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VOLUME 146, ISSUE 18 | THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2023

New safer-sex dispensers installed in Memorial Union restrooms

Campus health organizations collaborate in effort to promote safer sex and better sex education on campus BY RACHEL GAUER

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Earlier this quarter, the UCD Love Lab and ASUCD’s Student Health and Wellness Committee (SHAWC) installed safer-sex dispensers on campus as part of a collaborative project. The four dispensers, which are located in the men’s and women’s restrooms on the second floor of the Memorial Union (MU), contain condoms, dental dams and two varieties of lubricant. Hibah Shafi, a fourth-year economics major and the current chairperson for SHAWC, spoke about the goals that drove this project and the general concept for the dispensers. “We just wanted to distribute free safer-sex products and make [them] more accessible,” Shafi said. “We have a good variety of safer-sex products for students to choose from [...] and we wanted to make sure that we were as inclusive as we could be.” The project began last school year when SHAWC received a donation from Planned Parenthood. Shafi explained how this donation led to the early stages of the project. “We received a ton of safer-sex items from Planned

Parenthood and we thought, ‘What do we want to do with these?’” Shafi said. “We thought that maybe we could turn it into a bigger thing, [so] we bounced ideas back and forth and then we thought of [putting] them in dispensers.” Third-year political science major Sergio Bocardo-Aguilar, a former ASUCD senator and current member of SHAWC, noted that free safer-sex products were available on campus even before this project, but the collaboration aimed to reach a wider variety of students. “The intention was to make sure that these items are as accessible as possible,” Bocardo-Aguilar said. “We have free items for students who go to the Love Lab in the Student Health and Wellness Center, but not a lot of students know about that, so we wanted to make it more public.” The team initially wanted to install the dispensers in the gender-inclusive bathrooms on the first floor of the MU, which they believed would be more heavily trafficked. However, the dispensers were ultimately installed on the second floor due to physical barriers that prohibited the installation. “It was an issue with the tile in the bathrooms,” Bocardo-Aguilar said. “On the first floor, they would have to break the tile to install them, compared to the [drywall] on the second floor[...] where we could just attach them to the wall.” Blake Flaugher, who oversees the Love Lab and serves as the well-being

health promotion specialist at Student Health and Counseling Services, explained how the teams were able to obtain the dispensers. “Capital City AIDS Fund in Sacramento graciously donated the dispensers as part of their mission to increase access to safer sex products throughout Northern California,” Flaugher said via email. Flaugher also noted the educational aspect of the dispensers. “One important piece [of the project] was linking students to sexual health resources through QR codes on the dispensers because we know that sexual health is about more than condoms and dental dams,” Flaugher said. “It is about STI/HIV testing, consent and healthy communication, reproductive health, harm reduction, health equity and so much more.” On each of the dispensers, there are two QR codes: one leads to additional sexual health resources and the other to a feedback survey for students to recommend any changes or advice for the project. Shafi explained the sexual health guide that students can access by scanning the code. “We made a safer-sex guide for campus, which is a whole map [showing] where you can access free safer-sex products around campus,” Shafi said. “That guide has become an official campus resource for [...] where you can access sexual health resources.” Though the dispensers were just installed earlier this quarter, they have

Picnic Day Board announces 109th parade marshal

This year’s marshal is Cecelia Maikai-Beard, a Cuarto Dining Commons staff member who has worked at UC Davis for over a decade

Love Lab promoting safer sex for a safer-place. (Jersain Medina / Aggie)

quickly grown in popularity. BocardoAguilar talked about this unexpected popularity and about the steps the teams hope to take in the future to expand the project. “Our supply is going out really quick, faster than we expected,” Bocardo-Aguilar said. “Within two days, it’s all gone. I think something we need to focus on next year is getting a lot of funding for this project to be able to consistently stock the dispenser.” With a larger budget, Shafi said the teams would expand the dispensers to other highly trafficked locations on

campus, such as the Silo or student residence halls. Flaugher said that students who want the expansion of the project to succeed can become involved with sexual health organizations on campus. “Students can make things happen — get involved,” Flaugher said. “We are recruiting a new team of sexual wellbeing Student coordinators in the spring. You can follow @ ucdlovelab on Instagram for the latest info.”

UC Davis Police receives bike and pedestrian safety grant The grant from the Office of Traffic Safety will fund new and current safety programs on campus BY SYDNEY AMESTOY

campus@theaggie.org

JOANNE SUN / AGGIE BY KAYA DO-KHANH campus@theaggie.org The 109th Picnic Day will be held on April 15, and the Board of Directors announced on Feb. 3 that this year’s parade marshal will be Cecelia MaikaiBeard, a Cuarto Dining Commons staff DONATE TO THE AGGIE

Celebrations for Holi are a colorful way to welcome the spring season

The Hindu tradition is a way for everyone who celebrates to spread love.

SEE PAGE 6

member. Maikai-Beard has worked at UC Davis for 13 years, according to a recent press release, and during that time, she has become beloved by students. As the parade marshal, MaikaiBeard will address the opening ceremonies of the university’s annual open house and take part in the parade as it travels through downtown Davis and campus. She said she is looking forward to judging the parade floats and connecting with students, parents, staff and faculty members. “I’m over the moon honored to be nominated by the committee of students to be Parade Marshal for Picnic Day,” Maikai-Beard said via email. Third-year economics major and Picnic Day Chair Jesse Goodman said that the Picnic Day Board of Directors, which is made up of 15 students, wanted the parade marshal to be someone who represented the Davis community and the theme for 2023: “Ignite our Moment.” He said that in past years, professors have been chosen as the parade marshal after connecting with students in a certain major. However, Maikai-Beard’s role in the dining commons has allowed her to connect with a variety of students, beyond the scope of a single major or even college. “One thing that surprised us was that we all have interacted with and have been lucky enough to talk with Cecelia and interact with her on a daily basis when we visited the dining commons, so that was something we were able to all come together and realize — that Cecelia is someone who represents this Davis community,” Goodman said.

Maikai-Beard said that since the announcement, she has been congratulated by the students she meets in the Cuarto Dining Commons every day. “The most favorite part of my job is connecting with the students,” MaikaiBeard said. “Because of all the students, I can truly say I come to work with a smile and I leave with a smile.” Second-year psychology major and Picnic Day Vice Chair Bradford Martin said that Maikai-Beard brings positivity to students on campus and brings out the best in them, allowing them to “ignite their moment.” “‘Ignite our Moment’ represents taking hold of the endless opportunities life has to offer,” Martin said via email. “UC Davis provides so many resources for us to utilize. We want to showcase and encourage all students, alumni, faculty, and community members to take hold of the amazing opportunities around us.” Martin said that the board is looking forward to planning this year’s Picnic Day, which will feature a combination of old and new events. The full schedule of events for this year will come out in April, but a few historically popular events that are here to stay include the Doxie Derby and the Chemistry Magic Show. Goodman said that, for this Picnic Day, he wants people to explore the smaller events that are not as well-known. “Every time I’m reading through our events, I’m genuinely amazed by the creativity and the passion that these organizations have to come up with something so unique that only Davis has to offer,” Goodman said.

The UC Davis Police Department (UCDPD) has received a $71,250 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to be used to enhance bike and pedestrian safety on campus, according to a recent press release. UCDPD applied for the grant through the OTS last year, according to one of the department’s lieutenants, Joanne Zekany. “With so many people using bicycles and other personal vehicles on campus, we want to make sure people can get around campus efficiently and safely,” Zekany said via email. According to the OTS, the purpose of the grant is to reduce the increasing number of pedestrian and bicyclist accidents and deaths, especially among the younger population. The grant will allow UCDPD to provide bike and pedestrian safety training for students, as well as fund initiatives to give out helmets and other safety equipment, according to the release. The grant program will also help fund current bike safety initiatives and programs on campus. While the grant was addressed to UCDPD, it will be used in collaboration with UC Davis Transportation Services (TAPS), according to Zekany, to create these training opportunities and safety

equipment handouts. UCDPD has worked with TAPS on bike and pedestrian safety programs in the past. According to Zekany, UCDPD previously collaborated with TAPS’ Bicycle Education and Enforcement Program (BEEP) before its dissolution in 2016. Jeffrey Bruchez, the bicycle program coordinator for TAPS, said that BEEP included a citation system for bicyclists, which TAPS has no intention of reinstating. Instead, it is now focused on building other transportation programs and initiatives, as well as “[promoting] the available education on campus.” Some of these available sources of education include the “CyclingSavvy” and “Helmet Hair Don’t Care” programs, according to Bruchez. A new program called “Lit not Hit” is also in development, which will provide free bike lights to bicyclists on campus. TAPS has also applied for the OTS grant for the next grant cycle, independently of their collaboration with UCDPD, according to Bruchez. “We [also] worked together to update the grant applicability for the next cycle, with hopes that if we are awarded, we can launch some really radical new programming,” Bruchez said via email.

Students bike and scooter at the bike circle in front of Peter Rock Hall. (Shanna Punzalan / Aggie)