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Aggies drop three of four at UCI Invite

Sports

Sports Editor

October 13, 2009

UC Davis trailed by only one goal to No. 6 UC Santa Barbara with just six minutes to play in the opening contest of the UC Irvine Invitational.

A win would pit them against defending national champion, No. 3 Southern California, while a loss would put them in the loser’s bracket and give them a ninth-place finish at best.

The Aggies eventually fell 7-5 to the Gauchos, but their hopes remained high for the rest of the tournament because they had played such a gut-busting game against a highly ranked team.

UC Davis carried the momentum from its previous contest into the next game by defeating No. 17 Bucknell 8-5 later that evening.

As it turned out for the Aggies, the tournament was a tale of two days.

After being dealt a crushing 10-7 loss to a struggling Navy team, the Aggies capped off a tough Sunday of play by getting dealt an 11-4 loss to conference rival No. 11 UC San Diego.

“It’s hard to take anything good away from this weekend after the way we finished,” said captain Brendan Sigourney. “But it’s a good thing we have a week off to figure out what we did wrong, and fix it.”

Saturday- No. 6 Santa Barbara 7, No. 12 UC Davis 5

Despite two goals by senior Jim Breen, the Aggies were unable to come back from a 6-3 halftime deficit.

Freshman Colin Hicks put in a man-up opportunity goal and Jim Breen threw in his second strike of the match to cut it to 6-5 early in the fourth period of play.

That was as close as the Aggies would get, as the Gaucho defense wrangled in the win.

Sophomore goalie Kevin Peat had seven saves in the second half including a huge five-meter penalty block that kept the Aggies within striking distance late in the game.

“I think we played really well,” Breen said. “That Santa Barbara team is good and if we could have put some shots away down the stretch that game was ours.”

Saturday- No. 12 UC Davis 8, No. 17 Bucknell 5

Another two-goal performance by Breen coupled with two two-goal games from Hicks and junior Carlos Martinez was enough to gain the victory over the Bison on Saturday night.

The Aggies never trailed in the contest, and junior Matt Richardson’s goal in the second quarter broke a tie, putting UC Davis up for good.

Solid defense and a slew of second half-scoring gave the Aggies their first and only win of the weekend.

Sunday- No. 17 Navy 10, No. 12 UC Davis 7

Coming off two solid performances on Saturday, the Aggies were looking to continue their tough playing ways en route to taking the consolation bracket.

UC Davis’ wishes did not become reality on Sunday.

The Aggies’ hopes were crushed early on in the game against the Midshipmen, as the team fell behind 5-1 to Navy.

Despite three goals from sophomore Russell Hampton and yet another two-goal game for Breen, the closest the Aggies would come was within two goals late in the fourth.

“This was a tough loss for us because we had big expectations for Sunday,” Breen said.

Sunday- No. 11 UC San Diego 11, No. 12 UC Davis 4

Those high hopes and expectations would be diminished even more as UC Davis fell at the fork of the Tritons for the third time in a month’s period.

Another slow start characterized the game for the Aggies, who trailed 6-2 at half.

Things did not get much better in the second half as the Aggies could not compete with the Tritons, who put eight of their 10 opportunities away on man up exclusions.

“San Diego seems to have our number,” Sigourney said. “But just when they least expect we can stun them at conference. It’s going to be great to have a home game next week and get ourselves centered on what we do.”

The Aggies take a one-week hiatus from competition and host the Alumni Game on Saturday. They return to action with their home-opener against No. 7 Pepperdine on Oct. 23.

SAMMY BRASCH can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Aggie Daily Calendar

Features

Features Editor

October 13, 2009

TODAY

UC Davis Athletics

All day

Around campus

Wear blue and gold to show Aggie Pride! Reward prizes to students in Aggie Blue!

Students for Gavin Newsom meeting

6 p.m.

100 Hunt

Join Students for Gavin Newsom for their big kickoff meeting. Find out how you can change California. Free pizza!

WEDNESDAY

East Quad Farmers Market

10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

East Quad

Go support local farmers and get fresh produce, nuts, flowers and more! Market held every Wednesday through Nov. 18.

Activities Fair

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Freeborn Hall

Meet students doing what matters! This major campus event is a colorful and festive way for students and others to find out about the variety of groups, programs, resources and services that are available on campus and that will be active throughout this year. For more information, contact spac@ucdavis.edu.

Meltdown – A Legislator’s Perspective

12:10 to 1 p.m.

Institute of Governmental Affairs reading room, Shields Library

Go and listen to State Senator Lois Wolk talk about the California economy from her perspective.

Men’s Soccer Game

3 p.m.

Soccer field

Men’s soccer team faces the seventh-ranked UC Santa Barbara.

Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior Club meeting

7 p.m.

197 Briggs

Join the NPB club for its first meeting of the year. Go and listen to guest speakers, eat free food and meet new people!

Cooking Club meeting

8:10 to 9 p.m.

205 Olson

Learn the dos and don’ts about kitchen and food safety and what to stock your pantry with. Also, tips on how to cook with a college budget and in the dorms.

THURSDAY

The Financial Crisis: An Inside View

6 p.m.

Silo, Cabernet Room

Join Phillip Swagel, former Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy, U.S. Treasury Department, for a discussion about governance, tax reform and constitutional reform.

FRIDAY

The Art of Athletes

1 to 7 p.m.

Log Cabin Gallery, First and F Street

Intercollegiate Athletics presents The Art of Athletes, an intercollegiate student-athlete art show, featuring works by current student-athletes in a variety of majors and sports.

Pajamarino

5 p.m.

Train station, Second and H Street

Join students and the community in PJs as they reconnect and greet alumni for Homecoming.

Homecoming Rally

7 p.m.

Davis Commons, First and D Street

Attend the rally as the Aggies get pumped up for homecoming!

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.

A day in the life of…

Features

Features Editor

October 13, 2009

Editor’s Note: This series will focus on a day in the life of UC Davis community members to give Aggie readers a behind-the-scenes look. Our series opens with a new UCD addition, officer Ralph Nuno.

Let’s be honest with ourselves. Being a bike cop at a university does not sound like the most exciting job in the history of the world.

In reality, UC Davis Police Officer Ralph Nuno actually enjoys his job.

“Working at UC Davis has been the best job I’ve ever had,” he said. “The students have really embraced me as one of their own.”

He’s not lying. I met up with Officer Nuno in the center of the Quad and I have never heard so many students calling out one person’s name. He was the stereotypical popular kid in high school – giving high fives to students who passed and waving to people who called out his name.

Nuno’s story places him as an officer in probably one of the most crime-ridden and dangerous cities on the west coast: Oakland. After 20 years of service with the Oakland Police Department, he retired and applied for the bike cop position at UCD. He started last spring and said he has loved it ever since.

I accompanied Nuno as he began his rounds through the campus and let me tell you – I have never obeyed so many bicycle laws in my life. We stopped for pedestrians -BIKES, stopping for PEOPLE walking, an obvious inconvenience for bikers. But as Nuno explained to me, the reason is to teach by example.

“The best way to teach the students the laws is to do them yourself,” Nuno said. “If one student picks up the right habits, other people will follow.”

And hopefully they will. Rolling through a stop sign on a bike is a $170 dollar ticket. Yeah, you read that correctly. That’s a huge chunk of change and something that Nuno hopes to lower or replace with a traffic school-type class.

Giving out fines isn’t really what Nuno is all about.

“We aren’t out here with the intention of giving out tickets,” he said. “Our number one goal is education to prevent tickets.”

From the Quad, Nuno and I biked to the intersection of Hutchinson and Bioletti right after classes let out at noon. Although we missed the huge rush of students, we camped out to see if students would roll through the stop sign.

Sure enough, they did. Even though it says POLICE in big, bold letters on the back of Nuno’s uniform, it utterly surprised me that students still broke the law. I thought people knew that a bike is a vehicle, which means that stop signs really mean STOP. This may be a hard concept for some Aggies to understand.

In only 15 minutes, Nuno actually spoke with three dozen, if not more, students and (here’s the kicker) faculty members who biked through the intersection without stopping. He didn’t yell obnoxiously or demoralize anyone, but rather advised the students that they have to stop at a stop sign or face a hefty fine. Another big violation that Nuno pointed out was that you are only allowed to wear one earphone while biking.

The students’ responses were polite for the most part. Everyone said they would do better and apologized. The only rude comment was, ironically again, from a faculty member who gave a rather cold stare and said “OK.”

Once traffic slowed down, Nuno and I hopped back onto our bikes and headed to the center of campus. On the way, Nuno would occasionally yell from his bike to students about their minor infractions. With some students, he sometimes used his high-pitched, almost deafness-inducing siren to grab their attention.

By the time we reached the Quad again, I had gotten a good feel for how Nuno’s usual day went and how the campus feels about his presence. I had my reservations at first, believing that the casual law-breaking student would find a bicycle cop an inconvenience as they biked over laws that seem almost pointless for a university campus.

But my qualms proved false. Nuno, after only being here for almost two quarters, is as much a part of the Davis community as the students themselves.

So if you ever run into Officer Nuno, either on his bike or on his legendary scooter, be sure to yell out his name and be a part of the hundreds of other students who have joined Nuno Nation.

NICK MARKWITH can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

Editorial: Cowell Open Access

Opinion

Opinion

October 13, 2009

On Aug. 31, the Cowell Student Health Center changed its appointment system to make students’ lives easier. Previously, appointments were not guaranteed for the same day students called. Now, students can call and make an appointment for the day of. This excludes specialty appointments with, say, a neurologist; such appointments still need to be made in advance.

Before the new system, students would call Cowell for an appointment, get put on hold, talk to an advice nurse and then – finally – reach the appointment desk, only to get an appointment for the next day.

With Open Access, students can now continually see the same doctor instead of jumping around from one to the other.

However, those specialty appointments are still a hassle to schedule. Only one dermatologist, for example, is employed at Cowell, and those appointments can only be made one month in advance with a referral.

Although this new system does have its perks, it still doesn’t address the important issues of student health care at Cowell.

Among students, it’s common knowledge – and sometimes a joke – that Cowell will test you for mono, make you wait (and sometimes miss class) for two hours, tell you to “walk it off,” take Advil, or in one case, drink chicken soup from a mug because slurping soup from a spoon might make your throat hurt.

As stated in an Oct. 7 article titled “New scheduling system for Health Center,” Dr. Michelle Famula found that “we had many students that were using the health center as their primary care source.”

Cowell is the primary care provider for those students, who pay $349 per quarter for the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP). Additionally, SHIP is automatically charged to a student’s account – unless they opt out through a waiver process.

There are a number of issues that are arguably more important than the appointment system – a system that Cowell spent two years researching, according to Famula.

One can expect a long wait by phone when calling Cowell or any other health care system for that matter, just as one can expect a long line at the DMV. The issue is not the waiting; it’s the service itself.

We like that Cowell has addressed this appointment-making issue. We hope they’ll put as much effort into addressing some of the other issues students have with the treatment they provide.

UCD graduate designs wine cork substitute, starts company

City News

City Editor

October 13, 2009

Tim Keller won the UC Davis Graduate School of Management’s 2008 Big Bang! competition. Then local Sacramento Angels Early Stage Investment Group invested $50,000 into his new idea.

The winning idea – a wine topper that keeps wine fresh and drinkable without the problems of traditional cork tops. VinPerfect was born.

Still in prototypical stages, VinPerfect’s website shows the screw cap’s design, along with reasons to switch from a cork to Keller’s topper. Advantages include less cork taint, zero contamination and accurate age prediction, according to the website.

For the Sacramento Angels, Keller, a UCD Viticulture & Enology ’99 alumnus and GSM ’08 graduate, found a winning pitch in a sellable product like VinPerfect.

Sacramento Angels treasurer and investor Roger Akers led the program’s investment round for the analysis of VinPerfect and saw that the UCD graduate had a valuable idea.

“[Keller’s] got the technology,” Akers said. “He had a real start on the technology that would allow good wine to use this technology to derive the same benefits you get from corks.”

The Sacramento Angels is a group that invests in early start-ups around the Sacramento region.

Akers, also on the GSM foundation board of trustees and external research advisory board in the office of research at UCD, sees a lot of ideas stem from aspiring entrepreneurs at UCD.

“Virtually every year there are a few businesses that get generated out of [the investment] process,” he said.

The Big Bang! competition is the GSM’s annual event that pushes students to do something with their business ideas, said Andrew Hargadon, professor at GSM and director for UCD Center for Entrepreneurship. Hargadon is also a faculty advisor for the competition.

“It’s a great competition because it gives students and others associated with the university who have an idea to flush that idea out as a business,” Hargadon said.

Keller’s idea did what UC Davis does best. He combined science with technology – and wine.

Though Keller won last year’s competition, other ideas from the GSM go on to become companies, said Hargadon.

“The process of going through the competition teaches enough and gives competitors enough confidence to keep their ideas moving forward,” Hargadon said.

Big Bang! student coordinator and GSM student Sam Wainer is involved in the competition because of the mentoring and experience, as well as its big-picture importance.

“Not only is this experience valuable for UCD participants, but it has identified UCD as a leader not only in scientific research, but commercialization of that research,” Wainer said.

Hargadon agrees.

“UC Davis is not well known for moving research out of the lab and having an entrepreneurial impact,” he said. “[But] it is happening.”

The upcoming 2010 Big Bang! competition has announced that it will include competitors from the region and from more science and technology communities within the campus. These changes should up the competition and quality of ideas that come from UC Davis.

SASHA LEKACH can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

UC Davis selected to administer grants for K-12 reform

Campus News

Campus Editor

October 13, 2009

Teachers statewide have been asked to put on their thinking caps and brainstorm solutions for educational reform.

A new California Postsecondary Education Commission program has allocated $2 million dollars for grant projects to help K-12 teachers find ways to increase learning in their classrooms.

“Helping is about innovation, and we’ll see how creative they can be,” said Dr. Joanne Bookmyer, the project’s director at UC Davis. “They’re the ones in the classroom every day and they know what it takes to educate their students.”

UC Davis and UCLA will each receive three-year grants of $1,010,000 to manage the regional Teacher-Based Reform Pilot Program. UCLA will be responsible for projects in Los Angeles County, while UC Davis will team up with Humboldt State University to award grants in the Coastal region – 20 counties spanning from Ventura County to Del Norte County.

University faculty will work with small teams from the 24 schools selected to receive grants to raise teacher aptitude and increase content knowledge, with the ultimate goal of improving student performance.

“Obviously teachers may have some ideas about what to do, but it takes some kind of discussion between them and people who allocate resources,” said Tom Timar, professor of education at UCD.

UC Davis and UCLA were selected as master grantees for the No Child Left Behind funds after demonstrating significant interest and commitment, said Marcia Trott, a CPEC spokesperson. Bookmyer said UC Davis has a positive relationship with CPEC from collaboration on grant work in the past.

The program is “from the ground-up,” and its “Teacher-Based” title is to be taken literally, Trott said.

“The teacher team for the fellowship will be able to design their own professional development program,” she said. “From working with faculty they’ll determine what their needs are and submit an application for the master grant.”

Trott said the process for a school to be chosen as one of the 24 to receive an award is similar to any grant system.

“It’s very much like a regular grant process – they’ll fill out an application and go through an interview process,” with the managing institution, she said. “If they receive the grant, they’ll work with the regional institution, which will monitor them throughout the process.”

While the project description calls for both Los Angeles County and the Coastal region to have a high-need partner, any school within the region can apply for the grant. Bookmyer said she hopes to work with a range of urban, suburban and rural schools.

“We’ll be working closely with Washington School District,” said Bookmyer. “But any school within our 20 counties – private, public or charter – can be awarded a grant.”

The regional institution, whether it be UCLA, UC Davis, or UCD’s partner in the Coastal Region, HSU, will conduct its own research throughout the meetings with K-12 schools. Kelly Wilkerson, an English and journalism teacher at Davis High School, said she believes attention to research should be a fixture of any reform.

“What I think would make the biggest difference is letting research inform our classroom practice, so that we’re not doing what we’ve always done and we’re focused on things that get proven results,” she said.

Wilkerson added that reform is especially needed amidst the wave of recent cuts to public education.

“I feel like the recent budget cuts have meant an increase in students in all of our classes – and you cannot just keep adding bodies to a classroom and pretend that won’t make an impact on the amount of time a teacher can spend with students,” Wilkerson said.

Bookmyer said that schools’ fixation on standards is just as inhibiting as crowded classroom.

“Schools are so wrapped up in standards and the state curriculum that they forget that it’s a profession on its own,” she said. “Sometimes it might be as simple as figuring out what is really relevant for their students and doing something about it – if they like hip-hop, integrate that in to the classroom.”

MIKE DORSEY can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Medical center implements strict flu prevention policy

Campus News

Campus Editor

October 13, 2009

UC Davis Medical Center officials are requiring all employees and volunteers to receive their seasonal flu vaccinations; otherwise they must wear a mask beginning Dec. 1.

The policy is a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of both the H1N1 flu and the seasonal flu, which some health officials say will combine to make one of the worst flu seasons in modern history.

Though employees and volunteers only have access to the seasonal flu vaccine, they will be vaccinated with the H1N1 flu vaccine as soon as it is available. Over 10,000 UCDMC workers will be affected by this policy.

“If [the employees and volunteers] are not vaccinated, they will be bringing it into work, and then our work force will not be able to accomplish our mission to treat patients,” said Allan Siefkin, chief medical officer at UCDMC.

Siefkin added that approximately one third of the world’s population will likely be infected with H1N1 this year, and since humans have no native immunity to the disease, early prevention will be key to controlling it.

The policy will likely not affect the Davis campus employees. Most staff members at the Cowell Student Health Center voluntarily receive vaccinations, said Medical Director Thomas Ferguson.

“This year over 90 percent of our employees were verified vaccinated and we are awaiting information from others who may have been vaccinated elsewhere,” Ferguson said in an e-mail. “We likely have close to 100 percent compliance to this recommendation. I don’t believe we need to make a requirement for this in our workplace since our voluntary compliance is so high already.”

UCDMC expects to be able to administer the H1N1 vaccinations in the next six to 10 weeks. And although the seasonal flu is not expected to hit Sacramento until January, Siefkin said that administering seasonal flu vaccinations at this time ensures early prevention in case the disease arrives early this year.

The seasonal flu vaccination may boost existing antibodies in those who have had a similar flu virus or a vaccination against seasonal flu, and may also lessen the impact of the H1N1 flu, according to a study published in British Medical Journal.

However, in Sacramento, the number of hospitalized H1N1 infections as of Sep. 30 was 163, with nine deaths, according to Sacramento County Public Health center. UCDMC officials worry that the Dec. 1 deadline to receive vaccinations might not be soon enough.

“We may get to the point where we’ll enforce this before we even get the vaccine as a public health action, if this continues to increase,” Siefkin said.

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

Recession, swine flu causes crowded emergency rooms

Campus News

Campus Editor

October 13, 2009

Think you have swine flu? Don’t go to the ER.

The overcrowding of emergency facilities is nothing new to California or the U.S., and amid economic recession and fears of the H1N1 swine flu virus, things have only gotten worse.

“The problem is that people don’t see their primary care doctors for prevention,” said Michael Wilkes, professor of internal medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine.

Wilkes likens the problem to improper maintenance of cars – people put off regular visits to the doctor like they put off changing the oil in their car to save money, but end up having to pay for costly emergency care in the end.

At Kaiser’s Sacramento Medical Center, officials have reported a 30 percent increase in local patients visiting the emergency room, according to an article in The Sacramento Bee.

Hospitals are overcrowded, not because they’re understaffed, but because the ERs in particular get clogged up with too many people coming in with mild, non-life-threatening conditions such as the flu. Hospital staff and resources must then be used to accommodate these patient needs in addition to those of actual emergency patients likely to arrive in critical condition.

“It’s not that there’s not enough staff,” Wilkes said. “If you have ER doctors taking the place of family doctors, and someone comes in with shortness of breath, the doctor will order an MRI scan which [under] primary care would order the scan and have the patient come back in a few days, but [since] ER doctors won’t get to see the patient again, [those patients have to stay there].”

Dr. Wilkes offered two solutions to this overcrowding.

“One is health care reform and having people not worry about money,” Wilkes said. “The second is having separate ER units – one for actual emergencies, and another staffed with pediatricians and doctors for both primary care and internal medicine.”

Emergency rooms also face an increase in mental health patients, said Carole Gan, a spokesperson for the UC Davis Medical Center. Since Sacramento County has recently closed half of its inpatient beds, in addition to closing its County Crisis Clinic, patients who would have normally visited a mental health center are now turning to the emergency room.

“With no where else to go, patients in the throes of a mental health crisis go to local emergency rooms, including UC Davis,” Gan said. “The problem is UC Davis is not licensed to operate an inpatient mental heath facility and therefore is not equipped or staffed to provide care for these patients in the emergency department.

Although swine flu has been quite prominent in the news lately, Wilkes believes that they should see their primary care doctor but hold off on a visit to the ER unless they absolutely need it. Only severe symptoms such as high fever, inability to keep food down and shortness of breath warrant a visit.

UC Davis graduate Alex Kloehn did exactly this when he scheduled a same day appointment with his primary care physician five days into his encounter with swine flu.

“[Aside from being] given nasal spray and an inhaler to open up my airway,” Kloehn said. “The instructions for getting better were the same as any flu case I’ve had.”

As flu season switches into high gear, Wilkes urges patients to go see their primary care doctor as opposed to the ER.

“If you’re feeling like crap and you have a headache or other symptoms, the [ER] doctors would love to help, but they can’t really do much against the typical flu…” Wilkes said. “They might give you an aspirin, but that’s about it.”

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

Correction, Oct. 13, 2009: The original article incorrectly identified Michael Wilkes as the Vice Dean of Medical Education. Wilkes is a professor of internal medicine.

Business and economic development awards to be bestowed

City News

City Editor

October 13, 2009

The City of Davis Business and Economic Development Commission is looking for nominations from the public for their third annual Business and Economic Development Awards.

“The commission established this award to honor and highlight those businesses or individuals that have made a significant contribution to our local economy,” said commission chairman Anthony Costello in the commission’s press release. “It is very much a community-based award, and the commission encourages input from the community to assist in the nomination process.”

There are three categories for the award, all highlighting contributions to “local economic development:”

Individual contributions are awarded to an individual whose actions and achievements over the past year have made a significant positive contribution to the local business climate.

Business or organization contributions are awarded to a local business, service or professional organization whose actions and achievements over the past year have made a significant positive contribution to the local business climate.

Extended Excellence is awarded to an individual, business, local service or professional organization that has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to fostering economic development and a contribution to the growth of the local business climate.

Last year, three awards were bestowed. Janis Lott of Newsbeat received the award for individual contributions; Schilling Robotics received the award for a business or organization and local developer; and business leader Chuck Roe received the Extended Excellence Award.

“This award gives us the opportunity to recognize businesses that have gone beyond the norm,” said Sarah Worley, economic development coordinator. “It’s important for the community to know we value local businesses that are adding to the quality of the town.”

The Business and Economic Development Commission takes into consideration the nominations by the community and then submits their top choices to the Davis City Council, who ultimately decides the recipients of the award.

The Davis community is encouraged to nominate businesses and individuals they value either for their positive and innovative achievements or for their dedication to improving the city’s economic climate.

“Ideally, those who nominate have additional insight into the business beyond what is commonly known,” said Brian Abbanat, economic developer for the City of Davis. “A key goal of the award is to help inform our community about specific contributions recipients are making in their field and to our community.”

Worley emphasized that nominations from students are also welcome.

“We’re always trying to emphasize that students and businesses are one community,” she said. “Students bring vitality and life to our local economy.”

The deadline for nominations is Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. Award nomination forms can be obtained at the City of Davis website, cityofdavis.org.

SARAH HANSEL can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

Aggie Daily Calendar

Features

Features Editor

October 12, 2009

TODAY

UC Davis Athletics

All day

Campus and Community

Wear blue and gold show Aggie Pride!

Activities Fair

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Quad

Project Compost

6 p.m.

43 MU (basement)

Project compost volunteer meeting. Learn about composting and how you can reduce waste on campus!

Mga Kapatid Choir

7 to 9 p.m.

105 Music

A Filipino choir who accepts anyone and teaches several medleys and anthems to members for various local events in Davis. No experience necessary and anyone can join! For more info, e-mail mkchoir@gmail.com.

TUESDAY

UC Davis Athletics

All day

Around campus

Wear blue and gold show Aggie Pride! Reward prizes to students in Aggie Blue!

Campus Unions: Center for Student Involvement Activities Fair

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Quad

WEDNESDAY

East Quad Farmers Market

10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

East Quad

Go support local farmers and get fresh produce, nuts, flowers and more! Market held every Wednesday through Nov. 18th.

Campus Unions: Center for Student Involvement Activities Fair

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Quad

Meltdown – A Legislator’s Perspective

12:10 to 1 p.m.

Institute of Governmental Affairs Reading Room, Shields Library

Go and listen to State Senator Lois Wolk talk about the California economy through her perspective.

Cooking Club Meeting

8:10 to 9 p.m.

205 Olson

Learn the do’s and don’ts about kitchen and food safety and what to stock your pantry with. Also, tips on how to cook with a college budget and in the dorms.

THURSDAY

The Financial Crisis: An Inside View

6 p.m.

Silo, Cabernet Room

Join Phillip Swagel, Former Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy, U.S. Treasury Department, for a discussion about governance, tax reform and constitutional reform.

UC Davis splits first two games of home stand

Sports

Sports Editor

October 12, 2009

For the second straight week of Big West conference play, UC Davis won its Wednesday match and lost its game on Saturday.

This week the Aggies were at home in Aggie Soccer Stadium to take on two Southern California foes.

First, the Aggies were able to get the win in dramatic fashion against UC Riverside on Wednesday.

Then UC Davis was out done as Cal State Fullerton pulled out the 3-2 double overtime victory.

The Aggies are now 5-8 on the season and 2-2 in Big West Conference play.

Wednesday – UC Davis 2, UC Riverside 1

The Aggies opened up their three-game home stand Wednesday against the Highlanders of UC Riverside.

The first half was relatively calm until the 42nd minute of play.

UC Davis junior defender Nate Javadi misplayed a floating UC Riverside cross, scoring an own goal and giving UC Riverside a 1-0 edge.

UC Davis limped into the half down by one goal having only taken four shots.

It was a tale of two halves though as a different Aggies team came out in the second period and applied the pressure to the Highlander defense.

“In the second half it was our game,” coach Dwayne Shaffer said.

Redshirt freshman striker John Joslin got off two shots in the 68th minute but was unable to get UC Davis on the board but the ball took a bounce in the Aggies favor in the 83rd minute.

After sophomore defender Lance Patterson was fouled, Joslin took the free kick from about 30 yards out from the UC Riverside goal close to the middle of the pitch.

Joslin fired his shot on a low line moving left into the wall. The ball caromed off of a Highlander defender, changing the direction of the shot and taking the UC Riverside keeper out of the play. The ball found the back of the net and the game was back to even at 1-1.

“Once we scored the first goal, I could see that the [UC] Riverside kids’ heads went down,” Shaffer said.

Three minutes later, co-captain Paul Marcoux worked his way into the left side of the Highlander box, sliding a pass across the face of goal. Freshman Dan Reese held of his mark and was able to finish from just three yards out.

“I saw Dan in the middle and Dan’s a big boy,” Marcoux said. “All I had to do was play it into him.”

The Aggies held on in the final for the 2-1 win.

Saturday – Cal State Fullerton 3, UC Davis 2 (2OT)

Almost right from the start, Cal State Fullerton had the Aggies playing catch-up.

It began with a Titan goal in the 15th minute.

The Aggies would have their answer eight minutes later in the form of a Marcoux volley. The teams went into the half all square at 1-1.

The Titans would strike first in the second half as well, scoring on a shot from the top of the 18-yard box in the 67th minute

Three minutes later the Aggies would answer again, in similar fashion to Wednesday’s game winner. Marcoux again got into the box on a run down the left side.

This time his cross found the feet of sophomore Rene Cuellar, who finished in front of goal, bringing the game back to even yet again.

Regular time wouldn’t be enough to settle the match as the game entered overtime and eventually double overtime. With just five minutes remaining in the second extra session of play, Cal State Fullerton was able to beat UC Davis keeper Ryan McCown with the game’s golden goal.

“Our team showed a lot of character by going down twice and coming back twice,” Shaffer said. “We had our chances and they had theirs. Unfortunately we couldn’t get the win, but it was a great team effort overall.”

The Aggies will look to rebound with their third straight match at Aggie Soccer Stadium when they take on UC Santa Barbara Wednesday at 3 p.m.

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

Aggies win DakotaDome duel

Sports

Sports Editor

October 12, 2009

Fourth-and-11. Down by six. Overtime. Over nine thousand screaming fans.

This was the situation for the Aggies as they trailed 23-17 in the DakotaDome. The outcome of the game hinged on this play.

“[The Coyotes] had been mixing up their defenses pretty well between three man rushes and blitzing,” said coach Bob Biggs. “The play we ended up calling we had run previously a couple times [in long yardage situations] with good success. The play is designed to clear out the safeties and find a window between them and the linebackers.”

The Aggies did just that.

In the shotgun, quarterback Greg Denham took the snap, dropped back and waited for wide receiver Chris Carter to work his way open, hitting him for a 24-yard gain.

First and goal, Aggies.

Running back Joe Trombetta would score two plays later to tie the game and Sean Kelley’s extra point would seal the victory.

“We had an eight game losing streak on the road, so it was nice to get that monkey off our back,” Biggs said. “It was nice to get a conference win and just as important for the psyche of the team to come away with such a dramatic victory against a good football team.”

After jumping out to a 10-3 halftime lead, the Aggies scored less than six minutes into the third quarter on a 23-yard pass from Denham to wide receiver Bakari Grant, making it 17-3 in favor of UC Davis.

The Coyotes would not let the Aggies ruin their homecoming so easily as they came howling back.

Shepherd and the South Dakota offense responded with drives of 72 and 99 yards to tie the game at 17-17. With neither team able to score in the fourth quarter, the game went into overtime.

South Dakota got the ball first and took over on the UC Davis 25-yard line but a quick pass interference penalty on cornerback Kenneth Brown moved the ball to the 12-yard line. Three plays later, facing fourth-and-two from the four-yard line, the Coyotes elected to go for it, rather than kick a field goal.

Shepherd rushed two yards for the first down, and on the next play ran the ball in to the endzone for a touchdown.

The Coyotes were not able to convert the extra point attempt as defensive tackle Jacob Maxson blocked the kick, setting the stage for the Aggies’ dramatic win.

Although the Aggies came away from the game victorious, some of credit has to go to the Coyotes’ special teams squad, which was anything but. South Dakota kicker Sam Saywer missed field goal attempts of 20 and 31 yards and had an extra point attempt blocked in overtime.

Meanwhile, the Aggies’ special teams continued to be a bright spot.

Punter Colton Schmidt pinned the Coyotes inside their own 20-yard line three times and Maxson accounted for the blocked extra point.

“Our punt team continues to be a real plus because of Colton’s ability to put the ball deep in [the opposing team’s] territory,” Biggs said. “It causes them to be a little more conservative.”

While both special teams units operated on opposite sides of the spectrum, the offenses of UC Davis and South Dakota both excelled.

The Aggies and Coyotes each accounted for 23 first downs and over 400 yards of total offense.

Denham passed for 380 yards and two touchdowns on 27-for-41 passing while his counterpart, Coyote quarterback Noah Shepherd, completed 20 of 30 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns.

Shepherd, who is known as a running quarterback, also rushed 14 times for 67 yards and a touchdown.

On defense for the Aggies, linebacker Mike Morales followed up his 13-tackle performance against Boise State with 12 against South Dakota.

Next Saturday, the Aggies play their homecoming game against Winston-Salem State at 6 p.m.

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

Aggies fall to Golden Bears

Sports

Sports Editor

October 12, 2009

UC Davis’ first year field hockey team is not yet a finished product.

After falling 6-1 to a tough California squad, coach Vianney Campos realizes that while her team played hard, they still have a lot of work to do.

“The girls played really hard but Cal took advantage of every opportunity they had,” Campos said. “We made a huge improvement on recovery defense, we marked up really well and we warmed up great on offense. We keep getting better.”

The Golden Bears showed their skill early and often.

They scored at the five-minute mark, twice more in the first period and three more times in the second.

For the Aggies, the contest was ultimately a tale of two periods.

In the first half of play, the Golden Bears led the Aggies 19-2 in shots and 12-0 in penalty corners.

UC Davis stiffened up in the second period, allowing Cal to only get nine shots off, while leading in corners 4-3.

Despite the final outcome, coach Campos believes that the Aggies showed a toughness that most teams lack.

“Mentally and emotionally the girls brought it,” Campos said. “They pushed through a tough game.”

Liz Siemion scored the only UC Davis goal on an assist from defender Lindsey Valadez.

Manning the net, Lauren Sawvelle had 10 saves in the first period and 11 overall for the game.

The final score wasn’t indicative of UC Davis’ play and masked the amount of effort provided by the Aggies, according to Campos.

“Lindsey and Casey [Wollbrinck] held our defense together today,” said Campos. “Our forwards pressured well. Liz and Lauren LemMon played great as they always do.”

With the NorPac Conference victory, the Golden Bears rebounded from a three-game losing streak moving to 4-8 overall and 2-1 in league games.

While Cal got back in the win column, UC Davis wasn’t as fortunate, falling to 3-10 on the year with a 0-3 mark in conference play after winning its first three games of 2009.

Next up for UC Davis is a rematch with the 13th-ranked Stanford Cardinal on Saturday, a team that beat the Aggies 5-1 earlier in the season.

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

Column: Max Rosenblum

Sports

Sports Editor

October 12, 2009

If the saying two heads are better than one is true, then 2.36 has got to be better than one.

Right?

This is a question the UC Davis women’s soccer team has been more than happy to answer – and the answer to that question is yes.

But why would the Aggies want to know that in the first place?

The reason is because one represents the average number of goals per game UC Davis scored during the 2008 season, while 2.36 is the average goal production for the Aggies so far this year.

And the two heads?

That’d be the duo of senior attackers Rochelle VanBuskirk and Marisa Boge, who have been at the forefront of a resurgent offense for the Aggies in 2009.

“We have just been connecting more balls on offense,” VanBuskirk said. “When we get the ball, we’re able to find other people and connect it.”

“We’ve been playing to our strengths,” Boge said. “So far, we’re doing a good job.”

The Aggies are doing just that and more thus far in 2009 as their average goals per game are up almost one-and-a-half from last season.

“I think Rochelle and Marisa are a big piece of that,” said coach MaryClaire Robinson. “We are fortunate this year that both of them have done a good job of creating chances for us.”

Not only have VanBuskirk and Boge done a good job getting scoring chances this season, but they have been finishing those chances as well.

With six scores to this point, Boge has already surpassed her goal total from last season (four). She has also posted a hat trick on the year.

Meanwhile, VanBuskirk’s 12 goals and four assists place her fourth in the nation in points per game (2.54), and in a second-place tie in goals per contest (1.09). With her numbers, Van Buskirk is tops in the Big West Conference in points and goals while coming in second in assists.

She also had a conference-high seven points in one game – a two-goal, three-assist performance in a 6-1 win over Eastern Washington on Sept. 13.

Despite their individual successes, both Van Buskirk and Boge believe that a lot can be attributed to an entire team effort.

“We have the same players as last year,” Van Buskirk said, “but we’re playing more as a team.”

“Now that we’ve been playing together since last fall, in the spring and this fall, it is finally meshing and we are finally getting the formation down,” Boge said.

Still, the duo took it upon themselves during the offseason to be more aggressive on offense by setting goals for each game.

“We set goals to take 10 shots per game and then five on frame,” Boge said. “We try to keep up with those goals, follow them and keep on track.”

Another advantage that Van Buskirk and Boge have is a personal chemistry, making it hard for opposing defenders to know what they are going to do.

“It’s off the field, too,” Boge said. “We’re roommates and have been best friends for four years, and now we are finally getting a chance to show it on the field.”

While Robinson realizes all of these factors contribute to her star players’ and offense’s success as a whole, she also sees the increased goal production as a change in overall mentality.

“Our mentality has developed to a place where if you want to be successful, you have got to do more,” Robinson said. “Being dangerous is great, but can you put it in the back of the net?”

Yeah, they can. The play of Van Buskirk and Boge has helped the Aggies to a 6-4-1 mark so far in 2009 with a 1-1 record in Big West play.

The 1-1 mark is the only thing that Van Buskirk and Boge are really focused on at the moment.

“It feels good,” Boge said about her scoring in non-league play, “but we have to keep it up and take it into conference. That’s the important part. I don’t care about the goals I scored before.”

MAX ROSENBLUM wishes that he could score a goal in soccer. Really, even just one. Maybe it’ll happen in intramurals. He can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

‘Movies in the Park’ draws in a happy crowd

Features

Features Editor

October 12, 2009

“How do you tell the difference between a male and female emperor penguin?” said Andy Blanchard, master of ceremonies, to the crowd.

Children jumped up and down, one of them squealed, “Please, please, please, pick me!”

Upon getting the answer right, a little girl in a red shirt and black hat simply stated, “It was easy. The male penguins are the ones that bring stones over to the females, so that they can win her over.”

“Movies in the Park” is a series sponsored by the City of Davis that will take place until Oct. 17 in Central Park on 405 C St. Beginning at 6 p.m. with pre-movie games, contests and food vendors, the free event drew in a large crowd of Davis parents, kids and pets alike. Saturday marked the second night of three, showing family and penguin favorite, Happy Feet.

With blankets and lawn chairs covering every inch of available grass, children anxiously awaited the film as parents enjoyed snacks of kettle corn, hot dogs or pizza sold by food vendors.

Families throughout Yolo County made the trek to Davis for this family fun-filled event.

“Not only is Davis safe and calm, but it’s a great place to raise kids. Events like the one tonight bring such friendly people that I embrace the opportunity to bring my son to the movies in Central Park,” said Jason Wilkerson, a Dixon resident.

Last week the Davis Community Services Department showed Madagascar and next Saturday they will end the series by screening the ’90s classic Mrs. Doubtfire.

Davis resident Anna Mills brought her 10-month-old daughter Noelle to the movie screening to introduce her to the Davis community feel.

“Central Park is always a safe, comfortable place to bring our daughter,” Mills said.

Kay Strode brought her four-year-old son Benny, so that they could have a family night at a spot with familiar faces.

“There’s always someone we know here,” Strode said. “It’s such a comfortable place to bring our son. Not to mention he loves the movies they show.”

When asked why he likes coming to the movies, Benny responded that it’s “cuz the movies are usually fun.”

Blanchard maintained enthusiasm throughout the hour and fifteen minutes of games and contests, making sure that every child got a fair chance at answering his Happy Feet trivia questions (“Question: What do the penguins calls the people in this movie? Answer: Aliens”).

Blanchard is the manager for Arroyo Community Pool and enjoys DJing in his spare time, he said. Now that it is the off-season, he works as an MC for the “Movies in the Park” events, playing music inspired by whatever film is showing that week.

“I love music, and I love working with kids, so naturally I was excited to take the job,” Blanchard said.

Other sponsors for Saturday night’s showing included: Black Bear Diner, Hubbert Lumber Company, Davis Fire Fighters, University Retirement Company, the Davis Co-Op, and Woodland Health Care.

For more information about “Movies in the Park”, go to http://cityofdavis.org/cs/events/moviesinthepark.cfm.

ELENI STEPHANIDES can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

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