SPORTS pg. 10: Volleyball sweeps weekend series
Monday, September 30, 2013
OP/ED pg. 7: Conservative columninst tackles immigration
Volume LXXVIII, Number 5
www.mustangdaily.net
CSU system uses Center gets community’s approval Aware Awake Alive
CARSON STARKEY
ARYN SANDERSON
@ArynSanderson
Carson Starkey would have graduated from Cal Poly last spring at 23 years old. But, as many Cal Poly students know, Starkey died from acute alcohol poisoning alone on a mattress in 2008 at age 18. Most Cal Poly students identify with Starkey’s story — he was, after all, “one of their own,” Julia Starkey, Carson’s mother, said. But her son’s story isn’t just important within the Cal Poly community, she said. He’s just one example of “a college student that dies every 44 hours of alcohol poisoning.” “His story will always be relevant, and there will always be stories that are just like his story,” Julia said. Five years after Starkey’s death, Aware Awake Alive, the peer-to-peer alcohol education program created by his parents in his memory, is expanding to all 23 California State University (CSU) campuses. “This is huge for Aware Awake Alive,” Julia said. “It will help put us on the map nationally, and that’s great because this program doesn’t just need to be CSU-wide, it needs to be nationwide. It needs to be on every college campus and in every high school. We don’t want another family to have to go through a tragedy like we did.” CSU committed to rolling out the Aware Awake Alive
program to all its campuses during the CSU Board of Trustees meeting on July 23. The decision was an emotional one, said David Wyatt, communications director for Aware Awake Alive. “Carson’s parents went and gave a 5-minute speech and gave Carson’s whole story, and at the end of the speech, where it was just supposed to be this FYI update, the chancellor was nearly in tears,” Wyatt said. “He had this unilateral vision to bring it to all CSU campuses right away. It was an on-the-spot decision, and it was this wonderful sort of turning point where a grassroots, emotional-based vision was given this huge opportunity to expand.” The program is already empowering students at
44 a college student dies every 44 hours from alcohol poisinong
more than 60 campuses nationwide, including eight CSU campuses. “Cal Poly has kind of been a beta tester for Aware Awake Alive,” Wyatt said, “and the goodwill that sprung out of the tragedy in San Luis Obispo is really continuing to keep San Luis Obispo the place where the leadership and commitment started and continues to this day.” Orientation programming was one of the places the commitment was first see AWARE, pg. 3
ZACH MAHER/MUSTANG NEWS
The Warren J. Baker Center for Science and Mathematics also includes study areas, which students of all majors can use. BROOKE SPERBECK
@brookesperbeck7
As he walks around the Warren J. Baker Center for Science and Mathematics, College of Science and Mathematics Dean Phil Bailey beams. He’s showing off the product of 20 years of hard work and is eager to talk about it with anyone who will listen. “Does it look OK?” Bailey jokingly asks a professor passing in the halls.
“You did a good job,” the professor responds. “Thanks a lot.” Bailey has been working on the construction of the building since 1993, when he and then-Cal Poly President Warren Baker came up with their vision that is now a 189,000 square-foot, six-floor reality. The nearly-completed building is even better than he envisioned. It will benefit not only students in his college, but the entire university, he said. “You call it the Center for Sci-
ZACH MAHER/MUSTANG NEWS
If all classrooms and labortories were filled to full capacity, the building can hold approximately 1,300 students.
ence and Mathematics, but it’s for all students,” Bailey said. “If you just look, it was designed for students.” With four terraces, multiple study areas and furniture for approximately 400 students in what Bailey calls “living rooms,” the building was created with students in mind, he said. It is now the second largest building on campus, only smaller than Robert E. Kennedy Library, and houses eight lecture-style classrooms with a combined capacity of 484 students, 64 faculty offices, approximately 50 state-of-theart laboratories and about two dozen prep spaces and stockrooms, Bailey said. According to Bailey, students in every college will take at least one class in the building during their time at Cal Poly, and many will take more than one. “The thing about the building that you’ll see that’s different from probably any building on campus is that there’s tons of space for students,”
Bailey said. “If we had every classroom and every laboratory filled to capacity at any one time, we would have probably 1,300 or 1,400 students in the building at that time.” Equipment in the building is also unlike any the campus has ever seen. Two new nuclear magnetic resonance instruments — which cost between $250,000 and $300,000 each — will be available for undergraduate use, something Bailey said is unheard of at many universities. “I talked to some new faculty members in physics that have been other places … and they said, ‘I’ve never seen anything like this for undergraduates.’ This is very unique,” Bailey said. Other additions Bailey is enthusiastic about are the seven studio classrooms in the building, which allow for the integration of lectures and labs. The rooms are set up so that students can collaborate easily see CENTER, pg. 2
CSU Chancellor White aims to increase student enrollment SEAN MCMINN
@shmcminn
Fresh out of a Board of Trustees meeting where Gov. Jerry Brown warned the California State University (CSU) system against dwelling on increasing its number of students, CSU Chancellor Timothy White did exactly that Friday at a press conference for student media. “Clearly there’s more demand for people to join the CSU as a student than there is capacity,” White said during his opening remarks. “It’s frustrating for me personally to know that there are people who, through no fault of their own, can’t get in our campuses.” From the CSU’s Long Beach headquarters, the chancellor’s comments sounded familiar to those following Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong’s own goals in San Luis
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Obispo. By 2022, Armstrong aims to add between 4,000 and 5,000 students to Cal Poly’s student population. Throughout Friday’s press
have to tackle head on: how to get money from Sacramento. “At the end of the day, we have to be persuasive in Sacramento,” White said. “And it’s
It’s frustrating for me personally to know that there are people who, through no fault of their own, can’t get in our campuses. TIMOTHY WHITE CSU CHANCELLOR
conference, White echoed other ideas supported by Armstrong, including using public-private partnerships to enhance student opportunities, enrollment growth and additional classes. But as lobbyer-in-chief for the CSU, White hovered on a dilemma Armstrong doesn’t always
not about money for CSU, it’s money really to help these students and their families to become vibrant members of the California economy.” But White will likely have a tough time being persuasive in the state capital as a battle looms for 2014-2015 dollars. Mandatory spending on pris-
ARTS pg. 6 Kiristen Black goes from the classroom to the stage.
ons and firefighting will drain the state’s coffers more than usual, according to a CSU report, leaving higher education to fight for a smaller piece of the pie. The chances of a CSU win in next year’s state budget didn’t look promising at a CSU Board of Trustees meeting this past week, either. Brown, who attended the Long Beach meetTODD JOHNSON/DAILY49ER ing, told the governing board CSU Chancellor Timothy White proposed a $250 million it will face challenges persuading the state legislature to ap- funding proposal for the academic year 2014-2015. prove its $250 million funding suggested catching up on de- care of before you bring more proposal for 2014-2015. That ferred maintenance of aging students in.” request is roughly $110 mil- buildings across the CSU beWhite conceded Friday that lion more than the legislature’s fore expanding the number of persuading lawmakers to give planned 2014-2015 budget for students it enrolls. CSU everything the Board of the CSU. “If you take more people than Trustees wants will be difficult, Under the Board of Trustee’s you’re already serving, you’re but he continued to emphasize plan, much of the additional going to expand the need for the importance of increasing money would go toward ad- space, gas and electricity,” the number of students in Calmitting 22,000 additional stu- Brown said, according to the ifornia higher education. dents and adding 1,000 more Associated Press. “It sounds see CSU, pg. 3 classes. But Brown instead like buildings need to be taken
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News 2
Monday, September 30, 2013
Cal Poly surveys campus diversity
SHAUN KAHMANN/MUSTANG NEWS
The results of the survey will be used to compile a set of at least three goals for the administration to address. SHAUN KAHMANN
@MustangDaily
A new survey by the Office of University Diversity and Inclusivity aims to determine once and for all how much Cal Poly has to do when it comes to race. The Campus Climate and Diversity survey will attempt to broach what has become one of Cal Poly’s most revisited and divisive issues: racial diversity. Mentioned briefly in Cal Poly President Armstrong’s State of the University speech earlier this month, the survey is targeted for release in February 2014 and will be issued to all students, faculty and staff members. The results of the survey will be used to compile “actionitems” — a set of at least three initiatives the administration will put into motion to address issues the survey reveals. Assistant philosophy professor Rachel Fernflores, who is working closely with the survey team as part of a committee that includes Executive
Director of Campus Diversity and Inclusivity Annie Holmes, said the survey will be one of the most important ever released by Cal Poly. “We want to know how the practices and policies we’ve adopted as an institution impact how students experience Cal Poly,” Fernflores said. “We know students get a lot of surveys, you can throw all the others away. Take this one.” The survey questions will be selected and compiled by Holmes’ office and will be distributed by Sue Rankin & Associates, a third-party consulting agency based in Pennsylvania. Each student, faculty and staff member will receive an email from the president’s office containing a link that redirects to the survey. It will not contain questions that ask survey takers to reveal their identity, college or department, nor will the survey itself be hosted on any Cal Poly server. The survey was inspired by anecdotes from ethnic mi-
nority students on campus, Holmes said. “Students of differing diverse backgrounds have discussed feeling excluded and treated differently based on their identities,” she said. Armstrong has pointed to these anecdotes in multiple speeches as part of the reason for the survey. Selene Roman, a graduate student entering her fifth year at Cal Poly, said she has seen many of her Hispanic peers fall short of their academic goals as a result of depression and homesickness that may have been deepened by feelings of isolation. “I’ve seen a lot of my friends fall into academic probation,” Roman said. “I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that they have to deal with cultural differences on top of everything else.” More information about the survey will be made available at an open forum to be held Thursday, Nov. 7 at the Warren J. Baker Center for Science and Mathematics.
CENTER continued from page 1
with one another and have access to computers from their desks for interactivity during lecture, he said. The studio classroom concept was designed by Bailey’s wife, former Cal Poly Chemistry and Biochemistry Department Chair Christina Bailey, and has not been implemented on this big of a scale at any other large university in the country, Bailey said. Though Cal Poly did have three studio classrooms before, professors will now be able to use them more, physics associate professor David Mitchell said. “I was already teaching in a studio, but I will have the ability to teach other classes in the studio now with much more room, and I think that’s much better,” Mitchell said. “I can have students doing things a lot more, so absolutely it will help me a lot to run classes in a better way for students.”
The building is not only student-friendly, but environmentally sustainable as well, and it is expected to become LEED Gold certified, Director of Facilities Planning Joel Neel said. The building uses rainwater harvesting, a green roof garden and energy-efficient dimming with low voltage lighting control. In addition, each of the 114 hoods in the building’s labs has an energy-efficient air system that will decrease electricity costs significantly, Bailey said. In the older math and science building, one hood alone used between $3,000 and $5,000 worth of electricity per year, the amount of a small cul-de-sac of houses, he said. With the new building’s AirCuity system, Bailey said energy costs will decrease. “That is a huge energy savings, so we are significantly more efficient than a typical lab building,” Neel said. Though these energy saving systems made things a little more “complicated,” the project is under its original construction budget of $119 million, Neel said. Thanks to $20
million from private donors such as Chevron Corporation and Dunn-Edwards Paint and $100 million from state funds, the Warren J. Baker Center for Science and Mathematics has “raised the bar for construction in the CSU,” he said. “I think this is right on par with some of the best University of California buildings, and typically the California State University system has not had the ability or the budgets to build buildings on that caliber,” Neel said. There are last-minute details that still need to be finished, such as hanging up the estimated $100,000 worth of art and installing frosted glass in the study areas that students can write on with dry erase pens, Bailey said. He hopes it will be completely finished by Nov. 1, when there will be a ceremony dedicating the building to Baker. “Dr. Baker was the president for 30 plus years and he, as well as Phil, were instrumental in getting this project done,” Neel said. “Dr. Baker has made a huge impact on our campus.”
ZACH MAHER/MUSTANG NEWS
The Warren J. Baker Center for Science and Mathematics was built with sustainability in mind and is expected to become LEED Gold certified, said Joel Neel, director of facilities planning.
News 3
Monday, September 30, 2013
CSU continued from page 1
“I know we need more student enrollment,” he said. “If I don’t stand up for you, then who’s going to stand up for you? So I’m going to stand up and say, ‘Here’s the true need, Gov. Brown.’” After addressing big-picture issues such as the budget, Obamacare and President Barack Obama’s plan to link college funding to a federal “affordability” ranking, White also took questions from student reporters at several of the university system’s 23 campuses, including Cal Poly. Speaking on an issue that administrators at Cal Poly are already embracing, White encouraged campuses to create partnerships with private businesses to bolster what campuses can provide students. White said he consistently talks with private companies about ways they can work together, but he identified some of the challenges they come with. “The risks are making sure we don’t let private enterprise over-
AWARE continued from page 1
made, said Andrene KaiwiLenting, director of orientation and training programs and a university consultant for Aware Awake Alive. “When the organization came along, it was perfect timing,” Kaiwi-Lenting said. Right away, orientation programming incorporated Aware Awake Alive into the Awareness Gallery and other Week of Welcome awareness programming. More recently, orientation programming started
ride academic decision about the curriculum,” White said. White promised these concerns would not escalate into a reality where businesses hold influence over what happens in the classroom or limit accessibility for lower-income students. Instead, he said private partnerships will help to “preserve the public nature,” of CSU campuses, a phrase Armstrong has used several times to describe the same goal. Facilities, residence halls, research and creative opportunities and for-pay internships could all benefit from publicprivate partnerships, White said. The end result, he said, would not be to “make us exclusive and elite, but rather to make us accessible and affordable for the men and women of California who want to come to our campuses.” Though the chancellor supported Armstrong’s points on increasing enrollment and working with private enterprise, he did deviate from Armstrong on the issue of graduation rates. While Cal Poly’s president said during his State of the University speech earlier this month that the uni-
versity would have a “laser focus” on improving graduation rates, White de-emphasized the point in favor of granting a higher number of degrees. “For me, the (graduation) rate question is second to the number of degrees we’re putting out,” White said. “What we don’t want to do is have an overemphasis on a four-year graduation rate, going up a certain direction, and then it forces us to turn our backs on part-time students or students who have kids. “I want to make sure we measure what we value, and for me it’s completion,” he said. Armstrong, in contrast, put a higher short-term priority on upping graduation rates in the State of the University speech. The first of his four strategic imperatives he listed was improving graduation rates, while increasing student enrollment didn’t make the list. “Candidly, a laser focus on improving Cal Poly’s four-year graduation rate — and yes, I do mean four-year rate — would be our most effective response to the demands by legislators, parents and students to improve
higher education’s accessibility, affordability and accountability,” Armstrong said. In addition to helping Cal
Poly’s reputation with parents and lawmakers, Armstrong said doubling the four-year graduation rate from 36 per-
cent by 2022 would also help increase enrollment and reduce students’ cost of attending Cal Poly.
presenting a version of the Aware Awake Alive session during SOAR to parents. “For the parents, when they see the Starkeys up there talking about the effect it had on them, about finding out the Sheriff ’s Department was calling them to tell them their son was dead, I think it really hits home,” KaiwiLenting said. “This is real, and it really happens to people. The feedback we’ve gotten from parents a lot of the time has been, ‘Thank you for opening my eyes to this.’ The impact we’ve had on parents has been crucial. We really wanted to make sure parents were ready and equipped to
talk to their students.” Cal Poly still needs to look into measuring tangible results of the Aware Awake Alive program on campus, but from what studies have been done, it appears to have positive effects, Kaiwi-Lenting said. Significantly more — approximately 43 percent — Cal Poly students intervened when they thought a peer was drinking too much, compared to the national average of approximately 33 percent, according to the Healthy Minds Study in 2013, the campus program coordinator of California Mental Health Services Au-
thority wrote in an email. “We have seen an increase in student bystander intervention — we’ve seen students stepping in and stepping up,” Kaiwi-Lenting said. “The difficult part is that we’ve seen increases to the emergency room in terms of alcohol poisoning, but I truly attribute that to the fact that we’ve been educating students as to our amnesty policy. So, is it good that they’re going to the hospital? No, of course not. But is it great that they know they can? If only those boys knew that the night Carson needed help, then maybe he’d be here today.”
Tentatively, by Nov. 1, all 23 CSU campuses will begin
to incorporate Aware Awake Alive, Wyatt said.
Arts 4
Monday, September 30, 2013
As the sun goes down, the volume turns up DAVID JANG/MUSTANG NEWS
Blue Scholars bring hip-hop to campus KELLY TROM
@kttrom
MC Geologic and DJ Sabzi hopped over the half wall and onto the stage to face a small but excited audience, setting the casual, chill atmosphere for the whole night. The hip-hop duo wasn’t afraid to interact with the crowd on a personal level. If anything, the concert felt like a conversation you might have with a best friend who just happened to have mad rapping skills. Blue Scholars’ performance in the University Union (UU) Plaza was a breath of fresh air, starting off the sunset concert series on a good note. Although they originate from Seattle, the duo had the casual vibe of a native California town. Geologic, “Geo” for short, even had a bro tank, shorts and hat on, taking advantage of the warm weather. They took cues from the atmosphere and performed “Marion Sunshine,” an ode to the setting sun, as one of their first songs. One of the most refreshing things about the duo was their humor about their own art form. The two certainly weren’t afraid to laugh at themselves or
other artists. “As a rapper, I feel that I have an obligation to say ‘turn it up’ and other ambiguous shit to sound cool,” Sabzi said. The crowd began to grow larger as the sun disappeared behind Bishop Peak and the energy level picked up. Soon, the whole UU was packed with students. Blue Scholars wasn’t afraid to throw a little social commentary into the mix as well as some sage advice and humor about it all. “Life is your No. 1 teacher,” Geo said. “But don’t make stupid decisions,” Sabzi added with a laugh. “We are the most wholesome rap group in the world.” No subject was safe from the duo; topics ranged from the Vietnamese cuisine Pho to the use and misuse of weed and insecure starlets who rely on the love of men for success. Each song was followed by a story from another city they had been in or comment on someone in the crowd. The whole performance carried an air of authenticity. Their commentary felt honest and natural, rather than rehearsed or canned. “They seem like a really chill band,” English senior Liam
Hedriana said. “They know not to take themselves too seriously. They did a really good job involving the crowd.” The duo wasn’t shy about getting near to students in the audience. DJ Sabzi sang a whole verse up close and personal, inches away from English senior Alison Gyepes’ face. “They were really goofy and funny,” Gyepes said. “Sabzi was such a tease.” The audience was a mix of students who had never heard of Blue Scholars and those who had been listening for years. “I heard about them freshman year,” biomedical engineering senior Luke Cole said. “That’s the best that it’s free. I probably wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t.” For more scheduled sunset series concerts, check the events calendar on the Associated Students, Inc. website.
For more photos of the concert, check out the article at MustangDaily.net
a D i l y g n Prese a t s u nts M
THURSDAY
OCTOBER
3
11 AM 2 PM TO
COME TO MOTT LAWN FOR FOOD, FREEBIES, AND FUN!
Arts 6
Monday, September 30, 2013 ZACH MAHER/MUSTANG NEWS
Kristen Black’s school of rock ARYN SANDERSON
@ArynSanderson
Over clinking glasses of rich red wine and hushed conversation, a woman takes the stage. With arms toned like Michelle Obama’s, the black-dress clad blonde props a guitar to her hip. Kristen Black is ready to give the audience at ‘alegria wine and ware’ an education … in rock ‘n’ roll. Most of the time, though, when she’s teaching a crowd, it’s chemistry. Literal chemistry. By day, she’s a tenure-track organic chemistry and neurochemistry professor at Cal Poly. By night, a
rockin’ musician. She goes by Kristen Black onstage to “protect (her) anonymity,” she chuckled. Offstage, Kristen Meisenheimer leads a dual life. “There have been times where I’ve had a gig right after lab, and I’ll be literally changing in the bathroom, getting my guitar and then going downtown to play,” she said. Although it’s jam-packed, living a double life has its perks. “I’ve had plenty of times students come in, and they don’t know that I’m in the band that’s playing, at SLO Brew or Mother’s Tavern, and one time tequila
shots immediately flew up on the stage,” she said. “The fingers that point up on the stage with the ‘Oh my God’ look are always pretty funny.” Though performing is “the only place where you can have a drink on the job,” she said, Meisenheimer isn’t looking to pursue music full-time in the near future. “I love teaching and interacting with my students and inspiring them to be the best organic chemists they can be,” she said. Actually, chemistry and music have gone hand-in-hand for Meisenheimer since college. Meisenheimer’s father was a
chemistry teacher at her high school, so she shied away from taking chemistry classes to avoid the embarrassment of having her dad as her teacher. But when Meisenheimer went to college and had to take the class, her chemistry with chemistry was undeniable. “I couldn’t ignore that I liked it — I just didn’t want to admit it,” she said. “When I took general chemistry, I thought it was pretty cool, but then when I took organic chemistry, it was like a light shone down upon me, and I realized that I really, really enjoyed it.” Meisenheimer’s first live show was with a band she started in graduate school with other chemistry students. The name? Spontaneous Human Combustion, of course. Since then, as a professor, chemistry and music have remained intertwined. Meinsenheimer is known for teaching ZACH MAHER/MUSTANG NEWS
students songs to help them remember concepts. And, as a musician, she’s far more comfortable in front of a crowd because of her experience teaching. “Teaching and performing definitely complement each other,” she said. “I took some time off of music when I got my tenure-track position, but there was a void in my life. I realized that I’m a better professor, better mom, better person when I’m doing both music and teaching. There’s a difference that spills over. I’m happier and better in the classroom when I’m playing music. They feed each other.” In a way, chemistry and music are very similar, Meisenheimer said. “Organic chemistry uses the artistic side of your brain. It’s almost like telling beautiful stories, taking a molecule and making it into something else. And I think
music does the same thing — it tells a beautiful story.” Still, her tunes might surprise some of her students, Meisenheimer said, then laughed quietly. “I think my students might be shocked by some of my lyrics and shocked at how rockin’ some of it is,” she said. “Some of my lyrics are maybe on the unpolitically correct side of things. Like, I have a song called ‘Love on Drugs,’ which is about, well, love on drugs. Really, though, I’m still drawing from my neurochemistry side.” Not surprisingly, Meisenheimer’s favorite molecule is serotonin. And if she ever had the honor to grace the cover of “Rolling Stone,” what would she want her headline to say? “Chemistry and Rock: Mix and Stand Back.” So stand back, Mustangs, your chemistry professor’s about to explode.
Op/ed 7
Monday, September 30, 2013
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Expedited legal immigration must become a priority now Eric Stubben is a mechanical engineering sophomore and Mustang News conservative columnist. These views do not necessarily reflect the opinion or editorial coverage of Mustang News. For the last four summers, I worked at a teller station in a bank tucked away in a small valley of northwest Washington. Late every Friday, the rush of farm workers came scrambling in to cash their paychecks after a series of 11-hour work days. Most of them spoke only a few words of English, donned tattered clothes and a friendly smile. Unfortunately, many of them weren’t able to cash their checks because they had a secret to hide: they are illegal immigrants. The current immigration system has failed them, just as it has for millions of others wishing to legally become American citizens. Immigrants are an integral part of the United States’ agricultural and overall economy as they provide hard-working labor in undesirable jobs for a very low cost. However, reform is necessary with more than 11 million illegal immigrants living within the United States using our taxpayer services without paying income taxes. Immigration reform has been a menacing issue since President George W. Bush began pushing for reform in 2005 just as Congress became stagnant, narrowly killing the bill.
Many far-right activists will completely discredit the hard work and integrity that illegal immigrants bring to our country by suggesting mass deportation of anybody without legal documentation of citizenship. Their philosophy, however, is shamefully against conservative values as the cost of mass deportation is estimated to be nearly $300 billion and would uncomfortably cram illegal immigrants into trains and busses across the border. For a party with goals of severe spending cuts and improving their racial image, this is certainly not a good option. On the flip side, many liberals continue to push for amnesty for all illegal immigrants who are currently residing within our borders. As if the deportation price tag wasn’t large enough, experts estimate that with amnesty, our country would lose $5 trillion over the lifetime of all legalized immigrants. That’s quite the price to pay for a country that’s almost $17 trillion in debt with no signs of slowing down. The amnesty approach would also send a strong message to Latin Americans living south of the border that it is okay to cross our borders illegally, because once one group is given free citizenship, the same legislation is likely to be used with future generations. Not only is undocumented immigration illegal by federal law, the trip across the border is often uncomfortable — and sometimes fatal — as immigrants squeeze into
The approach on immigration needs to be one that allows not necessarily an easier path to citizenship for immigrants, but a shorter one.
cars or try to meander their way across the desert and over the Rio Grande into America. In an agricultural college town such as San Luis Obispo, immigration is a necessity for college diversity and agricultural employment. The approach on immigration needs to be one that allows not necessarily an easier path to citizenship for immigrants, but a shorter one. Immigrants of all nations are a critical part of the United States economy and are the basis of the formation of our great country. But, to allow illegal immigrants to gain citizenship in our great country, two key compromises must be made. A strict code needs to be set barring citizenship to any illegal immigrant convicted of a felony. Not only does a felon become a detriment to society, an illegally-immigrated felon has not paid the taxes that build and maintain our jails, therefore should not be entitled to the services of the American jailing system. Also, retaining the American Citizenship Test in English is important to not only the functionality of the United States economy, but for the success of immigrants. Although there is no official language in America, English is the profoundly dominant language. To be successful in a global market, immigrants must learn English to communicate with their employers — although many employers are now learning Spanish. For immigrants’ sake, passing the test in English would provide assurance that they are not only able to read, comprehend and answer questions in English, but that they can have an opportunity to thrive in a vastly English society. As for conservatives, leading the charge in immigration reform could prove invaluable to
IAN BILLINGS/MUSTANG NEWS
Eric Stubben is a mechanical engineering sophomore and Mustang News conservative columnist. a right-wing revival. Shortening the waiting period between arrival and citizenship would show a compassion for diversity and minorities while lifting the stigma of a “dominantly white” party, all while creating tax revenue for local and federal governments. Strict laws on felonies along with a “path to citizenship” program can also show a dedication to the safety of current citizens and a drive to see success in immigrants. For the American Dream
to be revived, a Republicanled bipartisan bill needs to be in the works soon. America needs the integrity, drive and ideas that immigrants have brought for centuries to make the United States the best country in the world. Ignorance in the short term may be easy with a topic as tough as immigration, but kicking the issue down the road will only create more difficult obstacles and blunders in the future.
Kappa Kappa Gamma gets new house Cal Poly’s newest sorority will move into Sanitarium KATIE MCDERMOTT
@katiejmcdermott
A historic building in San Luis Obispo will soon be home to the women of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. The San Luis Obispo Plan-
ning Commission considered the Sanitarium on Osos Street to become the sorority’s official house on Wednesday. It approved the plan for the Kappa Kappa Gamma house in a 5-1 vote. Ten women will live in the
house, which was built in 1895. It has since been a private hospital, a private residence and a bed and breakfast, according to KSBY local news. The planning commission’s main concern at the meeting was parking in the area.
Neighbors and sorority members there expressed their opinion about the property going greek. “Addressing the issues of meetings at our house, I think we would try to have them later in the day to reduce the
impact of the other business in the area,” city and regional planning student and Kappa Kappa Gamma member Emilie Morse said. The sorority joined the ranks of Cal Poly’s greek organizations in 2012.
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KATIE MCDERMOTT/MUSTANG NEWS
Kappa Kappa Gamma became a Cal Poly sorority in 2012 and obtained permission make the Sanitarium on Osos Street its official house.
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Sports 9
Monday, September 30, 2013
VOLLEYBALL continued from page 10
after this weekend we have a lot of confidence and we’re just going in knowing we’re the underdogs. We have nothing to lose.” Tough is an understatement. Five of Cal Poly’s seven losses this season were against schools currently ranked in the top 25 or teams that received top 25 votes. That includes No. 7 Stanford, No. 16 Arizona State and No. 19 Colorado State. “Those teams, Pac-12 teams in particular, honestly, they’re a different kind of level in terms of height and athleticism,” Crosson said. “Even though we didn’t come out victorious in those matches, (they took away) a belief that they know that they can. And I think that’s the biggest difference between this year’s and last year’s team.” And part of that underdog mentality stems from the Big West preseason poll, which ranked Cal Poly No. 8 in the conference. The Mustangs have the opportunity to shatter those expectations next week with matches at UC Santa Barbara and the reigning Big West IAN BILLINGS/MUSTANG NEWS champion No. 6 Hawai’i. “We just gotta keep working Senior outside hitter Megan McConnell had 11 kills on 20 total swings in the win against Long Beach State Saturday night. After five losses to teams ranked in hard in practice,” Hardin said. the top-25 or to teams that recieved votes, the Mustangs opened Big West play with a weekend sweep of UC Irvine and the 49ers. “Keep working hard and keep having that confidence. Even vine with set scores of 25-22, though we got two wins this 25-18 and 25-11. weekend, there’s no letting up.” Setter Maddie Kuber racked up 33 assists while Steffi Sooter September 27 vs. UC Irvine led the Mustangs with 12 digs. Long Beach State Cal Poly Hardin recorded a team-best Cal Poly opened up the 2013 14 kills. 8-7 (2-0 Big West) 8-7 (1-1) Record Big West campaign with a The Mustangs head south .347 .225 Hitting Percentage three-set sweep over UC Ir- to take on rival UC Santa 3 2 Aces vine in Mott Athletics Center Barbara in their next match 10 5 Blocks Friday night. on Saturday. Tip-off is set for The Mustangs topped UC Ir- 7 p.m.
BY THE NUMBERS vs. LBSU
The Cal Poly men’s soccer team split its weekend matches, winning 5-1 at Air Force on Friday night before falling 2-1 to Denver on Sunday. Senior forward Mackenzie Pridham helped the Mustangs extend their win streak to five games before their eventuial loss to the Pioneers, by notching a hat trick Friday. He leads the team with eight goals on the season.
MUSTANG NEWS FILE PHOTO
Sports 10
Monday, September 30, 2013
Volleyball starts 2-0 in Big West
IAN BILLINGS/MUSTANG NEWS
JACOB LAUING
@JLauing
The Cal Poly volleyball team is getting pretty handy with a broom. A three-set victory over Long Beach State on Saturday gave the Mustangs their second sweep in as many nights. Cal Poly also advanced to 2-0 in the Big West Conference, beating UC Irvine on
Friday night in Mott Athletics Center, and 8-7 overall. “I thought it was good that our team was able to sustain how they played (Friday) night,” head coach Sam Crosson said. “I thought their mentality and their effort and their focus as a whole were good. I think the group itself is understanding that we’re good together.” The Mustangs sailed to a 25-18 victory in the first
set, which featured five-kill performances from Chelsea Hardin, Megan McConnell and Hannah Schleis. In the next two sets, however, drama ensued. Both squads went back and forth for the better part of each contest, but Cal Poly held on and finally pulled ahead with 27-25 and 25-23 set victories. “We just come back into our circle and remember it’s our little bubble,” Hardin said.
“No one outside can influence our bubble. We look back into each other’s eyes and we know that if we’re on the same page we can all do it.” Players contributed across the board. Hardin finished the night with 15 kills, followed by freshman Taylor Gruenewald who notched 12 of her own. Steffi Sooter led Cal Poly with 10 digs. The Mustangs lack a standout player at the moment,
which, according to Crosson, is actually a strength. “It’s a collective group effort,” Crosson said. “The more that they start to unite and understand the details about communication and helping one another, the outcome seems to be a little bit easier to produce, point by point. I don’t think that we’ll ever get to a point where we just have someone who needs to play well for us to win.”
So far, things are different for the Mustangs in 2013. A year ago, Cal Poly went 3-15 in Big West play. Unless they drop the next 15 out of 16 conference matches, the Mustangs will likely improve on their ninth-place 2012 campaign. “It’s all about our mentality,” Hardin said. “It was a tough preseason, but I think see VOLLEYBALL, pg. 9