Are you a fan of Carl’s Jr., Pizza Hut and Taco Bell on campus? Your last chance to frequent those eateries is this Friday (June 16) — because, not only are they closing for the summer, but they won’t be back in the fall.

In fact, all of the Silo will be closed for a remodeling project this summer. But you’ll still find four or more food trucks outside, all summer long.

Around the first week of August, you’ll have even more choices with the opening of the new Silo Market (with sandwiches and pizza) in the South Silo. The Silo Market and Silo projects are brought to you by Dining Services, which as of July 1 is taking over all of the campus food services formerly run by Sodexo under contract with the university, in a relationship that lasted 47 years.

The main Silo will reopen before fall quarter with a whole new food lineup. Dining Services is taking out Carl’s Jr., Pizza Hut and Taco Bell to make room for the Crêpe Bistro, a university-run burger “joint” and more seating. Crêpe Bistro is the new name of La Crêpe, which has been operating a crêpe stand in the Silo, but will now have a regular, built-in location.

The Starbucks also is going away, to be replaced by Peet’s.

Dining Services announced these Silo hours for Thursday and Friday:

• Thursday, June 15 — Starbucks, 7 a.m.-4 p.m.; Grab and Go, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.; Carl’s Jr., 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; La Crêpe, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Taco Bell, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; and Pizza Hut, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Friday, June 16 — Starbucks, 7 a.m.-4 p.m.; Grab and Go, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; Carl’s Jr., 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Taco Bell, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; and Pizza Hut, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. (La Crêpe will be closed Friday.)

Outside the Silo, Shah’s Halal food truck will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday. The Star Ginger truck will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

Gunrock Pub will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday and Friday, then closed through the summer for remodeling.

County: Norovirus outbreak in schools over

Yolo County health authorities on Monday (June 12) declared the end of a major outbreak of norovirus in local schools but urged continued vigilance against the highly contagious gastrointestinal illness. Over a six-week period, a total of 4,266 individuals, including 139 UC Davis students, were reported to have been sickened.

The Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency reported that, with the weekly numbers for new or repeated cases declining and the regular school year ending, the outbreak in schools appears to be largely contained. At UC Davis, spring quarter classes ended June 8, and exams continue through this Thursday (June 15).

In a news release, the county cautioned that transmission may continue or shift. The agency has provided child care centers and summer camp organizers, including those at UC Davis, with guidelines for prevention of transmission — including preparation and handling of food, cleaning, and sending sick children and staff home.

The county news release notes that proper hand hygiene can help prevent the spread of norovirus. Healthy practices include washing hands with soap and water, especially after using the toilet and changing diapers, and always before eating, preparing or handling food.

Norovirus is marked by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps. It can last for one to three days, and there are no antibiotics with which to treat it.

— Julia Ann Easley

Commencements through the weekend

Nine commencements and a graduation celebration are scheduled from Wednesday through Sunday:

• Wednesday, June 14 — School of Education at 4 p.m. at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts (graduation celebration)
• Thursday, June 15 — Graduate Studies at 4 p.m. in The Pavilion at the Activities and Recreation Center
• Friday, June 16 — College of Biological Sciences at 9 a.m. in The Pavilion
• Friday, June 16 — College of Engineering at 3 p.m. in The Pavilion
• Saturday, June 17 — Graduate School of Management at 10 a.m. at the Mondavi Center
• Saturday, June 17 — College of Letters and Science at 9 a.m., and 2 and 7 p.m. in The Pavilion
• Sunday, June 18 — College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. in The Pavilion

More information is available at the commencement website.

Live and on-demand webcasts of each of the commencements will be available.

‘American Dream’ achievable at UC Davis

The New York Times ranks UC Davis near the top on a list of U.S. universities and colleges “doing the most for the American Dream,” through what the newspaper describes as commitment to economic diversity among students.

The newspaper’s third annual College Access Index ranks UC Davis third out of 170 schools with five-year graduation rates of at least 75 percent.

“The top of the ranking is dominated by campuses in the University of California system,” The Times stated. UC schools are ranked first through fifth, in this order: Irvine, Santa Barbara, Davis, San Diego and Los Angeles. Altogether, UC schools occupy six of the top-10 rankings, with Berkeley coming in ninth.

The University of Florida is ranked sixth, and three private universities round out the top 10: Amherst, Pomona and Harvard.

The Times bases its index scores on two factors: number of graduates who received federal Pell Grants, given to low- and middle-income students; and the net price of attendance (tuition, fees, and room and board, minus federal, state and institutional financial aid).

The newspaper calculated a net annual price of $13,000 for middle-income students ($48,000 to $75,000) at UC Davis.

State eases up on insect-collecting rules

Bugged by the state’s proposed insect-collecting regulations and fees, entomology professor Lynn Kimsey and others began bugging the agency that put forth the rules.

After receiving about 100 letters during the public comment period, the Department of Fish and Wildlife is reconsidering its proposal, according to a June 7 report in The Capital Press agricultural weekly, which quoted department spokeswoman Jordan Traverso.

Kimsey had described as “onerous and obtrustive” the agency’s plan to charge up to $75 per student or $400 per team and require lengthy paperwork for each bug-collecting expedition, and said the proposed regulations would “obstruct the scientific work of researchers and teachers.”

She had been particularly concerned about the impact on agriculture — an issue resolved with Traverso’s declaration, as reported by The Capital Press, that the state will not require permits for collecting related to the study or control of agricultural pests.

Traverso said the Department of Fish and Wildlife is likely to require permits only for bugs on a “prioritized list” that would include imperiled species or other species the agency considers sensitive, The Capital Press reported. “We’re working on narrowing down the specific insects that are sensitive, which should help with the problem,” Traverso said.

SmartSite will be split in two on July 14

One month and one day from today, SmartSite will be divided in two. The change might sound dramatic, but it’s all part of a phased retirement plan for the learning management system.

Instructional use of SmartSite ends this month, and, on July 14, the part of SmartSite that has supported instruction will be converted into a legacy site, available only to instructors, at smartsite-legacycourses.ucdavis.edu (the site is not yet active). It will contain materials and sites from past courses.

The rest of SmartSite — project sites — will continue until at least December 2017 at smartsite.ucdavis.edu. It will be retired sometime in the 2017-18 academic year, and at that point SmartSite will cease to exist as an active service on campus.

Faculty, students and staff have used SmartSite for instruction and collaborative projects from 2006-07 until 2016-17, when the campus began moving to UC Davis Canvas.

SmartSite users: Your next steps are detailed here, in Tech News.

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