FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
@THECALIFORNIAAGGIE
SERVING THE UC DAVIS CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY SINCE 1915
THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE
THEAGGIE.ORG
@CALIFORNIAAGGIE
@CALIFORNIAAGGIE
VOLUME 141, ISSUE 4 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13. 2022
UC DAVIS MEDICAL STUDENTS OFFER FIRST AID AT UNITED FARM WORKERS MARCH IN SACRAMENTO UC Davis medical students show support for UWF farm workers’ efforts to pass assembly bill 2183
JOANNE SU / AGGIE
BY CHRIS PONCE city@theaggie.org On Sept. 28, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2183 into law — a bill that has long been lobbied for by the United Farm Workers (UFW). According to the UFW,
the bill aims to help protect union elections from intimidation and prevent voter suppression. In August, UFW representatives marched from Delano, CA to the steps of the capitol in Sacramento — the same route Cesar Chavez traveled during his march with UFW in 1966 — to raise awareness
about the bill and apply pressure on Gavin Newsom to sign it. UFW explained why they held the march in a statement on their website. “California farm workers are staging a sacrificial 24-day, 335-mile peregrinacion (pilgrimage or march) from Delano to Sacramento during the
UNITRANS INTRODUCES SIX ELECTRIC BUSES The shift is part of a multi-year plan that involves a commitment by Unitrans to buy only electric vehicles going forward
heat of summer to convince Governor Gavin Newsom to sign their bill giving farm workers protection from intimidation in elections to choose a union,” the statement reads. Second-year medical student Ferheen Abbasi first heard about the UFW’s trek when one of her friends
asked if UC Davis was doing anything to support the marchers. Abbasi reached out to the marchers, asking if there was any way for medical students to help their cause. Abbasi was then put in contact with Andres Chavez, who is the organizer and Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Cesar Chavez Foundation and also the grandson of Cesar Chavez. Chavez and other marchers who she spoke to told Abbasi that they were in need of first aid and foot care. Once she got in contact with marchers, Abbasi explained how she and her classmate Alejandro Alvarez took action. “I emailed my classmates asking if anyone wanted to help and just had a ton of students saying yes,” Abbasi said. “I think that at the end, over 30 students came out to help because everyone was just very passionate and wanted to do something that impacted our community members.” Abbasi and her peers tended to footbaths and epsom salt baths, gave massages and performed blister care. Doctors, some of whom were affiliated with UC Davis, also came to aid marchers and provided care for the more serious blisters, according to Abbasi. Abbasi said that marchers expressed their gratitude for the coalition of students who came together to help. “They were so incredibly overjoyed to see us just wanting to do something to help them and support them,” Abbasi said. “One of the marchers said how happy she was to see medical students wanting to help, and also [to see] so many people of color, but also not [just] people of color, everyone. We had my white classmates and again other people of color wanting to be allies to this, and that is what she was so moved by.” UFW on 6
EDWARDS FAMILY ATHLETICS CENTER DEDICATION CEREMONY TAKES PLACE ON SEPT. 24 The new facility serves as a space for academic work, strength and conditioning training and sports medicine for student-athletes
The Edwards Family Athletics Center, made possible by a generous donation from Diane and Bruce Edwards, is in full swing since it’s grand opening on Sept. 24, 2022. (Claire Diepenbrock / Aggie) BY KAYA DO-KHANH campus@theaggie.org KAITLYN PANG / AGGIE BY JADE BELL campus@theaggie.org On Sept. 21, Unitrans officially launched six electric buses, which, according to a recent press release, are a part of the university’s goal to improve
READ MORE AN ODE TO REWATCHING ‘GILMORE GIRLS’
In addition to baking pumpkin bread and going apple picking, watching “Gilmore Girls” should be added to your fall itinerary. SEE PAGE 4
sustainability on campus. Jeff Flynn, the general manager of Unitrans, explained the importance of the addition of these electric buses. “The University of California as a system and the city of Davis have really strong environmental goals and net-carbon-neutrality goals,” Flynn said. “Being a part of that mission, we thought it was important to buy electric buses and commit ourselves to only buying electric vehicles going forward.” Before these buses began running regular routes, extensive testing operations took place. According to Flynn, all 100-plus Unitrans drivers completed training on them, and Unitrans worked with other transit services that use the same buses to learn from their experience. However, Flynn added that they’re still “learning as [they’re] going.” The addition of the six electric buses is a part of the first phase of a longer project, and more electric buses will be added soon. Phase two of the electricbus launch will then begin in 2025 and 2026. “We have six, and they’re in service,” Flynn said. “We’ll have four more arriving in spring and four more the spring after that. So, that’s 14 buses in the next year and a half. And that’s called phase one. And then, [phase two] will be for another 10 to 15 electric buses.”
Job Tam, a Unitrans bus driver and a fourth-year international relations major, said that he is excited about the potential of these buses to help reduce fossil fuel emissions in Davis. “I think it’s great to have electric buses,” Tam said via Instagram Direct Message. “The buses drive very comfortably and smoothly on the road. It feels the same as the natural gas buses, but quieter and with regenerative braking.” Fourth-year political science and public service minor Olya Egorov, the president of the Zero Waste and Sustainability Club at UC Davis, expressed what they see as the wider implications of this change. “[We’re] proud to see [UC Davis] add electric buses to their transportation system, bringing our community one step closer to achieving its Carbon Neutrality Initiative,” Egorov said via email. “We also believe UC Davis is taking a clear stance [to] encourage and help campuses across the country begin implementing carbon-neutral strategies.” Siena Reale, a first-year environmental policy analysis and planning major, said that the buses are “a great step in the right direction.” ELECTRICUNITRANS on 6
Located next to the UC Davis Health Stadium and stretching for more than 50,000 square feet, the new Edwards Family Athletics Center is a multi-disciplinary space for Aggie student-athletes, according to a recent press release. On Sept. 24, there was a dedication ceremony for the center, which, according to the release, had more than 300 people in attendance. During the ceremony, the facility was open to the public for an open house and a selfguided tour, with student-athletes and coaches present to speak about the new establishment. There was also an extended celebration on the Bob Biggs Practice Field, which included games, food trucks and a beer garden. At the ceremony, Chancellor Gary May said that the opening of the center “marks a wonderful new chapter in a long history of excellence for UC Davis Athletics,” according to the press release. Bruce and Diane Edwards made the lead gift for the project, according to the release. Bruce, an alumnus from 1960, played football and ran track and field at UC Davis. “The memories I have playing sports are the most vivid of my time in college,” Bruce said in a statement on the facility website. “The new performance center will only provide more experiences and a better atmosphere for Aggie studentathletes to excel in their own life. I am so happy to be able to give back to make this a reality.”
Others also contributed financially to the project, and according to the Edwards Family Athletics Center website, approximately $52 million was secured for the construction of the center as of Sept. 1, 2021. The Paul and Nancy Sallaberry Sports Performance Center is the largest space in the facility, which, according to the center website, allows athletes to have strength and conditioning training in larger numbers and at more convenient times than they could at the Toomey Field weight room. Meanwhile, the Klein Family Educational and Professional Success Center within the facility was created to provide a quiet space for studentathletes to study or take a break. The Muir Family Sports Medicine Center is a space for athletic trainers, doctors and unit leadership to provide sports medicine needs to UC Davis students, faculty, staff and the Davis community, and houses a number of team meeting rooms. To minimize cross-campus trips for athletes, the Bob Biggs Practice Field was established adjacent to the facility, according to the website. “The hope is that it’s a home and it’s a resource for all of our teams,” Assistant Athletics Director for Development Rob Norris said. “There are spaces for everyone in that facility, and I hope that when our donors come back and look at it, they recognize that what they’ve done is provide a transformational facility for UC Davis Athletics and that it puts a smile on their face.”