Issuu

‘Nail Salon Lady’ visits Cal Poly ARTS, pg. 4

MUSTANG DAILY | mustangdaily.net Volume LXXVII, Number 103

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Greek Week kicks off with annual Beach Day LAURA PEZZINI

THE STANDINGS

lpezzini@mustangdaily.net

Cal Poly kicked off its annual weeklong competition between teams of fraternities and sororities with a Beach Day on Saturday at Pismo State Beach. Beach Day Committee head Zachary Gates said the event was a success, with an estimated 300 people in attendance. “Beach Day was a great way to kick off Greek Week because it brings a lot of the greek community out,” Gates said. “I really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun (Saturday), and from what I heard a lot of other people

As of Monday night, the standings were:

1. Hades 2. Poseidon 3. Athena 4. Artemis 5. Apollo 6. Ares 7. Hephaestus 8. Hermes

had fun as well.” The day involved a number of competitions, including beach volleyball, limbo, hamster ball races, tug-of-war and an obstacle course. Greek Week Executive Board head Laina Ruzic said Beach Day is traditionally one of the most loved traditions of Greek Week because of its plethora of opportunities. “Generally people are very excited and it’s a very highenergy day,” Ruzic said. “It has the most competitions in one day, and we were out in beautiful Pismo Beach.” see GREEK, pg. 2

COURTESY PHOTO

Greek Week events include the annual Beach Day, a blood drive, a lipsynching competition and “Like Wars,” as well as other traditional athletic events.

CP student suffers broken arm, head injury after fall

ALEXANDRIA SCOTT/MUSTANG DAILY

MUSTANG DAILY STAFF REPORT

news@mustangdaily.net

University Police responded to an on-campus call for medical aid on Friday after a male student fell in the area of the water tower, interim director of public affairs Matt Lazier said on Monday. Police responded to the call and discovered the student on the ground near Engineering South (building 40) shortly after 7:30 p.m., Lazier said. The student was taken to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center where he was treated for a broken arm and a head injury. According to hospital spokesperson Ron Yukelson, the student was then transferred to Community Regional Hospital in Fresno in critical condition because he needed a “higher level of care.” He is expected to make a full recovery. It is unclear what the student fell from, according to Cal Poly Environmental Health and Safety Manager David Ragsdale, though the water tower has been

The library’s ‘hidden gem’ From being born to a military parent in the ’40s to writing secret poetry, the library’s head of access services Judy Drake has seen it all and stuck around to share it. ALEXANDRIA SCOTT

alexandriascott.md@gmail.com

Anyone who has frequented the Robert E. Kennedy Library in the past 30 years has most likely noticed her — she can often be found outside, taking a drag of a cigarette and enjoying what she calls “therapy,” laughing with students, sharing stories of her rich past. “I may be old, but I still have my swag on,” said head of access services Judy Drake, laughing at her own joke. Since August 1972, months after graduating from Cal Poly, Drake began working at the library, which she considers her “fortress.” Drake has friends of all ages and reveals to them stories just as abundant and lively as those on the library bookshelves. “Right now, I’m just high on

life,” Drake said. “I may never be wealthy when it comes to money, but I’m very wealthy in the friends that I have.” Just shy of 65, Drake is choosing to put off retirement for a few more years because working in the library is fascinating, she said. She enjoys helping students and the interactions she has with young people. She said she feels a connection with Cal Poly students and makes new friends every year. Physics sophomore Ian Powell said he first started chatting with Drake when smoking outside of the library. He said the smokers’ bench is surrounded by friendly vibes and the two started to talk a lot and get to know each other in between puffs. “She’s my homie,” he said. “Talking to a professor, you always get lectured by them;

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The student was found in the area of the Cal Poly water tower, though it is unlikely he fell from the structure, according to Cal Poly Risk Managmeent. ruled out. Cal Poly risk management will continue to investigate the area for any possible safety concerns. UPD will also add extra patrols through the area to discourage students from similar activity. No police investigation is planned.

ON MUSTANGDAILY.NET

She’s pretty much been through everything you can possibly go through: She’s wise. IAN POWELL PHYSICS SOPHOMORE

there isn’t a conversation. With her, there is no generational gap at all. I can talk to her like I can talk to anyone.” Powell said he talks with Drake about everything, enough to discover her life has made for some crazy stories. “She’s pretty much been through everything you can possibly go through: She’s wise,” Powell said. “She gives profound advice and relates well to things.” Living a rich life started

SPORTS, pg. 8

Andre Dome finishes historic career at Cal Poly.

with being born to an Air Force officer. Drake began traveling the world at just 6 years old. She lived in Japan during the 1950s, then went to Europe for five years, she said. In her first summer living in Germany, the Berlin Wall went up. “There is no reaction when you live in a military housing area,” she said. “When you’re 13 years old, you don’t fully

NHA HA/MUSTANG DAILY

Chancellor Timothy White visited campus this past week, and for 15 minutes, he sat down with Mustang Daily and spoke on his semester stance, campus unity and taking over the largest public university system in the country. Check mustangdaily.net for the exclusive Q&A.

see LIBRARY, pg. 2

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Opinion/Editorial...............6 News.............................1-3 Classifieds/Comics............7 Arts...............................4-5 Sports..................................8 foggy

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Participants said the benefit of Beach Day was spending time with members of all greek life rather than solely their own houses. “It’s really fun because all the teams get to hang out on the beach and bond,” biological sciences senior Madison Walter said. “And then, of course, you get to cheer on your own team while they are competing in all the different events.” The second Greek Week event was an inter-fraternity football competition Sunday evening. Further events include dodgeball and basketball competitions, blood drives and bowling competitions until Greek Week closes with a choreographed performance from each team next Saturday. “It’s basically the grand finale of Greek Week,” Gates said. “It’s a great way to end it because it brings everyone together and it’s very entertaining.” One of the reasons Greek Week holds importance, according to Ruzic, is its inclusive nature. The competitions

are held between eight teams made up of fraternities and sororities from the Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Council and the United Sorority and Fraternity Council. “I believe it’s an important tradition because it has our sportsmanship and our community service values as well as a competitive nature,” Ruzic said. Greek Week’s purpose is, in part, to promote unity throughout the Cal Poly greek system. “I think it’s a great time, as well as being a time that we all come together and unify,” Ruzic said. All activities are planned by the students with the activity officers from the three greek councils on campus coming together to lead the charge. “It is a time to think outside of box and serve the community as an entire greek system, not as an individual fraternity or sorority,” Coordinator of Fraternity and Sorority Life Diego Silva said. The whole week culminates in a lip sync event that will be held Saturday at Chumash Auditorium, which gives Greek

Tuesday, May 7, 2013 members the opportunity to showcase their performance to the rest of their peers. In addition, students will speak to middle school students of the Lucia Mar Unified School District about attending college and becoming active members in the community, Silva said. “I think it’s mainly about getting to meet new people, but we’re also pretty competitive and really want to win this year,” business administration junior and Theta Chi brother Cameron Randa said. “Certain events like the blood drive are by their nature the ones that allow us to give back.” Last year, a total of $6,000 was raised and Silva said it is a goal to surpass that this year. Part of the way Greek Week spurs its competitive nature is through a weeklong competition involving a point system — in each event, one gains points for the specific team, and the team with the most points at the end of the week is the champion of Greek Week. “It’s basically about winning bragging rights,” Gates said. Gates said his perception of Greek Week’s importance

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COURTESY PHOTO

Monday’s greek week event was a blood drive, which is one of the week’s many events that have philanthropic goals. is that it aids in changing the stereotypes surrounding greek life. “It allows the greek community to share and basically break the stereotypes that a lot of people have about the greek community,” Gates said. In addition to benefits within the greek system, Greek Week also takes on the task of contributing to various servicebased goals. Ruzic said there are multiple ways that the greek system is contributing to charity through Greek Week. “We send out members from teams, and they volunteer to go to specific community service events throughout the week,” Ruzic said. “We also do school presentations about going to college as well as anti-bullying.” In addition, an online competition Ruzic calls the “Like Wars” is being held throughout the week to contribute to multiple organizations, in-

cluding the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum, United Way, Safer and several other nonprofit organizations. “Based on the amount of ‘likes’ on the Greek Week 2013 Facebook page, the organization will get money from the ‘Like Wars’ competition,” Ruzic said. Ruzic said though the winner of the “Like Wars” competition will receive the largest amount of money, the others will receive 5 percent of the contributions. Some members of greek life questioned why the kickoff of Greek Week fell on the same weekend as the Wildflower Triathlon, an event which Cal Poly greek life has a tradition of contributing to through volunteer work. Ruzic said this was entirely incidental because of the fact that Chumash Auditorium had been reserved for the closing event next Saturday

before anyone realized the events would coincide. “It was not intentional that it would overlap with Wildflower,” Ruzic said. Gates said though Beach Day was not tied with a specific philanthropy event, participants kept in the philanthropic spirit by maintaining clean beaches. “The plan was to leave the beach as clean as it was originally, if not better,” Gates said. According to Gates, Beach Day was just the start to a week of events that brings together not only the greek organizations themselves, but also coordinates Cal Poly greek life with the outside community. “Greek Week allows us to really get out in the community and have fun and show that we’re more than what people think we are,” Gates said.

LIBRARY

whatever is handed to her, she’s not the type who feels sorry for herself,” Richardson said. “She does what she has to do and presses on.” Drake’s perseverance to fight through the low points in her life is what helped when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995, Richardson said. Her battle with cancer meant 10 months of chemotherapy. In the first four months, Drake was treated once a month, and for the last six, she underwent chemotherapy twice a month. It was very intense and the hardest part was the side effects, Drake said. “I’d wake up in the morning and on the pillowcase was my hair,” she said. One afternoon after dropping her son off at school, Drake went into her bathroom to brush her hair, which was detaching and falling from the follicles. “I passed out on the bathroom floor from crying,” she said. “But I had a son who was 12 years old and had to be strong for him. I wasn’t going to give into it.” After her final chemotherapy session, Drake remembers sitting in her car and crying tears of joy. “I got a second chance on life by surviving cancer,” she said. “It made me see things differently, to take each day as it’s given to you whether it’s good or bad.” Now she uses the strength she got from overcoming cancer to help others. Course reserves coordinator Sharon Andresen said Drake is a very supportive boss who lets Andresen accompany her son, who has cancer and is currently undergoing chemotherapy, to his weekly treatments. “She’s always very understanding if something comes up,” Andresen said. “It’s all friendly, nice and happy with Judy.” As a librarian, Andresen said Drake saves the day a

lot. When people call in sick, Drake will come in and cover a shift even when she’s already worked an eight-hour shift that day. “Judy is always the one that will step in and work the shifts no one will fill,” she said. “She’s just that type of person; she wouldn’t want to inconvenience someone else, so she’d just step up and do it herself.” Drake’s work dedication is also recognized by her own boss, Anna K. Gold, the university librarian. Drake played a pivotal role in staffing the library during the furlough year in 2009, Gold said. When all university employees experienced a 10 percent reduction in pay and hours, Drake was responsible for scheduling staff to keep the library open from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. without hiring any new personnel, she said. “That’s invisible work but it’s critical to maintaining a resource that students depend on,” Gold said. “To say she goes out of her way is an understatement. She’ll turn herself inside out to help a student.” Drake’s commitment to supporting students is unparalleled and is invested in building an inclusive culture, doing so in a relaxed and open way, Gold said. “She is warmth; she’s amazing” she said. “She’s very generous in sharing her experience. I joke that when she retires, we’ll have to set up an apartment for her upstairs.” Drake was set to retire in 2014, but her son encouraged her to keep working because of her passion toward her work. He also reminded his mother how much she didn’t like sitting around the house, Drake said. Drake loves what she does, and if she didn’t, then she wouldn’t get out of bed each day, she said. “When I do retire, you best wear your life vest, and if you have a kayak bring that too, because I will be crying,” she said.

continued from page 1

understand what’s happening, but you are just told what could happen. I don’t think I was freaked out, but I remember as long as my mom was OK, and my dad came home, I was fine.” Another part of Drake’s background includes experiencing firsthand the extreme prejudices of whites toward blacks when visiting family in America’s south in 1959. Drake is a “closet poet” and in one poem, she described what it was like for someone to inherently hate her for having “chocolate skin” and “shiny black braids.” Drake admitted she has been a “closet poet” for more than 40 years, and from a young age her words have served as a release from the responsibilities of being the oldest of six, she said. Drake’s only sister, Kathleen Richardson, said her sister didn’t have a lot of time to herself because she had to take care of her siblings. “She never had a chance to be a brat because she was the oldest,” she said. “That is one of the downfalls of being the oldest child, you have to help bring up everyone else.” A resident of Virginia, Richardson said she talks to her sister approximately 10 times a week. She said Drake repeatedly played the role of a mother, a best friend, a good listener and a helper. “I do believe she and I would be really good friends if she wasn’t my sister,” Richardson said. “She goes way past the mile to make someone else feel comfortable before she cares about herself.” Richardson also said her sister is a motivator, that she believes if she can make it through things, anybody can make it through things. “One thing I have to say about Judy is she deals with

Hillary Kaiser contributed to this article.

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Tuesday, May 7, 2013

WORD ON THE STREET What is your favorite thing to do on a gloomy day?

“Probably watch a movie and have a cup of hot chocolate, stay inside.” • Holly Wiswell kinesiology senior

“Drink chocolate milk.” • Parker Kalan biological sciences junior

Bay Area limo accident details revealed LEE ROMNEY Los Angeles Times

The limousine that became engulfed in flames on the Hayward-San Mateo Bridge was authorized to transport eight passengers but was carrying nine, the California Highway Patrol said Monday. The 1999 Lincoln Town Car is regulated by the state Public Utilities Commission, CHP Capt. Mike Maskarich said at a news conference in the highway patrol’s Redwood City area office. He said the regulatory mandates would be explored as part of a larger investigation into the fire that engulfed the car. Maskarich and Foster City fire officials, who are assisting in the investigation, declined to elaborate on a possible cause or origin of the blaze, saying they have yet to review the vehicle’s maintenance records, conduct more thorough interviews with the driver and survivors, or explore any potential recalls or other mechanical issues known to be associated with the model. They said they did not yet know whether the stretch limo’s two doors could be opened from the inside or whether there was a fire extinguisher on board. Most if not all the passengers were nurses originally from the Philippines and were celebrating a bridal shower of one

• Allie Martinez sociology junior

“I like to go watch a movie with my friends.” • Alex Hertz biological sciences junior

“Probably go to the gym.” • Jordan Triplett art and design junior

MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE

The limousine accident on the Hayward-San Mateo Bridge killed five people who were leaving a bridal shower Saturday, including the bride-to-be. an off-duty CHP sergeant, but were unable to free the women trapped behind the partition, Maskarich said. The driver picked up nine women in Oakland on Saturday evening and was hired to drop them off approximately 40 miles away at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Foster City for a bachelorette party, Foucrault said. The women were riding in the passenger section of the limo when they noticed smoke coming from the back of the 1999 Lincoln Town Car, Foucrault said. They alerted the

Amazon supports online sales tax KYUNG M. SONG The Seattle Times

“Actually, hiking is fun on a gloomy day.”

of the women, who planned to return to the Philippines for a second ceremony next month. Five perished, including the bride, and four were injured. The families of the deceased have provided dental X-rays, which will be compared later Monday to X-rays of the women’s remains, San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault said, adding that he expects to release the names of the dead late Monday or Tuesday. The investigation into the cause of death will involve toxicology reports and take weeks to conclude, though the primary cause in cases such as this one is often smoke inhalation, he said. Maskarich and Foucrault said the incident was the worst they’ve seen in decades of work. “Any time we have a significant loss of life it’s very difficult, but given the particular nature of what’s transpired, it’s just beyond words,” said Maskarich, who said trauma counseling had been made available to all responders. Foucrault said there was a floor-to-ceiling partition behind the driver with a glass window that opened. The deceased were “basically on top of one another, kind of huddled” below the window, indicating they were trying to flee the flames and get out. Three good Samaritans stopped to help, among them

If the U.S. Senate approves legislation Monday giving states the right to require most Internet retailers to charge sales taxes, the vote will have blessing from Amazon.com. The Seattle company’s endorsement — coming from a chief beneficiary of the tax advantage the bill is intended to eliminate — is widely viewed as an acknowledgment that the days of tax-free shopping online are numbered. The vote is scheduled for Monday afternoon, and is expected to pass. Yet Amazon’s change of heart was hardly that dramatic. Amazon executives have said they decided more than a decade ago it made sense for Congress to circumvent a pair of longstanding Supreme Court rulings that protected retailers from having to tack sales taxes on purchases in states where they lack stores or other legal physical presence, called nexus. The company has prepared for that eventuality ever since, even as it fended off revenuehungry states demanding uncollected taxes. Amazon’s opposition all along has been less against expanded tax collection than making sure it applies to as many sellers as possible. The company supports a provision in the Senate’s Marketplace Fairness Act exempting online and mail-order businesses with less than $1 million in annual sales from having to collect taxes. That has set up a clash between Amazon and eBay, whose chief executive, John Donahoe, is seeking to raise the exemption to $10 million. Donahoe is mobilizing his vendors to preserve their taxfree advantage by derailing the current bill when it reaches the House. The two companies’ interests diverged as Amazon reached a tipping point on tax-free shopping. Since June, Amazon has gone from collecting sales taxes in just five states, including Washington state,

to nine. New Jersey is set to become No. 10 in July. Come January, Amazon will collect taxes in 16 states, covering 51 percent of its U.S. customers. Amazon has or is building warehouses and other physical facilities in most, but not all, of those states. “Amazon reversed itself because its financial interests changed,” said Daniel Mitchell, a senior fellow and tax expert at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington. “It has nexus in too many states and decided it was better to appease the political class.” Mitchell argues the legislation would undermine tax competition between states and raise costs for consumers. Retailers in Oregon and four other states without sales taxes also would have to calculate the taxes on sales outside their borders. States that choose to pursue the taxes would have to provide retailers with free software to calculate the rates in hundreds of local and state jurisdictions. States lose an estimated $11 billion a year in sales taxes that aren’t collected by online and mail-order retailers. Instead, consumers are supposed to remit them on their own, something they hardly ever do. Washington stands to reap an estimated $184 million for the 2013-15 state budget, and more than $567 million in the following biennium as compliance rises, the state estimates. Some conservatives oppose the bill as an overreach of federal taxing authority. Amazon has long voiced qualified support for uniform sales tax rules. In February 2006, Paul Misener, Amazon’s vice president for global public policy, told a House committee that the company almost six years earlier had concluded that universal sales-tax collections would be reasonable and that Amazon would not be harmed by it. “We’ve known all along that, because of the inherent consumer benefits of e-commerce as well as our confidence in our commitment to serve our customers, we don’t need a sales tax price advantage to do

very well with respect to our competition,” Misener said. But it wasn’t until late 2011 that Amazon issued an explicit endorsement for the federal legislation. Misener testified in Congress in support of it last year, and wrote to lawmakers urging their vote. Amazon’s endorsement may propel the bill farther than ever in Congress, said Michael Mazerov, a senior fellow with the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington. The proposal has been around in various forms since 1973, two decades before Amazon’s founding and when the tax fight pitted storefront businesses against mail-order retailers. Mazerov, who has been tracking the issue since 1989, believes Amazon’s embrace of the bill is genuine, if calculated. For instance, Amazon is ignoring a new law in Georgia that attempts to define physical presence through local websites that direct customers to Amazon, Overstock. com and other retailers. And in March, Amazon lost another round in a long legal battle in New York when the state’s highest court upheld a law similar to Georgia’s. “Amazon is collecting taxes where they have to and they’re not collecting where they don’t have to,” Mazerov said. “I don’t question their sincerity. But they’re keeping their options open.” Amazon spokesman Ty Rogers said the company has not announced whether it would appeal the ruling in New York. Brian Bieron, eBay’s senior director of global public policy, argues that small online vendors struggle to compete against behemoths like Amazon. Their shipment costs are higher, he contends, and their hassles of dealing with thousands of state and local tax rates will be bigger. Amazon’s support notwithstanding, Bieron said, “the current bill does not protect small businesses. That’s been our focus since day one.”

driver, who pulled over on the side of the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge. When he got out of the limo to inspect the vehicle, he saw the rear was engulfed in flames, Foucrault said earlier. Three of the women managed to escape through the rear passenger door. Another squeezed through the partition that separated the driver from the passengers, he said. Two of the surviving passengers — Jasmin De Guia, 34, of San Jose and Amalia Loyola, 48, of San Leandro — were

taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. They were being treated for smoke inhalation and burns and were listed in critical condition. Two other passengers — Nelia Arellano, 36, of Oakland, and Mary Grace Guardiano, 42, of Alameda — were taken to Stanford Medical Center. They were treated for moderate burns and smoke inhalation, authorities said. Their conditions are unknown. Driver Orville Brown was not injured. Foucrault said he was “pretty distraught.”

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Tuesday, May 7, 2013

From small screens to big stages Q&A with ‘prittay’ YouTube star Anjelah Johnson ARYN SANDERSON asanderson@mustangdaily.net

ot many people older than 30 know of comedian Anjelah Johnson, but her success from a YouTube video posted longer than six years ago still sells out arenas nationwide. Johnson is The Nail Salon Lady. With around 30 million hits, “Nail Salon” has more views than Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle.” Comedy Time, not Johnson, released the clip, and, though Johnson doesn’t get any money from the clip’s success, it led to an audition with MadTV. Johnson landed the spot on MadTV and stirred up her next social media storm. Her videos as MadTV character Bon Qui Qui, a hot-tempered, filter-free fast food employee, have gone viral too. One of Bon Qui Qui’s sketches has more than 60 million views to date. If Johnson, a former Oakland Raiders cheerleader, doesn’t ring a bell from her nail salon or fast-food bits, you may recognize her from television and movie roles. Her YouTube fame led to an hour-long special on Comedy Central, guest-starring features on shows such as “Ugly Betty” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and movie roles in films such as “Our Family Wedding” and “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.” Johnson recently landed a co-starring role in the pilot for the television adaptation of “About a Boy.” But with YouTube roots, Johnson is best known for embodying this generation’s redefinition of climbing the ladder. And although she’s grateful for the unconventional platforms that led to her success, Johnson is out to prove that she is no viral-video mishap or one-hit-wonder, that her fame is no fluke or passing storm.

Mustang Daily: Which of your jokes or bits is your favorite? Anjelah Johnson: It changes from time to time. Right now, I do a lot of material about my husband because I’m recently married. I like telling the story of when my husband got kidney stones, and I had to rush him to the hospital. Before, when I didn’t have any jokes about him he’d be like, “Babe, when are you going to talk about me in your show?” MD: What’s it like being YouTube famous? AJ: I’m very grateful because, before the YouTube day, you had to book a legit set on a night show or call David Letterman or whatever, and now you really just need to have a hit video on YouTube that goes viral. It’s easier, but then you never know if your video’s gonna go viral or not. My videos that went viral, I didn’t even upload them. I wasn’t trying to go viral, it just happened, and I’m blessed it did. MD: “Nail Salon” and “Bon Qui Qui” — Do you feel pigeonholed by those comedy routines? AJ: I know people know me because of those, but I don’t feel pigeonholed exactly. It’s like, “Oh she’s the girl who does Bon Qui Qui” or “Oh, she’s the girl who does the nail salon.” But I hope they know I can do more than those things, and I’m aware that I can do more than those things. I guess it could be compared to any band doing their hit song from 10 years ago that they know everyone loves to hear. It’s like, “Oh my gosh, this song again for 10 years.” It’s a love-hate relationship. I love seeing everybody get so excited but at the same time I’m like, “Ugh.” MD: Will you do your claim-to-fame bits at the San Luis Obispo show? AJ: I’ll present them in a new way, not so much word for word. But, they’ll be in there. MD: What was your first gig? AJ: Well, I mean my first stand-up gigs were a bunch of little open mics, but after I took a stand-up writing class, I performed at a club in Long Beach and that was my first time in front of an audience. It went amazing. It was a great show, and I feel like, had it not gone really well, I probably would have never done stand-up again. It wasn’t like I wanted to be a comedian at that point — it was just something I did for fun. But because it went so well, I ended up doing it again and again and ending up here, talking to you from San Luis Obispo. MD: What was your worst gig? AJ: When I first started, I did a show at the Improv for their Latino night and, at that time, I didn’t really have my own voice or point of view, so I was trying to be who I thought people wanted me to be. So I started trying to be extra Latino, like really putting somethin’ extra on it. But audiences can see right through you, and so it was such an awkward show. That, and then there was a show, a whole weekend of shows, actually, in Pittsburgh where nobody really showed up to the shows. I was coming off selling out shows in way bigger arenas, and then the very next weekend I sold like only 19 tickets. And even the 19 people that were there, someone must’ve put a gun to their head to get them in because they didn’t want to be there. MD: The best? AJ: That Pittsburgh weekend was the best and worst for me because it caused me to get out of my bubble and take more risks and more chances on stage. It was a growing, learning weekend for me, but it was definitely rough. MD: What should audiences expect at the SLO show? AJ: They should expect a really good time. To be able to come to San Luis Obispo is great. Being from California, I’m well aware of San Luis Obispo, so I’m excited to be there in that city. If you’ve seen my special on Comedy Central or Netflix, you can expect that same storytelling vibe with new stories to tell.

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Cal Poly students and the San Luis Obispo community can see Johnson in person and off the “small screen” on Friday. Otter Productions, Inc., Cal Poly Arts and Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) are bringing Johnson to the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center. “The Performing Arts Center shows skew more adults — symphonies and Tony Bennett and Bill Cosby, — but this really skews younger,” president of Otter Productions, Inc. Bruce Howard said. “You all are the ones that live on YouTube, Myspace and Facebook more so than my generation, and she’s a huge sensation coming out of that media. We’re reaching out to the student population because the Performing Arts Center is smack-dab in the middle of your campus.” Ticket sales have been strong so far, director of Cal Poly Arts Steve Lerian said. He expects Johnson’s show to sell out or almost sell out and said her ticket sales have been “comparable to other upper-level comedians,” referencing Lewis Black as an example. “I’d say this is probably our first big social media star,” Lerian said. “She’s got a lot of buzz right now, and she’s very current.” ASI gave out 250 tickets to Cal Poly students through a Facebook competition, but Cal Poly students who did not win tickets can still buy them for 20 percent off the face value at the box office, Lerian said. Tickets range from $30 to $40 without the discount. The show begins at 7:30 p.m.

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Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Top five slam poets who have visited Cal Poly ARYN SANDERSON

asanderson@mustangdaily.net

I asked George Watsky to my high school prom. I like to think he just never got the Myspace message. I wish I could say I’m low-key obsessed with slam poetry, but really I’m a slam slut. I watch slam videos like some women watch porn. A well-spoken soliloquy makes me sweat. And though most Mustangs don’t know it, Cal Poly is actually a hot spot for spoken word poetry. Cal Poly often brings the best of the best to spit, so here are my top five poets who have graced the Cal Poly campus. 5) Buddy Wakefield “If we were created in God’s image, then when God was a child he smushed fire ants with his fingertips and avoided tough questions.” — Buddy Wakefield Two-time Individual World Poetry Slam Champion Bud-

dy Wakefield proves that the best poetry isn’t about escape, but confrontation. His signature combination of humor and heart makes audiences laugh while pushing them to feel, and often change, something. Wakefield performed during Week of Welcome in 2010 and left a roomful of newly minted freshmen in stitches after a stream of short poems. He also performed in last year’s Anthem. 4) Simply Kat “Tombstones. Resting in Gspots like landfills. We, a vampire’s wet dream, laid in each other like coffins, fucking ourselves out of yesterday’s blues because when did destruction feel this good? Cue the music. Wedding bells crashing like wrecking balls.” — Simply Kat Simply Kat keeps it real. She’s tough and cool and urban and raw and human. One of

the strongest female poets on the scene, Kat tackles her life experiences, from domestic abuse to abortion, with both precise language and reckless abandon. Her bold, indomitable spirit showed when she participated in 2012’s Anthem. 3) George Watsky “I’m not proud to say that I took the walk of shame, away. And not that sweet walk I’m told old kids take the morning after they get laid.” — George Watsky In his poem “Incredibly F&$!ng Stupid,” George Watsky tells the story of chickening out of stage diving at a Sum 41 concert (classic). His fear cost him a good night kiss with his crush. So, while performing “Incredibly F&$!ng Stupid” in Chumash Auditorium during The Anthem, Watsky did something incredibly f&$!ng stupid. He did what he didn’t have the

The ‘greatest show-and-tell in the world’ coming to SLO ALLISON MONTROY

amontroy@mustangdaily.net

Science and the arts are finally friends. All things creative and innovative will be showcased at the first-ever San Luis Obispo Mini Maker Faire on Saturday in Mission Plaza. The fair is a local, “mini” version of an international phenomenon sparked by the trending do-it-yourself movement started in 2005 in San Mateo, Calif. Hosted locally by the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA), the Mini Maker Faire “is a mix of art, arts and crafts, craftsmen, tinkering and techies,” assistant director Rebecca Leduc said. “It’s a chance for these makers and the DIY movement to show off, and each booth will have some sort of interactive demo or activity, so they really get people involved in understanding what they do and what they make,” Leduc said. While there will be a few commercial makers at the fair, “it’s less about selling,” Leduc said, “and more about the idea of show-and-tell, explaining how things are made and getting people actively involved in the process.” The Mini Maker Faires are toted “as the greatest show-and-tell on Earth,” Leduc said. SLOMA took it a step further by incorporating sustainability into the SLO Mini Maker Faire’s “show-and-tell” theme. “It’s meant to be a zero-waste fair, so we’re really trying to focus on sustainability and limiting waste,” Leduc said. Along with displaying the day’s recycling and trash in transparent bags to show the public what is being consumed at the fair, a team of Cal Poly students and professors designed the fair’s centerpiece — a

colorful, interactive, pneumatic or plastic inflated structure, constructed on a scaffolding in a way that pieces of plastic can be taken off the structure and given to visitors as bags. “So if people have little toys or projects that they’re walking away from the fair with, they’ll be able to use these bags as a little tote bag souvenir,” Leduc said. “That will be a way we’re not just throwing away the structure at the end.” The petal structure was designed and built by an interdisciplinary team of architecture and liberal arts and engineering studies (LAES) students under faculty adviser architecture professor Thomas Fowler and LAES professor David Gillette. After the class of approximately 30 LAES students came up with four design proposals, Fowler’s 12-person community design independent study class, called Integrated Projects Group or IPG (and mostly architecture and landscape architecture students), took the most affordable and possible designs and came up with a structure through three weeks of feedback and redesigning that eventually evolved into the 12-feet wide, 8-feet tall temporary petal structure. “It was a brainstorming process,” Fowler said. “It was pitching the idea of having a centerpiece that gives the fair a Central Coast identity. It’s one thing to invite all these people and get the generic pop-up tents from Costco or Big 5, and it’s another to have this structure that identifies with both the Mini Maker Faire and the Central Coast.” The students took extra care to ensure the pneumatic petals were zero waste. Every part of the plastic sheets (donated from a man in Los Angeles) were used — even the excess plastic left after the petals were cut out were made into scraps

for the bags or integrated into the structure. “They are trying to be as responsible as they can,” Fowler said. “And at the same time, making sure it’s safe, it’s going to work. In some ways, students become experts in this whole process.” After almost eight weeks of preparation, Fowler said the structure has become “the iconic piece for the fair.” “It’s like walking inside a flower,” Fowler said. “Without it, it’s just pop-up tents and people. It’s a bit mysterious and elusive because that will attract people to come see the real thing.” Besides the pneumatic structure design team, the Cal Poly Audio Engineering Society, KCPR and Engineers Without Borders will have booths at the fair. “The students have really stepped up,” Leduc said. “It’s great, and they are really essential to making the fair a success. It’s been fun to see that develop.” While almost 200,000 people attend the mother Maker Faire in San Mateo, Leduc said she expects between 1,000 and 2,000 attendees at San Luis Obispo’s. “Because it’s the first year, it’s hard to anticipate,” she said. “That’s a huge range, but we’ll see.” The idea of San Luis Obispo’s Mini Maker Faire is less than a year old — it was proposed to SLOMA exhibitions and development director Ruta Saliklis in September by materials engineering professor Kathy Chen. “She had been to the one in San Mateo and wanted to bring it to SLO,” Saliklis said. By January the event was approved, “so we hurried up and got one together, one thing led to another and we started reaching out to other organizations that would want to be involved.” The event is free, and all ages are welcome.

gall to do back then. Watsky dove. George Watsky has slammed at Another Type of Groove and has participated in the Anthem twice.

Mojgani’s poetry is optimistic, the slam equivalent to a pump-up jam. Mojgani performed in the same show as Wakefield in 2010.

2) Anis Mojgani

1) Rudy Francisco

“This is for the celibate pedophile who keeps on struggling. For the poetry teachers and for the people who go on vacations alone. For the sweat that drips off of Mick Jagger’s singing lips. For the shaking skirt on Tina Turner’s shaking hips. For the heavens and for the hells through which Tina has lived. Shake the dust.” — Anis Mojgani

“See I heard that love is blind, so I write all my poems in brail. And my poems are never actually finished because true love is endless. I always believed that real love is kind of like a supermodel before she’s air brushed; it’s pure and imperfect, just the way that God intended. See I’m going to be honest. I’m not a love poet. But if I was to wake up tomorrow morning and decide that I really wanted to write about love I swear that my first poem … It would be about you.” — Rudy Francisco

Only one poet had won consecutive National Poetry Slam titles until Anis Mojgani changed that. Mojgani, a two-time National Poetry Slam Champion and winner of the International World Cup Poetry Slam, is celebrated for his inspirational, heart-wrenching poems.

2010 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion Rudy Francisco says he’s not a love poet. But if there’s any type of poem Francisco has owned,

COURTESY PHOTO

Rudy Francisco won Cal Poly’s annual poetry slam, The Anthem, this past year. On Wednesday, the wordsmith will return to campus to defend his title. it’s just that. Francisco is a master wordsmith; his flow has a smooth, syrupy quality. He takes all the passion of traditional slam, but brings none of the hostility. Francisco has been featured in ATOG and is coming back to Cal Poly to slam for the Anthem title this year.

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Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Gosnell raises abortion questions Ashley Pierce is a political science freshman and Mustang Daily conservative columnist. Fox News correspondent and political comedian Steven Crowder (who will be speaking on Cal Poly’s campus Tuesday at 6 p.m.) recently released a video in which he revealed a large proportion of Americans have heard nothing about the Gosnell abortion trial, happening in Pennsylvania. In order to make sure Cal Poly’s campus is up to date on this trial, here are some facts — and a whole lot of opinion: Gosnell, an abortion doctor, was brought to public attention when he was accused of murdering four babies who survived his botched abortions. His entire clinic is found to be guilty of not just the accused murder, but of hideous malpractice. The clinic has been described as if from a horror movie. The Daily Caller reported that there was evidence of non-

WORD ON THE STREET What do you think the limits on abortion should be, if any?

ter being so-called “aborted.” Gosnell has since denied these claims and insists the babies were simply experiencing involuntary spasms. He still had their spines cut, because I guess he just wanted to be extra sure they were dead. The jury in Gosnell’s trial has asked for a police property receipt of Gosnell’s medications

sterilized instruments being used during procedures and, most disturbing, body parts from the aborted babies allegedly backed up plumbing in the facility. Gosnell stands on trial in connection with the murder of four babies because former employees came forward as witnesses that the babies moved, breathed or cried af-

and drugs found in the clinic. Digoxin, a drug the clinic claimed to use to kill the babies while still in the mother’s womb, was not found. This could indicate Gosnell’s sentence will rely on whether he killed the babies in or outside the womb, despite the abortions being illegal late in the pregnancy. It shouldn’t matter, however, whether the babies were mur-

dered inside or outside of the womb. They were still lateterm abortions at 24 or more weeks. Babies, at this time, are considered developed and able to live outside of the womb. The baby was not a non-living thing inside the womb and then magically, a moment later, became a living, breathing person with the right to live. If the jury decides that Gosnell isn’t guilty of murder for killing the baby inside the womb at 24 weeks, then Gosnell isn’t guilty of murder for killing the baby outside the womb at 24 weeks. Gosnell is either a murderer or he isn’t. Location cannot change if the baby was alive or not. Gosnell’s clinic is not alone in these crimes. Recent video was released by LiveAction of a woman, Lila Rose, as she went undercover at an abortion clinic in New York. The law in New York, as it is in Pennsylvania, declares that abortions cannot be performed after 24 weeks. In the video, Rose tells the woman at the clinic that she is 23 weeks pregnant. She then asks a number of questions such as “How

DOME

say, ‘What do I have to do next time for the guys to win the match?’ Whenever we had a loss, I would work a little bit harder. Maybe that would help the team win the 4-3 matches.” Head coach Nick Carless saw Dome rise as a tennis star in the past two seasons and has witnessed his best player lead the team by example. “He’s going to be almost impossible to replace,” Carless said. “I’ve seen players who’ve been top 10 in the country go to college and not get better. I think he

set a great standard for what the No. 1 player at Cal Poly should try and be like.” But while Dina is proud of all her son has accomplished on the court, the newly recognized American citizen simply can’t wait to see her only child step up on graduation day to receive his diploma. It’s something she never got to do. “This is a dream come true,” she said. “It’s my dream too. My dream is that my son will graduate from college.” And as Dome’s collegiate ca-

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big is it?” to which the woman at the clinic answers that he or she is “fully grown.” The woman goes on to say that if the baby were to twitch after the abortion, a solution the dead bodies are soaked in will “make it stop.” Despite the babies supposedly being aborted in the womb, “that’s the whole purpose of the solution,” says the clinic: to make them stop twitching. And rest assured, if Rose goes into labor at home before the abortion, she should just “flush it.” Late-term abortions and the practices in abortion clinics across the country are worse than Americans think, and we have simply turned a blind eye to it. The decisions of this case may cause a large new movement to change abortion laws. If they’re going to be legal (though they should arguably be outlawed all together), then these types of malpractices cannot exist. If a baby is born alive, he or she cannot be killed or “flushed.” Anybody who does otherwise should be convicted of first-degree murder, without question.

reer ends, his mother will watch, proud as ever, as he chases a dream of his own — to play the game he loves as a professional. “Not being able to come back in September and go to classes ... that’ll scare anybody,” Dome said. “I’m not going to have the routine I have had here. It’s going to be a shock to me, but I’m going to have to adjust.” And with the eyes of Cal Poly on the simplistic creature of habit, Dome will fight to find his groove in the next chapter of his tennis career.

“Abortion is only necessary when the life of the mother is at risk.” • Paul Materum chemistry senior

“I think that every girl should be able to decide what to do with her body.” • Randi Groppe biological sciences sophomore

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After the Mustangs were eliminated in the second round of the Big West tournament this past season, his senior year, Dome had accumulated an overall record of 23-4 and ended with a perfect record in conference, going 6-0 as the team’s co-captain. “With a team, when we lose a match, I feel like it’s my fault,” Dome said. “I would

“Definitely in the first trimester.” • Matt Worrick kinesiology junior

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Andre Dome will compete in the NCAA men’s tennis championships held at the University of Illinios starting on May 23.

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DOME

LEAVES LEGACY Story: Jefferson P. Nolan Photo: Ian Billings As long as he can remember, Andre Dome has had a routine. Beginning when he was 8 years old, his father would have the young tennis player repeat the exact same drill in practice. It was drill after drill, day after day. “It was all repetition,” Dome said. “Looking back at it, I see why my dad did that. It was consistent. I still do the same thing every week. I’ve got a routine.” The habit continued when he left home and started college. At the beginning of each quarter, Dome develops a pattern of when he eats, when he trains and when he studies. But after completing his last season in a Cal Poly tennis uniform, the two-time men’s tennis Big West Player of the Year will have to make a few adjustments. Ranked 29th in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, Dome will embark on a journey to the University of Illinois to compete in the NCAA tournament on May 23 before graduating in June. And as Dome dons a cap and gown to receive his diploma, Cal Poly will let go one of the best tennis players to ever step between the lines of the Mustangs’ courts. Born in Indonesia, Dome began playing tennis when he moved to Arroyo Grande at age 5. By the time he graduated high school, he was considered one of the top 10 tennis recruits in the nation. Realistically, he could have gone to school anywhere. But while programs across the nation recruited the budding talent, Dome had different plans. He wanted to stay close to home. “My mom’s been to every single home match,” Dome said. “(My parents) have just done so much for me. They are my backbone.” And even for Dina Dome, it came as a shock to her that her son chose to play for the Mustangs. “I was so surprised when he chose to come to Cal Poly because I wanted him to decide for himself,” Dina said. He made his mark during his first season on campus. As a freshman, Dome was Cal Poly’s highest ranked player and earned Big West Freshman of the Year honors. In his second year, Dome’s routine was shattered. Following irritation in his hip throughout his freshman year, Dome consulted doctors who said he strained his groin. However, after getting a second opinion before the start of his sophomore year, Dome decided to have hip surgery which forced him to sit out the season. Instead of dominating on the court, he was struggling to walk. “(Having surgery) was probably the biggest thing in my life that I’ve been through because I couldn’t play tennis for six months,” Dome said. “That gave me a new perspective on things, especially tennis.” It was during his time on crutches that Dome began to change as a player. He wrote a list of things in which he wanted to improve — in his game and in school. Re-committing himself to doing the hard work, Dome wanted to return to the courts as a new player. And as he does best, he developed a routine. “I focused on getting my cardio back and started swimming every morning,” Dome said. “I tried to get my schedule back. I wanted to come back stronger, and it was just a commitment to everything else but tennis, and that helped my tennis. I was ready.” Returning from a medical redshirt season, Dome claimed all-conference first team honors in his 2010-11 season after recording a 19-5 overall record at the No. 1 singles spot. And it was in his junior year that he and the men’s tennis team made program history by claiming Cal Poly’s first Big West Conference championship. “Growing up here and going to the Cal Poly matches, I’ve just seen so many generations of players that haven’t done that,” Dome said. “You can cheer (on your teammates) as much as you want and support them, but at the end of the day, it’s your teammate playing. That’s why it is my best memory out of college; it was pretty special.” see DOME, pg. 6