UC Davis’ Big Ideas are forward-thinking, interdisciplinary initiatives that will build upon the strengths of the university to positively impact the world. UC Davis researchers, scientists, clinicians and others are conducting innovative and ambitious work in sustainability, food, animal and human health, and more. These transformative projects can only become realities through partnerships with passionate donors, whose gifts will lead to the discoveries to solve California’s and the world’s most pressing problems.
When Alyssa Weakley’s 82-year-old grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2019, the family scrambled to respond. Her grandmother lived in southern California; Weakley and other family members were in northern California and Washington State. As problems arose, they took turns flying down to see the older woman. Often, that meant leaving a job or making child-care arrangements on short notice.
In the wake of the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead, legislators in Washington, D.C., and across the country are debating “red flag” laws or extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs).
Red flag laws are one potential solution for high rates of gun violence in the U.S. Nineteen states now allow the removal of firearms from gun owners when there is a risk of violence.
It is hard not to feel hopeless about the political system after 19 elementary school students and two teachers were slaughtered last week in a Texas school, 10 days after 10 people were killed in Buffalo, N.Y.