THURSDAY

People in glass houses

A rock was thrown through the window of a home on Gauguin Place.

Davis effect

There was a woman acting paranoid on C Street.

SATURDAY

Rent is too damn high

There’s been an ongoing problem with a subject who appears to be sleeping in a vehicle on a nightly basis on Bermuda Avenue.

Missing key

A male subject was locked out of his apartment on A Street and was advised to contact a locksmith.

Drive ‘n dash

A couple was pulled over at Second and Mace Boulevard and a female got out of the car and ran away.

What phone did she call on?

A subject on J Street called police for advice about what to do with a phone purchased on Craigslist that didn’t work.

Police Briefs are compiled from the city of Davis daily crime bulletins. Feeling punny? Contact ANGELA SWARTZ at city@theaggie.org.

In a modest room at the Davis Community Church on Thursday night, a group of familiar and friendly faces gathered for a single purpose: to hear the story about one man and his journey in discovering compassion.

David Breaux, known as the “Compassion Guy” on Third and C Street in downtown Davis, started his mission two years ago with mere pen and scraps of paper; recording countless interpretations of what residents of the community considered compassion to be in their own words.

Breaux began the compilation on June 3, 2009 and released his book Compassion Davis, CA: A Compilation of Concepts on Compassion, which is comprised of thousands of anonymous entries gathered from June to December of 2009. With an electronic version of his book released online at venues such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble early June of this year, a documentary entitled Standing Compassion directed by UC Davis technocultural studies students Anna Hossnieh and Evan Davis, and published articles featuring his story, one thing is for sure: Breaux’s search for true compassion is bearing a notable effect beyond the confined parameters of Third and C.

Even with the success, Breaux’s continues to use the book remains a medium and tool to further his discovery. As Breaux reveals in his discussion, his journey continues through the contribution of others in defining compassion.

“What is compassion?” Breaux asked the audience before he began his story. He continued, “That’s a question that I’ve asked 10,000 times and I’ve gotten about 5,000 responses. I do not claim to know everything about compassion because of that. And that is why I’ve asked you to be there this evening.”

But Breaux’s story does not begin in Davis. As Breaux shared, his story began in Oakland in May of 2008 when he hit a rough part in his life. Breaux then began to explore the idea of rejecting the material world and focusing more on the human spirit. Through online researching, Breaux discovered Karen Armstrong and Peace Pilgrim who both greatly used the concept of compassion to fuel their work and dedication.

During a very intimate moment, Breaux asked the audience to share a memory where they were physically hurt to a stranger in the room. The interaction revealed a profound human connection between members and the importance of lending an ear and listening. One volunteered said, “Since I sensed that this person was going to listen, truly listen, I felt like I could talk about something I couldn’t normally talk about. I don’t talk about it because I don’t feel like people are normally listening and they just quickly judge.”

Near the end of the night, Breaux premiered Compassion PhotoBooth: Davis, CA-a video compilation of what various Davis residents considered compassion to be. As one participator said, “Compassion comes from a deep part of ourselves, like the core of who we are.”

Breaux said that he will continue to stand on the corner of Third and C Monday through Sunday until his journey is completed.

“I’m just glad to see that there are still people out there in the world who are so firm and so confident in their beliefs, that they devote their lives to it and take action in their own unique ways,” said Deeba Yavrom, a contributing photographer in Breaux’s book. “David is 100 percent that person. For me personally, I’m just proud to be a part of something that I feel is so positive and proud to see it moving forward the way it has, knowing that since it’s moving forward, something about it must be right.”

What does compassion mean to you? To see what others have to say, you can purchase Compassion Davis, CA: A Compilation of Concepts on Compassion online on Amazon.com, from Breaux directly, or visit compassionguy.ning.com.

UYEN CAO can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) downgraded the U.S. credit rating on Aug. 5. This has since ignited a flurry of panic that the downgrade may lead the country to another recession.

The U.S. government was initially at an AAA credit rating, meaning the country had a very strong ability to pay back its public and private debt. Since the decision, the U.S. is at an AA+ credit rating, meaning it still has the means to pay back its debt, but there is a long-term risk at hand.

As of now, there is no certainty as to what will ensue from the downgrade. Some economists predict it could cause interest rates on long-term and short-term debts to fluctuate as well as decrease the U.S.’s borrowing costs.

The downgrade will not affect student loans at this moment.

“There is no known immediate impact on federal student loans,” said University of California Director of Ethnic Media Communications, Ricardo Vazquez, in an e-mail. “Federal student loans are administered directly by the U.S. Department of Education and the terms of the loans are set in law.”

In particular, the interest rate for federal, or direct government-backed, loans is already fixed for this year.

“Rates wouldn’t be affected this year,” said UC Davis Financial Aid Office Director Kathryn Maloney. “They set it in July, so it can’t change between now and next July.”

The interest rate has been fixed for the past couple of years. According to California State University’s media relations specialist, Erik Fallis, it should be fixed for the next two years.

“As part of the negotiations of the Obama administration that moved everything over to direct lending, the interest rate for student loans is now fixed,” Fallis said. “But if it goes back to the variable system, in which the rate fluctuates with the market, then we may have a circumstance where if interest rates really rose, then student loans might have a higher interest rate.”

There are three different types of student loans available: subsidized and unsubsidized federal loans and private loans.

“For subsidized loans, the government is paying the interest the whole time,” Maloney said. “For unsubsidized loans, the interest is going the whole time, like a credit card, where you pay more than you originally borrowed.”

Private loans, according to Maloney, are considered as a last resort at UC Davis because banks do not have as good of terms and have higher interest rates. She stated they should only be considered if a student has exhausted all federal loans.

According to Vazquez, the downgrade in relation to private loans could be affected, but that is a totally different issue at hand since the downgrade impacts banks separately from how it impacts federal loans.

The UC Davis Financial Aid Office redid every student’s financial aid package because of the tuition increase.

“In general, all the aid programs have been increasing every year,” Maloney said. “More people are getting loans and more people are getting grants.”

Grants are based on a need component, which affects eligibility for students. According to Fallis, there is a possibility of seeing more grants.

“In a poor economy, more people are struggling, family incomes are beyond the decline, so there is greater need, and in turn greater eligibility for grant programs.”

Fallis also has some words of advice for students.

“I caution students to keep track of what is going on and be aware of interest rates when taking out student loans, either direct or private,” Fallis said. “It is also important for students to be advocates for themselves, especially when policies affecting student affordability are being made in Washington.”

Unrelated to the credit rating downgrade, the interest rate on federal student loans will increase next year from its current rate of 3.4 to 6.8 percent.

“Obviously, we cannot predict how the law could be changed in the future due to the economy, but major new changes are not anticipated,” Vazquez said.

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

On Saturday night, about 30 students and members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) marched from the UC Davis Domes to University Mall’s Trader Joe’s where they picketed outside and delivered a letter to the manager asking the store to sign on to the fair food agreement.

Although the manager of the local store could not have signed the agreement, Kase Wheatley, a junior sustainable agriculture and food systems major and organizer of the Flatland Food Collective, said the purpose of the protest was not to get the manager to sign the letter, but was meant to put pressure on higher up management. The manager referenced a press release that called the letter “overreaching, ambiguous and improper.”

The agreement asked the store to pay one penny more per pound for tomatoes purchased from Florida to help improve wages for farm workers.

“We have no problem paying the “penny a pound” and have been actually doing so for some time now. Additionally, the wholesalers [we purchase from] are willing to provide reasonable “audit” rights to the CIW or their agents to verify the pass through for all of their purchases. Our wholesalers have told us they are willing to sign an agreement with CIW that includes a pass through of the “penny per pound” and reasonable audit rights to provide a basis for verification of such pass through,” a Trader Joe’s press release stated.

CIW is a farm worker organization headquartered in Florida, which seeks to promote modern working conditions for farm workers and fair treatment in accordance with national and international labor standards.

“We are part of a national campaign to change conditions,” Liz Fitzgerald, a member of CIW, UC Davis alumna and organizer of the Davis protest said. “We chose Davis as one of the protest spots because Davis has a history of being a place where sustainable agriculture and social justice thrive.”

“The agreement was not asking a lot,” Wheatley said. “The fact that the penny doubles the workers’ wages says a lot about their wages.”

A similar protest occurred in White Plains, NY on the same day.

– Angela Swartz