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Baseball preview

Sports

Sports Editor

February 26, 2009

Teams: UC Davis vs. Pepperdine

Records: Aggies, 1-3; Waves, 2-1

Where: Dobbins Stadium

When: Friday at 2:30 p.m.; Saturday at 1 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m.

Who to watch: Kyle Mihaylo has been one of the few bright offensive spots for UC Davis so far.

The junior outfielder leads the team with a .357/.471/.786 vital line. Four of his five hits this season have been for extra bases, including a solo home run to left field in Tuesday’s home opener.

Did you know? UC Davis faced Pepperdine last year in the NCAA Division I West Regionals. Nate Simon and Denny Duron hit two-run homers in the second and eighth inning, respectively, in a 7-4 Waves win.

Preview: UC Davis coach Rex Peters figured his team’s inexperienced pitchers would get off to a slow start this season.

He didn’t expect his offense to follow suit.

UC Davis managed only three hits on Tuesday in a 7-1 loss to San Francisco. The top five batters in the order reached based just once in 18 plate appearances.

“That was probably the most disappointing thing of the day,” Peters said. “We knew we would struggle a little bit on the mound as we developed the pitching staff, but we were hoping that offensively we would be good enough to carry the pitching staff a little bit.

“Other than the Sunday game at UCLA, we’ve been pretty anemic as of late. Down at UCLA, those are good arms; that’s understandable. Out here today, this is average pitching, and we should be able to do better than three hits and one run.“

The Aggies carry a .194/.276/.284 team vital line on the young season, making them due for a breakout this weekend. Pepperdine’s pitching staff enters the series with a 3.67 ERA.

This will be the Waves‘ second straight series against a Big West Conference team. The Waves took two of three from Cal State Northridge last weekend, capturing the series win on Sunday with Simon’s walk-off home run in the 10th.

Simon batted .385 against the Matadors and hit three home runs.

– Michael Gehlken

Daily Calendar

Features

Features Editor

February 26, 2009

TODAY

The Ultimate Invitation: Becoming the Guest of Allah

7:30 p.m.

Wellman 234

Join the Muslim Student Association and guest speaker Imam Tahir Anwar.

Project Compost

6 p.m.

MU basement, MU 43

Go to our volunteer meetings and learn how you can get involved. Help end organic oppression!

Chi Delta Theta Spring Rush

7 p.m.

Silo Cabernet

Come check out Chi Delta Theta’s spring rush 2009! Stop by for some free food and fun games!

ASUCD External Affairs Commission hiring

asucd.ucdavis.edu/jobs

Applications for this commission are due Thursday by midnight. Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity!

Film: 9/11 Mysteries-demolition

7 p.m.

1100 Social Sciences

A careful deconstruction of the official story set alongside clean, clear science. Ninety minutes of pure demolition evidence/analysis, with eyewitness testimonials!

Be: Independent

6 to 8 p.m.

Griffin Lounge, MU

Life after college? What to do when you don’t know what to do.

American Red Cross Club Meeting

6:10 to 7 p.m.

6 Olson

Officer applications are due and election information will be given out at this meeting.

Computer Science Club

5 to 6 p.m.

1131 Kemper

Join CSC as they host a Sun Microsystems presentation of the Sun Spot device (a wireless embedded sensor that runs Java). Free food, drinks and swag should sweeten the deal for you.

FRIDAY

Money Can Multiply

6:30 to 8 p.m.

1227 Haring

Listen to professionals demystify the investing process.

Chess seminar

4 to 6 p.m.

Garrison Room, MU

Attend a chess seminar with national master James Heiserman. Mr. Heiserman will share his insight and perspective of the game. For more information, e-mail ucdchess@gmail.com.

MONDAY

Care-to-Cure fundraiser

6 to 9 p.m.

Woodstock’s Pizza, 219 G St.

Go to this fundraiser for Care-to-Cure, which benefits St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

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.

Editorial: More transparency needed

Opinion

Opinion

February 26, 2009

Social networking website Facebook recently tried to change the End User License Agreement that must be accepted by anyone who wants to have an account on the website.

Thanks in large part to the observance of the website Consumerist, this did not go unnoticed by Facebook’s community, which eventually forced Facebook to revert back to the previous terms of use.

Despite Facebook’s willingness to revert to the previous terms, the initial attempt to change them indicates a larger problem. Facebook should have a more extensive product testing and feedback process, because clearly whatever system is in place is not sufficient enough.

The new agreement should have been discussed openly with users to get their opinion before implementing it. The news feed feature, introduced some time ago, also could have avoided much of the grief it got from users if there had been a beta testing process that was open to the public. Not implementing these policies gives users the impression that Facebook is trying to pull a fast one on them.

Facebook users should also learn from this experience. This incident has shown that Facebook is responsive when there is enough discontent. Their implementation of news feed controls in the past shows a willingness to work with users rather than against them. In the future, users should give the website the benefit of the doubt; it has nothing to gain by angering and driving away all its users.

This will hopefully encourage people to be more aware of license agreements. Though Facebook should have been more clear in what the changes to the EULA meant, users still agreed to them without reading them. It is technically their responsibility to read through it and see what they are signing.

Facebook should be more open about what it is doing or planning and users should be more aware.

Word Vomit

Opinion

Opinion

February 26, 2009

Word vomit (n.) – originated in Paramount’s Mean Girls, which everyone has seen whether they admit it or not. It is the act of uttering words that have floated around in your head countless times but that you would never actually dream of saying. Example – “I’ve always hated you.”

There are a lot of really ridiculous holidays out there. Boss’s Day definitely comes out somewhere at the top of the list; are we not forced to brownnose these power-tripping fools 364 days a year as it is? Parents’ Day is pointless since we have Mother’s and Father’s Days already. Then there are the federal holidays that no one would really care about if not for the fact that we get a day off.

I’ve always thought that it would be nifty to have National Word Vomit Day – 24 glorious hours where you just don’t hold anything back. Tell that girl who sits in front of you that you’re sick of seeing her g-string hang out every Tuesday and Thursday from two to four. Tell your brother that his new girlfriend looks like a Fall Out Boy groupie. Tell that dude you’ve been leading on that you only talk to him because he has a fake ID.

I once pitched this idea to a coworker, who said it would be a pointless holiday for him because he already just says what’s on his mind. I’m positive that he was lying. Nobody truly says what they’re thinking, because let’s face it, 99.9 percent of us would be massively hated by the end of that day. I reserve that 0.1 percent because I truly have met people in my lifetime who genuinely seemed to have kind natures. The rest of us are jerks.

Now I know that I’m only reiterating common knowledge here, but the real reason we can’t say these things boils down to sheer social ethic. We are forced to mask our true feelings for our own benefit. It’s all about rationalizing: What’s more worth it, the satisfaction of telling your friend the truth or scoring booze so you can be worshipped amongst the other freshies in your dorm? Thought so.

It’d be fair to say that there’s definitely some sort of buffer zone for most of us. It’s the reason we instinctively open our mouths to say something then close it again, why we think out our words before we sit someone down for a talk, why leaders have speechwriters. We regulate ourselves and calculate our actions to keep from looking like tools.

There’s always that one scene in a movie or on a TV show where a bunch of people think they’re gonna die and start spilling their guts to one another, like in Almost Famous, where the otherwise mute drummer of the band comes out of the closet. This, again, is because these folks figure they have nothing to lose since their lives are about to end. I would presume that there’s a comforting serenity in the moments before the crash, when all the weight is lifted and the concept of a secret vanishes. Except that the plane never crashes and everyone feels awkward as fuck afterward.

Darn consequences. Everything we say becomes public knowledge, at least to the people who hear it. And once it’s out, it’s out; you can never take it back. This is why it takes balls to speak your mind. The sad part is, from that point out your fate is somewhat dependent on the other party’s reaction.

So much of life is based on masking your true thoughts and feelings. It’s evident everywhere: in politics, in beauty pageants, in the workplace. It’s just part of the inner workings of social order. But really, if for once we could see the first runner up rage at Miss USA, it would probably be the best catfight ever. I’m talking about real TV, not that scripted garbage they call “The Real World.”

I realize that I’m boiling into simplicity something that is in fact very complicated. The fact is that unless it could be arranged that everyone’s memory could be wiped the day after, this isn’t gonna happen. I guess watching Lester Burnham blackmail his boss is just my way of living vicariously unless I should stumble into a situation where I’m so loaded and delirious that I can spew all the word vomit I want. Oh, sweet liberation.

MICHELLE RICK will settle for National Cupcake Day if this never happens. Lay the honest truth on her at marick@ucdavis.edu.

A changed college education

Opinion

Opinion

February 26, 2009

In Rick Perlstein’s 2007 essay “What’s the Matter with College?” he laments the death of college as a catalyst for radical social change. For him, the increasing pre-professional bureaucratization of college deprives students of the creative intellectual impetus they need to renew national culture and idealism. What he didn’t predict was that the end of college as we know it was indeed not brought by intellectual changes, but by economic changes – because college students are now entering an era of curtailed expectations, and living with less is becoming the way.

For the past several years, the average college student has had a clear path toward success. At college, one developed character by participating in social organizations, volunteering in charities, leading student governments. At the same time, one was expected to consistently maintain outstanding grades, attend office hours, demonstrate enthusiasm for learning. Not less were the demands to socialize and to party. Success in these – and, by extension, acquiring the necessary skills – meant that one was ready to graduate.

And the subsequent rewards were multiple. Fresh graduates expected a minimum starting salary of $40,000. Assured by the security of lucrative income, one could purchase an Acura, repay student loans, buy designer Armanis, marry college sweethearts. College payoffs were satisfying.

But the premise and promise that defined college are now withering and crumbling. That dream is under threat, brought about by a seismic economic downturn. The jobless rate is steadily increasing. Competition for jobs is fierce, pitting one not just against fellow graduates but to former managers and senior specialists. Financial reports continuously deliver gloomy forecasts. Fear is coursing and uncertainty is permeating. For many, this is the future disappearing.

Thus, expectations in college will no longer be the same. But what has changed?

Firstly, our entire orientation with wealth. We were living previously in an inflated setting, spending with money borrowed from the future. And unlike past crises, which were the product of business cycles – periods of economic fluctuations due to the imbalance of supply and demand – this crisis is real, so widespread, so integrated between numerous actors, a consequence of so many bad decisions by so many people all at the same time. College graduates must recognize and adapt to the unforgiving nature of this downturn.

It is also not just about reduced expectations, but our very conceptions of the way traditional businesses operate. Several industries are undergoing transformational, systemic changes. Traditional print journalism is entering into a crisis of identity, struggling to promote a viable business model against the growth of blogs and free content. The financial industry’s reputation and function is in shambles, the public’s faith distorted after all the perceived corporate greed and scandalous disregard. And the government’s nationalization of the banks ensures that corporate operations will never remain the same. Our professional education has to be realigned to this new reality.

Additionally, the fight for resources is increasingly diverse. As nations ascend in political influence, economic might, and military sophistication, the bidding for energy and capital occur in a realm where demand greatly outstrips supply. Resources are dwindling. Thus, for the college graduate, prior expectations of affluent lifestyles and extravagant spending are no longer realistic.

When Perlstein envisioned the death of college in America as we know it, he was imagining its death by a lack of intellectual radicalism. It would be interesting to know that change was brought instead by an economic crisis.

ZACH HAN is also searching for a job; interested employers can e-mail him at zklhan@ucdavis.edu.

U.S. government faces veterinarian shortage

City News

City Editor

February 26, 2009

A wave of potential retirements among federal veterinarians could be a blessing for vet students.

A recent report from the Government Accountability Office indicates that the number of federal veterinarians is quickly dwindling.

Federal veterinarians are essential to the food production and safety of the United States. They maintain control of diseases that can spread between animals and humans, according to the report.

The report also noted that while there is no government-wide effort to search for shared solutions to this problem, 16 of the 24 federal entities that employ veterinarians raised concerns about the sufficiency of the workforce.

One large factor contributing to this shortage is the fact that 27 percent of the veterinarians at five main federal agencies will be eligible to retire within three years, according to GAO research.

It is necessary to have a sufficient number of veterinarians devoted to inspecting animals to ensure diseases do not cross into U.S. territory, said Larry Hawkins, spokesperson for the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service division.

One of the most important areas where veterinarians are employed is in the Veterinary Service Division, which deals with exotic animal diseases such as avian influenza and equine anemia, he said.

“When animals are imported to the United States they must be examined and possibly quarantined,” Hawkins said. “In that case they must be examined by a federal veterinarian.”

Another key division that requires federal veterinarians is the animal care division, which ensures that animals are treated properly, he said.

In this division, veterinarians travel to and examine any locations where animals are exhibited, such as the circus, and make sure animals are being treated fairly and humanely, Hawkins added.

The USDA and APHIS, like many other organizations, are feeling the effects of this nationwide veterinary shortage, he said.

“There seem to be fewer and fewer veterinarians in their vet school training who are working with large animals,” Hawkins said. “This shortage could have serious implications for the U.S. food supply.”

The highly regarded UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine is also noticing the trend of students choosing not to go into the federal veterinary field.

“We’ve known for some time that there are not nearly enough veterinarians available for public service,” said Bennie Osburn, dean of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. “Now the federal government is really taking stock of things and seeing that there really is more need for veterinarians.”

Faculty and staff at the vet school are aware of the country’s problem and the shortages they are facing, Osburn said.

Part of the shortage is due to the fact that a sizeable portion of veterinary jobs are located on the East Coast, and about 80 percent of the veterinarians that graduate from the UC Davis veterinary program remain in California, he said.

Also, a high percentage of the UC Davis veterinarians go into companion animal practice, which mostly consists of caring for cats and dogs, Osburn added. Fewer students are going into large animal veterinary medicine.

“Not too many head [into the field of large animals], but we think it’s important to try to train more students [in that field] so they can help meet national needs,” Osburn said.

Some of the main responsibilities of federal veterinarians are to maintain federal health and food safety, he added.

“[Federal veterinarians] play a very important role in protecting the country from potential new and emerging zoonotic diseases,” he said. “They also address outbreaks of disease and try to control them.“

The GAO is currently working with Senator Akaka from Hawaii to find a solution to this shortage, said Lisa Shanes, GAO staff member and co-writer of the report.

“The report was requested by and released to Senator Akaka from Hawaii,” Shanes said.

The GAO identified the shortage problem, and then began to develop the report on the vet shortage, she added. In the report, the GAO makes several recommendations on how to combat the problem.

There will be a hearing today between the GAO and several other organizations who employ federal veterinarians to determine the next course of action.

For the full report, visit gao.gov/new.items/d09178.pdf.

CAITLIN COBB can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

New cervical cancer vaccination catching on with teenage girls

City News

City Editor

February 26, 2009

“One less!” shouts the Gardasil advertising campaign slogan, and teen girls seem to be listening.

More than a quarter of all teenage California girls received at least one human papillomavirus vaccination shot in 2007, according to data from the California Health Interview Survey.

The survey, conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research found that about 26 percent of girls in California between the ages of 13 and 17 had had one of the shots. The 2007 survey covered 53,611 California households, including approximately 4,000 adolescent males and females.

Gardasil is a vaccine that fights against the human papillomavirus, which causes genital warts and cervical cancer. The vaccine fights against four strains of HPV, two of which cause 70 percent of cervical cancer, along with 90 percent of genital wart cases in women.

“This is a pretty exciting kind of medicine,” said David Grant, director of the California Health Interview Survey. “I don’t think there is anything that you can compare it to. Other [vaccinations] don’t have the same promise or excitement as [Gardasil].“

Gardasil was approved in 2006 and in 2007 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended preteens, teens and all sexually active women start the three-shot vaccination process.

Gardasil is the only HPV vaccine that has been approved in the U.S., but the long-term effects are still unknown, said Maureen Greenhagen, nursing manager at Cowell Student Health Center.

“The question for the vaccine is, ‘How long is it going to last?’ They don’t know that. It’s not clear,” Greenhagen said.

In Davis, 480 women came into the Cowell Student Health Center for the HPV vaccination during the 2007-2008 school year, Greenhagen said, but not all Davis women use the campus facility to receive their shots.

“[Gardasil] is the best thing out there for preventing HPV,” she said. “HPV is very common in college health.… Studies have shown [Gardasil] is very effective.“

Though effective against four strains of the sexually transmitted HPV, the vaccine is still costly. Three shots are recommended for full coverage. Each shot costs $125, adding up to just under $400 for the full series.

Merck, the pharmaceutical manufacturer of the Gardasil vaccination, provides patient-assistance programs to help with the cost, and these programs are open to college students, said spokesperson Steven Cooper.

Cooper attributes the success of the fairly recently marketed drug to public relations efforts, consumer education and good communication with the medical field.

“[Gardasil] is the first ever vaccine to protect against a form of cancer,” said Cooper. “[It’s] a pretty important health message.“

The message is getting across with Gardasil’s “One less” ad campaign. California Health Survey director Grant said Merck is investing a lot into their Gardasil media campaign.

“The media campaign has definitely helped,” said Grant, of the vaccine’s quick popularity.

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

Controversy surrounds new UC eligibility requirements

Campus News

Campus Editor

February 26, 2009

Earlier this month, the UC regents approved a dramatic change to the UC admissions process by eliminating the SAT Subject Tests requirement. While some students have applauded the move as a step for greater equity and accessibility, others have condemned it as compromising the quality of students at UC.

“I believe that my degree will go down in value as a direct result of this change,” said Tierney Burke, a sophomore political science major and chair of the Davis College Republicans, who have been outspoken in their opposition to the new policy. “Without the SAT Subject Tests, we are just lowering the quality of education here instead of allowing people to go through the community colleges and CSU systems.“

Beginning with the fall class of 2012, students will no longer have to take the SAT Subject Tests, also known as SAT II. Currently, UC applicants have to report at least two SAT Subject Test scores to have their application considered.

The regents also adjusted the benchmarks for guaranteed admission to UC. Previously, students in either the top 4 percent in their high school class or top 12.5 percent statewide were guaranteed admission to at least one UC school. Starting with the fall class of 2012, students must be in either the top 9 percent of their high school class or in the top 10 percent statewide.

The UC Office of the President says the net effect of the change will be fewer students guaranteed admission to the UC. However, the move will also mean that more students from less competitive high schools will be guaranteed admission by virtue of their high school class rank, at the expense of students at more competitive high schools who would have qualified by their statewide rank under the old policy.

When the ASUCD Academic Affairs commission was presented with a proposed senate resolution in support of the admissions policy change, it was evenly split and thus could not send the legislation to the ASUCD Senate for a vote, said Marcus Tang, the commission chair.

Tang said he supports the new policy because he believes the SAT Subject Test requirement is unfair to students who cannot afford preparatory courses. While he acknowledged that he could understand why some students might be concerned about applicant quality, he said the SAT Reasoning Test and grade point average should be sufficient metrics for the admissions process.

“I’m really enthusiastic about it. It’s important to make the UC first and foremost accessible,” said Tang, a junior political science major. “I think its suspect to say that students who do well on the SAT II are going to be competitive.“

While UC posits that the SAT Subject Tests add little value to a student’s application, The College Board, which publishes and administers the tests, claims otherwise.

“The Subject Tests have a proven track record of providing admissions officers with a highly reliable measure of students‘ preparation for college-level work in particular subjects,” said Alana Klein, a spokesperson for The College Board, in an e-mail interview.

Klein said that grade inflation and varying high school academic standards make the Subject Tests particularly valuable. The tests have also provided non-native English speakers another means of demonstrating their academic potential, she said.

“We believe that the tests are effective and useful to the UC system,” Klein said. “This said, we are a membership organization, and we respect the right of colleges and universities to make their own policy decisions.“

Fifteen percent of the California applicant pool is found ineligible due to failure to take either a required course or submit a required test score. In fall 2007, 2,200 of the 11,000 ineligible applicants had GPAs over 3.5, according to documents accompanying the July regents meeting. Under the new policy, the majority of these students‘ applications will be eligible for review.

Burke stopped short of calling the new change a runaround for affirmative action, which California voters banned from public institutions in 1996. However, she believes race is a factor in the new policy.

“I believe it is definitely switching the focus on things like standardized testing and other academic qualifications and focusing more on race,” she said.

Burke said students should be responsible for ensuring they meet all the eligibility requirements. Those who cannot afford standardized tests should be provided scholarships, she said.

But in his visit to UC Davis last month, student Regent-designate Jesse Bernal called the SAT II unfair.

“The SAT II’s statistical impact on underrepresented and low-income students is that it’s a barrier to access,” Bernal said. “Where it’s only a barrier, why do we need it?”

UC Davis assigns a point value based on test scores and GPA to each applicant as part of a Comprehensive Review admissions system. It is yet unknown how the new admissions requirements will affect the profile of admitted UC Davis students, said Pamela Burnett, director of undergraduate admissions.

As a result of the new eligibility requirements, the Academic Senate’s Admissions and Enrollment Committee will decide what adjustments should be made to UC Davis Comprehensive Review, Burnett said.

PATRICK McCARTNEY can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Formal complaint filed against ASUCD elections

Campus News

Campus Editor

February 26, 2009

Newly elected ASUCD senators might have to wait longer than they expected before beginning a term they believed would start tonight.

Yesterday, UC Davis student Reynaldo Rodriguez filed a formal complaint against last week’s ASUCD elections. A website malfunction prevented students from voting for 3.5 hours on Thursday evening. Rodriguez claims student voters were disenfranchised despite the 3.5-hour extension granted by the Elections Committee the following morning. The malfunction was due to an error within the Central Authentication Service.

“I feel that the election was unfair because students weren’t notified well enough when the website wasn’t working,” said Rodriguez, a sophomore biomedical engineering major. “The time that the website was down was really inconvenient. I think that the voting should be reopened for at least a day so that students who weren’t notified of the [extension] could make their voices heard.“

Rodriguez cited the ASUCD Constitution’s Bill of Rights #6, which states that students “have the right to a fair vote in all ASUCD elections without any form of disenfranchisement. All ASUCD elections shall be fair and proper as outlined in the ASUCD elections codes.“

In response, the ASUCD Elections Committee feels that the election was fair, due to the extension of the voting period.

“The amount of time that the election was extended is equal to the amount of time that students were unable to vote,” said the Elections Committee in a written response. “A message was posted on the elections website informing students of the extension. In addition, all candidates and ASUCD officials were notified of the extension.“

The case will be taken to Student Judicial Affairs, which has jurisdiction over this case according to the ASUCD bylaws.

The investigation of the complaint will likely suspend the swearing in of the six newly elected senators. If the investigation lasts until next week, president and vice president-elects Joe Chatham and Chris Dietrich will also have to wait for the results before their inauguration, scheduled to occur next Thursday.

“This complaint is going to be a huge inconvenience to a lot of people in ASUCD,” Dietrich said. “The [outage] was unfortunate, but it affected both parties. Also, the complaint seems like it’s being used in a partisan way by our opponents.“

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

King Hall receives $1 million for courtroom construction

Campus News

Campus Editor

February 26, 2009

Despite state budget cuts, UC Davis School of Law is still rolling in money – from a private donor. The Kalmanovitz Charitable Foundation gifted $1 million to fund a new moot courtroom at King Hall last week.

The building will hold mock trial proceedings and possibly sessions of federal and state appellate courts, and the California Supreme Court. The Paul and Lydia Kalmanovitz Appellate Courtroom will be another addition to the $21.8 million budget expansion and renovation project, which is adding a new wing and modernizing the existing 1968 building.

Due to state budget cuts, the construction project was put on hold in January until funding resumes.

“The ‘pause‘ in the construction process has not substantially delayed the product,” said law school dean Kevin Johnson in an e-mail interview. “And the new state budget greatly improves the likelihood [construction] will resume very soon.“

The law school expects the state-of-the-art courtroom to be unveiled in late fall 2009, Johnson said

“The generous support of the Kalmanovitz Charitable Foundation will benefit the UC Davis School of Law students, faculty, staff and alumni for generations to come,” Johnson said in a written statement. “We are extremely grateful to Paul and Lydia Kalmanovitz and are excited to name the new appellate courtroom in their honor.“

In the early 1920s, Paul Kalmanovitz emigrated from Poland to New York City, where he met and married Lydia. The couple moved to California in 1935. Kalmanovitz was a capable businessman with many successful investments.

Due to the efforts of 1972 UC Davis alumnus Yeoryios Apallas, vice president and chief legal officer at Pabst Brewing Co., the Kalmanovitz Charitable Foundation decided to make this donation. Apallas made a proposal to the foundation’s directors, who found the King Hall program worthwhile.

“We are also very thankful to our dedicated alumnus Yeoryios Apallas for his central role in helping to bring about this exciting gift,“ Johnson said.

Apallas described it as the “fastest 1 million bucks I’ve ever made.“

“I am a firm believer in the law school’s mission, strategy and how it fulfills those two goals, and particularly focuses on individuals who are not the most affluent and cannot afford to get into the private schools,” Apallas said. “I thought the law school needed help.“

Kalmanovitz died in 1987 and his wife in 1994, but their belief in philanthropy carried on through the Kalmanovitz Trust, which principally helps universities and hospitals. His charity work also included Guide Dogs for the Blind. When he died, his estate donated a large portion to California hospitals, for the library at UC San Francisco and $10 million for Kalmanovitz Hall at the University of San Francisco.

He owned 26 nightclubs during World War II all around the Los Angeles area. Mr. and Mrs. Kalmanovitz bought breweries, including Pabst, Falstaff, Olympia and Lucky Lager.

“The courtroom was exactly the type of the gift the founder of the foundation would have made because of his long history in courtroom battles,” Apallas said. “Even after his death we have had to defend his will. That is reason why the foundation directors decided to give this money to courtroom, because it‘s exactly what he would have done and loved to see memorialized.“

Kalmanovitz was often immersed in litigation to defend his companies‘ rights. Kalmanovitz realized that lawyers played a very critical role in developing his businesses, particularly in the acquisition of Falstaff and Pabst Brewing Co., Apallas said.

He was often either a defendant or plaintiff in lawsuits. In one important case, Efron v. Kalmanovitz, he helped define the duties of a majority shareholder to a minority shareholder.

“I think he would have made a great trial lawyer,” Apallas said. “[He had] a knack for understanding legal issues and strategies to resolve disputes.”

The foundation previously donated $150,000 for a seminar room.

POOJA KUMAR can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Not your average play

Arts & Culture

Arts Editor

February 26, 2009

The Vagina Monologues

Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m.

Davis Veterans Memorial Center at 203 E. 14th St.

Tickets to the event are sold out

This Friday and Saturday, the Women’s Resources and Research Center will host The Vagina Monologues. The performance for both days will be at 7 p.m. at the Davis Veterans Memorial Center, located on 203 E. 14th St. in Davis.

The event was partially created as a fundraiser for the WRRC’s gender and education resources. Funds will also go to the V-Day, a nonprofit organization created by The Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler aimed at promoting women’s rights and battling sexual violence and abuse.

Ensler wrote the play in 1996 as a set of individual monologues. Performances soon drew widespread attention, and contributing actresses have included notable names such as Cate Blanchett, Jane Fonda and Winona Ryder.

“The premise of the play is to bring attention to issues that women do not speak about as much as they should,” said Lisa Thew, director of the Davis production of The Vagina Monologues. “The idea behind the entire conception of V-Day is to call attention [to] violence against women, help to create and benefit programs and address those issues.“

V-Day – which stands for victory, Valentine and vagina – raises money through campaigns and events such as The Vagina Monologues. A new monologue is written each year with a new theme, and this year’s addition focuses on sexual repression and violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Lisa Winters, a senior sociology and Chicano/Chicana studies double major who will perform in this weekend’s show, said the performance is about “different women telling their stories and experiences with discovering their vagina [as well as] pain and suffering regarding the vagina.”

“[It’s a] personal exploration through discovering one’s self,” Winters said. “It becomes a tapestry of vagina experiences.“

Despite the play’s recurring themes of struggles with sexual violence, The Vagina Monologues is known for its vocal and somewhat risqué style. Monologue titles include “The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy” and “The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could.“

“I think that it’s okay for women to talk about the vagina, and it’s okay for society to learn about these things,” said Nicki Sun, a junior communication major who will be performing in the play. “We don’t [normally] talk about rape, we don’t talk about genital mutilation – it’s kind of an outlet and a space for us to be safe to talk about it, and for audience members to relate to.“

“I think a lot of the times we underestimate what the audience can handle,” Winters said. “It really goes through the spectrum of human emotion. I think everybody can find something they can relate to.“

Open auditions for the show were held in December. Each performer tried out for a specific monologue, selected before the audition. Practices included group rehearsals but focused on individual sessions, since the play focuses on solo and small-group performances.

While The Vagina Monologues differs from the traditional play, many of the monologues are written from an anecdotal point of view. Hannah Reff, a senior sociology and American studies double major, said her choice of the monologue “Reclaiming Cunt” seemed appropriate, as it addresses taking back a word that negatively describes her body.

“I think the whole monologue is really powerful and speaks to different emotional levels in different women,” Reff said. “I think that my piece is about taking control of a woman’s life and not letting men describe the terms that we use to describe ourselves.“

“I think the play speaks to all of the different levels of life that occur with women, be it the great joy that they are capable of or the great tragedies that can occur to them,” Thew said. “I think in order to encompass the fullness of the female experience, there has to be laughs and there has to be tears, because that is the reality of our lives.“

Thew said she encourages anyone and everyone to attend the show.

“If you’ve never seen The Vagina Monologues, it’s a really incredible experience and journey,” she said. “I think anyone and everyone can benefit – you’re going to find something in at least one of these stories that is going to speak to you or touch you. It’s a journey worth taking.“

Tickets have sold out, but the Women’s Resources and Research Center can be reached at 752-3372. More information is available through davisvaginas2009@gmail.com.

JUSTIN T. HO can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Blue Planet, Green Planet

Arts & Culture

Arts Editor

February 26, 2009

United Nations Association Film Festival: “Blue Planet, Green Planet”

Sunday, 6:30 to 10:30 p.m., $10 general admission, $7 with a student ID

The Varsity Theater on 616 Second St.

The United Nations Association Film Festival is celebrating its 11th anniversary by screening its “Blue Planet, Green Planet” films at venues across the nation throughout the next month. On Sunday, the UNAFF will be presenting four documentaries at the Varsity Theatre on 616 Second St.

The UNAFF amasses films and videos that deal with human rights, the dwindling conditions of the environment, women’s issues, protection of refugees, diseases, racism, universal education, and war and peace. The “Blue Planet, Green Planet” theme reflects the developing issues we encounter living on our “Blue Planet” and the process of finding solutions to better our lives and become a “Green Planet.“

Kilowatt Ours

In Vice President Dick Cheney’s energy policy speech in 2001, he claimed that Americans must create 1,900 new power plants by the year 2020 – roughly one new power plant per week for the next 20 years – to meet the estimated electricity demands. Kilowatt Ours, produced and directed by Jeff Barrie, challenges this statement by introducing a variety of alternatives based on conservation and renewable energy.

The film depicts many underreported side effects resulting from America’s usage of coal-generated electricity. Kilowatt Ours follows Barrie on his 18-month journey across the southeast of the United States, where more than six tons of coal are burned annually to create enough electricity for the average home. Barrie studies the social and environmental effects, such as global warming, mountain top removal, pollution and health issues.

Barrie proposes that using alternative energy sources that are available to us today could reduce these long-lasting environmental problems. Kilowatt Ours presents viewers with a plan to shift America’s energy paradigm towards conservation and renewable power.

Disappearing Frogs

Chris Bauer, producer and director of the short film Disappearing Frogs, shows us the surprising decline of the frog population due to pollution, disease and climate change. Because frogs bridge the gap between water and land habitats, they are the first indicators of any changes in our ecosystem.

Waste=Food

The theory of ecologically intelligent design asserts that manufacturers‘ products, when discarded, should either be completely recyclable in the technosphere to be reused by other products or become biodegradable remains left for the biosphere.

Waste=Food explores this theory through interviews with its leading advocates, American architect William McDonough and German ecological chemist Michael Braungart. Large corporations and governments around the world are embracing their ideas, spurring a new eco-inspired industrial revolution,

The film shows how this system uses completely nontoxic and sustainable production methods and how different corporations – including manufacturers in Switzerland, Germany, the United States and China – have adopted it. The manufacturers discuss the benefits of “eco-effectiveness” and designing eco-friendly structures as well as the cost efficiency.

Waste=Food also illustrates McDonough’s architectural designs, where buildings and structures become part of nature rather than conflict with it.

FLOW: For Love of Water

Irena Salina and Steven Starr, the director and producer of FLOW, shed light upon the water crisis that is beginning to flood our conscience. The film clarifies the importance of water and reports that we have already reached a global water supply crisis.

It highlights the local issues of the emerging global catastrophe by sharing stories that have affected people worldwide.

The film focuses on politics, pollution and human rights and ensures viewers that “the relationship between humanity and water can no longer be ignored,“ as stated by the UNAFF website.

For more information, visit unaff.org or davisvarsity.net.

SIMONE WAHNG can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Ticket Watch

Arts & Culture

Arts Editor

February 26, 2009

Bloc Party, Menomena

Apr. 21, 8 p.m.

Freeborn Hall

Presale tickets on sale today, $19.75 cash only with a student ID

Freeborn Box Office

General admission tickets on sale Saturday, $29.75

Freeborn Box Office or tickets.com

Lil‘ Wayne with T-Pain, Gym Class Heroes and Keri Hilson

Mar. 30, 8 p.m.

Arco Arena in Sacramento

livenation.com; on sale Mar. 2

Chris Cornell

May 1, 8 p.m., $34

The Grand Ballroom at the Regency Center, San Francisco

ticketmaster.com

The Gaslight Anthem

Apr. 15, 7 p.m., $13 in advance, $15 at the door

The Boardwalk in Orangevale

tickets.com

Britney Spears

Apr. 11, 8 p.m., $37 to $125

Arco Arena in Sacramento

ticketmaster.com

The Oscars in review

Arts & Culture

Arts Editor

February 26, 2009

This year’s Academy Awards, time honored tradition that it is, was a ridiculously long and tedious ceremony. However, if you were able to pay attention through the monotony (or, an even wiser choice, looked up the winners the next morning), certain political and subjective choices became clear. For further musing on this topic, here’s a review of the Academy’s major winners on Sunday night.

Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Sharing the screen with such attention-grabbing actors as Javier Bardem and Scarlett Johansson can’t be easy, but it was Cruz as the garrulous and passionate artist that stole the show.

The other nominees held little hope of winning. Little-known Viola Davis’s role in Doubt received critical praise but lacked commercial success and audience receptivity, and Amy Adams in the same film fell by the wayside. Marisa Tomei, though an underrated Oscar darling, played the overdone role of “hooker with a heart of gold” in The Wrestler. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’s Taraji P. Henson, a newcomer onto the scene, hasn’t yet paid her dues as an actress.

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

In the year since Ledger’s death, the entertainment industry has been abuzz with awe of his final farewell to acting. His untimely passing surely didn’t hurt his chances at winning, but few would contest that Ledger’s nuanced, harrowing interpretation of the psychotic comic book villain truly stood out from the pack.

It is unfortunate that The Dark Knight was released in a year with so many worthy supporting actors, but Ledger delivered a hands-down superior performance.

Best Actress: Kate Winslet, The Reader

Before Sunday night, Winslet had been nominated five times without winning, all before the age of 32. This is a severe lack of appreciation for the rare and gifted actress she’s touted to be. The Academy chose to honor her body of work, whether or not the mediocre role of Hanna Schmitz was the worthiest portrayal.

Mid-year, Anne Hathaway seemed a shoe-in for the award with her moving portrayal of a rehabilitated drug addict in the family drama Rachel Getting Married, shocking those who had her pigeon-holed. A win for her would have been well deserved. Angelina Jolie, stony-faced off-screen but heart-wrenchingly expressive in Changeling, would have also been a welcome alternative.

Best Actor: Sean Penn, Milk

Sean Penn has the uncanny ability to bypass amateurish impressions and completely inhabit his character. Especially in comparison to historical footage of Harvey Milk, Penn’s portrayal is a real tribute to the man himself. His meticulous acting is enough to dispel (or at least make negligible) any allegations of a liberal Hollywood merely rewarding a politically leftist movie.

Penn probably was the most deserving lead actor this year. His main competition was Mickey Rourke’s celebrated return to form in The Wrestler. The least deserving nominee was arguably Brad Pitt, whose performance in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button amounted to little more than excellent make-up and special effects.

Best Directing: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Danny Boyle tends to create a world of intrigue and optimism in his movies, whether that world exists on a spaceship in the future, in post-Apocalyptic zombie-ridden London, in the drug dens and sketchy nightclub haunts of addicts, or most recently, in the slums of Mumbai.

Boyle had this category all locked up. All four of the other directors possess some of the most impressive resumes in the industry, but none can match the effortless charm of Boyle’s films.

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire

There’s something about this movie that people love, and even movie executives can’t seem to put their finger on what it is; it almost went straight to DVD. The film is highly courageous and rarely condescending. The movie holds up both to scrutiny of formal aspects as well as to the critical eye of general public, which is quite the impressive feat.

LAURA KROEGER can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Venture into outer space on campus

Arts & Culture

Arts Editor

February 26, 2009

Artist Dave Lane is a character. Lane, a friendly and inviting person, becomes extremely loquacious when talking about his art. The more he gets going, the more he incorporates movement, gestures and emphatic sound effects into his anecdotes and explanations.

Lane’s latest exhibit “Out of Space,” on display at the Nelson Gallery in the Art Building until Mar. 8, certainly reflects his big personality.

“The scientific method is supposed to be objective, but it really isn’t,” Lane said. His interest in science is apparent in his artwork, as is his desire to challenge our assumptions of the world around us.

The gallery floor is dominated by large sculptures made of old industrial materials, but the narrative behind the art is unexpected. Lane’s description of the first piece began simply with him saying, “This is a spaceship.“

Though perhaps it’s not the first thought the viewer might jump to, the otherworldly concept is consistent in all the sculptures. Lane’s vision is extremely detailed, apparent as he excitedly characterized his interpretations of castaway machinery parts. Hanging beneath a piece called “Grandma Earth,” which Lane described as a traveling planet, are pieces of metal he identifies as angels, a volcano, an energy source and the spirits of his deceased grandparents.

However, the mammoth sculptures that crowd the room are not the only media with which Lane works.

“I find that when I write on things, people spend more time in front of it,” Lane said, referring to the hanging artwork collection called “Family Secrets” that deviates from the massive sculptures. His criss-cross method of writing to concurrently display two different viewpoints is only one of the many intricate steps he takes to create a piece.

To only investigate the industrial constructions would be a shame. Framed sheets of paper cover the walls; some feature minute depictions of the sculptures and some have words written into geometrical shapes. Lane calls these pieces his maps: “The vehicles I take my trips in; maps are what I found,” he said.

“How do I react to things that are new to me?” Lane confessed to asking himself.

The answer came to him in the form of the collection on the north wall. The suspended boxes three-dimensionally depict the adventures of the naked lady who, the artist said, lives in his head.

“The pieces sort of play the history of the earth,” he said of the art that took him several years to create. Lane also mentioned that he hopes his art has the ability to inspire exploration and innovation, and to give viewers a new sense of perspective.

Laura KroegerPhoto by Liam O’Donnell

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