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Davis resident starts wildlife blog

City News

City Editor

January 28, 2013

Holly Ober, a resident of Davis and employee at UC Davis, started a blog on Tumblr called Wild Davis (wild-davis.tumblr.com) in early January. The blog features and aims to document pictures of wildlife in and around Davis.

“One of the things that amazes me is the animals that are able to coexist with humans,” Ober said. “I want to promote awareness of diversity and how clever they are to adapt.”

Davis is home to many animals, specifically a huge array of birds, coyotes and other animals, such as minks.

“I notice the wildlife everywhere. There is a lot less of wildlife in Davis than where I am from, which is Auburn, Calif.,” said third-year wildlife, fish and conservation biology major Laura Zajack. “So I think this is a good thing to spread awareness of what Davis has.”

The pictures contribute to the blog’s underlining educational value, as it portrays animals living in the ever-changing environment.

Ober encourages her followers to post pictures of the wildlife that they have seen or have seen in the past, either in the city of Davis or on the UC Davis campus. She said that since the start of the blog, the number of people sending pictures in has progressively increased.

Julia Luckenbill is a follower of the Wild Davis blog. She has also posted several of her own photos that she has captured.

“I think that we are often cut off from nature, to the point where people develop phobias about natural things,” Luckenbill said. “Blogs such as this one help us connect with nature and notice the creatures around us. This keeps us mindful and leads to a sense of wonder about our world.”

One thing that the blog achieves well is a documentation of the type of animals that are in Davis, how many there are, what seasons they come out in and other information. Once the blog has its one-year anniversary, people can search through tags as to what type of animals were seen during specific times of the year.

“[It’s] out of curiosity to document what is out there, if we can get a crowdsourcing inventory of what we have [and] sort it by tags,” Ober said. “Just kind of keep track of what we really have [on] an informal basis, not really scientific.”

Ober has given an incentive to her followers as well by setting a goal to post at least 30 different species of animals in Davis by the end of 2013. As the blog is getting more and more followers, Ober believes this goal will be easily reached before the end of the year, and the bar will continue to be raised higher.

Although the blog is the main emphasis, people can follow the wildlife in Davis through the Facebook page as well.

“The wildlife is such a good reason to go out and enjoy,” Ober said. “Generally, with the good weather we have, [Davis is] full of animal lovers and people who love to do things outdoors.”

KAMILA KUDELSKA can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

Sports evolution

Sports

Sports Editor

January 28, 2013

Over the past couple weeks, my life has been consumed by my human anatomy class and the Australian Open. It’s a good thing I don’t have a social life, or that would have really suffered.

I’m writing this before the men’s final begins, but by the time it publishes on Monday, the final will be over.

I’m old-fashioned. I like the classic players, the ones I grew up with. The class acts, the ones that carry themselves, the ones that behave and don’t rebel. This means Roger Federer.

Enter Novak Djokovic. The Djokester, master imitator and fan favorite. Normally I don’t like players like him, but this man has transcended the game of tennis.

The current world number-one is in better shape than anyone else. He plays better defense and he is more dangerous than anyone, possibly ever, from anywhere on the court.

You can see the progression, tracking from Federer, that has led to the transcending of the sport.

Players can’t just have one weapon. They have to have everything. Even Federer himself, who won over 10 majors with one of the best forehands in the game, found his backhand was too much of a liability in the evolving game of tennis. As such, he has adapted and has one of the better one-handers in the sport.

Federer has moved tennis forward. This year, there were proposed changes to college tennis that would have done the opposite.

Tennis matches are possibly the collegiate event that take the longest time to sit through. I will not argue that they are long. The NCAA is saying the changes would be to benefit the audience and make it more entertaining — and more bearable — for the viewers.

I like watching college tennis more than I like watching the pros. If it were up to me, I’d say the format is perfect. Eight game pro-sets are good for doubles, as a competitive warm-up for the singles.

The main proposed changes were to eliminate the third set entirely and play a ten-point tiebreaker instead, shortening the already-abbreviated eight game sets down to six in doubles.

Now we know why it failed. The NCAA is separate from the ITA, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, which is the main governing body of college tennis. Still, the NCAA tried to reach down and intervene into a market they didn’t understand.

The bigger issue, though, is the fact that they thought pleasing the fans by cutting into the game of tennis is more important than the competition itself.

Specifically with tennis, when players choose the sport, they know they aren’t going to be getting as much glory, as big of an audience, as much press as other sports like basketball and football.

Still, the bigger issue here is that the NCAA thinks it is more important to please the fans than the players. Yes, on a broad spectacle, professional sports are for the audience’s entertainment. People pay, often thousands of dollars, for tickets to see a game.

Not in college. It is rare for sporting events outside of basketball and football to cost money. Once you make attendance at athletic events cost money and tailor the rules to reflect what you think the fans want, there is little stopping schools from paying their players as incentives.

While it was, I’m hoping, a good-natured attempt to make tennis a more popular sport, administration must look at why they are proposing changes.

You cannot change the rules of a college sport in the hopes that more fans will come out to attend. If anything, these changes are deviating further and further from the true game of tennis. The U.S. Open is the only major in tennis that plays a tiebreaker at six-all in the fifth set.

I think it’s awesome that the U.S. Open has this sort of feature that makes it unique, but a change as radical as the one proposed by the NCAA would do nothing but decrease the popularity of tennis with players. The idea of college tennis would look much less prestigious and the system would not attract the top players. A lower playing-level would definitely not increase the fanbase.

Some changes are good for sports, others not so much. Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic good, NCAA ideas bad. Four legs good, two legs bad.

MATTHEW YUEN just wrote his first column without a movie reference. If you know what the book reference is, email him at sports@theaggie.org.

Campus Climate study to be conducted at UC Davis

Campus News

Campus Editor

January 28, 2013

The University of California is conducting the largest university system climate study through the distribution of campus climate surveys.

The results will be used to help create an atmosphere of inclusiveness and community on UC campuses.

“There was a felt need on the part of the entire UC system to survey all of the university community: faculty, staff, undergrads, grads, professional students, folks over at the health center. They’re hoping to establish a baseline to be able to see whether interventions to improve campus climate were effective or not,” said Julia Ann Easley, senior public information representative at the UC Davis News Service.

The project is being funded by the UC President’s Initiative Fund, without the use of student tuition or outside sources.

The surveys, which were first administered on Oct. 29, 2012 at other UC campuses and will continue through February 2013, contain questions addressing concerns of students, faculty and staff regarding how they feel about their community, with the hopes of identifying particular groups in the campus community who feel that they are not represented.

“A lot of our survey is asking about the perceptions of our community over a lot of other stuff,” said Kirk McGregor, a graduate student representative involved in conducting the survey project.

According to David Ritz, vocational rehabilitation counselor in the department of human resources, these climate surveys tend to reveal a common pattern among different groups within the campus community.

“When we did the discussion about this, what we found is that a lot of the constituent groups have the same basic concerns: How safe am I to reveal my sexual orientation, learning disability, industrial or personal injury, etc.? [These] concerns were common across all constituent groups. It was interesting to see how cohesive the questions were because we literally just went, ‘How safe are you about revealing blank?’” Ritz said.

According to Gillian Butler of Budget and Institutional Analysis, this survey is completely anonymous.

“Anonymity and confidentiality mean two things. Confidentiality means that the researcher knows who you are but they will not attach your identity to your answers and that’s how we usually conduct research through our office,” Butler said. “We know who the student is so that we can put campus data, connect it to the survey answers so that we don’t have to ask about your ethnicity and gender, major, etc. But this survey is anonymous, so that they don’t even know whose answers they are.”

In order to achieve the best results, the researchers need at least 30 percent of the campus community to participate in the survey.

“It’s sort of like a jury system. If you want the system to work, then you need to be willing to participate. So if you want this to be a community, make it a community by participating,” she said.

UC is giving out prizes to participants to encourage students to take the survey. Participation incentives include a $10,000 scholarship for one undergraduate student, $5,000 stipends for two graduate academic or professional students, $5,000 research grants for two faculty members, $2,000 professional development grants for five staff members and, at each participating campus, two winners will receive iPads.

In addition, UC Davis campus incentives include four iPads, 75 Aggie gift cards worth $25 each, 25 UC Davis Stores gift cards worth $25 each, 10 $25 restaurant gift cards, 10 $25 Starbucks gift cards, 10 $25 iTunes gift cards and 10 $25 gas gift cards.

According to McGregor, the survey will be made available to students through links provided via email. Students will also have access to the survey through links at the computer labs on campus, and there will be flyers and informational slides as well as promotions at the MU.

“This is going to be a long-term tool. This will influence the next generation of students to come through … This is data that will be open to the public. We will come out and say as a community how we feel … and it will lead to change,” McGregor said.

The climate survey will be released to UC Davis students on Thursday and will be open to the campus community for the remainder of February.

The survey will be administered during the first week of February at the remaining campuses who have not received the survey: UC Merced, UC Riverside and UC Berkeley.

For more information about the survey visit campusclimate.ucop.edu.

JESSICA GRILLI can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Annual Community Service Awards honors members of campus community

Campus News

Campus Editor

January 28, 2013

The Community Service Resource Center (CSRC) is currently organizing the 2013 Community Service Awards.

The annual ceremony, which takes place in the spring, aims to recognize community members who exhibit a dedication to helping others.

“I just think it’s something that people don’t recognize, and these people do incredible things all the time, not looking for any recognition,” said Kim McMullen, a student advisor at the CSRC and a second-year international relations major.

Nominations take place in February. Qualifying nominees have an affiliation with UC Davis, as either a student or staff or faculty member, and are selected by their peers or via self-nomination.

Last year, 1,137 people were nominated, with 240 of them receiving an award.

Winners are placed into different categories of recognition based on the type of community service and the hours served: Outstanding, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Honorable Mention.

“I know that I cannot help everybody, but just to think that every day I change people’s lives helps, even if we don’t have so much to give, a little bit helps,” said Zita Demaree, one of last year’s Outstanding winners.

Demaree is co-founder of AJD Angels of Hope and works in the Budget and Finance office in the Student Housing building.

AJD Angels of Hope is a Filipino American charity that donates food, clothing, books and toys to needy children locally and internationally. Demaree was nominated by one of her students for the award.

“I think this is very helpful to students in the long run, because you can touch people’s lives. You cannot learn it in the classroom,” Demaree said.

Jessica Jaswal, a UC Davis alumna who majored in biopsychology, is another 2012 Outstanding winner. She founded the UC Davis Global Brigades, which is aimed at improving the quality of life for people across the world with the help of students and community members through volunteer work.

She also helped create the UC Haiti Initiative to help rebuild Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.

Her peers and faculty members nominated her for the award.

“Every person can make a positive difference in the world — they just have to take the first step,” Jaswal said in an email interview. “The awards recognize the hard work and celebrate the collective achievements of students, faculty and volunteers that have helped create a better world.”

Nomination dates for the Community Service Awards will be announced within the next two weeks on iccweb.ucdavis.edu/cs.

Further information on CSRC events can be found on the CSRC Facebook and Twitter pages.

SASHA COTTERELL can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Congressman opens new Davis District Office

City News

City Editor

January 28, 2013

On Thursday, Congressman John Garamendi officially opened his new Davis District Office at 412 G St. About 200 constituents attended his open house to meet the congressman, his wife Patti and office staff.

Garamendi represents California’s 3rd congressional district. He said that Davis is the geographic center of the district and a critical part of the community, so much of the work he will be doing is going to be centered on Davis and the university.

“We are working to make sure constituents know what services are available to them from this office,” said Donald Lathbury, Garamendi’s communications director.

Garamendi’s constituent casework team was also present at the open house to talk to community members and get a sense of what issues people are concerned about.

“Our team understands that our job first and foremost is service,” said Karen Tedford, Garamendi’s district director and constituent casework manager, in a press release. “It’s easy for someone who doesn’t know the lay of the land to get lost trying to resolve a problem with a federal agency. We do what we can to break through bureaucratic gridlock when it harms our constituents.”

The open house was also a time for Garamendi’s office to announce the new Congressional Civic Internship Program in its Davis office, which is aimed at students from UC Davis and surrounding community colleges. It is modeled after the Washington, D.C. internship program that it offers as well.

Interns can gain experience working on projects relating to research, policy, communication and legislation. They work directly with a mentor and also complete a civic intern project by the end of the program.

According to Andrew Kim, Garamendi’s special projects director and internship coordinator, the internship aims to create civic youth engagement and promote service.

Maxine Saria, a fourth-year international relations and Spanish double major, said she completed the internship last spring and found it to be an amazing experience.

Garamendi recently received his subcommittee assignments and will be working on projects related to transportation, water and military issues concerning Northern California.

“I represented this community as a state senator in the 1980s, and it’s an honor to once again serve you. My title is ‘Representative,’ and I take that responsibility very seriously,” Garamendi said at the open house.

PAAYAL ZAVERI can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

Explosive materials detonated at Student Farm

Campus Editor

January 28, 2013

Explosive materials detonated at Student Farm

On the night of Jan. 17, eight explosions were heard by residents of the on-campus living community the Domes and surrounding complexes.

These explosions were the result of materials detonated at the site of the UC Davis Student Farm by police and other officials.

The materials were among those recovered from 418 Russell Park, home of chemistry researcher David Snyder, earlier that day. Snyder, in police custody under charges of possession of explosives and firearms, was injured in a chemical explosion occurring in the early hours of Jan. 17.

The Yolo County Bomb Squad, after searching and clearing his apartment, recovered multiple hazardous materials.

“Experts on the scene decided that some substances were not safe to transport a long distance, so bomb technicians found a safe space, off of Orchard Park, where they could destroy the substances safely,” said UC Davis Chief of Police Matt Carmichael in a Jan. 19 press conference.

The space they chose was the Student Farm, a plot of land for student use managed by the Agricultural Sustainability Institute (ASI). The Student Farm includes the Market Garden, where students can grow and sell crops, as well as other multiple areas serving educational purposes.

Nearly 20 acres of the Student Farm is certified organic by the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). The Market Garden is certified to grow multiple crops, including alfalfa, grapes, mixed vegetables, olives and popcorn, organically.

Soil samples from the Student Farm were taken by the Yolo County Bomb Squad as standard procedure both before and after the chemical detonations. After the CCOF’s investigation of the land, the Student Farm remained certified organic, according to Patricia Bailey with the UC Davis News Service.

The decision to move the materials from 418 Russell Park to the Student Farm was not an arbitrary one.

“The field selected was the closest open area in which [the detonations] could be done safely,” Bailey said.

The detonations themselves were loud enough to disrupt the sleep of some residents of the Domes, though they were given notice shortly before the explosives were detonated.

“Residents of the Domes, if they were at home, were notified in person by police officers on the evening of Thursday, Jan. 17, prior to the supervised explosions,” Bailey said.

However, Duskin Drum, resident of the Domes and cinema and technocultural studies teaching assistant, was not satisfied with the advance notice.

“Why were we, the next door residents not briefed? We were told to stay in our domes and not ask questions, essentially,” Drum said through email.

ROHIT RAVIKUMAR can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Roving Reporter

Features

Features Editor

January 28, 2013

In this age of digital downloads, pirating, torrenting and CDs, music is more accessible and easily obtained than ever before. With so many ways to achieve the same end-result of a library full of songs, students had different and creative ways of getting music.

“I use a variety of different venues. I started using Spotify and Pandora because it makes it easier to obtain music. However, if there is an album that I like, I’ll buy it. My motto is: if I really enjoy an album, I buy it.” — Albert Aguilera, nutritional biologist graduate student

“I get it from a YouTube converter, which is just a separate website that takes the URL of the video and converts it into a sound file that I can then download. It takes a long time to download each song, and it’s not very good quality, but I’d rather do that than pay a dollar for every song.” — Liz Mack, third-year biological sciences major with neurobiology, physiology and behavior emphasis

“There is a mixture of sources. Sometimes I buy it, sometimes I pirate it. It’s really a question of if I like one song by a certain artist or if I like the whole album; if I like the whole album, I’ll buy it. When it’s just one song, I’ll use a YouTube converter.” — Susan Yoon, law student

“I use iTunes when I have gift cards. When I run out, I use Spotify on my computer, which you hook up to your Facebook to create and share music playlists with friends. It has most of the popular music, but also different stuff like a cappella playlists and covers.” — Vaishali Mittal, fourth-year biomedical engineering major

“In high school, I downloaded music illegally. Now I use last.fm and Pandora. I have lower standards, and it’s hard to find music that I like, and it’s just so easy to put on a station [with last.fm and Pandora]. Sometimes I’ll use YouTube [in browser] and follow the rabbit hole of recommended music that pops up after each video finishes.” — Arshia Ehsanipour, fourth-year biomedical engineering major

“I actually buy all of my music off of iTunes. I’m not proud of it, and it’s very expensive, but that $1.29 per song is worth it for the safety for my computer. I used to torrent all my music, and my computer broke down — while I’m not sure if it’s the torrent’s fault, it’s just safer to buy my music.” — Albert Aramayo, fourth-year political science and English double major

“When I was younger, I bought all my music, but I found out about downloading with YouTube converters, and it’s so much easier. If I want more than just one song at a time from an artist, I’ll torrent whole albums.” — Sam Le, second-year computer science major

“I usually only listen to music when I’m driving. I’ll just switch around to different stations on the radio until I find something that I like. It’s just music.” — Trang Ngo, fourth-year design and communication double major

“I Spotify all the free albums I can. [Spotify] offers you [an] upgrade for more music, but it requires a monthly payment. It’s the same thing for the Spotify app on my phone, they give it to you free for a month, but after that, they make you get the upgrade. After my month was up, I stopped using it. It’s too expensive.” — Walinda Xaysongkham, third-year human development major

“If I like an album such as the Taylor Swift or Ke$ha albums, I am sure to go buy it on a CD.” — Shane Taypay, fourth-year civil engineering major

“I download music using the YouTube converter for convenience. If I’m going to a party, my iPod gets used as the playlist, so I quickly get songs [from the converter]. The songs are already on YouTube, but I’m not paying for it, so I’m not sure if it’s illegal.” — Andrea Manrique, fourth-year clinical nutrition major

“I get my music off of this Android app on my phone called GTunes Music. It’s free; all I have to do is type in a song name and it gets downloaded right onto my phone. It’s not whole albums, just single songs at a time, but it’s a pretty fast download.” — Lizett Jaime, first-year civil engineering major

HANNAH KRAMER can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

Senate Brief

Campus News

Campus Editor

January 28, 2013

ASUCD Senate meetings are scheduled to begin Thursdays at 6:10
p.m. Times listed are according to the clock at the Thursday, Jan. 24 meeting location, the Memorial Union’s Mee Room. The ASUCD president is not required to attend senate meetings.

Meeting called to order at 6:14 p.m.

Rebecca Sterling, ASUCD president, present
Yena Bae, ASUCD vice president, present
Beatriz Anguiano, ASUCD senator, present
Bradley Bottoms, ASUCD senator, present
Liam Burke, ASUCD senator, present
Armando Figueroa, ASUCD senator, present
Don Gilbert, ASUCD senator, present
Joyce Han, ASUCD senator, present, left for an hour at 7 p.m.
Maxwell Kappes, ASUCD senator, present
Kabir Kapur, ASUCD senator, pro tempore, present
Paul Min, ASUCD senator, present
Felicia Ong, ASUCD senator, present
Alyson Sagala, ASUCD senator, present
Tal Topf, ASUCD senator, present

Presentations
Sterling and Carly Sandstrom said that the ASUCD Job Initiative will begin this year. They will work together with the chancellor’s office, the Cal Aggie Alumni Association and the Internship and Career Center to bring a two-part event that will target first- and second-year students to inform them about resources on campus, as well as upperclassmen who are looking for jobs outside of Davis. Among the resources offered will be resume building, interview practice and the chance to speak with alumni from various fields.

Appointments and confirmations
Joshua Rosen and Connie Tsai were appointed to the Student Health and Wellness Committee.

Joohi Kasliwal was appointed as Education Abroad Center (EAC) commissioner.

Danielle Burnstein was appointed as director of ASUCD Entertainment Council.

Unit director reports
Anni Kimball, director of Cal Aggie Camp, said that she created three new positions. She is currently focusing on outreach for applications, which will be accepted from Feb. 24 to Mar. 1. The website will be launched soon, and criteria for counselors and campers are currently being finalized.

Consideration of old legislation
Senate Bill 42, authored by Eric Renslo and introduced by Kappes, to amend the procedure to suspend a bylaw. Sterling vetoed the bill, saying it was unnecessary. Renslo explained that the bill strengthens and protects the bylaws. In an 8-3-1 vote, the veto was overridden.

Senate Bill 35, authored by Spencer McManus, co-authored by Justin Goss, changes the procedures for interviewing people who are re-applying for positions that they currently hold, so that re-applicants have a slightly different interviewing process than those applying for the position for the first time. Sterling vetoed the bill, saying that the same interviewing process should be upheld for each interviewee.
Though the veto stated that it could potentially be discriminatory, McManus said that if applicants already have the position on their resume then it is not discriminatory, but merely asking better questions.
In a 9-3-0 vote, the veto was overridden. Topf, Ong and Bottoms voted to uphold the veto.

Senate Bill 32, authored by Joshua Herskovitz, co-authored by Henry Chatfield, Melanie Maemura, Patrick Sheehan and Gareth Smythe, implements a long-range plan for Entertainment Council, including finding more workers with experience in event planning and building and retaining a large volunteer base. The bill passed unanimously.

Senate Bill 44, authored by Maemura, co-authored by Sergio Cano, Min, Sterling and Rylan Schaeffer, to clarify the purpose and practices of the Internet and Networking Committee (INC). In an 11-0-1 vote, the bill passed. Han was absent.

Senate Bill 45, authored by Smythe, co-authored by Kapur, requires the chairperson of any ASUCD committee to publicize the meeting times and locations for the ASUCD Senate and members of the public 24 hours prior to the start of the committee meeting. The bill passed unanimously.

Senate Bill 37, authored by McManus, co-authored by Kapur, requires that a unit’s adoptive senator to be invited to interviews for that unit’s director position. McManus said that this doesn’t change who is required to be there, only the composition of the interviewing committee. The bill passed unanimously.

Senate Bill 39, authored by McManus, to add missing senate representatives to Section 202 of the ASUCD Bylaws and clarify the terms of these representatives. The bill passed unanimously.

Public announcements
Sagala said she is working in collaboration with ASUCD Entertainment Council to bring about Single’s Awareness Night.

Meeting adjourned at 11:37 p.m.

Open positions within ASUCD can be found at vacancy.ucdavis.edu.

STEPHANIE B. NGUYEN compiles the senate briefs. She can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Game of threes

Sports Editor

January 28, 2013

The UC Davis men’s basketball team disappointed its home crowd by letting a close game slip out of its hands in the final minutes, adding to the growing list of frustrating losses.

“We’ve got to stop letting people beat us at home,” said sophomore Corey Hawkins shortly after losing to Cal State Fullerton on Thursday night.

The Titans came to town and brought their wickedly talented offense with them. The Big West Conference’s most productive team shot for 54.8 percent from the field, 52.2 percent from beyond the arc and 78.9 percent from the free throw line.

The Aggie defense played a strong game, but failed to contain the Titans in the final minutes of the game, which gave the Titans enough time to pull away with a 95-88 victory.

UC Davis started banking the three-pointers early and often to score eight treys in the first half alone. Sophomore J.T. Adenrele handled the ball in the paint for the Aggies, going 3-5 on field goals and a perfect 5-5 from the line.

UC Davis’ offense was strong enough to earn them a 45-40 lead at halftime. They emerged from the tunnel with energy and continued to contest the Titans on every possession.

With 12 minutes left Hawkins drove the ball up the center and scored a layup that gave the Aggies a 62-58 advantage. Unfortunately, he fell head-first into a media camera and had to leave the game for several minutes to recover.

The Titans did not manage to truly pull away from UC Davis until the final two minutes. They were able to penetrate the Aggie defense for some three-pointers and UC Davis was unable to answer on the other side.

It was a hard game to judge because the Aggies had a solid performance. The opportunities were there at the end and they took some good shots, but nothing fell Davis’ way.

After the game head coach Jim Les admitted that his team had struggled, but it was still a solid contest.

“Defensively I was a little disappointed … we have to give a lot of credit to Cal State Fullerton. They have firepower on that offense,” he said. “Overall I thought my guys played well though. They’re showing improvement every game and that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”

With the sting of the most recent heartbreaking loss still in their minds, UC Davis came back with a vengeance against the Highlanders.

The squad bounced back to face UC Riverside on Saturday night, and they did it without Hawkins.

“It was a challenge. We’re without our best player [Hawkins] so we knew we all had to step it up even more,” said junior Ryan Sypkens.

The Aggies stuck to the game plan and it paid off. They went up early against the Highlanders and the game was rarely in question. Adenrele was simply on fire in the paint and finished with 20 points on the night. The big man also finished the week by shooting 80 percent from the free throw line. He jokingly attributed his success to “shooter’s touch.”

“In all seriousness though, I have to give the credit to Coach [Les]. He’s the one that’s been working with me to make improvements,” Adenrele said.

The Highlanders had no answer for the Aggie offense. When they would crash in to cover Adenrele, another Aggie would make them pay from the perimeter. UC Davis shot an outstanding 56.8 percent from the field and Fullerton was never able to compete.

“It feels great to bounce back with a win,” Sypkens said after the game.

UC Davis’ offense was firing on all cylinders and junior Tyler Les credited their point guard.

“Paolo [Mancasola] did a great job of breaking down their defense. Once he has that figured out he can fire the ball around the court for the open shot,” he said.

Tyler Les had a career night of his own, finishing with seven assists.

“Tyler’s doing a nice job of recognizing how guys are playing him. Once he can work around that he can really help spread the defense,” coach Les said.

UC Davis stands 4-4 in conference which has them in contention for the Big West Tournament. They have three incredibly challenging road games ahead and they are hoping to have Hawkins back for them.

“He’s a beast. He’ll be out there no matter what,” Tyler said.

As they prepare to face Pacific, UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly the team is sticking to the game plan.

“We have to continue to focus on the process, then these results will take care of themselves,” Coach said.

The Aggies finished this week with 20 three-pointers through two games. When asked about his offense’s production from beyond the arc Coach Les simply smiled.

“I have a lot of confidence in our offense,” he said.

KIM CARR can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

UC Davis shines at dual meet against Fresno State, UC Santa Barbara

Sports Editor

January 28, 2013

UC Davis ended its dual meet schedule in impressive fashion at the Fresno Aquatics Center, defeating the host Bulldogs 195-105 and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rival UC Santa Barbara by a score of 180-120 in Saturday’s double dual-meet.

UC Davis captured its first victory over UCSB for the first time since 2006. The Aggies won nine individual events and both relays against both teams to finish their dual schedule with an 8-2 record.

“This was a very good team effort,” said head coach Barbara Jahn. “We focused more on the final results of each event instead of times.”

Junior Liliana Alvarez was UC Davis’ lone overall double event-winner, capturing the two breaststroke events. She posted a time of 1:04.68 in the 100-yard breaststroke, then 2:20.37 in the 200-yard race in the 11th event of the meet.

In addition, junior Samantha Shellem dominated the 500-yard freestyle with a winning time of 5:00.91, four full seconds ahead of Gaucho sophomore Heren Alanis at 5:05.35. She also posted 1:51.62 in the 200 free. In the 200 back, Shellem captured second-place with a 2:04.52.

Junior Katie Edwards edged Fresno State’s Dani Yoho for an overall victory in the 100 free, touching the final pad in 51.89. Edwards also placed second in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:07.50 and third in the 200 free.

The Aggies solidified their lead with two wins in the relays. Hilary Hunt, Morgan Lee, Megan Leung and Haley Porter claimed the win in the 200-yard medley relay at 1:45.37, more than a full second ahead of UC Santa Barbara’s squad. Shellem, Porter, Hunt and Edwards ended the meet with a bang with a 3:29.00 in the 400 relay, outpacing the Gauchos by a 2:29 margin.

The week before, the Aggies took down Cal State Bakersfield 176-113 at the Schaal Aquatics Center.

Juniors Alvarez and Shellem, as well as freshman diver Hanna Tears, each captured two individual event wins. Tears set the school record on the 1-meter board and qualified for the NCAA Zone Regionals in mid-March.

With this win, the Aggies improve to 6-2 in dual meets this season.

Tears scored a 278.40 on the low board to surpass senior Erica Stricker’s benchmark of 265.80. Subsequently, she followed with a 292.35 on the 3-meter board, missing senior Jamie Flynn’s 5-year-old record of 293.55. With these scores, she was able to qualify for regionals.

“She was great,” Jahn said. “Diving is very subjective; it was exciting that she was able to perform.”

In addition, Alvarez swept both of the breaststroke events with a time of 1:04.80. She dominated the field in the 200 breast at 2:22:57, more than seven seconds faster than her nearest competitor.

To top it off, Shellem scored the maximum nine points in the 1,650 freestyle with a time of 17:14.13, the fastest time in this event at the Schaal Aquatics center since Denver’s Michele Lowry set the pool record of 17:07.82 in January 2006. Shellem was more than 20 seconds faster than sophomore teammate Cara Silvas. Later on, she captured an off event, the 200 backstroke.

Also, UC Davis posted the top three times in the 200 individual medley.

The Aggies commemorated five seniors who completed their final home meet at the Aquatics Center: Lee, Bridget Bugbee, Grace Benefield, Nicole Bahbout, and Geneva Azevado.

“We switched up the lineups so some swimmers swam events they weren’t the best at. It was a great meet,” Jahn said.

With a month to focus on its next event, the UC Davis swimming and diving team will look to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Swimming and Diving Championships. The team is already preparing for the season-ending meet on Feb. 20th at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, Calif. for the inaugural events of the three-day meet.

The UC Davis divers will travel to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Col. for their three-day championship event.

VEENA BANSAL can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Aggies complete weekend road sweep

Sports Editor

January 28, 2013

The UC Davis women’s basketball team got two impressive wins this weekend. They’re not there just yet. But they’re close.

The Aggies brought their overall record up to 8-10 with wins over Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside this weekend.

On Thursday, UC Davis thrashed the Titans by a score of 88-44, then dished out an equally convincing beating of the Highlanders on Saturday.

The 61-49 win over UC Riverside completed the Aggies’ undefeated weekend, pushing them to 3-4 in the Big West Conference, propelling them from ninth place to sixth.

Thursday — UC Davis 88, Cal State Fullerton 44

Entering the weekend, the Aggies stood at an underwhelming 6-10 and 1-4 in conference. UC Davis’ struggles on the road were apparent in their 1-5 road record.

Yet the Aggies came out hot against CSU Fullerton, putting on a show that dispelled any thoughts that the Aggies belonged at the bottom of the conference standings.

The Titans entered the game 3-2 in the Big West, but couldn’t do much against the balanced Aggie offense.

A 37-22 score at the half didn’t indicate such a one-sided game, but UC Davis came out firing stronger than they had in the first period.

The Aggies’ defense held CSU Fullerton to 22 points in the second half again, but UC Davis scored 51 points to blow the game open. Their lead continued to grow as time went on, and the only limit to the Aggies’ dominating performance was the clock.

Freshman Aniya Baker came off the bench and put down 16 points while fellow freshman Alyson Doherty provided the power in the paint with 16 more points. Every player that got playing time put points on the board for UC Davis, proving to be too much for the Titans.
Saturday — UC Davis 61, UC Riverside 49

UC Davis didn’t quite repeat their performance in the following game against UC Riverside, but they did enough to earn a commanding victory.

The Aggies jumped on the board first when sophomore Sydnee Fipps scored the first of her 23 points just over a minute into the game. Once Fipps drained the first of her two free-throws to put the Aggies up 1-0, UC Davis never relinquished the lead.

Fipps has led the team in points in 11 out of the 18 games that UC Davis has played.

Senior Blair Shinoda put down just five points, but grabbed half of the team’s 14 steals. The total of seven steals was a career high for the Santa Ana native.

More impressive than their offensive performance was UC Davis’ defense, which shut down the Big West’s lead scorer, Tre’Shonti Nottingham, for the duration of the first half. The Aggies limited UC Riverside to 49 points on the game and kept them 1-11 from beyond the three-point arc.

The 61-49 victory closed out the Aggies’ first weekend road sweep of the season, and put them in a good position to turn around the season.

UC Davis will return home next week for a couple home games when it hosts Long Beach State and UC Irvine at the Pavilion.

MATTHEW YUEN can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Column: Here’s to Divas

Opinion

Opinion

January 28, 2013

Alright, readers. I’m going to lay it out simply: this column is going to be about menstruation and alternatives to the conventional attitudes and methods of “dealing with” periods.

Wait…did you just hear that? …hear what? The sound of uncomfortable readers all over campus hurriedly putting the paper down. Or perhaps, was it the sound of their interest being piqued by the taboo topic?

It’s really quite a shame that menstruation has become so hush-hush. Scientists say that about one in two people menstruates. Statistically, that means it is pretty common. I know tons of people who do it. Heck, I’ve been known to do it every so often.

Omg…did she just admit to menstruating…

Humor aside, menstruation is simply a biological process that need not be a source of embarrassment, shame or uncontrollable blushing. We can hold our “icks” and “ews” in favor of a more mature look at the female reproductive cycle. After all, neither of us would be here without it. If we can allow our discomfort to dissolve, we can start to discuss menstruation openly and even begin to celebrate it.

Let’s open that door. The taboo around menstruation has left us a bounty of conversational fodder.

Have you ever heard of the Diva Cup? I’m not surprised if you haven’t. It is a reusable silicone cup that is inserted into the vagina during menstruation to collect menstrual blood.

Wait…what? INSIDE the vagina?

You read right! With a bit of practice, it is quickly and easily inserted into the vagina and can remain there for up to twelve hours. A woman can then remove and empty it according to need.

Let’s gauge your initial reaction to this. Are you disgusted? Are you uncomfortable? Are you fascinated? Maybe you have had that moment in the feminine hygiene aisle while glancing over all the options that promise scent-free! embarrassment-free! periods and suddenly you see moon pads?! Diva cups?! WTF?!

You are amused. You are laughing quietly to yourself lest the old hippie lady down the aisle be offended. You can’t believe these sort of products exist amidst the freedom tampons promise the modern woman. That is exactly how I reacted before I learned more about these options, too.

But, I suppose curiosity got the best of me. Or perhaps the hassle of carrying tampons around finally exhausted my pre-menstrual patience, and I ran to my nearest progressive grocery store to make an honest woman of myself.

I’ve been using a Diva Cup for over a year now, and let me tell you … it’s been splendid. There is no waste production involved. Every single tampon and pad that has ever been used is still somewhere, still used. Because we don’t see it in the United States, we often don’t think about the waste women’s monthly cycles create. Other countries that lack such waste disposal infrastructure, such as India, have not constructed the mindset that tampons and pads are necessary. Thus, women do not use such disposable options.

I’ve also never been one to trust industry to keep harmful chemicals out of my consumer products. Switching to a Diva Cup meant that I could stop wondering if the heavy application of pesticides on cotton crops were getting into my tampons and thus my nice parts. Chemical sensitivities to tampons and pads aren’t that uncommon, and it’s more relaxing to simply eliminate the question of risk completely.

Perhaps most convincing, though, is the simplicity of it all. Buying tampons is annoying. Carrying tampons is annoying. Disposing of tampons is annoying. Periods need not be so inconvenient.

But you know what is convenient? Carrying everything I need to address menstruation in my vagina. Is there a more discreet traveling case? I think not.

I know Diva Cups are strange, unknown and a bit frightening for that reason, but I’ve known no woman who has tried one and disliked it. For that matter, nearly all these same women will talk at length as to why Diva Cups are the best way to menstruate. A Diva Cup retails for $40, which at first seems a bit shocking. But now think to the cost of tampons and pads over a three- to five-year period, and the shock wears off.

Every woman who starts using a Diva Cup is confronted with the logistics of it all, but it really is quite manageable. Periods become much less of a pain and more of a celebratory cycle.

If you don’t believe me, try for yourself.

To excitedly announce that you too have become a diva, email ELLI PEARSON at erpearson@ucdavis.edu.

Tour de Cluck looking for coop submissions

City News

City Editor

January 28, 2013

Davis’ annual Tour de Cluck will be back on May 25 and is anticipated to be even better than previous years.

Tour de Cluck started as a series of fundraisers for the Davis Farm to School Connection. As the event returned each year, it grew in size and importance, and now a number of different community organizations also benefit from the event.

“The idea behind it is that we are trying to emphasize community organizations, but also how keeping chickens in your backyard is a sustainable practice, [and] how eating locally and healthy is important,” said Neil Ruud, Tour de Cluck event coordinator and UC Davis alumnus.

The main event is a self-led bicycle tour of the different chicken coops around town. However, there are a number of other events throughout the day that involve the whole community.

Events begin with the Davis Fowl Food Fair at the Davis Farmers’ Market and the Tour de Cluck kickoff celebration outside the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame. Additionally, the Tour de Cluck Silent Auction and Art Exhibit will continue throughout the day.

The only significant change this year is a change in leadership. Jacqueline Clemens now has the position of mother hen emeritus.

“We have been planning for this transition since the first event in 2010. The incredibly surprising success put us on notice that we were on to something,” Clemens said in a statement.

Davis has about 200 chicken coops spread across town. Community members who offer their coops for the bicycle tour are called Clucksters. Currently, they are looking for coop submissions for this year’s coop crawl. The deadline is Feb.15.

They are also looking for art submissions for their silent auction and art exhibit.

According to the press release, each coop will have a backyard chicken expert to provide information to those who are interested in starting their own coop.

“They [my chickens] make me feel like I’m living on a self-sufficient farm, even in my suburban community,” said Ann M. Evan, a former mayor who helped found the Davis Farmers’ Market.

In addition to the main bicycle tour, the event will also feature Chicken Skool presentations that educate people about chicken coops and the work that goes into them. These will begin before the Tour de Cluck event.

“Although the majority of the event is on May 25, there are some other things we do in the community to promote those ideas and support the organizations,” Ruud said.

Tickets for the Tour de Cluck will go on sale in April.

PAAYAL ZAVERI can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

Beauty and the beast: New fashion blog joins the ranks

Uncategorized

The California Aggie

January 25, 2013

LookMazing is a new site I recently heard about from an intern, sophomore Bella Ly. When asked what exactly LookMazing is, she explains, “LookMazing is a new SF startup fashion social network. It allows people to upload their outfits and fashion/make-up videos, tag the clothes they are wearing so other people can recreate their looks. And you can shop on the site too!”

I remember thinking “Oh that’s pretty cool, but that sounds exactly like Lookbook.nu, or even Pintrest.com and Tumblr.com.” Considering that I only have a Facebook and a Tumblr, I’m no expert on social networking sites, but they all kind of seem relatively similar. To those unfamiliar to these websites, Pintrest is a virtual pin-board where people can “pin” and share images with each other.

There’s an endless variety of things shared, from clothes to recipes. Tumblr is a blog that allows users to share thoughts, images, videos and even music via posts on the dashboard. Lookbook sounds exactly what Bella described LookMazing to be. It’s a site where people post their outfits, and you can click on particular looks and see where an article of clothing was purchased.

Don’t get me wrong, I think all these sites are great for drawing inspiration from or for expressing oneself. I know personally, I went on Pintrest, even though I didn’t have one, to find ideas for Halloween costumes. These sites are also a great way to kill some time. I’ve probably spent hours on Lookbook browsing through cute outfits during a boring lecture in the stuffy lecture hall of the Social Science Building.

Although these social networking sites are based upon the same principle of sharing ideas with the public, I think they also all do so with a twist that distinguishes them from one another.

For example, my roommate, sophomore chemistry major Jocelyn Munoz, once told me that she preferred Pintrest more than Lookbook when looking at cute clothing because Lookbook gives outfits that were more tailored toward her style. “Pintrest has more stuff that I would wear. Lookbook is more edgy and sophisticated.”

I decided to check out LookMazing to see how is compares.

Basically, this website allows people to show off their outfits online through uploading pictures. Then people tag the clothes they’re wearing in the picture. When other people like the look, they can click on the picture to see all the individual articles of clothing that make up your outfit. Here’s the twist, the aspect that makes it different: when other people make purchases through your look, you can receive points. These points are redeemable for gift cards.

I found that LookMazing caters to a variety of looks suitable for all different styles. There are looks for those who rock an edgier style as well as sweeter looks. It also ranges from casual to semiformal wear. The only thing lacking is maybe the selection of looks for men. Scrolling through the site, I only caught a handful of them.

There is also a closet component, which I also found unique. By tagging your clothing, you begin building your own virtual closet. You can see how other people style the same articles of clothing that you own, including those who have been inspired by you and purchased through your looks. You can see how they restyled your look with that particular purchase. In addition, you can look through your friends closet or their wish list. That way, you’ll never have a problem with what to get someone for their birthday.

On the website, I also found that there’s an online magazine component, featuring different fashion bloggers, as well as spotting trends at different universities.

LookMazing is hosting an event at Gap in Davis on Thursday, Feb. 7. A professional photobooth will be present for people to take pictures of their outfits. People could also dress in Gap attire and take pictures there. In addition, you get 25 percent off your purchase that night.

I personally haven’t joined yet, but for you fashionistas out there, I think this is definitely worth checking out the website or going to the event.

EUGENIA CHUNG can be reached at ehchung@ucdavis.edu.

Beauty and the beast: Baby, it’s cold outside

Uncategorized

The California Aggie

January 24, 2013

It was during the middle of winter, probably around this time of year. I was in fourth grade and the girl sitting across from me wore a black tank top that said NOTHING TO WEAR in metallic pink. She paired her tank with a short pastel-pink skirt.

I was on the other side of this extreme. My parents, my mom especially, were always nagging at me for not wearing enough clothing, thus I arrived to school every day as if I were going snowboarding.

I was forced to wear an undershirt, a turtleneck, a sweater and then one of those puffy ski jackets on top of all that. I looked absolutely ridiculous. It wasn’t even comfortable because it was too hot and I felt constricted by all the layers. By the end of the day, I would shed down to the sweater or the turtleneck.

Fast forward a little bit, and the friend who sat across from me had been absent from class for a good week. I remember her best friend telling me, “She’s sick because never wears enough. I keep telling her that you can dress warm and still look cute, but she doesn’t listen.”

What the wise fourth grader said is partially true. You can undoubtedly look nice dressed in weather-appropriate attire. However, not wearing enough does not cause one to become sick.

When I first learned this, it came to me as a shock. I grew up bundled in clothing. When I got older, and started dressing myself, I’d constantly be reprimanded for not wearing enough clothing. My parents would always be telling me that I’d get sick if I didn’t wear another jacket. Sometimes, I’d only be allowed to go out if I promised to wear enough clothing or bring an extra jacket. Whenever I did get sick, my mom would always factor in the cold and how I do not wear enough.

So it was refreshing to learn that not wearing enough does not actually cause sickness. The cold is caused by bacteria and viruses, not by the weather.

The weather does, however, have contributing factors. The reason why winter is correlated with flu season is because flu viruses thrive in Davis’ cold, dry weather. In addition, people tend to stay indoors during the winter, so the likelihood of spreading a sickness from one another increases.

Being a rebellious teenager, of course I brought this up to my parents after I found out. They claimed that being exposed to the cold lowers your body’s immune system, so I was still stuck with endless lectures and layers of clothing. I attribute why I am now so intolerant of the cold to my parents forcing me to wear too much clothing.

It’s a daily struggle for me to drag myself out of my warm bed and out of the apartment to get to class. As much as I’d love to snuggle up in my blankets and hibernate this winter, my mandatory morning classes don’t allow me to do so. I absolutely love Davis, but one thing I absolutely hate about Davis is biking. I don’t mind biking too much when the weather’s nice, sunny, but not too hot and not too cold with no wind. Biking in that weather is tolerable, but I cannot deal with biking in the wintertime when it’s cold, windy and potentially rainy. This is why we should all take advantage of Davis’ Unitrans bus systems.

As for keeping warm the rest of the day, my parents were right about layering up. Wearing multiple layers traps heat in very effectively. This is because air is actually a great insulator, and layers of clothing allows for air, as well as more clothes, to keep you warm. A nice layering tip is to wear tights under your jeans.

However, what my parents didn’t teach me was that being warm doesn’t always mean tacky, formless layers. Both guys and girls can stay warm and have fun with accessories like gloves, hats and scarves.

Have you ever noticed how much just a scarf or a hat does to keep you warm? This is because the head, face and chest are actually more sensitive to temperature than the rest of your body. Therefore, when battling the cold, equip yourselves by covering those areas.

Finally, I like keeping my hands and feet covered. I find wearing gloves to be a nuisance, especially because it hinders you from using your phone. Keeping a pair in your pocket, however, is handy for when you’re biking. As for feet, for girls it’s easy. There are numerous options out there like moccasins, boots and fuzzy socks. Guys, I guess you have those options too, if you’d like to try them.

Well, I hope these tips help you stay warm this winter, because baby, it’s cold outside.

EUGENIA CHUNG can be reached at ehchung@ucdavis.edu.

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