Issuu

@THECALIFORNIAAGGIE

SERVING THE UC DAVIS CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY SINCE 1915

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THEAGGIE.ORG

@CALIFORNIAAGGIE

VOLUME 146, ISSUE 23 | THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2023

Weight measurements no longer required to receive care at Student Health and Counseling Services New “Decline to Weigh” policy and other recent body inclusivity initiatives seek to increase patient comfort during appointments and reduce weight stigma on campus BY JADE BELL

campus@theaggie.org A patient satisfaction survey conducted by Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS) during the summer of 2020 revealed that one of the main deterrents of students seeking out medical care at the SHCS facility was the required weight measurement at appointments. As a result, SHCS created and implemented a new policy that allows students to decline being weighed if it is not necessary to their appointment purpose. Shantille Connolly, a health promotion specialist at SHCS, explained the details and results of this survey. “We are tracking the number of people who have opted out of being weighed,” Connolly said. “So far, in this school year, 318 students declined to be weighed when they came in for an appointment. In fall quarter, we were using a card system [...], but now we changed it to where the MA just asks, ‘Would you like to be weighed today?’ And then the patient can say yes or no.” Connolly said that in February, before the change was

implemented, only around 15 students took advantage of the card to decline to be weighed. By comparison, when the new practice was implemented in March, 137 students declined to be weighed. “It really shows that when you change the practices of an organization, it increases access and gives the patients more autonomy,” Connolly said. Medically speaking, according to Connolly, it’s not always necessary to weigh a student when it is not necessary for the purpose of their appointment. However, she noted that in instances when an exact weight is necessary, it will now be recorded in a way that allows the patients to remain unaware of the number on the scale. “Some medications are weight-based in order for them to effectively work, so we do have the option for a blind weight,” Connolly said. “[This] is where they turn their back toward the scale, so they don’t have to see the number. [The MA] would tell the patient that the medication they are in for is weight-based, so they need an accurate weight to prescribe the correct dosage.” In addition to the measures being implemented by SHCS, Connolly said that similar steps are being taken across

JOANNE SUN / AGGIE

campus to “build and maintain a bodyinclusive environment.” She attributed some of this to a response to student feedback collected via the free response survey that SHCS ran. “The bookstore, for example, was talked about a lot for not having a variety of sizes available,” Connolly said. “Keep in mind that this was in 2020, so things have changed — they have changed their clothing vendors specifically to go with

clothing vendors who have a wide variety of sizes. The bookstore is trying to be more intentional about that [...] as a result of the survey.” SHCS also received feedback from students in regard to how they felt in classroom spaces and how their mental health and academic performance were affected. “We just did a pilot [program] in Olson Hall,” Connolly said via email. “We

wanted to know how classroom seating that was not size-inclusive was negatively impacting students’ mental health. And we found that students were really anxious and stressed about coming to class because they couldn’t find seats that fit their body [and] couldn’t focus because they were in seats that were digging into their sides or they couldn’t position their laptop or iPad to take notes appropriately. So it impacted their academic performance and just overall sense of belonging.” Connolly addressed these issues by sharing what campus policy updates are being made to better accommodate all bodies in classroom seating. “We did update the campus policy — all new furniture that is purchased should be at least 400 pounds in weight capacity, 22 inches wide and armless whenever possible,” Connolly said. “That policy was enacted before the Teaching and Learning Complex was complete, so all the furniture in there complies with that policy.”

Sudwerk Restaurant reopened City of Davis introduces interactive Urban Forest on April 6 The community-favorite brewery’s restaurant is back after six years of renovations BY ANTHONY W. ZAMMIKIEL

city@theaggie.org

Management Plan

The new feature on the city’s website hopes to engage the community in local forestry BY ALEX UPTON city@theaggie.org

JOANNE SUN / AGGIE

Sudwerk Brewing Company in Davis, CA. (Aggie file) On April 6, Sudwerk Brewing Co. reopened the restaurant section of its Davis location following a closure that lasted more than six years, as renovations were being completed to construct an improved dining space

READ MORE Recent sea otter deaths linked to a rare strain of parasitic infection

A parasitic strain of Toxoplasma gondii called the COUG strain has killed four California sea otters. SEE PAGE 11

DONATE TO THE AGGIE

inside the brewery located at 2001 2nd Street. This comes as Sudwerk Brewing Co. announces that an additional 3,500-square-foot beer garden is in the works at their same location to improve and expand outdoor seating options for customers. Sudwerk Restaurant is an independent restaurant located inside the Sudwerk Brewing Co. location in Davis and operated separately with Sudwerk Brewing licensing. It became an independent venture in 2006 and was owned and operated by San Francisco-based restauranteur Timothy McDonnell. The restaurant has been closed since 2016 but has re-opened its doors this spring. “We’re excited to finally announce that the Sudwerk Restaurant is opening,” Sudwerk Brewing Co. announced in its customer newsletter. “We’d like to thank you all for your patience and continued support as we made renovations to improve the Sudwerk experience.” Sudwerk Brewing Co. was founded by German-Americans Dean Unger and Ron Broward in 1989. After receiving positive community consideration ever since its opening, the microbrewery has gone on to receive significant national recognition for its products. In 2021, Sudwerk Brewing Co. was nominated for both Brewer Of The Year and Brewery Of The Year in the Great American Beer Festival. Sudwerk Brewing Co. became the first brewery located in the state of California to receive an official collegiate licensing for an alcoholic beverage after the

company entered into a partnership with the UC Davis Athletics Program which allowed Aggie merchandising of Sudwerk products. Unger passed away in 2011 and Broward passed away two years later in 2013. However, the Broward family still owns and operates the facilities located in Davis, and multiple relatives of Unger work at the brewery Kayla Trowbridge, fourth-year environmental science and management major, said that Sudwerk Brewing Co. is a staple in the Davis community and the business represents aspects of Davis that make the city distinct. “I enjoy going to Sudwerk,” Trowbridge said. “I have only been a handful of times, however, I still think that it is one of those Davis staples, that it really represents the quintessential Davis tradition. The staff is always super friendly and they have always made sure to make the experience enjoyable.” Sudwerk Brewing Co. also recently announced via their newsletter that renovations will begin soon on an additional 3,500-square-foot beer garden at the Davis location. The company said that this will greatly expand the brewery’s outdoor seating section and provide a much more immersive experience for patrons. More information about the newly re-opened restaurant can be found on the online Sudwerk Brewing Co. website. Its current operating hours are 11:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 11:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Sundays.

The city of Davis introduced a new online format to engage the community in the city’s Urban Forest Management Plan, which is available on the city of Davis’s website. City council met on March 21 to discuss a number of proposals, including the Urban Forest Management Plan. The urban forest consists of all private- and city-owned trees and woody shrubs in Davis, excluding natural areas. The Urban Forest Management Plan page on the website provides easy and interactive access to updates on how the city is designing the urban forest to best benefit the community. Stan Gryczko, public works, utilities and operations director for the city, has been a part of the team for the Urban Forest Management Plan for the past year. He explained how the format that Davis is using is different from usual management plans. “This format really allows for direct community engagement at any time with the city’s progress,” Gryczko said via email. “With this online format, the community will have an opportunity to see regular updates on progress, changes to objectives and metrics on how the Urban Forestry Program is moving forward. This is a much different method of interaction versus a usual method of having a pdf document that is not updated as frequently.” The main goal of the format is to increase community engagement in city decision-making processes. The plan spans over 40 years, so changes will happen slowly, allowing the community to learn about it and understand how it will impact them directly. Gryczko shared how he expects the city’s implementation of the plan to affect community engagement and how his team has worked to engage community members. “As part of the development process, the team actively engaged community members through online forums, inperson events and submittals via email

or online via the city’s website,” Gryczko said. “I expect the community and the tree commission will remain heavily involved as the city looks to move from development to implementation of the UFMP [Urban Forest Management Plan]. In Davis we have a community that is very actively engaged with the urban forest, and we are appreciative of the ongoing efforts to support our tree canopy.” This plan, which was just adopted by city council in March, is still new. Because of this, Gryczko said he does not expect to see major updates immediately but envisions a continual progression of efforts. “Staff is focused on preparing an implementation road map for the next number of years to begin achieving the goals and objectives within the plan,” Gryszko said. “This of course will be developed with the input of the tree commission and community. Once we have a recommendation on the road map, the city council will review and adjust if necessary before we move forward with implementation.” UC Davis has discussed their plans to adapt the campus’s tree canopy to address climate change. After the extreme wind and storms throughout Davis this past winter, the university is making an effort to prepare the campus tree canopy for the future effects of climate change. “Certainly, having a robust urban forest has a positive impact on climate change, as demonstrated in the Urban Forest Management Plan information,” Gryczko said. “While the rain received this winter is welcome, the reality is water will continue to be a finite resource for California. Having said that, the city does prioritize watering of the urban forest and young trees in order to combat climate change.” Updates and the full interactive Urban Forest Management Plan can be found on the city of Davis website.