April 24, 2014

Thur sday, April 2 3, 20 14

Volume L X X V III, Number 5 2

w w w.mus t angne w s .net

SLO goes underground with Rock ‘N’ Flow music festival Kelly Trom

@kttrom

San Luis Obispo’s only hip-hop and rock combination music festival, Rock ‘N’ Flow, is rocking and rolling into Santa Rosa Park this Saturday at noon.

This year, Step Brothers — made up of the duo Alchemist and Evidence — and rapper Mistah F.A.B. are headlining the event, followed by more than 12 local bands and performers. The event will combine live bands performing with hip-hop artists until 8 p.m.

The festival started in organizer and emcee James Kaye’s hometown of Ojai, Calif. in 2009. It has see grown since then and was officially re-established in San Luis Obispo in 2012 after a few trial runs.

ROCK, Kaye and his good friend and co-organizer K.I.D. Rick were inspired to start the festival after their own page 6. struggles of finding professional venues to play at.

“I was having a hard time getting booked, myself, as an artist,” Kaye said. “We wanted to start something that would be a platform for ourselves and our friends to perform at a higher level.”

Rock ‘N’ Flow is innovative because it is the first festival of its kind and scale in San Luis Obispo, and it is a genre Kaye wants to make more popular.

“The idea behind Rock ‘N’ Flow is that it is the name of our concert series, but it is also a form of music that we are trying to carve out its own little niche,” Kaye said. “It’s hip-hop with the live band. Lots of influence from jazz, reggae, rock and some alternative stuff.”

In fact, Kaye’s own performance at the event will be in conjunction with local band Wordsauce. It’s members have also been involved in the planning of the event.

The past two Rock ‘N’ Flow festivals have been modeled after similar larger events such as Paid Dues or Rock the Bells. The smaller and more humble Rock ‘N’ Flow will feature performers from the Central Coast and other California towns such as Oakland and Los Angeles.

“It is definitely an intimate experience,” Kaye said. “There are tons of local and upcoming artists and bands. A lot from the area and a couple from out of town.”

Kaye describes the lineup as the best Rock ‘N’ Flow has ever seen. He is especially looking forward to headliners Step Brothers traveling from Los Angeles to perform.

“Having Evidence and Alchemist come through to headline is pretty amazing to me, because those guys are both huge inspirations and influences on myself as an artist,” Kaye said.

The festival has many favorites from the past two events returning. Luckiam and Lana Shea will perform together for the third consecutive time. Their bass-heavy, hip-hop dance music has been a crowd favorite in the past, Kaye said.

He said local bands and performers such as Wynn and Ziplock Music will also be a big draw because of the following they have made here in town. >>

Donovan’s

ODYSSEY Jefferson P. Nolan @Jefferson_Nolan PREVIEW

JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NEWS POLYTICS | As the final votes are tallied, either civil engineering junior Connor Paquin (left), agricultural business junior Jake Rogers (center) or political science senior Joi Sullivan (right) will be Cal Poly’s next ASI president.

RISING STAR | Freshman Ben Donovan has been one of Cal Poly’s top tennis players this season.

ASI elections wrap up Thursday

Ben Donovan started his tennis career when his mom needed a partner for her recreational tennis league. Now, the freshman has a Big West Player of the Week award under his belt and looks to help the Cal Poly men’s tennis earn its second Big West tournament title in the past three years. >>

The votes have been cast, the ballots are being counted and the big announcement will be made at 11:30 in the Julian A. McPhee University Union (UU). It’s time to for Cal Poly to get a new Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) president.

An ASI representative will announce Thursday who among agricultural business junior Jake Rogers, political science senior Joi Sullivan and civil engineering junior Connor Paquin has been elected to serve the student body for the 2014-15 school year.

Another announcement will be made following the Atmosphere concert in the Recreation Center at approximately 12:15.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAL POLY ATHLETICS

see DONOVAN, pg 12.

see MustangNews.net for election results.

Battling depression, he found someone to talk to Kyle McCarty @KyleMMcCarty

KYLE MCCARTY | MUSTANG NEWS ON THE AIR | “It felt like I didn’t have a lot of choice over what was going on in my life,” ethnic studies junior Logan Cooper said.

Logan Cooper is talking as he sits on a desk crowded with turntables, mics and a mixing board inside KCPR, Cal Poly’s radio station.

Cooper is a disc jockey at the station, and even as he answers questions from a reporter, he’s managing an hour-long block of Joy Division songs. He’s not taking requests tonight; he can speak without interruption.

Cooper isn’t shy about talking. He’s the kind of person who regularly finds himself making conversation with new people. Ordering food is rarely a simple transaction — employees are cheerfully asked what their favorite menu items are.

Cooper, an ethnic studies junior, is even great at talking about his struggles with depression. At least now he is. But while talking was what lifted Cooper’s depression, it took him a while to find the right way and the right person to talk to. >>

see DEPRESSION, pg 3.

News... 1-4 | Arts... 5-7 | Opinion... 9 | Classifieds... 10 | Sports... 8, 11-12

NEWS | 2

Thursday, April 24, 2014

9 things we learned at Monday’s ASI presidential debate Benjy Egel @Benjy Egel Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) presidential candidates Connor Paquin, Jake Rogers and Joi Sullivan faced off Monday night in a debate co-sponsored by the Cal Poly College Republicans and Mustang News.

While there was no clear winner, each of the candidates revealed interesting notes about themselves as they tried to win over voters for the April 23 election.

Civil engineering junior Connor Paquin 1. He has his executive cabinet planned out If elected president, Paquin’s executive cabinet would be strategically picked. He said he would have one representative focusing on sustainability, one on greek life, one on Cal Poly Athletics and one on clubs.

ASI now has people designated to work with College Club Councils, which encompass all clubs within a certain academic college. Paquin’s representative would also work with clubs unaffiliated with any of the colleges.

Executive cabinets can range from five to nine members, though presidents often choose to employ as many members as possible.

2. He has a plan for more transparency Giving reporters permission to publish ASI presidential candidates’ names before active campaigning was a start, Paquin said. But to him, true transparency would mean

ending the restrictions forcing ASI staffers to contact a public relations liaison before speaking to media.

“ASI should not fear talking to a reporter, nor should we have to be filtered by ASI staff,” Paquin said. “If there’s a report that we have that we want to release to students ... we should be able to do it.”

3. He’s serious about Campus Dining changes Paquin mentioned his work with Real Food Collaborative, a group of students working to bring more organic, fair trade and humanely produced — or “real” — food to campus.

Real Food Collaborative and Paquin teamed up to write a resolution to the administration, aiming to make 40 percent of Cal Poly’s food “real” at no additional cost to students.

Agricultural business junior Jake Rogers 4. His typical day goes from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Rogers spends his mornings at his full-time job cleaning stables and feeding and riding horses until approximately noon.

He then changes out of his work clothes — into something cleaner, he said — before heading to class until 4 or 5 p.m.

After class, Rogers attends meetings as the Agricultural Student Council president or Young Cattlemen’s Club vice president. The rest of his night is usually filled with studying and participating in other extracurricular activities, such as the National Agricultural Marketing Association (NAMA).

5. He’s all about clubs In a previous interview, Rogers credited his leadership career at Cal Poly to agricultural business senior Rae Danell, who pushed him to run for office in a club as a freshman. With no ASI experience, all of Rogers’ work has come through clubs in the College of Agriculture.

Unlike individual clubs, club councils are unable to apply for co-sponsorship for an event, Rogers said. The president serves on the ASI Business and Finance Committee, where Rogers would be able to advocate for more money toward clubs.

“Clubs are the heart and soul of the Cal Poly experience,” Rogers said. “And the bottom line is clubs need more funding, especially the club councils.”

JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NEWS

6. He got a late start on campaigning — for a good reason Mustang News’ poll last week showed Rogers trailing behind the two other candidates, which he said he expected. He had been competing in a national NAMA tournament in Jacksonville the week before, then came back and organized the College of Agriculture’s portion of Open House.

Rogers said he didn’t even sleep during Open House weekend, much less organize his presidential campaign. He then had to catch up on schoolwork while Paquin and Sullivan were out campaigning on Dexter Lawn.

With 67 percent of likely voters still undecided when the poll was conducted, Rogers said he was looking forward to reaching out to as many people as possible before Wednesday.

GREAT DEBATE | From left to right: Connor Paquin, Jake Rogers and Joi Sullivan debated Monday.

Political science senior Joi Sullivan 7. Former candidate Will Blumhardt is in her corner A familiar face showed up at the debate Monday night wearing a bright red “Choose Joi” T-shirt.

When the four initial candidates met to discuss fighting ASI regulations on speaking to the media, Sullivan organized their joint statement and emerged as the group leader in Blumhardt’s eyes.

“She was the person stepping up and showing leadership in a room full of people running for a leadership position,” Blumhardt said. “That alone speaks millions of words to me.”

After Blumhardt was disqualified, Sullivan sought him out to offer her condolences.

8. She loves current ASI President Jason Colombini’s office hours — but would make a small change Colombini is the first ASI president in recent memory to hold office hours, and he strategically picks different corners of campus and times of day to reach more people. Students are free to come ask him whatever they like about Cal Poly, much like they would with a professor.

Sullivan said she would keep office hours if elected president, and would take the extra step to randomly approach students around campus.

She pledged to attend one club meeting per week and sit in the back, observing and taking notes unless she was called upon.

9. Plu$ Dollars will not be wasted with her in office Sullivan proposed a system allowing freshmen with extra Plu$ Dollars at the end of the year to donate their food funds to students with financial need.

Though the system is not ready to be implemented, Sullivan said she had seen similar food banks work on other campuses.

“Prospective students who come from lower-income families can actually come to this school and say, ‘I am going to be supported when I’m here.’ And that might actually draw them to Cal Poly,” she said.

The election results will be announced Thursday after Atmosphere’s 11 a.m. performance in the Recreation Center’s main gym.

ASI elections: What if there’s no winner?

Sean McMinn @shmcminn Candidates need a majority of the vote – 50 percent – to win the Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) presidency. But what if that doesn’t happen?

With three candidates running for the presidency this year, it’s a very real possibility the one with the most votes might not have enough to win outright. This brings in a practice called instant run-off.

When students vote for their next president, they can also choose a second candidate. If their No. 1 pick doesn’t win and the

overall winner doesn’t have at least half the votes, the student’s vote will be transferred to their No. 2 choice.

This happened last year, when four candidates ran, because current president and agricultural business senior Jason Colombini wasn’t able to win at least half the votes in the first round. Political science senior Daniel Wasta, who ran against Colombini and is managing Joi Sullivan’s election campaign this time around, said he thinks the strength of this year’s candidate pool could mean an instant run-off scenario is likely.

Still, it doesn’t appear to be changing any election

strategies. Wasta said while the campaign managers are aware of the rule, it’s not continuously on his mind.

“We’re not running this campaign telling people to vote for Joi as your No. 2 choice,” Wasta said. “But we’re saying, ‘Even if you’re not voting for Joi, make sure to rank another candidate.’”

Voting opened at 7 a.m.

Wednesday and continued until 7 a.m. on Thursday.

Students can vote for president and Board of Directors on their My Cal Poly Portal.

ASI will announce the winners on Thursday at 11 a.m., after the Atmosphere concert in the Recreation Center.

NEWS | 3

Thursday, April 24, 2014 Depression continued from pg 1.

For reasons such as academic pressures, changing friend groups, time away from family and grappling with career goals, college is a time where people are particularly susceptible to experiencing depression. Cal Poly’s own annual “Healthy Minds” survey found that 16 percent of students on campus were experiencing some form of depression.

According to a report compiled by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health and based on data provided by 132 universities, 16.2 percent of students have attended counseling for mental health concerns after starting college. Results at Cal Poly were on par at 16.6 percent.

The same report found that approximately 13 percent of students were prescribed medication for mental health concerns after starting college. The results are the same at Cal Poly.

Unlike physical conditions, most mental health concerns begin at a young age. Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health have found that 3/4 of mental disorders begin by age 24.

Furthermore, counseling centers have seen an increase in students seeking help for depression in the past five to 10 years, said Hannah Roberts, the outreach coordinator at Cal Poly’s counseling center. It’s difficult to determine whether this is because of greater awareness and diagnosis or an actual increase in depression. Reduced stigma for those seeking therapy might also be a factor in increased demand, Roberts said.

Cooper’s struggles with depression started with increasing academic challenges.

“The schoolwork got harder, and I was not prepared for it mentally,” Cooper said. “I tanked my first engineering class, just completely failed it.”

Cooper entered Cal Poly as a mechanical engineer. He found the academics of his first year manageable, but in his second year, his classes became more difficult, and he received failing grades in

some courses.

According to psychology professor Charles Slem, who has done research about depression in college students, failing to meet minimum academic standards is one of the primary triggers of depression in students.

The stresses of the academic world differ from those of the working world, Slem said. The constant succession of deadlines and exams mean there are numerous opportunities for grade-crippling failure in one quarter.

“It’s estimated that over 3/4 of students in the U.S., over the course of an academic year, are going to feel some symptoms of depression, because there are so many exams, so many papers, so many opportunities to screw up,” Slem said.

Another common trigger of depression in students is when they find themselves in the wrong major or find their career goals changing, Slem said. Cooper experienced this firsthand.

“I felt kind of trapped in the engineering world, and that wasn’t really an environment I wanted to be in,” Cooper said.

Through his time at Cal Poly, Cooper’s interests began to migrate toward humanitarian and social justice issues. He felt engineering didn’t directly correlate to the kind of work he wanted to be doing.

“I had to tell myself, ‘I can do humanitarian work with this,’” Cooper said.

There were also social pressures. Cooper faced opposition from his parents about changing his major.

“It felt like I didn’t have a lot of choice over what was going on in my life,” Cooper said. “I didn’t have a very open, honest dialogue with them, where I had a stake, where I could have a say at the table.”

Cooper was also troubled by relationships, both from before college and during his time at Cal Poly. Lingering feelings about an ex-girlfriend from home led to a breakup with Cooper’s college girlfriend, fueling feelings of guilt.

The loss of a student’s social support network when making the move to college is another common factor in student depression, Slem said.

Freshmen have to adjust to university life away from their friends and parents.

According to a study conducted by Cal Poly’s psychology department, 40 percent of freshmen report having felt homesick during their first year, but that the feeling went away after Thanksgiving break. But for 25 percent of freshman, the feeling lingers on, Slem said.

Depression occurs when basic psychological processes get derailed, Slem said. Examples of some of these psychological processes include the way people learn, or a set of beliefs that inform their thinking.

If two students take a test and do poorly, but only one becomes depressed, the depression could stem from a set of beliefs that cause that person to see failure as a measure of self-worth, Slem said.

Other times, there does not appear to be any reason for a person’s depression. This can be an indicator that the person is experiencing a biological imbalance, Slem said. Neurotransmitters such as serotonin may have stopped being produced at the proper level.

Depression is a part of the human condition, Slem said. It plays an adaptive role in helping people respond to situations in daily life, and when the situation improves, the feeling lifts. This normal emotional response is referred to as a mild depression.

When depression goes beyond its adaptive role, it is referred to as a major depression.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a major depression occurs when a person experiences a loss of pleasure in daily life for at least two weeks, and also exhibits other specific symptoms.

One such symptom is if a person experiences feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt. Significant changes in eating and sleeping habits are also a key indicator.

Though college students are prone to depression, some aspects of their environment can be beneficial.

Students have a support net-

“I didn’t feel like I had a place to turn to. People saw me as a person to be a support for them, but they didn’t really reciprocate all the time.”

LOGAN COOPER | ETHNIC STUDIES JUNIOR

KYLE MCCARTY | MUSTANG NEWS

A VOICE | Talking to Cal Poly’s counseling services helped Logan Cooper recover from his depression. work of peers on campus, as well as resources such as the counseling center, Roberts said. Isolation can contribute to depression, but students don’t usually live alone, so they can look to roommates and friends for support. Young people are also more willing to try things like therapy, and are able to look toward a better future, Roberts said.

After graduation, entering the working world or graduate school can be a source of anxiety, Slem said.

Cal Poly’s Counseling Services offers options for medication and counseling, Roberts said. There is no set course of treatment prescribed by Counseling Services. Instead, counselors work with students to determine what the best course of action is.

Roberts said because Counseling Services serves such a large population, the center generally focuses on stabilizing the students in the short term so they can be successful at Cal Poly. If students need additional help, they can be referred to a professional in the community.

Counseling Services is completely confidential and free for students.

Depression is usually treated through therapy, medication or a combination thereof, Roberts said.

For Cooper, the solution came through talking with therapists at Cal Poly’s counseling center. But these weren’t the first people he tried to speak to.

Cooper had gone to his new friends at Cal Poly to talk about what he was going through, and found that many of them were experiencing similar issues.

“I didn’t feel like I had a place to turn to,” Cooper said. “People saw me as a person to be a support for them, but they didn’t really reciprocate all the time.”

While continuing to struggle with depression during his sophomore year at Cal Poly, Cooper found a friend who encouraged him to go to Counseling Services. At first, Cooper was skeptical it would help.

“I was going in thinking, ‘I already know everything about me. If I do have a problem, I don’t know if it can be solved.

I’m just broken,’” Cooper said.

After Cooper began attending therapy sessions, his attitude changed. Finding therapists who were supportive and non-judgmental allowed Cooper to recover from his depression.

“It ended up being really helpful,” he said. “I ended up using their free six-week service.”

Cooper said counselors were there to listen and walk him through the conflicts that were creating his negative emotions. Counselors also spoke with Cooper about his academics. Cooper was not prescribed any medication.

“A lot of it was centered around, ‘How can I feel more empowered about my schoolwork?’” Cooper said.

Ultimately, these conversations were instrumental in his choice to change majors.

Counselors supported Cooper’s choices and helped him decide what major was right for him.

“It was someone telling me, ‘Those are OK options, it’s not going to be the end of the world,’” Cooper said.

Cooper no longer seeks treatment for depression.

He said the time at counseling services helped him “step back from the edge,” and he can now take care of himself and use his friends as a support structure.

It’s important to be open and non-judgmental when talking to a friend, Roberts said. Students shouldn’t feel that they have to — or are able to — fix their friends’ problems, but being there to listen and support them is valuable, Roberts said.

For Cooper, treatment meant talking — talking to someone who could help.

NEWS | 4

Thursday, April 24, 2014

New hire brings opportunities for Safer

JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NEWS

SENIOR CITIZENS | The new rotation system is only given to seniors graduating within the same quarter for which they are registering, University Registrar Cem Sunata said.

Registration system to be revamped Suha Saya @suhasaya Cal Poly recently implemented a new registration rotation for graduating seniors, but that’s not the only change students will be seeing in the registration process.

The number of degree applicable units a student has will soon be used to determine registration rotation, university registrar Cem Sunata said.

The system will be put into effect by Fall 2015.

“A lot of people are coming to me, faculty and students alike, saying that other universities have this more widespread use of rotations — they allow seniors to go first, then juniors, then sophomores, then freshmen,” Sunata said. “But we haven’t attempted to do so because the process of figuring out who truly was a junior or senior — degree applicable units applied — was not figured out.”

As more students come to Cal Poly with AP and transfer units, it’s hard to differentiate the general array of units vs. degree applicable units, Vice Provost Kimi Ikeda said.

“A senior from a class level perspective is a student who has completed 135 units out of their 180 units, but those 135 units may actually categorize them as sophomores, because they might’ve just transferred units that didn’t count toward degree applicable units,” she said. “We’re trying to really narrow down true seniors.”

Recently, the Office of Registrar set up a gauge on students’ PolyProfile to identify the degree applicable standing of each student.

“What we want to do is bring a registration rotation system where the students with the most degree applicable units will go in before those students with lesser applicable units,” Sunata said.

“But the nuances and details about how those rotations will exactly be set up haven’t exactly been worked out.”

The rotation for graduating seniors was simply the first step in the overhaul, Sunata said.

“It’s a way to help graduating seniors get the classes they need without having to compete for seats so that they can graduate on time,” he said. “And it’s also part of a larger change that is going to be coming.”

The new rotation is only given to seniors graduating within the same quarter for which they are registering. However, according to Sunata, the rotation would be impossible to give to all seniors.

“If you were to go to any university in the nation and ask the registrar’s office to run you a query, you’d find out that the largest amount of students are in the senior category,” Sunata said. “That’s the case with us … imagine taking the largest-standing class and giving them the first priority; it wouldn’t be effective.”

In addition, Sunata said the same problem of determining who true seniors are would come up.

“What we do intend to do is find out who the real seniors are by their degree applicable units and let them go first,” he said.

Though the new system may cause non-graduating seniors to compete with graduating se-

niors for classes, the Office of the Registrar is not worried.

“Any change you implement comes with a certain cost,” Sunata said. “Anything you do for 18,000 students will probably be criticized by a certain group that feels disadvantaged, but you can’t create a better system without some change.”

Sunata added that without the system, the competition would be worse.

“Everybody is getting their turn; we have about 900 students graduating in fall,” he said. “If these students get the classes they need and graduate in fall, and don’t linger, there will be 900 less students in winter and spring that these students will have to worry about competing (with) for classes.”

Associate registrar Debbie Arseneau agreed.

“I don’t think that there’ll be much backlash,” she said.

“They’ll be getting it for the same reason that these students are getting it when they’re graduating; I think it’s fair for all students that will have that opportunity at some point.”

The change stemmed from the Office of the Registrar’s effort to improve the system of academic progress and graduation rates, Ikeda said.

“We’ve been trying to achieve this for many years — trying to find ways to give those students who need to graduate a way to get their courses,” she said. “It’s always been our attempt to focus on the seniors and give their priority for the last year, but we can’t predict student behavior.”

K AYLA MISSMAN | MUSTANG NEWS

SAFE AND SOUND | Cheri Love, Safer’s new assistant coordinator, encourages student feedback.

Kayla Missman @kaymissman Cheri Love’s first day on the job was April 1 — the beginning of sexual assault awareness month.

The new Safer assistant coordinator said she was thrown into the action, and she loved it.

“So far it’s been really fun, really exciting,” Love said. “It’s been an exciting time, and as someone stepping in and learning and seeing what this program does, I’ve been amazed by what Christina, our coordinator, does, and also the students who volunteer here and give so much of their time to our office.”

A 2010 alumna from Cal Poly’s psychology masters program, Love has plenty of experience with the university. But now, seeing it from a different perspective, she’s been impressed by the university’s support for Safer. It’s rare, and it’s something the community should be proud of, she said.

“I think it would be easy for the community to take us for granted, but as someone stepping in and being able to see with new eyes, it’s pretty incredible what’s done here,” Love said. “I’m very excited to be part of it and support it, and see how I can help even make it a

stronger program.”

Students showed their support for Safer approximately a year and a half ago, when they voted to give more money to the organization in a Student Success Fee vote, Safer coordinator Christina Kaviani said.

Before Love’s hire, Kaviani was the only full-time staff member. The rest of the team is made up of two part-time graduate students and 15 undergraduate students, some of whom are paid, Kaviani said.

“We’re doing everything really well, but just like most nonprofits, when you have low staff, you’re just doing it well day to day,” she said. “And if anyone leaves, it can crumble. So having more people can make the foundation stronger.”

Love was hired through a rigorous interview process.

After submitting a detailed application, she had a Skype interview with a panel representing the university, and then an on-campus interview, during which she gave a 20-minute presentation on what she would do to change rape culture at Cal Poly, she said.

Kaviani chose Love because of her experience in counseling, marketing and the academic world, as well as her compatibility.

“I wanted to find someone who complemented skills that aren’t as natural for me,

and she has those with her assessment skills, her detail-oriented skills,” Kaviani said. “She’s very process-oriented, and I’m like, ‘Quick, let’s get it done.’ It’s nice to have complementary styles.”

Though she is technically Love’s supervisor, Kaviani sees them as more of a team. Together, they will be able to add more programming, legitimize the work Safer is doing and make that work more efficient.

Love’s addition to the staff opens many doors for Safer, Kaviani said. Her role will largely focus on the organization’s long-term goals, such as organizing Safer and making it a “model program” to show to other universities, she said.

Love will also work on finding evidence that Safer’s educational programs are having direct influence on student behavior and lowering violence, Kaviani said. Ideally, that would lead to the organization being given more money to expand their programs.

Kaviani encourages students to give feedback on Safer’s programs and tell her what they want to see change — because now, with Love, it’s possible, she said.

“I encourage students to tell me what they want to see here, because we have more staff to make it happen,” she said. “The door’s open for comments, questions, ideas on what they want to see happen.”

Karen Webb moving up as new interim VP of admin and finance Kyle McCarty @KyleMMcCarty Karen Webb, Cal Poly’s associate vice president for administration and finance, will become the interim vice president for administration and

finance beginning July 1.

For more than 18 years, Webb has worked a handful of positions at Cal Poly, including the associate director of budget and analytic business services along with assistant vice president and associate vice president for

administration and finance.

Webb will replace Stan Nosek, who has served as interim vice president of administration and finance since the end of the last academic year.

Nosek, formerly of University of California, Davis, came out of retirement to fill an interim

role at UC Davis before coming to Cal Poly.

The search for a permanent vice president of administration and finance is ongoing.

Nosek, who submitted Webb to Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong as his recommendation to take over the position, described the vice president of administration and finance by comparing it to a city manager.

The finance vice president is the chief financial officer

at Cal Poly, responsible for keeping track of Cal Poly’s budget, Nosek said. The vice president also fills this role at the Cal Poly Corporation and the Cal Poly Foundation, and oversees campus construction and infrastructure, among other duties.

Nosek identified a number of projects the next vice president will continue to manage.

First among these are staff and faculty salary freezes that have been in place for the

past five to six years, Nosek said. The lack of raises is particularly hard on faculty who were hired just as the freeze came into effect. Talented faculty can be hired away by universities that promise better pay and decreased living expenses, Nosek said.

Campus maintenance, event management, review of the campus alcohol policy and new housing projects would be ongoing tasks for the next vice president, Nosek said.

ARTS | 5

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Mistah F.A.B. raps his way to

Rock ‘N’ Flow Brenna Swanston

Stanley Cox was small for his age, but he was popular at school. He was raised by a single mother in Oakland, Calif., where he enjoyed playing sports, freestyle rapping with his friends and occasionally sneaking into Golden State Warriors games.

A local musician overheard Cox freestyling with some of his middle school buddies and asked him to rap on her song, offering $250.

In that moment, Cox decided to make music for a living.

Mistah F.A.B. — the name Cox took as a performer — has risen through the ranks of hiphop over the past 17 years. He gives back to his hometown of Oakland however he can, still loves rapping more than anything and was recently hired by the Warriors to write a playoffs theme song for them.

“It’s pretty full-circle,” he said of his career’s course.

Mistah F.A.B., commonly known as Fab, will make his way to San Luis Obispo for the third annual Rock ‘N’ Flow music festival on April 26.

Festival co-founder James Kaye came up with the idea of bringing F.A.B. to Rock ‘N’ Flow after following the rapper’s career for six years.

“He can do everything,” Kaye said. “Mistah F.A.B. can do 90 percent of rappers’ styles better than they can.”

Kaye had started to doubt he would be able to book F.A.B. until he ran into the rapper on Hollywood Boulevard.

“After a few weeks of thinking in my head, ‘How the hell could we get ahold of F.A.B.?,’ I saw him walking down the street,” Kaye said.

“You can call it luck, or fate or just randomness.”

Kaye doesn’t know what to expect from F.A.B.’s performance, but he said he is certain it will be worth watching.

“There’s really no telling what he will do because of his freestyling abilities, and that’s what makes him so exciting,” Kaye said. “He has this presence about him so that even if he’s freestyling off the top of his head, he’s 100 percent cool and collected.”

Part of Kaye’s draw to-

@Brenna_Swanston

ward F.A.B. sprouted from the artist’s extreme generosity toward his hometown.

“He does a backpack drive every September where he gives away backpacks for kids to go to school with,” Kaye said. “He does a turkey drive on Thanksgiving. He does a present drive for kids on Christmas. He’s definitely a pillar in the community of Oakland.”

Kaye also appreciates F.A.B.’s persistent humility, even in the midst of success.

“He’s such a hard worker and he’s everywhere all the time,” he said. “He’s written platinum songs that he doesn’t even sing on.”

F.A.B.’s platinum song is “HeadBand,” which he wrote for B.o.B. According to F.A.B., the song’s success was a milestone in his career.

“It’s definitely an achievement that I’m proud of,” he said.

Even so, F.A.B. sees philanthropy and humility as obligations: It is an “unwritten rule,” he said, that he gives back to his childhood community.

“If I was in a position to provide for those same corners I once stomped on, then why wouldn’t I?” F.A.B. said. “And why shouldn’t I?” As for his musical humility, even after years of success, he still views himself as a student in hip-hop, he said.

One of his biggest mentors is rapper Too Short.

“You’d be a fool not to learn from his teaching,” F.A.B. said.

Even then, F.A.B. sometimes approaches Too Short’s counsel with the attitude of a stubborn teenager.

“I don’t want to listen at first, just to be defiant,” F.A.B. said.

“But then I do it. And it does work. I mean, nobody’s been in the game like he’s been in the game. Nobody’s been in it for 30 years.”

The influence of old-school hip-hop artists has only helped advance F.A.B.’s career in the modern industry, he said. Today’s hip-hop has evolved to bring back some of its most classic veterans.

“You’ve got some of the top artists today, and you can go out and listen to one of their

albums and it features some of the pioneers of hip-hop,” F.A.B. said. “It’s just showing you the cycling of how things are going full-circle. You can catch a guy like ScHoolboy Q, and you listen to his album and hear someone like Raekwon on there, and that’s amazing.”

Because hip-hop follows this cycle, anyone who gets in the mix is in it for good, he said.

And with each cycle of hiphop, his musical style has grown and matured, he said.

Recreation, parks and tourism administration junior Amanda Behrendt works as assistant coordinator for Rock ‘N’ Flow and has remained a faithful F.A.B. fan through all his musical phases.

“He’s totally changed his direction over the years,” Behrendt said. “In the beginning, he was in the hyphy movement and all the crazy hip-hop stuff, but now he’s more lyrical.”

F.A.B.’s lyrics tell meaningful stories of his childhood in Oakland as well as his hometown’s current hardships, she said. But even through those changes, he has stayed true to himself musically.

Behrendt expects the rapper to draw a big crowd at Rock ‘N’ Flow.

“We have Evidence and Alchemist, who are very underground hip-hop but kind of making their way up,” she said. “And F.A.B.’s already made his way.”

His style stands out against those of other musicians in the festival’s lineup, helping diversify the event, Behrendt said.

F.A.B. agreed his music sounds different from other Rock ’N’ Flow performers, but said artists across all styles of hip-hop have accepted him.

“I’m actually the oddball on this roster, and if you look at the particulars of the musical genres — look at Evidence and Alchemist — they don’t associate with Mistah F.A.B.,” F.A.B. said.

“But if you ask them, they’ll tell you, ‘Hell yeah, he’s one of us.’”

“If I was in a position to provide for those same corners I once stomped on, then why shouldn’t I? And why shouldn’t I?” MISTAH F.A.B. | RAPPER

COURTESY PHOTO

F.A.B.ULOUS | Mistah F.A.B. is slated to perform at this year’s Rock ‘N Flow music festival

on April 26. Mistah F.A.B. wrote platinum song “HeadBand” for hip-hop recording artst B.o.B.

ARTS | 6

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Hip-hop takes over campus with

Atmosphere THURSDAY, 11 A.M. REC CENTER MAIN GYM FREE TO STUDENTS WITH POLYCARD

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAN MONICK

RAP IT UP | Associated Students Inc.’s latest concert features hip-hop duo Atmosphere. The concert begins at 11 a.m. and student government election results will be announced after the show.

Sam Gilbert @samgilbert279 Cal Poly welcomes hip-hop duo Atmosphere for the group’s on-campus concert this Thursday at 11 a.m.

Rapper Slug (Sean Daley) and DJ/producer Ant (Anthony Davis) are the faces behind Atmosphere.

“This has been an artist we’ve been looking into for a couple of years now, even before I got the position,”

ROCK continued from pg 1.

“I am looking forward to the amount of people who are coming out,” Kaye said. “With all the local performers draw-

said Gage McGinnis, Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) Events musical entertainment assistant and business administration senior.

At Cal Poly, there are big Atmosphere fans and fans of the underground hip-hop genre as a whole, McGinnis said.

Rather than having the event in the Julian A. McPhee University Union (UU) Plaza as with prior ASI concerts, the show will take place in the Recreation Center main gym.

“We’ve done concerts at 11 a.m. and we’ve done concerts in the Recreation Center, but not at 11 a.m. in the Recreation Center, so it’ll be different in that respect,” McGinnis said.

McGinnis said they’re expecting a turnout of at least 1,000 people.

“In the past when there’s been concerts at 11 a.m., a lot of people have still come out,” recreation, parks and tourism administration junior Kendall Price said.

Price said people will be ready for the weekend because the performance is on a Thursday.

The reaction to the duo’s arrival in San Luis Obispo has been positive.

“The fact that they got Atmosphere here got me super stoked on Cal Poly in general, because it shows the general student body has a similar music taste to what I have,” economics sophomore Adam Redding-Kaufman said.

Redding-Kaufman said he read in Mustang News that the duo was performing, and he was practically frothing at the mouth.

“I kind of feel like Atmosphere is the Shakespeare of rap, because Shakespeare wrote plays that could connect with everyone and give a message that everyone could tap into in their own way,” Redding-Kaufman said.

He’s looking forward to hearing them echo that connection,

he said.

To add to the excitement over Atmosphere’s presence, ASI election results will be announced after the concert.

“I think the idea with that was that we might as well go where students already are, rather than trying to bring students to the UU to announce the results either before or after the concert,” McGinnis said.

Thursday’s concert is free to Cal Poly students with a PolyCard.

ing their fans, it is going to be something like the town has really never seen.”

Kaye expects approximately 1,000 people to attend Rock ‘N’ Flow — a record-setting number for the

event. That would be a big step considering the much smaller attendance of the inaugural Rock ‘N’ Flow.

Jacob Rocha, guitarist and vocalist for local band Bare Feet, performed at the first

Rock ‘N’ Flow.

“James Kaye and Rick really weren’t experienced in organizing a music festival, but they went for it anyway,” Rocha said. “The turnout was more than I expected, but I think there will definitely be more people this year.”

That first event set the groundwork and gave Kaye an idea of what was needed to make a music festival successful. He had to deal with hiccups such as the sound not working, but ultimately, those experiences will make this event go more smoothly, he said.

Bare Feet has been together since high school and has developed from a reggaeinfluenced band to more alternative with touches of blues and funk.

Rocha sees Rock ‘N’ Flow as an excellent chance to get Bare Feet’s music pub-

licized — just what Kaye wanted the event to be when he first started it.

“We’ll play some good cover tunes and a lot of originals because that is what we like to do at shows like these,” Rocha said. “I am sure the other performers are thinking the same thing. They want to display their art.”

Rocha has seen the festival develop and grow into an event much larger than Kaye and Rick ever imagined.

“James always says it is kind of a grassroots music festival and nobody has really ever done something like this in San Luis Obispo, so it is always fun to see it happen,” Rocha said. “It is awesome (to) see some local guys put together something so big.”

Another group with ties to Kaye is Ziplock Music, whose style can be described as underground

hip-hop influenced by mainstream artists.

“It’s all about the rhymes,” band member Prolix said.

“We have a strong West Coast type of feel because we are all from California.”

Rock ‘N’ Flow will be a forum for the band to get reactions from its new album, Extra Grams. The group will also perform crowd favorites from its older releases.

The festival will feature more than music. Attendees can enjoy a barbecue, beer garden and artists spray painting on set-up walls.

Tickets are $15 pre-sale and can be purchased online or at The Sub on South Higuera and High streets.

“This will be a defining year for us,” Kaye said.

“Anybody there this year will be able to say, ‘I was there when it was just getting going.’”

“I am looking forward to the amount of people who are coming out. With all the local performers drawing their fans, it is going to be something like the town has really never seen.”

JAMES KAYE | ROCK ‘N’ FLOW CO-FOUNDER

ARTS | 7

Thursday, April 24, 2014

The top 10 places to drink beer Nick Larson and Jake Devincenzi @njlarson8 and @jake_devincenzi Kinesiology senior Nick Larson and aerospace engineering senior Jake Devincenzi are Mustang News beer columnists.

We often find ourselves sitting around the house, sipping on a beer and wondering, “Hmm, what should we do today?” Or rather, “Hmm, where shall we drink beer today?” If you, loyal reader, ever find yourself in a similar dilemma, remember this column. We have enjoyed many swimming pools’ worth of beer and while you can never go wrong drinking a brew at home with a buddy or two, here is our list of the top 10 places to enjoy craft beer.

10. Sporting events And more specifically, all you Mustangs, Krukow’s Klubhouse at Baggett Stadium. Two shout-outs are in order. One, to the No. 1 college baseball team in the nation (all polls that say otherwise don’t matter). Two, to whoever picks the Krukow’s Klubhouse beer. We sincerely thank you for serving craft beer.

Not drinking crap makes the game that much better.

That’s not to say drinking a Bud Light at a ballgame is unacceptable, but massproduced (or, as stuck-inthe-80s Europeans call it, “American”) beer is giving way to the booming craft culture. We live in the best craft beer country in the

world, so why not enjoy the beautiful juxtaposition of American craft with America’s pastime?

9. At a brewery Have you ever had the urge to enjoy the best beer around with the most knowledgeable people around? If you haven’t, you’re scientifically incorrect. The best place to do so is right at the source, and beer people are the best people. Get to the nearest brewery, meet the brewers/pourers/janitors/ anyone and start learning everything you can. Oh, and drink some of that delicious, life-giving beverage.

8. Atop a mountain Again, we’ll give some credit to the beers we dislike — Coors, and more recently Shocktop, have embraced the whole mountain thing. But while a beer at the highest bar in the world sounds cool, how annoying would it be to get to the top of a mountain and find out the only thing on tap is Shocktop? We’d be pissed. Whether you prefer firelit evenings in the cabin or gnarly pow days on the slopes, it’s hard to beat the refreshing taste of malts and hops when you are surrounded by a sea of fluffy white heaven-water. Your can of beer does not have to tell you how cold it is for you to enjoy it in the Rockies.

7. Bottle shares Sharing is caring. Wow — we actually just wrote that. Having now hosted two wildly successful bottle shares, we believe we have proven the theory that five 4-ounce pours is, in fact, greater than

Something’s Brewing one 22-ounce pour.

6. With your parents It may sound lame, but drinking with your parents is awesome. It’s fun teaching them about good beer while getting to know your parents in a way you couldn’t when you were younger. It’s great bonding time, and you realize your parents might not be as lame as you thought they were. Oh, and they’ll usually pick up the tab, which is nice.

5. The beach The advertising team at Corona has the right idea.

Drinking on the beach is amazing. The sound of waves, lack of clothing and

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built-in cup holder that is sand make for the perfect environment. I guess the only thing wrong with a Corona commercial is, well, the Corona.

4. Music festivals Did you hear we went to Coachella this past week?

Sure, the music was phenomenal and camping was sensational ... but what blew us away was the craft beer garden — 36 taps rotating throughout the day from breweries across the country. Couple that with seeing a passed-out Action Bronson in the corner, and you’d be hard-pressed

to find a better craft beer drinking environment.

3. Hot tub For added awesome: in a hot tub, on a roof. Don’t have a hot tub on your roof?

That’s unfortunate. Regardless, the combination of hot water, bubbles and a nice, cold craft brewski is something to die for. We have spent many a night lounging in hot tubs together with the finest barrel-aged beers, talking about life with our dear friend and editor-inchief James Jacob Jenkins.

2. Airplane Nothing makes a long flight

go by faster and more enjoyably than beer. Having experienced a flight where the airline served complimentary local craft beer, we can claim it was the best flight of our lives. Who wants to be drunk and high at the same time, drinking beer on an airplane? Us. 1. Wherever the hell you are at this very minute The best beer in the world is the one in your hand. The best company is the people next to you. And the best time to drink craft beer is right now. So stop reading this column, get off your ass and go live hoppy!

SPORTS | 8

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Men’s, women’s tennis set for Big West Tournament

JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NEWS

LAST DANCE | Senior Kathryn Webb (left) and senior Marco Comuzzo will take part in their final Big West Conference tournaments this weekend at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Evan Morter @EvanMorter The Cal Poly men’s and women’s tennis teams will set out for NCAA tournament berths this weekend as they enter their respective Big West Conference tournaments at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif.

The men’s team earned the No. 2 seed heading into the championships after beating UC Santa Barbara in the final match of the regular season this past weekend, boasting a 9-12 overall record and a 4-1 record in conference play.

The men will await the winner of No. 3 UC Santa Barbara (8-13, 3-1 Big West) and No. 6 UC Riverside (2-21, 0-5),

which will take place Thursday afternoon. The winner will face the Mustangs on Friday at 3 p.m.

A rematch between Cal Poly and the defending Big West Tournament champion Gauchos is likely, though, according to head coach Nick Carless.

“We’d be shocked if it’s not Santa Barbara,” Carless said.

“Santa Barbara has a reputation of being tough to beat down there.”

Indian Wells, located near Palm Springs, is known for its high temperatures — and the tournament should be no exception.

The weather forecast predicts the temperature to rise to as high as 90 degrees during the championships, and Carless believes it will play a factor in

each match.

“The courts are really slow,” he said. “The heat changes the conditions, which changes the way that tennis is going to be played.”

Nevertheless, each team plays under the same conditions and the acclimation process should be the same for every opponent, he said.

The Gauchos, if victorious on Thursday, will endure an entire game in the heat one day before the semifinal meeting. Yet each team has to play a match in similar conditions, and Carless likes his team’s chances come Friday.

“I know my guys are going to look forward to it,” Carless said. “They always play their best against Santa Barbara. We’ve had great success

against them in the last couple of years.”

The Mustangs have won their last two conference matches heading into the tournament, which Carless believes will be instrumental in the team’s mentality heading into the postseason.

“We’re definitely playing our best right now,” he said. “We talked about that all year that we need to play our best tennis in the last match of the year — in the last shot of the year.”

While the men’s team will be the favorite in Friday’s match, the women’s team will likely be the underdog in every match in the tournament.

The Cal Poly women are heading into the championships in a similar position as the men with four wins in

their last five matches, but find themselves in a different position than the men’s team in the Big West standings.

The women (7-10 overall, 4-5 Big West) enter the tournament in seventh place and will face No. 2 UC Irvine (23-5 overall, 9-0 Big West) on Friday.

Senior Jennifer Cornea compiled a record of 7-7 in singles play, while senior Kathryn Webb put together a team-best 8-4 record on the year and led the Mustangs in regular season play.

However, junior Hannah Stone’s return in early March was instrumental to the team’s midseason recovery, as the team managed a 4-3 record in the seven games since.

That has given the team a

sense of confidence heading into the matchup against the Anteaters, head coach Damon Coupe said.

“We’re playing with a lot of confidence,” Coupe said. “The girls are confident. They’re playing together. They’re playing for each other.”

This cohesion will be vital to the team’s success, as UC Irvine has dropped just two matches in its last 24 outings. However, the low seeding doesn’t phase Cal Poly, according to Coupe, as the parody of the league has his team believing they have a shot to win it all.

“Obviously, there’s a lot more pressure because of the one and done,” Coupe said.

“But any team can win it this year. If you come to play, you can win.”

Softball splits doubleheader Mustang News Staff Report @CPMustangSports Senior center fielder Lauren Moreno’s walk-off single in the ninth inning broke a scoreless tie to help Cal Poly split a doubleheader against Cal State Bakersfield at Bob Janssen Field on Tuesday.

Moreno singled to bring home senior catcher Mariah Cochiolo with two outs in the inning and effectively moved Cal Poly to 26-17 on the year with the game-winner.

The Mustangs dropped the first game of the twinbill — which also went into extra in-

nings — 7-5 after the Roadrunners scored two in the top of the eighth inning of that game.

“Coming back from Hawaii, I was pretty confident about these games,” Moreno said.

“We kind of let the first one go, but I knew we were going to come back and win (the second game). And it just gets me even that much more excited for this weekend, coming up against Fullerton, because these games are going to be some pretty good games for us.”

Moreno was 0 for 7 in the doubleheader before her ninth inning heroics, while Cal Poly was held to just two hits entering the final frame.

Freshman right-handed pitcher Sierra Hyland allowed just one hit and no runs in seven innings before junior lefty Chloe Wurst (59) pitched a scoreless eighth to earn the win in the circle.

Cal Poly stays home to host Cal State Fullerton for a three-game series this weekend. The Mustangs and Titans are tied for third place in the Big West standings and trail first-place Long Beach State by three games and UC Santa Barbara by one.

Dillon Payne and Stephan Teodosescu contributed to this report.

MUSTANG NEWS FILE PHOTO

WALK OFF | Senior Lauren Moreno hit a walk-off single against Cal State Bakersfield Tuesday.

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OPINION | 9

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Students should exercise clout locally Zachary Antoyan is a political science senior and Mustang News liberal columnist. These views do not necessarily reflect the opinion or editorial coverage of Mustang News.

Chances are your opinion as a student at Cal Poly is less than represented on the city level in San Luis Obispo.

You, the Cal Poly student body, who help drive a small city economy and impact the community on numerous philanthropic and servicebased levels, have little institutional connections to the San Luis Obispo city government. And though your time in the area may be limited to the four, five or six years of schooling if you are (un?) lucky enough, your say in affairs regarding San Luis Obispo matters. If only there was a way for a student or recent graduate with close ties to the school to act as that institutional connection.

Oh wait, there are two San Luis Obispo City Council seats waiting to be filled in the November elections. So what if a student or recent graduate were to run? Lots of good things, believe me. Not only this, but a well-constructed campaign could have a damn good chance of winning a seat.

In an April 15 City Council meeting, the open community forum yielded the floor to former Council Member Doty Williams and former Mayor Ken Schwartz. With regards to the relationship between the school and the

city over the proposed housing project, Schwartz presented a petition that urged both Cal Poly and the San Luis Obispo City Council to “work in partnership in consideration of the timing and prospective locations for all future student housing.”

Williams further established that “we believe (the group of former City Council members and mayors) reflect the opinion of your constituents — a majority of them, as a matter of fact — that of being allowed to live in one’s neighborhood, in harmony with one’s neighbors.”

This is a mere glimpse of a major issue between Cal Poly and the city of San Luis Obispo, and the proposed housing project Cal Poly is attempting to undertake serves as a focal point for such a glaring issue: the breakdown in communication between the two. This is exactly where a student in a City Council seat would come in, by bridging this gap, closing the rift in communication, representation and perspective.

I couldn’t agree more that we need to have the availability to live in harmony in our neighborhoods. But I struggle to find this possible without the legitimized input of the student demographic.

And while, yes, some students may be less concerned about the well-being of the community at large or the historical value of the neighborhood, I would argue that a lack of representation for this demographic does a disservice to the city. Just as we

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF J.J. Jenkins DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR FOR ARTS AND SPORTS Carly Rickards DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR FOR NEWS Sean McMinn PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR Jenna Watson BROADCAST NEWS DIRECTOR Olivia DeGennaro NEWS EDITOR Jacob Lauing ARTS EDITOR Kassi Luja SPORTS EDITOR Stephan Teodosescu MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Katherine Benedict BROADCAST CONTENT DIRECTOR Katie McDermott BROADCAST PRODUCTION MANAGER Denzel Quarterman STAFF WRITERS Kelly Trom, Evan Morter, Benjy Egel CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jefferson P. Nolan, Suha Saya , Celina Oseguera, Aja Frost, Brenna Swanston, Kyle McCarty FREELANCE WRITERS Melissa Nunez MULTIMEDIA REPORTERS Paige Cross, Anne Knapke, Maggie Kaiserman

the true progressive have our bad apples, so does the long-time resident constituency who associate students with “beer bongs and rap music,” to quote a concerned resident from a recent open forum for the proposed housing project.

So where does that leave

the student who should run?

It leaves them in the perfect spot to take the student vote (if mobilized, which is a whole demon in and of itself), the vote of citizens concerned with possibility of breakdowns in future relations between the city and school and the vote of local alumni — each of which can a carry massive amount of clout in the area. The impact of the school and students in the city cannot be neglected, as it brings in more than $469 million annually for the region, and perhaps more importantly, $29 million annually in local taxes.

We can take, for instance, Measure Y, a 1/2 cent tax that goes toward infrastructure improvements and is currently blocking half of the street I live on. It generates $5.7 million a year in rev-

enue, and is up for a vote once again after having been passed the last time.

Students, major contributors to that tax revenue, have virtually no say in how those revenues are redistributed throughout the communities. It is but another area that the student demographic is underrepresented.

With such an impact on the community, we should require more of a say in the decisions of the city, not only for the sake of ourselves, but also in order to foster better communications between students, the school, the community and the city government.

This is Zachary Antoyan, thinking maybe I should run … probably not … but maybe … hmm.

Fight sexual assault at Cal Poly Ryan Neil is a general engineering sophomore.

I am writing to you to discuss the issue of sexual assault here at Cal Poly. According to a study conducted by Mary Koss, a professor of psychology at Kent State University, one in four women will fall victim to sexual assault in their college careers. My sister is a survivor, and I know the pain sexual as-

and I am speaking to all college students, but specifically Cal Poly students, faculty and staff.

My proposal is that Cal Poly students make a conscious effort to speak up when they see something wrong occurring, and that the community can band together to help change the social norm of victim blaming and silence. When it comes to society’s views on sexual assault, there are two main issues that arise, both of which have many subsequent causes.

These two issues are the common lack of bystander intervention and the social norm of victim blaming. Bystander intervention refers to a person’s ability to step into a situation in which they believe sexual assault could take place and to

make their presence known, therefore deterring the assailant. The social norm of simply thinking, “Someone else will take care of this” or “This happens all the time. It’s no big deal” is one of the leading causes of the perpetuation of sexual assault.

Another issue regarding society’s lack of understanding of sexual assault that I believe to be much more poisonous is victim blaming. Victim blaming comes in a multitude of different forms. One of the most common is the idea that the way a person was acting or the things they were wearing led the assaulter to do whatever it is that they did.

After the second time my sister was sexually assaulted,

“Survivors (of sexual assault) are often too scared to tell #TOPHARVARD someone what happened to them, for JOIN THE MOVEMENT all kinds of reasons.

Fear of being blamed is one of the leading causes.”

RYAN NEIL | GENERAL ENGINEERING SOPHOMORE

FREELANCE MULTIMEDIA REPORTERS Lisa Diaz, David Aguilar, Emily Kucera COPY CHIEF Laura Pezzini COPY EDITORS Kayla Missman, Samantha Sullivan, Trevor Melody WEB DEVELOPER Kevin Knopp

ZACH ANTOYAN | MUSTANG NEWS LIBERAL COLUMNIST

sault can cause all too well.

The fear, stress and confusion that can be caused by sexual assault can be, and often is, overwhelming for a survivor to deal with. One of the worst parts about being a survivor of sexual assault is having to deal with a society that doesn’t quite understand, properly sympathize or respect the severity of the pain that it can cause a person. I want to argue that people should be more understanding, helpful and open to survivors to ensure they get the help they need,

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“Some students may be less concerned about the well being of the community at large or the historical value of the neighborhood, I would argue that a lack of representation for this demographic does a disservice to the city.”

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she told me that during an appointment with the oncampus doctor, the doctor asked her, “Well, why didn’t you go to the police?” This is another example of the kind of unsympathetic actions our society all too often makes towards survivors. Survivors are often too scared to tell someone what happened to them, for all kinds of reasons. Fear of being blamed is one of the leading causes.

It is unfortunate but true that sexual assault is something that will never be completely eliminated.

That being said, we as a community have the power to educate ourselves in how to be more helpful and understanding towards survivors. In turn, I believe that this will drastically reduce the occurrence of sexual assault. So I am asking you, as a member of the Cal Poly community, to dig deep within yourself to find the courage to stand up for what you know is right and face what you know is wrong. Don’t stand aside and think to yourself that someone else will take care of a situation that could lead to sexual assault. I am tired of this trend of misunderstanding of the severity of the act and I ask you all to join me in actively fighting against it to help make a safer, more peaceful world for everyone.

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SPORTS | 11

Thursday, April 24, 2014

No. 1 Cal Poly wins 11th straight Jefferson P. Nolan @Jefferson_Nolan Under the lights of Baggett Stadium on Tuesday night, the Cal Poly baseball team soundly defeated San Jose State 12-5.

But judging by the blank faces of the players, you would never be able to tell if the Mustangs had won or lost. As the ballplayers walked to the dugout from their post-game meeting, each had a placid look on their face — never too high and never too low.

Ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, the Mustangs (35-5, 11-1 Big West Conference) have mastered a persona that indicates they have seen success before.

“We try not to buy into the hype,” sophomore second baseman Mark Mathias said. “Coach talked to us about not getting our heads too big … we still have to play to our potential. There’s a reason why we’re No. 1 in the nation, and if we keep doing what we’re doing, we’ll be there in Omaha.”

Senior first baseman Tim Wise recorded a career-high four hits in the Tuesday night non-conference matchup.

“I was just doing my job,” he said. “That was it.”

When the polls came out on Monday labeling Cal Poly as the top-ranked team, Wise didn’t even look at the listings.

“I try and stay away from that as much as possible,” he said. “It’s a nice feeling,

but we need to make sure we keep our emotions under control and do what we need to do.”

And on Tuesday, the Mustangs did what they do best.

Focused on playing small ball as head coach Larry Lee’s team executed bunts, hitand-runs and produced hits with men in scoring position.

Junior outfielder Zack Zehner drew first blood with a two-out drive to right field, scoring two runs in the first inning. Capitalizing with runners in scoring position and taking advantage of a disappointing defensive performance from San Jose State (12-29), Cal Poly continued to tack on runs throughout the game.

Freshman right-hander Slater Lee (3-1) dominated the Spartan offense for his first win since late February.

He allowed one run on five hits in five innings pitched.

The only rocky moments for the Mustangs came late in the game when the Cal Poly bullpen began to falter. Junior southpaw Taylor Chris earned a critical bases-loaded out, but in the ninth, junior reliever Bryan Granger worked himself into a hole with a pair of hit batters and walks.

“We did enough to win, but we didn’t play to our capabilities,” Lee said. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, and we’ve got a long way to go. It’s about the end game.

It’s not about where we are now. As long as we continue to get better as a team, that’s the important part.”

While the Mustangs claimed the top ranking by Collegiate Baseball News-

IAN BILLINGS | MUSTANG NEWS

SLAYED | Freshman right-hander Slater Lee earned his first win since late February as he allowed one run in five innings on Tuesday. paper, Cal Poly sits at No. 2 in both the Baseball America and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association polls and No. 3 in both

the Perfect Game poll and in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.

On Tuesday night, the alternatively acclaimed No. 1

team Virginia (34-7) dodged a bullet in a 5-4 extra-inning victory over Virginia Commonwealth University.

The Mustangs will hit the

road this weekend when they take on the Long Beach State (18-20, 5-4 Big West) for a three-game series at Blair Field.

SPORTS | 12

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Donovan’s odyssey to Cal Poly Jefferson P. Nolan @Jefferson_Nolan Ben Donovan was a sophomore in high school when he was knocked flat onto the bathroom floor. The ceiling had caved in on him.

Donovan was at a tennis academy on the outskirts of San Antonio, Texas — 700 miles away from his home and his parents in Memphis, Tenn.

And though Donovan was 13 when he moved away from home, he remembers the shards of thick plaster raining down on him. He had moved to improve his game, but as he lay on the bathroom floor, he realized something needed to change.

Now a freshman at Cal Poly, Donovan has made a substantial mark on the Mustangs’ tennis team and has played an imperative role in its success this season. As last week’s Big West Player of the Week honoree, Donovan has competed as the Mustangs’ top player in all five of Cal Poly’s conference matches.

But at first glance, you would never guess it — the Virginia native seems too friendly to be a fierce competitor. But when Donovan steps between the lines, the transformation is shocking as his amiable smile vanishes.

His odyssey to Cal Poly began when his mom, Lisa, used her then-5-year-old son to practice for the recreation tennis league she competed in.

“She told me that she just wanted someone to hit with,” Donovan said. “That’s where it began. I eventually just took off.”

The Donovan family had no idea what they were in for.

After moving from Virginia to New Jersey when he was 3, Donovan and his family made the exodus to Germantown, Tenn., where his father had been relocated for his job.

But the suburbs of Memphis had one tragic flaw.

There was practically no tennis to be found.

The Donovans had their son apply to a selective honors program to attend high school. He was accepted, but he begged his parents to let him move to a Texas tennis academy instead.

There, he would train and play tennis during the day.

When night fell, he would take online classes to complete his high school education with his fellow boarders.

“He said to us, ‘Just give me a chance,’” Lisa said. “So we did. So many times we wanted to bring him home. But we didn’t. We really didn’t want him to go.”

Donovan’s parents regularly threatened to bring him home if he didn’t finish a lesson plan on time. She kept a journal during his time away, documenting the memories her son described and cataloging the time they spent apart. “‘Just give me a reason,’” Lisa would say to Ben. “If he didn’t finish a lesson, I’d call him and tell him that we were coming to pick him up. We did that all through his freshman and sophomore year.”

But Donovan’s mom knew tennis was her son’s dream.

She knew she had to let him go.

After the bathroom fias-

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAL POLY ATHLETICS

BIG BEN | Freshman Ben Donovan finished the regular season with an 11-9 record, including a 7-6 mark in dual matches. co, Donovan was ready to make a move. The dilapidated Texas tennis academy hadn’t been renovated since the 1960s, and a new tennis school caught his eye. Then a junior in high school, Donovan, along with a few of his friends from Texas, made the move to Advantage Tennis Academy, a second tennis school in Irvine, Calif. It was in Southern California that he met Advantage’s Director of Player Development and former Cal Poly tennis player, Brandon Fallon.

The young tennis star flour-

ished under Fallon’s guidance. The 5-foot-10 Donovan had never heard of Cal Poly until Fallon introduced him to his former doubles partner and current Cal Poly head coach Nick Carless.

“I didn’t know how he would do in college. This other guy,” Fallon said, gesturing to Donovan’s opponent when Cal Poly played UC Santa Barbara, “is 6-foot-4. But (Ben) has always been quick on the court and his backhand is completely natural. Ben is a fighter. He’s going to be there for the team. There’s

no ego for him.”

Though Cal Poly wasn’t on Donovan’s radar, he needed to fill slots between his official tennis visits.

“As soon as I took my tour here, I knew this is where I wanted to go,” Donovan said.

“It was by far my favorite.”

Donovan admits that turning professional has always been the goal at the end of his collegiate career, but he is living in the present. He’s never been on a team like Cal Poly’s.

“I was really into team sports, and to have that aspect back, it’s just such

a unique thing,” he said.

“You’re in your own separate battle with your opponents, but you feed so much off of playing court one or two. It’s hands-down the most fun I have had with tennis.”

In Cal Poly’s 4-3 victory over UC Santa Barbara last Saturday, the Mustangs clinched the No. 2 seed going into the Big West Conference Tournament, and Donovan and his teammates will face the Gauchos again (3-1, 8-13) or take on UC Riverside (0-5, 2-21) in the first round of the tournament Friday.