Surprisingly enough (to this formerly trusting alum, that is), the Kroll team did its job. Likewise, the Reynoso committee did its job. Now, it’s our turn — the UC Davis community’s turn. It’s time for us to step up, ignore distractions and diversions, excuses and apologies, scapegoats and fall guys, and draw the only conclusion that can be drawn: UC Davis is, and has been for nearly three years now, suffering from seriously and irresponsibly bad leadership, and it’s high time for that to change. These are challenging times, no question about it.  But they also present a tremendous opportunity for this great university to further distinguish itself as a principled leader. Yet it’s been abundantly clear for some time now that principles themselves have no place in the value system of this administration. Aside from a plethora of lip service about excellence and community, aside from the willingness and ability to cash obscenely large paychecks, the only thing this administration has proven itself really good at is dividing the... ...

If only the Chancellor had let the police stage the tent removal operation at 3 a.m. instead of 3 p.m., the result would not have involved pepper spray (nor international publicity, nor the need for a four-month-long study, nor costly legal battles yet uncounted). This is all very likely true. But is that the main problem with which we, the (infamous) campus community, ought to be most concerned? The background provided in the report makes one thing perfectly clear: The leadership team that was involved in the decision-making about the protest was specifically created because campus protests on this same issue had become frequent and repeated over several years.  The issue was something directly involving campus priorities. But the objectives of the team were to mitigate the impacts of the protests without apparently addressing the cause for the protest, the failure of the university to keep tuition from skyrocketing. 1) The main question not asked by the commission: Did the decision to remove the tents, per se, involve a violation... ...

It’s no secret that the future of student newspapers is in flux. With new, easier ways for news to get out, fewer and fewer consumers are reliant on their morning paper. Along the same lines, advertisers are finding cheaper, more cost-efficient manners to promote their product than in a daily newspaper. With decreasing income, student-run newspapers are finding it harder and harder to keep up the same level of production while not sacrificing their editorial and financial independence. Newspapers, like The Aggie, have been forced to cut production by slashing pay and days of publication. One of the most visibly impacted college papers has been The Daily Californian from UC Berkeley. That paper is currently running a $200,000 budget deficit. In an attempt to cover this gap without sacrificing their financial and editorial independence, managers at The Daily Cal put a student referendum on the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) ballot, asking for a $2-per-semester student fee paid toward the newspaper. We applaud The Daily Cal for... ...

The quarter-long project of the Winter Quarter Chicano/a Studies 171: Mural Workshop class was canceled. Set to be painted on the North Wall of the Student Community Center (SCC), this mural was created by the nine-student class led by Assistant Professor Maceo Montoya. Generalized figures were used to represent a diverse population of 32,000 UC Davis students and the goals of the SCC and its organizations. Created to deal with issues relevant to a variety of affiliations, this class took on a large responsibility. It’s nearly impossible to represent every single individual on our campus in a single mural. While essentially working with the SCC to produce pre-approved designs, this class also reached out to interview students and staff from organizations at the SCC to converse about experiences and themes pertinent to the development of the mural. While they realized that it’s impossible to embody the spectrum of the UC Davis student body, the students focused on creating universal images meant to reflect a spirit of openness, acceptance and appreciation.... ...

On Mar. 29, a general strike, or “Huelga General,” struck Spain with a historic and sobering dose of citywide solidarity. With 75 percent of flights grounded, a stopped public transportation system and police teams mobilizing in the city’s major plazas, Barcelona appeared to be preparing itself for a Zombie outbreak or coup d’etat. After following 2011’s Occupy Movement, and as a student from Davis in the recent aftermath of the pepper spray incident, I like to think that I’ve seen a lot regarding student protests and strikes, but the Spanish students’ protest of Mar. 29 really opened my eyes to the possibilities and inevitable hypocrisies of large-scale student protests, with the riot-like student assembly that ensued, here in Barcelona. Students at my host campus, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, blockaded entrances to the school in addition to vandalizing the majority of windows, walls and pretty much anything they could find. A physical assault on a faculty member was also reported in the days proceeding the general strike. My host university here in Barcelona has a reputation for being... ...

On Nov. 21, Linda Katehi stood before up to five thousand students and personally apologized for the events three days earlier. She struggled to hold back tears as she referenced memories from her own past, of the struggle in her home country of Greece during the ‘70s, of the morning when the military junta in power sent tanks to crush dissidents protesting the regime. It was a moving moment, a tribute to her personal past of activism and a gesture of common cause with the Occupy movement. Yet, Katehi completely reversed course the next evening during a town hall meeting. In the span of 24 hours, she went from a heartfelt apology to flat-out denial of responsibility for the greatest failure in protecting students in university history. “My instructions were for no arrests and no police force. I explicitly directed the chief of police that violence should be avoided at all costs,” she said unequivocally. With the release of the Reynoso report last week, the facts are finally coming out. In... ...

This wouldn’t be an Aggie column without at least one article on sex, so here it is! Those of you who know me personally probably saw this coming. Those of you who know me very personally have already seen … actually, I’m not going to finish that joke. Before their first years as teaching assistants (TAs), all graduate students attend an orientation covering the basics of teaching, grading and the myriad forms of plagiarism one can expect (we know what you did last midterm …). Of all the rules and regulations drilled into us (heh, drilled), one stood out in my mind: Under no circumstances is a teaching assistant to date or be in a relationship with a student in their class! Ever! It makes sense: Having your lover in your class is a conflict of interest, compromising your impartiality (heh, compromising). If the relationship occurred before the class starts, you must either break it up or find someone else to teach for you. If the relationship occurs during the class, however, you’re in... ...