Causeway Classic Blood Drive

UC Davis is hoping for a double win in the Causeway Classic this year: at the blood bank and on the football field.

This year’s Causeway Classic Blood Drive is the third annual, leading up to the UC Davis-Sacramento State football game that is now in its 57th year.

The blood and marrow draw on the Davis campus is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 2 and 3 in Freeborn Hall. All students and staff are invited to roll up their sleeves for this first blood drive of the 2010-11 academic year.

Need an incentive or two to get you there? Try these: a free T-shirt, a Chick-fil-A sandwich and a GAP discount coupons, and a chance to win such prizes as an iPod Touch, IKEA gift cards, Habit Burger Grill certificates and more.

In addition, the campus group with the most participation has the best chance in a drawing for prizes of $100, $200 and $300.

BloodSource invites people to take part in the Causeway Classic Blood Drive, either on campus or any other BloodSource location — simply tell the staff that you want your donation to count in the UC Davis total.

Basic requirements: You must weigh at least 110 pounds or more, be in overall good health and be 17 years old or older.

UC Davis won the first two Causeway Classic Blood Drives, while losing both football games. The Aggies hope for a three-peat in the blood drive, entitling them to hold on to the perpetual trophy.

Fall Dialogue with the Chancellor

Undergraduate assistants to the chancellor announced an opportunity for students to engage in discussion with the chancellor, faculty and staff, during the Fall Dialogue with the Chancellor.

The event, which is subtitled “Doors to Dialogue,” is scheduled from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3 in the Activities and Recreation Center Ballroom. The hosts are Justin Gold and Melissa Muganzo, undergraduate student assistants to the chancellor.

The program includes breakout sessions and light refreshments.

People who plan to attend are asked to RSVP by e-mail, to sac@ucdavis.edu.

Picnic Day forum

A public forum is set for next week to gather suggestions on how to improve Picnic Day. The forum is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Nov. 3 in the multipurpose room of the Davis Senior Center, 646 A St.

Picnic Day, believed to be the largest student-run event in the nation, includes demonstrations, exhibits, entertainment and sports. Although alcohol is not permitted at the campus event, problems in recent years have included alcohol-related incidents and fighting in and around downtown Davis.

The forum is being sponsored jointly by the city of Davis, the Davis Chamber of Commerce, the Davis Downtown Business Association, UC Davis and the ASUCD, and the Picnic Day board of directors. A working group of the representatives from these organizations is developing recommendations to share with the City Council, the university, the ASUCD and the Picnic Day board.

The city Police Department reported 516 calls for service on Picnic Day 2010, compared with 100 during a typical weekend. The department made 39 arrests, mostly related to public intoxication, fighting in public or assault with a deadly weapon.

The campus Police Department that same Picnic Day handled about 330 calls for service and made four arrests — three for alleged public drunkenness and one for a suspected narcotics violation.

Commencement regalia

Faculty members are being encouraged to get their orders in for the borrowing of academic robes and the rental of non-UC doctoral hoods, for use at fall commencement Dec. 11.

• Non-UC hoods — Faculty members are advised to go through their departments, which then submit their orders to the bookstore. The rental fee is $20 per hood for orders that come in by Nov. 5; after that a rush-handling charge of $10 will be added. Online ordering.

• Robes, UC hoods, and caps and tassels — The Central Storehouse loans these items for free. Four different kinds of robes are available: bachelor’s, master’s, Ph.D. and M.D.

Orders are due at the storehouse by Dec. 3, preferably via the online ordering system. To request a hard-copy order form, or to arrange delivery or ask other questions, call Terry Chase at (530) 752-9184.

More calendars

Our campus poster calendars are only 2 months old, for the 2010-11 academic year, and now we have an opportunity to get a different kind of wall calendar — personalized and free!

The 11-inch-by-17-inch posters for the 2011 calendar year are from Repro Graphics — which is giving them away as a way to demonstrate the variable data capability of the unit’s Hewlett-Packard Indigo 5000 digital color press.

What does "variable data capability" mean? It means that each printed piece can be customized; for example, for your free calendar (one per university employee), you can highlight two dates per month of your choosing (birthdays, anniversaries or holidays, for example), you can choose the background color, and you can choose from among 10 UC Davis photo images.

This capability is increasingly used in marketing activities where personalized publications yield higher results, said Brian Wadell, director of Repro Graphics.

Repro Graphics has set up an online ordering system for the free calendars. Orders are due by Nov. 24; a charge will apply to orders that come in after that date.

Repro Graphics launched the calendar promotion two years ago, giving away 1,511 for 2009 and 2,265 for 2010.

“The calendar was initially intended as a one-time demonstration project,” Wadell said. “But it was so popular, we repeated the offer ... and now it’s becoming something of a campus tradition. People like the personalized aspect of the calendar, and we think they also take pride in UC Davis and like to show it off.”

And, while offering free calendars, Repro Graphics also is promoting the fact that it can produce custom calendars starting at just $1 each, based on a minimum quantity of 300.

“Just send us your photos and personalized dates and we promise to get your completed calendars back to you by the end of 2010,” Repro Graphics announced.