Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan club celebrates Asian American art forms through explosive performances

By LYNN CHEN — features@theaggie.org

Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan is a student-run Japanese cultural drumming group at UC Davis founded in 2001. Taiko is the art of using traditional Japanese percussion instruments for performances. The group’s name is derived from the club’s enthusiastic playing style: “bakuhatsu,” meaning “explosion” in Japanese. 

“That’s a stylistic choice,” said Madeline Do, a third-year Japanese and environmental science and management double major and co-president and practice director for the group. “Other groups can be flowy and graceful, but we are sharp and explosive. I think that’s just been passed down through the years.”

According to Vesper Marchant, third-year design major and practice director for the club, even in the collegiate taiko community, Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan is known for its high energy. 

“We want to have explosive, energetic, memorable performances,” Marchant said. “Because whatever point we’re trying to get across, if we don’t do it with a lot of energy, it doesn’t come across as sincere.”

Each performance that Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan does is also completely original and an amalgamation of different taiko styles.

“The repertoires are made by members of the club,” Do said. “They make these songs with our style in mind.” 

Members who join usually bring in experiences from training with other taiko organizations or their own musical backgrounds to create the performances. According to Do, the group draws their main inspiration from San Jose Taiko and San Francisco Taiko Dojo. Additionally, the group learns from the playing styles of other collegiate taiko groups. 

Specific taiko figures also impact the club; for example, Do says that Tiffany Tamaribuchi, a well-known taiko performer in Sacramento, has an “aesthetic” the club is influenced by.

Members who’ve workshopped with these organizations then combine their experiences with “four principles” the club follows to create Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan’s unique style, according to Do. The principles, referenced from San Jose Taiko, include attitude, approaching playing taiko always with a beginner’s mindset; ki, balancing a player’s energy with the “soul” of their drum; kata, establishing the form and posture of drumming; and musicality, being attuned with the music of drumming itself.

Nearly all the drums the club uses are handmade, relying on materials such as cow hides, strands and hollowed-out trees. 

“[Members] from the past made them and passed them down to us,” Isabelle Woodruff-Madeira, co-president of the club and third-year Japanese and environmental science and management double major, said.

Included in each performance are the odaiko, chu-daiko and shime-daiko drums, different sizes for playing various parts of the main melody. There are also “auxiliary instruments,” or narimono, that accompany the main song, such as shakers and bells, according to Marchant. 

“Everyone has a part,” Marchant said. “Some of them are written; sometimes it’s improvised, but everybody kind of has a part that adds to the song.”

The club’s most recent projects include its annual showcase, “Tabidachi: To Embark On a Journey,” and its performance at the Davis Cherry Blossom Festival, a nonprofit event founded and produced by the Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan group. One of the main goals of the festival is to use music as a “powerful force for social change,” a core message the club seeks to communicate to its members and audience.

“Taiko in North America has roots in social justice,” Do said. “I would like people to take away that history.” 

Do hopes her members can reflect on performing an Asian American art form and gain more political consciousness after playing with the group.

Additionally, both co-presidents hope that the club has been able to foster confidence and a sense of community in its members. 

“I think playing really helps people grow their confidence in themselves,” Woodruff-Madeira said. “People know how to work together in a group and how to be a leader.”

Written by: LYNN CHEN — features@theaggie.org

The staff also explains Coffee House history to reveal customers’ favorite handcrafted drinks 

By ELIZABETH WOODHALL — features@theaggie.org 

The UC Davis Coffee House brings in a lot of customers because of its location and price point. It serves more than 7,000 customers every day and has over 250 student employees, remaining the most popular UC Davis facility, according to the Coffee House website. 

The Coffee House — often referred to as the CoHo — was founded in 1968 and began as a Bohemian-style café located in East Hall, where Dutton Hall is now located. According to the Coffee House website, it was established by ASUCD with the concept of having a small eatery with high-quality food and a relaxing environment for students. The Coffee House moved locations twice, initially to the east side of the Memorial Union in 1973, then reaching its final location in 1991 at the west side of the Memorial Union. 

At Swirlz Bakery, where the handcrafted drinks are served, several adjustments have been made since its opening. It has changed with the customers’ needs, said Dustie Hincks, the front-of-house manager at the Coffee House, who has been an employee for the past three years. According to Hincks, student concerns with prices, quality of coffee and sustainability are most important to Swirlz.

One of the main changes to the Swirlz CoHo menu has been introducing the “drink of the month,” and staff has created a detailed process for adding drinks as temporary menu items. Many of the “drink of the month” items are beloved by the staff, including Hincks. 

“Right now, the drink of the month is our lavender latte, and that’s my personal favorite one,” Hincks said. “It’s something I’m trying to put on our menu board for, you know, a standard drink.”

After 55 years on campus, the menu has met frequent changes. Now labeled as a “sustainable operation” according to their website, the CoHo selects organic and fair-trade coffee from the local community, a decision that Darin Schluep, the director for Associate Student Dining Services, said was made regardless of cost because students requested the switch. 

Schluep has been employed for 27 years and started as a student employee at the Coffee House. He said that both students and staff have a great say over the adjustments made at the CoHo, which includes the menu’s temporary items, like the “drink of the month” staying longer than the intended time. 

“We have strived to adjust as needed based on the feedback that we get from the student customers, our staff and faculty customers as well as our student employees,” Schluep said. “Our baristas kind of get some input on those drinks, and […] that’s another opportunity where we give our students some kind of input on what they think would be popular and what would be good for our menu. So we always appreciate when we get positive feedback on those drinks as well.” 

Schluep said among his favorite drinks are the sparkling waters, which he said are great for hydrating throughout the day. He also included the white chocolate mocha as his favorite handcrafted coffee drink from Swirlz. 

“Those are kind of my guilty pleasure, so every couple of weeks, I try to have one of those,” Schluep said. “We’ve had several of our drinks of the month that have just been delicious. In fact, last month’s honey bee latte was a delicious drink.” 

Lindsey Kurtz, a third-year biotechnology major, said that she goes to the CoHo a couple of times per quarter. She said that the location is convenient because she works on campus, and it is also close by when she needs coffee after class. 

Kurtz said that her favorite drink does not vary often, but she is open to trying a few items that seem fun. 

“I think I get the caramel macchiato the most often, just because I think it’s good hot or iced, which is nice for, like, the winter and the summer,” Kurtz said. “I have tried their tuxedo one just because I never heard of it before, and that was pretty good too. I know one time I went, and they had, like, a honey bee latte or something like that, which was drink of the month. I think those are cool. Sometimes, when I feel adventurous, I’ll try those, but I think it’s kind of just fun to see.”

Kyley Linn, a third-year biochemistry major, said that she goes to the Coffee House once a week to study but doesn’t always get a drink. She said her favorite drinks vary, but that she thinks the selection is usually cheaper and higher quality than Peet’s Coffee on campus. 

“They are cheaper,” Linn said. “But also for some of the drinks, I think they are honestly better. Like the chai, I think, is better than Peet’s. Also, the cold brew I think is better. I used to get the latte a lot, but then recently, I got the creamy cold brew, and that is my favorite right now. I love that so much.”

For other students, simple drinks are the way to go. Ashwin Singh, a fourth-year philosophy and political science double major, goes to the CoHo every other day. 

“Iced coffee [is my favorite drink]. It’s quick to get, and I hate sugar,” Singh said. 

Sandra Rodriguez, a first-year communication major, goes to the CoHo about twice a month. She prefers Swirlz because they have more options for tea. 

“I don’t remember the name of the tea, but I mixed it with lemonade, and it was really good,” Rodriguez said. “This is my go-to when I’m cold.”

Smoothies are other students’ go-to. Sheamain Khan Kakar, a second-year international relations major, goes to the CoHo once a week, specifically because of its location and smoothie selection.  

“It’s close when you go to class, and it’s literally right next to you, so you don’t have to walk all the way downtown,” Kakar said. “[The] beets smoothie [is my favorite drink], but it hasn’t changed because I don’t like anything else there. I’m a smoothie person in general.” 

Aly Guansing, a fourth-year molecular and microbiology major, said that she goes to the CoHo three times a week because even if it isn’t her favorite option, it is a “quick go-to place.” 

“My current favorite drink is a strawberry mango smoothie,” Guansing said. “This has changed because I think in the past, like when I was about a freshman, I would go and drink their vanilla latte, [but] after drinking from other coffee places, I decided that I liked other coffee places more than the CoHo.”

Hallie Wong, a second-year communication major, said that she does not go often — once every two to three weeks — but gravitates toward the CoHo because it is the center of campus. She said her favorite drink is a “simple” latte, which has remained the same since freshman year. 

Alana Eng, a fourth-year English major, said that they go to the Coffee House once every two weeks. When asked about their favorite drink from Swirlz, they said that it has remained the same. 

“It will always be the iced matcha latte with oat milk,” Eng said. “I feel like it’s much smoother, it’s sweeter, it’s a nice little boost for my day and it’s at a reasonable price point. I’m really a fan. I think the CoHo already does a really good job of knowing their audience, given that the people who […] work there are already students, so they know what’s going on.”

Marisol Osorio, a third-year economics major and a cashier supervisor at the Coffee House who has been working there since February 2022, said recent changes for Swirlz have included providing more milk alternatives, like oat and almond milk, and the “drink of the month,” which she said can be seen as a collaborative project for the CoHo Swirlz staff, specifically for the baristas. 

She said that her favorite drink is a caramel macchiato.

“It’s really great because I always ask for my caramel macchiato to be made just a little bit differently than, like, a typical one would be made, and not as in, like, I change the ingredients or anything,” Osorio said. “But I think the great thing about CoHo is that if you just ask, we just do it for you. So if you want an extra pump, like a syrup, or if you want more caramel on it, or if you want it stirred or shaken, [you can ask for that].” 

Written by: Elizabeth Woodhall — features@theaggie.org

College students share their experiences with sobriety

By LILI ARMSTRONG — features@ucdavis.edu 

In a sea of red cups and beer pong tables, most don’t associate college years with sobriety. Drinking is a huge part of social life for many college students. Fresh out of the nest, it’s a common theme for college students to go wild with their newfound freedom and independence. That being said, plenty of people choose not to take this path. Whether it be for personal, health or lifestyle reasons, there are a number of university students who abstain from drinking.

One of these individuals is Jon Bunting, a third-year psychology major at UC Davis. Bunting has abstained from drinking and substances for the entirety of his college career due to health reasons. He received a liver transplant in 2018, and his doctors told him to refrain from consuming alcohol. 

Sobriety hasn’t stopped him from continuing to socialize and have fun with friends, but it has come with its fair share of ups and downs.

“At first, there’s a huge sense of alienation that I had with some of my friends, where all of a sudden, it was really difficult for me to go into a lot of spaces,” Bunting said. “I didn’t seem as fun or as lively, especially with all these substances around.”

College students who don’t drink may often find themselves in a room where nobody else is sober as alcohol is a substance commonly used as a means of increasing sociability. According to a study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, the most commonly cited motive for alcohol consumption amongst college students is “social camaraderie.”

“When you lose that feature of alcohol, you know, that relaxed social state, I think there is a certain level of needing to fill that gap,” Bunting said. “Since you can’t get a little buzz on from drinking, you find a way to get comfortable quickly, so I think there is some level of getting to know yourself better because you can’t dodge that social anxiety as easily.” 

Micah Organ, who graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in sociology, abstained from drinking and substances during college due to negative experiences with alcohol abuse among family members. Organ said being sober impacted her social life as a college student. 

“I largely did not engage with the traditional party scene on my campus because I knew that I would not fit in as someone who did not drink or do drugs,” Organ said. “When I first started college and was trying to establish my friend group, people definitely judged me when I told them that I did not drink. I always felt like I needed to explain the details of my family’s negative relationship with drinking in order to justify why I didn’t do it myself.”

There are ups and downs to practicing sobriety in college, and a common theme among experiences is uncertainty in social situations.

Organ said she often felt pressured to drink, which discouraged her from participating in more traditional social settings. 

A family history of substance abuse is a common reason for college students to remain sober. Ash Phommasa, a fourth-year psychological and brain sciences and applied psychology double major at UC Santa Barbara, didn’t feel comfortable drinking until her 22nd birthday. Due to her family’s relationship with alcoholism, she went into college with a mindset of full sobriety. 

Phommasa said she is often met with surprise, and sometimes envy, when telling her peers she doesn’t drink. 

“It was always like they found a diamond in the rough or some completely innocent, pure little human being,” Phommasa said. “I would always get the typical reaction of, ‘Wow! Could not be me, but it should be. I wish I was like you. I wish I could stop waking up with insane hangovers.’”

Phommasa also expressed that sobriety has shone a light on who her real friends are.

“These super understanding, super respectful people would carry on with the night, never pressuring me to drink or sticking up for me when people try forcing me into taking a shot, which makes me very, very anxious and panicky,” Phommasa said. “My friends always accommodate and get me juice, too. It’s really heartwarming to have people like this and my sobriety has been a way of figuring people out.”

Recent UC Davis graduate Ernest Walker has had varying experiences with a sober social life throughout college.

“Sobriety allowed me to be the caretaker when I went out with friends,” Walker said. “I also had to find healthy ways to deal with problems that arose in my life.” 

Through sobriety, Walker discovered the escapism that went hand-in-hand with drinking and drug use. 

“People tend to use those as a crutch, which opens the pathway to addiction,” Walker said. “There were also some situations where, if I decided not to be sober in those situations, things would’ve been dangerous for me.” 

According to Organ and Bunting, although it might feel isolating at times, those who abstain from drinking or drug use are not alone. 

“Remind yourself of why you are adhering to this lifestyle when times get hard,” Organ said. “I think that doing this may help you feel more confident in yourself and your decisions. The drinking culture in college is so extreme and is not representative of what life outside of college looks like in terms of social situations. So while things may be hard now, it won’t be like this forever.”

Written by: Lili Armstrong — features@theaggie.org