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VOLUME 146, ISSUE 24 | THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2023

Whole Earth Festival returns for 54th year from May 12-14 This year’s festival is themed “Sell Out to Love”

BY SYDNEY AMESTOY

campus@theaggie.org The Whole Earth Festival (WEF) will return to campus from May 12-14 for the sustainabilityfocused event’s 54th year. Co-unit director and fourthyear sociology and art studi double major Madeline Dei Rossi has been helping organize and plan this year’s celebration, which she said is themed around local businesses. “This year, our theme is ‘Sell Out to Love,’” Dei Rossi said. “And that’s basically meant to highlight the fact that we are only sponsored by local businesses.” WEF is a family-friendly, zerowaste event that began in 1969 and features artisans, food and musical performances, according to the festival’s website. According to Dei Rossi, all of the artisans who will be selling items are from small businesses, many of them local. “All of the vendors that you see present at the festival are hand artisans,” Dei Rossi said. “They are making what they’re selling by hand for their friends and their family, and that’s their means of

livelihood. I think the essence of wealth is to directly support people [...] We are part of a community, and we try to support that community.” Another feature of WEF is the kids’ space, which hosts programming and events for younger attendees. Second-year English major Katherine Krinsky is one of the coordinators of the kids’ space. “Kids’ space is basically a familyfriendly area on the Quad that has multiple arts and crafts tables with different activities,” Krinsky said. “And then [there are] other activities, facilitated either by us or by on-campus or off-campus groups.” According to Krinsky, some of these activities include yoga instructions, a bubble station and a potato-sack race. Krinsky said that she was inspired to join WEF after attending last year’s event. She said that the festival’s commitment to zero waste and the energy of the event drew her in. “The vibe or the energy there, it’s just so joyful and inclusive and warm,” Krinsky said. “And that was the other thing that really drew me to it: I felt like, even if I didn’t get put on staff, I would have volunteered. I just wanted to work with people who had the same

shared goals of sustainability as well as that goal of coming together as a team and producing something that’s really amazing.” Most of the staff members who are running the event are student volunteers. According to Dei Rossi, WEF is still actively looking for more volunteers to help during the three-day event. Volunteering is the only way to get a student-designed WEF shirt, according to Dei Rossi. “I really encourage people to volunteer,” Dei Rossi said. “There is a four-hour shift minimum. I’m biased because we need volunteers, but everyone I’ve talked to who has volunteered has said it’s been one of the most amazing times that they’ve had at Davis — and it just connects you to this whole network of people.” The festival will take place during Mother’s Day weekend on the Quad, from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. “It’s just like a celebration of spring,” Dei Rossi said. “And we’re this ongoing community of people who care for the earth and care for each other. We invite everyone to come hang out.”

The Whole Earth Festival happens on the Davis campus. (Aggie File)

Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center UC Davis Office of introduces pay-as-you-can food truck Sustainability, ASUCD The AggieEats food truck provides free and low-cost food to Environmental students in initiative to address on-campus food insecurity Policy and Planning Commission celebrate Earth Week on campus BY JADE BELL

campus@theaggie.org

On April 17, the Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center introduced the pay-as-you-can AggieEats food truck, which is part of a program designed to “increase student access to delicious, nutritious, healthy food and other basic needs resources,” according to its website. Leslie Kemp, the director of the UC Davis Basic Needs Initiative and the Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center, said that ordering from the food truck is a simple process: pay what feels comfortable for you — even if the price you’re willing to pay is $0. “Basically, students just stand outside the truck, scan a QR code, look at the menu, decide how much they can pay for their meal and the order goes in,” Kemp said. “If you can’t pay, enjoy some free food. If you’ve got some extra, pay it forward. Either way, you leave with a full stomach and hopefully the feeling that we’re all in this together.” The food truck provides healthy and freshly prepared food from UC Davis dining commons kitchens in addition to offering recovered food, such as produce, sandwiches and other food that didn’t sell in campus markets. It serves up to 500 meals a day and has a four-week rotating menu. Kraig Brady, the executive director of Dining Services at UC Davis, shared his and his colleagues’ thought process when developing AggieEats. “We were brainstorming how to

Several events and challenges were planned to encourage students and staff to think about their environmental impact and build a culture of sustainability Students line up for a meal from the Aggie Eats food truck on the East Quad. (Karin Higgins / Courtesy) put forth a program to provide a real solution to food insecurity and one common denominator was that we have plenty of kitchens,” Brady said. “So we were asking ourselves, ‘Could we use our existing infrastructure to produce enough food to distribute and make a difference? And what would that look like?’ We realized that food trucks are all around campus and are very wellreceived.” Brianne Yale, a third-year wildlife, fish and conservation biology major, shared her thoughts on the new food truck initiative. “It’s reassuring to know there is an option,” Yale said. “My bus was 20 minutes late, so I just came here and that was really helpful.” Kemp said that while the project is going well so far, there are some

issues that she foresees arising in the long term. She noted that funding will be an ongoing issue, but said that currently, funding for the next year has been secured. “I think funding is always going to be a challenge,” Kemp said. “For the next year, we’ll be funded by an anonymous donor who approached the school, but after that, it will be a challenge we have to figure out.” The food truck will be posted at four different locations around campus Monday through Friday. These locations change every week, and it’s recommended to check the website for any location updates. The truck accepts credit, debit or ApplePay via smartphone, according to their website, and the amount you choose to pay is confidential.

Human Relations Commission hosts César Chávez Festival in Central The annual celebration highlighted workers’ voices READ MORE A preview of Lawntopia 2023, UC Davis’s spring quarter live music event

The event will feature Isaiah Rashad, Ladies First DJ Club and Byemilo, among others. SEE PAGE 7

BY ALMA CULVERWELL

campus@theaggie.org On Saturday, April 22, the Davis Human Relations Commission held its annual César Chávez Festival in Central Park. This year, the festival focused on worker voices and labor campaigns and highlighted “Worker Unity Through All Professions.’’ The event included several speakers and performers like United Farm Workers and Peets United and the Bulosan Center. The Davis Human Relations Commission first held this event in 2001 and has held it every year since with the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They

have showcased many performers and organizations throughout the years, including Mariachi Puente, the Davis Phoenix Coalition and Empower Yolo. Davis Mayor Will Arnold explained the reason for the celebration in a press release. “The civil rights work of César Chávez and others still continues to this day,” Arnold said. “Social justice and community organizing are critical in promoting equity and diversity in our community. I hope everyone will join us to acknowledge and celebrate the important efforts of all those who work tirelessly toward equal rights and opportunities.” CESARCHAVEZ on 2

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Davis activist Rick Gonzales speaks at the Cesar Chavez Day celebration. (Cruz Martinez / Aggie)

BY KAYA DO-KHANH campus@theaggie.org

The UC Davis Office of Sustainability and the ASUCD Environmental Policy and Planning Commission (EPPC) planned a number of activities and events for the campus community to celebrate Earth Week. Both partnered with The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) to present the Earth Week Challenge, which provides a list of challenges from four different categories: food and waste, water, energy reduction and education. Some of the challenges listed include using one’s organics as fertilizer, going vegan, binging climate change and sustainability films and only walking or biking for a week. Community members were encouraged to join the event and challenge others to participate through social media. The EPPC hosted two events on campus for Earth Week, starting with a seminar speaker event on April 18 by environmental lawyer and UC Davis Professor Tr a c y W i n d s o r about the basics of environmental law and specific cases she has worked on. The event was successful and received positive feedback, according to fourthyear

between UC Berkeley and UC Davis to claim the title of the “greenest campus.” The competition is running from April 3 to April 28 and encourages students to engage in climate-friendly actions to reduce their carbon footprints. Field said that there has been more engagement in the challenge this year than in previous years. “We hope the competition will gain more traction during Earth Week when students are more consciously aware of their environmental impact,” Field said. This month, the Office of Sustainability is promoting their Sustainability Champion Awards nominations for their Sustainability Summit on June 2, which is an opportunity for people on campus to recognize their peers who are environmental leaders on campus, according to Engagement Program Manager for UC Davis Sustainability Carla Fresquez. Fresque z also highlighted the Office of Sustainability’s recent partnership with Student Housing and Dining Services to give out free, reusable utensil sets to the campus

community. environmental There was a JO science and reusable utensil IE AN management giveaway on April G NE S N / AG major and former 18 at the CoHo and U EPPC Chairperson another on April 19 Mackenzie Field. The second at the Student Community event was a campus clean-up on Earth Center for the UC Davis Farmers Day. Market’s Earth Week celebration. “We hosted a speaker event because Fresquez said that the reusable utensil responses to our Environmental Justice giveaways have been well received by Survey Report from Fall 2022 indicated both students and staff. that more students wanted to learn “That has been a campaign that about environmental justice,” Field said I have been really excited to see the via email. “We are hosting a clean-up response to,” Fresquez said. “We have event to make a direct, positive impact been getting so many inquiries about on our campus. I hope the community how people can get their hands on one of continues to engage in sustainability these sets and how they can make these throughout the year, not just during sets available to their whole departments Earth Week.” so that they no longer need to purchase The EPPC also partnered with the disposable items for break rooms and UC Davis Office of Sustainability on the offices.” Cool Campus Challenge, a competition