(From press release) In the span of 7 days, the Yolo Committee for Diverse and Inclusive Elections (YCDIE) collected over 1,700 signatures (1,472 of which were submitted this morning) for a petition calling for a special election to fill the seat on the Davis Joint Unified School District’s governing board that was vacated when board president, Cindy Pickett, resigned on June 30, 2020. This is in excess of the 1.5% of registered voters needed to qualify for the ballot. The vacated seat was originally filled through a provisional appointment made by the DJUSD Board of Trustees on July 2, 2020. This appointment resulted in an overwhelmingly white board that does not reflect the diversity of Davis. A successful petition will terminate that appointment and allow the voters to decide on who should fill the seat. The petition was submitted to the Yolo County Office of Education on July 14, 2020. The Yolo County Superintendent of Schools, Garth Lewis, now has up to 30 days to verify the signatures and call for a special election.
Category: Education
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Over 1,700 Signatures Collected for Petition Calling for DJUSD Special Election
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Soroptimists working hard for women and girls
This Zoom screenshot shows Soroptimist International of Davis 2020-2021 officers wearing starry-eyed glasses for their installation. From top left are Heather Carpenter, Lynn Fowler, Wendy Weitzel, Maggie Memmott, Evie Wright, Kacie Woodward, Emily Ziser, Elaine Barratt, Katherine Hess, Karen Westphalen, Lori Hansen and Carol MacDonald.(From press release) Soroptimist International of Davis isn’t letting the pandemic impede its work to improve the lives of women and girls.
The service club wrapped up its 2020-2021 year with its installation of officers on June 23. Also this spring, members stewarded a City Council resolution on women’s rights, gave grants to single moms, and awarded local scholarships. Below are a few highlights:
Resolution for women’s rights
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Davis Soroptimists present community grants
A baby gets a checkup at a Communicare Health Center. A Soroptimist grant will fund a new postpartum group for moms in need. Courtesy photo.(From press release) This spring, Soroptimist International of Davis awarded $6,500 in funds to like-minded nonprofits through its annual Community Grants program.
The following organizations received awards:
- Communicare Health Centers received $2,000, to supply a new postpartum group providing moms and babies with the best start possible through education, community support and health care.
- Thriving Pink earned $1,500 for educational workshops to support local breast cancer survivors.
- Yolo Diaper Bank received $1,000 to purchase the supplies needed to wrap and deliver 100,000 diapers over the year to agencies that distribute diapers to families that would otherwise not have enough.
- Yolo Children’s Fund was awarded $1,000 to meet the needs of girls and teens who are abused or disadvantaged. It funds special projects, needs or educational enrichment that would otherwise go unmet.
- Short-Term Emergency Aid Committee received $1,000 for legal documents to help individuals get housing, employment and aid, especially women who need to support their children or escape violence.
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UCD Grade Strike Starts Thursday
(from press release) Dear Davis community,Tonight at our General Assembly, we agreed to move forward in solidarity with the wildcats in Santa Cruz and see through our demands for a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). On Thursday, February 27, Davis graduate students will begin a grade strike for the Winter quarter to demand a COLA and to call on the University of California to rescind its threats of retaliation against wildcat strikers at UC Santa Cruz.
A grading strike is the withholding of grades by Teaching Assistants (TAs) designed to disrupt the everyday functioning of the University.
We will be releasing more information, resources, and FAQs in the coming days. Please check out our website and follow our social media for all of that.
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Soroptimists, Girl Scouts collecting diapers
Soroptimist International of Davis members, from left, Crystal Ross O'Hara, Diana Harvey and Maggie Memmott wrap up diaper packages for Yolo Diaper Bank at a recent club meeting at Three Mile Brewing. The diaper bank, founded in 2017 by the daughter of a Soroptimist member, is keeping Yolo County dry – one bottom at a time. (Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo)(From press release) Soroptimist International of Davis and The Davis Girl Scouts are joining forces to collect diapers for the Yolo Diaper Bank.
One in three families in Yolo County does not have enough diapers to keep their babies clean, dry and healthy. The Yolo Diaper Bank collects and distributes diapers to local agencies serving families in need. Diapers and checks made out to Yolo Diaper Bank may be dropped off by March 15 at any of these locations: Avid Reader Active (605 Second St.), Woodstock’s Pizza (219 G St.), Strelitzia Flower Company (4614 Second St. #1), or any Girl Scout Cookie booth (www.girlscoutcookies.org).
Diapers sizes 1 and 2 are most needed. Opened packages are accepted, as well as pull-ups and baby wipes. For more information, email Lmhansengs@gmail.com or info@yolodiaperbank.org.
Soroptimist is a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment. For more information on the club, visit sidavis.org or like its Facebook or Instagram pages: @SoroptimistDavis.
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Apply now for a Soroptimist grant
Soroptimist International of Davis is accepting applications from local nonprofit organizations for grant funding for 2020.The club welcomes submissions from organizations that support economic empowerment and access to education for women and girls in our community. Applications will be assessed based on their alignment with the Soroptimist mission, community impact and feasibility. Any organization, including previous recipients, is encouraged to apply.
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A Case for Bernie Sanders
The times have finally caught up with his vision
Picture taken by R. Millstein at Bernie's rally at UC Davis in 2016By Roberta Millstein
With the California primaries upon us in less than two months, it’s time to turn our attention to the presidential primaries, which will be held on March 3, 2020. Since we have an earlier primary than in past years, California can make a big difference in who will stand for election in November. Check your voter registration status here and make sure that you are registered for the party whose primary you want to vote in. (Yes, you can register “No Party Preference”[1] and that will let you vote in some parties’ primaries, but most agree that it is more trouble than it is worth. You can always change your party to something else later).
As important, of course, is the decision about who to vote for. Here is how I came to support Bernie Sanders. Perhaps you will find my reasoning persuasive.
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Isao Fujimoto Exhibition & Opening Event 1/25
(From press release)
An event honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Isao Fujimotowill will take place on Saturday January 25th, 2020, from 9:30AM to 5:30PM at the International House. Dr. Isao Fujimoto was one of the founding faculty members of the UC Davis Asian American Studies Department. Dr. Fujimoto's life's work has been to lift up the voices of the marginalized. He has pursued this through community-engaged research on indigenous peoples in the Philippines, and farmworkers and immigrants in the California's Central Valley.
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Why dropping SAT/ACT admission requirements isn’t a “dumbing down”
The tests do, in fact, discriminate against low-income students
By Roberta MillsteinA recent letter to the editor in the Davis Enterprise decried the move to drop the SAT and ACT as part of the college application process. The letter writer states that to get rid of these standardized tests would be to “dumb down” the educational process, suggesting that people need to accept that not everyone’s abilities are the same and that some students just need to work harder. The letter writer rejects out of hand the suggestion that the tests “discriminate against minorities and the poor.”
Letters like this remind me that there are a number of facts about these standardized tests that are not well known. So, in the interests of education (yes, a double meaning here), I thought it would be helpful to rehearse some of them. I will focus on the SAT because that is the test I am more familiar with.
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WHO WAS MAX BENSON?
AN INTERVIEW WITH HIS MOTHER, STACIA #SHINEONMAX
On Sunday, November 17, 2019, people around the world lit candles in honor and remembrance of Max Benson. The local vigil was powerful, but worldwide, the hashtag #ShineOnMax became a unifying and powerful movement to bring the world together in solidarity of valuing autistic lives.
Max was killed after being placed in an illegal prone restraint for nearly two hours at his school. Soon, The Aspergian will cover this story in more detail, but right now the world needs to know Max outside of “the boy who was killed.”
Max was a boy who lived, a bright, vibrant, loving, curious, hilarious, creative, outgoing soul whose life had purpose and value.
I talked to Stacia Langley, Max’s mom, to get to know Max outside of the sparse, often-dehumanizing soundbytes that have punctuated the news stories about his last days.
Davisite 