081013_ca_toobin.c

Edits: ADB, kz, WL, LM

Notes:

Headline: Jeffrey Toobin makes appearance at UC Davis

Layercake: Gives thoughts on presidential race, journalism

By RICHARD PROCTER

Editor in Chief

Acclaimed journalist and CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin visited the UC Davis campus on Oct. 10, giving two presentations.

One was held in 126 Voorhies and the other was a public speech at Jackson Hall in the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.

Toobin’s question-and-answer session in 126 Voorhies covered a broad range of topics, from his beginnings as a journalist to his thoughts on the upcoming presidential election.

“I don’t even think this election will be very close,” he said.

Toobin also expressed his opinion on both presidential candidates, noting Barack Obama’s charisma and John McCain’s conservative values.

“Calling [Obama] the greatest political talent of his generation doesn’t do him justice. He’s really the greatest political talent of several generations,” he said.

“Really in terms of popularity and ability to generate interest, the only person I think you can really compare him to is John Kennedy,” he said.

Toobin also spoke of McCain’s political views.

“John McCain is really conservative. The Republican Party is really conservative,” he said, emphasizing that any interpretations of McCain as a moderate Republican were probably exaggerated or misinterpreted.

“Politicians usually mean what they say,” he said.

The discussion then turned to how each candidate would interact with the Supreme Court should they be elected. Toobin, a graduate of Harvard Law School and author of The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, said that each court nomination would most likely be in line with the candidate’s party.

“If McCain wins, Roe v. Wade will be overturned. End of story,” he said. “A McCain victory could also mean overturning affirmative action in college admissions and employment situations and an increase in the use of the death penalty.”

A democratic victory would be a different story.

“If Obama is elected, the court should stay pretty much the same, as he will be replacing the moderate-liberal justices,” he said. Toobin would have liked to go into more detail about Obama’s potential decisions.

“I’ve been trying to do a story on what Obama will do with the Supreme Court for five months and, as you can see, it hasn’t happened yet. Hopefully it happens in the next three and a half weeks,” he said.

The Obama for America campaign did not answer a media request as to whether such an interview would take place by press time.

Toobin was also asked about the role the media has played during the current presidential race, especially in relation to Senator Hillary Clinton.

“I think that certainly institutional sexism played a part, but I think the primary reason [Clinton lost] was because she ran a poor campaign and Obama ran a sensational one,” he said.

As to the future of media, Toobin was hopeful but reluctant.

“I think TV will be fine,” he said. “Magazines should also be okay actually, and continue to be fine. Newspapers are different…. There is still a tremendous demand for their product, people still want the news, but it’s hard to find someone under 40 who buys the carbon copy newspaper.”

Toobin also gave advice to young writers and aspiring journalists.

“The way you tell complicated stories is through people,” he said. “You have to humanize it.”

Other advice included allowing a story to develop on its own.

“That’s one of the great joys of what I do: following a story where it goes,” he said.

After his appearance in Voorhies, Toobin appeared at the Mondavi Center. His talk about the Supreme Court and UC Davis sold approximately 1,400 tickets, said Camille Spaccavento, director of marketing at the Mondavi Center.

SARA JOHNSON contributed to this story. She and RICHARD PROCTER can be reached at campus@californiaaggie.com.

ASUCD Senate meetings are scheduled to begin Thursdays at 6:10 p.m. Times listed are according to the clock at the Oct. 9 meeting location, the Memorial Union’s Mee Room.

Ivan Carrillo, ASUCD president, not present

Molly Fluet, ASUCD vice president, present

Lula Ahmed-Falol, ASUCD senator, present

Andrew Bianchi, ASUCD senator, present

Sergio Blanco, ASUCD senator, present

Joe Chatham, ASUCD senator, present

Chris Dietrich, ASUCD senator, present

Rebecca Lovell, ASUCD senator, present

Erica Oropeza, ASUCD president pro-tempore, present

Chad Roberts, ASUCD senator, not present

Jesse Rosales, ASUCD senator, present

Ramneek Saini, ASUCD senator, present

Rebecca Schwartz, ASUCD senator, present

Tracey Zeng, ASUCD senator, present, arrived late from a break scheduled to end at 7:20

Meeting called to order at 6:12 p.m.

Appointments and confirmations

Katie Gallinger, Natasha Bazely and Krystal Laymon were appointed to the Outreach Assembly.

Garret Toy was appointed commissioner of the Academic Affairs Commission.

Justin Patrizio was appointed commissioner of Internal Affairs Commission.

Adam Thongsavat was appointed Elections Committee chair.

Stephen Albin was appointed commissioner of Business and Finance Committee.

Presentations

Members of the Student Alumni Association gave a presentation on their agenda for this year. They are a SPAC organization that aims to form bonds between students and alumni and are hoping to reach out to the student population with “tradition books.“

Ashley Stark, president of Colleges Against Cancer announced that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. They will have a “pink party” to raise awareness in the MU from 6 to 9:30 p.m.

Joe Chatham presented his plans for the new student government information box on the MyUCDavis website, which should be available for use Oct. 20.

Public Announcements

Creators from Pack My Dorm announced their plans for this year in marketing their moving company. They hope to bring entertainment and information to students at college campuses.

Introduction of Urgent Legislation

Senate Bill 4, authored and introduced by Ahmed-Falol, passed unanimously. The bill would allow ASUCD to hold a “Fall Kickoff” event, which would bring students free, live entertainment and information about ASUCD units on Oct. 21 at 5 p.m. in Freeborn Hall.

Senate Resolution 7, authored by Dietrich, co-authored by Dizon, Fluet and Zeng and introduced by Dietrich, would distribute $2 gift certificates to students at the homecoming bonfire, passed unanimously.

Consideration of Old Legislation

Senate Bill 6, authored by Dietrich, co-authored by Chatham and introduced by Dietrich, would allow members of the public to ask questions during appointment and confirmation times in ASUCD senate meetings, failed with a 4-7-1 vote.

Meeting adjourned at 9:35

Guests gathered at the brand new Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science on Friday morning to officially open the 130,000 square-foot center.

Located near the Robert and Margrit Modavi Center for Performing Arts, the $73 million facility is home to the viticulture and enology and food science and technology departments.

“What we are celebrating today is two great departments,“ said Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef. “The contribution that UC Davis has made to the industries has been tremendous.”

Previously the ever-growing viticulture department and one of the largest food science programs in the nation were housed in far too small of quarters, Vanderhoef said.

“It was Robert Mondavi and others who saw that we had to improve our circumstances here,” he said.

Margrit Biever Mondavi, wife of the late and legendary wine maker Robert Mondavi, spoke of the achievements the institute will bring to the university.

“We are so proud,” she said. “Now when you drive by, it’s not anymore just a sign, it’s these buildings. It started with the performing arts center, and now it is the colorful, beautiful buildings that we have here. And we are recognized for one of the greatest universities of the world.”

“I am sad that the love of my life isn’t here today, but I know he is watching over us,” she said.

The Mondavis donated $21 million in 2001 to establish the Wine and Food Science Institute in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. They also previously gave $10 million to help start the Mondavi Center, which opened in 2002.

Representative Mike Thompson (D-Napa) presented Margit Mondavi with a copy of a congressional resolution honoring Robert Mondavi, who died in May at the age of 94.

“[Robert Mondavi] has just done so much, and his passion for the wine industry has touched so many lives,” Thompson said. “Not only here, but around the world.”

University of California interim provost Robert Grey also spoke of UCD’s accomplishment of maintaining a small community atmosphere on an ever-expanding campus.

“UCD still retains its small-school feel,” Grey said. “President Yudoff asked to extend his gratitude to the Mondavis. We are most grateful for your many contributions.”

After the ribbon cutting ceremony, the audience’s attention was directed to the field behind them where the Budweiser Clydesdales were waiting. The team of eight horses pulling a beer wagon was present to kick off the groundbreaking ceremony for the Teaching and Research Winery and the Anheuser-Bush Brewing and Food Science Laboratory, which are scheduled to open in July 2010.

A giant fork, corkscrew and bottle opener were given to the ceremonial groundbreakers, which included chair of the viticulture and enology department Andrew Waterhouse, dean of the A&ES Neal K. Van Alfen and food, nutrition and health science department chair John Kinsella.

Following the festivities was a reception, tours for the institute and educational talks by Professor Charlie Bamforth on beer, Professor Emeritus Ann Noble on wine and a cooking demonstration by chef Martin Yan of Yan Can Cook.

ANGELA RUGGIERO can be reached at campus@californiaaggie.com.

As UC Davis celebrates its centennial this week, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center will be conducting its own five days of events as it kicks off its annual Pride Week.

As part of Pride Week, the LGBTRC and other affiliated groups will host a variety of events on campus geared toward promoting visibility, education and pride among both the LGBT and UC Davis communities.

“The goal of Pride Week is to raise awareness around LGBT issues and to also educate those within the [Davis] community,” said Mark Yanez, community intern for the LBGTRC. “Pride Week’s purpose is to build community, create visibility and show our pride. We hope that this event will bring awareness to the campus and to help our straight participants to commit to being allies to the community.”

This year’s Pride Week is themed 100 Years of Pride and Prejudice – a nod to the university’s centennial – and will focus on the past, present and future of the LGBT community here at UC Davis.

“This year’s theme, 100 Years of Pride and Prejudice … is a reminder that LGBT people have always been around and that we continue to experience both pride within our community but also prejudice from the broader community,” said Sheri Atkinson, director for the LGBTRC. “We are tying in the theme with many of our programs by looking at the histories of organizations, community, activism and education.”

Events start today with Kickoff Visibility Day on the Quad – where students can hang out, eat lunch and carve pumpkins. The week will come to a close on Friday with “Davis is Burning,” an annual drag show put on by the brothers of Delta Lambda Phi, a fraternity for gay, bisexual and progressive men.

In addition, students can check out the Queer Org Lunch series at the LGBTRC near South Hall every day this week. Each day will feature a different LGBT-interest organization, where students can find out more about the organization and how to get involved.

Delta Lambda Phi will be featured on Tuesday. The fraternity’s President Jonathan Chua said he is looking forward to raising awareness about the fraternity and members of the LGBT community.

“Delta Lambda Phi as a organization is there to voice our opinion on these issues as well as answer questions related to our fraternity,” Chua said in an e-mail interview. “By attending the luncheon/discussion time, DLP hopes to abolish preconceived notions about gay fraternities as well as change the views about the gay community all being high pitch speaking, ‘queer eye’ for the straight guy not athletic individuals.”

Though students may not have time to partake in all the activities, Yanez said, there are a couple of events that students should make an effort to check out.

“I would encourage everyone to come to as many programs as possible,” Yanez said. “However, if you had to pick … I would definitely recommend attending the Key Note Address by Mandy Carter.”

Mandy Carter is a seasoned activist for LGBT issues and civil rights, according to the event’s website. Her keynote speech is entitled “Reflections of the Past, Hope for the Future” and will focus on her past experiences with social justice movements and what motivates her to continue her activism.

Carter will also moderate an intergenerational panel of past and present activists and educators entitled “Now & Then: A Look at Queer Activism at UC Davis,” which is being held today at 2 p.m. in the DeCarli Room at the Memorial Union.

Another event highly anticipated by the LGBTRC is a performance by Mangos with Chili on Tuesday, Atkinson said. Mangos with Chili is an “annual touring cabaret of queer and trans people of color performance artists,” according to the group’s MySpace.com page. The event will include performances in theater, dance, spoken word, burlesque and drag.

Pride Week has proved to be a success in past years in terms of the reception from the campus and in fulfilling its goals, Atkinson said.

“LGBT and Ally students, staff and faculty often respond positively to the Pride Week events and appreciate the efforts to raise awareness and build community,” she said. “There is a great need to educate and enhance campus climate for all, by addressing LGBT issues, homophobia, heterosexism, biphobia, transphobia and all issues of oppression.”

Students can find more about this week’s events at lgbtrc.ucdavis.edu.

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