Meet Cal Poly’s self-proclaimed “COMPULSIVE MAKER” ARTS, pg. 4
Volume LXXVII, Number 84
Thursday, April 4, 2013
mustangdaily.net
Chavez Day sees fewer partygoers, more arrests MUSTANG DAILY STAFF REPORT
news@mustangdaily.net
MAGGIE KAISERMAN/MUSTANG DAILY
In 2012, more than 3,000 students flocked to Shell Beach, but 2013 saw a much smaller Cesar Chavez Day celebration.
Constructing fewer units Construction management will soon drop from 198 to 180 units.
Seventeen college-aged individuals, at least one of whom was a Cal Poly student, were arrested this past Monday while celebrating Cesar Chavez Day at Shell Beach — 13 more than were arrested at last year’s celebrations, according to Pismo Beach Police Cmdr. Jake Miller. The individuals were arrested in the areas surrounding the beach, beach access and parking
lots from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and were charged with simple misdemeanors ranging from public intoxication to possession of alcohol, Miller said. Though the majority of the individuals were college-aged, Miller could only confirm one as a Cal Poly student. No names are being released at this time. Shell Beach celebrations for Cesar Chavez Day have risen to infamy in recent years, as thousands of college-aged people flocked to the local beach. In 2012, more than
3,000 showed up to party, costing the city of Pismo Beach an estimated $8,000 in damages and cleanup fees. This year, the celebrations were much less rowdy, Miller said. A smaller crowd (approximately 500 to 1,000 individuals) coupled with rainy weather and an increased police presence helped to keep the party under control. “We didn’t realize it was going to be an annual event so we were a little behind the eight-ball (last year),” Miller
SEAN MCMINN
smcminn@mustangdaily.net
SASHA ALEXANDER
see CONSTRUCTION, pg. 2
CHECK OUT MUSTANGDAILY.NET for articles, videos, photos, & more.
Jessica Burger contributed to this staff report.
‘Face of CP Wine and Viticulture’ dies at 66
Special to Mustang Daily
The construction management department is renovating the number of units in its curriculum to follow Cal Poly policies and have students graduate in four years or fewer, construction management head Allan Hauck said. University policies now require that all programs go to 180 units to graduate, Hauck said. The construction management curriculum is currently at 198 units, but the university is allowing it to reduce its units in phases. “Overall, 90 percent of the construction curriculum is still the same,” Hauck said, “but it’s just getting the number of units right and adding a few classes to improve overall.” The department is changing the number of units and adding courses to the new curriculum to comply with university policies, Hauck said. A year and a half from now, Hauck said, the department will take the final steps down to 180 units. The faculty was already reviewing the curriculum before the university required the change, Hauck said. The department is not planning to remove courses from the curriculum, Hauck said. Course units will be altered through the revised curriculum. Some courses will be replaced with an alternative, he said. “The only courses being eliminated are simply cleanups for replacing the alternative course,” Hauck said. Changes in the curriculum include adjusting the number of units in certain courses and methods in instruction, construction management professor Barbara Jackson said. Lab courses will be changed to lab and activity courses, Jackson said. And some activities will be online interactive, allowing students to engage in their activities online
said. “This year, we planned ahead and had officers ready when people got there.” The increase in arrests is largely because of the police department’s “zero-tolerance” policy regarding alcohol use, Miller said. “This year, with zero-tolerance put in place, we were in a better position to secure everyone safely, which helped a lot,” Miller said.
COURTESY PHOTO
Former wine and viticulture professor Keith Patterson, who retired from Cal Poly at the end of the 2011-12 academic year, died shortly before spring break this past month at the age of 66. No plans are in place yet for a school memorial.
SPORTS, pg. 8 Women’s basketball finishes season in Louisiana sunny
Tomorrow’s Weather: high Cloudy
partially cloudy
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Deceased wine and viticulture professor Keith Patterson was everything an aspiring winemaker could want in a mentor. He was knowledgable, positive and passionate about wine, according to students, but most of all — they emphasized — he cared about them. “(He was) the teacher that you knew you would be going to get a beer within the next couple years — or a glass of wine,” wine and viticulture junior Danielle Hollywood said of Patterson, who died on March 21 at age 66. “He didn’t care so much about your grade or your tests, he just had a genuine passion for wine and for wanting to teach us the future of the wine industry.” Patterson’s struggle with cancer drove him to early retirement at the end of the 2011-12 academic year, but most thought the 16-year teaching veteran would soon be returning to his true passion: inspiring students. They had never seen Patterson out of his comical, positive demeanor, wine and viticulture senior Catt Hasbrook said, so it was a shock to students when Patterson didn’t overcome his illness. “It was just absolutely disbelief,” Hasbrook said. “In everything he did, he was such a great rebound. Anything you threw at him, he would throw it right back ... That presence being gone was such an absolutely mind-blowing revelation.” When he was teaching, Patterson would often begin his lectures with a personal story — he had plenty to share from his 40-plus years in winemaking, Hasbrook said. He tried to address students’ questions as they came up, but would leave time at the end to work one-on-one with students on issues they were having, both in and out of the classroom. The Arkansas native also took time to help students with outside winemaking ventures, Hasbrook said, whether they were for internships or “questionably legal” side projects. “He believed that it didn’t matter if you see PATTERSON, pg. 2
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MDnews 2 PATTERSON continued from page 1
were 21 or 121,” she said, “you had the same ability to make a really, really great wine.” Lectures and office hours were often devoted to more than just what was on the syllabus, Hollywood recalled. She said Patterson gave students more Learn By Doing opportunities than others in the program. He had no reservations, for example, about letting students in Viticul-
instrumental in establishing the Cal Poly wine and viticulture program, now the largest program of its kind in the United States. Agribusiness professor William Amspacher, who was another driving force behind the major’s creation, said the program was in response to an increased industry demand for more business-savvy viticulture students. But it couldn’t have been done without Patterson, Amspacher said.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Back to the books
Keith’s passion, his knowledge — we would not be where we are without Keith. I don’t know how to replace Keith. WILLIAM AMSPACHER AGRIBUSINESS PROFESSOR
ture II make wine, she said, a practice usually reserved for higher-level classes. Hasbrook said she will remember more than just Patterson’s program development and lectures (which hardly ever lasted the full two hours, she said) though. Instead, she said she remembers him as a man who treated students as equals, despite age differences, and spread a passion for winemaking to the next generation. “He wouldn’t shy away from the topic (that) we were basically majoring in alcohol,” Hasbrook said. “He owned it, and he made us own it too. He said, ‘You’re majoring in a drink that basically makes people happy. You need to own up to that.’” Patterson will not just be remembered as a beloved professor, however — he was also
“Keith’s passion, his knowledge — we would not be where we are without Keith,” Amspacher said. “I don’t know how to replace Keith.” But the department has already been faced with doing just that: Patterson was scheduled to teach two classes this spring quarter, but program head Jim Cooper said he was able to find replacements who began teaching Tuesday. “We didn’t have to cancel any classes,” Cooper said. “So that’s a big deal.” Patterson’s family is planning a service at their homestead in Santa Margarita for May, but has not yet provided a date, Cooper said. It is still to be determined if a second memorial will take place on campus.
LINE ‘EM UP:
Tuesday marked the first day of spring quarter, which meant lines of students purchasing textbooks and supplies at the University Store (pictured above). So how did you spend the first day of the quarter? Tweet @mustangdaily and let us know.
PHOTOS BY NHA HA/MUSTANG DAILY
CONSTRUCTION continued from page 1
instead of in a lab, she said. “The reason we changed it was to make the course more efficient and less boring for the student,” Jackson said. “The notion was to increase the interactivity with the students and to make it more streamlined, more efficient for them and faculty, and also to streamline their rate to graduation.” Students will be able to complete the program quicker with the Cal Poly graduation unit requirement, Jackson said. New additions in the curriculum will include a two-unit course in construction law, Hauck said, and a lab-based construction materials course the architecture department is no longer teaching. The new courses being added bring an opportunity for freshmen to take construction management classes right away, Hauck said. Four years ago, almost all the courses students took in construction management were junior or senior level, he said. “The material being presented is much more aligned with the way students are going to learn their profession and act in their profession,” Hauck said.
MDnews 3
Thursday, April 4, 2013
WORD ON THE STREET How has the first week of spring quarter been so far?
North Korea makes valid threats
“It’s good. I’m only taking one class, so it’s easy so far.” • Sarah Davis art and design senior
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
Kim Jong-un (center), leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, has been threatening nuclear war against the United States and South Korea for months. U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Wednesday North Korea does have the technology to perform an attack. MATTHEW SCHOFIELD TOM LASSETER McClatchy Newspapers
“Good, it’s the best quarter. I like the weather best.” • Andrew Quartuccio mathematics sophomore
“It’s going great. This is my first day, I just have one class this quarter. Spring quarter is a good time to do that.” • Heather Parks communication studies senior
The North Korean army warned the United States on Wednesday it has been cleared to wage nuclear war using “smaller, lighter and diversified weapons.” In a speech earlier in the day, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel noted that North Korea has the nuclear weapons and the delivery system “now.” It’s the latest round in an escalation of rhetoric and actions that began with a North Korean nuclear test in February. Still, military officials and experts don’t expect North Korea to launch an attack on the United States. In fact, they label such an attack as suicidal, and note that while North Korea has had one almost successful test launch of an intercontinental missile, and carried out their third apparently successful nuclear test explosion, it is thought they still only have the materials for perhaps 10 weapons, and they
have yet to prove their missile works with a nuclear warhead. For comparison, the United States has 4,650 working nuclear warheads and an array of delivery systems. Those who study the Hermit Kingdom have very serious doubts that any attack on the U.S. or allies South Korea and Japan is even being seriously considered. “It could be there’s a whole other game going on,” said Stephen Long, a North Korea expert at the University of Richmond. Little is still really known about the young and untested North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. Even his age, either 29 or 30, is uncertain. But in recent weeks, the “glorious successor,” as he is known inside his sheltered nation, one of the few remaining communist dictatorships, has said that “the time has come to settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists.” He warned of a conflict that “will not be limited to a local war, but develop into an all-
out war, a nuclear war.” Reaction at the Pentagon has been relatively calm: an almost daily effort to state American solidarity with South Korea and to defend territory and allies. Missile defenses have been positioned in the region, including Wednesday’s announcement of a land-based system to be deployed to protect Guam. The U.S. also recently announced a billion-dollar upgrade to its missile-defense system in Alaska. But those who watch North Korea closely don’t think the audience for Kim’s saber-rattling was the wider world he appeared to be threatening, but the small band of elites without which he can’t maintain total control. “It’s probable that he was trying to appease military hardliners with his threats,” said Ellen Kim, an expert on North Korea at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a non-partisan Washington think tank. The actual threat may be mini-
mal, but that Kim felt compelled to make such threats might be very worrying, experts said. North Korea continues to struggle under Kim. The nation is poor, the people are often starving, and it remains overly reliant on China for trade. Kim needs to retain the loyalty of the military, the most significant power base outside of himself. Jina Kim, who studies North Korea from Seoul’s Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, is concerned the recent rhetoric is a sign of “potential friction among elites.” “It was reported that Kim Jong-un has ordered troops near the demilitarized zone not to make any mistake that can be utilized by (U.S. and South Korean) forces to use force against the North,” she said, noting that he pointedly told troops to be cautious. But as the rhetoric escalated, the North Korean leader was reshuffling his inner circle. “The fact that organizational change continues means that North Korea’s political stabil-
ity has not yet been realized,” she said. The strongest sign of discord might be that recent moves appear to have angered China, something that would not be done lightly. In the United Nations Security Council, China voted in favor of harsh sanctions on North Korea after a February nuclear test. “The top priority now is to defuse the tension, bring down heat, focus on the diplomatic track,” Chinese U.N. Ambassador Li Baodong said. Instead, Kim Jong-un ratcheted up the tension. Long called a deeply divided North Korean elite “a worstcase scenario.” If military hardliners are rejecting Kim’s rule for not being aggressive enough, that would leave the rest of the region and the world to deal with unhappy and nucleararmed generals. “If Jong-un’s government fails, the likelihood is that whoever takes his place would be far more hard line,” Long said.
Obama looks to compromise on gun control CHRISTI PARSONS Tribune Washington Bureau
“Good, just hectic. I have an O-chem quiz tomorrow.” • Chris Corwin environmental management and protection sophomore
President Barack Obama appealed to Americans to set aside “the people who take absolute positions” on gun issues and “put ourselves in the other person’s shoes,” as he appealed for compromise to revive flagging hopes for new gun-control measures. Urban residents who fear gun crime need to listen to those in rural areas who have grown up with guns as a positive part of their lives, Obama said. But at the same time, gun owners need to “understand what it feels like for that mom whose son was randomly shot.” “We’ve got to get past some of the rhetoric,” Obama said that “breaks down trust and is so over the top that it just shuts down all discussion.” Negotiations in the Senate over gun control measures backed by Obama have stalled over expanded background checks for gun purchases. Opponents of background checks say they fear that if the law requires individuals to document the sale of most firearms, those receipts could eventually form the basis of a national system to register gun owners. Supporters repeatedly have denied that would happen. As the talks drag on, administration officials worry that their efforts are losing momentum. Some polls that showed public support for new gun measures rising after last year’s mass shootings have now shown declines as memories fade.
In an effort to give new impetus to the campaign, Obama flew here and plans to speak next week in Connecticut, where the shootings of school children and their teachers at the Sandy Hook Elementary School are still a painfully fresh memory. Colorado, too, was the scene last year of a highly publicized mass shooting, in which 12 people were killed and 58 injured at a movie theater in the suburb of Aurora. In response, the state legislature recently adopted and Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper signed gun control legislation similar to some of Obama’s proposals, including expanded background checks. Speaking after he and Attorney General Eric Holder met privately with families of some of the Aurora victims, Obama held Colorado up as an example of a gun-loving state that still embraces “common sense” curbs on firearm and ammunition purchases. The state’s new laws are a “model of what’s possible,” Obama said, praising the state’s many “proud hunters and sportsmen” who supported efforts to make it harder for ineligible buyers to get their hands on firearms. “There doesn’t have to be a conflict between protecting our citizens and protecting our Second Amendment rights,” Obama said. “I’ve got stacks of letters in my office from proud gun owners, whether they’re for sport, or protection, or collection, who tell me how
deeply they cherish their rights, and don’t want them infringed upon — but they still want us to do something to stop the epidemic of gun violence.” “It’s now been just over 100 days since the murder of 20 innocent children and six brave educators in Newtown, Conn., shocked this country into doing something to protect our kids,” Obama said. “But consider this: over those 100 days or so, more than
100 times as many Americans have fallen victim to gun violence ... And every day we
wait to do something about it, even more are stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun.”
There doesn’t have to be a conflict between protecting our citizens and protecting our Second Amendment rights. BARACK OBAMA PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
MDarts 4
days 365
ARTWORK BY BRYN HOBSON
Thursday, April 4, 2013
CARLY RICKARDS
wire@mustangdaily.net
T
he fading light of the late afternoon darkens Bryn Hobson’s view of the paint palette and torn piece of paper in front of him. His right hand, decorated by a red, threaded bracelet embroidered with the word “SELFLESS,” reaches to switch on a desk lamp, illuminating the swirling, splattered mess of oranges and yellows on the palette. He looks up, and his light blue eyes gleam against the backdrop of his faded bluegray walls. “I sort of go through phases of being obsessed with different things, visually,” Hobson says, dipping his paintbrush into the water-filled mason jar he was just drinking out of. “In the fall it was like, everything red,” Hobson says. “Now I’m Matisse-focused. I want to know everything about Matisse.” The corners of his mouth pull into a wide smile upon saying the French artist’s name. His brush travels back and forth four times between the water and the paint before settling on a consistency. “Ink is fun because, once it’s down, there’s nothing you can do,” the art and design junior says, focusing on the bold, black strokes he’s forming into letters. The first word he paints: “MAKE.” Hobson identifies as a “compulsive maker” — of all art. Even his Twitter bio says so. On Dec. 1, 2009, he began “The 365 Project,” a self-motivated mission to create one piece of art every day for a year. On Oct. 15, 2012, he debuted his first solo art show in Sally Loo’s Wholesome Café. He now works for Robert E. Kennedy Library, where he designs and produces display installations for the special collections department, along with any freelance work that comes his way. At any given time, he’s working on a dozen
projects. But for most of his life, Hobson never imagined he’d be an artist.
THE PATH
When Hobson was a kid, he was convinced he couldn’t draw. He didn’t have the same patience as his twin brother, Jared, who could sit down and recreate the “perfect frog” from a National Geographic photo. “I kind of decided I was no good at art and didn’t want anything to do with it, really,” Hobson said. But looking back, he can see he manifested his creativity through Lego-building and 3D paper projects — the latter of which, he still makes. “It’s interesting to notice that I had an inclination for design and a sensitivity for making things, it just wasn’t typical drawing,” he said. Hobson’s mother, Janet, recalls one poignant moment of foreshadowing in her son’s childhood. Her twin boys were creating handmade birthday cards when she noticed a difference in their artistic approaches. While his brother would spend hours reproducing an image, Hobson was “impatient” and “in a hurry” — a product of his lack of confidence. But the result of his half-hearted attempt surprised her. “I took one look at that card ... and told him he had an eye for design,” Janet said. “I remember saying that to him, and I don’t know how much I realized, ‘This is the path you’re going to follow.’” Hobson accidentally stumbled upon his path in high school, when he took his first art classes as a freshman. “I really enjoyed (art) and it came pretty naturally to me,” Hobson said. His mother said he “just flew with it.” Neither of them attribute this discovery to coincidence.
“We have that fundamental belief ... that God can guide our path,” Janet said. “He does lead us. I believe that God wires us for what we are supposed to be doing ... and I look at the way that He’s wired Bryn ... and I believe that he’s placed where he is to be doing (art).” Both Hobson and his mother lean on their faith during moments of uncertainty or difficult decisions. “I believe there’s a plan for my life and that I don’t have to worry about the future in so many ways, because it’s already taken care of,” Hobson said. This trusting disposition, combined with an innate sense of adventure, have opened up opportunities for Hobson to work and volunteer across the United States — and travel all the way to Uganda. Coinciding with the discovery of his natural artistic ability, Hobson found and quickly became involved with Invisible Children, an organization that works to end the conflict surrounding the Lord’s Resistance Army in Central Africa. The Lord’s Resistance Army is a militant group that is internationally notorious for its infringement upon human rights, specifically its practice of forcing children into violence. Invisible Children shares its messages through digital media and design, which allowed Hobson to package his two passions into one cause. “It really shaped my high school experience and encouraged me to use the skills I had to do something, to give,” he said. “I started designing shirts and would teach myself the software as I needed it. I didn’t have any graphic design classes or anything, but connected the desire I had to create with a cause ... and that’s what got me interested in graphic design and seeing it put to use for social justice causes.” The sale of Hobson’s shirts, along with other
volunteer work through his on-campus club, raised more money for Invisible Children than any other high school in his region of the country. Their reward was a trip to Uganda the summer after he graduated. “I got to go and see the school that we helped fund the rebuilding of and meet students there,” he said. “It was a crazy experience.” In an off-handed comment, Hobson mentioned he was born in South Africa. “So I’m legally African-American,” he laughed, brushing dirty-blonde bangs out of his eyes. His trip to Uganda brought back memories of the first few years of his life — it was either five or six; Hobson says six, but Janet insists he was 5 years old when they moved to California. But beyond noticing the “funny food” similarities between Uganda and South Africa, Hobson realized he could make a career out of his “creative edge,” as his mother puts it, and compassion for others. “(Invisible Children) got me into researching, like, I can do this professionally, and it kind of fits with the art classes I’m enjoying,” he said. “From there, I just continued pursuing that and that’s why I came to Cal Poly.”
THE 365 PROJECT Hobson began his freshman year at Cal Poly and got bored. His high school education had covered many of the basic fundamentals of art, and he had already taught himself design software years earlier. His compulsion to make and create was not being fulfilled in his introductory classes, so he took it upon himself to satisfy that internal need. “I set this challenge of like, ‘I’m going to make something every day for a whole year and call it continued on pg. 5
MDarts 5
Thursday, April 4, 2013
and something to show for each one
CARLY RICKARDS MUSTANG DAILY
continued from pg. 4 my 365 Project,’” Hobson said. And on Dec. 1, 2009, he started. He painted, drew, took photos, made mixtapes, designed T-shirts and cards and even wrote motivational messages on toilet paper. He documented every single piece and put it on his blog, which soon attracted 300 to 400 viewers every day. “Having people looking at my work consistently was very new, so it made me think a lot about the message that I’m sharing with people,” he said. Hobson can’t quite pinpoint what that message was. He insists his art isn’t “explicitly personal” and gently mocks the idea of some profound “emotional content or symbolism” behind his work. “‘The 365 Project,’ all those little drawings and things were on the spot,” he said. “As soon as I thought of something ... I just had to go with it because I didn’t have time to do other things. People totally interpret things however they want to, and that was really interesting, having people read into stuff, sometimes way too much.” Apart from his unexplained tendency to “draw fruit a lot,” Hobson can identify one recurring theme in his artwork: simplicity. “For me, simplicity, just putting in all that’s necessary to be authentic, is enough,” he said. And this philosophy translates into his way of living as well. “I find myself most at rest and most content when I’m actively being thankful for what I’ve been given,” Hobson said. “When I’m living a little bit more simply, I experience that.” He is especially thankful for the unique opportunities he has been given. Exactly six months into “The 365 Project,” Hobson took a year off school to volunteer at two Christian summer camps and, betwixt these, toured the country with Invisible Children. That year was a “total abandonment of design,” so Hobson filled his compulsive need to make by making food for people on tour — he especially enjoyed baking. When he finally revisited his art project, his motivations and inspirations were worlds away from San Luis Obispo. Hobson struggled to get reacclimated upon his return to Cal Poly. He had just spent a full year surrounded by people with nearly identical worldviews and concerns, and was leaving them behind for difficult classes and a halfcompleted project. “It was hard to come back to school and not have a tight community like that anymore, and felt a lot like starting over,” he said, but he did finish the project. “I did six months again; it was much harder the second time, because ... I didn’t really need to be doing the projects anymore.” Participation by friends and blog followers heavily influenced his desire to complete the project. “I learned that the biggest compliment is definitely when someone says that it inspired them to make something, too,” he said. “That was, by far, the most satisfying thing, when someone would look at one of my projects and say, ‘It made me want to draw, and I made this.’ That was way more exciting than just hearing ‘good job.’” Hobson is also proud of the discipline he demonstrated throughout “The 365 Project,” which he will be compiling as a book and portfolio for future job opportunities.
“I’m excited to be able to pull out my ‘365’ book, because it does say a lot about me,” he said. Despite midterms or bad days or waning enthusiasm, Hobson kept his commitment to himself and produced one piece of art every day for a year.
ON DISPLAY When Hobson was encouraged to submit his artwork for display in Sally Loo’s Wholesome Café, he was hesitant. He exhibited a confidence level evocative of his childhood: He didn’t think he had enough material, or that his work was good enough, for a solo art show. He applied to be on the year-long waitlist with low expectations, and was then chosen to be one of the first artists featured in the café this school year. Jen Manuele, one of the owners of Sally Loo’s, said she first developed a “crush” on Hobson’s artwork when she saw his drawing of a scone a few years ago, and continued to follow his work. She became a “cheerleader” for Hobson, and gave him almost no limitations for his show in her café. “I didn’t have any fear about what he was going to do, so I just gave him free rein,” Manuele said. Instead of preparing for his first art show, Hobson went on a road trip to Seattle and Portland. “He loves to live life on the edge in terms of fitting a million things into his day, and he will often leave things to the last minute,” his mother said. But Hobson contended his procrastination was purposeful: “I limited myself that way so that I wouldn’t have time to edit myself, because, a lot of the time, I try to make a masterpiece, and then I get stuck and frustrated.” Although he waited until the very last minute to actually create the pieces (he started and finished one painting the morning of the show on Oct. 15), he drafted ideas and themes ahead of time. “I spent a lot of time there and wanted to do something based on that space,” he said. “I wanted the whole space to be like you could be sitting inside a ribcage.” The pieces were different sizes, but all pencildrawn with red detailing. “I started with a ribcage drawing, just having this idea of all our potential pent up inside of us,” he said. “And then all the other pieces came out of that too.” He found people had the strongest reactions to the “red leaf things” that appeared on many of the pieces and hung from the ceiling. Hobson called the ambiguous shapes “Life-blood,” and allowed the audience to render a personal interpretation from there. “It’s funny. Sometimes I’d go into Sally Loo’s and adjust (pieces in the show) … and people sitting at the table would be like, ‘Are you the artist? What does this one mean? What does it mean to you?’ And I’d be like, ‘Uh, I don’t know, you should think about it,’ because it’s hard to give an explanation on the spot,” he said, echoing earlier difficulties to define personal elements behind his work. One patron bought “Bloom,” a self-portrait and the only piece in the show that Hobson put himself into (and, he admitted, the most personal). He is facing upward in the drawing, spewing red and pink “Life-blood” from his mouth over the stark contrast of an otherwise white, blank canvas. see 365, pg. 6
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Thursday, April 4, 2013
Preventing holy war over same-sex marriage WILLIAM MCKENZIE
The Dallas Morning News
The wait is on now that the Supreme Court has heard two cases about the constitutionality of same-sex marriage. As the justices’ ruling — expected in June — nears, anxiety will grow for those Americans who fear the ratification of marriage involving gay and lesbian couples. Trepidation likely will be acute among those whose religious faith informs their views on homosexuality. Polling data shows slightly more than half of the country now approves of same-sex marriages. But that’s not the finding among some conservative Catholic, white evangelical and African-American and Latino believers. For them, this is not a matter of constitutionality. The issue of gay marriage is one of morality, biblical morality. And they see an affirmation of such marriage as a frontal assault on biblical morality. I understand that. And for those of us who support same-sex marriages,
we should not castigate those who are not where we are — and who may never get there. This is not an easy bridge to cross. It certainly took me a long time to embrace the idea. For one thing, the concept of samesex marriage is so new. Justice Anthony Kennedy made that point when he said we have had approximately five years of this form of marriage, compared to 2,000 years of heterosexual marriage. Still, I would pose a question to those whose faith shapes their views on this subject, especially those of us who are Christians. If churches and the like are not breaking down barriers, creating a sense of wholeness in a fractured world, how will our larger society ever get past its deep polarities, whether over the rights of gays and lesbians or over a long list of other divisions? A society certainly benefits when it chooses reconciliation over discord. Once we make that choice, we start creating a greater sense of the whole. Early Easter Sunday, I got a glimpse of wholeness as I watched the worshipers of my Presbyterian congregation share
in the taking of communion. There we were, Republican and Democrat, young and old, male and female, white, black and brown, privileged and homeless and, yes, gay and straight, all breaking the same bread and joining in the affirmation of life. For a brief moment, that scene was a hint of God’s kingdom to come. We were united as one, not divided by our differences. As we closed, singing Beethoven’s Christ is Risen! Shout Hosanna!, we were not doing so as members of a political party or because of our socioeconomic standing or as an expression of our sexuality. We were professing together our shared belief in the redemptive story of Easter. That wonderful hymn describes the power of that story this way: “Christ is risen! Raise your spirits from the caverns of despair. Walk with gladness in the morning. See what love can do and dare.” See what love can do and dare. There is the way forward, from an ancient hymn. Daring to love is what families do when they discover their sons and
back, uninspired projects, Hobson considers the Sally Loo’s show to be his most satisfying work from the past year. The visibility of Hobson’s art attracted the attention of Catherine Trujillo, the curator for the special collections program in the Robert E. Kennedy Library. She hired him for the graphic design student assistant position because she liked his “quirky design approach.” Hobson helps design and produce exhibits for special collections. He describes these works as “things that are too valuable for other collections,” including original materials such as diaries, photographs and reports. Past exhibit themes Hobson has worked on
range from The Book Club of California to Julia Morgan architecture, meaning he must learn an entirely new subject and create a physical, visual representation of it on a deadline. “One word that I think of Bryn is that he’s an idea-maker,” Trujillo said. “He can come up with concepts that are related to these subjects. ... Our other student assistants always gravitate toward Bryn to see what he’s working on.” Hobson’s exhibits are now traveling across California, being displayed in other universities or cultural institutions. “Bryn is actually producing work that is going to be remembered beyond his graduation date,” Trujillo said.
daughters are gay. Daring to love is what friends do when they embrace someone with a different sexual orientation. And daring to love is ideally what people of faith do when they encounter those who conflict with their deeply held beliefs. I recognize this is hard work, especially for those who consider homosexuality a sin. But look at the work of Jesus’ ministry. Didn’t he consort with sinners? And why put so much attention on this sin when actually pride is the chief transgression of all? Should we therefore drum the proud out of our lives? If so, we are going to have some pretty small circles. I don’t raise these points to suggest all people of faith embrace same-sex marriage. But let us at least believe we are all beloved by God. Once we do that, we can avoid a holy war over homosexuality come June, no matter how the Supreme Court rules. The justices will be wrestling over constitutional issues, but those who profess an abiding faith can keep the moral aspect of the debate from tearing a hole in America’s heart.
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365 continued from page 6
“(It was) really satisfying to sell to people I don’t know,” Hobson said. “It was an affirmation of people liking it.” He said the pieces in the show were “about feeling young and full of potential, and feeling like that’s scary and inspiring, trying to think about that in visual ways ... I was anxious about life and the future.” The show corresponded with his most challenging quarter to date, full of allnighters and frustration. Developed during a time of back-to-
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And with graduation a year away, Hobson is looking forward to spending his first summer in San Luis Obispo and living “the art dream” — scheduling time every day to make. He wants to live simply, and is at peace with the uncertainty of his future. “Chances are good I’ll probably end up (in San Francisco) to start,” he said, considering his post-graduation possibilities. “Maybe there, maybe Cape Town (South Africa). I mean, my family ended up here. That’s always a reminder to me that you never know where God will have you. So, we’ll see.” Find out more about Hobson below.
A chance encounter
How I came to meet Bryn Hobson CARLY RICKARDS
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Visit mustangdaily.net to watch a video of Bryn Hobson creating a piece of art.
Bryn Hobson finished his freshman year at Cal Poly a week early to volunteer at a Christian summer camp on a houseboat on Lake Shasta, where he was in charge of driving the boat. “(It was) basically way too much responsibility for 19-year-old Bryn, but it was cool being thrown into a role that I was like felt like I was way too small for and having to grow to fill the needs of the responsibilities I was thrown into,” he said. He then left the camp a week early to go to San Diego and volunteer with Invisible Children as a roadie, which involves a 10-week tour of a region of the country. His original plan was to take one quarter off from Cal Poly and return after those 10 weeks. Hobson and his team toured California, giving presentations at community centers and high schools — including the one he attended. And then, the still-19-year-old was asked to stay on with Invisible Children and lead the Florida tour, even though he wasn’t old enough to drive the rental van. “My parents were so unhappy when I told them, ‘I’m not going to go to school,’” Hobson said. “But it’s been a neat process of challenging them and them challenging me.” His mother said her primary concern was he would not return to Cal Poly, but she eventually came to be supportive when she saw his excitement and the lessons he was learning. “He pushes our boundaries, but in a good way,” Janet said. “He stuck with the commitment to go back to school. We look back on it with pride and with absolute support on what he was able to learn and experience from that. It really matured him and gave him experience way beyond what college could’ve done.”
In the throes of a very busy fall quarter, a friend and I were craving acai bowls and good conversation — we needed an escape from the mounting stresses of school and work. We found time to meet at Sally Loo’s Wholesome Café in the middle of a warm October day, and, for an hour or so, eluded reality. Sally Loo’s periodically displays local artwork, but I had never noticed until that afternoon. I walked in and was suddenly struck by the images hanging on the brick walls. Penciled, sketchlike drawings accented with bouquets of bursting red pulled me in — literally. I found myself standing just inches away from the pieces, admiring and considering their meaning. I deemed the art to be distinctly intimate. I saw hope and frustration and subtle tones of sensuality. Above my head, handpainted red leaves were strung across the ceiling, dancing and bouncing in the wind each time a customer opened the door. The pieces were for sale, and I wanted to buy one, but had only brought enough cash
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for lunch. I thought maybe I’d come back in a few days to make a purchase, but the frenzy of fall quarter kept me away, and eventually a different artist’s work was up on the walls. Nearly five months later, I was rushing out of class, late for an interview I was conducting as a favor to a friend. He wanted to film a profile on the owners of Sally Loo’s, Jen and Brandon Manuele, and recruited me to help. We met on a Monday in the café, when it was closed, as to avoid loud background noises or distractions. All the chairs were upside-down on the tables with the exception of one, where a young man was sitting with his laptop. In my rush, I didn’t register that he seemed out of place. The only other people in the restaurant were the owners, two videographers and myself.
While the videographers set up, I spoke with Jen and she told me a little bit about the shop, and mentioned the artwork that is displayed on the walls in one-to-two month rotations. I immediately remembered the pieces I had seen in October, and described them to her as “sketches with red detailing.” The young man sitting behind his laptop overheard my description of the art that had stuck with me for months. He looked up at me and said, “That’s my roommate, Bryn Hobson.” I took down Bryn’s name, thinking he would be a good candidate for our “Mustang Makers” series. Later that evening, I Googled “Bryn Hobson” and came across his “365” blog. I was thoroughly impressed and intrigued by his experiences — so much so that I was asked to tell his story.
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Thursday, April 4, 2013
Griffin, Woodard taste history at NCAA tourney
Mustangs fall to Nittany Lions 85-55 in first round BRIAN DE LOS SANTOS
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With 24 seconds on the clock, head coach Faith Mimnaugh called a timeout and looked to her bench. “Brittany, Kayla, you’re going in,” she yelled. Neither Brittany Woodard nor Kayla Griffin had any idea what was going on. The two had fallen victim to season-ending knee injuries and both had to sit out of what would end up being an 8555 loss to third-seeded Penn State in the first round of the women’s NCAA tournament in Baton Rouge, La. But after the two helped in a myriad of ways during one of the most historic women’s basketball seasons to date, this game was too historic to leave them out of the box score. Dumbfounded, the two entered the game for an inbounds pass. Seconds later, they left the court in tears. “I know she really just wanted us to be able to say all of our hard work had paid off and we ‘played’ in the NCAA tournament,” Griffin said. “She always puts players first above anything else and she knew how much it meant to us, so it
was really heartfelt and touching. We’re just so fortunate to have a coach like that, not many coaches would do something like that.” Woodard and Griffin were just a handful of contributors who led the Mustangs to places the program’s never seen in 2012-13. After going 6-5 through nonconference play, Mimnaugh rallied her players to ride a lightning-in-a-bottle 13-5 run through conference play, ending up with a No. 2 seed as the Mustangs walked into the Big West tournament. They kept it rolling, posting two double-digit wins over UC Santa Barbara and Pacific to grab the team’s first-ever tournament championship and NCAA tournament berth. “When we look back on it, we’re going to be able to say we were the first team to ever do this,” Griffin said. “That is the coolest thing we could ever imagine.” But for most of it, that success became bittersweet for Griffin and Woodard. Woodard went down in the middle of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and was forced to watch the success from the bench.
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Senior forward Kayla Griffin tore her ACL against Pacific in Cal Poly’s Big West tournament championship victory on March 16. “I’ve been crying so much this year,” Woodard said. “I
knew my season was over after I tore my ACL.” Griffin suffered the same fate. In the Big West tournament championship, she went down with a knee injury — sidelining her for one of the biggest games in program history. Both Woodard and Griffin planned to suit up in their Cal Poly uniforms for the game against Penn State. But neither — Woodard being one month out of surgery and Griffin being a week removed from her injury — thought they’d see the court. But Mimnaugh did. “We wanted to make sure they were put in position that were going to be safe, but I wanted to recognize their efforts in helping Cal Poly make history and get it to its first NCAA game,” Mimnaugh said. “They’re a huge part of us making it
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It’s a big deal just to have Cal Poly on your chest and bring Cal Poly’s name all the way to Baton Rouge. BRITTANY WOODARD SENIOR FORWARD
there with their huge contributions throughout the year and to be able to do that for them was something I wanted to do.” Molly Schlemer added her own contributions as well during the course of the season. After earning Big West Player of the Year and Big West tournament MVP honors, she finished with a game-high 24 points and five rebounds against the Nittany Lions. But when it came down to it, Schlemer and the Mustangs couldn’t match Penn State’s depth in the post. “It felt like an unfair wrestling match, they had five guys on the tag team and Molly had to stay in the entire game,” Mimnaugh said with a laugh. “She did a fabulous job and good things are in store for her. She continues to improve, but she had her hands full with big bodies and she put her whole heart out there, so I was real proud of her.”
What Mimnaugh is even more proud of, though, is the way the season turned out, she said. The championship run, the NCAA tournament berth, most of the team did its best to take it all in as it happened. For some players, it’s difficult to describe. “It was just the coolest thing ever,” Woodard said. “Everyone keeps asking me, but it’s hard to put in a couple of sentences. It’s a big deal just to have Cal Poly on your chest and bring Cal Poly’s name all the way to Baton Rouge.” Mimnaugh is eyeing a comeback. She’s hoping the underclassmen on the team can step up and repeat the success of this team. She’ll have Schlemer returning, but won’t have seniors such as Woodard or Griffin. Regardless, there’s inspiration to return to the NCAA tournament again, she said. “The taste of success is very appealing,” Mimnaugh said.
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