Aggie Columnist Hayley Prokos gives an inside look into the character of the Millennial generation.

The term ‘Millennial’ gets thrown around a lot, but what does it mean? Who are the Millennials, and what do they represent?

The Millennial generation, also known as Generation Y, is the first to have grown up in an electronic-filled, virtually interconnected society. We are Millennials: passionate and empowered, compassionate and accepting of social differences, optimistic, fiercely determined and self-starting. While some argue that this generation breeds false optimism, our persevering attitude encourages us to pursue our passions, to give back to the community and to retain a wide range of knowledge about the workings of the world.

We are less concerned with making a sizable living if the job isn’t personally gratifying. Yet, we still look to spend the extra buck on quality products, unlike our older counterparts, Generation X and Baby Boomers.

While there will inevitably be flaws in any generational model, we should focus on the perks of our nature. After all, positivity is one of our best known qualities!

I look forward to exploring both the grand distinctions and finer nuances between the Millennials and our predecessors, in an effort to substantiate a greater understanding of our culture.

Here are four things you need to know about the Millennial generation:

1. We care about our quality of life.

Our generation has reprioritized, letting passion take precedence for a change. This fierce belief in our passions makes us more concerned with making a career out of our interests than any other generation. Enterprises like Kickstarter and Etsy, both founded within the last ten years, cater to this ideal by promoting a stronger work-life balance.

2. We’re more connected to national and global issues.

Technology has shaped us in more ways than one, but the advancement of social media has played a huge role in creating the most well-connected society to date. More often than not, this inter-connectedness yields emotional investment and involvement in variety of issues today. For example, Humans of New York, a popular photoblog, has successfully crowdfunded for less fortunate individuals all over the world.

3. We basically invented the notion of conscious consumerism.

When it comes to products, no generation obsesses more over the organic and handmade than us. We are heavily concerned with the integrity of the companies from which we buy. According to independent advertising agency Barkley, over 50 percent of Millennials try to patronize socially-conscious companies. After decades of large corporations dominating consumer markets, this gives small businesses a chance.

4. We are the most goal-oriented and purposeful generation.

Millennials think in terms of missions. We want a sense of self-accomplishment. This may largely be a result of a wholesome upbringing, of our parents encouraging after-school activities and healthy competition with our peers. The infamous participation award might actually best represent our need for inclusiveness and yearning for group success.

You can reach HAYLEY PROKOS at hprokos@ucdavis.edu or on Twitter at @haroulii14.

Everyday we make hundreds of decisions, whether we are aware of them or not. Tea or coffee? Oatmeal or eggs? Walk or bike? And within the questions we ask, sit many more questions: where was the coffee you drank grown, and at what expense? What is the oatmeal company doing with the profit it’s making from your purchase? Over the next 10 weeks, I am going to educate my readers, as well as myself, about ethical consumption and becoming an informed consumer: buying from companies and brands that foster a more sustainable and moral society.

I will begin by looking into an object that depletes a portion of my income each month, and an even larger portion of my time each day: my cell phone. This small but ubiquitous tool is part of a grand and ominous industry of network providers, some of which are now among the most powerful companies in today’s society. But, many of us know little about our service provider. Aside from the paper we pay, the data limit we exceed or the date of our next “upgrade”, rarely do we sit around swapping stories about our cell phone companies.

So imagine my surprise when I recently discovered that Verizon, the network I have been a loyal member of since my first cell phone in seventh grade is heavily involved in political and policy issues.

During the 2014 election cycle, Verizon gave over $3 million mostly toward Republican candidates and PACs. The company also opposes the net neutrality agreement, which states that all service providers and the government must treat all content on the internet equally. This means that your Facebook News Feed will load at the same speed as your friend’s photo blog. Without this agreement, Verizon would have the power to speed up the highest paying web applications and effectively eliminate the others. Without healthy competition, our ability to choose between apps and services would quickly disintegrate.

Verizon was also charged with the largest disability discrimination lawsuit in the history of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), settling for $20 million. Verizon was charged with denying employees with disabilities their entitled accommodations, choosing instead to discipline or terminate them. AT&T, Sprint, TMobile and other big network providers have also done their fair share of questionable acts. In 2011, AT&T was sued by the Federal Trade Commision for slowing down user’s data by as much as 90 percent, without explanation to their customers. The Sprint SMS Premium lawsuit of 2014 settled claims that Sprint had been charging customers for a third party service without member’s knowledge.

Because nobody is perfect, I encourage you to join me in doing your own research on the brands and companies you engage with. We are all trying to find the most efficient and affordable deal, and sometimes it is tempting to turn our heads away from our social responsibilities because we can’t afford to keep both our phones and morals. There are many phone companies that not only provide strong coverage, but also give a percentage of their proceeds to nonprofits, purchase carbon offsets to makeup for their energy use and have spotless records with the EEOC.

I found a company called Working Assets, which began in 1985 and since then has given $78 million dollars to nonprofits through its services. I have recently become a proud member of Credo, their cell phone service. Through a free monthly poll, users can opt to donate to a nonprofit of their choice. Credo also has an online activist network, where the public can get updates on causes they are passionate about, complete with advice on how to get involved.

Another option, Earth Tones, is the only provider to donate 100 percent of their profits to environmental causes. Because they are owned and supported by nonprofit groups, they are able to give every penny to protecting the air, water and wilderness.

Now, all of this sounds great, but is it realistic? After looking over my options, I have decided to transition over to Credo. Not only will Credo cover my termination fees with Verizon, but they will also allow me to keep my old phone for a monthly discount.

I know we can’t all be superheroes in every aspect of our consumer lives, but there are small steps we can take.  If you aren’t currently in the position to switch providers, I recommend investing in a solar charger for your cell phone, recycling your old phone when you replace it and doing some research on what your phone company has been up to. My hope is that, as ethical consumers, the next time we’re sitting among a group of mute Instagram lurkers, we have something new to bring to the conversation, besides how many likes our breakfast got that day.

You can reach Martha Greenburg at mzgreenburg@ucdavis.edu or on Twitter @marthazane

UC system to expand access for transgender students

To most, the choice is intuitive: either the stick figure with a dress or the one without a dress. However, this choice was not so simple for 16-year-old transgender student Gavin Grimm.

With the principal’s permission, Grimm used the boys’ restroom at his high school in Gloucester, Virginia for months until complaints began flooding into school board meetings about a “girl” using the boys’ room. After eventually being denied access to the boys’ bathroom, Grimm sued the Gloucester County Public School District, and his case worked its way up to the U.S. Department of Justice this year.

In June, the Department of Justice ruled that denying Grimm access to the bathroom of his choosing violated Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded program. After this ruling, Title IX was reinstated to include the protection of students’ right to use the restroom that matches their gender identity.

To give equal access to restrooms and to ensure the safety and comfort of all University of California (UC) students, UC President Janet Napolitano issued a directive on June 10 requiring all single-stall restrooms on every UC campus to be converted to gender-neutral ones by Feb. 28, 2016. Additionally, all new buildings and ones undergoing major renovation must include gender-neutral restrooms and changing rooms starting July 1, 2016.

Following former UC President Mark Yudof’s example, Napolitano created her own LGBT Advisory Group to directly examine any issues in the community that must also be addressed within the UC system.

The Editorial Board stands by Napolitano’s initiative to create a more inclusive campus environment for all non-cisgender students. No matter what the pronoun – he, she, they or otherwise – all people need access to a bathroom where they feel safe in order to equally participate in school, work and society.

According to the LGBTQIA Resource Center’s (LGBTQIARC) website, UC Davis currently has over 50 gender-inclusive bathrooms on campus. These bathrooms are in locations ranging from the Activities and Recreation Center to Aggie Stadium to various lecture halls. We believe that although they are present, these rooms remain spaces that many transgender students feel uncomfortable entering.

With the plan to require all new buildings and ones undergoing renovation to include gender-neutral bathrooms, we hope the current renovation of the Memorial Union will bring at least a few gender-neutral rooms to the central area of campus. This development would save any non-cisgender students from having to trek across campus to a bathroom that is out of their way in order to feel at ease.

In addition to planning for more gender-neutral bathrooms on campus, there is also a demand for enhanced services from the LGBTQIARC. Although the center provides a multitude of services, programs and events to help LGBTQIA students feel more welcoming, providing further outreach and promotion of issues – such as a lack of equal access to bathrooms on campus – is crucial in order to properly avoid a situation similar to Gavin Grimm’s.

Not only should the LGBTQIARC expand its outreach, but UC Davis as a community must further educate and promote awareness over topics that affect transgender persons more heavily than their cisgender peers.

Some staff, administrators and faculty within the UC system include their preferred gender pronouns (PGPs) when signing off on emails, bringing attention to these topics. The Editorial Board commends those who opt to include their PGPs in emails and urges more administrative members to use this method to show students and other faculty the importance of gender identification in the community.

Why is Gavin Grimm’s case so important? Title IX came into effect in 1972, and 43 years later, many people are newly aware that there is such a law. It has taken over four decades and thousands of transgender persons around the U.S. denied access to restrooms (and worse) in order for us to properly grasp that this topic is not a new one.

Why does a trans boy in Virginia need to be denied access to the bathroom in order for this to be a relevant topic? Title IX is not a new concept, bathroom safety is not a new concept and stick figures on bathroom doors to denote which gender should enter a room is not a new concept – although definitely an outdated one.

UPDATE (10/7/15): All uses of the word “cisgendered” were changed to “cisgender,” the uses of the word “transgendered” were changed to “transgender” and all uses of the term “genderqueer” were changed to “transgender” to encompass the entire spectrum of identities that are not cisgender.