings seem to indicate that an “important driver of inappropriate CT use” in low-risk children is parental requests made more by white parents than either of the other two races, Kuppermann said.

Emergency department physicians were more likely to report “parental requests” when asked to list the major influences on their decision to obtain a CT scan in a child with minor head trauma.

Although a very useful tool when injury is indicated, CT scans can be especially detrimental to children when injury is not indicated, given their high dosage of radiation and false positives.

The risk of CT scanning is “potentially higher for children, whose brains are still undergoing various forms of maturation, and are thus more vulnerable to the effects,” said Susan Rivera, professor of mind and psychology at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain.

Statistically speaking, Kuppermann estimates that for every 1,000 to 5,000 children that get a CT scan, depending on the age of the child, one might die from a lethal malignancy [or deadly cancer] and another couple might develop a malignancy they will survive from.

The emotional and economic costs of these decisions – to scan or not to scan – are an additional factor not explicitly addressed in Natale’s study, but certainly a topic for further research.

Peter Lindert, distinguished research professor of economics, argues there are three major reasons for a continued upward trend in the share of national income spent on health care costs – personal income, effect of aging and technology improvements in health care.

“For those demand and supply reasons, health care costs would go on rising even if the government were able to control prices,” Lindert said.

Natale’s study was keen on implementing the qualitative measurements suggested by Kuppermann by noting “the importance of strong, evidence-based guidelines to assure equal and optimal care.”

Embedding the evidence of their prediction rules in electronic health records, Kuppermann and his colleague at Columbia University won a $3.5 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Kuppermann and Natale hope that their research will decrease the rate of inappropriate CT scan use among emergency clinicians.

CHELSEA MEHRA can be reached at science@theaggie.org.

Column: Monster mash

Science Editor
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As a horror movie junkie, Halloween is my favorite holiday. What’s not to love about watching scary movies with friends dressed in a huge variety of costumes? Horror movies have the rare quality that no matter if the movie is good or bad, it can be equally enjoyable. Truly good horror movies, such as The Exorcist, can scare audiences even 40 years later. Even bad horror movies like Jennifer’s Body can be fun if you’re drinking with friends and making fun of the terrible acting.

However, because I’ve seen so many horror movies (especially monster movies), I also know that I would be one of the first to die. The token skeptic/scientist is one of the first to go, along with the slut and the comic relief. The skeptic denies that monsters exist; he or she may insist that science disproved any such creatures, and if the director wants an ironic scene, the skeptic is killed seconds after making that proclamation.

Just such a scene is in last year’s terrible remake of The Wolfman, where the werewolf Lawrence Talbot is strapped to a chair as a doctor pompously explains how insane Talbot is. Talbot screams, “I will kill you all!” The audience laughs, the doctor scoffs and wolf-Talbot promptly kills them all.

The skeptic is depicted as foolish, cowardly and close-minded. What’s seldom mentioned in these movies is that history is almost always on the skeptic’s side.

Take werewolves, one of the major classic monsters of the horror movie industry. Stories of werewolves (most recognizably in Europe) go back centuries. Along with witches, accused werewolves would be brutally tortured until they confessed to horrible crimes.

In 1589, German widower Peter Stumpp was placed on the rack and threatened with torture until he confessed to killing and eating 14 children and two pregnant women and their fetuses. He said that the Devil had given him “a magical girdle” which would turn him into a devouring wolf. He was later executed, having his skin burned off by red-hot pokers and his limbs broken to prevent him from returning from the grave.

This particular confession of werewolfism is most likely due to the psychology of a torture situation, rather than mental illness. Many psychological studies have found that even in situations where the threat of torture is not involved, people will give false confessions if pressured by an authority figure, let alone when “coerced” with violence. It’s difficult to tell centuries later whether Stumpp even committed these crimes, let alone whether he actually believed in his own supernatural confession.

A great deal of the Stumpp story would be suitable for a gory monster movie: a quiet villager transforming into a huge wolf and devouring women and children. A close look at the psychology and history of the situation, however, means that at best it was a sensationalism of a serial killer and at worst a tragic miscarriage of justice.

The case of Gilles Garnier in France in 1573 is even more muddied. Over the course of about a year, several children went missing or were found dead, and the authorities of the province issued an edict that the werewolf responsible be captured. Late one night, a group of villagers came upon what appeared to be a wolf with the body of a dead child in the dim light. The fact that the child had been savaged was beyond dispute, but where some saw a wolf others saw Gilles Garnier.

Garnier himself, a reclusive hermit, testified that he went hunting in the woods and a spectre gave him a magical salve that would allow him to hunt as a wolf. He confessed that he had strangled and eaten at least four children during this period and was later burned at the stake for the crimes of witchcraft and werewolfism.

Again, confessions for highly public and shocking crimes should be taken with a huge grain of salt. Psychological studies on false confessions in particular note that they are more likely to occur to highly suggestible or mentally unstable people. It had already been highly publicized that the culprit was a werewolf, the authorities told Garnier that villagers recognized him and he was already known for his odd manner. The conditions were ripe for Garnier to believe himself to be a werewolf, and thus, give a false confession.

This Halloween, have some sympathy for the token skeptics in your horror movie marathon. If you were in his shoes, you would probably act the same way.

AMY STEWART can be reached at science@theaggie.org.

Column: Everyone’s doing it

Opinion
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Sex, drugs and alcohol are things that we’ve been told, from a very early age, to steer clear of. If you do them, you’ll die. And like all other bad deeds, they share a common denominator – one that gives birth to all things malevolent: peer pressure.

Peer pressure is the root of all evil, we learned. That is why our parents made it their moral duty to incessantly remind us to “be ourselves” and to “never let anyone define us.” They foresaw all the drunken escapades and drug-ridden revelries that would ensnarl us during our teenage years, so they made certain that when the time comes, we’d know how to say “no.”

It is understandable, then, that our concerned parents did everything they could to veer us away from the herd mentality. No one wants his or her kid to turn into some push-over who simply can’t stand his ground in the face of persuasion. But little did our parents know, the lessons we learned about peer pressure could bring about detrimental effects in the long run.

College campuses are breeding grounds for peer pressure. Take, for instance, those of us who swore we would never drink alcohol. You innocently agree to accompany your friend to a party with no intention of drinking, but once you get there you wind up taking one sip – or six sips too many.

Back in grade school, being the only kid who didn’t collect Pokémon cards was tough, and our parents made our lives easier by making us believe we were “unique” and that we didn’t have to conform in order to fit in.

But kids who grew up believing they are “special” no matter what anyone else says about them turn out to be one of the following three: arrogant pricks, rebels or hermits.

The arrogant prick who lives life assuming everyone else is wrong used to be that kid who could never play softball correctly. He was either physically inept or mentally incapable of comprehending the rules. But instead of learning, he picked up the ball and walked off. Why? Because his mom most likely said, “Honey, you don’t have to play by their rules.”

This guy never learned how to adapt because he was told it was okay to do whatever he pleased with no regard for others. This is the guy that will not hold the door open for you or yield to pedestrians because, quite frankly, he just doesn’t give a damn.

Next, we have the rebel. While all the others girls were collecting Beanie Babies, she most likely collected dead bugs. And when everyone was wearing Sketchers, she decided not to wear shoes at all. She probably grew up to be that hipster girl sitting next to you in class, the one who thinks she’s better than everyone else because she’s not a mindless follower.

Ironically, she’s conforming to the “non-conformist” crowd. Suddenly, wearing holes in your shirt is no longer being different; rather, it’s fitting in with the rest of the rebels who wear holes in their shirts. This goes to show peer pressure cannot be avoided, unless you’re a hermit.

Kids who were told to “just say no” when situations got uncomfortable grew up to be recluses of society. Back in third grade when the class went on a camping trip to the lake and everyone pressured little John to jump in, he said “no” and was then eventually pushed in anyways.

Now, at the age of 20, social gatherings give him heart attacks and he distances himself from society in an attempt to avoid all instances of peer pressure. He lives an unhealthy life cooped up in solitude because he never learned how to deal with confrontation. He was told to “just say no” and walk away.

Hence, as ideal as “being yourself” sounds, it would be much more pragmatic to adapt and get along with others. Kids who don’t learn how to accommodate and make compromises when confronted with pressure grow up to be less confident and less successful than their counterparts.

So perhaps caving to a little peer pressure isn’t so bad. After all, everyone’s doing it.

MICHELLE NGUYEN can be reached at michellen1990@yahoo.com.

Column: Jerks

Opinion
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Since nice guys finish last, why don’t they upgrade to rascal? It’s only a matter of time before natural selection disposes of them completely. The world of romance would be a perfectly peachy paradise if there were a one-to-one ratio of girls and jerks. That way everyone gets what they want! Here’s why:

Girls are all self-proclaimed psychologists and statisticians of love. We have an inherent need to snatch mundane details and jab at them beneath the lens of pocket magnifying glasses for sharp-eyed scrutiny. Rather than collecting data, we hoard every morsel of evidence and plot the happenstance of our love lives on timelines and graphs, which we compulsively organize in the endless file-cabinets of our minds.

Once we amass enough information to thrice overflow the Earth’s oceans, we use confidential algorithms to analyze the results. That’s right. We don’t daydream – we do unfathomable applied math. By incorporating the data we have stockpiled through years of observation and experimentation with our professional knowledge of psych, stats, sociology, astrology and rocket science, we predict the future (and you thought your computer games were cool!).

We read minds. We take pride in being 99.9 percent right. We also have clandestine meetings in Area 52, (wherein we have attempted and failed to make most devious plans for a matriarchal universe).

But we bore of being so consistently correct. Our inner psychologists begin yearning for the strange and even extreme. After all, if boys are mysteries, we’re far too sophisticated to waste our time on the simple and straightforward nice guys.

Jerks are much more fascinating. They know our lives are miserable without problems to disentangle, so they graciously provide us the mental exercise we need by forcing us to puzzle them out like mind-boggling Rubik’s cubes that your prankster friends took apart and realigned in your absence. Now that’s excitement!

What girl would go for bland perfection when she could instead have a taste of trouble that is mouth-wateringly delicious?

Thus, we are enraptured with the depressed, the tortured, the combustible and sometimes all of the above. These warped womanizers stretch and redefine the limits of our imaginations like silly putty. And so we become the putty in their hands.

But there’s more. We have a secret … Despite the indisputable, unsurprisingly obvious fact that women are better than men, we’re still afflicted by chronically low self-esteem.

It’s too weird for us to have nice boys hovering around, serenading us with songs of praise, or drooling fountains as they gape at us open-mouthed while simultaneously scribbling tear-smudged poetry inspired by our interminable beauty.

It’s only flattering to be pursued by a whiny, weepy, love-struck Romeo for that dazed half-hour before slamming my head into my desk seems a brilliant idea.

But how can a guy become the jerk that girls crave? By simply investing a few hours a week watching episodes of “Yu-Gi-Oh” and “Dragon Ball Z” and taking copious notes on the mannerisms of Seto Kaiba and Vegeta.

I think all guys could benefit from spiky hair that changes color, superpowers, possession of holographic technology and nicely-fitting blue trench coats … not to mention the nonchalant, “couldn’t care less” attitude. Selflessness is cute but selfishness is sexy!

So, men, quit trying so hard. Being nice is a waste of time and energy; it will get you nowhere in love.

Don’t share what you’re thinking. Don’t tell us what you like about us. Don’t remind us you care about us or respect us. Don’t remember anniversaries or birthdays. Don’t ever apologize for hurting our feelings. And don’t ever open doors or pull out chairs for us.

Girls love to be treated terribly. It lets us pretend we live in a society where males and females are equal. We’re sick of being considered fragile.

But maybe what we sometimes want is not what we truly deserve … Maybe there’s a reason nice guys have not been weeded out of the world. Maybe we just need a slap of reality to knock any delusions we might have about romance out of our brains. This is it!

Send ZENITA SINGH your life’s woes at zensingh@ucdavis.edu!

Aggie Daily Calendar

Features Editor
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TODAY

October Book Faire

10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Women’s Resources and Research Center, First floor North Hall

Each quarter the Joy Fergoda Library at the WRRC hosts a book fair where books can be purchased for under $3. Proceeds will be used to buy new books for the library. Nonfiction, fiction, poetry and more! The faire will be open until Friday.

Asexual Spectrum 101

5 to 6 p.m.

LGBT Resource Center, University House Annex

Learn about asexuality, demisexuality, grey-asexuality, and the ace community.

Prized Writing Awards Reception

5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

AGR Room, Buehler Alumni and Visitor’s Center

The 22 published authors, 10 honorable mentions and the cover artist for the 22nd annual volume of Prized Writing will be recognized at an awards ceremony. A catered reception will be provided in the AGR room of the Buehler Alumni and Visitor’s Center for invited guests from 5:30 to 6 p.m. and the awards program will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous

7 to 8:30 p.m.

Davis United Methodist Church, 1620 Anderson Rd.

Having trouble controlling the way you eat? Free yourself from excess weight and obsessive thoughts about food and body image. Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous is a 12-step fellowship based on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Whiskey Dawn Concert

9 p.m.

The Davis Graduate, 905 Russell Blvd.

After taking Nashville by storm, rising California “new country” buzz band Whiskey Dawn returns to their home state to perform in concert at The Graduate. Tickets are $9.

THURSDAY

Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series

4 p.m.

1005 Genome and Biomedical Sciences Facility Building

Dr. Frits Thorsen of the University of Bergen, Norway, will discuss the development of novel animal models to study melanoma brain metastases.

School of Law First Amendment Lecture Series

4 p.m.

Kalmanovitz Appellate Courtroom, King Hall

Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will discuss the First Amendment in the age of information overload. RSVP at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2011centralvalleyfoundationlecture.

Art Studio Program Lecture Series

4:30 to 6 p.m.

Technocultural Studies Building

New York-based painter Joanne Greenbaum is primarily concerned with the formalism of plastic arts. Her canvases don’t follow formulas of conventional painting, but rather, continuously test and expand the possibilities by which painting can evolve.

American Red Cross Club Meeting

6:15 to 7:30 p.m.

118 Olson

Missed the first general meeting? No worries! Just come to the third general meeting of the year and learn about all the volunteer opportunities around Davis and the Yolo community.

To receive placement in the AGGIE DAILY CALENDAR, e-mail dailycal@theaggie.org or stop by 25 Lower Freeborn by noon the day prior to your event. Due to space constraints, all event descriptions are subject to editing, and priority will be given to events that are free of charge and geared toward the campus community.

Party smart

Campus Editor
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As of October 15, there have been 18 DUI arrests, 168 noise complaints, 15 drunk in public arrests and 12 Student Judicial Affairs referrals.

After a comprehensive five-year study on 14 California college campuses, UC Davis, along with six other universities, was asked to develop a program called the Safe Party Initiative to address high-risk drinking and related problems. This includes a fall enforcement program during the first six weeks of school.

“The Safe Party Initiative is a collaboration between the UC Davis and City of Davis police departments to deal with high-risk alcohol issues. Fall enforcement is for the first 6 weeks of school. UC Davis and the City of Davis police departments conduct joint patrols to handle alcohol-related problems,” said Mandy Ming Li, alcohol, tobacco, & other drug risk reduction coordinator.

During fall enforcement, the UC Davis and Davis police departments share the responsibility of patrolling Davis.

“One police [officer] walks downtown on foot, one vehicle is dedicated to downtown to assist patrolling and there is a party car to respond to noise party complaints,” said Glenn Glaslow, lieutenant, patrol division commander of the City of Davis Police Department.

This collaboration between UC Davis and the city of Davis has been in place since 2003. It encourages safe partying by providing tips for hosts along with partygoers. Letters have been sent to greek life coordinators, apartments and first-year student in order to educate about the risks of alcohol.

“Fall enforcement is an effort to engage students to party safely, along with police efforts to ensure safer partying. Students who make good decisions in the beginning can plan safely for the rest of the year,” Li said.

The Safe Party Initiative encourages Davis students to be educated by distributing resources for students such as magnets, brochures and bookmarks that address alcohol poisoning, Davis laws and policies and blood alcohol concentration.

“The goal is to educate students of the dangers of alcohol, move to further enforcement and use that as a deterrent for those who are underage,” Glaslow said.

Coordinators hope that the Safe Party Initiative will be the proactive piece of legislation necessary to keep information about alcohol risk reduction accessible for students, and to keep the community safe. The police send in weekly statistics to Li in order to monitor progress.

“Safe Party deals with the City of Davis and is directed towards parties,” said Barry Swartwood, lieutenant of the UC Davis Police Department.

The program has been promoted through a letter sent to Chancellor Katehi, Facebook advertisements and e-mails. It allows students to plan ahead to host safe parties, while reducing violence, noise, injuries and other risks related to underage drinking.

At least twice a year, students and permanent residents hold meetings to keep the Davis community safe. When specific areas are found to be at a higher risk than others, further patrolling is conducted. It allows the entire community to create a partying standard.

The program works well due to support from the community and UC Davis.

“We have a really good partnership between the city and campus,” Li said.

DANIELLE HUDDLESTUN can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Causeway Classic crimson competition continues

Campus Editor
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It’s the time of year again, when UC Davis and CSU Sacramento face off against one another in the annual Causeway Classic, including the fourth annual ASUCD Blood and Marrow Drive, where students from their respective schools compete to see who can donate more blood and marrow.

On Nov. 1 and 2, students at Davis can donate to help the school keep its current three-year reign over Sac State.

“We’re continuing the healthy competition between campus clubs and organizations with the most participants, as donors or volunteers,” said Lisa Teixeira, student co-director of the drive. “For every donor or volunteer, the organization gets one entry into a drawing for $500.” Through the blood drive, UC Davis students have a chance to help save the lives of those in need of blood, said Brie Leon, an account manager for Blood Source, the blood drive company that puts on the UC Davis blood drives.

“One pint of blood can save up to three lives and every two-and-a-half seconds someone in the U.S. needs a blood transfusion. Blood donation is a simple way that someone can make an impact,” Leon said. “We service 40 hospitals in the area, including UC Davis Medical Center, and the UC Davis blood drives make a huge difference in the lives of patients each and every year.”

If incentives of saving lives and beating Sac State again aren’t enough of a draw, the drive is also offering free giveaways and drawings for donors.

“They’ll receive the new t-shirt, a coupon for a chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A at Arden Fair in Sacramento and will be entered into drawings to win an iPod Touch, IKEA gift cards and more,” Teixeira said.  

In last year’s competition, Davis won by a whopping 112 pints of blood, beating Sac State for the third year in a row. In order to donate blood and earn points for your school, donors must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in general good health in order to donate. Donors are also encouraged to drink water and eat before donating, and must be willing to dedicate about an hour to the whole process.

Steven Lee, a leukemia patient who recently relapsed, said he believes that UC Davis and Sac State can have a huge impact this year. Lee has been a familiar face at university blood drives, hoping to promote the donation of blood and bone marrow to help cancer patients such as himself.

CHARLOTTE YOUNG can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

News-in-brief: Second town hall meeting tonight

Sports Editor
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The second town hall meeting to discuss changes in the UC Davis Athletics Department will be held tonight at 5 p.m. in Ballrooms A and B of the UC Davis Conference Center. The topics covered will include the change proposed by the Dempsey Report and the search for a new Athletic Director.

An ASUCD-sponsored forum has also been scheduled for Nov. 2, and a third town hall meeting will be held Nov. 16.

– Trevor Cramer

Local lawyer submits referendum against water rate hikes

City Editor
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On Monday, City Clerk Zoe S. Mirabile acknowledged that Davis lawyer Michael Harrington submitted to her office petitions for a referendum against Ordinance No. 2381, a motion that would have increased the base and metered water rates in the City of Davis.

Five thousand one hundred twenty four signatures were obtained, stated the petition receipt. Three thousand seven hundred were needed to overturn the ordinance.

Ordinance No. 2381 decreed that the City of Davis could increase water rates up to 14 percent per year for the next five years, stated the City of Davis website.

“Simply by qualifying, the referendum halts the council’s decision to raise water fees until an election month,” said Davis City Councilmember Dan Wolk.

The city’s website stated rate increases were purported to “(1) fund current and projected increases in the costs of operations and maintenance of the water and sanitary sewer infrastructure; (2) fund utility repair, replacement, and upgrade costs; (3) enable the City to comply with state and federal regulatory requirements; (4) assure a reliable long-term supply of drinking water; and (5) manage groundwater supplies to avoid land subsidence.”

The website also stated the rate hikes would help fund the surface water project, which would “provide surface water from the Sacramento River to use in conjunction with groundwater supplies, currently the City’s only source of water.”

At the Davis Water Forum on Sept. 21, Diana Jensen, principal civil engineer for the city, said Davis is currently in compliance with regulations, but regulations change.

“We found that surface water is the least costly solution to meet future regulations,” Jensen said.

The rate hikes could potentially increase expenses for UC Davis students. In response to a question at the water forum by a UC Davis student, Robert Clarke, interim public works director for the city, said, “We’re not unaware that price increases will affect a lot of people. It makes for some tough choices. Eventually we need to make some significant investments in our infrastructure and we recognize that this may be a challenge. We still think it’s the right choice for the community at this time.”

“As a City Council, our fiduciary duty is to find the lowest rates over time to provide quality water into perpetuity to our constituents. The referendum works on the assumption that we can maintain the status quo which is not accurate,” said Councilmember Stephen Souza in an e-mail. “As a city we are required to meet state and federal environmental standards by 2017. In order to meet these standards we must begin the development of new water sources and infrastructure now. Any delay will increase our costs.”

Now that the referendum has been submitted, for it to progress further it will have to be certified by the county.

“Then it will come back to the council. The council will have to make a decision to either put the issue on a ballot or do something else,” Wolk said.

“I appreciate every person who signed the referendum in concern and public engagement,” Souza said in an e-mail. “We now have a tremendous opportunity to come together and find that responsible solution and move this important surface water project forward as a community.”

Harrington, the petition’s author, could not be reached for comment.

Einat Gilboa can be reached city@theaggie.org.

Ask Katehi

Campus Editor
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Editor’s Note: Ask Katehi is a weekly column where students get a chance to ask Chancellor Katehi questions.

How do you feel about being the first female chancellor at UC Davis, as well as one of the few women leading a university at all? What advice do you have for young women who want to pursue careers that are traditionally performed by men? What adversity did you have to overcome?

I am very honored and proud to be the first female chancellor of UC Davis. As an undergraduate student in Greece, I didn’t even know that universities had chancellors, let alone that a woman could be one. Today, I am one of only 16 female chancellors or presidents of universities in the prestigious 61-member Association of American Universities, or AAU. The number of women leaders has grown since my undergrad days, but clearly, there is room for improvement.

I grew up on a small island in Greece and had dreams of becoming an electrical engineer – a field dominated by men. In my hometown, we had no library and no other woman had ever gone to college. When I graduated from high school, I was determined to pursue my dream. I never imagined the obstacles I would have to overcome because I was a woman.

At the National Technical University of Athens, I was one of only two women in a class of 190. As an engineering student at NTUA and as a graduate student at UCLA, I didn’t have female mentors to look to for support because there were few women in my field at the time. But each time someone told me I couldn’t do something, I vowed to prove him or her wrong – and I always did.

I encourage more students – particularly women and those from underrepresented groups – to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics because by doing so, you are helping to improve quality of life. Young women need to know they are capable of pursuing any career, even those dominated by men. And I believe it is critical that these women have female mentors to help guide them along the way.

Do you have a question for the chancellor? E-mail campus@theaggie.org.

Fall Weekend of Service on the horizon

Campus Editor
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The Fall Weekend of Service, hosted by the UC Davis Community Service Resource Center (CSRC), gives students an opportunity to volunteer a small amount of time to large local causes.

The CSRC, a branch of the Internship and Career Center (ICC), hosts a weekend of service every quarter for students and faculty alike to lend a helping hand in the Davis, Woodland and Sacramento areas. Those interested in getting involved can sign up on the ICC website. The Weekend of Service starts on Nov. 5 and ends on Nov. 6. Online registration for the event closes on Nov. 2.

“The students and staff of UC Davis are very good at volunteering with community service, so they need an outlet to get better involved,” said ICC program Coordinator Ken Barnes. “Students can really get into a solid project for one or two days without it affecting their studying.”

There are numerous organizations involved with the Fall Weekend of Service. Online registration gives the choice of volunteering for any event that is still in need of helpers. Some of the events have already filled beyond capacity.

Community service opportunities for the weekend range from disposing of electronics using e-waste recycling with the Albert Einstein Residence Center to arranging material for library programs at the Sacramento Public Library.

Tree Davis, a Davis organization dedicated to “enhancing the urban forest,” has worked with the CSRC Weekend of Service for every quarter since last fall. Since 1992 it has worked with over 2,000 volunteers to plant 7,000 trees in the Davis community.

“Our programs usually fill up very quickly, but this quarter we are in need of recruiting thirty more volunteers,” said Keren Costanza, executive director of Tree Davis, in an e-mail interview. “We may need to recruit from beyond the UC Davis community in order to accomplish our project.”

The CSRC hosts this quarterly affair to bring student awareness to the many other service opportunities it has to offer.

“It’s a weekend where we’re advocating philanthropy, but also letting students know that there is a community service center on campus that they can go to,” said student advisor and sophomore genetics major Amrit Sahota.

A community service database on the CSRC website allows the user to search by location, keyword and area of interest for the ideal service project. Student advisors in their office, South Hall Room 225, can also be of great help for finding that perfect way to get involved.

A volunteer can also benefit in the process of assisting another, Sahota said.

“Not everyone can always get an internship, and this is a great way to put something on your resume and get a letter of recommendation,” she said.

More information on the Fall Weekend of Service and the CSRC is available on their website, iccweb.ucdavis.edu/cs.

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

Davis College Republicans favor Cain for presidential nomination

City Editor
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With the 2012 presidential election barely over a year away, Republican hopefuls wage war for the Republican presidential nomination. Their war, a war of words, ideals, platforms, past performances and future promises, will be won by the man or woman who convinces the American people of their particular capacity to become the next better president of the United States.

Of the hopefuls, including such known political figures as Mitt Romney, Michelle Bachman, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, and more, Herman Cain, the figurative “new kid on the block” as far as the political scene goes, has taken a recent polling lead over his more familiar competitors.

According to an average of polls compiled by realclearpolitics.com Cain has gained a .5 percent lead over Mitt Romney.

Cain’s edge, as many analysts have speculated, his non-political background. That is, as the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, Cain has risen to a polling lead on the wave of his past business experience and his role as a Washington outsider.

“I support Herman Cain and will vote for him in the 2012 election,” said senior political science major Marcus Shibler, Davis College Republican (DCR) chair, a self-identified very-conservative Republican with Libertarian tendencies.

“[Cain] brings a fresh perspective to an office long occupied by career politicians. As a strong conservative who recognizes his primary responsibilities of protecting the American people and maintaining limited government, Cain can bring change … to a country where it is long overdue,” Shibler said in an e-mail.

Gagan Kaur, junior anthropology major and active DCR member, was also in strong support for Cain.

“He has over 40 years of experience in the private sector and is a businessman. Our country essentially runs like a business; someone who has taken failing businesses and turned them into money making machines should have the chance to grow a successful economy in this incredible nation,” Kaur said in an e-mail. “He hasn’t had previous political experience so he is coming in with a fresh, clean slate and without personal agendas.”

Sarah Salvatore, a junior anthropology and American studies double major and active member of the DCR, was less enthusiastic in her support of Cain.

“I have at least one major issue with each of the nominees, but Ron Paul is the candidate who reflects my values most clearly,” Salvatore said in an e-mail. “However, I have to be realistic so I’m throwing my weight behind a more viable candidate, Herman Cain.”

“I think Herman Cain’s most valuable asset is his long and distinguished career in the private sector,” Salvatore said. “He has created jobs, and revenue, both things that this country desperately needs right now.”

With many months to go before even a nomination is secured, however, Cain and his supporters have a long arduous political road ahead of them.

Rudy Giuliani also led polls early in the 2008 Republican presidential nominee process – he was not nominated.

JAMES O’HARA can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

Halloween: Not just for kids

Features Editor
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The end of October is near, and that means Halloween and its ghoulish delights are right around the corner. Though the holiday is closely associated with childhood, students like sophomore neurobiology, physiology and behavior major Kristi Kwan still enjoy participating in Halloween festivities.

“I love Halloween. Although perhaps not as much as other holidays, I still think it is fun to get dressed up, watch scary movies and especially eat all the candy,” Kwan said.

College students grappling with their new “adult” status can find themselves in a predicament: how to celebrate Halloween. Is trick-or-treating off-limits? Should candy be replaced by cocktails? And are costumes still cool, or just lame?

Halloween is senior psychology major Ralph Aguilar’s favorite holiday and is one of the few times a year he can wear a costume and not feel like an idiot, since everyone else is doing it. Due to a weekend-long ROTC training exercise, he plans to only hand out candy to trick-or-treaters in his neighborhood. However, many other UC Davis students plan to enjoy other forms of Halloween activities.

For many, Halloween has become a night for partying and drinking with friends. Geoffrey Munch, a senior psychology major, said he intends on drinking heavily this Halloween. For sophomore mathematics major Molly Fries, this holiday means dressing up as Supergirl and celebrating with friends.

Junior economics and political science double major Dylan Schaefer always tries to participate in Halloween activities each year. Like Aguilar, he enjoys the fact that this is the one time of year when it is socially acceptable to dress up in creative costumes. To him, wearing costumes becomes more fun as you get older. This year, Schaefer is part of an organizing committee for a Davis haunted house.

“This year I’m helping organize a haunted house that will be running downtown at 336 C Street Friday and Saturday before Halloween,” Schaefer said. “It’s a phenomenal effort put together by a number of campus organizations and we’ll be giving all of the proceeds back to the local schools and charitable organizations.”

Though Halloween activities vary from student to student, many student agreed that trick-or-treating is off-limits to their age group. Sophomore biochemistry major Baktazh Azizi stopped trick-or-treating at the age of 15 because it became awkward asking old people for candy.

“It gets incredibly awkward as you near the age of a person whose door you are knocking on and you stand out hugely from the other little children,” Azizi said. “It gives the impression that you are as immature as a child.”

Maytte Gutierrez, first-year clinical nutrition major, disagreed with Azizi’s take on trick-or-treating. Gutierrez plans on trick-or-treating in addition to attending a party.

“I don’t think you can put an age limit on someone who wants to get free candy,” said senior environmental science and management major Jennifer Lee.

Although there are many students who will participate in Halloween festivities and enjoy doing so, there are some, like senior psychology major Jane Johnson, who will not.

“I despise the holiday. The origin, and what it remains today is immoral,” Johnson said. “It’s an excuse to look sexy, nasty, different and get drunk. If I want to dress up as a princess, I don’t need a holiday for it. I can look dumb whenever I want.”

Nonetheless, Azizi said the fun of Halloween is different yet equal for adult and children. As a child, you can go with your friends and get loads of free candy, but as an adult, you can have Halloween parties, hang out with your friends and still get free candy without embarrassing yourself, Azizi said.

“Eating candy until you get sick? Definitely more fun as a kid. Getting wasted with Where’s Waldo, Woody from Toy Story and Charlie Sheen? More fun as an adult,” Schaefer said.

PRISCILLA WONG can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

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