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Editorial: Homecoming bonfire

Opinion

Opinion

October 20, 2009

With a university as old as UC Davis, traditions are bound to come and go. Some last only a few years; others are as old as our grandparents.

The homecoming bonfire was one of those traditions that had been around as long as anyone could remember – until this year, when it was canceled in the name of the environment.

Senior Associate Athletics Director Cindy Spiro said the bonfire was canceled because wood burning fires have been the subject of much political debate in the past year in Davis, and it was a matter of “being polite to our neighbors.”

That’s a nice thought, but a weak argument. The bonfire is typically held south of the Schaal Aquatics Center, nearly a mile from the Davis city limits and even farther from any actual houses. It’s a bit of a stretch to suggest any neighbors would be negatively affected by smoke from the fire.

And when has being polite to our neighbors ever stopped the university from doing anything? The Davis Night Sky Ordinance, designed to preserve naturally dark skies at night, hasn’t stopped us from installing high-powered lighting at Schaal, the intramural fields or Aggie Stadium. Strong opposition from West Davis neighbors wasn’t enough to stop the university from planning the massive West Village development on what was once farmland.

Another stated reason for ending the bonfire was its environmental impact. While the fire certainly had some environmental impact, it was likely negligible compared to what comes out of area chimneys every night, or what comes out of vehicle tailpipes 24 hours a day. A smaller bonfire would have been a better way to reduce the impact while still preserving tradition.

The end of the bonfire certainly isn’t the end of the world, but it’s sad to see another popular tradition fall by the wayside.

The stewards of campus traditions should strive to preserve them, and when times change, to modify them to comply with modern demands. Traditions should never be ended without a compelling justification. The reasons given for ending the homecoming bonfire fell short of that standard.

ASUCD elections

Opinion

Opinion

October 20, 2009

It’s clear just by checking Facebook that ASUCD Senate campaigning has begun.

As our group invitations multiply with the promises and platform goals of hopeful candidates, we extend our encouragement to anyone – and we mean anyone – who wants to be a senator.

There are only three requirements to run for senator.

The first is to get 125 signatures on a petition requesting student support. This is an extremely easy feat. In a campus of approximately 24,000 undergraduate students, 125 signatures is a mere drop of water; meriting 125 signatures means rounding up .5 percent of the student population to sign a piece of paper. This could be accomplished before class in a small lecture hall, or perhaps during lunchtime at the Memorial Union. It’s really not that hard.

The second requirement is to not be on probation with Student Judicial Affairs. But even if you cheat on a test or steal from the ASUCD Coffee House, all you have to do is attend an informal disposition procedure to get out of probation. Essentially, don’t steal or cheat, but if you do, apologize.

The third requirement is to be in good academic standing, which generally means having a 2.0 GPA or higher. Granted this isn’t as easy as, say, getting 125 signatures on a petition, but it’s not too difficult either.

And that’s it. That’s all one has to do to be eligible to run for senate. You don’t have to run with a slate; you don’t have to be actively involved in ASUCD; you don’t even have to have any platform goals, although if you’re running for senate, presumably you should at least have a few new ideas in mind. There isn’t even an application – just a place on the petition for contact information.

We’re not complaining either. The all-inclusive nature of these elections represents a valuable trait of democracy. Anyone can make a change, and the more people who try to do so means more change will be made.

Election packets are available in room 348 of the MU and are due tomorrow in the same room. So see what it’s like to run in an election.

Even if you don’t win, you will have had the experience of a true, democratic American – in addition to some extra padding on your resume.

Study examines academic, social causes of sleep deprivation

City News

City Editor

October 20, 2009

Many college students are paying little heed to the recommended eight hours of sleep mantra.

Last month, the Sleep Quality Index and the Center for Disease Control’s National College Health Risk Survey was released with less than desirable results.

Out of the 859 students who partook in the survey, 76.6 percent reported occasional sleep problems and 82 percent reportedly experienced “general morning tiredness.”

The findings of the survey said certain behaviors were linked with less sleep and poor sleep quality. Drinking, smoking, fighting and suicidal thoughts were more prevalent in students with less sleep. Twenty-eight percent reported having insomnia.

The Journal of Adolescent Health added that 68 percent of college students, age 17 to 24, have problems sleeping due to stress. This group had a heightened use of prescription, over-the-counter and recreational drugs.

Dr. Steven Brass, assistant professor of neurology at UC Davis and co-medical director of the Sleep Medicine Division at UC Davis Medical Center, said the demand of classes, social activities and a new atmosphere are significant reasons why college students tend not to get the recommended eight hours of sleep.

Another cause behind some students’ restless nights may be due to a delayed sleep schedule.

“Teenagers and young adults often naturally develop this delayed sleep phase,” Brass said.

This disorder of sleep timing causes an individual to feel more comfortable going to bed at times not typically associated with a class schedule. For example, a person with a delayed sleep phase feels more comfortable going to bed at 2 a.m. and waking up at 10 a.m., Brass said.

Both behavioral and physiological consequences accompany sleep deprivation. Brass said that limited sleep can worsen any mood disorder, cause trouble with attention and memory and increase the risk of accidents. If sleep deprivation is long-term it could potentially lead to health problems such as diabetes and obesity.

First-year animal science major Ford Peterson attests to many of these effects.

“It’s hard to get up [without enough sleep] and my overall awareness is definitely impacted,” Peterson said. “In class it’s rough.”

Peterson also said dorm life makes sleeping well difficult.

“Home is much more comfortable,” Peterson said.

Rachel Aquino, a junior communication major, said that part of the explanation for why college students have a hard time procuring sleep stems from the new liberty college life offers.

“It’s harder to have discipline because we have more independence [than in high school] and don’t exercise self-control over sleep,” Aquino said.

USA Today published an article that referenced a study at St. Lawrence University, which examined a common student study tactic. The research found that sleep deprivation in the form of all-nighters was not a successful study method. The study found a correlation between sleep and grade point average: those who slept more had higher GPAs.

Member of the UC Davis Women’s Volleyball Team, Katie Denny, an undeclared sophomore, emphasizes how important it is to budget time to avoid procrastination, and in turn, sleepless nights.

“I need [sleep] that much more because I have to be alert and on top of it for both volleyball and school,” Denny said.

A common misconception says alcohol causes sleepiness. Brass said that apart from not contributing to sleep, alcohol actually causes fragmented sleep. Fragmented sleep is light with interruptions and little, if any, time in the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep stage.

There are some actions that can improve sleep “hygiene,” Brass said. Sleep hygiene encompasses a number of practices, including a regular sleep schedule, no large meals before bed, limited caffeine after noon, abstaining from naps in the afternoon and avoiding exercise within four hours of bedtime.

“Your bed should be used just for sleep,” Brass said.

Activities such as homework, movie watching and internet surfing should be allocated to a different section of the bedroom, signaling the mind and body to associate the bed only for sleep.

Although sleep hygiene is beneficial, in the end, college students just need sleep – plain and simple – to combat sleep deprivation and its repercussions.

“The best pill for sleep deprivation is sleep,” Brass said.

KELLEY REES can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

Davis issues proclamation for world peace march

City News

City Editor

October 20, 2009

Through a proclamation, Davis is taking one small step in the worldwide effort to promote world peace.

Today the Davis City Council will be making the proclamation for the World March for Peace and Nonviolence at 6:30 p.m. at the City Hall building.

Now in its third week, the worldwide march was started by a group of 25 marchers in New Zealand on Oct. 2 and has made its way through over 100 countries. The march promotes nonviolent causes such as nuclear disarmament and the signing of nonaggression treaties. The proclamation today is a prelude to the march in Sacramento, where people will meet on Dec. 2 at noon on the West Capitol Steps. The march will end in Punta de Vacas, Argentina on Jan. 2, 2010.

Davis City Councilmember and UC Davis Alumnus Lamar Heystek, who spearheaded Davis’ involvement in the proclamation, will be a keynote speaker at the event.

“Peace and nonviolence are grand concepts but they can be implemented in practical ways in our community,” Heystek said. “I’m hoping this will inspire us in Davis to get more involved with these issues.”

U.S. World March spokesperson Chris Wells has been working with the march for about a year.

“Enough is enough,” Wells said. “Tens of thousands of children die of hunger every day and a small percentage of what the world spends on weapons could feed them.”

For Trudi Lee Richards, Davis and Sacramento march coordinator, world peace holds personal meaning.

“This is something that gives great meaning to my life,” Richards said. “I had my twin girls 28 years ago when everyone was worried about the [atomic] bomb. I was terrified that my daughters would grow up in a holocaust and that’s when I started working for peace and as I kept working my fears went away.”

Woodland High School’s Peer Mediators will speak at the proclamation ceremony. The Peer Mediator program allows high school teens to work to promote peaceful conflict resolution among their peers.

Senior Peer Mediator Gina Alvarado trains other mediators and has been involved with mediation for two years.

“There’s so much violence in the world over the most ridiculous reasons,” Alvarado said. “We’re hoping this will show people that there are things to do besides fighting and help them to just get along and have civil conversations.”

The event will showcase current efforts to promote nonviolence by people like Alavarado and educate others about the issues that the march addresses.

“We really want to spotlight young peoples’ roles in the effort for peace and nonviolence in hopes that we can bring this sort of thing to schools around Davis,” said Heystek.

Anyone can join the march and participants may march as far as they choose – whether it be for a mile or all the way to Argentina.

“Anyone who wants to join the march is free to do so,” Alvarado said. “We expect anywhere from a few hundred to a couple thousand people.”

The march has seen tremendous success around the world, attracting millions of people. Highlights include the formation of the world’s largest peace sign in the Philippines and over 7,000 Italians singing John Lennon’s “Imagine.” In India, Tara Gandhi Bhattacharji, Mahatma Gandhi’s granddaughter, joined the march.

Alvarado said peace is a conscious choice.

“I used to resolve my problems violently, but I see now that violence won’t accomplish anything,” she said. “I’m choosing a peaceful life rather than a hateful one.”

Richards hopes the march will give people the initiative to bring change to the world.

“We hope to help people realize that it’s in our power to change the dark direction our world is headed in through mutual support and solidarity,” said Richards. “We can show that humans are not limited to violence and destruction and that we can work together for a better future.”

Wells believes everyone can contribute.

“The march is built with initiatives so people are free to do what they want, from something very simple to something bigger,” said Wells. “You can be creative and you can be part of building the new world.”

JANE TEIXEIRA can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

School of Medicine

Campus News

Campus Editor

October 20, 2009

The UC Davis School of Medicine (SOM) and Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing have been asked to reduce their budget by approximately $6 million this year in response to a campus wide shortfall of over $113 million for the 2009-10 year.

Reductions in admissions, scaled-back programming and operational streamlining are all part of what Executive Associate Dean Frederick Meyers calls good business management. He said this type of streamlining happens every year as the SOM strives to become more efficient.

“We’re continuously looking at how we do business,” Meyers said. “This is not just a result of budget cuts, but more a matter of always being fiscally prudent and providing outstanding care.”

The School of Medicine usually takes 105 students every year, but is only taking 93 incoming students for 2009. This is a one-year cutback, but whether or not all 13 closed spots will re-open is a decision that will be made based on many factors, including state funding.

Other steps being taken include eliminating vacant positions, delayed hiring, salary reductions and furloughs.

Staff and faculty will be furloughed based on proportions of salary paid by the state versus external funds and grants. Also, faculty funded by gifts and endowments may be called back from furlough to honor the intents of philanthropic donors.

However, there are facets of the SOM that will not be affected adversely by the fiscal situations.

Charity care, free medical treatment given to underinsured patients who otherwise lack access to high-quality treatment, has doubled from $100 million to $200 million this year.

Another important contribution of the SOM that will not be cut this year is the Rural Programs in Medical Education (PRIME) training program. Established in 2007, Rural PRIME helps train 12 medical students every year to serve in California’s rural areas.

“Twenty percent of the population of California lives in rural areas, but only 9 percent of physicians practice rurally,” SOM officials said in a collaborative response to questions. “UC Davis is committed to addressing the lack of access in rural areas, and to reducing health care disparities in rural populations.”

Administrators say the SOM will continue efforts in fundraising and adopting new practices to meet the challenge of less funding over the next several years by working closely with UC President Mark Yudof and new Chancellor Linda Katehi.

BRIAN GERSON can be reached at campus@theaggie.org

College of Mathematics and Physical Sciences

Campus News

Campus Editor

October 20, 2009

Budget Cuts are taking their toll across UC Davis, and the College of Mathematics and Physical Sciences (MPS) has not gone unscathed.

“Budget cuts such as [those] imposed on the campus in the past 16 months are new to most of us,” said Warren Pickett, professor and chair of the physics department.

According to Pickett, seven percent of the college’s operating budget was cut in July 2008, but the newest budget reductions demanded are greater than 50 percent more. These cuts come in addition to diminished staff salaries affected through the furlough program implemented in September.

“The budgets cuts this time come at the end of a period of reductions and several years of unfunded enrollment growth,” said Bruno Nachtergaele, professor and chair of the mathematics department. “There is little money left in reserves, if any, and the university’s retirement fund is in bad shape.”

The college has already made reductions in the number of TAs, lectures, sections per course as well as the decision to leave many staff positions vacant in lieu of rehiring after retirements.

“We had to close two courses and increase class sizes in existing courses,” said Carlito B. Lebrilla, professor and chair of the chemistry department. “A lot of other staff positions that support teaching [such as those for] electronics equipment and the lab dispensary have been diminished also.”

The mathematics department has reduced its operating budget by 30 percent, cutting expenses by 20 percent by having staff pay for their own paper copying services and replacing standard phones with internet-based VoIP phones. The remaining 10 percent, however, came out of department reserves, which is likely to be unavailable if further cuts are made next year.

“The proposed cuts, approaching 10 percent [of] our departmental operating budget for 2009-10 are much more draconian than any I can recall in my 25 years at UC Davis,” said geology professor and department chair Peter Schiffman. “When nearly 90 percent of our annual budget is in salaries, it doesn’t leave much left for anything else, like running field trips, renting microscopes for coursework, purchasing classroom supplies, etc.”

The physics department, like other programs throughout the university, has eliminated its non-tenured temporary lecturers in favor of increased faculty-taught class sizes and advanced students who need teaching experience.

“The department is avidly looking for ways to share staff responsibilities and services with other MPS departments,” department chair Warren Pickett said. “Dealing with the cuts will require other changes, and trying to find the best way forward is another drain on time and effort.”

In spite of concern for the impact of the operating budget cuts, the research budget will remain unaffected due in part to federal stimulus money. Grants awarded are however still subject to an overhead tax of as much as 50 percent to help fund the university, and since the larger grants require staff assistance to implement, the use of grants puts additional stress on the staff.

“It ought to be a higher priority for the state to return to funding it at sustainable levels,” Nachtergaele said. “Otherwise we will find out in a couple of decades what a terrible mistake we made.”

-Arnold Lau

School of Law

Campus News

Campus Editor

October 20, 2009

091020_ca_law.c

Headline: School of Law

Among the 13 academic units on campus shouldering the burden of the budget cuts, the UCD School of Law is facing a $700,000 decrease in funds, or 4.2 percent, of its typical budget which, on average, is nearly $17 million.

While these budget reductions are minimal relative to those of UC Davis’ other academic units, they are still having an influence on which operations and events can or cannot be paid for. The law school is reducing travel, networking and discretionary expenses in an attempt to alleviate any potential strains on its academic mission and to avoid the possibility of layoffs, according to Dean Kevin R. Johnson.

“It has been difficult for the School of Law…we’ve had to tighten our belts, [but] so far we’ve been able to stabilize things,” Johnson said. “I think the faculty and staff have been feeling it…these are hard times, but all the units will have to undergo [these] cuts.”

However the situation still seems dire from the perspective of many students.

“Law school is already so expensive without these tuition hikes,” said first year law student Samantha Batista.

With students paying $33,949 in registration fees, and their non-resident peers paying an additional $12,245, enrollment at the School of Law is already expensive.

“There’s a point to going to a [public] school…it should be more cost-effective than a private university,” said Kathleen Kenney, a second year out-of-state law student originally from Nebraska.

However, Kenney also understands the difficulty of the situation.

“The law school administration has really positive intentions…they’re doing the best they can and I really appreciate that,” she said. “This isn’t their fault.”

Nevertheless, tuition hikes are not the only obstacles the School of Law is running into.

Announced in September 2007 and starting a year later, the School of Law is embarking upon an expansion and renovation project for their King Hall facility, which is located near Mrak Hall on campus. The project, costing approximately $30 million according to the School of Law’s website, was slated for completion at the end of this year, but now may not reach that point until late 2010.

Even so, Dean Johnson remains supportive of the administration.

“The new chancellor and provost are doing a very good job…I’m very confident in their leadership,” he said. “And [the law school is] going to survive and we will improve.”

-Kyle Sporleder

School of Education

Campus News

Campus Editor

October 20, 2009

The School of Education (SE) received a $290,000 in state funding for the 2009-10 fiscal year, a reduction that totaled 3.9 percent of its financial base.

The school’s administrators did their best to absorb the reduction while still maintaining the quality of the school’s various programs, said Marie Carter-Dubois, assistant dean of administration and finance for the School of Education.

“The dean and I consulted with the faculty and executive committee to determine which areas can absorb some of the cuts,” she said. “We tried to protect the program the most that we can and we used a lot of our reserves to achieve this.”

However, despite the administrators’ efforts, several significant programs underwent a cut in funds.

This included a 15 percent reduction to The Cooperative Research and Extension Services for Schools (CRESS), which administers and funds various education projects in the Sacramento area.

The school also planned to extend education programs and services to more populations in the central valley. The SE had to abandon these plans after the project received a 90 percent cut to its budget.

One of the school’s most vital units, its Teacher Education Program, also received a 10 percent slash in funds. This resulted in an over 20 percent reduction in its personnel, said Barbara Goldman, associate director for teacher education.

“In order to deliver the required curriculum, the size of some course sections were increased,” she said. “However, we avoided increasing class sizes for those courses that are most central to the students’ curriculums.”

The teacher education program also decreased copying costs by using more electronic platforms like Smartsite and reduced the $300 usually given to credential students who assist teachers in their classrooms.

Goldman said that the teacher education program was more susceptible to cuts because fewer of its faculty members are part of the academic senate and therefore, its funding includes more “flexible money.”

“The deans are under a lot of pressure and their degrees of freedom are not that great,” Goldman said. “Unfortunately the burden fell to us more this year but I think we have done a good job of making decisions that won’t disadvantage students.”

Despite the cut to its budget, enrollment for the teacher credential program increased by 9.8 percent this year and enrollment for the school of education has remained stable.

“I think it says a lot about our program and what we have to offer,” Goldman said.

-Erica Lee

Aggies win two five-setters

Sports

Sports Editor

October 19, 2009

Aggies head coach Jamie Holmes knew this weekend would be a tough road trip for her team. At the same time she felt confident with her team’s performance on the road as they began the season with 14 straight games away from home.

“I’m pretty encouraged,” Holmes said. “I think our team plays well on the road, and we’ll be able to get back into our on-the-road-routine.”

The road trip was not to be an easy one for the Aggies as they were set to face a strong team in UC Santa Barbara and a team with more talent than its record indicates in Cal Poly.

“UC Santa Barbara is doing some really good things, while Cal Poly has the potential to be really good,” Holmes said. “Athlete-for-athlete they play a lot higher over the net than we do. So I want us to do a really good job playing all out defense.”

The Aggies did not disappoint their coach taking down their conference foes in five exciting sets on both Friday and Saturday.

Friday – UC Davis 3, Cal Poly 2

On Friday night the Aggies took on the Mustangs of Cal Poly, a team with a lot of athleticism and talent. The Aggies found a way to squeeze past the Mustangs with a 19-25, 27-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-12 victory in San Luis Obispo.

The Aggies were lead by freshman outside hitter Allison Whitson who tallied a match-high 20 kills while junior Kayla Varney had 14 kills and 17 digs to help lead the Aggies over the Mustangs.

Cal Poly and UC Davis had 25 total ties in the second and fourth sets both of which the Aggies won. The game four win sent the match into a deciding fifth set.

Freshman Kaitlyn Plum served up an ace while Varney and Kaite Denny each pounded a kill, getting the Aggies up 6-3 start in the final set. The Aggies never looked back from there as they kept the lead throughout the set, finishing off the Mustangs by a fifth-set score of 15-12.

Saturday – UC Davis 3, UC Santa Barbara 2

One night later, the Aggies traveled to Santa Barbara to take on the Gauchos. UCSB had never lost to UC Davis in 11 past matches between the two sides.

Even though history was working against them, the Aggies found a way to upset the Gauchos in the Thunderdome in five-set fashion, taking the last game 18-16.

The Aggies rallied behind Varney who tallied a team-high 18 kills while hitting at a .382 clip. Junior opposite hitter Melanie Adams added 13 kills and a pair of aces.

The victory pushed the Aggies’ record to 15-7 overall and 6-2 in conference play as they handed the Gauchos their first home loss of the season.

The victory over the Gauchos was big for the Aggies not only because it was their first against UCSB in school history, but also because it was against a team receiving votes in the national coaches’ poll.

The Aggies put their three-game winning streak on the line Saturday as they continue their road swing with a game at Cal State Northridge.

KYLE HYLAND can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Aggies fall to No. 13 Stanford

Sports

Sports Editor

October 19, 2009

If there is one common feature among all successful teams, it’s that they keep their eyes on the prize.

Despite losing 11-1 to Stanford, the first-place team in the NorPac Conference, Coach Vianney Campos and her team know that what really matters is the post-season conference tournament.

“We can’t change our goals because of one game,” Campos said. “If we make it to the championship game we’ll probably have to play Stanford again. If that happens, our girls will have a huge chip on their shoulder. They never go out there expecting to lose.”

From the outset of the game, Stanford proved why it is ranked 13th in the country as the Cardinal had 33 shots, 27 of which were on-goal.

Stanford’s onslaught of shots allowed everybody to get into the mix as seven different players accounted for 11 scores.

Midfielder Midori Uehara was a standout for the Cardinal as she led her team with eight shots on goal, three of which found the back of the net.

After falling behind 7-0 going into halftime, it was apparent that the UC Davis defense was struggling.

“What went wrong was our marking up,” said Campos. “Every time they had the ball in the circle, we let them score. We didn’t play man to man when we should have.”

Freshman forward Liz Siemion accounted for the lone UC Davis goal. In total, the Aggies had six shots – four of which were on goal – and five penalty corners.

With the large deficit, Campos decided to shake things up, putting in back up goalkeeper Conley Cravin.

“Conley had her first minutes ever,” Campos said. “She went out there and played like she’d been doing it all year. She really impressed us so she may see more minutes in the future. Playing time on this team is really based on performance during practice so we’ll see how this week goes.”

Despite the tough loss, the Aggies believe in the system they have in place.

“We can’t change our game plan because of one loss,” Campos said. “We need to work on a few things like marking up in the circle, executing the pass in from the corner and just finishing in general. If we improve on the basics, we’ll be fine.”

While the Aggies still need to improve, their competitiveness will not be lacking as they head into their final two regular season contests.

“They are all doing really well,” Campos said. “They hate losing. They’re all really, really competitive. We had to tell them to never give up, and they didn’t. They showed so much intensity and fight. They really impressed us. Our girls are fighters.”

Next week the Aggies face the California Golden Bears in their final home game this season.

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

Aggies drop two conference games

Sports

Sports Editor

October 19, 2009

Sometimes it’s your day, and sometimes it’s just not.

UC Davis was scheduled to take on UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday at Aggie Soccer Stadium. Mother Nature had other plans.

Rain and wind delayed Wednesday’s 3 p.m. start, pushing kickoff back to Thursday at noon.

While we’ll never know if Wednesday would have gone any differently, Thursday was not the Aggies’ day as they fell to No. 3 UC Santa Barbara 3-0.

Two days later, the Aggies traveled to Cal State Fullerton, looking for a little redemption. Just a week before, the Titans came into Davis and stole a 3-2 win in double overtime.

UC Davis was unable to get the win as the 1-0 loss capped a tough week for the Aggies. With three straight losses, two of which came to Cal State Fullerton, UC Davis is at risk of slipping out of Big West tournament contention.

Thursday – No. 3 UC Santa Barbara 3, UC Davis 0

The Aggies wrapped up their three-game home stand against rival UC Santa Barbara.

The No. 3 Gauchos got on the board early, scoring in just the 3rd minute of play.

The Aggies played well for the rest of the half, but were unable to get on the scoreboard.

“When you play teams in the Big West everybody is good,” Coach Dwayne Shaffer said. “At home you should never give up a goal in the third minute and not even make them earn it. We put ourselves in circumstances we couldn’t overcome.”

Things got more difficult for the Aggies just three minutes into the second half when junior defender Chris Beville was handed a red card by the head referee.

The last time the same referee managed a UC Davis match, he issued three red cards, including one to head coach Dwayne Shaffer.

Despite being a man down, the Aggies were able to hold off a talented Gauchos team for more than 25 minutes before UC Santa Barbara would add to its lead.

Danny Barrera capitalized on a UC Davis defensive miscue, putting the ball into the lower left corner of the net. Barrera also recorded an assist on the day.

“I wouldn’t take anything away from them,” co-captain Paul Marcoux said. “They’re a great team and we were in a tough position, having to throw guys forward early and spreading ourselves thin.”

In the 88th minute, the Gauchos added a third goal to add some insurance to their lead.

“I thought we played a little better than the 3-0 score shows,” Marcoux said.

Saturday – Cal State Fullerton 1, UC Davis 0

Cal State Fullerton was only able to get three shots on frame, but the Titans’ goal in the 15th minute would prove to be enough to beat the Aggies.

Sophomore striker Rene Cuellar led UC Davis with three shots and junior Jason Santos got off two shots of his own in the loss.

Despite being the beneficiary of an 11-on-10 advantage in the 64th minute after Titan defender Jonathan Birt was red carded, the Aggies were still unable able to put a ball in net.

The Aggies drop to 5-10 on the season with a 2-4 record in Big West Conference play.

UC Davis will next travel to take on Cal State Northridge on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

JOHN S. HELLER can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Column: Max Rosenblum

Sports

Sports Editor

October 19, 2009

It was homecoming in South Dakota. There were 9,884 people packed inside the DakotaDome. The UC Davis players were dressing out on the sidelines because the visiting locker room was too small.

Not much was on the Aggies’ side last week in Vermillion, S.D., but as the introductions were happening for the home team, the UC Davis football team had a long time to sit, think and focus.

“The locker room was 10 (feet) by 10 (feet),” said first-year defensive coordinator Mark Johnson. “Our whole crew couldn’t get in there, so there were guys dressing out in the crowd and on the sideline. There were people in the stands and stuff going on everywhere and our guys were pulling their stuff on.

“The band was playing and they were introducing everybody. Our guys were just sitting there. There was a quiet focus about them.”

That time to focus may have been the turning point of the season for the UC Davis defensive and team as a whole as it gutted out the 24-23 overtime victory.

“Our guys battled,” Johnson said. “I told them you are going to have to do whatever it takes to win this game and they did.”

The Aggies did everything they needed to and one week later, that same team was hitting on all cylinders during its homecoming celebration.

“I just think that they are really locked in,” Johnson said. “The more repetitions, the better they are going to get at our system. It’s not much different than what coach [Lou] Bronzan was instilling in them, but it is a little bit. They have picked it up and ran with it.”

UC Davis showed what it has learned as it manhandled Winston-Salem State 45-14 on Saturday, scoring touchdowns in all three facets of the game.

The Aggie defensive unit played particularly well, as it recorded seven tackles for a loss, five sacks, three forced fumbles – one of which was ran back for a touchdown – and two interceptions.

To give you an even better idea of how well the Aggie defense was playing, one of Winston-Salem State’s two touchdowns was scored after a UC Davis player stripped the ball from the opposing running back, allowing a Rams player to pounce on it in the end zone.

“That’s the way defense is supposed to work,” said head coach Bob Biggs. “Everybody has a responsibility. Everybody is assigned a gap. All year long defensively, I feel like we have been flying around the field and that’s what you saw tonight. Everybody was getting to the ball carrier.”

The UC Davis defense is playing with a whole new purpose, Johnson said.

“After the Boise State game,” Johnson said, “I pulled the defense in and said, ‘Great job. We did the best we could do.’ I prefaced it with ‘never accept losing,’ but I’m saying you are working the right way. I stepped back and one of my kids came over and said, ‘Coach, I am sick and tired of this moral victory stuff. How do we do this? How do we win these games?'”

Johnson’s answer?

“I said the only way I know how to do this is to keep your head down, keep walking forward, and do exactly what we need to do every week to win,” Johnson said. “They are doing exactly what they need to do right now.”

Co-captain and linebacker Mike Morales shared the enthusiasm of his coaches after the dominating victory.

“We blitzed all night,” Morales said. “Our goal was to just go at them. We just played our defense, flew around, hit the quarterback and forced some turnovers. It felt good to get the win and get the turnovers.”

Still, Morales doesn’t plan on stopping at Saturday’s game, believing the Aggies still have a lot of work to do with five games remaining on the schedule

“Every day, we try to get a little bit better and this is a product of it,” Morales said. “This isn’t the final product.”

Johnson shares the same sentiment as Morales, quoting former Pittsburgh Steelers great “Mean Joe” Green to get his point across.

“[Green] said, ‘I have the perfect game in my repertoire. I know myself and my teammates have the ability to play the perfect game, and until we reach that, I will never be satisfied,'” Johnson said. “If we can keep thinking that way and driving for it, then we have got a chance.”

MAX ROSENBLUM now understands where the UC Davis defense gets its intensity. Show yours at sports@theaggie.org.

Aggie Digest

Sports

Sports Editor

October 19, 2009

Cross Country

The Aggie women finished 15th while the men came in at 30th overall this weekend at the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind.

Sophomore Sarah Sumpter led the Aggie women with a team-best time of 21:21.9 in the 6K ‘blue’ race, good for 34th overall. Sophomore Abbey Gallaher finished 70th overall with a time of 21:52.0.

As a team, the UC Davis women were the highest finishers of all competing Big West Conference teams.

On the men’s side, Jonathan Peterson paced the squad in the 8K ‘white’ race with a time 24:44.5, finishing 68th out of 237 runners

Next up for the Aggies is the Big West in Riverside, Calif. on Oct. 31.

Aggie Digest is compiled by the California Aggie sports staff with briefs from the UC Davis athletics website, ucdavisaggies.com.

Column: Beth Sekishiro

Opinion

Opinion

October 19, 2009

Who am I? The school tells me I’m a senior, but I’m a freshman at heart. I’m stuck in that phase of wide-eyed wonder as I discover the world is nothing like I thought it was. Fortunately for you readers, these discoveries are often the result of my extravagant and (to the third-party observer) hilarious screw-ups. As the demotivational poster says, “It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.” So gather round, kids, and learn from Grandma Beth’s haphazard stumble through this thing we call life.

I owe much of my maturity (and boatloads of my immaturity) to the Cal Aggie Marching Band-uh!. As a freshman, I literally cried about everything. Drum major gently tells me not to be afraid of marching the right moves? I struggle to hide my tears. Four-day band camp is a little intense? I sneak off for five minutes, bawl my eyes out, and move on to the next activity. Every time someone corrected me, even nicely, I assumed they hated my silly little freshman guts.

But by spring quarter, being a wimp was getting too exhausting. I decided it was time to laugh off my numerous mistakes and start enjoying myself in band – and I did. Life got a lot more joyful. Now, I’m co-leader of the 30-member clarinet section, and my darling freshman class is unwittingly paying me back for all the havoc I wreaked as a first-year. Turnabout is fair play.

I’ve also acquired a hefty amount of practical wisdom from the Jesus-loving community in Davis. When I came to college, I thought I knew Jesus, but I had no idea. Okay, I had some idea, but it was this dynamic and freakishly nice group of college students actually living out his radical love that helped me find purpose in life.

These cool upperclassmen would invite me over to their grown-up (read: furnished from a dumpster) apartments and take the time to hang out with a lame-o freshman. Half the time, I was just there for the free food – my band uppers kept taking my swipes, and I was terrified of running out. (I didn’t.) The other half of the time, I was stoked to be at an apartment with two-ply toilet paper. Sorry, Tercero, but your weak and scratchy tissue just didn’t do it for me. I always roiled with envy at the dorm floors that spent their communal fund on real TP. But bathroom humor aside, it changed my life to have people genuinely care about me so much, and now I want to pay it forward with the befuddled freshmen in my own life. Again, turnabout is fair play.

Sometimes, one epic fiasco is all it takes to learn a lesson. One afternoon of shivering half-naked and walking disoriented into a campus bathroom was enough to ensure I’d never again stand out in the pouring rain for hours on end. Talk about a lousy Picnic Day. But other times, it takes two or three or 10 times for the message to hit home. The results are in: After three years of college, a change of major and the advent of my taste for coffee, procrastinating on my term papers is still not a good idea.

So who am I? I’m a Jesus freak and a marching band geek. I’m here to make all of life’s classic mistakes so that you don’t have to. I’m your friendly neighborhood Aggie columnist.

BETH SEKISHIRO is currently out of toilet paper at her apartment and knows her houseguests are judging her. She might learn her lesson after the Kleenex and paper towels run out, too. She can be reached at blseki@ucdavis.edu.

Column: Mario Lugo

Opinion

Opinion

October 19, 2009

Year after year, a new pool of wide-eyed freshmen flood campus in search of new experiences – or maybe just for where their next class is. Two years ago, I was one of them. Having memorized the campus map and outlined my class-to-class routes beforehand, I concentrated on these new experiences.

My name is Mario Lugo (because Carrie Bradshaw was already taken) and I’m a writer. With that in mind, you can see how desperately I’ve wanted a spot right here in The Aggie on page two, where I’ve spent countless bits of time poring over the pieces of columnists past – and every time I finished reading the day’s two columns, I folded the paper back up and whispered to myself, “I will do this someday.”

Two years and two major changes later, I managed to turn that little whisper into a dream come true. But I’m sure some of you can’t help but wonder: Who is this guy? What could he possibly want to write about? And … is he gay?

Throughout the years, I’ve come to find that defining myself by what I’m not, rather than by what I am, is particularly simpler. Being the free and easy, laid-back, low-maintenance guy I am, (if you knew me, you’d be rolling your eyes and scoffing right now) introducing myself will be done the easy way:

For starters, I am not a weirdo. I’m not the overzealous student in the front of the class who asks too many questions, or the freak that hums show tunes in your calculus class. I’d like to say I’m pretty normal and an interesting person to talk to – minus the occasional slipping of The Hills or Robert Pattinson into daily conversation.

I am not political. If you get your news from CNN or The New York Times, know that I get mine off the pretty pink pages of PerezHilton.com. Don’t get me wrong, I know what’s going on in the world around me but quite frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. There won’t be any economy, healthcare, Obama or Palin talk in this column. To me, stimulating the economy means shopping, healthcare means Nyquil, Obama’s a funny name and Palin had some fierce shoes.

I am not a guy’s guy. Favorite movie: Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Favorite food: chocolate. Favorite Power Ranger: the pink one. Say what you will, but baseball, touchdowns and dunks are all snooze-fests to me. Belching in public (or any other form of passing gas, for that matter) is not something you’ll catch me doing. I spend more time in front of mirrors than any gent should. I enjoy malls. I weep at romantic movies, good books, birthday cards – sometimes even commercials move me to tears. But you know what? I wouldn’t change me for all the shopping sprees in the world. It’s taken me years to finally embrace who I am and I hope that by reading my column, you’ll accept me too.

That’s me in a nutshell, I suppose, and since I can’t call my column “Sex and the City,” I’ll simply tell you just how I plan to use my column to refine your love life. Hey, I have to put all my immense knowledge on the subject somewhere, don’t I? (Scoff here.)

The last two years have been … eventful, to say the least, particularly in matters of the heart. Being a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve, it’s expected for him to journey through the rollercoaster that is love. The ups, the downs, the joys, the pangs … I’ve been there. And I know many of you have been there, too.

But you don’t have to go through it alone – I won’t let you. So I’m using this column as a guide for everyone; a compass, if you will, guiding you on love’s winding road. Romantic relationships, or lack thereof, are an important part in finding ourselves. I’m not saying I know everything about relationships, but I do have some tricks of my sleeve that may help you out.

Perhaps my column will just be the lining to your guinea pig’s cage, or maybe you’ll read it before class every now and again. But I’m hoping that somewhere out there, a wide-eyed freshman reads my column and whispers to him or herself, “I will do this someday.”

MARIO LUGO loves to quote movies, songs, books, poems – you name it. E-mail him at mlugo@ucdavis.edu if you’ve found what he referenced in this column.

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