Senate briefs

Published on April 23, 2012
Filed under Campus News

This ASUCD Senate meeting was scheduled to begin Thursday at 6:10 p.m. Times listed are according to the clock at the April 19, 2012 meeting location, the Mee Room in the MU. The ASUCD president is not required to attend senate meetings. Meeting called to order at 6:12 p.m. Rebecca Sterling, ASUCD president, present, arrived late, left early Yena Bae, ASUCD vice president, present Kabir Kapur, ASUCD senator, present Jared Crisologo-Smith, ASUCD senator, present, left early at 7:00 p.m. Bradley Bottoms, ASUCD senator, present Justin Goss, ASUCD senator, present Anni Kimball, ASUCD senator, present Paul Min, ASUCD senator, present Don Gilbert, ASUCD senator, present Joyce Han, ASUCD senator, present Erica Padgett, ASUCD senator, present Beatriz Anguiano, ASUCD senator, present Patrick Sheehan, ASUCD senator, pro tempore, present Yara Zokaie, ASUCD senator, present Appointments and Confirmations Pooja Boinapalli was confirmed to the Academic Affairs Commission. Maxwell Kappers, Roman Rivilis and Lance Hackney were confirmed to the Internal Affairs Commission. Presentations A representative from Student Housing said that advertisements for the Blood Drive... ...

Column: Forecast: Cloudy

It looks like our spring quarter is shaping up to be a hot one, considering this past weekend’s scorching temps. The outlook for the technology industry couldn’t be any more different, with trends suggesting that we’re in for a future of overcast skies. This forecast has nothing to do with weather, of course, unless it’s referring to tech mecca San Francisco, which is a cloudy place indeed. I’m talking about the explosion of “cloud storage” in recent times, otherwise known as online file systems. Think of it as a cyber hard drive. All of the digital information you keep on your computer – documents, photos, movies, etc. – can be stored online, in the “cloud,” accessible anywhere, at any time, as long as you have internet access. Web-based storage is moving people away from the idea of being tied down to a laptop or a desktop computer, yet another indication that this “post-PC” era has arrived and is here to stay. The business of cloud services is very competitive, and... ...

Students cool down at the Recreation Pool, open for the season

The UC Davis Recreation Pool opened yesterday. “The staff and I are excited for the opening of the Rec Pool; it’s a great place to enjoy the warm, sunny weather. It signals the start of the summer season for us,” said Erica Brown, Assistant Director of Aquatics, in a press release. The Rec Pool is located on the corner of La Rue Road and Hutchison Drive. The pool is open 1 to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 12 to 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday. — HANNAH STRUMWASSER ...

Aggies divide and conquer

The Aggies continued to break personal bests and school records this weekend. UC Davis was split between two locations this weekend. Head coach Drew Wartenburg headed to the Mt. SAC Relays with some of the top Aggie competitors while the other athletes stayed in Davis to compete in the traditional Picnic Day Woody Wilson Memorial Classic. Track standouts seniors Jonathan Peterson and Sarah Sumpter continued to make headlines for the Aggies with their performances at Mt. SAC. Peterson became the first Aggie in school history to break the 14-minute mark in the 5,000m. He entered Friday’s meet with a personal best time of 14:03.25 and he cut that down to 13:54.25, earning him 11th place overall in the event. Fellow star Sumpter was only challenged by fellow Aggie sophomore Alycia Cridebring in the 5,000m and the pair combined for a one-two finish in the race. Sumpter raced across the finish line first, shaving almost five seconds off her personal best time. Cridebring was right on her heels to finish in... ...

Column: To boldly go

I love “Star Trek.” I love it so much. People, I love “Star Trek” so much that I even sat through most of the Scott Bakula ones just for the love of the Federation, and if you know “Star Trek” you understand how painful that was. So clearly, I know a lot about most of the series (except the original series which is rarely worth watching, and GO AHEAD and send me hate mail because I don’t even care). You know what I know almost nothing about? Science. So for this column, I thought I’d combine one of my great passions with one of my most appalling areas of ignorance. Ladies, gentlemen and others, I here present a few “Star Trek” inventions, the “science” behind them and a celebration of their awesomeness. OK, let’s start with the most recognizable item to “Star Trek” noobs — the communicator. You totally already know what I’m talking about. It’s the thing that goes “boop-boop” when you flip it open and with which you talk to your fellow space adventurers. Later in the series,... ...

Professor named one of America’s 300 best by Princeton Review

When asked why Animal Science I (ANS 1) is his favorite class to teach, animal science professor Thomas Famula simply replies: “It’s the energy level!” The UC Davis professor of 31 years was recently named one of America’s 300 best professors by The Princeton Review. Famula was chosen for this honor based upon his stellar reviews on the website ratemyprofessors.com. “My first response was: Is this a hoax? I got the e-mail and then I understood when I found out that apparently I was the highest-ranked professor from UC Davis,” Famula said. After teaching ANS 1 for 20 years – the class for which he received the title – Famula said that he believes he has such high reviews because his students see him as “enthusiastic.” “That’s the word that comes up most often when I give out the end-of-course evaluations. Enthusiastic,” Famula said. Famula also attributed the results to the class size and its popularity at UC Davis. An average of 400 students enroll in ANS 1. “There are... ...

Students go wild for conservation of local native species

From the tiniest ant to the bravest squirrel, one of the newest UC Davis clubs, Wild Campus, is working to conserve all native local wildlife species. With 44 student members, 12 faculty members and numerous other community volunteers, Wild Campus has already seen a lot of growth since its establishment in Fall Quarter. “Our main goals are preparing students for future professional endeavors with wildlife, education and habitat restoration,” said Julia Herring, club vice president and senior wildlife fish conservation major. Wild Campus has two facets. The first are the wild naturalists, made up of eight teams, each focusing on a different local native species. The teams are ants, bats, bees, ground squirrels, owls, reptiles and amphibians, songbirds and mapping. This is the side that involves going out and doing hands-on research. The other side of Wild Campus is the Wild Ambassadors. The ambassadors have two teams, one being education and outreach, the other being marketing and design. “The wild naturalists are specialized in focusing on a particular native species... ...

Open forums held to further discuss Reynoso report

On April 17, the Reynoso task force held a second forum about their report on the Nov. 18 pepper spray incident. The forum was intended to be more low-key than the initial release of the report, with less media coverage and more attendees, to more adequately address individual questions and concerns about the report. “We did meet with the Chancellor earlier this afternoon to indicate to her what some of the issues were, and we had a good discussion with her. We will be having more discussions with her, and fortunately she has invited that,” said Justice Cruz Reynoso during his opening comments. One issue raised in the forum was that of restorative justice, a form of justice with an emphasis on satisfying the victims of an incident, referenced in the report as a recommendation for the administration. Several people expressed skepticism about the idea. “The only problem I see is, being from a different perspective, people are so passionate about it that they don’t listen,” said Bryan McPartlan, a... ...

Aggie Digest

Men’s Tennis The UC Davis Men’s Tennis team wrapped up regular-season play with a 6-1 loss at Nevada on Saturday at Lakeridge Tennis Club. Toki Sherbakov trailed 1-6 at No. 1 singles before surging for a three-set victory, providing the only Aggie win of the day. UC Davis dropped to 5-15 on the season while the Wolf Pack improved to 10-10. Alec Haley and Chris Aria had the only doubles victory for the Aggies at the No. 3 position, grinding out a 9-8 win over Nathan Reix and Moez Echargui. Nevada managed to take victories in the No. 1 and 2 spots to secure the doubles point. Sherbakov improved to 9-11 on the season at No. 1 doubles, following a come-from-behind win over Wessim Derbel, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5. Alec Haley also extended his singles match to a third set at the No. 6 position before falling in a tiebreak to Quentin Mege, 5-7, 6-3, 10-7. The Wolf Pack also added straight-set victories in the No. 2-5 spots to wrap up the 6-1 final score. UC... ...

Open forums held to further discuss Reynoso Report

In the second question-and-answer session last Thursday, members of the Reynoso Task Force, Penny Herbert, William McKenna and Katheryn Kolsar, met with a small number of community members to further discuss the findings that were publicly released on April 11. Around 10 members of the community attended the public forum, raising questions about the police force, the administration’s decision-making and what is to come of the task force’s recommendations. Richard Grotjhan, UC Davis professor of atmospheric science, started the forum with questions about the lack of records regarding the process that the administration took in relations with the protesters. According to Herbert, the task force found that there were various times when key constituents were not making informed decisions and there was a great deal of inconsistency. “That’s what we did try to point out [in the findings], that there wasn’t this clear communication, because that’s what we saw as the biggest error,” Kolsar said. In a meeting between the task force and UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi last... ...

News-in-brief: Matt Carmichael named new UC Davis Chief of Police

Last Thursday, Interim Police Chief Matthew Carmichael was sworn in as the UC Davis police chief. Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi administered the oath. “Matt’s service over the past months has been extraordinary during some very demanding and difficult circumstances,” Katehi said. At the swearing-in ceremony, Katehi also announced that the oversight of the UC Davis Police would be moved to the office of the provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter from the vice chancellor of Administrative and Resource Management, beginning May 1. This is part of the top-to-bottom police force review previously announced by Chancellor Katehi. The police chief appointment is for one year, and at the end of that year the University will release a national recruitment call for a permanent position. Carmichael’s family was present at the ceremony, and his mother and wife presented him with his Chief of Police badge. “My top priority in the next few months is going to be rebuilding the relationship between the police and the campus community,” Carmichael said. “We’re... ...

Column: Youth movement

Spring has sprung and the UC Davis sports calendar has nearly come to a close. There are undoubtedly at least a few surprises to come, but by this point it is safe to say we know what each of the Aggie teams is/was in the 2011-12 athletic year. So, with Picnic Day now passed, now is the perfect time for UC Davis sports fans to start looking ahead at what they can look forward to next season. And what better way to do that than to count down the top five freshmen of the 2011-12 year who will continue to contribute in the future. 5. Sydnee Fipps — Fipps may have been UC Davis’ sixth woman of the year for the 2011-12 basketball season. The Mariposa, Calif. native averaged 14.3 minutes per game and played in each of the Aggies’ 30 contests. She shot over 40 percent from the floor and over 37 percent from three-point range. Fipps also tied for fourth on the team with 82 rebounds and hit some big... ...

UC Davis student Thomas Matzat to be readmitted under certain conditions

Recently, junior art studio major and Occupy UC Davis protester Thomas Matzat and his attorney spoke with the College of Letters and Science about lifting his expulsion. The Davis Vanguard said he will be reinstated if he follows conditions that are currently unspecified. Matzat was arrested on March 17 with felony vandalism to campus property. He was charged with five felony counts of vandalism that exceeded $400, 14 misdemeanor counts of vandalism less than $400 and one misdemeanor count of possession of tools with the intent to commit vandalism. In turn, he was not able to attend his finals and faced expulsion. In response, students and fellow Occupy protesters held a sit-in in the office of the Dean of the College of Letters and Science. Students also attended Matzat’s April 20 arraignment. Yolo County District Attorney Michael Cabral reviewed Matzat’s case and filed the charges. He said they were able to determine who Matzat was based on security cameras. On Facebook events campaigning for Matzat’s readmission, students voiced he was... ...

Aggie Digest

Lacrosse The UC Davis Lacrosse team came into last week in a three-way tie with Stanford and California for the fourth and final spot in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament. Losses to both Stanford and Fresno State for their final two MPSF matches, however, eliminated UC Davis from postseason contention. UC Davis started the week at Aggie Stadium against Stanford. The Cardinal had a half-game lead for the fourth spot entering the game but the Aggies were determined to overtake their MPSF foe. UC Davis and Stanford started off the game exchanging 4-0 runs in the first half. The Aggies trailed by just one goal at halftime. The Aggies went on a 6-0 run to take a 16-12 lead at one point, but the advantage was not big enough. Stanford responded with a 6-0 run of their own and eventually won 19-18. The Aggies then took on Fresno State but were not able to finish their conference play with a victory. The Bulldogs scored in overtime to defeat the Aggies 12-11. They... ...

State senator approaches campus organization for aid

STAND is a student-led anti-genocide coalition comprised of internationally established chapters. The organization’s mission is dedicated to empowering individuals and communities with tools to prevent and end genocide worldwide. On April 19, hundreds gathered to support Senate Joint Resolution 23 (SJR23). California State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), an advocate of officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide, recently approached STAND to speak in support of the resolution. Prominent members of the Armenian community, including Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian of the Western Prelacy and Consul General Grigor Hovhannissian, attended the session. The UC Davis Armenian Student Association was also in attendance. “While this has great resonance for me as a member of the Armenian community, this is a human rights issue, a question of fundamental decency,” said Simitian, a principal author of the resolution. The resolution would designate April 24, 2012 as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923.” The UC Davis STAND chapter consists of a passionate group of students engaged in advocacy, awareness and activism. Among its members... ...