Six ways to clean out dorm rooms

Does your bed look like your closet threw up all over it? Did you throw up all over it? Either way, it’s about time to clear the bed and wash those sheets — it’s time for some spring cleaning. Here are six methods that any resident can adopt in order to start Spring Quarter neat and tidy.

1. Maintain your personal hygiene

The first thing students should do for spring cleaning is to keep themselves clean. Springtime can get real hot, real fast in the Sacramento Valley, which means our bodies are working extra hard to maintain their internal temperatures, often by excreting sweat and body odor. Out of respect for yourself and your roommates’ olfactory senses, you may want to start taking showers more frequently than you did in Winter Quarter.

2. Take out the trash

Old papers and miscellaneous pieces of trash pile up quickly in a space as small as a dorm room, especially when it’s shared by two or three people. The worst sort of garbage, however, is food waste. With the heat of the spring, your previously inanimate food can become a breeding ground that comes alive with mold and fungi. To avoid this unwanted company, work out a schedule with your roommates to throw out the trash every week — and toss out your food waste immediately.

3. Dust

Do you wake yourself up in the middle of the night coughing, even when it isn’t cold and flu season? For the many people who struggle with spring allergies, dusting furniture can help keep a room clean and avoid irritating your already enraged nostrils. You can either purchase a duster or borrow one from your RA. This way you can avoid, or at least somewhat remediate, the sneezing fit that greets you every morning.

4. Vacuum

Remember to take a look at the floor of your dorm room every now and then. Past the sticky notes, dry pens and forgotten Grab-n-Go salad containers, if you dig deep enough, you can find carpeting which, especially for long-haired girls, will be covered with hair. Before you have a carpet of hairballs, plan out a cleaning schedule with your roomies to take turns using the floor’s vacuum — it’s a necessity.

5. Turn off the lights and open those windows

As hot as it gets here in Davis, the season’s bright sun rays do provide us with free light and can power us through the week. It is so much easier to wake up when you are tickled by the sun’s rays gushing through your window. Try to switch off the fluorescents and enjoy the natural light when you can — it saves energy and can literally brighten your day.

6. Upgrade your wardrobe

Last quarter we had to stock up on North Face jackets, beanies and fleece sweaters. These hefty items can take up a lot of space in our already cramped dorm closets. Consider replacing them with your spring attire. Bring in the shorts, dresses, T-shirts, crop tops and whatever else would work well for the inevitably hot Picnic Day!
After a quarter of wind and rain, waking up to the sunshine and walking through our rejuvenated green campus is something we should all cherish. With these suggestions for tidiness, hopefully you will be ready to welcome the new quarter.

Written by: Sahiti Vemula — features@theaggie.org

Finding ways to get outside, pass time without commute

White snow carpeted the ground and trees, sparkling in the sun like diamonds. UC Davis students Cielle Watjen Brown and Ruby Baruth sat in their hammocks, accompanied by friends and enjoying the oddly warm day after a hike in the El Dorado Hills. It was in this moment when they realized that what they were doing was not only beautiful and peaceful, but it was also fun — the kind of thing they believed everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy. They figured there had to be others at UC Davis who held shared similar interests.

“I feel like a lot of it people are intimidated to join big outdoor clubs because they’re not really good at skiing or water skiing or whatever […] so we wanted to make a very inclusive club that anyone could join,” said Watjen Brown, a second-year human development major.

And so came the creation of the Hammock Club at UC Davis, through which people could come together in different places around Davis and relax in their hammocks. In addition to  leisure opportunities, the club also facilitates activities and games to spark an interest in hammocking itself as well as a sense of community. Earlier this year, Watjen Brown and co-president Baruth put on a scavenger hunt for their members.

“[It] was really, really fun,” Watjen Brown said. “We’re planning on having a lot more events this Spring Quarter because this is more like the season for hammocking and going outside.”

For members of the Hammock Club, UC Davis is great because of the prime location: not too far from the city, the beach or the mountains. But people who live in nearby don’t have to venture all the way to El Dorado Hills to fit in a good hammock session for a fun outdoor activity. Watjen Brown points out there are a number of places to hammock or get outside in town and even on campus.

“I definitely feel like the most popular place [to hammock] is the Arboretum in the redwood forest, [which is] beautiful and you can stack your hammocks,” Watjen Brown said. “Rock climbing is really awesome here [too], […] and even just taking bike rides out towards Berryessa. Just spending time outside here, there’s more than you would expect. We have Putah Creek, which is really cool, there’s a rope swing and you can go swimming. There’s so many fun things to do in Davis, I think you just have to […] find the groups that are on campus.”

One student who is no stranger to taking trips outside of Davis is Matt Finkle, a third-year environmental policy analysis and planning major. Finkle loves to go backpacking, camping, skiing, rafting and, like Watjen Brown, rock climbing.

But Finkle doesn’t spend all of his time in regions outside of the town of Davis. To rock climb, he will often grab a friend and show up at the local rock climbing gym, Rocknasium. But when the weather becomes pleasant he can sometimes be found outdoors, either on the Quad or other parts of campus walking across piece of flat webbing that resembles a tight-rope — something that’s actually called a slackline.

“There are different types of slacklining,” Finkle said. “There’s tricklining, which is kind of what I like doing, or there’s highlining, which is slacklining really, really high between trees. Even at Whole Earth [Festival], people come out with their one inch webbing and they string it really high between trees but it’s super loose, so it bends down in a giant ‘v.’”

Finkle believes slacklining is like riding a bike: Once your muscles learn how to do it, the memory never totally fades. He can get on a slackline after months of being away from one and still do tricks like butt bounces, flips and 360s.

Both hammocking and slacklining are great pastimes in a community like Davis, fashioned with it’s flat landscapes and an abundance of sturdy trees. Not only are these activities relaxing and fun, but they can be done in a group or independently. One that offers all these benefits but without the requirement of specific gear, though, is considered a little less leisure and a little more active: parkour.  

“For me, I wasn’t really committed to doing parkour when I first started,” said David Cherney, a lecturer in the Mathematics Department. “For years I was training a lot. A couple of times a week I would go out and train, but I had no idea what any of the names or moves I was doing were or whether or not I was using ‘proper technique,’ but that doesn’t matter. [Parkour is] playtime, it’s fun, it’s loitering, it’s a combination of social time and treating the world as if it’s your playground.”

Parkour is a nebulous discipline that doesn’t lend itself well to competition. According to Cherney, “having the right technique” isn’t the point. Cherney said that having to explain why he likes parkour is like having to explain why he likes to have fun.

“We go to public spaces, parks, campus, just some places with cool hand railings […] and just goof around there,” Cherney said. “A lot of it is social, just being silly and joking around with each other like kids would, and part of it is very physical when we go out into a public place and we’re jumping around. [When] other people see us, a lot of people stop and give indicators that they wish they were doing it too. It seems like everybody wants to play and have fun.”

Cherney often trains for parkour with others, regardless of whether they are students, locals from the community, people from out of town or even kids — whoever wants to join is welcome to participate. Occasionally he can be found around campus or town with a scaffolding set-up for himself and others to train on. He also uses it to set an example for passersby that parkour is not just doing backflips off of two-storied buildings like it’s often depicted on YouTube.

“[Parkour is] all sorts of tiny fun movements,” Cherney said. “I like to be in public for part of my training to help normalize it and generally give people the impression that they can do whatever they want, they can expand their horizons of all the stuff around them. Hand railings don’t have to be just to help you get down the stairs, they can also be a playground.”

UC Davis is conveniently close to places like Point Reyes and Tahoe, but there is a plethora of fun activities in which students have the opportunity to engage every day right here at school. People often find unconventional ways to spend their time outside and make friends while they’re at it.

“Of course there’s the mountains and the ocean really close by, but it’s awesome that you can do things in Davis,” Watjen Brown said. “There’s a lot to do here as well, which has been really fun to discover.”
Written by Marlys Jeane — features@theaggie.org

Picnic Day to be paired with first-ever UC Davis day of giving

As students hurry about their days debating whether or not to forgo another dinner and instead spend money going out with friends, it can be hard to think about donating cash to charity efforts around campus. However, organizations such as We Are Aggie Pride and the Telephone Outreach Program (TOP) allow students to donate their time and unique talents to various philanthropic efforts benefitting fellow Aggies in lieu of money.

While some students may not have time throughout the year to dedicate to these operations, all students are invited to volunteer at UC Davis’ first-ever Give Day and gather support from donors and alumni for their favorite areas on campus that might not have enough funding. Give Day begins at noon on Friday, April 21 and will run overnight until 5 p.m. on Picnic Day, allowing 29 hours to showcase the positive impact philanthropy has on UC Davis.

“Hosting Give Day in conjunction with Picnic Day is a wonderful opportunity for UC Davis to bring our campus community, friends and alumni [in] from all over the world who know and love Davis while increasing awareness for our university,” said Michelle Poesy, the senior director of annual and special gifts for the Office of University Development.

UC Davis has a long tradition of receiving donations and support from alumni and friends of the university, but Give Day is an effort to recruit donors’ support for every aspect of the university in a widely publicized and organized manner. By hosting the event in conjunction with Picnic Day, Poesy hopes this will rally enthusiasm and raise awareness about everything from athletics to undergraduate research on campus.

“Donors are going to be able to give to any of the 30 participating groups of their choice,” Poesy said. “We want people to learn more about UC Davis and support the areas they’re most passionate about. Not everybody’s going to be passionate about the same thing, so we are encouraging donors to support whatever it is they find the most special about UC Davis.”

Give Day is not only for the benefit of UC Davis students — it is also made possible by students. Student callers for the Telephone Outreach Program (TOP) raise awareness for the event by calling donors and alumni to keep them updated leading up to the event. Students can also get involved with facilitating Give Day by running information booths, handing out free Aggie gear and participating in the Picnic Day Parade.

“Perhaps the most important way students can get involved is by becoming social ambassadors for Give Day and sharing the word about UC Davis through their social networks,” Poesy said. “This is a great way for students to use their social media skills to volunteer for the event because by sharing photos and Tweeting, we can grow and increase the awareness around the world.”

According to Jason Wohlman, the associate vice chancellor for University Development, Give Day will engage and energize the campus and make it known how important philanthropic support is to running UC Davis. Most importantly, he hopes it will create a culture of philanthropy so when students become alumni, they are more likely to give back to UC Davis, having seen and experienced that culture.

“The physical resources are helpful, but philanthropic support is important for a sense of cohesiveness, pride and connectivity to the institution that comes along with giving,” Wohlman said. “Aggie Pride is real beyond just the football field and the basketball court. It can be found in all of our classrooms and library, and it very much resonates with our alumni as well.”

Footprints of philanthropy are found all over campus, from Maurice Gallagher’s $10 million gift that is now the Graduate School of Management to the Mondavi family’s unwavering support for wine and food studies. Beyond these, thousands of students receive scholarships and it is important to understand that this financial support is backed by individual donors who believe in the educational mission of UC Davis.  

“People aren’t giving because there’s a need,” Wohlman said. “People are giving because they have a passion for what’s being done here and they believe in the work of our campus and the future of our student body. Some might be giving because of the quality of research that’s being done here, while others are grateful clients or patients.”

While it might not be financially feasible to donate monetarily as a college student, Wohlman and Poesy encourage students to donate their time and talents to the parts of campus they feel most passionate about on Give Day and throughout their time at UC Davis.  

Odisea Macias, a fourth-year communication major and managerial economics minor is using her marketing and sales talents to give back and thank UC Davis for all of its support throughout her undergraduate career. Starting out as a student caller for TOP, Macias gained experience building relationships with donors and alumni and now has a marketing internship with the Office of University Development.

“I’ve been really blessed by coming to UC Davis, and the university has been very generous to me and my family,” Macias said. “Right now I can’t financially help support another person or help students with their tuition, but if I can find ways to get a donor to contribute and see the amazing things that are happening here, then the possibilities for other students to get support will increase too.”

In addition to reaching out to prospective donors in order to give back to future Aggies who may need financial support, Macias has been planning and working out the details of Give Day since early February.

“On Give Day itself, we will start to see the actual impact of these contributions, but many effects may not take place until way down the road when current students have graduated,” Macias said. “Future Aggies will be able to see the effects of each Give Day and will experience even better results. Getting more students involved in enhancing our campus and making a difference would benefit everybody who comes to UC Davis.”

Macias is creating the precise culture and community of philanthropy that Wohlman argued is so important.

“If I can help people be informed and become passionate about the things we have here at UC Davis, then I’m creating a big networking game of giving back,” Macias said. “Donors to UC Davis were able to help me through financial means and I’m not able to do that right now, but if we can find creative solutions to that same problem then this will benefit everybody down the line.”

Written by: Gillian Allen — features@theaggie.org

Creating a comfortable environment for all

While waiting outside of an occupied gender-neutral restroom, Iris Bloomfield, a fourth-year English major and transgender woman, was accompanied by another transgender student who looked at her and said, “You too, huh?”

“Sometimes I use the gender-neutral bathroom when I am feeling particularly anxious or self-conscious about my appearance, or if there’s really not any other choice,” Bloomfield said. “Particularly earlier on in my transition, gender-neutral bathrooms were fantastic because […] it affords one a relative amount of safety and less scrutiny in the bathroom. Or we could sidestep the issue all together, at least for me, [with] people not freaking out at my presence in the women’s room.”

Currently, UC Davis appears to have about 160 gender-neutral restrooms located across campus. Bloomfield and Naveen Bhat, a third-year cinema and digital media and theatre and dance double major who identifies as a “queer, brown, non-binary trans person,” both said there are not enough gender-neutral restrooms on campus.

“As someone who doesn’t feel comfortable in gendered bathrooms, [gender-neutral restrooms have] definitely helped me, as well as a lot of other folks I know,” Bhat said. “There are many areas on campus that are nowhere near the vicinity of a gender-neutral bathroom. A lot of these bathrooms are inaccessible, hard to find, out of order and are in remote locations. Ideally, I think that all buildings should have gender neutral bathrooms, whether that means converting gendered restrooms into non-gendered restrooms or creating more restrooms.”

Older buildings, such as Wellman Hall and Olson Hall, hold many classes for all fields of study, yet they lack gender-neutral facilities. However, according to elizabeth coté, director of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Intersex Asexual (LGBTQIA) Resource Center, the center will continue to collaborate with campus departments and facilities staff to “continue the expansion of gender-inclusive restrooms” in areas that lack such facilities.

For Bloomfield, the inclusion of gender-neutral restrooms on campus is about “social inclusion” and “not feeling like a second-class citizen.” According to Alison Tam, a fourth-year English major and commissioner of the ASUCD Gender and Sexuality Commission (GASC), gender-neutral restrooms on campus are more than utilitarian.

“It’s not just about having bathrooms that people can get to,” Tam said. “It’s about whether or not students are safe on this campus.”

In addition to increasing the number of gender-neutral restrooms on campus, a recent GASC meeting brainstormed areas of improvement on the UC Davis campus to increase and ensure the safety and inclusion of transgender and non-binary individuals. Ideas included promoting consciousness of intersectionality on campus, publicizing Hate and Bias Reports and respecting and promoting the usage of preferred gender pronouns on forms and Canvas portals.

In 2016, Constance Fuller, a project manager in the Information & Education Technology Project Management Office, started a petition calling for the addition of gender pronouns in the profile pages of students on Canvas. Fuller, a parent in the Davis community, said that she and her child often ruminate on the UC Davis Principles of Community to address situations of discrimination or exclusion at the local schools.

“When I attended a student meeting to present information regarding UC Davis Canvas, […] I observed the student placards not only with their names and roles, but also with their pronouns hand-written,” Fuller said. “Feeling that need from both our current students and our future students, I saw an opportunity to request an update to the Canvas profile that would fill this void in the learning environment. The response from the community, both at UC Davis and amongst other major institutions, was predominantly positive.”

According to Fuller, although the petition received double the votes needed to pass, the request ultimately failed, likely due to “resource limitations.” However, coté said it is important that transgender and non-binary students, in particular, see their identities reflected in aspects of academic life such as Canvas.

In terms of mindfulness regarding the needs of transgender and non-binary individuals on campus, Bhat said administrators do not factor in such needs in the decision-making process.

“Whatever change is happening is the result of long periods of hard work and a lot of labor from student activists,” Bhat said. “It has taken a lot to get the administration to make the tiniest of changes, which says a lot about how much the administration really cares about us.”

Both Bloomfield and Becca Nelson, a third-year psychology and Spanish double major and commissioner in GASC, recounted a transphobic incident that occurred on campus during the Fire Katehi movement that they both felt was particularly telling. While occupying the fifth floor of Mrak Hall, student protesters converted the male and female restrooms into gender-neutral facilities with signs that were subsequently torn down by either administration or faculty members.

“[They tore] down the signs and explicitly [said], ‘I really don’t care about trans people,’” Bloomfield said. “[They] were so upset over the making of these bathrooms gender-neutral [and] completely ignorant of the broader, ideological push for firing Katehi, which included […] more trans-inclusivity and fair treatment on campus.”

For reporting complaints or concerns about faculty or staff members, Tam specifically recommends the Hate and Bias Report. Fortunately, Bloomfield said, she has never reached the point where she felt a Hate and Bias Report would be necessary. However, she also said she has experienced ignorance and feelings of discomfort and annoyance.

“Treat people like human beings, love your neighbor [and] acknowledge the irreconcilable otherness of your neighbor,” Bloomfield said. “I feel like it just comes down to relational ethics — […] respecting difference without erasing difference. Don’t stare at people. It’s really basic, standard ethics.”
Written by: Hannah Holzer – features@theaggie.org