Mustang News June 10, 2022︱Graduation Edition

C AL POLY SAN LUIS OBISPO ’S NE WS SOURCE

MUSTANG NEWS

CONGRATULATIONS

2022 2022 CLASS OF

From WOW to the pandemic, the class of 2022 finally walks across the stage BEST OF PHOTO

THE MAKING OF

THE POLY ROYAL RODEO QUEEN

PG. 8 JUNE 10, 2022

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IN THIS ISSUE

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LEADERSHIP Tessa Hughes

Editor in Chief, Mustang News

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Catherine Allen Editor Chloe Lovejoy Assistant Editor Sierra Parr Amelia Wu Mckenna Rodriguez Benjamin Anderson Cole Presller Ethan Telles Esther Lo Emmy Burns Allister Loftus Elizabeth Wilson

OPINION

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022

Claire Lorimor

Sofia Silvia

Sophie Lincoln

Victoria Bochniak

Creative Director

Radio News Director/ Special Sections Editor

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Emilie Johnson Editor Maddie Harrell Jacqueline Espitia Kayla Stuart Shaelyn Ashamalla Lily Tenner Emmy Scherer Fenn Bruns Jenna Pluimer Tiana Reber Eyasu Betwos Andy Sherar Jackson Damhorst

COPY

SPORTS

SOCIAL

ARTS & STUDENT LIFE

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Ashley Holly

Managing Editor

Nicki Butler Editor Brayden Martinez Elijah Winn Neta Bar Owen Lavine Zoe Denton Rebecca Caraway Diego Sandoval Editor Kyle Har Gabe Arditti Miles Berman Derek Righetti Gwendalyn Garcia Kylie Hastings Nick Bandanza Noah Greenblatt Mia Isobel Craig Matthew Ho

UPFRONT

Cameryn Oakes

Kiana Hunziker Editor Abigail O’Branovich Alisha Nazar Elissa Luce Lauren Emo Olivia Meis Naomi Vanderlip Krithi Sankar Tini Nguyen Emma Robertson Lauryn LaDuc Mari Stusser

DESIGN

Grace Woelbing Zara Iqbal Audrey Ryan Elise Bodnar Sarah Chayet Brett Vollrath Ashley Holly Social Media Manager Kiana Meagher Daisy Kuenstler Chloe Chin Talia Toutounjian Jillian Butler Claire Han

DATA

Omar Rashad Editor Alexis Bowlby Ryan Hunter Sophie Moore Sucheen Sundaram Jack Clark Jezzia Smith

EN ESPAÑOL Diana Beas José González Mike Esparza Ava Farriday

KCPR

LEADERSHIP

Sheri Donahue Marketing Director Nicole Herhusky Art Director Sophie Lincoln Radio News Director Zoe Boyd Managing Editor Liv Collom Programming/Music

Claire Lorimor Creative Director Megan Anderson Kayla Olow Karen Ma Coby Chuang Zara Iqbal

Director

VIDEO

DISC JOCKEYS

Sofia Silvia Video Manager Brady Caskey Matthew Bornhorst Ava Kershner Ari Lopez Ellie Spink Angelina Salgado Gabrielle Downey Torstein Rehn

Zoe Boyd Tessa Hughes Liv Collom Kyle Himmelein Jaxon Silva Melissa Melton

Social Media Manager

Video Manager

Digital Director

Tessa Hughes Ava Kershner Nikki Morgan Lauren Boyer Torstein Rehn Amanda Wernik Violet Macguire Sophie Corbett Jennie Le Nicolas Vinuela Jillian Butler Sofia Silvia Victoria Bochniak Trevor Baumgardner Jordan Triebel Avery Elowitt Maddie Harrell Jada Griffith Natalie Levesque

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Zoe Boyd Managing Editor Eden Baker Assistant Editor Addie Woltkamp Cayley O’Brien Emily Tobiason Emma Hughes Michelle Mede Ashley Oakes Emily Brower Alina Jafri Kaelyn Bremer Lily Tenner Navie Bower

MMG BUSINESS ADVERTISING & PR

Brynna Barton Advertising Manager Carley Epple Marketing/PR & Operations Director

Ryan Manseau Small Team Manager Ellie Auerbach Small Team Manager Nicolette Laventure Ashley Pagsibigan Caitlin Willard Matt Daugbjerg Samuel Hubbard Yuka Shindo

ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Sheri Donahue KCPR Specialist Elaine Do Ad Design Manager Katherine Olah Ad Designer Cindy Nguyen Ad Designer ADVISERS Jon Schlitt General Manager Pat Howe Adviser Brady Teufel Adviser Patti Piburn Adviser

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Sophie Lincoln KCPR News Director Alexa Kushner

Cal Poly is in tiłhini, the Place of the Full Moon. We gratefully acknowledge, respect, and thank yak tityu tityu yak tiłhini, Northern Chumash Tribe of San Luis Obispo County and Region in whose homelands we are guests.

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SWASTIKA DRAWN ON FREE SPEECH WALL, JEWISH STUDENTS DENOUNCE HATE SPEECH STORY BY Omar Rashad DESIGNED BY Claire Lorimor

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LINDYHOPPERS SLOWLY RETURN TO DANCE FLOOR AFTER PANDEMIC STORY BY Esther Lo DESIGNED BY Karen Ma

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HOW SAN LUIS OBISPO COMMUNITIES ARE IMPACTED BY THE CALIFORNIA DROUGHT STORY BY Emma Roberston & Elizabeth Wilson DESIGNED BY Claire Lorimor

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THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF THE SAN LUIS ORIENTAL MARKET STORY BY Tini Nguyen DESIGNED BY Karen Ma

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FRIENDS AT FIRST SIGHT: THE FALSE REALITY OF COLLEGE FRIENDSHIPS STORY BY Gracie Schweitzer DESIGNED BY Kayla Olow

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“WE DID THE DAMN THING” JACKIE ESPITIA | MUSTANG NEWS

BY TESSA HUGHES

with us. I know these circumstances were just as, if not more, tricky for you. Speaking to faceless Zoom screens, then enforcing mask mandates, was never part of the job description, but you handled it with ease and grace. For you, we as students are just a blip in your lives and you see versions of us year after year; however, to us, you have had such an insurmountable impact on our lives and the people we are becoming.

Thank you for continuing to follow and support us, because without you, we wouldn’t be anything.

TESSA HUGHES Editor-in-Chief

To the Mustang Media Group staff: Thank you for my best year of college. Getting to work alongside each and every one of you was such an honor. I feel so lucky that I got to be a part of returning to in-person and being a part of your day-to-day life in Mustang Media Group. All

the hard work and effort that everyone put in day in and day out never went unnoticed or unappreciated.

You are truly some of the best people I have ever come to know and I am so excited to see what everyone does next.

To the Class of 2022: We did it!

We are ready for our next chapter because we experienced the before, the during and the after of one of the most life changing experiences I hope any of us will experience. We will stand out from those who went before us and those who came after us because of the special place in time that we took up. I hope you are able to appreciate actually seeing a smile in person, getting to hug your loved ones again, laughing and goofing around in the hallways of your daily lives and never taking for granted the simple joys that make life meaningful.

I’m not going to stand here at age 22 acting like I have wisdom to impart because I, just like many of you, am just getting started. So let’s all just take what we have learned and apply it to what’s next. Let’s live a life full of color, love, empathy, patience and all that jazz, because we never know when it could be taken away again.

Cheers, Tessa Hughes Mustang Media Group Editor-in-Chief 2021-2022

OPINION

empathetic and brazen when faced with the truly unknown because you had no other option. These are skills that are applicable to whatever you wish to pursue in life.

Serving as the Editor-in-Chief for your campus media organization this past year has brought me an inexplainable joy. I have been able to see my team inform you on the local news happening in your community, tell your stories to the best of their abilities, entertain you through in-person events and concerts and, most importantly, keep you and your interests at the forefront of everything that we did.

Everything that we did this year, we did for you. We wanted to make sure that you were never in the dark about what goes on around campus, despite the University’s efforts to do just that; we wanted to celebrate your victories with you; we wanted to show off what makes you special; and we wanted to return to normal with you.

To our audience: Thank you for bearing with us through the challenging times and letting us serve you across our various platforms — Mustang News, KCPR and MNTV. Thank you for continuing to follow and support us, because without you, we wouldn’t be anything. For that, I am eternally grateful.

To our professors, faculty members and advisers: Thank you so much for adapting and persisting

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022

go out and do the fun things that I remembered from my freshman year — the only full year I experienced in college. But the transition proved to be equally as difficult as any period of change is, because we weren’t returning to normal — we were redefining what normal meant.

We couldn’t simply go back to the way things were because the rulebook for what was has forever changed. We had to adjust if we wanted any semblance of a full life outside of the confines of our homes and pods of people we were previously limited to.

The rules around what was and what wasn’t COVID safe were constantly in flux; rules and procedures changed what felt like everyday; and when there was a spike in January and again now, it felt like everyone and their mother was testing positive and bunkering down to wait out their 10 days. But like we did in March of 2020 and like how we have been operating ever since, we adapted.

I firmly believe that, for these reasons, this class of graduates is one of the most prepared groups of people that could be emerging from Cal Poly because we have been forced to learn pivotal life skills that aren’t major specific. Regardless of what degree you are graduating with this year, you have had to learn to be flexible, strong, communicative,

MUSTANG NEWS

Holy shit, Class of 2022 — we did it. While most of us knew we would eventually get here — graduating, I mean, I’m sure none of us were quite sure what that would look like. If you asked us three, four or five years ago, we would’ve rolled our eyes at the thought of our ceremonies looking anything but traditional. Then, given the past two years, getting to sit in Spanos Stadium among our friends and fellow graduates, while our loved ones look over us, feels like a luxury and a gift.

Two years ago, no one knew if we would make it back to this point.

However, one thing the pandemic taught me, and I’m sure taught all of you, was that we as the next generation entering the world and “official” adulthood are persistent and resilient.

Over the past two years, we have endured a global pandemic, rampant racism, women still fighting for basic body autonomy and guns still taking innocent lives, amongst other challenges. Yet, here we stand, ready to take on the world and to fight to make it a better place.

I assumed the year specifically was going to be easier than the previous because we were “back to normal.” I would be back in person; I would get to see my friends’ faces, albeit behind masks; I would get to

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Swastika drawn on free speech wall, Jewish students denounce hate speech

NEWS

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FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022

BY OMAR RASHAD

It took less than three days for someone to draw a swastika on the free speech wall on Dexter Lawn.

The wall — which the Cal Poly College Republicans install on campus every year — has historically been a platform for hate speech at Cal Poly.

Mustang News became aware of the swastika on the wall Wednesday afternoon. The swastika was surrounded by two smiley faces and was drawn next to a Star of David.

Economics junior Joe Schneider passed by the wall the entire week and decided to take a closer look at its messages Wednesday afternoon.

That’s when he noticed the swastika.

“I’m very grossed out,” said Schneider, who is Jewish. “It definitely ruined my day.”

He took a picture of the hate symbol and took a step away from the wall to share what had happened with members of Hillel of San Luis Obispo, a Jewish student-run organization in San Luis Obispo. A few minutes later, he returned to the wall and found that the swastika was scribbled over with black sharpie.

Regardless of it being covered up, Hillel’s President Jianna Gladfelter said the damage is already done. The wall creates the perfect opportunity for someone to write hate speech anonymously and the Cal Poly College Republicans should moderate the wall for hateful and bigoted speech, she said.

“The symbol represents the thought that people wanted to kill the Jews,” Gladfelter said. “They were clearly trying to send a message to our community that we shouldn’t — we can’t feel safe on this campus.”

The wall contains other choice messages. “Fuck Nazis” got crossed out and replaced with “Love

Everyone” written right above it.

Other messages include “Don’t say gay bill protects children from sexual conversations,” and “Masks are for slaves.”

The Cal Poly College Republicans club brought back the free speech wall to campus on Monday. The club received approval from Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) to use public space at Dexter Lawn for the free speech wall from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

On Wednesday, the club posted on Instagram that it condemns Nazi ideology and symbology, but maintained that the free speech wall has had overwhelmingly positive feedback.

The principle of giving a platform to any and all beliefs, even if they are bigoted, is more important than the stress caused by those bigoted, hateful comments.

SEAN SENN Cal Poly College Republicans club secretary

The day prior, the club posted on Instagram a picture of two people in front of the free speech wall giving a thumbs up. Both people have their faces covered, one by an image of

LILY TENNER | MUSTANG NEWS The free speech wall, put up by the Cal Poly College Republican club, is scattered with messages.

Tucker Carlson and the other by an image of Theodore Roosevelt.

Cal Poly spokesperson Matt Lazier told Mustang News that Cal Poly denounces racist speech and actions, which he said are inconsistent with values at Cal Poly. Lazier added that while the university wishes it could forbid hateful language on campus, federal law forbids that.

“As a state institution and public campus, Cal Poly is required to support free speech, even if we find reprehensible the actions of individuals who choose to post disgusting, racist, sexist, homophobic, or any other intentionally hurtful and offensive expression,” Lazier wrote to Mustang News via email.

Cal Poly Hillel released a statement on Instagram Wednesday, noting that the swastika is hate speech.

“You are not responsible to solve hatred, but you are also not free to ignore it when it is written on your wall,” Cal Poly Hillel’s statement read.

The organization encouraged anyone with information on who drew the swastika to either get in touch with Hillel, university

administrators or ASI. On Friday, Vice President Keith Humphrey sent a campus wide email addressing the free speech wall, how the university is not able to intervene and his hope that students continue to speak out against hate speech.

“I also know that hate speech on your university campus can create feelings of fear,” Humphrey wrote. “In a world that far too often sees ideas of hate turn into acts of violence, those feelings are real.”

A longtime platform for bigoted messages Every year since 2011, the Cal Poly College Republicans have installed the Free Speech Wall on Dexter Lawn. The club has told Mustang News in the past that the tradition celebrates free speech and is meant to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The wall has consistently displayed hateful and bigoted messages in the past. In 2015, the wall contained homophobic and Islamaphobic messages, according to past Mustang News coverage. The wall looked similar in 2016, when it contained “transphobic, anti-Islamic, racist

and sexist slurs.”

Starting in the 2017-2018 academic year, the club stopped putting the wall up in November during the commemorative dates of the fall of the Berlin Wall and instead began placing it on campus during the spring quarter.

In the spring of 2018, the Cal Poly College Republicans put up the free speech wall during PolyCultural Weekend, a significant multicultural student-run event that celebrates cultural organizations on campus.

Student activists were upset that the wall, which came to represent bigotted and hateful messages on campus, was put on campus during such a weekend, as previously reported by Mustang News.

In the past, Cal Poly officials have had conversations with the club about its annual free speech wall.

Lazier could not name any specific officials and wrote that the university cannot limit the activities of the club since it follows all university policies and procedures in creating the wall.

The Cal Poly College Republicans club secretary Sean Senn told Mustang News the free speech wall

is important because there is a growing culture that discourages conservative viewpoints from being shared publicly.

They were clearly trying to send a message to our community that we shouldn’t — we can’t feel safe on this campus.

JIANNA GLADFELTER Child development junior, SLO Hillel President

The first amendment protects people from the government infringing on their free speech rights. Senn was not able to name an instance of Cal Poly infringing on anyone’s free speech rights, including conservative students’ rights, and added that

his concern comes from whether it could happen in the future.

Senn agreed the free speech wall has a history of platforming bigoted and hateful speech, which puts it at odds with whether students from marginalized backgrounds feel welcome on campus.

To Senn, the free speech wall is the more important of the two.

“The principle of giving a platform to any and all beliefs, even if they are bigoted, is more important than the stress caused by those bigoted, hateful comments,” Senn told Mustang News.

Senn confirmed that the Cal Poly College Republicans club puts up the wall every school year out of its own volition and he said that if anyone is offended by what’s on it, they can choose to simply not look at it.

“If you’re concerned about being distressed or being harmed by the wall, you’re free to ignore the wall,” Senn said.

It’s not that simple, said Gladfelter, Hillel’s president. A swastika represents trauma for Jewish people and plenty others who suffered under the Nazi regime.

“That trauma carries through generations,” Gladfelter said. “So to be reminded of that, especially next to a symbol that represents our community is just so scary because it definitely feels like a threat.”

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MUSTANG NEWS FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022

NEWS

LILY TENNER | MUSTANG NEWS Students gather and engage with one another in front of the free speech wall.

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LINDYHOPPERS SLOWLY RETURN TO DANCE FLOOR AFTER PANDEMIC We did not beat anyone who was ahead of us [all season]; we have to win the Big West, anything less than that, I don’t think we get in to the NCAA tournament.

TODD ROGERS

NEWS

MUSTANG NEWS

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022

Head Coach Of Cal Poly beach Volleyball

SCAN HERE TO SEE THE DANCERS IN ACTION!

EMILIE JOHNSON | MUSTANG NEWS

BY ESTHER LO

Mark Fletcher’s wife came home from the Thursday farmers’ market one evening, grabbed him by his collar and said, “We were born to Lindy Hop!” She met some dancers from the Cal Poly Swing Club at the market and the couple soon began learning how to dance from the club.

That was 15 years ago. Fletcher is now an organizer and member of the local swing dancing club, SLO Rugcutters, and teaches beginning Lindy. His wife is a dance teacher at an elementary school in Paso Robles.

“It became an addiction,” Fletcher said.

Lindy Hop is a type of swing dance that originated from Harlem,

New York in the 1920s, according to the Rugcutter’s official website.

The social dance is accompanied with jazz music. There are different types of swing dances but the SLO Rugcutters mainly dance the Lindy Hop. Every Monday Fletcher, his wife and the Rugcutters meet at the Madonna Inn to Lindy Hop in the ballroom.

“A recipe for dancing is just great floor, great people and great music,” Robbie Hughes, another regular at the Madonna Inn, said.

Swing dancing is how Robbie met his wife, Bridget Hughes.

“The nice thing is you don’t even have to speak the same language as long as you know how to dance,” Bridget said.

The Fletchers and the Hugheses are a part of a small tight-knit swing dancing community that travels around the world and communicates with each other through the language of dance.

“We don’t speak in English, but we speak Lindy. We have this fantastic dance with people from South Korea and from Sweden and France and Spain,” Fletcher said. “I’ll ask somebody if they would like to dance and they speak to me in a different language and we’re all like, ‘yeah.’

It’s just super fun and we don’t miss a beat.”

Like many other communities around the world, the swing dance community was hurt by the COVID19 pandemic.

“COVID really put a damper on

things, especially for a while we couldn’t come here [to the Madonna Inn],” Len Kawamoto, Cal Poly’s Swing Club Advisor, said.

The community is slowly returning to the dance floor, although not back to pre-pandemic numbers.

“Pre-COVID, it was really hard to find a spot on the floor,” Fletcher said.

The San Luis Obispo Rugcutters resumed their weekly dance nights at Madonna Inn in July, after canceling it for almost 16 months, according to their Facebook page.

Even after the indoor gathering restrictions were lifted, some dancers are still hesitant to return to the dance floor due to masking policies.

“Obviously, we’re not discouraging people from masking indoors,”

Kawamoto said. “If you feel comfortable masking, we totally respect that, but it’s really hard to do physical activity with a mask.”

Fletcher is one of those who cannot wear a mask while dancing.

“I have asthma so I can’t dance with a mask,” Fletcher said. “If I put a mask on, I sort of have an asthma attack.”

Fletcher is hopeful that people will slowly make their way back to the dance floor.

“People have crashed at different places along the coast and they’re just making their way back,” Fletcher said “The scene is growing back again.”

LINDYHOPPERS LENTAMENTE REGRESAN A LA PISTA DE BAILE DESPUÉS DE LA PANDEMIA

POR ESTHER LO

podíamos venir aquí [en el Madonna Inn]” — dijo Len Kawamoto, el consejero del club de Cal Poly Swing.

La comunidad está lentamente regresando a la pista de baile, aunque no vuelve a los números antes de la pandemia.

“Antes de COVID, era muy difícil encontrar un lugar en la pista” — dijo Fletcher.

Los San Luis Obispo Rugcutters reanudaron sus noches de baile semanales en el Madonna Inn en julio, después de cancelarlo por casi 16 meses, según su página de Facebook.

Aún después de que las restricciones de reuniones interiores fueron levantadas, algunos bailarines todavía dudan en regresar a la pista de baile debido a las regulaciones sobre el uso de mascarillas.

“Obviamente, no estamos desalentando a la gente de usar una mascarilla adentro” — Kawamoto dijo. “Si te sientes cómodo llevando mascarilla, lo respetamos, pero es muy difícil hacer las actividades físicas con una mascarilla”.

Fletcher es uno de ellos quien no puede llevar mascarilla mientras está bailando.

“Tengo asma así que no puedo bailar con una mascarilla” — Fletcher dijo. “Si me pongo una mascarilla, tengo un ataque de asma.”

Fletcher tiene la esperanza de que la gente regrese lentamente a la pista de baile de nuevo.

“Las personas han llegado a diferentes lugares a lo largo de la costa y están regresando” — dijo Fletcher.

“La escena está creciendo de nuevo”.

EN ESPAÑOL

de que sepas cómo bailar” — dijo Bridget.

Los Fletchers y los Hughes forman parte de una pequeña comunidad muy unida de baile swing que viaja alrededor del mundo y se comunican a través del idioma del baile.

“No hablamos en inglés, pero hablemos Lindy. Tenemos esta danza fantástica con gente de Corea del Sur y de Suecia y Francia y España” — dijo Fletcher. “Le pregunto a alguien si le gustaría bailar y me habla en un idioma diferente y todos estamos como ‘sí’. Es super divertido y no perdemos el ritmo”.

Como muchas otras comunidades alrededor del mundo, la comunidad de baile swing se vio muy afectada por la pandemia de COVID-19.

“COVID frenó las cosas, especialmente por un tiempo cuando no

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022

El artículo fue originalmente escrito en Inglés. La traducción en Español fue hecha por Mieke Esparza.

La esposa de Mark Fletcher llegó a su casa después de ir al mercado agrícola una tarde, lo agarró por el cuello y dijo — “¡Nacimos para el Lindy Hop!” Ella conoció a algunos bailarines del club de Cal Poly Swing en el mercado y la pareja pronto comenzó a aprender cómo bailar en el club.

Eso fue hace 15 años. Ahora Fletcher es un organizador y miembro del club de baile swing local, SLO Rugcutters, y enseña Lindy para principiantes. Su esposa es una maestra de baile en una escuela primaria en Paso Robles.

“Se volvió una adicción” — dijo

Fletcher.

Lindy Hop es un tipo de baile swing que se originó en Harlem, Nueva York en la década de los 1920s, según el sitio web oficial de los Rugcutters.

La danza social está acompañada con música Jazz. Hay diferentes tipos de bailes swing, pero los SLO Rugcutters principalmente bailan el Lindy Hop. Cada lunes, Fletcher, su esposa y los Rugcutters se reúnen en el Madonna Inn para bailar Lindy Hop en el salón de baile.

“Una receta para bailar solo es un gran piso, buenas personas y buena música” — dijo Robbie Hughes, otro bailarín habitual en el Madonna Inn. Bailando swing es cómo Robbie conoció a su esposa, Bridget Hughes.

“Lo bueno es que no tienes que hablar el mismo idioma con tal

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TESSA HUGHES | MUSTANG NEWS

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FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022

BEST BEST OF OF

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JACKIE ESPITIA | MUSTANG NEWS This is a photo of my friend Alex which I took for my editorial photography class. I would say this is one of my best photographs because it has a lot of my favorite qualities in a photograph in one – relfection, saturated color, glow and there is so much detail.

ANDY SHER AR | MUSTANG NEWS I took this photo of college band Kiwi Kannibal in San Luis Obispo while shooting a music video for their song, “Swimmer Boy.” My favorite part of making the video was working with a really talented team of people and integrating their ideas into a video that’s more than the sum of it’s parts!

EMMY SCHERER | MUSTANG NEWS I love this photo because it was really fun to shoot and experiment with concert photography! I used a broken CD to reflect the light from the stage, which made for a cool effect on the photo.

K AYL A STUART | MUSTANG NEWS This photo was taken at the women’s beach volleyball match vs USC on April 15. I captured this right before the player was about to serve. It is the decisive moment that the player has to make before serving.

LILY TENNER | MUSTANG NEWS

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EMILIE JOHNSON | MUSTANG NEWS The Morro Bay Rock at sunset. I love this photo because the reflection of the glassy beach was so beautiful and made for some dreamy photos.

EYASU BET WOS | MUSTANG NEWS This is Lauren Flaherty barrel racing at the 2022 Cal Poly Rodeo in April.

I like this photo because there is so much going on: the golden hour, Flaherty succeeding going around the barrel, the horse’s leg mid-air and lastly because it was my first picture at my first rodeo, of which I am very proud of.

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022

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BEST OF

TIANA REBER | MUSTANG NEWS

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FENN BRUNS | MUSTANG NEWS This is a collage I made based on feeling disconnected to the people around me no matter how close we may be. The isolation that mental illness creates for me was the main focus of this piece.

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MADDIE HARRELL | MUSTANG NEWS This photo was taken while the national anthem played at the 80th annual Cal Poly Royal Rodeo. I like how you can only see the shadow of Cal Poly’s Rodeo Queen, Megan Sharp , while she performs her favorite responsiblitiy of carrying the American flag.

SHAE ASHAMALL A | MUSTANG NEWS This photo was taken during the first day of WOW. It’s one of my favorites because WOW was one of my first photo assignments of the year and you can see a little bit of Bishop’s Peak in the background.

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How San Luis Obispo communities are impacted by the California drought CAMERYN OAKES | MUSTANG NEWS Jeremy Rose shows the beekeeping class (AEPS 175) a frame from a hive on campus.

NEWS

MUSTANG NEWS

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022

BY EMMA ROBERSTON, ELIZABETH WILSON

San Luis Obispo County has had its driest year in 128 years with having dropped over nine inches of average precipitation, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System.

For local communities, the drought has challenged agricultural industries and has inspired some individuals to adapt to the drier conditions.

Beekeeping and the drought

Jeremy Rose, a local commercial beekeeper, relies on his beekeeping business, the California Beekeeping Company, to support his family. Rose said that the impact of the drought has been “absolutely ridiculous.”

Rose is a Cal Poly alumni who graduated in 2007. He, along with Patrick Frazier, a 2006 Cal Poly graduate, returned to run the university’s beekeeping program. They have been leading the program since 2015.

“It’s beyond even description, because I have to make honey for a living for the program,” Rose said.

“The beekeeping program can keep going, but it’s very, very frustrating for Patrick and I to teach it.”

With the drought being a concern, the future of beekeeping for them

looks different.

“2020 was the first time I’ve seen robbing behavior –– where the beehives are actually stealing honey from other hives during April,” Rose said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that.”

Cal Poly. With more than one lab section, a few days a week, this means the hives are opened frequently, creating more stress within the bee populations.

“Having this many students continually open them, this adds more stress,” Frazier said. “We add a greater risk of death in the colony with how much pressure we’re putting on for teaching the students in our class.”

As of May 24, San Luis Obispo is considered to be partly in a severe and extreme drought, based on the percentage of drought, according to the United States Drought Monitor.

The drought impacts the plants and flowers bees rely on for pollination, as stated in an article by Entomology Today.

“They’re actually decreasing not only the honey that they’re

producing at this time, but because it’s a drought, they’re actually tapping into their reserves,’’ Rose said. “So the bees are actually eating the honey that they had stored up already, and it just stresses the high bound nutritionally, as well as behaviorally.”

I think a major response to the drought has been the development of drip irrigation and stuff like that, where you’re able to utilize a lot less water in agriculture, which is something that is really cool.

CAMERON LILLY 2021 Cal Poly civil engineering graduate

This year, there were many people enrolled in the beekeeping class at

ELIZABETH WILSON | MUSTANG NEWS Patrick Frazier and Jeremy Rose stand in the honey room next to the honey extractor.

Technological advances to combat the drought

Drought impacts on agriculture

The drought has strongly affected the farming industry, both small scale and large scale. Cameron Lilly, a 2021 Cal Poly civil engineering graduate, founded the Garden Club in 2018 “to prove that you can do something that’s sustainable.”

Now as a fruit and vegetable farmer in Sonoma County, Lilly said he has noticed that the increasing urgency to accommodate for the lack of rainwater has led many to find other ways to acquire their water supply.

2020 was the first time I’ve seen robbing behavior –– where the beehives are actually stealing honey from other hives during April, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that.

Local commercial beekeeper

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Sustainability after graduation

While Cal Poly has facilitated sustainable efforts made by students throughout their college careers, some plan to use their degrees after graduating.

Valliere said he is hoping to continue his education for targeted grazing.

“It’s basically just grazing animals with a specific goal in mind,” Valliere said. “The firebreak would be targeted grazing for fire prevention or you can do targeted grazing to eliminate certain invasive species.”

For other students that are interested in pursuing a similar career path, Valliere recommends talking to individuals working for the Natural Resources Management and Environmental Department on campus.

How Cal Poly is handling increased fire risk attributed to the drought

PATRICK FR AZIER | COURTESY Jeremy Rose instructs students in the beekeeping course (AEPS 175), inspecting a frame from the hive.

NEWS

While water availability and agricultural efficacy are affected, fire risk also has significantly increased with the drought. According to the National Integrated Drought Information System, unusually warm temperatures paired with drought “create increased potential for extreme wildfires that spread rapidly, burn with more severity, and are costly to suppress.”

However, Cal Poly has been combating this with the use of goats and sheep. Once a year around the end of June, Valliere said that the university’s goats and sheep are used to create a fire break of about 25-30 acres. With the drought’s intensification throughout 2022, he said that the sheep and goat program chose to start the process multiple weeks earlier than usual.

“The goal with [the animals] is they just reduce the amount of biomass that’s around so that if there were a fire, it wouldn’t spread as quickly and it would hopefully not burn as hot,” Valliere said, “Another thing that goats do is they eat the ladder shields, which are basically the fields that would carry a fire from ground level up a tree. It’s like a canopy.”

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022

Farmers in California’s Central Valley have been pumping groundwater, but depleting this water supply creates air pockets “so the weight of the soil above it will just crush it,” Lilly said. This eventually results in losses such as with elevation reduction, according to Lilly.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Central Valley produces one-fourth of the nation’s food supply, despite using less than 1% of the country’s farmland. With such a significant portion of food provision originating here, the drought’s extension past San Luis Obispo still poses a localized threat by affecting food security and prices.

Animal science senior and two year-long student manager for the sheep and goat Program, Sam Valliere, predicts this.

Valliere said he believes that the

recycle a lot of the water that’s used on campus and essentially use it again for irrigation,” Grieshop said.

MUSTANG NEWS

JEREMY ROSE

cost of growing feed for animals to eat will increase with the lack of water availability, and in turn, food prices will become less affordable and people may no longer get “as good a quality of food as they’re used to eating.”

In addition to a possible food price spike, another potential repercussion from the drought both in San Luis Obispo and across California could be a monopolization of water supply, Lilly said. According to Lilly, “the only people who can afford wells and get into deep groundwater are huge agricultural corporations,” creating an unprecedented monopoly.

“Water rights for individual homeowners and citizens and people is going to be something that people are going to have to actually fight for, which is something that was probably unheard of, like, 20 years ago,” Lilly said.

However, even with the agricultural dilemmas that the drier seasons have presented, it has also encouraged technological advancement.

“I think a major response to the drought has been the development of drip irrigation and stuff like that, where you’re able to utilize a lot less water in agriculture, which is something that is really cool,” Lilly said.

Lilly advocates for people to become more self-sufficient by growing their own food and avoiding store purchases of what they can grow.

The U.S. Census of Agriculture said that one acre to a depth of one foot requires about 325,851 gallons of water on average. An at-home smaller and more curated garden would require less water and would thus be more drought-friendly, Lilly said.

Currently, the Cal Poly Corporation is working on different research initiatives and soil health studies that

can be used to mitigate the drought.

Matthew Grieshop was hired as the founding director of the Grimm Family Center for Organic Production and Research this year under the Cal Poly Corporation.

Grieshop’s role has been relatively new, but he currently is working on “renovating a lab to be basically an organic soil fertility lab.”

“The emphasis of organic agriculture is really on building healthy soil with a bigger living component and more carbon in it,’’ Grieshop said. “It tends to be more drought resistant because the soil holds on to water better.”

For holding water in the soil, Grieshop said that cover crops, or crops that are in place of the main crop during the year, help retain moisture. Future plans by Cal Poly to mitigate the drought effects include new water treatment systems, according to Grieshop.

“Cal Poly is looking into the development of a new water treatment system that would allow us to

12

The Past, Present and Future

OF THE SAN LUIS ORIENTAL MARKET

NEWS

MUSTANG NEWS

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022

BY TINI NGUYEN

FANI GAU | COURTESY

Meng Gau and Sim Khoy opened the first Asian market in San Luis Obispo back in 1992. They owned a local donut shop previously, but the idea of opening a store that specializes in Asian products sparked after they weren’t able to have access to ingredients they were accustomed to using. “[My husband’s parents] had nowhere to shop,” Fani Gau, owner of San Luis Oriental Market, said. “And that’s why the idea began.”

Fani owns San Luis Oriental Market alongside her husband, Peter Gau. The married couple bought the business from Peter’s parents, Meng Gau and Khoy, in 2018. Prior to buying the store, Fani worked at Trader Joe’s as a crew member.

Meng is of Cambodian descent, while Khoy is Chinese. Their son Peter is Chinese-Cambodian and his wife Fani is Hispanic.

Since the transfer of ownership, the new owners made a few changes around the business. Fani said that she and her husband put a “more youthful spin” to the market, but she believes that her in-laws had a general understanding of what’s commonly used in Asian cuisine.

“Of course, through the years, my in-laws had so much experience of what each nationality tends to buy, like Filipino food, Chinese, Japanese, Korean,” Fani said.

For Fani, she spent time learning about the culture and researching what everyone routinely buys, including trying different recipes, which helped expand her flavor palate.

“My husband and I like to go out and try different items, and I feel like because we do that, we have curated items that we bring into the store,” Fani said. “I want to say probably about 90% of the items that you do see in our shop, I think that we have personally [chosen].”

The new additions the couple introduced to the San Luis Oriental Market include fresh items – such as

noodles and vegetables and a variety of frozen products and trendy foods, like snacks, candies and drinks.

The shelves of the market are full of colorful products from companies like Meiji, Nongshim and Glico, etc.

“We want to keep our store very authentic and want to keep the needs of not only the Asian culture because I feel like nowadays, everyone’s cooking,” Fani said.

According to Fani, her in-laws have donated to the Cal Poly Chinese Student Associations’ (CSA) Lion Dance Team for well over a decade.

In return, the team performs in front of the market during Lunar New Year. Fani and her husband plan to continue this tradition.

Unlike other businesses, the San Luis Oriental Market was not as negatively impacted due to COVID. “We didn’t really change our stock at the beginning of COVID. I think it was because a lot of people were panic-buying [from] bigger chains like Vons and Ralph’s,” Fani said. “I don’t think it was necessarily that people didn’t want to shop in our store, but our parents didn’t really do a lot of advertisement.”

Fani said the pandemic actually helped their business quite a bit as they were able to reach more people as the demand for basic items, like canned goods, increased. The couple also introduced curbside pick-up to help ease customers’ concerns about COVID. Longtime customer and friend to the couple Dale Beights has been shopping at the San Luis Oriental Market for about 24 years.

“I shop at all types of stores,” Beights said. “However, San Luis Oriental Market is my go-to specialty market.”

Heather Harris is another customer and friend who frequently shops at the market and has been for more than eight years now. Her husband took her there for mochi while they were dating, and “it became a weekly visit for snacks and spices.”

“I shop there for so many reasons, the main reasons being the

environment and choices,” Harris said. “I cook a lot and they have so many spices, sauces, herbs and food you cannot find anywhere else.”

Currently, Fani and Peter are the only employees at the market. Prior, Peter’s parents helped out here and there until they officially retired.

However, they hope to change that in the future.

“We would like to continue to expand our products and try new items [and] keep growing our social media presence,” Peter said. “Down the road, our ultimate goal is to move into a bigger location and hire employees.”

According to Fani, most of their customers learn about the store by word of mouth. She hopes to change this by learning more about how to promote the business on social media and collaborating with Cal Poly organizations in the future.

The owners also have plans to rebrand their store sometime, including changing the store name and creating a logo.

The term “oriental,” used in the store’s name, is outdated and has a history of being used offensively towards the Asian community. “[‘Oriental’] kind of generalizes all Asians as being the same, so you lose your identity as an ethnic group in the eyes of the speaker,” Cal Poly civil engineering alumnus PJ Yebisu said.

Fani Gau first thought about changing the business name when her in-laws were still running the store. However, it was only an opinion she didn’t voice since it wasn’t her store yet.

“My husband and I thought about it from the beginning, but having the name change involves a lot of paperwork and money,” Fani said.

Fani said that there would hopefully be a name change within the next year.

Oct. 1 this year is the San Luis Oriental Market’s 30th anniversary, as well as Fani’s birthday.

“I want to have a big celebration,” Fani said. “I think it’s a big deal. It’s going to bring people together.”

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THE MAKING

15

OF THE

POLY ROYAL RODEO QUEEN

BY AVA KERSHNER AND MADDIE HARRELL

For now, the Cal Poly sophomore saddles up her family’s 13-year-old quarter horse, Roxy, to ride out for her first and favorite event of Poly Royal –– the carrying of the American flag.

The carrying of the flag is an honor that is only bestowed to someone who holds the title of Poly Royal Rodeo Queen.

Now, she drapes her sparkling sash that reads “Miss Cal Poly Rodeo 2022” across her white button-down.

As Megan and Roxy waltzed over to the arena, the audience was met with a gleaming smile and a wave.

Megan donned the white cowgirl hat decorated with a golden crown on the front and a pair of chaps with green and gold tassels, along with secret signatures on the inside from Poly Royal Rodeo Queens of the past.

These garments are all reserved for Poly Royal Rodeo Queens only.

Of course, the real rodeo badge of honor is the belt buckle. Sharp shined her crowning glory and let everyone in the arena know her highness had arrived.

The excitement of the rodeo members swelled, as well as dust from the horses dancing around. The announcer’s Montana drawl went on, describing the members to be built with “hard work, dedication and determination.”

Finally, it was time for Megan’s favorite part. The music swelled as the announcer appealed to the audience’s patriotism: “Look at our way of life, look at the drive that we have, look at the people that we love and the lives we live,” he said.

Sharp rode out. The American flag waved behind her, its pole tucked into her cowgirl boot. The riders and their horses lined up, the crowd rose to its feet and the national anthem started to play as the dust settled.

It was Megan’s time to shine.

FEATURE

riding and pushing cattle out that want to keep running. Not to mention, be a walking encyclopedia of rodeo rules and regulations. To become a Poly Royal Rodeo Queen, one also must go through multiple tests on poise, personality, appearance, horsemanship and knowledge of Poly Royal.

“Megan does a good job representing our program in all those traditional ways and she is also a very competitive athlete in the field,” Rodeo Coach Ben Londo said.

Megan’s competitive nature has kept her winning saddles and buckles for her achievements, according to her mom Debbie. It also helps her keep up with the ever-growing rodeo industry, which Debbie said has become much tougher since she was in college.

“When we were competing, many kids just got by on their natural athletic ability,” Debbie said. “Now they are watching instructional videos, watching replays of their practice runs and taking it more seriously.”

The horses are also bred to be better and the kids are starting rodeo much younger. Debbie said the scene is becoming “much tougher” as the years go on.

Megan is now preparing to attend three professional rodeos this summer while representing the Cal Poly Rodeo program.

After her reign as Poly Royal Rodeo Queen is over, she said she hopes to continue climbing the ladder at Cal Poly and make it onto the rodeo’s points team. The select group of six men and four women competes throughout the season and brings the gold to the green and gold.

“Being a part of the rodeo team is just so amazing,” Megan said. “[The new goal is] to make our points team and hopefully make nationals in my next two years of competing.”

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022

MADDIE HARREL | MUSTANG NEWS Not only did Sharp get to wear an engraved crown as Rodeo Queen but her own special golden belt buckle too.

80th anniversary, she felt as if a legacy was fulfilled. Megan recalled even getting into Cal Poly and joining the rodeo team to be a feat in itself, let alone winning the title of Poly Royal Rodeo Queen.

“When they said my name, it was just so rewarding that all my hard work paid off,” Megan said.

Her mom, dad, aunt, uncle and sister all came to watch. They knew she faced tough competition, and were thrilled she came out even tougher.

“To rodeo for Cal Poly and be Miss Cal Poly Rodeo has been a dream of Megan’s since she was a little girl,” Debbie said.

When it comes to rodeo and pageant queens, there is a difference, despite them both having crowns and sashes. However, at the beginning of Poly Royal, there wasn’t much of a distinction.

Queens for Poly Royal pre-1990 were chosen to be considered “trophies” of the Learn by Doing University, according to 2021 Poly Royal Rodeo Queen Maggie Usher.

However, nowadays, that’s not the case.

“I feel like rodeo queens is kind of where we differ from pageants and other competitions like that,” Usher said. “We have to know how to get our hands dirty.”

The Poly Royal Rodeo Queen’s duties in 2022 are much more than smiling and waving, Usher said. A queen must have horsemanship, or the altogether skills of riding, training and truly caring for their horse.

“Your body language works with their body language,” Megan said.

“The athleticism of the horse is that they can go so fast and stop automatically and listen to the cues of your hands and feet.”

More specific arena duties of the Poly Royal Rodeo Queens include carrying flags of sponsors while

MUSTANG NEWS

Two pink cowgirl boots. A pink helmet. A horse named Lulu.

That’s all a 6-year-old Megan Sharp needed to ride around three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern at a speed she had never attempted. Up until then, she had only competed in a tamer style of events called Western Pleasure, which emphasizes the slow and sophisticated side of a horse’s skills.

This was Sharp’s first barrel race, where she realized: she wanted to go fast.

“The second that I turned that third barrel home and ran home, I told my mom that Western Pleasure was too slow for me,” Sharp said. “I wanted to do something fast.”

It was a life-changing experience for the girl who would eventually become the 2022 Poly Royal Rodeo Queen.

Sharp came from a rodeo family.

Horse shows laid the foundation for horsemanship early on. Gaining the trust of a horse, proper riding technique and athletic ability are characteristics that have been ingrained in Megan since she was a little girl. “[Megan] started riding when she was old enough to sit in front of the saddle with her mom and grandma and keep her head up,” Megan’s mother, Debbie Sharp, wrote in an email to Mustang News.

With the support of her family, Megan continued to pursue rodeo and even followed in her parents’ footsteps to Cal Poly. Something that, in her mom’s words, has been a “long time coming.”

“Every time we would drive through San Luis Obispo, we would drive her through the rodeo grounds and the campus and tell her our stories over and over,” Debbie said.

When Megan found out she was Miss Cal Poly Rodeo for Poly Royal’s

MADDIE HARREL | MUSTANG NEWS Megan Sharp performed her favorite duty as Rodeo Queen, riding out with the American flag tucked in her cowgirl boot for the National Anthem.

16

MUSTANG NEWS SPORTS TEAM’S

HIGHLIGHTS

OF THE YEAR

EMMY SCHERER | MUSTANG NEWS Senior Linebacker Matt Shotwell flexes after making a stop.

MUSTANG NEWS

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022

BY SPORTS STAFF

Cal Poly students will now be help It was quite the year for Cal Poly Athletics. From Women’s Soccer winning the Big West regular season title for the first time since 2013 to Beach Volleyball securing their third straight Big West title and appearance in the NCAA tournament, the Mustangs competed at the highest of levels.

Despite not being a university known for its sports teams, there was plenty to remember. The Mustang News Sports Team broke down their favorite moments from Cal Poly sports this year:

Football wins a thriller

SPORTS

- Noah Greenblatt

Watching football beat Idaho State was my favorite sports moment this year. My friends and I had all decided to go to the game, but we ended up leaving early. Luckily, one of our friends had pulled the game up on his phone and so we saw that Idaho state was about to tie the game. Once

they tied it, we all ran to Spanos Stadium and got there just in time to watch Idaho State muff a punt, Jaden Ohlsen drill the game-winner and the defense make a final stop — all before we could even catch our breath.

Camille Lafaix’s game winner - Nick Bandanza

Camille Lafaix’s overtime game-winning goal against Cal State Fullerton to open Big West play was my favorite moment to witness this year. Lafaix received the pass inside the box, took a slight touch to the right and placed the game-winner into the bottom right corner of the goal. Women’s soccer was the first team I covered at Cal Poly as a first-year. The team introduced me to Cal Poly athletics and Lafaix’s goal in the 93rd minute will forever stick with me as my earliest memory of Cal Poly sports.

Men’s Basketball shows grit in double OT matchup

MADDIE HARRELL | MUSTANG NEWS Brooks Lee smiles at his dad and head coach Larry Lee after a double.

- Gabe Arditti

Sometimes victories and defeats do not tell the entire story, such as when men’s basketball had one of their best games of the season in a losing effort against Cal State University, Northridge (CSUN) at home. Brantley Stevenson hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to send the game to overtime and cap off a 14-2 Mustang run over the final 2:21.

Then, the Mustangs took a lead with six seconds left, before CSUN had a last second shot of their own to take the game to double over time.

The Matadors outscored the Mustangs 16-11 in the frame, but Cal Poly showed the community what they were made of on this night.

A big night from Alimamy Koroma - Matthew Ho

My favorite moment from the men’s basketball season was their home

EYASU BET WOS | MUSTANG NEWS Junior Alimamy Koroma elevates for the bucket.

17

EYASU BET WOS | MUSTANG NEWS Beach Volleyball wins third straight Big West Championship.

K AYL A STUART | MUSTANG NEWS Womens’ soccer celebrates a goal.

win against UC Irvine. The Mustangs were previously blown out by Irvine 48-72, but came back in their homestand and won 65-54. Center Alimamy Koroma had one of his best games of the season, scoring 27 points and grabbing seven boards.

He scored in a variety of ways from his right hand hook over to cleaning up missed shots and shooting pickand-pop threes. They played with energy and executed on the offensive end. It was a glimpse into what the men’s basketball team could be moving forward.

Kirsty Brown enters the record books

The rise of Truax and Wick - Derek Righetti

Hitting two home runs in back-toback at-bats is rare, but hitting grand slams in back-to-back at bats is unheard of. Amos’ eight RBIs in a 14-2 victory against Cal State Bakersfield set a new program record while matching the Big West single-game record. The victory itself was also a part of the Mustangs’ 10-game conference win streak, which was impressive after the team was winless in its first 13 games.

Kaylyn Noh leads women’s golf to title - Mia-Isobel Craig

It was Cal Poly versus Hawaii in the Big West Championship. The Mustangs were down by nine strokes before going into the final six holes.

Freshman Kaylyn Noh managed to close the gap and tie the two teams after a par on the 18th hole. In the one-hole playoff, Cal Poly beat Hawaii by four strokes and won their second straight Big West title, while Noh was crowned Golfer of the Year.

Baseball’s installment of the Blue/Green rivalry - Kylie Hastings

My favorite sports moment was going to the Friday UC Santa Barbara versus Cal Poly baseball game. It was packed with students and community members and one of many sellouts at Baggett Stadium this sea-

Beach volleyball goes back-to-back-to-back - Miles Berman

Coming into the Big West tournament at home, the Mustang beach volleyball team was third in their very own conference. They had yet to beat someone ranked ahead of them.

However, the mix of true freshman, players fighting for a spot and staples in the lineup, like Tia Miric and Jayelin Lombard, beach volleyball won four straight matches with two consecutive comebacks to earn their third ticket in a row to the NCAA championship event. The Cal Poly home crowd witnessed excellence in front of their eyes.

EYASU BET WOS | MUSTANG NEWS Maddie Amos connects for an extra-base hit.

A proper farewell for Brooks Lee - Diego Sandoval

Brooks Lee may be one of the best athletes to ever come through Cal Poly. It was only fitting that in his final week at Baggett Stadium, the projected lottery pick in the 2022 MLB Draft blasted a homerun in each of his final four games in San Luis Obispo playing for his dad, head coach Larry Lee. Watching each homer fly through the air was special for everyone in the stadium, as it felt like he was cementing his legacy in Mustang history before our eyes.

EYASU BET WOS | MUSTANG NEWS Freshman Kaylyn Noh celebrates winning Big West Golfer of the Year.

SPORTS

Seeing the wrestling superstars of Evan Wick and Bernie Truax evolve into a powerful 1-2 combo and watching the two of them feed off of each other was incredible to see.

Capping off an amazing 2022 season with two All-Americans was my highlight. The two of them are setting

- Kyle Har

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022

Before finishing up her career at Cal Poly, graduate forward Kirsty Brown made her official mark on the record books on March 3. With a starting appearance on the court, despite injury, Brown officially became the women’s basketball program’s alltime leader in games played. Securing 125 games under her belt, she surpassed the previous record holder, Jonae Ervin, who played 124 games. This was a sweet moment to end Brown’s fifth and final season as a Mustang.

Back-to-back slams for Maddie Amos

son. When the Mustangs tied the game in the sixth, and then again in the ninth, the crowd erupted. It was so fun to be a part of that and to see so much school spirit for a Cal Poly sports team.

MUSTANG NEWS

- Gwendalyn Garcia

up Cal Poly’s wrestling program for the future and proving that this program is not one to mess with.

18

MY MY COLLEGE COLLEGE REFLECTION REFLECTION memories.

You will take life’s false certainties for granted. There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t wonder what my life would look like had it not been for two years of online school.

Weighing the consequences would take forever. It only takes a minute for everything to change, so you may as well get comfortable with the possibility.

Just because you’re alone doesn’t

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022

As I read through these old journal entries I’m incredibly proud of how far I’ve come in my four years at Cal Poly. I made lots of mistakes, laughed, cried, laughed until I cried and missed more than a few opportunities.

MUSTANG NEWS

SIERRA PARR Journalism senior

SIERR A PARR | MUSTANG NEWS

BY SIERRA PARR

OPINION

Sierra Parr is a journalism senior and news reporter for Mustang News. Her views reflected in this piece don’t necessarily reflect those of Mustang News.

I kept a journal all through college.

At the ripe old age of 21, I can safely say this is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It’s supposed to be an

exercise in processing emotion but because I’m a bit of a sentimentalist I can’t help but take the occasional peek at the musings of my former self.

From the days of hoping my roommate wasn’t looking over my shoulder as I wrote down all my “firsts” at my yakʔitʸutʸu standard-issue desk, this leather-bound treasure has been with me through it all. As I’ve

reached the point where my journal records nothing but “lasts,” I think it’s only fair to share some of the things I’ve learned from looking back: As much as you want something to work out, it will be okay if it doesn’t.

The best times I’ve had in college have been deeply intertwined with moving past something or someone that wasn’t meant to be. Savor the

mean you have to be lonely. College comes with a lot of pressure to make meaningful connections with other people. Don’t forget to hold that same space for your relationship with yourself. I’ve learned to love solo hikes, trips to the movies and dinner dates in the kitchen for one.

How you relate to your family will change. As the first in my family to move away, I’ve spent a lot of time feeling guilty over the frequency of my calls home. Things are permanently different now than they were when I was in high school. It doesn’t mean that there’s any less love. You will learn to navigate the next phase together.

Advocate for yourself and what you want. Never be afraid to ask for clarity. It will save you a lot of longing for people and things that aren’t worth your time. Take the leap.

It’s much easier than standing on a ledge and stubbornly waiting for the ground to come to you.

Friends will weave in and out of your life, but the true ones are stubborn. I met my best friend in our dorm bathroom. She lived two doors down but we didn’t speak again for another year. My friend who I depend on for advice went a whole year thinking I hated him. The person I never had the courage to speak to in high school was my constant companion through a lazy college summer. I’m always grateful to them for staying.

You will not have the chance to do everything. As a freshman I had thousands of visions of what my college life would look like. I could be anyone, meet everyone and see everything. But the truth is, with mere days left in San Luis Obispo, I have yet to do the tri-tip challenge, see a movie at the drive-in or stargaze in Prefumo Canyon. I will have to make peace with the bucket list items that remain unchecked.

As I read through these old journal entries I’m incredibly proud of how far I’ve come in my four years at Cal Poly. I made lots of mistakes, laughed, cried, laughed until I cried and missed more than a few opportunities. However, I’m pretty content with where this set of choices took me. Thank you to my friends and family for seeing me through this journey even when I was more than a little insufferable.

FRIENDS AT FIRST SIGHT: THE FALSE REALITY OF COLLEGE FRIENDSHIPS

BY GRACIE SCHWEITZER

Gracie Schweitzer is a psychology sophomore and opinion columnist for Mustang News. The views expressed in this piece don’t necessarily reflect those of Mustang News.

tionships are rare to last all four years of obstacles and self-navigation. Our first year selves often have such high expectations about what college will give to us; most often these expectations have been built on stories from long-ago graduates and our own idealistic imaginations.

In no way am I saying your first year relationships are doomed because that too would make me shed a tear.

One of my greatest friends lived two doors down from my dorm and she and I are going to be roommates again next year.

The friendships you make during your first few months might still exist today, but I am here to say those relationships are rare to last all four years of obstacles and self-navigation. Our first year selves often have such high expectations about what college will give to us; most often these expectations have been built on stories from long-ago graduates and our own idealistic imaginations.

OPINION

What I am exposing are the facts: most forced first year relationships do not last past a few months.

Friendships face many obstacles and require faith; these two things only come with time. Time, faith and trust are what make these friendships last. The friends you make in the first few months of college cannot yet be called your forever friends.

So, first years, do not force friends and do not expect the friendships you make now to be there in full force for the next four years. Life, personal growth and different journeys determine which friendships stand the test of time, and those that are only meant to impact us for a short while.

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022

GRACE SCHWEITZER Psychology sophomore, opinion columnist

MUSTANG NEWS

You’ve heard the story a thousand times: “We met at WOW and have been friends ever since!” But is that really how most college friendships are made?

Personally, it took me a while to find my best friends in college and, even after that, there still comes the test of time and the obstacles that every relationship endures.

Growing up, we all hear stories of how great the college days were for our parents and how many of their life-long friendships were made during these years. What parents don’t share with us is the fact that many of the friendships they built while at college took a while to make or find.

Move-in day has to be one of the most exhilarating days of a college student’s life; it is the day we settle into the place we will spend the next four to five years of our lives. I remember my move-in day. I had the biggest smile on my face and thought that those across the hall from me would be my greatest friends of that year and future years to come. This, however, was soon to be proven false.

Sure, my floormates and I all got along well enough to live together, but I did not find my people there or during my first weeks of college. I came into college like so many other first years, thinking that the people I met and spent every second with during my first few months of college were going to be in my life forever.

I have watched many people go through the same experience that I did as well. I eventually came to realize that we were all led to falsely believe in this reality of friends in the first week, first month or even first quarter.

Every person that enters our lives comes for a reason. The same is said about the brief friendships we make during our first few months of college when we are thinking these people are going to be everything for the next four years. We spend many moments trying to solidify these relationships and these moments have an impact on the future friendships we make.

The friendships you make during your first few months might still exist today, but I am here to say those rela-

19

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CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2022!

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Congratulations Class of 2022!

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Congratulations, Graduates!

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GRAD ADS Congratulations to the class of 2022. Read some speacial messages from your family members in the pages ahead!

CLASS OF

2022

Maureen LaGrande Master of Agricultural Education

Enjoy the wild ride,

make a wish and blow,

keep your head held high,

off to CCA you go!

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Communication, 2021. She will be working for the California Cattlemen’s Association as Associate Director of Communications. “Our hearts are full of pride as you venture out into the world. Be brave and treasure every moment.”

Love forever, Dad, Mom, & Theresa XXXOOO

CLASS OF

2022

SOPHIE LINCOLN BACHELOR OF SCIENCE JOURNALISM CONGRATULATIONS, SOPHIE! You have worked hard and learned so much. We couldn’t be prouder of you and your accomplishments at Cal Poly and we can’t wait to watch you take on the world. We love you!

Love: Mom & Dad

CLASS OF

2022

ASHLEY HOLLY BACHELOR OF LIBERAL ARTS JOURNALISM CONGRATULATIONS ASHLEY ON YOUR GRADUATION FROM CAL POLY SLO! We are so proud of you... Pursue your passion, work hard towards your goals, and you will do great things!

We love you!

Mom, Dad, Edward, and Sofie

CLASS OF

2022

Dakota Reynolds BACHELOR OF SCIENCE Construction Management WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU, DAKOTA! Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right. Always look both ways, son. We love you dearly!

Love, Mom, Dad, Tommy, Michelle, Grandpa Salt & Pepper and Grandma Donna, Grandpa Larry and Grandma Sue, Milan, Samara, Ovie, Colt, Cassidy, Rebecca, Allie, Will, Wyatt, and Casey

CLASS OF

2022

Rita Elisabeth “Ellie” Auerbach BACHELOR OF SCIENCE Business Administration, Entrepreneurship, cum laude CONGRATULATIONS, ELLIE! “Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” - MLK Ellie - we are so proud and awed by your achievements. You continue to amaze us and make us proud.

“Kid, you’ll move mountains.”

- Dr. Seuss Your Biggest Fan Club: Mom, Dad, and Carly

CLASS OF

2022

Parsa Khosravi BACHELOR OF SCIENCE Business Administration DEAR PARSA, Words cannot describe how proud we are of you and all that you have accomplished. This is only the beginning of the bright future that lays ahead of you. Get out there and change the world for the better, like you always have.

Mom, Dad, & Pear

‘22

CONGR ATUL ATIONS!

CLASS OF

2022

ANDREW MCCOMBS

Brynna Laney Barton BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing Management Minors in Psychology and Media Arts, Society & Technology

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | Mechanical Engineering

“CHARACTER IS THE REAL FOUNDATION OF ALL WORTHWHILE SUCCESS” Congratulations on the degree too! We love you so much sweet Brynna Bug & could not be more excited as you embark on another exciting new beginning!

CONGRATULATIONS! We know you have an awesome future ahead of you and we are so proud of all of your accomplishments!

We love you so much,

Dad, Mom, Addison & Emersynn

Love from Mom, Dad, and Ryan

CLASS OF

CLASS OF

AVA ROSE Kershner

kyle suchy

2022

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE JOURNALISM YOU DID IT!!

Ava, we are so proud of you and love you! Congratulations! It’s been a joy watching your star shine...

Remember, you’ve got glitter in your veins and sparkling wings...now it’s time to fly!

Mama, Katie, and Bean

2022

BACHELOR OF science biological science CONGRATULATIONS KYLE! We are so very proud of you!

Enjoy this moment!

Dad, Mom, Adam, Matthew and Allyson

CLASS OF

CLASS OF

Juliete seo

AUstin cheok

2022

2022

BACHELOR OF Science Journalism

BACHELOR OF science industrial engineering

CONGRATULATIONS JULIETE! We’re so proud of your accomplishments! It has been amazing to watch you grow into the incredible, adventurous, brave and sweet person that you are!

Your upward journey continues! May all your dreams come true!

CONGRATULATIONS! We are so proud of you!

Happy Graduation to you!

Love, Justin, Mom, and Dad

~ A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. ~ Sun Tzu

Love you! Mom and Dad

CLASS OF

CLASS OF

2022

2022

Ana Conrado

Lily Bennett

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | Biomedical Engineering

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | Animal Science

CONGRATULATIONS YOU DID IT!!

Happy graduation! Enjoy your achievements, friendships, and be excited about what the future will bring. We love you and are so very proud of you.

Mom & Dad

CONGRATULATIONS LILY! You have been our greatest gift! Watching you grow into the amazing young woman you have become has been a blessing. Your future is bright and we couldn’t be prouder! We love you!

Mom, Dad and the entire Bennett family

CLASS OF

CLASS OF

2022

2022

Emily Haykoupian

TESSA HUGHES

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | Materials Engineering

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | JOURNALISM

CONGRATUALTIONS EMILY! YOU DID IT! We love you and are so proud of you! Now go out there, explore and enjoy!

CONGRATUALTIONS TESSA! We are incredibly proud of you! Never stop being yourself and keep on being bold. Today is your day, bask in it, enjoy it. Tomorrow begins your next adventure, go after it!

Love, mom, dad, Maya, Missy,

Love, Mom, Dad, & Emma

and the entire Haykoupian and Vartan families

CLASS OF

CLASS OF

2022

Josh Rauvola

2022

NICOLE MILLER BACHELOR OF Science Business Administration, Accounting and Finance

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | EConomics & Computer engineering

CONGRATULATIONS! We are so proud of you and all your achievements! Your hard work has paid off. We look forward to all you will accomplish in the future and may God bless you along the way. We love you always!

Mom, Dad, Jacob and Family

CONGRATS JOSH! We are so, so proud of you. Keep believing that no dream is out of reach or too hard. This is just the beginning, the world is your oyster. We love you so much!

Your biggest fans: Mom, Dad, Jake, and Alexa

CLASS OF

CLASS OF

2022

Brandon Borba

2022

MADISON RENEE BELLAH BACHELOR OF SCIENCE JOURNALISM CONGRATULATIONS MADI! We are so proud of you! The next chapter gets really good and it’s waiting for you to write it. Follow your heart, it knows the way. We love you!

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | DAIRY SCIENCE

Mom, Dad, Alex, and Amelia

WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU! Your determination and dedication brought you to this special day. Keep reaching for the stars; the possibilities are endless. Keep believing in yourself and your faith in God. Always follow your dreams.

Love, Dad, Mom, Brock and Seth & Family

CLASS OF

CLASS OF

2022

2022

Ryan Percy

Ren Archibald Jaecks

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | BioResource & Agricultural Engineering

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

CONGRATULATIONS RYAN! We are so proud of you! Love You More!

CONGRATULATIONS, YOU DID IT!!

You’ve dreamed of flying, Ren, ever since you were little - always making wings to “fly” with, building paper airplanes (broomsticks, fairy dust, flying cars, and magic capes too). You did it! Congratulations on reaching your dream.

Mom and Dad

Mom, Dad, Kaya, Chauncey, Lilli & Family

CLASS OF

CLASS OF

2022

Sebastien Danthinne

2022

camille sage Wilson BACHELOR OF science animal science CONGRATULATIONS! We love you and admire your dedication and compassion. Keep following your heart, wherever it may take you!

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | COMPUTER Engineering

Mom, Dad and Angelina

CONGRATULATIONS YOU DID IT!!

“Scientists investigate that which already is; Engineers create that which has never been.” – Albert Einstein May life bring you adventures, joy, and a chance to help create a better world!

We love you!

Mama, Papa, Elisa, Simon, Michaela

CLASS OF

CLASS OF

2022

2022

Ethan E. Usher

Kinsey Switalski

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | bioresource & agricultural engineering

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | LIBERAL ARTS

SO PROUD OF YOU, E! You knew what you wanted from Day 1 and went after it! Keep following your dreams!

Love, Mom & Dad

CONGRATULATIONS! We are so proud of you! We can’t wait to see what you do next!

Your family

CLASS OF

CLASS OF

2022

2022

Nishanth Reddy Narayan

James Schireman

BACHELOR OF arts | history

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | City and Regional Planning

CONGRATUALTIONS NISHANTH! I am so proud of all your accomplishments and all the hard work you’ve put in. I’m extremely proud of such a kind, loving, caring grandson who always finds time to call everyday however pressed for time he is. You are a GEM of a grandson.

CONGRATULATIONS YOU DID IT!!

James! So proud of you! Wherever life takes you, I know you’ll make the most of it. Invest in yourself and remember to look out the window—you only pass this way once. Love you!

Love you tons!! Avva

Love, Mom

Meet the Cal Poly transfer student who appeared on your

CALIFORNIA RECALL BALLOT INITIATIVE FOR CLIMATE LEADERSHIP AND RESILIENCE to host inaugural event this weekend

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