They patrol the campus parking lots in white personalized trucks. They direct student and visitor traffic at commencement ceremonies and sporting events. They even jump start your car, inflate your tires or unlock your doors when the need arises. You guessed it, these knights in blue cotton uniforms are the UC Davis Transportation and Parking Service officers.

While these university employees are often known for the little yellow envelopes they leave parking violators, I sought out to discover what a typical day in the life of a TAPS officer was really about. Do they enjoy their job? Have they been ticketed themselves?

As the recipient of several parking tickets myself, I was anxious to get a glimpse of the other side. I arrived last Tuesday morning at TAPS to spend a day on the job and was excited to be paired up with one of the department’s most experienced officers.

Rohit Sharma has been a UC Davis employee for 17 years, and began his career in Student Housing.

“I was a supervisor for seven years at Student Housing. I needed a change and something more challenging,” Sharma said.

Sharma found what he was looking for in the TAPS department, serving as a senior parking representative for the past six years.

“It was a new challenge and the job requires more skills,” Sharma said.

I was picked up by Sharma in one of the TAPS vehicles we constantly see combing the campus. We spent the first few minutes of the ride discussing the events of a typical Monday before we proceeded to hit the road.

Sharma said the usual Monday begins with a weekly enforcement meeting. TAPS employees meet with supervisors and discuss any changes to protocol or events taking place within the upcoming week.

Next, officers check their e-mail for updates and gather their equipment for the day ahead. A dispatch radio is one of the most important items for a TAPS officer. Sharma also emphasized the importance of bringing a cell phone in case of a radio malfunction.

We began our UC Davis tour with a drive through central campus, past the Silo and out toward the parking lots that border eastern campus. As we drove, Sharma began to explain the breakdown of an average eight-hour workday. I soon discovered the job required more than just issuing citations.

“Eighty percent of the day is patrolling,” Sharma said. “But 20 percent of our day is providing services.”

With the poor weather in winter, there tends to be more time allotted to TAPS courtesy services. These services include jumping car batteries, unlocking doors and inflating flat tires. These courtesies are available to any UC Davis student or employee, regardless of whether or not they have a parking permit. They are available from 7 a.m. till 10 p.m.

Another lesser known service TAPS provides is emergency rides home for participants in the TAPS carpool program. A student who finds themselves in an emergency situation and needs to get home can call TAPS for a lift. TAPS has driven students as far as Auburn and the Bay Area. This service is not offered past 4 p.m.

Sharma expressed concern for TAPS’ reputation as the UC Davis “parking Nazis”.

“We are trying to change our image by marketing our services free of charge,” Sharma said. “We just help one customer at a time and try to maintain a positive attitude.”

We proceeded to cruise through the pouring rain all the way out to the UC Davis Primate Center at the end of Hutchinson Drive. Sharma’s goal was for me to see the far reaches of campus that TAPS must monitor and offer services when duty calls. I didn’t mind getting a glimpse of some of the primates as well.

Upon entering the parking lot, I noticed surveillance cameras. A rumor I had heard regarding hidden cameras in campus parking lots came to mind. Sharma said that while some lots do have cameras, most parking lots are not recorded.

Another myth I wanted to dispel was the common belief that officers ticket more at the end of the month to fatten their paycheck. A handout I was provided with by TAPS enforcement supervisor George Lamb quickly disproved this theory. The sheet outlined TAPS yearly budget and expenditures. Nothing indicated that more citations would amount to a higher salary.

As Sharma said, the majority of his day is spent patrolling lots and citing parking violators. I asked him how he responds to particularly heated citizens.

“You don’t be intimidated by them, and don’t disrespect them. Look in their eyes, express concern and communicate well,” said Sharma.

After issuing a citation, Sharma will often hand any upset customers an appeal form and point them in the directions of TAPS for further information.

Even as a campus employee, Sharma is still a permit holder. He too has received parking tickets in his 17 years at UC Davis, and understands student and employee frustration about being ticketed.

Regarding violation fines, fees can range from a standard parking ticket for $40 to $218 for a tampered permit. Sharma said all traffic violation fees went up 10 dollars this year in the state of California.

TAPS reach apparently stretches far. We continued on to the most southern parts of campus, located on the other side of highway 80, and even out to the medical school buildings located off of Richards Boulevard. TAPS uses 13 university vehicles for patrolling and is said to check thousands of permits every day. Officers also participate in lot utilization practices, where they use a clicker to count cars in parking garages and lots. The goal is to see how these lots are being used.

We ended our two-hour drive in the parking garage where I had left my car. I was personally dropped off by Sharma at my vehicle, and can now vouch for TAPS customer service.

Sharma ended the ride by explaining that while citing one person can result in a negative reaction from several people, the feeling of satisfaction he gains from helping one person makes the job worthwhile.

“We are here to help, to serve, and to make life easier for people and suggest services,” Sharma said.

Despite the hundreds of dollars I have personally invested in tickets and permits in my undergraduate career, I can now see why TAPS officers view themselves as ambassadors for the campus. They unlock our doors, give us directions and even fine those jerks that monopolize metered spaces for too long. It seems we actually have more reasons to be grateful to them than unappreciative.

Students can learn more about TAPS services and regulations at their website taps.ucdavis.edu. Students are also recommended to explore TAPS goClub and learn about green alternative transportation options.

AMANDA HARDWICK can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

When there is an emergency on campus, the call will most likely start an alarm buzzing through the halls of Station 34 at the UC Davis Fire Department.

There, in less than one minute a team of UCD firefighters will get their gear together and pile into the fire truck. But there is something unique about these firefighters – they are also some of the students walking to classes on campus everyday.

“I never thought I’d be doing this in college,” said Chelsea Johnstone, senior exercise biology major, who is starting her second year as a student firefighter at UC Davis.

The UC Davis Student Resident Firefighter program, which began in 1955, allows students to train, work and live among career firefighters.

“What we learned, it’s nice to be able to pass it on to them. And its good having the extra help,” said Ben Rizzo, a career firefighter and managerial economics graduate.

The department has about 30 career firefighters and recruits new student firefighters every two years with an average of 15 students from all majors and experience levels.

Altogether, they serve and take emergency calls from structural, wild land and chemical spills, throughout Yolo County and the Davis campus.

Currently, the program is one of only three such programs in the United States. The other two are at Clemson University in South Carolina and the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.

“It’s a great unique program, a lot of people come in here and they come to love it,” said Martin Smith, a senior political science major.

Like Johnstone, Smith, who is now a senior student resident firefighter, did not plan on entering the program when he came to UCD.

“I thought ‘that’s kinda neat’ and from there went through the application process, was lucky enough, and moved in my sophomore year,” Smith said.

With no fire science major on campus, just one of the benefits of this program is earning a Firefighter 1, State Marshall Certificate, which is “key” when applying for fire service jobs.

While a majority of student firefighters go on to fire service careers, the program emphasizes that no experience is necessary to apply. Students are issued all the necessary gear and equipment and given a dorm room at the firehouse. In exchange, they are required to work an average of 80 hours per month in 14 or 24-hour shifts around their class schedule.

“It’s a balance. We obviously go to school during the day and work nights and weekends. It doesn’t interfere with school,” Johnstone said.

An average shift starts at 8 a.m. with rig and equipment checks followed with training and inspections. Training can be anything from connecting to a hydrant to a full wildland simulation fire.

Then it’s off to the Activities and Recreation Center, where every student firefighter has a pass, for cardio and exercise.

In the afternoons, additional inspections, drills and training follow. The evenings are when career and student firefighters will wind down with a meal together, one of the many traditions at the firehouse.

“I can usually do a good pasta. Or pretty much grill anything,” said Rizzo, who has worked for the UCD Fire Department for four years.

Nights are reserved for homework, study and relaxing. Shifts continue throughout holiday seasons and are flexible to the alarms and calls that signal a firefighter to be ready within a moment’s notice.

“Calls happen throughout the day and we’re going to respond, whether we’re at the ARC, or here, or out doing training drills,” Johnstone said.

The intensive training and practice ensures that student firefighters are prepared for whatever situation comes their way.

“The first time going out on a ladder structure call…it’s fast paced, you’ve got to hit the ground running, and it’s a bit nerve wracking,” Smith said.

Johnstone said she felt “nervous anxiety” on her first call.

“I knew exactly what to do when we got there, its just like you see the smoke and flames, you feel the heat for the first time. Instead of simulating heat, you’re actually next to a burning car or wild land fire,” she said.

Most student firefighters say all the hard work is worth it.

“Just the experience you get and the friendships you make here, it’s a very unique college experience. I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Johnstone said.

Applications will be accepted until Feb. 5. A physical fitness test, interviews and a three-week academy will determine the next group of student firefighters.

Applications are available online at financialaid.ucdavis.edu/jobs.

JESSY WEI can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

TODAY

President’s Undergraduate Fellowship Program

4 to 5 p.m.

409 Surge IV

Listen to the coordinator discuss the application process and answer questions.

Steering Advisory Committee Meeting

4 to 6 p.m.

167 Yolo County Employment and Social Service Building, Woodland

Join SAC as they review the fundamental processes and skills essential to properly performing the SAC’s task.

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 a campus.

Cooking Club Meeting

6:10 to 7 p.m.

261 Olson

It’s cold outside! Join the club for a soup session and winter foods meeting! They will also be doing a recipe demo presentation and having a potluck.

Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children Meeting

7 p.m.

233 Wellman

Visit the FIMRC and learn about their mission to provide medical care access for the million of underprivileged and underserved children of the world.

TUESDAY

Eavesdrop on an Interview

Noon to 1 p.m.

114 South Hall

Join Delta Sigma Pi and the Internship and Career Center as they provide an interview demonstration!

Study Abroad Info Session: Ghana

Noon to 1 p.m.

Education Abroad Center, Third and A streets

Want to travel to Africa? Learn about the summer program in Accra, Ghana. Hear from Professor Moradewun Adejunmobi about the program, field trips and coursework!

Study Abroad Info Session: Italy

3 to 4 p.m.

Education Abroad Center, Third and A streets

Do you think engineering students can’t study abroad? You’re wrong! Join the EAC and learn about taking ENG 104 and ENG 198 this summer in Rome.

Study Abroad Info Session: Argentina

4 to 5 p.m.

Education Abroad Center, Third and A streets

Want to spend four weeks in Buenos Aires instead of Davis this summer? So does Professor Pablo Ortiz. Learn about studying upper division music or Spanish in Argentina.

Afghan Bar Association Meeting

7 to 9 p.m.

192 Young

Join the Afghan Student Association and find out information about law school.

WEDNESDAY

Study Abroad Info Session: Brazil

Noon to 1 p.m.

Education Abroad Center, Third and A streets

Learn about Professor Leo Bernucci’s program in Bahia, Brazil and how you can spend your summer experiencing the rainforest.

Study Abroad Info Session: Germany

4 to 5 p.m.

Education Abroad Center, Third and A streets

Interested in community organization? Spend three weeks in Freiberg, Germany and one week in Treviso, Italy this summer taking upper division community and regional development courses!

THIRDeYE Theatre Festival

8 p.m.

Wyatt Pavilion Theatre

Join the THIRDeYE Theatre as they present three original one-act plays!

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.