On Feb. 24, ASUCD President Carly Sandstrom vetoed Senate Bill #41 (SB 41), a measure that passed through senate with a 10-0-2 vote. The bill called for more ASUCD transparency by amending the bylaws to somewhat mirror California’s Brown Act of 2003, which calls for open meetings for local government bodies. In the case of SB 41, all meetings of the ASUCD senate and its subordinate bodies would have to be announced, with an agenda, 48 hours prior to them taking place.

In her veto message, Sandstrom cited logistical issues with being able to publish agendas on time for Monday Internal Affairs Commission meetings, because the Student Government Administrative Office is closed on Fridays. Sandstrom also vetoed the bill because she took issue with the use of the word “crippling” in it, a word she called “politically incorrect.”

If Sandstrom has issues with the wording of the bill, why would she wait until after senate passed it to bring up her concerns? Senate had discussed SB 41 for weeks before passing it, amending the language throughout the process. You would think our president would be aware of pending legislation before it hits her desk.

Additionally, senate passed SB 41 — not even one senator voted against it. We’re all for checks and balances, but vetoing a bill passed almost unanimously through senate is irresponsible and wholly unrepresentative of senate and its constituents: us, the UC Davis students. The fact that our student body president vetoed a resolution that would make ASUCD more transparent as a whole is telling within itself and is downright embarrassing.

The issue of transparency is not confined within senate. During the last two weeks, both Ballot Measure 1’s supporters and opponents have attempted to obtain specific election data from ASUCD Election Committee Chair Eric Renslo. They asked for a breakdown of the votes by day, especially on the first day of elections, Feb. 18, when there were initial issues with voters accidentally abstaining from voting on Measure 1. Renslo, through Creative Media, released only the basic data from the election — the number of votes for each senate and executive ticket candidate and the number of yes, no and abstention votes for Ballot Measure 1.

When asked, Renslo refused to release further information, referencing the ASUCD bylaws and constitution and claiming the lack of precedence. Arguing that something cannot be accomplished because it is not specifically addressed in the bylaws is ridiculous. Having no precedent for something does not imply that one cannot be set.

ASUCD has taken steps toward making itself more transparent and accountable — SB 41 is evidence of that. We appreciate that the current senators have tried to enact legislation to promote transparency, but we hope that the next table and administration will be more successful.

Being a student is hard. It’s a long, difficult process that can feel isolating and even impossible at times.

But the glass isn’t always half empty!

There are a ton of great things about being a transfer student (and a UC Davis student in general) that I’ve discovered over the past year and a half. Knowing that I’ll be graduating in June, I feel like I have an obligation to pass on my wisdom. So here you go!

Once I transferred here, I was struck by an odd jealousy. Sure, it was cool to finally be a UC Davis student, but I still felt like I was missing out on a lot.

It can be really hard to meet people as a transfer student, and one of the things I was most jealous of is that I never got to live in the dorms.

Like I said, it was an odd jealousy. To me, there’s just nothing like being thrown into that “college” experience by learning to cook ramen in a coffee pot and packing your entire closet into a room smaller than your shower. I mean, where else can you get that kind of knowledge?

Oh and the Dining Commons (DC)! Again, I know — I’ve heard it a thousand times. It’s weird that I’m jealous I never had swipes. But think about it … having access to unlimited food that you don’t have to cook or clean up yourself? What’s better than that?

But as much as I feel like I missed out on those key experiences, transferring in also gave me a lot of unique opportunities.

It was also super cool to be able to have my car with me 24/7. I’ve never really experienced a time that I didn’t have my car — I bought it on my own when I was 16 and have had it ever since — so to find out that people had to bike to the grocery store or take a bus to Target was incredibly foreign to me.

It was just so nice to be able to drive around to anywhere I needed, especially home.

Between a few bad cases of strep throat my first few months in Davis, dislocating a rib after multiple back spasms and missing my puppy more than I could bear, having that privilege was more wonderful than I have words for.

And because I was an older student, I felt like I already had a good grip on balancing my school and work load. Yes, my UC Davis classes were much tougher than any class I took at my community college, but still. I felt like I had all the tools I needed to navigate my way through tough classes and nine hour shifts.

I had also had the chance to live on my own before coming to UC Davis. Balancing a budget with a full-time school schedule and a full-time work load at 20 years old was an incredibly powerful, and irreplaceable experience.

I’d also like to point out how great it was coming into college as a 21-year-old.

I mean, is there really any better way to transition into adult life than taking a midterm after your first mojito night? Talk about grace under pressure, preparing oneself under non-ideal circumstances, and learning from your mistakes — enjoying a pitcher of that sweet, sugary mint deliciousness that you later discover is your worst enemy.

While mojito night and I may have a love-hate relationship, I will still miss it. There are just some things in Davis that you can’t find anywhere else. Like those DC cookies. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — I will forever miss those DC cookies. There’s just nothing like them.

Aside from that, one of my biggest fears of graduating is that I will never again live in a place that has an In-N-Out, Chipotle, Habit, Mikuni’s, Black Bear Diner, Burgers and Brew and a Dutch Bros. pretty much walking distance from my house.

And those quirky little Davis things that you just can’t find anywhere else in the world: egg heads, the Arboretum, crazy bikers and DC cookies — I know I already listed those, but I just can’t help myself. They’re too good!

Regardless of whether you’re a freshman or a graduating senior, take the time to appreciate all this cool stuff, and DEFINITELY swipe me in if we ever get the chance.

If you haven’t had the chance to experience some of these things yet, email SARAH MARSHALL at smmarshall@ucdavis.edu to hear more!

How many times have hip-hop aficionados been characterized as lovers of thug music? Answer: many times. There is an undeniable racialization of the rap scene in the U.S. that has been an ongoing project for certain media and political entities since Rapper’s Delight first hit the airwaves and flooded the music world with its inner-city funk.

The flip side to this this dominant criminal narrativization of rap as a musical medium has been its popularity exploding in parts of the country which by their very makeup seem antithetical to its urban soul. White suburban kids have become a prime consumer base for the latest in hip-hop, almost single-handedly (have you been to a hip-hop concert lately?) spurring on new artists like Danny Brown, Action Bronson and Freddie “Gangsta” Gibbs, among others, to the forefront of 2014 hip-hop.

Now you might ask yourself what if anything does this has to do with Latin America? After all, it is the focus of this column. I’d like to let Trap artist Gucci Mane answer that question:

“All I wanna be is El Chapo/ Fully automatic slice your auto/ All I wanna be is El Chapo/ Three billion dollars in pesos/ All I wanna be is El Chapo/ And when I meet him I’mma tell him bravo.”

This song is one of Gucci Mane’s most realistic songs, in that, yes, he probably wants nothing more than to be El Chapo (other Gucci Mane fans knowing his personality would agree), and that it captures the sort of ripped-from-the-headlines aesthetic that is the lifeblood of that most Mexican of artforms: the corrido. The corrido is simply stated, a musical ballad which recounts a popular story, often with a criminal tale in mind, at times coupled with the self-effacing swagger you might expect from a rap song, and culminating in what some see as a dangerously subversive message.

One of the newest corridos to hit the Mexican airwaves (not everywhere since certain states have outright banned the airing of corridos) is La Captura del Chapo (El Chapo’s Capture). It is already being heard through booming sound systems on streets in Mexico’s northern states.

The arguments often levied against narcocorridos (to be seen as separate from the more popular, and to a certain extent more benign category of corrodes — think rap vs. gangsta rap) by certain sectors of Mexican society closely resemble the charges against gangsta rap in the U.S. This critique finds its basis in what can only be described as a misdirected moral panic. The main issue many have with narcocorridos as a subgenre of Mexican music is the idea that they do one of two things: they either glorify the violence that is found in their lyrics, or they directly participate in perpetuating this violence in Mexican society.

There does however seem to be a racial — or national for that matter — double standard at work in the pop culture sphere. Criminally inclined songs, be they murder ballads or heist tunes, have been part and parcel of white American music for generations. Many a country artist has staked his career on narrating the criminal exploits of others. Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, George Jones; these, and many other artists, have seen fit to recount the lives and actions of the American underbelly’s inhabitants. And yet, rather than be lambasted as enablers, they have been heralded as storytellers, branded as bards of the little man. All claims to which I sign onto.

The reality is that music as art — and precisely because it is art — is intrinsically tied to the political standing of its social and physical enclosure. What I mean by this is that an artist of any stripe cannot be faulted for creating something that represents the reality of his or her community. In fact, such acts should be applauded in an era of increasingly manufactured corporate pop music which would seem to have no interest in relating to its listeners or the lives they lead.

Life is bleak, dark and murderous. Not all the time but certainly some of the time. Why then seek to hide this ugliest of truths? Why not let our artists confront it as they so choose, and let their listeners and fans decide what does or doesn’t pass the litmus test of musical reality.

If you, like JORGE JUAREZ would also like nothing more than to see Gucci Mane take a stab (not a literal stab moral panickers) at a Corridos-only album, send your ideas for making this a reality to jnjuarez@ucdavis.edu.

I have heard through the grapevine that the people who run UC Davis are pretty smart. In order to manage various student academic websites, organize class schedules and keep havoc from wreaking everywhere, they maintain a very well-organized system. One would think that with this kind of organization, there might be at least some attention paid to the basic necessities. I’m not talking about fancy golden fountains with water coming out of the mouths of nymphs. No, I’m talking about toilets. For whatever reason, UC Davis just hasn’t been able to nail it in the sanitation department.

There are a few successes on campus, but all in all the restrooms are a major wreck. I, like everyone else, need water. And then, after I consume this water, I need to do a little dance to get it out the other side. Personally, I prefer not to do this dance in public, but considering my last few experiences, the bushes are looking pretty hospitable. For the record, I am a girl, and I cannot comment on the men’s bathrooms. So bros, this article might not perfectly encapsulate your struggle, or you might be able to relate. I have no idea. Boys’ bathrooms are like the pinnacle of mystery and coolness, and one day I hope to find myself nervously locked in one with Johnny Depp after a mystifying first encounter.

In any case, I thought a creative way to discuss my disdain for UC Davis bathrooms might be to compare each one with a book. For example, take Wellman. When I use the restroom there, especially the one on the first floor, it reminds me of reading Animal Farm. It’s scary, unpleasant and does not end well. I think that whenever a girl spontaneously gets her period, it always seems to happen in Wellman — there is often a lot of blood. Also, people like to pee on the toilet seat. I don’t know why. Please everyone, stop doing this. Please. I’m really tired of sitting on other peoples’ urine. Just like the pigs in Animal Farm steal the dignity of the other farm animals, so does Wellman take my dignity every time I have to use paper towels as toilet paper because I know for a fact there will not be toilet paper in the stall. I just imagine some sinister Bathroom God watching from above, twiddling his thumbs and scoffing, “All bathrooms are equal, but some bathrooms are more equal than others.” It’s just a dark and hostile experience.

Second only to Wellman comes the CoHo bathroom. This bathroom is for all the people who don’t know about all the secret bathrooms or don’t have enough time to get to one. It’s like a book off a high school reading list. It’s a good starting point and perfect for people who aren’t all that curious about reading or just don’t have enough time to read (but let’s be honest: the only legitimate reason you have to not read is if you’re in training to go and populate Mars). The CoHo is also incredibly convenient. It’s where shit gets done, literally. People drink coffee, coffee does magic, magic gets disposed. It all happens in the undersized feeding hole we call the CoHo.

Somewhat a step above CoHo bathrooms are Giedt bathrooms. Giedt has all the building blocks of a great bathroom — lots of stalls, good cleaning efforts, well stocked. However, with all the high-tech work that was put into that building, I can’t understand one thing: why can’t the stalls lock? I say this with the risk of confusing everyone because maybe they do lock very well, and I just can’t figure it out. However, I am pretty sure that most of the stalls cannot lock! I just don’t understand! It could be the ultimate bathroom experience! It’s like Sartre’s Being and Nothingness. That could be an amazing book. It’s a good idea. However, it neither makes sense, nor can be completed in a lifetime. Just like the girl who understands the locks at Giedt, an existentialist is twiddling his mustache at me for that comment. But trust me, even Sartre doesn’t understand that book. When you ponder the consciousness of a chair, I lose my trust. Giedt, like Sartre, needs to figure out how to regain my trust.

And thusly I present to you the bathrooms of UC Davis. I recommend to the board of people who decide important matters that we can add a new facet to the University Reading List (which I think is a thing that exists). We should have copies of Animal Farm at Wellman, a copy of Romeo and Juliet at the CoHo and Being and Nothingness at Geidt. And then, instead of implementing that idea, they can figure out why a university as bureaucratically complex as this cannot even provide appropriate sanitation.

To discuss the disgusting with EREN KAVVAS, you should email her at ebkavvas@ucdavis.edu. For more in-depth bathroom reviews, check out updavis.com.

A few years ago, I walked into a Costco which had its tire section at the entrance when a tire came in. As I curiously walked closer to the tires (because hey, I’ve never been to a tire shop before), I was shortly greeted by a noxious odor from the stack of tires, and I walked away.

These tires clearly emitted some serious volatile organic compounds, or VOCs for short, many of which are of concern in the non-toxic side of environmental activism. Yet with a brief visit to many green stores both online and brick-and-mortar, one can encounter objects made from recycled tires, inner tubes and bicycle tires. These objects range from purses, belts, coasters, bags, pencils, and so forth. Car tires have also been recycled into pavement, gym mats, cushioning substrate for playgrounds and as building material in experimental or DIY sustainable housing.

Is it possible that recycling, while normally a very good environmental technology, tends to supercede the health and safety side of being “green”? Tires are not made of natural rubber of course: they are made of synthetic vulcanized rubber made from plenty of mystery synthetic chemicals (something I’d never want close to my skin as a bag, and something I hope wouldn’t pollute the ground).

If you look up online the words “BPA” and “receipt,” a plethora of articles will come up about BPA being found in receipts, sometimes in amounts larger than in certain plastics.  According to some articles, people who work at cash registers have higher BPA levels, and that BPA has been shown to migrate into the skin even deeper than soap and water will go.

There is now strong advice to stop recycling receipts, as BPA has been found in recycled paper products such as pizza boxes and toilet paper. Most places here on campus let you refuse a receipt, but in the bookstore you may need it for a return. During very busy times of the quarter they are checked, and large bins of receipts often result. Even the BPA-free receipts from the Food Co-op may contain another bisphenol chemical like BPB or BPS.

Hopefully, environmental organizations are already aware of this and don’t recycle these products, but the people I asked in the bookstore weren’t sure. If they are recycling receipts, they should highly consider disposing of them differently, and the campus should switch to receipts without any bisphenol chemicals.

What other things should we think a little bit more before reusing, upcycling or recycling?  Many green product stores offer Christmas ornaments, clipboards and other items made from the green motherboards taken from old computers. The motherboards are removed and stripped until they become green boards with funky line patterns and holes on them. I have read plenty of articles about dangerous fire retardant chemicals in computer parts including the motherboards; should these things get a free pass as everyday objects one would touch frequently?

Other products that you should think twice about: recycled wood may contain mystery chemicals used to treat it from bugs and mold. I have seen snack bowls made from vinyl records in eco boutiques — not only is the plastic not food-safe, but it’s vinyl, one of the more questionable plastics. Many upholstery swatches in the Aggie reuse store also have flame retardants. Some people grow plants for food in plastic or newspaper containers. Furthermore we need to think about the inks, adhesives and other substances that hitch along with the paper, plastic and metal products that go in the recycling bin.

Of course I am not saying we shouldn’t recycle or upcycle, just that we be mindful of what and how we do it. A record bowl is a nice decoration, but to eat out of it is another matter; newspaper for paper mâché is fine, but for composting or planting we need to consider pollutants that can get into our food supply or soil. We need to think about the safety of recycled water when it comes to our food supply and surrounding environment.

There is so much to consider. However, it can be quite a mental challenge, and I understand that we have to accept a certain level of risk; otherwise, we’d live inside hazmat suits. I hope there can one day be a better conversation about how and what we recycle.

KATHERINE LIU is a third-year psychology major who can be reached at katliu@ucdavis.edu.