By CHELSEA MEHRAAggie Features Writer

Special treatment toward NCAA athletes

— academic leniency, expensive equip-ment, heavy recruitment, etc. — is often cited as a major concern by the general public. But while there is the widespread con-ception that “professional” athletes re-ceive greater benefits than “recreation-al” ones, members of the UC Davis athlet-ic department consider their recruitment

program to be fairer than their collegiate counterparts. Football head coach Bob Biggs and his 15 assistant coaches work out of offices on the second floor of Hickey Gym. Most sit at their desks watching video, crunching per-formance statistics, and, in the case of as-sistant coach Matt Wade, recruiting young stars for the future of the team.

“A part of my job is dividing the state of California into sections. Every coach has a number of schools that we call their ‘area.’ We will travel around, get to know specific coaches and recruits in that area the best we can,” Wade said. Members of the athletic department are

Today’s weatherMostly clearHigh 79Low 53

Forecast“It’s a beautiful day” as Bono sings it. Even the slight chance of

rain on Thursday will not drastically bring the temps down, nor will it put much of a damper in your day. Pun intended.

Tyson Tilmont, atmospheric science majorAggie Forecasting Team

Partly cloudy Chance of showers

Thursday

High 69Low 49

Wednesday

High 73Low 50

TEXTING WHILE DRIVING KILLS. So, please, the next time you decide to cut me off, put your phone down and pay attention to

the damn road.

Mimi Vo

serving the uc davis campus and communit y since 1915www.theaggie.orgvolume 131, number 57 tuesday, may 1, 2012

Fundraiser keeps KDVS afloat in the sea of sound

May marks Bike Month in Davis

Recruiters aim to shift paradigm

Aggies Abroad Spotlight

Athletes expected to be students too

City and region will take part in a Million Mile Challenge

Campus radio station earns $44,559 in community support

By JUSTIN ABRAHAMAggie News Writer

KDVS 90.3 FM completed its an-nual fundraising event on Sunday, raising $44,669 to sustain a tradi-tion of alternative broadcasting for radio and online listeners.

The station held its annu-al fundraiser from April 23 to 29, hoping to meet an ambitious $64,000 goal.

KDVS increased this targeted amount from $60,000 last year to $64,000 in preparation for its 50th anniversary in 2014, according to Neil Ruud, KDVS general manager and senior political science major.

“KDVS was formed by stu-

dents in 1964, so that’s where the ‘64,000’ comes from,” he said. “In two years we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary and we’re trying to ramp up the programming.”

Donations received during the fundraiser week have exceeded $60,000 before, but pledges col-lected this year fell short of the targeted amount, reflecting simi-lar shortcomings in recent years.

Though the official fundrais-er ended last Sunday, KDVS urges listeners and supporters to con-tribute much-needed donations throughout the entire year.

At $140,000, the operating bud-get for KDVS is the lowest among UC-sponsored college stations.

ASUCD contributes approximate-ly $40,000, a steadily decreasing number as a result of university budget cuts.

Proceeds from the fundrais-er comprise a significant portion of the budget and remain a criti-cal financial resource, since KDVS cannot receive advertising reve-nue like commercial stations.

“The fundraiser enables us to exist as an independent, non-commercial operation,” Ruud said.

The pledge money goes towards supporting 24/7 broadcasting, maintaining a broadcast range

By ANDREW POHAggie News Writer

If you’ve ever set foot outside of your dorm, apartment or lec-ture hall, it should be painfully obvious that bikes make up an integral part of the Davis com-munity. You’d be hard-pressed to find any spot in the city without a skirmish line of bikes perched outside. What sets this month apart is that there will be an ongoing series of events in which sever-al groups throughout Davis will be holding various activities and events supporting and encour-aging biking around the city. According to the League of American Bicyclists, Bike Month has been a national event that has been going on for the past 55 years. The League touted the month as “the perfect time for new or returning riders to get back on the saddle and ride their bike to work.” According to the League’s website, Bike Month was orig-inally intended to promote the sale of bicycles, but in the years since has been more focused on safe cycling and promoting the act of bicycling itself. A press release from the City of Davis states that the events scheduled for Bike Month will promote the “positive health, social and environmental im-pacts of bicycling.” In tandem with the festivities, Davis will also be taking part in a Million Mile May challenge in which the community will be encouraged to use bicycles to run errands and commute. On the website mayisbike-month.com, participants can sign up to log their bike miles, win prizes and track the number of pounds of CO2 and other pollutants that are pre-vented from being re-leased into the atmo-sphere by biking rather than using other forms of transportation. Davis will be joined by the rest of the Sacramento re-gion in the co-lossal effort to log a million bike miles. A kickoff event will be held

in Sacramento today starting at 11 a.m. at Fremont Park between Q and 16th Street. Davis will have its own events peppered through-out the month. If you don’t have a bike but are eager to participate in the month’s events, consider at-tending the bike auction on May 5 hosted by TAPS. The auction will take place on campus at the West Entry Parking Structure from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. On May 16, there will be a Bike Picnic at Central Park, lo-cated on Third and C Street, and on the next day, the Chamber of Commerce will hold a Celebrate Davis event at the community park on F and Covell. Davis Loopalooza will be a family-oriented event in which families can ride a 12-mile cir-cuit, visiting various booths and collecting stamps in passports given out at the start of the bike loop. The event will take place on May 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The month’s festivities will be rounded out by the Tour de Cluck on May 26. The event is funded by the Davis Farm to School Connection and will feature a Tour de Cluck Fowl Food Fair at the Davis Farmers Market. Later in the day, a chicken coop crawl will be held throughout various Davis neighborhoods. Further information and tickets will be available on tourdecluck.org. If you’re interested in the in-formation above or would like to look into more events, visit cit-yofdavis.org. Events involving the entire Sacramento region can be located in the events sec-tion of mayisbikemonth.com.

ANDREW POH can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

Writing a cover letterYour cover letter helps bridge the gap between the employer and your resume and gives them a better idea of who you are. A cover letter explains what you can bring to the position and why you’re a good candidate for the job. Format: Use a standard business format for your letter. Visit the ICC Career Resource Manual on-line for samples. Opening: Open a cover letter with “Dear Ms./Mr. (employer’s last name):” Research the or-ganization’s website to find the contact information of the per-son you need to reach. If you’re still not sure, you can open with “Dear Internship Coordinator” or “Dear Members of the Search Committee.” Introduction: The first paragraph is used to introduce yourself and explain how you found out about the job. Be sure to mention the ti-tle of the position, name of any-one who referred you to the open-ing and an overview of your inter-ests and qualifications. Body: You can use the body paragraph(s) to analyze your background and skills in relation-

ship to the job description. Your goal is to give examples that dem-onstrate your qualifications so that you can land an interview. In this section you want to focus on what you can bring to the compa-ny instead of what the company can give you. Closing: Start the concluding paragraph with a one-sentence summary of your qualifications. Tell the employer how you plan to follow up and thank them for re-viewing your materials. Signature: A standard signature for a cover letter is “Sincerely,” If you are going to send your cov-er letter electronically, it’s fine to type your name with a script font as a signature. Otherwise, it’s best to print and sign your cover letter. Tips: Show your passion and en-thusiasm for the position you’re applying for throughout your cov-er letter! Check the spelling and grammar of your letter repeated-ly. If an employer sees misspell-ings or improper grammar, they may discard your application. Professional e-mail correspondenceCommunicating with poten-

tial employers is all about pro-fessionalism. If you went to the career fair recently, following up on opportunities will help you stand out from the pack. Here are some tips and tricks!• Make sure your e-mail has a pro-fessional subject (e.g.: Internship Opportunity from UC Davis Career Fair)• When following up from a fair or other initial meeting, be sure to restate where you met as well as your interests and qualifications and send a resume specifically tailored to that position.• Make sure your tone is pro-fessional. Resist using exclama-tion marks, smiley faces and caps lock.• If you are attaching a resume and cover letter, keep the body of your e-mail short and use a single document for the cover letter and resume.• For ease of opening, submit doc-uments in .pdf and .doc formats.

Katie Stewart is an Agricultural and Environmental Sciences peer advisor with the ICC. As an Animal Science major she looks forward to spending her last quarter at UC Davis milking cows and is applying to veterinary school in the fall. The UC Davis Internship and Career Center (ICC), located on the second and third floors of South Hall and online at iccweb.ucdavis.edu, has decades of success helping to launch Aggies on their professional paths, and its services are FREE to currently enrolled UC Davis students.

Bikan Agahi / Aggie

KDVS, formerly known as KCD, has been operating on the UC Davis campus since February 1, 1964.

ICC’s Countdown to SummerWelcome to week five of the ICC’s Countdown to Summer! Each week the

Internship and Career Center (ICC) will highlight a task that will help you be prepared to land a job or internship by summer. Breaking the pro-

cess down to weekly tasks will make it less daunting and will yield suc-cess. This week we answer the questions: “How do I write a cover letter?

How do I communicate with potential employers?”

(From left) Kelsey Easterly, Jonji Barber and Jessica Martin trekked across the Andes Mountains during UC Quarter Abroad, Argentina in 2010.

— Written by Erin Migdol— Photo by Jonji Barber

See ATHLETES, page 4

See KDVS, page 2

Irisa Tam / Aggie

From here ‘til retire-ment, our lives are run by work. Bye, summer

vacays! But with the high unemployment and college retention rates, there are fewer jobs and more people looking for them. Nut up, get competitive and fight for a paycheck no matter how big or small.

Though Craigslist may lead to legit jobs, they’re most-ly scams or seeking girls for a “film shoot.” Get into career listing websites (Monster, Indeed, SimplyHired and LinkedIn, all “.coms”). Make sure to do your research to see which ones have resulted in success for others. Sign up (the small fee may be worth it) and submit those lovely re-sumes that stand out from people who used a template. Don’t forget those obnoxious cover letters. They’re irritating but can make the difference between getting a call or not.

Nowadays, it seems the only way to get a worthwhile job is through connections. There are way too many weirdos in the world and I wouldn’t want to hire them, either. A referral from a trust-ed employee makes a boss more likely to consider the candidate. Network and keep up with people who have jobs to offer us. Hey, that’s the world we live in. Better to spin it to our advantage.

Keep files of your resume, references and cover letters on your phone at all times. Meet someone at a bar who would like to pass your re-sume along? Make a couple of edits and it’ll take five min-utes for you to send over your info. Thank Steve Jobs and the iCloud he resides in for the accessibility afforded to us by modern technology.

But there’s a smack-of-re-ality twist, y’all! With it be-ing this easy to get applica-tions out there, more people have access to the same jobs. If you’re not working, make searching for employment your career. That means spending most of your day on those websites and pounding those grimy streets looking for work. Shoot for 25 (!) job applications a day, and not just for those jobs that need a degree. If you get some-thing to tide you over, keep

applying for 10 a day ‘til gold strikes.

Employers understand the current job market and will be more critical. If you’re asked about the compa-ny you’re seeking work from, you’d better damn well have an answer. How in the fuck are we supposed to remem-ber each one and research their history? We’d have no time for “Modern Family” marathons! Spend the time to get well-versed in each com-pany’s reputation. Or, cheat and use the internet during sporadic phone interviews. Thanks again, Steve!

Just like being in the stir-rups at a gynecologist’s of-fice, interviews are sweat-in-ducing nightmares that leave us exposed for strangers to examine. They can and will ask the most asinine inqui-ries known to man. My per-sonal favorite: “What do you like the least about yourself?”

Resist the urge to say, “My inabil-ity to an-swer stu-pid fucking questions!”

Employers are looking for qualified candidates to help solve the internal problem they have. Sell yourself as the asset they need. If we go in with the mindset of alleviat-ing our financial problems, they’ll smell it from the wait-ing room. Striking the prop-er tone of confident and as-sertive is key. And don’t for-get to smile your way through the fear. But not like a cra-zy person. Keep all kinds of crazy locked away at home, and deodorant at the ready in your car.

We enter a new place at the bottom of the ranks and build ourselves up to the top by working our asses off. In school, we eventually be-come student body presi-dent or the head of a produc-tion company, so the inevita-ble drop-off back into the en-try-level (or worse, unpaid intern) position produces a bruised ego. Don’t let that be-come destructive and don’t slack off after getting the job. Human resources is con-stantly looking for ways to cut labor these days. Instead of letting our knowledge of our overqualification turn us into ungrateful monsters, prove to employers we’re deserving of more dignified work. Buy a jar of patience and wait it out.

There’s no place for lazy these days. We have to be ac-tive in making the job op-portunities available for us. Perfect your CVs and do the grunt work now to get to the high-paying gigs later. Once we’re comfortable and can pay the bills without worry, then we can watch “Modern Family” all we want.

JAZZ TRICE thinks you is kind, you is smart and you is important. Ask him why at jazztrice526@gmail.com or twitter.com/Jazz_Trice.

You know Mr. Crocker from “The Fairly Odd Parents,” the evil

teacher who enjoys giving out pop quizzes just so he can gleefully give out Fs for everyone? I like that guy! I’ve had a taste of giving people exams and grading their efforts. It tastes good. It tastes of power and domination … kind of like German food. I love knowing that in my hands I hold a piece of these students’ futures. Pass or fail, win or lose, live or die: The GPAs and bright futures of all those shining undergrads are mine to do with as I please. The class is afraid of me: I have seen its true face. The accumulated anxiety of all their missed homework and sleeping in class will foam up about their waists, and all the slackers and procrastinators will look up and shout, “Grade us on a curve!”… and I’ll whisper, “No extensions.”

Then my delusions of grandeur fade away and I give everyone an A, give or take a grade point, and go home and cry into a bowl of ramen.

OK, the truth is I’m actually a benevolent T.A. that wants his students to get As, because that means they were taught well. I grade responsibly, giving students the score I feel they deserve. For some exams, especially when the professor has already dictated how many points to take off for what type of offense (“One bone broken for each taxonomic family misidentified”), grading is easy. For other assignments, like essays, grades are more subjective. I’ve come to realize that the spread of grades on such projects is often highly dependent on the grader. Poor students always score less than the exceptional ones, but the range between the highest and lowest scores will change.

I once T.A.-ed a class where the final project, a PowerPoint, was graded in a group: Besides the instructor, the students and any available grad

students also graded, with the idea being to simulate a symposium talk. Boy, some people were really picky! There was much variation, with some graders deducting points for minor offenses while others being more lax. I thought I was being harsh on those who deserved it, but overall I was actually quite generous with the grades and consistently gave everyone higher scores than the average.

In case you’re wondering, I’m on a fellowship now and won’t be T.A.-ing any classes ever again. Nice try, though.

My baseline grading may be generous, but if there’s one thing I don’t plan on doing once I become a professor it’s changing my grading system to accommodate the lazy or the self-entitled. You know

who you are! If the question “Will this be graded on a curve?” has ever

left your lips, then I have no sympathy for you. Why should I curve? What does that even mean? Seriously, I never bothered to look up the definition of that phrase until a few minutes ago, and now that I know what it means I like it even less. Curving is done only if the grade distribution deviates from the expected; it is NOT decided on before the test is given. Even so, why should you care? The maximum score is an A or A+, so that is the score you should strive for. If the test is curved will you study less or something? Where’s your work ethic? You should always strive for perfection! Like me!

The worst are the grade grubbers. They want perfect scores; they just can’t get them. Instead of asking why they got points deducted so they can learn and improve next time, they find reasons why they should get those points back now. Pre-meds and pre-vets are universally the worst offenders, hunting bonus points like pigs hunt truffles. What’s that? You need an A to get into Johns Hopkins so you’re nagging me for two extra points? No points for you! Only Fs! What’s that? You got a C- but you really, really want an A? Know what you get? F-! What’s that on your exam? Is it a D? Is it an E? No, it’s Super F! Fs for everyone! Bwahahaha!

MATAN SHELOMI uses red pens to grade: If your self-esteem can’t handle that, e-mail mshelomi@ucdavis.edu and he’ll gladly explain why you’re too dumb for vet school. Ooh, burn!

page two The california aggie2 Tuesday, may 1, 2012

daily calendardailycal@theaggie.org

Keep files of your resume, references and cover letters on

your phone at all times

You need an A to get into Johns Hopkins so you’re nagging me

for two extra points?

police briefs

One Shields Ave.25 Lower Freeborn, UCD

Davis, CA 95616Editorial (530) 752-0208

Advertising (530) 752-0365Fax (530) 752-0355

The California Aggie is entered as first-class mail with the United States Post Office, Davis, Calif., 95616. Printed Monday through Thursday during the academic year and once a week during Summer Session II at The Davis Enterprise, Davis, Calif., 95616. Accounting services are provided by ASUCD. The Aggie is distributed free on the UC Davis campus and in the Davis community. Mail subscriptions are $100 per academic year, $35 per quarter and $25 for the summer. Views or opinions expressed in The Aggie by editors or columnists regarding legislation or candidates for political office or other matters are those of the editors or columnist alone. They are not those of the University of California or any department of UC. Advertisements appearing in The Aggie reflect the views of advertisers only; they are not an expression of editorial opinion by The Aggie. The Aggie shall not be liable for any error in published advertising unless an advertising proof is clearly marked for corrections by the advertiser. If the error is not corrected by The Aggie, its liability, if any, shall not exceed the value of the space occupied by the error. Further, The Aggie shall not be liable for any omission of an advertisement ordered published. All claims for adjustment must be made within 30 days of the date of publication. In no case shall The Aggie be liable for any general, special or consequential damages.© 2009 by The California Aggie. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form whatsoever is forbidden without the expressed written permission of the copyright owner.

The California Aggie is printed on

recycled paper

Jason AlpertEditor in Chief

Becky PetersonManaging Editor

Alex TervoBusiness Manager

Grace SpragueAdvertising Manager

Hannah StrumwasserCampus Editor

Angela SwartzCity Editor

Elizabeth OrpinaArts Editor

Erin MigdolFeatures Editor

Trevor CramerSports Editor

Amy StewartScience Editor

Melissa FreemanOpinion Editor

Joey ChenCopy Chief

Jasna HodzicPhotography Editor

Michelle HueyDesign Director

Janice PangAsst. Design Director

Mimi VoNight Editor

Amanda NguyenAsst. Night Editor

Irisa TamArt Director

Tigergrader

MatanShelomi

JazzTrice

Labor pains

today

take back the night6:30 to 9 p.m.East QuadThe UC Davis Campus Violence Prevention Program (CVPP)’s Take Back the Night will feature a popular local band Walking Spanish and the UC Davis a cappella group, The Spokes. Guest speakers will include Professor Todd Migliaccio and sexual assault survivor Sabrina Sadler. Student Housing’s Clothesline Project will be on display and participants at this free event can partake in a community art project.

dance dance davis practice7 to 8:30 p.m.Hickey GymGo to this dance rehearsal to learn the dance to partake in the flash mob on May 9.

introductory fitness class series7:30 to 8:10 p.m.ARCTry out group cycling for free! This intro class, promoting Work It! Week, will help you get comfortable with a group exercise class setting and prepare you for regular-length classes.

wednesday

aggie idol7 to 9 p.m.Freeborn HallWatch this fifth intercollegiate student-athlete charity variety show coordinated by the UC Davis Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The proceeds from ticket sales will benefit nonprofit Team Davis; our local Special Olympics organization. Tickets are $8 through May 1 and $10 on May 2. They are available at the Freeborn Ticket Office or online at tickets.com.

food addicts in recovery anonymous7 to 8:30 p.m.Davis United Methodist Church, 1620 Anderson RoadFree yourself from excess weight and/or obsessive thoughts about food and body image. Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) is a 12-step fellowship based on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Meetings are open and

free to the public. Go to www.foodaddicts.org for other meeting locations.

Kp Meeting of the 43rd annual whole earth festival7 to 8 p.m.Student Community Center (across from Chem 194/Bike Barn)Learn the history of the festival, reconnect with your loving community, schedule Non-Violence Training, explore KP responsibilities and discover a little bit about yourself.

the tempest7 to 8:30 p.m.Pence Gallery “Learning Center” Upstairs, 212 D St.Watch this performance of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Tickets are $8 for students and $10 for adults. RSVP by e-mail at davis.shakespeare@gmail.com or by calling 530-802-0998.

the 2012 eugene lunn Memorial lecture7:30 to 9 p.m.Alpha Gamma Rho Hall, Buehler Alumni CenterListen to this lecture by Professor Robert Darnton with a reception to follow. He will speak on “Books, Digits, and Dollars: A Design for the Future.” The lecture is free and open to the public.

tHUrsday

shinkoskey noon concert12:05 to 1 p.m.115 MusicWatch this free concert as Joseph Abad plays the saxophone with Jenny Lee playing piano and Lucas Chen playing the cello.

poetry night reading series: carlos reyes8 to 9 p.m.John Natsoulas GalleryThe Poetry Night Reading Series is proud to welcome the poet Carlos Reyes.

To receive placement in the AGGIE DAILY CALENDAR, e-mail dailycal@theaggie.org or stop by 25 Lower Freeborn by noon the day prior to your event. Due to space constraints, all event descriptions are subject to editing and priority will be given to events that are free of charge and geared toward the campus community.

correction

In the April 26 issue of The California Aggie, the article “Davis Dozen arraignment set for this Friday” incorrectly states that the U.S. Bank on campus closed “nearly three months ago,” when it in fact closed nearly two months ago. The Aggie regrets the error.

tHUrsday

paying is mainstreamSomeone with red and green hair stole a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon on West Covell Boulevard.

friday

say it, don’t spray itA man was wandering door-to-door with a garden hose on Cowell Boulevard.

Monumental crimeSomeone stole a statue from the city and was trying to hide it on Richards Boulevard.

satUrday

Keeps away vampires and humansThere was a strong smell of garlic coming from an attic on Becerra Way.

works on many levelsSomeone was videotaping a business and told others to “mind their own business” on Picasso Avenue.

sUnday

fowl playSomeone’s house was surrounded by loud chickens on East Eighth Street.

Police Briefs are compiled by TRACY HARRIS from the City of Davis daily crime bulletins. Contact TRACY HARRIS at city@theaggie.org.

spanning the Sacramento Valley and promoting the station’s nonprofit record label.

“We can run without the money, but we can’t provide the great programming that KDVS is known for if we can’t get sup-port,” said Max Sowell, KDVS production manager and sophomore linguistics and philosophy double major. “Money helps lubricate the station.”

During the week of the fundraiser, DJs dedicate their airtime to garner support from listeners. To maximize enthusiasm, many hosts resort to outlandish stunts like dyeing hair or eating something out of the ordinary.

This year, KDVS earned more than

half of the total donations within the last few days of the fundraiser.

“We expect to get the most out of the weekend shows because they’ve been around for five to 10 years and they have a built-in fan base,” said Ed Martin, com-munity member and host of “Cactus Corners.”

Those who pledged received a gift or premium depending on the amount they donated. Premiums are provided by volunteers and include music compi-lations, KDVS merchandise, DJ services and various handicrafts.

“We have a lot of hand-knit scarves, but the weirdest premium I’ve seen this year is this mask from Ophelia Necro, one of our late-night DJs,” said Sowell, brandishing a papier-mâché skull deco-rated with golden butterflies.

Every year, volunteers choose a theme

for the annual fundraiser. This year’s campaign portrays KDVS as “your bea-con in a sea of sound.”

“KDVS really is a beacon of free speech and community involvement, especial-ly as stations are being swallowed up by monopolies in the broadcast industry,” Ruud said.

The station’s commitment to free-form programming means that students and community members can host their own radio shows.

“KDVS is a fantastic educational resource no matter what your major is,” said Renner Burkle, a junior bio-chemical engineering major and next year’s general manager. “Every sin-gle student has something to learn here.”

JUSTIN ABRAHAM can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

kdvscont. from front page

the first inning with a sacri-fice fly off of Vela, giving the Gauchos the early 1-0 lead.

The Aggies responded strongly, however, with hits by Schulze in the second and third innings driving in Fan both times. During the early innings UC Davis also capitalized on Gaucho mis-takes, as an illegal pitch and fielding error allowed the Aggies to add two unearned runs to make the score 4-1 after the third.

Although UCSB’s Keilani Jennings cut the lead in half with a fourth-inning home run, Vela was later able to command the game and tal-ly 11 strikeouts in her com-

plete-game win.

Saturday — UC Davis 4, UC Santa Barbara 3 (nine innings)The first day of play ended with a nine-inning thriller that saw the Aggies pull off a walk-off victory.

Tweatt came out attack-ing as she racked up a ca-reer-high 13 strikeouts and only four hits allowed through six innings.

After scoring off a field-ing error in the previous in-ning, freshman Amy Nunez added two more runs in the fourth when she blasted a home run over the left-field fence to give UC Davis a 3-0 lead.

Following a one-run sixth inning, a seventh-inning rally by the Gauchos tied

the game at 3 to send it into extra innings.

With neither team scor-ing in the eighth inning, the Aggies capped off their great Saturday when sopho-more Felicia Baldwin scored the winning run off of a run-batted-in single by Schulze.

Sunday — UC Santa Barbara 2, UC Davis 1The Gauchos were able to spoil UC Davis’ Senior Day as they pulled out the victo-ry in the low-scoring pitch-er’s duel to avoid the sweep.

With two first-inning dou-bles, UCSB gained an ear-ly 1-0 advantage and would never relinquish the lead.

Although Vela – with the help of some great defen-sive plays – would settle down in the following in-

nings, the Aggie offense was never able to find a similar rhythm, as UC Davis man-aged only three hits.

“We had poor pitch se-lection today,” said Head Coach Karen Yoder. “And we didn’t have timely hit-ting like we did yester-day.”

While a sixth-inning home run by Miller that cut the Gaucho lead to 2-1 gave UC Davis some hope for a Senior Day come-back, UCSB starter Shelby Wisdom remained strong enough to seal the victory.

The Aggies travel to face conference leader Pacific this weekend in a crucial Big West battle.

DOUG BONHAM can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

softballcont. from page 6

OPINIONtuesday, may 1, 2012 3the california aggie

I work in Sacramento three days out of the week so I spend an unholy amount of time

sitting on the bus commuting. I happened to pick up a copy of the Sacramento News & Review, a Sacramento alternative weekly, a few days ago while waiting for the bus to head back into Davis. The feature story that week, “Legacy,” was written to Fred Branfman, an old friend of the author. This letter reminisced on the past and touched upon a range of issues, both political and apolitical.

In the letter, Branfman writes about the years spent in protest of the Vietnam War and about a successful career in politics that left little room for a personal life. He speaks about the disappointment of working for decades to pursue the great Anglo-American ideal of trying to make the world of tomorrow a little better than it is today only to witness the gradual, ungraceful decline of his country and the steady destruction of the biosphere.

It’s not an uplifting letter, but there are passages that left me thinking deeply. Branfman writes about the corrosion of discourse and civility in public debate. To him, the trait of seeing which political party can gut the other first is a recipe for the end of any

semblance of national greatness. Instead, the America of future generations will only be a shadow of what could have been.

So why does this matter? So what if the politicians in Washington can’t agree on, well, pretty much anything? Why should you and I care?

Put simply, the country we’re going to inherit and run ourselves in a few decades will be the equivalent of a faulty car moving forward simply due to the sheer weight of the system. It will be an ugly decline. Unless your plan is to immigrate to New Zealand when the going gets rough, we’re going to have to fix this mess ourselves. Clearly hoping that the politicians are going effectively tackle the mess labeled USA as a misguided dream.

Yet, many younger Americans did have faith a few years ago when the Obama campaign was peddling its hope and change mantra. And they tried. The corrosiveness and partisanship of Washington, however, clearly proved more than a match for the change we wanted to believe in. When you have the top Republican in the Senate saying that his party’s main goal is to defeat Obama, clearly it’s a hopeless cause to think anything productive is going to be accomplished.

Clearly, we have a problem and it begs a solution. Honestly, I say we just ban the Republican and Democratic parties. It’s impossible to get to work on the big issues facing the country — maintaining prosperity in a globalized economy, raising the quality-of-life for all Americans, figuring out what exactly we’re going to do with an Earth we’re seemingly racing to destroy — when politicians are taking potshots at each other

from across the Capitol aisle. We need post-partisanship, non-ideological coalitions who could care less about whether there’s a donkey or an elephant on the official letterhead of White House Christmas cards.

While we’re at it, let’s limit corporate and private individuals’ money in the political field. God, this is such a no-brainer! The notion that one wealthy

casino could bankroll a major Republican contender for the presidency is sickening (go Google the words

‘Gingrich’ and ‘casino owner’). Yet that’s the system in which we live in. The voice of ordinary people will always be a second-class citizen to the moneyed elite. Democracy? What democracy?

Branfman is still fighting for his democracy despite its battered appearance. He’s in his 70s now yet the setbacks and lack of progress – indeed, the reversal of progress – hasn’t led him to give up. This refusal to admit defeat is what left the greatest impression on the article. He simply hasn’t grown apathetic.

I’m sure he has his own reasons as to why he still cares. No doubt some of them are deeply personal. But there’s also the simple fact that his prosperity was and still is integrally intertwined with his country. He fought for his political causes over the years because he knew that his fortunes would be unlikely to rise if the collective health of the country was in decline.

The same holds true for us. If our country is a wreck thirty years from now, that can’t possibly bode well for our own future prosperity.

Contact JONATHAN NELSON at jdnelson@ucdavis.edu. Just do it.

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... clearly it’s a hopeless cause to think anything productive is going

to be accomplished

courtesy newsday.com

animal welfareOn April 26, in the “In Other

News” portion of the Aggie, Amanda Nguyen said “Burger King has announced that all of its eggs and pork will come from cage-free chickens and pigs by 2017. Game changer? Maybe not. But at least tens of thousands of animals will be that much happier!”

This is a false statement. Such practices will not make animals “happier.” The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has compared various welfare issues of laying hens and their studies have shown that cage-free hens do not have better welfare than caged hens. I would even argue they have worse welfare. Cage-free hens have a higher mortality rate, more

frequent parasite infestations and are much more prone to hen hysteria and smothering each other.

One of the things that has frustrated me as an animal science major is that many people with no background in the field assume that certain practices are better for an animal just because they sound good. Personally, I would be much more excited if Burger King was proposing that all of their eggs will come from medium furnished cages. This is one of those cases where doing some research before buying cage-free or the so-called “free-range” eggs would come in handy.

And cage-free pork? What the heck does that even mean? I believe farrowing crates are an important factor in decreasing

piglet mortality. The number-one cause of piglet death is by their own mother laying on them and squishing them to death! Farrowing crates help decrease the chances that piglets will get smothered by their own mother. If someone were to propose another practical way to decrease piglet mortality without confining the mother for a little while and still promote good welfare for both the piglets and mother, I would be fine with that.

I could go into many other misconceptions (like organic milk and animal pollution), but really the bottom line is don’t assume something is better without doing some thorough research.

Danika DickersonSenior, animal science

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Editorial Board

editorials represent the collective opinions of the california aggie editorial board. the opinion page appears tuesdays and thursdays.

Jason Alpert Editor in Chief

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Ungracefuldecline

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davis dozen

Drop the charges

editorials

summer session costs

What arip-off

On Friday, 11 UC Davis students and one faculty member went to court for an arraignment on the charges of the obstruction of move-ment in a public place and conspiracy to commit a mis-demeanor. While it will be up to a judge to determine wheth-er the protesters are guilty of going beyond the limits of the right to free speech, the fact of the matter is these 12 individuals should never have had to step foot in court in the first place. The decision to go for-ward with the prosecution was ultimately up to the Yolo County District Attorney, but it was the University that rec-ommended the charges and provided the information for the prosecution. According to an arti-cle from UC Davis News & Information, on March 16, “UC Davis police had for-warded six cases to the Yolo County district attorney’s of-fice, recommending prosecu-tion for violating Penal Code sections that make it a mis-demeanor to ‘willfully and maliciously’ obstruct the free movement of any person on any street, sidewalk or other public place, or to intention-ally interfere with any lawful business.” That UC Davis personnel initiated and recommend-ed the prosecution of its own students is a loathsome set of actions to add to the list of wrongdoings the administra-tion and their cohorts have taken against students this year. Alleging a “malicious” intent by the protesters that could lead to these individ-

uals facing 11 years in pris-on and $1 million in charg-es is a hugely disappoint-ing and inappropriate step by UC Davis. This seems to go against the Principles of Community the University should be trying to promote. In a letter released last week, Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter wrote that UC Davis “only wishes to see the rights of everyone on campus pre-served.” Yet, we fail to see how allowing students to face time in jail is a proportionate way to preserve the rights of the campus community. This is not about whether or not we agree with the mo-tives of the protesters block-ading U.S. Bank, but the fail-ure of the administration to properly handle the sit-uation. The administration should have dealt with the situation directly rather than through retroactive charges passed down by a district at-torney. After what has happened this year, we would expect that the leaders of this cam-pus would have learned from past mistakes and be actively engaging with students. It is unacceptable that Lieutenant John Pike is still on paid administrative leave after pepper spray-ing students in their fac-es, while UC Davis stu-dents and faculty are facing prison time for blocking a doorway. It is time that the University gets their prior-ities straight and decides under what type of princi-ples of community they re-ally want to operate.

Current UC Davis students pay more for their education than any classes before them, and we all know the effects that the high costs of educa-tion have had on the univer-sity populace.

It seems that, with the overwhelming burdens that come with high fees and the mounting debt that sur-rounds many students, the University should be doing everything it can to make the financial strain on students more bearable.

But when it comes to Summer Session, UC Davis’ stance has been quite the opposite.

Students are charged $271 per unit for summer classes, even if the units come from off-campus internships rath-er than on-campus courses. For a student hoping to get a 10-unit internship that spans both Summer Sessions, the cost would be $2,710 — for which the University will do nothing more than read a 12-page paper summarizing the experience gained.

Even looking through the lens of our already astronom-ically high tuition, charging over $225 for each page read seems utterly ridiculous.

This also applies to stu-dents who are going part-time and need to avoid going over the 10-unit maximum.

UC Davis should be en-couraging its students to get applicable work ex-perience during the sum-mer months, rather than hamper the incentive for them to continue educat-ing themselves by burden-ing them with fees.

Furthermore, UC Davis charges students who are not enrolled in Summer Session at least $28 per month for use of recreation-al facilities, including the Activities and Recreation Center and the Recreation Pool. This is both frustrating and unfair.

UC Davis student fees cover the costs of recreation-al facilities, and forcing stu-dents who are still registered to attend classes the follow-ing Fall Quarter to pay out-of-pocket is a frustrating in-convenience.

Additionally, with fewer students in Davis during the summer, recreational facili-ties face significantly less use during that time than they do during other seasons, so why not allow students to take ad-vantage of the resources that are sitting unused?

The University should be encouraging students to use the resources available to them, rather than over-charging them for services they already pay for.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The California Aggie welcomes letters from its readers. Letters must be typed and no longer than 200 words. As The Aggie attempts to represent a diversity of viewpoints on its letters page, we reserve the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Publication is not guaranteed, and letters become the property of The California Aggie. All correspondence must be signed with the author’s name and telephone number. Unsigned letters will not be considered for publication, although names may be withheld upon request.

GUEST OPINIONS The California Aggie welcomes guest opinions from its readers. Guest opinions must be typed with an approximate word count of 600 to 800, or character count around 3,000 to 4,000. The same standards of letters to the editor apply to guest opinions. Guest opinions may reflect a variety of viewpoints. Any member of the campus community is eligible and encouraged to highlight issues regarding UC Davis, regional or national issues. Address letters or guest opinions to the Opinion Editor, The California Aggie, 25 Lower Freeborn, UC Davis, CA 95616. Letters may also be faxed to (530) 752-0355 or sent via e-mail to opinion@theaggie.org.

Albert defeated Erik Cederwall and Alex Hamilton with 8-3 to take an early 1-0 advantage. UC Davis con-tinued its upset bid in singles play, starting with Aria’s straight-set vic-tory, 6-1, 7-6 (7) at the No. 4 po-sition. Junior Hugo Verdi-Fortin fought back after dropping the first set to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Sherkabov’s play managed to clinch the victory in the No.1 spot, extending his match to three sets and winning by retirement against Castro 6-7 (1), 6-4, 1-1 ret.

“I am very proud of our guys,” said coach Daryl Lee. “We fought back from losing the first set in four

singles matches.”

Saturday — Cal Poly 4, UC Davis 0 The Aggies fell to top-ranked Cal Poly 4-0 on Saturday at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The Mustangs en-tered the tournament with a No. 63 Intercollegiate Tennis Association national ranking and the top spot in the conference.

Verdi-Fortin and sophomore Kyle Miller managed to take five games off of Andre Dome and Matt Fawcett in No. 1 doubles, but the Cal Poly duo held on for an 8-5 win. Haley and Aria then fell in the No. 3 spot.

The Mustangs dominated in sin-gles action, giving up only three games in five out of the six sets completed. Sherbakov fell to Dome

6-3, 6-0 while Albert lost to Bell 6-1, 6-3. Comuzzo clinched the victo-ry with a strong win over Haley 6-2, 6-4.

”Cal Poly was simply the better team out there,” Lee said. “They have many players in the nation-al team and all of the credit goes to them.”

Despite the loss, UC Davis men’s tennis reached a new lev-el this season with a strong semi-finals performance in the Big West Championships. Lee and the play-ers look forward to the time off and plan to return next spring with re-newed confidence and hopeful prospects.

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

AggiEScont. from page 6

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Monday’s puzzle solved

this season.Either way, the

Aggies could not put together the same results they had two weeks ago in a 5-2 upset of then-No. 52-ranked UCI.

“I just think they played better to-day,” Maze said. “We played about the same as we did last time in singles, but they were very well prepared.”

UC Davis lost the doubles point and then could not re-gain any momen-tum in singles play. They lost matches at the No. 6, 1 and 5 singles spots in the defeat.

“What nobody

knows is that courts two, three and four were all very close matches,” Maze said. “We have a strong singles lineup and we knew it was go-ing to be a battle.”

Thus concludes the illustrious career of Zamudio, who has been a mainstay in the Aggies lineup since her arrival four years ago.

Despite the loss of its No. 2 singles play-er, the future looks bright for UC Davis.

“I’m really looking forward to next year — we’re only going to get better,” Maze said. “If we work hard over the sum-mer we will be a very good team.”

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

tenniscont. from page 6

not allowed to talk to admis-sions, unlike other Division I schools, when it comes to bring-ing on athletes, Wade said. The minimum grade-point average for recruiting UC Davis athletes is a 3.0 in core classes, and a 1500 out of 1800 combined verbal and math SAT score. “The kid could be the next Peyton Manning but if he doesn’t have a 3.0, we can’t get him into the school,” Wade said. According to data provided by Cappex, a scholarship search en-gine, the average UC Davis stu-dent is accepted with at least a 3.30 (B+) average and a 1500 out of 1800 combined verbal and math SAT score. For athletes on the receiving end, recruitment is an utter-ly flattering practice. Michael Kurtz, a 7-foot, 190-pound UC Davis basketball player, said that there are upsides and

downsides to being pursued for recruitment. “Top schools come after you like the world would end if they didn’t have you on their team. On official visits they wine and dine you with the best they have to offer. The only drawback is fielding all the calls from coach-es. It can become a lot to han-dle,” said Kurtz, a sophomore economics major. This process, although ad-mittedly complicated for both coaches and players, does not even exist for club teams like UC Davis Cycling and Hunter Jumper. While the number of walk-ons for football (20 or so out of 95 players) differs season to season, club teams consist mostly of non-experi-enced, non-athletic-scholar-ship students. “It’s a big deal that our riders are at all levels of ability. We ac-cept anyone, so long as they are patient enough to work with the horses and feel the sport out,” said Amelia Roland, Hunter

Jumper president and senior communications and sociology double major. Cycling president and senior food science major Mike Spady agreed that club sports rely on athletes who truly love the sport. “Our team has a huge focus on developing riders into good racers. When we bring a nov-ice in and train him for two to three years, he’s much more mo-tivated to race with us versus the kinds of riders who come to us already outstanding, who don’t have much devotion or commit-ment to a club team and end up dabbling around in non-colle-giate races.” While the athletic department offered $6.1 million in scholar-ships for the 2010-2011 year, ac-cording to interim director of athletics Nona Richardson, club teams are not funded by the school besides a few thousand dollars from UC Davis Sports Clubs and the occasional grant. Wade, Roland and Spady

agreed that the argument for paying NCAA athletes a salary is a flawed one. “Passion” was the word they all used when de-scribing their teams’ motivation for performing well, not money. So while the media often calls for college athletes to stop serving as free labor in a multi-billion dollar industry, Wade agreed that student-athletes should be grateful for a com-munity that fosters the pursuit of both academic and athletic excellence. “I think that’s part of college education, and as college coach-es we’re using football as a medi-um for teaching kids. We’re not teaching them how to read, but we’re teaching them about life, things that they’ll learn in the fu-ture,” Wade said. “Some schools do it better than others, but I think we’re the best at any lev-el in terms of the true mantra of student athletes.”

CHELSEA MEHRA can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

athletescont. from front page

By ISAIAH SHELTONAggie Features Writer

While some use dress as an extension of self and individual personality, others may use it to make external statements and so-cial critiques. Casey Davis stands some-where in the middle.

Aside from being a big guy with a large beard and long pulled-back hair, there’s a certain air about him that is neither aus-tere nor modern. He simplifies things as he couples a pair of ordinary blue jeans with a fair burgundy button-down, but as a teal cape and wide-brimmed Australian leath-er hat hang to his immediate left, he com-plicates them again.

“While I’m making my way around cam-pus, I’m aware of the attention that a man wearing a cape may draw,” Davis said, hands folded in his lap and with a smile.

Davis is the Student Academic Success Center’s newest physics/math specialist. His formal tone, style and gestures mir-ror a man of a different period, a time period he incorporates into his teaching philosophy.

Having earned an undergraduate degree in math with a minor in philosophy at UC Davis, he’s no stranger to the campus.

“I moved around to Fairfield and Napa for a few years teaching high school math full-time and junior college level math part-time, but I wanted to move back clos-er to Davis,” Davis said. “All my friends were still here.”

He met many of these friends during his undergraduate years as he searched for his niche and outlets for a passion in music.

“At some point during my freshman year, I remember being on the Quad and seeing people in Renaissance-style dress danc-ing to canned music,” Davis said. “I asked them if they’d be interested in a musician and they said, ‘Sure, come to our meet-ing Thursday night.’ Little did I know I’d be dancing, too.”

The group Davis joined was called the English Country Dance Club. Having had a long tradition of attending Renaissance fairs with his parents for his birthday as a kid, growing up in a household big on Irish folk music and playing it in high school, he was quite familiar with the scene.

“I’ve always been fascinated with the history of the time period,” Davis said.

The allure is evident as he is still an active member of the club, with his Elizabethan-style cape and wizard-esque brown hat serving as commonplace and baffling many students who frequently spot him on campus.

“I figured he was one of those people obsessed with Harry Potter,” said Carla Ortega, a junior human development ma-

jor. “I’ve always found it kind of strange, but cool at the same time because I’d nev-er have the guts to pull that off.”

Davis sticks to his conventional cape and hat wardrobe just about every day, if the weather permits.

“I wear the hat every day unless it’s rain-ing and the cape every day unless it’s too hot,” Davis said. “I have a heavier cape for the winter months. People should know that capes are ridiculously comfortable! You can wrap up in one when it’s cold or let it flutter when there’s a nice breeze. They look really cool too.”

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Davis is his ability to merge what would otherwise seem to be distinctly un-related interests: Renaissance dance with math and physics.

“The way I make sense of the dances is to think of them geometrically,” Davis said, drawing patterns with his fingers on the ta-ble. “The geometry of motion for the indi-vidual dancers and the pattern they form as a group makes more sense to me per-sonally. Plus explaining the dances to new members is good practice for teaching.”

Davis also uses his interests in the Elizabethan arts to provide a historical context for math and physics, so students can have an understanding of the time pe-riods in which these two disciplines were being developed.

“As a teacher, I’ve gradually come to the idea that the human brain isn’t naturally good at math,” Davis said. “I think the hu-man brain is naturally good at remember-ing and understanding stories, though. If I can give students a story of the early math-ematician, the story has a better chance of latching on, and then the actual equations may latch on afterwards.”

At Renaissance Fairs at which the English Country Dance Club performs, Davis wears a 16th century-style schol-ar’s outfit and pulls people off the street to set up human solar system models. He has one person stand with a sign that reads

“sun,” another with one that reads “moon” and a third that reads “earth.” He then has the earth stand still and have the others go around it, illustrating the accepted theory of the period.

“Leaving people with a better under-standing of history is part of the enter-tainment,” Davis said. “I figure if I’m going to be playing this role it might as well be someone who’s involved in something I do in real life.”

In addition to performing at Renaissance Fairs throughout Northern California, the Country Dance Club also performs at cam-pus events such as The Buzz and Student Activities Fair.

“The performances are much different from the performer perspective than from the audience perspective,” Davis said. “As a performer I know what’s going on ev-erywhere and I have a more behind-the-scenes look.”

The “Abacus Wizard,” as he calls himself, is equally omniscient from his office, ac-cording to David McGee, a first-year neu-robiology major.

“He’s just so thorough with his explana-tions,” McGee said. “I went to get tutoring for math and there really wasn’t a question he couldn’t answer. He presents it in a way that’s hard for the student to forget as well. I walked in being very intimidated by him, but left knowing I’d be back.”

“Trick them into learning with a laugh,” the unofficial motto for the Dickens Christmas Fair Reenactment in which Davis participates, is something he stands by wholeheartedly. Behind the cape and often-furrowed brow there’s a gentle gi-ant looking to express himself while help-ing others.

“I dress this way because it makes me feel good and enables me to constantly live out my passions,” Davis said, rolling his fingers over the abacus positioned on his desk. “I’m a walking history lesson.”

ISAIAH SHELTON can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

By DYLAN GALLAGHERAggie News Writer

Just two months after the launch of We Are Aggie Pride, the program’s plans to assist financially challenged students are already well on track, according to members.

We Are Aggie Pride (WAAP), which is both founded and run by UC Davis stu-dents, is a philanthropic program that raises money for students through dona-tions. These donations are organized into financial awards and disbursed to stu-dents based on an application and review process.

The purpose of these financial awards is not to assist in students’ payment of tu-ition or other school-related costs, but to cover expenses that financial aid does not target, such as rent fees and food staples.

Thus far, WAAP has been highly suc-cessful in collecting donations to provide debt-free financial assistance for students in need.

“Aside from Picnic Day, where individu-al donors contributed a little under $200, we recently received a tremendous contri-bution from the Physics Department,” said Rajiv Narayan, a senior critical economics major and one of the program’s communi-cations directors, in an e-mail interview.

Since the program’s launch week at the end of February, the WAAP team has al-ready amassed about $22,500 in donations and disbursed eight separate awards — a total of approximately $12,000 in financial grants.

The collection of these sums was made possible by campus events such as Cupcakes on the Quad and Donor Appreciation Day, which have increased the program’s presence.

“These events have been really suc-cessful in getting donors to come to us,” said Sarah Hoover, a senior history major and the program’s student awards direc-tor. “They really show students the fruit of their donations and give them a chance to interact with the program firsthand rather than just hearing about it.”

Although donations alone from the stu-dent body have been of massive value, the WAAP team strongly encourages students to also consider getting involved more di-rectly — by becoming members of the team themselves.

“Our biggest goal for next year is just to get more student involvement,” said Dominick Carlson, a senior psychology and economics double major and the pro-gram’s budget director and student advo-cacy director. “We’ve had phenomenal re-sponse from alumni and friends of the

University, but we want to encourage even more students to have a more focused in-volvement as well.”

Student involvement is essential to the program because just about every duty for the program is carried out solely by students.

“Everything, from copy-writing and website development and social media, to event-planning, budget directing, busi-ness outreach and application review is handled primarily by students on the board with help from UCD staff liaisons,” Narayan said.

Furthermore, according to Carlson, get-ting involved is of particular importance now, as the academic year draws to a close, because many students currently on the board of members will be graduating in June. As such, WAAP will be looking to re-cruit several new team members for its second year of operation.

Current board members are presently working to institute a selection process for future board members, as well as planning for the expansion of the board overall.

“Our board will be a little bigger, but that’s because we’ve learned that some po-sitions on the board actually need to be done by two people,” Narayan said. “We’re trying to be more precise with our expecta-tions of board members.”

However, even though students are strongly encouraged to consider attend-ing board meetings and getting involved on a leadership level, board members are appreciative of whatever sort of assistance students are willing or able to give. The goal, said Hoover, is widespread campus participation.

In order to achieve this goal, the WAAP board will be planning more events sim-ilar to Cupcakes on the Quad and Donor Appreciation Day for the remainder of this year and even thinking ahead to next year.

Perks will continue to be offered to stu-dents who contribute to this fund.

If the satisfaction of philanthropic ful-fillment isn’t enough, students who donate also receive a limited-edition WAAP T-shirt that can be used to get discounts at a num-ber of businesses in downtown Davis such as Pinkberry, Woodstock’s and Beach Hut Deli.

Updates on the dates and times of these events can be viewed as they become avail-able on the WAAP website at weareaggie-pride.ucdavis.edu or on We Are Aggie Pride’s Facebook page.

Students interested in applying to be on the board can find information on the website. Applications are due May 5.

DYLAN GALLAGHER can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

‘Abacus Wizard’ factors Renaissance into the equation

SASC tutor Casey Davis combines history, physics, math

Zach Land-Miller / Aggie

Physics and math tutor Casey Davis uses Renaissance history to teach his students.

‘We Are Aggie Pride’ going strongStudent-run organization continues collecting money for students in need

By BRITTNY MEjIAArizona Daily Wildcat (University of

Arizona)

With the sales of prescription painkillers rising around the nation, state health and gov-ernment officials are stressing the need to increase efforts to monitor and dispose of certain medications.

The leading cause of unintention-al deaths in Arizona and around the nation is the result of poisoning and drug overdose, according to Keith Boesen, director of the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center. Boesen said more people die from these each year than they do from car accidents.

One of the biggest contribu-tors to this rise is narcotic pain re-lievers such as hydrocodone and oxycodone, Boesen said. Having so many of these drugs available

is concerning, he said, because it allows easy access for many peo-ple, which can lead to an increase in deaths.

“We have seen an increase over the past several years in calls about exposures to or questions about narcotic pain relievers,” Boesen said. “Those drugs are be-coming a bigger percentage of the drugs involved in exposures.”

In Arizona last year, more than 2.2 million people were given hy-drocodone prescriptions and al-most 2 million people were pre-scribed oxycodone, said Dean Wright, the prescription moni-toring program director for the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy. These are the two most prescribed drugs in the state, he added.

The Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program “requires the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy (ASBP) to establish

a controlled substances prescrip-tion monitoring program and re-quires pharmacies and medi-cal practitioners who dispense controlled substances listed in Schedule II, III, and IV to a pa-tient, to report prescription infor-mation to the Board of Pharmacy on a weekly basis,” according to the ASBP website.

Although practitioners and pharmacists are required to reg-ister, it is not required for them to use the database, Wright said. At the end of the year, the number of practitioners who had access to the system was a little more than 14 percent and the num-ber of pharmacists who had ac-cess was about 11 or 12 percent, he said. The number of those re-questing access continues to in-crease, Wright added, and there is an attempt to further increase that number.

“It could have some impact on sales if we could stop the sale to those who are misusing abusing, or diverting drugs,” Wright said. “Reducing that and having prac-titioners looking and evaluating their patients through access to our system helps them to make better decisions as far as how they’re going to prescribe.”

Another concern with in-creased sales of pain medica-tion is that patients who no lon-ger need certain medications will leave them in a place where they are easily accessible to others.

“We should really protect any-one who might have access to medications by locking them up and then, when you’re done with the drugs, we need to destroy them,” Boesen said. “Don’t save them for a rainy day, we need to destroy them.”

In Tucson, the Drug

Enforcement Administration has sponsored “medication take back events,” such as one on Saturday at the University of Arizona Police Department. This was the third “take back” event hosted on cam-pus. The first two took place last year.

These events are beneficial to the environment, because they prevent people from flush-ing dangerous or narcotic drugs where the chemicals can get into the ground, said Joe Bermudez, a crime prevention officer with UAPD. Another benefit is general safety and prevention, he said.

“We’re giving the communi-ty an opportunity to dispose of these medications that are either expired, unwanted or unused,” Bermudez said. “It prevents these types of medications and drugs from getting in the wrong hands.”

Painkiller prescriptions on the rise

tuesday, may 1, 2012 5the california aggie

The california aggie6 Tuesday, may 1, 2012

THE BACKSTOP

Aggie Digest

Women’s water polo The UC Davis women’s water polo team finished second place in the NCAA Big West Conference Championship this weekend at Schaal Aquatic Center. The Aggies went into the tournament with a bye game on Friday to face the No. 3 seed UC Santa Barbara for the fourth time this season on Saturday, de-feating the Gauchos 7-5 to advance to the championship match. The Aggies held the lead for the ma-jority of the match, until the Gauchos tied the score at five in the fourth quar-ter, but UC Davis held on to pull of the victory in overtime. Following their victory on Saturday, the Aggies advanced to the Big West Championship Match, facing off against the No. 1-seeded UC Irvine Anteaters on Sunday. Despite UC Davis’ hard-fought victory over the Gauchos the previous day, the Anteaters proved to be too for-midable an adversary for the Aggies, winning 10-5. The Anteaters scored four unan-swered goals in the opening minutes of

the match. Junior Jessica Dunn scored the first point for the Aggies near the end of this first quarter, ending it with a 4-1 lead for the Anteaters. The second quarter looked much like the first, with the Anteaters add-ing another four points to their lead. Following a five-meter penalty, junior Carmen Eggert fired a shot in to add another point for the Aggies. The first half ended with the Aggies trailing the Anteaters 8-2. UC Davis held UC Irvine scoreless in the third quarter and cut the lead to 8-4, but the Aggies would not get any closer as the Anteaters pulled out the victory to end UC Davis’ season. This latest championship victory for the Anteaters makes them Big West Champions for the fourth straight year. The Aggies finish the season with a record of 18-13 and 4-1 in league play. Dunn was the top scorer overall for the weekend with four goals total, followed by senior Ariel Feeney and Eggert with two goals apiece.

–– Steven Estrada

By RUSSELL EISENMANAggie Sports Writer

The Big West Conference battle between UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara featured seven home runs hit between the two teams in the three-game series.

Freshman Kevin Barker accounted for

two of those home runs, including a two-run blast on Saturday to help lead the Aggies, who had 16 total hits in the game, for their lone win against the Gauchos.

The Aggies may feel they could have come away with more, as a wild pitch al-lowed the winning run in a 3-2 loss in the series finale.

UC Davis drops to 16-23 overall and 4-8 in the Big West.

Friday — UC Santa Barbara 8, UC Davis 2 Senior starter Dayne Quist’s perfect season ended (6-1) as he suffered his first loss af-ter a six-run second inning by UCSB.

UC Davis started off with the lead after Barker’s first career home run in the top of the second made it 1-0.

But the Gauchos’ freshman starter Andrew Vasquez settled in and shut down the Aggie bats, pitching seven innings with eight strikeouts and only giving up the solo shot to Barker.

UC Davis, in what seems like a theme for the season, hurt itself with two errors in that big second inning for the Gauchos.

“The errors have cost us opportuni-ties to win games,” said head coach Matt Vaughn. “When you look at the whole pic-ture, though, it’s not just one thing. We real-ly haven’t played that terrible of defense.”

The Aggies added a run in the ninth af-ter junior Austin Logan doubled to lead off and eventually scored on sophomore Adam Young’s sacrifice fly.

Saturday — UC Davis 10, UC Santa Barbara 6Freshman Tino Lipson went 3-for-5, Barker

hit his second home run in as many days, and the UC Davis offense exploded for 16 hits to take the second game of the series.

Senior starter Anthony Kupbens went seven innings and gave up just two earned runs while striking out three.

Down 1-0 in the top of the third, Lipson led off with a single. Senior David Popkins followed with a runs-batted-in double, but was picked off at second base. Junior Paul Politi singled and ad-vanced to second on a fielder’s choice. Up stepped Barker who blasted a two-run shot over the left-centerfield wall to give the Aggies a 3-1 lead.

With the score 4-1 in the fifth, senior Scott Kalush hit a three-run homer after Logan singled and freshman John Williams walked, all with two outs. It was Kalush’s second homer of the season and the first time since April 30, 2011 that UC Davis hit multiple home runs in the same game.

UCSB rallied in the seventh with three hits and took advantage of an Aggie error to pull within one run at 7-6.

In the ninth, sophomore Spencer Brann was hit by a pitch with one out, and then Barker doubled down the left field line.

An intentional walk loaded the bases and a wild pitch brought home one run. Then, after another intentional walk, se-nior Ryan Allgrove doubled to left, scoring two and making it 10-6.

Sophomore Harry Stanwyck pitched the final two innings, holding the Gauchos hit-less and striking out three.

Sunday — UC Santa Barbara 3, UC Davis 2Senior starter Tom Briner carried a one-hit-

ter into the sixth and senior Brett Morgan was 2-for-3, but UCSB eked out the win in the series finale.

The game was scoreless until the sixth inning when Popkins drew a walk and then moved to third on a single by Politi. Sophomore Nick Lynch hit a sacrifice fly that brought Popkins home for a 1-0 UC Davis lead.

Briner gave up a hit in the second in-ning, and then retired 12 straight Gaucho batters until Steven Moon hit a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 1-1.

UC Davis scored again in the seventh af-ter Morgan singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch, reached third on an error and then scored on a passed ball.

But UCSB’s power-hitting tied the game again in the seventh after another solo home run.

With runners on first and third and one out in the eighth, Stanwyck relieved Briner, but a wild pitch brought home the runner and gave UCSB its first lead of the game at 3-2.

The Aggies moved a runner to third base in the ninth but couldn’t knock him in. They stranded a total of 10 runners in the ballgame.

“We are hitting around .200 with run-ners in scoring position,” Vaughn said. “If we hit just 50 points higher, we’ll win a lot more games.”

UC Davis closes its eight-game road trip with a visit to Fresno State on Wednesday, first pitch at 6:05 p.m.

RUSSELL EISENMAN can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

By VEENA BANSALAggie Sports Writer

The UC Davis men’s tennis team upset the University of Pacific 4-1 in the Big West Conference Championships to reach the

semifinals, only to have their season ended by top-seeded Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

UC Davis finished its season with a record of 6-15.

Friday — UC Davis 4, Pacific 1 The fifth-seeded UC Davis men’s tennis team advanced to the semifinals with a mo-mentous 4-1 upset over Pacific after los-ing to the Tigers in the first round of the Big West Championships last year.

The Aggies took two out of three doubles matches and added three out of four singles wins in their first postseason victory.

UC Davis started with a quick 8-1 win at No. 3 doubles after senior Chris Aria and sophomore Alec Haley topped Pacific’s dou-bles team. The Aggies wrapped up the open-ing point with a deciding win at the No. 2 position.

Junior Toki Sherbakov and senior Josh

By DOUG BONHAMAggie Sports Writer

In front of a large crowd, the Aggies – in their final home series of the season – won two of three games against the now-24-28 (9-6) UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.

UC Davis 20-26 (10-5), which came into the week-end in a four-way tie for first place in the Big West Conference, now trails Long Beach State and University of Pacific by just one game

for the league lead with six games left in the season.

The Aggies took the first two games of the series thanks to strong play by ju-nior Kelly Schulze, who drove in four runs off of three hits in Saturday’s two games.

Starting pitchers fresh-man Justine Vela and junior Jessica Tweatt also gave top-notch performances on the mound, combining for 35 strikeouts and only seven runs allowed in the week-

end’s games.With Sunday’s game be-

ing the final home contest of the season, seniors Kylie Fan, Kelly Harman, Rachel Miller, Heather Zimmerman and Allison Smith were hon-ored before the game in front of their friends and family.

Saturday — UC Davis 4, UC Santa Barbara 2UCSB started off fast in

By MATTHEW YUENAssociate Sports Editor

Just when things appeared to be go-ing the right way, the UC Davis Women’s Tennis season came to a disappointing end.

Despite all the indicators that this would be the year, No. 2-seeded UC Davis found itself in a familiar place when it fell 4-0 to the lower-seeded UC Irvine.

The Aggies breezed by Pacific on Friday but could not get by the Anteaters in the Big West Conference Championship semifinals at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

“The team put a lot of effort and had good attitudes on the court,” said head coach Bill Maze. “Winning would have been icing on the cake, but I’m proud of how we played.”

Friday — UC Davis 4, Pacific 0The Aggies beat the Tigers not two weeks ago, and did not lose a match in their convincing win over Pacific in the first round of the Big West tournament.

UC Davis got on the board first when its top two doubles teams both got 8-4 wins to capture the doubles point.

Three quick singles wins then sealed the deal for the Aggies. Freshman Layla Sanders showed little signs of being new to the tournament and was the first to

finish, with a 6-1, 6-1 win.Senior Dahra Zamudio followed suit

and only dropped two games in her 6-0, 6-2 win, while sophomore Nicole Koehly put the match away with an efficient 6-4, 6-2 clinching victory.

“We were pumped up for the match and it showed,” Maze said. “We came out aggressive in doubles, then it carried over to singles.”

Saturday — UC Irvine 4, UC Davis 0It is impossible to say which team was looking for revenge in this semifi-nal matchup, seeing that UCI knocked the Aggies out of the Big West tourna-ment last year by a 4-0 score, but UC Davis took down the Anteaters earlier

Power struggleUC Davis takes one against Gauchos

Kristina Geddert / Aggie

Freshman Kevin Barker hit his first two career home runs this weekend.

UC Davis stays on conference title track

Aggies win two of three in final home series of the season

UC Davis ousted in Big West semifinals

Aggies rout Tigers, fall to Anteaters

Bijan Agahi / Aggie

Junior Kelly Schulze tallied three RBI in the opening game of UC Davis series against the Gauchos.

Kristina Geddert / Aggie

UC Davis was upended by UC Irvine in the semifinals of the Big West Tournament.

See TENNIS, page 4

See AGGIES, page 3

See SOFTBALL, page 2

UC Davis reaches semifinals

Aggies prevail against Pacific, fall to No.1 Cal Poly

Shazib Haq / Aggie

UC Davis men’s tennis made it to the semi-finals of the Big West Tournament.