The decision by UC Davis to secure housing for future transfer students shows a positive shift by the university toward caring for the entire student body.

By securing housing agreements with Primero Grove, The Lexington and The Arbors, the university has guaranteed that it will be able to provide housing to incoming transfer students. Previously, UC Davis was the only UC campus that could not guarantee housing to this group.

Transfer students represent an important segment of any college campus population; they are cost effective for the university and add an essential perspective to the student body. By guaranteeing housing, UC Davis will attract an even higher quality of transfer student than it already does, which will benefit everyone.

By choosing to make deals with these particular apartment complexes, UC Davis has shown an honest effort to provide housing that is relatively close to campus – important factors when creating a comfortable environment for transfer students. This will also provide those students with something akin to the dorm experience, an essential part of college life.

As noted by student housing officials in the Apr. 15 article “UC Davis to guarantee transfer housing for 2009-2010 academic year,” this should also reduce the burden on transfer students who come to UC Davis from several hundred miles away and will no longer have to search for housing in Davis on their own.

While securing this housing from existing apartment complexes is only a stop-gap measure, it addresses a previously unmet need. The reduction in freshmen enrollment, in tandem with the completion of the West Village expansion at some time in the next few years, should guarantee that this arrangement will suffice in the short term and that there will be other, more palatable options in the long term.

University officials are considering a change to add a Middle Eastern category on the University of California application.

Currently, students who self-identify as Middle Eastern are typically expected to categorize themselves as white on the UC application, although some opt to choose African, Asian or other.

The discussion is the result of a student movement that started at UCLA and has gained support throughout the UC system.

There is no compelling reason not to go ahead with the change. It would improve the quality of student data, and the information could be used for analytic purposes, such as targeting students who identify as Middle Eastern for specific services.

UC has expanded its ethnic categories on the application in the past. In 2007, UC approved the addition of 23 Asian American Pacific Islander groups to the application. Though it would entail costs to modify computer systems throughout the UC, considering that expansions have been made in the past, this cost can‘t be expected to be too high.

Additionally, support for a Middle Eastern category is growing across the UC system. UC Davis recently expanded its Middle East/South Asian Studies program, adding the major in fall 2008.

Furthermore, more accurate data on students‘ origins would improve the relationship between university officials and students who identify themselves as Middle Eastern. Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef has traveled to Iran twice to strengthen international ties with the country – an official recognition on an application wouldn’t hurt.

University officials could also consider expanding within the Middle Eastern category, as the Middle East includes numerous ethnic groups such as Afghan, Arab, Armenian, Assyrian, Iranian, Turks and more. 

Dear Editor,

I was deeply troubled by the guest opinion article by Jan Weeks, entitled “Animal Welfare at UCD.” I am also a UCD alumna and I currently work in a research lab at the UC Davis Medical Center. My research on liver fibrosis requires animals be sacrificed frequently for experiments. While I understand that this notion can be upsetting to some, it is necessary for the advancement of science and the development of new medical treatments.

Researchers do not torture innocent animals as Weeks implied. Rather, the utmost care is taken to assure that we treat our animals humanely. There are several approval processes that must be completed before animals can be used, and this includes providing an outline of how the animals will be euthanized. Any plan for animal use in a laboratory is extensively reviewed by a committee dedicated to ensuring ethical research.

I am grateful for the gift of knowledge that the animals we use are giving us. Through the research we are able to conduct, human lives can be saved. I doubt that someone opposed to using animals for research would object to receiving life saving treatment due to the fact that animals were used in its development.

I would also like to point out that the vast majority of animal populations used in research labs are specifically bred for the purpose of research. It is terribly misguided to state that “no possible good” can come from research on animals and that research scientists “lack empathy” towards the animals they use. As someone who works in a lab I can honestly say that this is not true.

Despite taking every effort to ensure that animal research is carried out in a responsible manner, there remain some people who wish harm to those that conduct research on animals. Several researchers across the UC system have received threats of violence which has caused an increase in the security measures surrounding research facilities. With World Week for Animals in Laboratories (WWAIL) this week I honestly hope that those who oppose using animals in research would think about what they are really protesting against.

Sincerely,

Fiona Scott

Internal Medicine, UCDMC

Dear editor,

The recent opinion piece by Jan Weeks, “Animal Welfare at UCD,“ makes a number of inaccurate statements about the animal research at UC Davis and at the California National Primate Research Center.

Research with animals benefits both human and animal health, and is strictly regulated by federal law. Research at UC Davis, for example, has enabled new treatments to prevent transmission of HIV from mothers to babies. Other research areas include autism, stem cell research, Alzheimer’s disease, asthma and lung diseases. Computer models, cell cultures and new imaging technologies all have their part to play in biomedical research, and our researchers have adopted many of these technologies to reduce the use of animals. But they cannot take the place of animal studies in fully understanding complex processes inside the body.

All research projects at the Center have to be approved by the campus Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and by funding agencies. UC Davis follows the federal Public Health Service guidelines on the care of laboratory animals, and our facilities are regularly inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Further, UC Davis’s animal care program is accredited by an independent body, the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, AAALAC.

Animal research evokes strong passions on both sides of the question. At UC Davis we are committed to providing for the best possible animal care program while fully supporting the efforts of our researchers to advance both human and animal health.

Sincerely,

Stan Nosek

Vice-Chancellor for Administration

Dallas Hyde

Professor and Director of the California National Primate Research Center

Being a student at one of the world’s largest public universities makes avoiding passionate debaters practically impossible.

Most of the time such debate appears to be intelligent. You’ll simply overhear a few of your peers calmly tossing out points and counter-points, secretly nod your head at the validity of their claims, and decide to get moving to your next class. While your passivity normally gets the best of you, there might even be the occasion when you find the subject matter especially interesting and decided to stick around, maybe even tossing in a few carefully worded points of your own.

And then, of course, there’s that third type of debate that you might overhear while strolling through campus. This style of discourse is completely devoid of the intelligence, civility and multi-syllabic vocabulary that you have come to expect from university students, and at the exact instant you walk by seems to be focused on some inane tangent such as the proper usage of the word “whom.” While this mindless word-war can take different forms and center upon different issues, the events of the past few months have probably ensured that the vast majority of these debates will start with something along the lines of “Dude, weed should totally be legalized.“

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the fight to legalize marijuana is a stupid one, in fact, it’s far from it. All I’m saying is that there’s a whole spectrum of stupid people who’ve decided that this cause is completely devoid of any potential negative impacts and view their “struggle” as a modern day civil rights issue. Lucky for me, most of the people I’m currently insulting will probably never realize it, either because their still baked or completely comatose after yesterday’s 4-20 smoke-fest. (Lookin‘ at you, Santa Cruz …)

Despite the negative impact that these ranters likely have on the issue’s public image, the marijuana debate has certainly caught fire in the last couple of months, especially in California.

Early in his term, Barack Obama’s administration announced that the Department of Justice will no longer prosecute medical marijuana dispensaries operating within the laws of the state in which they’re based, California included. No more than a few weeks after this announcement news began breaking about the California State Assembly’s AB 390, a measure introduced by San Francisco’s Tom Ammiano designed to completely legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults. Media coverage for AB 390 only increased when it became clear that motivation behind the bill was the nearly $1 billion in tax revenue that could be gained by lifting the current ban, rather than Ammiano’s secret love for weed and Frisbee golf.

Such steps towards a change in our nation’s drug policy, as well as the amount of publicity given to the issue, has been like throwing fuel on the very same fire that the aforementioned and inarticulate stoner population uses to light their joints and tell everyone how great the world would be if we tossed the law aside and everyone just got high.

Let me see if I’ve got this straight, hippies: California drops the ban and everyone instantly becomes a Willie Nelson/Allen Ginsberg hybrid working towards world peace and self-realization? I think not.

The marijuana discussion is a valuable one to have, but it ultimately just boils down to whether or not the state is going to put the stamp of approval and collect taxes on something that millions of consenting adults are already doing in the privacy of their own homes. The world won’t change, wars will still be fought and your favorite Jimi Hendrix song won’t suddenly start playing every time the sun breaks the horizon. Sorry to kill your high, bro, but at the end of the day it’s just not terribly important.

JAMES NOONAN would like to state that the anti-marijuana debate is full of just as many idiots and half-baked claims as the pro-side, but they’re so much less fun to pick on. Be sure to mellow out before e-mailing him at jjnoonan@ucdavis.edu.

I want to murder my toilet. Lately, it has decided to go rogue and do everything it’s not supposed to do. One day, I’ll open the lid in hopes of (ahem) “dropping the kids off at the pool,” and see that there is absolutely no water in it. Then a couple days later, right when I finish taking a tinkle at two in the morning, my cup runneth over because it has decided to compensate for its lack of water last week. I can hear my toilet bowl laughing at me as I clean my flooded bathroom and I realize I only have about four more hours of sleep until I have to get up again.

At times it chooses to withhold its flushing abilities as well. Its handle limps uselessly and flaccidly as I try to jiggle it to oblivion with the hopes that merely willing it to work will be the trick that does it (although it wouldn’t be my first time if you know what I mean! Zing!) Other times, preferably when I’m showering right next to it, my toilet decides to flush out of nowhere. Not only must I recover from the heart attack I just suffered believing that a robber who has a penchant for flushing the toilets of his victims was inside my apartment, I must also deal with the scalding hot water that is setting fire to my skin. These days, I just want to sledgehammer this porcelain god into pieces.

And it’s such a shame too, considering we had so many good times. Why, I remember the night I got sick from eating too many apples (and by eating I mean drinking, and by apples I mean Lychee coolers*). I must admit that from this white throne of mine, many columns were formulated, many books were read and many magazine quizzes were filled out (by the way, my flirting style is “seductress“).

I just have to learn to let go. Then again, that’s the thing with failed relationships (how’s that for a rough segue?). Somewhere down the road it just stops working and no amount of “remembering the good times,” is going to help fix it. Just like me and my toilet – sooner or later, the shit’s just going to keep piling up. And it’s not just about personal relationships; I’m talking about quitting that job you hate or kicking that lame-ass friend to the curb.

Recently, I’m starting to believe in the awesomeness of shedding off the dead weight in one’s life. I’m a neophyte of doing away with things that aren’t working for me. I blame it on the fact that I’m a senior. Suddenly, things that waste your time (when you don’t have much time anymore to be an irresponsible twentysomething) are easier to spot. And instead of talking it out or waiting for things to change, it’s much easier to just accept things and people for what they are and then decide not to be any part of it.

Last year, I quit this summer job I absolutely detested. It was data entry, which basically meant I copied and pasted numbers from one Excel sheet to another for five hours. This one coworker there graduated from the University of Douchington, which evidently entitled him to tell me that I was doing my job inefficiently (apparently, there is an even better way to press the control and V keys).

My boss, who was pleasant in all other aspects, really liked to take the meaning of our menial tasks seriously – to the point where I thought that if I didn’t get these numbers in by 4 p.m., Wall Street really would need to shutdown. In case some future employer is reading this, I assure you that I did my job well enough; I just hated every minute of it. It was like Office Space except it was real life and there was no Ron Livingston to charm the pants off of you.

Then one day, after my coworker snidely noted that my lunch breaks were getting a bit long, I decided to quit. I told my boss that something serious came up (always say “family problems” – it stops people from prying almost immediately) and that a reference was not needed. It was the best I felt the entire time I was there. Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” was literally playing in my head the entire ride home.

I’m not saying I’m the most emotionally sound girl there is. In high school, when my affections for a guy went unreciprocated, I would be devastated. I still think that girl is in me (the one who’d fall in love with any decent looking guy that held the door for her) but to a lesser extent. I guess you could say I’ve grown up? But only a little. In a few months time, I will have conquered college, and that feels pretty rad. I think that experience has made me raise some sort of standard with the things and people that are allowed to stay in my life. And if something doesn’t make the cut? Well then, I can just flush it down the toilet.

LYNN LA says ‘sups? to Sophia’s for making *the best damned mix drink there ever was. When she leaves this town, she’ll definitely miss it. If you know the recipe, e-mail her at ldla@ucdavis.edu so she can press charges the next time she eats too many apples.

For months you tried to plant the seeds of romance by being a genuine and thoughtful friend, often consoling her and listening to her complain about how Stage 3 douchebags (if you’re confused about the stages, I encourage you to check out last week’s column) seem to be a dime a dozen in this shanty town.

And all the while you wondered if she was blind.

But you had a plan. After sweeping her off her feet and emptying your heart of its long-suppressed contents, she would realize that what she had really wanted all along was right in front of her. After all, hadn’t Jim Halpert used this tactic on Pam Beesly to win a promotion from friend to personal bed-warmer?

Knowing she was worth the risk, you asked her to dinner and she said yes.

Surely she knew you meant it to be a date date?

You find yourself sitting across from her and everything goes well at first. You both enjoy the usual flirtatious banter and engaging conversation, but amidst this she drops the nuclear bomb: You are like my brother.

Translation: I enjoy your company, but I would never want to do the naked dance with you.

You have just been sucked into a black hole of broken dreams and sexual frustration from which there is no escape.

You’ve crossed over into … the Friend Zone.

If you are a Stage 1 idealist, then you likely often find yourself in similar situations. Perhaps you have even begun to believe you are destined to always be the friend and never the lover. Whereas “it was written” for Jamal to get the hot Indian chick in Slumdog Millionaire, you are perpetually doomed to fall prey to the emotional Sarlacc Pit of the Friend Zone.

Nevertheless, I am determined to help Stage 1 individuals find a way to avoid the Friend Zone, and if sucked into it, how to escape.

How to Avoid the Friend Zone

First, don’t make yourself too available. This is a tricky one because you want to convey interest while at the same time not mirroring the tactics of Stage 3 douchebags by acting like you don’t give a damn. If you have common friends, do whatever you can to avoid being part of her “group.”

Second, do not be her therapist! I can’t stress this one enough. Stage 1 guys naturally want to rescue the damsel in distress because they care for her and want to see her smile, but by doing so sacrifice their hope for being seen as romantically viable. The surest route to the Friend Zone is via listening to her problems, especially when they involve other guys. Don’t be an emotional crocodile, but if you find her barraging you with beckons for advice, grab your helmet and take cover in the nearest fox hole.

How to Escape the Friend Zone

First, stop doing what got you into the Friend Zone in the first place. Make yourself less available and stop being her therapist. She can always call her girlfriends or Facebook chat her priest if she needs emotional support.

Second, take a chance. A lot of this depends on how close you already are to the girl, so use your own discretion, being mindful not to come on too strong, but do something. If Jim hadn’t been bold enough to tell Pam how he felt, then she would have ended up marrying that Roy (who’s at Stage 3).

Of course, you can’t help the way you feel anymore than she can and sometimes she is just not that into you. But don’t despair, my friends. In the end, things have a knack for working out the way they are supposed to.

College is a unique opportunity to meet tons of different people and if you happen to find someone you feel a strong romantic connection to, always embrace it and never neglect it. Sooner than you think you will be indefinitely parting ways with most of the people you have met and don’t allow something that could be potentially great slip through your fingers, lest you be left wondering what shoulda, coulda, woulda.

If you are willing to follow it, your heart will lead you in the right direction.

It always will, it always does.

MIKE HOWER is aware he referenced both Slumdog Millionaire and Star Wars in the same sentence. Tell him how impressive you think that is at mahower@ucdavis.edu.