At the University of California’s Board of Regents July 16 to 17 meeting, UC Santa Barbara graduate student Jesse M. Bernal will be selected as the 35th UC student regent since the position was inaugurated in 1975.

The student regent is a voting member of the UC Board of Regents who attends all board and committee meetings.

“The student regent plays an important role in bridging the disconnect between the regents and the students,” said current student regent Ben Allen, who will be stepping down from the position June 30.

Allen, a law school student at UC Berkeley was, along with several other regents, part of the nominating committee that selected Bernal.

“[Bernal] had many strong suits coming to the table,” Allen said. “Among a number of other experiences, he spent a year of being very heavily involved with the [University of California Students Association].”

Bernal has been working at University of California Santa Barbara as a special programs manager in the office of summer sessions coordinating high school outreach and academic programs for high school students throughout the country. In addition, he has been working with the UC Student Association promoting student interests to the board.

“He was going before the regents making proposals, conducting research and investigations on the budget, and generally … partaking in many important responsibilities required of a student regent,” Allen said. “I think he’ll really be able to hit the ground running.”

Bernal, a second generation Mexican American, grew up in south Texas, and is a first generation college student currently enrolled in the Givertz Graduate school of Education at UCSB.

“What has prepared me for this position is actually being directly affected by many of the challenges students in our university and public schools everywhere face,” Bernal said in an e-mail interview.

Bernal worked full time while attending school, and dropped out twice, once as an undergraduate and once in graduate school.

“Serving on the board of regents, you are able to direct and advise policy at the highest level of the UC and therefore direct education policy across the state and country because the UC is a leading institution of education,” Bernal said.

Bernal plans to focus on expanding the idea of diversity, specifically regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students as well as LGBT students of color, and addressing issues of tuition affordability.

“Student fees at the UC have increased drastically over the last seven years, and, given the current state budget crisis, prioritizing education in this state does not seem to be happening,” Bernal said.

Former student regent Allen was impressed with Bernal’s ability to interact with both students and regents with equal ease, as well as his ability to successfully balance advocacy and pragmatism, Allen said.

“He’s got a real amenable personality and he’s a very good negotiator,” he said.

Though student regents are not officially designated as representatives of the student body, they are selected from a pool of applicants from the UC Student Association, a group dedicated to promoting student interests in the UC.

“When considering the student regent, [we] look at candidate’s experience and skill as an advocate for students and for the university as a whole,” said Ray Austin, University Affairs Director and staff member of the UC Student Association Student Regent Nominating Committee in an e-mail interview.

Issues that have traditionally been addressed by student regents involving the implementation of Diversity Report’s recommendations, lowering student fees, financial aid to undocumented students and better loan practices for graduate students, Austin said.

CHARLES HINRIKSSON can be reached at campus@californiaaggie.com.

While an estimated 800 wildfires blaze throughout California, Davis is seeing the effects in the thick layer of smoke that has descended on the town and campus this week.

A fire burning on the border of Napa and Solano counties in particular is contributing the majority of the smoke that has settled in and around Davis.

“As long as that fire is burning, we figure we will be impacted,” said Kathy Coulter, public information officer for the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District.

Air quality agencies throughout Northern California have been urging everyone to stay inside, especially sensitive populations such as children, the elderly and those with respiratory difficulties.

“The rule of thumb is if you can see or smell smoke, then it’s in the air and you need to protect yourself,” Coulter said. “Even if your house is sealed off, you could still be getting the bad air in, so minimize activity. If you’re a healthy person it still wouldn’t be good to go outside and run or jog.”

Smoke raises the level of particulate matter in the air which irritates the respiratory system and can cause watery eyes, a sore throat and sinus problems. Particulate matter, which contains soot and ash, in its smallest form is undetectable to the naked eye, but creates a visible layer of smoky haze that settles low to the ground.

“Some smoke has more adverse effects, some has less,” said Jianlin Hu, a UC Davis graduate student in atmospheric science. “From this fire, the problem is that the particle size is quite small so it can go deep into your lungs and can cause more serious problems. Also because the size is small, the particles can be transported for long distances.”

Davis air quality was classified as “unhealthy for sensitive groups” on Sunday and Monday. When particulate matter levels rose Tuesday the air was deemed unhealthy for all and is forecasted to remain so at least through Friday, according to Air Now, a U.S. government air quality monitoring website.

Cowell Student Health Center has seen several mild cases of aggravated asthma due to smoke in the air this week, said Maureen Greenhagen, patient care services manager.

“If you have asthma, [smoke] can trigger tightness and wheezing,” she said. “We are recommending for everybody, but especially those with asthma, not to exercise outside, keep the windows closed and use the air conditioner at home and in the car.”

The Napa and Solano fire, which has burned 4,089 acres, destroyed a barn and caused one injury, began June 21 at 4 p.m.

“The cause of the fire remains under investigation,” said John Hart, public information officer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “A lot of fires were started by lightning, but I think most of the lightning was further up north.”

Firefighters caught a break early in the week with cooler weather and milder winds. While authorities were able to completely contain the fire as of Wednesday, there is no estimate on when it will be entirely put out.

“It’s going to be a long time until it’s completely out,” Hart said. “The wind is a critical factor, but because it is contained, things are looking pretty good. I think that fire is grinding down, but who knows what the future might hold.”

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

Editor’s note: For this edition of 10 questions, The Aggie sat down with new KDVS General Manager Ben Johnson to get the lowdown on the life of a general manager and upcoming plans for the radio station. KDVS 90.3 FM broadcasts to the greater Davis area and strives to provide its listening audience with diverse, challenging, noncommercial, freeform radio.

How long have you been working at KDVS?

I’ve worked there for about three-and-a-half years. I started as a new volunteer so I could work with sound.

So you got started there so you could work with sound?

Well I’d known friends involved with KDVS since junior high and high school, and I knew I wanted to be involved as a fan of music and learn how to make music myself.

So now you’re the general manager. What does that mean exactly?

I have more responsibilities. I’m in charge of leading the core staff and taking care of the day-to-day operations. I also have more perspective now on what it’s like to deal with outsiders and the public as the face of the radio station.

What’s your favorite part of your job?

Probably being able to be around so many music fans and live shows on a daily basis.

Least favorite?

Getting a phone call at 3 a.m. saying a DJ didn’t show up or something is broken. I don’t like it, but it can be kind of a fun challenge.

What do you plan on doing after this gig?

I’m not 100 percent sure. Hopefully I can get some kind of job with alternative media. I’m hoping the connections I’ve made in the technocultural studies department will help with that.

What’s something interesting about KDVS that not many people know?

That we have a DJ in there 24 hours a day. We have about 150 different DJs per week during the normal school year. Over the summer we have less.

What’s your favorite radio station besides KDVS and why?

Probably WFMU in New Jersey. That’s the station I look up to as a free form community radio station. It actually used to be part of a college out there, and when the college closed they had enough support [from the community] that they were able to hang on to the radio license and keep broadcasting.

Do you have a favorite program on KDVS?

Hmm. Probably Tim Matranga’s show. Or Mr. Glass. DJ Mucky is good too.

What new things can we look forward to from KDVS in the coming year?

We’re definitely trying to get a better online presence so we can be more accessible to students who don’t really listen to FM radio. We’re also trying to increase our signal strength by possibly moving our tower. Right now we’re looking at some places east of campus, like off of Mace or near the city dump. Also, Catalina Island just got a radio license and will be broadcasting inland to California, so KDVS will be helping them get started.

Interview conducted by RICHARD PROCTER, who can be reached at editor@californiaaggie.com.

Former California State Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez was a no-show at the June 11 School of Education commencement ceremony.

Núñez canceled his appearance with a day’s notice due to ongoing labor disputes between the University of California and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees who are trying to negotiate a contract agreement for patient care technical workers and other service employees.

“We do feel that it’s unfortunate that the union has pushed for these cancellations, since they have no bearing on negotiations and only serve to disrupt the commencement ceremonies for students and their families,” said Nicole Savickas, a representative of the UC Office of the President.

Leticia Garcia-Prado, a medical assistant at the Cowell Student Health Center since 2001 thinks that Núñez’s no-show along with other public figures’ refusal to cross the picket line did have a significant impact.

“They showed their support for workers who are people that not only make their universities and medical centers the great institutions that they are but all of us workers also are part of our communities that make California the diverse state that it is,” said Garcia-Prado.

Professors from the School of Education as well as Dean Harold Levine respect Núñez’s decision to cancel his speech.

“The ceremony itself went very well, providing a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of our graduating students,” said Levine in an e-mail.

Rebecca Ambrose, assistant professor of education, said none of the graduating students she spoke with mentioned the absence of the well-known speaker.

UC campuses throughout the state saw speaker cancellations due to AFSCME issues as well. Former President Bill Clinton refused to speak at a UCLA graduate school ceremony earlier this month, along with Robert Kennedy Jr. who was to speak at UC San Diego.

“I think that this small crisis is a great opportunity for the students and the rest of us to reflect on what kind of society, and what kind of university, we really want to have,” said Cristina Gonzales, a professor of Spanish and education at UCD.

Other public figures who refused to cross the picket line at UC campus ceremonies include retired General Wesley Clark, congressional representatives Henry Waxman and Hilda Solis as well as state representatives John Laird and Fiona Ma.

For UC healthcare worker Garcia-Prado, who is involved with the bargaining between AFSCME and the UC, Núñez’s absence was another part of the long process that has been going on since August 2007.

“UC is a very prestigious institution and its workers should not live in poverty because UC will not pay us wages we can live from,” she said.

A UCD medical assistant receives an hourly wage between $13.56 and $16.26, while other popular medical facilities such as Kaiser Permanente have starting wages of $18.81. Garcia-Prado said that some workers are forced to work two or three jobs, or to start looking at other facilities who offer better pay.

“This hurts the patients and the students,” she said. “They do not get the full care and service they need and deserve,”

Both sides continue to work towards a resolution and say they would like to reach an agreement in the near future.

“Our bargaining teams continue to work hard to present the union with package proposals that are responsive to their demands, and we appreciate that the union has agreed to return to the bargaining table,” Savickas said.

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

As UC Davis students took their last finals June 12, the campus buzzed with excitement at the arrival of Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for a signing ceremony of agricultural cooperation agreements between Chile and UC Davis.

Chancellor Vanderhoef opened the ceremony in Freeborn Hall, where he spoke of the importance of building relations between the UC Campuses.

“President Bachelet’s presence here today validates the importance of building bridges – building them globally – and the role that university can play in building those bridges,” he said. 

Schwarzenegger drew laughs from the audience in his introduction, declaring that President Bachelet’s background “reads like a script to a Hollywood blockbuster…. She is a doctor, she is a surgeon, she is a pediatrician, and the first female defense minister and the first female president of Chile. She is also brilliant and speaks five languages – three more than I speak if you give me credit for my English.”

President Bachelet delivered part of her speech in English, emphasizing the new stage of agreement into which Chile has entered with California. She said that now, instead of looking for UC Davis to help the Chilean economy, the two will collaborate as equals.

“We come not asking for help as in the past in the ’60s, but offering help as good partners … in trade, culture, and education and agriculture, wine and energy,” she said.

She ended the latter part of her speech, spoken in Spanish to address the Chilean audience members, with an “hasta la vista” to the governor and the indication that she hopes to see him soon – perhaps in a future visit to Chile.

Chancellor Vanderhoef, Dean Neal Van Alfen of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and two Chilean officials joined Schwarzenegger and Bachelet to sign two memoranda for UC Davis and Chile’s collaboration in researching and teaching agricultural seed and variety development, and wine-making and grape growing.

The second pair of memoranda was signed by Californian and Chilean officials agreeing to work together in energy strategy and development, water conservation and renewing the California State University’s partnership in education with Chile.

Schwarzenegger said the agreements will provide “opportunities for curriculum development, applied research and capital development.”

“The benefit [of the agreements] is working together to improve trade and help Chile with its development,” said Schwarzenegger, who noted that trade between California and Chile has increased 250 percent since 2004, when the South American country signed a free trade agreement with the United States.

Schwarzenegger’s visit came on a day in which drought concerns prompted him to proclaim a state of emergency in nine Central Valley counties. The governor said the agreement with Chile highlights the importance of “infrastructure [and] moving water as quickly as possible.”

Chile is facing water supply challenges of its own, Bachelet said.

“For the last 20 years, we’ve had all the dams we need. It’s the need of water we have to take into consideration,” she said.

A question-and-answer session followed the signing, in which Schwarzenegger and Bachelet fielded inquiries from reporters. While Chilean journalists asked Bachelet – in Spanish – about a recent small plane crash in their country, American reporters grilled Schwarzenegger on California’s budget woes.

“No nation has ever suffered from economic development when it tries to live within its means,” said the governor, responding to a question as to whether severe budget cuts will hurt the state’s growth.

“We should fix the dysfunctional system,” said Schwarzenegger, who said economic growth should be a stable 5 percent per year as opposed to “20 percent one year, 1 percent the next.”

“We’re going to work together, Democrats and Republicans, to solve this issue like we have in the past,” Schwarzenegger said.

The two distinguished guests ended their visit with a private luncheon at Vanderhoef’s home, where he presented Bachelet with the UC Davis Medal – the highest honor the school awards.

Before the signing ceremony, Schwarzenegger and Bachelet took a short tour of UC Davis’ vineyard, guided by graduating viticulture major Alysha Stehly and viticulture and enology professor Andy Walker.

“It was fun; the governor is quite articulate and free thinking. President Bachelet knew about viticulture and was very articulate as well,” said Walker of the unplanned tour.

UC Davis’ renewal of educational partnership with Chile stems from a 1965 to 1975 program funded by the Ford Foundation, where Chilean students studied in UC Davis to receive their Ph.D.s. Self-proclaimed as the “Davis boys,” the Chilean students returned to Chile with their newfound education as key developers of the currently existing Chilean agricultural export and import industry, said Seed Biotechnology Center director Kent Bradford.

California is well-suited for an agricultural union with Chile since the climate and topography are so similar.

“Chile and California are mirror images on opposites of the equator; they’re good complementary industries,” Bradford said.

“When our crops are in, theirs aren’t, and we aren’t in when their crops are in,” he said. “We hope to advance our breeding programs faster so we can grow two crops a year by finding the complementary programs. We have more breeding programs, and by capitalizing on that synergy, we can breed things they can test, varieties [that] we can license in both locations and locations around the world.”

The Seed Biotechnology Center helps develop tools and methods that enhance the ability to develop new crops and will be the primary center working with Chile.

“I think the fundamentals behind the memorandum are to increase education and expand research [for] whole new generations of scientists and leaders. I think it’s great and amazing, such far-reaching and forward thinking,” Walker said.

WENDY WANG and PATRICK McCARTNEY can be reached at campus@californiaaggie.com.