Issuu

T hur sday, Januar y 8, 2 0 15

Established 19 16

w w w. m u s t a n g n e w s . n et

Looking back at 2014’s most compelling stories. DYLAN SUN | MUSTANG NE WS

see page 6 to test your knowledge of 2014.

IAN BILLINGS | MUSTANG NE WS

FILE PHOTO | MUSTANG NE WS

MORGAN BUTLER | MUSTANG NE WS

IAN BILLINGS | MUSTANG NE WS

Thursday, January 8, 2015

NEWS | 2

A fairytale ending: Cal Poly wins Rose Parade award

TOM ZASADZINSKI | CAL POLY POMONA THE EAGLE HAS LANDED | Cal Poly students drove down to Pomona on multiple weekends to complete the “Soaring Stories” float before its unveiling on New Year’s.

Samantha Pryor @ sammpryor

Promptly at 6 a.m. on New Years Day, Young Choi, landscape architecture senior and rose float production manager, arrived at the Tournament House in Pasadena, California, anticipating the result of the judge’s awards. Choi and his fellow float workers, from both Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly Pomona, had spent the last 10 months designing and building a float to be presented in the 126th annual Rose Parade. Choi and the rose float team thought there was a good chance their efforts would be recognized with an award. However, as the judges went through the results, Cal Poly went uncalled award after award. But finally, when the last award was announced, Cal Poly had its win.

The Cal Poly Rose Float “Soaring Stories” won the Lathrop K. Leishman Trophy for the most beautiful non-commercial float, one of the parade’s most prestigious awards, Choi said. “We thought we didn’t win anything,” Choi said. “But when they announced that we won the award, I cried.” For the 53rd time since 1949, Cal Poly universities has entered the parade as the only student-built float. “Soaring Stories” is the 67th consecutive entry in the annual Pasadena parade, according to a university press release. Reflecting the parade theme “Inspiring Stories,” students from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and their counterparts at Cal Poly Pomona constructed a fairytale castle featuring a mythological griffin springing to life from the pages of a storybook. The 18-by-55-foot float included other animated features such as a waterfall with recirculating wa-

ter, a castle’s drawbridge and a fish jumping out of the moat. The float was also the only California grown certified float, meaning that 87 percent of the plant material used came from California’s own soil, Choi said. “It’s good for us to contribute back to California and its economy and to represent Cal Poly SLO and Pomona,” Choi said. “We do have deep roots in agriculture.” This is the fourth consecutive year the float has earned this distinction, which is bestowed by the California Cut Flower Commission, the press release said. The road to Pasadena While Cal Poly walked away with the most beautiful float, the moments leading up to its debut were by no means easy. The preparation and float construction is a year-

long process, starting with the Rose Float Committee’s introduction of next years theme, which is revealed to participants in February, Associated Students, Inc. Public Relations Coordinator Michelle Broom said. “Once the Rose Parade Committee identifies a theme, Cal Poly solicits and invites everybody to design or draw a float that fits in that theme,” she said. Submissions are accepted from all who apply — not just students. According to Broom, a community member of San Luis Obispo submitted the soaring griffin. By March a theme is decided upon through a collective vote by the Rose Float team. April brings an extensive design period during which communication between the two schools is vital, though difficult. “(The design process) is the hardest part because only half the team is there and every single detail has to be communicated either by phone or Skype,” Choi said. Throughout the duration of the year, representatives from San Luis Obispo and Pomona take turns alternating travel between the two cities. Each school constructs half of the float until the two halves are brought together in October. A semi truck transports San Luis Obispo’s half of the float at a steady 15 mph on the 101 freeway. “We travel down to Pomona on Saturdays and sometimes Sunday too to work on it,” Young said. “We leave around 6 a.m. at the latest and come back around 11 p.m. on the same day.” Up until the week before New Years Eve, the float remains undecorated. Crunch time soon begins as team members add live floral and plants. “Every square inch must be covered with some type of organic material,” Young said. The day before the parade is complete chaos. The float is finally completed at 2:28 p.m. on Dec. 31, just in time for the five-minute judging period each float is subjected to. “That moment is probably the longest time of your life. Everyone is anxious to hear what the judges are saying.” After the long minutes pass, the team rejoices in a job well done. “Everyone starts hugging and screaming. The mix of emotion that comes through your head is crazy,” Young said. “You work on that baby for a whole year and it’s done; it looks great and it’s beautiful.” Once the parade, the judging, the long trips and the months of preparation are over, volunteers spend January taking the float apart. But float enthusiasts needn’t miss their creation for long. They must only wait a short 30 days until the next theme is released, and the entire process starts again from scratch.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

NEWS | 3

MEGAN FUGAMAKI | COURTESY PHOTO G O T TA D O I T

| Freshmen and transfer students will be required to pay for Soar and WOW starting in Summer 2015, but financial aid options will be more readily accessible for those who qualify.

Orientation programs to be mandatory for incoming students Olivia Proffit @ojproffit

Cal Poly’s orientation events, Week of Welcome (WOW) and Soar, will be mandatory for incoming freshmen and transfer students starting in Fall 2015. According to Director of New Student and Transition Programs Andrene Kaiwi-Lenting, Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong’s wish to increase a residential campus model was one of the reasons orientation was made mandatory. The residential campus model includes having every first-year student living on campus and participating in orientation. A campus-wide committee made up of student leaders, faculty and administration from each academic college was formed to directly respond to this part of Armstrong’s vision. Their solution? Make orientation mandatory. The school is making accommodations for students who are concerned with the cost or schedule conflicts with the event dates. Kaiwi-Lenting has been involved with these efforts. “The commitment is to make it all accessible because it’s a really great set of programs to participate in,” Lenting said. “It’s less about being mandatory and more about, ‘This is what you’ve been missing out on and let’s make sure you don’t miss out any more.’” One of the efforts to ease worry about cost is to provide

financial aid for the programs. In the past, depending on when a student registers for the programs, WOW would cost between $175 and $205 and Soar between $100 and $150. The university has not concluded on a fee for this year but is working on making it as nominal as possible. The financial aid offered to participants of these orientation programs had not been fully taken advantage of, possibly because the qualifications for financial aid have been limiting, according to Kaiwi-Lenting. This year, Cal Poly plans to

make the financial aid criteria less restrictive and open to more students. “Most students didn’t know about the financial aid. So we’re fixing that,” Kaiwi-Lenting said. “Again, the message of the president is, ‘Everyone should do it. Make it accessible.’” Considering most students attend WOW, the time conflict is more pertinent for Soar. After researching reasons for non-attendance, the committee found that students might not have attended Soar because there were not enough offered dates and weekend

sessions were not available. To fix this, Soar will offer more sessions, including weekends. For those who still cannot attend Soar, an alternative may be offered. According to Kaiwi-Lenting, those students may be offered the alternative to attend Soar on move-in day. If that doesn’t work, the student will have orientation in a different way, but that is still in the works. “At the end of this process, we may learn that the WOW way and Soar way of doing things

may not be the end-all-be-all way, but orientation is still necessary,” Kaiwi-Lenting said. Last year, approximately 63 percent of incoming students participated in Soar and a little less than 90 percent participated in WOW, according to Kaiwi-Lenting. Some students felt that while orientation programs gave them the opportunity to make friends and have fun, Soar and WOW provided redundant information. “I looked over the activities of Soar and WOW and thought Soar

was pretty redundant,” Brennan Ronald, a parks recreation and tourism junior, said. “The cost of Soar hindered my chances of attending it. I didn’t want to pay for the redundant activities in Soar.” The two programs serve different purposes, Kaiwi-Lenting said. “WOW really gives students the key flavor of what it’s like to live here, and Soar gives students the key resources they need before they get here,” Kaiwi-Lenting said.

ARTS | 4

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Lee Golde brings international art scene to local scene

JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NEWS MORE THAN ART | Owner Leonard Bessemer hopes the gallery will provide a creative space for young adults in San Luis Obispo.

Will Peischel @cpmustangarts Imagine a world slightly different from this one. In this world, you’re foolish — and you’ve agreed to a blind date with someone named Lee Golde. But because you’ve fallen behind on social media obligations, you have no idea what this person looks like. “It could be a woman, or a Jewish or Asian man,” Leonard Bessemer says, sorting through the possibilities. Really, none of them is right. Lee Golde is the androgynous namesake of Bessemer’s contemporary art gallery, which opened

in downtown San Luis Obispo this past October. When a space became available, Bessemer took the opportunity to pur-sue a thought he’d held for some time: bringing art from the international scene and large cultural hubs like Los Angeles or New York City to the much smaller scape of San Luis Obispo. He just needed a good name. “I’d always on the back burner thought it’d be great to have a gallery space here,” Bessemer said. “It was cheap enough that I could afford it; I didn’t need

see LEE, pg 5.

ARTS | 5

Thursday, January 8, 2015

COURTESY PHOTO | K ATHLEENMADIGAN.COM MADIGAN AGAIN | Kathleen Madigan, who has made many guest appearances on several talk shows, will bring her unique style of observational comedy to Cal Poly’s campus later this month.

Late night show queen Kathleen Madigan to perform at PAC Kelly Trom @kttrom Stand-up comedian and TV personality Kathleen Madigan will take the stage at the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center Jan. 16. Madigan has made guest appearances on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno, “The Late Show”

LEE continued from pg 4. a huge revenue.” Bessemer plans to use the space to feature contemporary art and live music. For now, he specifically wants to focus on the 21st-century networkconscious, post-Internet art style, along with female artists. “Largely it’s going to be mixed media and installations,” he said. “In terms of the type of art, there’s a new term: post-internet art. A focus on female artists would be part of my goal.” That said, Bessemer has chosen to keep Lee Golde’s final shape and form, like its name, rather ambiguous — not necessarily a bad thing. He prefers to let his project grow through avenues organically, rather than getting stuck on a particular ambition. “It’s still in the process,” he said. “It’ll become more

with David Letterman and “Late Night” with Conan O’Brien — to name a few. Her observational comedy is in-demand with both live and at-home audiences. Madigan holds her own against other comedians she works with on television and on tour. Cal Poly Arts Director Steve Lerian described her comedic style as smart, witty and reminded him of Seinfeld.

“She looks at the world around her and has an interesting take on it,” Lerian said. “She uses everyday circumstances and makes them funny.” Though Madigan’s 25-year career has taken her many places, this will be her first appearance at the PAC. Lerian said her sharp and honest comedy will delight the San Luis Obispo community. “Her observations are universal,” Lerian said. “So

Cal Poly students would be able to relate to them, as well as older demographics.” For those unable to make the show or just wanting more, Madigan’s newest project “Madigan Again” is available on Netflix. The show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are available on the Polytix website. Some content may not be appropriate for those under age 15.

defined as time goes on. I have an idea of what I want, but I’m not gonna pigeonhole or force it there.” “An idea” might not sound like a particularly airtight business plan, but according to Bessemer, the aim is education before profit. He sees San Luis Obispo as a safe haven from the vicious competition of more metropolitan scenes — revenue doesn’t have to take the forefront. “I could go to Los Angeles and join the galleries and the masses,” he said. “But then you’re just trying to grab a piece of the market rather than creating the market.” The market Bessemer is trying to build will seek to appeal to young adults with permanent residence in San Luis Obispo. “The goal is creating something outside of downtown for people 25 to 35 that are actually staying in San Luis Obispo and not moving away,” he said. “There’s absolutely nothing else for people to seek

shows or play shows outside of the direct downtown area. I think a lot of people that live here are tired of that. It’s homogenous. The bars are all owned by the same person.” Music is a major aspect of Lee Golde, but Bessemer wants to maintain the gallery status of his space. In the end, even with his utilitarian dogma, selling some art certainly isn’t something Bessemer is opposed to. Currently, an exhibit by artist Jacqueline Norheim is being featured until Jan. 10. The centerpiece of her exhibit is a large cloth entitled “Cloth Altar,” along with an 18-hour time lapse of the tarp in a landscape.

“It’s kind of homage to the space and that spot where I installed it — kind of a steady, always playing with foreground and background and figure ground,” she said. “I’m always just trying to create magical, slightly confusing visual experiences.” Norheim spoke highly of her experience working with Bessemer at Lee Golde. “Well, I think the exhibit itself came out really well. Leonard is running what looks like a very contemporary professional gallery. I think his presentation is amazing . He was really helpful as a curator in terms of how to create the show and put the space together.”

Thursday, January 8, 2015

2014 REVIEW | 6

How well did you pay attention in

2014?

Which women’s soccer player landed No. 3 on SportCenter’s Top 10 list in October?

visit mustangnews.net for the answers How long were Cal Poly’s greek life organizations put on social probation during the party registration proposal period?

2 weeks 3 weeks 4 weeks 5 weeks

A. B. C. D.

Which Cal Poly alumnus gave a $20 million donation to the university?

Mike Krukow A. Peter and Mary Beth Oppenheimer B. John Madden C. Weird Al Yankovic D.

Which of the following was not a component of Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong’s “Vision 2022” address?

A. Emphasis on public-private partnerships Greater diversity B. More students living on campus C. Decreasing class sizes D.

Who were the runners-up to Joi Sullivan in the 2014 ASI presidential election?

Which Cal Poly team was briefly ranked No. 1 in the nation by one major poll?

A. B. C. D.

Football Women’s soccer Men’s basketball Baseball

Who led the Cal Poly football team with 105.4 rushing yards per game?

A. B. C. D.

Chris Brown Kori Garcia Nick Dzubnar Chris Nicholls

Who of the following was not a head coach for the Cal Poly men’s soccer team in 2014?

Paul Holocher Phil Ruskin Alex Crozier Steve Sampson

A. B. C. D.

Which Cal Poly organizations were disassociated from the CSU system?

11 A. B. C. D.

Alyssa Giannetti Elise Krieghoff Megan Abutin Megan Heddinger

A. B. C. D.

Connor Paquin, Jake Rogers Jason Colombini, Connor Paquin Will Blumhardt, Jake Rogers Jason Colombini, Will Blumhardt

True or false: According to U.S. News and World Report data for 2015, Cal Poly was named the top regional university in the west. A. B.

True False

True or false: Soar and WOW 2015 will be mandatory. A. B.

True False

A. Cal Poly Republicans, Cal Poly Democrats B. InterVarsity, Cru C. Mustang News, Her Campus D. That’s The Key, Take it SLO

Which artist didn’t perform on Cal Poly’s campus in 2014?

What new registration tool was launched in February?

A. B. C. D.

Priorities PolyPlanner CPReg Student Center

Which of the following was not announced as a registration change in 2014?

A. Not using PolyPlanner will result in last rotation Registration will be based on degreeB.

applicable units Priorities will expire in Summer 2016 C. D. Incoming freshmen will no longer be automatically enrolled in first-quarter classes

Who wanted to close the downtown San Luis Obispo bars on the morning of graduation?

15 A. B. C. D.

President Armstrong Former ASI President Jason Colombini The Downtown Association Vice President for Student Affairs Keith Humphrey and Mayor Jan Marx

Which of the following was not a component of the greek life party registration rules initially proposed by administration in early January 2014?

A. B. C. D.

No drinking games No hard alcohol No kegs No wine

Which member of the Cal Poly men’s basketball team sunk the game-winning 3-pointer against Cal State Northridge in the Big West Conference Tournament Championship?

A. B. C. D.

Chris Eversley Ridge Shipley Brian Bennett Kyle Odister

Which team ended the Cal Poly men’s basketball team’s historic run in the NCAA Tournament?

18 A. B. C. D.

Steve Aoki Aaron Carter Deltron3030 Atmosphere

A. B. C. D.

UC Santa Barbara Duke Wisconsin Wichita State

OPINION | 7

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NOTICES Mustang News is a “designated public forum.” Student editors have full authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval. Printed by UNIVERSITY GRAPHICS SYSTEMS ugs.calpoly.edu Thursday, January 8, 2015 Publishing since 1916 ©2015 Mustang News “I just loved knowing she was behind me...and wishing it was the other way around.”

A critical time for critical thinking Eric Stubben @ericstubben

Eric Stubben is a mechanical engineering junior and Mustang News conservative columnist. These views do not necessarily reflect the opinion or editorial coverage of Mustang News. Like many Cal Poly students, my first week of winter break wasn’t exactly exciting. Friends on the semester system weren’t home yet, family was at work all day and my brain was still trying to recuperate from the previous hectic finals week. Luckily, between trips to the gym and binge-watching episodes of “The League” on Netflix, I was able to ponder some politics. I’d flip the TV to one of the major news channels or open up my laptop to read over the latest political news. However, my most intriguing political thoughts didn’t come from the likes of Sean Hannity on Fox News or Wolf Blitzer on CNN, they came from casual conversations I had with friends and family. Continually generating ideas and questioning popular notions and facts allowed me to solidify my political ideals. Though it’s incredibly cliché, I believe that over the past break I recognized true political change does not come from the politicians we elect or the ideas we represent. I realized that political growth and change comes from the grassroots, from personal ideas, discussions and movements. As philosophers have discussed for ages, the best way to grow and change is through the continual questioning of common notions and lack of becoming content with the status quo. When we look back on America’s greatest changes and movements, we realize they were not instigated by politicians and elected officials, but by masses of people believing in one movement. Take, for example, the civil rights movement, the enabling of women’s suffrage and even the American Revolution. All of these move-

ments were instigated with the banding together of common citizens like you and me to create uncommon results and positive change for our country. The problem I see today, though, is that society’s attitude is continually shifting away from creating our own personal opinions to using the opinions we see in popular culture. For example, it is easy for anybody to turn to Fox News if they want to establish a conservative opinion on an issue, or to MSNBC for a liberal one. Rather than questioning our previous notions and discussing issues with peers to form a true and unbiased opinion, we too often form an opinion developed by how we want to be perceived. This brings me to my next point: We often concede our personal values to have our views coincide with those of our favorite friends or public figures. While I understand that scrolling through a Twitter feed and scanning for the political views of your favorite actor or athlete can be entertaining (I’ve been there), it should not define one’s personal values or political views. Why should LeBron James’ or Jennifer Lawrence’s views on politics be valued more heavily than anybody else’s? Just because they’re of high public status doesn’t mean their vote has more value than any other vote. I realize that up to this point, my column might just seem like a bunch of jumbled ideas that ran across my mind over the break. To a certain extent, that’s true. But all of these ideas do follow a common thread, I promise. That common thread is that as Americans, we need to stop being passive when it comes to decisions that can set the course of our country for generations. It’s not enough to turn on the TV or skim one news article to form an opinion you plan to vote on. While some legislation, such as universal healthcare, the Keystone XL pipeline (hint: there’s a hot topic to form an opinion on) and education reform cannot be voted on, many

the right angle other important topics can be. Legalizing marijuana, various taxes and local infrastructure projects that change the fiscal dynamic of the country can be voted on. Even the smallest pieces of legislation can one day become important. In a country where every vote truly counts (even if it sometimes doesn’t seem like it), individual knowl-

— S U D AD T ’ N O W YOU T I T E R G RE S W E N G N A T S U ! M T A H C P A ON SN

edge of issues is important to anybody who decides to exercise their right to vote. I’d like to end my column with one of the most eye-opening questions I’ve ever been asked. A former high school teacher of mine posed this question to the class: “Have you ever taken time to just think? No cell phone, no TV, just you and your thoughts?”

The point of the question was clear: Do we ever take time out of our busy lives to reflect on our ideas and question the notions of what is right or wrong? In a country built from the ground up, based on innovation and persistence, critical thinking is a key to success and a strong future element of America.

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SPORTS | 9

Thursday, January 8, 2015

TWINS continued from pg 10. “In high school, you could slack off here and there,” Lynn said. “But in college? In college, if you slack off then you’re already behind everyone else, so using our time more wisely has become a big difference.” “On the court,” Dynn continued, “we like driving the ball, attacking the basket and rebounding the ball. And in high school it was easier. In college, everyone was ‘that person’ in high school, which makes every part of the

game a bit more challenging.” If the Leaupepe twins are having a hard time adjusting to the college game, it has not shown. Dynn and Lynn have started their rookie seasons averaging 6.3 and 7 points per game, respectively. They’re playing some of the best defense in the entire conference, notching 16 and 19 steals through 12 games to put them in the top three of that category. Dynn and Lynn also have a mind-boggling 57 and 64 rebounds on the year. On top of that, the twins have put up those numbers while averaging just 16 minutes of play per game.

Aside from numbers, Mimnaugh explained why she thinks the twins could be on track to become two of the best players in the program’s history. She points to one play in particular: a scrimmage-game pass play, which had one sister finding the other with a genius ball that left one set of hands before the other had even made her cut. “The ability to get the pass, the ability to see the pass,” Mimnaugh marveled. “I don’t think any other basketball players in the first part of their careers could pull that off without having that type of chemistry already developed.

“It was a sensational pull-off and we as a staff were all like — mouths dropped — ‘This is gonna be fun.’” Today, success still remains an ever-changing idea for the twins. While both hope to one day play basketball professionally, the parks and recreation freshmen would rather continue to take it one day at a time and have fun while they do it until they know they are ready to leverage their game and their degrees into something more. “For us, basketball relates back to life,” Dynn concluded. “You can’t not work hard and expect things to come to you. You have to go and get it.”

Thursday, January 8, 2015

SPORTS | 10

TWO OF A KIND DNIK A FO OWT

Harry Chang @HarryChangMN

When freshman twins Dynn and Lynn Leaupepe first stepped onto the vacant basketball court at a YMCA in Camarillo, California, success wasn’t finding a ticket to stardom, getting onto a team or gaining a stage for an audience. Success simply meant escaping dance practice. “We’d go to hula practice, and it wasn’t really our thing,” Dynn said. “So we went to the gym instead. And even though we didn’t really know what basketball was, it was just fun. So we kept doing that instead of dancing.” On the schoolyard, the fourth grade twins soon found that the court could be just as fun. They began playing basketball with the boys and found that success to them meant having something

social to do at recess and beating the boys every now and then. High school came around and the twins decided to try out for the team. At first, success for them was just making the team. However, they soon found basketball, as a sport, was much different than basketball as a game. “We didn’t really get the idea of playing basketball yet,” Lynn said. “We still didn’t understand the fundamentals, you know. At that point we were just crazy freshmen throwing up shots.” It wasn’t until the summer before their junior year at Camarillo High School that Dynn and Lynn realized just how important basketball was to them. The twins found a club team in Long Beach to play for and began traveling south every week to practice and play other teams. The more they lis-

tened to coaches and their parents, the more they began getting noticed by Big West schools. Cal Poly women’s basketball head coach Faith Mimnaugh was one of the first to take note. While she admits she still often relies on their numbers to differentiate the twins, one thing Mimnaugh recognized from the start was their talent. “We saw them playing in the summertime with a club team, and obviously their athletic abilities were the first things that really stood out,” Mimnaugh said. “Their speed, their strength, their leaping ability — all of those qualities were really outstanding from the get-go.” Mimnaugh also took note of the Leaupepes’ modest personalities, which she saw as being a product of their strong upbringing and tight-knit family.

“Their family and their faith puts them in a position where they really are humble,” Mimnaugh continued. “They’re always seeking to learn and grow and they don’t get offended if there’s any criticism coming their way. It’s always, ‘Okay, this is going to help me get better’ or, ‘Whatever the team needs, Coach.’ Those are the answers you get from the very best athletes in the world, those willing and wanting to get information and grow.” The twins admit the adjustment to college life has not exactly been seamless. They’ve learned quickly that being on a Division I NCAA basketball team means having to prepare constantly, take their studies on the road and go up against top-notch talent every night.

see TWINS, pg. 9.

JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NEWS DOUBLE DRIBBLE | Freshman guards Dynn (No. 13) and Lynn (No. 31) Leaupepe bring a new sort of connection to the Cal Poly women’s basketball program, proving their worst early at the Division I level.