The bike thieves in Davis are making more money than the alumni. Why are there not more resources in place to put a dent in their success rate? Look at the University of Pacific program to deter bike thefts. If the parents were asked for donations for this cause, I’ll bet the college would receive enough money to fund the program. Let’s catch these low-lifes who are making a real good living stealing our bikes!

DAVE MARTIN

It seems this discussion of the vandalism of the mural “The Unfinished Dream” (wrongly labeled the Third World Mural by many) has dominated our campus, and many conversations have taken place in different communities about the meaning behind the vandalism. When I first heard about it, I thought to myself, “They have every reason to be upset. Regardless of the intentions, it is an act of vandalism.” I do agree with some thoughts and beliefs that it might have been a call for coexistence (though defacing public property probably wasn’t the best way to get the message out). I hear all this angst and frustration, and various students with Palestinian or Arab backgrounds wanting to see something larger come out of this from the school.

I want to write today about that “something larger.” Last year a friend of mine and I wrote a guest opinion about a friend of ours who was killed by a drunk driver. He was a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, finished his service and was a student at Brown University when he was killed. His work at Brown was all about coexistence, and fostering conversations between the different sides. Inspired by Avi Schaefer, we put out a call for dialogue, and it fell on deaf ears.

So once again, I would like to reach out to the SJP community. Come, let’s sit as many great people – Anwar Sadat, Churchill, Clinton, Rabin and many others – have, and discuss the future of our people. Arguing over the past is foolish. When you get down to it, it becomes a childish kindergarten game of “but he started it.” Talking about the past will not solve the future, it will only keep us there. It is time to move forward, time to start a dialogue, start conversations. It is a lot harder to hate the so-called “others” (be it Jews or Arabs, depending on where you see yourself), if you can put a name, a face and details about one’s life to them. So I ask you, Students for Justice in Palestine, Muslim Student Association, Hillel, AEPi, Sigma AEPi, Davis College Democrats and Republicans, even, to come together, and at least talk about something. It’s the first step.

Visit avischaeferfund.org for more information about Avi’s cause.

ARI POLSKY

Oct. 7 was a national day of action to defend public education, resulting in rallies, marches and sit-ins across the country. Organizers in Davis used the day to educate fellow students about recent decisions made by the administration.

Students are affected drastically by these decisions, and it is important that they learn the facts.

At the rally on the quad, organizers handed out flyers about the recent agreement between UC Davis and US Bank. The flyer argued that UC Davis is making money off of each student who opens a US Bank account. In addition, the bank is receiving a multitude of perks in return, such as premium season tickets for Aggie sporting events and rent-free access to university facilities.

Many students read the flyers with wide eyes – stunned that the mere presence of a bank on campus could have such a lengthy back-story and such large implications.

It’s likely that a lot of students don’t know why student fees went up 32 percent last year, or that there’s a distinct possibility fees could go up again next month.

Teaching assistants with the United Auto Workers union currently do not have a contract – something else many students are probably unaware of.

All students, regardless of how they feel about protests or the administration, should at least know the facts. They should know how they and others are being affected.

Although Thursday’s turnout was only a fraction of the thousands on campus, it’s important that students are taking initiative and trying to enact change. We hope the university is listening.

With the price of higher education at an all-time high, CalPIRG and the UC Davis Bookstore have worked together to introduce two alternative methods to purchasing textbooks: a rental program and online open source texts.

Open source textbooks provide a free online alternative through e-books and PDFs. Professors would be able to write their own texts and post them online at no cost to students. These texts can also be printed, cutting the average cost of textbooks from $900 to $184 a year.

To create an incentive for professors to write their own textbooks, Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) introduced the Open College Textbook Act last year. This would create a competitive grant program for professors who write open source books. It is imperative that this act passes. As of now, it is unrealistic to have professors write textbooks without some kind of incentive.

The rental program allows students to rent textbooks for a fraction of the purchasing price by loaning out books and requiring them to be returned by the last day of that term’s finals. Instead of an average $900 a year, renting lowers the price to $598, a 34 percent reduction.

While the savings are appealing, other numbers suggest these programs are only short-term remedies. A study by Student PIRGs showed 75 percent of students surveyed would rather have print than digital textbooks. Only 34 percent would rent all of their books, while 93 percent said they would rent some.

It is encouraging to see efforts to lower the price of higher education with alternative programs for textbooks. Rentals offer students the option of saving money, while still having the actual text in hand.

Open source texts also have potential to provide financial relief. Even if students do not want to read texts off the computer, they can print their own copies of books at a cheaper price than buying them. Online access texts also lessens each student’s carbon footprint.

Government help is necessary to kick start this program. If the federal government is not willing to provide financial backing to institutions of higher learning, they could pass this act to help students.

Last week, I wrote a column on education. The intent? Create dialogue via this medium on an issue about which I feel strongly. I don’t have the answers, and will not pretend such. However, the provocation of debate was willful and I managed to extract a commentary on my commentary from one of the saner, more knowledgeable Davisites. This guy cared enough to make his views known on national issues. Bingo! That is the plan. I have a fervent belief that your ignorance starts right where your knowledge ends. Let the feedback keep coming in, please!

Without much ado, let me introduce readers to Kermit the Frog. He earned that name because of an analogy that he posited to sign off his comments and beg for anonymity. Well-worn as it may be, but I found very cogent not only his comments, but also his self-description. Yeah, you got that right: “It is easier to be green than to be a Conservative in Davis.” That, sure, got a good laugh out of me. But on a more serious tone, let me replay the issues Kermit brought up.

First off, let us get over the admonishment. Kermit was critical of my rude and rather sporadic introduction and abandonment of issues. He cautions that I treat fewer issues and offer smoother transitions in my pieces. Noted. Without trying to explain it away, I am a film major and may just be thinking visually. My bad. I will remember your concerns about flow henceforth.

Now let us talk issues: Kermit believes last year’s protest by UC Davis students was a “particularly dumb” enterprise. He quizzed: “Why did our ‘best and brightest’ choose to ‘preach to the choir’ rather than doing so where it might actually have effect?” It is Kermit’s view that many of those protesters don’t even bother to write their legislators or urge their friends and relatives to do so.

Next as you may expect, Kermit is not a big fan of the bloated administration here at UCD and thinks taxpayers and donors are not getting money’s worth for their investment in the UC system. To that end, he drew a parallel between Starbucks and Department of Motor Vehicles, asking where one gets better service. You get the drift -small government, free market conservative.

However, let me respectfully disagree with Kermit on at least one matter. Education and business don’t mix very well. Not for the UC system. The most recent front page article in Sacramento News and Review is testament to that. The article alleges serious conflict of interest by UC Regents that portends corruption at the highest level. The Aggie also last week published an op-ed piece on the suspect marriage between UC Davis and US Bank. Forgive me if I sound all over the place, but I hate to have US Bank sell me anything. Especially if I just spent over an hour in a snaking queue for my UCD ID. They should leave business decisions to me.

I find particularly interesting Kermit’s common sense take on our broken prison system in California. It is indeed telling that Texas spends $4 billion versus the $8 billion California spends to house roughly the same number of inmates. The state should fix the prison system and use that extra cash to bolster our education system.

Finally, I hate to break it you, Kermit; but picketing and tantrum-filled protestations are the ostensible, not sensible thing to do. Oh, also, fringe elements on both sides are dominating national debate. Why? Bull-in-a-China-shop activism has been the imposter of reasoned, cogent and trenchant discourse. We need enlightened, common sense people like you to inform national discourse and make it more palatable. Absurdity is our new reality. Even otherwise brighter minds like Newt Gingrich have found profit in uttering the absurd. In this climate, we talk at or over, as opposed to with each other.

Even as I sign off, Kermit, I don’t want you to give up on possibility. A rare breed like you is still the hope of this country. To demonize knowledge is not taking this country anywhere. And oh, it was nice to know there are Berkeley-schooled conservatives out there, living in a town like Davis. There is only one U.S. of A. We can’t afford apathy or silence in these especially dire times. Speak out! Smartly.

FAYIA SELLU can be reached at fmsellu@ucdavis.edu.

Last week, I sacrificed some practical advice in favor of narrating a story about the history of exercise in schools. This week, I won’t be storytelling so much as putting some actionable tips to paper (cue collective sigh of relief). As I mentioned at the close of the previous column, exercise can help you in school. Not only does physical activity stimulate your brain by increasing blood-flow and oxygen, research shows active students are happier, have more energy and find it easier to concentrate on a task at hand.

But you’re busy, and I get that. No matter how appealing the prospect of a better “you,” this “you” has shit to do. So the question is how to cram that miracle workout into your day. In true academic fashion, I can offer two schools of thought: workout at length and study at the same time, or workout as little as possible to keep your schedule free for studying.

1. Hack the ARC

No one ever set in stone the notion that gym-time was only for breaking a sweat. It’s possible to get a decent workout and study for your classes at the same time – if you do it right. I’m not claiming we all go out there and sprint, chem lab in hand. Or better yet, put paper prompt on the ground as motivation to run as fast as possible in the other direction. If you’re in the humanities or the social sciences, print your readings, grab your lecture notes or put some important terms on a page or two. If you’re in the sciences, copy down sample problems from lecture, or the really difficult problems from homework onto a couple pages.

Next, find a workout that allows you to move and read at the same time. The elliptical machine, stationary bike, and step master are your best bets on a machine. Or you can lose the machine and walk along a track, notes in hand. Be careful though, the point isn’t to fall off the machine or walk off the track because you’re studying hard. If you work out a fair amount with notes, you can probably afford to study less because you’ll be reviewing the material so often.

Let’s say you want to involve your body in a workout that requires more coordination, like running or weight lifting. No problem, just find a way to put your notes on your iPod. Before heading over to the ARC, record your notes to an mp3 file and build a study playlist. Chances are, if your laptop has a webcam, it can also record your voice lecturing to yourself. If your class podcasts lectures, you can get pumped listening to your professor as you pump iron.

2. HIIT it and Quit it

If you really can’t make the ARC for a moderate hour of study-workout, you could opt instead to exercise as little as possible so you have more time for studying. The only catch is that you have to up the intensity of your workout significantly. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) takes the idea that we can condense a long, drawn out workout to achieve better results in less time.

The name entails the essential idea of the workout: you alternate intense training over intervals. This workout should only last for 10 to 15 minutes, 20 at the max. If you have any energy left after 15 minutes, you’re not doing it hard enough. Start out with a light, one to two minute warm-up jog. Then sprint for 30 seconds, followed by moderate jogging for 30 seconds. Then sprint for 30 seconds. Lather, rinse and repeat for 10 minutes, before concluding with a one to two minute cool-down jog.

You’re done! If you’re completely winded, bent over panting, your heart is about to break out of your chest because it’s beating so hard, and you’re wondering why the hell you even followed my advice, then congratulations, you HIIT it correctly. If not, try harder next time.

I’ve found that combining workout with schoolwork is the only way to do either. I’ll be honest, when I put off the gym, it’s not because I’m so swamped in my four GEs that I can’t spare an hour to exercise. Really, I can’t spare an hour from watching “How I Met Your Mother,” “Community” and “30 Rock.” I can’t spare an hour from Super Smash Bros. Melee. I can’t spare an hour from Facebook-stalking the cutie from anthropology lecture. Or was it philosophy discussion? You get the point.

RAJIV NARAYAN will answer your e-mails at rrnarayan@ucdavis.edu while he’s bench-pressing 100 lbs.

I am never playing Ultimate Frisbee again.

In an effort to enjoy the outdoors and take a stab at being a guy for once, I decided to play the game with my fraternity brothers as part of our rush last week. Admittedly, it was all fun and gay at first. But, you know how it goes: It’s only like that until someone gets hurt.

I was that someone. And now I’m left with a bruised, swollen left ankle, limping around campus like a drag queen with a broken heel. Not cute.

My friends did what any good friends would do: Laugh and point whenever I hobbled into a room. Mockery, apparently, is the perfect cure:

“Why are you walking so funny?” they would ask, parodying the pained expression in my face. “Did you just finish a quickie? Still hurting?” I have the greatest friends ever.

But one friend, one who shares my understanding of the importance of sex in daily conversation, chimed gold amid catty coal: “Since you’re all limp and shit, ever consider writing about sex-related injuries?”

It happens more often than you think, honeybees. According to MedicalInsurance.org, nearly a third of Americans suffer from a sex-related injury. Ever thought you were more flexible than you actually are and end up pulling something? You’re not alone: A pulled muscle is the most common injury.

“My boyfriend is always cramping up in his legs,” says a friend of mine. She admits he gets a little too adventurous in their sexual positioning and “ends up clenching up and ruining the mood.”

Though I’m fortunately fairly flexible (for which my boyfriend is very appreciative), I offer a little precautionary practice to help get you limber. It may seem silly, but experts agree that stretching, just like one would before running or something (or in my case, extreme shopping), may be beneficial before getting down to frisky business.

Other common injuries listed on the site include back injuries, carpet or rug burns (ouch – those do hurt!), a cricked neck, bashed elbows and knees, bruised shoulders, sprained ankles and wrists, and bending fingers back too far.

A friend of mine, who frequently satisfied his lustful fix in the backseat of his car, told me of his strife with continual neck problems from having his head “pounded into the door like a pile driver.” Another friend I asked about sex injuries flaunted quite the lover’s wound: A scar on his left shoulder.

“I guess we were a bit too drunk to realize we had knocked into the towel rack,” he laughed. “I realized the blood was on me the next morning.”

Although a doctor’s visit may not be required for these minor muscle cramps, bumps and bruises, more serious injuries can occur. A common problem for the ladies: Small cuts or tears in the vajayjay. This is often the result of not enough lubricant, a situation that could easily be mended with an extra squirt of KY.

As a gay man, I am (not so) proud to say that some of us – the catchers for the pitchers, the tight ends for the stiff ends – can, too, fall victim to the pains of improper lubrication. Trust me when I say lube is your friend. Use it generously.

If those cuts or tears are fairly large, and bleeding doesn’t self regulate, medical attention may be required to prevent very serious infection.

There are a number of reasons why lovemaking could possibly go wrong, the most common being the location of where your dirty deeds are carried out. The sofa, the stairs, the car and the shower are the riskiest of places and most conducive to accidental injury. Although it could be fun sometimes, my remedial advice would be not trying to fit into a cramped space for sex – you’re just asking to get hurt.

But I understand that sometimes, things go wrong simply for the sake of going wrong. Another close friend of mine was dealt the worst streak of luck when her boyfriend thought it would be a cute idea to lift her onto the bathroom counter while canoodling before their shower. A sufferer of sweaty palms, her boyfriend lost grip of her booty cheeks for a sec as he began lifting her. Imagine the pain in my friend’s scream as she felt the scathing agony of “ripping a new one.”

Sex is always a risky thing. But when approached safely and knowledgeably, arousal and fun can result – not thigh cramps, bruises or rug burns. So take care of yourselves while traveling on your sexual journeys, honeybees. No one wants bad sex.

MARIO LUGO wishes he had a better story to tell about his ankle. Maybe he sprained it from having them handcuffed to his headboard? Perhaps he had trouble keeping his balance atop the washing machine? Suggest things at mlugo@ucdavis.edu – he can’t just say it was a Frisbee accident. That’s embarrassing.