In years past, when Hallmark holidays like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, (Cat Day, Siblings Day, National Pretzel Day) would roll around, I might think of my friends who had recently broken up with a significant other or who had lost a parent. I would imagine that the day must be hard for them. Now I’m not imagining it — I’m living it. And it is really, really hard.

My mom died this past summer after suffering from mental illnesses. Last year’s Mother’s Day was one of the first times she was able to come visit me in Davis. So it’ll be tough knowing that she won’t be around for any more Mother’s Days after that last one.

A lot of holidays have been hard: Thanksgiving, Christmas, her birthday, my birthday. But everytime I walk into a Target or a CVS, this specific Hallmark holiday rubs it in my face the most that I don’t have a mom anymore. Not to mention the Snapchat filters and the assortment of Facebook and Instagram reminders that will inevitably come. Plus, a very cheesy looking movie called Mother’s Day with Jennifer Aniston and Julia Roberts in a weird orange wig was just released.

My point here is not to rant excessively (although I could if you ask me to!). If you have a mom who ultimately supports and cares about you, who you maybe sometimes fight with, but love at the end of  the day, Mother’s Day is a great time to celebrate her and what she’s helped you accomplish. Calling your mom, making a Mother’s Day card or going out to breakfast is a way to show your love. But we shouldn’t really have to wait for a special day to appreciate our moms. Some say we should even disown the holiday. Appreciating someone who loves and cares for you should happen all the time.

If you’ve lost a parent, if you didn’t grow up in a nuclear American family, if you’re estranged from your children or if you don’t have parents that support you, days like these can be especially painful. There’s no one way to avoid the pain, but there might be a few things you can do to help yourself. You can still celebrate the person that you lost in your own way — a post on your choice of social media, planting a flower for them, writing a letter. You can acknowledge how another person in your life has helped fill the role of a mother or a father. That hole is still going to be in your heart no matter what, but acknowledging that fact can be helpful.

And if you just want to sit in your room alone and cry or watch Netflix all day, that’s okay too. Do what you need to do to get through this day that our culture is shoving down our throats despite the many complicated, sad feelings a lot of us get from them.

For those of you who know you have a friend that upcoming holidays will be hard for, it might be nice to let them know you care about them. Sometimes it’s difficult for people who are grieving to reach out to others. But just sending a text to someone you know that may be dreading an upcoming holiday or going through hard times can be a great way to send support. And if you’re grieving, know that your friends and lots of people around you will be there to listen.

If you’re dreading this Hallmark holiday and you’ve been avoiding all your favorite stores because you don’t want to be inundated with demands that you appreciate your mom, know that you’re not alone. Soon this day will pass like all others.

If you’re in need of help, you can also reach out to someone on campus. CAPS is a great resource, and there are counselors on call at the Student Health and Wellness Center Urgent Care.

Melissa Dittrich is the New Media Manager of The Aggie. Go ask her to see that Jennifer Aniston Mother’s Day movie with you over email at medittrich@ucdavis.edu or on Twitter @melissemily.

I have a problem every time I go to my local comic book store back at home. I feel overwhelmed by the amount of new issues and volumes that I missed while I was busy studying here at Davis. Just in 2011, Detective Comics (DC) began the publication of a comic book line titled The New 52 — a series of new storylines with old heroes. The New 52 is actually a pretty clever and overdue idea. It takes approximately 52 of DC’s comics and starts most of them fresh with the occasional outlier that is an entirely new series in the group. This means that a much younger generation now has access to the foundational stories of heroes and villains in the DC universe. But The New 52 asks the question: why do comic book creators insist on rehashing similar plots when they could create new characters?

To put it simply, it all boils down to money. Twilight, though not a comic, really did not need to have all four of its books made into movies. And it most certainly did not need to split the final book into two parts. And I even remember the commercial flop and critical failure that was City of Bones. Both these instances are examples of corporate Hollywood cashing in on a craze of young people’s popular culture, typically in printed works and film. The people behind these productions will always have to do their job, even if it means stretching out series. We cannot criticize them for this. We can only criticize their subpar results.

But what happens when the efforts of people doing their jobs results in a good product? The New 52 saw quite a bit of success, led to a new wave of consumers and reaped the benefits of die-hard fans who will devour anything they publish. However, this still does not answer my original question of why a comic book series seem so long.

The obvious answer results in the long history of comic books and its constant fluctuations in popularity. Even if you haven’t read a comic, their popularity among people of all ages and backgrounds is such that you’re aware of the basic premises of characters like Superman or Batman.

Another answer deals with the world of fiction and the separation of reality. Comics provide a sense of escape, much like any other book or movie. Obviously, if we enjoy something, we would hate for it to end if we could have kept it going. But at the same time, it might be a good idea to let a good thing end permanently. That way nothing gets ruined, or in a comic book, no one gets killed off permanently. People enjoy seeing good overcome evil. Comic book superheroes deal with that in many of their stories, and it results in just one reason of many that superheroes remain so popular today.

In the comic book industry, however, nothing holds more power than the dollar. Maybe the desire for more of our favorite superheroes in video games, comic books or movies is worth the extra dough.

Despite the omnipresence of money in the comic book industry, something still feels off. Does it not seem a bit funny to you that we pay money to an industry that monetizes our desire to escape. Just food for thought as I now head off to the comic book store to catch up on the latest Grayson and Batman/Superman comics.

You can reach MICHAEL CLOGSTON at mlclogston@ucdavis.edu.

Jennifer Lam is ready to graduate. She’s done all that Davis has to offer — had a mojito at Bistro 33, pet a Tercero cow, matched with a TA on Tinder and suffered through four years of itchy eyes in the spring. She’s bored, but that’s not what finally got to her.

On April 29, Jennifer lost it. She was sitting in POL 189, taking notes while simultaneously watching The Office on the screen of the guy sitting in front of her (thank God he had the subtitles on) when it happened.

“The professor… oh man this is hard to talk about,” said Lam, who paused during our interview to take a sip of what I can only assume was wine from a Nalgene. “He wrote ‘politics’ on the chalkboard, and then erased it. But he didn’t erase it all the way. Half of the ‘s’ in ‘politics’ was left on the board. I tried so hard to will him to erase it. But he just turned around and kept on lecturing.”

Lam continued sitting in her seat before she stood up abruptly and shouted, “Can you erase that? Erase that right now! The ‘s’, you left the ‘s’!”

“He just stared at me. He didn’t even freaking move,” Lam recounted passionately. “So I went up there, took the piece of chalk from his hairy, weird phalanges and snapped it in half. Then I wiped the ‘s’ off the board with my hand and walked out.”

Lam has since refused to apologize to her professor:

“I could not give less of a heck that I disrupted the class or bruised his ‘ego.’ He was irritating me and I couldn’t handle it for a second more. I will not be saying ‘sorry,’” she said.  

The professor, who has requested to remain nameless, had this to say in response:

“It’s like the Bieb’s song, ‘Sorry’ says: ‘Is it too late now to say sorry? ‘Cause I’m missing more than just your body,’ and the answer is it’s never too late to say sorry. I have a PhD and yeah, it stands for ‘pretty huge dic’ — I mean, ‘deal.’ I really don’t care what kind of issues she has: any student should be able to handle reading eight books and writing multiple 12-page papers while managing all of their other classes. My office hours are super convenient: Saturday from 12 to 1:30 a.m. She can come see me any time,” he said.  

The professor refused to elaborate on what he meant by the latter half of the Justin Bieber lyric.

ALEX GUZMÁN hates when the chalk board isn’t erased fully, and has been set off on more than one account. You can reach her at almguzman@ucdavis.edu and on Twitter @cactasss.

Why Britain’s exit from the European Union will benefit the United States

It’s generally agreed by many policy experts that, should the United Kingdom vote to unhitch itself from the European Union this June, the United States would suffer. President Obama and his administration are officially opposed to what is being referred to as “Brexit.” When Mr. Obama visited London recently, he strongly urged the public to vote “no” on the referendum. Unfortunately, his ambitions could cause his administration to miss out on the potential positives of a successful ballot for Britain to leave the EU. In fact, should the U.S. play its cards correctly, with lean and intelligent policies, Brexit may provide a shot to strengthen the special relationship (the strong cultural, historic, economic and military ties) between itself and the U.K. By doing this, there is a strong possibility they could improve the problematic EU as a result.

From the vantage point of those who are risk-averse, it seems to be instinctual that the U.K. should stay. After all, Britain consistently acts as a reliable ally for the U.S. during talks with Brussels, the political center of the EU. For example, Britain played an important role in persuading the EU to back the U.S. in placing tough economic sanctions on Russia back in 2014, as well as in the more current fight against the Islamic State. Additionally, the U.K.’s leave from the EU may bring on severe financial consequences. With the infamous 2008 global economic crash, as well as volatile market shockwaves coming from the Greek debt crisis, the last thing that investors and government officials would want is a rash move like Brexit, which would prompt a drop in trade and a lack of confidence in the pound sterling.

But is this caution a bit overzealous? Frankly, U.S. ties with strategically significant European nations are more than strong enough for the U.S. to find common ground with the EU on problems such as Russian aggression and the Syrian crisis without Britain’s membership in the EU.

With all this in mind, it’s reasonable for many to be anxious that a British exit from the EU could cause some serious panic in the global marketplace. Observing the current polls shows that the British people are evenly split. But the market will have time to recalibrate itself, and no one should be floored by the U.K. leaving. Significant global players like Deloitte and BMW, as well as British-based companies like Dechert and Woodford Funds, are already prepared to withstand the shockwaves. They’re briefing support staff, as well as supplying business-to-business managerial and legal advising. (Not to mention the fantastic white paper painstakingly created by Woodford Funds regarding the economic impact of the Brexit).  Firms like these understand that a referendum to leave would only be step one. In the coming years, companies and firms would be obligated to begin a period of ongoing negotiations with clients, governments and other relevant bodies in order to efficiently navigate the new economic and political landscape.

Even though Britain is not in the best position to ensure it receives the trading preferences many proponents of this exit wish to achieve, it would still likely end up with a sufficient trading relationship with the EU. For example, countries like Greenland (which has benefitted handsomely since it left in the 1980’s), Norway (also a significant beneficiary of close but independent ties), as well other countries who have opted out of the EU, have found their commercial relationships unhampered.

Thankfully, America is in a position to mitigate the damages of Brexit. Rather than Mr. Obama’s White House preaching to the marketplace and its leaders by haranguing them with their Brexit-related anxieties, they should instead assuage their concerns by explicitly stating they would support Britain in its bid for independence. An excellent way to make this clear would be to prioritize Britain’s entrance into whichever version of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deal comes in the future. This would give Britain an excellent safety net to soften the possible blows to trade that Brexit would create. And by being included in trade agreements with the U.S., they would have backing from a powerful partner.

Put in this light, Britain’s exit should not be seen as anything close to an economic or political fiasco for the U.S. But how exactly would they gain from the split?

While Brexit seems to be a completely awful and counterintuitive idea to many, it actually might further the mission of maintaining and growing a united Europe — something America has celebrated and encouraged for almost half a century.

America and a free Britain might become further aligned in areas like global safety and development. And should Brexit happen, much of British support for the EU would end, strengthening the Special Relationship on these important issues.

In terms of financial concerns, America would have a more close-knit relationship, cooperating on everything from reasonable financial regulation for their countries to prudential sanctions on countries they feel require them. As of now, Brussels possesses a chokehold on these issues — slowing Britain’s ability to make time-sensitive decisions and forcing them to endlessly debate with the full body of the Union’s membership. With a free-flying Britain, they could trim the unnecessary rules and regulations of the EU and jumpstart a more functional relationship between the world’s top two money powerhouses: Wall Street and the Square Mile.

The two countries share a variety of mutual needs and concerns, making them natural allies. These concerns span from sanctioning specific countries and preventing cyber-thievery ― which might dull their edge in the global market ― to joining forces to gather intelligence. By working together, the two nations will improve trade and surmount economic hurdles, which is a much better scenario than Britain jumping through the EU’s hoops on their own.

All this considered, from an American citizen’s vantage point, it seems clear that with careful planning, vigilance, and strong leadership, Brexit should be undoubtedly beneficial to the U.S.

You can reach RYAN DOWNER at rmdowner@ucdavis.edu.

Educate yourself to avoid cultural appropriation

Today is Cinco de Mayo.

Contrary to popular belief, the day is not to celebrate Mexican independence. Mexico’s Independence Day falls on Sept. 16; Cinco de Mayo is meant to commemorate the victory of the Mexican battalion against the French army in a battle in 1862 near the city of Puebla in central Mexico.

Also contrary to popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not meant for college students to dress up in sombreros and faux mustaches while downing seven margaritas and calling it a “celebration of culture.” That’s called being culturally insensitive and racist.

Cultural appropriation is not equal to cultural celebration. Putting on a serape while taking tequila shots with your friends does not suddenly mean you’re well-versed in Chicanx/Latinx culture and history. The way to do that is to educate yourself, acknowledge the offensive stereotypes you may have internalized and understand why they are problematic.

Educating yourself involves understanding that while large Cinco de Mayo celebrations are held in some parts of Mexico, particularly around the state of Puebla, the day is not a national Mexican holiday and is actually sparsely celebrated in the country.

Another way to educate yourself is to utilize the many resources provided by UC Davis. As a university set to become a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) by fall 2018, UC Davis offers a variety of ways for students to familiarize themselves with Chicanx/Latinx culture, from an array of Chicano studies courses to programs and events hosted by the Cross Cultural Center (CCC), like the La Raza Cultural Days held last week.

Despite its future as an HSI, UC Davis is not immune to culturally insensitive incidences. In 2014, ASUCD Coffee House employees (CoHo) rightfully came under fire for organizing an off-campus event titled “Cinco de Drinko Sloshball.” If the party’s name wasn’t ignorant enough, the Facebook event encouraged attendees to “dress festively” and showed pictures of two CoHo employees dressed as border patrol officers while four students wearing sombreros attempted to climb over a fence behind them.

While several students justified the celebration as a harmless attempt at having fun, it is necessary to understand that insensitive parties like these are far from lighthearted and only perpetuate the racist stereotypes that Chicanx and Latinx communities have been spending years trying to shed.

With Latinx students making up 19 percent of the student body at UC Davis, students should strive to be respectful and inclusive of these underrepresented and underserved communities rather than hold ignorant, alienating events for the sake of “fun.”

The Editorial Board encourages all students to turn down those “Cinco de Drinko” Facebook events and urge everyone they know to do the same. There are a myriad of other ways to celebrate Mexican culture other than drowning yourself in tequila and donning racist clothing. The CCC highlights a few of these alternatives, including supporting authentic Mexican businesses, refraining from using Spanish in a disrespectful manner and donating to organizations fighting for immigration rights.

A sombrero is not a fashion accessory and neither is a culture.

There are other days of the year to get blackout drunk. Cinco de Mayo is not one of them.