To the Editor:

Voting is our right, but registering to vote is a hassle. California’s voter registration process is outdated, inefficient and prone to error, which helps explain why the number of eligible voters registered is declining, as noted in the California Aggie article, “Have you registered to vote?”

As the article mentions, the complex bureaucratic maze students must navigate in order to register severely limits their capacity for active civic participation. According to Paul Mitchell, the head of Political Data Inc., 18- and 19-year-olds in California are more likely to be arrested than registered to vote.

Unfortunately, voter registration is no easier on the UC Davis campus, and as an alumna, this issue hits home.

The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement finds that when young people are registered to vote, their turnout rates are close to those of older voters. That’s why I am currently leading a campaign to implement automatic voter registration pilot programs at California universities. Under these programs, when students register for classes each quarter, they would be automatically registered to vote at their current address unless they decide to opt out. This is an important step toward ensuring that our elected leaders represent the interests of all their constituents, rather than tending toward older voters.

I encourage UC Davis students to show their support for the automatic voter registration pilot program by working with student government to make this an issue addressed on campus. We need a more efficient system for registering to vote, and it’s time we demand that student voices are heard.

Ruth Rothstein

Campaign Organizer

CALPIRG

Sacramento

Anti-abortion zealots take to the Quad

A group of anti-abortion protesters took to the Quad on Feb. 29 and March 1, displaying graphic images as an attempt to shame and pull back the curtain of the supposed atrocities practiced by those who believe in a woman’s right to choose.

The UC Davis Women’s Resources and Research Center (WRRC) led a coordinated response in the face of these demonstrations to offer a different perspective. Volunteers from the WRRC, Women’s Health Specialists and Health Education and Promotions tabled at the Memorial Union to provide a “full spectrum of reproductive health resources and education.” These advocates displayed signs of their own to warn students of the demonstrators and offered several umbrella escorts for those who needed to walk past the protesters but felt the graphic images may be triggering to them.

The Editorial Board commends the WRRC for its swift action taken against these potentially harmful and triggering demonstrations and for increasing the services provided to the UC Davis community during the protests.

According to its website, the WRRC gives UC Davis students a place to learn about and utilize resources that focus on gender equality and social justice. It has a wealth of information on a variety of subjects and is an invaluable part of the amenities offered by the university.

This week’s incident draws many parallels with what is happening on the national stage against Planned Parenthood, an organization that supplies information, resources and reproductive and health services. Planned Parenthood has been criticized for providing abortions to those who seek help. Though no government funding goes toward abortion, supporting Planned Parenthood has become a wedge issue.

The demonstrators on campus and other supporters perpetuate the false belief that these sort of organizations primarily perform abortions when in reality it is only a small fraction of the services provided. Whether one has pro-life or pro-choice beliefs, it is crucial to know that abortions are not the sole service offered by women’s health clinics, just like women’s resource centers do not exclusively offer information about where to go for them. Cutting funding to either type of organization will only harm the remaining services that directly benefit many members of society.

The Editorial Board encourages all UC Davis students to utilize the resources offered by the WRRC. Resources can be found at North Hall 113 on Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and at the Student Community Center 1413 on Monday and Wednesday from noon to 4 p.m. and Friday from 1 to 2 p.m.

Next time you’re in the Bay Area visiting a friend or seeing a show, think about giving one of these places a try:

• SF Hometown Creamery – The Inner Sunset, San Francisco

Topping off the list, we have the San Francisco Hometown Creamery (SFHTC). This is the only place in San Francisco that makes their ice cream completely from scratch, with all the necessary machinery and ingredients mixed in house. SFHTC makes the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted in my life. As someone who likes to look at the cone half full, let me say this: if those pesky politicians in Congress can’t get anything done about global warming, there will at the very least be more warm days in September to enjoy these frozen treats. Hometown Creamery menu items are riddled with creativity and intrigue, with selections like Honey Lemon Rosemary, Strawberry Balsamic and Coconut Lime sorbet. Oh what the hell, I’ll name a couple more: Sake Ginger Pear, Caramelized Roasted Banana, Earl Grey and Lavender, Cardamom with Salted Honey Caramel — you get the idea. If you can’t decide which flavors you want, you can order a flight of five different ice creams for $12 that feeds two to four people.

• Espetus Churrascaria – San Francisco/ San Mateo

Vegetarians kindly skip to number three. I don’t need to try to convince those who have been to a Brazilian steakhouse before to try this place. Espetus Churrascaria is the quintessential luxury dining experience for those who enjoy the finer meats in life. Their steaks are so good that you won’t notice the giant hole burning through your wallet (oh no, my stamp cards!). Here’s how it works: first, you enter and grab a plate. Ignore the giant, incredible all-you-can-eat buffet in front of you. It’s just a diversion to try to distract you from all the ambrosial animal-parts about to enter your taster. Sit down, tuck your napkin in your shirt ‘cause the real is on the rise and commence the feast. Note: the proper stance to indicate you’re truly ready to partake in this meat-laced extravaganza is properly displayed by this stock image I found. Over the next hour and a half, large Brazilian men with swords will shave off choice cuts of angus every 10 minutes or so, as you struggle to make room for 14 different cuts of meat, all roasted delectably over mesquite. A few of my favorites include the sirloin, bacon wrapped filet mignon and the chicken hearts. It’s $60 for dinner, but the San Mateo location has a $35 lunch special. Well worth it. You can buy me a gift certificate to this place, here.

• Sol Food – San Rafael/ Mill Valley

Sol Food is an authentic Puerto Rican restaurant and the culinary treasure of San Rafael. It’s not to be confused with Soul Food, or Southern Cajun/Creole type food (but don’t worry we’ll get to that later). If you’re ever within 20 minutes of the area, I suggest you try it, because it never disappoints. Sol Food somehow manages to taste incredible with the simplest ingredients. Everything is cooked to perfection. The savory flavors blend with the fresh flavors in perfect harmony. When they ask about sides, get the pink beans and try each style of their plantains (sweet and savory). I recommend the bistec encebollada (steak with onions), although the bistec sandwich is popular as well. Use the sauce they place on every table on your salad, or just everywhere in general. Finally, order a limeade if you want to take your taste buds on a rollercoaster, or a mango iced tea to send your taste buddies gently floating down a fruity river. If the line is too long (which it often is), fret not, there is a Hawaiian BBQ place next door with incredible BBQ Chicken.

• Ramen Dojo – Downtown San Mateo

Ooooh boy. This hole-in-the-wall ramen joint looks like a brick-nothing from the outside. But inside its tinted windows lies the tender noodles and rich broth I dream about every time I rest my head at night. Cheap prices, big bowls of top-quality ramen complete with sprouts, bamboo shoots and topped with a little bird egg. It’s the perfect way to forget about the fact that you somehow ended up in San Mateo.

• Taqueria La Victoria – San Jose/Hayward/Santa Clara/San Carlos

Taqueria La Victoria, or better known as “La Vics,” is the shining gem of San Jose. Frat boys from San Jose State may claim that Iguana’s is better, but pay them no mind — they didn’t grow up here. While it’s true that Iguana’s makes a mean burrito, there’s no beating the South Bay staple and it’s signature Orange Sauce. Order anything on the menu (so a burrito) and douse it with their spicy and addicting orange concoction that is somehow vegan. If you want to try something rare, ask for Milanesa meat in your burrito, which is like a Latin chicken fried steak. And don’t forget to take some Orange Sauce to-go.

• Home of Chicken and Waffles – Oakland

It’s certainly no Roscoe’s of SoCal or LoLo’s of Arizona, but it isn’t trying to be. It is, however, the best chicken and waffles in the Bay Area that I know of. They tote the Bay’s juiciest chicken and their waffles strike a fine balance between soft and crispy. It also has awesome decor and the menu items, much like you, are dipped in butter sauce.

• La Taqueria – The Mission, San Francisco

A few years back, the website FiveThirtyEight released an article that claimed it ranked every major burrito in America. The website gave each burrito a VORB score (value over replacement burrito), and to my surprise, two of the top 10 were located in San Francisco. La Taqueria, ranked 11th (VORB 14.2,) is located two blocks down from El Farolito, ranked 1st (Vorb 20.7.) My Dad and I made a plan to each get a burrito, cut them in half and decide which place was better. In a spectacular upset, David beat Goliath, Bernie beat Hillary, and La Taqueria’s burrito beat El Farolito’s. Over time, repeat experiments with all relevant meats were conducted with similar results at the 5 percent level of significance. La Taqueria’s burrito is better. Less filling with a worse salsa bar, but a better tasting burrito. Still, it’s fun to grab a friend, try both burritos and decide for yourself. P.S. Definitely get the guacamole.

3 Honorable Mentions –

Burma Superstar in Oakland has quality Burmese food, a rarity in itself.

Huong Tra in Richmond has cheap and delicious Bahn Mi sandwiches.

Gordo’s in Berkeley is good for some late-night drunk burritos.
Jonah Versman is a human encyclopedia of Northern California restaurant knowledge. If you need advice about to where to eat in NorCal he can definitely Yelp you out. You can reach him at jiversman@ucdavis.edu.

Hide yo kids hide yo Smartsite

It’s all over the news and your Facebook timeline. Some guy you went to high school with shared it and added a very long paragraph with several emojis that you deemed TL;DR. For those of you reading this and asking yourselves, “What the heck is this woman talking about?” here’s the short and sweet: The FBI has asked Apple to build a backdoor that would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession. Apple is refusing, and the FBI is giving up. They’re moving on to bigger and better technological platforms — Smartsite.

You know it well, the familiar blue and gold webpage that allows professors, teacher assistants and students to interact with one another. What if I told you that your class chatrooms and syllabi were under attack by the FBI?

That’s right. In a string of private emails I have gained access to (don’t ask), the FBI is begging UC Davis’ administration for a backdoor to “unlock” Smartsite. How hard can it be to hack Stupidsite, right? It always crashes right before you submit an assignment, and sometimes it does that weird glitch where it looks like there’s a Smartsite within a Smartsite.

Little known fact: Smartsite is the most protected website on the planet. Back when it was built in 2004, a bunch of really incredibly intelligent men and women created a firewall so hot that Nelly was inspired to release Hot in Herre (OK, it was actually released in 2002, but that’s not as funny).

Those brilliant men and woman were trying to protect your privacy (wooo! crazy idea alert!). Twitter and Instagram hadn’t been created yet, and Facebook would be founded later that year. So privacy was still a thing. But Smartsite’s now middle-aged creators are probably rolling in their wheelchairs at the amount of private information that’s made public daily. Today, everything can be made public, from nude photos to private emails (oops) — everything, except for Smartsite.  

Okay, Alex, thanks for the social media history lesson, but why the hell does the FBI want it? They want access to your class chatrooms. The place where group projects are haggled about and desperate cries of, “Can someone make a study guide? Plz?!?” are heard.

It seems random, but what better place to observe young people communicating? Basically, FBI agents are really bad at “catfishing” young suspects. It’s hard to get someone to confess they pirated Kanye’s newest album to you when you think LOL means “Lots of Love.” Tumblr was way too confusing, but chatrooms are easy. Apparently they haven’t heard of Urban Dictionary, but maybe it’s better that way. They probably don’t need to know what ‘on fleek’ means.

UC Davis’ administration has declined to answer my emails, despite my very catchy subject line: “DON’T GIVE THE FBI OUR MEMES!!!”

ALEX GUZMÁN is a subpar whistler and an orange juice connoisseur. You can reach her at almguzman@ucdavis.edu or on Twitter @cactasss.