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Saturday, November 28, 2009

White House party crasher is a UC Davis grad - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee


White House party crasher is a UC Davis grad - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:

"Tareq Salahi, a Virginia winery owner who made national headlines when he and his wife crashed a White House state dinner Tuesday as part of audition for a TV reality show, has ties to the Sacramento area.

University of California, Davis officials confirmed today that Salahi is, in reality, an Aggie.

UC Davis spokeswoman Pat Bailey said records show that Salahi began his studies at the campus in 1987 and received a bachelor's degree from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science in 1994. Bailey said Salahi had an "individual major," meaning he designed his own course of study in enology and management.

Professor emeritus Ann Noble remembers Salahi as a "delightful person," but one who was more interested in campus social life than academics.

"He was a kid in a candy shop," she said.

Noble said she had the impression Salahi was reared in a strict family and that he had enjoyed a new-found freedom at UC Davis. But she said he was not a prankster."