A FOUR YEAR REVIEW OF THE 2021-2025 ACADEMIC TERMS.
LOOKING BACK & THINKING AHEAD LOOKING BACK & THINKING AHEAD
COVER ART : BRANDON SCHWARTZ
04
STORY BY Lillian Dolph and Julia Nunez
DESIGN BY Ashley Ho
FOUR YEAR REVIEW
12
STORY BY Mustang News Sports
DESIGN BY Audrey Walch
TOP CAL POLY SPORTS MOMENTS OF 2024–2025
20 PUZZLES & OTHER GAMES
PUZZLES BY Carly Heltzel
DESIGN BY Carly Heltzel
OPINION BY Erin Yarwood
DESIGN BY Amanda Wahl
26 THE ULTIMATE SLO GRAD WEEKEND BUCKET LIST
MEET THE CLASS OF 2025
SOURCE : SAN LUIS OBISPO TRIBUNE
54,624
First time freshman applied to Cal Poly in 2021.
10,911
Trasnfer students began attending Cal Poly in fall 2021.
SOHA ROY | MUSTANG NEWS
4.15
Average GPA for freshmen entering in fall 2021.
30%
Selection rate for 2021 first time freshmen.
O'Neill Green under the evening sun on Oct. 2, 2024.
KEY EVENTS
Written by Lillian Dolph
4 year review RETURN TO CAMPUS
After a year of empty classrooms, single dorms and abandoned bike racks, students return to in-person classes and events like normal, or as normal as life could be postCOVID-19. Most classes, events and activities were held in person, but with precautions set in place by the university to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
The measures included requiring all students to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, mandating the wearing of masks at all times indoors and requiring students to complete a self-screener to report symptoms and potential exposures.
“It was kind of weird going back to people, and being in masks in class,” software engineering senior Holden Evers said. “In the dorms and in social settings no one really cared about the measures, and socializing felt like pre covid times. I think everyone appreciated being with people more.”
The Week of Welcome, or WOW, was also in person this year for the first time. Cal Poly planned for around 85% of classes in the fall to be in person, yet after the first week of instruction in-person, many classes switched to a hybrid format last minute.
Design by Ashley Ho
ANDREW EPPERSON | MUSTANG NEWS
2021–22
SCOUT COFFEE OPENS ON CAMPUS
Scout Coffee co-owners Jon and Sara Peterson partnered with campus dining to open a third location of their coffee shop right on Cal Poly’s campus in the yakʔit ut u housing complex welcome center. Cal Poly Corporation CEO Cody VanDorn initially reached out to the Petersons during the COVID-19 pandemic about opening a Scout Coffee on campus.
Since the Petersons began Scout Coffee, it has been mentioned in publications such as The New York Times, awarded “Business of the Year” for California’s 35th Assembly District and won “Best Coffee Shop” in SLO County 10 years in a row.
THE TRIAL FOR KRISTIN SMART
Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart disappeared during the 1996 Memorial Day weekend. For nearly 25 years, her family, friends and the community fought for justice in a case that would captivate the Central Coast and national audience.
Paul Flores was arrested and charged with Smart’s murder. His father, Ruben Flores, was also arrested and charged with accessory for helping to cover up the crime. Investigators believed her remains were buried at Ruben Flores’ home but were later moved.
The month-long preliminary hearing began for Paul and Ruben Flores in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on August 1, 2021. The trial itself started nearly a year later on July 18, 2022. After a three-month trial, Paul Flores was found guilty of the murder of Smart and sentenced to 25-years-to-life in state prison. His father, Ruben, was found not guilty of accessory.
CONNOR FROST | MUSTANG NEWS Week of Welcome was held in person for the first time since 2020.
FILE PHOTO | MUSTANG NEWS
LAURA DICKINSON | SLO TRIBUNE
KEY EVENTS
Written by Lillian Dolph
SHABANG MOVES VENUES
almost a two-year
CAL POLY SHUT DOWN AFTER STORMS
At the beginning of winter quarter 2023, a large rainstorm surged across SLO, prompting a shelter-in-place order. Flooding, car accidents and road closures shortly followed. The severity delayed the quarter’s start for two days.
According to the National Weather Service, the city of SLO received 4.14 inches of rain for the two days. Throughout the closure, Cal Poly employees helped keep the campus safe by responding to reports of flooding and damage.
After
hiatus, the festival returned to Laguna Lake in 2022 with headliners STRFKR and TV Girl. The following year, Shabang moved to a new location, and current home: Dairy Creek Golf Course. The 2023 headliners included Hippo Campus, Men I Trust and Bob Moses.
FILE PHOTO | MUSTANG NEWS
BRADY CASKEY | MUSTANG NEWS
Design by Ashley Ho
2023
CAL POLY ALUMNI VICTOR GLOVER TRAVELS AROUND THE MOON
Victor Glover, a 1999 Cal Poly engineering graduate, was named as one of the pilots of NASA’s Artemis II mission—the first crewed flight to orbit the moon in over 50 years. Glover was a Navy captain and the first Black astronaut to complete a long-term stay on the ISS.
He credits Cal Poly’s “Learn By Doing” mindset as his foundation for his success. In April 2022, Glover visited Cal Poly, bringing along souvenirs from space and shared his perspectives on exploration.
JOE JOHNSTON | CAL POLY NEWS
KEY EVENTS
Written by Julia Nunez
CAL POLY PRO-PALESTINE PROTESTS RESULT IN MULTIPLE ARRESTS
Protests escalated in January when eight protestors were arrested. The protesters tried to break through barricades to challenge the presence of Lockheed Martin at a January career fair. About 20 students protested outside of the Cal Poly Recreation Center, objecting to the presence of defense companies.
These protests were part of broader pro-Palestine efforts the San Luis Obispo community and Cal Poly students organized throughout 2024. Demonstrations continued throughout the year, including a demonstration in support of Palestinian civilians in May. The incident followed five months after the January career fair, which resulted in eight arrests.
ALICE SUKHOSTAVSKIY | MUSTANG NEWS
Design by Ashley Ho
Classes were cancelled as Cal Poly faculty picketed the main entrances of campus, protesting for better wages and working conditions. What was supposed to be a week of strike starting Jan. 22, turned into just one day when the California Faculty Association (CFA) reached a tentative agreement with the California State University (CSU) system. While the CFA initially demanded a 12% salary increase, the tentative agreement settled on a 5% raise.
The CFA reopened a section of its contract with the Cal State, bargaining for the conditions of faculty employment at the CSU. The CFA revisited issues of salary, workload, paid leave, health and safety. The CFA announced that a strike vote would follow the contract negotiations coming to a close, with faculty across the state prepared to walk out. Cal State classes came to a temporary halt.
FACULTY UNION STRIKES, PROTESTING FOR BETTER WAGES 2024 STEWART SECURES SECOND TERM
AS SAN LUIS OBISPO’S
In the University Union, students lined up as early as 7 a.m. on election day to cast their ballots in the university’s official vote-by-mail dropbox. Their votes would contribute to the state’s favoring of Kamala Harris by 60.2% and Donald Trump 37.4%. However, California’s results were not reflective of the national outcome. Despite losing the state, Donald Trump secured enough electoral votes nationwide to win the presidency, beginning his second-term in office.
Locally, Mayor Erica Stewart secured a second term with approximately 70% of the vote against Donald Hedrick. Stewart, a Cal Poly alumna and the city’s first Black mayor, focused her campaign on homelessness and affordable housing.
KEY
EVENTS
Written by Julia Nunez
Design by Ashley Ho
ST FRATTY’S PREVENTION
A longstanding tradition, Cal Poly students crowded the streets of Hathway Avenue to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but 2025 marked a dramatic shift in approach. On Mar. 15, police barricades blocked off the street, and the university hosted an on-campus alternative event, Morning on the Green.
The event featured headliners ZHU and Galantis performing from 4 to 9 a.m., with doors opening at 3:45 a.m. Thousands of students flooded past barricades and security in an attempt to enter without tickets.
The free concert for students cost Cal Poly more than $657,000. Police and security measures from agencies across the state, cost the university nearly $420,000 and totalling to over $1 million in expenses. Additionally, the city of San Luis Obispo spent $115,000— $86,000 on overtime pay and $29,000 in expenses to fund St. Patrick’s Day containment efforts.
CAL POLY ON CAPITOL HILL
On May 17, Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong testified before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce during the hearing titled “Beyond the Ivy League: Stopping the Spread of Antisemitism on American Campuses.”
When questioned, he confirmed that six students had been suspended or placed on probation for antisemitic behavior. The disciplinary action was in reference to early 2024, when protests erupted at Cal Poly over the university’s financial ties to weapons manufacturers supplying Israel. Eight protesters were arrested in January after attempting to enter a career fair, and another eight were arrested in May after blocking a campus entrance.
Armstrong spoke for approximately eight minutes of the 195-minute session, beginning with a three-minute pre-written statement condemning acts of prejudice and bias. He outlined the university’s efforts to combat antisemitism, including updates to student orientation and employee training and the creation of a Presidential Antisemitism Task Force.
LEILA TOUATI | MUSTANG NEWS
JAI GULATI | MUSTANG NEWS
looking forward
2025 KENNEDY LIBRARY’S
ANTICIPATED REOPENING
After undergoing construction since June 2023 and being replaced by outdoor study tents, Cal Poly’s renovated Kennedy Library is set to reopen at the start of fall quarter 2025. The $78 million reconstruction project was centered around both energy efficiency and improving student study spaces.
The upgraded library will feature a 24-hour hub on the first and second floors, all-gender and ADAcompliant restrooms, new classrooms and a Julian’s Café, which will remain on the first level with a newly added Starbucks. In line with its sustainability goals, the renovation includes LED lighting, a new HVAC system for air conditioning and a full roof replacement. Exterior improvements include renovations to the main courtyard.
QUARTER SYSTEM
NO MORE
As the last California State University system standing on the quarter system, it’s been announced that Cal Poly will officially transition to a semester system in fall 2026. The university’s academic calendar will include 15-week semesters for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 academic school years.
The university was first directed by the California State University Office of the Chancellor in October 2021 to begin the conversion process. Following the change, Cal Poly proposed moving to yearround operations (YRO) in 2023, with plans to begin by summer 2025. The year-round operation is in response to a multiyear compact with the governor to increase enrollment and boost CSU funding.
However, President Armstrong delayed the launch until summer 2027, pushing full YRO implementation to the 2028-2029 academic year. Armstrong shared that the recent merger of Cal Poly with Cal Maritime has also influenced this decision.
CAL POLY’S PLAN TO MERGE WITH CAL MARITIME
Starting July 1, Cal Maritime will officially merge with Cal Poly, becoming Cal Poly, Solano Campus. Beginning in fall 2026, all Cal Poly, Solano Campus students can enroll and receive a Cal Poly degree. Admissions to the Solano Campus will follow the same process as Cal Poly’s existing practices.
The integration, unanimously approved by the California State University Board of Trustees in November 2024, aims to support Cal Maritime financially. The Cal State system approved a $35 million investment over the next seven years to combine the two campuses.
Corey Cook will serve as vice president and CEO of the Solano Campus, while Eric Jones will lead the Cal Poly Maritime Academy as superintendent.
COLE PRESSLER MUSTANG NEWS
CHLOE BRIOTE JOHNSON | MUSTANG NEWS
Madison Nichols spikes the ball as partner Quinn Perry looks up during the Mustang Round Up Tournament against UC Davis on Mar. 16. MEN’S SOCCER WINS
Story By Andrew Aguinga
Cal Poly Men’s Soccer, with its best season under head coach Oige Kennedy, captured the program’s first-ever regular season title.
The title, decided by a point system, awards three points for victory, one for a tie and none for a loss.
Cal Poly, down two points to UC Santa Barbara in conference standings, defeated Cal State Bakersfield 1-0 in the final regular season match to clinch the title.
The Mustangs’ defense allowed them to dominate midseason, tallying a nine-game unbeaten streak, the team’s best stretch since the 2007 season.
Cal Poly posted program-record lows in opponent goals per game (0.68) and goals conceded (13).
The Mustangs have undergone a meteoric ascension since hiring Kennedy. Claiming the top spot in the conference further cements Cal Poly as a major threat.
MATTHEW MUREN | MUSTANG NEWS
Zeth Romney at the Pac-12 Championships on March 6.
TOP CAL POLY SPORTS MOMENTS OF 2024 – 2025
Design by Audrey Walch
MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD WINS BIG WEST
Story By Lano Somotun
For the second time in program history and second year in a row, Cal Poly Track and Field’s men took the Big West title.
The Mustangs capped off a year full of broken school and personal records with a dominant performance at the conference championships, scoring 186 points on the way to victory.
Most of Cal Poly’s points came from its distance runners, who scored 114 of their 186 points.
Redshirt junior Aidan McCarthy won both the men’s 800 and 1,500-meter, Michael Chambers won the men’s 3,000 steeplechase and 5,000-meter races, and redshirt senior Colton Swinth took the final victory in the men’s 10,000 to seal it for the Mustangs.
A record 20 Mustangs were named to the NCAA West Preliminaries following the meet.
09
INDOOR VOLLEYBALL WINS BIG WEST REGULAR SEASON TITLE
MEN’S BASKETBALL BEATS STANFORD, THEIR FIRST WIN VERSUS AN ACC OPPONENT IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Story By Jack Bynum
Story By Jack Bynum
Cal Poly senior Peyton Dunkle etched her name into the history books on Senior Day by breaking the school’s alltime singles wins record. With a dominant 6-2, 6-2 victory over UC Irvine, Dunkle secured her 52nd career singles win, surpassing the previous record of 51 set in 2007. The achievement was made even more special as it came on her home court, surrounded by family, teammates, and friends.
Hailing from nearby Arroyo Grande, Dunkle’s path in tennis was shaped by her father, who coached her from a young age. Her sister, Delanie Dunkle, also one of the program’s top-five all-time singles players, was present, making the milestone even more meaningful. The moment was not just a celebration of wins, but of legacy, local pride, and years of dedication. Dunkle’s record stands as a testament to her consistency, resilience and impact on Cal Poly women’s tennis.
Cal Poly men’s basketball made history this past season with a thrilling 97-90 upset over Stanford at Maples Pavilion, their first win over the Cardinal since 1977 and their firstever victory over an ACC opponent. After trailing by nine in the second half, the Mustangs stormed back with a 63-point explosion, led by Owen Koonce’s career-high 30 points and Isaac Jessup’s timely shooting. Graduate guard Jarred Hyder sealed the moment with a clutch three-pointer to break an 84-84 tie late in the game. The victory gave Cal Poly a surge of confidence and momentum, proving they could compete with major programs. That belief carried through the rest of the season and fueled one of the team’s most successful campaigns in recent memory. The Stanford game wasn’t just a highlight, it was a turning point for the program’s culture and competitive identity.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL WINS FIRST POSTSEASON GAME UNDER HEAD COACH SHANELE STIRES
Story By Jonathan Sze
After a one-and-done appearance in both the Big West Tournament and Women’s National Invitational Tournament last season, Cal Poly Women’s Basketball defeated rival UC Santa Barbara in the opening round of the 2025 Big West Tournament.
It was an unconventional win for the Mustangs. Annika Shah was held quiet throughout the game, but it was Gabby Robinson’s eight points off the bench that helped buoy Cal Poly. Sierra Lichte and Mary Carter double-double performances powered the Mustangs throughout the contest.
A three by Shah late swung the momentum, but UC Santa Barbara had a chance to tie or win at the end of the game. Sydney Bourland’s steal as time expired clinched it for the first win under the new regime.
For Cal Poly, it represented the end of an era. Six of the seven players who logged 15 minutes in that game either graduated or transferred out.
THAI | MUSTANG NEWS
Peyton Dunkle during her senior day match against UC Irvine.
CHRISTINA
CP TO CIA FROM
Former spy and alum Susan Miller reflects on a career of adventure
Story by Carly Heltzel
Design by Aviv Kesar
Susan Miller was four years out of Cal Poly’s journalism program in 1989 when she worked as a cashier at the U.S. embassy in Moscow. Unbeknownst to her coworkers, however, she was really working under deep cover as a spy for the CIA.
Just a short walk from Red Square, she would sneak upstairs to her real office to plot meetings and dead drops with informants, handing off everything from cash to diamonds and gold bars in exchange for crucial security information. Once, she handed a source the equivalent of $2.5 million in a suitcase.
On her second and third tours outside of Russia, she charmed potential sources at cocktail parties and bowling alleys before persuading them to pass on Soviet secrets.
She served nine times overseas and eventually rose to become the CIA's Chief of Counterintelligence, where in 2016, she authored the initial report proving the Russians interfered in the 2016 election in an attempt to sway the presidential election in Donald Trump's favor. She was grilled for eight hours during the historic Barr-Durham trial in which President Trump pressured the then-attorney general into pressing criminal charges against her.
Now that she has retired — and retains the same security clearance as the U.S. president minus the nuclear stuff — Miller reached out to Mustang News to share her story and explain how a young woman from Sunnyvale would go on to an adventurous and decorated career as a CIA agent.
“Cal Poly 100% gave me my career,” Miller said.
FROM CAL POLY TO THE CIA
Miller was born in Sunnyvale, California and lived there until she was
around 9, when her dad’s job inventing chips for Hewlett and Packard relocated two hours north to Santa Rosa. She applied to Cal Poly as a journalism major.
While attending Cal Poly she worked as a copy editor for the Mustang Daily, the former name of Mustang News, and she loved getting to be in another part of California. She hoped to eventually live abroad and thought journalism could take her there.
As graduation approached, Miller and a friend walked into Cal Poly’s career center in search of open positions at newspapers like the San Francisco Chronicle and The New York Times. That’s when her friend spotted a blank application for the CIA.
“‘They hire people?’” Miller asked her friend. “I mean, I thought they only hired, like, assassins and stuff.”
Decades later, in January 2020, she watched live and gave the go ahead to assassinate the leader of a terrorist group in Iraq, Qasem Soleimani, via drone strike. All while on the phone with the director of Israeli intelligence at the time.
Not long after Miller sent in her initial job application, she got a a call from a recruiter asking her to meet up in a hotel in Morro Bay. There was one condition: “‘Don't tell any of your friends that you're coming to meet me.’”
The meeting went well. Miller was asked how her skills in journalism could translate to espionage, saying that she would use the sourcing and writing skills to produce reports in the same way, just for a different, less public audience. Then, the agency soon flew her out to Washington D.C. for a week, where she went through four to six hours of interviews and psychological testing every day.
Her recruiter told her at the end that she was a good fit as long as she didn’t “start using cocaine or anything like that.” In other words, the CIA was hiring her to be a spy.
TRAINING AND THE EARLY YEARS
On September 15, 1985, a young analyst-in-training named Liz S. stood in line to get her identification cards on her first day of CIA training. Next to her, a freshly graduated Californian started chatting her up.
“It was actually kind of cute how we met,” Liz said.
By the time they got to the front of the line, Liz and Miller had agreed to move into a house together — Liz described their 15-minute interaction as “very telling about Susan's personality,” saying she is extremely personable and open to others. The pair ended up rooming together in D.C. with two other women from their training class.
“We had this amazing, large townhouse that we couldn't furnish because we were all stupid, out-of-college poor,” Liz said.
So, on weekends, the group would troll the yard sales of Washington’s wealthiest neighborhoods, ending up with a stunning sofa, two love seats and a nice coffee table.
The four of them lived there for two years until Liz got married and moved out. Liz said those years were fun and social, hosting parties for their fellow training class members and getting to know the inner workings of the CIA.
Miller said the training class culminated in three months of paramilitary exercises that ranged from shooting Uzi submachine guns, shotguns and pistols to learning air operations and jumping out of planes. It was more of a fun, team building course than a
1 | Andy and Susan on engagement day in Warsaw 1992.
preview of her future career.
3. 1. 4.
2 | Andy and Susan with the 7 week old twins in Caesarea 1998.
3 | Andy and Susan in Japan 2015.
“Like they were going to jump a blonde from California into Nicaragua,” Miller said.
After the general and paramilitary training, Miller and the other trainees were given their first assignments and sent into specialized training courses to prepare.
This is about how her conversation with her boss to get that first assignment went:
Boss: “You're going to go to Moscow.”
Miller: “Moscow?”
Boss: “Yeah, that's the capital of the USSR.”
Miller: “I know, but that's where I'm going? I'm a Californian. I’m supposed to go someplace warm.”
“I actually said that,” Miller said. “And he laughed his head off.”
After three tours in Eastern Europe and a stint as the Chief of Russia Operations in D.C., she moved to warmer Tel Aviv, followed by three years in Prague and another three in the even warmer Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
She then became Deputy Chief of the East Asia Division in Washington once again, before taking on roles as the Chief of Station in Tokyo, Deputy then Assistant Director of Counterintelligence (where she caught 4 spies within U.S. agencies), Chief of Station in Tel Aviv and the Assistant Director for the new China Mission Center.
BACK IN THE U.S.
Initially, Miller was hired to be the Associate Director of Counterintelligence with a reputation as being a strong, no-nonsense leader, said Sheetal Patel, her deputy at the time and close friend to this day. Patel also recently retired from the CIA.
When she first met Miller, she was struck by Miller’s sense of humor.
Their friendship is a crash course in “trauma bonding.” They quickly became close and stayed that way even while they split off into creating various mission centers.
“The more serious of the job and decisions the less serious you have to take yourself,” Patel said.
Miller kept a nerf gun in her office that she would shoot at the glass pane between their adjoining offices when she wanted to get Patel’s attention. And when Patel was promoted to Miller’s job after she left, Miller left the desk full of “dumb ass plastic bananas” to greet her on Patel’s first day.
4 | Susan at Cal Poly 1984. Continue on next page
Patel recalls Miller’s unique ability to make one of the most consequential jobs in the government feel enjoyable.
Patel later retaliated with tiny minions when Miller returned from abroad.
Another colleague, Mike Lacombe who worked with Miller as her deputy when she was chief of the East Asia division, said she got a few of her officers to put over 40 stickers depicting cats, unicorns, the rainbow coalition logo and more across the back of his red pick-up truck, and it took him 2-3 weeks before he noticed.
Another time she had a semi-permanent sign installed in his designated parking spot that read “Yankees fans only,” a good-humored slap in the face to Lacombe, a well-known Red Sox fan. It stood there for three months.
Miller made it easy to be a part of a team, Patel said, the type of person who doesn’t need to reassure you to know she’s got your back. And she’s never seen her get angry or flustered, even when people got up in her face during briefings.
Patel and Miller worked with their team to produce a report on whether or not the Russians tried to interfere in the 2016 election. To them, it was cut and dry: the Russians have tried to interfere in every presidential election in recent memory but there is no feasible way to tell if their efforts affected the outcome.
The standard analytic report became a political lightning rod. When Trump was briefed by the director of the CIA, he was not happy, Miller said. Both Miller and Patel said Trump saw the report as a “deep state” conspiracy and a “witch hunt,” instructing his attorney general to criminally charge those involved in compiling it.
That meant Miller and Patel.
Miller was dragged into an eight-hour interrogation about her methods for crafting the paper targeted at discerning political bias. The investigation eventually found none and she never officially heard from them again.
5 | Susan at the Red Square, Russia, 1989.
6 | Susan on the streets of Vilnius, Lithuania, 1992.
7 | Susan on the beach with twins in Israel, 1999.
Whispers of Trump trying to prosecute them again have haunted Miller and Patel. Just a few months ago the report’s name surfaced again.
“That’s just the gift that keeps giving,” Patel said of the papers.
FAMILY AND PERSONAL LIFE
Miller and her husband Andy, who she met and became engaged to in Warsaw while he was stationed there for the state department, managed to align their careers to never give up either of their career growth. Their “proposal” was basically Andy agreeing to move to Lithuania with her when she was offered the position in Vilnius.
Miller started her first tour in Tel Aviv weeks after giving birth to her twins, even after the Middle Eastern branch chief questioned her ability to do her job after giving birth behind her back after congratulating her on her pregnancy. Miller had lined up childcare before arriving and was working within weeks of giving birth.
More recently, she had a surgery to remove a non-cancerous brain tumor that could have turned her blind. Lacombe claims he saved Miller’s
life by telling her to go to the doctor when her vision went blank for a few moments, but she said that Lacombe, in fact, caused her years of pain.
“Ask Andy who saved her life,” Lacombe said.
But Miller was back in the office and asking for travel clearance to get on a plane not long after. She took on a project during her designated recovery time because she knew she was the right person to complete the task.
Andy and Miller now set travel goals for each year, last year making it to all seven continents starting with Antarctica and ending in Africa. This year they’ll watch a baseball game at every MLB stadium in the country.
A RESPECTED CAREER
Miller is set to receive the Hidden Hero Award from the International Spy Museum in D.C. come November, recognizing those who make “outsized contributions to the Intelligence Community yet have gone relatively unrecognized for their work,” the website says. She’s also attending Cal Poly Journalism’s Mustang Media Fest in October as a keynote speaker.
Throughout her career, she crossed paths with numerous consequential politicians: she briefed the then-president George Bush during a NATO summit in Prague, corrected Bush’s defense secretary for perpetuating misinformation in the same meeting, sat in a cloud of smoke in the office of Cambodian leader Samdech Hun Sen and remains close friends with Caroline Kennedy after the two worked together while Kennedy was an ambassador — to name a few.
“It was a great, great 39 years and met a husband out of it, who I still sort of like,” Miller said, chuckling. “And I got kids out of it, and I have just stories galore.”
Lacombe said Miller worked in some of the most difficult locations across the world and she faced more barriers as a woman in what was, when she began there, still a male-dominated CIA.
“She was hitting that glass ceiling and trying to break through that glass ceiling to show that she can do this,” Lacombe said. “I think a lot of female officers in our organization try to look up to her as a standard bearer.”
Lacombe also said Miller had not only
one of the most accomplished files in the agency, but her “hallway file,” or how co-workers perceived her, was one of the best. He added that while maybe a handful of people would consider him to be one of their best friends in the agency, it’s likely that Miller held that credit for 40 to 50 people at the office.
Once she started thinking of retirement, Miller and Liz, who had started at the CIA on the same day, decided they would walk out the door together. They picked a date in August 2024.
After they popped a bottle of sparkling apple cider in Liz’s office with their two daughters who work at the state department and NSA, the longtime friends walked down the stairs arm-in-arm into the CIA lobby where hundreds of people gathered to give them the ritual “clap out” to celebrate their retirement.
They walked through the turnstiles and handed in their ID cards.
“We went high-five,” Liz said. “And everybody who was inside the building just roared.”
All photos provided by Susan Miller.
Parents Welcome Daughter Home After Graduation, Confident She’ll Leave Someday
Satire by Zach Berston
Design by Kennedy Ray
Monday Manure is a satire column created to find the humor in the daily life of Cal Poly students. If you’re looking for news, this is not it. If you’re looking for sports, this is kind of it, because we’re having a ball.
Zach Berston is a journalism senior and a satire columnist for Mustang News. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang Media Group.
As Douglas and Gertrude Finkle filmed their daughter, Emma, walking across the stage and receiving her diploma, the realization finally set in that they would be getting their little girl back after four long years.
While the Finkles were initially filled with excitement, the first weeks of Emma’s short, decades-long stay in her childhood bedroom has led them to another epiphany. Their daughter, a once shining, gifted high school student with a summer job at a golf course, is now a significantly more unemployed adult.
“Of course we’re proud,” said Gertrude, while aggressively vacuuming the carpet in a zigzag pattern. “She’s the first in the family to get a B.A. in Medieval Painting Discussion with a minor in Thinking about Stuff. She’s been working so hard, you know, at figuring herself out.”
Douglas also shared his excitement. “It’ll be nice having her around again. The house has been so quiet without her… and now it’ll be quiet with her, while she scrolls LinkedIn in the living room at 2 p.m.”
After taking out tens of thousands of dollars in student loans, Emma said she’s not planning to pay them back. Emma said, “The bank is trying to charge me interest on the loan apparently. Well I’m not even interested so why would I have to pay?” According to her career counselor, Dr. Fritz Bagel, “She should not have gone to college. Somehow her degree has made her less employable.”
Asked whether they had concerns about their daughter’s current trajectory, the Finkles laughed for several seconds in perfect unison, then abruptly stopped. Gertrude said, “We’re just lucky that Cal Poly has opened a new support group for parents of children graduating from the College of Liberal Arts. It’s not so bad when you know your kid isn’t the only disappointing one.”
When discussing her next steps, Emma explained she’s “taking time to recalibrate” and has been in talks with herself about a potential podcast, nonprofit, or loosely defined personal brand.
ALTADENA WILL
Cal Poly students resolve to bring back what’s left
Story by Lauren Yoon
Design by Jolina Chen
‘My favorite hike. I will miss it.’ ‘RIP’
‘Our beautiful mountain, home to many wildlife, hiking trail is gone. This is devastating. I can’t stop sobbing.’
These reviews were left on a page for the Eaton Canyon Trail just days after David Hernandez had walked his dog, Buddy, down the muddy path and across shimmering creeks to reach the waterfall at the end, a nice cap to the long winter break filled with holiday dinners and catching up with friends.
upon the hardware store everyone, but especially his dad, frequented; the church by Lake Avenue where Hernandez used to sing on the choir; the house of a friend who lived nearby.
Hernandez, an architecture senior, is one of many Altadena and Pasadena community members rebuilding with the slogan, “Altadena is not for sale,” in mind. As of March, half of the 14 properties sold in Altadena after the fires were purchased by developers or investors, according to an NBC article.
However, Cal Poly has an unexpected stake in Altadena’s fight against gentrification. Hernandez, along with nine other architecture and 22 city and regional planning students, are enrolled in an interdisciplinary class where they work to recover Altadena’s homes, businesses and community centers lost to the Eaton Fire.
The unprecedented class, funded by the Wildland Urban-Interface (WUI) Fire Institute, is a combination of CRP 341 and ARCH 453, led by Beate von Bischopinck and Barry Williams, respectively, this quarter.
Because Altadena is an unincorporated community, LA County is responsible for the over 100,000 people evacuated and almost 9,500 structures affected by the Eaton Fire. With the county also overseeing recovery for the Palisades Fire and the absence of a formal planning entity dedicated to Altadena, this Cal Poly class is the city’s biggest planning resource, according to city and regional planning junior Davidson Drake.
“Everything we do in that class, everything we say, everything we discuss, everything we work on, I think, has a
huge potential to make an incredible impact on people's lives,” Drake said.
MINIMIZING GENTRIFICATION
The main goal of the class is to minimize gentrification and retain the tight-knit community of Altadena as best as possible, according to Bischopinck.
The city is an incredibly diverse community, a result of white flight during the Civil Rights era after de facto housing discrimination and redlining practices ended for the most part during the 60s, according to an article from the LAist.
ANDREA ARUINO | COURTESY
A glimpse of the rebuilding effort in Altadena.
However, Black households, which make up 18% of total households in Altadena, were disproportionately impacted by Eaton due to this history of redlining. A whopping 61% of them were located within the fire perimeter, nearly half being destroyed or majorly damaged, according to a UCLA study. Only 50% of non-Black households were in the perimeter and 37% experienced destruction, the same study cited.
There is a clear connection between the history of Altadena and the way it has to rebuild, according to Ryan Miller, another lecturer teaching alongside Bischopinck and Williams. He specializes in geospatial analysis and has extra insight into natural disaster recovery, as he lived in Paradise when
“There’s pre-existing disparities between housing affordability and transportation access,” Miller said.
(LEFT)
ANDREA ARUINO | COURTESY
David Hernandez looking out at Eaton Canyon
(RIGHT)
LAUREN YOON | COURTESY
Students conducting outreach during their Altadena field trip.
“Then you layer a disaster on top of that, which destroys 5,000 or 10,000 homes – and all of those existing inequities just become exacerbated.”
There are regulations to keep the property tax of affected Altadena homes low after rebuilding, but not as affordable as homes that were passed down by four or five generations, Bischopinck explained. Quite a few of the homes with mortgages didn’t have fire insurance, meaning these homeowners were left with nothing once the fire hit, she also said.
Miller has helped Bischopinck, Williams and the students use geospatial data to their advantage: building age, demographics of certain areas and where the new building codes stop and end, for example.
Using this data, the class is researching a multitude of ways to keep housing affordable and bring back Altadena’s essential businesses and community centers: gardens, churches, libraries, parks and schools.
However, disaster recovery takes several years, and there are people who already know they don’t want to return to their properties, according to Bischopinck.
Housing cost is one factor, but Miller cited the trauma wildfires cause to a community and how some people from Paradise didn’t want to move back because of the trauma cause by living through Camp Fire.
“Some people will return because they are really rooted in that area. You can just hope and work for what they are able to find in what they have lost,” Bischopinck said. “There’s no way Altadena will not change. It will change.”
TACKLING THE UNKNOWN
This is the first time city and regional planning students have had a class dedicated to disaster recovery. Bischopinck has never worked on a project of this nature before, and even says that planners working in Altadena haven’t either – the Eaton and Palisades fires were some of most destructive in California history, according to an LA Times article.
Students are mainly focused on pinning down the valuable information: updated building codes, permitting processes, temporary housing options, pre-approved reconstruction plans and where and when mutual aid events are taking place.
They prepared easily digestible brochures, flyers and maps with their research for a trip to Altadena, which happened at the beginning of this month.
Brochures and flyers were distributed to community members by setting up outreach booths at a farmer’s market for displaced residents. Maps were laid out next to markers that passerbys could use to write the locations they would like to see.
The day before, they presented their research to the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning.
During the meeting held at their headquarters, stakeholders such as LA County Planning Deputy Director Connie Cheung supported the students’ work and provided suggestions and new tools for the Altadena rebuild. Nick Franchino, LA County Planning GIS Manager, commended students’ outreach materials for their clarity, even stating that they were better than the county’s.
The students also drove around Altadena with long-time resident and retired insurer Kevin Williams, whose family was a victim of redlining in the 30s. He gave students historical context about different areas, explained the nuances of insuring homes in Altadena and emphasized the importance of preserving its interwoven neighborhoods.
“We say, ‘Are you from ‘Dena?’ And if you’re from ‘Dena, we’re family,’” Williams said. “It’s the way the world should look and act.”
HOW CITY PLANNING WILL CHANGE
Community climate resilience planning and mutual aid efforts like the ones in Altadena will be the new norm, according to Drake. He cites the Trump administration’s staffing cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the end to their Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program.
“We really need to step it up, because that's the only way we can handle natural disasters in the future –we won't have these big federal programs,” Drake said. “Our best bet is to rely on our communities and the people around us.”
Bischopinck believes that there will be more classes that follow the direction of this unique class. Sheridan Green, a city and regional planning junior in the class, is realizing that disaster recovery will be an unavoidable aspect of their careers as planners in the face of climate change.
“It will be a foundational part of the
education rather than just, ‘Oh, I kind of want to be a disaster planner. I’ll go on my own and look into that,’” Green said. “In a way, almost everyone has to be kind of a disaster planner because it affects everywhere now.”
Four days after walking Buddy, two days after coming back to school, 14,000 acres of Hernandez’s childhood – gone. The heart of his community, a place he couldn’t have imagined a fire reaching just a week prior, was burnt to the ground in a matter of hours.
Altadena will inevitably change, but Hernandez’s home survived; El Patrón, a beloved Mexican restaurant of his, stands untouched; his mother’s favorite thrift shops and his old high school survived.
“The biggest death of a community is when the people aren't there anymore,” Hernandez said.
The students created a storymap of the community events and businesses resilient against the destruction and oncoming gentrification efforts Altadena residents already face only four months post-Eaton.
Soon, they will work on building plans with Altadena business owners such as Joey Galloway, who lost half of his inherited commercial block, or Mariposa Junction, which included everyone’s favorite hardware store.
Their relationship with LA County’s planning department will continue to help provide Altadena residents solutions for affordable housing; and to help them keep the land their homes. belong to.
Answers on page 64
Puzzles by Carly Heltzel
P U Z Z L E S & OTHER GAMES
Design by Carly Heltzel
THE CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1. Sport that was cut this year
10. Camera setting
13. Sound of meditation
14. Capital city, with “Aires”
15. Grown-up boys
16. Soak liquid (up)
17. Trickery
18. Found in a pod
19. What Tyler, The Creator and Kali Uchis repeat at the end of "See You Again," respectively
21. Fastened
22. Limb
23. Not later
24. Not even
25. 3D rectangle, triangle, octagon etc.
27. Greek god of love
29. Gently introduce
31. Deserved
34. Spinning toy
35. Utters words
36. Awards show hosted by Jennifer Lopez last month
38. Alphabet beginning
41. Aeronauts trained to operate experimental planes
45. Highest directorial prize at Cannes Film Festival
47. iPhone assistant
48. Implore
49. Large fish
51. Illuminated
52. There’s a shelter for this animal on campus
53. Yugoslav leader's nickname
ACROSS cont.
54. Became submerged
56. Charli XCX's song ___ Dutch
57. Deemed the best ever
59. Floral necklace
60. Know the ___ and the outs
61. Trainee
62. Consume
63. Used to address a boat captain, when repeated
64. Name for concrete dorms on campus
DOWN
1. Neither good nor bad
2. Question denoting surprise
3. Plead
4. Of little consequence, acronym
5. Because of
6. Game 7, for one
7. Declaration after getting little sleep
8. Not valid
9. New York's clock setting
10. Stamp
11. How something may appear
12. Words before "roll" or between "ants" and log"
20. Plural of acronym for soldiers who disappear
THE LITTLE
22. Nickname for singer Grande
25. Foot-operated parts of a bicycle
26. Often used after a broom
28. Scheduled
30. Prefix meaning “somewhat”
32. Looked at
33. Connect in your mind
37. Types of dirt
38. Pokémon GO or Duolingo
39. Overhanging platform, in architecture
40. Designation for juice-based diet
42. Horse trained for harness racing
43. Performed a test of
44. “Rest close”
46. You might wipe your feet on one at a door
50. Name for intramural sports field
53. Morrison or Braxton
55. Charlie Brown had a hard time flying one
56. By way of
57. Software for mapping
58. Genetic material
ACROSS
1. Event hosts, briefly
4. Cope (with)
5. Iconic Central Coast rock
6. Soft cheese
7. Quantity, in short
DOWN
1. Scholarship type not based on need
2. Look after
3. Cal Poly's home, in short
4. Lassen, Yosemite, and Tenaya, for example
5. OCOB Grad offering
ASSOCIATIONS
Find the four categories that these words fit into! Four words in each.
PLAY THE MAZE
Student instructors bring rhythm, energy and community to campus spin classes
Story by Sydnie Bierma
Design by Julia Hazemoto
Animal science senior Gina Taurian always loved going to the Cal Poly spin classes, otherwise known as Breakaway. From the upbeat music to the fast choreography, she loved it all. She especially loved a specific instructor who taught during her freshman year.
“I really loved her teaching style, she was the only one that did rhythmic spin at the time,” Taurian said.
Devastated to hear she was graduating, Taurian wondered who would fill her spot.
“I hope they’ll hire somebody who can teach that kind of style in the future,” Taurian thought.
Little did she know, that person would be herself.
Taurian is now one of the 14 student instructors out of the 42 total instructors at the Cal Poly Recreation Center. She has been instructing since the fall of 2022.
Students get into teaching classes for a multitude of different reasons, but it’s almost never planned, according to the assistant coordinator of fitness at the Recreation Center, Eric Alexander.
A student instructor with a different backstory is kinesiology senior Maija Shaw. Similar to Taurian, Shaw began taking spin classes during her freshman year. Having previous spin experience, one of Shaw’s friends recommended that she apply for the position.
Shaw was then hired by Alexander in
the winter of 2023. The application process is just like any other job kind of application, according to Shaw. Aside from filling out the application, aspiring instructors must complete a 20-minute ride-along with the assistant coordinator of fitness.
The ride-along is essentially a shortened version of a class, according to Alexander. During the ride along, Alexander examines the instructor’s class setup, form, communication and ability to provide modifications.
“The audition portion is really just to give me an idea of how they’re going to interact with students,” Alexander said. “Are they giving clear directions? Are they speaking too fast? Are they speaking too slow? Are people waiting around for you to get to the next
BELL SUDYKA | COURTESY
thing? Are they having a hard time following you because you’re moving too quickly?”
Additionally, students are required to complete a cycling certification through the American Sports and Fitness Association. The course is fairly easy and requires common sense, according to Taurian. After passing, instructors pay $349 for the official certificate.
Having a student instructor can provide a different connection that feels more like a peer-to-peer relationship according to Alexander.
Business junior Kate Ostermeyer has been going to Recreation Center group fitness classes since her freshman year.
Taurian has made connections with students from her class.
“I really enjoy spin because, especially with the younger instructors I found at the Rec, they’ll have their classes centered around the beat of the music,” Ostermeyer said.
“I don’t know if it’s just like personal preference, but I feel like in my experience, I think they just play music that I would normally work out to,” Ostermeyer said. “I feel like the music and choreography that the younger instructors use aligns more with what I want to do when I work out.”
Taurian uses songs on the radio to come up with her playlists. “[I] find the beat, and then I think in my head, ‘how can I put this in a spin class?’” Taurian said.
Student instructors are able to use their classes as a learning experience.
“I went into my first class ever teaching with confidence. I literally was like, ‘You know what? I’m just gonna fake it, nobody’s gonna know that I’ve never taught before,’” Taurian said.
From there, Taurian has refined her class based on student feedback and cycling TikTok videos she’s seen. She does her best to stay on the bike during the entire workout. “I feel like, if you’re having people do the workout, you should be able to also do it,” Taurian said.
Being up on the podium and in front of her peers is an almost indescribable feeling, according to Taurian. “I walk into that room and it’s kind of like my social hour. I know all the girls, and they will come up to me and say things about how I really help them along their fitness journey,” Taurian said.
While being a student instructor has its positives, like many things, there are difficulties in teaching workout classes as a student.
‘A SAFE HAVEN’
Recreation Center group fitness classes provide a safe haven for Cal Poly students afraid to go to the gym alone.
“I think classes are a lot less intimidating,” Ostermyer said. “I know a lot of people sometimes have anxiety just going to the Rec alone and working out.”
Taurian makes sure that her students feel safe and supported in her class.
“I think having a good relationship with working out is very important, especially to females,” Taurian said. “I want to help them fall back in love with fitness, to a point where it’s a good relationship, not an unhealthy one.”
While student instructors provide a feeling of safety, they also cultivate a level of inspiration.
“I’ve had someone tell me I’m the only reason why they work out, which is very touching,” Shaw said.
BELL SUDYKA | COURTESY
Gina Taurian has instructed Breakway classes at Cal Poly since her sophomore year.
I
don’t even think that teaching cycling is a job for me. I seriously love it.
GINA TAURIAN Animal Science senior
Shaw currently teaches two days a week from 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
“I feel like that’s always kind of a time of the day where I’m just tapped out. So sometimes it is very hard to go to the spin room, and I have to perform for so many people and also bring energy into the classroom,” Shaw said.
Along with having to put on a performance, being a student instructor doesn’t pay the best according to Shaw. Instructors at the Recreation Center, like most other student employees, make minimum wage.
Since classes are only 45 minutes long, instructors walk away from each shift making less than minimum wage and aren’t compensated for the additional time it takes to create playlists and come up with choreography.
Despite the struggles, student instructors say it’s worth it.
“I don’t even think that teaching cycling is a job for me,” Taurian said. “I seriously love it.”
Students favor instructors for a variety of different reasons, whether it’s the fast pace or energy they bring.
“I really like to go to Maija Shaw’s classes. She’s my favorite instructor because I just feel like she has the best practice,” Ostermeyer said.
Student instructors are often friends with their students.
“Since I’ve been teaching for three years out of my college experience, I feel like the amount of connections that I’ve made through spin and the amount of friends that I’ve made has been great,” Taurian said.
During her sophomore year, instructor Shaw regularly taught a group of girls in the sorority Alpha Omicron Pi.
“I’m still friends with all of them today,” Shaw said
Taurian currently teaches twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays from 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 pm. After graduating, Taurian hopes to apply to Pelaton to keep up her new found passion.
“It’s really cool to be a part of giving them[the instructors] something that they weren’t necessarily expecting to happen when they enrolled at Cal Poly,” Alexander said.”
“I hope that there’s more instructors like them after they graduate,” Ostermeyer said.
LETTER TO ARCHANA
Story by Amelia Wu
Design by Isa Cordovez and Liz Ridley
Amelia Wu is the outgoing editor-in-chief of Mustang Media Group, wrapping up her 2024-25 tenure. Archana Pisupati will be the incoming editor-in-chief for the 2025-26 year.
Why are you laughing? You’re always laughing when we talk," Archana Pisupati asks me, though she's already grinning before I can answer.
The truth is, around Archana, laughter is inevitable. For the past year, she has transformed Mustang Media Group not just through her relentless optimism and acute sense of humor, but through her ability to find joy in the chaos and absurdity of student journalism. Her laugh is infectious—the kind that cuts through the tension of a late-night editing session and reminds everyone why we fell in love with this work in the first place.
I first encountered Archana when I stepped into my first editorial leadership role as assistant news editor. Initially, she existed only as an impressive digital portfolio. But when we finally met in September 2022, she embodied everything I wasn't as a freshman: fearlessly outgoing, unforgivingly decisive in her editorial judgment and religiously devoted to her honey lavender lattes.
What makes Archana exceptional isn't just her confidence—it's how she wields it to elevate everyone around her. She sees potential in people before they recognize it in themselves, then pushes them just hard enough to reach it. Under her leadership as social media manager, her team has flourished, editors have learned to trust her judgment, and Mustang Media Group has evolved from a mere publication into a place where students discover not just their writing abilities, but their capacity to lead, question, and create something meaningful together.
As Archana steps into the role of Editor in Chief, she brings with her that same fearless optimism that first caught my attention. And yes, there will probably be a few more honey lavender lattes along the way.
WHAT WILL YOU TAKE AWAY FROM BEING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF?
My biggest takeaway from MMG is that it's never too late to start something new or take a leap. Throughout my time here, I've pitched ambitious ideas that could have easily been dismissed, but instead they were met with matching enthusiasm from my peers. This year especially, this environment constantly pushed me to just start those passion projects—even when the timing didn't feel perfect.
I've watched people join MMG at different points in their college careers and go on to produce amazing, admirable work. There's something powerful about being in an environment where "why not?" is the default response rather than "why?"
I’ve ultimately carried this mindset during my time in this role. And that mindset became transformative beyond MMG. When I encountered doubt or hit roadblocks in other areas of my life, I had the confidence to push through because I'd learned that starting imperfectly is better than not starting at all. MMG taught me that the right community doesn't just support your ideas—it amplifies your willingness to act on them.
-Amelia Wu
MAJOR: JOURNALISM, GRC
ROLE FOR MMG 24-25: EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
LETTER TO AMELIA
Story by Archina Pisupati
Design by Isa Cordovez and Liz Ridley
Archana's Lightning Round:
Iced Rose Oat Milk Matcha FAVORITE REMOTE-NEWSROOM:
Linnaea's Cafe
I first met Amelia Wu over Zoom two days before my high school graduation. I pinned my hair up around six different ways before finally landing on a hairstyle I liked— and then quickly pulled it out as soon as I entered the Zoom waiting room.
I was interviewing to be a news reporter for Mustang News at the time, without any prior reporting experience. She was waiting to ask me about which Bay Area high school I go to— I remember it vividly. Months later, we would think back to this conversation and laugh about it, but in the moment, I was posture checking myself every 20 seconds and remembering to smile. I quickly stopped as Amelia’s welcoming spirit immediately made me fall in love with the idea of being part of Mustang Media Group.
Over the years, Amelia has served as my manager in every position I’ve held at Mustang News. In a way, I feel like I’ve grown alongside her, always looking to her for guidance in my next step. Her support has been integral to my growth as a journalist.
Amelia is my mentor in many ways. She often offers take me out to coffee to finish our stressful conversations when she notices my sheepish smile is covering a stressed frenzy. She speaks my language for sure.
One time we spent six hours in my living room watching Dancing With The Stars episodes back to back because I missed an episode and dug into a shared plate of red lentil pasta with pine nuts. It wasn’t long before this became a weekly tradition. By week three, we were rooting for the same couple, perfecting a pasta recipe and gossiping by the ‘water cooler,’ the Brita filter, in my living room.
It was her innate ability to connect with our team as a mentor, leader but most importantly friend, that I will take with me as I step into the position of Editor In Chief next year. I am grateful for the memories, matcha and madness we shared all these years.
WHAT EXCITED YOU MOST ABOUT STEPPING INTO THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ROLE AT MMG?
There hasn’t been a day since I interviewed three years ago that I haven’t thought about MMG. I approached it with an open mind and excitement— and when I felt that passion veering, I would channel it into a new journalistic avenue. I tell people journalism excites me because it allows me to learn about anything I’m interested in. It doesn’t require profound interactions or theoretical analyses. It’s about connection; developing how people connect with the news is what keeps me enthralled by the industry.
Before MMG, I never entered a newsroom. In fact, I refused to enter my high school’s newsroom out of protest of being rejected each time I applied. (You can laugh at me for this one.) I thought this would set me back, but it was entirely the opposite. Newsroom leaders and faculty took me in and channeled my spirit into success, which I am forever grateful for.
I still remember the exact moment I found out I would be part of MMG. I was listening to The Next Episode by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg and drinking a homemade iced latte in my backyard. As the email notification that read “Congrats and Preliminary Onboarding at Mustang News” from Chloe Lovejoy peered onto the top of my phone, I screamed in unison with the beat drop, and dropped the latte all over myself.
That excitement doesn’t come naturally. It’s with strong leadership that an organization of this capacity is able to succeed. I am excited to work alongside my best friends who watched me grow into this role. I am excited to face interesting challenges and pivot them with positive reinforcement. I am excited to create the experience I had for the next generation of journalists. All things considered, excitement doesn’t even begin to cut it.
The ultimate SLO grad weekend bucket list
Opinion by Erin Yarwood Design by Amanda Wahl
Erin Yarwood is a journalism senior and opinion columnist for Mustang News. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang Media Group.
Graduation weekend marks the end of an era. It’s the celebration you’ve been waiting for, or the one you’ve been dreading. Either way, it’s a big deal and you (and your friends and family) need to soak up every last memory before you toss your cap.
Here’s your essential Grad Weekend Bucket List to make the most of the chance of your achievement. You deserve it!
1. Take Your Grad Pics
Cap. Gown. Rolling green hills. Your best friends. By grad weekend, most of the graduating class had already taken their formal graduation pictures. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bring a digital or film camera everywhere you go. Besides, the candids are always better.
2. Morning Bar Crawl
SLO bar crawls are a rite of passage, and a morning of graduation bar crawl is a time honored tradition. It’s the perfect time for one last early morning cheers. Rally your crew, including your family members that you can convince, and hit the bars early. Bonus points if you take a shot with your grandparents. The earliest ones will be open at 6 a.m. on Saturday.
3. BBQ with the Fam
A beautiful weekend in SLO calls for an afternoon in the sun with a hot dog or burger. Whether it’s your parents, aunt and uncle or family friends, host a casual BBQ to celebrate with the people who have traveled from near and far to support you. Or, if you’re feeling lazy, bring in food from SLO barbecue classics like Firestone or Old Slo BBQ.
4. Toss Your Shoes
This symbolic tradition is a must. All those shoes on the power lines around SLO were students here, too. Tossing your shoes on the wire near your house or campus is a symbol of the end of your student journey, until they’re taken down by public services. Don’t forget to sign your name on them!
5. Eat Your Favorite SLO Foods
You can’t graduate without one more bite of your favorite SLO staples. Especially if it’s on Mom and Dad this weekend. Whether it’s tri-tip or pulled pork at Firestone, a High Street sandwich, a burrito from Taqueria Santa Cruz or one last SloDoCodonut, make sure to indulge in the foods that fueled you throughout your time at Cal Poly. Consider it a farewell tour.
6. Sell Your Furniture
On a completely different note, it’s time to move out. You’ll probably want to get this one done before grad weekend. Having less furniture is going to make moving out a lot easier, and you’ll get some cash in your pocket too. Remember when you were moving into your first off-campus apartment and got a killer deal on your couch? Now is the time to pay it forward.
7. Watch One Last Sunset
One of my favorite things about SLO is the sunsets. Go to Avila for a sunset swim one last time. Or sit on a bench at Shell Beach and take it all in. Prefumo, the P, Bishop’s; the options are endless in SLO.
8. Hug Your Friends
The hardest part of leaving isn’t the finals or the packing, it’s leaving the people. Hug your friends and show each other some love. You are going to be scattering to different cities and jobs, so make the most of it while you can. Graduation doesn’t have to mean goodbye forever, but you should probably still squeeze your friends a little tighter this time.
However, you celebrate graduation weekend, make the most of it. Graduating from Cal Poly is an incredible achievement, and you deserve to celebrate your special moment with your loved ones. Congratulations!
ELEANOR VICKERY | MUSTANG NEWS
Need Some Last Minute Grad Dinner Ideas?
Story by Bella Cox
Design by Amanda Wahl
Graduation weekend is upon us and restaurants are completely booked. While the majority of restaurants in San Luis Obispo will be filled to the brim with graduates and their families, some of them said they would accept walk-ins depending on their capacity or day-of cancellations.
Flour House
This modern Italian pizza bar and pastaria only accepts walk-ins and will continue to accept walkins during graduation weekend. Their restaurant offers an extensive menu of pizzas and pastas, including gluten-free options. They specialize in pizza napoletana and use a top of the line oven specifically for their pizza napoletana, according to their website. Cash is not accepted at this establishment. Whether you’re sitting inside with the warm lighting, surrounded by earthy-tones or outside on their heated patio, it will make for a great, celebratory evening.
Koberl at Blue
Hidden in plain sight, an urban bar and restaurant offers a sleek and rustic atmosphere to anyone who walks through their door. Owner, Patricia Koberl understands the stress of graduation weekend after having her two sons graduate from there themselves. “I will do my best to fit graduates and their families in,” Koberl told Mustang News. If you’d like to book a reservation, calling is better over email, but they will always take walk-ins as well, according to Koberl.
Giuseppe’s
Just a street over, sits this Italian restaurant, often with a line wrapped around the corner of Moondoggies. Throughout graduation weekend, they will be accepting walk-ins for smaller parties of no more than six people because they are fully booked on larger parties. Whether you’re sitting near the bar, outside under the twinkle-lights or in their back room covered in Italian movie posters, the food will compliment the atmosphere as it will the occasion. What’s better than celebrating Cal Poly grads at a Cal Poly born restaurant?
FILE PHOTO | MUSTANG NEWS
ELEANOR VICKERY | MUSTANG NEWS
RICK ORTIZ
STARTING MID$400,000
Congratulations, Cal Poly Grads!
Start Your Next Chapter On the Central Coast
Whether you’re putting down roots, investing in your future, or celebrating your next big move, discover Grover Beach’s vibrant new West End. Palladium and Encore offer rooftop lounges, fitness centers, dedicated parking, and a prime location near the beach, dining, and the dynamic wine scene.
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— Al Liddicoat
Interim Provost & Vice President for Academic A airs
Poly Class of 1989
STUDENT LEADERS
in University Housing ank You
CONGRATS GRADS!
Einstein graduated from a polytechnic university and now you have, too!
Congratulations, Bailey College graduates!
FACULTY AND STAFF IN THE BAILEY COLLEGE CELEBRATE YOU!
Allie McAuliffe CLASS OF 2025
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
Biomedical Engineering
Women’s and Gender Studies MINOR
CONGRATULATIONS ALLIE!
You are amazing! We are so proud of your hard work, creativity, kindness, determination and spirit. Keep following your heart. You are going to make the world a better place.
Mom, Dad, & Sophie
Brett Hillyard CLASS OF 2025
BACHELOR
OF SCIENCE, Computer Science
CONGRATULATIONS BRETT!
You have come a long way Brett! We are so proud of you, graduating with honors, playing club volleyball, and taking advantage of all that SLO has to offer. Keep following your dreams!
Love, Mom, Dad, Shannon & Clay
CLASS OF 2025
Bryce Garrison Leonard
Bachelor of Science
Aerospace Engineering
CONGRATULATIONS!
Since childhood you’ve had your eyes turned to the sky. At 13 you announced that you planned to study aerospace engineering at Cal Poly SLO. We hope all your dreams continue to come true.
Love -Mama and Da
CLASS OF 2025
Cody Bruce Reinhold Rudman
Bachelor of Science
Mechanical Engineering
Cody, we’re so proud of all that you’ve accomplished and can’t wait to see what’s next! May you continue to live your life with wonder, unbridled enthusiasm, passion and your gift for infectious laughter.
Love: Mom, Dad, Kyle, Isa and Snow!
CLASS OF 2025 BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!
From a shy kindergartener to a confident Cal Poly graduate, your dedication, courage, and integrity inspire us. Always stay true to yourself, and may all your dreams come true!
We love you, Dad, Mom, & Giulia
CLASS OF 2025
Elene Pilpani
BACHELOR OF Arts
Political Science
Elene we’re so proud of you You worked hard stayed true to yourself and made it This is your moment and we can’t wait to see what you do next
Lucas, Mom & Dad
CLASS
OF 2025 Amelia Cameron
Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering
CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations Amelia! We are so proud of you. We wish you happiness and success as you move forward in the next chapter of your big adventure in life. Always stay true to who you are.
With all our love – Mom & Dad
CLASS OF 2025
Ella Lange
Bachelor of Science Nutrition
CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations to our amazing graduate! We’ve watched you grow into a smart, resilient, and joyful adult. We are so incredibly proud of you and can’t wait to see the positive impact you’ll have helping others!
Dad, Mom & Millie (Louie too!)
CLASS OF 2025 Griffin Max Prough
Bachelor’s of Science Food Science
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LITTLE GUY!
From your very first day of school, we knew you were going places. Cheers to all you’ve achieved and all that’s still to come!
CLASS OF 2025
Ella Marchal
Bachelor of Arts Theater Arts
CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations Ella! We are so proud of you and what you have accomplished! Your hard work paid off and now that spirit and drive will help you follow your dreams. Reach for the stars!
Mom, Dad, Max, and Ryan
Love, Mommy, Daddy, Jordan & Dakota
Daphne Juliette Ruffier CLASS OF 2025
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
Journalism, Public Relations
CONGRATULATIONS DAPHNE!
We are so proud of you, and we cannot wait to see what you achieve next! Wishing you all the happiness and success!
Dad, Mom and Chloe
CLASS OF 2025
Ashlee schindler
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
Psychology
minor in child development
CONGRATULATIONS ASHLEE!
We are so proud of you! Your adventure is just beginning! We love you!
Mom, Dad & Alex
Grace Bender CLASS OF 2025
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
Journalism Major
Environmental Science Minor
CONGRATULATIONS!
We are beyond proud of you. Keep being true to yourself and continue finding joy in even the small things. Your path might change but your light inside will continue to guide your journey.
Mom, Dad & Colin
OF 2025
GURPREET KHAMBRA CLASS
Bachelor of Science
Business administration
Accounting Concentration
Congratulations dear “Gippy”! We are incredibly proud of your hard work and dedication in achieving this milestone. Wishing you the best in your future endeavors! Love you forever!
Mom and Dad
CLASS OF 2025
Isabella, Megan, Sam, and Winnie
Bachelor of Science, Aerospace Engineering
YOU DID IT!!
For all the memories you’ll cherish forever, and for the ways you’re going to make the universe a better place, this one’s for you.
-Melody Padilla
Isabella Rackemann CLASS OF 2025
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
Aerospace Engineering
To the little girl who made our world shine, the loving big sister and the beautiful woman you’ve become. We adore you to the moon and back. Your achievements, dedication and perseverance are inspirational. We’re thankful to share in today and celebrate you. Love and Congratulations!!!
Dad, Mom, Jewels & Buddy
Isaiah Martinez CLASS OF 2025
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
Electrical Engineering
CONGRATULATIONS!
You’ve earned this moment, and we are all so proud of you! Here’s to a bright and successful future!
Mom & Ruiz Family
CLASS OF 2025
Bachelor of Science Mechanical Engineering
CONGRATULATIONS!
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. -Henry David Thoreau
We love you Otis!
Mcloughlin and Subel Families
CLASS OF 2025
Otis McLoughlin Jakob Zuckermandel
CLASS OF 2025
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
Mechanical Engineering MAJOR
CONGRATULATIONS JAKOB!
Jakob, your kindness, dedication, leadership, and achievements inspire us all! We celebrate you today and always. Congratulations on this incredible milestone! Keep embracing every opportunity! We love you always!
Dad, Mom, & Autumn
Katrina Marie Swenson-Aguirre
Bachelor of ARTS in EnglisH minor in SPANISH
CONGRATULATIONS!
Slayy Katrina! You amaze and inspire us! You excelled in academics and leadership in United Movement. We’re so proud of your accomplishments but most especially of your generosity and devotion. Your adoring family loves you!
Love, Dad, Mom, Annie, Gigi, Jack, Noah
Jesse Muth CLASS OF 2025
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
Architectural Engineering
CONGRATULATIONS JESSE!
We are so honored to sit ringside as you work toward your goals through challenges of many kinds. We are proud of your success and pray, with hope and excitement, for your future.
Mom, Dan, Reese, Grandma and Papa
CLASS OF 2025 Jimmy Casassa
Bachelor of Science
Electrical Engineering
CONGRATULATIONS!
We are so proud of your hard work and dedication!
Mom, Dad, and Tabby
CLASS OF 2025 Kailey Magel
Bachelor of Science
Environmental Management & Protection
Law & Society
CONGRATULATIONS KAILEY!
We’re beyond proud. Wishing you the best on your new journey.
Love, Mom & Dad
CLASS OF 2025
Lacey May
Bachelor of Science Anthropology and Geography
CONGRATULATIONS!
Indescribably proud of how far you’ve come, and the woman you’re becoming. You are amazing. I love you!
Love, Mom
CLASS OF 2025
Lizzie Dilao
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE mechanical engineering
CONGRATS LIZZIE!
We’re so proud of you and all your hard work! Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.”-
Proverbs 16:3.
Mom, Dad, Diego, Lulu, Castellano Family
Lillian Curdy
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | Biomedical Engineering
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations Lilly! Your hard work and determination have paid off and we are so proud of you. Keep following your dreams and seek out adventure. We love you and are your biggest fans! Ride High!
Mom, Dad, Jackson and Henry
Julianna Christopoulos CLASS OF 2025
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
Mechanical Engineering
CONGRATULATIONS JULES!
We are endlessly proud of all that you have achieved. Your dedication, resilience and heart will continue to carry you far. Keep dreaming big. Your future is bright and limitless! We Love you!
Mom, Dad, Anastasia and Katerina
Nelson CLASS OF 2025
Kai
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
business administration
information systems concentration
SUPER PROUD OF YOU!
Congratulations, Kai! This is just the beginning of an amazing new chapter. May your future be as unique, bright and bold as your smile. We love and believe in you always!
Mom, Dad, Maia & the whole Nelson Family
Marcellus Elenzano Murillo CLASS OF 2025
BACHELOR OF Architecture
Architecture MAJOR
CONGRATULATIONS MARCELLUS!
Marco, We are proud of all your accomplishments! May God’s grace and wisdom guide your steps as you enter the next stage of life and face the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Love, Grandma and Grandpa
CLASS OF 2025
Michael Dutra
Bachelor of Science Business Administration
CONGRATULATIONS!
You completed your journey at Cal Poly- Congratulations on all your hard work! School’s done & the best is yet to come! We are so proud of you! Love you!
Mom, Dad, Allison & Carley
CLASS OF 2025 Miles Fesler
Bachelor of Science Computer Engineering
CONGRATULATIONS!
Your college path was uniquely YOU and we are SO proud of how much FUN you had and how HARD you worked. Keep believing in yourself. We do! And keep having fun!
Mama, Dada and Bubs
CLASS OF 2025
Molly Rhea Feins
Bachelor of Science Animal Science
Your hard work and dedication have paid off. We’re so proud of your accomplishments and can’t wait to see where your journey takes you next. The future is yours, so make it amazing!! Congratulations!!
Mom, Dad, & Parker
CLASS OF 2025 Morgan Fitzgerald
Bachelor of Science
Journalism PR Concentration
Minors in French and Entrepreneurship
CLASS OF 2025
Natalie Rose Garner
BACHELOR OF Fine Arts
Art
and Design
Graphic
Design
Congratulations on earning your diploma through your hard work. Your bright personality, loving heart, and creative spirit make our world a better place. We are so proud of you and love you so much!
CONGRATULATIONS MORGAN!
We are so proud of you! We’re excited to see where your natural abilities and education take you. No matter what it is, we know you’ll be the best Morgan you can be!
Mom, Dad, and Taylor
Dad, Mom, Juliette & Matthew
Owen Tobey Beim CLASS OF 2025
BACHELOR OF Fine Arts
art & design MAJOR
Photography and Videography
All-nighters at your desk, and Coachella. Trips to the library, and legendary surf spots. Getting slammed in finals, and shore break. And that was just last week! Always with a camera and a smile.
WE SEE SOMETHING SWELL ON THE HORIZON.
CONGRATULATIONS
CONGRATULATIONS
CLASS OF 2025
Nathaniel John Hempstead
CLASS
OF
Bachelor of Science
Mechanical Engineering
CONGRATULATIONS, NATE!
A true tinkerer, fixer, and helper— your brain and hands work to make the world better. Cal Poly’s proud, and so are we! Onward, engineer!
Love, Mom, Hannah, and all of Team Nate
OF 2025
Nicholas Grant Cariquitan CLASS
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE Kinesiology
CONGRATULATIONS!
Your success is a testament to your incredible persistence and tenacity. Cherish this milestone and embrace the exciting opportunities that lie ahead. Your journey is just beginning, and we believe in your continued success!
Mom, Dad, Julia, and Lucas
2025 Samuel Morrisroe
Bachelor of Science
Aerospace Engineering
MINOR IN Computer Science
CONGRATULATIONS SAM! What an amazing 4 years you’ve had. We are proud of your hard work and dedication. Keep it up and best of luck at Northeastern!!!
Mom and Dad
Love,
CLASS OF 2025
Stephanie Norberg
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
CONGRATULATIONS STEPH!
We’re so proud of everything you’ve accomplished and the person you’ve become. As you begin this new chapter, know we’ll always be cheering you on. Keep reaching for your dreams-we love you!
Mom, Dad, Lexi & Maddie
CONGRATULATIONS!
Keep shooting for the stars on your incredible journey as this is just the beginning! We are so proud of you and can’t wait to see what’s ahead! You did Cal Poly proud.
CLASS OF 2025 Nicole Frigon
Bachelor of Science Child Development
Nicole, You are going to make a difference in this world. Dream big, work hard, stay focused, and always surround yourself with good people. With all our love and support, Dad, Ethan, Mom-in-spirit, and Family
CLASS OF 2025
Paul Wenquan Zhang
Bachelor of Architecture Architecture MAJOR
CONGRATULATIONS PAUL!
We’re incredibly proud of your courage, dedication, and determination. Seeing how much you’ve grown, we have no doubt you’ll embrace this next chapter with pride and live a full, meaningful life.
Mom, Dad, Mimi
CLASS OF 2025
SOPHIA ANNA Kainz
Bachelor of Science Aerospace Engineering
CONGRATULATIONS!
Woo hoo! Enjoy your special day because you’ve earned it! What lies behind you and what lies before you are small matters compared to what lies within you! Congratulations Sophia!
Love, Mom, Dad & Felix
CLASS OF 2025
Tatiana Leila Banihashemi
Bachelor of Science Business Administration Finance
CONGRATULATIONS TATIANA!!
You have grown so much-this is just the beginning. The future is yourssmile and enjoy- you will do amazing things!
Love, Mom and Dad
CLASS OF 2025
Victoria Laurel
Bachelor of Science
Industrial Engineering
CONGRATULATIONS!
We are proud of you and all your accomplishments!
Keep following your dreams and let your light shine!
Dad, Sophia, Bean and Your Loved Ones
CLASS OF 2025
Sachi
Goli
CLASS OF 2025 Sophia Coffaro
Bachelor of Science
Business Administration
Marketing Concentration
CONGRATULATIONS, SOPHIA!
You’ve always followed your own path — with passion, purpose, and joy. Your free spirit and determination will take you far.
So proud and always cheering you on!
Love, Mom, Dad, Sam, and Hunter
Bachelor of Science
Architectural Engineering
CONGRATULATIONS SACHI !!
We are proud of you. Lots of love.
Thatha, Nanamma and Family
Louis Buchalter
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | physics
CONGRATULATIONS LOUIS!
We are incredibly proud of you and what you’ve accomplished so far, and can’t wait to see what you do next. Keep questioning, keep envisioning, keep dreaming!
Mom, Dad, and Ben
CLASS OF 2025
Kaelen Twomey
BACHELOR OF ARts
sociology
Minors in Law and Society, Political Science, and Philosophy
Kaelen, congratulations on your many achievements at Cal Poly! We know you will meet this next chapter in your life with the same passion and determination. We couldn’t be prouder of you.
Your parents and many siblings
CLASS OF 2025
Crystal Angeles Sanchez-Ibarra
Bachelor of Science
Child Development
MINOR IN SpanisH
CONGRATULATIONS CRYSTAL
You are the definition of kindness, strength, and determination. You spread light and joy and will continue to wherever you go.
“Chew that gum!” Tinker bell
Mom, Dad, JJ, Jenn & Nikko
Stephanie Elizabeth Snyder CLASS OF 2025
Bachelor of Arts
English MAJOR
CONGRATULATIONS!
You did it all: excellence in academics, leading and coaching Cal Poly Rowing Club, making lifelong friends and memories. We are so proud of you and your bright and Epic future!
Love, Mom, Dad, Maddie & Grandma
CLASS OF 2025
Weston Clarke
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE, Agricultural Systems Management
CONGRATULATIONS WESTON!
We are so proud of you and all you have accomplished. Your story is just beginning and we are so excited for your next chapter.
We love you so much!
Dad, Mom and all your family
Sean Stein CLASS OF 2025
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE, Business major emphasis in Accounting
CONGRATULATIONS SEAN!
What a wonderful four years you have had at Cal Poly. We are so proud of all that you have accomplished. We can’t wait to see what the future holds! You have made so many wonderful friends and memories along the way that you will always treasure. Congratulations Graduate!
Love, Mom, Dad, Kathleen and Erin
Bachelor of Science
Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration
CONGRATULATIONS, CIERA!
Words can’t describe how proud of you and your accomplishments we are. The future for our young lady is going to be exciting for all of us. We love you so much. Now get a job.
Mom, Dad, Kuma & Family
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | Anthropology and Geography
Jesse, your journey fills my heart w/ pride. Your strength & kindness shine brightly. Congratulations on graduation! The world awaits your
Gamma Phi Beta
Graduating class of 2025
CLASS OF 2025
P U Z Z L E S & OTHER GAMES: ANSWERS
THE CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1. Sport that was cut this year
10. Camera setting
13. Sound of meditation
14. Capital city, with “Aires”
15. Grown-up boys
16. Soak liquid (up)
17. Trickery
18. Found in a pod
19. What Tyler, The Creator and Kali Uchis repeat at the end of "See You Again," respectively
21. Fastened
22. Limb
23. Not later
24. Not even
25. 3D rectangle, triangle, octagon etc.
27. Greek god of love
29. Gently introduce
31. Deserved
34. Spinning toy
35. Utters words
36. Awards show hosted by Jennifer Lopez last month
38. Alphabet beginning
41. Aeronauts trained to operate experimental planes
45. Highest directorial prize at Cannes Film Festival
47. iPhone assistant
48. Implore
49. Large fish
51. Illuminated
52. There’s a shelter for this animal on campus
53. Yugoslav leader's nickname
ACROSS cont.
54. Became submerged
56. Charli XCX's song ___ Dutch
57. Deemed the best ever
59. Floral necklace
60. Know the ___ and the outs
61. Trainee
62. Consume
63. Used to address a boat captain, when repeated
64. Name for concrete dorms on campus
DOWN
1. Neither good nor bad
2. Question denoting surprise
3. Plead
4. Of little consequence, acronym
5. Because of
6. Game 7, for one
7. Declaration after getting little sleep
8. Not valid
9. New York's clock setting
10. Stamp
11. How something may appear
12. Words before "roll" or between "ants" and log"
20. Plural of acronym for soldiers who disappear
THE LITTLE
22. Nickname for singer Grande
25. Foot-operated parts of a bicycle
26. Often used after a broom
28. Scheduled
30. Prefix meaning “somewhat”
32. Looked at
33. Connect in your mind
37. Types of dirt
38. Pokémon GO or Duolingo
39. Overhanging platform, in architecture
40. Designation for juice-based diet
42. Horse trained for harness racing
43. Performed a test of
44. “Rest close”
46. You might wipe your feet on one at a door
50. Name for intramural sports field
53. Morrison or Braxton
55. Charlie Brown had a hard time flying one
56. By way of
57. Software for mapping
58. Genetic material
1. Event hosts, briefly
4. Cope (with)
5. Iconic Central Coast rock
6. Soft cheese
7. Quantity, in short ACROSS
DOWN
1. Scholarship type not based on need
2. Look after
3. Cal Poly's home, in short
4. Lassen, Yosemite, and Tenaya, for example
5. OCOB Grad offering
ASSOCIATIONS
Find the four categories that these words fit into! Four words in each.
WORDS THAT MEAN TO LOOK FOR SCOUT, SEARCH, HUNT, DIG
CAL POLY PRODUCTS STRAWBERRIES, BBQ SAUCE, CHEESE, WINE
MAJORS ENDING IN "SCIENCE" DAIRY, POLITICAL, DATA, SOIL
COLLEGES PLUS OR MINUS A LETTER CAFE, CAPED, COB, CLAW
PLAY THE MAZE
FIND THESE WORDS
CONTRIBUTORS
Alex Nishida
Amanda Wahl
Amelia Wu
Andrew Aguinga
Archana Pisupati
Ashley Ho
Audrey Walch
Aviv Kesar
Bella Cox
Brandon Schwartz
Carly Heltzel
Christine Kim
Erin Yarwood
Isa Cordovez
Jack Bynum
Jolina Chen
Jonathan Sze
Julia Hazemoto
ALICE SUKHOSTAVSKIY | MUSTANG NEWS
Julia Nunez
Kennedy Ray
Lano Somotun
Lauren Yoon
Lillian Dolph
Liz Ridley
Sydnie Bierma
Teia Kornienko
Zach Berston
Mustang Media Group is Cal Poly’s number-one source for local news, a national leader in college media, and a facilitator in highlighting student voices.
Editor's Note
Hello reader!
Thank you for picking up MMG’s special Grad Edition. This issue is our love letter to San Luis Obispo, featuring the best spots for grad weekend, standout campus moments, and interesting stories that shaped our college experience.
As we close out the 2024-2025 academic year, we want to share some reflections from the team that brought this special edition to life. Our time here has been defined by late nights in the newsroom, breaking stories that mattered to our campus, and building connections that will last far beyond graduation.
Whether you're discovering Mustang News for the first time or you've been part of our community throughout your Cal Poly years, we're grateful for your readership and support.
Thank you for allowing us to tell your stories, celebrate your achievements, and document this chapter of our lives together. Congratulations class of 2025!
Amelia Wu
With gratitude and excitement for what's next, &
AMELIA WU, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF (24-25) BRANDON SCHWARTZ, CREATIVE DIRECTOR (24-25)
