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Delta Sigma Phi disaffiliated from Cal Poly Karen Garcia & Benjy Egel Cal Poly’s chapter of Delta Sigma Phi (DSP) was disaffiliated from the university until 2020 because of violations of the Student Code of Conduct and Fraternity and Sorority Life Alcohol and Drugs Policy stemming from the September arrest of former president Gear McMillan. The university began investigating DSP in March for facilitating the distribution and selling of illegal drugs from February to September 2014. After a hearing on May 8, Cal Poly officials determined chapter members had knowledge of the illegal activities and failed to take appropriate action, university spokesperson Jay Thompson said. “The university is committed to supporting organizations that promote healthy and safe experiences for our students,” Dean of Students Jean DeCosta said. “It is clear from our inves-
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tigation that Delta Sigma Phi was not acting in accordance with these values and their own stated values. Therefore, we made a decision to disaffiliate with them, allowing for a length of time for the chapter to engage in a substantive culture change.” Fraternity members appeared at a hearing on May 8 and were informed of the school’s decision on May 12. DSP plans to appeal the decision, fraternity president Derek Morefield said. Morefield said Cal Poly’s investigation was flawed and held the entire chapter accountable for individual actions. “We are extremely disappointed and frustrated the university decided to withdraw recognition of our chapter until 2020 based on loose information that points to limited, individual misconduct,” Morefield wrote in a text message. “The
university decision was based on a flawed investigation and not supported by clear, factual evidence.” The same claims were echoed by Delta Sigma Phi Executive Director Patrick Jessee, who said the national organization will support the chapter in its appeal. “Both chapter and national fraternity representatives actively investigated the matter and proactively addressed any concerns at the beginning of the school year,” Jessee wrote in a statement to Mustang News. “Chapter members have fully complied with all university and fraternity rules this year and should not be penalized for limited, individual misconduct.” DSP’s petition will be sent to Vice President for Student Affairs Keith Humphrey, who was not involved in the fraternity’s disaffiliation.
JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NE WS LONGTIME PRESENCE
| Delta Sigma Phi has been on campus since 1950, making it Cal Poly’s first social fraternity with a national presence. DSP will appeal its disaffiliation, which would last until 2020.
ASI finalizes Spring Stampede lineup
IAN BILLINGS | MUSTANG NE WS NEW PERSPECTIVE | Naiyerah Kolkailah is president of the Islamic Society of San Luis Obispo County.
Graduate student shatters Muslim stereotypes Will Peischel @CPMustangArts
In the courtyard of the mosque on Walnut Street, a weathered black crescent is stamped into the sun-bleached concrete. The crescent encircles an arrow reaching east toward Mecca, birthplace of the prophet Muhammad. The symbol reflects the Mosque of Nasreen’s character: simple beauty and devotion. Geometric shapes dominate the mosque’s soft white interior, giving the impression of a papi-
er-mâché finish. Soft arcs and bends draw together to form the ceiling. A bees’ nest of cubbies holds shoes and other belongings, surrendered by their owners before they proceeded onto the scarlet, floral carpet. Besides a few bookshelves, folding chairs and a seldom-used television, the room is empty. Beyond rectangular sunbeams projecting from window to floor, Naiyerah Kolkailah prays. She tries to visit the mosque at least a few times a week. Between her faith and her studies, there
isn’t room for much else in the biological sciences graduate student’s schedule. The San Luis Obispo native dresses modestly. Her whole body is covered, but her personality shines through a big white smile, illuminating her face under the hijab. She displays a gentle disposition, sprinkling her syntax with “yes” and “okay” which give the impression of a patient teacher.
see KOLKAILAH, pg 5.
CRE ATIVE COMMONS
ONE, TWO, THREE | Hoodie Allen, Sage the Gemini and The Knocks will play at the May 30 concert. Brenna Swanston @brenna_swanston
Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) has officially contracted its third artist for the May 30 ASI Events Spring Stampede. The Knocks will open the festival-style concert “with a little electronic feel,” ASI Program
Coordinator Missi Bullock wrote in an email to Mustang News. Sage the Gemini will follow The Knocks, and headliner Hoodie Allen will cap off the night. Tickets are available for $5 on PolyTix for all Cal Poly students with PolyCards. The concert will take place from 3-8 p.m. at the ASI Sports Complex, with doors opening at 2:30 p.m.
News... 1-3 | Arts... 4-5 | Opinion... 6 | Classifieds... 7 | Sports... 8
Thursday, May 14, 2015
NEWS | 2
California drought
28%
of Cal Poly’s turf not watered
13.6 acres of brown grass
JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NE WS
Cal Poly cuts water usage as part of revised Drought Response Plan Oriana Bardinelli Special to Mustang News
Dexter Lawn will stay green, but soon Cal Poly students will find less turf elsewhere on campus. The school is letting 28 percent of its turf — a proposed 13.6 acres in total — go brown in response to Gov. Jerry Brown’s new demands that campuses cut their water use by one-fourth. Other big changes in the plan include more efficient showerheads and a new “smart” control system to monitor irrigation. The changes come as part of a revision to the university’s 2015 Drought Response Plan, finalized May 6. Administrators are confident the plan will exceed financial and conservation goals. On April 1, Brown imposed a mandatory 25 percent wa-
ter use restriction throughout California. The order addresses both personal and institutional conservation efforts, requiring residents and businesses to cut their use by a quarter compared to 2013 water consumption. For universities across California, cuts will begin with revisions to landscape master plans and building modifications for water efficiency, such as low-flow toilets and faucets. Campuses throughout the state will be forced to literally “go brown” as they shut off water to plants and turf to meet restriction requirements. Cal Poly’s campus will be no exception. “We are trying to be as efficient as we can,” said Scott Loosley, director of facilities operations for Cal Poly. Loosley represents the landscape design interests of the university and helped revise the
existing Cal Poly Drought Response Plan. The 2015 update, approved by Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong on April 24, is expected to exceed Brown’s conservation order once current irrigation and housing technology upgrades are complete. Does this mean O’Neil Green will be turning brown? “I hope they choose to cut back (on watering) areas on the outsides of campus,” said Jesus Nolasco a mathematics senior. Nolasco studies outside between classes for at least an hour a day, usually on Dexter Lawn or the grass surrounding Graphic Arts (building 26). On a college campus, lawns serve a many purposes, offering students and faculty an outdoor space to learn, study, relax, exercise, and gather between classes.
“We use our lawns on campus more than other places in the community where they merely hold an ornamental purpose,” said Conner Everts, the Executive Director of The Southern California Watershed Alliance. Administrators considered this in the plan. Cal Poly does not anticipate disrupting the maintenance of major turf areas. The report says irrigation cuts will have “a minimal impact to the campus esthetic or the most heavily used lawns.” The turf cutback is expected to reduce Cal Poly’s total water use by 6 percent. If lawns are removed, most will be re-planted with drought-tolerant plants, according to Loosley. This will be a long-term effort, pending funding to purchase water-efficient plants. The Drought Response Plan
proposes three focus areas for conservation management: • Turf reduction • Compost/mulching • Irrigation controls Turf reduction, as discussed, offers a significant relief of water waste for the university. The plan also suggests a recommendation for using Cal Poly compost in planting beds. Compost enriches surrounding soil and retains moisture. Available at no cost from Farm Ops, this measure will save 13 acre-feet of water per year and is already in practice. Recommendations for irrigation control suggest installing a smart system to optimize water use. A digital control system can monitor irrigation needs in real-time, with consideration to: plant type/needs, weather and soil condition. The Cal State University Chan-
cellor’s Office approved a facilities request in March of this year to install and modify the university’s current system. The project will cost $153,000 saving 25 acre feet of water per year. If successful, landscape recommendations featured in the Drought Response Plan will conserve nearly 100 acre-feet of water per year. This is estimated to save Cal Poly $127,000 a year, returning investment for the school within the next 16 months. It’s unlikely that Cal Poly will run out of water if the drought continues. Cal Poly is a partner in the Whale Rock Reservoir and controls its own water rights, supply source and storage capacity. With the reservoir now at 53 percent of capacity, the report says Cal Poly could supply campus for nearly six years with no rainfall whatsoever.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
NEWS | 3
Student-built company Raccoon provides financial education for millennials Lindsy Mobley @lindsy_mobley
According to co-founder and business administration sophomore Joe Applegate, Raccoon is like the Codeacademy of trading stocks. The student-created company is targeted toward graduating students and students new to the workforce who struggle with financial literacy. The company provides people with affordable financial education on relevant topics such as student loan debt, Applegate said. Applegate is the Chief Financial Officer and co-founder of Raccoon. Since freshman year, he had been deliberating with former roommate and Cal Poly wrestling teammate Tommy Espinoza about creating some sort of business revolved around financial education. Espinoza was one of the students selected to attend the Silicon Valley Entrepreneur’s Program at Draper University, where he met Yonathon (Yoni) Dejene, 19. Espinoza and Dejene formed Raccoon during the program this past winter. Espinoza is the chief executive officer and co-founder of Raccoon, and Dejene is the president and co-founder. “We thought, hey, financial education is a big problem right now,” Espinoza said. “We were doing this program with the venture capitalist Tim Draper, and we ultimately decided to join forces. So after that, at the conclusion of the program, we had a demo day — a pitch finale. Yoni and I were actually the only entrepreneurs to get funded by Tim Draper.” As some of the youngest entrepreneurs attending the program, they were the only ones to receive funding from a billionaire venture capitalist, Dejene said. Applegate and Espinoza had always talked about their interest in finance and passion for learning how money works, how to trade stocks and other financial issues. And they realized a lot of people didn’t know a lot of these skills, Applegate said.
“People started to ask us questions about finance,” Applegate said. “That’s when we started to realize there’s a problem out there that needs to be solved.” They had researched other financial education online courses but found they were all unaffordable, unstructured or full of “wordy” articles, Applegate said. “We went into this extensive research phase, where we started talking to a lot of people and a lot of customers to see if this problem was really true and if it resonated with them,” Applegate said. “We realized more than ever before that financial education was broken. And that’s when Raccoon was born; it was aimed to fix this massive problem.” The students partnered with finance professor Larry Gorman to help with the content of the courses. He will also assist by reaching out to his network for other content creators, Espinoza said. The Raccoon team plans to build other courses based on what users need. Dejene is also the designer and developer of Raccoon. He has a background in marketing and runs a program called Studinov as well as a magazine called Gulf Elite that has more a million subscribers from all over the world, he said. Dejene has worked on 22 projects in eight different countries. This wide breadth of experience has given him the background and network to help jump-start Raccoon. “What we’ll do is have a lot of social media channels as well as magazines and publications and a lot of partnerships with schools. So our main distribution channels are going to be through magazines and directly talking to schools,” Dejene said. In addition, they have already made key partnerships with some of the leading companies in the industry. One such company is called Vuru (a new stock analysis), which is allowing Raccoon to be launched to its client base of 85,000 people, Applegate said.
JOE APPLEGATE | MUSTANG NE WS STARTING WITH THE BA SICS
Another member of the Raccoon team is 17-year-old Fabian Fernandez-Han, the chief creative officer. According to Raccoon’s website, Fernandez-Han received 10 shares of Berkshire Hathaway through his work to make young people more financially literate at Warren Buffett’s Grow Your Own Business Challenge. He has been featured on CNN Money, TEDx, ABC News and Fox News. The Racoon team plans to build other courses based on
| The founders of Racoon, a financial education company, created the venture this past winter.
what users need. “We’ve narrowed down our focus onto teaching three things,” he said. “First is financial literacy. This is where we teach our users
about the most essential terms in finance, the ABCs of finance, so to speak. Second is financial fluency, where our users begin to apply their knowledge in a simulated
and safe environment. And finally is financial application. This is where our students can apply their newfound financial knowledge into their lives.”
Thursday, May 14, 2015
ARTS | 4
From Netflix to Cal Poly: LGBTQIA activist Laverne Cox to take Chumash Annie Vainshtein @AnnieVain
You may her know as Sophia Burset on the Netflix series “Orange Is The New Black.” Laverne Cox, transgender actress and LGBTQIA activist, will give a lecture on gender perspectives at Chumash Auditorium on Thursday as part of Inclusive Excellence Week. The Gender Equity Center will also host a gallery in the Julian A. McPhee University Union (UU) in conjunction with Cox’s speech. It will take place from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. as part of the center’s Don’t Put Me in a Box campaign. The event will be a great starting point for discussion and change, Pride Center coordinator Adam Serafin said. “Generally, what we see in our campus community is that there’s a lack of knowledge around trans issues,” he said. “Folks are coming around and learning more about sexual orientation, but there’s still a large learning curve surrounding gender identity.” Serafin stressed the importance
of separating different issues in the LGBTQIA community. “Different identities have different challenges they face on a daily basis,” he said. “As a campus, there’s more and more people focusing on gender identity, but we have a long ways to go.” Serafin said the event represents a positive trajectory on Cal Poly’s part to create more awareness surrounding gender identity issues. “I think there’s been more and more conversations on campus in terms of supporting people of all gender identities,” he said. “Whether it’s policies or facilities, there’s some clubs on campus that are doing some great work.” While Cal Poly has a lot left to learn, Cox’s lecture will hopefully get the university on its way, Serafin said. The event is free for all students with a PolyCard, though seating will be limited. In the case of overflow, the speech will also be available via livestream in the UU. Doors will open at 7 p.m. A reception with drinks and snacks will follow a Q&A with Cox from 9 to 10 p.m.
KOMUNEWS | COURTESY PHOTO SPARKING CHANGE
| “Orange is the New Black” star Laverne Cox will lecture about transgender rights on campus on May 14.
Cinematic romances make last hurrah of season David Llamas @CPMustangArts
Before the floodgates open and theaters are filled with nothing but blockbusters until August, it seems like a good time to pause and look back on the past year in romantic movies — not that 2015 has been a particularly good year for romance on film. Back in February, “Fifty Shades of Grey” landed in theaters and
caused its viewers to ask, “Why am I watching this?” Despite its rockin’ soundtrack and a first act which felt like an offbeat, bumbling romantic comedy, “Fifty Shades” went off the rails when it made attempt after attempt at being sexy. And recently moviegoers have been treated to the Blake Lively vehicle, “The Age of Adaline,” and the newest Nicholas Sparks adaptation, “The Longest Ride.”
‘The Longest Ride’ Sophia (Britt Robertson, who will star alongside George Clooney in “Tomorrowland”) is a college senior ready to move to New York and get her start in the art world. Her sorority sister Marcia (Melissa Benoist of “Glee” and soon-to-be “Supergirl” fame) drags Sophia to a bull-riding event. “I don’t see myself as a rodeo girl,” Sophia insists — but that
doesn’t keep her from falling for bull rider Luke (Scott Eastwood). However, Luke’s rodeo days may be over, as the physical stakes of the sport begin to wear on him. Can the artist and the bull rider make it work? Stilted dialog and contrived romance follow. After their first date, Sophia and Luke rescue Ira (Alan Alda) from a car wreck. The remainder of the movie divides its attention between the present and the 1940s, in which a young Ira (Jack Huston) and his wife Ruth (Oona Chaplin) deal with parallel — and occasionally resonant — relationship trouble. During the movie’s many flashback sequences, Ira and Ruth look and behave more like postcards than people. The look of the 1940s is too slick — like a colorized black-and-white film — to allow us into the characters’ minds. And while Robertson and Eastwood certainly aren’t the worst screen couple (they’d have to compete with Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman in “Attack of the Clones” for that honor), sparks don’t exactly fly. This is unfortunate, since the movie is at its best when it shows Sophia’s and Luke’s worlds colliding. “The Longest Ride” is the first Nicholas Sparks abomination — I mean, adaptation — I’ve seen. My first rodeo, so to speak. Having never experienced “The Notebook” or any of Sparks’ other books-become-movies (I can’t decide if that’s a cultural blind spot or a personal point of pride?) I don’t know how closely “The Longest Ride” sticks to the formula he has laid out elsewhere. But it certainly feels scripted. Though Alda’s Ira tells us life is “the longest ride,” the movie itself may be the longest ride — clocking in at a sometimes unbearable 139 minutes. Thankfully, while it may still be a bit messy, “The Longest Ride” pulls itself together for a satisfying third act.
JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NE WS
But enough about “The Longest Ride.” ‘The Age of Adaline’ Even if its title may invite unfavorable comparisons to “Age of Ultron,” “The Age of Adaline” is a different movie — and while it doesn’t reinvent romance, it provides a breath of fresh air. The movie follows Adaline Bowman (Lively), a woman doomed to stay 29 years old forever for some quasi-scientific reason. After decades of avoiding commitment for fear of losing loved ones to time, Adaline is “tired of running and lying to good people.” Apart from her daughter Flemming (Ellen Burstyn), Adaline’s only constant companions have been a lineage of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Her current
spaniel, Reese (whose acting duties are shared by canine actors Hunter and Riley), spends his days waiting for Adaline to come home from work at the library archives, where she gets glimpses of her past. Adaline’s decadeslong routine of running away is upset by Ellis (Michiel Huisman), who catches her eye at a New Year’s Eve gala. As their relationship gets off the ground, Ellis encourages Adaline to “let go.” Harrison Ford also makes a memorable appearance as William, a former paramour of Adaline’s whose presence causes her to question her newfound happiness. Ford makes good use of the role, evoking Han Solo or
see REVIEWS, pg 5.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
ARTS | 5
No one would question her. What she does for this community is far and above from what I can see happening with other people. MUNIR ELTAL
IAN BILLINGS | MUSTANG NE WS AROUND THE WORLD
| On top of her bachelors degree in biological sciences and her in-progress graduate degree from Cal Poly, Kolkailah has a degree in Islamic studies from The Quatar Foundation in Quatar.
KOLKAILAH continued from pg 1. Perhaps that patience comes from her parents, who emigrated from Egypt more than 30 years ago to complete their graduate degrees. Her father, Faysal Kolkailah, has taught aerospace engineering at Cal Poly since 1984. His career kept him busy, but he was always supportive. It was her mother who instilled daily Islamic teachings and Arabic comprehension in Kolkailah’s life. In the Kolkailah household, a critical understanding of the meaning behind Islamic rituals is as valuable as the rituals themselves. “A lot of times, when parents raise their kids without an explanation — ‘just because I said so’ and ‘because I expect it’ — then in that sense you don’t end up embracing that as your own way of life,” Kolkailah said. “I think that was something very special. I’m proud of being a Muslim, and when I would have to explain the way I dress and why I do it, I was proud of it.” Kolkailah’s family and faith made
REVIEWS continued from pg 4. Indiana Jones during a scene in which he runs through a forest just a little slower than he would have during the peak of his action-star days. Perhaps the greatest strength of “The Age of Adaline” is that — despite its fantastic premise — it doesn’t take itself too seriously. “Adaline” is at its weakest when it tries to generate artificial tension. Early in the film, Adaline flees from FBI agents who are pursuing her with presumably harmful intent. While this action may be
adolescence as a minority in San Luis Obispo much more manageable. She was able to develop a strong sense of self-identity, compounded by her religion. “In general, even in a lot of other places where you don’t have a social network that supports that type of lifestyle, you end up letting it go,” she said. Like her parents, Kolkailah holds multiple degrees. She carries an undergraduate degree in biological sciences from Cal Poly and a degree in Islamic studies from the Qatar Foundation in Qatar, where she memorized the entire Qur’an (that’s 604 pages, for those of you counting). Upon her return from Qatar in 2011, Kolkailah spread her knowledge by teaching members of the Muslim community here in San Luis Obispo. “I came back here and I started teaching the kids and women in the community Arabic and Islamic studies and Qur’an,” she said. “We had a Sunday school and a youth program and we had a camp last summer, just kind of bringing back whatever I gained from overseas to
the community as much as I can.” Her familiarity with San Luis Obispo and expansive knowledge of the Muslim faith earned Kolkailah the position of president of the Islamic Society of San Luis Obispo County. In this position, she helps run social religious events in the community and facilitates interfaith dialogue. To outsiders, Islam is often perceived as a faith that values a patriarchal structure — it carries the stigma of a boys’ club. But Kolkailah said San Luis Obispo’s Muslim community has been supportive of her role. “In this community it’s different,” she said. “We haven’t really had that. We haven’t really had misogyny or men dominating in a way that doesn’t allow women to be involved.” The Mosque of Nasreen caters to a relatively small Muslim community of about 50 families. The tight-knit group includes members of both Sunni and Shi’a sects. Biomedical engineering senior and Muslim Student Association President Munir Eltal said he’s proud his community elected a
suspenseful, Adaline’s own insecurities are enough reason for the viewer to buy her perpetual flight from loved ones. Apart from missteps such as this, the movie feels surprisingly organic. When Lively and Huisman’s line deliveries falter, they capture the cadence of real human speech. As graceful as Lively’s Adaline is, she isn’t safe from embarrassment or awkward moments, and the scenes she shares with Huisman are enjoyable not only because both actors are gorgeous, but because their interactions can be cringe-inducingly uncomfortable. (That’s what love
is, right?) To its credit, “The Age of Adaline” isn’t focused on creating picture-perfect moments between its leads. This lends the movie a naturalism which “Fifty Shades” and “The Longest Ride” lost through their inhuman dialogue and obvious plotting. If these movies could get over their self-seriousness, perhaps the genre could wake up out of its tired state. After all, wasn’t “Fifty Shades” at its best when Anastasia drunk-dialed Christian? Didn’t “The Longest Ride” shine the brightest when it finally ended?
woman to a leadership position. “No one would question her,” Eltal said. “What she does for this community is far and above from what I can see happening with other people in the same role.” He grinned: “It’s great, too, because people come and ask me, ‘So in Islam can women be leaders?’ I can say, ‘Well our president here is.’ That really helps.” Eltal and Kolkailah were quick to emphasize that despite common perceptions, Islam’s roots are not misogynistic. English and ethnic studies junior Mehra Gharibian acts as student representative of the Office of Diversity, president of Students for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, president of the Arab Music Ensemble and vice president of Poly Persians.
Gharibian expanded on the misplaced perception of women in Islam, saying oppression of women in the Middle East comes from the cultures’ reactions to colonization and political turbulence in the region. “I don’t think it’s necessarily inherent in the culture,” he said. “I am that culture. I know what it is. It’s more of a circumstantial thing.” Kolkailah pointed to the first and final word of the Muslim faith, the Qur’an. She said the text emphasizes a cooperative, harmonious relationship between genders. “That’s why the idea of understanding how you derive rulings from our source text is very critical,” she said. “You can misuse and manipulate texts in whatever way you want.” As a Muslim, Kolkailah takes re-
sponsibility for dispelling the misconceptions about Islam among members of San Luis Obispo’s relatively homogeneous community. She’s fulfilled this role by speaking at Cal Poly, Cuesta College and worship centers across San Luis Obispo to encourage a transparent interfaith discussion. “I feel like that type of work makes a difference, and it’s not even doing much,” Kolkailah said. “It’s just being present and showing that Muslims, underneath the differences, are human beings who are going about days trying to be successful and have peaceful friendships and interactions with people.” To help unravel misconceptions of Islam, the Mosque of Nasreen will host an open house on May 16 for anyone interested.
Thursday, May 14, 2015 MUSTANG NEWS Graphic Arts Building Building 26, Suite 226 California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
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“I’m not a fish.”
OPINION | 6
Cal Poly then and now Liana Riley @Ri__Li
Liana Riley is a political science sophomore and Mustang News columnist. These views don’t necessarily reflect the editorial coverage of Mustang News. Hearing the urban legends of the days without the beauty of Warren J. Baker Center for Science and Mathmatics (Building 180) or the extravagance of the Recreation Center prompted me to investigate the differences between the current Cal Poly culture and the contrasting culture of four years ago. I decided to check in with a few graduating seniors who could share the disparities in their experiences and discuss how they feel the culture here has changed since their days as freshmen. Primarily, I wanted to compare attitudes toward campus culture in terms of nightlife, recreation, school, clubs and activities. When people think of our culture on campus, an immediate connection is made to the “Cal Party” label our student population often emulates. Regardless of whether or not you partake in this niche on campus, it is a blatant aspect of our culture. The past few years, however, have beckoned an evolution in the way we experience this. Electrical engineering senior Kevin Peters classified the party scene as diminishing at best. “I feel like the party culture in some of the previously
well-known party apartment complexes like Mustang Village and Cedar Creek (The Jungle) has really disappeared,” he said. These apartment complexes are home to large volumes of students who, in past years, welcomed mayhem and chaos into their homes with few reservations. Today, it’s a different story. With heightened security measures courtesy of the complex property managers, it’s almost impossible to expect a gathering greater than 15 people to go unnoticed. Business administraton senior Megan Minahan analyzed the differences in one of the most popular Saturday night destinations, Hathway Avenue. “I feel as if Hathway [sic] is pretty quiet most weekends and San Luis Obispo in general has definitely gotten a lot quieter,” she said. “I tend to not go out as much and find myself downtown,” she said. This phenomenon has plunged San Luis Obispo into a rather lethargic period, with few solutions to the crackdown on our beloved party scene. One such way to fill the void was the development of a more music-centric San Luis Obispo, one that thrives of f of l ive mus i c and spontaneous shows. These serve as a replacement to students’ thirst for a weekend thrill, albeit a different kind than a packed apartment full of strangers, which used to be the Friday night norm. Business administration senior Parker Glenn has noticed this transition and notes
there is developing interest in these performances. “Since coming to Cal Poly, student interest in live music has increased,” he said. “Attendance at house shows in San Luis Obispo were often met by the same dedicated crowd, and I b elie ve that crowd has evolved to include more s t u d e nt s n ow t h a n i t did previously.” Another shift that has occurred in the past few years is an increased enthusiasm for a more collective identity on campus. Economics senior Daniel Estes has seen a shift in campus climate and attitudes toward social issues. “There has definitely been an increase in activism on campus over the past few years,” he said. “Events like ‘Take Back the Night’ have b e c om e m ore p opu l ar, and sexual assault advocacy is more widespread.” It is important to look at where we have been, but also to ask where we are going. Perhaps we are progressing on multiple levels, creating a more diverse culture than the typical university has to offer. Our values, beliefs and interests are imperative here and have become expansive in measure through some necessary transitions. Looking to the future, I am curious whether Cal Poly will see an exponential growth in activism. Will we pursue inovative ways of having a good time on Saturday night? Is there an opportunity for more diverse perspectives to be heard on campus? We’ll just have to chat again in four years, Mustangs.
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Thursday, May 14, 2015
SPORTS | 8
De Los Santos chases Cal Poly golf history in NCAA Regional Stephan Teodosescu Having completed his round already, Justin De Los Santos stood on the 18th green of the San Luis Obispo Country Club watching UC Irvine senior Pete Fernandez line up his birdie putt. If this were a typical round, De Los Santos, the Cal Poly men’s golf team’s top individual this season in terms of scoring average, would have been in the clubhouse eating his post-round snack, waiting for the other golfers to finish their 18. But this was different. The sophomore had to stay loose in the event of a playoff with Fernandez. De Los Santos entered the final round of the 2015 Big West Conference Men’s Golf Championship two shots off Fernandez’s lead in third place, but a double-bogey on the 14th hole and a bogey on the 16th by the Anteaters’ top man opened the door for him. De Los Santos, who had been in the clubhouse with a one-under 69 for nearly an hour before Fernandez’s group came to the final hole, made sure to watch as his closest competitor on the weekend tried to hole the potentially match-tying putt. Fernandez’s stumbles on the back nine necessitated he sink a 40-foot downhill putt for birdie to at least force a playoff with De Los Santos. A miss would give the latter the win. It didn’t go in. It took three rounds and all 54 holes to decide a winner. But with that, De Los Santos earned the victory, besting the rest of the Big West field with a two-over 212 throughout the championships held on April 26-28. He didn’t know he’d won the conference title until “literally it was official,” De Los Santos said. “It was after (Fernandez) missed his birdie putt on 18 is the only time I knew. I was preparing for a playoff.” What a time to get his first career collegiate victory. “It was almost surreal,” De
Los Santos said. “I didn’t know how to react. It didn’t really hit me, honestly.” De Los Santos clinched the conference’s automatic individual berth to the NCAA Regional competition, to be held May 14-16, and became just the second Cal Poly golfer to win a conference championship. Former three-time conference Athlete of the Year Travis Bertoni took home the title in 2005. As the lone individual qualifier from Cal Poly (the Mustangs finished sixth as a team in the Big West championships), he will be placed in the regional hosted by the University of San Diego at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, California, starting on Thursday. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each of six regionals advance to the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship, held at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida, later this month. De Los Santos will attempt to become the second Cal Poly men’s golfer to move on from regional play after former standout Geoff Gonzales placed fourth in the Colorado Regional in 2011 to advance to the NCAA Finals. He’s already joining elite Cal Poly golf company by simply reaching the postseason. Bertoni (PGA’s Web. com Tour) and Gonzalez (PGA Tour Canada) both turned pro following their Mustang careers. “He was recruited to take Geoff’s place,” head golf coach Scott Cartwright said of De Los Santos’ potential. “Last year he was Freshman of the Year in the Big West, this year he won the Big West, so we anticipate that we’ll get a full, solid season out of him where he may not win the Big West, but he should advance to the regionals every year.” Should he advance every year? That’s some supreme confidence, not to mention pressure, in a young golfer. But in talking to De Los Santos, expectations such as that don’t
faze him. “He’s pretty mentally stable,” Cartwright said. “He doesn’t get too high or too low.” That’s an important quality in someone who plays arguably the toughest mental sport on the planet. In fact, he says once he saw Fernandez’s putt miss at the Big West championships, his teammates showed more emotion than he did. “I was just smiling, my teammates were the ones going crazy,” De Los Santos said. “It wasn’t even me that was jumping up and down.” Make no mistake, though, winning the Big West title was the biggest accomplishment of his career, he said. He’ll have a chance to make more history at The Farms this week. The top five teams, consisting of five players each, will advance to the NCAA championships in Florida. He’ll have to be lowest scorer of all the remaining players who don’t qualify by virtue of their team advancing to move on. “It’s really difficult to advance,” Cartwright said. “He’s got to be lowest of the next (50) guys (that don’t advance with a team). And these are all the guys that are the No. 1s and 2s of their teams.” The competition at The Farms will include five teams ranked in the top 25, according to Golfweek. com. Cody Blick of San Jose State is the top-ranked individual not on those teams, as he’s tabbed at No. 49 in Golfweek’s rankings, while De Los Santos sits at No. 389. The tournament will also have an added twist, as wet weather is supposed to come through the area on Friday. The goal is simple for De Los Santos, though. “I want to be there going into the last round, the last nine holes,” he said. “I at least want to have a chance at being the top individual.”
@steodosescu
CAL POLY ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS | COURTESY PHOTO SOCAL BOUND | Sophomore Justin De Los Santos will represent Cal Poly this weekend at the NCAA Regionals.