The debate surrounding Proposition 2 prompted a group of UC Davis experts to release a study that delves into the economic implications of the ballot measure.

The initiative would require housing for egg-laying chickens to allow them to lie down, stand up and turn around freely.

The report claims that the new housing system will raise production costs to be 20 percent higher compared to other states, due to higher feed costs, hen mortality, labor costs and direct housing costs.

California is competitive in the national egg industry and produces approximately 6 percent of the national total of table eggs while consuming about 12 percent. Current non-cage production of eggs in California is about 5 percent of the state’s total production, according to the report, released in July.

“Since about half of consumption is already shipped into California, when the costs of eggs produced here goes up it gives eggs from out of state a major advantage,” said Daniel Sumner, the study’s lead author and director of the Agricultural Issues Center.

One-third of shell eggs consumed in California come from other states. The report concludes that any rule raising the cost of egg production in California over that of other states will cause out-of-state egg shipments to increase.

“In this case with costs for the same product going up by 20 or 30 percent, the egg producers in California would simply be unable to compete,” Sumner said. “The case of egg farms is even worse, because the initiative would require new cage free housing and it simply makes no economic sense to make a big investment to stay in a business in which they would lose money.“

The report predicts that within the six-year adjustment period included in the initiative, the egg industry in California would be almost completely eliminated due to the increased costs of non-cage egg production and competition with other states‘ conventional egg markets.

“It’s not as simple as just changing things over,” said Nancy Reimers, DVM and member of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians.

Farmers might need to buy more land and replace equipment to comply with the measure if passed and would be given six years to make the transition. While this may sound like enough time, for many farmers it might not be, Reimers said.

The study points out that the majority of eggs consumed in California would still be produced in cage housing systems, since egg producers in other states still use cage systems.

“The eggs would no longer be produced in Merced or Sonoma or anywhere in California,” Sumner said. “Instead eggs would be produced using the same cage systems as used now, but in Iowa or Utah or some other state.“

Sumner believes the initiative would have no impact on how eggs are produced, only where they are produced.

“If passed, this initiative would have no impact on animal welfare or food safety or any of those issues, because it would not change the way eggs are produced,” he said.

The authors of the study expect “little, if any, cost increase and no substantial impact on prices to California consumers.“

Jennifer Fearing, Campaign Manager for YES! on Prop 2 and chief economist for The Humane Society of the United States said the conversion will cost consumers less than one penny per egg.

“We are talking about it costing less than one penny per egg to produce cage-free eggs. It’s an incredibly modest amount of money,” Fearing said. “The truth is that [caged egg producers] are more interested in making a profit than taking care of their animals and producing food that is healthy.“

“We will see more competition in a cage-free market so prices will come down,” she said. “Most importantly, we will have set a standard in California that we do not believe in saving a penny for an egg if it means treating animals cruelly and inhumanely.“

Director of Animal Shelter Medicine Program and UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine professor Kate Hurley believes there is a problem with how animals are currently housed.

“The animal health problem that prevented animals from standing up or extending their limbs, we consider that a serious health issue,” she said. “We know across species – human, dogs, chickens – when you have animals very densely [contained], consistently studies show that the risk of disease of infection can spread [and] is increased.“

Chickens are currently housed in cages that greatly restrict their movement, Hurley said.

“Chickens are on a wire surface, an unnatural surface for a chicken [that] prevents them from scratching – very little space to live out entire life,” Hurley said. “[They are] prevented from doing any normal behaviors; they can‘t even walk a few steps forward.“

Proponents of Prop 2 say the added space would decrease the risk of disease among the birds.

But feed, light, air, water, space and sanitation are the main guidelines that keep hens healthy, not just space, Reimers said.

“I really feel like it’s a well intentioned proposition but it fails to take into account several detrimental consequences of animals and humans,” Reimers said. “When you look at housing systems, that were developed in 1920s and 1930s, we found that when we moved chickens indoors we were able to keep them from getting many diseases they would get from the soil, and protect the from predators.“

POOJA KUMAR can be reached at campus@californiaaggie.com

Taking photos of exam materials

A sociology student was witnessed taking unauthorized photos of exam materials during a class review session. To prepare the class for an upcoming exam, the professor provided students with a list of possible test questions, on the condition that it was to be returned at the end of the session. While the professor had momentarily stepped out of the classroom, the student began to take photos of the materials. She subsequently e-mailed the photos to various classmates. After admitting the misconduct to the professor, the student agreed to a sanction of Disciplinary Probation through graduation.

Violation of campus Internet policy

The university received notice from the Recording Association Industry of America, Inc. regarding a copyright infringement from a first-year student. Having received a prior warning regarding acceptable usage of campus networks, the student was referred to Student Judicial Affairs for this repeat violation. The student was barred from all campus network access, constituting a permanent loss of privileges.

First-year students are often unaware of the consequences resulting from music downloading through university networks. Inform yourself by visiting iet.ucdavis.edu/policies/.

The Campus Judicial Report is compiled by student members of the Campus Judicial Board. Additional information about SJA and the Campus Judicial Board may be found at sja.ucdavis.edu.

Take note, sports fans – pompous displays of group pride may actually be a sign of insecurity.

A recent study led by UC Davis professor Cynthia Pickett examined the motives behind collective pride in group settings.

“Humans exhibit two types of pride,” Pickett said. “There is authentic pride which comes from a healthy self-esteem and is based on real achievements. Then there is hubristic pride, which is usually narcissistic, arrogant and masks insecurity. I was interested in some of the predictors of when groups will feel authentic versus hubristic pride.“

Pickett found that individuals who reported feeling hubristic group pride were often part of a group that was negatively valued or had insecurity about their ability to succeed.

The American men’s 4×100 relay swim team at the Beijing Olympics fits this description, Pickett said.

“The Americans were not favored to win and they had just been insulted by one of the French swimmers,” she said. “They had been degraded as a team and therefore likely felt devalued. After [the American team] won, their immediate reaction was very loud and showy…. It was a more pompous display of group pride.“

Pickett said her findings can also help explain some of the behavior witnessed at recent political rallies.

“The interesting thing about pride is that what starts out as self-love can quickly transform into a denigration of others if a group feels threatened,” she said. “At some of the political rallies we saw examples of this when audience members would go from supporting their party to shouting out insults about the other party. This usually happens when one party feels like they are down in the polls.“

As part of her research, Pickett conducted studies of UC Davis students.

“We asked [students] to think of a time when they felt proud as a group member,” she said. “Then we had them look at a list of traits and choose the ones that they remember feeling at that time. Based on the traits they chose, we then were able to distinguish the type of pride they were experiencing.“

Pickett carried out her research with fellow Davis professor Rick Robins, who has done extensive studies on individual expressions of pride.

“For the past several years, I have been conducting research on pride and other self-conscious emotions such as shame, guilt and embarrassment,” Robins said in an e-mail interview. “The purpose of the group study was to examine whether these same two forms of pride exist in groups and whether they have the same implications.“

In a 2004 Psychological Science article, Robins and his co-researcher, University of British Columbia professor Jessica Tracy, reported that in individuals, authentic pride is more positively associated with adaptive traits like conscientiousness and genuine self-esteem whereas hubristic pride is usually associated with “self-aggrandizing narcissism and shame-proneness.“

While both hubristic and authentic pride are found in individuals that have experienced similar types of success, the difference is in what they attribute their success to, Tracy said.

“Those who experience authentic pride will more often see their success as a result of hard work and effort,” she said. “Hubristic pride is more often seen in individuals who attribute their achievements to their innate superiority or ability.“

ERICA LEE can be reached at campus@californiaaggie.com.

Students in need of a loan needn’t be intimidated by the looming credit crisis.

Although more students are taking out loans this year, university officials urge them not to worry – the credit crisis will not dramatically hinder their ability to pay tuition.

“We [financial aid] are not affected in terms of our ability to assist students,” said Katy Maloney, interim director of financial aid. “The only problem is that people read the news and think that they won‘t be able to afford schools. It’s more a psychological fear than anything.“

The two types of loans students typically take out are federal loans and private loans. Financial aid encourages those struggling to pay tuition to use private loans as a last resort, given their rising rates and required credit scores.

Approximately 300 – 1 percent of – students at UCD have chosen to take out private loans in order to fill the gap that federal loans, scholarships and other kinds of financial aid cannot fill.

The percentage of students going to private lenders is low because UCD receives money for loans from the federal government, not a bank or money lending institution, unlike many other schools. Even the largest private student loan provider, Sallie Mae Group, has decreased their loan aid by $1.2 billion in preparation for what they expect to be a difficult financial year.

“California has been able to keep the cost of education at lower levels than other states, but it competes with prison, health care, welfare and other state funded programs,” said Tom Timar, professor of education and expert in education finance and governance. “In the long run there are some very structural problems in the California state financing mechanisms.“

The only circumstance that would cause the university to worry about providing adequate loans is if the government cuts funding for higher education.

“If the federal government isn’t able to give us that money, then I would be worried,” Maloney said. “But I don’t see that happening right now.“

A national study revealed that the number of parents who take out loans for their child’s tuition has increased from 53 percent last year to 62 percent this year. Students like Ulysses Morazan, a second year biochemistry and molecular biology major, are deciding whether the loans he currently has will be sufficient for the coming academic year.

“It’s nerve-racking because I’m already going into debt,” he said. “If tuition keeps rising, I’ll either take out another loan or make some sacrifices, like commuting to school from Elk Grove every day. I wouldn’t want to do that, but I’d probably have to if I wanted to stay at UCD.“

The financial aid office at UCD has seen approximately 14 percent more applications for loans compared to last year. For the 2007-2008 school year, they have given nearly $79 million in federal direct loans to undergraduates, graduates and professional students.

“We don’t have a crystal ball and we can’t yet tell what the impact will be because most students turned in their applications by last spring,” Maloney said. “However, we do expect [the need for loans] to increase.“

LAUREN STEUSSY can be reached at campus@californiaaggie.com.

As students lined up in the Memorial Union to cast their ballots a week before the election, Students for Barack Obama held a rally on the Quad to encourage students to vote early.

“Early voting is really important,” said Ryan Loney, head of UC Davis Students for Barack Obama. “We want to make sure everyone gets to vote and they don’t have to miss class or work.“

The county elections office, in partnership with the Graduate Student Association, is offering early voting for all registered Yolo County voters. The polling place is located across from the post office in the Memorial Union and is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday.

Over 1,700 students voted early at UC Davis in 2004.

“We need to double that,” said Davis City Councilmember Lamar Heystek at the rally. “The sooner the votes get in, the sooner they are counted.“

Yolo County Clerk Recorder Freddie Oakley also spoke at the event encouraging students to take advantage of early voting.

“It’s easier for [the county],” she said. “The numbers you see coming in on election night at 8:05 are early voters.“

UC Davis is the only campus in Northern California to have early voting, Oakley said.

ALYSOUN BONDE can be reached at campus@californiaaggie.com.