The Aggie | Student-run, independent newspaper at UC Davis 🗞️ – 📍New issue out every Thursday!

UC Davis surpasses other UCs with highest recycling rate

Campus News

Campus Editor

July 7, 2008

While UC Davis is known for being a high-ranking public school and premier research institution, it can now add being a top recycling campus to résumé.

The R4 Recycling program’s campaign to reduce UC Davis’ waste has led the campus to have the highest 2007 recycling rate of all UC schools – 60 percent. The recycling efforts saved 46,594 million BTUs of energy, equivalent to taking 682 passenger cars off the road, according to R4 Recycling data.

R4 Recycling, a student run program started in 1989, is working to move the campus toward the goal of producing zero waste.

“The University of California system and UC Davis have adopted the goal of 75 percent waste diversion by 2012 and zero waste to the landfill by 2020,” said Michael Siminitus, R4 Recycling coordinator in an e-mail interview. “R4 [Recycling] has taken the lead in moving our campus toward that goal.

“Zero Waste is a goal…. It means no waste burned or sent to landfill, among other things,” Siminitus said. “It requires changes to production and consumption patterns throughout society.”

R4 stands for recycle, reduce, reuse and rebuy. One of R4’s more visible efforts is the green compost bins and blue recycling bins that have popped up all over campus.

“Most of the recycling on campus goes through us,” said Patrick Quest, senior electrical engineering major and communications manager for R4.

“We do indoor pickups, a lot of education and promotion, RecyleMania with student housing and we do all the zero waste events on campus, such as small dinners or luncheons or big events like Picnic Day,” he said.

RecycleMania is a national competition in which college campuses track the amount of materials recycled from student housing and submit their statistics to the competition’s website weekly over the course of 10 weeks.

UC Davis participates in the student housing subdivision of the competition, and to increase motivation for the students, the residence halls compete against each other to achieve the highest amount of recycled materials. UC Davis placed ninth out of the 400 participating campuses with a 38.83 percent cumulative recycling rate, according to the RecyleMania website.

Recycling is not only beneficial for the environment but profitable as well, Quest said. When UC Davis sends waste to a landfill, the university must pay a fee as opposed to using free recycling vendors.

“We have different, various buyers who process and recycle [our recyclables] to make more paper or cardboard or cans and new desks that they can sell,” Quest said. “That is why it’s so important to rebuy – it closes the loop and creates a bigger market for recycled products and helps make recycling more effective.”

R4 Recycling also promotes recycling during special events such as luncheons and dinners on campus in which the program works with catering companies to make sure all materials used are disposable and recyclable. Improvements include using aluminum foil instead of saran wrap and reusable or paper plates instead of plastic plates, said senior biology major Kyla Rogind, a former R4 Recycling zero waste coordinator.

At football games, R4 workers can be seen carrying bins encouraging attendees to recycle.

“It was definitely hard,” Rogind said. “Some people didn’t really understand when they came up to our compost and recycling bins. They didn’t know what to throw away, what can be composted.”

R4 Recycling’s efforts are showing promising results with over 90 percent recycling rates at football games and UC Davis hitting a 60 percent diversion rate last year, saving the campus over a quarter million dollars, Siminitus said.

With oil prices skyrocketing and the cost of living increasing exponentially, many believe the need to reduce waste and conserve natural resources is imperative.

“We will eventually run out of oil and metal and the longer we reuse them the longer it will take for them to use out,” Quest said.

When organics decompose in landfills, they produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Reducing waste keeps harmful gases from further contributing to global warming.

“Wasting is contributing to global warming, economic woes, deforestation, toxics in the environment and depleting non-renewable sources,” Siminitus said.

R4 encourages students to contribute to the Zero Waste movement with the simple act of throwing a soda can in a recycling bin instead of into the garbage or putting a banana peel in a compost pile.

“You can reduce your global warming impact by recycling everything you can,” Siminitus said. “Compost food scraps and organics. Bring a reusable mug and water bottle (even a lunch box). Everyone can help move us toward Zero Waste.”

WENDY WANG can be reached at campus@californiaaggie.com.

Call of the wild

Features

Features Editor

July 3, 2008

Vocal repertoires, song notation, sound recordings and acoustic signals.

From the sound of his academic vocabulary, one could easily mistake Peter Marler for a professor of music. While he is not one in the conventional sense, many consider him to be the pioneering professor of nature’s music.

The UC Davis professor emeritus of the department of neurobiology, physiology and behavior has spent nearly a lifetime studying animal communication, particularly among songbirds and primates.

Marler, 80, is the “acknowledged father” of the field of birdsong study, said colleague Doug Nelson, a professor of evolution, ecology and organismal biology at Ohio State University.

“No one [has] had a greater impact on the growth of the field than he,” Nelson added.

Other colleagues of Marler have also sung his praises, particularly for his landmark discoveries in the animal communication field.

“His work in showing that animals other than humans actually learn vocalizations and communicate [with them] was so fundamental and opened up such a large field,” said UC Davis professor John Wingfield, a recent addition to the NPB department and former assistant professor to Marler at Rockefeller University.

“He’s really regarded as one of the founders of modern animal behavior and one of the world leaders of that entire field,” Wingfield said.

For his lifetime of contributions to the field, Marler will be officially inducted Thursday into the Royal Society, the British equivalent of the National Academy of Sciences. He was also elected into the latter in 1971.

Hatching the egg

Marler’s passion for birds began when he was an 8-year-old boy growing up in London in the 1930s. His early fascination with winged creatures came from the simple pleasures of looking at and listening to them.

“People who become passionate about a particular group of animals often turn out to have been fixated for no obvious reason when they were quite young,” Marler said.

By the time Marler reached high school, he began to study seriously the chirps and clucks of birds, known as bird vocalization. Marler had still considered this area of study only as a hobby when he enrolled at University College London to pursue a career as a botanist, a time in which he became fascinated by a common British bird called the chaffinch.

Marler received his doctorate in botany in 1952, but his passion remained with studying birdsong. At the time, however, scientific technology was not yet advanced enough to significantly assist in such a field.

“It was the Dark Ages,” Marler joked.

So he took matters into his own hands, developing his own system for transcribing bird songs in the same way a composer would create notation.

Then, Marler earned a fellowship at Cambridge University to study with famed ethologist William Thorpe, who had just launched a field station for the specific purpose of studying birdsong. In 1954, Marler earned his second doctorate in zoology from Cambridge.

The monkey and the bird

Marler left England with his wife Judith in 1957 after getting tabbed to jumpstart the animal behavior program at UC Berkeley in his first faculty position. During this time, he also visited Uganda on sabbatical to record and analyze the vocal repertoires of forest monkeys.

In 1966, Marler switched coasts once again, moving to New York City to continue his work at Rockefeller University. There, he made one of his most famous discoveries with the African Vervet monkey, which even graced the front page of the New York Times.

“A lot of people didn’t believe it, but it was the whole idea of animal sounds functioning in a sort of symbolic way,” said Marler, giving the example of unique alarm calls by monkeys that signal for different types of predators. “It was alien to people.”

He returned to Africa in the summer of 1971 to work with world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall at her chimpanzee study site in Tanzania. There, he was able to document vocal repertoires of chimps for the first time ever.

“Since then, there have been sort of two parallel themes in my research world,” Marler said, “split up evenly between primates and birds.”

“Peter was always clairvoyant in keeping his eye on the field in a broad sense,” said Harvard psychology professor Marc Hauser, a longtime friend and colleague of Marler’s and a former UC Davis professor. “He saw that his understanding of animal behavior was really going to move forward, so he put his tendrils into neighboring areas like with his primate work.”

West coast is the best coast

Marler left Rockefeller University in 1989 with a choice among Cornell University, Duke University and UC Davis. He and his wife found the comfort of being back in California too good to pass up.

“We realized when we went out to places like Woodland that we had sort of been imprinted on the California landscape in a real sort of visceral sense,” said Marler, who currently lives with his wife in Winters. “It’s a slightly weird idea and I’m not sure if it’s [real] or not, but we’ve been content ever since we came back to California.”

After teaching courses in animal behavior and ornithology at UC Davis for a few years, Marler retired in 1994 and became a professor emeritus. Fourteen years later, he is being recognized as a foreign member of the Royal Society, of which Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Stephen Hawking are also members.

“It’s an incredible honor to be considered [both] Royal Society and National Academy-caliber out of all the people in the world,” Wingfield said. “For him to be one … gives you an idea of his stature in the science and biology world.”

“It’s very gratifying,” said Marler, who will officially become the fourth-ever UC Davis professor to be elected to the Royal Society on Thursday in London. “But the recognition in itself is not important, [only] that it helps encourage others to pick up some of the same topics and themes of birdsong and primate physiology.

“It sort of says something to the rest of the scientific world – especially to young people – that [my field] may be something they would like to look into further,” he said.

RAY LIN can be reached at features@californiaaggie.com.

More than just fireworks

Features

Features Editor

July 3, 2008

Why not join the city of Davis in celebrating the independence of our nation with pancakes, parades and parachutes? Davis is offering activities that everyone from children to college students can enjoy.

Pancakes

An early 4th of July activity is an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast hosted by the Davis Little League, spanning from 7 to 10 a.m.

The pancake feast will be held at the Veterans Memorial Center on 203 East 14th Street and admittance is $3, to be paid upon entering. Families should note that any Little Leaguer in uniform eats for free. For those interested in watching a Little League exhibition game, amble on over to the Davis Little League complex at Covell Boulevard and F Street.

Bike races

After breakfasting on pancakes, event-goers can watch the Davis Bike Club race on F Street. The 32nd annual Criterium, a 0.7 mile race with five 90-degree left turns and a 90-degree right turn, will begin with the Elite 5 Male Racers at 7:15 a.m. and will end with the Master Male Racers ages 45 to 55 at 4:10 p.m. The start and finish line is on F and Third Street.

Jon Whitehead, Personal Relations officer of the Davis Bike Club, says that the race is open for all amateur bike racers.

“You have to have a racing license. People from all over are coming here, including some very well known racers,” Whitehead said. “The Criterium race is a relatively short course with tight turns. You have to negotiate with a lot of other people around tight corners.“

Robin Rolles, Race Team Director and coordinator of the Criterium race, and Whitehead both agree that watching kids ages 10 to 18 race is very fun. The Junior Open is at 9:40 a.m. for both male and female teen racers.

“It’s memorable. Fifty people go by in about two seconds. You feel the wind afterwards for about five seconds,“ Whitehead said.

For a complete schedule of the Davis Bike Club Criterium race, visit the DBC website at dbcraceteam.org.

Patriotic parade

The 48th annual Kiwanis Kiddie Parade will be held in downtown Davis. The main focus of the parade is the children, who decorate their bikes, strollers and wagons for the event.

“The Kiwanis Club of Davis is proud to sponsor and present this event celebrating our independence,” said Jerry Hallee, coordinator of the Kiwanis Parade. “Parents and grandparents alike enjoy the parade as much as the children. The creativity and enthusiasm of all of the participants is contagious. It’s fun for everyone.“

At 9:15 a.m., participants will gather on C Street between First and Second streets.

“Parade attendees should pick a spot on C Street between Second and Third streets to view the parade,” said Hallee.

Awards for the paraders will be given at 9:30 a.m. Scooters, bicycles and wagons will be judged based on patriotism, originality and enthusiasm. The parade will begin at 10:00 a.m. and will march to Central Park, where refreshments will be provided.

Downtown events

The parade will put visitors in the heart of Downtown Davis, where everything that is happening, will be happening.

From 3 to 9 p.m., there will be food and game booths in Community Park. Musical performances begin at 6 p.m. with Duval Speck followed by Music Matt and the Whole 9 Yards.

Skydiving

Perhaps the most exciting performance will be given by Skydance Skydiving.

“The Skydance Skydivers have been doing a 4th of July demonstration for years,” said Carrie Dyer, community services supervisor. “They skydive from above the crowd and land between the two baseball fields in a roped off area. It is very exciting.“

Dyer said she feels that watching the skydivers puts you in the perfect spot to watch the baseball games and the fireworks.

Pools

If parades, parachuting dancers and pancakes sound too exhilarating, the Community Pool will have free admission all day for the 4th of July.

The Arroyo and Manor pools will also be open for recreational swimming from 1 to 5 p.m. for a fee.

Softball tournament

What could be more American than watching baseball on the 4th of July? Watching the 27th annual Softball Tournament, that’s what.

The Slow-Pitch Softball men’s division is having a tournament on the 4th. Lori Conrad, the Community Services program director for the city of Davis, organized the games this year.

“It’s mostly local teams. Two teams are out of Woodland, and one team came from Dixon. It’s more high strung than IM – it’s competitive. I mean, it’s a tournament,” laughed Conrad.

“The championship game is only an hour or two before the fireworks start. The preliminary games begin around 5:30 p.m., and the championship round usually begins at 8 p.m.,” Conrad said.

Conrad said there will be concession vendors selling everything from a hot dog to tri-tip steak, ice cream and drinks. “The vendors are all run by nonprofit organizations, so you can get a good meal and support a good cause,“ she said.

Fireworks

Purchasing your own fireworks is illegal in the city of Davis.

“Fireworks are illegal in the city of Davis, except for the ones put on in Community Park by the city, which are done by professional pyrotechnics,“ said Patrol Sergeant Rod Rifredi.

The professional fireworks show will begin at 9:30 p.m. in Community Park at 1405 F St.

Those watching the championship softball tournament are also in a good spot to view the fireworks.

“People usually sit in the outfield to watch the games, and then they are all ready to sit and watch the fireworks,” Conrad said.

MEGAN ELLIS can be reached at features@californiaaggie.com.

10 questions with…

Features

Features Editor

July 3, 2008

Editor’s note: For this edition of 10 questions, The Aggie interviewed Davis City Councilmember Don Saylor. Councilmember Saylor was recently elected to his second term on the council and was named Mayor Pro Tempore on Tuesday. Look for him as he holds his office hours next week on July 8, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the tables by the Memorial Union patio.

1) How does it feel to be re-elected?

This was my fifth election in Davis. I ran unsuccessfully for the School Board in 1993, was elected to the School Board in 1995 and 1999, and now twice to the City Council. I take my work as a representative of our community very seriously. I feel affirmed and am honored and humbled by the confidence of the voters.

2) What projects is the city council working on for the summer?

One important part of our work this summer will be to organize for the next two years. The council will be conducting a goal setting workshop on Saturday, July 12 to discuss goals and projects for 2008-10. In addition, we will be bringing several major items forward over the next weeks, including updates on the work of the Climate Action Team, a review of our planning efforts to upgrade the water and waste water treatment systems and consideration of placing a city charter vote on the November ballot. Finally, a really cool thing we are all doing is planning for the UCD Centennial. I am very excited about the upcoming exhibits of the Bicycle Museum collection.

3) What are you doing for the 4th of July?

This is one of my favorite days in Davis. I will eat pancakes with the Little League sometime between 7 and 9 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial Center on 14th Street. I will swing by the kid parade a little after that and probably try to get downtown to watch a part of the bicycle race and stop by the temporary display of part of the historical bike collection at the Bistro 33 building. Later in the day, I will help set up a booth at Community Park for a local nonprofit group and spend about three hours working at two separate booths. There are a couple of backyard parties I hope to visit and then back to Community Park to listen to some of my favorite local musicians – Duval Speck, Music Matt and the Whole Nine Yards, and Custom Neon. Then watch the fireworks from the park.

4) What‘s your favorite way to relax in the summer?

We like taking short trips to hike in cool places, read and listen to live music whenever we can. This summer we have some yard projects to tackle, because we filled in our backyard swimming pool this year and have some empty space to work with.

5) What’s something that most people don’t know about the city council?

In addition to the Tuesday night council meetings, members of the council are active participants in a variety of inter-jurisdictional bodies, including the Sacramento Area Council of Governments and regional bodies dealing with air quality, water and transportation.

6) What’s a typical day as a City Councilmember like?

I often start my day answering e-mails or following up on some issue. A typical day includes a couple of meetings with individual community members to chat about a concern. I conduct office hours about once a week to give people a chance to access local government in an informal way. Most days there is a joint meeting, or meeting of a group to which I am assigned as liaison, such as the City/Student Liaison Commission. On a council meeting week, I will be reading our agenda packet and making calls to try to answer any questions that emerge. I try to attend as many community events as I can, so most days include a trip somewhere in the city electric GEM car.

7) If you could change any one thing about the city of Davis, what would it be?

Improve the balance of economic development and housing availability so our community can support the services we demand, reduce our overall carbon footprint and support the mission of the UCD.

8) This is looking pretty far ahead, but what do you see yourself doing after this term on the city council?

Right now I am looking forward to this term on the council.

9) Do you have any book that you‘re reading at the moment?

Actually, I am about a third through the Tracy Kidder book Mountains Beyond Mountains, this year‘s community book. I like to read the community book each year and so far they have all been great. It is fun then to attend the author‘s talk and join in the various activities that bring the book to life. Mountains Beyond Mountains inspires us all to action and brings us some pretty heavy reflections on the purposes we choose to live for. Another book I am reading now is Stephen Carter‘s Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy.

10) You’re a Wyoming native. What drew you to Davis?

My wife and I moved to Davis so our two children could grow up in a town that values education and supports kids. We found a home for ourselves and enjoy the opportunity to participate in making this a great place to grow up, live, work and study.

RICHARD PROCTER conducted the interview and can be reached at editor@californiaaggie.com.

West Nile Virus season arrives locally

City News

City Editor

July 3, 2008

A combination of factors has led to the appearance of West Nile Virus in the Sacramento region.

Six mosquito samples taken in Sacramento County have tested positive for the virus, and 10 infected dead birds have been reported, according to the Sacramento-Yolo Vector Control District.

So far no incidences of West Nile Virus have been reported in Yolo County, but officials are warning residents to take precautions to protect themselves from mosquito bites that could transmit the disease.

“The intense mosquito season has started and West Nile virus is clearly active in our area,” said district manager David Brown in a written statement last week. “Once we see a few positive mosquito samples, the virus tends to amplify quickly and it becomes even more important for residents to take this seriously and do everything they can to protect themselves.“

No human cases have been reported locally in 2008, but 21 human cases were reported in Sacramento County and one human case in Yolo County were reported in 2007.

UC Davis entomologist William Riesen said it was somewhat unusual for the disease to appear so early in the season.

“This is not remarkably early, but this is the early part of the summer,” he said. “Typically we see the peak in late July and August.“

Research has shown that high temperatures are known to cause the virus to spread more rapidly. Riesen said warmer weather in June probably caused an amplification of the disease sooner than expected, but other factors are having a significant influence as well.

“I think it’s due to rice cultivation,” he said. “The Sacramento area is surrounded partially by rice culture, and the rice is now going in and they’re flooding the fields, which produces a big peak of rural mosquito.“

West Nile virus is transmitted by two types of mosquitoes, rural and urban. The rural type, culex tarsalis, is biologically more susceptible to the disease, and vector officials say they have been seeing more of it in urban areas.

Riesen thinks the housing crisis may also be to blame.

“The collapse of the housing market has led to people walking away from homes, and there are a lot of unmaintained swimming pools that become breeding grounds for rural mosquitoes,” he said.

Officials are advising residents to follow guidelines to prevent the spread of vector-borne illnesses, including paying attention to things like unattended swimming pools.

“Eliminating all sources of standing water and using an effective mosquito repellent continue to be key in order to protect yourself,” Brown said.

People should also avoid being outdoors at dawn and dusk, peak mosquito activity times. Wearing long sleeves and pants when outside at these times is advisable, and ensuring door and window screens are in working condition will ensure that the insects cannot get indoors.

JEREMY OGUL can be reached at city@californiaaggie.com.

UC sees record number of students intending to enroll

Campus News

Campus Editor

July 3, 2008

Despite a year of state budget cuts that will result in a 7 percent increase in student fees for many undergraduates next year, it appears that for California students, UC is still the place to be.

A record 38,088 California resident students have submitted their intent to register in the UC system in the fall of 2008, a nearly 13 percent jump from the fall of 2005, according to a UC press release.

In addition to an increase in the projected entering freshman class, the UC system also saw a rise in the proportion of students from underrepresented and minority backgrounds as well as a significant increase in transfer students.

Pamela Burnett, director of undergraduate admissions for UC Davis said the increase in projected enrollment for fall 2008 is reflective of an overall rise in the number of undergraduate applicants this year.

“Increases in admissions applications to UC can be attributed in part to 2008 being a peak year for the number of California students graduating from high school,” Burnett said in an e-mail interview. “There is also a national trend of students applying to more campuses and colleges. For example, on average, UC freshman applicants applied to 3.68 UC campuses for fall 2008, compared to 3.07 UC campuses for fall 1999.“

The increase in both admitted transfer students and students from underrepresented backgrounds was not due to a purposeful effort by the UC system, but rather a result of increasing numbers of applicants from these particular groups, said Brad Hayward, a spokesperson for the UC office of the president.

“Underrepresented minority students have been increasing in the admitted classes of the UC system for several years now,” Hayward said. “We believe this is due both to improving academic preparation in the pre-college years and the changing demographics of the state, which have led to increasing numbers of applications from students of underrepresented backgrounds. Similarly, the increase in admissions of community college transfer students mirrored this year‘s increase in applications from these students.“

Despite the positive aspect of increased interest in the UC system, Hayward says there are concerns about how the universities will handle the increased enrollment given the current budget cuts being made next year.

“We expect in 2008-09 to be “overenrolled“ by 8,000 to 10,000 students – that is, we will be enrolling 8,000 to 10,000 students for whom we are not receiving state funding,” Hayward said. “It is likely that, because of the lack of new state funding, there will be reductions in student services, larger class sizes and/or reduced class offerings to some extent.“

However, Burnett said UC Davis students need not worry about a repeat of 2006‘s record size freshman class as the effects of next year’s enrollment increase will likely not be felt here at Davis.

“UC Davis is not expecting big increases in new undergraduates for fall 2008,” she said. “We will not know the official numbers of enrolled new undergraduates until the fifth week of the fall quarter 2008; however, it appears that they will come very close to the enrollment targets of 5,000 freshmen.“

As for the UC system in general, though the number of applicants has been on the rise in recent years, Hayward said that this will not necessarily be a permanent trend.

“California‘s college-age population has been growing substantially in recent years, but demographic data suggest that growth will level off in the next couple of years,” he said. “It is very possible that undergraduate demand will not be increasing in future years at the same rate it has been in the past.“

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

Co/Lab concludes at Olipom

Arts & Culture

Arts Editor

July 3, 2008

Last week marked the conclusion of this year’s Co/Lab art and design collective, held at the now-closed Olipom Vintage Clothing Store in Sacramento.

Founded in 2006 by graduate student Milan Phan and headed this year by UC Davis alumnus Cory Keller, the Co/Lab group explores the creative advantages of working and creating in coordination with others within and outside the art department. It began on June’s Second Saturday, a monthly art exhibition in Sacramento, and ended June 26.

The Co/Lab’s collaborative theme expanded the boundaries of each individual project, and brought a much broader diversity to the event as a whole. Each project showcased the work of two or more members of the group together, and collaboration with another member was the only real requirement.

“It’s a really cool thing to happen at Davis, because there aren’t that many venues where artists can get together and collaborate,” said Yoo-hyun Oak, a junior English major who worked on the project for the first time this year. “It’s also a good way to expand artistically in its different disciplines. I’ve never done film before, and it was only possible because Cory helped me and provided the equipment and skills.“

Meetings were held once a week throughout the year, and increased to twice a week as the event grew near. Facilitated by Keller, each meeting was designed to inspire and incite creativity, without a strict or planned framework. Attendees were about evenly split between returning and new members.

“Someone would have an idea, and inevitably two or three other people would have an idea and take it in another direction,” Keller said. “It morphs into a project and through people talking about it. Nothing is really planned, and just as people were hanging out, things would happen.“

The exhibit featured a rich and unrestricted web of projects. Some involved individual works that were later combined and others directly involved the work of two members together.

Projects included an imaginary map, which was divided between six members to individually design and eventually piece back together as a whole, an idea intended to be open for interpretation.

Another project was an experimental video with a lighthearted battle between two characters with constantly changing facial hair.

Other more serious pieces included a war themed painting.

“It can be kind of difficult because it’s hard to have a cohesive project when there’s a lot of people working on it, but at the same time it brings in a lot of new ideas and you can definitely feed off of each other in that way,” Oak said. “It allows you to do bigger projects that you might not be able to do on your own.“

Japheth Gonzalez, a veteran Co/Lab member and UC Davis alumnus, mentioned the importance of Co/Lab’s ability to bring together students in the design and art studio majors, who typically don’t have the chance to work together.

“The Co/Lab has been a great opportunity for me to get to know a lot of other designers in the UC Davis department, and also art studio majors, which is kind of rare for the two majors to meet,” said Gonzalez, who graduated with a B.A. in design with an emphasis on individual communications. “There’s kind of a divide at our school between the departments. There’s an unspoken rule that we’re not supposed to work together, even though we do very similar things … [and] we all have and use the same principles.

Moreover, the group’s inclusion of members from majors outside of the art and design department added even more to the diversity of the group. Though the other majors had less experience with design, they were effectively able to incorporate their own skills and ingenuity to the event.

When asked about the differences between working with people outside of the art department and actual art students, senior English and Japanese double major Mitzi Akaha reflected on their ability to broaden the group’s abilities and potential.

“They are sometimes more hesitant, or less confident because they don’t have training, but I think that makes it a lot more interesting,” said Akaha, who worked on multiple projects for the group. “They come up with a lot more crazy ideas, some involving computers or video that we don’t have the training for.“

This was the first time the exhibit was shown at the Olipom venue, as last year’s Co/Lab showing was held in the basement of the art department. The different atmosphere and clientele brought advantages and disadvantages to this year’s event.

“I feel like we didn’t have enough time last year, and we are showing our work to a different audience,” Akaha said. “The venue was sort of inconvenient because there were stands for clothes set up at the same time, so we only had a small amount of space to show our work.“

Even so, the venue attracted a much different audience than it did last year. Since it began on Second Saturday and continued to show throughout the week in the store, Olipom was open to anyone who happened to pass by, whereas last year’s showing drew primarily students and teachers. Shoppers, art enthusiasts and day-to-day customers were all given a show of the students‘ work.

“At Olipom there were still a lot of our friends, but it was nice to reach that kind of audience that maybe wouldn’t have shown up at the basement gallery,” Oak said.

Keller plans to continue with the project, and hopes to further expand the event to other venues and San Francisco.

“I was happy to move it out of UC Davis, and put it into an urban atmosphere,” he said.

JUSTIN HO can be reached at arts@californiaaggie.com.

ARTSWEEK

Arts & Culture

Arts Editor

July 3, 2008

MUSIC

Extreme Animals, Fortress of Amplitude, Driphouse, Pregnant

Today, 9 p.m.

The Witchdome in Sacramento

What do you get when you put rap and trance together? A frantic (and frankly, slightly frightening) combination from duo Extreme Animals – who, surprisingly, both performed in the same barbershop quartet back when they were in high school.

The Evening Episode, Red Host, Them Hills

Today, 9 p.m., $5, 21

The Blue Lamp

The Evening Episode has gone through as many band member changes as Destiny’s Child, but that hasn’t changed the integrity of their music, a chill electronica take on rock that should appeal to fans of Blonde Redhead and Portishead. Other notables of the 916 will take the stage for this Sacramento music award showcase, which is presented by Sacramento News and Review Magazine.

Rita Hosking and Cousin Jack, Pleasant Valley Boys

Today, 10 p.m., $3-5, 21

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen

With songs like “Cool Black Water” and “Tall White Horse” in conjunction with the fact that her backing band is called Cousin Jack, Rita Hosking seems to be an authentic purveyor of the folksy bluegrass in store for Sophia’s tonight.

Sexy Prison, Mutators, Meth Teeth, Sucks

Friday, 7 p.m., $5

DAM House

Sexy is subjective: For the case of Sacramento group Sexy Prison, it’s a dark mix of experimental synth-punk and electronica. For the more domineering personalities, Canadian group Mutators will provide their own unapologetically aggressive take on experimental.

Fork Tung, Infectum, Jack Ketch, Syphon Christ, Awaiting the Apocalypse

Friday, 7:30 p.m., $10

The Boardwalk

Just by looking at the cringe-worthy names alone, it shouldn’t be too difficult to imagine what should be expected for The Boardwalk – a sinister line-up of grinding death metal that is appropriate for an event called “4th of July Massacre.”

Honeyspot

Friday, 10 p.m., $3-5, 21

The G St. Pub

Sacramento pop-rock group Honeyspot is no stranger to The G Street Pub. Being that it is Independence Day and all, I’m sure it wouldn’t be such a great loss if their appearance was forgone because of obligatory fireworks-watching or forgotten because of excess beer consumption.

Sic Alps, Standard Tribesmen, Acid Cop

Saturday, 7 p.m., $5

Fort Douglass

All bases are covered here: Music aficionados can appreciate Sic Alps’ modern throwback to the psychedelic rock of the ’60s and the ’70s and the references to lo-fi garage of the ’90s, while casual listeners can relish in the hazy sounds of this noise-pop duo from San Francisco.

One Dying Secret, Hero’s Last Mission, Five Second Rule, Man Automatic, All In a Day

Saturday, 7:30 p.m., $12

The Boardwalk

I almost feel guilty for judging most shows at The Boardwalk strictly on the band names, but their latest line-ups lend themselves all too well for such scrutiny. That being said, this is where I would make some sort of witty comment about time, deadlines and possible titles of B-list action movies.

Chelsea Wolfe, Christopher Fairman, Tigres Del Rio, Travis Vick

Saturday, 9 p.m.

Luna’s Café in Sacramento

Last year, critics dubbed Chelsea Wolfe as “Sacramento’s Best Ethereal Songstress,” and with good reason: Her quietly powerful vocals act as the perfect accompaniment to her melancholy lyrics. Keeping with this sensitive (dare I say, moody?) ambiance is Christopher Fairman, whose latest album features songs like “Selfish Bitch” and “Go Back.”

We Are Scientists, Cut Off Your Hands, The Morning Benders

Saturday, 9 p.m., $12, 21

The Blue Lamp

Brooklyn-based duo We Are Scientists seem like cool dudes with a sense of humor: Their catchy power-pop diddies are accompanied by equally amusing music videos. I recommend that you check out the band’s advice column on their website at wearescientists.com, which tackles hard-hitting questions such as “What is the difference between a muffin and a cupcake?”

Agent Ribbons, The Blank Tapes

Saturday, 10 p.m., $3-5, 21

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen

Providing Sacramento with a whimsical set of nostalgic love songs are the fashionable ladies of Agent Ribbons, who demonstrate a penchant for balancing the classic sound of female jazz vocalists with a darker, garage-rock sensibility.

AT THE MOVIES

Hancock

Now playing at Regal Holiday 6 on F Street

Honestly, summer just wouldn’t be complete without some sort of epic action film starring Will Smith. A fun tidbit for fans of “Arrested Development”: The movie also features Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron (a.k.a. Michael Bluth and his one-time crush – the “Mr. F,” Rita) as husband and wife.

Mongol

Today only at Varsity Theatre on Second Street

Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov undertakes the story of a young Genghis Khan, who grew up in a life of starvation and slavery to become the legendary founder and ruler of the Mongol Empire.

The Unforeseen

Monday only at Varsity Theatre on Second Street

This documentary follows a real estate developer as he tries to build a subdivision in Austin, Texas. There are more obstacles to his goal than he would imagine, including opposition from a local environmentalist group and enormous debts.

ART / COMEDY

Ted Vasin

Now until July 28

Davis Art Center’s Tsao Gallery

San Francisco-based artist Ted Vasin is no stranger to the arts: His father was also an artist and his grandfather was a circus stage and costume designer. See how this background has had an influence on Vasin’s vibrant and surrealist paintings today. There is a live Sound Performance July 11, 7-9 p.m.

Curtain Call at City Hall Comedy Show

Tuesday, 8:30 p.m., $5

Bistro 33

Catch some laughs (or adopt a heckler’s attitude) at Tuesday’s comedy show at Bistro 33. Headliner is Jerry Corley of Comedy Central with supporting acts Rob Rose, Brea Improv and Hollywood Comedy Store.

Editor’s choice:

Sic Alps, Standard Tribesmen, Acid Cop

Saturday, 7 p.m., $5

Fort Douglass

Agent Ribbons, The Blank Tapes

Saturday, 10 p.m., $3-5, 21

Sophia’s Thai Kitchen

Longtime owner of Armadillo Music passes away

Arts & Culture

Arts Editor

July 3, 2008

Music lovers in Davis know where in town to finger through a treasure trove of classic records. Offering a place to find music almost every day of the year is Armadillo Music at 205 F St.

But on Saturday, the music stopped playing and shop was empty for the day. Recognizing and honoring the passing of Mike Krell, the longtime owner of Armadillo Music, the store closed for the day.

“We closed the store to respect the man,” said Jordan Smart, assistant manager of Armadillo Music. “We wanted the employees to be part of the memorial. No question – this was a significant event.”

Those closest to Krell celebrated his life at The Palms Playhouse in Winters, where Krell’s favorite song, “She’s Not There” by The Zombies, could be heard.

Krell was 65 when he was struck down by heart complications June 23. He would have celebrated his 66th birthday this July.

The family has left funeral arrangements in the hands of Wiscombe’s Davis Funeral Chapel. According to a webpage dedicated to Krell, he leaves behind two daughters, Diana Krell of Oakland, Calif. and Athena Chapman of Davis, as well as his partner Cathleen Edmonds of Davis and his wife Helen Krell.

Before establishing Armadillo Music in 1996, Krell received his law degree from UC Berkeley. He practiced law and also served as court administrator for the County of Sacramento until he retired in 1993. Besides his legal work, Krell was also a businessman and was involved in Downtown Davis Business Association.

According to store manager Nicholas Glass, Krell was an able listener and willing to adjust to the economics of running an independent record store, including restocking Armadillo with vinyl.

“He adapted with the times,” Glass said. “Mike was very open to adopting [ideas] to get a good store. He was laidback but he really made good decisions.”

Owner of APEX Cycles Aaron Curtin was friends with Krell and had run into him as recently as a week-and-a-half before his sudden passing. He said that the news of Krell’s passing stunned him.

Curtin credited Krell for helping start his own business. He remembers the day Krell offered him an opportunity to advance his own life. At the time, Curtin was working as a barista at Café Roma. A frequent customer, Krell believed Curtin had potential to do more than just serve coffee.

“I was working at Roma and my son had just been born,” Curtin said. “[Krell] took me aside and said, ‘There’s something about you. You should not be working at Roma.’ He gave me an opportunity to work for him and I ran his learning center. He gave me experience to do more with my life. He gave me a platform to run my business.”

When he was not sharing his business acumen, Krell devoted time to his own business. Besides Armadillo Music, he also owned several properties within the city. However, Smart said that Krell especially loved the record store.

The fate of Armadillo Music will rest in the hands of Krell’s family. Smart said that the store’s management will meet with the Krell family within the next couple of weeks to contemplate the future of the store. However, he hopes to preserve the same store that Krell built.

“In my opinion, he probably would want the store to stay open,” Smart said. “Mike always said he wanted to be the last store in Davis to close. But we will go along with the wishes of the family.”

JACKSON YAN can be reached at arts@californiaaggie.com.

Farmers adjust to dry season

City News

City Editor

July 3, 2008

When Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a drought in June, Californians were told to take shorter showers and use less water on their lawns. But for farms in California and Yolo County, the challenge of dealing with less water is even greater.

One such farm is Good Hummus, a 20-acre farm located in the Hungry Hollow area of Yolo County. In the 33 years that owners Annie and Jeff Main have been running the farm, they have seen good seasons and bad, plentiful harvests as well as disappointing ones. With the water supply running low, the pair have made some changes to the way they get water to their crops.

The Mains are both UC Davis graduates. Annie studied renewable natural resources while her husband Jeff was a civil engineering student, and the two were part of the group that helped start the Davis Farmers Market.

“We use ground water, so we pump that up,” Annie said. “Since it hasn’t rained since February, we’re paying for more electricity to get the water up and out of the wells.“

The veteran farmers are used to a wetter spring season, and the dry months since February have forced them to irrigate sooner than usual.

“We usually don’t start until April or May, but this year we started months earlier,” she said.

The farm has always been conscious of the way in which they irrigate their crops, Main said.

“We never irrigate in the middle of the day – always early morning or night, because we don’t want it all to evaporate,“ she said.

In the past, the farm utilized a sprinkler system for irrigation. Now, the Mains use drip irrigation, a system where a hose with holes punched in it is run through the crops, allowing for a slow soak that gets the water straight to the roots.

Although drip irrigation increases water efficiency, it can be more fragile than the sprinklers.

“A worker was picking some of my lemon thyme and when he went to cut the plant he cut the hose accidentally, so we had to change that one out,” Main said.

The new system required more labor hours for instillation, and the hoses need to be changed about once a year due to cracking and wear, but Main said that the costs haven‘t made a noticeable difference.

Such drip irrigation systems are recommended by state officials.

“Because low volume irrigation systems are easy to operate and can achieve a high degree of uniformity, they are well suited to drought strategies such as deficit irrigation,“ said irrigation specialist Larry Schwankl in an article published by the California Department of Water Resources.

Although the unusual weather patterns have presented some irrigation problems, Good Hummus has also benefited from the dry, cold winter.

“Fruit trees need a certain number of cold hours in the winter,” Main said. “And since it didn’t rain too much we didn’t see much fungus, so the crops are great this year.“

Due to the cold winter, the farm was able to plant their winter crops later than usual, meaning that they are still bringing winter crops to the Farmers Market.

“We get to have almonds, apricots and nectarines,” Main said. “Two years ago, we lost all of our apricots because of the rain.“

The owners of Good Hummus do their best to work with what the weather gives them, and try to stay conscious of how they use their resources, especially the increasingly precious water.

“We want to cut back [on water use],” Main said. “But if you do [too much], the crops die.“

Though California has faced two consecutive years of low rainfall, farmers like the Mains are making due with what they have and getting by until the next rain.

ALI EDNEY can be reached at city@californiaaggie.com.

New study examines nitrogen cycles

Campus News

Campus Editor

July 3, 2008

UC Davis faculty member Benjamin Houlton of the department of land, air and water resources has co-published a research paper examining the role of the nitrogen cycle. This better understanding of the nitrogen cycle could lead to more accurate predictions of global climate change.

Titled “A unifying framework for dinitrogen fixation in the terrestrial biosphere,” the paper was published in the journal Nature on June 19.

“We were trying to address how to build better predictions in terms of climate change,” Houlton said.

The study focuses on the nitrogen cycle in tropical and temperate forests, specifically on trees that use nitrogen fixation, or the process of taking nitrogen directly from the atmosphere. These same trees often prosper when nitrogen is also abundant in the soil, but not when it is absent.

“The research of Dr. Houlton is important as it reveals fundamental mechanisms of biogeochemical cycling and tree nutrient uptake as it relates to environmental stresses on terrestrial ecosystems,” said Jan W. Hopmans, chair of the department of land, air and water resources.

Nitrogen levels determine how much carbon dioxide plants are able to extract from the atmosphere. As carbon dioxide is the primary gas involved in global warming, any process that affects the nitrogen levels in relation to plant growth will ultimately impact collective global temperatures.

“In general, impacts of climate change, particularly the earth’s warming, on biological systems continue to be largely unknown,” Hopmans said. “It is therefore that the plant’s functioning must be understood first before impacts – both negative and positive effects – on plants and trees and their diversity on climate warming can be better understood.”

The researchers concluded that the reason nitrogen-fixing trees were more abundant in areas in which the soil was nitrogen rich was due to two factors.

First, the temperature affects the activity of nitrogenase – an enzyme that catalyzes the reduction of molecular nitrogen in the nitrogen-fixation process of bacteria. According to the study, colder and more temperate climates require more of the enzyme in order to “fix” the present nitrogen. This high cost would ultimately counteract the advantage that temperate forests have in terms of nitrogen fixation resulting from nitrogen deficient soil.

Second, the presence of phosphorus in the soil of tropical forests explains why there is an abundance of nitrogen fixing plant life in those areas.

“The ability of N2 fixers to invest nitrogen into phosphorus acquisition seems vital to sustained N2 fixation in phosphorus-limited tropical ecosystems,” according to the study.

“It turns out that these nitrogen fixing plants take excess nitrogen and invest it into enzyme systems in their roots,” Houlton said.

Houlton compared the efficiency of nitrogen fixing plants in warmer climates – and their ability to “invest” excess nitrogen through root systems – to principles generally observed in economics.

“We think plants will behave economically,” he said. “We just need to understand the playing field.”

Professor Peter Vitousek of Stanford University, Christopher Field of the Carnegie Institution of Global Ecology and Yingping Wang of Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization co-authored the paper.

RITA SIMERLY can be reached at campus@californiaaggie.com.

ASUCD Coffee House raises prices

Campus News

Campus Editor

July 3, 2008

Junior chemistry major Gary Arevalo noticed last week that he received less change from the $2 he paid for a slice of cheese pizza at the ASUCD Coffee House.

“A slice of cheese pizza is usually $1.75 but it’s gone up since school ended,” said Arevalo.

The increase is part of an overall 3.5 percent price increase in Coffee House food since Summer Session I began June 23.

“The food cost has increased across the board, and our price increases are in response to that,” said Darin Schleup, Coffee House kitchen manager. “When food costs go up we need to as well, we try to cover the prices so much as possible.”

Gas prices are on the rise and the price of staple foods like rice and flour are skyrocketing all over the world. The cost of flour has increased by 58 percent and rice has nearly tripled, and, in some Costco stores, there is a limit to the amount of rice customers may purchase, said Sharon Coulson, Coffee House director.

“We are not immune; there is nothing special about our buying process,” she said. “We are no different from any grocery store and restaurant, so it’s not a huge surprise we would have to raise our prices.”

The Coffee House is a break-even business – meaning it turns no profit. Every year, the Coffee House must adhere to a roughly $1.5 million budget. In January, Coffee House menu prices went up due to the employee wage increase that went into effect across California. The increase turned out to help cover the food cost increase during the school year.

However, as food products such as cheese, milk and flour that are staple ingredients of many of the Coffee House’s menu items kept increasing in price, it was only a matter of time before a price hike would be necessary.

“We being a restaurant that people come to every day, I didn’t want to raise prices in the middle of the quarter,” Coulson said. “I preferred to hang in there the last six months. We rode the wave until after the school year. Summer is a difficult time.”

To save money, Coulson tried to minimize labor costs and increase efficiency as much as possible. When business was slow and the floor was fully staffed, Coulson would ask if any student employees needed to clock out early.

“Employees can … clock out and go home and study and we were able to realize [those] labor savings,” she said.

In addition to increases in food costs, gas price increases were also a contributing factor to the Coffee House’s menu price hike. While the Coffee House has been lucky to locally buy some items such as rice, other necessities such as sliced bread and tofu are shipped from Vacaville and Sacramento, respectively.

“Once we [start to] get our tomatoes from student farms on campus, we hopefully won’t be accruing a lot of costs with fuel,” Schleup said.

The Coffee House staff strives to retain its quality while still being price-friendly to students. They understand the restaurant is a popular choice for students and the effect price increase has on its customers, Coulson said.

“We know times are tough but we try to minimize the pain as much as possible. We don’t take this lightly and it’s not something I enjoy doing, but right now it’s the economy,” Coulson said.

“This is the worst I’ve ever seen for the economy. It’s the highest price fluctuation I have seen in my career,” said Coulson, who has worked with the Coffee House for 25 years.

The price of some foods like pizza went up as much as a quarter, but other items such as fruit stayed the same. Coulson said she made sure prices are rounded to the nickel and that tax is included in the prices for student convenience.

Some students have yet to notice the price change, said Elyse Greenblatt, a graduated senior and Coffee House supervisor. “I haven’t gotten any complaints to me personally. In the past people have been upset. Even if the price has gone up, we are still relatively cheap for coffee and other items.”

Some Coffee House patrons like Arevalo are not deterred by the price increase and understand that it is impacted by the economy.

“The food in local supermarkets have gone way up. Things are just not what they used to be,” Arevalo said. “I’ll still go to the Coho. You can’t beat the convenience. It’s cheap compared to everything else in Davis, and it’s good, inexpensive food.”

Even with the Coffee House price increase, the staff keeps a positive outlook that customers will remain loyal and continue to enjoy its fresh, homemade food.

“We still offer really low prices and we are making our food from scratch,” Schleup said. “About 90 to 95 percent of our food is made from scratch – you can pronounce every ingredient in our food.”

WENDY WANG can be reached at campus@californiaaggie.com.

Dining in Davis: Farmer’s Kitchen Café

Features

Features Editor

July 3, 2008

If you have terrible eating habits like me, coming up with excuses to eat junk is an all-too-easy task. Some justifications I always fall back on include class, work, certain television shows, extreme weather conditions…

Providing me with one less place to nourish my unhealthy lifestyle is Farmer’s Kitchen Café. Situated at 624 Fourth St., it turned out that I’ve passed this restaurant many times without ever having gone inside, only referring to it as “the place with the plastic floral tablecloths.”

I opted to eat my lunch alone this day. Eating by oneself can be a tricky thing: While iPods are an effective instrument for anti-socialness on buses or the library, they don’t lend themselves very well toward that certain solitary-yet-intellectual impression at restaurants. So I equipped myself accordingly with a book to occupy myself, lest I look like some sort of lone creeper.

When I first walked into the restaurant (which was empty upon my arrival at around 1 p.m.), I saw a stack of menus and picked one up, trying to adopt a casual “I’m just reading a menu” stance. Really, I was wondering whether I was supposed to seat myself. But then the hostess arrived and gestured for me to take a seat. The place was quaint and the décor was slightly kitschy but in a cutesy way – the aforementioned plastic floral tablecloths, glasses of fresh flowers as centerpieces.

The menu at Farmer’s Kitchen Café offers a wide range of entrees, most of which are organic and locally grown. The choices are very vegetarian and vegan-friendly, but not so much that it alienates the non-veggie crowd. I found that there were plenty of options that would appease any meat-eater, with dishes featuring free range chicken, fresh seafood and local pasture-raised pork.

It was lunchtime, and my focus immediately went to the sandwich section of the menu. A typical bout of indecision started to kick in, but after some consideration I decided to go with a glass of fresh raspberry lemonade and a grilled spring onion sandwich with basil sauce. I had the option to go with gluten-free sourdough bread, but I went ahead with the artisan focaccia.

My sandwich arrived about 15 minutes after I placed my order, and it came with a simple undressed side salad of mixed greens. As most of my experiences with sandwich-eating go, it was a slightly messy but delicious ordeal. The focaccia was fresh and served as a solid base to the grilled onion filling. Its crust was so crunchy that when I first bit into my sandwich, the little girl sitting at the table next to mine turned around to stare at me and continued to do so for the duration of my meal.

Though a dish featuring onions as its main component may seem off-putting to most, they had a hint of sweetness from the grilling and weren’t at all disconcerting to my meal. Even without the explicit taste, I still had suspicions that the smell of onions were sticking to my fingers and clothes for the rest of the day.

Adjacent to the Farmer’s Kitchen Café is Natural Food Works. From my seat in the restaurant, it looked like an organic, non-corporate version of a General Nutrition Center vitamin store. But a purveyor of energy supplements and protein bars it is not – Natural Food Works is a health food store that features locally grown produce and food that is prepared in their kitchen.

Although I did have a pleasant (albeit slightly lonesome) lunch at Farmer’s Kitchen Café, it’s a place better suited for a family outing with my parents as opposed to a place to catch a quick and cheap bite. Probably due to the quality of the ingredients, the prices were a bit high for the average college student, with sandwiches ranging from $10 to $13 for the larger size and entrees between $13 to $15. After paying for my meal, I remembered why I typically opt for the cheap – I usually get full too quickly before I can appreciate good food.

Lessons learned: Quality comes at a price, meals are always better with a companion and the smell of onions never fails to linger.

RACHEL FILIPINAS can be reached at feautures@californiaaggie.com.

Smoking places

Opinion

Opinion

June 30, 2008

The UC Davis Health System will take an important step Tuesday, when smoking will finally be banned on the entire UCDHS campus.

It is refreshing that a leader in local medical practices is making such a strong statement about smoking – finally. While the action itself is worthy of praise, one wishes it could have come sooner; several local hospitals have had such bans in place for several months, while others have had such restrictions for over a year.

Bureaucratic tardiness aside, however, the committee that made the decision is worthy of kudos. It is utterly nonsensical for a medical institution of any kind to allow smoking to occur just outside its doors. Secondhand smoke has been proven to be lethal, and removing it from the general vicinity of a building full of the infirm is only logical.

When discussing the issue, some have raised the point that such a ban infringes on people’s rights. Shouldn’t they have a right to smoke when and where they want to? It’s a free country, after all.

No.

The UC Davis Medical Center has a right to regulate what happens on its property, especially when it comes to protecting the interests of its patients. The center, and the health system as a whole, has a responsibility to be ever vigilant regarding the welfare of those under their care, and if that means having no smokers on the premises, so be it.

Others have argued that the policy could be amended so that there is simply no smoking by doors or windows – surely that would solve the problem, right? Well, not really. Disregarding the fact that there are already designated smoking areas in place around the hospital (which, one supposes, will be getting new signage fairly soon: “No Smoking in this designated smoking area“), asking people to stand a certain distance away and other similar solutions are too subjective. I most often see this policy in practice at the dorms or around Wellman Hall, and let me tell you, the number of personal interpretations of 20 feet I’ve seen is dizzying.

This new ban is fair, and will hopefully lead to similar action at hospitals and other medical institutions that don’t currently have such restrictions in place. Such bans are becoming increasingly important gestures; new federal data indicates that while teen smoking dropped fairly steadily from 1997 to 2003, those drops leveled off during the 2003 to 2007 period, effectively an increase in teen smoking.

This is depressing, especially considering that the manufacturers of the product regard it as unsafe for children and teens. It still hasn’t been made clear to me what exactly makes smoking healthy for adults, either, but be that as it may, both the federal data and the action on the part of the University of California show that smoking is still an important issue.

The gravity of the situation is being felt in Michigan, where lawmakers put off making a decision on a bill that would ban smoking at all workplaces until after their summer recess, partially because it’s an election year and the politicians don’t want to offend their constituents.

While one can appreciate the politicians‘ desire to be re-elected, harsh action toward the tobacco industry can be made without it being hostile.

For an example of this, we need look no further than the UC Davis Health System, which is making it easier for their workers to quit or at least deal with their cravings in light of the new policy. It would have been easy for the administration to take a stance of “You can’t smoke here anymore. Get over it,” but providing a cessation program for long-time employees who smoke is a nice gesture.

Making the world a better place isn’t easy, but to paraphrase Bill Murray in What About Bob?, it takes baby steps.

RICHARD PROCTER isn’t a big baseball fan, but he is an L.A. Dodgers fan, and feels like everyone should be aware that they beat the Angels 1-0 Saturday…without a single hit. E-mail him about how awesome the Dodgers are at rhprocter@ucdavis.edu.

Daily Calendar

Features

Features Editor

June 30, 2008

WEDNESDAY

Davis Farmers Market

4:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Central Park

At this week’s Picnic in the Park event, the free concert will feature Lisa Phoenix and Steve Wall playing folk Americana music. New seasonal produce at the Davis Farmers Market should include tomatoes and nectarines!

Poetry reading

9 p.m.

Bistro 33, 226 F St.

Brad Buchanan, a CSU Sacramento professor, is the featured reader at this free poetry reading. Following Mr. Buchanan, there will be an open mic for others to read their poetry.

THURSDAY

Summer Concerts at the Gazebo

7 to 8:30 p.m.

Main Street and Railroad Avenue in Winters

The opening night of this free concert series will feature the groups Grace Country and Los Alegres de Jalisco. The shows, sponsored by Winters Friends of the Library, will continue every Thursday through July 31.

SUNDAY

Arboretum tour

10 to 11 a.m.

Arboretum Gazebo on Garrod Drive

Docent Ramona Cramer will offer a tour of the Storer Garden. Cramer will also discuss plants that would do well in gardens in the Central Valley.

To receive placement in the AGGIE DAILY CALENDAR, e-mail dailycal@californiaaggie.com 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.

Sections

Resources

Best of Davis

Projects