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VOLUME 146, ISSUE 25 | THURSDAY, MAY 4, 2023

Davis community gathers together to hold vigil honoring the life of David Henry Breaux, the ‘Compassion Guy’

Following the homicide in Central Park, people gathered together at the “Compassion Bench” to share how their lives were touched by Breaux BY CHRIS PONCE

city@theaggie.org On Sunday, April 30, less than a week after the homicide in Central Park, the Davis community came together to hold a vigil for respected member of the community, David Henry Breaux. The event, which featured city council members, county supervisors, friends and family of Breaux alike, was hosted by the Davis Phoenix Coalition. The vigil had a large turnout, candles were handed to those in attendance, and dozens of flowers were placed at the “Compassion Bench.” The “Compassion Bench,” which is located at the corner of 3rd and C Street, is the area where Breaux for the last decade sat asking anyone who came his way what compassion meant to them. Breaux, who is well known as the “Compassion Guy,” was a 50 year old Stanford University graduate. He also wrote a book titled “Compassion Davis, CA: A Compilation of Concepts on Compassion,” which contained interviews of people’s definitions of compassion. Many lives were touched by Breux, as people at the event spoke about compassion, forgiveness and what Breux represents in Davis. Councilmember Gloria Partida, an organizer with the Davis Phoenix Coalition, spoke first at the event. She talked about the

Davis Threshold Choir members sing at vigil. (Chris Ponce / Aggie) vigil and how much the Davis community cares for one another. “Even though this is a horrible tragedy, and today we know that we are marking two deaths in the city, it still gives me strength to look out to your faces and to see that we are here for each other,” Partida said. “I know that right now there is a great deal of anxiety in the community and so many questions and so many need of answers. And we will get to your answers, and we will answer your questions and we will take care of each other, because that is what we do.”

Mayor Will Arnold also spoke, talking about homicide victim, UC Davis student Karim Abou Najm, and expressing the distress the city has been in over the last few days. “This has been an absolutely devastating few days for our community,” Arnold said. “No more so than for the loved ones, friends and family of David and Karim. And on behalf of the city of Davis, I extend our deepest condolences. These are two people with so much more life to live, so much more wisdom to share, so much more love to give. These are two horrendous acts,

acts of violence that befell two peaceful, loving members of our community for absolutely no conceivable reason. These are two of our shared gathering spaces, where I love to let my own children run free, that are now the sights of two of the most heinous acts our city has ever witnessed.” Yolo County Supervisors Lucas Frerichs and Jim Provenza were also at the vigil and talked about Breaux’s mission of understanding compassion. Frerichs said that Breaux would be humbled to see the turnout for the vigil, and the impact of

Breaux’s work extends across the nation. While Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry couldn’t be in attendance, Frerichs said that the state assembly will be meeting in Breaux’s memory. He also shared that the “Compassion Bench” was constructed 10 years ago on April 28, 2013. Frerichs welcomed UC Davis Alumni Brennan Bird, who helped create the “Compassion Bench.” Bird talked about how moved he was by Breaux and how even though Breaux was unhoused, he had love from the community. “David may not have had a house here in Davis, but he had a home. He had a home in everybody’s heart,” Bird said. “And so David, we love you so much, thank you for inspiring me to be a more compassionate human. [...] As I was thinking how is David’s legacy going to continue into my own life, I have never met anyone who has so devoted themself to a cause and David you’ve really inspired me to dig in deeper and to really just further devote my life to fighting for the earth, fighting for a more compassionate earth.” Bill Pride, the director of Davis Community Meals, talked about his experience with Breaux. Pride said that no one had a perspective like Breaux, and that even though he was unhoused, he only thought about others. COMPASSIONVIGIL on 2

Three stabbings in Davis this ASUCD to host first ever Asian American week leave two dead, one in and Pacific Islander critical condition

The search for a suspect or suspects is ongoing as FBI and neighboring police departments join in BY KATIE DEBENEDETTI

night market

The free market will be held at the CoHo on May 19

city@theaggie.org Since Thursday April 28, three stabbings, including two fatal ones, have occurred in the city of Davis. The search for a suspect or suspects is ongoing as of Tuesday evening. Though the events have not been definitively linked at this time, the Davis Police Department has said that the suspects in both of the two most recent attacks, which took place on Saturday and Monday nights, bore a resemblance. They have described him as a “light-complected male,” and he is thought to be thin and between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-9. He was last seen shortly after midnight on Tuesday running westbound on 3rd Street from L Street wearing “a black or blue sweatshirt, black Adidas pants with white stripes, black shoes carrying a brown backpack.” According to Lt. Dan Beckwith, it is too early to tell if these crimes are related. “I can say that the description is similar to what was provided to us in the most recent homicide, however, it’s still very, very early on,” Beckwith said. First homicide in Davis since 2019 takes place in Central Park On Thursday, April 28, around 11:20 a.m., David Henry Breaux, commonly known as the “Compassion

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Guy,” was found dead on a bench in Central Park with multiple stab wounds. Breaux has stood on the corner of 3rd and C Streets in downtown Davis for many years, well-known for his compassion mission. He began collecting community members’ answers to the question “What is compassion?” in 2009 and released a book called “Compassion Davis, CA: A Compilation of Concepts on Compassion” in early 2010 that contained many of the interpretations he had gathered. The California Aggie’s arts desk wrote an article about Breaux in 2011, when he hosted a speaking event to talk about his compassion project. Since then, he traveled to 12 other cities around the country to talk to people about their own definitions of compassion and spearheaded the creation of the “Compassion Bench,” a functional art structure in Davis in 2013. Second fatal stabbing reported in Sycamore Park On Saturday night around 9:15 p.m., a second fatal stabbing took place at Sycamore Park. According to a statement made to the police, a resident reported hearing a disturbance at the park on Sycamore Lane near Colby Drive. The resident went to investigate and found two men in an altercation, one of whom had multiple stab wounds. When the resident asked if everything was okay, one of the men stood up and took off on a white bike with straight handlebars. The resident described him as “a light-skinned male, possibly Hispanic, 5’-7” to 5’-8” tall, 19-23 years of age, with long curly loose hair,” wearing a light-colored T-shirt with a button-up shirt over it and a white hat. The victim of the second fatal shooting was 20-year-old, fourth-year computer science major Karim Abou Najm. Najm has been described as loving and intelligent by his father, and he enjoyed playing Dungeons & Dragons with the DRAGON club at UC Davis. Third stabbing event occurs Monday night On Monday night, around 11:47 p.m., a third stabbing took place at a homeless encampment on 2nd and L Streets. As of Tuesday night, the female victim is in critical condition after being stabbed multiple times through a tent. The Davis Police Department and UC Davis issued a shelter-in-place order around 1 a.m. on Tuesday and it remained in place until 5:15 a.m. when police reported they had completed a

thorough search of the area. According to the Davis Enterprise, Isaac Chessman and Christine Berrios, an unhoused couple that resides in the encampment, said that they awoke to the woman yelling for help. The couple said that their friend, Kim, yelled “He’s on me! Help! Get off me! The guy with the curly hair!” Chessman also reported that believes he saw the suspect about two hours earlier on Monday night and called police, but received no response. The search for the suspect is ongoing As of Tuesday night, one or multiple suspects remain at large. Last night’s search brought in Yolo and Sacramento County sheriff departments as well as drone and K-9 units to conduct yardto-yard searches in the downtown area. The FBI has also been called in to assist with the investigation. Though the shelter-in-place order has been lifted, Davis PD spokesperson Jean Lyon said that heavy patrol will continue in the downtown area as the search for the suspect continues. At a media conference on Tuesday, UC Davis announced that for the foreseeable future, all courses that take place or end after 6 p.m. will be held online, and the school has expanded the “Safe Ride” program to provide earlier rides to off-campus housing. Additionally, it is recommended that all events held after 6 p.m. be moved online or canceled. The UC Davis Police Department has also requested support from the UCSF and UC Berkeley Police Departments, which will take over oncampus patrol while the UC Davis PD assists the city in the search. According to Lt. Dan Beckwith, it is too early to tell if these crimes are related. “I can say that the description is similar to what was provided to us in the most recent homicide, however, it’s still very, very early on,” Beckwith said. Police have warned the community to be vigilant and take precautions at this time. They recommend not traveling at night, and if necessary, doing so in groups. If anyone has information about any of the incidents or has seen anyone matching the suspect description or acting suspiciously, contact Davis PD immediately. The Davis Police Department can be reached at 530-747-5400 or via email at policeweb@cityofdavis.org. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can call at 530-747-5460. If you are experiencing an emergency, call 911. City News Editor Chris Ponce and Campus News Editor Sonora Slater contributed to this report.

BY KAYA DO-KHANH campus@theaggie.org

The Coho will host the market to celebrate the AAPI heritage month. (Aggie File)

On Friday, May 19, ASUCD is hosting the first-ever ASUCD 530 Market: AAPI Community Health and Culture Fair at the CoHo from 7-10 p.m. The market is meant to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) identities during AAPI heritage month, as well as create a community care space and provide mental health and other basic needs resources to students. Inspired by the 626 Night Markets hosted in Southern California, the market will include a variety of student-group performers, a fashion show, local food vendors and resource booths. All undergraduate students are welcome to attend and are encouraged to wear cultural clothes. Entry is free, and students only need a registration form and student ID. While planning this event, ASUCD has been working to facilitate outreach and ensure events like this one are welcoming to underrepresented groups within UC Davis’s AAPI community such as transfer, international, undocumented and LGBTQIA+ students. Fourth-year environmental policy analysis and planning major and ASUCD Senator Priya Talreja proposed the event to the Division of Student Affairs and was awarded $5,000 through the Equity in Student Mental Health Grant. Talreja said that she is especially excited about the basic needs resource booths that are going to table at the event, such as Student Health Counseling Services, the Love Lab, Aggie Compass and the Pantry. “I want students to have access to and know about free health resources they have on campus,” Talreja said. “I want to help us work towards increasing mental health equity for the AAPI community.” In order to reach diverse parts of the community, ASUCD is partnering with the ASUCD Office of International Affairs Student Representative, Office of the Transfer Student Representative and

the DREAM Committee for outreach efforts. “One of the big things is we want students and staff to celebrate our identities and realize that the AAPI community is not a monolith and that there are varied educational experiences across different groups within the community,” Talreja said. “The event will really showcase the diversity that we have because the AAPI community is culturally, economically and socially diverse in a lot of ways.” Fourth-year cognitive science and statistics double major and ASUCD Senator Stephen Fujimoto coordinated the event’s performances. The six studentgroup performers are Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan, Jhankaar, EKHO, Raasleela, MK Modern and Sunatya. Fujimoto said that regardless of whether students identify as Asian American or not, they should come to enjoy the performances and free food. One of the group performers, Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan, is a student-run Japanese cultural drumming group that has performed during other events on campus including the Picnic Day parade and the fall welcome rally. “I hope that people recognize the wide diaspora of Asian American identities and art forms,” co-president of the group Madeline Do said. “The taiko that we play isn’t emulating the taiko from Japan but instead represents the political consciousness and community-building efforts of Japanese Americans and Asian Americans in North America. I would like people to share their energy as we do and continue to learn with open hearts.” The headliner performance of the AAPI night market is Rudy Kalma, a Filipino American musician and rapper. Kalma is an alumnus of UC Davis who graduated with a degree in English in 2016. AAPI on 4