Issuu

Monday, June 1, 20 15

w w w.mus t angne w s .net

E s t abl ished 19 16

4,200 ‘turn up’ for first Spring Stampede

BRENNA SWANSTON | MUSTANG NE WS SLOCHELL A

JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NE WS

| (Left to right) The Knocks, Sage the Gemini and Hoodie Allen threw down at the ASI Spring Stampede this past Saturday, making Cal Poly’s first festival-style concert a success. Mustang News Staff Report @CPMustangArts

Sage the Gemini towered on stage before a sea of more than 4,200 Cal Poly students, pausing his set for a moment to make an observation. “I don’t mean to offend,” he said. “But this

is a big white crowd.” His audience laughed knowingly as Sage went on to say he loved the dynamic, that “white people know how to turn up” and, “They don’t care, all they want to do is dance.” Hoodie Allen followed Sage, also calling out some Cal Poly stereotypes: “All the girls are

fucking beautiful and all the guys like go to the gym and work out.” He even snuck in a freestyle reference to the St. Fratty’s Day roof collapse. The crowd ate it up.

see STAMPEDE, pg 3.

The ups and downs for greek life in 2014-15

see page 2 for a timeline of greek life this year.

CAL POLY ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS | COURTESY PHOTO THE SHIP | Junior distance runner Ashley Windsor placed third in the 1,500-meter event last weekend.

JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NE WS RECAP | Greek life has had many events this past year, ranging from social probation to disaffiliation.

Olivia Proffit @ojproffit

This past school year in greek life has brought many surprises, with two suspensions, two probations and the creation of new legislation such as the Students Taking Action Towards University Safety plan (STATUS). Interfraternity Council (IFC) President Alex Horncliff reflects on this past year. “I think every year, you’re going to run into

problems. It’s impossible to predict what’s going to happen in the year. This year had a lot of variables, some of which led to good things, a lot of which led to strong countermeasures, but that’s just how it goes,” Horncliff said. “It’s really indicative of the progressive idea that we need to take more responsibility as greeks.”

see GREEK TIMELINE, pg 2.

Windsor and Bryan earn spots at NCAA Track and Field Championships Jesse Summers @summers10jesse

Cal Poly track and field juniors Ashley Windsor and Danielle Bryan earned bids to the NCAA National Championships this past weekend at the NCAA West Regionals, hosted by Texas. Windsor broke her previous personal record in the 1,500 meter, helping capture her spot for the finals in Eugene, Oregon. After racing a 4:18.54 at the Big West Championships, she cut down her time by nearly three seconds, posting

a 4:15.90. This time also puts her in the Cal Poly record books, as she now sits third all time in the 1,500-meter category. Windsor placed third among all competitors, earning the guaranteed berth in the championships awarded to the top five finishers. She will race in the national semifinals on June 11, which will feed into the national finals events just two days later.

News... 1-2 | Arts... 3-5 | Opinion... 6 | Classifieds... 7 | Sports... 8

see TRACK & FIELD, pg 8.

Monday, June 1, 2015

NEWS | 2 GREEK TIMELINE continued from pg 1. This school year brought the loss of two fraternity chapters; Delta Sigma Phi and Pi Kappa Alpha. Pi Kappa Alpha was suspended for party violations and a reported sexual assault. Delta Sigma Phi has been disaffiliated because of Student Code of Conduct and Cal Poly Fraternity and Sorority Life Alcohol and Drugs Policy violations.

“I think that’s a huge blow. Those are two large houses. Delta Sigma Phi is one of the longest-standing fraternities at Cal Poly. It’s a difficult thing to see that they are in that position. Obviously, the actions of a few members or a single member have led to a huge history of men that have done great things for Cal Poly now no longer being affiliated with this campus,” Horncliff said. “The same for Pi Kappa Alpha. It’s a bummer — a

huge history of guys being leaders now being overshadowed by men that may have made some bad decisions.” And let’s not forget about the 13 weeks when all greek life was on social probation, which led to the creation of the STATUS plan. “I think our biggest accomplishment was taking the challenges we were faced head on and working together between the three councils. We were all able to set aside whatever differences we had

IFC recruitment draws a record number of potential new members Approximately 1,100 men participated in fraternity recruiment in Fall 2015. About 400 of those men were accepted to join fraternities. Interfraternity Council greek organizations saw an 88 percent bid acceptance rate, with the average number of bids per house increasing by three to 28 bids.

and establish a common goal and then work towards it together,” Panhellenic President Kristen Henry said. But it wasn’t all bad news — philanthropy events, sexual assault awareness and the promise of two sororities coming to campus in the following years shed some positive light on greek life. “I’m a strong believer in looking forward and moving forward and looking back in a way to see what we could improve on for the fu-

ture. I don’t think there’s anything that I would change,” Henry said. As this year comes to a close, so does Horncliff ’s reign as IFC president. Mechanical engineering senior Alex Campbell will take over as IFC president for the 2015-16 school year. Henry will continue as Panhellenic president until December 2015. In response to whether Horncliff will miss being IFC president, he said, “Yes and no. Yes

Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) gets suspended for a minimum of six years

Delta Tau Delta joins the Cal Poly community Delta Tau Delta joined Cal Poly greek life and recruited its first class at the end of October, making it the national fraternity’s 136th chapter.

After a reported sexual assault at a Halloween party at a PIKE-affiliated house, Cal Poly began investigating PIKE and suspended the fraternity first in November 2014. In January, PIKE was officially suspended for a minimum of six years, with 20 days to appeal the suspension.

Oct. 30, 2014

Oct. 7, 2014 All greek life placed on social probation

Jan. 1, 2015

Greeks Against Sexual Assault Every Friday in February, at least two members of every fraternity attended training sessions for Greeks Against Sexual Assault to learn about sexual assault and the culture surrounding it. Each session had at least 60 attendees.

Following the third reported sexual assult related to greek life this school year, all greek life was placed on social probation for at least 30 days until they could come up with an action plan to prevent future sexual assaults.

Jan. 13, 2015 Apr. 10, 2015

Feb. 15, 2015 May 3, 2015

May 13, 2015 Delta Sigma Phi disaffiliated from Cal Poly

Greek Week Greek life taken off social probation After 13 weeks, greek life was taken off social probation on April 10, allowing chapters to host registered parties.

because you get to make great connections and do great things by putting the right people in the same room, and you get to really be an influence on individual chapters and help make a difference. No because it’s great and I do have a life to live, and it is a time-consuming job. But for all of the time that it took up, it was worth every minute.” Below is a timeline of some important dates in greek life this past year.

Greek Week 2015 hosted at least one event every day of the week to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Jack’s Helping Hand. Some of the events were for greek members only, while others were open to the public.

After investigation, it was revealed that Delta Sigma Phi (DSP) members had knowledge of the distribution and selling of drugs within the chapter. The chapter had six violations of the California Code of Regulations governing standards of student conduct. DSP was disaffiliated and is planning on appealing the suspension.

GR APHIC BY ZACK SPANIER

JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NE WS

Monday, June 1, 2015

ARTS | 3

STAMPEDE continued from pg 1. This wasn’t the first time Cal Poly students had seen bigname musicians perform on campus: In the 2013-14 academic year, Steve Aoki, Jason Mraz and Atmosphere rolled through San Luis Obispo to play at campus venues. But this past Saturday’s ASI Spring Stampede — featuring The Knocks, Sage the Gemini and Hoodie Allen — was the first festival-style concert in Cal Poly’s history. And for the most part, Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) pulled it off. ASI knew the event would be big. Program coordinator Missi Bullock said the event team included 10 University Police Department (UPD) officers and 40 Miller Event Management security officers for artist security, crowd control, perimeter monitoring and mandatory bag checks and pat-downs. They expected an audience of 4,000. They got an audience of 4,278. The event’s popularity wasn’t always so obvious. The ASI Sports Complex opened to ticketholders at 2:30 p.m. An hour later, electronic music duo The Knocks opened the concert — and the crowd was scant. But between The Knocks’ and Sage the Gemini’s sets, waiting fans poured into the sports complex area. Where there had been no line for hours, a column of impatient students dressed in their “SLOchella” best stretched from the bag checks around the perimeter of the parking lot. The line seemed unmoving as people slowly worked their way through the security tables. Sage was slated to kick off his set at 4:20 p.m. Tensions rose in the line of students as the artist’s hour grew near and then passed — he was 10 minutes late, then 20, then 25. Those stuck in line shuffled anxiously toward the entrance,

It was amazing. Everybody was white, but it turned up. I love white people. SAGE THE GEMINI

JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NE WS GAS PEDAL | The crowd blew up for Sage the Gemini’s performance, during which he announced how much he loved the “big white crowd” because they “know how to turn up.”

hoping not to miss the beginning of the rapper’s performance. The moment Sage stepped onstage, the tension broke into cacophony as excited cheers from the crowd on the grass clashed with disappointed wails from the line in the parking lot. The Spring Stampede went on. Despite the enormous line to enter the venue, one part of the event went practically unnoticed by those attending: the food. Food trucks and tents filed along the complex’s sideline, advertising Jamba Juice, Ciao!, Monster energy drinks and Curbside Grill. Small clusters of students occasionally moseyed toward the food area, but its customer lines were negligible next to the huge crowd swelling on the grass before the stage. But the artists were an undebatable hit: As big as the event was, the musicians found a way to

make it feel personal. Recreation, parks & tourism administration sophomore Ria Vinod said this was the best part of the concert. “Both the artists took to heart the fact that they were coming to Cal Poly, and they incorporated that into their lyrics, which was awesome,” Vinod said. Sage made shoutouts to Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo through his set, which eventually moved away from performing his own material. Instead, Sage ended up dancing with his audience to other artists’ music, including “I’m in Love With the Coco” and “Turn Down for What.” After exiting the stage to explosive applause, Sage took time to meet and talk with fans from across the barricades. In a post-performance interview with Mustang News, Sage said he would “most definitely” return to Cal Poly if he was in-

BRENNA SWANSTON | MUSTANG NE WS ‘NO FAITH IN POLY’ | Hoodie Allen made an effort to meet and connect with his audience members.

vited back. “It was amazing,” he said. “Everybody was white, but it turned up. I love white people.” Hoodie also ventured from his own material in an effort to connect with the crowd, busting out “My Own Worst Enemy” by Lit. He also spun a Cal Poly-themed freestyle, tossed two large cakes into the audience and altered the lyrics to “No Faith in Brooklyn” to (and perhaps this crossed the cheesy threshold) “No Faith in Poly.” Even after making such an effort to personalize his performance, Hoodie capped off the event by working along the audience’s frontlines and taking selfies with anyone who wanted one. “I think it’s really cool that Hoodie took time to walk along the entire fence afterward to say ‘hi’ to all of his fans,” liberal studies sophomore Rachel Hum-

phrey said. “I think that’s a good way to publicize as well as treat his fans who came out to support him today.” But Hoodie doesn’t see those kinds of gestures as favors to his audience — he’s just giving back a little of what his fans have given him. “You spend a lot of time as an artist writing, and you never know what the outcome is gonna be or what the intended audience is,” Hoodie said in an interview with Mustang News. “And then when you show up and see people who have been memorizing your songs and who have been fans for so long, it makes it all worthwhile. It’s special and I appreciate every opportunity.” The ASI Spring Stampede had its kinks: The line moved inefficiently, the food wasn’t exactly enticing and the whole event seemed to move along at an

uneven pace. Bullock said UPD made at least four arrests during the festival, two of which were for harassing police officers. UPD said the most commonly “confiscated” items were GoPros, though those carrying GoPros were usually permitted to return them to their cars before entering the event. Vinod said she wished ASI would have eased up on some of its rules, such as no inflatables and no sitting on people’s shoulders. “But overall, it was pretty good,” she said. “There wasn’t that much that I, like, hated.” Because the most important part of the day was the music. And the music killed it. Brittany Graham, Georgie de Mattos, Olivia Proffit, Brenna Swanston and Shelley Westerson contributed to this report.

Monday, June 1, 2015

ARTS | 4

HARRISON CHEUNG | MUSTANG NE WS CROWD-PLEA SER

| “Whose Live Anyway” killed it at the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center this past Thursday, giving its audience the comedy it loves from “Whose Line Is It Anyway.”

7 things I learned from ‘Whose Live Anyway’ Annie Vainshtein @AnnieVain

Families and students filed into the three-tier shelves of the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center on Thursday as the cast of “Whose Live Anyway,” a touring improvisational comedy and song show starring comedians from “Whose Line Is It Anyway,” prepared to take the stage. The tender sounds of gospel and R&B legends caressed the auditorium as the audience braced itself for an evening of laughter-induced abdominal exercise. They say improv is merciless, and indeed it was. Comedy veterans Jeff Davis, Greg Proops, Joel Murray and Ryan Stiles, and musical director Bob Derkach per-

formed a 90-minute set. It flew by and was more enjoyable than any Jillian Michaels workout video. As much improv does, the night relied on audience-generated content. We were fascinated by the Santa Maria love story of Tom and Nancy, a couple pulled onstage who had been together for 26 years and ostensibly admitted to having something to do with a certain green plant. We were marveled by an audience volunteer’s initial reluctance but ultimate willingness to disclose highly personal details about her marriage’s gradual destruction. Outwardly, we dreaded the idea of being called on stage. Secretly, we sat up higher in our seats, yearning to be one of the chosen. The four comedians talked just

about as fast as people clapped, joking about subjects from socialism to global conspiracies, from life-sized tennis to Pismo Beach — in fact, they joked about Pismo Beach a lot. They fed off of rhetorical hyperbole and dad jokes. At some point, Murray subjected himself to what he claimed was 10 minutes of squats (in reality, it was only about two). The men were authoritative but considerate of each other, playful and strikingly intelligent. They knew everything about Schnauzers, could freely reference different types of Pinot and knew exactly the right moment to plug in some talk of The Princess Bride. After the show, I sat down with Proops to talk about performing, confidence and how to not

pee yourself on stage. Proops is a stand-up comedian from San Francisco who performed on “Whose Line Is it Anyway?” several times. Here are seven things I learned from my conversation with Proops: 1. Even veteran improv comedians stumble. “Things happen unexpectedly,” Proops said. “One time we called up this boy onstage, and he made this loud piercing noise we didn’t know was coming. You just have to give over to whatever happens.” 2. In terms of confidence, “fake it ‘til you make it” isn’t enough. “You have to want to be on stage,”

Proops said. “It’s a commitment. I perform hundreds of nights a year — if you want to do it seriously, you have to be on stage all the time.” 3. Proops is the smartest man in the world. He has a podcast called “The Smartest Man in the World,” available for listening on iTunes. He has a book, too, also called, The Smartest Book in the World. 4. Success is a bad teacher. “There’s no replacement for failure — failing is the best thing you can learn from,” Proops said. 5. Improv isn’t about talking. While I was certainly impressed by the comedians’ vivaciousness and seemingly encyclopedic

style of chatter through their set, talking is not the main focus of improv. Talking isn’t the focus at all. Improv isn’t about showing off — it’s about listening, Proops said. “Listening is key,” he said. “Ryan (Stiles) is the best I know. He always stays in scene. I’m always thinking about something I can say next.” 6. Mistakes are golden opportunities. His mantra? Leonard Cohen’s optimistic take on success, from his hit song, “Anthem.” “There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” 7. Proops’ biggest fear is peeing onstage. Thankfully, it hasn’t happened. Yet.

Monday, June 1, 2015

ARTS | 5

‘Aloha’: Wandering narrative a waste of potential

JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NE WS

David Llamas @CPMustangArts

After watching and re-watching its trailer a few times, I wanted to like Aloha. I wanted to like it a lot. While the trailer didn’t show any discernible plot beyond the comedy-drama standards of ex-girlfriends and jaded leading men, it felt like a throwback to the sentimental dramas of the ’90s. For two and a half minutes, Aloha looks like it could be fun. Unfortunately,

Aloha offers little more than its trailer. At 105 minutes, the film is short and scattered but somehow manages to feel much longer and unfocused. Far less serious than he was in American Sniper, Bradley Cooper plays Brian Gilcrest, a defense contractor who ... well, it’s kind of unclear what he does, but we’re led to believe by voiceover and exposition that he’s a cynical, “sad city coyote” of a man. After something goes

horribly wrong — and unexplained — in Kabul, Afghanistan, Brian returns to Hawaii for “a crappy second chance.” On his return to Hawaii, Gilcrest reunites with Tracy (Rachel McAdams), an old flame he hasn’t scene in 13 years. Tracy is married to Woody (John Krasinski), a laconic pilot who doesn’t like to talk about his feelings. During his five scheduled days in Hawaii, Gilcrest is escorted around by Captain Allison Ng (Emma Stone), whose chipper personality clashes with Gilcrest’s in that rom-com couples always do. The predictable love triangles begin to take shape. Stone is believably peppy — and occasionally manic — as Captain Ng, though her character’s portrayal becomes problematic when we learn she is supposed to be one-quarter Hawaiian and one quarter Chinese — and half Swedish. In a Hawaiian-set movie with a nearly all-white cast, Stone’s casting raises questions. But writer-director Cameron Crowe would rather we focus on something else, so Aloha shifts into music video-like montages of Captain Ng jogging and looking indefatigably happy. Its trailer makes sure to re-

mind us that Aloha comes from Crowe, the writer-director of Jerry Maguire, but comparisons with the classic 1996 movie do not favor Aloha. While both could be accused of being just a little too sentimental, “Aloha” never earns its emotional payoff. As a result, a final scene intended to work as a tearjerker leaves the viewer uncomfortably dry-eyed while Cooper’s eyes begin to water. (Maybe it was just easier to get away with that kind of sappiness in the ’90s.) Even though there may be more offenses to enumerate, Aloha still manages to be enjoyable in a heartfelt, if embarrassing, way. One thing Aloha succeeds in is putting beautiful people in pretty places. As wonderful as it is to see Cooper and Stone exchange clunky, barbed dialogue, the movie’s $37 million budget tries to up the stakes by placing these conversations on scenic Hawaiian hillsides. Recent movies like The Descendants got more out of their Hawaiian setting without ever feeling as offensively touristy as Aloha does. During its brief (and occasionally unbearable) runtime, Aloha searches for something of substance to say but can’t quite

decide what that is. During the movie’s first half, Captain Ng and Tracy’s son Mitchell (Jaeden Lieberher) refer repeatedly to Hawaiian mythology and history, but by its third act Aloha seems to have settled on becoming an indictment of military privatization. Neither of these emphases are convincing on their own, but perhaps some forethought could have unified the movie and saved it from meandering. Aloha isn’t so much a trainwreck as it is an example of wasted potential. The movie’s cast is up to the task, and it even

livens up the movie’s most expositional and cliche dialogue. But Aloha’s wandering narrative proves too much to bear, and though scenes work individually, their work is quickly undone by the next scene’s unrelated focus. Crowe has proved himself capable of directing movies with palpable heart and conviction. Regrettably, Aloha never reaches the heights of Say Anything’s John Cusack holding a boombox over his head or Jerry Maguire’s “You had me at hello.” We’ll always have those movies, but Aloha never shows us the money.

QUICK FACTS Actors

Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Alec Baldwin

Rating PG-13 Run Time Setting

105 minutes Honolulu, Hawaii 18% not-so fresh (Rotten Tomatoes)

Monday, June 1, 2015 MUSTANG NEWS Graphic Arts Building Building 26, Suite 226 California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, CA 93407

CONTACT EDITORIAL (805) 756-1796 ADVERTISING (805) 756-1143 CLASSIFIED (805) 756-1143 FAX (805) 756-6784

EDITORS & STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jacob Lauing MANAGING EDITORS Kyle McCarty, Kayla Missman BROADCAST NEWS DIRECTOR Morgan Butler COMMUNITY OUTREACH DIRECTOR Melissa Nunez SPECIAL SECTIONS COORDINATOR Suha Saya NEWS EDITOR Benjy Egel ARTS EDITOR Brenna Swanston SPORTS EDITOR Nick Larson BROADCAST CONTENT PRODUCER Leah Horner BROADCAST SPORTS DIRECTOR Trent Merfeld BROADCAST SPORTS PRODUCER Allison Edmonds COPY CHIEF Drew Gorman PHOTO EDITOR Joseph Pack OPINION EDITOR Eric Stubben HEAD DESIGNER Jordan Dunn SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Rachel Sun WEB EDITOR Kenny Gurney STAFF REPORTERS Savannah Sperry, Lindsy Mobley, Olivia Proffit, Michelle Logan, Frances Griffey, Annie Vainshtein, Will Peischel, Rafael Salinas, Jesse Summers, Harry Chang, Georgie de Mattos, Shelley Westerson, Stephan Teodosescu, Nicole Shanley, Keenan Donath, Sky Zimmerman, Rebecca Ezrin COPY EDITORS Jen Silva, Kristine Xu DESIGNERS Zack Spanier, Lauren Wallack, Meghan Legg OPINION COLUMNISTS Eric Stubben, Garrett Ahern, Liana Riley PHOTOGRAPHERS Ian Billings, Christa Lam, Illiana Arroyos, Daniel Dempster, Harrison Cheung, Jason Hung, Andrew Epperson ADVERTISING MANAGER Connie Lewis ART DIRECTOR Albert Chang PRODUCTION MANAGER Joseph Hewison MARKETING MANAGER Nikole Knak DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Kalei White ASSISTANT ADVERTISING MANAGER Maddie Spivek ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Anna Seskind, Ashley Safari, CJ Estores, Ian Taylor, Johnny Galvez, Kenney Young, Kristen Corey, Melissa Mubaraki, Sam Patterson, Shakti Rajput, Victoria Howland, Taylor Clarke, Madison Fleming ADVERTISING DESIGNERS Jordan Triplett, Scott Cutler, Micaela Pacini, Erica Patstone, Ally Bender MARKETING ASSOCIATES Kelly Witkop, Ross Pfeifer, Kelsey Payton FACULTY ADVISER Pat Howe GENERAL MANAGER Paul Bittick

WRITE A LETTER Mustang News reserves the right to edit letters for grammar, profanities and length. Letters, commentaries and cartoons do not represent the views of Mustang News. Please limit length to 250 words. Letters should include the writer’s full name, phone number, major and class standing. Letters must come from a Cal Poly email account. Do not send letters as an attachment. Please send the text in the body of the email. EMAIL editor@mustangnews.net ADVERTISING EMAIL advertising@mustangnews.net MAIL Letters to the Editor Building 26, Room 226 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 ONLINE mustangnews.net

CORRECTIONS Mustang News takes pride in publishing daily news for the Cal Poly campus and the neighboring community. We appreciate your readership and are thankful for your careful reading. Please send your correction suggestions to editor@ mustangnews.net.

NOTICES Mustang News is a “designated public forum.” Student editors have full authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval. Printed by UNIVERSITY GRAPHIC SYSTEMS ugs@calpoly.edu Mustang News is a member of Associated Collegiate Press, California Newspaper Publishers Association, College Newspaper Business and Advertising Managers and College Media Advisors. Monday, June 1, 2015 Publishing since 1916

“Just turn the volume down!”

OPINION | 6

How the Master Plan hurts Learn By Doing Eric Stubben @ericstubben

Eric Stubben is a mechanical engineering junior and Mustang News conservative columnist. These views do not necessarily reflect the opinion or editorial coverage of Mustang News. Innovation. Renovation. Revitalization. These words could be keywords in any political campaign. Their connotation strikes excitement and hope. Unsurprisingly, forms of these words also appear in Cal Poly’s recently released Master Plan. Some aspects of the Master Plan are truly interesting and would benefit Cal Poly’s Learn By Doing motto or make campus a more invigorating place to live and learn. The Julian A. McPhee University Union (UU) is dismally gray and outdated. A renovation would likely make it a more attractive place for students to convene. Mott Athletics Center sits far under the average capacity for the home of a Division I basketball program — a program that notably made the NCAA Tournament just a year ago. The argument for a new gymnasium is valid. Improving more than a dozen buildings around campus significantly supports our Learn By Doing commitment, especially as many of these are classroom-heavy buildings. Asside from these renovations, other ideas in the Master Plan are highly questionable, seemingly coming out of left field. More housing? A hotel and convention center on campus? Are these ideas and uses of funds the best way to educate students? After all, the main goal of any university is to educate its students. Prove me wrong, but I fail to see how an on-campus hotel supports Learn By Doing. The housing, hotel and

convention center, along with an increased capacity for food services seem to be driven by outside resources and alternative motives. “Let’s be honest, the dorms and food service are about making money,” said one engineering professor. “The proposed hotel, making money … And, it seems to me, this money sadly goes to ‘fuel the machine’ and not the educational mission of the university.” Another alarming concern with the Master Plan is its effect on Cal Poly’s agriculture programs. In an email to students last month, the campus group Students for Agriculture expressed their concerns about the threat to their Learn By Doing experience: “The Master Plan land use maps indicate that almost all of our orchards (of which are all on Class 1 soil) and Horticulture facilities could be removed and replaced with student dorms, recreation space, parking lots and a hotel.” Keep in mind that Class 1 soil is the best-rated soil for growing crops. If some of the most forward-thinking ideas in the Master Plan are to be executed (such as the hotel and convention center), they must be built without harming Cal Poly’s coveted Learn By Doing philosophy. Students aren’t the only ones affected by the Master Plan. With campus staff protesting against administrative salary increases and demanding higher pay for the rest of the staff, the Master Plan doesn’t bode well. How can the university justify throwing millions upon millions of dollars at projects with mediocre support when they can barely even pay campus staff a fair wage? If you’re one who typically doesn’t agree with my opinions, think in terms of the environmental impact of the Master Plan. California is in the midst of perhaps its worst drought in

history. The university is taking eye-opening steps to reduce its water usage by letting grass die, an aesthetically ugly term known as “turf reduction.” However, the Master Plan contradicts Cal Poly’s water reduction efforts. Construction and student expansion will only increase the amount of water used in coming years and decades to follow. “The administration should not be promoting more growth and construction during a water crisis,” a Cal Poly alumnus said. “This is not a one- or two-year problem, but at least a decade worth of issues that need to be resolved. The difference with this drought over previous droughts is the total population in the region. We had droughts in the past, but only half the population to support 45 years ago.” Lastly, because the Master Plan focuses so heavily on athletics, so must I. Before I criticize the future athletic plan too much, allow me to disclaim myself. Beyond anything else, I have a profound love of sports. I grew up watching college football from dusk until well past dawn every crisp Saturday fall morning, waiting for my chance to be a student at all of the games one day. But even I cannot justify the leaps that the Master Plan wishes to take in terms of athletics. A new arena, a stadium expansion, a field house: they’re intriguing ideas and surely ones that would increase the caliber of Cal Poly athletics. But isn’t the goal of completing these projects in 20 years a lofty goal? We aren’t exactly a PAC-12 school or mid-major athletic powerhouse (yet). A city of roughly 45,000, San Luis Obispo is far from a major sports market. Even programs with a storied tradition, such as football, struggle to sell out games. On the other hand, athletic success does draw attention

the right angle and applicants to the respective college and nicer facilities do often correlate with recruiting better athletes. Debating the validity of devoting of so many resources to athletic facilities is necessary is a debate worth Cal Poly’s time. Through all of the “complaining” I’ve done, the question remains: What should Cal Poly do? Surely innovation and renovation are necessary to increase the impressive success of Cal Poly. Cal Poly is aleady a well-oiled machine. We have top-ranked programs in engineering, archi-

tecture, business, agriculture, computer science and more. The aforementioned professor had a uniquely accurate way of describing Cal Poly: “A golden apple, created by the work of generations of hard working teachers and students.” The Master Plan should focus on educating students and supporting the overall campus experience. Revitalization and renovation on campus is a positive goal, but it cannot trump the one reason for the existence of a university — education.

Classifieds TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD:

Order online at www.mustangnews.net or call 805.756.1143 a day prior by noon Ads must be prepaid by check made out to Mustangs News or paid by credit card online.

CROSSWORD

CLASSIFIED ADS ARE FREE FOR STUDENTS Stop into MUSTANG NEWS to find out how to place your ad!

POP CULTURE SHOCK THERAPY

SPONSOR THE COMIC! $50 A DAY

CALL 805.756.1143 F MINUS

SUDOKU

SPONSOR THE SUDOKU!

CALL 805.756.1143

$50 A DAY

Monday, June 1, 2015

SPORTS | 8

TRACK AND FIELD continued from pg 1. Windsor will be accompanied by Bryan, who tied for 11th place in the high jump, clearing 5 feet and 10 inches. That mark remains her personal best as she prepares to compete at the national championships. Her previous record was 5 feet and 9.25 inches, which she set at the Cal Poly ShareSLO Invitational. Like Windsor, Bryan secured an automatic spot by finishing in the top 12 of the 48-athlete field. Her person-

al best jump places her in a tie for No. 6 in the Cal Poly record books. The high jump finals will take place on Saturday, June 13, at 1:30 p.m. Two Mustangs, junior Nick Woolf and senior Blake Ahrold, competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Neither was able to qualify for the national championships, as Woolf placed 15th out of 48 competitors and Ahrold finished 33rd. A pair of Mustangs also competed in the triple jump. Junior Kendal Nielsen and

sophomore Ricky Strehlow failed to earn a chance to compete in Oregon. Nielsen would record a 40-foot, 6.25inch triple jump, earning her 32nd place in the women’s triple jump, while Strehlow came in 42nd place with a 47-foot, 10.75-inch jump. The semifinal event for Windsor will be held at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon on June 11, followed by the championships, including Bryan’s high jump event, on June 13. ESPN will be covering both days of events.

CAL POLY ATHLETICS | COURTESY PHOTO

ANCHOR LEG | Cal Poly junior high jumper Daniella Bryan (above) will be joined by junior distance runner Ashley Windsor at the NCAA National Championships held on June 11 and 13 at the University of Oregon.

Tuesday, June 9 8:00 – 11:00 am Coffee from Julian’s and KIND snacks!

BREWS

FREE!

NEWS

OUTSIDE KENNEDY LIBRARY