December 1, 2014

Monday, December 1, 20 14

E s t abl ished 19 16

w w w.mus t angne w s .net

The boomerang generation:

Living with parents post-grad Emily Kucera Special to Mustang News

The alarm on his iPhone goes off too early for his liking, as per usual.

After hitting snooze a couple times, he peels himself from bed and begins getting ready for another day. Once dressed, he heads to the kitchen for some breakfast and finds a lunch his stepdad made for him. Though his stepdad has made a habit of packing him lunch, he is always pleasantly surprised by the gesture, as he wouldn’t bother making a lunch for himself anyway.

The lunch is just one of the things that recent Cal Poly graduate William Schoepp is getting used to now that he lives back at home with his mom and stepdad in Novato, California. Schoepp didn’t always plan to move back home, but after graduating from Cal Poly last spring, he found himself with outstanding student debt.

The boomerang generation is a term used to describe the current generation of young adults who move back in with their parents after briefly living independently. These students live with their parents their whole lives, leave briefly to attend college and return right back home, like a boomerang.

see BOOMERANG, pg 2.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NE WS T HER E A ND B AC K AGA IN

| Due to a difficult job market and rising student loan debts, college graduates are increasingly choosing to move back in with their parents after graduation.

Gal I met in the pub last night: Volume V Benjy Egel

@BenjyEgel

The last “Guy I met in the pub last night” isn’t actually a guy at all. She’s a short, red-haired dancer, teacher and musician named Margaret McCarthy, referred to by nearly everyone as "Mags."

Every Tuesday of the school year, McCarthy and her taxi-driving friend Martin bring visiting students out to a hotel next to Blarney Castle for a night of traditional Irish music and dancing (commonly referred to as trad).

When teaching an Introduction to Step Dancing class at University College Cork in 2011, McCarthy noticed most of her international students didn't really know what they were

getting into.

Many were interested in seeing skilled dancers perform but didn’t know where to find them in Cork. So McCarthy teamed up with the International Education office to get the word out about Blarney, where trad has been played on Tuesday nights for years.

"I bring all the students out just so they can enjoy their night and see Irish culture and meet local people," she said. "It was a class thing at the start ... then their friends wanted to come out and it just sort of became this 'Blarney Tuesdays' thing."

see PUB, pg 5.

BENJY EGEL | MUSTANG NE WS

Men’s basketball stuffed on Thanksgiving road trip Mustang News Staff Report @CPMustangSports

The Cal Poly men’s basketball team (2-3) came up empty handed against two Bay Area opponents this past weekend, suffering losses to California and Saint Mary’s.

The Mustangs threatened early against the Golden Bears on Wednesday night but couldn’t hold on and dropped the contest 72-52. Despite just five turnovers, the Mustangs were still unable to prevail thanks to three Golden Bears dropping 16 points or more.

Cal Poly was led by junior forward Brian Bennett, who contributed 16 points and six rebounds. Junior guard David Nwaba also hit double digits with 14 points and five rebounds.

Nwaba had a career night against Saint Mary’s on Saturday, posting 19 points. The Gaels, however, were spectacular from downtown and saw 15 three-pointers find the net, the most by a Cal Poly opponent in 165 games under sixth-year head coach Joe Callero. The Mustangs lost 82-56.

Cal Poly returns to Mott Athletics Center on Saturday to face Menlo College before hitting the road for almost a month.

Big West Conference play begins on Jan. 10 against UC Santa Barbara.

IAN BILLINGS | MUSTANG NE WS

Nick Larson and Jacob Lauing contributed to this report.

News... 1-3 | Arts... 4-5 | Opinion... 6 | Classifieds... 7 | Sports... 8

Monday, December 1, 2014

NEWS | 2

DAMON CASAREZ | COURTESY PHOTO HELP WANTED | Asian humanities graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles, Robert Ellis wants to work as a film director or actor but is currently unemployed. He has $10,000 in student loans.

BOOMERANG continued from pg 1.

Assistant Director for Career Services at Cal Poly Charlotte Rinaldi said she has noticed a trend of more Cal Poly graduates moving back home with their parents within the past 15 years. While Career Services does not collect data about where graduates live after they graduate, Rinaldi said it is not uncommon for students to move back home after graduation.

“I have definitely seen a trend in more students moving back in with their parents after they graduate, and the funny thing is that the students actually like their parents and are happy to live with them,” Rinaldi said.

According to Lisa Kahn, a labor economist and associate professor of economics at Yale University, nearly 45 percent of 25-year-olds have outstanding loans, with an average debt above $20,000. Twentyfive percent of people in their 20s and early 30s are

currently living with their parents. That’s a substantial increase from only one generation ago, when just one in 10 young adults moved back home.

“I moved back home to save money and pay back some student debt to the bank of grandma,” Schoepp said.

Luckily for Schoepp, his living situation is short term.

He plans to move to San Francisco with friends in February. He also has a job, while more than half of recent college graduates are unemployed or underemployed, according to Kahn.

Luckily for Schoepp, he is a Cal Poly grad.

According to the Graduate Status Report (GSR) conducted by Career Services, Cal Poly grads are generally successful. The GSR for 2012-13 states that of Cal Poly students who graduated in 2013, 86 percent were employed within three months after graduation, and 14 percent were employed within four to nine months after graduation. Additionally, 92 percent work in major-related fields.

Schoepp majored in construction management and now works as a project manager for BNBuilders, which is a job he always wanted. He doesn’t mind living with his mom and stepdad for now and said he enjoys the free food and rent.

“I would say my productivity level is pretty sky high, because I don’t really have very many friends at home to hang out with,” Schoepp said. “I just go home and start planning my day out for the next day to try and make it easier for myself.”

Damon Casarez, a photographer and boomerang kid himself, was intrigued by the boomerang generation and had the idea to create a series of portraits of graduates across the country who had to move back home for financial reasons or who had never been able to leave. The series was commissioned by the New York Times Magazine and was photographed in eight states and 14 cities across the U.S. Casarez said the adjective that best describes the graduates he photographed is hopeful. The

graduates he met were not lazy freeloaders but successful students faced with the harshness of the current economy.

“I think for a lot of the people, there was no choice,” he said. “Their last resort was to move back home with their parents. If there’s no work, and you have $1,400-a-month payments on your loans, I don’t know what else you’re going to do.”

Casarez recognizes the practicality of moving back home but stressed that graduates shouldn’t get too comfortable living with their parents.

“I would just say to have a solid plan, because if you don’t, then it’s really easy to get comfortable living at home just because you have everything,” Casarez said. “You don’t have to worry about food and rent, in most cases, and it’s very easy to get stuck there for a long time.”

But for motivated graduates who see moving back in with parents as a necessary step to take before making it on their own, living at home isn’t so bad.

Monday, December 1, 2014

NEWS | 3

The ‘Isla Vista phenomenon’: San Luis Obispo city council tries to decrease amount of student-dominated neighborhoods

DANIEL DEMPSTER | MUSTANG NE WS PICKING PLACES

| Ashbaugh said the plan would initially be targeted toward neighborhoods in Monte Vista Place and Monterey Heights, the Highland Drive area, and Cuesta and North Chorro streets.

Lindsy Mobley @lindsy_mobley

Can there be too many studentpopulated neighborhoods in a college town?

For San Luis Obispo city council member John Ashbaugh, the answer is “yes.”

Over the years, the houses surrounding campus have mostly been rented out to students instead of being owned and occupied by families, Ashbaugh said.

“We find that the character of the neighborhood very much changes when they become occupied primarily by students,” Ashbaugh said.

To fix this, Ashbaugh is trying to implement a stabilization program to increase the amount of permanent household owners in the Cal Poly area, leveling out the student and permanent resident populations.

The city would buy homes as they come up on the market and sell them back to people who agree to live in them as permanent owners, not renters.

Ashbaugh didn’t think the program would have any large costs. According to him, it wouldn’t cost much because the city would both buy and sell the homes, making it a selffunded system.

The possibility of implementing this plan is being considered by a group of Cuesta Community College, Cal Poly and city administration members, along with the University Police Department and San Luis Obispo Police Department.

San Luis Obispo Mayor Jan Marx is on board with the stabi-

lization program. The city council is interested as well, she said.

“The difficulty that arises when you just have one group of people in a neighborhood is that it becomes like segregation,” Marx said. “And the city’s policy is that it’s healthier for everyone if there’s integration in neighborhoods.”

Ashbaugh said the plan would initially be targeted toward neighborhoods in Monte Vista Place and Monterey Heights. It could also be extended to the Highland Drive area, Cuesta and North Chorro streets, he said.

He thought the plan would be implemented in neighborhoods with at least 60 percent owneroccupied homes, as opposed to tackling neighborhoods with a

large student population.

“In many cases, there are neighborhoods where there is such a penetration of student rentals — virtually 70100 percent, something like that, I would say — I wouldn’t target any of our money with that particular neighborhood,” Ashbaugh said.

Ashbaugh said on-campus housing could fix the student population problem too. According to him, projects such as the Grand Avenue Housing Project would help level out student population in the neighborhoods.

On the other hand, Marx said these new residence halls added to the problem. Placing more student housing near permanent residents in the neighbor-

hoods could also create an “Isla Vista phenomenon.”

Ashbaugh saw the program offering homes not only to Cal Poly faculty and staff, but to other potential owners. But, according to Ashbaugh, Cal Poly faculty and staff should be able to have first pick.

There would be some exceptions for renting. For example, if a faculty member were to get a sabbatical year and go abroad, they could rent out their place for up to a year as long as their

intention was to come back, Ashbaugh said.

Marx is aware of other programs similar to the stabilization program.

“There are programs that other universities and cities have instituted to encourage workingaged people, permanent residents to live in neighborhoods that would otherwise be dominated by the student age group, specifically programs that would encourage Cal Poly and Cuesta faculty and staff, to live in these

student-dominated neighborhoods,” Marx said.

Ashbaugh believes the program would be simple and easy to comply with. Whenever the city would buy a home, the owners wouldn’t be coerced or condemned to sell for a lower price, he said.

“It’s all done with the best of intentions and under a grant of authority that is worked out between the university and the city and the neighborhoods,” Ashbaugh said.

Monday, December 1, 2014

ARTS | 4

The Coffee Snob: Does your barista change your oil?

Annie Vainshtein @annievain

I’m the kind of person who remembers when I get free stuff — every car wash coupon, every scratchy old sweater, every week-old bagel. I revel in the joy of a good deal. So of course I would jump on a free cup of coffee. I don’t abide by the 1-to-2 coffee to hands ratio.

I’ve been to a lot of places in my life — mostly dark places. Dark roast places. A lot of them serve complimentary coffee. So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I would take a moment to gratefully acknowledge my most memorable experiences at these free-coffee-giving places and how they’ve shaped me to be the woman I am today.

JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NEWS COLLEGE COFFEE | Every free cup of joe has a crazy story to tell.

1. Jiffy Lube It was a Tuesday afternoon and I was 17 years old. I was one of those 17-year-olds who still bought Flaming Hot Cheetos and rationalized it.

I struggled a lot with normal-person things, like opening the hood of a car. I did know, however, that my oil needed to be changed.

That day, I went to Jiffy Lube — not expecting anything caffeinated, of course — and came across the complimentary coffee.

The coffee rested in an automatic dispenser, sandwiched between someone’s forgotten Monster and half-eaten Carl’s Jr. hand-breaded chicken tenders. The ambiance, I felt, could’ve been better. The drink itself was probably a three on the strong scale, which was nice because the aftertaste was kind of watery and I was really dehydrated that day.

The powdered creamer, which sort of reminded me of Soylent, changed

the flavor a little bit, but in a good way.

The baristas were attentive for the most part, but when I asked about the bean origins, I got a few confused looks. I guess they were busier with other, more pressing duties. The mechanic shop was pretty empty, which was great for me because my least favorite part of complimentary coffee is elbowing all the other patrons.

Mid-sip, I realized the java staffers weren’t wearing gloves and their hands were really dirty with what could have been coffee grinds, but didn’t quite smell like them. I mulled over the possible health implications, but ultimately forgot about them.

Jiffy Lube gets a 2.5 out of 5 stars.

2. Tenaya Hall I expected a more strategic business model from the so-called entrepreneurial space that is Cal Poly’s business residence hall. Even though I love free things, the common room’s drip fell disappointingly short.

There was barely any complexity to the flavor, aside from the fact that it was alarmingly acidic. As much as I hoped to think otherwise, the pour over was clearly not crafted with care. Compared to the coffee in Trinity’s lobby, it was cold and stale. They didn’t even have Stevia.

This was a first for me, and I’m sorry to say it, but I couldn’t even finish the cup. I couldn’t bear to endorse Smart Pick: Allegro Organic Continental Blend, and I didn’t want to invalidate my experience at Trinity Hall.

I give Tenaya 1 out of 5 stars for being anti-climactic and hurting my feelings.

3. New York curb-side coffee I’ve often said the hustle and bustle of urbanized America stimulates an anonymous sense of generosity among citizens. This is how I ended up drinking out of an unmarked plastic coffee cup I found outside of Cosmos Diner in New York City last summer. (“Steaks, Chops, Seafood.”)

I assumed the coffee on the street was not neglected by its previous owner, but rather placed there with care. I can only imagine the person who gifted it meant it as a pay-it-forward type thing, and who was I to break the system? The action was well-intended and, in my mind, sacred.

Eye-level with the faded lipstick on the lid, I took in the smell (which was annoyingly overpowered by the intense kebab-making to my right).

The notes were tricky to place because the drink was on the stale side, but I could have sworn it was an Ethiopian Reserve blend, with hints of black currant and citrus. As Drake once said, “Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination.”

I thought about the coffee and its voyage. Had it been happy? Had its owner done a good job of keeping it warm? For its short time on Planet Earth, I hope it had been treated well. It was less than a cup-full and tasted kind of like meatballs by the end — but in that moment, nothing else mattered.

I completed the drink and laid it to rest, saying a prayer and pondering if anything could ever really be infinite. While I want to give it 5 stars, I allot it 4.8, only because the cup was upsettingly sticky and moist.

We only live once, so it’s important to take advantage of everything handed to you. Carpe diem, especially liberium.

ARTS | 5

Monday, December 1, 2014

PACked with laughs: Brian Regan to perform Thursday Brenna Swanston @ brenna_swanston

JERRY METELLUS | COURTESY PHOTO

Renowned comedian Brian Regan will hit the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center stage this Thursday, Dec. 4.

Cal Poly Arts Director Steve Lerian said Regan is one of the best and hardest working stand-up comedians.

“He’s like a road warrior,” Lerian said. “He’s always out there touring.”

Regan typically performs for 2,000-seat venues, so Cal Poly is lucky to host him at its 1,280-seat theater this week, Lerian said.

Regan is best known for his clean but uncompromisingly funny stand-up material.

“He does observational comedy,” Lerian said. “He sees the world and just talks about it from crazy points of view.

He sees things we all see, but looks at them from a little different perspective and it’s always hilarious.”

Regan’s humor is child-appropriate and people of all ages would enjoy it, Lerian said.

“You can bring the whole family and not be offended by language, but it doesn’t take away from how funny he is,” he said. “He crosses all generational lines.”

Regan’s sold-out show will begin at 7:30 p.m.

EMILY CRUSE| COURTESY PHOTO TOUR | McCarthy performed around the world.

PUB continued from pg 1.

McCarthy teaches music as well as step and set dancing at primary (elementary) schools. In her free time, she plays fiddle and dances with a number of different performance groups at weddings and other events.

After graduating from college, McCarthy toured around the world with an Irish rhythm and dance crew, performing in 42 different countries. While performing in the United States, her skills caught talent agent Michael Anthony’s eye.

Anthony helped set McCarthy up with solo performances across the U.S. after her group tour ended, where she played fiddle and danced in a country band. She met celebrities like Dolly Parton and former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Tracii Guns, who told her how he missed too many rehearsals and was replaced by Slash before the

band made it big.

However, the highlight of McCarthy’s time in America, however, came when she played and danced for President Barack Obama and his family on St. Patrick’s Day in 2009. Meeting First Lady Michelle Obama was a dream come true, McCarthy said.

“She gave a big hug and he welcomed me and looked after me,” she said. “It was just a super achievement for me, for him to let anyone like the likes of me in his house.”

Despite her success in America, McCarthy kept getting homesick and flew back to Ireland as often as she could. Finally in 2011, she gave up touring and moved back to her family’s farm in Drispey, County Cork.

Though she described herself as a “homebody,” McCarthy will likely return to the United States for another long tour in the future, she said.

“I’ll probably go back (to the U.S.) again, but I’m happy out here for now,” she said. “Maybe next year I’ll go back. I play music with different bands here, but I’ve still got the band in America and I’d love to go back and play with them.”

McCarthy’s love of music extends past country and trad to pop, hip-hop, rock and even EDM, with Patsy Cline, Michael Jackson and Tiesto among her favorite artists. Her interest in American music has resulted in a pluckier, more bluegrass-like sound than other trad fiddlers.

Having three older brothers meant McCarthy was surrounded by sports growing up, especially Formula 1 Racing and soccer. She still watches both with her family, as well as rugby and American football.

She went on a run every morning growing up to build cardio for Irish dancing and still exercises when her busy schedule allows.

“When I’m not busy, I don’t know what to do with myself,” she said. “I always want to do something. I can’t just sit there. Whether it’s washing the car or milking the cows, there’s always something to do.”

Monday, December 1, 2014

OPINION | 6 MUSTANG NEWS Graphic Arts Building Building 26, Suite 226 California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, CA 93407

CONTACT EDITORIAL (805) 756-1796 ADVERTISING (805) 756-1143 CLASSIFIED (805) 756-1143 FAX (805) 756-6784

EDITORS & STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jacob Lauing MANAGING EDITORS Kyle McCarty, Kayla Missman BROADCAST NEWS DIRECTOR Morgan Butler COMMUNITY OUTREACH DIRECTOR Melissa Nunez NEWS EDITOR Celina Oseguera ARTS EDITOR Brenna Swanston SPORTS EDITOR Nick Larson BROADCAST CONTENT PRODUCER Leah Horner BROADCAST SPORTS DIRECTOR Trent Merfeld BROADCAST SPORTS PRODUCER Ashley DeVriend PHOTO EDITOR Joseph Pack HEAD DESIGNER Megan Heddinger SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Rachel Sun WEB EDITOR Kenny Gurney SPECIAL SECTIONS COORDINATOR Suha Saya STAFF REPORTERS Brooke Sperbeck, Samantha Pryor, Savannah Sperry, Lindsy Mobley, Olivia Proffit, Olivia DeGenerro, Kelly Trom, Annie Vainshtein, Will Peischel, Trevor Melody, Rafael Salinas, Erik Chu, Amelia Parreira, Allison Edmonds, Harry Chang COPY EDITORS Brenna Swanston, Drew Gorman, Nikki Petkopoulos, Jen Silva, Kristine Xu DESIGNERS Jordan Dunn, Lauren Wallack, Monique Martinez, Zack Spanier OPINION COLUMNISTS Zachary Antoyan, Eric Stubben PHOTOGRAPHERS Ian Billings, Sophia Liu, Dylan Sun, Christa Lam, Dakota Greenwich, Evan Noronha ADVERTISING MANAGER Connie Lewis ART DIRECTOR Albert Chang PRODUCTION MANAGER Joseph Hewison MARKETING MANAGER Nikole Knak DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Kalei White ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Anna Seskind, Ashley Safari, CJ Estores, Ian Taylor, Johnny Galvez, Kenney Young, Kristen Corey, Maddie Spivek, Melissa Mubaraki, Phil Ramos, Sam Patterson, Shakti Rajput, Victoria Howland ADVERTISING DESIGNERS Jordan Triplett, Scott Cutler MARKETING ASSOCIATES Kelly Witkop, Ross Pfeifer, Kelsey Payton FACULTY ADVISER Pat Howe GENERAL MANAGER Paul Bittick

WRITE A LETTER Mustang News reserves the right to edit letters for grammar, profanities and length. Letters, commentaries and cartoons do not represent the views of Mustang News. Please limit length to 250 words. Letters should include the writer’s full name, phone number, major and class standing.

Letters must come from a Cal Poly email account. Do not send letters as an attachment. Please send the text in the body of the email.

EMAIL editor@mustangnews.net ADVERTISING EMAIL advertising@mustangnews.net MAIL Letters to the Editor Building 26, Room 226 Cal Poly SLO, CA 93407 ONLINE mustangnews.net

CORRECTIONS Mustang News takes pride in publishing daily news for the Cal Poly campus and the neighboring community. We appreciate your readership and are thankful for your careful reading. Please send your correction suggestions to editor@ mustangnews.net.

NOTICES Mustang News is a “designated public forum.” Student editors have full authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval.

Printed by UNIVERSITY GRAPHICS SYSTEMS ugs.calpoly.edu ugs@calpoly.edu Mustang News is a member of Associated Collegiate Press, California Newspaper Publishers Association, College Newspaper Business and Advertising Managers and College Media Advisors.

Monday, December 1, 2014 Publishing since 1916 ©2014 Mustang News

“This dog’s stupid joy is the only thing that can combat my crushing depression.”

Rebuilding your idea of politics Zachary Antoyan @CPMustangNews

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.

Last week, I identified and defended a conservative attitude.

Blasphemy, I know. But I stand by it because if an education does anything to the political views of students, it would make them more moderate, contrary to the popular belief that it liberalizes them. I am a far cry from a once-held mentality that idolized and romanticized the actions of revolutionaries. Fire and anarchy, as it turns out, are not exactly the best systems of government.

Tyler Durden and Guy Fawkes shouldn’t be role models for change. Unfortunately, it took me a while to fully understand that. I watched a lot of movies back then, gimme a break. I’m telling you this about myself in order to highlight a reorganization; a willing shift in outlook sustained by the acceptance of new information and an understanding of different perspectives. Whereas once I was a liberal, now I am simply political.

Politics is the dialogue that exists between individuals about the path they walk together.

Through this lens, politics becomes more than just bickering about recent issues. Simply, it is the way in which we decide how to best move forward.

And while differences between us exist, I am confident that a commitment to empathy rather than entrenchment would do us all good.

I struggled for a while to comprehend the science aspect of my political science degree. My friends in the hard sciences are quick to inform me that my field of study could hardly be called a science at all. They are content in their ignorance. Because truth be told, I seek an understanding of subjects more elusive than the Higgs Boson and attempt to comprehend their interactions, of which no two are alike. There are no universal laws that govern the actions of those I study, no core theory that explains all of their behavior. Humans are fickle subjects, especially when they try to exist among one another.

And there are so many of them — billions that have been and billions that will be. Each with their own perspective on the world around them, living from one day to the next, trying to make sense of everything they experience. And perhaps on some particular day they will come across an anthropologist or a political scientist doing very much the same thing, trying to make sense of what they encounter. The observer will ask questions, prod and poke, in the hopes of understanding the experiences of others. Simultaneously, they add to the collective understanding about each of those billions of subjects; they contribute to our narrative.

The study of political science is not meant to be merely a descriptive task; there is yet a greater endgame to work toward. Some consider the pursuit of utopia a hopeless endeavor. There is no denying the difficulty of identifying and understanding the influencing variables in societies or

groups, no doubt they vary in as many ways as humans do.

Nevertheless, there is a level of thrill involved in attempting the impossible. This is where you come in — I want you to help me.

I have been writing this column for two years now, so as my stint draws to a close in a few weeks, I wanted to ask a favor of you. Looking back, there are some columns, sentences, word choices, arguments and jokes I’ve made that cause me to cringe when I think about them.

Even still, while a main focus of mine was to entertain, I also wanted to inform (and I hope that was accomplished on some level). I wanted to provide you with the necessary information to make your own decisions, perhaps with a dash of commentary. But, this is not a takeaway statement; I do not want to fool you into thinking this column has culminated into some grand message. Instead, I want to charge you.

So I want you to take your current conception of politics and government and throw it the hell away. Start over. Build a whole new political ideology, something uniquely your own.

You need not approach politics with the same level of rigor as a political scientist; begin with what you are passionate about. Allow the perspectives of those around you to inform (rather than influence) your political views and seek out the experiences of others to further develop an idea of what you stand for. Start your own damn political party and throw actual parties.

It’s OK to not have an opinion on a subject, it’s OK to be unsure of what you believe and it’s OK to have conflicting ide-

the true progressive ologies. You will be learning, you will be growing, you will be experiencing and, most importantly, you will be connecting with others about passions shared and passions unshared.

With an attitude that views politics as an accessible, nonmutually exclusive environment for dialogue, we can indeed move toward that notion of utopia, whatever the hell it is.

And that is what being political is: seeking out different and even contrary perspectives on our own to inform our decisions and discourse. Being political represents more than just seeing topics in terms of red or blue, left or right. Those are meaningless distinctions; identifiers that few people are able to comprehend, let alone recount. But you, you are full of meaning, and life is full of opportunities to learn,

grow and see things from wild, new perspectives. Life should consistently inform your political views, even if that means you don’t fit within the existing conceptions of the term. Because you are not a stagnant being and your political views shouldn’t have to be, either.

This is Zachary Antoyan, thanking his editors for dealing with his very unprofessional ass and hoping they find an even better writer in the future. Thanking his Dad for being his most consistent reader. Thanking his friends for reading the column, if they did. And thanking Mustang News for letting him write whatever the hell he wants, even if it was hippieliberal bullshit. One more column after this one; let’s hope it’s good.

Classifieds TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD:

Order online at www.mustangnews.net or call 805.756.1143 a day prior by noon Ads must be prepaid by check made out to Mustangs News or paid by credit card online.

CLASSIFIED ADS ARE FREE FOR STUDENTS Stop into MUSTANG NEWS to find out how to place your ad!

POP CULTURE SHOCK THERAPY

SPONSOR THE COMIC! $50 A DAY

CALL 805.756.1143 F MINUS

SUDOKU

CROSSWORD

Monday, December 1, 2014

SPORTS | 8

Women’s basketball closes out Thanksgiving weekend with big win Rafael Salinas @ROCSalinass

The Cal Poly women’s basketball team squared off against Dartmouth in the first game of the ShareSLO Holiday Tournament, which took place on Friday and Saturday night of Thanksgiving weekend.

The Mustangs were unable to overcome a 15-point halftime deficit en route to a 74-61 loss on Friday against Dartmouth.

On Saturday night, however, the Mustangs came out and dominated Texas A&M - Corpus Christi, 63-48.

Against Dartmouth, senior guards Kristen Ale and Ariana Elegado contributed 18 points apiece but were the only Cal Poly starters in double figures — the rest totaled eight points. The Mustangs’ loss can largely be attributed to a 24 percent first-half field goal percentage and a 37 percent free-throw percentage. “(Dartmouth was) shooting such a high percentage that we were always taking the ball out of bounds,” head coach Faith Mimnaugh said.

The Mustangs are a team that likes to play fast in transition, and Dartmouth was able to take that away with the help of excellent shooting and 6-foot-1 sophomore guard Fanni Szabo, who leads the team in scoring and played in the FIBA U-20 basketball championship for Hungary this past summer.

However, the Mustangs shot 45 percent in the second half, which began with a scintillating 16-0 run. But the comeback attempt was stymied by poor defense. The Mustangs permitted

Big Green to shoot 52 percent from the floor and take 23 attempts from the free-throw line in that second half, a recipe that resulted in the Mustangs pulling in as close as 10 but never closer in the 74-61 loss.

Cal Poly’s play against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was the polar opposite of the game against Dartmouth. Ale and senior guard Taryn Garza both enjoyed career nights. Garza finished with 18 points, a career high, 10 rebounds and four steals and assists apiece. Ale tied her career high with five assists and finished with seven points as well.

“When we get aggressive on defense and force the other team into turnovers, it jump starts our offense completely,” Garza said.

The Mustangs were able to run in transition and move the ball effectively thanks to a whopping 17 steals, their most since a game against Long Beach State in the 2012-13 season.

With Cal Poly down 13-18 and 10:22 remaining, Garza hustled after a missed three-pointer, snatched the rebound and immediately went back up with the ball en route to a three-point play. It was a statement play and one that got the Mustangs rolling. From that point forward, the Mustangs hit the Islanders with a barrage of threes and played swarming defense.

Junior guard Beth Balbierz hit back-to-back threes in the first half, but her major contributions to this game were the type not seen on the stat sheet.

Balbierz made hustle play after hustle play and routinely forced the Islanders into difficult shots

that instigated positive plays for the Mustangs.

“She’s a really intelligent player, she makes everyone better on the court because she understands what it’s supposed to look like and where everyone’s supposed to be,” Mimnaugh said. “Obviously, she’s a deadly shooter, so she’s also able to extend the defense.”

Balbierz knocked down backto-back threes with seven minutes to go in the first half to extend the lead to 10. She would finish 2-of-5 from beyond the arc but didn’t seem satisfied with that shooting.

“If you go hard all the time, things are gonna pay off,” Balbierz said. “But I’m a little disappointed with 2-for-5,” she joked.

The Mustangs continued their first-half trend of swarming defense and fast-paced basketball, which translated into a blowout.

But there was hardly a moment where they appeared to take their foot off the gas. They certainly didn’t appear sluggish after any Thanksgiving feasts that may have taken place over the weekend.

“I’m thankful for my family, my friends and the opportunity to play in college,” Balbierz said.

Garza also gave her thanks, saying, “I’m thankful for the opportunity to be here playing basketball, to have a great family that supports me and for loving people.”

Cal Poly travels north to face Santa Clara on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and returns to Mott Athletics Center on Dec. 14 to host Saint Mary’s.

IAN BILLINGS | MUSTANG NEWS TURKEY TOURNEY | The Cal Poly women’s basketball team split its weekend contests at the ShareSLO Holiday Tournament. Senior guard Ariana Elegado had 23 points total in the two outings.