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MBA students to work on initiatives in Sacramento

City Editor
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Four UC Davis Graduate School of Management students chosen for Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson’s Mayor Fellowship were honored on April 6 for their work in their communities.

The UC Davis fellows each receive a $2,000 stipend from the management school for the 12-week fellowship, which started in mid-February.

Students work with the Mayor’s office on various initiatives involving economic development, housing, education and the arts.

Steven C. Currall, dean of the management school, said the school’s contribution shows UCD’s commitment to the mayoral fellows program.

The program is an important part of UCD’s outreach in the Sacramento region, he said.

“This is an opportunity for our students to make a contribution to the city of Sacramento,” Currall said. “It’s a way for them to engage in a non-classroom learning opportunity.”

UCD MBA candidate and Mayoral Fellowship winner Jacqueline Jaszka studied economics at UC San Diego for her undergraduate studies and is working on a homelessness initiative with Sacramento. She said the program provides students with real life experience and knowledge.

“It’s inspiring to work with people passionate about what they’re working on,” Jaszka said. “It’s nice to have a mayor dedicated and driven to making change.”

Johnson said the fellows will provide a vital service to the city in a difficult financial climate.

“When you have a tough economy, you’ve got to be creative in tough times,” he told the Sacramento Bee. “You’ve got to find ways to do more with less.”

The Mayor’s office had five fellows from Harvard last summer. Johnson added the program was not just about utilizing limited resources, but also how to “cultivate our young talent” in the region.

Rani Chu, UCD MBA candidate and UC Berkeley alumni, studied Chinese in Beijing, along with working at UC Irvine. She hopes to go back into working in higher education.

Chu is involved with Johnson’s art’s initiative, “For Art’s Sake,” a renewed effort to revitalize K Street and the commercial heart of downtown Sacramento, and emphasized the program’s good networking opportunities.

“We get to work with high profile, strong business leaders,” Chu said. “If there wasn’t an established partnership between UCD and the mayor’s program, I wouldn’t have thought of applying. The school did a good job of promoting the fellowships.”

Courtney Sweetin, a UCD MBA candidate, BYU alum and former public school teacher, is involved on the Johnson’s education initiative hopes to work with school districts in the future or work as a consultant in a firm for education. She is currently designing and planning collaborations between parents and schools to improve student performance.

Tre Borden, an MBA candidate at UCD, is working on the mayor’s green technology initiative.

Other fellowship winners include Brittany Purdy, who is seeking a B.A. in psychology at Sacramento State and working on the mayor’s volunteer initiative, and Hafiza Arikat, a master’s candidate at Sacramento State who is working on the mayor’s education initiative, STAND UP.

ANGELA SWARTZ can be reached city@theaggie.org.

MTV launches STD testing campaign

Campus Editor
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If the term GYT can become as common as LOL, sexually transmitted diseases among young people in the United States will become much less common.

That’s what MTV is hoping, anyway.

The television network is launching the GYT – Get Yourself Tested – campaign this month to promote awareness of the prevalence of STDs among teenagers and college students. MTV is working with the Kaiser Family Federation, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in order to educate those at risk.

“One in two sexually active people will contract an STD by the time they are 25,” said Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention. “And most won’t know it.”

Fenton is a supporter of the GYT campaign.

“The simple act of getting a test can go along way to stopping the spread of diseases,” he said. “Given the testing options available, I would say that it is unacceptable that STDs remain such a widespread problem in the United States today.”

The CDC estimates that there are 19 million new STD cases each year and estimated that in 2006 there were almost three million civilians aged 14 to 39 with cases of chlamydia. Exact statistics are hard to know due to the high number of unreported cases of such diseases.

Social pressures are often what prevent an individual from getting an STD test.

“Stigma and shame associated with STDs are some of the main reasons that STDs remain such a large problem,” Fenton said.

The GYT program is a conscious effort on the part of MTV to take advantage of current slang such as “OMG” and “LOL” to reach younger generations about the importance of getting tested while addressing the stigmatization associated with STDs.

“The GYT campaign was developed to make it easier for young people to talk about testing,” said Jason Rzepka, Vice President of MTV Public Affairs.

The campaign is not new. MTV used the campaign last year and it was successful in increasing the number of young people that got tested for STDs, Rzpeka said. MTV tracked the testing statistics of 10 Planned Parenthood centers across the country and found an increase in the number of individuals that got tested nationwide.

According to data from the California Department of Public Health, there were 542 cases of chlamydia, 64 cases of gonorrhea and five cases of primary and secondary syphillis in Yolo County in 2008. As of this month, there were 34 cases of HIV and 226 AIDS cases reported in Yolo County.

“The most common bacterial STD we see is chlamydia,” said Polly Paulson, Health Education Programming Planner for UC Davis Student Health Services. “That’s a very typical pattern for this age group. The two most common viral [STDs] are HPV and herpes.”

The statistics are also consistent with national trends, namely the female to male case ratio. In Yolo county, females accounted for 72 percent of chlamydia cases and 54 percent of gonorrhea cases.

“Young women are biologically more susceptible to STDs than young men,” Fenton said.

Human Papillomavirus is also a major risk for young women, Fenton said. The CDC estimates that more than six million HPV infections appear each year. Certain types of HPV can cause cervical cancer.

“Girls between 11 and 26 should be vaccinated for HPV,” he said.

Student Health Services offers STD testing for chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, HPV, HIV and syphilis. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center also offers HIV testing.

MTV has provided incentives for college students to participate in the GYT campaign. The campus with the most GYT supporters on Facebook.com will be featured on MTV News as well as other prizes for the students of the winning campus.

RICHARD PROCTER can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Common STD Symptoms

Not sure if you need to get tested? Here
are some of the most common STDs and their symptoms:

Chlamydia –
Unusual discharge from your vagina or penis; burning when you urinate;
pain, bleeding or discharge from your rectum if you have receptive anal
sex

Gonorrhea – This can infect the anus, eyes, throat and mouth
as well as the penis in men and the urinary tract and uterus in women.
Women’s symptoms can include vaginal bleeding between periods, painful
urination and increased vaginal discharge. Men’s symptoms can include
painful urination, discharge from the penis and painful or swollen
testicles. Gonorrhea in the rectum may cause itching, soreness,
bleeding, rectal discharge or painful bowel movements.

Herpes –
Genital herpes often doesn’t cause any symptoms. Those that manifest may
include: painful blisters or sores on or around the genitals or anus,
flu-like feelings when the sores are present and sores that come back
several times within a year.

HPV – HPV infections are either
high- or low-risk. Low-risk infections can cause genital warts while
high-risk infections can sometimes develop into cancer of the cervix.
Cancer-causing HPV infections are not the same as those that cause
genital warts. The Pap smear is the best method for detecting HPV in
women.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
www.cdc.gov

Traditional pre-week starts countdown for Picnic Day

Campus Editor
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This year’s Picnic Day will open up with Pre-Week, four days of events combining bovines and baked goods that will take place on the quad at noon.

With planning that started in winter quarter, Pre-Week is a chance for students to get informed and excited about Picnic Day while snagging a few freebies in the process.

Today’s event is the traditional Eating Contest, which will center on speed eating cupcakes. Six teams of two, with participants ranging from ASUCD Senators to Picnic Day officials, will try to devour ten cupcakes in the fastest time possible. The vanilla and chocolate cupcakes were donated from Davis Creamery.

Although onlookers cannot compete, Picnic Day staff will hand out frisbees, schedules of events, posters and cupcakes for those in attendance, said Monica Lindholm, chair of the Picnic Day Board of Directors.

Observers can also win raffle items such as gift certificates for ice cream, private Brazilian Jiu-Jitzu lessons, and Sacramento Rivercats tickets for this and other events.

Wednesday is the annual Cow Milking Contest, a battle on the West Quad to collect the most milk from two Dairy Barn cows. Its six contestants are: ASUCD President Jack Zwald, Monica Lindholm, former ASUCD Vice President Chris Dietrich, Dietrich’s father and former Picnic Day Parade Marshall Peter Dietrich, UC Davis Chief of Police Annettee Spicuzza, and UC Davis Band-Uh Director Ariel Sarver. Spectators can also expect free ice cream sandwiches from Sodexho.

“We’ve got our skills down now and we are well prepared for the event,”said Chris Dietrich, who believes milking the cows will be tricky because the animals are nervous in front of the crowd.”But, I tell you this, a Dietrich will win the competition this year.”

Na Keiki ‘O Hawai’I, an Hawaiian island culture club and performance group, and the Lounge Lizards, a UC Davis a capella music group, will perform at Thursday’s Entertainment Showcase at the West Quad.

Finishing out the week on Friday is the Roaming Cow event, in which one of the Picnic Day directors will comb through the campus in the city of Davis’ cow suit to promote Picnic Day.

“This is my favorite because we get to go across campus and see a lot of people,” Lindholm said. “Also, because it is the day before Decision Day, there are so many families that we get to let know about Picnic Day, and there are always little kids who love seeing the giant cow costume and taking pictures with him.”

Planners also stressed that Pre-Week and Picnic Day are both drug-free and alcohol free events.

“We want to emphasize Picnic Day is a family friendly event,” Lindholm said. “Everyone’s actions need to be respectable for the events and for everyone who wants to attend.”

For ASUCD Senator Adam Thongsavat, who will help set up some events, this year’s Pre-Week is an opportunity to see which venues might be expanded.

“I would definitely like to see a larger entertainment option and I would like to see a roaming around of an actual cow,”said Thongsavat, who is interested the concept of a large concert for a future Pre-Week. “It’s going to be a difficult process but definitely manageable.

LESLIE TSAN can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Aggies reclaim Jean Runyon Cup

Sports Editor
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Windy conditions weren’t going to stop the Aggie rowing squad. But it still needed a furious run over the last 250 meters before it could retake the Jean Runyon Cup for the first time since 2008.

“Our team performed well given the conditions,” said coach Carissa Adams. “It made our rowing pretty difficult, but it was good to regain the Jean Runyon Cup. We walked through them at the end.”

In a matchup that went back and forth during the 2,000-meter race, Adams knew the only way for the Aggies to notch a victory was by controlling their own emotions.

“The key was to not get frazzled and not let the weight affect the boat,” Adams said. “They kept their composure and were able to shore up the win.”

With a season-best time of six minutes and 38.06 seconds by the varsity eight first team, the Aggies moved closer in the matchup’s annual record, but still trail 10-4 in overall competition with Sacramento State.

The varsity eight consisted of Lia DiAngelo at coxswain, Brittani De Riemer at stroke, Danielle Long at seven, Autumn Huey at six, Darcy Ward at five, Paige Kendall at four, Christine Bernatz at three, Becca Lindquist at two and Emily Roberts at bow.

The Aggies varsity eight overcame a commanding lead by the Hornets at the midday point of the race to close the boat-length deficit over the last part of the race. Sacramento State finished the race just a hair behind UC Davis with a time of six minutes and 38.21 seconds.

“They made a really strong move (at the finish).” Adams said. “They rode with confidence. It was an impressive race to watch.”

The Aggies varsity four, which consisted of coxswain Ellen Yau, Danika Reddick at stroke, Robyn Bryson as three, Garen Garza at two and Brooke O’Brien at the bow earned a victory for their team.

They narrowly beat the Hornets with a time of seven minutes and 45.35 seconds. Sacramento State ended with a mark of seven minutes and 48.8 seconds.

While this win will provide some momentum for this Saturday’s NorCal/SoCal Challenge, Adams said she’d still like her team to improve on its times.

“Since the San Diego Classic, we haven’t done enough because of the distractions,” she said. “We’re progressing, but we still have a long way to go. We need to use these next three weeks to get faster.”

The distraction she’s referring to is the recent talk of the possibility that the rowing team could be cut by ICA next year.

Adams, however, has been concerned with the parts of the program she can control in its current state.

Although the win gives the Aggies a barometer for the steps they have made during the season, Adams said that comparing her team to their opponents will prove to be irrelevant if it continues to show improvement.

“[The win] is helpful because we can gauge a little more with other teams out there,” Adams said. “We don’t want to focus on what other programs are doing. The focus needs to be on ourselves.”

MARCOS RODRIGUEZ can be reached at sports@theaggie.org

Lacrosse gains split in Colorado

Sports Editor
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The Aggies traveled to Colorado this weekend for a pair of games against Denver and Regis.

One game was a little more favorable than the other.

UC Davis fell to Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rival Denver 17-7 to open up the road trip. The Aggies followed up the loss by crushing Division II Regis 18-3.

“The two games were pretty different in both the result and how we played,” coach Elaine Jones said.

Senior Molly Peterson and junior Gina Hoffmire led all UC Davis scorers with six goals over the two matches.

The Aggies move to 8-3 on the season and 2-1 in MPSF play with the weekend split.

Friday – Denver 17, UC Davis 7

It had been 49 days since UC Davis last played a conference foe.

Unfortunately for the Aggies, they matched up against the first place Denver Pioneers.

“Denver is a very good team,” Jones said. “I’d consider them a top-25 team nationally.”

The Pioneers jumped out to a 2-0 lead within the first four minutes of play. Hoffmire and Peterson each tallied a goal to even the score at the eight-minute marker.

Denver then scored five unanswered goals to gain a commanding lead but the Aggies weren’t about to give up. A pair of goals trimmed the Pioneer lead to four entering the break.

“I thought we could make a comeback in the second half,” Jones said. “But Denver came out hot and secured a win.”

The Pioneers scored six unanswered to start the second half to extinguish any thoughts of an Aggie comeback. The two teams traded goals to end the game as Denver held on for the victory.

With the loss the Aggies fall to second place in MPSF standings and the Pioneers take sole possession of first place.

“It was not a pretty game,” Jones said. “It was going to take all 12 of us to beat them and that didn’t happen. Our defense broke down and our offense didn’t quite click.”

Despite being proud of the team’s transition play from defense to offense, Jones was disappointed with the Aggies’ inability to capitalize on scoring opportunities.

“We turned the ball over a lot,” she said. “Denver would capitalize off our mistakes and we couldn’t do the same on their mistakes.”

Saturday – UC Davis 18, Regis 3

Jones called the Aggies’ big win over the Rangers a confidence builder.

“This was a good win for us,” Jones said. “Everyone contributed and we gave a good effort.”

The Aggies scored nine straight goals to close out the first half and secure the victory. UC Davis outshot Regis 36-9, the first time the Aggies held an opponent to under 10 shots this season.

Hoffmire led eight Aggie scorers with five goals on the game. Senior Molly Lapolla added three scores for a hat trick of her own.

The Aggies return to action on Thursday when they travel to play conference foe St. Mary’s. UC Davis then returns to Aggie Stadium to match up against Oregon in an MPSF battle.

JASON ALPERT can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Aggies battle through doubleheader

Sports Editor
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Two pitches would have made the difference in the doubleheader split against Pacific.

Overall, coach Karen Yoder was pleased with the quality of each game.

“It was an evenly-matched doubleheader,” Yoder said. “You could really tell the Tigers came together and fought hard against our team.”

UC Davis moved to a 3-2 conference and 14-23 overall. Pacific stayed even with a 3-2 conference mark in the Big West Conference and 16-20 overall.

Saturday – Game 1: Pacific 2, UC Davis 1

A few homeruns accounted for a low-scoring matchup.

The Aggies took an early lead in the first game as Sarah Axelson [cq] led off the second inning with her team-leading third long ball of the season.

The 1-0 lead would last until the fourth inning when Pacific’s Karie Wilson responded with homerun of her own to tie the game.

A sixth-inning Tiger solo shot would be the deciding run for Pacific as Megan Allen found a pitch she liked and took it deep to account for the final score.

“They are a good club that can compete really well right now,” Yoder said. “Offensively they capitalized and you have to tip your hat to those hitters.”

Pitcher Dana Waldusky suffered the loss despite allowing just two runs on six hits.

“She pitched well,” Yoder said. “It was the type of game where if you could take back two pitches – those two homers – I’m sure she would want those two pitches to be different.”

Waldusky allowed just one walk, while striking out seven.

Saturday-Game 2: UC Davis 2, Pacific 1

Game two was scoreless until the fourth inning.

That’s when Jessica Gonzalez got things started for the Aggies as she led off the frame with a single.

Elizabeth Santana then sacrificed to move Gonzalez to second before Axelson delivered with the runner in scoring position as she hit a double to bring Gonzalez in from second.

Later in the frame, Axelson scored the second run on an illegal pitch.

The Tigers pulled within 2-1, but that would be all they could manage.

“It was a battle,” Yoder said. “Overall we put the ball in play, and it was a hard fought doubleheader.”

Alex Holmes threw the five-hit complete-game victory from the circle as she struck out four and walked one.

“Her pitches moved quite well,” Yoder said. “She put our team in position to win and did a good job.”

Holmes, Axelson and Santana led the Aggie offense in the two games as each collected two hits.

The teams were scheduled to close out the three-game series yesterday, but the game was postponed due to the rain forecast. A make-up date has not yet been scheduled.

UC Davis will take the field next on Saturday as it faces Long Beach State in conference home opener.

GRACE SPRAGUE can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Column: On the right track

Sports Editor
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Justin Schafer can rest a little easier – for now.

That’s because his UC Davis baseball team, which won a total of 13 games all of last year, has already surpassed that total with 14 this year – and we’re only midway through the season.

“It’s a lot better than last year,” Schafer said. “You can sleep better at night, that’s for sure.”

However, this feeling will only be momentary for Schafer and the rest of the Aggies. For them, exceeding last year’s win total is actually not that big of a deal.

“I don’t think it’s an accomplishment,” said coach Rex Peters. “We were so bad last year we should surpass that win total.”

So if improving on last season’s win total wasn’t one of this year’s objectives, then what are the Aggies’ goals?

The answer is actually pretty simple. Peters just wants the team to stay competitive in the super tough Big West Conference.

“I think for us to be at the point where we’re hovering around .500 or a little above and we’ve played a pretty good schedule is more of the accomplishment than the win total at this point,” Peters said.

That’s exactly where UC Davis sits right now, currently holding a 14-13 overall record with a 2-4 Big West mark through two series.

The Aggies have accomplished this by making one minor tweak – or a major one, depending on how you look at it.

They’re now playing as a single unit, as opposed to just saying it. Midway through the season, that much is now clear.

“The moment we stepped on the field in the fall, we knew it was going to be a different attitude,” said sophomore pitcher/outfielder David Popkins. “Since fall, the chemistry is probably 100 times better than last year.”

Popkins and Schafer were a part of last year’s squad that went just 13-42. That’s why they felt the need for a change.

“Last year, pretty much anything bad that could’ve happened did happen,” Popkins said. “It was one of those years. It kind of seemed like everybody was playing for themselves, especially when we started getting a losing record. This year, it’s just totally different.”

The difference shows.

Last weekend, UC Davis was on the wrong end of a Cal State Fullerton series sweep in which the Titans outscored the Aggies 46-13.

Whereas last year’s team might have been demoralized by a series result like that, the 2010 Aggies are motivated. They returned to take two of three from a strong Long Beach State squad.

“I think we’re [playing as a team],” Schafer said. “You can see that in a series win [against a team like Long Beach]. Last weekend, we got killed. Everyone played together this weekend, pulled together and won.”

The change of atmosphere has definitely helped the Aggies make a significant turnaround from last year.

However, improving their team batting average by over 30 points and earned run average by over two runs so far this season hasn’t hurt them either.

Now the Aggies have put themselves in the precise position they would like to be in as the Big West schedule heats up.

“We stand up there with anybody,” Popkins said. “The Big West, as coach [Peters] says, is pretty even. Anybody can win on any given day. If you get the right balance, you can end up at the top. If you get the wrong balance, you can end up at the bottom.”

Winning on any given day won’t be easy by any measure, though, especially with No. 16 UC Irvine coming to town the weekend after next.

With six non-conference contests before the Anteaters arrive, Peters would just like the Aggies to gain some confidence before playing probably their toughest opponent of the season.

“We want to try to build some momentum going into another big series,” Peters said.

MAX ROSENBLUM thinks baseball has been very, very good to the Aggies this season – much better than last season. E-mail him at sports@theaggie.org to tell him how many games you think UC Davis will win this season.

Aggies split weekend contests before rain out

Sports Editor
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The Aggies experienced a little bit of everything this past weekend. They went through a tough loss, a dominant win and a rainout.

The weekend began on Friday with UC San Diego. The contest was close from the beginning.

After Nic Amaroli and Tyler Lee won and Connor Coates and Toki Sherbakov lost, the doubles point was in the hands of Nick Lopez and Hunter Lee.

Lopez and Lee were winning 8-7 and were just one point away from a victory. Then Chapman Chan and Erik Elliott came back to win 9-8 to give the Tritons the doubles point, a point that would end up being the difference in the contest.

Singles play started with Chris Aria losing and Sherbakov claiming victory in straight sets.

“Toki is a very good competitor,” said coach Daryl Lee. “He doesn’t beat himself which puts a lot of pressure on his opponents to win in a match.”

After losing the first set, Amaroli found himself down 4-1 in the second. He then won 11 straight games to take his match to tie up the team score at 2-2.

A win by Lopez would give the Aggies a lead, but that would be short lived. Coates lost his singles contest to put the match at 3-3 making Hunter Lee the difference.

Lee won the first set, but then fell in the second set. Then the bad news came.

Lee cramped up, which heavily impacted his mobility and hurt his game. Although the third set started off 2-2, Lee would have to retire due to the cramps, giving the Tritons the point and the contest. It was a tough way to lose and coach Lee knew it.

“I give Hunter credit for work through that,” coach Lee said. “The 4-3 matches can come down to a few points.”

On Saturday, UC Davis showed their true ability to bounce back from a loss.

Even though Amaroli and Tyler Lee lost in doubles play, Coates and Sherbakov won. With Hunter Lee not playing, the new team of Lopez and Aria dominated the No. 3 match, 8-2, to give the Aggies the doubles point.

It wouldn’t be close after that. Lopez, Sherbakov, Aria, Tyler Lee and Coates were all victorious in singles. Coates’ win meant a lot to assistant coach Justin Garcia after his pep talk with Coates following Friday’s match.

“[Friday] was a very close match that he had to experience,” Garcia said. “We know Connor has tremendous potential.”

While Coates came back after his first match of the weekend, Nick Lopez continued his season comeback with wins this weekend. Lopez won both of his singles matches in three sets showing he could be successful in close games.

“He had a couple of good matches,” coach Lee said. “It was good for him to compete well in the three-set matches.”

With 6-1 victory over the Vikings, the Aggies earned a weekend split. They came into Sunday ready for a challenge but due to poor weather, the match against Portland was cancelled.

The Aggies’ record now stands at 7-10 for the season. Their next match is scheduled for next Saturday at noon, a home contest against conference opponent UC Riverside.

ZANDER WOLD can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Baseball wins first conference series

Sports Editor
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If there were one word to sum up UC Davis baseball, it would be resilient.

After being swept in a three-game series at Cal State Fullerton by a combined score of 46-13, the Aggies rebounded by taking two out of three from a tough Long Beach State squad.

“We needed to get back on the right track and win this series,” coach Rex Peters said. “It turned out that we played well enough to get two wins. [The Dirtbags] have a pretty good program with a pretty good tradition so I’m happy with it after getting banged around last weekend.”

Friday – UC Davis 3, Long Beach State 2

In the first game after the Cal State Fullerton series, UC Davis looked to Dayne Quist to set the tone.

He delivered by pitching 8.1 innings during which he struck out seven, walked two and allowed two earned runs. Quist had a shutout through eight innings but allowed two Dirtbags to cross the plate with one out in the ninth.

The Aggies then brought in reliever Matthew Lewis who was handed the task of closing out a close game. He did not back down as he struck out the only two batters he faced to record his first save of the season.

In the contest, left fielder David Popkins recorded a hit for the fourth game in a row while right fielder Scott Lyman went 2-for-3 with a run scored.

The Aggies were able to capitalize on three Dirtbag errors as all three of the UC Davis runs were unearned.

“In nonconference, you play teams that occasionally make mistakes,” Popkins said. “In the Big West you don’t find too many mistakes and if you do, you need to take advantage of it.”

Saturday – Game 1: UC Davis 10, Long Beach State 8

Going into this series, Peters believed that there wouldn’t be many runs scored.

His prediction came true in Friday’s game, but the doubleheader was a different story.

The Aggies took an 8-0 lead in the second inning, and despite allowing a late Dirtbag charge, held on to clinch an important series win.

“Last weekend [against Cal State Fullerton] was so bad it was important for us to get back on the horse and get after it,” said shortstop Justin Schafer. “We did that and it’s a much better feeling.”

Despite starting strong, pitcher Scott Lyman, who had a shutout through five innings, ended up allowing five earned runs and 10 hits in 6.1 innings.

The Aggie offense would carry the team as four players logged two-hit games including Popkins who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored.

Long Beach State made a late charge but UC Davis again brought in Lewis for the two-out save. Mirroring his performance from the day before, Lewis struck out two to earn his second save in as many days.

Saturday – Game 2: Long Beach State 11, UC Davis 0

After clinching the series win earlier in the day, the Aggies looked to sweep the Dirtbags in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader.

Unfortunately for UC Davis, Long Beach State came out firing on all cylinders.

Despite the lopsided loss that saw 11 runs and 18 hits for Dirtbags compared to zero runs and three hits for the Aggies, UC Davis was happy to win two out of three.

“It’s awesome,” Popkins said. “It would’ve been nice to sweep them but to win the series is great. Even the loss doesn’t take away from that.”

MARK LING can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Aggie Digest

Sports Editor
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UC Davis defeated Nevada 297-303 at the UC Davis-Nevada Challenge on Friday at Red Hawk Golf Course in Sparks, Nev.

The event, which was the Aggies’ first dual of the year, was added to the schedule to make up for play missed earlier this year due to bad weather. Each team was allowed five scoring players with any additional individuals not scored.

UC Davis senior Kimberly Johnson took home first place with a score of even-par.

Junior Chelsea Stelzmiller finished just one stroke behind Johnson at 1-over and tied for second with both Jamie Yam and Lauren Hernandez [cq] of the Wolf Pack.

Freshman Amy Simanton shot a score of 3-over and tied for fifth with senior Brittany Smith, one of UC Davis’ non-scoring golfers.

UC Davis had eight of the top-12 finishers at Red Hawk.

The Aggies will play again on Sunday at the Big West Conference Championships.

– Trevor Cramer

Column: Break my heart

Opinion
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Sometimes we ask for really dumb things.

A week-and-a-half ago, the beginning of baseball season was right around the corner – and so was the real beginning of the term. An avalanche of assignments, readings, band gigs and a million other obligations were thundering down Mount Quarter System. But all I wanted was to watch baseball.

So, remembering all the times a cold had kept me home from high school and gave me the ability to appreciate Omar Vizquel’s exquisite double plays several days in a row, I made a foolhardy wish.

I wished to be sick.

Now, I’m hacking up a lung, cranky as all get-out every time I spill my tea, and don’t even have enough functioning brain cells to operate the freaking TV. Stupid Comcast and its newfangled technology. I’m not even sure I’m constructing real sentences. Carbuncle newton barbarism mutter.

It’s good to know I’m not the only one who asked for stupid things. There’s a new dumb request on the rise. Simply stated, it’s this: “I want to feel the suffering of others.”

Wait, what? You want to suffer? You want to subject yourself to unnecessary pain? You’re asking to hurt?

A quarter of a million people around the world over-asked for a dose of pain last Thursday. TOMS, a homegrown shoe company dedicated to providing poor kids with shoes, sponsored the third-annual One Day Without Shoes. It’s pretty much what it sounds like – you spend a day without shoes and begin to experience what life is like barefoot.

It’s not pretty. Yes, there’s the cuts and scrapes. But without bandages and antiseptic, wounds become infected and can kill. Parasites enter the body. Contact with volcanic soil causes elephantiasis, a mutilating swelling of the legs and genitals. If you manage to stay healthy, you can kiss an education and gainful employment goodbye – you can’t meet the dress code. This is the inescapable world of the poor.

Some participants saw the disparity between the daylong event and forced shoelessness.

“What was ‘fun’ for me was due only to good fortune. Sadly, for many, it’s a reality,” willowonthemoon posted on onedaywithoutshoes.com.

But others seemed to have missed the point entirely.

Poster Elizabeth Samson couldn’t get into her campus dining hall without shoes. She promptly dashed up to her dorm, slipped on her TOMS, and enjoyed a meal. So much for solidarity. At least her participation made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside: “It felt great to explain to people what the cause was…”

That’s right. We just made this about ourselves.

Don’t get me wrong. I think TOMS is a brilliant company. I wish more businesses had compassion at their core. One Day Without Shoes was designed to foster changed hearts leading to action. I’m sure many participants experienced just that. But it’s easy to consume social justice like another trendy product, designed to make us look and feel awesome.

Christians have a special version of the pain request. It’s called the “Oh God, break our hearts for the things that break Yours” prayer. I do it all the time, usually while making a face that indicates either extreme earnestness or lack of dietary fiber.

And God delivers. It might take a week, a few months or a year, but oh, He delivers. You want to know what it’s like to be intimately acquainted with every tear and every sorrow on the planet? Let’s start you off with a teaspoon.

Your parents divorce. Your friend starts self-destructing. You study abroad and are confronted with unrelenting poverty, day after day. You’re not just comfortably aware of the pain – it’s eating you alive. This is the point at which most of us clutch our sides and say, “Why, God, why? Why does it hurt so bad? Make it stop!” We ask to be wrecked, and then we’re pissed when it happens.

So why do we ask in the first place? Why do we make that dumb request?

Because when you know what it’s like to hurt as someone else hurts, you start caring about them. And you accept the cost of caring – whether it’s staying up late with a depressed friend, slogging through years of law school, giving up a chunk of your paycheck so some kids can have shoes or just hurting alongside someone.

I’ve probably made some of you mad. “Who is this anti-anti-shoelessness, Elizabeth-Samson-hating, heavily-Nyquil-influenced person?!” you may shout. I might have even made myself mad. That’s okay – as long as we both think about our real intentions the next time we board the social justice train.

By the way, the next stop on the line is 1000 Wells’ Two Weeks of Sacrifice event. I do hope you participate by giving up all beverages except water and donating the money you save to well-building efforts in Africa.

But even more, I hope you question why you’re doing it, and whether you’re prepared to accept the cost. It’s not an external repair the world is looking for – it’s a change of heart. Like Switchfoot sings, “If it doesn’t break your heart, it isn’t love/No, if it doesn’t break your heart, it’s not enough.”

BETH SEKISHIRO just got darn trendy with that lyric quote. To learn more about 1000 Wells, visit davis1000wells.org. To e-mail Beth your anti-anti-anti-shoelessness rants, reach her at blseki@ucdavis.edu.

Column: Sealed with a kiss

Opinion
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0

I love you. Yes, you – I love you.

For many reasons, I fall more in love with this job every week. But I love it most when you – my precious readers – send me e-mails. Minus the occasional hate mail, every e-mail tugs at my heartstrings and makes me feel great knowing that you’re all enjoying and supporting what I have to say.

That is why I’ve decided to do another “Dear Mario” column, in honor of all my readers. This week, I’m giving my readers another chance to voice their questions, comments or concerns about relationships and sex. To all my gorgeous, supportive and brilliant honeybees out there, this one’s for you.

Dear Mario,

I’ve been on four dates with this girl and we still have yet to kiss. It’s been about a month-and-a-half but we only get to see each other once a week or so, and not for very long. I want things to move faster! What should I do?

Desperate in Davis

My question to you, my impatient friend, would be this: Have you expressed this to the girl? Does she know you want to be more than friends?

If not, it might be a good idea to voice how you feel. She deserves to know. Try a few more dates. If you really do like her and want a little more, try expressing your feelings to her. Let’s see where that takes you.

Remember: Communication is always important. When in doubt, talk it out.

Dear Mario,

Help me? A friend is really in love with me and I have a little crush on him, but I’m in a stable, honest, fantastic relationship with a boy who loves me AND has a history of being cheated on. I don’t want to hurt my boyfriend, but I like flirting, too. Advice?

– In Need of Assistance

Wow, that’s a pretty loaded situation.

First of all, everyone enjoys a little attention from someone – but even something as innocent as flirting can turn out to be hurtful. To make things short: If you think you’re going to feel guilty about flirting with this friend, don’t do it. If you say you love your boyfriend as much as you do and you completely trust yourself to keep things at a little casual flirt, I don’t see anything wrong with it either.

As someone who has been cheated on, I know it’s pretty hard to recover from it. Just remember your boyfriend and how much you love him. If you do end up having stronger feelings for this friend and want to pursue something, give your boyfriend the courtesy of ending things with him first. Cheating is never the answer.

Dear Mario,

As a pretty apathetic gay man, I find your articles to be offensive garbage. Why do you like to reinforce stereotypes? Do you like moving the gay rights movement back a couple decades?

– Anonymous

I’m really sorry you find my articles to be garbage. I do see how my column may perpetuate the “gay stereotype,” but believe it or not, I’m honest in my columns. I’m me. I do like pink and glitter and Britney Spears and “gay” stuff, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I love who I am – and if it’s stereotypical, so be it. We can’t all be “unique,” I guess.

To clarify, I am not an activist. I’m not a voice for any gay following. I’m just a guy who likes to offer his opinions and who happens to be gay. But just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I have to “fuck shit up” or be super queer. It’s just not me. When it comes down to it, I’m sure you can find a much better suited person to write about queer issues.

As for me, I just write a relationship column, heavily based on my own personal experiences. I’m grateful The Aggie gave me a shot to be who I am. Of course, my columns won’t speak to everyone, but maybe some people will enjoy them and be helped a little.

Dear Mario,

Are you a top or a bottom?

– Dying to Know

Time for a vocabulary lesson, everyone!

When two gentlemen partake in sexual relations, the one who enjoys “pitching” or “giving” is usually referred to as the “top.” The other one is the “bottom.”

I’m the other one.

MARIO LUGO loves all of you for who you are. In that case, you should love him in return. Send him some love at mlugo@ucdavis.edu.

UCD Relay for Life fights back cancer

Features Editor
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Since cancer never sleeps, neither did over 2,000 UC Davis students this Saturday for 24 hours at the annual Relay for Life.

Held at Aggie Stadium for the first time, UC Davis holds its own with the biggest college campus with participant and fundraising turnout.

Usually held at Toomey Field, event organizers said that the old location was being outgrown due to the large amount of participants and needed to switch to a bigger location, according to an Aggie article published on April 6.

All proceeds go to the American Cancer Society, which helps to “Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back.” cancer. This year, around $100,000 was raised at UC Davis.

Starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday till 10 a.m. on Sunday, participants from over 200 teams walked around the “track” of Aggie Stadium, overlooking the field. High winds and cloudy weather didn’t stop high-spirited students from taking turns with their teammates to walk for a cure.

Entertainment throughout the day from a cappella groups such as the Spokes and Liquid Hotplates along with the cast of the upcoming “Hair” performance, a 89-year-old tap dancer survivor named George, and alumnus David Ronconi kept walkers entertained with music and dancing.

At 9 p.m. the Luminaria ceremony brought no dry seats in the house as Relayers gathered around the stage to listen to survivor stories and remember those that lost the battle to cancer. The words “Cure” and “Hope” were spelled out in the bleachers of the stadium with illuminated bags as participants silently walked in a symbolic gesture.

-Text by ANGELA RUGGIERO

-Photo LIAM O’DONNELL

Aggie Daily Calendar

Features Editor
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TODAY

Project Compost

6 p.m.

43 Memorial Union

Attend the Project Compost volunteer meetings and learn how you can help them divert organic waste around campus.

Southeast Asian Graduation Meeting

6 to 7 p.m.

South Hall Conference Room

Join a passionate group of students working to celebrate the achievements of graduating Southeast Asian students through an intimate cultural ceremony for the Southeast Asian community.

TUESDAY

Pre-Picnic Day Cupcake Eating Contest

Noon

Memorial Union Patio

Help kick off Picnic Day Pre-Week by participating in a cupcake eating contest in the quad. Win prizes and eat cupcakes from Davis Creamery and Cupcake Craving.

The Spokes A Cappella Auditions

7 p.m.

194 Chemistry

Audition for the only all-female a cappella group on campus! Go prepared with part of an unaccompanied song and a smile!

WEDNESDAY

Pre-Picnic Day Cow Milking Contest

Noon

Quad

Join them in the quad for the cow milking contest. Go and receive some fantastic prizes!

UC Davis Bookstore Presents Maceo Montoya

4:30 to 6 p.m.

Bookstore Lounge, Memorial Union

Listen to Maceo Montoya, professor of Chicano/a studies, talk about his new novel The Scoundrel and the Optimist.

THURSDAY

Pre-Picnic Day Entertainment Showcase

Noon

Quad

Enjoy good food and music in the quad for Picnic Day.

FRIDAY

Pre-Picnic Day Cow Photos

Noon

Quad

Take photos with a cow! Well, photos with Mike, one of the Picnic Day directors wearing a cow suit.

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.

UC Davis alumnus journeys to outer space

Features Editor
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Just over a month after returning to Earth, UC Davis alumnus and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut Stephen Robinson visited his alma mater for last Friday’s College of Engineering’s Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

The UC Davis astronaut graduated in 1978 with a dual Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical and mechanical engineering. He has flown on four missions and logged 19.8 million miles in space.

Robinson began the forum by discussing the current condition of human spaceflight and NASA. The space shuttle program will end this year despite the fact that the shuttles are working better than ever, he said.

One of the problems is that NASA is working with its lowest budget since 1960. In addition, media coverage of successful missions is low.

“When you get the job done, the press is bored to tears,” Robinson said.

A number of decisions need to be made, including how much money should be spent on spaceflights and the role of the government and private industry, before the shuttle program can continue.

Then there is the question of where to go in space.

“In the universe that is conceptually reachable, there are not a lot of destinations. The moon takes two and a half days to reach; Mars would take five months,” he said.

Robinson then posed a question to the audience: Should we extend the space shuttle program?

Students, faculty and members of the Davis community voiced their opinions of the state of NASA, in addition to questioning Robinson about his own experiences.

After a brief intermission, Robinson played a slideshow of pictures from his latest visit to the International Space Station. He spent two weeks installing the module Tranquility (Node 3) and a 7-windowed Cupola viewing center.

Robinson then showed photos of his training and the launch of his shuttle Endeavor before moving on to photos of him and his crew in space. One picture depicted the crew floating in the shuttle.

“I like this picture because it represents how we approached this: work hard and have a great time,” he said.

The Aggienaut finished the presentation with a video he and the crew created during their time in space. The video showed the astronauts working, sleeping and eating while in zero gravity.

Students who came to see Robinson were thrilled with the opportunity to listen to an experienced astronaut.

“I’m very interested in the astronaut. I want to ask him an interesting question about UFOs,” said Yunchun Wei, a visiting Ph.D. student from China.

Other students were interested in becoming astronauts themselves.

“I am a resident at the medical center in emergency medicine. In 67 days I am leaving to begin my aeronautical medical fellowship in Texas,” said Jennifer Law. “I want to be a flight surgeon, and I was in town so I thought I should go.”

After the lecture, Robinson said that UC Davis had helped him get to where he is today.

“I would put it this way: My curiosity was always followed up at UC Davis,” he said. “I was encouraged at the College of Engineering, and when I was curious about something [Dean] Bruce White would always follow up with me.”

In fact, the last photo in Robinson’s slide show was an image of a UC Davis flag – in outer space.

ERIN MIGDOL can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

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