It’s a nightmare to have a loved one die on your birthday.  I never thought it would happen to me. This past weekend, as we sat in the theater waiting for a movie to start, a commercial reminded the audience to silence our cell phones. The guy on the screen had to choose between answering an unknown number during a movie or pressing ignore. Because he was worried that it might be his doctor calling to tell him he had cancer, he decided to answer it. It turned out to be his local drycleaners. The ending message read something like, “Your call’s not that important. Turn off your phone.” Halfway through the movie, I felt my own phone vibrate and I saw that my auntie was calling. I contemplated walking out and answering, but assumed the family was just calling to say happy birthday. I hit ignore. That moment keeps playing over and over in my mind. It turns out my uncle, who had been struggling with the final stages... ...

This month, the California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees was set to discuss a new plan to increase revenue by charging super seniors and those repeating courses extra fees. Students who are enrolling in courses at a CSU after completing 160 units will receive a fee increase, referred to as a graduation incentive fee. This proposed hike is intended to encourage students to graduate within four years. They will also be implementing a course repeat fee and a third-tier tuition fee, charging additional fees per unit taken over 18 units. These fees overall would ideally allow for 18,000 more students to enroll in the CSUs and make more room in courses that are often over-enrolled, as students would have to be more careful when registering for class. Not only is this wishful thinking, but it also burdens current students with fees they could not have planned for. It is already quite clear how we feel about fee hikes, not to mention the fact that this plan seems a bit... ...

Last week, about 40 protesters occupied Dutton Hall in solidarity with the people of Gaza. We fully support the students’ right to protest. However, four students who expressed dissenting views were forced to leave the building — one student was physically confronted while the others were screamed at and cussed out. When our photographer followed those students outside for comments and contact information, protesters turned on him. Suddenly, The Aggie was the enemy, “against” their cause with no right to be present. Multiple protesters demanded to see our photos of the physical confrontation and told us to delete them. We refused, just as journalists are always supposed to refuse to show work before it’s published in order to remain unbiased. They said we had to leave unless we were on their side — that there was no such thing as being objective journalists, that we were with them or against them. Rather than fight censorship, they wanted to perpetuate it. We don’t think these actions accurately represent the mass of... ...

By ARI POLSKY Fourth-year, art studio major “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are rights that are supposedly God-given and also government-protected according to the Declaration of Independence. In America, we are granted a whole lot of rights, among them the freedom of speech, which the law holds is no longer guaranteed when it incites violence or prohibits the free speech of others. Where am I going with all of this? Based on the speech of certain members of the student body, Jewish students at UC Davis do not feel comfortable or safe. I have seen some of the comments, rhetoric and posts in the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Facebook group. On many occasions, their language strayed from relevant political conversation to flat out anti-Semitism. I do not believe that all members of SJP are anti-Semitic, but I believe there are members of the group that ruin the reputation for the rest. However, this rhetoric, no matter how much of an outlier it may be, is nevertheless... ...

Teach For America (TFA) is a nonprofit organization that sends recently graduated college students to rural and urban areas of the U.S., where they serve as teachers for a contracted period of two years. It’s essentially a Peace Corps for the country. The theory is that TFA will recruit young, energetic, idealistic graduates and send them to low-income school areas, where they can change the lives of the students there. The difference between TFA and most other teaching programs is that TFA is incredibly selective. They have an extensive hiring process that includes an online two-hour long activity, two interviews and a teaching demonstration. All these hurdles combine to become a barrier with which TFA maintains its selectivity by accepting approximately 12 to 15 percent of applicants. Not only that, but they screen their applicants for favorable qualities, weighing heavily towards leadership experience and excellence. After the application process, the organization takes these graduates, some of the best and brightest of their class, and has them participate in a five-week... ...

By MATAN SHELOMI Fourth-year graduate student, entomology On Nov. 18, 2011, Louise Macabitas and Brian Nguyen shaped history. They took the iconic photographs of Lt. Pike pepper-spraying Davis students, which would become the face of the Occupy movement. Had Louise and Brian not been there taking pictures, the world would not have seen what had happened here. Fast-forward a year and a day to Monday’s Quad rally allegedly memorializing the event. How times have changed. Rather than discussing campus issues, Occupy UC Davis sponsored a march about Gaza, carrying signs like “Long Live the Intifada” (the term for Palestinian violence against Israel, including suicide bombing). Speakers like Abdul Amir-Ali — whose past speeches blamed the Jews for 9/11 and claimed the Matthew Shepard Act, named after a murdered gay youth, is a Zionist conspiracy — proudly railed against Israel, Obama, corporations, CNN, etc. Also in attendance were pro-Israel students, of every race and gender, carrying signs like “Pro-Israel, Pro-Palestine, Pro-Peace” and “Save Gaza from Hamas,” standing in silence to let... ...

By MARIANNE GLASER Third-year, human development Amidst stressing over midterms like any typical UC Davis student last week, I received a panic text from my sister: “The alarms went off again. I am going back into the bomb shelter. Neighbors already lost service, so if I lose mine soon, I love you.” Staring at my phone, I try not to think that this might be the last time I hear from my sister who lives in Southern Israel, one mile north of the Gaza Strip. I try to focus, but my mind is preoccupied. The next day I received a phone call; “Hi, can’t talk, I have to pack, don’t know when or if I will come back. I love you, I’ll call when I can.” I am again struck that this brief conversation may be the last I get with my sister as the situation in the Middle East has become painfully personal. While many of the conflicts in the Middle East are about religion, the one between Israel... ...