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UCD sponsored courses to teach amateur olive growers

Campus News

Campus Editor

April 17, 2008

This Friday and Saturday, olive aficionados will flock to the Hutchins St. Square conference center in Lodi to hear international experts discourse on topics regarding various aspects of the production of olive oil.

The course is aimed at olive lovers of all levels and will include discussion on economics in the olive oil industry, advanced methods of producing and harvesting olives, varieties of olive oil and pest control.

“The olive oil industry is growing very quickly in California,” said Dan Flynn, executive director of the UC Davis Olive Center. “It’s expected to quadruple in size over the next few years as the trellis system becomes more widespread and farmers get more volume from an orchard for less cost.”

The courses are sponsored by the UC Davis Olive Center, whose stated goal is to, “Promote increased market share of California table olives and olive oil through education, research and outreach,” according to its website.

“The courses will cover olives from A to Z, the nuts and bolts of growing olives and processing them into oil,” Flynn said. “They’ll be especially informative to people who are planning to enter or already involved in the olive oil business.”

In addition to a number of California experts, researcher Joan Tues of the Institute of Agro-Food Research and Technology from Rues, Spain, and Professor Angelo Godini, of the University of Bari, Italy, will be speaking on modern production systems in Spain and management practices for super-high-density planting systems, respectively.

“The California olive oil industry has been around for quite a while,” Deborah Rogers, of the Olive Press in Sonoma County, said. “But the recent boom is partly because of a really great article in the New Yorker about fraud in the international olive oil communities.”

Rogers also cites “the popularity of the Mediterranean diet, the cost of the Euro, fear that imported olive oil may be defective or adulterated and a growing desire to go local” as factors important in the burgeoning California olive oil industry.

Olive oil is obtained by crushing olives and extracting the liquids, making it one of the few unrefined oils.

“It’s been getting a lot of attention recently for its health benefits,” Flynn said. “Olives are high in monounsaturated fats and the good cholesterol, which together help promote good cardiovascular health and reduce blood pressure, bad cholesterol levels and heart attacks.”

Olives were brought to California in the 1700s by Franciscan missionaries from Mexico and today accounts for 33,051 acres in the San Joaquin Valley and Northern Sacramento Valley with a farm gate value of $34.3 million for 73,000 tons, according to the Olive Fact Sheet published by the UCD Fruit and Nut Research and Information Center.

“UCD are leaders in the industry,” Rogers said. “It just doesn’t get any better than that.”

In addition to a number of speakers on various aspects of the industry, the courses will feature a visit to the Corto Olive Orchard in Lodi, where attendees will be able to view the most basic aspects of the olive oil industry.

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

UC Davis students elected to be delegates at Democratic National Convention

Campus News

Campus Editor

April 17, 2008

In a primary full of twists, turns and uncertainties, two UC Davis students could play a critical role in determining the outcome.

An Apr. 13 caucus of Democratic voters from the First Congressional District elected Don Gibson, a sophomore biotechnology major, as a delegate for Hillary Clinton. Ryan Loney, a sophomore environmental policy and planning major, was elected as an alternate delegate for Barack Obama. Both students will attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver from Aug. 25 to 28.

According to quotas set by the state to ensure equal gender representation at the convention, there was one male delegate position from the First Congressional District available for Hillary Clinton. Gibson, who won that seat, said he sought to dispel the idea that only Obama attracts young voters.

“There’s a lot of hype of young voters [for] Obama, so I wanted to show young people can also support Clinton,” he said.

Four other people ran for the male Clinton seat, but Gibson received the most votes: 45 of 89 cast. Since he brought only eight friends from UC Davis, he said he impressed voters with his involvement with the Yolo County Democratic Central Committee. He also made political alliances, he said.

“I met every voter there and tried to convince them I was the best qualified person for the position,” he said.

Loney, the coordinator of the UC Davis chapter of Students for Obama, was among 52 people running for the male Obama seat, but managed to receive 88 votes – the second-highest amount, earning him the alternate position. Like Gibson, he attributed his campaign success to his demonstrated political commitment.

“I’m pretty well networked with the Yolo for Obama group,” he said.

Loney said Students for Obama agreed he was a viable candidate to be a delegate, as the organization wanted young voters represented at the convention.

“We wanted to send a student because we feel they’re underrepresented as delegates,” Loney said. “Historically, people under 30 are underrepresented.”

Though Gibson and Loney have pledged to remain loyal to their designated candidates, they could switch allegiances if the Obama-Clinton stalemate prolongs into the summer. In that case, convention delegates would “broker a deal” to determine the primary winner, said Davis College Democrats President Max Mikalonis, a junior political science major.

“In the primary, you voted for a candidate, but you’re really voting for a delegate to represent that candidate,” Mikalonis said.

Gibson said he is campaigning for Clinton because she supports universal health care and withdrawal from Iraq.

“She’s a proven fighter,” he said. “She already learned from her mistakes from helping Bill Clinton with her first health care plan in 1993. I feel like there won’t be a learning curve for her presidency.”

Incidentally, Loney also cited the war in Iraq and health care as the primary reasons why he supports Obama. But he also admires Obama’s character more, he said.

“I don’t necessarily agree with some of [Clinton’s] policy positions, and I don’t find her to be as honest and straightforward,” he said. “In the past few weeks, she’s been acting like she’s a Republican nominee [to court voters].”

Though they may not see eye-to-eye politically, Gibson and Loney both face a similar problem of having to raise an estimated $2,500 for a flight and hotel room. They said they planned to fundraise and seek money from a source likely unique to young delegates: their parents.

“My birthday gift from my parents is a flight to Denver and back,” Gibson said.

PATRICK McCARTNEY can be reached at campus@californiaaggie.com.

Science Scene

Science & Technology

Science Editor

April 16, 2008

Computers might run on infrared light

Computer engineers at the University of Utah have begun to build computers that can harness infrared light, the only part of the electromagnetic spectrum that has not yet been utilized for communication. The engineers expect that in another 10 years they will have built ultra-fast computers that don’t run on electricity.

Where electricity is conducted through metal wires, computer circuits built on light rely on fiber optic cables and devices called waveguides to split the light into different colors or “channels” of information.

The engineers designed perforated sheets of stainless steel foil that effectively directed the infrared radiation to transmit, spilt, bend or combine a signal. The pieces of foil were four inches long, one inch wide and 625 microns thick. A micron is approximately 6.25 times the width of a human hair. The perforations were rectangular holes only 500 microns across, or five human hairs.

Current computers run at gigahertz frequencies, which are billions of cycles per second, whereas a light computer would run at tetrahertz frequencies, which are trillions of cycles per second. They published their results in the Apr. 18 online issue of Optics Express.

(sciencedaily.com)

Asteroseismology – researchers “listen” to a star

Astronomers at the University of Toulouse, France, have used a new technique to understand how a star, named Iota Horologii, 56 million light-years away drifted away from the Hyades cluster. The findings have implications for theories of star and planet formation.

The technique, called asteroseismology, is similar to a technique geologists use to understand the earth’s inner structure by studying how the seismic waves of earthquakes run through the earth. The astronomers used the state-of-the-art 3.6 meter telescope at La Silla, Chile with a spectrograph mounted to it.

The astronomers took a series of observations on eight consecutive nights in November 2006 and the data showed that there were 25 different “notes” of sound coming from the star.

After analysis of the data, the researchers found that the star had a temperature 6150 K, a mass that is 1.25 times that of the sun, an age of 625 million years, and that it was approximately 50 percent more metal-rich than our Sun. (sciencecentric.com)

E. coli engineered to move toward pesticide

Escherichia coli have receptor proteins on the outer surface of its cell membrane that identify a chemical of interest and its concentration. The proteins then provide a signal to the bacterium’s flagellum to either move the bacterium toward or away from the chemical.

Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia engineered E. coli to lack the gene responsible for movement. They then provided the movement gene in a strand of engineered RNA called a riboswitch. The riboswitch would only turn on in the presence of the pesticide atrazine. The result is that bacteria can move toward the pesticide on a Petri dish and metabolize it, degrading the pesticide into another form. (nature.com)

Grand Canyon older than previously thought

Using radiometrics, the process of measuring the rates of decay of radioactive isotopes from the canyon walls, the Grand Canyon was thought to be only 6 million years old. In March, researchers used a variation of radiometrics to analyze minerals in the roofs of caves in the canyon walls and dated the start of the canyon’s formation at 17 million years.

However, geologists from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena recently dated the Grand Canyon at 65 million years, old enough that dinosaurs may have lived in and around it. The researchers developed a new technique that analyzes a mineral called apatite. Apatite contains small amounts of uranium and thorium, radioactive elements that release a type of helium when they decay.

Apatite, once buried deep beneath canyon’s surface, was gradually exposed by the eroding effects of the Colorado River. Samples of apatite taken from the bottom of the Grand Canyon turned out to be between 55 and 65 million years old. (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

Upcoming Science Seminars

Science & Technology

Science Editor

April 16, 2008

Today

“Reproductive Allocation and Life History Evolution in Variable Environments”

Carol Boggs

122 Briggs, noon to 1 p.m.

Beyond the Small Talk

Science & Technology

Science Editor

April 16, 2008

Headline: Beyond the Small Talk

Name: Ayn Reyes

Year: Senior

Major: Human development

What influenced you to choose your major?

I was originally a genetics major, but I realized if I went on that path, I would probably end up going into research. I’m interested more in the human interaction aspects of genetics, and I want to go into genetic counseling, so I can do that with human development instead.

What interests you about human development as a major?

I’m definitely a people person, and that makes up a huge part of human development. I’m interested in the human lifespan, and as far as genetics go I’m interested in inherited traits. Like, with all the new research coming out they’re realizing that more and more stuff that we thought was just due to chance is actually due to your genes, which I think is really interesting.

What do you want to do with your major after you graduate from UC Davis?

I’ve applied to graduate schools in genetic counseling, and I’m waiting to hear back right now. Otherwise, I’ll probably go into teaching.

Are you involved in any other outside activities or internships?

I have an internship at the Discovery Preschool in Davis on F Street. I intern there six hours a week. I’m also the president of SASV, which is Students Against Sexual Violence. We have events going on all month for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, so be sure to check it out!

What do you like about it?

The kids are hilarious! They’re 3- and 4-year-olds, so they’re at a really excellent age. They’re not too little to not be able to do fun stuff with, but they’re not old enough to be sassy! Three and 4 is just a really excellent age as far as interacting goes.

How did you become involved in your internship?

I actually got hooked up through the internship coordinator in my major. We have a really excellent internship coordinator, Rita, and she helped me out with that.

What are some of your favorite classes?

Right now I’m taking Emotionally Disturbed Children, which is really interesting. I took a haunted house English class when I was a freshman, and that was kind of cool. I took a class on the contemporary American family last quarter, which was really awesome too.

Who are your favorite teachers?

Oh my god, Henry McHenry in the anthropology department! And Caroline Keane, in the biology department.

Any advice to current human development majors, or people considering becoming human development majors?

If you’re already in the major, just study hard! And if you’re thinking about human development as a major, change it sooner rather than later. The longer you wait, the longer you prolong your stay at Davis, not that that’s bad! But the longer you wait, the harder it is to get into the classes that you need. So change quickly, or take classes from human development before you actually change so you get a feel for it as opposed to just walking into it blindly.

What would be your top choice for graduate school?

There are only three graduate schools that are accredited that offer genetic counseling in California, and my top choice would have to be CSU Stanislaus, in Turlock.

Want to be interviewed for the Science and Technology Page? E-mail us at science@californiaaggie.com. XXX

Aerial spraying performed to eliminate light brown apple moth

Science & Technology

Science Editor

April 16, 2008

A small plane whizzes by, hovering low to the ground. One might think that the pilot is trying to have some fun, but in reality the airplane is ejecting certain chemicals to try to eliminate a pest.

This pest is the light brown apple moth, epiphyas postvittana, a non-native insect to North America. According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. It is an invasive pest of California’s environment, natural habitat and agriculture. Because the Department of Food and Agriculture is fearful that the moth is capable of devastating California’s agriculture, an aerial spraying program has been set up to eradicate the moth.

The moth is a leaf roller and as an adult is about half an inch long. It is called a leaf roller because it rolls on the leaf using its silken thread to create a sort of tent-like home for itself. True to its name, the light brown apple moth has a shiny light brown coating and is said to cause damage to citrus, grapes and apples.

Since the moth is an exotic pest, it is difficult to know exactly how they were spread to North America.

“They are native to Australia and have been introduced into New Zealand, New Caledonia, Hawaii and Great Britain,” said Frank Zalom, professor of entomology at UC Davis. “Monterey and the San Francisco Bay Area are where LBAM were first recorded in North America.”

While it is not known exactly how the moth was introduced, the state speculates that they have been spread around by materials from plant nurseries.

The moth was put on a list of invasive species. It is listed as a Class A invasive species, meaning it is a species that is especially unwanted. Any place where the species is found, mile-and-a-half area surrounding the moth’s location is quarantined.

“Some of the speculation is that the leaf roller was in the nurseries before there was a quarantine and the nurseries could have planted them in other parts of the bay area” said Zalom.

Since the pest is exotic, there is a huge fear that there are no predators to keep its growth in check and that the moth’s feeding habits threaten agricultural plant species in California.

“Here, the biggest concern in my mind is the concern with not being able to ship plant material outside of quarantined area to other countries or states,” said Zalom. “In terms of the direct damage to the plants we have other native leaf rollers that do similar sorts of damage and basically our growers know how to control them.”

According to a human rights report released by Tom Kerns, a representative from the Environment and Human Rights Advisory, the California Department of Food and Agriculture has stated that unchecked, the moth spread could have an estimated economic impact of $160 to 640 million.

The department plans to eliminate the moth through aerial spraying. The spray releases a moth pheromone called Checkmate LBAM-F. Pheromones are chemical substances that are released by an insect which cause other individuals of the same species to react. In the case of moths, the pheromone usually helps to attract mates.

When the spray is released into the air, the male apple moth is supposed to think that a female is near, but the male becomes confused when he cannot locate the female. This keeps the species from breeding and thriving. The program also incorporates moth traps and plant treatments in order to more efficiently eradicate the moth.

The spraying will take place along the central coast and San Francisco Bay Area.

According to Kerns’ report, the California Department of Food and Agriculture initiated aerial spraying in September 2007 with an application over Monterey County followed by a second aerial application in November 2007 over urban areas of Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.

The department also plans to spray over Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa and Marin counties. The aerial spraying is set to take place June 1, 2008 and is spaced 30 to 90 days apart.

Kerns’ report also lists the multiple human rights that the spraying violates such as the right to life, liberty and security of person and the right of the child to the highest standard of health.

Some people question the effectiveness of this eradication program.

“The invasion is so far advanced that it’s virtually impossible to eradicate,” said James Carey, an entomologist at UC Davis, during a KGO radio interview Apr. 1. “You need a tool that is effective in eradication, and this is not an effective tool.”

Many people in the communities that are being affected have become outraged with the sprayings. Several hundred people have reported adverse health effects from the first two sprays.

“The state says that it’s just a pheromone, but a pheromone is by definition made by an insect. This is a synthetic pheromone. The CDFA never released the concentrations of the pheromone in the spray. One can take the analogy where one aspirin can help take care of a headache, but 100 aspirins can kill you,” said Glen Chase, a resident of the central coast and supporter of the California Alliance to Stop the Spray.

In addition to the pheromone, the spray releases inert chemicals as well as a microcapsule. There has been concern that, within the microcapsules, there are carcinogens that could cause breast cancer in particular. The microcapsule is what keeps the pheromone suspended in the air, releasing it for a period of 30 to 90 days. The microcapsule, which ranges in size and may be as small as 10 microns, could potentially be inhaled and go directly into the lungs of residents in the spraying area.

“Four hundred fifty square miles will be sprayed, and there will be nowhere to hide. This is an experiment on humans. The only financial hardships come from the quarantines that the CDFA impose,” Chase said.

So far, no aerial spraying for the moth is set to take place in Davis.

“There has been no claim yet that the moth has been found in Davis or Sacramento,” said Chase.

For more information on the state’s plan to eradicate the light brown apple moth, visit cdfa.ca.gov. To access information on how to prevent the spraying, go to LBAMspray.com or cassonline.org.

YASSMIN ATEFI can be reached at science@californiaaggie.com. XXX

Softball preview

Sports

Sports Editor

April 16, 2008

Teams: UC Davis vs. San Jose State

Records: Aggies 18-27; Spartans 21-25

Where: SJSU Field – San Jose, Calif.

When: Today at 2 and 4 p.m.

Who to watch: Head coach Karen Yoder was looking for a spark in her offense. She found freshman Bianca Castillo.

In the last four games, the North High School product is batting .363 with 2 HR and 4 RBI as the Aggies’ starting right fielder.

“Right now Bianca is just really stepping up and taking advantage of her opportunity,” Yoder said.

Did you know? San Jose State just returned from overseas, where they took the diamond in Western Athletic Conference play against No. 20 Hawai’i in Honolulu. The Spartans were edged in all three games, getting outscored by the Rainbow Wahine 13-7.

Preview: In a quick two-game stint at San Jose State, the UC Davis softball team will look to continue building its overall record back to .500.

If Jessica Hancock keeps pitching the way she has been, the Aggies have to like their chances.

The junior ace grabbed her 12th and 13th victory of the season last weekend at Cal State Fullerton. For the year, the communication major is 13-15 with a 2.45 ERA and 179 strikeouts in 180.1 innings pitched.

Opposing Hancock in the circle will most likely be Deanna Mauer (11-8) or Roxanne Bejarano (6-11). Both Spartan pitchers hold a similar ERA of 3.42 and 3.44, respectively. Mauer leads the duo, though, in punch outs with 139 in 130.1 innings.

The Spartans have lost six of their last seven games and are quickly dropping out of WAC contention as they sit in second-to-last place this year with a 3-6 conference record.

Offensively, the Spartans are paced by junior catcher/outfielder Brittney McConnell. The Red Bluff, Calif. native is batting .326 and leads the team 9 HRs and 31 RBIs.

Including McConnell, seven batters on the team are batting above .275 and four above .310 for the year.

After averaging 1.2 runs in its prior 13 games, UC Davis’ offense showed some life last weekend. The Aggies scored four or more runs in each contest against Cal State Fullerton, winning the series 2-1

I love Tamagotchi!

Opinion

Opinion

April 16, 2008

Sometimes, it’s helpful to go back to the things you once loved, just to see how they’re doing. A couple weeks ago, I found myself browsing the Internet in search of Tamagotchis, which I had been mildly obsessed with in the fourth grade.

I found myself at this Tamagotchi fansite, which led to the discovery of a very odd Internet locale: the Tamagotchi Graveyard.

As the name suggests, this is a place for people to put their virtual pets to rest and mourn for them. Bizarrely enough, all these entries were recent (as in there were entries posted the very day I checked the website) and there were over 2,000 of them.

A typical entry reads something like this: “I forgot to put you on pause the whole evening and when I went to school. Then you weren’t there. You were a good Tamagotchi. You almost married Luke the Tamagotchi, your best friend. Now he is nine years old and misses you but now he has to marry a new Tama named Mya.”

What the hell? The last time I checked, I had no idea that Tamgotchis could a) get married, b) have offspring, or c) play such a big role in a person’s life. I thought they were just these little pixels that moved around and were really cool to sneak into class in the fourth grade.

Anyways, I started going through all the entries and reading them aloud as dramatic monologues for several hours. Though this may seem like the biggest waste of time ever (not to mention a terribly pathetic method of procrastination), I still maintain that this was vastly entertaining. Not only had people written epitaphs that were practically essays, there were also heartfelt poems written for their Tamagotchis.

One such poem started with the incredibly poignant line: “Lilies are yellow, roses are blue. They really aren’t, but I made them that way… for you.”

How could you not love this shit?

That’s the thing I love about the Internet – you never really have to leave anything behind. Wondering whatever happened to Furby? Just type it into Google. Those second cousins twice-removed that now live somewhere in a remote province of Canada? E-mail them through the family Listserv. That kid you were (maybe, just maybe) a tiny bit obsessed with in high school? Plug his name into Facebook. It’s almost too easy.

These days, I find myself wasting an absurd amount of the time on the Internet when I should be doing real work. There’s just something so tempting about being able to plug in anything from your past just to see what’s going on with it.

Another thing I like to look back on: old television shows. Does anyone else remember the glory that was Power Rangers? Over spring break, I rediscovered my collection of trading cards and was reminded by my mother that I once owned Power Ranger underpants and would run around pretending to be the Pink Ranger. Good times.

But when all is said and done, sometimes it’s not enough to just look back, smile nostalgically and leave things behind. This past weekend, I received a drunken phone call from someone who was a good friend in high school. I was surprised, mostly because a) we didn’t keep in contact as much as we should’ve, b) when I knew him, he was a former altar boy who at one point may have said that he wouldn’t drink until he was legal, and c) the first two things that he said were, “I tried to cook chicken last night” and “Teresa, you’re amazing” (in that very order).

And I realized as I paced around on the phone and laughed at his incoherent ramblings that occasionally, the things you once cared about do reappear in your life, and maybe you’re just supposed to step aside and clear out a little space them. Maybe you’re supposed to say, “Hey. Remember me? Let’s hang out again and forget the time I threw a screwdriver at your head.”

If I were to write a letter to my Tamagotchi right now, it would read something like this: Dear Unnamed Tamagotchi – I’m sorry I left you on so I could see how long it would take you to die in a pile of poop. Let’s start over again? With love, Teresa.

TERESA PHAM desperately wants a Tamagotchi to string around her neck and wear to class. If anyone has one, please e-mail her at terpham@ucdavis.edu. XXX

A call to question

Opinion

Opinion

April 16, 2008

Being in college, our metaphorical springboard into a vocational world with options, the following question is all too pertinent for each of us: What is my calling? “Vocation,” which comes from Latin vocare, meaning “to call,” is a word that we don’t hear too often nowadays. In American culture it has been deemed equivalent and synonymous with words and phrases such as “career” or “successful life.” Certainly Americans assume too much.

In a discussion about priesthood, a student of mine asked a series of questions like, “Do priests get paid? How much? Where do they live? Do they have houses?” All of them were questions a person might ask about a doctor, an offshore fisherman or a firefighter. The questions went on like this until I had said, “Priesthood is not a career. It is a vocation. It is a lifelong commitment to service in a community that is not taken up for its pay but for the job itself.”

For a while the students were stunned. They had never heard of such a notion. I could almost hear their thoughts. “What the fudgeling?! You mean there’s some other reason for doing things than to earn a paycheck?!” I don’t think I’ve ever felt so ashamed to be an American. However, at the same time, I can’t say I’m surprised.

A former priest of our parish, an American priest, had a notion similar to that of my student but with much more destructive consequences. He’d complain that he had so many more hours than the typical nine-to-five, that he didn’t get holidays off and that the pay was too little. This so troubled him that he tried to set up those kinds of hours for himself. When he realized that such a thing could not be done in this line of “work,” I’d venture to say, he became depressed. He was a priest that was happy to retire. With much ambivalence, I was happy he retired as well. If a priest would make such a mistake, how much more erring was the rest of America?

However, take an employee of a “drive-thru” establishment. I once walked right up to the register, and this lady was all smiles. She would use all kinds of terms of endearment like, “darling,” “baby” or “honey” as she took my order, and while I waited for the food, she’d give a brief explanation about how her day was going. I wondered how she could be so cheery and sincerely wish me a nice day after all the crap. But for whatever reason, she enjoyed her job. That is what I call making the world a better place.

What seems to be the problem is that America sees everything in life as a means to an end. In a sense, we are living not just for the future but in the future. The sentiment is, “I hate the job, but since it will eventually buy me my dream car and earn me a great retirement plan, I’ll do it.” It never occurs to anyone that at this point in time, this is what we are doing now. However, it’s not what we do, but how we do it that defines us.

These conclusions only seem to bring about more questions. Just for what end does America tend to devote all of its effort? Is it wealth, liberty and freedom, justice, some combination of these or none of these at all? If it is any of these, what kind of wealth, or what kind of freedom? Do Americans seek so much wealth that they never have to work again? Is that the American dream and American freedom we so desperately pursue?

If so, then it seems that we place ourselves in bondage to earn the freedom found in retirement. What kind of freedom is that? However, if we listen and discover our calling, there is a lifetime of freedom available to us. The paycheck won’t have power over us anymore. Why become a teacher? Why a nurse? Why an investment banker? If your answer is anything other than to teach, heal or bank (hey, whatever floats the boat) then maybe there is some other direction you need to take.

Listen to whom or to what? That is your prerogative. If you want to listen to your paycheck, then you can pretty much disregard everything I have just said. But if you seek true freedom and liberty, find out for yourself who or what you are going to listen to, why listen to that and what is being said.

JEREMY MALLETT is a question-talker. Does he want you to send him an e-mail? Yes he does. Send them to jjmallett@ucdavis.edu.XXX

The process behind female egg donation: part two

Features

Features Editor

April 16, 2008

Lisa Peters watches as her son, David, excitedly points out the different plastic characters stationed on a perfect two-foot replica of the Black Pearl, which sits on the living room table. Another wooden ship of the build-it-yourself variety sits next to it. David ignores the “doll ship” and continues to show off the Davey Jones miniature and the Black Pearl’s launchable rockets.

David is just a normal two-year-old boy with a fascination for pirates. No one would have guessed that this skinny, blond, grinning child began life in a medical lab’s petri dish.

Peters, 44, understands what it’s like to want children but not be able to conceive one. After many failed attempts, a medical screening confirmed that she and her husband could not have children.

“My husband and I were trying to have children, and it wasn’t working,” Peters said. “I think I was 39 and the doctor said ‘at this point, you need to try something else.'”

Peters and her husband were referred to the Northern California Fertility Medical Center, where they tried to do artificial insemination. They tried twice – $500 each time – and got no results.

In vitro fertilization was the next clear step, but Peters was warned by her doctor that the process may not be worthwhile.

“My doctor wasn’t in big support of it because of how expensive it is, and the odds are really not in your favor to work,” she said.

The 2007 in vitro success rate for the Northern California Medical Center, as indicated on their website, is 46 percent for women between the ages of 38 and 40. For women ages 41 to 42, the success rate goes down to only 5 percent. This percentage represents the number of females who became pregnant, which differs from live birth rates because some patients may miscarry.

Yet, for Peters, this was the only option. Her husband had vetoed the idea of adopting a child due to a bad experience he had with family members who were adopted.

“It just wasn’t an option,” Peters said. “It was more ‘if we can’t have our own children, we won’t have children.'”

For in vitro fertilization, egg donors are used for their healthy eggs.

“A recipient/donor cycle is actually in vitro fertilization,” said Angeta Van Niekerk, in vitro and donor coordinator for California IVF, in an e-mail interview. “The donor does the first part of the in vitro till egg retrieval, and then the recipient does the second part of in vitro [embryo transfer].”

Peters’ situation was different; she didn’t have to go through the trouble of finding a donor. Since her eggs were normal, she could harvest her own eggs and pair them with her husband’s sperm. This meant that Peters had to go through the entire egg donation procedure, as well as the process for embryo placement.

“Once they do the actual transfer of the embryos, then you switch to different shots that are once a day, and those have to go in your behind,” she said. “Fortunately, I have a friend who lives around the corner who’s a nurse, so every day she came over to give me the shot.”

These injections were to help keep her body from rejecting the embryosand having a miscarriage.

“And unfortunately, nobody paid me to do this process,” joked Peters.

The entire process cost her $18,970, including the $4,500 for drugs. Her insurance didn’t cover any of the expenses.

Her first son, David, was born in March 2004, more than a year since Peters and her husband first started the process of testing. After David, they froze the four extra zygotes, which they decided to use two years later. The second time, it only cost her $2,265 and she gave birth to twins – Douglas and Conor.

“We would have been greatly satisfied with one, and the fact that we got two the second time around – that’s great,” Peters said. “And we’re done.”

Her last foray into in vitro fertilization used up all the eggs she had donated in 2003, which left her feeling relieved.

“When you have the leftover embryos, you can have them destroyed, you can donate them to science or you can donate them to other couples,” she said. “We used all of ours so we didn’t have to make a decision…. I didn’t want to destroy them, but at the same time, I didn’t feel that I could donate them to someone else because I really feel it’s my child.”

Peters was also lucky enough to experience no serious side effects or complications from harvesting her eggs or from her two embryo transfers.

“The process for me was very positive, but that’s not normal,” she said. “You see it in the clinic and you hear everyone else’s stories, [and] it’s hard.

Denise M. Koenes, clinic administrator for Northern California Fertility Medical center, mentions that a potential complication is Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. The ovaries begin to weep, which means they start swelling and slop off a water-like substance that causes fluid to accumulate in the abdomen.

However, she adds that this complication is not frequent and that donors are monitored carefully to ward off this swelling. In her experience, about one in 100 females experience the syndrome.

Peters watches as David spills his characters onto the floor of her meticulously adorned, rich brown and earthy living room. There are dog hairs all over the couch, she has an appointment to get to and she’s not yet finished planting some flowers in her backyard. Yet she smiles at her son and eggs him on.

“You only realize how complicated [egg donation and in vitro] really is and how important timing is later,” Peters said. “It makes you realize how children really are miracles.”

APPLE LOVELESS can be reached at features@californiaaggie.com. XXX

Daily Calendar

Features

Features Editor

April 16, 2008

TODAY

East Quad Farmers Market

11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

East Quad

Support local farmers and get fresh produce, nuts, flowers and more!

Annual cow milking contest

Noon to 1 p.m.

West Quad

Join in cheering for our contestants in this fun-filled event celebrating the anticipation of even more events to come on Picnic Day!

Student leadership seminar

2 to 3 p.m.

TBA

This class, called Passing the Torch: Officer Transition, will help club leaders ensure a smooth transition. Enroll for workshops at

spac.ucdavis.edu.

Chevron climate change talk

4 to 5:30 p.m.

3001 Plant and Environmental Sciences

Speaker Gemma Heddle, carbon management advisor for Chevron Corporation, will talk about climate change.

Community without Borders event

6 to 7 p.m.

MU II

Learn how studying abroad can improve the global community at this Education Abroad Center and La Raza Cultural Days event.

Texas Hold’em Tournament

6 to 8 p.m.

Silo Café & Pub

Tournament starts at 6 p.m. Seats fill up quickly, so come early! Be one of the top 30 players and be invited to play in the Tournament of Champions!

Karma Patrol meeting

7 p.m.

King Lounge

Get involved with Whole Earth Festival by joining the Karma Patrol!

International human rights talk

7 p.m.

2 Wellman

Reverend A. Tarimo, S.J. will address the international debate on human rights and talk about why it must be based on the needs and rights of the poor. Tarimo is an adjunct associate professor at Santa Clara University.

Last Lecture Series: Professor Wendy Ho

7 to 8 p.m.

Griffin Lounge

At this event, director of the Asian American Studies department Wendy Ho will give the talk she would give as if it were the last lecture of her career.

Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous Meeting

7 to 8:30 p.m.

United Methodist Church, 1620 Anderson Road

Program for individuals recovering from addictive eating, bulimia and under-eating based on the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. There are no dues, fees or weigh-ins. For more information, go to foodaddicts.org.

Roosevelt Institution meeting

7 to 9 p.m.

26 Wellman

Watch Thirteen Days, a movie about the Cuban missile crisis. Before the movie, you can join or create a policy center to learn how to write policy! Snacks provided!

The Community Outreach Club meeting

7:15 to 8 p.m.

1130 Hart

Learn how you can volunteer in the community and help out with the SELF campaign!

Autism Awareness Association meeting

8 p.m.

107 Wellman

Learn about spring quarter events and listen to guest speaker Andrea Schneider, who works at the MIND Institute. She has researched ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Davis College Democrats meeting

8 p.m.

234 Wellman

Learn about DCD’s upcoming debate, the Dream Act and the local assembly race.

Poetry and fiction readings

8 p.m.

126 Voorhies

See what your fellow bibliophiles are working on! Graduate students Ally Hack and Sadie Hoagland will read their fiction works, and Gabrielle Myers will read poetry.

THURSDAY

Gear swap

11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Outdoor Adventures

Does the spring weather have you itching for adventure? Buy or sell outdoor equipment cheap!

Picnic Day Entertainment Showcase

Noon to 1 p.m.

West Quad

Experience a taste of some of the entertainment that will be performing at Picnic Day featuring dance group Danzantes del Alma and band AfterShocker.

Physical Therapy info night

5:10 to 6 p.m.

1204 Harring

Want to move to the city by the bay? Hear about UCSF and San Francisco State University programs for becoming a doctor of physical therapy.

Trivia night

5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Silo Café & Pub

Show off your knowledge of random factoids!

Project HEAL

6 p.m.

2 Wellman

Come to the first Project HEAL Meeting of the quarter. Project HEAL is a UC Davis club that works with the Yolo County SPCA and Animal Shelter. Project HEAL helps students to get involved with SPCA and Animal Shelter through volunteer opportunities and animal-related events.

Math Café

6 to 8 p.m.

Scholar’s Center Study Room, Surge IV

Get a good serving of mathematics at this weekly tutoring session with the Women’s Resources and Research Center. Women and men are both welcome.

Red Cross Club meeting

6:10 to 7 p.m.

226 Wellman

Learn how to save a life or about volunteering after a disaster at this general meeting!

Students Teaching AIDS to Students training

7 p.m.

103 Wellman

Are you interested in preventive medicine? Make a positive impact on someone’s life by teaching high school students about HIV/AIDS.

Engineers without Borders gala

7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center

This will be an evening filled with food, drink and entertainment.

Hermanos Macehual meeting

8 p.m.

1 Wellman

This club is a community service organization that offers academic and social support to students at UC Davis. For more info visit macehual.com or e-mail the club at hermanos@ucdavis.edu. New members welcome!

FRIDAY

Roaming Picnic Day Cow

All day

UC Davis Campus

Are you ready for Picnic Day? Keep an eye out for the Picnic Day mascot cow, who will be giving out free prizes on campus!

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. XXX

Wolk education bill dies in committee

City News

City Editor

April 16, 2008

The State Assembly Education Committee voted earlier this month to hold a bill sponsored by California State Representative Lois Wolk (D-Davis), which aimed to give school districts more flexibility in balancing their budgets during difficult years.

As California’s $16 billion budget deficit trickles down into schools, most districts are scrambling to find ways to balance their budgets. Assembly Bill 1908 would allow school districts to transfer unspent funds reserved for specific programs – categorical funds – into the unrestricted general fund for use in balancing the budget during difficult budget years.

“While the bill would not provide districts with a complete solution to the huge budget cuts proposed by the governor, it would provide districts with immediate, modest budget flexibility to assist them in difficult budget times such as California is experiencing now,” said Wolk in a press release.

The bill allows for the transfer of categorical funds only during years in which Proposition 98 is suspended. Proposition 98 created a formula for determining how much money the state gives school districts and set the minimum amount at 40 percent of the state budget.

The proposition, passed by California voters in 1988, can be suspended during difficult fiscal years to lower education funding below the 40 percent guarantee – an action Governor Schwarzenegger has suggested the legislature take in the 2008 to 2009 fiscal year.

After the bill was held in committee – effectively killing it – Wolk amended it to allow Dixon Unified School District to sell surplus farmland property to generate revenue and help resolve the district’s current financial crisis.

“After the bill died in [the] Assembly Education [Committee], it was amended to address an urgent need in the district,” said Melissa Jones, press secretary for Wolk.

The original bill was supported by both the Davis and Dixon school districts as well as the California School Boards Association.

“It would be helpful to have flexibility rather than having the money sit in the bank,” said Sheila Allen, president of the Davis Joint Unified School District school board. “There is money there that [this bill] would have made available to us.”

Opponents to the bill were concerned about allowing districts to take from important categorical funds that include special English learning programs, class size reduction, the Gifted and Talented Education program, the Advanced Placement program and various arts and music programs.

“[The bill] allowed for the use of funding for programs that are instructional in nature for non-instructional purposes,” said Martha Zaragoza-Diaz, legislative advocate for the Californians Together Coalition. “We believe those funds should stay with the student.”

The Californians Together Coalition, an organization representing language minority students and their immigrant parents, is among the registered opposition to the bill and spoke against it at a previous committee hearing.

“Any categorical reform proposal should be discussed in the context of broader school finance,” Zaragoza-Diaz said. “Categorical reform is just one component of school finance.”

In giving greater flexibility to the districts, the bill assumes the school board is very well-informed, Zaragoza-Diaz said. While this is true in Davis, other districts might not use these reserved funds wisely, she said.

The Education Committee is scheduled to discuss the amended version of AB 1908 regarding only the Dixon school district today.

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

City plans to increase utility rates

City News

City Editor

April 16, 2008

A public hearing will take place May 6 regarding Davis Proposition 218, a proposed utility rate change that would take effect Aug. 1.

“The staff will present why the increase in utility rates is necessary,” said Davis city clerk Margaret Roberts. “They will open a public hearing, and they can speak for or against the hearing. They make their decisions based on the information.”

Whenever there is a rate increase, a public hearing is one of the specific steps required by state law, said operations administrator Sue Gedestad.

In the past, residential sewer was charged as a flat rate, regardless of the household’s water usage.

“The purpose of changing the methodology is an effort to get rid of the inequity of the flat rate,” Gedestad said. “The household of four people is paying the same amount as one person.”

Sanitary sewer rates will increase by approximately $1.62 per month, sanitation rates will increase $0.83 per month and water rates will increase by about $3.00 per month. The Davis City Council approved a new sewer rate methodology Jan. 22.

“It’s an increase in the residents’ monthly bills and people will have to adjust accordingly,” Roberts said. “The city isn’t here to make money but it’s trying to provide services.”

This proposed rate change will generate over $500,000 for operational costs and wastewater plant upgrades.

“[The revenue] will be used to cover operation of maintenance as well continued support for the waste water treatment upgrade,” Gedestad said.

“Typically the [prices of utility rate] increases are to meet the actual costs to provide the service,” Roberts said.

The monthly rate increases were implemented because of the wastewater treatment the state is requires, she added.

“We will be complying with the state guidelines,” Gedestad said. “It is necessary to ensure water supply that we can cover for the needs of the Davis residents.”

The increase in utility rates may affect students and businesses, said the Davis Chamber of Commerce chair Steve Greenfield.

“These costs will most likely pass on to businesses and tenants in terms of hiring leases,” he said. “As for the businesses, they are going to have a higher operating cost without any direct benefit, so that will ultimately pass on less ability to make a profit or pass on goods and services they are providing.”

Though there is an increase in the water utility rates, students don’t think it will affect them very much next year.

“It’s not really much of an increase,” said UC Davis international relations major senior Scott Inouye. “College students already go through high rates of utility use. I already pay $40 to $50 a month for utilities split among five housemates.”

JANET HUNG can be reached at city@californiaaggie.com XXX.

Correction

City News

City Editor

April 16, 2008

In the Monday Apr. 14 article “California bill may ban helium-filled metallic balloons,” the first sentence was misleading. Although the bill was passed in committee, the ban will not come into effect unless it is passed by the legislature and signed into law. The Aggie regrets the error.

UCD student offered scholarship to unique program

Campus News

Campus Editor

April 16, 2008

UC Davis graduate student Benjamin Hanken was one of the 25 students chosen from across the nation to participate in the first annual student program at the Idaho National Laboratory this summer. Hanken, an alumni of Oregon State University, started his graduate studies in chemical engineering and materials science at UCD this year. Hanken was offered a scholarship from the Idaho National Laboratory to attend Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User facility summer session from July 16 to 20.

“I first heard about the summer session through Professor Niels Jensen, one of the principal investigators for the project I’ll be working on for my thesis,” Hanken said in an e-mail interview.

Hanken said Jensen encouraged everyone in the department to apply for the ATR summer session.

Twenty-five applicants were accepted out of approximately 70 applications. The applicants from across the country were judged competitively based on their interests, references and background in the field.

The Advanced Test Reactor is a nuclear reactor where researchers can place different materials or fuels to see how they behave in an irradiated environment, where materials are exposed to radiation.

Jeff Benson, who works for educational programs with Idaho National Laboratory, said that when a material such as steel is placed in the test reactor for a period of three years, it will behave as if it has been in an irradiated environment for several decades. This kind of research helps find the best materials and fuels for building new nuclear reactors.

“The ATR is one of the foremost research material testing research reactors in the world,” Benson said.

In the past, the reactor was used by contractors or government research. This summer will be the first time students and academics will be able to tour the facility and participate in discussions about the ATR program.

According to the Idaho National Laboratory website, “Within 10 years, INL will be the preeminent nuclear energy laboratory with synergistic, world-class, multi-program capabilities and partnerships.”

Benson said students attending the summer session will learn about and discuss topics like irradiation damage, reactor fuels and post-irradiation examination.

Hanken visited several schools last year when deciding where to do his graduate studies. Hanken said he got involved with materials science by accident when he chose UCD.

“I did my undergrad in [chemical engineering] at Oregon State, and fully intended to continue that for my graduate work. However, it happened that UC Davis won my interest – and here at Davis, the [chemical engineering and materials science] departments are merged,” Hanken said.

Hanken said he did not know much about Idaho National Laboratory when he applied. He said he doesn’t think the Idaho National Laboratory is where he’d like to work in the future, but he hopes the visit will help him make that decision.

“I’m from Oregon, and know that I’d prefer to end up back around the Northwest, but that’s about the most I can say,” Hanken said.

MADELINE McCURRY SCHMIDT can be reached at campus@californiaaggie.comXXX

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