In a Feb. 28, 2012 discussion on the official Facebook page of the UC Davis chapter of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), members directed anti-Semitic slurs at me. One member referred to me as “shitstein.” Clearly the use of “stein,” since it has nothing to do with my name, is a direct reference to Jews.  This epithet, which was “liked” by several members, followed an exchange where members discussed efforts to identify me and then ridiculed my name. One member commented, “his last name is Siegel. WHO WOULDA THOUGHT.” To which someone responded, “what kinda last names did you think i (sic) was looking for lol.” Another went on to comment that “they,” in apparent reference to Jews, “all look WAY too similar.” One person referred to me as an enemy, “spewing his crap.” I consider this threatening behavior. Since SJP members appeared to have a number of questions about my identity and academic rank, on March 20, I sent an e-mail offering to meet with SJP. So... ...

When I landed in Sacramento Airport seven months ago at the beginning of my exchange year at UC Davis, I was all confused. I didn’t lose my luggage on the trip halfway across the world, I wasn’t interrogated when entering the U.S., my flights weren’t delayed and I even managed to let my parents know about my safe arrival (although I had to borrow a phone from a very nice Canadian person as mine didn’t work). I was confused because I wasn’t freaking out. Not enough, that is. If you are friends on Facebook with a foreign exchange student, the endless location updates from different places in California and the constant stream of pictures from house parties, football games and picnics on the Quad might make you think that we do nothing else but travel, party and sunbathe. Obviously, this is only the tip of the iceberg as there is so much more to studying abroad: It’s about meeting new people, being immersed in a different culture and experiencing a... ...

The blockbuster film The Hunger Games, based on the novel by Suzanne Collins, depicts a post-apocalyptic country in which 24 teenagers are chosen by lottery each year and forced to participate in nationally televised blood sports. Everyone must submit their name to the drawing once, but the most destitute can put their name in multiple times in exchange for additional food. As a result, in Panem, the poorest citizens are also those most likely to fight and die in gladiatorial combat. Despite all its science fiction trappings, I would argue that The Hunger Games is not a cautionary tale: it’s an allegory. We already live in a world in which the risk of injury and premature death is distributed unequally. As Ulrich Beck has demonstrated, our probability of suffering misfortune is closely tied to our socioeconomic positions. While no one is totally safe, the most affluent are able to rely on risk management strategies like health insurance or preventative care while the working class and the poor have become increasingly... ...

The University of California’s plan to ask students their sexual orientations on their Student Intent to Register (SIR) forms is still in the works. The intention of the proposal is to collect data on the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students at UC and to inform campus climate assessments. Having this information is projected to allow the University to provide students with resources to make them more comfortable on campus. Unfortunately, the main issue with this proposal is that since the survey is optional, there probably would not be accurate data. With potential inaccuracy, these statistics may not be entirely helpful in providing resources if not all students participated. Unlike demographic studies asking about what ethnicity one most identifies with, sexual orientation is less concrete and is much more complexly defined. The question remains: How many options would be on the survey? Is it open to adjustment for students at later times? If the school proceeds with the measure, it should offer more than just heterosexual and... ...

Should we watch another? I find myself asking this question often. Like many, I watch TV shows online. It seems obvious. All the shows I always felt out of the loop of are at my wireless fingertips, for either free or semi-free access. This may very well be the definition of the “on-demand” generation. But while I love not having to wait a week to see Stringer Bell’s next move or if Carrie B. will actually dump Big, I often wonder whether watching these shows in marathon form is taking away from the meaning. That is, do we as an audience need that week to mull over and fully understand last episode’s events? How important is distance when it comes to television? In regular conversation I and many others talk about these high-end HBO, SHOWTIME, AMC, etc. dramas with language that was previously saved for books. This is a result of higher-quality television, a smarter audience base and the internet’s propensity to analyze, overanalyze and .giffify. Even in premium escapist... ...