In the Apr. 28 issue of The California Aggie, the article “Micro efforts make macro impact“ incorrectly states the featured organization’s name as the “UC Davis Microlending Club.“ The club’s correct name is “The Microlending Club at UC Davis.“ The Aggie regrets the error.
High energy physicists at Fermilab in Illinois, with the help of the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, are racing to discover the universe’s best kept secret. They smash protons and antiprotons together at nearly the speed of light to find what some call the “Holy Grail of physics” while others just consider it the essential ingredient for life.
However, all can agree that this so-called “God particle” – the Higgs boson – is the discovery of a lifetime and the next step in discovering the mechanisms for life itself.
But Fermilab is not alone in this race. Time is short. It is only a matter of time until Europe’s monstrosity, the Large Hadron Collider surpasses Fermilab’s particle accelerator, the Tevatron, and become the world’s most powerful particle accelerator. And once it turns on, it seems like Tevatron’s survival is at stake, as well as the United States‘ standing as a groundbreaking scientific nation.
Sound like a science fiction movie coming to a theater near you? That’s because it is – minus the fiction.
Two UC Davis professors and high-energy physicists, John Conway and Robin Erbacher, participated in a new science documentary called “The Atom Smashers.”
Distributed by PBS, the film documents the race for the discovery of the Higgs boson, a theoretical particle that is thought to be responsible for matter having mass. The documentary also features Fermilab, an American high energy physics laboratory, and its struggles with United States politics and the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.
Directors Clayton Brown and Monica Long held a special showing of the movie on the UC Davis campus on Sunday in 194 Chemistry, along with both Conway and Erbacher.
Unlike many science documentaries, Conway explains that this film is completely different.
“[The film is] a new approach to how to do a science documentary,” Conway said. “The science occurs organically.“
The directors also chose to go in a different direction in regard to a narrator. Instead, they decided to shoot it as if it was a feature film, with a plot and characters.
“[We] wanted to make a film where there were characters [and] people were telling a story,” Brown said.
The showing began with introductions from Winston Ko, dean of mathematical and physical sciences at UC Davis, Conway, and Brown speaking about the film itself and the struggles of making such a documentary.
The film documents Fermilab’s work with the Tevatron from 2004 to the summer of 2008. It follows the lives of various physicists at Fermilab, especially Conway and Erbacher, and Fermilab’s struggles, including the looming prospect that the discovery of the Higgs boson could slip through their fingers as the LHC comes online. These struggles are scientific and political in nature, as funding was constantly cut down to the point that the Tevatron’s survival, and the United States‘ ranking for scientific research, hangs in the balance.
After the 73-minute film, the floor opened up for questions to both directors, Conway and Erbacher. It was followed by a reception in 194 Chemistry’s entrance hall, catered with hors d’oeuvres with all four speakers.
The movie itself raised many pressing issues regarding American politics and its role in science. According to the film’s website, the movie explores what happens when politicians, not scientists, decide which scientific projects will be funded and which we be cut, and depicts the contradictions that arise when the most educated population in the world begins to doubt the place and value of science.
The film also answered one question that seemed to be the most prominent in regard to how this research is important. In the movie New York Times writer Natalie Angier had the clearest answer – it is life and if it is worth searching for, it is worth discovering.
NICK MARKWITH can be reached at features@theaggie.orgXXX.
Facebook. Don’t even pretend that you’re not into it. Several hours of your week are probably dedicated to wasting time on this ridiculous, yet somehow simultaneously amazing, networking system. And it’s not just stalking friends or reading updates about how “Jen is currently eating homemade coleslaw while wearing her new underwear.“
Admit it: Every aspect of Facebook has you sucked in. You now know the last name, relationship status and hometown of every one of your friends‘ friends. You can also sleep easily at night knowing which city you should live in, what your kissing style is and what campus bathroom you are. I’m the bathroom in Giedt Hall, by the way.
But are you as tuned in when it comes to more serious matters that surround our beloved Facebook? Case in point – last week Facebook allowed users to vote on new Terms of Service (TOS). This document included a few additions, including section 4.3 which states: “You will not use Facebook if you are located in a country embargoed by the U.S., or are on the U.S. Treasury Department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals.” I’ll admit that I don’t see the latter half of that statement needing to be enforced. How likely is it that the Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine will want to start a Facebook group? But I guess I shouldn’t be making assumptions since my friends‘ mothers started friending me.
Anyway, what really has people up in arms is the first half of that statement. This bans users from Facebook for the act of simply being from a certain country. These aren’t people who have committed crimes or somehow violated Facebook TOS in the past; their only fault is being from a country that the U.S. just really isn’t that fond of right now. According to the new TOS, users from Iran, Sudan, Myanmar, Cuba, North Korea and Syria will no longer have access to Facebook. This ban is sandwiched between the restrictions for users younger than 13 and sex offenders – as if the offense of being from a foreign country is less than being a preteen, but greater than touching little children.
Suzie McCarthy is the creator of “Users United in Support of Global Accessibility to Facebook,” a group protesting the enforcement of section 4.3 of the new TOS. A graduate student studying Comparative Politics at NYU, the injustice of section 4.3 caught her eye the minute she read it.
“Internet global networking allows for the possibility of reaching past the agendas of our various home states to connect with each other.” Suzie is concerned, as many others are, that with the new TOS a valuable means of communication with relatives and friends will be lost. Ironic since Facebook states that its mission is “to make the world more open and connected.“
Suzie is not the only one interested in this issue. Her Facebook group has grown to over 500 users, with other similar groups boasting thousands. Unfortunately for the members of these groups (many of whom are users from the aforementioned countries), the voting ended last week with an alarming number of users for the new TOS.
So, why haven’t we noticed a significant decrease in Facebook users over the past few days? According to a spokesperson, Facebook will continue to allow users from embargoed countries to have accounts as long as they aren’t engaging in commercial activities on the site.
Suzie’s new mission is stated proudly on her Facebook group’s main page: “We must make sure they never enforce an inch/centimeter of clause 4.3! Facebook must remain a networking tool allowing for the free exchange of ideas across national boundaries without linkage to a particular government or cause.“
I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a pretty good idea to me.
DANIELLE RAMIREZ thinks that everyone should check out “Users United in Support of Global Accessibility to Facebook.” To let her know your opinion of the new TOS, e-mail her at dramirez@ucdavis.edu.
Saying “that’s so gay” has seemingly become a part of our daily language as children and young adults. Initially, it may seem as though there’s nothing wrong with saying it because there’s no apparent victim, especially when most people assume that the people they know are straight. But for some children, like Carl Walker-Hoover, just being straight is not enough to keep them from becoming victim of taunting words like “you’re gay.“
Carl Walker-Hoover was an 11-year-old boy who was constantly teased and bullied at school about his sexual orientation and the way he dressed. He had been the target of these homophobic remarks for weeks, and even threatened by his schoolmates. Carl was taunted so much that in early April, his mother found him hanging by an extension cord in their home.
This little boy was teased so much about “being gay” that he felt like his life was worthless.
One of my professors, who was raised during the segregation era, said, “In society we do things that are horrible, but when we’re surrounded by it, we don’t realize how horrible it is – until we’re pulled out of it.” He went on to say that when our generation has children, and when we tell them about what kind of society we lived in, they will be shocked by things we consider normal today.
This lesson can be alluded to African Americans during his generation and homosexuals during our generation. Especially because the youth, like the other 11-year-olds that taunted Carl, are our future. If they do not understand how wrong xenophobia is, hatred will continue, and more and more people will be hurt.
Harassment among children for being homosexual is not natural. People do not come out of the womb with a disposition to hate a specific sector of their peers. We have different temperaments, arguably different personalities, but socialization is the key in how we react to other human beings. These kinds of prejudices are taught, and picked up by friends, family and most commonly, and ironically, religion.
A statement as subtle as “that’s gay” reinforces the notion that there is not only something wrong with homosexuality, but, like most things that we call “gay,” it should be put to an end. These kinds of remarks are muted forms of discrimination. And this discrimination becomes so deep-seeded that 11-year-olds would rather die than be considered gay for one more day.
We look in history and are appalled that society and the government would allow discrimination against people that we consider equal under the law today. Discriminating against women, African Americans or Japanese would be completely unacceptable now.
Ironically, the same people who might agree that racism or sexism is wrong, would not hesitate to claim that homosexuality is either a) unnatural or b) not what God wants. This kind of illogical mindset is sadly the basis that allows an environment of hatred toward homosexuals to continue, which can result in violence or in Carl’s case in death.
Kind of as an aside: Even on a macro-level, like government intervention, marriage is considered between a man and a woman, by whatever religiously or morally propelled definition they use. And if marriage is religiously defined, which it obviously is, then the 1,138 legal benefits that marriages receive are a clear indication of an integration between church and state. Which the United States is allegedly against.
And in that same vein, what kind of action will law makers and government official takes to protect their citizens? Allowing discrimination between different spheres of society to exist in our laws only gives more power to those who feel inclined to use violence against these minorities.
There is a remarkable pattern in American culture to easily become prejudiced against the unknown. One day we will look back and be appalled by how blind we have been to blatant forms of intolerance in our society towards homosexuals. Hopefully, our generation can influence younger ones to use education and perpetuate advocacy rather than xenophobia.
SARA KOHGADAI gives her condolences to Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover’s family and true friends. Contact her at sbkohgadai@ucdavis.edu.
This weekend, Winters, Calif. will join thousands of other cities already hosting farmers markets nationwide.
Set to open Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., the farmers market in Winters will include various goods from participating farmers from Davis, Winters, Elk Grove, Rumsey, Esparto, Petaluma, Vacaville and Capay.
There will also be hot food served by local restaurants, along with live bands scheduled to perform that will add a festive touch congruous with the down-to-earth, organic environment that is ubiquitously characteristic of farmers markets.
Given the town’s bucolic nature, a farmers market will be an important addition.
“The market will be extremely beneficial given Winters‘ location in Yolo County, where nearly half of the community members own ranches and, other than one supermarket, we just don’t have much of an access place for fresh food,” said Ana Kormos, outreach and education coordinator of the Winters Healthcare Foundation, which sponsors the market.
Past attempts to implement a farmers market in Winters had proved futile, but Kormos said the response from the community this time has been strong.
The market is one part of three components being set up as a part of a joint community health project of Tides Foundation and the California Endowment. In addition to setting up a market, this movement is meant to provide a community garden and expand nutrition education efforts.
“It really ties into the agricultural heritage of the Winters area,” said Dan McGuire of the Winters Healthcare Foundation. “In fact there are more growers present at the Davis market that are from Winters than are actually from Davis. It’s a town of many farmers, and this market will make the connection between farm and community.“
Health-consciousness is just one of the many factors emphasized by the installation of the market.
“We’re hoping the diversity of options will promote healthier eating, and with that, an overall healthier way of life,” McGuire said. “This was one of the goals in incorporating the Winters Farmers Market as one of the components of this community project.“
Organizers are encouraging Davis students to check out what the market has to offer.
“Even though Davis has a wonderful, successful market, it would be nice for people to explore a whole other environment with an even smaller-town feel and a different flavor to it,” said Randii MacNear, manager of the Davis Farmers Market.
MacNear and other volunteers from the Davis Farmers Market are lending their knowledge and resources to help the Winters market get off the ground.
For students without cars, MacNear suggested riding a bike to the market in Winters, which is only 30 minutes away for ambitious cyclists.
The complete line-up of vendors includes: Terra Firma Farm in Winters, Vue Farms in Elk Grove, Yolo Bulb in Winters, Orangewood Farm, Capay Canyon Ranch, Springhill Cheese, Everything Under the Sun, Solano Mushroom Company, McDonald Orchards in Capay, Capay Fruits and Vegetables, Rich Fields Farm, Lloyd’s Produce and Berryessa Gap Winery.
More farmers are scheduled to participate once their products are in season: The Peach Farm of Winters, California Vegetable Specialties of Rio Vista, Lester Farms in Winters, and Warren Farms of Dixon. Food vendors will be Steady Eddy’s, Putah Creek Café, Ficelle, El Pueblo, Upper Crust Bakery and Santa Fe Tortillas.
Bands scheduled to perform on opening day will be The Putah Creek Crawdads and The Green String Farm Band of Petaluma. All in all, board members have faith in the success of this market and the promise it holds for the future.
“We’re all very excited for it,” MacNear said. “It seems to be the right place and the right time for a farmers market. People understand farmers markets a lot more now, so there’s a lot more of a chance that people will embrace the Winters Farmers Market from the beginning and it will demonstrate a promising start.“
ELENI STEPHANIDES can be reached at city@theaggie.org.
Solar energy could be coming from space satellites in the near future.
The investor-owned utility company Pacific Gas & Electric is seeking approval from state regulators for a power purchase agreement with Southern California company Solaren.
Solaren has contracted to deliver 200 megawatts of clean, renewable power over a 15-year period through satellite solar panels hovering in earth’s orbit and transmitted to Fresno via radio frequency by 2016, according to PG&E’s blog the “Next100.“
Cal Boerman of Solaren says they will be placing satellites in earth orbit that work together to harness solar energy in space and transmit it to earth. The satellites will be launched on a rocket just as any other satellite.
Representatives say PG&E has been looking for test bed projects to demonstrate new technological advancements in energy.
“Companies have been approaching us because they know we need to look for renewable sources of energy,” PG&E spokesperson Jonathan Marshall said. “We’re also looking into wave energy power because Northern California has a great coastline.“
Experts say the potential benefit of solar panels in orbit above the earth’s atmosphere is that they could be in full sunlight 24/7. This would improve on a major shortcoming of solar panels on Earth, where day, night, seasons and atmospheric losses make the resource intermittent.
Some have questioned Solaren’s ability to institute their plans. There’s also the issue of cost, which Boerman said will be a few billion dollars.
“While a system of this scale and exact configuration has not been built, the underlying technology is very mature and is based on communications satellite technology,” said Solaren’s chief executive officer Gary Spirnak in a Q&A posted by PG&E on “Next100.“
Solaren’s system would be “competitive both in terms of performance and cost with other sources of baseload power generation.“
Boerman says the costs will be in line with and comparable to ground solar, wind and other clean renewable energy sources. The project is being independently funded by Solaren. The state only needs to approve the contract between PG&E and Solaren.
Experts also say solar cells in space might produce several times as much energy over its lifetime compared to a similar solar cell located on the ground.
Although some see satellite solar energy as a great new renewable energy source, others believe there should be more of a focus on other sources.
“The low hanging fruit of renewable energy is wind power,” said UC Davis professor Adam Moule, who studies polymer solar cells, in an e-mail interview. “When wind is exhausted, geothermal, terrestrial solar and biomass are all more cost effective and more energy efficient. This is where money should be spent.“
There are unique concerns with this technology due to the possibility of power being lost over long distance transmission.
“Usually power is transmitted through wires,” Moule said. “Some power is lost over long distances due to resistive loss. This loss would not exist in radio waves, however; radio waves are difficult to direct and difficult to collect with high efficiency. Also there are large losses associated in converting solar power in DC to radio waves in AC and then to electricity at 60 Hz.“
Moule also said doing maintenance on the system is a lot tougher in space than on the ground.
The plans have elicited mixed feelings among others as well.
“While this is an interesting idea, there are many cost effective options for using solar power on earth that are available now,” said UC Davis environmental science and policy professor Joan Ogden.
“Next100“ says there is also no risk to PG&E customers, as PG&E has contracted only to pay for power that Solaren delivers.
The question of the solar space power’s safety was addressed in a February paper by NASA researcher James Logan on spaceenergy.com. Logan said that based on present knowledge, it is safe, provided current exposure standards are satisfied.
PG&E is required by the state to source 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2010 and 30 percent by 2017. They are producing the required amount so far.
ANGELA SWARTZ can be reached city@theaggie.org.
Davis and Woodland residents hoping for a means to bike or walk between the two cities may be in luck.
Planners from the cities of Davis and Woodland and Yolo County held a second public community meeting this week to discuss the possibility of an alternative transportation corridor between Davis and Woodland.
Farmers, bicycle advocates, landowners and other commuters from Davis, Woodland and Yolo County attended the meeting.
City and county planners are improving existing County Roads 99 and 29 between Davis and Woodland to include wider bike lanes but decided for safety reasons to continue to look at alternatives, said Ken Hiatt, assistant city manager in Davis.
“With some recent fatalities, [Davis and Woodland] dug down to look into another means of transportation between the two cities,” Hiatt said. “[An alternative route] would be separated from the county roadway system – for safety.”
Woodland, Davis and Yolo County are working together and pursuing federal grants and stimulus money to pay for the preferred alternative that comes out of these discussions, he said.
Bennett Engineering Services is conducting the feasibility study for the alternative transportation corridor and with the help of city planners developed three alignment alternatives, said Leo Rubio, project engineer with Bennett Engineering Services.
The study also considers accommodating neighborhood electric vehicles on the alignments.
“One of the main goals of the last meeting was to find out what concerns the public had,” Rubio said.
After gathering public input, meetings with individual city commissions will take place in the late summer and early fall, he said.
Fehr & Peers Transportation Consultants conducted surveys to determine how much use the alternative transportation corridor will see.
Approximately 21,000 trips take place daily between Woodland and Davis, said Kate Binning, associate at Fehr & Peers.
There are currently about 100 to 200 bike trips occurring between the two cities, Binning said.
“An estimated 1,500 Woodland residents are students, faculty or staff commuting to UC Davis on a regular basis,” she said.
These numbers indicate that the bike path would see sufficient use, Binning said.
“The study’s online survey indicates that people would be encouraged to bike more if the alternative transportation corridor was constructed,” she said. “The survey indicated that most people envisioned themselves taking this bike path at least once a month.”
Fehr & Peers also found that bicyclists feel comfortable sharing the path with pedestrians and joggers, Binning added.
The most important factors to individuals who took the survey were the surface and width of the path, the separation of the path from vehicle traffic, and having the path be mostly uninterrupted, she said.
However, some local citizens are still concerned about the implementation of the corridor.
Local residents are concerned about liability, trespass, the safety of their animals, and the fact that the corridor will be built through a wildlife refuge, said Yvonne Lemaitre, Woodland citizen and landowner.
“No one has asked us what our problems could be with this,” Lemaitre said.
Discussions of the proposed plans will continue, and more information can be found at yolocounty.org.
CAITLIN COBB can be reached at city@theaggie.org.
An estimated 20 to 25 percent of American college women experience attempted or complete rape during their college years, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. This year’s “Take Back the Night” aims to attract more awareness toward sexual violence.
Part of this month’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Take Back the Night on May 4 is a night to empower those who have been affected by sexual violence. Students Against Sexual Violence (SASV), a part of the Campus Violence Prevention Program (CVPP), coordinated this year’s events.
“It’s an event where women and men unite to bring an end to sexual assault and violence against women through education and awareness,“ said Brian Tu, president of SASV. “It aims to inspire strengths to cause changes to our community and foster a safe environment for further generations.”
The event was previously called “Women Take Back the Night” but organizers changed the name in order to encourage more men to attend the event.
“I think it’s difficult when we ask men to get involved and make the event all about women,“ said Shauna Stratton, student programming and outreach coordinator for CVPP. “Women aren’t the only ones being assaulted, if we want to stand together we want to be more gender neutral.
“Rapists make up a very small portion of the population so if we work together we can create a climate in which rape is unacceptable.”
Different from previous years, Take Back the Night is being used as a launch to Greek Week – a week-long series of events for Greek fraternities and sororities on campus. Tu expects the estimated participants to jump from last year’s 400 to 1,000 this year with the addition of the Greek community.
“At a major institution with enrollment greater than 25,000 I think the attendance should be much higher,” said Amanda Smith, vice president of SASV in an e-mail interview. “Oppression affects people of all ages, race, gender and sexual orientation and without the collaboration of groups of individuals, our efforts for change are limited.“
The evening will begin at the East Quad at 7:10 p.m. Scattered around the Quad will be cardboard cutouts with stories of survival, which have been circulating throughout the resident halls. Key note speaker former ASUCD Senator Lula Ahmed-Falol will deliver a speech while survivors share their stories and give first-hand accounts.
Performances by spoken-word performers Sick Spits and a musical act by David Ronconi will accompany the evening’s agenda. After events on the Quad, the crowd will gather for the night’s main event, the march.
The night’s march will begin at the Quad, go through downtown, and end back on campus at the Segundo residence hall area. Student Housing will provide refreshments for marchers and the university fire dancers will perform.
“UCD has the highest amount of reported sexual assaults of the UC campuses,” Tu said. “Because of that, I feel like it’s of utmost importance for our campus. Raising awareness helps people realize that you are safe among friends, that this is an issue, that this does affect people and you need to be aware of [the violence].”
National statistics reveal that one in four women has been sexually assaulted and that sexual assault is the most under reported crime. One in six men has been assaulted, though those numbers are usually for boys under the age of 18, Tu said.
“If a friend tells you that they have been sexually assaulted, the main thing is to believe them and give the power back to them,” Tu said. “Sexual assault is all about power control, so you don’t want to say you ‘have‘ to report this, but you ‘could‘ report this. You don’t want to tell them what to do but give them that choice and power back to them.”
Women Take Back the Night began in 1976. UC Davis is now in its 28th year of participation. Tu said the original purpose of the event was for women to march the streets at night, taking it back, which is symbolic because women generally would not want to walk at night for fear of being assaulted.
For more information about CVPP go to cvpp.ucdavis.edu.
ANGELA RUGGIERO can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
The early bird gets the worm – or rather, in the case of this Saturday’s worm composting workshop, an entire pound of worms.
Project Compost will host their spring worm-composting workshop at 11 a.m. near the tri co-ops, where attendants will receive a free bin with live worms. The worms are in limited supply, so early or on-time arrival will ensure a bin, organizers said.
“Worm composting is perfect for students and apartment dwellers because it doesn’t smell or take too much time,” said Alexa Sommers-Miller, unit director of Project Compost and third year environmental resource science major. “It’s great if you don’t produce that much waste and still want to make use of it.“
The workshop, located on campus across from the Segundo housing complex, will also address how to care for worms, what to compost, uses for compost and the biology of worm reproduction.
“It’s like a worm orgy in those bins,” said Education and Outreach Coordinator Liz Fitzgerald of the worm reproduction necessary to harvest worms for composting.
Yesterday, volunteers and officers collected the worms from the co-ops worm containers, which have been housing the multiplying worms since last quarter’s workshop. To have access to as many worms as Project Compost does, one would have to order them from outside of Davis, Fitzgerald said .
Last spring’s workshop hosted approximately 75 students and community members, said Fitzgerald, a junior American studies major. The workshop is part of Project Compost’s education portion of their listed duties. The unit also partakes in “action,” or collecting compostable waste around campus to add to their compost pile on the Student Farm property.
Organizers estimate that to construct a similar worm bin on one’s own would cost approximately $30, since a pound of worms typically costs about $15, and the bins cost the same. Additional supplies like soil and paper are generally easy to find, however since Project Compost collects all supplies, the workshop makes it “pretty easy,” Sommers-Miller said.
Project Compost started as an internship with R4 Recycling in the fall of 1999. As its popularity grew, it became its own unit of the student government in the fall of 2001.
“It was evident that there was a large source of organic materials that were entering the campus landfill,” said Derek Downey, a fifth-year biological systems engineering major and former unit director of Project Compost. “UC Davis is an agricultural institution, which schools about 25,000 people and houses a copious number of animal barns. Research showed that composting systems would best divert these materials.“
Downey started as an intern with Project Compost and was the founder of the worm farm now used to “grow” worms.
Project Compost also plays a large role in the upcoming Whole Earth Festival next weekend, which boasts the title as the first zero-waste festival in the U.S. Volunteers and officers collect compostable items from the festival, in addition to running small workshops at the “resource recovery zone” throughout the day. Last year, nearly 98 percent of the waste generated at the festival was either composted, recycled or reused, Sommers-Miller said.
As a unit of ASUCD, Project Compost receives most of their funding from student fees, in addition to donations and small sales of compost.
“Students are paying for this unit in their tuition, so they might as well attend these workshops,” Fitzgerald said. “Even if they don’t want to compost now, they can learn for later when they maybe have a house or a garden.“
Meetings for those interested in volunteering for Project Compost are held Mondays at 6 p.m. on the Quad. For more information, see Project Compost’s website at projectcompost.ucdavis.edu.
LAUREN STEUSSY can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
Watch out Aggies, there’s a new sheriff … well, officer in town.
Officer Ralph Nuno of the UC Davis Police Department began patrolling campus grounds for all bicycle related offenses this Monday.
Lieutenant Matthew Carmichael of the UC Davis Police Department said the need for a bicycle officer on campus has to do with “common courtesy” and “recognizing one’s own safety.“
“Stopping at a red light is the right thing to do. Stopping at a stop sign is the right thing to do. Not riding on a path where people are walking is the right thing to do,” Carmichael said. “It’s really a choice. We either choose to follow the rules of the road or we don’t – and when we don’t, unfortunately, sometimes people get hurt.“
The city of Davis, also referred to as the bicycle capital of the nation, is home to over 100,000 bikes, 60 percent of which are contained on the UC Davis campus, said Philippe Chordas, the business manager at Bike Barn.
In the core of the campus, bikes are the number one mode of transportation and with so many bikes, many obvious and flagrant violations occur on campus, Carmichael said
According to Nuno, aside from violations such as wearing headphones with two earphones while riding, utilizing the phone for calling or texting purposes while riding, not obeying signs that say to walk one’s bike along walking paths – for example, by the flagpole – the most obvious violation occurs at stop signs.
“I think [cyclists] forget that [bikes] are considered a vehicle and that they do have to come to a complete stop at stop signs,” he said.
A retired officer from the Oakland Police Department, Nuno has completed over 20 years of service and has had many assignments that have included bicycle enforcement. He opened bicycle substations within his Oakland community and recently facilitated the opening of UC Davis‘ substation in Shields Library.
Nuno was appointed the official bicycle officer after interviews conducted by ASUCD Student Police Relations Committee Chair Kara Rodenhizer, TAPS Coordinator David Takemoto-Weerts and a UC Davis Police Department supervisor.
“Officer Nuno is the man,” Carmichael said. “He’s only been here a short time and I can tell you, he is part of this campus already.“
Nuno’s shift is going to be Mondays through Thursdays, 10 hours a day, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. with great flexibility. He may work weekends and some days he may work nights, but primarily when the majority of the bicycling population is expected to be on campus, Carmichael said.
“I’m going to be patrolling primarily the core of the campus,” Nuno said. “I’ll be looking for students that are not only violating the laws, but also [those] that are acting appropriately and then rewarding them as well.
“I mean, just because you see me doesn’t mean you’re always going to get a ticket.”
With no pre-set quotas, Nuno’s goal is not to write tickets all day. In January, the UC Davis Police Department partnered up with the Silo, creating the Bike Light program to provide positive reinforcement for those that abide by the rules.
“Officers have tickets with them – they are not mean tickets or bad tickets – and they’re not fine violations,” Carmichael said. “They’re actually gift certificates for lunch at the Silo.
“So if an officer sees a student or somebody doing something right, like say stopping at a stop sign, they’ll ask them if they can speak with them. If the person agrees, then they’ll thank them for their good biking habits and give them this Bike Light ticket which in reality is a meal at the Silo,” he said.
Nuno can be seen on a police bicycle, fully equipped with a red light and siren to pull cyclists over.
“[The UC Davis Police Department’s] not asking for a lot,” Carmichael said. “We’re asking more for this to be a partnership. If people start respecting one another with the rules of the road – with bicycles – eventually it’s going to catch on … and there will be a day when we’ll come down Hutchison Drive and all of the bikes are going to stop at the light.
“If you know the officers are out there focusing on bicycle enforcement, then you’ll be a little more conscious when riding your bicycle. The whole idea is for safe bicycling on campus. That’s the bottom line,” he said.
POOJA DEOPURA can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
If Japanese food is your guilty pleasure, you‘re easily living in the right place. Davis, despite its distance from any kind of large body of water, has a plethora of Japanese restaurants from buffets to traditional style. However, if you‘re looking for an out of the ordinary Japanese experience, you might want to give Mikuni a try.
Located in the Davis Commons on First Street next to Pluto‘s, Mikuni offers a new take on Japanese food, bringing a cosmopolitan feel that changed the way I thought about Japanese restaurants.
My friend and I went on a Thursday night, and at 5 it was not packed at all.
Out of all my friends, the friend I brought is easily the premier Japanese expert considering the amount of Asian food she consumes.
As you enter Mikuni, you are welcomed by the entire waiting and cooking staff yelling some phrase in Japanese, which I assumed was inviting. They did this with every customer, and despite the numerous times I heard them yell (which got old fast considering the restaurant is quite small) and even asking what it meant, I still could not understand what they said.
The restaurant itself is decorated with a more modern style than any Japanese restaurant that I have been to.
Television sets tuned to various sports channels adorned the walls while the opposite wall had traditional Japanese paintings. Despite the size of the restaurant, there were many tables inside and outside, allowing Mikuni to accommodate many customers. With all the commotion from the TVs, music and people, I found it difficult to carry out a conversation.
Unlike other Japanese restaurants, Mikuni has a fully stocked bar. Although neither of us are 21 just yet, it seemed like eight dollars for a specialty drink was a little steep for the average college students. Beers were moderately priced at about four dollars, depending on type.
However, Mikuni does not stray from traditional style in regards to the sushi bar. With only a few seats, patrons can sit and watch their rolls from beginning to creation.
My friend often does not stray from her usual Japanese cuisine; however, she soon realized that Davis Mikuni‘s does not offer Bento boxes. For those of you who are not Japanese savvy, Bento boxes are complete meals the offer a main entrée and two sides.
Disappointed, she instead ordered the Teriyaki salmon for $16 and had to order a side of vegetable tempura, miso soup and white rice for an additional $10, making just her meal a whopping $26. Other Japanese restaurants in Davis provide these side dishes and it is included in the price, and my friend and I agreed that this would be strike one.
I ordered the Japanese Mafia roll, which at $14 was a little over my budget but I figured I would splurge a little bit. Most rolls were between $10 and $12, and Mikuni does provide a wide variety of different rolls.
The Japanese Mafia Roll was a California roll with shrimp, avocado, cream cheese and salmon, covered in two special sauces. For $14, I had pretty high expectations. Mikuni also provides other rolls that are as comically named as they are delicious such as the Marilyn Monroll and the Puff Daddy.
The tempura and miso soup arrived first. For $8, you received eight pieces of tempura with a variety of vegetables, one of each kind offered. The miso soup had an authentic Japanese taste but paled in comparison to other Davis establishments.
My roll arrived next and I waited until my friend received her dinner before eating. It took another seven minutes or so before her salmon arrived and we dug in.
I have to admit that my roll was one of the better rolls I have had in Davis. It was a mix of traditional flavor with an interesting new twist. I have yet to put my finger on what exactly that twist was, but as you can tell, it still lingers on my taste buds.
My friend, however, was not as pleased as I was. Although the portion was fairly large, she said her salmon tasted less like teriyaki and more like fish, which is never a good thing, unless you like that fishiness. She complained it was a little dry and she ate with a little dissatisfaction. I took a bite of her meal as well, and was not impressed either.
When the check arrived (for an incredible $42 without tip), my friend and I deliberated about our experience. We both agreed that as an undergraduate student on a strict budget, Mikuni is probably not the best choice for Japanese food. We also decided that if you are looking for the traditional style Japanese food that most of us all love, Mikuni is again probably not the restaurant for you.
That said, Mikuni does provide a unique take on Japanese cuisine and dining experience. They boast an impressive full bar, and a wide variety of crazy sushi rolls that would take on any courageous adventurer. If you are looking for a night on the town and are willing to spend the money, Mikuni is the place to be.
NICK MARKWITH can be reached at features@theaggie.org.
The first Big West Conference Tournament didn’t turn out like the Aggies would have hoped.
Due to a coin flip placement, No. 9 UC Davis had to matchup with No. 10 UC Irvine in the semifinal game – a team that gave the Aggies their only Big West loss during the regular season.
The Anteaters repeated their previous performance, beating the Aggies 10-8 in Saturday’s semifinal game. The loss set up a battle for third place for UC Davis with the tournament’s top seed, No. 13 Cal State Northridge.
UC Davis was able to forget about its loss to Irvine in time to take care of business against the Matadors, 10-6.
Saturday – UC Irvine 10, UC Davis 8
Both Irvine and UC Davis knew it was going to be a battle heading into Saturday’s semifinal contest.
These two teams met less than a month ago, with the Anteaters carving out a 6-5 win against the Aggies. UC Davis hit the water this time out trying to prove that was a fluke.
“We knew we had to beat them to win this championship,” said coach Jamey Wright. “It just happened to be on Saturday because of these convoluted coin flip rankings. They were easily the best team and in my opinion we were definitely the second best. This game should have been for the title.“
The Aggies struck first blood with one of junior Dana Nelson’s two goals on the day. Irvine came back with a flurry of scores, though, as it netted three straight goals to go up 3-1.
UC Davis fought back to go up 4-3 entering the halftime break. Sophomore Dakotah Mohr scored two goals in the span of 16 seconds to put the Aggies ahead 6-3 in the beginning of the third.
The Anteaters cut their deficit to one before freshman Kaylee Miller scored her second goal of the day, bumping the Aggie lead to 8-6.
But that was the last offense UC Davis would produce, as the Anteaters scored four straight to close out the Aggies on their way to the first Big West title.
“We played a really good three-and-a-half quarters,” Wright said. “We just didn’t get any ejections in the fourth and could not score otherwise. I’m still really proud of how we played against a really talented senior-dominated team.“
Sunday – UC Davis 10, Cal State Northridge 6
Saturday’s upsetting loss didn’t affect UC Davis‘ play. The Aggies dominated the game from start to finish, never trailing and eventually giving the top-seeded Matadors their second loss of the tournament.
“It’s really hard to play these games because everybody wants to be in the championship,“ Wright said. “I am really proud of how our girls really came together and dominated this game.“
After UC Davis went out to a 3-0 start, Northridge fought back to tie the game at 4-4 with only a couple minutes remaining in the second period.
The Aggies responded quickly, as sophomore Rachelle Smith’s bar-in strike was immediately followed by junior Ashley Chandler’s second goal of the game, giving UC Davis a 6-4 lead heading into the break.
The Matadors once again cut it to one in the third quarter. Miller scored both of her goals in the span of 40 seconds in the beginning of the fourth quarter to help the Aggies pull away.
All 18 Aggies played in Sunday’s game, including both goalies. Senior Diana Pivacek ended her career with six saves in the last 16 minutes.
“Finishing the season with all our players playing was really fun to watch,” Wright said.
For the ninth straight game, senior Lindsay Kiyama led UC Davis in scoring. She capped her All-American career with an impressive hat trick performance in the tournament’s third-place game.
Kiyama led the Aggies with 53 goals on the season, ending the year with 15 goals in her final six games.
“Kiyama has really played so great this season,” Wright said. “She was a dominant force in the Northridge game, and played really well in the Irvine game.“
Although the Aggies didn’t get to the Big West title game, they did exceed expectations this season.
“With the lack of experience from returning players and obviously the incoming freshman,” Wright said, “to get to be the co-conference regular season champ and the highest ranked national team in the Big West – it’s just a phenomenal accomplishment for this team.“
UC Davis finishes the season at 23-10 and 5-2 in conference play.
SAMMY BRASCH can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
For the second weekend in a row, the UC Davis baseball team faced off against nationally ranked Big West Conference competition.
For the second weekend in a row, the Aggies left play on the wrong side of a three-game sweep.
After falling to No. 15 Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo last week, UC Davis dropped three straight at the hands of No. 9 Cal State Fullerton at Dobbins Stadium over the weekend.
The Aggies came into the series with hot bats, having scored 30 runs in their previous four games, but were held to a single run over their three-game set with the Titans.
The UC Davis pitching staff bounced back from a rough Friday showing (13 runs) to limit Fullerton to a combined nine runs on Saturday and Sunday. The bats couldn’t come alive for the Aggies, though, costing them the opportunity to salvage the series.
Friday – Cal State Fullerton 13, UC Davis 1
Highlights were few and far between in the series opener Friday afternoon. Fullerton recorded 21 hits en route to breezing to a 13-1 win over UC Davis on Friday.
The UC Davis offense engineered its lone run in the home half of the seventh. Catcher Scott Kalush grounded to the shortstop for a fielder’s choice that allowed left fielder Kyle Mihaylo to score from third.
Third baseman Ty Kelly paced the Aggies by going 2-for-3 at the plate. Both hits were singles.
Pitching woes weren’t the only problems for UC Davis. The team committed three fielding errors, giving Titans starter Daniel Denken more cushion than he’d need.
Denken was dealing Friday, allowing six hits and one earned run in eight innings of work. Denken had a no-hitter through 5.2 innings before Kelly broke things up with an infield single.
Saturday – Cal State Fullerton 3, UC Davis 0
UC Davis pitcher Scott Chew threw seven innings of three-hit, one-run ball. It wasn’t enough, though, as the Aggie offense was shut down in a 3-0 defeat.
“My game plan was to throw all my off speed stuff for strikes, keep everything down and not fall behind their hitters,” Chew said.
“When you get the leadoff hitter out against them, it kind of takes them out of their offense,” said coach Rex Peters. “Scotty did a good job of that today.“
Chew was matched by Cal State Fullerton pitcher Tyler Pill, who dealt a complete-game, four-hit shutout.
Though both teams were blessed with solid pitching from their starters, only the Titans were able to capitalize on their offensive opportunities.
“We had a few opportunities to get on the board,” Peters said. “We had a leadoff double early, but just couldn’t get him to third and as a result didn’t score him.“
The Aggies and Titans each gave up four hits and committed two errors, but Fullerton was able to manufacture three runs while holding UC Davis scoreless.
Sunday – Cal State Fullerton 6, UC Davis 0
The Titans were once again led by a stellar pitching performance in the series finale.
This time it was Noe Ramirez who shut down UC Davis by throwing eight shutout innings to lead Fullerton to a 6-0 win and the series sweep. Ramirez allowed just four hits and added seven strikeouts.
Offensively, the Aggies were led by second baseman Justin Schafer. He had two singles on the day, making him the only UC Davis batter with multiple hits. Right fielder Ryan Scoma singled in the UC Davis half of the fourth to push his hitting streak to 10 games.
The three-game Titan sweep drops UC Davis to 7-31 on the year and 1-11 in Big West play. Fullerton, meanwhile, improves to 9-6 in league and 29-11 overall.
The Aggies are on the road this week, starting with a game at Nevada tonight at 6. They then travel south for a three-game weekend set against Big West foe Long Beach State.
JOHN S. HELLER can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
A UC Davis student could spend $25 at the movie theater on a ticket, artery-clogging popcorn and a jumbo soda. The same student could also send that $25 as an overseas loan to help kick start a business in Tajikistan. Not only is the money eventually repaid, but there is zero risk of heart attack.
This scenario is just one example of how microfinance works and what the new UC Davis Micro-lending Club is trying to promote. Simply put, micro-lending is the act of sending small loans to the poor, said senior communication major and club vice president, Thea Nilsson.
“You make a small loan to someone in another country,” Nilsson said. “When the loan is repaid you can either keep the money or you can loan it out again.“
Loans are given out on a charitable basis – no interest is received.
The club’s main inspiration and source of support is the microfinance group, Kiva. According to the Kiva webpage, they are the first micro-lending website to directly connect individual loaners to business owners around the world.
Kiva’s website allows lenders to view the profiles of entrepreneurs outside of the United States that are seeking funds for their business. The organization then facilitates the transfer of loans from individual lenders to the businesses or organizations they wish to help, explained Nilsson.
“Kiva is an intermediary between microfinance institutions in the developing world and individuals,” said Executive Director of Campus Kiva, Morgan Lucas. “Because Kiva works with these banks, entrepreneurs do not contact Kiva directly, but rather through Kiva’s partner institutions.“
“We are focused on international loans because the dollar goes so much further overseas,“ Nilsson said. “I have loaned $50 to $75 multiple businesses, mostly retail and mostly women.“
Club president and junior molecular biology and biochemistry major Daniel Ayer, said the UC Davis Micro-lending Club originated when he and other students realized there was no on-campus microfinance group.
The Microlending Club was created as an extension of Campus Kiva, a wide network that connects microfinance clubs at over forty different universities, he said.
While the club will fundraise and take donations to loan money out through Kiva, this is not the group’s only intention.
“Our primary goal is to raise awareness of micro-lending in the community,” Ayer said. “[Our club] wants to spend an hour or so a week to inform people about microfinance.“
Campus Kiva and the UC Davis Micro-lending Club emphasize the prefix “micro.“ According to Ayer, a loan of $25 could make a significant impact for a business owner in a developing country.
“What’s really nice about micro-lending is that you can get together with friends and toss five dollars into a hat to loan out,” Ayer said. “Most of us don’t have a lot of money to loan but even that much can still help other people.“
According to Kiva statistics, the percentage of loans that fail to be repaid is extremely low. The default rate for loans, or percent of loans that go unreturned, is 1.8 percent.
“Kiva has a high repayment rate and is very low risk,” said Ayer, who has lent $25 to Tanzanian grocery store owner, Helena Matemba.
Like Ayer, Nilsson has also loaned to businesses abroad specifically Pakistan, Nicargua, and Tajikistan.
“Lend small and lend to many,” Nilsson said.
While loans do not earn interest, Ayer believes the act of loaning itself will earn other rewards for lenders. “The ultimate benefit [of loaning] is that you are actually going to be doing real good somewhere else,” Ayer said. “Benefiting the third world will benefit us in the first world. As a group we can affect change.“
The UC Davis Microlending Club encourages anyone interested in loaning or simply learning more about microfinance to contact them at microlending.club@gmail.com.
AMANDA HARDWICK can be reached at features@theaggie.org.
TODAY
Cutting Calories on Cultural Cuisines
5 to 7 p.m.
Silo Union
Learn how to cook healthy, easy and exotic dishes!
Israel block party!
6 to 9:45 p.m.
Central Park
Celebrate Israel Independence Day with a live band, DJ and free falafel.
Justice Week event
8 p.m.
26 Wellman
Go to Imam Musa’s talk about the global revival of Islam.
WEDNESDAY
East Quad Farmers Market
10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
East Quad
Support local farmers and buy some fresh produce, nuts, flowers and more! Pick up some tasty treats for a fun springtime dinner or a nice afternoon snack.
Beyond the Bachelor’s Degree
11:15 a.m. to 1 p.m.
MU II
Speakers at this panel of Chicanas and Latinas will feature personal testimonies as well as a Q&A session.
Karma Patrol
7 to 9 p.m.
Mee Room, MU
Stop by this meeting and “bee” a volunteer for the Whole Earth Festival.
Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss talk
8 p.m.
1100 Social Sciences
Listen to Rabbi Weiss give his talk entitled “Zionism: A Rebellion Against God.“
THURSDAY
Matt McCormick talk
7:30 p.m.
1322 Storer
CSU Sacramento professor McCormick will speak about “The Case Against Christ” as he challenges the supernatural and historical claims of Jesus Christ.
Thursday Trivia Nights
6 to 7:30 p.m.
First floor, Silo Union
Test your knowledge of random facts and potentially win fabulous prizes along the way!
Sickspits Poetry Collective
7:30 to 11 p.m.
123 Science Lecture
Go to the “hottest poetry speak-off ever,” featuring UC Davis, UC Berkeley, UCSC and Stanford poetry slam teams as well as three-time Grammy nominee Random Abiladeze.
Hermanos Macehual
8 p.m.
1 Wellman
Hermanos Macehual is a community service organization oriented to help students in academic and social aspects of UC Davis while encouraging a friendly and open atmosphere. For more info visit macehual.com.
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.
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