Crime drop: Violent crime at UC Davis decreased by 43 percent in 1996 and the number of property crimes dropped by 12 percent, according to a UC Police Department report released in March. Data collected on both the Davis campus and medical center in Sacramento indicated that four robberies, four aggravated assaults and no rapes or homicides had taken place last year.
Abortion issue: In March six former UC Davis students lost their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court over a registration fee-supported health-insurance program that paid for abortions. They claimed the mandatory fees violated their religious freedom. The Supreme Court rejected their appeal without comment, refusing to reverse a lawsuit that had initially been dismissed by a federal trial judge. The university had argued that people "do not have religious line-item veto power over government spending."
Major news: A new animal biology major was established, and the applied behavioral science major's name was changed to community and regional development this spring.
Researchers-in-training: The Institute of Governmental Affairs held a reception in April to honor the students who had participated in its Undergraduate Research Fellows Program during fall and winter quarters. Initiated in 1992, the program is designed to provide students with research opportunities that are an integral part of their studies, allowing them to work closely with a faculty member on a project in their discipline. This year marked the completion of the program by more than 100 students.
Borders battle: The Davis City Council was the site of heated discussions in April about the inclusion of a Borders Bookstore in the retail development planned for the Aggie Village site, but the council finally rejected a proposal to designate the area a "study zone" and delay the project. Borders Books' tenancy has been opposed by local independent bookstores and their advocates who fear that the project will create excessive traffic and jeopardize the existing bookstores. Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef told the council he opposed any delay in the project, citing the developer Mark Friedman's four years of cooperative planning with the city and the university's obligation to honor its contract with Friedman.
Care for kids: An eight-story, 80-bed Shriners Hospital for Children, located across the street from the UC Davis Medical Center, admitted its first patients in April. Davis' research in surgery, orthopaedics, molecular genetics and basic science is being combined with Shriners' research in burns, orthopaedics and spinal cord injuries in a cooperative effort between the two hospitals. UC Davis medical school residents will also participate in Shriners programs. Children are treated free of charge at Shriners Hospitals, which are the official philanthropy of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
Activist arrests: Thirty-two animal activists from around the country were arrested during a four-hour protest at the campus's California Regional Primate Research Center as part of the annual World Laboratory Animal Liberation Week in April. They were charged with a range of violations: trespassing, resisting arrest and vandalism. A month earlier, members of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) claimed responsibility for an arson fire on campus at the site of the partially constructed Center for Comparative Medicine, which caused damage estimated at under $1,000. The center is to be the site of research into viral diseases that afflict humans and animals. Ten years ago, ALF also claimed responsibility for a fire on the Davis campus that caused $4.6 million damage to the John E. Thurman Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. The Thurman Lab provides diagnostic services and information to help control animal diseases.
Coming up roses: HortiCorps, a new student and community volunteer organization dedicated to improving the campus environment, began planting UC Davis' first large formal rose garden in April. The garden, to be filled this year with 1,000 rose bushes, is located in Storer Mall.
Girls at work: Some 150 girls, ages 9 through 15, visited campus for Take Our Daughters to Work Day in April. They were given the opportunity to take part in 22 workshops organized by the Women's Resources and Research Center on subjects ranging from ceramics to chemistry.
Teacher teamwork: Teams of Sacramento-area principals, teachers, counselors and parents joined UC Davis faculty, staff and students at a "Partners in Education" forum in April. The forum considered how K-12 schools and universities can best work together to improve students' academic success, particularly among students who are disadvantaged.
Waste not: Whole Earth Festival organizers took extra steps this year to ensure that the three-day event was Earth friendly. With a goal of recycling as much as 90 percent of the trash left behind, they required food vendors to use unbleached napkins, compostable bamboo utensils and recyclable plastic cups; encouraged festival-goers to bring their own plates and utensils; and provided 15 "recycling stations" for trash.
