Best of Davis: Free Response
Convince a prospective Aggie to commit to UC Davis. What makes Davis the best place to go to college?
“The perfect “slow” college-town life to balance the rigor of a top college! Can’t get the college-town experience at another UC — everything revolves around the students!” — L.B.
“The people!!! I came to Davis because everyone I met while touring was so kind and genuine, I knew this was the place and I’m very lucky to be surrounded by the coolest, most supportive and most caring people!!!” — K.W.
“Spring time in Davis. After the storm and the sun is shining and it’s a little chilly but warm in the sun, you feel nostalgic. A comfortable nostalgic that makes you feel like you belong here.” — S.C.
“Cows.” — J.M.
“Weed.” — C.M.
Best Ode to Davis: Share a poem or piece of short prose — silly or serious — praising Davis.
“Davis haiku:
Our dearest Gary May
Sunset Fest and Picnic Day
Cows squirrels sheep slay.” — M.F.
“Davis
It’s too hot.
It’s too wet
It’s Davis.” — E.L.
Weirdest encounter with a TA or instructor? (Or, if you are a TA or instructor, what’s the strangest encounter you’ve had with a student outside of the classroom?)
“Saw my TA at a frat party???” — A.K.
“I made eye contact with my TA at a stoplight on my bike and I waved but they didn’t wave back.” — K.W.
“My physics TA decided to play bass-boosted kazoo versions of songs at full volume at the start of my 8 a.m. lab.” — S.B.
“Nervous and overly-conscious of my sweaty hands, I walked up to Dr. Enderle after chem lecture. I introduced myself and told him I had a problem finding useful numbers (constants that couldn’t be found online) for the problems we did in class. He smiled and without hesitation told me he’d post the correct numbers in the Canvas files ‘just for me.’ That’s right. He said he’d post them ‘just for me.’ Stuttering, I thanked him and left California Hall beaming. Dr. Enderle had seen something in me. Of all 400 students in his lecture, he’d do something for just one. Why else would he tell me he’d post those files ‘just for me?’ But in the last second, right before my ego consumed me, a voice of reason and faint skepticism rose up. That was too easy. I just asked him a question — a question, in mind, that he’d likely heard many times before. In a stroke of sudden realization, I grabbed my phone and opened Canvas. I opened CHE2A and reluctantly, searched under files. There — right there — were the files I asked for. Dr. Enderle had posted them at the start of the course, seven weeks earlier.” — L.B.
What is the most useful non-academic thing you’ve learned in college?
“How to do a lease changeover.” — E.S.
“You can’t truly love your significant other if you don’t love yourself. Because your significant other won’t turn you into the person you want to be, only you can.” — L.B.
“Friends are important, but taking care of yourself and protecting your own peace are more important.” — G.V.
“You’re an adult — you can literally just leave if you don’t want to be somewhere.” — G.C.
What is the best advice you’ve received in college?
“Talk to your teachers! If you need help, you can get it; there are people who want to help you succeed.” — E.M.
“No one knows what their future is.” — E.L.
“You don’t have to go to graduate or medical school just because everyone else is.” — J.C.
“You get out of it what you put into it.” — E.S.
Share an embarrassing freshman — or senior, we won’t judge — fail, if you have one.
“Falling down the stairs after my MAT 21B final fall quarter freshman year and spraining my ankle. My whole class witnessed the fall … :/” — D.M.
“I got in a bike crash — with nobody. It was midday. The sun was shining, and I was biking by students leaving their lecture at Sci Lec. Now, I’ve always prided myself on my biking. I’ve regularly biked for over 15 years, and I learned how to ride without hands a few years ago. Well, the past week I had been convinced I could bike without hands WHILE STANDING UP. Practicing with my hands lightly above the handlebars showed I was capable of holding my butt at least one inch above my seat; this time I was feeling so good I decided to go for two. Well, that was a mistake. In broad daylight, with no bikers or pedestrians near me, I went from a completely upright position on my bike to skidding across the pavement. My left side was pretty scraped up, but nothing that didn’t heal in a week or two. The worst part is: I still think that, if I tried again and really practiced, I could do it.” — L.B.
“I once dropped an entire bag of chips in the elevator of my dorm and had to clean it up as people were using it. I’d go up and down for like 20 minutes cleaning it.” — S.C.
“When I was a freshman in the dorms I fell off of my lofted bed so hard that the person living below me texted me to make sure I hadn’t died.” — S.B.
Best Fake News: Satirize, skewer, or spoof UC Davis.
“After a hard early-morning workout at the ARC, Gary May spends his day under Mrak watching through the eyes of hundreds of squirrels — each of which he’s planted microscopic cameras onto their corneas using the budget that was meant for the TAs.” — L.B.
Why did you choose your major? What do you love about it?
“I chose evolution, ecology and biodiversity because I’ve always had an interest in how organisms interact with one another. I love how many people in this major have an appreciation for nature and just have genuine, pure curiosity about the natural world! We truly love to learn.” — S.B.
“I chose chemical engineering because we can really do anything. We can go into a million different fields: energy, medicine, food and beverage, cosmetics, computers, etc. The Chemical Engineering Department is also very well run and [has] some of the best professors on campus. The student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers at UC Davis also puts on the best Picnic Day booth (Liquid Nitrogen Sorbet).” — D.N.
“I started taking classes that I thought were interesting and then realized that I had accidentally taken all of the preparatory classes for cognitive science.” — M.F.
“I chose psychology as my major because I find the field of study really thought provoking and I feel like there’s always something to learn that is applicable to your own life. It is also quite broad, so as an indecisive person, I can decide what aspects of psychology interest me most, and think of pathways based on those interests.” — R.T.
If you had one day to show someone the essence of Davis, where would you take them and what would you do?
“The essence of Davis can truly be understood via bike, so I’d like to take my person biking through the Arboretum, to the cows and through to downtown to get Ali Baba’s! If it’s a Saturday, we could go to the farmers market and drink apple juice on a picnic blanket and then maybe set up a hammock somewhere in the Arboretum or at a park. Night time is for Sophia’s Thai Kitchen and getting a nice, long look at the fish tank together!” — K.W.
“We would start with coffee downtown, farmers market, some shops including Avid Reader and thrift stores, takeout lunch to have a picnic in the [Arboretum] and end the evening with a concert [or] party at the co-ops or at Turtle House!” — S.B.
“Walk around the Arboretum pointing at the ducks.” — S.C.
“Wellman Hall bathroom.” — J.M.
