Monday, June 12, 2017
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
www.mustangnews.net
Established 1916
GRAD EDITION 2
MUSTANG NEWS
Students and alumni share what it means to be a Mustang Beth Strutz @ CPMustangNews
Since 1903, students have been drawn to the community and learning environment of Cal Poly. Even years after their commencements, pride and a sense of connection to the “Mustang Legacy” can still be observed in graduates. Within campus itself, one often-cited-positive attribute of Cal Poly students is the kindness and compassion they show for both each other, and the surrounding San Luis Obispo community. Physics freshman Katie Carter said the positivity is one of the major things that drew her to Cal Poly in the first place.
“When I first visited the campus as a high-schooler, everyone was super friendly and when I wasn’t sure how to get somewhere and would ask, random strangers would just offer to walk me all the way there, making conversation along the way.” This compassionate nature is also seen in the many student organizations who give back to the community. Most sororities and fraternities are active in giving back both locally and otherwise. Clubs like Circle K and Be The Match bring like-minded students together for the sole purpose of serving others. In addition to having a positive social and emotional environment, Cal Poly’s academic
reputation and Learn by Doing philosophy are major sources of pride for students and alumni alike. “Cal Poly has such an incredible reputation out in the workforce, and Learn by Doing is the best experience any college kid could have,” mechanical engineering alumna Karen Briley said. Leslie Maher Pease, who graduated with a home economics degree in 1978, echoed this sentiment, saying she “never met an alumni of Cal Poly that didn’t love their experience there.” Pease comes from a legacy of Mustang alumni, with 12 family members
who have graduated from or are currently attending Cal Poly. Pease’s sister, Lisa Maher Evaristo, emphasized the connection she feels with all students attending or who graduated from Cal Poly, and said when alumni come into her business — a bakery in the Bay Area — they become friends instantly. “Cal Poly alumni are always excited to talk about our school! It is like long lost family that you hadn’t met yet but have instant connection,” Evaristo said. “Being a Mustang is a lifetime of promoting, giving back and just plain being an
excited alumni.” The Cal Poly Alumni Association is active as well, with 20 different chapters hosting various events throughout the year and across the country. This year, the Alumni Association hosts its inaugural Cal Poly Family Camp, a week-long trip in Pinecrest, California for families and alumni to connect and relax in a fun outdoor environment. Sarah Howland, a political science graduate, is a third-generation Mustang who said when choosing a school, Cal Poly “felt like an extension of my hometown, my family and myself. It was just the right fit for me.” Though Howland just graduated at the end of winter quarter, she will re tu r n i n the fall as well. “My und e r g r a d u at e career was an incredible educational ex-
perience that introduced me to outstanding students and faculty members, so I inevitably chose Cal Poly again for my post-baccalaureate career. I’m grateful that I knew so many wonderful people associated with Cal Poly because it ultimately influenced my decision to choose Cal Poly … twice!” Both Howland’s mother and 93-year-old grandfather are Mustangs, and speak fondly of both their experiences and the school itself. Her grandfather, Harold C. Pfost, graduated in 1952, and initially chose the then all-male Cal Poly after leaving the Navy, because it accepted the G.I. Bill. “[Being a Mustang] means that you received a well-earned degree from an amazing academic institution,” Pfost said. “It’s been wonderful over the years to watch Cal Poly grow and mature into an outstanding leading university, I’ve always been proud to say I am a Mustang!”
PARENT AND FAMILY PROGRAMS AND COMMENCEMENT | COURTE SY PHOTO
HATS OFF
| Cal Poly’s academic reputation, Learn by Doing philosophy and welcoming community has attracted generations of families since 1903, the year the university first opened its doors.
What has changed since the class of 2017 students were freshmen Caroline Ster @ CPMustangNews
During the last four years, campus has grown to fit the needs of students. Consequently, it looks a lot different than it did when this year’s graduating seniors were freshmen. From new food options to major shifts in housing, here’s how Cal Poly changed during the last few years. Dining The most obvious change was the removal of Vista Grande Cafe, but that’s not the only way Campus Dining changed since the class of 2017 students were freshmen. “Cal Poly switched from meal plans to Plu$ dollars only, which I feel like was way better than what
we had,” political science senior Hannah Quitugua said Because of this change, Cal Poly dining venues are no longer packed with desperate students Friday nights trying to use their meals before they would restart and go to waste at the end of the week. In addition to these changes, Campus Dining added new options. In 2014, Red Radish was added, and this year Bishop’s Burger, Pico’s and Zen Bowl were added to The Avenue. Also new this year ar three food trucks: Starbucks, Central Coaster and Curbside Grill. Not-so-dry campus Until this year, Cal Poly was a
dry campus. But with the 2016 remodel of Mustang Station, formerly known as Ciao, came the
campus. Not only is this a change in Campus Dining, it is also a change in the overall atmosphere of campus. While dining on campus used to be an area where one would generally find freshmen with Plu$ dollars, now students of all ages hang out at Mustang Station.
A lot has changed on campus since this year’s graduating seniors were freshmen.
option for anyone 21-and-older to purchase beer and wine on
Housing In 2013, Poly Canyon Village (PCV) began to offer open-gender housing, in which one could live with people of different genders. This year, gender inclusive housing was offered, allowing students of all gender identities to have their choice of roommate arrangements. Due to larger classes com-
ing in, many dorms have been converted to fit more students over the years. Because of this, new freshman housing is being constructed at the front of campus in hopes to make PCV and Cerro Vista continued-student housing once again. Though these dorms — Yakʔitʸutʸu — won’t be ready until 2018, they have already impacted campus in many ways, the biggest way being the parking they took away. Parking Not only was parking considered one of the biggest changes on campus, it was also brought up by multiple students as something that could use the most improvement. “I have a huge issue with the parking,” physics senior Jessica Pilgram said. “There is not enough for all the students that drive to campus and they should have given us more parking.“ The problem is the recent closure of a large general parking lot on Grand Avenue, G1, that is now used to construct the new
Yakʔitʸutʸu freshmen housing. This change also means freshmen will no longer be allowed to bring cars. Recreation center Some of the Class of 2017 even witnessed the opening of the Recreation Center expansion. The construction began in 2009, and the expanded Recreation Center opened in January 2012. “When I was a first year the Rec Center had just opened for the first time,” dairy science senior Alice Jang said. Totaling about 21,000 square feet, the new and improved Recreation Center was a major change to campus. The amount of space tripled, group exercise classes began to be offered at no additional charge and the locker rooms got a makeover. A lot changed on campus since this year’s graduating seniors were freshmen. With changes always being made, it will be interesting to see what campus looks like in another four years.
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RECONNECT REUNITE C E L E B R AT E L E A R N B Y D O I N G
Homecoming Nov. 2–5
alumni.calpoly.edu/homecoming
Congratulations C l a s s o f 2017 From the Cal Poly International Center
CONGRATS 2017 GRADS! The time has come to say farewell to the Class of 2017. From all of us at Campus Dining, it has been a pleasure serving you during your time at Cal Poly and we wish you happy eating going forward!
D L R O W E U O TH Y S T I A AW
#HEALTHYHACKS With Poly Fresh foods, finding time to eat healthy is one less thing to stress about during finals week. Grab a Southwest Veggie Wrap or protein snack box for some grade A brain food. (Registered Dietitian approved)
STUDENT FAVS AND RAVES “Shout out to Campus Dining for four years of good eats! I’ll definitely miss hanging out at Mustang Station.” —Ellie Trebino, 2017 Graphic Communication Graduate
TAKE ONLY WHAT YOU’LL EAT When dining at 19 Metro, be mindful of how much food you pile on your plate. Reducing food waste starts with you!
GRAD EDITION 5
MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017
SOCIAL MEDIA SAV V Y
PHOTO COURTESY OF AYDA TAHMASBI
| Communications senior Ayda Tahmasbi’s senior project focuses on para-social interaction. She hopes to provide insight for brands and companies about how to utilize their social media presence.
Senior project shows how social media marketing influences consumers Carly Quinn @ CPMustangNews
Social media presents a new world of opportunity for marketing a brand or business. For her senior project, communication studies senior Ayda Tahmasbi studied the impact of para-social interactions toward a brand presence on various social media platforms. Para-social interaction is a one-sided relationship, such as pictures, tweets or videos uploaded by an online entity that has no guarantee of a reply.
Tahmasbi set out to test how the results of these relationships — also known as types of posts — correlate with the media richness theory of each platform of communication. “A para-social presence is the type of presence that creates relationships with its consumers,” Tahmasbi said. “If you’re a celebrity or a brand, you can’t reciprocate those feelings therefore you create this para-social presence.” The media richness theory explains the effectiveness of a form of media. With face-to-face communication being the richest
and posters or mass-mail handouts being the leanest, Tahmasbi chose to focus on YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. “This is just to see how the para-social presence was affecting their consumer journeys on top of figuring out what platform has the most effective para-social presence,” she said. Tahmasbi used YouTube star Arden Rose in her surveys. Looking at Roses three different platforms, Tahmasbi gathered random participants from Public Speaking (COMS 101) and upper-division communi-
cation studies courses. Though all participants were taking the same group of classes, the sample population contained a variety of ethnicities, majors and genders. Using the data collecting platform Qualtrics, about 90 students were polled. Three groups were created, each to look at a different media platform of Arden Rose. The participants were given a pre-questionnaire about their media usage and demographics. Then, each group was shown specific posts chosen by Tah-
masbi, some promoting Rose’s new book “Almost Adulting: All You Need to Know to Get It Together (Sort Of).” “Some people didn’t even realize she was selling the book,” Tahmasbi said. “But some people thought she was selling the book, her brand, trying to gain more subscribers, a bunch of different things.” After viewing the content, participants moved on to a longer questionnaire that asked them about their perception of Rose and her marketing through social media and about their inter-
personal communication. “All para-social presence affects consumers willingness to buy the product and consumer behavior and how they view the brand,” she said. After accumulating the data, Tahmasbi said she hopes to provide insight on the most effective ways for brands and companies to utilize their social media presence. Her adviser, communication studies professor Bethany Conway, said she is interested in further researching this topic alongside Tahmasbi on campus.
GRAD EDITION 6
H.A.G.S.
MUSTANG NEWS
ILIANA ARROYOS | MUSTA NG NE W S
| Although students scramble for summer jobs and internships, Career Services’ Interim Assistant Director Amie Hammond suggests students cook, exercise, journal or travel during the summer.
Why you don’t need a job or internship to have a productive summer vacation Hannah Benson @ CPMustangNews
From class schedules to syllabi to meals, the busy college lifestyle requires meticulous planning throughout the year. Even the prospect of summer vacation seems to have lost some of its magic because students have to schedule in hours devoted to researching and applying to internships and jobs months in advance. Although competitive internship and job markets leave many qualified students empty-handed, there are alternatives to make summer break productive. Career Services’ Interim Assistant Director Amie Hammond suggested a few short-term summer commitments to get students
career-ready. “We highly recommend job-shadowing to see a dayin-the-life of someone in your desired field. It also helps build your network,” Hammond said. “There’s also information interviewing, where you sit down with a professional to see what they do.” Hammond reminded students to take advantage of Career Services, no matter their location or graduation year. Students staying in San Luis Obispo during summer have the option of in-person counseling, while students outof-town can talk to counselors over the phone or through video calling sessions. All services are available to students up to one year after they
graduate. Access to MustangJOBS is available to all Cal Poly alumni, including undergraduates. Hammond discussed the perks of acquiring part-time employment over vacation. “It’s ideal if you relate your desired career with the part-time job. For example, if you want to work with children, you can be a camp counselor or lifeguard,” she said. “It’s all about building skills that can be attractive to future employers.” Biological sciences senior Brady Meadows stays busy and learns new skills during the summer through activities unrelated to jobs or internships, like cooking and yoga. “One summer my friends and I also made a recipe book of every-
thing we cooked,” Meadows said. “Students can also sign up for a race at the end of the summer to train for or do community group yoga sessions on the beach which are often free.” Whether it’s cooking or learning a new instrument, skills to develop are endless during the summer months. Meadows said she took advantage of her summer by writing in her journal. “It’s a special time, because the college years are so jam-packed quarter-to-quarter, so I keep a journal in the summer of all that went down,” she said. “I’ve bought a ‘Bucket List Journal’ from Barnes & Noble to write down all the Cal Poly things I wanted to do, like the Tri-Tip Challenge, put gum on the Gum Wall and apple
picking in Prefumo Canyon.” Keeping a journal is a good idea for students travelling over summer vacation to jot down their memories. Liberal studies senior Megan Moerman finds traveling, especially solo, an essential part of the college experience, because it opens students up to diverse experiences without the distraction of other college students. Travelling solo allows students to become more open-minded toward other cultures as they learn and experience new customs on their own. Hammond also especially recommends traveling abroad. According to Hammond, the workplace is becoming more interconnected as
technology advances. Productivity and fulfillment are often interconnected; however they are distinctly different. Fulfillment does not always involve the stresses that are frequently accompanied by productivity. It may be ingrained in the mind of a college student to get ahead and be ambitious, but students also have their youth and array of opportunities to consider. The perks of summer don’t always involve a big paycheck or resume addition. These sunny months encourage journal pages to fill up, passports to be stamped and dusty books to be read. Regardless of specifics plans or graduating year, Cal Poly students have a summer ahead that’s full of possibilities.
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NEWS 7
MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017
Colombini reflects on ‘crazy’ journey as ASI president Sydney Harder @ CPMustangNews
Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) President and agricultural sciences senior Jana Colombini graduates in less than a week, but this impending bittersweet transition isn’t stopping her from upholding her responsibilities and doing what she can before leaving. For example, Colombini recently passed a resolution that will allocate a portion of ASI’s reserves to upgrade campus streetlights to LED lights over the next year. “I think ‘stressful success’ is what sums up my year,” Colombini said. Developing professionally and personally Throughout the year, Colombini met and talked with students from different walks of life. “I’ve been able to learn what [underrepresented students] go through at Cal Poly — and not necessarily in a positive way,” Colombini said. “I’ve been able to see — not experience, but see — the different things they do and go through.” Colombini said simply learning about others through conversations and holding open office hours has been one of the highlights of her presidency. Colombini’s immersion at Cal Poly exposed her to an array of cultures that starkly contrasted the homogenous population of 1,784 in her hometown of Linden, California. She often finds herself sharing knowledge about the human experience that she has garnered from attending Cal Poly with friends
from Linden. “It’s a very different world [back home],” she said. “I hear some of the ways my friends talk, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, no, you can’t talk like that, here’s how that’s offensive’.” Running at full speed A go-getter at heart, Colombini is known for running full speed toward a goal and pulling others along with her. However, she struggled to remember her team’s responsibilities outside of ASI. “I learned to be more conscious of others, just being able to recognize and understand that people have other things going on and that doesn’t mean they don’t care about your cause,” Colombini said. Determined to fulfill the promises she made during her campaign last year, Colombini found it difficult to “squeeze everything into an academic year.” However, despite the limited time she had as ASI president, Colombini still completed 95 percent of the line items she envisioned at the start of her term, from off-campus lighting to bolstering mental health awareness. With a little less than a week left, Colombini still wants to go full speed ahead. “Some people think that as soon as the next president is elected, the past president is done ... but no,” Colombini said. “Until Riley’s signature can count as being ASI president, I am still going.” Serving amid federal political tensions
Not every ASI president serves during a federal presidential election year, and the unforeseen nature of the 2016 presidential election shaped Colombini’s role in a slightly different manner from that of previous ASI presidents. President Donald Trump’s attitude toward undocumented persons presented a challenge for Colombini, who had to navigate the uncertain future with approximately 200 undocumented students on campus. She had to assure them Cal Poly stood with them. “[Undocumented students] don’t know what tomorrow will bring, so we try to ease their minds as much as we can,” Colombini said. “We supported a full-time DREAM Center coordinator, established undocumented student training and a resolution.” Despite these efforts, Colombini found it difficult to combat the threatening attitude toward undocumented persons that seems to prevail on the national level. “There’s no tangible thing we can change. To marginalized groups, I can say, ‘That’s not how we feel here at Cal Poly,’ but it only goes so far. There’s only so much you can do,” Colombini said. Victories at city council Colombini emphasized the collaboration that went behind each ASI project and gave credit to her cabinet members and Chief of Staff Anthony Haddad for making her visions tangible. But, Colombini specifically pioneered and pushed for one project in particular — off-campus lighting. The need for more off-campus
PASSING THE TORCH
SOPHIA O’KEEFE | MUSTA NG NE W S
| ASI President Jana Colombini (left) and ASI President-elect Riley Nilsen (right).
lighting has been voiced by students for years, but until this past January, little was done to make this a reality. When Colombini found an opportunity to bring this concern to the city and make it a budget item for the upcoming year, she rallied student government representatives and spoke at the city’s open forum in January. The project made it to an online voting platform, where it received more than 800 votes. Though the installation of streetlights in the surrounding community is not a primary budget goal in San Luis Obispo’s 2017-2019 Financial Plan, the city has agreed to allocate a few tens of thousands of dollars toward these installations over the next two years. “Three to four new streetlights a year may not seem like much,
but that was a huge win for Cal Poly,” Colombini said. “They will be put in very distinct locations that will make a big difference.” Colombini hopes that achieving this goal demonstrates to students that electing student government representatives does make an impact on student life. One Project Colombini may not be able to see all the fruits of her labor, but the delayed gratification doesn’t bother her much. “As long as it happens, I don’t care who gets credit for it,” Colombini said. “Let me gift this to future Cal Poly students.” Summer for relaxation, fall for learning After graduation, Colombini will return to Linden to work on her family’s ranch before
coming back to Cal Poly in the fall. She will be pursuing her master’s degree in agricultural education and hopes to teach agriculture at the high school level. “I’m so excited to just be a Cal Poly student. It’s time to give myself a year of Cal Poly fun and be able to focus on my schooling and get invested in my classes,” Colombini said. Despite the sleepless nights and non-stop grind as ASI president, Colombini said if she had the opportunity to do it again, she would “take it in a heartbeat.” “I’ve given three years to ASI, and I don’t regret anything,” Colombini said. “I can walk away knowing that I didn’t let myself down and that I did the best I can.”
Resolution!: A NASA space shuttle built by a Cal Poly student Charles Rice @ CPMustangNews
Decades ago on a strawberry farm in Santa Maria, a hopeful Cal Poly student poured all of his passion and soul into a project that would shape his career. Chuck Ryan was building a space shuttle. Chuck Ryan was born on Halloween 1964, the day of the first fatal NASA operation. When his family moved from the Bay Area to Michigan, Ryan realized they were driving right under the Apollo 11 spacecraft on its journey to the moon. This is when he first took an interest in NASA, and it wasn’t long before he got involved. By the age of eight, Ryan was writing letters to NASA and donating his own allowance to the organization. When he was finally 18, he volunteered at NASA’s Quiet Short-haul Research Aircraft. While he was a student at Cal Poly, he worked summers as a paid employee for NASA. However, Ryan soon noticed that the organization he idolized
wasn’t able to do what they wanted; they were constrained by their own funding and were used as a political pawn. “It was apparent very quickly was that NASA wasn’t living up to its potential because of outside forces like whoever is president at the time,” Ryan said. “And since NASA can’t promote itself because they’re part of the executive branch of the government, and there was just the Challenger accident, it felt like I had to do something. Starting with students Ryan gathered some of his fellow colleagues at NASA and had a discussion about what they could do. Since he was still a student at Cal Poly, Ryan founded a student organization called Support and Promotion for the Activities of NASA (SPAN). Eventually, the members of SPAN had an idea — what if they built a space shuttle? “How hard could it be?” one member asked, and on that note they got to work. However, Cal Poly soon lost interest in funding the con-
CHUCK RYAN | COURTE SY PHOTO
SCALE | Resolution! is roughly the size of the front of a Boeing 747 plane. struction of the shuttle and the construction had to be moved off campus. The project eventually found a home on the land of a Mexican-American-owned strawberry farm in Santa Maria. Despite finding a place to work on the project, Ryan had another issue to overcome: he had to find funding. “In the beginning I tried to get funding from various sources,” Ryan said. “But that didn’t work. And then I had an idea. Why was
I getting money to buy stuff when I could get stuff donated? I began contacting tons of companies asking if they had spare parts and soon I had what I needed.” An exciting resolution The shuttle he built — dubbed Resolution — was a marvel for several reasons. It was roughly the size of the front of a Boeing 747 airplane. The fact that Ryan was building this himself was outstanding. NASA’s Johnson Space Center had a
similar shuttle they were using as a Shuttle Crew Compartment Trainer (CCT). Their shuttle, however, was built in a hangar with a construction crew of about 12 people and approximately one million tax dollars. Ryan built his on a farm, alone, with no funding. Soon, Ryan received a very welcome call from the Fire Rescue Team at the NASA Kennedy Space Center. They needed both Ryan and the Resolution as a CCT and wanted them both to go to Florida. Ryan agreed; he would finally be bringing his creation to the organization that inspired him. After his invitation, Ryan renamed it Resolution!, adding the exclamation point to showcase his excitement. All he needed to do was deliver the colossal shuttle and himself across the country. Despite many railways telling him no, he persevered on July 27, 2007; Resolution! was brought into the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building. Still making a difference Like many NASA missions, the Resolution! project ended prematurely. The disappointment of his unrealized project did not stop
Ryan. He still thinks the public needs to be educated about NASA. Ryan said he hopes the story of the Resolution! will open the public’s eyes to how inefficiently NASA is run and be the NASA story of our generation. “You could say that the Resolution! is still going on it’s mission,” Ryan said. “Even though it’ll never fly, I hope that the shuttle can help to educate the public.” He feels that the reason NASA still can’t live up to it’s full potential even after decades of work is because the organization is part of the executive branch of government. This means a new president is named every four to eight years, each with their own agenda that results in their predecessor’s projects being cancelled. Ryan hopes that in the future, NASA will be moved outside the executive branch. Recently, Ryan spent five months writing a novel and screenplay about the construction and challenges of the Resolution!. The book should come out early 2018 and a screenplay is in the process of being sent to Hollywood.
NEWS 8
MUSTANG NEWS
Arson or accident:
Investigating The Sub’s fire
SUSPICION
L AUREN ROBERGE | COURTE SY PHOTO
| The Sub co-owner Richard Ferris is producing a documentary that he hopes will shed light on what he believes is the SLO Fire Department’s alleged cover up of the burning down of his business.
Annie Vainshtein Special to Mustang News
Richard Ferris wants justice for the fire that took his store. It’s been near two years since the fire destroyed his business, but The Sub co-owner Richard Ferris hasn’t forgotten. The sooted walls of the popular curio shop, which burned to the ground during the early hours of Dec. 26, 2015 are still standing; a decision made in part because Ferris is still investigating. After an unremitting stalemate with the San Luis Obispo Fire Department, Ferris has taken matters into his own hands. He is in the process of producing a documentary that he hopes will shed light on an alleged cover up within the department, including arson and negligent firefighting. The film, titled “Burn Down,” compiles footage from that day, along with testimonies from former employees of The Sub. Ferris began to suspect arson the morning of the fire. According to Ferris and several other employees, a man who claimed to be an “off-duty” fireman alerted them to the fire in their store. Then, he was gone. “We had an off-duty fireman, right after the fire started, stick his head into The Sub and told us all to get out,” Ferris said. “And then he asked us about the building next door—our warehouse, Square Deal—if anyone was inside it, and almost no one knows we have a warehouse next door.” The fire at The Sub began at 10:46 a.m. By 1 p.m. it had spread to the connecting warehouse, Square Deal Recordings and Supplies. Few news reports mentioned Square Deal, which has since reopened in a location down the street but only houses a fraction of what it once offered. “We consider Square Deal the main fire, and The Sub the secondary fire,” Ferris said. “Even though [The Sub] started it, [The Sub] was
the one that was not as financially damaging, whereas the fire in Square Deal took away 40 years of our life and we can never recover.” Square Deal opened in 1971 as a major electronics manufacturing retailer to record stores, comic book shops, libraries, and collectors. It specialized in out-of-print, discontinued and hard to find recordings and comics. Only about a fifth of the suppliers were covered by insurance, Ferris said. Ferris estimates Square Deal’s fire cost up to $7 million in damage, and most of it can never be replaced. Ferris said around 200,000 cassettes and 300,000 comics survived the flames, a fact that would be something to rejoice over if not for another calamity: their index keys burned in the fire. The cassettes and comics are locked in boxes in trucks, but Ferris needs the index keys to tell him what’s where. “It’s just like not having them,” he said. Was it arson? Employees at The Sub gave a description of the “off-duty fireman,” but he is yet to be found. The documentary claims that many arsonists are often connected — on some level — to firefighting. However, less than 0.1 percent of all firefighters, including volunteers, are arrested for arson according to the National Volunteer Fire Council. Ferris said the fire department refused to offer him an arson investigation and turned the property back over to him two days later. “We had no idea why this was happening, why no one would give us an investigation,” Ferris said. “Even when we did a documentary and showed them all this evidence, they just refused to consider it.” The fire department has a different story, though. San Luis Obispo Fire Chief Garret Olson maintains that the department intended to do a thorough interior investigation, but needed to make
sure there were no safety hazards before continuing. He said Ferris asked them not to move anything as Ferris’ party was planning their own investigation, and wanted the evidence untouched. “There was no credible evidence of an arson fire—that this was a crime scene,” Olson said. “It was occupied at the time that it happened. While there were witnesses that we still wanted to talk with, nobody was making any allegations that this was a crime scene. And so I made the decision to preserve the integrity of the scene out of respect for the building owner’s request so that their arson investigator could come in representing either the building owner or the building owner’s insurance company.” He said, he said The documentary asserts two incendiary devices were used to instigate and propel the fire: one placed on a trashcan and the other on the building’s thermoplastic polyolefin roof. Based on the evidence presented in the film, mechanical engineering assistant professor Richard Emberley, who has a double masters in both fire protection engineering and structural engineering as well as a Ph.D in civil engineering, finds arson an unlikely cause. His reasoning? Plastic, both from the trash can’s lid and the thin membrane material atop of the roof. “The trash can is right next to the flames and has a plastic lid so it’s giving off a lot of energy and is heating up the top of plastic lid,” Emberley said. “In my opinion, there was no incendiary device— it’s just a plastic trash can. And you can see that a lot of it was plastic because when they show you where the trash can is, it’s just kind of like a pool.” Aside from arson, the documentary claims the fire department did very little to stop the fire, including
cutting a series of holes in the roof but not going inside to fight it at its seat. Olson said cutting holes in roofs serve to release smoke and heat, and prevents the continued lateral spread of super heated gases. He added that standard protocol, however, suggests crews also go in and fight what’s called an “aggressive interior attack.” Olson said his crews were able to enter the building safely and were in there for at least 20 minutes, until they found “breaches in the firewall” and retreated. Firewalls are walls that are built to block fires from all directions. The fire continued to burn for longer than 11 hours while crews fought defensively from outside. “The firefighters had actually gone in with supplies and equipment so that they could sustain a long fire-
There was no credible evidence of an arson fire — that this was a crime scene. FIRE CHIEF GARRET OLSON
fight, but the conditions changed so rapidly that they dropped all of their equipment,” Olson said. “They could not see anything and literally had to follow the hose hand over hand to find their way out; it was, quite literally, a scramble for them to get out before it was too late.” Olson said that in typical fire service, mixing offensive and defensive strategies — fighting from within and outside — is a “no-no,” but The Sub’s fire was an exception. He cited the lack of fireblocking — wooden studs positioned horizontally to prevent the vertical spread
of fire, in this case, from the first floor to the attic — as a reason for its rapid spread. A reality, he said, that no firefighter would ever want. “It’s actually really really difficult to pull firefighters back out of the building and fight the fire from the outside,” Olson said. “That is, it feels like a loss in more ways than just the obvious ways; firefighters don’t like to see a building continue to burn. They are very, very aggressive, not risk-averse people and if I had gotten on scene and told them to keep running inside, it would have been playing to their preferences, probably.” That’s not what Ferris thinks. “All [the fire department] does now is show up and protect the neighboring properties,” he said. “That’s what they’ve redefined their job as. Their job is no longer saving property; they’ll save lives, but they no longer feel it’s their responsibility to save your property because it’s just too dangerous for firemen.” Olson acknowledged this as he explained the department’s risk management plan. Property is indeed at the bottom of their priority list. Olson said firemen will risk their lives for “savable lives” and only a little bit for “savable property.” “We’re not going to risk our lives at all for that which is already lost,” he said. What Olson admitted is precisely where he and Ferris agree. Property doesn’t come first under firemen’s hierarchy needs. But for Ferris, the line between property and a life may be easier drawn than felt. Next steps According to assistant city attorney Jon Ansolabehere, Ferris and others affiliated with the Sub filed four claims in total but have missed their chance to file for an investigation against the city. The statute
of limitations passed as of March 20, 2017. Plans to rebuild The Sub are still up in the air, Ansolabehere said. He said the city has been working with Ferris to get plans drawn and submitted for its repairs, but they have not received ‘enough sufficient drawing’ in order for the city to move forward with a building permit. “We actively work with property owners to give them the opportunity to fix it,” he said. “We don’t want to be heavy handed but at some point, the building will need to be repaired, the sidewalk will need to be opened up and there are businesses and other community members that are affected by the condition of this property.” Rebuilding decades worth of life Earth science junior Cynthia Davis worked in customer service at Square Deal from March 2016 to December 2016. Davis said the lack of reporting on Square Deal confused her and other employees, and continues to add insult to injury. “I’ve seen people even cry at work,” she said. “The fire was really hard on [the Ferris family], and they’re still dealing with it. I can’t imagine—their whole livelihood just burning and the community says it’s their fault.” Davis said she doesn’t anticipate the feud ending anytime soon, at least not until there is ‘serious proof.’ “The people that work at Square Deal and own Square Deal are really nice, good, kind people—and I’m sure the fire department is too,” she said. “I think that everybody involved has the best of intentions and I think it’s really unfortunate the way that everything is panning out but I wish everybody could be more rational and less hateful.”
The Wheelchair Foundation: New chapter, same goal Cassandra Garibay @ CPMustangNews
Every day millions of people walk from place to place, taking for granted the freedom of mobility without assistance. For many people with disabilities, that is not the case. And for people with disabilities in underdeveloped countries, wheelchair mobility is expensive and difficult to obtain. The Wheelchair Foundation, a nonprofit founded in Danville, California, in 2001 raised funds and partnered
with global and local nonprofits to aid people with disabilities who do not have access to needed resources. “They do something pragmatic, they give wheelchairs to people,” Cal Poly’s Wheelchair Foundation advisor and sociology professor Ryan Alaniz said. “People are relegated to their home, because they know they can’t get around anywhere. So an organization here at Cal Poly [can] facilitate more opportunities in their life.” The Foundation was introduced to Cal Poly and inspired
an ongoing senior project that has lasted nearly a decade. Cal Poly alumni Joshua Burroughs was a member of the senior project in 2008 and went on to found the Silicon Valley Wheelchair Foundation chapter. “Every time I go [to deliver wheelchairs], and this is why I keep going, it kind of reset[s] my year and allows me to be thankful for everything we take for granted in the United States, all the infrastructure and healthcare, and access to wheelchairs that we have here,” Burroughs said. The Cal Poly Wheelchair Foun-
dation now Years after the senior project was retired, Burroughs’ family friend, anthropology geography sophomore Lindsey Arrillaga, decided to bring back the student chapter this spring quarter as a club. “I just fell in love [with the Wheelchair Foundation] and I was like, ‘This is something I have to do,’ and started from there,” Arrillaga said. Her goal is to raise $16,500 by September 2017. The money will be used to order 150 wheelchairs for people with disabilities in
Cambodia. Since the production of the wheelchairs takes roughly six months, Arrillaga plans to deliver the wheelchairs during summer 2018. “I was so drawn to this organization [because] dollar for dollar everything raised goes directly to the purchase of the wheelchair; there is no middlemen, there are no employees or staff,” Arrillaga said. “So you know if you donate $150 that you put a person in a wheelchair.” As of now, the club is one-third of the way to reaching their monetary goal and will continue to
fundraise throughout the summer. The organization not only uses every dollar it’s given for wheelchairs, but it also makes an effort to work with the local nonprofits of the towns they help. By doing so, Alaniz said, the organization is able to understand the needs of the people they are serving and get familiar with the culture, unlike many other abroad programs. “Language barriers aside, the universal language is smiles,” Burroughs said. “And it is all smiles when you deliver these wheelchairs, it really is life-changing.”
NEWS 10
MUSTANG NEWS
Dean Wendt: From Cal Poly student to COSAM Dean Megan Schellong @ meganschellong
A couple of drops of red dye on a test plate is all it took for Dean Wendt to realize how incredible living organisms could be. Sitting in his home at eight years old, Wendt took a pair of tweezers and carefully removed the wings from a fly. It sounded cruel at the time, Wendt said. But when he leaned into the eyepiece of the 29-inch microscope, what he discovered would serve as the catalyst for his curiosity about nature and the world around him. “The pattern of veins in the wing was an incredible experience as a kid; to see a whole world you can’t perceive with the naked eye,” he said. Wendt didn’t know it at the time, but he was a biologist then, just like he is today. He is the director of the Center for Coastal Marine Sciences Center and the dean of research. But on July 1, he will leave those positions to take over Dean Phil Bailey’s position and become Cal Poly’s dean of the College of Science and Mathematics (COSAM). Before Cal Poly Wendt didn’t always consider becoming the dean. In fact, he didn’t see himself as much of an administrator until he came to Cal Poly. Growing up, Wendt always took roles where he could apply his strong work ethic, such as taking jobs at restaurants as a bus boy to earn a living while in school. Biking to and from several shops, Wendt would try to convince the hiring managers to let him volunteer there. “I would ride my bike through town wearing a tie and go to each pet store in the summer,” Wendt said. “I knew where every pet store was located.” Wendt would also knock on the doors of restaurant businesses. With a mother whose family immigrated from Yugoslavia and owned their own restaurant, Wendt figured that industry would suit him well. “I was sort of comfortable in the restaurant business. It’s something I knew my family did,” he said. We n dt d i d e ve r y t h i ng to make sure he had a steady income. Wendt said he remembers the
DEAN WENDT
biology classes and see exams with high scores circled at the top, Wendt realized he had what it takes to become a sci-
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DEAN SQUARED
FR ANK HUANG | MUSTA NG NE W S
| Dean Wendt didn’t see himself in an authoritative role until he came to Cal Poly.
Returning to Cal Poly As a first-generation student, Wendt came a long way. Wendt went on to pursue a doctorate of philosophy at Harvard University with Robert M. Woollacott, where he researched the relationship between fitness and larvae re-
sponse to environmental cues. “These were people whose papers I was reading and now they’re my colleagues. It’s neat,” he said. After teaching courses at Harvard while simultaneously working toward a Ph.D., Wendt recognized his affinity for teaching students and went on to do just that. He took on his first official role as a professor at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Wendt loved everything about his job, but when he heard Cal Poly was hiring an assistant professor of marine biology, Wendt knew he had no other choice but to apply. In 2002, Wendt and his family moved to Los Osos, California
to begin his career as an assistant professor. Since then, Wendt has moved up in ranks to a full professor, associate dean, the director for the Center for Coastal Marine Sciences and dean of research. Wendt looks forward to becoming the new COSAM Dean and is excited to serve the community. “I see this as a jump in my career. I see it as an awe-inspiring responsibility to be given the opportunity to serve the students, the faculty and the staff of the college,” he said. “I hope that I make people proud and make a positive impact on the people that I’ll be working for.”
In two worlds: Being deaf and hard of hearing at Cal Poly Olivia Doty @ oliviamdoty
She was partially deaf before coming to Cal Poly, but on the first day of winter quarter the world fell silent. She was on her way to class her sophomore year when Arielle Dubowe lost 90 percent of her hearing. “I don’t consider it to be a disability, rather I consider it to be an ability — no dis,” agricultural communications senior Dubowe said. Dubowe grew up somewhere in between the deaf and hearing worlds. She was surrounded by her deaf parents and sibling growing up, but unlike her family, still had a portion of her hearing left. She used hearing aids, but still attended public hearing schools and surrounded herself with hearing friends. “So it wasn’t that different of an experience coming to Cal Poly except living with-
out parents for the first time,” Dubowe said. One thing did change. A whole new world What little hearing she had coming into college was lost that one wintry day sophomore year. After that incident, she decided to get cochlear implants. Cochlear implants are small electronic devices that replace damaged parts in the inner ear to help create a sense of sound, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. For the first time, she heard a whole new world around her. “This is extremely hard for me to explain to hearing people because it’s an experience they have never had in their lifetime,” she said. The first time the implants were activated, things sounded electronic to Dubowe. But once the implants settled in, sounds were clearer.
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entist, even a professor. It was also the moment it hit him — biology was something he had kindled a love for since the moment he peered into the microscope in third grade. I hope that I make “It feels that I had a lot of these instincts [as a people proud and make biologist] as a kid and a positive impact on the I didn’t realize it until I came here to Cal Poly,” people that I’ll be he said.
working for.
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hiring manager at Pascuali’s Pizza telling him, “I hired you because you kept bugging me about the job,” he said. Within a matter of months, he was promoted to the assistant manager position. “I was 18 years old and he was entrusting me with a responsibility I didn’t necessarily recognize at the time,” Wendt said. After Wendt graduated high school in the mid 1980s, he landed a volunteer position at his local natural history and wildlife museum, which served as a rehabilitation space for injured animals. The center hosted animals like turkey vultures, hawks, eagles, snakes and raccoons. There, Wendt learned basic care procedures such as clipping animals’ nails and giving vaccinations to animals. When he finished his year off after high school, Wendt enrolled in courses at Sierra College in Sacramento. It was there that he was first introduced to philosophy classes that explained the relationship between man and nature. Wendt was immediately fascinated and intrigued. At Cal Poly “Coming to Cal Poly, I had to re-identify who I was,” he said. “And that’s what the institution allowed me to do. It gave me that opportunity and challenged me in a way [to where] I realized I was analytical.” Before college, it was always Wendt’s brother, the electrical engineering student, whose forte was mathematics and science. “I was always the social one and he was the smart one,” he said. But as he started to take more
MUSTANG NEWS
“All of the sudden I was able to hear birds chirping, crickets, wind and horses neighing — and these are all sounds I never really heard before at such a high-quality sound level,” Dubowe said. Though the cochlear implants give her a new sense of hearing, she still depends predominantly on lip reading — a skill perfected with many years of speech therapy. The classroom experience D u b owe’s d e p e n dency on her lip reading skills makes her cl assro om exp er ience different than the average college student. A week before every quarter starts, Dubowe emails her professors requesting the following: • The professor faces the students when speaking • In-class videos are captioned Professors typically accommo-
date Dubowe’s first request. “They’re good teaching practices regardless of whether a student has a disability or not,” agribusiness assistant professor Lindsey Higgins said.
I don’t consider it to be a disability, rather I consider it to be an ability — no dis. ARIELLE DUBOWE
However, not captioning videos is the biggest hurdle that Lori Waters, Access Specialist at the Disability Resource Center, tackles. “Everything in the classroom
should be captioned,” Waters said.“I think that’s the only last barrier, probably, for deaf and hard of hearing students.” Along with these requests, Dubowe asks more questions than the average student and sits closer to the professor. She plants herself in the front row of all her classes to read the professor’s lips, a row that most students do not jump at the chance to be in. “Apparently it’s a really scary thing for lots of students to do,” Dubowe said. “So I’m always sitting next to no one.” Higgins noted this behavior and Dubowe’s overall performance in the class. “She had great participation in class,” Higgins said. “She’d regularly respond to questions and had a lot of interaction.”
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ARTS 12
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Jim Dee is no stranger to the struggle of pursuing one’s passion while running a business. Having spent the last 30 years “shining light on a wall,” Dee stays true to his artistic values by running the Palm Theatre, a local three-screen movie theater in downtown San Luis Obispo known for showing unique and thought-provoking independent films. Films shown at Palm Theatre range anywhere from kitschy comedies to serious foreign films. Dee has been interested in cinema since his early days, influenced by films such as “2001: A Space Odyssey” and various foreign films of the late 1960s. In the early 1970s when Dee attended Cal Poly, he set up screenings of films with his friend Paul Karlen and charged 75 cents per seat. After graduating, Dee decided to go all-in with film. He built a single-screen movie theater called the Rainbow Theatre in 1978, which he ran for 10 years. At the time, San Luis Obispo was in need of a nontraditional theater, and Dee turned that idea into reality. “I thought, ‘Not only does this place need a theater, but I’d love to see a theater that does something a little bit different from a multiplex,’” Dee said. In 1988, Dee moved to a thenclosed employment office and created Palm Theatre. According to Dee, his goal in creating Palm Theatre was to give moviegoers an opportunity to see a movie that made them say “wow,” and learn something about themselves in the process. “I just like people knowing that there’s a place where they can go,” Dee said. “We’re not a big movie palace, but hopefully it’s a comfortable environment.
MUSTANG NEWS
And hopefully they’ll see something thought-provoking.” For the past 25 years, Cayucos resident Ron Goebel has gone to Palm Theatre with his wife Nancy, an accomplished children’s book author. “We just come when we can, and the films are really good, that’s what draws us in. Out-ofthe-box, non-mainstream kind of films,” Goebel said. According to Goebel, Dee has put more than just emotional dedication into creating and maintaining Palm Theatre. “I think that Jim has put his heart and soul, and his resources — his finances into this. He
THE VISION
sees support from the community, and it endures,” Goebel said. Dee saw a steady decline in the numbers of college students coming into Palm Theatre over the years, but it’s still some students’ first choice. For industrial engineering senior Leila Miller, Palm Theatre is as much about the experience of being in the theater as it is seeing the movie. “It’s a very eccentric, independent vibe. We went in and it was a tiny front entrance, and right behind the box office it’s directly connected to the concession stand. I just remember thinking ‘This is so unique,’”
Keesey manages to support Palm Theatre through his work at the school. Keesey teaches a course with a component that includes screening student films at the theater every quarter. He thinks this particular theater stands apart from others in town. “As great as some Hollywood films are, they can get boring after a while because they tend to be quite formulaic. Often you can predict what is going to happen next. In addition, they tend to be escapist entertainment aimed at adolescents,” Keesey said in an email to Mustang News. “If you want to see a film that can help you as an
adult deal with real-life issues, that can take you deeper into feeling and understand, you are more likely to find that kind of film at the Palm.” Dee searches for these types of films, focusing on subject matter that might not be seen at other theaters. When asked why he thinks students should go to Palm Theatre, Dee broke it down to one word: curiosity. “I think, especially for students, the key word is curious. Maybe there’s a film [there] that you never heard of, just be curious. There’s a lot of amazing cinema out there beyond the multiplex,” Keesey said.
COURTESY OF AUDR A WRIGHT | MUSTA NG NE W S
| Jim Dee said he wanted to create the Palm Theatre to give movie-goers the opportunity to see a movie that lets them learn something about themselves.
CONGRATS, GRADS! Congrats to the following graduates who in their time at Cal Poly demonstrated outstanding leadership as members of Orientation Team, SLO Days Staff, and Open House Committee within New Student & Transition Programs.
Allison Wilkinson Amanda Newell Ashley Purviance Brian Moore Brooke Patterson Chase Robinson Corrine Smith Derek DeNardo Donavan Feliz Dylan Howell Dylan Kinsella Emily Duncan Emily Ventimiglia Erin Greenlee Hayley Silva Jackson McKay James Caudill Janelle Layman Janice Gordillo Jay Miley Kacey Cadwell
Miller said. “With its smaller theater sizes, I could see pretty much everybody in the theater and it kind of adds to the experience. It’s a much more personal experience.” Palm Theatre manager Meg Higdon sees her workplace as a creative environment. “I think it’s just a wonderful place; that’s why I’ve worked here for 11 years,” Higdon said. “I get to work in an environment that is kind of artistic. We talk about interesting films we’ve seen and a lot of us are artists, so we work together and draw together, it’s nice.” Cal Poly film professor Douglas
Kyle Erickson Lisa Haight Lizzie Applegate Mary Johnson Max Gomez Michelle Bailey Michelle Reed Nathan Kesser Nathan Mahoney Nezrine Majzoub Ricky Peterson Rylan Younger Sam Pryor Sami Sanders Shakti Rajput Shaun Steele Sophie Richman Stephanie Mejia Travis Harper Trevor Melody Victor Munoz
ARTS 13
MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017
Review: ‘Wonder Woman’ is the first not horrible DC movie Greg Llamas @ CPMustangNews
It’s been a rough start for the DC Extended Universe. Three mindbogglingly mediocre movies made up the universe going into 2017. “Man of Steel” was a fairly underwhelming film and start to the Universe. The situation got even worse for DC in 2016 as they pumped out “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Suicide Squad,” some of the most critically panned films of last year. In general, superhero movies are bad enough. “Batman v Superman” truly transcended the awfulness of the genre to become something more — something far worse that nearly everyone mocked. Seeing Jesse Eisenberg’s attempt at acting as Lex Luthor was one of the most wretched and uncomfortable viewing experiences in recent memory. It certainly seemed like the DC Extended Universe was going to be seen as Warner Bros. desperate attempt to cash in on the hype and success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was easy to be skeptical of the latest DC film “Wonder Woman,” after the unmitigated disasters that came before it. The film seemed like it would just be another in a line of unpleasant movies to watch. While it’s certainly n ot h -
WARNER BROS. PICTURES | PROMOTION AL
THE RUT | The movie broke the pattern of bad DC Universe films.
ing special or great, “Wonder Woman” beat the odds and is the movie the DC Extended Universe needed: a competent piece of filmmaking that seems like a masterpiece compared to
its predecessors. After the events in “Batman v Superman,” Wonder Woman’s alter ego Diana Prince (Gal Godot) works at the Louvre’s antiquities department. She receives a package from Bruce Wayne containing a photo of her and a few other men from World War I. She begins to reminisce about her childhood in Themyscira, an island paradise home to Amazons and created by the Olympian gods. Prince’s mother and queen of the island Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) is overprotective of her while her aunt Antiope (Robin Wright) wants to train her in combat. Prince is eager to learn to fight, wanting to protect others and believing the war god Ares will rise again after he was defeated by Zeus. After years of training, Prince finally gets her opportunity. Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), a spy for the Allies, has important intel on a deadly gas developed by Dr. Maru — nicknamed Dr. Poison (Elena Anaya). Trevor crash lands on Themyscira, bringing word of World War I and its destruction to the Amazons. Believing the war was caused by Ares, Prince travels with Trevor — who is skeptical of her claims that Ares caused the violence — to London and makes plans to stop Dr. Poison and her boss General Ludendorff (Danny Huston). From the start, the clashing natures of Prince and Trevor give “Wonder Woman” life to the film, buoyed by the great chemistry between Godot and Pine. Prince is the idealistic and naive fish out-ofwater character and Trevor is the mission-driven, yet kindhearted veteran who wants to stop the war at any cost — even if it means going against the potential treaty
that’s being negotiated with the Germans. Their interactions are believable and easily the best parts of the film. Director Patty Jenkins masterfully weaves together different genres into “Wonder Woman,” giving touches of a lighthearted comedy mixed with the gravity of a wartime drama. Prince and Trevor’s differences are also an important element to the plot itself. They both have the same goal to stop the war, but Prince thinks World War I is caused by Ares and if he can be defeated, then the hearts of men will return to good. Trevor was surrounded by the war from the beginning and knows how it was started, therefore he sidesteps the Ares issue, not wanting to offend Prince. When Prince and Trevor sneak onto the Western Front, they join a ragtag team recruited by Trevor. Charlie (Ewen Bremner) is a Scottish marksman haunted by atrocities he saw in the war, Chief (Eugene Brave Rock) is a Native American scout, and Sameer (Saïd Taghmaoui) is a spy. While the three are present for approximately half the film and get decent screen time, they don’t add much to character dynamics. At one point Charlie has an opportunity to take down a German sniper who’s pinning down the group from a steeple, but he panics, forcing Prince to save the day. That’s the extent of the action for Charlie, Chief and Sameer, besides a few jokes they crack. The only thing the trio ever did right was help Trevor in the climax. Otherwise, the film would’ve been nearly the exact same product without them. For a majority of her life, Prince wanted to protect others and stop Ares. Nothing exemplifies this more than the second act of “Wonder
Woman.” Throughout their travels on the Western Front, the group comes across many instances of suffering and heartache, from wounded and dismembered soldiers to children looking for their parents. Even though Prince wants to help them, she’s always told by Trevor that the mission of stopping Ludendorff is more important. However, this willingness to help people proves to be valuable to the mission when Prince leads a charge across no-man’s land to help free a German-occupied village close to where Ludendorff is. This battle is easily the best scene in “Wonder Woman,” giving Prince her first true battle as Wonder Woman and showing her commitment to helping others. While the main heroes of “Wonder Woman” are likable and compelling, the villains are the exact opposite and boring. Dr. Poison and Ludendorff never seem like they’re strong enough to take on a superhero. Even with the deadly gas developed, they never come across as menacing. The only villainous aspect that is interesting is the question of whether or not Ares is causing the war, as it could have been a story made up by the Amazons. Unfortunately, when the truth about Ares is revealed it’s truly underwhelming and out of no where, ruining the mystery leading up to it. “Wonder Woman” is by no means a great movie, but it is one of the most fun superhero movies to watch in quite a while. While a lot of superhero movies have characters that are one-dimensional and not at all that interesting, Prince and Trevor don’t fall into the trap of being painfully boring. I thought it was impossible, but Jenkins created a competent entry in the DC Extended Universe.
The Sauce Pot adds new recording studio hoping to make a mark on the Central Coast Mikaela Duhs @ CPMustangNews
Rick Loughman sits comfortably in his big black office chair behind the glass window that peers into a retro recording studio. He plays with the knobs on his monitor, adjusting the levels so he can hear more guitar and less drums. He presses play and his eyes become focused, watching and listening for sound waves to enter the air. Loughman is a producer and audio engineer at the Sauce Pot recording studio. It’s a warehouse off of Tank Farm Road full of rehearsal rooms created by his seven-person hip hop jazz collective Wordsauce. It was originally designed to avoid noise violations from practicing in San Luis Obispo neighborhoods. After graduating with an audio recording degree from California State University, Dominguez Hills, Loughman recorded, mixed and mastered for local bands practicing in the Sauce Pot’s studios. However, because he didn’t have professional equipment, Loughman avoided advertising
his services. That changed this past December, when the Sauce Pot got an upgrade— a brand new recording studio. The studio is equipped with several microphones and a large band area. With the upgrade, the studio has three isolated sound rooms, which make it easier to record individual channels of audio without other instruments bleeding together. For example, an amplifier for a guitar would record in one isolated room, while an amplifier for the bass would be in another. Loughman said the addition of the studio will attract more artists and increase revenue for the Sauce Pot. “We don’t make that much, but it puts us one step closer to making a living off of making music,” Loughman said. Once the new studio was built, new bands quickly began recording at the Sauce Pot. Wordsauce has been performing around the Central Coast for several years and made connections within the San Luis Obispo music scene. “The biggest reason why we’ve
had so much success, is because we are musicians ourselves,” Wesley Price, Wordsauce’s bassist, said. “We are passionate and so deep in the local music scene. We are just chill guys [who] do good shit.” Wordsauce is propelling their music with the new studio while also working alongside local artists. “That’s another reason why people come back,” Loughman said. “We are transparent. We are trying to promote our music, Wordsauce, too.” Loughman said he hopes to make an album out of Wordsauce’s random rehearsals one day. But when he’s working with clients, he listens to their specific requests and develops their distinct sound. “Before I start shooting out my every thought, I like to feel the person out, see how they work,” Loughman said. “I don’t want to force my opinion on them. It is my duty as a producer to make the session as efficient as possible.” Loughman also allows bands to try new techniques in the studio, something that might not fly at big name recording studios in Los Angeles or San Francisco. Aerospace engineering senior Will
MIK AEL A DUHS | MUSTA NG NE W S
SOUNDS GOOD | The new studio has three isolated sound rooms to record individual channels of audio.
Sutton said his band, Up! Way Up!, was able to freely experiment when they recorded their newest EP at the Sauce Pot. “The best part about our recording session was being able to bring all of our friends in and record a vocal chant,” Sutton said. “Rick set up a bunch of microphones. That kind of experience would only be able to happen in
that type of environment.” The studio has provided lasting relationships between the local bands that record at the Sauce Pot. The Bogeys, Up! Way Up! and Explode the Machine formed relationships after long days of recording. Loughman said there’s often a lot of deep breaths and hugs between band members and the produc-
ers after a recording is complete. According to Loughman, working on the Central Coast is a dream turned into reality for the members of Wordsauce. “We don’t want to have to go to [Los Angeles] or [San Francisco] to make it big,” Loughman said. “We want to stay right here. We want to make the Central Coast a big pond for musicians.”
A guide to the SLO summer music scene Emily Merten @ CPMustangNews
As spring quarter at Cal Poly comes to a close, some students pack their belongings and prepare to spend summer break away from San Luis Obispo. But those staying on the Central Coast through September have the chance to soak up all the summer concerts San Luis Obispo has to offer. Here’s a preview of the music scene in San Luis Obispo County this summer. Concerts in the Plaza every Friday from June 9 to Sept. 8
Each concert at Mission Plaza in Downtown San Luis Obispo will bring different local musicians with a wide range of genres, from rock to reggae to jazz. R&B Jam Series, June 15 The concert at Alex Madonna Expo Center will feature Grammy-winning artist Ashanti (best known for singles “Foolish” and “Rock Wit U”), Mario (best known for “Let Me Love You”) and Lloyd (known for his hit “You”) for a night of rhythm and blues. The Good Vibes Summer Tour at Avila Beach, June 17
Avila Beach Golf Resort will host a lineup of reggae artists such as Rebelution, Nahko and Medicine for the People, Collie Buddz and Hirie. Hosted by California Roots, this concert on the beach kicks off the first days of summer after Cal Poly’s finals week. UB40 Ali Campbell, Astro & Mickey Virtue at Avila Beach, July 7 Avila Beach Golf Resort invites former members of UB40, Ali Campbell and Astro & Mickey Virtue, to reunite for one night. Grammy-nominated UB40 is known for single “Red Red
Wine,” among others. Avila Beach Yoga and Art Festival, July 9 A full day of music and art will take over Avila Beach Golf Resort, with more than 35 yoga classes. The festival includes stand-up paddle board yoga and meditation guides, welcoming all levels of experience. The night will end with performances from Goldboot, FRENSHIP and ROZES. California Mid-State Fair, July 19 to 30 The fair at the Paso Robles Event Center will host a number of
concerts featuring popular artists including The Chainsmokers, Lionel Richie, Keith Urban, John Mayer and more. Tickets to the concerts are sold separately from standard fair entry. Slightly Stoopid Sounds of Summer Tour, August 6 Back with more reggae sound, Avila Beach Golf Resort will host the popular band Slightly Stoopid joined by Iration, J Boog and The Movement. ATMOSPHERE Welcome to California Tour, August 12 Fremont Theatre is throwing it
back for a night with ’90s and early-2000s hip-hop duo ATMOSHPERE, best known for singles “Sunshine” and “The Best Day.” Cody Johnson, August 17 The country music star and his band will perform at Fremont Theatre as a part of a tour promoting Johnson’s new album “Gotta Be Me.” Shaggy, Sept. 6 The singer and DJ will cap off a summer of reggae in San Luis Obispo, some of his hit singles are “It Wasn’t Me,” “Angel” and “Boombastic.”
OPINION 14
OPINION
MUSTANG NEWS
Return to Rationality: The Splitting of the Right and the Left
This week’s “Return to Rationality” is written in verse. Brandon Bartlett is a philosophy junior and Mustang News columnist. The views expressed in this column do not reflect the viewpoints and editorial coverage of Mustang News. My pride grows weary, it’s time to confess confess the need for both the Right and the Left. For we may live together, or die when cleft die at the splitting of the Right from the Left. My sin is simple, ubiquitous, trite: in my own wisdom I tend to delight thinking myself always in the right
It is hard to have opinions when left alone And so I hide within the crowd. Cowardly, damnably cowardly, I hide within the crowd. But even my pride knows I am still ignorant and of my faults I am often indifferent to vanity becomes my commitment I refuse to say “I don’t know.” But who can correct my apparent lack? Flush out the holes and fill in the cracks? Give me, when necessary, a swift whack.
How eager I am to cast first stones. I find in myself a monster to fear, a “Will to Dogma” to which I adhere, never thinking truth lay beyond my sphere That is how ignorance is grown But tell me, how can I doubt myself? Why should I deny what seems to be true? My self-assigned labels boxing me in,
I must go and seek my foe. The postmodernist, the commie, the leftie, I entreat you to teach me. I know myself little, but I know this: I am prone to become a blind Sophist So please, teach me. Teach me about the backs that my ancestors broke,
GEORGIE DE MAT TOS | MUSTA NG NE W S
the crimes motivated by wealth and greed
Justice balanced with mercy and grace,
And allow me to call you friend.
the harms of their hands everyone did face,
Oh friend, do not stray far from me,
For prudence, temperance and tolerance were the keys,
closing my eyes when rhetoric turns thin,
Teach me of the native cultures they choked,
with vicious loyalty defending my kin
Teach me of the dead who never spoke,
What beliefs am I allowed?
Extend me patience once again
What should I think about taxes, rights, drones?
You know so much of things I do not read
Where each could speak his or her peace of mind
And so my pride became weary, and now it’s time to confess,
Or that strange orange man who sits on the throne?
such as the modern effects of slavery
lending further peace to a future time.
that we’ll die at the splitting of the Right from the Left.
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for I need you more than you could know. I dreamed of a world called Raven’s Crest where there was true talk between the Right and Left.
the keys to the greatest of all cities. But when I awoke I was much distressed distressed at the split of the Right from the Left.
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SPORTS 16
MUSTANG NEWS
Erich Uelmen: Cal Poly’s latest Major League talent Erik Engle @ erik_engle
With a 1-0 lead in the ninth inning of what would be the final game of his collegiate career, junior right-hander Erich Uelmen was locked in. He’d already pitched eight shutout innings and was confident he would finish what he started. He jogged out of the dugout onto the well-manicured infield of Baggett Stadium, ascending to the top of the pitcher’s mound he was so familiar with. The metal spikes of his cleats dug into the grainy dirt at the edge of the rubber from which he made baseballs elusively dance away from his opponents’ bats all season long. Three more outs. One last time. “There was a thought [to take him out of the game], but he’d earned the right to go out there in the ninth,” head coach Larry Lee said. “There was no notion that he was wearing down or anything. He was as strong in the ninth inning as he was early in the ballgame.” Uelmen made quick work of UC Riverside’s last three batters and just like that, his college career had come to a storybook ending — a complete-game shutout with a career-high 12 strikeouts. “It was a pretty crazy feeling,” Uelmen said. “I just went down the line and hugged my teammates and just realized how great of an experience Cal Poly has been for me.” His time at Cal Poly has come to an end, but just as quickly as the door closed on Uelmen’s tenure with the Mustangs, another will open when he likely hears his name called in the Major League Baseball Draft June 12. Though Uelmen led the Big West in losses this season with an overall record of 4-8, his re-
cord doesn’t accurately reflect how dominant he was this year. He was a workhorse for the Mustangs’ pitching staff all season long, posting a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.3 to 1 while averaging 9.15 strikeouts per nine innings. He finished second in conference with 100 strikeouts on the season and sixth in conference with an earned run average of 2.93. Still, none of this translated to wins for the Mustangs early on. Uelmen suf fere d through a winless streak of eight straight games despite surrendering more than three runs in only one of those games. He endured a stretch of 22 ⅔ consecutive innings during a three-game span without the Mustangs’ offense scoring any runs in support. “That’s just the life of a pitcher sometimes,” Lee said. “You get good run support and quality defense behind you, other times you don’t. Really for Erich, up until we got to conference we really didn’t provide either for him.” Despite all of the chances he had to get down on himself and his teammates, Uelmen stayed positive. This was a big step for his improvement since he joined the team back in 2014. In past seasons, he would appear rattled at times when his defense didn’t play well behind him, something he was able to overcome this season. “I’m very impressed in how mentally he was able to get to the next pitch,” Lee said. “This year, he learned to let it go and understand that it’s out of his control and the only thing he has control of is the next pitch that he throws.” Most projections have Uelmen
He’s really made great strides in a lot of areas, not just with pitches... LARRY LEE
MOVING ON UP IN THE MLB
being drafted between the second and sixth rounds of the MLB Draft. As a lifelong Brewers fan, Uelmen fantasized about taking the field alongside his favorite childhood ball club. He also couldn’t help but notice that the Brewers’ pitching staff has been one of the weaker points of the team during the last few seasons and thinks he could be part of the answer to their struggles on the mound. “I kind of noticed that they have some struggles on the pitching side,” Uelmen said. “So I kind of want to go fill those and make them a better team.” Though nothing is guaranteed in sports, it almost seems like a forgone conclusion that Uelmen is going to be a successful professional. In his senior year at Faith Lutheran High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, Uelmen decimated the competition on his way to a 9-1 record with an
MAT T L AL ANNE | MUSTA NG NE W S
| Junior pitcher Erich Uelmen is expected to be drafted as high as the second round in the MLB draft Monday. ERA of 1.19 over 58 ⅔ innings pitched. Ultimately, his team finished the year by capturing the Sunset League title and the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association Division I-A championship. While he was undoubtedly talented enough to play at the next level, Uelmen was equally gifted in the classroom. He graduated high school with a 4.0 grade point average and wanted to be sure that whichever college he attended was good academically and athletically. This made Cal Poly a prime candidate for Uelmen. After graduating high school as the number two ranked right-handed pitcher in the state of Nevada, Uelmen decided to head west from the City of Sin to San Luis Obispo. The highly-touted prospect knew he would need to continue to carefully develop his craft
in order to stay relevant in the highly competitive Big West. With his ultimate goal always in the back of his mind, Uelmen became more focused on the nuances of preparing for the game off the field. “From when he first stepped foot on campus three years ago, great strides in a lot of areas, not just with pitches, but the mental side of it,” Lee said. With a newfound focus, Uelmen began to mature, both mentally and physically, into the player he is today. “I have gotten stronger, got more experience, but I think just the maturity of playing college athletics and being in college, you just kind of learn more about yourself and what you’re capable of doing,” Uelmen said. “And that’s just pretty important to build off of and then take into account what you’re working toward.”
Even though much of Uelmen’s development was introspective, his teammates provided the perfect environment to foster his growth. While many of the coaches at Cal Poly helped Uelmen along the way, he credits most of his development to his teammates. “It’s for sure a big team thing,” Uelmen said. “We were all one family unit.” Going forward, Lee, who has sent 63 players to the next level in his tenure with the Mustangs, has no doubt that Uelmen will be able to build on his Cal Poly career in the big leagues. “He’s a competitor, somebody that’s on the upside. Somebody that has velocity from a low three-quarter arm slot, and someone that shows signs of continuing to get better,” Lee said. “He’ll be a high draft and I think that the future is bright for [Uelmen].”