May speaks about leadership in 2020 and the importance of diversity in higher education

As a year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and a historic election, 2020 has called for a greater recognition of leadership within the Black community, which has been disproportionately affected by these events.

Within our UC Davis community, Chancellor Gary May has been recognized as part of Cell Mentor’s “1,000 Inspiring Black Scientists in America.” When UC Davis decided to transition to remote instruction in March, he began his weekly “Checking in With Chancellor May” emails to the community, used his “Thursday Thoughts” Instagram stories to bring awareness to issues facing Davis students and made swift statements regarding the social justice movements taking place.

Tatiana Perkins, a fourth-year political science and African American and African studies double major, stated that May’s presence in the community made her and fellow Black students feel supported throughout the challenging year.

“I personally have never had a visible figure in a staff position in school, in K through 12 or at community college; I have never seen a Black person that high up,” Perkins said. “After the murder of Ahmaud Arbery last February, Chancellor May and his wife immediately made a statement […] and with the Black Lives Matter protests he was always saying something, so I felt that […] Black students felt represented and supported by them. It definitely made being at Davis feel more comfortable.”

Although he is now a prominent figure at UC Davis, May did not always intend to become a university chancellor. After graduating from Georgia Tech in 1985 with a B.E.E in engineering and earning an M.S. and PhD in electrical engineering and computer science from UC Berkeley, he returned to Georgia Tech as executive assistant to the then-Georgia Tech President Wayne Clough, where he built a strong foundation in leadership, inspired by his years at Berkeley.

“Those years were also a time when I got deeper into advocating for graduate students,” May said via email. “I helped form the Black Graduate Engineering and Science Students not long after I entered UC Berkeley. During that time, I also served as [the] national chairperson for the National Society of Black Engineers.”

Upon his return to Georgia Tech in 1991, where he would eventually become the Dean of the College of Engineering in 2011, May’s interest in advocating for graduate students and leadership was guided by one of his mentors, Wayne Clough.

“I started my career in administration as executive assistant to then Georgia Tech President Wayne Clough,” May said via email. “He was one of my mentors and encouraged me to learn about and pursue broader leadership opportunities. He taught me about statesmanship and effective leadership.”

During his time at Georgia Tech, May said that he focused his leadership on improving diversity and access to higher education by helping the university create two programs that aimed to increase the number of underrepresented students in their graduate school. He created the Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering/Science program (SURE), which allows minority students to conduct research at Georgia Tech during the summer. According to SURE’s website, 75% of students in the program choose to attend a graduate school after completion. May also helped create Facilitating Academic Careers in Engineering and Science (FACES), which allowed 433 minority students to get PhDs at Georgia Tech.

In 2017, May became the first African American chancellor of UC Davis and only the second ever at a UC school. May explained that being the first African American chancellor has been challenging, including the need to set boundaries with whom he represents and what he chooses to speak out about.

“I’ve had quite a few requests over the past year to speak about diversity and inclusion to campus groups, external partners and businesses,” May said via email. “People are seeking to understand the issues and find solutions. However, I often remind people that I am the chancellor of UC Davis, not the chancellor of “BIPOC” [Black, Indigenous and People of Color] UC Davis. It is a balancing act.”

In addition to these pre-existing challenges, 2020 has called on leaders at many levels to take stances on issues that were sometimes previously overlooked, such as politics. 

“In times of uncertainty, especially, people look to leadership,” May said via email. “The COVID-19 pandemic—and the civil unrest we’ve seen following the murder of George Floyd—impact our most vulnerable students. These events exacerbate the issues facing underrepresented students due to lack of resources, support and additional responsibilities placed on them in settings away from campus. I want them to know [that] their UC Davis community stands with them.”

  May said via email that he is flattered to be included in the list of inspiring Black scientists, especially among colleagues Renetta Garrison Tull, the vice chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Devin Horton, the graduate diversity officer for STEM disciplines and a number of faculty from the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences. 

“It’s an honor to receive recognition like this and to see so many of our UC Davis colleagues on the list as well,” May said via email. “A lack of diversity in STEM has been an intractable problem for many years. I’ve spent much of my career working to change that, because diversity helps drive innovation and technological advancement.”

He shared that in 2020, he’s learned that higher education can help be the solution for many problems we are facing today.

 “We’re preparing the next generation to tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges—whether that’s climate change, the next pandemic or social justice,” May said via email. “We need to help them understand these challenges and inequalities so they can become change makers.”

Written by: Katie DeBenedetti — features@theaggie.org

Students discuss the portrayal of people of color in Disney movies and the overall message that they took from the film

Near the end of last December, Disney Pixar released a new animated film, “Soul.” The film explores what it means to have a purpose in life. One of the main characters, a middle school band teacher Joe Gardener (voiced by Jamie Foxx), finally gets his big break as a Jazz musician, stumbles into a sewer hole on the streets of New York City and travels to the “Great Before.” It is here where Joe is tasked to help a stubborn soul, known as 22, find a way to gain interest in the human experience. Throughout the movie, the characters explore the idea of what it means to be alive. 

Fourth-year English and neurobiology, physiology and behaviour double major Taylor Silva discussed the most important takeaways for her from the Disney Pixar film. 

“I think the moral of the movie was to slow down and take a step back from your own life and analyze what you consider priorities,” Silva said. “We get wrapped up into things like our jobs or school and there’s this general feeling like we have to have some great purpose and that our life has value because of what we do or where we work.”

Silva further explained how “Soul” was a reminder of the simple pleasures in life. 

“The daily interactions that we usually disregard are important and beautiful in their own way and we don’t appreciate them enough,” Silva said. “Instead we get wrapped up in who we need to be or who we want to become.” 

As a pre-med student, Silva found the movie to be particularly reflective of her own struggles to complete the rigorous medical school requirements. 

“I feel like, as someone who hopes to enter the medical field, there is a lot of pressure to be someone who is super driven and outperforms others,” Silva said. “I think ‘Soul’ emphasized the idea that your purpose is not equivalent to your profession; there is no such thing as having a single purpose, and the purpose of life is just living itself.” 

Silva noted that the film had a profound message that could be applied to her life. 

“Don’t get caught up in the race of life,” Silva said. “It’s okay to not always be the best or be productive 24/7. The theme of the movie kind of reminded me of the quote ‘stop and smell the roses.’” 

When the film was released, Pixar faced some backlash because the main character, Joe Garderner, who is a person of color (POC), was transformed into a non-human form. This theme has been seen in other Disney movies, with main characters who are people of color, such as “The Princess and the Frog” and “Spies in Disguise.” UC Davis 2020 graduate, Tobi Ayo-Ajibola, discussed these concerns in greater detail. 

“My main gripe with the movie and with other Disney movies with a Black lead is that the main character is almost immediately transformed into a non-human lifeform,” Ayo-Ajibola said. “While this movie is spun to have the main Black lead as the center of the narrative, a character voiced by Tina Fey, a white identifying comic, quickly racks up screen time, and, in my opinion, steals a lot of the spotlight.” 

Ayo-Ajibola noted that although the film employed a message that spoke to the trying times everyone has been facing over the past year, the motif of transformation of POC characters was a bit disappointing. 

“They settled into this habit of setting up a story [of a POC], but then settling upon their continued success found with non-POC characters,” Ayo-Ajibola said. “Don’t get me wrong, I love waiting for how quickly Disney will introduce a character of color and then turn them into an inanimate object or a non-human life form, it’s actually comedy. But I’d venture to say that because of this trope, there have been very few true Disney stories centered around the narrative of a POC.”

Fourth-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major Alyssa Ghose noted how unlike “The Princess and the Frog” and “Spies in Disguise,” the use of non-human forms was necessary in the context of the movie plot.

“I read an article about the transformation of POC characters before I had seen the movie, so while I was watching ‘Soul,’ I had those comments in the back of my mind, but I thought this movie was a little different,” Ghose said. “I agree that transforming the characters into a frog in ‘The Princess and the Frog’ and a pigeon [in] ‘Spies in Disguise’ was unnecessary for the plot of those movies. But in ‘Soul,’ Joe changing into a blue soul creature did not feel like it was undermining his identity and who [he was] as a person, and I think it would have been difficult to have the concept executed if he stayed a human throughout the whole movie.” 

Disney Pixar movies are known for plot lines that have deeper thematic meanings regarding existential issues. In the movie “Soul,” the overarching motif was about understanding the purpose of life. Ghose detailed how the movie helped her reflect on her own life. 

“I kind of got the message that there is not one sole thing that gives you a purpose in life but rather a collection of your experiences, and the idea of actually making the most of your life gives it purpose,” Ghose said. “I do think there is such a thing as finding your purpose, but I think oftentimes people put a lot of pressure on themselves and think that their career is their purpose and I think that is the wrong way to go about it. I’m not sure if I can confidently say that I have found my purpose in life, but I am excited to keep living and having new memories and experiences to find out.”

COVID-19 has taken a toll on everyone, but according to Ghose the movie “Soul” delivered an important message for the audience to take away. 

“Life is about the little moments, especially during times like these,” Ghose said. “I want to make the most of this year and try to not to take those little moments for granted.”

Written by: Sneha Ramachandran — features@theaggie.org

With limited dining out and takeout options, students find new inspiration for cooking

While quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic limits many of life’s once-normal activities, it allows time to master skills that can be done from home. One such skill is cooking, providing students with the opportunity to explore new recipes and hone their techniques. From cheesecake to frozen foods, students shared how quarantine has impacted their cooking habits. 

Ananya Narasimhan—a fourth-year genetics and genomics major and a board member of UC Davis’ cooking club, Food for Thought—has developed a new approach to cooking due to the confines of quarantine. 

“Taking care of my health has been difficult with not being able to be outside and work out as much, so I try to stick with fresh ingredients and really keep an eye out for unhealthy ones,” Narasimhan said via email. “I put more time into my cooking than when I cooked before quarantine, and as a result, I enjoy the process and the meal much more.”

As Narasimhan continues to develop her cooking abilities, she said that flautas de pollo (chicken taquitos) was her favorite quarantine recipe. 

She also said that for college students, learning how to cook is essential as it is both necessary for self care and something that can improve everyday life. For students who are not passionate about cooking, Narasimhan shared the importance of starting with familiar recipes and gradually building skills to tackle more difficult dishes. 

“My advice to a student who isn’t too keen on cooking is—start with what you know,” Narasimhan said via email. “Just like any other hobby, skill or extracurricular, it will take time to explore your palate and cook recipes that you’ll like. Food can improve your relationship with your health and wellness, as well as provide a break from a hectic day. All you need to do is pick a starting point, and it’s all uphill from there.”

Devon Spina, a second-year civil engineering major, prefers her cooking to be as fast and easy as possible. While Spina stated that cooking is a refreshing break from school, her cooking habits in quarantine have mostly remained consistent with previous years.  

“It hasn’t changed too much since I was younger,” Spina said. “It’s been mostly just frozen meals: easy, quick, nothing too complicated.”

Spina’s favorite quarantine dish is pesto pasta. As her pesto recipe came from her grandmother, the meal is close to her heart. Despite her current familiar cooking patterns, Spina hopes to try out new recipes and expand on her meals in the future. 

One cooking tradition that she has developed over quarantine is baking with her roommates. Whether she’s baking cookies or muffins, Spina shared that it is always a fun and relaxing experience.

“It’s a de-stresser,” Spina said. “Because with cooking, it doesn’t require a whole lot of brain power, but it’s enjoyable. We tend to do it together, and then you get a nice treat afterwards.”

Dayton Harvey, a second-year computer engineering major, has broadened his cooking abilities this quarantine. Because restaurants have been subject to closing and ordering takeout is pricey, Harvey has realized the value in cooking at home and taken the time to learn more. 

He shared that his go-to quarantine cooking technique is creating recipes centered around a crock pot.  

“It’s a lot easier to throw chicken or pork or whatever you choose in the crock pot, let it cook for six hours, come back and saute some onions or throw potatoes on, and you have a meal,” Harvey said.

Another of his favorite techniques is using marination when cooking things like salmon or chicken, as it allows the food to fully absorb the flavor overnight. 

Beyond developing his cooking skills during quarantine, Harvey shared that it is generally important for him to cook for himself due to his many allergies and dietary restrictions. 

“A lot of meals my family would cook I wouldn’t be able to eat,” Harvey said. “So people with dietary restrictions: it’s very important to know how to cook on your own.”

He encouraged everyone to develop cooking skills, mentioning the potentially exploratory experience that awaits. 

“Cooking can be fun and enjoyable if you mess around with different recipes, different flavors, different spices and kind of tune it to what you like,” Harvey said.

Written by: Nora Farahdel — features@theaggie.org