Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Volume LXXVII, Number 80
SEMESTERS Despite recommendations by faculty, students and President Armstrong himself, Cal Poly will convert to the semester system within the next decade as part of a CSU decision for all schools to be on the same calendar.
NHA HA/MUSTANG DAILY
WORD ON THE STREET How do you feel about the semester decision?
“I’m not that surprised, but kind of disappointed that the students’ opinion wasn’t given more weight.” •Lawrence Smith mechanical engineering senior
“I think the quarter system is a defining trait that makes Cal Poly Cal Poly.” •Chris O’Meara recreation, parks and tourism administration junior
94 percent said no
MUSTANG DAILY STAFF REPORT news@mustangdaily.net
C
al Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong announced that the school will likely convert to semesters sometime within the next 10 years in a campus-wide email on Monday, despite recommendations to the contrary by the president’s Semester Review Task Force and Associated Students, Inc. (ASI). “If all goes as expected, Cal Poly (will) begin the process of converting to semesters by the end of the decade,” Armstrong wrote in the email. Though the decision may seem sudden, the road to actual conversion is a long one.
be involved, and determine what the campus as a whole thinks about the decision,” Fernflores said. “I’m still digesting the decision, but we always knew that semesters were a possibility.” Soon after, Armstrong announced he would continue to pursue exploration into semester conversion, prompt-
We do not have to begin this decision until the end of the decade. We have a good six to eight years to work though, and continue to focus on our goals.
Decision-making Cal Poly first began discussion of switching to semesters at the beginning of the school year, when Armstrong created the Semester Review Task Force with the intent to examine how Cal Poly would theoretically convert to semesters, and the feasibility of such a decision. In December, the task force concluded with a recommendation to Armstrong for Cal Poly to stay on the quarter system. Task Force chair Rachel Fernflores said the task force did everything it could to keep Cal Poly on its current calendar, but in the end, the decision rested with the chancellor. “All that the committee could do is study, know what would
discuss the implications of putting all campuses on one calendar system. In an email to the chancellor on Feb. 9, Armstrong officially recommended Cal Poly stay on the quarter system, citing the Semester Task Force Review report and ASI’s recent advisory vote as main reasons. “While I started the consul-
— JEFFREY ARMSTRONG CAL POLY PRESIDENT
ing several open forums and a February ASI student advisory vote on the topic. The advisory vote revealed more than 89 percent of students favored sticking to quarters. Armstrong, who has long been a proponent of semesters, then met with California State University (CSU) Chancellor Tim White and several other campus presidents to
tative process with the view that Cal Poly should convert, today as a result of the exhaustive process Cal Poly has been through, I believe that it is not the right time for our campus to convert from quarters to semesters,” Armstrong wrote. Despite this recommendation, Armstrong said White decided this week to begin transitioning the entire CSU
system to a semester-based calendar, though the decision is still not an official one. “The chancellor ... is moving down a pathway toward a decision that all quarter campuses would convert to semesters on a phase-in basis,” Armstrong said. “And this would mean Cal Poly, we would convert as well.” According to Armstrong, this phase-in would begin once the CSU officially decides to convert the remaining quarter campuses (six, including Cal Poly). Because of the school’s strong opposition against conversion, Cal Poly will be the last CSU campus to switch, Armstrong said. “In recognition of our Task Force Report, the student vote, the ASI Board of directors vote, my recommendation, the campus-wide vote of the students, the Academic Senate — all of those factors — we were given more time,” Armstrong said. “We do not have to begin this decision until the end of the decade. We have a good six to eight years to work though, and continue to focus on our goals.” CSU Public Affairs Assistant Liz Chapin said no official CSU announcement of the plan will be made until the chancellor has finished meeting with all campus presidents
MUSTANG DAILY POLL Do you approve of the CSUs plan to convert all campuses to semesters?
6 percent said yes
see SEMESTERS, pg. 2
CAUGHT ON THE WEB
The transition is going to suck, but they’re not doing it to piss us off, •Jessica Carter business administration sophomore
T W I T T ER
M US TA N GDA ILY. N E T
FACEBO O K
Chris Blackmer @_huck @mustangdaily “...what is best about quarters and retain those ...” Looking forward to seeing how they fit 3 classes a year into 2 semesters!
Mike S. mike.sudolsky@gmail.com I can understand why bureaucratic officials would want to simplify their lives and have the entire CSU on one calendar ... But it’s a real shame to hear Armstrong is going along with them despite the clear position of the enitre Cal Poly community. Come on Armstrong, do your job and represent the students.
Kalei White Disappointed. Our school should be trying to distance itself from other CSUs in my opinion.
MDnews 2
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Cal Poly Society of Women Engineers breaks stereotypes ARYN SANDERSON
asanderson@mustangdaily.net
Men dominate Cal Poly’s College of Engineering. A whopping 81.5 percent of the college — some 4,410 students — are men. Despite being a minority on campus, female engineers have made the Cal Poly chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) one of the largest in the nation. General engineering senior Cait Rahm is often the only woman in her engineering classes. When she walks into a class on the first day, she is greeted by strange looks that ask: Why is a girl here? Instead, Rahm is asking: Why aren’t more girls here? Through SWE, Rahm, the vice president of outreach, and other members are working to answer this question and inspire growth in the next generation of female engineers. “A lot of young girls don’t think they’re smart enough to pursue engineering,” Rahm said. “They say, ‘Oh, it’s all math and science,’ or ‘Oh, it’s just for boys.’ They don’t have the confidence. But, when we go in as females and tell them it’s something they can achieve, the effect is really heartwarming.” SWE is hoping to empower
the next generation of women engineers, from elementary to high school age, Rahm said. The club, which has approximately 250 members, was recognized as an outstanding collegiate section at the national Society of Women Engineers Conference in early November and won best outreach series for its work with future female engineers. Laura Harris, Cal Poly SWE president, said although the state of diversity in the workplace is improving, it is still important to stress the multifaceted nature of engineering to younger girls. “The stereotype of an engineer seems like a man job — people imagine this really industrial setting and heavy equipment, trains, robots,” Harris said. SWE aims to dispel the stigma that engineering is math and science-based only, Harris said. “There’s so much variety and creativity, in engineering,” she said. “People don’t know what all engineering includes, so we need to explain the variety of engineering out there.” The national Society of Women Engineers awarded the Cal Poly chapter’s “High School Shadow” outreach program its highest honor. During the spring High School
People don’t know what all engineering includes, so we need to explain the variety of engineering out there. LAURA HARRIS CAL POLY SWE PRESIDENT
COURTESY PHOTO
This past week, the Cal Poly branch of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah to participate in SWE Region B Conference. Shadow program, approximately 50 high school students who were admitted to Cal Poly came to campus and each admitted student spent a day in the life of a Cal Poly engineer. Approximately 95 percent of program participants were female high school students. When Harris participated in the program, she had a quiz in an engineering class, and her high school shadow was given a copy of the same quiz to try
out. Harris’ shadow ended up choosing Cal Poly. “It’s cool to see people who shadow you come to Cal Poly and become members of SWE,” Harris said. Once female engineers come to Cal Poly, SWE makes sure a support system is in place, Vice President of Member Relations and industrial engineering junior Angela Asgekar said. SWE tries to be an asset to its members, Asgekar said.
“It’s empowering and important to see other strong, smart women in engineering doing well,” Asgekar said. “SWE provides a support system for women in engineering at Cal Poly. We try to reach out to the younger generations, but we’re still very member-focused.” The club awarded more than $25,000 in scholarships to 29 different recipients. Funding for scholarships comes primarily from indus-
try sources. Accordingly, four of Cal Poly SWE’s top nine donors — Raytheon, Boeing, Chevron and Lockheed Martin — were ranked in 2012’s Top 50 Employers for Workforce Diversity by “Workforce Diversity for Engineering & IT Professionals Magazine.” Engineering might be a man’s world for now, but SWE is determined to break — or, at least, redesign — the glass ceiling.
SEMESTERS
it’s more financially prudent and helps with registration, then I’m all for it.” For others, it was the manner in which the decision seems to contradict campus recommendations made by ASI and the president’s Semester Review Task Force that was the most upsetting. “I’m just surprised that after everyone voted, they went to semesters, even though everyone voted for quarters,” liberal studies freshman Maddie Wilmont said. Psychology junior Nathan Honeycutt, who was a student representative on the task force as well as a current ASI Board of Directors representative, said he disagrees with how the decision goes against both organizations’ findings. “Eighty-nine percent of Cal Poly students said no to converting (in the ASI advisory vote), and look what happened,” Honeycutt said. “I know Cal Poly students will do well on whatever calendar system we have, it’s just the nature and caliber of students here. But it was clear students wanted to stay on quarters.”
more of an opportunity to examine what makes it excel. Because Cal Poly will not switch for six to eight years, the school has time to examine everything that makes it a successful institution and figure out the best way to implement these in a new calendar, Armstrong said. “What are two things that are really special about quarters?” Armstrong said. “Pace and the variety of courses. We have time now to look at how we make sure the appropriate pace and the variety of courses can be embedded in a semester system.” Armstrong said he realizes there are strong feelings about the conversion, but he hopes the campus can keep an open mind moving forward. And for anyone who still has questions, he encourages them to contact him personally, he said. “I’ll be happy to talk to students, I’ll be happy to talk to parents, faculty, staff, absolutely,” he said. “I think that discussion is appropriate, I know there are other people in administration that will be willing to talk. ... My point to the people who have a disagreement with this is to take a deep breath, read it through again. If you have questions, you know, contact me, contact the office, we will be happy to talk to them.”
continued from page 1
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and constituents. “The committee is moving toward that decision, but there has not been an official decision made,” Chapin said. Semesters and reactions Though it’s not official, the plan does have wide-reaching impacts at Cal Poly, where students, staff and faculty have voted multiple times to preserve the quarter system. Shortly after the announcement, discontented shouts echoed throughout the campus community. For some, such as business administration senior Athena Fowler, the announcement was upsetting because some prefer quarters to semesters overall. “I’m glad I’ll be graduated,” Fowler said. “They’re going to have to change all the curriculum, so that kind of sucks for all the teachers ... I really like the quarter system a lot, so that sucks for all the new kids coming in.” Construction management sophomore Nick Carrera also said he liked quarters better than semesters. “The quarter system was one of the reasons I chose to come to Cal Poly, and I think it’s kind of a shame that they’re deciding to switch,” he said. “But if
The next 10 years Despite strong feelings among campus members, Armstrong said the switch, which is expected to occur before the end of the decade, is less of a loss to the school’s uniqueness, and
Kaytlyn Leslie, Sean McMinn, Sara Natividad and Laura Pezzini contributed to this article.
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Tuesday, March 12, 2013
WORD ON THE STREET How are you getting ready for finals week?
“A lot of studying in the library.” • Kaitlyn Maracle agribusiness freshman
North Korea ends 60-year armistice TOM LASSETER McClatchy Newspapers
North Korea canceled the armistice agreement on Monday that nearly 60 years ago brought a cease-fire to the Korean War, leaving a world of analysts wondering how far the secretive police state will go to show its displeasure with South Korea and its American ally, which still has 28,500 troops based here. The move, reported by the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper, was anticipated — Pyongyang had said last week that it intended to do so in the wake of new U.N. sanctions over its nuclear weapons program. But the ramifications of the development — the papers cited a military spokesman as saying the armistice had been “scrapped completely” — are far from clear. Pyongyang is infamous for
issuing dramatic but empty threats, such as turning its enemies into an apocalyptic “sea of fire.” The North has also announced on several previous occasions that it was pulling out from the armistice, most recently in 2009. So on Monday evening, life appeared from the outside to go on as normal in South Korea’s sprawling capital, which lies just 31 miles from the North Korean border. Lights twinkled atop skyscrapers, young men wearing hipster glasses waited for buses, and cars zipped across a lacework of urban roadways. Yet this crisis has a graver cast than previous North Korean bombast. In December, North Korea launched a satellite into outer space, a step seen as an advance in its ballistic missile program. Then last month, the country conducted a successful test of a nuclear weapon.
South Korea said Monday that its calls to a hotline maintained between the two countries went unanswered. Seoul’s Ministry for Peninsular Unification said that the North “seems to have disconnected the emergency link,” according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency. The last time North Korea disconnected the hotline, in 2010, the North killed four South Koreans when it shelled an island and was accused of torpedoing a South Korean naval ship, killing 46 sailors. But Yonhap also reported that the North had not severed another North-South communication line, this one to a North Korean industrial zone where South Korean companies operate. South Korea’s new minister of unification, Ryoo Kihljae, said Monday that despite the current strains, “holding
talks is critical.” Yonhap paraphrased Ryoo as saying that “depending on future developments, South Korea can examine ways to offer humanitarian support to the North.” Still, he noted, “It is hard to discuss other matters when the North is making military threats.” North Korea has in the past week threatened to wage war against both the United States and South Korea. Judging the seriousness of those words is complicated by the clutter of past threats that have gone unfulfilled and the fact that North Korea is among the most opaque and unpredictable nations in the world. Still, there has been a notable ratcheting-up of tension since the December rocket launching that the United States and others say marked a significant advance in North Korean missile technology.
Meanwhile, a statement by the North Korean military last week, carried by state press, threatened a nuclear exchange. “The U.S. imperialists seek to attack the DPRK even with nuclear weapons,” the statement said, using the initials for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Pyongyang, the statement threatened, “will counter them with diversified precision nuclear strike.” The North is not thought to currently have the capacity to launch such an attack on the continental United States, but its neighbors to the south were not pleased. The South Korean military responded by “warning it would strike back at the North and destroy its ‘command leadership,’ if provoked by Pyongyang,” according to Yonhap.
Boy charged with felonies for prank calls ANDREW BLANKSTEIN Los Angeles Times
“Sleeping in the library.” • Jacob Brandt philosophy senior
“Taking them one at a time.” • Mike Burns business administration senior
“Trying to get my sleep in now.” • Christina Hulick political science senior
“Getting everything in order and finishing projects.” • Matt Gordon industrial engineering senior
A 12-year-old who allegedly made prank calls to police sent officers rushing to sites that included the homes of actor Ashton Kutcher and singer Justin Bieber, admitted to the allegations in a petition against him in juvenile court, authorities said Monday. The boy, who is not being identified because of his age, was charged by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office in February with four felony counts of making false bomb threats and computer intrusion. His admission before Juvenile Court Judge Christina L. Hill on Monday was to two felony counts: making false bomb threats and computer intrusion counts related to “swatting.” A misdemeanor was added to the juvenile petition Monday: falsely reporting an emergency in connection to a call at the home of Bieber. The two other felony counts and the misdemeanor are expected to be dismissed at sentencing. Authorities said those felony counts and the misdemeanor can factor into the judge’s decision in sentencing and in setting restitution to victims in the case, which include the celebrities and law enforcement agencies, among them the LAPD and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Sentencing has yet to be set and Hill accepted a petition to transfer the case for sentencing to the county where the boy currently resides. Sources familiar with the case said the youth is from Riverside County. The LAPD investigated the case with the Long Beach Police Department and FBI. Authorities said investigators have strong evidence linking the boy to several incidents
involving calls or electronic messages that were sent to police and prompted a tactical response including callouts of SWAT officers, hence the term “swatting.” In addition to Kutcher and Bieber, the boy targeted several other victims, including local businesses, LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith said at the time of the arrest. Investigators do not believe that Miley Cyrus, whose residence also was targeted in a “swatting” hoax, was part of the boy’s alleged pranks. In one of the incidents, on Oct. 10, Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies received a report claiming a gunman had fired shots and was threatening to harm police when they showed up. The message was received through a TTY device typically used by the deaf to type text over the telephone. Unaware it was Bieber’s residence, deputies arrived in force. They searched Bieber’s residence and interviewed people on the property, who told them no such call had been made and that the pop star was away on tour at the time of the incident. They determined the incident was a hoax. A week earlier, Los Angeles police dispatched several units and tactical officers to Kutcher’s home on Arrowhead Drive after they received a report through a TTY device; it supposedly was from a woman who said she was hiding in a closet because there was a man with a gun inside her residence, according to sources familiar with the case. But after interviewing workers who were briefly held at gunpoint at the actor’s home, as well as contacting Kutcher himself, LAPD investigators determined the incident also was contrived.
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
What your Facebook likes say about you JESSICA GUYNN Los Angeles Times
You are what you like on Facebook. That’s the conclusion of a new study published Monday that says your Facebook “likes” reveal a whole lot more about you than you might think — including how old you are, how you vote, whether you are liberal or conservative, if you have a high or low IQ, if you are an introvert or if you are gay, even if you use drugs. The study was a collaboration of the Psychometrics Lab at the University of Cambridge and Microsoft Research Cambridge. Researchers analyzed data from 58,000-plus American Facebook users who had sup-
plied their profiles and “likes” through Facebook’s myPersonality app. Then they made some educated guesses about personalities and behavior. And that may not get a thumbs up from people who get click-happy on Facebook, indiscriminately liking articles, photos, status updates or any one of millions of pages for their favorite brand, celebrity, movie, TV show or pop star, never once stopping to think what this public information says about them. Think about it: Last year there were some 2.7 billion new likes on Facebook. That’s an ever-expanding body of data for marketers to mine. According to the study, Facebook likes that predict intelli-
gence include thunderstorms, “The Colbert Report” and curly fries. Low intelligence could be linked to likes of Sephora, “I love being a mom,” Harley Davidson and Lady Antebellum. Gay men apparently like Mac Cosmetics and “Wicked,” the musical. For straight men, it’s Shaq, Wu-Tang Clan and “being confused after waking up from naps.” The researchers say this kind of data has commercial potential in the pitching and designing of products and services. “For example, online insurance advertisements might emphasize security when facing emotionally unstable (neurotic) users but stress potential threats when dealing with emotionally stable ones,” they said.
4.7 earthquake hits Riverside FRANK SHYONG JOESPH SERNA CHRISTINE MAI-DUC Los Angeles Times
Monday morning’s magnitude 4.7 earthquake in Riverside County was the largest temblor to hit the Los Angeles region in three years and has produced more than 100 aftershocks. It caused no major damage, but it was felt over what seismologists said was an unusually large area. The quake was initially recorded as three separate quakes because a foreshock tricked seismographs into recording multiple quakes of multiple sizes, said Susan Hough, a U.S. Geological Survey seismologist. Earthquakes of a 4.7 magnitude are typically only felt about 120 miles away from the epicenter, but Monday morning’s quake traveled farther, shaking coffee cups as far as Los Angeles. That’s because the quake occurred in the San Jacinto Mountains, which are composed of hard granite rock that transmits energy more efficiently, Hough said. The quake occurred along the
San Jacinto Fault Zone, which runs through San Bernardino, San Diego, Riverside and Imperial counties roughly parallel to the San Andreas Fault. It’s one of three fault zones that absorb friction from the motion of the North American continent and the Pacific plates rubbing against each other. “It’s capable of generating moderate to large earthquakes,” USGS seismologist Robert Graves said. “Today’s activity was not out of the ordinary. Actually, it’s pretty typical of the area.” There is some evidence that the largest quake ever recorded in the fault zone, a magnitude 7, occurred sometime in the early 1800s, Graves said. The fault zone has generated eight earthquakes of magnitude 6 or larger in the last century, Graves said. Approximately five earthquakes of similar size have occurred within 20 kilometers of the area within the past 20 years, he said. The most recent large earthquake in the fault zone occurred in 1968. The magnitude 6.5 Borrego Mountain earthquake severed power lines in
San Diego County, cracked plaster in Los Angeles and rocked boats docked in Long Beach for five minutes, according to the California Institute of Technology’s website. That quake struck just a few miles to the south of Monday’s. “It’s a good idea to take it to heart and make sure you’re prepared,” Graves said. “We live in Southern California, and we have lots of active faults; and every once in a while, it’s large enough to cause damage.” Monday’s quake caused some items to fall to the floor at a local market in rural Anza. And it created some anxious moments for people who felt it. Holly Lawson was working in a campground kiosk at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, approximately 60 miles south of the epicenter when the windows in her tiny kiosk began to rattle. The rolling rumble lasted approximately six seconds, she said, and she could see a man outside in his truck as it swayed back and forth. “The truck was actually physically moving,” Lawson said.
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Tuesday, March 12, 2013
The body after Adderall
Is it worth it? Sam Gilbert is a journalism sophomore and Mustang Daily health columnist.
informed on what Adderall is. This drug contains both amphetamine and dextroamphetamine. Basically, they both stimulate the central nervous system and affect chemicals and nerves in the brain linked to hyperactivity and impulse control. According to WebMD’s website, Adderall and amphetamines are prescribed for narcolepsy, attention
this medication. According to the Slate article “The Adderall Me: my romance with ADHD meds,” It’s the week we’ve all been approximately one in five dreading since the moment college students has taken winter quarter began. Yes, you Adderall or Ritalin, a closely guessed it: dead week. related drug, in order to inIn my opinion, the buildup to crease studying habits. finals is almost worse than the Joshua Foer, the author of actual exams themselves. The the article, performed a study anticipation of what is to come on himself by taking the drug and the thought of for a week to see immense studying how he would just kind of puts be affected. a damper on the “I just felt I’ll admit I’ve taken a leap fantasy of going to more directed, the beach in this less distractof faith (or a few) with this beautiful 75 deed by rogue gree weather San thoughts, less stimulant. Luis Obispo has d a y - d r e a m y,” provided for us. Foer said. However — However, Foer not that it’s a big also admitted not secret or anything — there deficit hyperactivity disorder feeling like himself. is a way to make studying a (ADHD) and depression. A study was done by the Unilittle more bearable. Beneficial Although it seems obvious to versity of Pennsylvania to see adrenaline and focus can come stay away from drugs not specif- the effects Adderall has on cogin the form of a study drug ically prescribed to you, it is also nitive and divergent thinking. known as Adderall. tempting to want to dabble to inThe results showed cogniA lot of apprehension comes crease studying time and focus. tive thinking was enhanced with taking the drug when it’s I’ll admit I’ve taken a leap for those with lower-pernot actually prescribed to you. of faith (or a few) with this forming abilities, as well as Is it safe? Will it really enhance stimulant. I’ll also admit I defi- those with higher-performstudying and memory? Is it nitely felt more focused, moti- ing abilities. Divergent thinkworth it to take the drug, even vated to get everything done ing, however, was only enwith its side effects? and studied for a longer time hanced for those with lower First of all, we should all be while under the influence of performing abilities and im-
wellness101 paired for those with higher performing abilities. “These medications allow you to be more structured and more rigid. That’s the opposite of the impulsivity of creativity,” Eric Heiligenstein, clinical director of psychiatry of the University of Wisconsin, is quoted as saying in the study. The most enticing part about taking these study drugs is the euphoric feeling you get, as well as the motivation to continue studying. The short-term effects, according to the dependency.net article “Amphetamine Dependence-Signs of Amphetamine Use Vs. Abuse, Tolerance,” include alertness, lack of fatigue and a rise in blood pressure. The user becomes hostile, yet focused, as well as less hungry, tremulous and twitchy. The worst part about tak-
ing a study drug is definitely the come-down feeling after the high. According to the same article, the user endures fatigue, exhaustion and depression. These symptoms can last up to two days and make the user yearn for more. Basically, you feel incredibly drained, you want to sleep but you can’t, you have a slight headache, feel nauseous at the thought of eating and you become a little irritable. Not the best feelings, if you ask me. What is even worse than the short-term effects, however, are the possible longterm effects. According to the dependency.net article, after several trials in using Adderall, possible effects include dangerously fast heart palpitations, breathing difficulties,
skin problems, malnutrition from not eating, exhaustion and seizures. The most common effect that should be seriously considered is dependency. Psychological and physical dependence on the drug begins after the first time using Adderall when it’s not specifically prescribed to you. Individuals start to think they can’t study without it and begin to lose focus when they haven’t consumed a study drug. Although not everybody is affected in the long-term, it is important to be informed on what could possibly happen and how your body is processing Adderall. Makes you think twice about how many cracked-out people there are in the library right now, doesn’t it?
“Deuce” • PHOTO CREDIT David Jang •
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Tuesday, March 12, 2013
MUSTANG DAILY FILE PHOTO
A new family member
Splash Café and Artisan Bakery on Monterey Street will bake up gluten-free goodies to sell at the restaurant’s soon-to-be location in the space Mondeo Pronto occupied before closing.
Splash Café adds new location downtown ARYN SANDERSON
asanderson@mustangdaily.net
The love story of Joanne and Ross Currie steamed up over a bowl of clam chowder. At the time, more than two decades ago, Joanne — general manager at F. McClintock’s Saloon — and Ross — who worked for Budweiser — would sneak off during their lunch breaks to Splash Café in Pismo Beach for a bowl of creamy soup by the beach. During one of the couple’s routine romantic lunch breaks, Ross let the owners know he and Joanne were interested in purchasing the restaurant. His phone rang the next day. “We were newlyweds, and we just wanted to work together,” Joanne Currie said. The Curries took ownership of Splash Café in Pismo Beach in 1991. Now, 22 years later, Joanne and Ross just welcomed their first grandchild, and they are about to welcome a third location to the Splash franchise. This next location will join Splash Café in Pismo Beach and Splash Café and Artisan Bakery on Monterey Street, which opened in 2005. “We’re still in the same boat,” Currie said. “We just really enjoy doing projects together.” This time around, the Curries have their eyes on downtown. The restaurant, which will be called Splash Café Seafood and Grill, plans to move into the space formerly occupied by Mondeo Pronto, which closed in late January after 17 years in the location. Although the restaurant’s closing came as a shock to many San Luis Obispo residents, Splash Café Seafood and Grill’s new neighbors are welcoming, Currie said. “They’re really happy about it,” she said. “Chino’s and Pizza Solo seem very happy to have a vibrant, new business to bring more foot traffic to the Downtown Centre.” Splash Café Seafood and Grill will continue the brand of the franchise with bright, bold
coloring — and the famous clam chowder. Splash Café Seafood and Grill will serve all the signature foods Splash Café is known for, including the clam chowder, fish tacos and bakery desserts, but the emphasis is moving from the fryer to the grill. “We will have all the signature items, but we will emphasize more fresh fish and grilled fish items,” Currie said. Future patrons should expect “fancy salads,” paninis and “healthier, fresher” cuisine. Additionally, the bakery at Splash Café and Artisan Bakery on Monterey Street is creating more gluten-free options for the new location. They’re even perfecting a recipe for gluten-free sandwich bread. As for a new signature, a steakhouse salad is in the works for Splash Café Seafood and Grill, and Currie has high hopes for the new menu item. Customers can choose steak or shrimp. The salad will be served in a sourdough bread bowl, like the famous clam chowder, and the core of the bread bowl will be sprinkled with garlic and Parmesan cheese. “I don’t know if it will actually end up being a signature item, but it certainly will be yummy,” Currie said. “Menu development is definitely part of the fun.” The current Splash locations have strong sales, Cur-
rie said. Oftentimes, people are lined up out the door. The restaurant makes approximately 40,000 gallons of clam chowder a year, Currie said. And on a busy day, Splash Café and Artisan Bakery will make more than 2,000 bread bowls. The Monterey Street location has been “steady as she goes,” Currie said. She’s expecting the downtown location to get busy as well. “There’s not really casual seafood downtown,” Currie said. “It’s not like another burger place is coming; we’re something new.” Earth sciences senior Nick Pisano said the new location is also more convenient for drivers. “The parking here’s terrible,” Pisano said, motioning to the packed parking lot behind the Monterey Street location. The Monterey Street location has made its impact on business administration freshman P.J. Gaur, who likes the clam chowder bread bowl topped with bacon. Although the uptown location is closer to campus for freshmen like him, Gaur said, the downtown location lends itself to more of an outing. “If I want to go someplace after, like Batch, I’ll go downtown,” Gaur said. Splash Café Seafood and Grill will likely open midMay, Currie said. MUSTANG DAILY FILE PHOTO
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Tuesday, March 12, 2013
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CSU should not force semesters on Cal Poly
NEWS EDITOR Kaytlyn Leslie ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Carly Rickards ARTS EDITOR David Liebig SPORTS EDITOR J.J. Jenkins STAFF WRITERS Jefferson Nolan, Laura Pezzini, Aryn Sanderson, Stephan Teodosescu, Allison Montroy CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Sara Natividad, Kelly Trom FREELANCE REPORTERS Erin Abzug, Joseph Corral, Ashley DeVriend, Carly Hume, Jacob Lauing, Amanda Margozzi, Sean McMinn, Jessica Burger COPY EDITORS Holly Dickson, Kassi Luja, Erica Husting, Samantha Sullivan HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER Maggie Kaiserman PHOTOGRAPHERS Ian Billings, Nha Ha, David Jang DESIGNER Ali Weiss ILLUSTRATOR Bryce Snyder ADVERTISING MANAGERS Katie Amegin, Eric Pocock, Mikaela Vournas ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Christian Antaloczy, Willie Blades, Rachael Burnham, Bianca Galvez, Chelsey Higgins, Connie Lewis, Raleigh Nelame, Thalia Navarro, Nicole Oltman, Dylan Rodgers, Alissa Rogers, Becca Waltrip GRAPHIC DESIGN MANAGER Katie Witkop ART DIRECTOR John Larwood PRODUCTION MANAGER Natalie Annin GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Jenna Alvarado, Nicole Bergmann, Kelsey Lancaster, Melanie Lapovich BUSINESS Kelsey Carvalho, Sarah Diekneite, Alison Leung, Lauren Ramirez PROMOTIONS DIRECTOR Katie Russ MARKETING TEAM Marika Nieratko, Taylor Riley, Annie Tomasek SPECIAL SECTIONS COORDINATOR Jennifer Young FACULTY ADVISER Brady Teufel GENERAL MANAGER Paul Bittick
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The following is an editorial representing the Mustang Daily staff ’s viewpoint on the California State University system’s decision to convert Cal Poly to semesters: It took one year of research, 23 task force members, a 685-page report and a vote from 7,250 students to realize Cal Poly would do well to stay on quarters. Call it overkill, but no one will say it wasn’t thorough. And it shouldn’t have been for nothing. Cal Poly learned Monday about plans to move the campus from quarters to semesters by the end of the decade. Though it was University President Jeffrey Armstrong who told students, faculty and staff of the plans, the proposal itself appears to have come straight from the office of the California State University (CSU) Chancellor, Timothy White. “Chancellor Tim White is moving down a pathway toward a decision that all quarter campuses would convert to semesters on a phase-in basis,” Armstrong told Mustang Daily. “And this would mean Cal Poly, we would convert as well.” Though Armstrong faced criticism for how he went about reviewing semesters, he did eventually recommend White leave all quarter campuses untouched. Monday’s decision, Armstrong said, was a “compromise” between Cal Poly and the CSU: The campus will switch to semesters, but be the last campus to do so. In a letter Armstrong wrote to White during early February, he introduced the Semester Review Task Force’s extensive work completed in fall quarter as reason to stay on quarters. Among other arguments for quarters, Armstrong cited task force-estimated costs of more than $20 million and the loss of priceless opportunities for the university as it shifts resources to focus on switching to semesters. The president even admitted the Semester Review Task Force shook his own preconceived idea that semesters are generally a better system. “Cal Poly has been through a careful and (in-depth) process concerning the subject of converting to semesters or staying on quarters,” Armstrong wrote to the chancellor. “My position is to support the thoughtful and overwhelming recommendation of Cal Poly stakeholders to stay on quarters.” It’s understandable that White wants all schools on a common calendar. After all, the university system is attempting to trim administrative costs as it turns the corner from hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts during the past four years. But spending millions of dollars more to convert campuses to semesters is not the answer to the CSU’s problems. And while Armstrong claims the benefits of having all schools on the same calendar outweigh the losses Cal Poly will face, there is no available report by the CSU outlining exactly what these benefits are. Not only this, but the CSU has agreed to pay approximately threequarters of conversion costs. With tuition high and stagnant faculty pay still in effect, where will the university system find money to finance this? Armstrong said he doesn’t know, and the CSU won’t comment on semester conversion until plans are further along in the chancellor’s office. So for now, Cal Poly is left with multiple questions after a wide consensus of the Cal Poly community demonstrated a pro-quarters stance. There appears to be little that can be done now, with Armstrong resigned to White’s compromise and the system moving closer and closer to semesters. But that system is running in a different direction than what the campus wants. And while Cal Poly is part of the system, it shouldn’t be married to it. If quarters are what have worked for Cal Poly, why not stick with it?
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My position is to support the thoughtful and overwhelming recommendation of Cal Poly stakeholders to stay on quarters. JEFFREY ARMSTRONG CAL POLY PRESIDENT
Tuesday, March 12, 2013 Volume LXXVII, Number 80 ©2013 Mustang Daily “A moose is too much food for a whole family”
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MUSTANGS MONOPOLY Schlemer earns Player of the Year honors MUSTANG DAILY STAFF REPORT
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Call it a four-peat. For the fourth consecutive year, a Cal Poly women’s basketball player has won the Big West Player of the Year award. This time around, junior center Molly Schlemer won the conference’s top honor after leading the Mustangs to a 13-5 record in conference play, 1910 overall, and a No. 2 seed in the Big West tournament that begins later this week. Former Mustangs forward Kristina Santiago won the award during the 2009-10 and 2011-12 seasons and guard Rachel Clancy took the honor in 2010-11 while Santiago recovered from a knee injury. Schlemer led the Mustangs in scoring, averaging 12.7 points per game, while racking up 20 blocks and pulling down 6.8 rebounds per game. She shot 55.6 percent from the floor while establishing a dominant presence as the tallest player in the league. “I was really excited for Molly, but also for the team because, in my experience with coaching, it’s the team that wins the award,” head coach Faith Mimnaugh said. Schlemer’s breakout junior season followed two years in which she averaged fewer than four points per game while San-
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Junior center Molly Schlemer averaged 12.7 points per game in 2012-13 as the Mustangs earned the No. 2 seed in the Big West tournament. tiago and Clancy took the bulk of the Mustangs’ scoring attack. “We saw the spot open for somebody to take over, and me and (redshirt sophomore guard) Ariana (Elegado) came in as freshmen together and we always talked about how we would be very successful by our junior year,” Schlemer said. “We took that and ran with it.” This season, she put up 10
points or more in 20 of the Mustangs’ 29 games, including a 28-point performance against Big West regular season champion Pacific in a triple-overtime victory. Schlemer credited her performance this season to solid play from guards Jonae Ervin and Elegado. “This year has been great because of the way our team plays
together,” Schlemer said. “The way the guards get me the ball, the way people are shooting outside to get me open has been really nice.” Ervin finished the regular season leading the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio with 2.97 assists for every turnover. Elegado was the team’s secondleading scorer, averaging 12.1 points per game and connect-
ing on 67 of her 173 3-point attempts (37.8 percent). Senior guard Kayla Griffin, along with Ervin and Elegado, earned Big West honorable mentions. The Mustangs will face the second lowest remaining seed in the Big West tournament semifinals on Friday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Schlemer said after be-
ing held to four points against Long Beach State this past Saturday, she won’t let teams take her out of the game during the Mustangs’ push for a programfirst NCAA tournament bid. “I need to stay focused and stay confident and just finish all the shots that I get open,” she said. Jefferson P. Nolan contributed to this report.
Eversley earns All-Big West first team honors MUSTANG DAILY STAFF REPORT
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Forward Chris Eversley capped off a blazing Big West regular season performance by taking home All-Big West first team honors on Monday. Senior guard Dylan Royer, who earned a scholarship prior to his senior season at Cal Poly, was awarded Big West honorable mention. Eversley was the only Cal Poly player to average double-figure scoring, posting 16.8 points per game and pulling down a teamleading 7.8 rebounds per game. He scored 30 points in a victory over Cal State Northridge on Jan. 26 and led the team in scoring in 16 games. He started 27 games this season, missing two contests to a lower leg injury. “I’m obviously excited about it, but I think of awards as a sign of what you’ve done in the past,” Eversley said. “I’m already looking forward to Thursday.” Royer was one of two players
to start all 29 of Cal Poly’s games in 2012-13 and emerged as the Mustangs’ 3-point specialist. He hit 75 of 182 attempted 3-pointers (41.2 percent), including a game against UC Santa Barbara where he hit seven 3-pointers, one shy of the Cal Poly record. The Mustangs face UC Davis in the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. The winner of the tournament earns an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. “I wasn’t happy with the way we ended the season last year with the loss to UC Santa Barbara in the semis,” Eversley said. “It’s been a long time coming, 368 days since then, I’ve been keeping count of it. UC Davis is a great matchup for us. We matchup well with them at every position, so it should be a good game for us to test the waters of the conference tournament.” Stephan Teodosescu contributed to this report.
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Junior forward Chris Eversley averaged 16.8 points per game this season, en route to a spot on the All-Big West first team.
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