Students are pushing to get rid of single-use plastic bags at the campus bookstore. If successful, they hope to expel the bags from the university and city as well.

The collaboration includes ASUCD Senator Darwin Moosavi and members of the Environmental Policy and Planning Commission (EPPC), as well as CalPIRG’s Forests and Oceans Campaign. They are creating a proposal, which will reflect the group’s ideas for the best environmentally friendly option to replace single-use plastic bag distribution.

“Petroleum-based, single-use products, like plastic bags, which never degrade, serve no purpose in a society that’s heading toward carbon neutrality and a sustainable future,” said Will Quinn, chair of EPPC.

The group will introduce the proposal to the Campus Unions Recreations Board (CURB) this week. In order to move forward, the group needs approval from CURB and Fred Wood, vice chancellor of Student Affairs.

The group plans to start the initiative at the UC Davis Bookstore. In the past year the bookstore used a total of 117,500 plastic bags, not including ones used for special occasions, such as graduation.

“We are currently in the process of working with these groups to try and find an alternative to plastic bags. Yet we have a dilemma,” said Charles Kratochvil, director of the bookstore. “There are people who have voiced a number of concerns toward plastic bags but there are also a number of concerns for the alternative paper bags. It is finding the right alternative that will take time and continual effort.”

Making paper bags expends a lot of energy and cuts down more trees. Additionally, the bookstore can’t only offer paper bags because they don’t hold up in the rain, Kratochvil said. The benefit, however, is being able to recycle the bags.

“Instead of completely eliminating plastic bags, we are talking about providing cheap reusable bags and encouraging students to only take a bag when necessary, or to simply use their backpacks,” he said.

The bookstore has already started to reuse bags that are left behind.

“We hope to start with a change in cashier approach on when they distribute bags,” Moosavi said. “If we can offer another option such as cheap reusable bags then the demand for plastic can decrease.”

In order to work toward sustainability, the student groups have also contacted Davis’ sustainability management.

“Our university prides itself in the success of sustainability,” said Sid England, assistant vice chancellor for Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability. “Any and all efforts, such as the reduction and eventually the elimination of single-use plastic bags, is a goal and high priority of the university if we wish to reach our zero waste-to-landfills goal by 2020.”

Hoping to show that plastic bags harm the environment, CalPIRG has issued a survey that allows participants to increase their knowledge and state their views on plastic bag distribution.

“Our first step is to educate the public about plastic bags and their effect on the environment,” said Donna Farvard, a first year neurobiology, physiology and behavioral studies major and CalPIRG’s Forest and Oceans Campaign coordinator. “We hope that by finding alternative options and eventually banning single-use plastic bags – in places such as the bookstore – that we can help make an imprint in the statewide shift that will stop a large number of pollutants from entering our oceans.”

Farvard wants to garner enough student support to present to the Davis City Council and eventually end the use of plastic bags in the city. According to CalPIRG, 39 cities and counties in California have already adopted the ban of plastic bags.

“There is no way to know whether or not the student body at large will be dissatisfied until we try,” Quinn said. “But this step forward is important. It puts UC Davis on the map as a university that wants to lead the nation in sustainable living and learning.

RACHEL LEVY can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

ASUCD deliberated over its 2011-12 budget during the weekend, proposing where to allocate funds for its units, such as Picnic Day, Entertainment Council and The Pantry.

Senators will vote on the revised $10.8 million budget, presented as Senate Bill 1, at Thursday’s senate meeting at 6:10 p.m. in Segundo’s Regan Main.

Writers from The California Aggie attended the three-day meeting and compiled a summary of events.

Friday

The meetings began at 5:03 p.m. with comments from ASUCD President Adam Thongsavat. After hearing some concerns, Thongsavat decided to retract his proposed $7 per week pay raises for the president, controller and senators and the $3 per week raise for commission chairs.

The senate proceeded to consider unit budgets. The Bike Barn, ASUCD Coffee House, Aggie Student Store, Unitrans, Grants EOP and Vice President’s budgets passed with minimal changes.

The table moved on to Picnic Day, which plans to expand its merchandise next year and thus have a higher income – $19,000 compared to this year’s income of $14,140. In turn, Picnic Day received a lower subsidy – $14,573 compared to this year’s subsidy of $17,272.

The STS/Tipsy Taxi budget was considered next. Director Sabastian Belser said the unit is doing well and will likely continue its Thursday service next year. The unit has a slated income of $62,500 – $20,000 higher than its budgeted income this year of $42,500. The increased income is due to Tipsy Taxi’s recent decision to raise its fare from $2 to $3 per ride.

KDVS will see a slight increase in subsidy next year, which the radio station’s general manager Neil Ruud was pleased about.

“I’m glad to see the subsidy proposal isn’t cut like the last few years,” Ruud said. “We can’t sustain subsidy cuts due to our reliance on the local economy for income.”

This year’s annual KDVS fundraiser has only yielded $51,000 in pledges thus far, although just 70 percent of that money has been received. Ruud said he’s confident that as the economy improves, the station will be able to reach its annual fundraising goal of $60,000 again.

In terms of staff, the unit added a third music director, a second label director and a multimedia director. The computer technician position was cut.

The senate closed the KDVS budget and moved on to the Experimental College. The zero-subsidy unit plans to expand its publicity and marketing, and thus aims to only transfer $6,020 from its reserves instead of this year’s $49,555.

The president’s budget was considered next. Thongsavat said he was excited, as he expects the unit to generate income for the first time in his memory. The president’s salary was kept at $119 per week, but he added a $500 line item for a one-day summit with unit directors, senators and chairs.

Thongsavat also added a line item for a community t-shirt project. The project would have the Aggie Public Arts Committee create a “What does Davis mean to you?” t-shirt to foster Aggie pride. ASUCD Senator Emmanuel Diaz-Ordaz said that students are already getting enough t-shirts. ASUCD Senator Eli Yani said the funding for the project seemed excessive. This year’s special projects budget is $1,800, and Thongsavat’s proposal has his special projects at $3,150. A motion was made and passed to reduce the project budget to $3,000 – only ASUCD Senator Brendan Repicky voted against it.

The hearing adjourned for the night at 8:26 p.m.

Saturday

At 12:04 p.m. the senate began with Creative Media’s budget. The unit has a $1,500 surplus, which Thongsavat said he’d like to see go back into the unit. The senate closed the budget with the surplus temporarily floating.

The budgets for Administration General, Cal Aggie Camp and City and County Affairs were closed with minimal changes.

The senate opened the Whole Earth Festival’s (WEF) budget, which proposes a $7 per week pay raise for its two unit directors.

“They have not received a pay raise in 15 years,” said ASUCD Controller Don Ho. “Even then, their pay raise was to $77 per week. If you count inflation and all that, what they’re asking for is very modest.”

There was also some concern due to the recent decision to discontinue the WEF DJ stage. Ho said the change should not affect the budget, and that funds designated for the state will be allocated elsewhere within the festival.

“Unlike Picnic Day, WEF has a very different clientele that they draw every single year … They don’t see this hurting their income whatsoever,” he said.

The senate closed the budget and opened Grants. Debate centered on the funding capabilities of Club Finance Council (CFC) – ASUCD Senator Tatiana Moana Bush wanted to allocate some of CFC’s funds to the cultural and lavender graduations. The graduations have a budget of $3,000, which Bush said is not enough.

ASUCD Senator Andre Lee was resistant to changing any of the line items in Grants.

“Safeboats has been needing funding for a while now too, but I’ve been trying to resist asking for extra funding for things I think need funding for the sake of the budget. I’d like to see other people do that too,” he said.

Thongsavat agreed, and said that CFC is the most impartial place to put funds.

“I understand ethnic grads are a huge thing to put on – a huge undertaking – but we can’t hold things to a different standard and expect other line items that want budgets to increase to increase also,” he said.

The senate decided to close the Grants budget when the University Affairs unit director arrived. They quickly opened and closed the University Affairs budget and returned to Grants, where the senate discussed Safeboats for a while before closing Grants again.

General Programs, which provides funds to Blood Source, the Basement Gallery, Greek Week, Cross Cultural Center weeks and other events, and Refrigeration Services were both closed with minimal changes.

The ASUCD Book Exchange was completely cut, which Thongsavat said was an easy decision.

“Income has steadily declined drastically,” he said.

The majority of Book Exchange funds – $6,280 – are being distributed to Administration General and Cal Aggie Camp.

Saturday concluded with consideration of The California Aggie’s budget, which did not change much from this year’s budget. The meeting adjourned for the day at 3:06 p.m.

Sunday

The final day of budget hearings began at noon with consideration of the Student Government budget.

The budget has two added line items – one for the Aggie Public Arts Committee (APAC) of $300 and one for the Music on the Green concert of $500. Elections Committee saw a $1,000 budget increase from $6,500 to $7,500. Internal Affairs Commission received an additional $59.

There’s also a Staff Development line item of $99.

“It’s the idea that the senate, like the commissions, would all go out for dinner, or get food brought to a meeting or get shirts,” ASUCD Vice President Bree Rombi said. “Every senate has wanted one.”

Yani said he still didn’t see the purpose of the item.

“Commissioners don’t make money. Senators do,” he said.

Outreach Assembly Speaker Sabrina Dias wanted an additional $200 for the assembly’s grant, but the table didn’t consider the request. Instead, the table motioned to increase the APAC’s funding from $300 to $450.

“APAC is one of our new and growing committees with a lot of projects slated for next year – it’d be really beneficial for them to have the funds to do so and to see what they are capable of,” said ASUCD Senator Darwin Moosavi.

The motion passed with an 8-4 vote. Senators Diaz-Ordaz, Miguel Espinoza, Lee and Rebecca Sterling voted no.

Senate moved on to AggieTV’s budget, which is set to receive a subsidy of $14,516 – $3,126 more than this year’s budget.

Job titles within AggieTV changed and now include a Business Director, which Thongsavat said should help the unit’s finances and generate more income.

ASUCD Senator Matt Provencher complimented AggieTV’s recent LipDub video and suggested adding a line item for similar projects.

“It would be around $1,000, which is a lot of money, but this is a unit that can show that they can do great things,” he said.

AggieTV director Megan Frantz said the LipDub cost roughly $1,200 and the unit fundraised $1,000 for it. The senate decided to add a $500 special projects line under expenses and a $500 commercial advertisements line under income before closing the budget.

The budget for City and County Affairs was reopened, and the senate raised the income and expense numbers from $10,339 to $11,702. The Post Office budget was opened and closed without changes.

Aggie ReStore, a new campus unit to sell recycled goods at a low price, was then considered. It is a zero-subsidy unit, operating on a budget of $1,489. Moosavi said he’s already received $680 in donations from WEF, Picnic Day and the Environmental Policy and Planning Commission.

There was some debate as to whether or not the unit should have a paid director, which Moosavi advocated for. Jared Hein, Business and Finance chair, disagreed.

“There are no numbers to back up any income projection and they have no space in the [Memorial Union] yet,” Hein said.

Thongsavat said worse comes to worst, the unit fails and the association could absorb the costs – other units overdraft far more than $1,400. The senate closed the budget and opened the Campus Center for the Environment (CCE).

Repicky advocated for CCE and suggested bumping up one of the position’s salaries and adding another publicity position.

“We’re advocating for sustainability but we see an opportunity to include more of the campus,” he said. “We’ve had many goals that we have yet to achieve and this extra paid position would help us achieve those goals.”

After some debate, the senate didn’t add a position but they did motion to give a pay raise to the Zero Waste Event coordinator – $35 per week instead of $28. Yani voted against the raise and Diaz-Ordaz abstained.

Project Compost was considered and closed, Picnic Day was reopened, altered slightly and closed again and Student Government was reopened and closed without changes.

Senate opened The Pantry. Director Hannah Kirshner said the unit is close to serving 5,000 students and has used 9,000 products.

“We have the ability to serve upward of 15,000 students. I think that’s a huge deal. We should not be overlooked,” she said.

Kirshner asked for a fourth paid position for the unit, aimed at educating students through lectures, cooking classes, outreach and other events. Thongsavat said he didn’t want The Pantry to move toward education and that the Student, Health and Wellness Committee could work on that in conjunction with The Pantry instead. Ultimately, members of the table compromised, adding an assistant director position and decreasing the salaries of the other three positions. The Pantry’s total subsidy came to $6,175 – $3,691 higher than the unit’s current operating budget.

The senate moved on, opening and closing the Lobby Corps budget. Entertainment Council’s budget was then opened. The budget has a decreased subsidy of $67,148 compared to last year’s subsidy of $84,905, in part due to the new Entertainment Council reserve fund for large-scale shows. There was also some debate on whether or not the publicity budget should be lowered from $6,000 to $5,500. Ultimately, the senate decided to keep the Entertainment Council publicity budget at $6,000 and closed the budget.

From the remaining budget surplus, the senate allocated $150 to KDVS for equipment and purchases and $56 to the vice president’s ASUCD scholarship publicity fund. Repicky voted no against the KDVS allocation.

Several different suggestions were made regarding where to put the remaining surplus, including CCE, AggieTV, The Pantry and the Business and Finance Commission for business manager training. After discussion, the senate settled on dividing the surplus and giving $74 each to the Pantry and CCE. Thongsavat then gave $50 from his publicity budget to the Business and Finance Commission.

The senate then motioned to move $70 from the Gender and Sexuality Commission (GASC) budget to go toward purchasing 500 condoms for SafeBoats. Espinoza had objections regarding cutting the GASC budget any further but Caitlin Alday, GASC chair, was in support of the motion.

“We definitely could always use more money but at the same time I do want to show support for safe sex in an environment where condoms are really needed,” Alday said.

The motion passed with a 10-2 vote – Espinoza and Diaz-Ordaz voted no.

Budget hearings adjourned at 6:37 p.m.

THE CAMPUS DESK can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Correction – May 19, 2011:

In the
May 18 article, “ASUCD to finalize budget,” it is incorrectly stated that ASUCD
Senator Brendan Repicky advocated for adding another publicity position for the
Campus Center for the Environment. He was quoted as saying, “We’re advocating
for sustainability but we see an opportunity to include more of the campus.
We’ve had many goals that we have yet to achieve and this extra paid position
would help us achieve those goals.” This quote is correct, but he was not
talking about a new publicity position. He was referring to the new Student
Research Education Coordinator position, which was in the president’s proposed
budget. The senate table was not debating a new publicity position, rather,
more funding for publicity. The Aggie regrets this error.

Clarification – May 19, 2011:

The article states that STS/Tipsy Taxi’s higher projected income is due to its fare increase. The high income is partially due to the fare increase. It is also due to a rise in charters. 

What is your favorite recollection of your undergraduate experience?

I have many fond memories of my time as an undergraduate student, but one of the most defining experiences in terms of my personal growth – the one that really influenced my decision to go to graduate school and shaped my future – was the first time I left Greece.

It was in 1976. I was a junior at the National Technical University of Athens and I traveled to Germany to present a research paper at an academic conference. I was only 22 years old at the time, and I had never been outside of Greece or even flown on an airplane before. This was also the first time I found myself in an environment where people came together to speak about research. The conference was held in Munich, and since I had never attended a conference before, it felt like such a huge place to me, surrounded by what felt to me like the rest of the world.

I was captivated by everything I saw, from my first experience in a large department store, to the huge train station where the trains departed within one minute of the posted times. I was also amazed by the research that people were doing and I wanted to learn more. This experience made me curious about other places and it gave me the motivation to come to the United States and attend graduate school at UCLA. The whole trip was an amazing experience for me because it influenced many of the decisions I made for my future.

It is my hope that you – our students – take full advantage of every opportunity to open your eyes and your mind to new people and new worlds, and to make the best of your undergraduate experience at UC Davis. I hope that you too will look back one day and reflect fondly on the experiences here that helped shape your life and influenced you as our future leaders.

Got a question for the chancellor? Send it to campus@theaggie.org.

Why wouldn’t you want to stay an extra quarter?

A senior was referred to Student Judicial Affairs (SJA) for forgery in connection with registering for a class. Specifically, the student was unable to sign up for a course that she needed to take, and forged the signature of the instructor to add the class. When she met with a judicial officer, the student admitted to the forgery and agreed to the disciplinary sanctions of deferred separation and community service. Deferred separation means that the student gives up the right to a formal hearing if she’s referred again for academic misconduct, and if she’s found in violation at an informal hearing, she will most likely be suspended or dismissed from UC Davis.

At least look at the assignment

A junior was referred to SJA for plagiarism in a general education class. The student copied many passages in the assignment, and was referred by the instructor upon review of the paper. In her meeting with a judicial officer, the student admitted that she had copied the passages and stated that she did not really look at the assignment. The student agreed to deferred separation through graduation and 20 hours of community service.

Two strikes: a lot of community service

A student was referred to SJA for plagiarism in a paper she submitted for a language class. Specifically, the student had copied passages from multiple sources without giving citations of any kind. In her meeting with a judicial officer, the student admitted to the misconduct, stating that she had way too much on her plate and was working on making more time for class. Because the student had previously been referred for academic misconduct, she agreed to deferred dismissal status and 75 hours of community service.

Campus Judicial Reports are compiled by members of STUDENT JUDICIAL AFFAIRS.

World War II’s destructive history has paved the road for educational programs and the building of foreign relations. One of these programs, The Marshall Plan Foundation in Austria, intends to bring opportunities to students in the international market.

“During World War II, exchanges between youth replaced fighting – thus the importance of connecting youth [now]. The Marshall Plan is continuing this tradition,” said Phil Martin, professor of agriculture and resource economics.

The Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation was formed in 2000 in response to the Marshall Plan – a large-scale financial effort enacted after World War II to aid Europe in the rebuilding process after the war.

“The United States gave Europe money to rebuild; however, it was not a gift, it was a loan. The Austrian Marshall Plan is a foundation which is paying it back,” Martin said. “Austria’s way of paying it back is through youth exchanges.”

One of the ways that The Marshall Plan Foundation in Austria has been promoting youth education is by hosting conferences. One of its most recent endeavors was held on the UC Davis campus on May 6. It was a conference on the issues of migration of Mexico and the United States, as well as Turkey and Europe. The event analyzed the current state of these affairs and provided insight into economic and future development.

“Migration and the environment are issues faced by all countries. Learning how other countries define and try to solve these problems is useful to them and us,” Martin said.

The conference was also intended to bring The Marshall Plan Foundation to the attention of UC Davis students and motivate them to take an exchange in Austria, said Eugene Stark, executive director of the foundation.

An exchange program at UC Davis is still in its development stages.

“[Stark] has prepared a draft agreement, but it hasn’t been finalized yet,” said Jeffery Gibeling, Dean of Graduate Studies. “It is a possible collaboration to provide support for students to do work in Austria, but currently it does not have a lot of funding.”

Gibeling said there is no exact time frame for the project yet, but hopefully the draft will be accepted within the next couple of years. If the draft were to go through, UC Davis would join campuses like UC Berkeley, which have such programs already.

The draft would allow students to apply for a scholarship to study in Austria, Stark said. In order to qualify for the 3,000 to 10,000 euros that would be provided by the Foundation, students must meet certain criteria. There is a minimum of three months stay in the respective Austrian university, and students would compose a research paper on a chosen topic at the end. The amount of money the student would receive depends on the length of stay, as well as the ambition of the paper.

“It’s a way to broaden horizons and learn about different approaches at low cost to students,” Martin said.

AMIR BEGOVIC can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

For those students who haven’t discovered what their passion in life might be, the Peace Corps offers a valuable experience, said Daniel Evans, UC Davis alumnus and country director of Peace Corps Mexico.

“The reality is, there are a lot of things we like to do but we’re not sure what our passion is and how to pay the bills with our passion,” Evans said. “The Peace Corps is a great experience for people who want to learn new skills and challenge themselves, particularly people who are graduating and aren’t sure what they’re passionate about.”

Evans will be speaking at UC Davis on Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. in Hart Hall, room 1130.

Evans majored in biology but didn’t have a clear career path in mind, so he decided to serve in the Peace Corps to learn about himself and the world around him. He was assigned to be an agricultural advisor in the Dominican Republic, which got him interested in development and sustainability.

He then returned to the U.S. and got a master’s degree in international agricultural development and a Ph.D. in ecology from UC Davis. After working in Mexico for several years, he applied to be a country director. He was assigned to Guinea in Africa for one and a half years but due to political turmoil in September 2009, the program was shut down. Since then, he has been serving as country director of Mexico.

“[The Peace Corps] is a great opportunity to provide service to other people that aren’t as fortunate as Americans,” Evans said. “It’s a great chance to learn new skills and it’s one of the few opportunities to travel and live in another culture for an extended period of time while integrating into the culture.”

The Peace Corps provides three months of training for volunteers to prepare them to understand the language, culture and how to keep safe regardless of medical issues present in the nation, Evans said.

UC Davis ranks 16th in the nation for the number of alumni who have served as Peace Corps Volunteers with 1,350 since 1961, said Nathan Sargent, Peace Corps public affairs specialist. UC Davis has its own Peace Corps recruiter in the Internship and Career Center and offers master’s degrees in partnership with Peace Corps in engineering and agriculture.

“Peace Corps is a great launch pad for a career,” Sargent said. “Volunteers return to the U.S. fluent in a new language and with two years’ international leadership experience.”

According to a Peace Corps fact sheet released Jan. 4, 2011, there are 8,655 people volunteering in 77 countries. The main program sectors are education, health, business, environment, youth development and agriculture. The two largest sectors are education and health.

Volunteers receive benefits including all living expenses fully paid, transportation, training, medical care, $7,425 upon completion and non-competitive hiring status for federal employment.

“Peace Corps has been something that’s shaped myself in many ways,” he said. “It has increased my willingness to travel and confidence that I can step into a different culture and be effective and happy.”

AKSHAYA RAMANUJAM can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.