Thursday, April 30, 20 15
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Inside the lives of student-parents
JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NE WS BAL ANCE
| Cal Poly has no data on the number of student-parents such as Stacey Aragon, a business administration junior who balances schoolwork with caring for her 5-year-old son, Caiden. Rosie Guzman Special to Mustang News
Beep! Wake up. Brush teeth. Change. Eat. Go to school. It’s an average morning for an average student. But some students aren’t average. Beep! Wake up. Brush teeth.
Change. Wake up your child. Make breakfast. Pack lunches. Go to school. “Good morning, sweetie.” Eyes, struggling to open and filled with blissful innocence, stare back at you. “Good morning, mommy.” Cal Poly has a broad spectrum of students attending, but there is a small percentage of students
who are parents. They are struggling to find a balance between being a caretaker and still graduating college. Officials from Cal Poly’s Institutional Research office said they currently do not have any data on the number of studentparents on campus. Based on discussions with child care providers and student-par-
ents, there is a small number who do face difficulties. Those challenges range from housing to a feeling of isolation and lack of university support. But student-parents and school officials say they’re working to address some of the problems.
see PARENTS, pg 3.
Fresh and tasty dishes served at Real Food Collaborative’s Green Chef Competition
JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NE WS A NEW WORLD | The Arab Music Ensemble now has 28 members, including singer Maram Naser Dagher.
A cultural oasis: Arab Music Ensemble gives students taste of Middle East Brenna Swanston @Brenna_Swanston
Ethnomusicology professor Ken Habib lowered his hands and looked over his glasses at the ensemble before him, a potpourri of ages, ethnicities and levels of music experience.
“Make it like honey dripping from the cone. We’re getting the pitches and rhythms,” Habib said. “It needs to be music, though.” He stretched out his hands once more. The musicians readied themselves. He flicked his wrists to count off the pick-
up to an Arabic song in 10/8 time and the ensemble jumped in. Some sounds rang familiar to ears trained for Euro-American music; others carved exotic melodies with foreign tones.
see ARAB MUSIC, pg 5.
SAVANNAH SPERRY | MUSTANG NE WS FINGER FOOD | Contestants were surprised with secret ingredients for each round of the competition.
Savannah Sperry @SavannahJSperry
An acoustic guitar played behind the chatter of more than 100 attendees of the Real Food Collaborative’s Green Chef Competition on the evening of April 26. Held on the outdoor patio of Bliss Cafe in downtown San Luis Obispo overlooking the babbling creek
below, it was a fitting location for an event celebrating environmental sustainability. The annual competition pitted amateur student chefs against one another for best dish of their category, voted by the crowd of attendees. Working individually or in groups, 15 teams entered to compete in one of three rounds: appetizer, entree or dessert. Like many high-intensity Food
News... 1-3 | Arts... 4-5 | Opinion... 6 | Classifieds... 7 | Sports... 8
Network shows, the Green Chef Competition had a catch — each round had a secret ingredient announced only two days before the competition. The secret ingredients were artichokes in the appetizer round, strawberries in the entree round and beets for the dessert round.
see REAL FOOD, pg 3.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
NEWS | 2
FRANCES GRIFFEY | MUSTANG NE WS NOT HAUNTED
| Sunny Acres is being renovated to house people who need extra support, such as those with mental health problems.
Sunny Acres: Old building, new development Frances Griffey @CPMustangNews
It looks like a set from “American Horror Story.” A crumbling brick building looms over San Luis Obispo, nestled between overgrown weeds atop a hill off Bishop Street. Broken and boarded windows are scattered along the walls, no trespassing signs and asbestos warnings are stenciled in white along its exterior. It’s had a gloomy past and a neglected present, but a promising future awaits. To some, this building is known as the Asylum, but to most, it’s Sunny Acres. Abandoned since the ’70s, this building has acquired an eerie reputation in the San Luis Obispo community, with people breaking in and exploring the deserted facility for the thrill of it. San Luis Obispo Police Captain Chris Staley said break-ins aren’t constant, but they definitely occur. The police department receives reports of trespassing about once a month.
“When you have vacant buildings like that that sits there for that long, it’s never a positive,” Staley said. “It usually does create some types of problems.” Break-ins come as no surprise considering the folklore of the place, giving it a haunted reputation. There are a lot of rumors concerning the history of the building — here’s the truth, according to a local historian: Sunny Acres was originally built as a children’s home in 1931 to house dependents. Later, it was converted to a juvenile hall for kids who committed crimes to get them out of the county jail and into their own space. But these delinquents weren’t content with life trapped inside Sunny Acres. “They’re tearing the place up — they don’t want to be there,” said Bill Pierotti, researcher at the San Luis Obispo History Center. “The doors are locked, they’re going to court, so they’re acting out. They’re tearing the sinks off the walls, they’re stuffing clothes down the sink. They’re destroy-
ing the building that was never (meant) to put up with that kind of treatment.” Sunny Acres soon fell into disarray and was in dire need of repairs. Pierotti said the county decided the building wasn’t worth trying to restore and closed it in 1974. “The building was being abused and was falling apart. It was just daily maintenance,” Pierotti said. “Every day there was something wrong, something needed to be fixed.” Now, after being deserted for more than 40 years, its doomed fate to wither away has changed. Sunny Acres will be no more and Bishop Street Studios will take its place. Transitions-Mental Health Association (TMHA) has made an agreement with the county where they have the opportunity to purchase the property after a plan of action has been created. “(The plan is) permanent supportive housing for adults,” TMHA Executive Director Jill Bolster-White said. However, the surrounding neighborhood has voiced some
opposition to her plan. “Neighbors have concerns related to the population we serve and (hold) incorrect beliefs that this will cause problems or be dangerous,” Bolster-White said. The purpose of the project is to meet the growing demand of housing for people in need. And San Luis Obispo’s notorious unaffordable housing market hasn’t helped. “(It’s a) pernicious housing market for those with disabilities,” Bolster-White said. The construction process to convert Sunny Acres to Bishop Street Studios is expected to begin soon. But the old brick building won’t be completely demolished. TMHA will strip it to its skeleton and what’s salvageable from the exterior will be preserved, doing construction from the inside-out. “Our plan is to scrape it down from inside and rebuild it,” Bolster-White said. When Bolster-White visited the premises, she saw a rope ladder leading into the building, graffiti sprayed along the walls, a gaping
CATHERINE ARNOLD | COURTESY PHOTO
hole in the second floor and a dead pigeon on the ground. “From inside it’s definitely creepy,” she said. Rumors and stories of encounters with ghosts run wild in the community. Kids get curious and decide to check it out and find themselves breaking and entering. “I think that comes with any abandoned building,” BolsterWhite said. Keeping people out of the building has proved to be a major challenge. “I guess there’s a variety of ways to get in and most of the time it is removing some of the covers from the windows to actually get inside the building,” Staley said. Destroying parts of the building in some way in order to enter seems to be a common way inside the facility, and Bolster-White wishes people would stay out.
“Every time someone breaks a window or climbs through the roof, it causes more damage and deterioration,” she said. Plus, it’s dangerous. “It’s really hazardous to be inside there just because of all the problems that it does have. The floors could give way, the asbestos issue is certainly a concern,” Staley said. Bolster-White said TMHA is still crunching numbers, but the cost of the project is expected to be several million dollars. And though she doesn’t have a timeline for construction yet, Bolster-White said she’d like to finish the project within five years. Bolster-White hopes to leave a lasting legacy with the construction of this new building. “The legacy is in adding more housing for local people who are affected by mental illness — that is our mission,” she said.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
NEWS | 3
PARENTS continued from pg 1. Stacey Aragon is studying business administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship. She transferred from Mira Costa Community College and moved into Mustang Village in San Luis Obispo with her 5-year-old son, Caiden. Aragon is ending her first year as a transfer junior this quarter and feels the hardship of balancing her duties as a mother and full-time student. Two factors that frequently affect parenting are money and time, she said. “Under these circumstances, I find it extremely helpful to remind myself that I have only five hours in each day to be the best mom that I can be for my son,” Aragon said. Caiden is enrolled in Cal Poly’s ASI Children’s Center. This program is directed by Tonya Iversen, who has been a part of the center for approximately 20 years. The first priority for childcare goes to the students, then the faculty and staff, and the alumni on some occasions, Iversen said. The largest population is now faculty and staff, but about a third are student-parents. “(Our program) provides study time as well as class time for student-parents and enhances the child’s development they can’t get at home when the parent is working or going to school,” she said. “The parent is at peace knowing their child is taken care of.” Aragon’s son usually begins his day at the Children’s Center at 9 a.m, and it ends at 6 p.m. This allows his mother to go to classes and complete her assignments before spending time with him at home. Elaine Duran is another mother studying business. She transferred from Hartnell Community College in Salinas. She currently lives in Templeton and commutes every week for classes. Her 8-year-old son, Isaac, is in
JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NE WS FIRST PRIORITY | School is not every students first priotity, some have children they have to put first. “It’s important to show the other side of our experience at Cal Poly,” Stacey Aragon said.
second grade. “My first priority is my son,” Duran said. “I build my schedule around his.” Duran talks about her son with pride, who excels in school. Education gives the opportunity for a future, she said. “He wants to be an engineer. What I really want for him is to understand is that to persevere, you have to keep pushing. There are no excuses. Like how mommy got into Cal Poly even though she never thought she would.” A Cal Poly graduate, Bethany Schmidt, agrees with Duran. She graduated in Winter 2013 after transferring from Mission Community College two
years prior. Schmidt moved to San Luis Obispo with her then-fiance and daughter, who was a year and a half old. Later, after they split up, her mother moved in and helped watch her daughter, Talia. Schmidt didn’t plan on having a baby while in her second semester of community college, but she also didn’t plan on dropping out of college. “(Me being a student) will impact her later,” Schmidt said. “This will make her more motivated to go to school. Like, ‘Mom went to school!’” Now, her daughter is five and Schmidt is a travel nurse recruiter living
SAVANNAH SPERRY | MUSTANG NE WS TASTY | The wnning dish in the entree round was a strawberry pizza bianca with a number of ingrediants.
REAL FOOD continued from pg 1. “It’s mostly focused around getting a secret ingredient donated from local farmers,” said forestry junior and Real Food Collaborative officer Eli Grinberg, who was in charge of procuring the competition’s secret ingredients. “It’s not to screw people over, but to see how creative they can get.” The event was co-organized by Real Food Collaborative president and environmental management junior Jesse Gibson and the club’s vice president and crop science junior, Camille Freeman, as well as other club members. “This is a long tradition,” Gibson said. “It’s probably the longest
-running tradition of the club, and so it’s just a really cool opportunity for us to interface with the community and just make really innovative vegetarian dishes.” Furthermore, the competition is a platform for students to showcase their culinary skills using local and organic ingredients while highlighting the secret ingredient for each round, Gibson said. The winning dish for the appetizer round was a sliced baguette topped with an artichoke bruschetta. For the entree round, the winner was strawberry pizza bianca: focaccia bread with arugula, caramelized onions, herb goat cheese, walnuts, strawberry, balsamic reduction and lemon zest. The winning dish of the dessert
round featured two petite almond cakes sandwiching a creamy beet filling topped with honey comb and beet chips. Prizes for the winners of each round included gift cards to favorite local restaurants like Sally Loo’s Wholesome Cafe and Natural Cafe, as well as a month pass of unlimited yoga classes from Yoga Centre SLO. “It’s an annual event, so we’re going to try and do it again in the fall,” Gibson said. Freeman said the money made from the event’s ticket sales will go toward furthering the goals of Real Food Collaborative — creating a healthier, more sustainable and stronger community around food on Cal Poly’s campus.
SAVANNAH SPERRY | MUSTANG NE WS NOT THE L A ST TIME
| The Real Food Collaborative hopes to run the event again in the fall.
in Oregon. “It was a struggle at first, but then I adapted,” she said. While attending school at Cal Poly, she did not enroll her daughter at the Children’s Center since she had help from her mother and tried to be with Talia as much as possible. The parents interviewed in this story said Cal Poly doesn’t offer much help for student-parents. “There is not any housing (for student-parents), which makes it uncomfortable because we can’t live on campus,” Duran said. “I was forced to live far away, which makes me isolated.” Preston Allen, the executive director of university housing, says
this is an issue he’d like to explore. While there is no current housing for student-parents, the university is working on a new housing plan. “I encourage (the students) to attend the campus open master plan forums and discussions and share their interest and needs,” Allen said. “That feedback will be integrated into the planning for campus housing.” The few resources that are offered to student-parents are not readily available, in Duran’s opinion. “You really have to look for it,” she said. These kinds of concerns are what Aragon and a couple of other student-parents are trying
to address. Aragon is hoping to create a club for student-parents that aims to provide support and further resources to current and future Cal Poly students. She also hopes this will bring light to the small population that does exist at Cal Poly. “Children see everything: our stress, struggles and hurts. It’s important to show the other side of our experience at Cal Poly,” said Aragon, who hopes students with similar struggles will contact her. “We want to instill passion for education in our children, and the best way to share that is by sharing the new experiences and discoveries we make everyday.”
Thursday, April 30, 2015
ARTS | 4
The Audio Files: A criticism of derivative music
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| Some modern artists have resorted to mirroring other musicians.
Wilbur the Whale @kcpr913
Recommended song: “violenceneversolvesanything” by .paperman There seems to be a sad decline in the amount of music being produced that could be deemed “good” or “original.” With the introduction of digital music production, it’s easy for anyone to actualize the sounds in their head by producing and publishing their own work. This creates an increase in derivative music, or music that wears its influences on its arm, bringing little to nothing new to the listener. This influx has heightened my already high tendency to deconstruct what I’m listening to. I try to tear it apart to see how melodies and rhythms interact with each other and to see how the music might have been influenced by other pieces. More importantly, I look to see how the music I’m listening to contributes to the whole of music. What does it do differently from other works similar to it? How does the work, artist or composer stand out from the sea of others? What is it doing that is new and interesting that will make me remember the work? I think such questions should be asked of all music, because they are part of what makes listening to music so enjoyable and addictive. With a general familiarity of popular music, the differences between
songs and artists often seem stark and obvious. For example, with electronic dance music, it would be difficult to confuse Aphex Twin for Skrillex, given that they make very different music. However, those who are well-known are often the crown jewels of their sonic niche. They’re the only ones within their group of similar-sounding artists that have been promoted enough to gain recognition. As people explore music more and become more familiar with a genre, those lines blur and the artist’s influences and experimentation become more clear. While familiarity with a genre or a sort of sound might reveal the homogeneity of the genre or sound, it often also reveals more subtle differences within the music that can be appreciated. The music of Burger Records, Lolipop Records and the entire garage revival showcase this idea. The general sound of garage music is simple, one or two guitars — preferably Fender — running through a Fuzz War distortion pedal and blasting out of Fender Twin Reverbs. A bassist, drummer, singer and perhaps keyboard or organ player play a flowing melody around a basic pop structure. Think The Growlers, Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees or early Wavves. Of course, these examples and this description are gross simplifications of the genre and leave a lot of room for artists to develop and stand out as having a unique sound, which
many have done. That said, this genre is also overflooded with artists and bands all striving to emulate or capture a similar sound. It is this emulation that produces derivative music. Derivative music is inauthentic. It does not show the creative talents of the artist, but rather their ability to mirror other artists. Mimicry often happens when one is early on in their creative pursuits. This stage is not necessarily a bad thing — with time, artists are often able to develop their abilities and eventually produce something unique to them. It takes time and effort to find creativity. Overall, this is one way to think about and enjoy music. Perhaps it’s overly critical and ignores the enjoyment of music just for the sake of music. I personally like discovering the history behind what I’m listening to and where it came from, as I find it allows for a richer experience. There are talented artists out there who still produce unoriginal or formulaic music. I’ve seen plenty of them live and have worked with many of them (and enjoyed it). I would not say they are any less passionate or interested in music than artists who have truly paved their own way. More than anything, they are simply new to their craft or comfortable with what they produce. Whatever you might think, listen to music. Listen to a lot of music. And when you run out, find more music to listen to.
Alvaro González Architectural Engineering Freshman
“I read to see what’s going on around campus.”
Thursday, April 30, 2015
ARTS | 5
JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NE WS BIG PICTURE
| By bringing ethnic food to rehearsals and studying their music’s historical contexts in addition to learning the pieces, ensemble members immerse themselves in Middle Eastern culture.
ARAB MUSIC continued from pg 1. Habib founded the Arab Music Ensemble nine years ago. “It actually surpassed my expectations from the very beginning,” he said. “People just gravitated toward it. I think there was a void that was filled. It seemed like people had been waiting for something.” The ensemble, unique in that it doesn’t require an audition, now boasts 28 members — only four of whom had prior experience with music of the larger Middle East. “In a nutshell,” Habib said, “if somebody says they’d like to be in the group, I say, ‘Okay. You’re in the group.” But it’s a double-sided coin. “The other side of that is, how do I maintain quality?” he said. “Because that’s crucial, too. I made
a commitment at the very beginning that I couldn’t let quality suffer. I didn’t get into music to make bad music.” Habib meets with his ensemble members one-on-one to accustom them to the challenges of Arabic music, including new instruments, difficult language pronunciation and a scale that uses 24 notes rather than 12. The group’s repertoire includes pieces from the larger Middle East including Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt and Iraq. The vocalists sing in Armenian, Greek and Turkish in addition to Arabic. Dancers accompany the ensemble’s performances. Arabic music opens up a unique and challenging world to its musicians — but these complexities come with rewards. “When students get it — when the light goes on, when they actually get it and it’s not just words
— that’s really why we’re in the business,” he said. Psychology senior Lauren Vukicevich hadn’t touched an oud before this past summer. When she attended an Arab Music Ensemble concert as part of a music class requirement, she was hooked. She told Habib she wanted
with other people,” Vukicevich said. “People who are learning it, people who are native to that kind of music and know it really well and people who are new.” Cal Poly students make up only about half of the music ensemble — the other half comprises community members.
THIS MUSIC GOES STRAIGHT TO YOUR HEART. IT GIVES US CHILLS SOMETIMES. IT’S AMAZING. HELENE SHALHOUB SINGER in and he gave her an oud on the spot. “As much as you read about different cultures, and even hearing the music through speakers, it’s so different than experiencing learning the music
Helene Shalhoub, a community member, sang for iconic Lebanese singer Fairuz before coming to the U.S. 35 years ago. The Arab Music Ensemble, which performs Fairuz’s music, was the first of its kind Shalhoub had heard of in
San Luis Obispo County. “It’s a melting pot here,” she said. “There’s a lot of people that would love to hear their homeland, or a piece of that at least.” Shalhoub jumped at the opportunity to become a part of that, helping with Arabic translation and pronunciation and bringing food from the repertoire’s regional origins to rehearsals. “These poets that wrote the poems that we’re singing, they were eating that food when they were composing,” she said. “It’s so important because it’s all correlated. It’s all interconnected. So when you understand the culture, the poetry and the food and the traditions, it all comes together into a beautiful piece of music.” Even without Shalhoub’s help translating, the music speaks to its performers and listeners, she said. “If I listen to a German opera, I do understand what they’re
saying from their body language, from the theme,” she said. And of Arabic music: “This music goes straight to your heart. It gives us chills sometimes. It’s amazing.” The ensemble has performed up and down the state, from the Claremont colleges to Davis. In Spring 2014, it traveled with Polyphonics, Cal Poly’s mixed chamber ensemble, to Carnegie Hall in New York City. But Habib’s goals don’t stop there: He hopes to sell out Harman Hall at the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center and someday to tour overseas in an effort to expose as many people as possible to music of the larger Middle East. “It’s educational in nature,” he said, “in the deepest sense of the word.” The Arab Music Ensemble will hold its spring concert May 23 at 8 p.m. in Spanos Theatre.
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Thursday, April 30, 2015
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On Cal Poly’s election apathy Liana Riley @Ri__Li
Liana Riley is a political science sophomore and Mustang News columnist. These views do not necessarily reflect the opinion or editorial coverage of Mustang News.
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“Teachers and tots.”
Early last week, Mustang News’ Leah Horner covered the Cal Poly student body’s knowledge about Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) presidential elections in a Jay Leno “Jaywalking” fashion. Students were questioned about the pool of candidates in the ASI elections and who will be running in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The extent of the knowledge was minimal, to say the least. America’s youths are notorious for under-voting, which reflects the responses in the aforementioned video. Yet when the election at hand is so close to home, it’s puzzling how so many manage to remain ill informed. Booths, signs and notifications swarm our walks to and from campus, yet a mere 22 percent of our student body voted in this month’s ASI elections. ASI President-elect Owen Schwaegerle weighed in on the disappointing voter turnout, saying, “There’s a connection between apathy on college campuses and our general age group. It’s probably different on other college campuses that are more politically minded. This may be because our school hasn’t adopted any common cause or goal to work towards. We just don’t face much adversity.” With 66 percent of our student body hailing from white middle-class families, this could be a defining factor of our apathetic attitude toward on-campus elections. We live in a sort of utopia here in San Luis Obispo, where we aren’t forced to consider real
world issues on a regular basis. This is not to disregard the intelligence of our student body. On the contrary, we have students of the highest caliber; we simply lack an active expression of our political inclinations. Compared to a campus like UC Berkeley, where every issue is polarized and protests are weekly occurrences, Cal Poly’s levels of activism surrounding contentious social justice issues can be dubbed haphazard at best. The movements toward affecting change and social activism lie in the hands of the few progressive resources on campus such as the Cross Cultural Center and Pride Center, which regularly question and attempt to change conventional social norms. The rest of the campus seems to keep its causes at low stakes. However, there is something to be said for our apathetic political climate and minimal activism; I do feel safe here. But I can only speak for myself in saying that. Other students may feel as if their voices are muffled and their narratives are untold. For those of us who embrace Cal Poly as our home, it is a haven where we are fostering personal growth and knowledge. We are extremely fortunate to receive an education from such a place; for others, it may not feel as inclusive. Many minorities feel alienated, unable to relate to the experiences of the campus’ majority. “We are such a small percentage, you can feel the imbalance. It was hard to get used to it compared to L.A., which is extremely diverse,” said political science freshman Xochitl Villa about her experience as a member of the Latino community on campus. “Mostly I feel as if people’s mindsets aren’t really changing, and that’s the problem. It’s one
Pop and circumstance thing to tell someone, it’s another to experience it,” she said. At the bell hooks talk on campus this past Tuesday, a question was raised that I have yet to consider in my time here at Cal Poly. The revered African-American feminist speaker posed the question: Do we not want to feel challenged when we come to Cal Poly? This struck a chord with me, seeing as I grew up in a predominantly white town with similar demographics to San Luis Obispo. This is why it’s imperative that we point the microphone in the direction of those whose voices have been left unheard. This is why we are obligated to log on to
our portals and take part. It is our civic duty to participate and promote our values and beliefs in one way or another. I’m sure you’ve heard this cliche before and have rolled your eyes each time; but nevertheless it still holds true. We should care and remain informed because we actually have the option to do so, unlike in oligarchies and masked tyrannies across the world where political participation is a privilege only for the richest and most powerful. Our majors are hard and we each face adversities — I am not attempting to trivialize these struggles. Yet when we are so consumed with our
GPAs and where we are going to graduate school, we lose a valuable connection with the outside world. This connection means taking a step outside of your bubble and considering the implications of involving yourself in a cause beyond your normal dimensions. It means looking up from your textbook and analyzing the circumstances of students with different backgrounds than your own. It means voting in ASI elections, because we’re lucky enough to have that privilege. It means becoming more conscious, perceptive and wise. After all, that’s why we’re here, right?
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Thursday, April 30, 2015
SPORTS | 8
De Los Santos brings home first place at Big West Championships Mustang News Staff Report @CPMustangSports
Heading into the final round of the Big West Conference Men’s Golf Championships on Tuesday morning, Cal Poly sophomore Justin De Los Santos was two shots off the lead in a tie for third place. At the tournament held at the San Luis Obispo Country Club — a par 70, 6,677yard course — De Los Santos carded a 70 in round one and a 73 in round two. He teed off earlier than most of the other leaders in the final round and came into the clubhouse with a one-under 69. De Los Santos sat in second place, two strokes behind the leader — UC Irvine’s Pete Fernandez — who had only completed 11 holes. It was looking grim for De Los Santos, who could
only watch Fernandez finish his final six holes. On hole 14, disaster struck for Fernandez. On the par-three, he carded a five, bringing him into a tie with De Los Santos for first place. Fernandez then carded another five on hole 16, a parfour, putting De Los Santos in sole position of first place. He would stay there, as Fernandez could only muster pars on the final two holes. De Los Santos finished with a 54-hole total of 212, just two over par and one stroke ahead of Fernandez, who finished in second place. With the win, De Los Santos becomes the second Cal Poly golfer to win the Big West individual tournament. He also earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional competition, which will be held on May 14-
16 at six different locations across the nation. The location of De Los Santos’ tournament will be announced on the NCAA selection show, which will be aired on The Golf Channel on Monday at 7 a.m. Though a Cal Poly golfer was victorious in the individual competition, the Mustangs did not fare so well as a team. Cal Poly freshman Jesse Yap and junior Cam Price finished in a tie for 15th, finishing with a 10-over 220. Freshman Jimmy Castles and sophomore Mitch Martin rounded out the Cal Poly lineup. Castles finished in a tie for 31st, shooting a 17-over 227, while Martin ended tied for 36th with a 20-over 230. The Mustangs finished in sixth place, 16 strokes behind champions UC Irvine.
CAL POLY ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS | COURTESY PHOTO
ONE STROKE | Sophomore Justin De Los Santos carded a final-round 69 to secure the Big West Championship.
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