The International House at Davis hosted the first Vanderhoef International lecture Monday night in honor of Chancellor Emeritus Larry Vanderhoef and his distinguished efforts toward resolving international conflict via academic diplomacy.

The inaugural address kicked off International Education Week, a weeklong, UC-wide series of events designed to promote awareness and understanding of cultural diversity, increasing cross-cultural interaction and furthering worldwide interdependence.

“[Vanderhoef] has really made this an international campus,” said Elisabeth Sherwin, executive director of the International House. “We wanted to recognize him for what he has done for international students.”

The theme of the speech was “building bridges,” or creating connections between countries and peoples to help promote greater stability and mutual understanding in the world.

During the inaugural lecture, Vanderhoef presented anecdotes of his travels in his efforts to bring better cultural understanding through improving academic relations with the many countries he visited.

“These are the first steps to peace in the world,” Vanderhoef said. “We need to bring people together to live and get to know each others’ values, so [we] won’t jump to conclusions based on headlines.”

Vanderhoef cited the increasing number of students electing to study abroad in the past years, but emphasized these numbers should be much higher. This could be remedied by easing misconceptions about study abroad program expenses.

He also proposed making graduate-requisite coursework more widely available to students that elect to study abroad.

“He placed a special emphasis on international education,” said Sean Duggan, president of the International House board of directors. “He wanted to make international thinking central, and we’re pleased to be having him for this first lecture.”

Vanderhoef recounted some of his experiences during his 25 years of work with UC Davis. He warned the audience of general issues with traveling abroad, such as the initial culture shock and also health and safety concerns in dangerous areas.

Vanderhoef also shared some eye-opening experiences with this audience. In one such anecdote, he recounted a conversation he had with an Iranian schoolgirl during his visit to Iran in 2004. The girl had asked Vanderhoef whether or not America perceived all Iranians as terrorists. Discussion regarding cultural barriers and misconceptions ensued.

Vanderhoef addressed some of the successes UC Davis alumni were making possible. He noted a recently bolstered program to bring students to learn at the newly reconstructed Globe Theater in London, his meeting with four of the Egyptian Ministry – two of whom were UC Davis alumni, as well as a newly instituted school for the handicapped in Japan, with a winery courtesy of yet another UCD alum.

“[Such partnerships allow] people to interact with different cultures,” Vanderhoef said. “We have to overcome the problem of understanding one another because of their culture – it’s one of the most important things we can do.”

ARNOLD LAU can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

On a pillar outside Olson Hall is a faint chalk mark reading “9.3 percent,” or the amount UC regents raised student fees in May.

Now, that number is a relic of the past, as the 26 UC Regents vote today on whether to further increase student fees 32 percent, starting this spring and continuing into the fall of 2010.

Yet, as the percentage of increase becomes more drastic, so do the actions of students opposed to such fee hikes. Instead of chalk marks on campus buildings, hundreds of UC Davis students bussed out to UC Berkeley this morning. Staff and faculty will be joining students in a systemwide protest against the regents’ expected decision to increase student fees.

“Fee increases are always a last resort,” said UC Spokesperson Leslie Sepuka. “No one wants to increase fees. But there are two primary sources of educational funding – state and student fees. The fees are a short term solution, they weren’t anything we rushed to do.”

The regents’ meetings began at 2:30 p.m. yesterday at UCLA with discussions and a vote approving the UC construction budget of $631.5 million.

At this morning’s meeting, regents will discuss and vote on the fee increase. At their September meeting earlier this year, representatives announced they would likely approve the increase.

The fee increase will push student undergraduate fees to $10,302 per year. It will be implemented in two parts: one 15 percent increase this spring and another 15 percent increase in the fall of 2010. Regents will vote on a 2.6 percent increase for graduate academic students to be implemented this spring as well.

“These fees are getting out of hand,” said Sergio Blanco, a junior political science major. “When you ask students for more money at a time like this, it really takes away from our education.”

The fees will generate $117.2 million this year and $291.7 million next academic year. Of that total, $146 million will be reserved for financial aid, according to the regents’ finance committee report.

“The fee revenue will be used to restore cancelled courses that students need to graduate on time, to hire more faculty and to begin to address the issue of larger class sizes,” Sepuka said. “It’ll also help us to restore some student services, such as more regular library hours. It will not be used to fund capital projects.”

Regents also plan to vote today on cutting freshman enrollment by 2,300 students for next fall.

To protest these votes, students and faculty have organized several demonstrations. Some will not attend class today to express opposition to the vote. Additionally, buses for the systemwide Berkeley protest left this morning at 9 a.m. Protests at the UC Berkeley campus began at 5 a.m., and will continue with a massive rally starting at noon.

On Thursday, students and faculty will protest outside of Mrak Hall at 11 a.m.

“We as students are in a unique and powerful position to organize social change,” said Sarah Raridon, a senior human development major. “We don’t have to worry about losing tenure. We can use the resources around us and take immediate responsibility.”

UC officials do not condone the protests this week, Sepuka said. They are viewed as healthy forms of self-expression – one that universities have used to correct social issues throughout history.

“I understand that students aren’t happy,” said Russell Gould, chairman of the regents in an interview with The Sacramento Bee. “The reality is we need to support the quality of this institution and we’ll take the action necessary to do that.”

The most tension occurs in the belief that increasing student fees and enforcing faculty furloughs is a necessary action.

“The one-sided nature of the regents’ responses is suspicious,” said Jeffery Bergamini, a computer programmer for the Hart interdisciplinary program. “They are paying workers less and making students pay more. When so little of students’ tuition goes to what they see is their education, that makes me suspicious.”

Bergamini also spoke at Monday’s “teach-in,” a series of presentations given by graduate students, professors, union members and undergraduate students. He presented his calculations regarding the cost of instruction, concluding that 25 percent of students’ tuition pays for actual instruction.

Bergamini also suggested possible alternatives to student fee increases, including using medical center profits and correcting what he believes are faulty UC investments.

Other speakers at Monday’s teach-in include Ian Kennedy, chair of the UC Davis Faculty Association, English graduate students Catherine Fung and Kaitlin Walker, AFSME member Tarone Bittner, English professor Joshua Clover, ESL lecturer Jim Davis and Raridon.

The main focus of the teach-in was to prepare for this week’s protests and share information pertinent to the fee increases.

“The livelihoods of UC employees are in jeopardy,” said Nathan Brown, English professor and participant in the teach-in. “This is an urgent moment for everyone who cares about public education.”

LAUREN STEUSSY can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Turkeys aren’t the ones feeling the impending doom of Thanksgiving. Some college-aged couples also must face the reality of the “turkey drop.”

Urbandictionary.com defines the “turkey drop” as “when a dating couple try the long-distance relationship thing when they go off to college in September. Typically, when Thanksgiving rolls around and everyone goes home for the holiday, someone gets dumped. Hence the turkey drop.”

If this sounds relatively familiar, don’t worry – you are not alone. This dating phenomenon has been recognized by psychologists as a fairly common event among first-year students.

To address this issue, UC Davis’ Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is holding a wellness workshop today at the ARC in meeting room 3 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

“The truth is, the primary student complaint at all times of the year involves intimate relationships,” said Kate Leinberger, UC Davis CAPS Psychologist. “This is not surprising; it is not unusual for [relationships] to preoccupy a lot of student attentions.”

The workshop’s primary focus will not be strictly limited to this specific phenomenon of the “turkey drop,” but will instead have a larger focus on general relationship issues and ways to build healthy relationships.

Consisting largely of interactive activities, the workshop will allow students to reflect on their relationship values, experiences in prior relationships and ways to develop healthy relationship patterns.

“During college many students are figuring out what their values and hopes are for romantic relationships,” said Lindsey Brooks, Pre-doctoral intern and one of the presenters of today’s workshop.

“Along the way many students face challenges in the process. This workshop will provide students an opportunity to reflect on their experiences in relationships and gain information on relationships,” she said.

The turkey drop workshop, which will be headed by interns Lindsey Brooks and Marissa Berman, is just one of the many workshops held by CAPS.

The workshops are part of an ongoing series known as Wellness Wednesdays, and are designed to enhance general well being and are facilitated by CAPS in collaboration with Campus Recreation.

Past workshops have included “Coping with Financial Stress,” “Myth of the Freshman 15” and “The Art of Sleeping.”

“Workshops such as these provide an opportunity for students to sit down with a psychologist and evaluate what the breaking point is in an unhealthy relationship,” Leinberger said.

All workshops are held Wednesday evenings at the ARC in meeting room 3. Next week’s workshop, “Get Pumped Up for Finals,” will be the last workshop of the quarter. Students can find out more information on Wellness Wednesdays by visiting caps.ucdavis.edu.

REBECCA SHRAGGE can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Car Trouble

A student was referred to Student Judicial Affairs (SJA) by a professor who believed that the student had falsified documents for academic reasons. The student had missed an exam due to alleged car trouble and had provided the professor with a receipt from the mechanic as an excuse. However, when the professor attempted to verify the car trouble with the garage, the number had been disconnected. This led the instructor to suspect that the mechanic’s receipt had been fabricated. The student was able to provide further information about the repair shop (including a working phone number), so SJA was able to verify the student’s excuse and she was cleared of all charges.

E-mail

A student was referred to SJA for committing plagiarism and agreed to the sanction of deferred separation until graduation. The student then sent an e-mail to a faculty member claiming that SJA had dropped all his charges and found him not in violation, which was false. SJA had found that the student plagiarized, which is a violation of the Code of Academic Conduct even if the plagiarism was unintentional. This false information in the e-mail caused the student to be referred to SJA again. Although no additional sanctions were given, the student was warned that further violations would lead to his suspension.

Homework

A student was referred to SJA for fabricating a homework assignment. Several weeks after it was due, the student brought the TA a homework assignment that was marked as if it had been corrected, and submitted this as evidence that the TA had simply forgotten to give the student credit in her grade book. However, the TA noticed that the grade markings were a different ink color and were not in her handwriting, and the student finally admitted to fabricating the assignment. The student agreed to a sanction of disciplinary probation for two years. While on disciplinary probation, if the student commits any further violations, she will likely be suspended or dismissed.

The Campus Judicial Report is compiled by student members of the Campus Judicial Board. Additional information about SJA and the Campus Judicial Board may be found at sja.ucdavis.edu.