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Cal Poly SLO Quidditch brings quirkiness and quality to club sports
ANDREW EPPERSON | MUSTANG NE WS MUGGLES ALLOWED
| Everyone is welcome to hop on a broomstick and join the Cal Poly SLO Quidditch club. No prior “Harry Potter” knowledge is required to play the formerly fictional sport. Madi Salvati @MadiSalvati
Broomsticks were being handed out. It was only slightly disappointing to find that the broomsticks did not actually give anyone the ability to fly. Mechanical engineering freshman and co-captain of Cal Poly SLO Quidditch Josh Mueller stood among the broomsticks and PVC pipes that functioned as goals, preparing for practice.
“Everyone’s heard of water polo and soccer,” Mueller said, gripping his broomstick proudly. “But when you mention quidditch, people look at you like you’re crazy.” Cal Poly SLO Quidditch is a new addition to the club sport world. It became an official club at Cal Poly in October. Mueller is one of the main reasons the club exists, after a long process to make it a reality on campus with animal science senior Jenna Ward, who
had previously tried to make Cal Poly SLO Quidditch a certified club sport. “The administration was worried about liabilities,” Ward said. “They were hesitant and not very open with me, but Josh got through to them.” Today, Cal Poly SLO Quidditch is a small club looking to draw more people to the sport. “Yes, it is an actual sport,” Mueller said. “There’s really nothing else like it. There are aspects of
soccer, basketball, rugby, tag and dodgeball — it’s a hodgepodge of all of the games we played as kids.” The team goes by rules set by the United States Quidditch Rulebook. Multiple colleges such as Stanford, Berkeley and UCLA all have college league teams, Mueller explained. According to the United States Quidditch website, there is a World Cup held at Stanford every year. Continued on page 5
Cal Poly increases composting on campus Carly Quinn @carlyaquinn
Composting has become a popular waste management technique that has spread throughout Cal Poly’s campus. Cal Poly placed compost bins for trial in red brick residence halls, The Avenue, Julian A. McPhee University Union (UU) and Robert E. Kennedy Library starting winter quarter to reduce waste as a school, saving money and the environment. “I like the compost bins being put around campus, but having an extra bin in my
room can be frustrating,” communication studies freshman Julia Shaw said. After returning from winter break, freshmen discovered a new compost waste bin added to their residence halls. “I like the new compost bins,” English freshman Sara Lesher said. “It’s an easy way to do good for the environment.” Composting, while not brand new, is not widespread. Many people are still unaware of how to differentiate their trash between waste, recyclables and compostables. They don’t understand the benefits composting has on the environment.
“I don’t think twice about composting,” journalism freshman Claire Blachowski said. “It’s not as familiar to me as recycling or just throwing something away.”` The definition of compost, according to merriam-webster, is a mixture that consists largely of decayed organic matter. Compost helps the Earth by acting as a fertilizer for gardens as well as reducing the waste put into landfills. The methane gas coming from the compost is now being used as a new source of green energy. Continued on page 3
JULIA PANG | COURTESY PHOTO FRE SH START
| The young Cal Poly men’s tennis team looks to have a solid season in 2016.
No. 57 Cal Poly men’s tennis lays foundation for bright future Hannah Stone @CPMustangSports
In the middle of winter, the Cal Poly men’s tennis team reports for on-court sprints and conditioning at 6 a.m. They are pushed physically to the point of feeling like throwing up. Their coach sends them to grab a quick breakfast and refuel before practice resumes. Practice lasts for at least three more hours — drills, point-play and matches. But for the team of 11, there is more at stake than making it through to the end. Under the guidance of their coaches, the Mustangs have cul-
tivated a unique team culture, one dependent on every single member of the program. They are held to a standard not only by their coach, but by one another, to remain concentrated, energized and productive down to the very last minute of every practice. “If all 11 guys on the team are all thinking about getting their teammates better, you have 10 guys trying to get you better,” junior Ben Donovan said. “All it takes is one guy for that system to fall apart.” Donovan said that in his three years at Cal Poly, the beginning of this season marks a starting point for the team unlike any he
has ever seen. And it shows. The mentality that head coach Nick Carless facilitates among his players is breeding results. Two weeks ago, No. 57 Cal Poly was one out of the top 60 teams in the nation invited to compete in the 2016 ITA Division I Men’s Kick-Off Weekend. The Mustangs traveled to North Carolina to open their spring season at No. 11 Wake Forest University, one out of 15 ITA regional sites. Cal Poly, the third seed out of a four-team bracket, lost a hard-fought battle in their first match against No. 44 Tennessee. Continued on page 8
ANDREW EPPERSON | MUSTANG NE WS REDUCE | Cal Poly is testing out compost bins around campus to work toward its goal of zero waste.
News... 1-3 | Arts... 4-6 | Classifieds... 7 | Opinion... 8 | Sports... 9
Monday, February 1, 2016
NEWS | 2
Students oppose oil train project Naba Ahmed @nabaahmed
The Phillips 66 Rail Spur Extension Project would require the construction of a rail spur that oil trains can take directly to the facility, without interfering with other railroad operations. Students are taking action against it. The project The Phillips 66 Rail Spur Extension Project means that five oil trains would be brought to Phillips 66 Santa Maria Facility, said Kyle Jordan, an environmental management and protection senior and co-author of the oppo-
sition to the Phillips 66 project. “The rail line goes past campus, through many populated areas all across the West coast from North Dakota to Alberta, through Oregon, California, Washington,” Jordan said. However, the proposal must be approved by the San Luis Obispo county Board of Supervisors in order to begin construction. Currently, the San Luis Obispo Planning Commission has not voted on the future of this project. On Feb. 4 and 5, the San Luis Obispo Planning Commission will hold public hearings to inform its decision on the project. “The approval of this project is
all up to the (San Luis Obispo) County Planning Commission,” Jordan said. “Ultimately, it can be appealed to the Board of Supervisors and they can rule the other way; whatever the County Planning Commission decides, they can either agree with that or not.” Some students are opposed to the project at Cal Poly and are taking action, Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) Board of Directors Chair and mechanical engineering senior Vittorio Monteverdi said. “We’ve had students come to Continued on page 3
HANNA CROWLEY | MUSTANG NE WS DANGER ZONE
| The Phillips 66 Rail Spur Extension Project will increase air pollution and traffic.
Monday, February 1, 2016
Continued from page 1
According to Linden Hills Power, carbon footprints can be reduced through composting as well. When compostable materials are not sitting in a landfill, they give off less methane and other greenhouse gases, greatly reducing the damage these gases have on the atmosphere. Composting also saves water, which has the potential to help California out of the current drought. The equivalent of 360 trillion water bottles a year could be saved if waste was disposed in the proper way according to the National Public Radio (NPR). “It’s really on (the student’s) part completely,” Zero Waste Club treasurer and environmental engineering sophomore Emily Miller said. “It seems like most people just don’t know.” Eighty percent of Cal Poly’s waste goes to the landfill, according to Facilities. A new mandate from adminis-
Continued from page 2
speak to us about the issue and the resolution was presented,” Monteverdi said. “We spoke about it last week at our workshop and we will vote on it on Wednesday.” Jordan co-authored a resolution to oppose the Phillips 66 Company Rail Spur Extension Project that was presented to the ASI Board of Directors, and will
NEWS | 3
tration requires that 80 percent of that landfill waste is moved to either recyclables or compostables by 2020. Administration plans to achieve this through small steps, such as more bins and proper labels, as well as education through signs and activities put on by the Zero Waste Club. With Cal Poly’s large agricultural school and the amount of property being used for agriculture on campus, the water conserved through composting can be used to water crops and livestock. Compost can also be turned into fertilizer, which can be put right back in the fields on campus. “One of the world’s most finite resources is freshwater, accounting for 1 percent of the world’s total water,” environmental engineering sophomore Amara Cairns said. The world only has so many resources, and by composting and recycling, these resources will last longer for Cal Poly and the rest of the world. The Zero Waste Club works as a bridge between Facilities and students when it comes to the sustainability efforts on campus. The club has advocated for the new implementations around campus until they became a reality this quarter.
“It’s going to take a lot of coordinated effort,” Cal Poly energy sustainability analyst and certified energy manager Eric Veium said. Sorting trash may seem tedious, but the extra 30 seconds it takes can help the environment immensely. The real problem is knowing what trash goes in which bin. Compost includes anything biodegradable including food, plant materials and certain paper materials such as newspapers or cardboard. Any food scraps or napkins can be put in the green compost bins. Empty water bottles, plastic utensils and cans can be put in the blue recycling bin. A good way to check if something can be recycled is to look for the universal recycling symbol. Anything else can be thrown in the landfill waste bin, such as empty chip bags or candy wrappers. Zero Waste Club welcomes all students to join its meetings on Fridays at 2 p.m. if they have any questions or want to get involved. “We want to focus on education and the empowerment of students to make informed choices about waste,” Veium said. “When in doubt, recycle.”
be voted on at its next meeting on Feb. 3. “Currently, ASI does not have a stance on the project; it would be the Board’s stance because the board acts indirectly as the voice of Cal Poly students,” Monteverdi said. “If the resolution is passed, it would be the stance of all Cal Poly students.”
Emissions from the train and the facility will increase air pollution levels, Jordan said. “Because it is higher quality, crude is more energy intensive to process, which will release more greenhouse gasses,” Jordan said. “Not only are they releasing greenhouse gasses to get it to the facility, but they are creating more pollution at the facility.” The U.S. Department of Transportation defines any area within a half-mile of the tracks as an evacuation and any area within one mile of the tracks as a potential impact zone. “Besides the fact that they are going to be releasing particulate matter and diesel exhaust
How will it affect Cal Poly? According to Jordan, there will be three main impacts: traffic, air pollution and potential derailment. “There will be five trains that are a mile and a half long, so getting stuck behind that will only cause more traffic issues,” Jordan said.
Prospective Congressman not invited to debate Naba Ahmed @nabaahmed
Eight congressional candidates will discuss local and national issues at the 24th District Congressional Debate at Cal Poly on Thursday, Feb. 4 at Alex and Faye Spanos Theatre from 6-8 p.m. Equally as interesting is who will not be in attendance. Matt Kokkonen, the 2008 Republican nominee for Congress who ran against current Congresswoman Lois Capps, did not receive an invitation to this year’s debate. Kokkonen is registered to run for Congress as a Republican, but said Cal Poly political science professor Michael Latner, a debate organizer, is not allowing him to participate. Kokkonen claims that Latner did not invite him because of their opposing political ideologies. Kokkonen is conservative and Latner is liberal. However, Latner disagrees. “Regardless of his ideology or my ideology, that was not a criteria that was used to determine what people were chosen or invited to the debate or not,” Latner said. Conservatives like Tyler Gross and Assembleyman Katcho Achadjian will participate in Thursday’s debate. Kokkonen did not request paperwork from the San Luis Obispo County or Santa Barbara County’s clerk-recorder and does not have an active campaign website, qualifications Latner said were used to determine who may compete in the debate. “Matt Kokkonen had neither requested papers nor did he, and still does not, have an active campaign website,” Latner said. “And everyone else that was invited fulfills the criteria.” Latner said he is part of the organization committee for the debate and his role was to invite candidates. All candidates he reached out to were names that he received from the two counties’ clerk-re-
corders in early January. “I directly contacted the county clerk-recorder because you do have to request papers if you are running for office, but the filing period doesn’t even start until Feb. 4, so no one is an official candidate at this point because the process hasn’t officially begun,” Latner said. “But people that are serious about running for Congress typically request papers at the beginning of the year.” The papers are the petition in lieu of filing fee period for voter-nominated offices forms, according to San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong. The forms opened on Jan. 1 and will be available until Feb. 25. “Since there is no nomination period as of yet, (the) petition in lieu of forms would certainly show candidates’ intention to run,” Gong said. “Candidates would go to the office, and we would issue that form to them with their name and seat that they are running for.” According to Gong, nine candidates have requested petition in lieu of forms based off Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County’s Clerk-Recorder Offices as of Jan. 29. The candidates are Achadjian, Gross, Salud Carbajal, Steve Isakson, Benjamin Lucas, Jeff Oshins, William Ostrander and John Uebersax. Despite the fact that Kokkonen did not request a petition in lieu of form, it does not mean that he has not shown intention for candidacy. Kokkonen announced that he was running for a congressional seat in September 2015. “I already stated that I was running back in September, so the community has known that I am running,” Kokonnen said. According to the Cal Poly News webpage for the debate, individuals who have recently requested paperwork to file for candidacy have also been invited to participate. Kokkonen has already filed a statement of organization form
with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which is used to register campaign committees. “It says that individuals who have requested paperwork are invited, but I have already filed with the FEC and wasn’t invited,” Kokkonen said. However, Kokkonen was not invited because he didn’t request the correct forms according to Latner’s criteria, regardless of the fact that he filed for candidacy with the FEC. “Congressional candidates file their papers in the county where they reside,” San Luis Obispo County’s Clerk-Recorder Office Division Supervisor, Tami Bisantz, said in an email to Mustang News. “The Federal Elections Commission pertains to their financial committee, not their papers to run for office.” Kokkonen was not the only candidate who did not receive an invitation, Latner said. “Several other candidates (like) Benjamin Lucas (and) John Uebersax didn’t meet one or more of those criteria, so they were not invited either,” Latner said. According to Key Dates and Deadlines on the San Luis Obispo county website, the Declaration of Candidacy and Nomination period is from Feb. 16 to March 11. By the end of March 16, there will be a list of official candidates. Mustang News is a co-sponsor of the debate, and will be livestreaming it on MustangNews.net for those unable to attend.
Keep an eye out for ongoing debate coverage. Tune in to a live stream of the debate at mustangnews.net, KCPR or Charter channel 2 on Feb. 4 from 6-8 p.m.
What is compostable?
Napkins
Food
Compostable containers
Compostable cups
JORDAN DUNN | MUSTANG NE WS
to move the train,” Jordan said. “Also, there’s potential for catastrophic destruction. The entire Cal Poly campus is within the zone besides a couple of parking lots like pretty much the whole campus, all of our classrooms, all our housing, all of our facilities are within the distance.” Jordan is not alone in his opposition. San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission has received emails and letters in resistance to the project. “When we come in and say as concerned citizens and people of (San Luis Obispo) or live in a certain area of the railroad tracks, we don’t want the potential for oil train derailment because the train is going to be coming down
the grade,” Jordan said. “It’s going to be filled with almost 2 million gallons of oil.” Additionally, San Luis Obispo Mayor Jan Marx penned a letter on behalf of San Luis Obispo on Feb. 19, 2015 with the city’s official stance on the project. “I am writing at the unanimous direction of the San Luis Obispo City Council to urge you to deny the application of the Phillips 66 Santa Maria Refinery in Nipomo, which wishes to upgrade its facility to allow for crude oil deliveries by rail for processing,” Marx wrote. “This project would significantly increase the exposure of our residents, neighbors, business people and natural resources to the threat of explosions, fire,
contamination and other dangerous conditions which would result from this project.” While the project will have money-saving benefits for Phillips 66, it is not beneficial for Cal Poly, Jordan said. “What we are trying to do is get Cal Poly students to say that because there are potential dangers and there are actual negative environmental and health impacts to Cal Poly students that they want the Planning Commission, as well as the Board of Supervisors, to vote against it,” Jordan said. The hearings on the Phillips 66 rail terminal project will be held on Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday, February 1, 2016
ARTS | 4
Blast from the past: The Beach Boys bring back surf nostalgia
GEORGIE DE MATTOS | MUSTANG NE WS S TIL L “SUR FIN”
| The Beach Boys performed some of its greatest hits in the PAC on Thursday night, leaving the audience both fulfilled and nostalgic after three hours of rock and roll.
Will Peischel @CPMustangNews
Red stage lights cloaked the band at the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center (PAC), illuminating the stage like a hidden beach under the setting sun. Usually, this would make great symbolism for a band with two original members over 70 years old. Something about The Beach Boys being on their way out; something about being on their last legs with younger supporting band mates carrying Mike Love and Bruce Johnston through the performance. Unfortunately for that convenient imagery, and fortunately for everyone who paid money to attend, the concert lasted more than three hours. The Beach Boys I saw last night wasn’t the same band that put out Pet Sounds, Smiley Smile or Surf ’s Up. Only
Love and Johnston remain of Cal beach bonfire in the mid-60s. Love jabbed that the band was the original incarnation. There The band plays some 150 shows playing for the Mensa Society, was no breakdancing, fireworks per year; my grandparents read, then Johnston countered in or T-shirt guns. Clad in dad sleep and watch “Seinfeld.” the next song with bellows that jeans, the band stayed mostly sounded like they belonged to a stationary as it worked its way 16-year-old a cappella pro — asthrough the astounding numtoundingly intact. The humility ber of hits the band has put with which the two carried out in its 55-year history. the show, especially Love, There weren’t any surpresented the audience prises or sudden turns. with a sense that the The reason their live The crowd’s compair hadn’t grown seperformance has aged so well nile, but rather wise position matched. Rather than sandy — past the immatuis that they’ve always been teenagers or bikini rity of narcissism that clad girls, the concert fame can bring. poppy and listenable. hall filled with salt and The music followed a pepper hair, respectable similar trend. There was husband/wife types and no moment that I felt like WILL PEISCHEL beer bellies hidden under my brain was melting or that Hawaiian shirts. I was put on the path to some This all sounds like criticism, religious awakening. That isn’t but it isn’t. What’s wrong with Considering the time Love The Beach Boys, and it’s never any of that? The Beach Boys and Johnston have spent under been The Beach Boys. The reason brought the audience with them the limelight (more than half of a their live performance has aged through a nostalgia tour of their century), they were both impres- so well is that they’ve always greatest hits, landing us on a So- sively animated and self-aware. been poppy and listenable. The
high water mark of obscurity for the band’s discography was never beyond the scope of something they wouldn’t be able to handle or present effectively after aging. “God Only Knows” is equally fitting for The Beach Boys, aged 25 or 75. I’d like to see Kanye touring when he’s that age, but I don’t envision his sounds translating as well. Despite a general sense of comfort with being old guys who still love rock and roll and haven’t lost fun in the darkness of seniorism, some wrinkles oozed to the surface. Love may have Periscoped some of the concert from his iPhone as if to say, “Hey, I also use emoji,” but moments of the projected images behind the band — the main visual focal point — were pretty dismal. As the band played “Help Me Rhonda,” a slideshow of differ-
ent font variations of “I Heart Rock n’ Roll” cross faded on the screen. First a speech bubble of the text, then ill-fitting neon, then even less fitting as a tattoo design. Someone seemed to have just used Google images to find rock and roll-themed clip art, then tossed it into iMovie. The authentic nostalgia was undone, punctuated by shots nearly identical to what plays at the PacSun, where you hunted for board shorts. The moments of faded veil were revived in the last, most emotional songs. Before playing “The Warmth of the Sun,” Love gave a short explanation about the song being written in the hours before the Kennedy assassination. For “God Only Knows,” an audio recording of the late Carl Wilson sang in tribute. In the end, the audience left fulfilled, home and tucked in before midnight.
Monday, February 1, 2016
ARTS | 5
don’t know the words, sing along.” That voice would soon find its body, along with seven more, but little else changed in the way of irreverence and tonguein-cheekedness during the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra’s (WIUO) show. The group’s delightful Kiwi attitudes
and accents caused enough crooked, halfway coherent ear-toear smiles to put an orthodontist into a fit. The Ukulele Orchestra might not quite have been an orchestra when taking the quantity of musicians into account, nor did it possess the dour snootiness for
which some orchestras are known to have. Instead, the group seemed to invite the audience to take part in its friendly jam session. It truly did extend an invitation, and it served to humanize the troupe, as if all the strangers in the hall were already in on its inside jokes. The group told its humble origin
story between songs, but it would have been easy to predict; a group of wacky friends started playing ukuleles together, and eventually began performing for increasingly filled venues. The rest is history. It was not so much a polished musical act as it was a bunch of goofs who happened to be talented at performing. An actual orchestra composer would have been furious with the aesthetic presentation alone. The tone was set pretty accurately when all the uke-ists walked out like a mismatched throng of preschoolers. Some wore capes, some wore hats and shiny leggings. One wore her underwear on the outside. All assumptions about the direction things were headed were confirmed once the first few chords of “Afternoon Delight” were strummed. This exhibition of tiny stringed instruments and those who play them was not going to make any sense at all. It didn’t, and that was OK. If I had to come up with a theme for this show, I couldn’t. How does one throw covers of Dolly Parton, Britney Spears and the Kinks, not to mention some Mauri (New Zealand aboriginal) hymns, into a single classification? Sure, there were plenty of ukuleles, but everything was held together by a bass, ma-
“It’s really nice to see that kind of community you don’t normally see in other sports. There’s a lot of respect.” Architecture freshman Erika Kessler has either a chaser or beater position on the team and enjoys playing the sport not only because of the respect, but also because of the ability to hang out with friends with common interests. “We get to exercise together and hang out at the same time,” Kessler said. “It’s a lot of fun.” Kessler also explained the positions of the team. “It’s a full contact sport and we
just have to be careful not to hurt anybody,” Kessler said. “It’s co-ed with an even amount of men and women on the field. There are several positions such as seeker, chaser, beater and a keeper.” Quidditch also embodies a sense of inclusivity. “Let’s face it,” Mueller said. “It takes a special type of person to go and play quidditch. Someone who wants to try something new and different.” Mueller said the team attracts “warm, friendly people,” and that “there’s a true sense of community on and off the field,” a point on which Ward agreed.
“I think it really does a lot to break down barriers between people and let them see each others’ athleticism,” Ward said. “It lets others admire each other despite differences. I think Cal Poly could use more of that — more community.” No prior “Harry Potter” knowledge is necessary to play the game, Ward said. All types of people are welcome to play, not just “Harry Potter” experts. “I know lots of people who have never read the books or seen the movies,” Ward said. “They just want to come play.” Mueller has many hopes for the newly established team, one being
to compete in the World Cup. “At the end of winter quarter, I’d like to have a big enough base where we can set up for smaller teams and have them compete in a little tournament,” Mueller said. “And in spring quarter, hopefully we’ll keep that nice base of players and be able to start playing other colleges and register with the International Quidditch Association.” Kessler commented on how the introduction of quidditch to Cal Poly proves the breakage of barriers between all types of people, including students and administration. “This team and the club is a great
The quirks and talent of Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra LISA WOSKE | COURTESY PHOTO KOOK Y
| The Wellington Internal Ukulele Orchestra performed like a group of goof y friends dressed in crazy costumes.
Brendan Abrams @brenabrams
“Tonight’s first rule is ... If you know the words, sing along,” boomed a disembodied voice in the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center (PAC) Friday night. “The second rule is ... If you Continued from page 1
While studying abroad in the United Kingdom for nine months, Ward found the quidditch community to be alive and well. “I have a slightly different perspective of the sport,” Ward said. “I was studying at St. Andrews and our biggest rivalry was Edinburgh.” Ward explained that the competition is normally pretty friendly, even in heated rivalries. “The second the game is over, even after we’ve been pummeling each other, everyone is cheering for the other team,” Ward said.
racas and a few excellent voices. It’s impossible to understand, let alone critique. Who knows what goes on way down there in New Zealand. Is it a 1970 time capsule full of flower children, or a modern absurdist’s take on a comical utopia? Either way, it was successful in nurturing this charmingly adoptive family. The Orchestra kept the house engaged even when its setlist faltered. Whoops, hollers and whistles accompanied “Hit Me Baby One More Time,” even though, quite honestly, it was not a great choice for the ukulele, which, despite its universally pleasing sound, simply can’t take the place of the big electric notes of ’90s pop. Luckily, the hilarity of that particular spectacle masked its sonic shortcomings. Other song choices fared much better. It’s hard to go wrong with crowd favorites like “Honky Tonk Women” or “Sunny Afternoon,” and it didn’t feel like pandering, either. The WIUO played through the good, the “meh” and the “huh?” unapologetically. If anyone expected some level of kitsch, they didn’t get it. What exactly transpired Friday night? Something involving smiles and ukes, for sure. Hopefully WIUO comes back next year to give us another chance at wrapping our heads around it. example of how open this school can be to new things,” Kessler said. “We had enough interest this year in the team and we really put our minds to it.” As the quidditch community continues to grow, the love and passion for the game are apparent among its players at Cal Poly. “It’s a combination of so many sports,” Mueller said. “Throw in the zany nature, and the fact that it’s from a fictional book and you just have the workings of an amazing game.” Cap Poly SLO Quidditch practices 12-3 p.m. on Saturdays at North Mountain.
Monday, February 1, 2016
ARTS | 6
Verifying God at the Veritas Forum Michelle Zaludek @michellenistic
God and science gloved up and took separate corners of the ring this week — or that’s what some were expecting. The Veritas Forum on Wednesday evening brought in two professors, one Christian and one atheist, to discuss one overarching question: Can science explain everything? Veritas, meaning “truth” in Latin, has some Christian and Greco-Roman roots. It’s mentioned in John 18:38, “Quid est veritas,” translating to: “What is truth?” And it is the Roman goddess of truth. Those in search of that truth filled the Cal Poly Christopher
Cohan Performing Arts Center (PAC) to capacity — about 1,290 people — most of whom appeared to be students, who squished into rows, trying to find space for their backpacks before the forum began. The speakers, Ian Hutchinson, a professor of nuclear science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a devout Christian, along with Dr. Paul Rinzler, a professor of music at Cal Poly and a member of the Board of Directors of Atheists United San Luis Obispo, were first given the opportunity to explain their stance on science’s relationship with religion. Hutchinson opened the forum by explaining that the dominant
Western view — that religion and science are at opposing ends — can be traced back to Andrew Dickson White’s novel, “A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christianity” from 1896, and doesn’t otherwise have any solid reasoning. “(Religion and science) do have important things to say to one another,” Hutchinson said in his opening statement. “Most people realize this, even if they don’t want to admit it.” His belief in God, Hutchinson said, was based on personal experience and observation, and that in itself made Christianity worthy of believing. However, Rinzler challenged that belief, stating that obser-
ILLUSTRATION BY AVRAH BRAUM | MUSTANG NE WS
HANNAH BEELER | COURTESY PHOTO SCIENCE VS. FAITH | An atheist and a Christan discussed science and religion at the Veritas Forum last week.
vation or feeling of a God is not something provable in the material world. “I’m not aware of any tool or science that can lead to a God,” he said. “Knowledge is not a feeling … If you want to make your God a fact in the real world, you have to bring in objective fact.” Chemistry freshman Breanna Arellano had been in Rinzler’s corner throughout the forum. “I know (Hutchinson) was saying, ‘How much evidence is needed for (God) to be true?’ But I don’t know. It’s just that facts are facts,” she said. However, business administration freshman Varsha Venugopal explained that in some ways, believing without seeing is sort of the point of religion in the first place. “I think religion is about believing,” Venugopal said. “Whether or not there is evidence. And there were
certain questions that even stumped Rinzler.” From there, Hutchinson and Rinzler began to take audience questions, submitted on an open forum website. The questions, some anonymous, largely asked what empirical data there was for a God existing, and what life was about if God didn’t exist. What could have easily turned into a viral-worthy shouting match, though, was mostly civil. “Honestly, I was expecting a big brawl,” Arellano said. “Like, you see those political debates where they’re basically screaming at each other, and that’s what I expected. I thought it was good that (Hutchinson and Rinzler) sort of tried looking at it from the other’s perspective.” Indeed, both speakers would often nod along to what the other was saying, listening intently and patiently. There were a few small jabs at the other, but never anything that seemed
mean-spirited. However, throughout the forum, there was a general air for some that both speakers had skirted around the main question. “I think their answers were very — they just went on tangents,” Venugopal said. “They didn’t really directly answer the questions. So it was kind of hard to follow what they were talking about … They kind of just spoke around the question.” The tangents got to the point that at the end, an anonymous question came in asking the two to explicitly state whether science could explain everything, which started its own short tangent. “No,” Hutchinson answered firmly. “Yes!” Rinlzer replied. “Well — surely, in practice, science cannot and will not explain everything … but in principle, yes.”
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Monday, February 1, 2016
OPINION | 8
I dream of equality Brandon Bartlett @CPMustangNews
Brandon Bartlett is an English sophomore and Mustang News conservative columnist. The views expressed in this article do not reflect the opinions or editorial coverage of Mustang News. Opinion pieces may be submitted to editor@mustangnews.net with the subject line “Letter to the editor” to be considered for publication. Submissions should not exceed 700 words, and should include a headline, and your year, major or position. I recently had a dream of a most unsettling nature. One where, upon waking, the final images were burned into my mind and seemed much more real than the soggy bowl of Cheerios before me. And while I do not often subscribe to dream analysis, I could not shake the feeling that the dream was inspired by the events of the previous day. The first instance transpired the afternoon prior. I was out at lunch with a group just well-mannered enough to have an opinion on everything, but not so well-mannered as to know when to express, and more importantly, when not to express those opinions. Somehow, in the mingling of topics, someone mentioned affirmative action, though whether they were for or against, I do not recall. Inevitably, given the array of opinions around the table, a sophisticated discussion began. Which quickly became a debate. Which, with even greater speed, became a civilized shouting match between two people who knew not where they disagreed. As often is the case, the analogy of the track race was employed: in which the conservatives want the starting lines in same place, and the liberals desire to stagger them as to compensate for placement on the inside or outside of the track.
Luckily for the rest of us, our food finally came and the once-heated conversation devolved into mere approbations of Woodstock’s fine pizzas. Later that night, another political bombshell was released with another group — I realized upon reflection — who was eerily similar to the former. Only this time, I recall exactly who said it. With blond hair bouncing atop his large forehead and a knowing smile which he was desperately attempting to repress, Jason was about to enlighten us. “I recently learned something,” his smile was nearly a sneer. “The wage gap is a myth. With a few minor discrepancies, men are not paid more than women for the same work at all. The statistic was actually calculated by taking the median yearly income for all women and comparing it to the median yearly income for all men. After accounting for time spent working and what career the individual chose, the gap almost entirely disappears.” Seeing how this was upsetting our feminist companions, he went on. “And while there are a few careers in which there actually is a wage gap, it is incredibly small; just a few cents on the dollar. And, moreover, there are plenty of jobs in which women get paid far higher than men.” Then Carol, needing to wipe the smug grin off of Jason’s face, corrected him. “Well yes, factually that is true. However, per usual, you are utterly missing the point. Firstly, equal work coming from men and women is subconsciously valued differently, with women being seen as superior in maternal roles, such as an elementary school teacher, and men valued as superior in ‘important’ roles, such as the STEM fields. And since those jobs have higher pay, men still end up with an unfair advantage.” “But more importantly, women have been socialized into such a patriarchal world that they now take a part in their own oppres-
sion. Yes, you’re right, Jason, they choose lower-paying jobs, but only because they have been told from birth that only in such jobs can they be happy!” Jason, surprised by the response and requiring time to consider it, reminded us of our swiftly approaching morning classes. So, saying goodnight, we departed. It was then that I stole up to bed to have my dream. In this dream, I was spectating the high school national tournament for the 400-yard dash. As with many such fantasies, there was no finite number of teams nor runners — but I do recall that there was a good mix between urban public schools, charter schools, gender-specific boarding schools and even a few private schools. We were all inside a big stadium, and at the front and back end there were giant score boards that recorded the times for each school in blazing red digits. We could see the runner’s muscles tightening and flexing as they lined up shoulder to shoulder behind the white lines. A gunshot echoed throughout the stadium (do they even do that anymore?). And they were off. Around the first turn, around the second. I could hear their heavy breathing as the runners pumped their trim bodies through the air. The finish line was broken. One of the private schools had won. Their time read a fiery 52 seconds on the huge screen. But then there was a commotion, the referees were all huddled together in what appeared to be a raging debate. Silence fell over the crowd as a short referee walked to the center to deliver his verdict. “We have been made aware that having the inside track gives an unfair advantage to the runners. So in the interest of the game, we will repeat the race with staggered lines.” After a short cheer from the
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Return to rationality
Elias Atienza is a history freshman. Opinion pieces do not reflect the viewpoints or editorial coverage of Mustang News. This piece does not represent the Cal Poly College Republicans. As a young conservative and member of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo College Republicans, my
views have often clashed with some members of the College Republicans. I constantly preach restrained foreign policy, no to unconstitutional spying and don’t favor surveillance on mosques. I also don’t want to ban Muslims from entering the United States. But several Trump supporters within the College Republicans do want to ban them from entering, and at least one is bigoted toward Muslims.
It’s an interesting thing, observing and being in these clashes. Just last week my clash with several Trump supporters ended with a bang, with me storming out at the end of the meeting. I have never been in such a political clash; people who ignore one’s background and cover up for their inconsistency. But it allowed me to get into the head of a Trump supporter. To them, Trump is the new Reagan. They are quick to point out
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crowd, another race began. This time a boy’s boarding school took the lead. A second commotion, a second huddle, a second verdict. “It has come to our attention that because of certain biological factors, the men’s teams have an unfair advantage. In the interest of the game, we will further stager the lines and repeat.” A third race. A third winner, this time from a charter school. A third commotion. A third verdict. “It has come to our attention that athletes from charter schools, having more money to invest in a coach, receive superior training, which gives them an unfair advantage. In the interest of the game, we will further stagger the lines and repeat.” A fourth race. A fifth race. A sixth race. This time one team had superior equipment, another had more time to practice. The sun was beginning to set, and the referees had another announcement.
“For too long the rich and the privileged have dominated their rivals through exploitation and oppression. But we are all equal.” He pointed to the scoreboard. “So in the interest of the game, we will not stop staggering these lines until every team scores the same!” A thunderous applause rippled throughout the audience. “No,” I thought to myself as another race began. “This can’t be right. I mean, at first it was good, at first it’s necessary. Where did we go wrong?” Time passed and I had the distinct impression that I had been sitting there nearly all through the night. But as the first shaft of blue pierced the dark sky, I knew suddenly they had done it; equality had finally been reached. Joyously, I looked to the scoreboard. And, in those blood red digits, I saw that I was right. It read 0 seconds. For every team, 0 seconds. The cheers and hollers shook the stadium. But it did no good: The runners had already gone home.
Taking a stand against Donald Trump Elias Atienza Special to Mustang News
SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Cara Benson
that Ronald Reagan was a former Democrat. They fail to mention the fact that Reagan waited 20 years before running for president and didn’t endorse Jimmy Carter over Gerald Ford. Reagan was a good president, and Donald Trump is no Ronald Reagan. They don’t care that Donald Trump donated to Harry Reid, Rahm Emanuel or Nancy Pelosi. They call him a businessman, despite businessmen like George Soros, Sheldon Adelson and the Koch Brothers donating to only causes that they align with and not to the Clinton Foundation. (New York they say!) You call him out on his support for socialized healthcare, progressive taxation and Planned Parenthood, and they still cling to the man like he’s a damn lifeboat and the United States is a sinking ship. You mention that he slammed John McCain for being captured in the Vietnam War and they could care less. They worship Trump because he isn’t politically correct. Because he allows them to have an avenue in which their thoughts can finally come through. He’s a YouTube comment section come to life. (Let’s not forget the fact that Trump has breathed new life into white supremacy groups.) They don’t give a damn about illegal immigrants and they want them all deported. They don’t give a damn about any Muslims, and though I didn’t dig into it, I suspect that they would be fine with deporting all 2 million Muslims if they could. They all say they love the Constitution, and yet, when you bring up freedom of religion, freedom from surveillance and the impracticality of Trump’s plans, they brush that aside and
call you a liberal (and the irony doesn’t occur to them). When Nikki Haley called out Trump in her State of the Union Address, I supported that. When Paul Ryan, who is otherwise neutral in the presidential race, called out Trump for proposing the Muslim ban, I cheered that. But I also watched in sadness and despair. No matter what you say and no matter what you do, Trump supporters tighten their support of him. It’s disheartening to watch the party fail to return to its roots of individual rights, limited government and free-market capitalism. Instead, we have a man who is against individual rights, limited government and free-market capitalism. Donald Trump isn’t a conservative by any stretch of the imagination. And his supporters couldn’t give any less of a damn. I’m tired of being against Trump, calling him out on everything. I’m tired of trying to show them that Trump is everything that a Republican should hate. If he is the Republican nominee, I will burn my Republican registration. I will campaign against the Republican front-runner because he is a megalomaniac who is dangerous for America. I will vote libertarian or Bernie Sanders. I have been saying this for months and I’ll say it again: Trump supporters, you are just like Obama supporters. You worship him and to you he can do no wrong. And that is something we cannot live with. If he is the nominee come August, I will write off the Republican Party forever. As Paul Ryan said back in November, ‘This is not conservatism.”
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Monday, February 1, 2016
SPORTS | 10
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| After a disappointing finish to last year’s Big West Conference Tournament, a young Mustangs men’s tennis team looks to have a strong season, led by three junior captains.
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In their second round, the Mustangs lost by only one match to No. 59 Auburn. Carless said the team played extremely well and that these tough matches are something to build upon. “After the matches, we went back to the hotel room and picked five things we could have done better,” Carless said. “The goal is to actually do those five things next time and not just talk about them.” Last weekend, Cal Poly traveled to Seattle to face two additional opponents: a total of four matches over the span of seven days. On Friday, the Mustangs lost their first match in Seattle against No. 43 Washington, 6-1. The Huskies seized the doubles point, and clinched three singles matches in a row. Freshman Aiku Shintani earned the lone victory after the match was already decided. On Saturday morning, Cal Poly beat Portland 4-3. The victory against the Pilots marked the Mustangs’ first win of the season, following three tough losses in a row against topranked competition. Despite four out of six players losing the first set in singles, the Mustangs fought back to tie up the score 3-3 and under immense
pressure, Donovan clinched his third set to secure the win. “We had a tough start against Portland, but not because of our energy,” junior Corey Pang said. “The team showed a lot of heart. It was a relief because we have all been working so hard and didn’t see the results we wanted in our first three matches.” Last year, there were high hopes for Cal Poly to capture its third Big West Tournament title and automatic NCAA Tournament berth in four years. With a mid-season ranking of No. 49, Cal Poly was on the cusp of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament without even having to win the conference tournament. However, for the first time in three years Cal Poly did not enter the Big West Tournament as a top seed. UC Irvine defeated the Mustangs in the second round and their success was cut short. The outcome was the difference between losing just a handful of matches, or even points, throughout the entire season. This year, the returning players are utilizing the sting of last year’s results as fuel. They are reminded that nothing will be handed to them without showing up every day and putting forth the necessary work. The team is young. There are no seniors on Cal Poly’s roster
and the three junior captains — Donovan, Pang and Garrett Auproux — are leading the charge. But they are not operating alone. Cal Poly’s four true freshmen were designated as the No. 23 recruiting class in the nation. Though still in the early stages of their college careers, they are quickly learning the demanding, yet rewarding aspects of college tennis. Freshman Rafael Lenhard saw the enormous potential in Cal Poly’s program, he said. The choice to play for Cal Poly was obvious when he realized how effective a talented squad can be when each player commits to be loyal to one another. “It’s a whole different dimension where you are playing for yourself, but you are playing just as much for your teammates, so you can’t let the negatives get to you,” Lenhard said. “Let’s say you’re having a bad day. You’re going to use your teammates to not only help build them up, but to build yourself back up and have a better practice.” So what makes up the framework of a team culture that claims to hold so much potential? Carless shares with the Mustangs a metaphor of a pyramid. Each level is a stepping stone. Level one spells out the basics:
be punctual, have all of your equipment. Level two requires a work mentality: try to have a perfect practice every time. Next: be able, at any point throughout the season, to exert unconditional intensity and focus. With each increasing level comes a higher expectation of ownership, of responsibility for working together as a team. The top of the pyramid represents unbreakable confidence. “He calls it being a dog or being an animal,” Lenhard said. “It’s about the other teams feeling our energy. It’s about us knowing our game well enough to impose it on the other team.” The standard is set high. Not one player out of the 11 hesitates when you ask what his team goal is for this year. As a unit, they strive to compete at the NCAA level and to consistently be recognized as one of the best programs in the nation among the top 25 teams. “We belong here now,” Donovan said. “It’s not about us going to play Wake Forest, Tennessee or Washington. We
are good enough that if we do what we do right, we can beat almost anyone.” Carless believes that by taking one match at a time, the Mustangs will continue to learn and progress. He said that the team’s energy in its first four matches is evident. Other coaches even commented on how much the Mustangs are constantly competing and playing for each other, despite losing a few tough matches. “I’ve never seen a team that likes each other as much as this group,” Carless said. Cal Poly’s first home match of the season is on Feb. 5 against Saint Mary’s and the homestand continues against No. 39 San Diego State on Feb. 6. Bordering Mott Athletics Center, Cal Poly’s tennis facility sets the stage for the Mustangs to break through any preconceptions of an uptight country club atmosphere. According to Donovan, college tennis is one of the most entertaining types of tennis to watch. The Mustangs are eager to capitalize on
their home court advantage by getting the crowd involved as much as they possibly can. “It’s eye-opening. People are surprised when they watch us because it is more exciting than they think,” Donovan said. “Especially with a team like us who is super vocal and energetic.” Four out of six Big West teams, including Cal Poly, opened their season with ITA national rankings. This list includes No. 48 UC Santa Barbara, No. 57 UC Davis and No. 70 UC Irvine. The Mustangs will also play ranked nonconference teams such as No. 52 Denver and No. 59 Boise State in the early stages of their season. It’s the middle of winter. After 6 a.m. conditioning and well into a three hour practice, the Cal Poly men’s tennis team is fatigued, tired and losing focus. But there is more at stake than just making it to the end. One player’s lack of effort and performance will make or break that of his 10 teammates’. This is where it counts most. This could make the difference.