TUESDAY

ASUCD Blood and Marrow Drive

10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Quad

Sacramento-based BloodSource will park its bloodmobiles alongside the Quad on Tuesday and Wednesday. Every participant will receive a coupon for a free mini frozen yogurt from Pinkberry and a coupon for a free appetizer or dessert from Applebee’s. Prospective donors should drink fluids beforehand and bring photo identification.

FRIDAY

Craft Center Gallery Closing Reception: Me and My Flame

6 to 7:30 p.m.

Craft Center Gallery, South Silo

Enjoy husband-and-wife Craft Center volunteers Jeff and Lisa Geren’s exhibit of works in glass, leather, bronze, ceramic and wood, titled “Me and My Flame.”

SATURDAY

Guided Tour: Abundance and Water Conservation

10 a.m.

UC Davis Arboretum Gazebo

Learn how to create an abundant garden while conserving water on a free guided tour of the Storer Garden, the UC Davis Arboretum’s demonstration garden of drought-tolerant flowering shrubs and perennials, with an emphasis on sustainable, low-maintenance gardening.

SUNDAY

Davis Pug Sunday

11 a.m.

Westwood Park, 900 Barkley St.

Pug owners are invited to show off their dogs at the Davis Pug Sunday, sure to rival San Francisco’s own annual Pug Sunday. Costumes are welcome.

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.

You met the love of your life in your chemistry class your first year at UC Davis, and soon enough you’re weighing the options of where to have your wedding ceremony.

Look no further, because the UC Davis Conference and Events Services is ready to help make those plans, right here on campus.

According to Adrianne Bataska, sales and business development coordinator for UC Davis Conference and Event Services, this is one of the biggest reasons for students and alumni wishing to get married on campus.

“Current students and alumni often want to have their wedding on campus because they met at UC Davis and have fond memories of their courtship,” Bataska said.

Take Kate Baker and Dennis Muldoon. The couple, who both graduated in 2007 with degrees in engineering, met while marching with the Cal Aggie Band-Uh! and elected to have their ceremony at the Buehler Alumni and Visitor’s Center in July 2010.

“Davis was the only place for us to get married,” Baker said. “This is where we fell in love, and this is where our lives began.”

Some of the other benefits UC Davis has to offer for weddings include convenient location between Sacramento and the Bay Area, beautiful gardens, reasonable prices and the unique appeal of a university setting.

The unique appeal is something that was clearly present in the Muldoon-Baker wedding.

“I was a mechanic for Unitrans while we were in college, so that was a big memory for me. I thought it would be fun, so after the ceremony, we left together on a double decker bus,” Muldoon said.

Currently, UC Davis hosts anywhere from 50 to 75 wedding ceremonies per year, but Bataska is expecting to see an increase in that number in the near future due to marketing efforts and facility renovations.

UC Davis Conference and Events Services offer many locations that are suitable for a wedding. These locations include Freeborn Hall, the Activities and Recreation Center Ballroom, Shields Grove Gazebo and the Putah Creek Lodge.

“There are several areas on campus suitable for a wedding ceremony. Of course, this entirely depends on the clients’ vision for their ceremony,” Bataska said.

Depending on the resources available, the ceremony may even be hosted in the very building the couple met, assuming there are reasonable accommodations to do so.

“There have been requests beyond what is listed, but the logistics can become difficult when there is no electricity available for sound and lighting,” Bataska said.

To reserve an area on campus, which allows private access to the reserved area, rates start at $800, and the pricing from there depends on what the bride and groom decide in terms of their reception.

“It is hard to say what the average price is because many clients have their ceremony and reception at the same site, which means the reception costs are included. Each client’s needs are different in regards to extra rentals, extended times, catering, etc,” Bataska said.

According to the brochure from UC Davis Conference and Event Services, prices generally range from $675 to $4101, which depends on the location and time the location is being reserved for.

All facilities, with the exception of Shields Grove Gazebo, can be booked up to 11 months in advance. Shields Grove can be reserved no earlier than 6 months prior to the event date.

After couples decide on a date and venue, they must simply submit an application to reserve the date and time. Upon the completion of the application, an event coordinator is assigned to all couples, who assists them from start to finish throughout the wedding planning.

Event services can also help with all other aspects of the planning process. They have an approved list of caterers on hand ready to bring in food, drinks and alcohol upon request. They are also partnered with Tableaux and Fiore, which both offer selections of china and linens.

MICHELLE STAUFFER can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

Summer is a time for vacations, sleeping until noon, staying out all night and, of course, love. Chances are, before students graduate from college, they will experience a summer fling, or at least know somebody who has.

According to a UC Davis Silo worker who wished to remain anonymous, it’s an excellent option for those hoping to mend a broken heart.

“I had been hurt recently, so I just needed to fill the void. I met this firefighter, and he was so hot,” she said. “I was never interested in him though; he wasn’t my type. What I was interested in was the fact that he was amazing in bed.”

According to Jose Guzman, third-year engineering major at Sacramento City College, summer is the perfect time to have some fun without being tied down.

“We’re out of school, so there is more free time to ‘sight see’ and meet some girls who just want to have fun. When it comes down to it, I haven’t met the girl I want to marry yet, so I’m just trying to have fun,” Guzman said.

Laylah Medina, fourth-year biological sciences major at American River College, thought she was exploring the same territory as Guzman, but was pleasantly surprised at what she found.

“We just started hanging out. He was pretty cute, but not necessarily the type I would usually go for. We had fun behind closed doors, and hung out here and there. Before I knew it, I was falling for this guy,” Medina said.

Only eight months after their “summer fling” began, Medina was engaged to be married to the man she never expected to love.

“You never really know what’s going to happen, and I think that’s what is so exciting about having a summer fling,” Medina said. “If it meant I would end up right where I am now, of course I would do it again.”

Even if a fling doesn’t become the love of your life, this may just be a way to discover new friendships.

“I do still talk to him. He is a really good guy,” the UC Davis Silo worker said. “I don’t think I would do it again. Maybe it wasn’t the best way to mend a broken heart, but I made a good friend. I don’t regret it at all.”

However, for some, having a summer fling doesn’t always leave them with a positive experience. What about those who don’t know it is just a fling, or are hoping it turns into something more? Alexia Whitlaw, second-year English major at American River College, had to deal with just that.

“It was my first year of college; we all know how it is. The parties get overwhelming and the guys say all the right things. When he said ‘You’re all I want,’ he definitely wasn’t talking to my face,” Whitlaw said.

This can be a rough way to start college, and the worst way to spend the end of the summer. For Whitlaw, it left some damaging effects.

“I don’t trust men, at all; but I know it was partially my fault. I had trouble in school next semester because I was focused on too many other things,” Whitlaw said. “I don’t recommend it at all, because you never know who you are hurting. But if you must, I say good luck; just don’t come knocking on my door!”

According to Dr. Emmeline Ju, OB/GYN at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Sacramento, Whitlaw may have it right. Young people may want to be careful when engaging in this particular extra-curricular activity.

“STD testing does rise in the summer, close to 30 percent higher, and it’s because people are out putting themselves at risk. Your best bet is to take precautions,” Ju said.

The two sexually transmitted diseases that give young adults and doctors the most cause for concern are chlamydia and gonorrhea, according to the Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention website. These are the two that have the highest percentage of contraction in adults between the ages of 15 and 24.

Guzman said STDs aren’t something he generally worries about. Being in college, he isn’t willing to take any risks for himself, and doesn’t want to risk to health or futures of him and his partners.

“Of course I only have safe fun. I have a future; I don’t want some nasty disease. I have a lot of condoms,” Guzman said. “Besides, I’m young, which means she’s probably young, and we can’t have a baby right now. It would make things much harder.”

Medina agreed.

“We used condoms until we were serious. He was a virgin, so I was pretty sure I could trust that he was clean. I had always been safe, but got tested anyway. Now, we’re in love, and I’m taking birth control, so condoms are just a bother,” Medina said.

The UC Davis Silo worker couldn’t say the same, but does believe in getting tested, especially during “peak fling” season.

“We used a condom the first time, but then talked about being tested. Both of us had been, and I was taking birth control,” she said. “I’ve been tested since, and maybe I didn’t make the best decision at the time but he was a good, upstanding guy. I trusted him.”

Ju did have suggestions for staying healthy not only during a summer fling, but anytime of the year people find themselves searching for some love.

“Have fun, but don’t lose your head. It’s so easy for all adults to feel invincible, especially during summer, but remember that you aren’t,” Ju said. “If you’re going to have numerous partners during anytime of the year, use a condom and get tested.”

MICHELLE STAUFFER can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

Recent UC Davis graduate and founder of charity organization Red Balloon, Jennifer Allison Tran, was recognized for her philanthropy efforts with a greater prize than she ever imagined: a $10,000 scholarship.

Red Balloon’s success in raising money for children’s education and music therapy in hospitals won Tran the scholarship contest sponsored by AT&T and DoSomething.org, which sought to recognize and reward the hard work of young adults. The contest awarded 26 scholarships totaling $35,000 and generated over 1,000 video submissions.  

Tran founded Red Balloon in 2006, the same year she began her studies at UC Davis as a neurobiology, physiology and behavior, and English double major. The program began by providing educational scholarships for children in Cambodia, Vietnam and Ethiopia, funded by an annual benefit dinner and concert.

In 2008, Tran transitioned her fundraising focus to children in California after being directly affected by her work in the UC Davis Children’s Hospital.

“I realized a huge part of my heart lived at the UC Davis Children’s Hospital where I had been volunteering all year. So in that year, I took Red Balloon into a new direction and since then, we’ve been helping sustain and sponsor the music therapy programs at the hospital,” Tran said.

Tran has hosted an annual benefit rock concert for the last five years to raise more than $12,000, while simultaneously raising awareness for music therapy and supporting these programs at California hospitals.

As a result of her fundraising, Tran was able to purchase drums and a Macintosh laptop for UC Davis Children’s Hospital. The laptop can utilize the Garage Band program and has the ability to record relaxation and ground exercises for patients.

Kathy Lorenzato, music therapist at UC Davis Children’s hospital, said that the music offers something normal to children who are already terrified by the time they reach their floor. After being poked with numerous needles and having so many tests run, the music offers a sense of normalcy.

“There is definitely a need for music therapy,” Lorenzato said. “For kids, music is something normal for them.” 

Diana Sundberg, therapy manager at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, also backed the Red Balloon project and sang high praises for Tran.

“Her creativity has provided funds that we otherwise wouldn’t have had,” Sundberg said.

Tran said that Red Balloon has given, and will continue to give, other people the opportunity to help children as she does every day as a medical student. Tran was particularly inspired by a child she met in the hospital. The child was diagnosed with leukemia, but Tran said that never affected the young girl’s demeanor.

“As only a child, she knew pain more than I will probably know in my lifetime but she still smiled so much and her contagious laughter inspired everyone to never take life for granted,” Tran said.

Tran will be using her winnings to help fund her journey through Touro University, where she is now a medical student, in addition to raising awareness for music therapy programs and assisting in the continuation of these programs throughout children’s hospitals in California.  

As sole founder of the organization, Tran is responsible for much of the footwork that goes along with Red Balloon. However, she also encourages anybody to get involved in the organization by e-mailing her at redballon.staff@gmail.com.

The name of the project was inspired by a French film in which a single red balloon is responsible for changing a young man’s life.

“The balloon became [the child’s] best friend! If one balloon can do that, imagine what a bunch of balloons can do,” Tran said. “I took the idea that something so simple as a red balloon could change a child’s life.”

MICHELLE STAUFFER can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

THURSDAY

Blue and Gold Scrimmage

6 to 9 p.m.

Aggie Stadium

The annual football scrimmage will be accompanied by Meet the Aggies, a festival for Aggie football fans of all ages. The first 500 attendees will win coupons for free hot dogs, and all guests can enjoy guided tours in the press box, team locker room and on the sidelines. After the scrimmage, players will sign autographs and take photos.

SATURDAY

UC Davis Arboretum Guided Tour

10 a.m.

Buehler Alumni & Visitor’s Center

Learn about traditional uses of California native plants during a free public tour of the Native American Contemplative Garden. This garden honors the Patwin people who lived at the Arboretum site and the descendents who keep their traditions.

Celebrate Creativity

Noon to 5 p.m.

Rominger West Winery, 4602 Second St., Suite 4

Local craftmakers and local business will showcase their handcrafted or specialty goods. Enjoy a complimentary wine tasting, food vendors and live music by South City Lights.

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.