On Jan. 31, two swastikas were painted on the house of UC Davis’ Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) fraternity, which is historically and predominantly Jewish. The incident is currently under investigation by the UC Davis Police Department as a hate crime. Many student groups have urged the UC Davis community to not connect the crime with the outcome of ASUCD senate’s Jan. 29 meeting and decision to recommend the University of California regents to divest from companies affiliated with Israel. While the Editorial Board will not make assumptions regarding the motive or identity of the perpetrator(s), we would like to take the opportunity to denounce hate crimes at UC Davis.

There is no place for hate on this campus. Whether manifested in racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia or anti-semitism, hate is a byproduct of ignorance and we implore the UC Davis community to stand above the insinuating rhetoric, the name-calling and the abhorrent, despicable actions.

UC Davis fosters important, intelligent and passionate conversations and debates, often forcing students and those involved to move past the superficial understandings of these subjects. The Editorial Board is proud to serve a diverse and opinionated student body and relishes our ability as Aggies, both as media members and students, to exhibit our opinions freely.

The crime committed at AEPi was a blatant act of hate — a vile and repugnant display of ignorance and idiocy that we are saddened to acknowledge exists in Davis. However, there is an immeasurable account of hate that goes unnoticed and undocumented daily, and the Editorial Board stands in solidarity with those who have experienced it. UC Davis: Rise above the despicable, hateful actions and words and make the community and student body proud of this campus once again.

Graphic by Jennifer Wu

President Obama discussed America’s important issues in the State of the Union address Tuesday night. Among the topics mentioned were ones we found pertinent to the UC Davis community. Obama’s speech mentioned many of the pressing matters the United States is faced with today. It is the hope of The Editorial Board that not only will these matters get the attention they deserve, but that the government will continue to acknowledge important issues in the daily lives of Americans.

Mention of LGBT Community

The 2015 State of the Union was the first to ever mention the words “lesbian,” “bisexual” or “transgender.” In the context, the president made remarks that a safer America is one where human dignity is respected. It is refreshing that these marginalized communities are gaining the recognition they deserve and will hopefully gain equal marriage rights if the State of Marriage Defense Act is passed. For UC Davis, a public university that provides extensive resources for the LGBTQ communities, this support from the government is an encouraging sight.

Accessible Higher Education

Another featured topic was Obama’s recently proposed plan to make the first two years of community college free. He stressed that higher education needs to be just as accessible as high school and that a more educated America is in everyone’s best interest. Obama made a point to address that students have to earn this help by keeping their grades up and graduating on time. The Editorial Board agrees that the cost of higher education is pricing people out of their goals and futures. We are glad that Obama acknowledges the burden of debt that many young Americans are facing in order to gain an education and ultimately become hardworking citizens. To hear more of our thoughts on this topic, visit our recent article.

Wage Equality

On a similar note, Obama brought up the need of equal pay for men and women and also the need to raise the minimum wage. He claimed that these changes, if enacted, will make a meaningful difference. We believe that fair pay is essential to a strong working class and sustainable economic future. Additionally, the prospect of more jobs is encouraging to us.

Climate Change

He addressed the need for America to treat the threat of climate change as an immediate risk to national security and mentioned how America will double their efforts to reduce carbon pollution and China agreed to limit their emissions. We applaud the steps the government had taken to reduce the effects of climate change, not only in America, but around the world and we are looking forward to seeing further action moving forward.

Graphic by Jennifer Wu

Just as it is important to hold campus officials accountable for their actions, the Editorial Board believes it is equally important to give credit where credit is due. In this case, we would like to acknowledge the men’s basketball team, under head coach Jim Les, which currently has a record of 14-4 and is gearing up to play in its second nationally-televised game of the year. ESPN even predicts the Aggies will go as far as to make this year’s NCAA Tournament, March Madness.

Last year, the team went 9-22, one of the lousiest records in program history. The team finished ninth in the nine-team Big West, ensuring that it would be the only school in the conference uninvited to the 2013-14 Big West tournament.

At the end of the last season, Les’s salary doubled from $125,000 to around $250,000, which perplexed many of us at The Aggie. How could a coach with one of the worst records in school history claim over $125,000 from an athletics department already charging its students more than any other student body in the UC system? The same athletics department that recently cut four sports in order to increase the funding for the men’s basketball and football teams.

Nevertheless, Les has done a stellar job so far this season. The team, led by senior Corey Hawkins, who is on the top-10 scoring list in the country this year, has brought national exposure to the UC Davis campus. Throughout this season, the team has drawn large, feverish crowds to The Pavillion, showcasing the academic and athletic promise of UC Davis to future recruits and aspiring students. There is actual, broad enthusiasm toward a sports team here at the university, something lacking in recent years. We hope that the team’s recent rise to prominence continues to excite and inspire the Davis community, and we thank Les for his work so far this season.

More importantly, we hope that increased national exposure can lead to more media deals and sponsorships, allowing the athletics department greater financial flexibility and maybe even the opportunity to reinstate the teams cut in 2010. UC Davis students should not shoulder a larger financial burden for their athletics department than students at UCLA, which has an exponentially larger athletics budget.

Inadvertently, the team’s success this year could have major positive implications for the student body and community. We hope that athletic director Terry Tumey steps up to the plate and knocks one out for the student body, reversing the mentality of a money-driven athletics department. In the meantime, good luck to Coach Les, and we look forward to see your team playing come late March.

Graphic by Jennifer Wu

Dear Community and All Others,

On Thursday, January 29, 2015, after the ASUCD Senate voted “Yes” by a supermajority to pass the Divestment Resolution, I posted a picture with the Pro-Divestment community on my personal Facebook with a satirical caption. Although I made a comment on the picture stating that the caption was satirical, the anti-divestment community conveniently left out the comment from the rest of the picture and took the caption out of context. In doing so, they shared my picture on various Islamophobic, racist and anti-Palestinian blogs and articles. Consequently, I received hateful e-mails and violent messages and was labeled as an anti-Semite, a spokesperson for Hamas and a Jew-hater. All of these judgements are grotesquely disgusting and factually incorrect. Additionally, the linking of my satirical comments to the painting of swastikas on the Jewish fraternity at UC Davis is a red herring. I am condemning the painting of swastikas on the Jewish fraternity at UC Davis — not because I feel that I should but because it is against my beliefs. Just as my pro-divestment views are rooted in social justice so is my distress over what has transpired at the Jewish fraternity at UC Davis. This is why I stand firmly in my stance on divestment and I reiterate this is not out of hate for anyone but out of love for those facing these injustices every single day and night.

I have been involved with the divestment campaign for the last three years, for many of the same reasons that others are pro-divestment and pro-Palestine. I feel strongly about my reasons and none of these reasons are even remotely close to being anti-Semitic or anti-Jewish in nature. Their foundations lay in a framework of deep social justice values, anti-imperialism, and a deep dedication to working in solidarity with oppressed peoples worldwide. As a veiled, Muslim senator, I have been attacked many times during my term by the anti-divestment community on campus, specifically the leadership of both AEPi, the Jewish fraternity at UC Davis, and Aggies for Israel, who have made it their mission to harass me over social media and actively censor my online presence during this summer’s atrocious Operation Protective Edge, which resulted in the death of over 2,000 Gazans. More specifically, these communities have violently stalked me on Facebook and reported the contents of my profile to the Zionist lobby groups which they have been paid to represent. Additionally, student senators and other students affiliated with Aggies for Israel on campus have also yelled Islamophobic slurs at me such as “terrorist” and threatened me by holding my position as an ASUCD senator hostage over me. During ASUCD Senate meetings, the anti-divestment community has attacked me and vigorously yelled at me, all because of my affiliations on campus, which include predominantly Communities of Color. Attacks such as these have been directed at me from the day that I assumed the position as an ASUCD senator. Their intentions are clear, to suppress any opposition and slander the individuals while they do it.

My satirical comments are a non-confrontational method to mock the arguments presented by the anti-divestment community during the last three years who have incorrectly labeled the Divestment movement as a violent and anti-Semitic movement by Muslim and Arab students. In fact Divestment is supported by students from all faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds (including people of Latino, African, Muslim and Jewish identities, among others). It is a nonviolent strategy utilized globally by activists to put pressure “against Israel until it complies with international law and Palestinian rights.” Furthermore, the very caption on my picture was verbally presented at ASUCD Senate hearings in 2013 and 2014 by the anti-divestment community and such discourse is also presented by Zionist lobby groups worldwide but because I, a veiled, Muslim, Divestment and BDS-supporting senator, decided to use it in a satirical and ironic context after the passage of divestment, I was single handedly and wrongfully attacked. My hope is that any intelligent person is able to discern between satire and fact.

I have a choice to release this statement — just like those of you who are connecting me to anti-Semitic sentiments and maliciously attacking me are making a choice. I’m choosing to communicate with you my truth because I want to make a lasting and positive difference in this world. And while doing that I will use humor and faith.

I ask those in the various communities I have had the pleasure to be involved with, those who know me, have worked with me, have laughed with me, to stand with me during this time.

02.02.15 2:41PM EDIT: Members of my community who have supported me throughout my term and during this time, if you feel that I have put you through a difficult time, please accept my heartfelt apology and know that I have never abandoned you nor put my own interests before yours, you all are the reason that I fight against injustice every single day and you all will always receive my unconditional support and love.

Sincerely,

Azka Fayyaz

Senator, Associated Students, University of California, Davis

Winter 2014-Present

February 02, 2015

Graphic by Jennifer Wu

Correction

On February 3, The California Aggie published a Guest Opinion entitled “Jews for divestment.” The Guest Opinion includes factual statements regarding StandWithUs. Representatives of that organization have challenged the truthfulness of these statements, and consequently the article has been removed.

Graphic by Jennifer Wu

Before I discovered that I am in fact capable of buying a theater ticket without someone by my side, I thought that going to the movies alone on a weekday afternoon was only for the sad and the friendless. I imagined the judgmental glances behind the glass of the ticket vendors, letting their coworkers know that the girl in old exercise shorts and ponytail was, in fact, walking into the theater alone, and was probably always companionless. Not to say any of that was true, but when I was a teenager, that was one of my worst fears.

After an opportunity arose to see Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” by myself last spring, my opinions on going to the movies on my own were soon changed. It took real bravery to overcome that mountain of public embarrassment; I had to act like I was too cool to care (though I was far from it). The experience changed my view of cinema completely, as I was able to be comfortably alone on an oddly independent adventure at the same time that Ralph Fiennes and Tony Revolori went on one of their own.

As I prepared to enter into the historical Tower Theater on that Monday morning, I explored a world that wouldl soon become my sanctuary. The sound of my muffled footsteps on the timeworn carpet did not stop next to the candy counter, since I didn’t have to wait for a partner to decide whether or not to buy expensive popcorn and a Coke. Besides, I already had a bag of Sour Patch Kids in my purse, and didn’t even have to share. When I sat down there was no one sitting immediately around me, I was fully converted to the lifestyle of the senior citizens sitting in the back. I was taken to an ambiguous time and place, both in the Sacramento theater as well as in the majesty of Wes Anderson’s latest work, where dreams and reality intertwined.

Since that first time visiting the theater on my own terms, I have seen many movies alone, including the summer flicks “What If” (2014), “Begin Again” (2014) and the recent “Big Eyes” (2014) which I would’ve enjoyed much less with an uninterested escort by my side. Now, whenever I feel the need to get away, or just have an afternoon off, I can go to the movies for a few hours of air-conditioned paradise.

Though seeing a movie alone may be a relief, it does come at a cost. Most often, going to the movies is an exciting event, with big groups leaving the theater reenacting favorite scenes and furiously blinking in the sudden daylight. Alone, you could try to do these things by yourself, but maniacally laughing to an unheard joke usually reinforces the ticket vendors’ first impressions of you. Also, there is the issue of using the restroom on these solo trips. Who’s going to watch your purse? And you’ll probably never find your original seat again.

Experiencing a movie on your own terms can be relaxing, contemplative and a bit pretentious, depending on your mood, but never lonely. I’ve learned that a big part of growing up is being able to handle situations like this yourself, with nothing standing in your way from a fun afternoon. It is a way to be connected to your community and being able to watch a movie collectively, but while still being independent and with your own opinions as the credits roll. It is comforting to know that I am able to explore my movie taste and, in an emergency, deny that I saw that cheesy romantic comedy without bribing witnesses. At our young age, spending personal time alone is essential for discovering oneself. And going to a movie on your own is a whole lot better than sitting on the computer; the screen is much bigger! It may be cliché, but it’s worth it.

So, no, paying for a ticket by yourself on a mental health day is not equivalent to a lack of social life or inability to handle movie-talkers. No one should shrink from an opportunity to connect with your own thoughts on a film in an undisturbed setting, or take a nap, whatever you want to do in a dark theater that’s legal. When there isn’t someone to whisper predictions in your ear, or wonder out loud where that one guy was from (“Ugh, this is going to bother me the whole time!”), you could even learn more about yourself, your preferences and your community. Take this huge risk and I promise you won’t embarrass yourself too much.

Let me know how your adventure, or embarrassment, goes on twitter (@emdefaz10) or by email (endefazio@ucdavis.edu)!

Graphic by Tiffany Choi

Comic by Evan Lilley

Geothermal energy is a rapidly developing field in which 100 percent renewable and clean energy can be obtained. Geothermal energy spans from large scale — in which it can provide energy to an entire country, to small scale — in which it can help heat/cool a small house. The science is quite evolved, and has proven efficient and economic on all scales. Currently, the United States’ total energy sources from geothermal energy is less than one percent! Although less than one percent, this number is still a substantial amount. Compare this number to Iceland’s geothermal energy percentage, which constitutes a whopping 65 percent! Are the United States’ political, social, economic or technical systems not advanced enough to implement geothermal energy?

The main problem the United States faces with geothermal energy implementation is both political and economic. One initial point is that geothermal systems, both on large and small scales, are hard to retrofit. Geothermal systems, when implemented to new structures, allow designers and engineers to have more variability and thus more efficiency. For the United States, which is a relatively “built” nation, more geothermal energy sources have to be retrofitted to a current structure. This is problematic, as building owners don’t want to front the cost of introducing a geothermal system when their building has already been in place for a while.

On a large scale, economic factors are a huge problem for the United States. The problem is that nobody wants to front the capital to implement a large-scale geothermal energy project. In the United States, industry is ruled by the private sector. In contrast, Iceland, a country where more percentage of tax dollars are used for the public municipality sector – has a strong geothermal system. The main reason for this is due to the fact that a large percent of tax dollars are for geothermal energy. This is great for Iceland as it introduces a system which generates lower fossil fuel consumption, which in turn increases the need for the geothermal system. The problem in the United States is that very few public dollars are put into the geothermal industry (US renewable energy is dominated by solar).

To continue, the fact that the largest renewable energy source in the United States is solar introduces the social problem of small scale geothermal energy implementation. How many neighbors of yours have implemented a ground source heat pump to passively cool and heat their houses? None? Shocker! Geothermal energy isn’t as common in public knowledge.  A direct result of this notion is the subdued geothermal use.

Subdued geothermal energy use is coupled with higher dependency on fossil fuels. Obviously, fossil fuel dependency is something the United States wants to stray away from. Renewable energy sources help minimize our fossil fuel usage, but we must take advantage of all types of these sources. Wind and solar energy alone aren’t enough to fully solve the energy crisis, which implies that geothermal energy (along with other unused renewable sources) are the key to ending fossil fuel dependency and introducing a 100% off-the-grid energy system.

Brent Lund can be reached at brlund@ucdavis.edu.

Graphic by Tiffany Choi