Mustang News November 27, 2018

C A L P O LY S A N LU I S O B I S P O ’ S N E W S S O U R C E

MUSTANG NEWS

CALIFORNIA IN FLAMES

STUDENTS RETURNED HOME TO DEVASTATION AMIDST CALIFORNIA’S DEADLY WILDFIRES

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NOVEMBER 27, 2018

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IN THIS ISSUE

TUESDAY • NOVEMBER 27, 2018 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS

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Social Media Managing Editor

Video Managing Editor

PR Manager

P H OTO Zachary Donnenfield Carolyne Sysmans Kylie Kowalske Alison Chavez Diego Rivera Connor Frost Maxwell Morais Intern Luke Deal Intern COPY Kelly Martinez Amanda Simonich Jarod Urrutia D ES I GN Calista Lam Director Michelle Cao Solena Aguilar Julia Jackson-Clark D I V ERS I TY Monique Ejenuko Editor Sonya Jindal PR Alyssa Wilson Dominique Morales Kaitlyn Hoyer Mikaela Lincoln Tess Loarie Intern Christina Arthur Intern SOCIAL Lindsay Morris Hanna Crowley Danielle Lee Candace Lee Intern A DV I S O RS Paul Bittick General Manager Pat Howe Print Advisor Brady Teufel Digital Advisor

THE VALUE OF CULTURAL GREEK LIFE PAGE 4

NEW APP WILL LET STUDENTS REGISTER FOR CLASSES CAL POLY COMES OUT WITH NEW APP TO HELP STUDENTS PAY FOR TUITION EASIER FAFSA FAFSA REGISTER FOR CAL POLY CLASSES

BY S AMAN T HA S P ITZ

Gone are the days you need a laptop to register for classes, make payments and accept financial aid. Cal Poly’s University Registrar is working to create a new app that does it all.

“We want to be able to create a more robust and more modern looking app that actually carries the Cal Poly brand — the look and feel of Cal Poly and the way Cal Poly presents itself,” University Registrar Cem Sunata said.

Sunata is working with the University Registrar to build an app that is both informational and transactional. Basic functionalities— such as registering for classes, registering for recreational center classes, accepting financial aid and making payments through the app, are just a few of the elements the university wants to add.

“I know a lot of people have trouble registering for classes,” communication studies sophomore Anika Maney said. “I’ve had registration time in the middle of a class and if I could do that on an app and not have to lug my laptop to a class, that’d be great.”

There are currently two apps associated with Cal Poly: Cal Poly Now and Cal Poly.

The Cal Poly Now app is the official app of

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Student Affairs and offers guidebooks for orientation, Week Of Welcome (WOW), Associated Students, Inc. (ASI), Cross Cultural Centers, University Housing and more. The Cal Poly app contains information about Cal Poly’s student portal, dining, recreation, a campus map and safety.

“Students don’t really know, especially in their first year, whether they’re supposed to use Cal Poly Now or Cal Poly, so it’d be awesome if they could combine them,” industrial engineering sophomore Hannah Casper said.

“Students don’t really know, especially in their first year, whether they’re supposed to use Cal Poly Now or Cal Poly, so it’d be awesome if they could combine them” Sunata is working with Information Technology Services (ITS) to determine the mechanical logistics of the app and is also exploring ways to fund the app.

Funding the app through leftover graduation initiative funds — funds allocated to California State University campuses and used to eliminate challenges towards

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degree progress, is one idea. According to Sunata, the leftover funds can be used in the area of technology solutions to improve academic processes greatly impacting students.

“I think students are always on the go and don’t always want to have to sit down and find a place to use a laptop and find Wi-Fi,” business administration sophomore Jordan Vannucci said. “Having the ability to register for classes or use both apps while at the beach instead of having to be in the library or in your room studying while registering for classes would be easier for students.”

The University Registrar said they want to include student representation in the governing structure as Sunata is working with ASI President Jasmin Fashami and ASI Chief of Staff Luke Haley to collect student input and participation for the campus app project.

“We have certain ideas as to what the students need, but students also have the idea of what they would like to see in the app,” Sunata said. “The students know best as to what they would like to see in there.”

There is no set deadline for the app’s release, but the developmental stages are well underway.

VOLLEYBALL IN FIRST ROUND OF NCAA TOURNAMENT PAGE 13

15,000+ STRUCTURES DESTROYED IN CALIFORNIA’S DEADLY FIRES

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LEVELING THE PARKING PLAYING FIELD BUD DY KENNEDY | COURT ESY, P EP P ERDINE GRAP HIC MEDI A

Fire and smoke seen from Pepperdine University during the deadly Woolsey Fire in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.

BY CASSANDRA GARIBAY & JAKE WENER

Students from Los Angeles, Ventura and Butte Counties who returned home for Thanksgiving break faced devastation from fires that raged for several weeks, but the Woolsey Fire in Los Angeles and Ventura and the Camp Fire in Butte County are officially 100 percent contained.

The Camp Fire began Nov. 8 in Paradise near Chico and spread to a total of 153,336 acres, according to Cal Fire. It decimated 12,972 resident homes, 528 commercial structures and an additional 4,293 buildings. Eighty five people were killed, making this fire the largest and deadliest in California’s history, which was previously the Mendicino-Complex Fire that occurred earlier this year.

The fire reached full containment Sunday, Nov. 25. However, as of Nov. 24, Butte County has reported more than 450 people are still unaccounted for, according to the Sacramento Bee. The Woolsey Fire also began Nov. 8 and was exterminated Nov. 21. The fire burned

96,949 acres and 15,000 structures, and an additional 341 structures were damaged according to Cal Fire. Three people were killed as a result of the fire.

Journalism junior Jake Davis got word from his family when the fire started that they were evacuating his house in Agoura Hills because of the fire.

“I kind of felt like it wasn’t even happening.

I went through the motions and called my parents to check in and they’re okay, but it still hasn’t even registered with me,” Davis said. “It’s so surreal and doesn’t really hit you until it’s actually happening in your neighborhood.”

Gindling Hilltop Camp and Camp Hess Kramer, two Jewish summer camps located in Malibu, were destroyed by the Woolsey fire Nov. 11.

Eighty-seven of the structures destroyed belonged to the Wilshire Boulevard Temple camps, leaving only 10 of the total 97 structures standing.

The two sister camps were founded in 1952.

The burning of the two camps had a large effect on the Jewish community in California, including multiple students at Cal Poly.

LAUR E N CE COTTR E L L | CO URTE SY, PE PPE RDI NE G RA PHI C MED IA COV E R : ST E R L I N G GUA LT I ER I | CO URTE SY, PE PPE RDI NE G RA P HIC MED IA

Communication studies sophomore Evie Schwartz had some of her fondest memories while camping at Gindling Hilltop Camp.

“I grew [up] in an area where I was one of the only Jewish kids, and sometimes it made me feel like I didn’t want to be Jewish,” Schwartz said. “Hilltop gave me a strong sense of community and made me proud to be Jewish.”

Schwartz said it was hard being away from fellow campers while they were all experiencing this tragedy.

According to the 2015 and 2016 Cal Poly Fact Books, roughly 20 percent of each grade’s student population is from the Los Angeles Area. Less than 5 percent of students are from Butte County.

The two deadly fires not only had an impact on those living in the area. Surrounding counties were affected by smoke and poor air quality.

To help students affected by fires, Cal Poly Cares raised $19,215 and is continuing to accept donations. Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) also held a donation drive until Nov. 15.

BUDDY KENNEDY | COURT ESY, P EP P ERD INE GRAP HIC MEDI A

NEW PARKING PASS LOTTERY STARTS IN WINTER

BY J AE LIN W ILSO N

It is no longer first-come, first-serve when it comes to commuter parking passes. This winter, students who receive passes from Transportation and Parking Services will be decided through a lottery.

The new purchasing system is designed to “level the playing field,” according to an email sent out to Cal Poly students.

Students can submit their bid for a parking pass at the Parking Portal for winter until Dec. 2. by going to the “Permits” section toward the bottom of the page and clicking on “Add/Edit Waitlists.” From there, students can choose what permit they want.

Parking Services has received criticism because they do not prioritize parking passes by address — or, by who needs them the most.

“We do not have a mechanism to verify student addresses,” Associate Director of University Police-Parking Services Marlene Cramer wrote in an email.

The randomized results will be released Dec. 3 through Dec. 5.

“When a lottery number is selected, the student will automatically be awarded a permit based on their parking preferences available at the time of the award,” according to a Parking and Transportation Department email to students.

Once “awarded,” students have six days to purchase their pass.

There may be an improvement in parking systems in the future, Cramer said, but Cal Poly is using what resources and technology they have available right now.

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MINORITY STUDENTS FIND COMMUNITY IN USFC MEMBERSHIP IS NOT EXCLUSIVE TO PEOPLE OF ONLY THAT ETHNIC OR CULTURAL BACKGROUND

BY ISA B ELLA PAO L E T TO While walking around Cal Poly’s campus on his first day of freshman year, an unnerving feeling began to creep up on political science senior Jorge Gonzalez: a feeling of discomfort amongst all the people who did not look like him in the slightest.

Gonzalez is Mexican American, a group that only makes up 11.8 percent of Cal Poly’s student population.

These days, Gonzalez finds a sense of familiarity from a cultural group: the fraternity Gamma Zeta Alpha, of which he is also now the president.

While cultural fraternities and sororities have recently been highlighted for incidents of hazing, according to many members, cultural greek life provides a community for minority students and helps with the adjustment to a predominantly white institution like Cal Poly.

Cultural fraternities and sororities fall under the United Sorority & Fraternity Council (USFC) and specifically caters to minority students.

Although each fraternity or sorority is culturally focused, membership is not exclusive to people of only that ethnic or cultural background.

There are currently 10 cultural fraternities or sororities listed under USFC. Some of the sororities and fraternities are specifically Asian American, Latinx Interestbased or multicultural.

When it comes to rules and regulations, USFC, Interfraternity Council (IFC) and Panhellenic Association (PHA) are required to submit their bylaws to the university to be officially recognized; they also must adhere to the Recognized Student Organizations (RSO) handbook.

Each USFC sorority or fraternity ranges in size, with some like Chi Delta Theta and Omega Xi Delta having as many as 22 active members and others like Gamma Zeta Alpha having only 13. In comparison, fraternities in the IFC range from 65 to 137 members.

Cal Poly’s demographics

Cal Poly ranks as the least ethnically diverse university in the California State University (CSU) system, with 54.7 percent of the total population enrolled in 2017 identifying as white.

For Gonzalez and many other minority students, joining a cultural fraternity or sorority is a safe haven and way to connect with people from similar cultures or backgrounds at Cal Poly.

“I think [Gamma Zeta Alpha] changed my experience in [San Luis Obispo] because it has given me not only a community, but a support system that I could always go to,” Gonzalez said. “It’s more than just a friend group, it’s like a family away from home and sometimes I do feel like they’re my biological brothers.”

J O RG E G O N ZA L EZ | M USTA N G N EWS

Gamma Zeta Alpha is one of 10 cultural fraternities or sorroities at Cal Poly in the United Sorority & Fraternity Council.

Civil engineering junior and president of Lambda Sigma Gamma Maria GuerreroGutierrez said coming to Cal Poly was more than just a culture shock.

“I guess WOW [and] SLO Days was the biggest shock for me,” Guerrero-Gutierrez said.

“I literally cried. I was literally putting myself out there trying to talk to people and I saw when people didn’t really wanna talk to me.”

Guerrerro-Gutierrez said attending an institution like Cal Poly is a rarity for people from her predominantly Hispanic town of Firebaugh, California. As a first-generation college student, Guerrero-Gutierrez had to navigate the university experience on her own.

“I had no one to look up to or anything before going to college,” Guerrero-Gutierrez said. “My high school is really bad when it comes to persuading people to go to college.

I didn’t even know what engineering was until I was applying to college, so if you don’t put in the work for it back home, you won’t go anywhere.”

Gonzalez said his experience as a firstgeneration, low-income student was similar.

He said he sees a lot of the brothers in his fraternity struggle with transitioning to college because there are not enough resources

available to them at Cal Poly.

“There’s not someone who actually reaches out to you, that actually makes you feel like you belong here, that you should stay here,” Gonzalez said. “It’s more like, okay, if you don’t do good enough, you’re out, the boot, like we don’t give you second chances. It’s more like you either belong here or you don’t, so figure it out.”

Many of these sororities and fraternities are fairly new to Cal Poly’s campus, making awareness and recruitment difficult. Gamma Zeta Alpha was not established at Cal Poly until 2005; Lambda Theta Alpha was established in 2008.

Improving diversity

Cultural fraternities and sororities put on philanthropic events that tend to focus on creating more diversity or helping the existing community in San Luis Obispo and at Cal Poly.

Gamma Zeta Alpha puts on a soccer tournament every year which funds scholarships for first-generation, low-income students. The fraternity also holds events for middle school and high school students from Santa Maria, Atascadero, Paso Robles and Camarillo to inform them about college and

different majors or career paths.

“We just answer their questions, every little question they have,” Gonzalez said. “Just kind of giving them that exposure to college, knowing that someone from their background is here and kind of planting that seed: [that] we’re here so you can make it, too.”

Lambda Sigma Gamma also tries to focus on philanthropic events that help the minority community, like feeding field workers or donating toys to low-income preschool students, and improve the campus climate at Cal Poly. Cultural sensitivity workshops are put on with other organizations to discuss issues related to the campus climate, GuerreroGutierrez said.

While cultural fraternities and sororities, like Lambda Sigma Gamma and Gamma Zeta Alpha, put on events to try and recruit more minority students, their main emphasis is providing support and welcoming students who are already here.

“Everyone always told me, ‘You’re going to experience such a big culture shock coming to Cal Poly, you don’t even know what you’re getting yourself into,’ and I did, but after meeting [my fraternity brothers], I wasn’t as afraid of it,” Gonzalez said.

BY YA SEL HU RTA DO iCracked Founder AJ Forsythe returned to the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s (CIE) Elevator Pitch Competition 11 years after he pitched his phone repair company idea at Cal Poly.

Now with nearly 800,000 repairs, iCracked, that company, has gained national media attention and Forsythe has been featured on Inc. Magazine’s “30 under 30” list.

“Winning the Cal Poly Elevator Pitch Competition back in 2011 really put the wind in the company’s sail,” Forsythe said.

Forysthe was a fifth year psychology student when the idea for iCracked came to him. He said he was tired of constantly breaking his phone and paying Apple to fix it, so he bought parts and fixed it himself.

“We now have a couple thousand technicians, we partner with insurance companies and retailers and we’re one of Amazon’s largest inhome service providers right now,” Forsythe said.

AJ and his brother Chris Forsythe, cofounder of Rebel Coast Winery, were the keynote speakers at this years competition on Nov. 7 at the Performing Arts Center.

The brothers took the stage after the pitches were made, recounting stories crucial to their growth as entrepreneurs.

Both Chris and AJ started pursuing entrepreneurship while studying and wrestling for Cal Poly’s team. They quit wrestling when they began to take starting their own businesses seriously.

“Our parents cut us off, so we needed to make money. We started businesses out of necessity,” AJ said. “I used to get kicked out of the library every night trying to build a business there.”

The competition

Contestants pitched their ideas on stage in 90 seconds to a panel of judges — think Shark Tank, but less brutal. Only three winners could be chosen, one from Cuesta College, one from Cal Poly, and one chosen by the audience.

Journalism senior Alyssa Mavor won both the Cal Poly prize and the audience choice prize with her idea Local Motive, a web browser extension that shows a local option for anything you want to buy.

“I’m really grateful and excited. It’s still sinking in, I haven’t wrapped my brain around it,” Mavor said.

ZAC H A RY DO N N EN F I EL D | M USTA N G N EWS

Founder of iCracked and alumnus AJ Forsythe spoke to students about the importance of persistence at the 2018 Elevator Pitch Competition.

Mavor said she plans to take her idea to the hatchery, an on-campus program that fosters entrepreneurship initiatives among the student body.

“My pitch was something that I really cared about and thought was possible,” Mavor said.

“I’d really like it to become something someday.”

The winner from Cuesta College was Hannah Goldstein, who pitched Peace Through Coexistence, a business that would bring the local community together through yoga, meditation and music.

STUDENTS BUILD DEVICE TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

BY OLIVIA N ELSON A group of Cal Poly alumni and current students are doing far more than carpooling and recycling to reduce their carbon footprint. The team, called CO2 extrACTION, is working to combat climate change through the creation of a device that will extract carbon dioxide from the air.

Since Winter 2017, they have been working to create a carbon dioxide extraction panel to reduce greenhouse gases and mitigate climate change. The product is now in the prototyping phase, with the goal of an official launch in October 2019.

The device contains a resin and is designed to be added to existing buildings to reduce their carbon footprint. Once added to buildings, the resin in the panel absorbs surrounding carbon dioxide, thus reducing greenhouse gases. Lead scientist and chemistry senior Christian Vian likens the device to a carbon dioxide sponge.

“Imagine you have a tank of water. You put the sponge in it, and it soaks up a bunch of water,” Vian said. “Similarly, we have a closed system with a certain amount of [carbon dioxide] in it. We put the resin in, and when we take the resin out we measure the [carbon dioxide] in that atmosphere. Whatever the difference is now caught in the resin.”

The process of capturing carbon dioxide is called carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The panel performs CDR in a “passive, carbon negative and economically sustainable fashion” as explained on the CO2 extrACTION site. As for how much carbon dioxide the extraction panel captures — Vian had the answer for that as well.

“It extracts 870 grams per day of [carbon dioxide],” Vian said. “That’s equivalent to the amount of [carbon dioxide] that your car emits on the drive to school.”

Vian was brought onto the team in Spring 2018, but the CO2 extrACTION team started with Anna Laird, Megan Hanck and Kristin Fauske, who graduated that same quarter.

General engineering alumnus Laird worked alongside architecture alumni Hanck and Fauske to brainstorm ideas for a multi-disciplinary senior project. They said they were captivated by the state of the planet’s environment and recognized a desperate need for change — thus, the idea for the carbon dioxide extractor was born.

“We identified a large contributor to climate change as the amount of pollution being produced, specifically carbon dioxide, and used that as a starting point for our design process,” Laird said. “Our goal was to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air to help combat the negative effects of climate change.

We conceptualized the CO2 Extractor ... and got to work solidifying the design.”

Hanck said she hopes the product will lead to a “significant carbon drawdown and an increasing public awareness of environmental issues.”

Though the initial team members have graduated, they have all continued to work with CO2 extrACTION. The team has continued to grow with the addition of Vian and a mechanical engineering student.

Along with the guidance of professors, investments from team individuals and money gathered from competitions, the group con-

tinues to press forward on their mission to counteract climate change.

The next phase for the team, according to Vian, is to gather funds to perfect the product. Most important, he said, is that the team counteract climate change with their carbon dioxide extraction panel, and that other businesses follow suit.

“The motivation here is that there’s too much carbon in the atmosphere and someone needs to do something to bring it down, like now,” Vian said. “It’s not about what can be done in the future, it’s about what you can do to help this problem now.”

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FIRST ELEVATOR PITCH COMPETITION WINNER RETURNS WITH A $25 MILLION BUSINESS

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ROTC WINS REGIONALS FOR FIRST TIME IN 6 YEARS

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The Cal Poly Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) took first place at the regional 2018 Ranger Challenge at Camp San Luis Obispo on Oct. 27.

The Cal Poly ROTC team had not won or hosted the event in six years.

The win advanced the team of cadets to the next stage of the competition, which will be held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Seattle in January. There, the team will compete against the University of Hawai’i and the University of Montana.

“The regional competition offers a series of physically and mentally challenging events that have to do with military proficiency,” Recruiting Operations Officer Ken Harris said.

The competition’s challenges included an obstacle course, weapon qualification using an M-16 rifle, crossing the Chorro Reservoir in Zodiac boats, day-and-night-land navigation, calling for and directing artillery as well as leader reaction courses. The team also treated a casualty during a chemical attack, all while carrying 35-pound ruck sacks.

According to Harris, the whole point of the challenge is to drill down on some of the capabilities that would be expected of soldiers.

“This year we were very well prepared individually as well as the team overall,” ROTC captain and history senior Taylor Palmaffy said.

The annual regional competition hosted 11 ROTC college programs — Cal Poly, Fresno State, UC Berkeley, University of

San Francisco, Santa Clara University, UC Santa Barbara, UC Los Angeles, University of Southern California, San Diego State, Claremont McKenna College and University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The scoring system was based on a scale of 1,900 points. Proficiency of the tasks and a time element were taken into account. Cal Poly scored a close 20 points more than Claremont McKenna, who came in second place.

“It was really the program-wide effort that caused the win,” Palmaffy said.

The team is composed of nine cadets and two additional alternates. In order to make the team, students have to tryout. The tryout requisites include having one representative from each academic class and having at least one female cadet who participates. The rest is primarily determined through proficiency in physical tasks.

The preparation leading up to the event required two hours of work, five times a week.

Now that the team will go to Seattle, they will continue to train one hour, four times a week.

“No one has gone to Seattle before, so we really have to physically and mentally prepare,” Palmaffy said.

If the team wins the competition in Seattle, they will continue to the third and final Sandhurst national competition at West Point Military Academy in April.

“This third competition is a big, well-known event that hosts international teams,” Harris said. “Cal Poly has never made it this far and we really hope to do so.”“Cal Poly has never made it this far and we really hope to do so.”

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C LA R I SS A C LI F TON | COU RT ESY

The Cal Poly Reserve Officer Training Corps will compete in the 2018 Ranger Challenge against other university ROTC programs in a series mental and physical challenges.

BIOLOGY PROFESSOR EMILY TAYLOR IS NOT ONLY PASSIONATE ABOUT RATTLE SNAKE RESEARCH

BY ALYSSA MAVOR When Cal Poly biological sciences professor Emily Taylor leaves the classroom for the day, she always heads straight for the brewery — but it’s not what you think.

Taylor moonlights as a co-owner of 7Sisters Brewing Company, a microbrewery and taproom off of Tank Farm Road in San Luis Obispo that is known for its creative selection of beverages, extensive event calendar and commitment to sustainability.

Taylor, who has taught full time at Cal Poly for 15 years, has made some major lifestyle changes since the brewery opened a year ago, but she said she has loved every minute of it.

“I used to go home at night and sit at my computer," she said. "Now I’m out here enjoying live music at my own place. And I get to walk up to the tap and pour myself a beer.

It’s pretty much the best thing ever."

Professor & entrepreneur

Between juggling research on rattlesnakes and teaching Cal Poly classes like Biology of Sex (BIO 123), Taylor can often be found brainstorming the next beer pairing event or craft grilled cheese concoction to grace the brewery. At the brewery, Taylor claims not only the title of co-owner, but also of social media manager, executive chef and events coordinator. While some people might tear their hair out from the stress of multiple jobs, Taylor said she absolutely loves her work.

Taylor and her business partner, environmental engineer Steve Van Middlesworth, opened 7Sisters in September of 2017, the same day classes started at Cal Poly. In a burst of excitement that day, Taylor told a class of seniors she had just opened a business. Since then, however, she has kept mum about her second job.

“I don’t want people to come here because of me. I want to let them find out on their own,” Taylor said.

Still, word travels fast at Cal Poly, and these days, Taylor’s employees are almost all Cal Poly biological sciences students. Taylor said she loves to hire from the university.

“Our manager says that [Cal Poly students] work way harder than typically people do in the restaurant industry,” Taylor said.

Biological sciences senior Paula Eberle is one such student and said she enjoys the sense of community she and other employees have.

“Everyone here is super fun to work with.

We’re all bio kids so we all have a similar interest,” Eberle said.

Eberle took Herpetology (BIO 324) with Taylor at Cal Poly and recounted a particularly fun field trip they took to the Mojave Desert.

The class camped out together and sang songs long into the night.

“She’s not your typical professor,” Eberle said. “She has always been super fun, and she

KY L I E KO WA LSK E | M USTA N G N EWS

Taylor opened 7Sisters Brewing Company in 2017 with business partner Steve Van Middlesworth. Now some of her employees are students.

loves getting to know students. She’s hilarious.

So already she’s kind of more of a friend than a professor. A friend and someone to look up to."

Sustainable Business Model

The tasting room at 7Sisters has an open-air feel and light pours in through floor-length windows on two sides. Everything was built with repurposed materials in the spirit of the 7Sisters motto, 'Sustainably Brewed.'

Taylor and Van Middlesworth have taken great lengths to bake environmental sustainability into every aspect of their business.

Van Middlesworth, who does the brewing, masterminded a one-tank brewing system to cut down on the environmental cost of making beer.

“The real key into the energy, water and chemical reduction comes from the fact that I do everything in one container. So that means that I don’t have to clean and sanitize three containers and that’s where all the water really is used in brewing,” Van Middlesworth said, who used his engineering background and worked with local manufacturers to make the custom, one-tank system. “My brewing system is completely different from what you’ll see anywhere else, besides somebody’s garage,” he said.

On any given day, Van Middlesworth can be found in the back room of 7Sisters, tinkering with the brewing tanks or crafting new batches of beer. 7Sisters is known for their seven in-house brews, each one named for one of the volcanic peaks that stretches from San Luis Obispo to Morro Bay. With each batch, he and Taylor insist upon creating the most environmentally-friendly product possible.

“I think we need to protect our resources, and I hate waste. Everything I do and everything I design is meant to get the maximum amount

of efficiency,” Van Middlesworth said. "In a few cases, it would be cheaper to do it differently, but that’s not what we’re about.”

Almost every light bulb in 7Sisters is an energy-efficient LED bulb. Additionally, while some breweries use animal product-based clarifying agents in their beer, every one of the beers at 7Sisters is vegan. Taylor goes to extreme lengths to source ingredients on her menu from local vendors and often drives up to Paso Robles to pick up local cheeses, wine and even spices.

Far-out events

One of the biggest ways 7Sisters has made a name for itself in the San Luis Obispo community over the past year is through a jam-packed events calendar. The brewery hosts live music artists almost every night of the week and frequently holds creative fundraisers for local non profit groups.

Chicken bingo, one of the biggest hits from last year, made a reappearance at the brewery on Nov. 3. In a live-action farm-animal version of the classic betting game, Taylor and Van Middlesworth brought in chickens from their backyard and set them loose on a gridded tarp. People bid on sections of the tarp and wherever a chicken did its business, winners got a prize.

Taylor’s favorite event so far has been 7Sisters’ one-year anniversary party in September.

“Planning that party was like the best thing ever,” Taylor said. “It was like planning a party at your house, but having your house have 16 beers on tap for people and being able to get a really great band, B & the Hive.”

The night finished with a show by drag performers, the SLO Queerdos. One of the drag queens was a Cal Poly student who did a flying leap and fell onto her knees. To

everyone’s relief, she was wearing knee pads.

Two worlds

Taylor said she loves both her jobs and has found a supportive community among her coworkers at Cal Poly. Professors often have meetings at the brewery and show up to many of the events.

“My boss at Cal Poly is pretty happy we have the brewery because a lot of the professors come to hang out here,” Taylor said.

“Everything’s better with beer.”

In some ways, Taylor approaches her passion for beer with a biologist’s perspective. She said one of her favorite facts is that people drank low-alcohol beer as their primary beverage throughout hundreds of years in history because the microbes in beer purified unsafe water.

“Beer literally is the reason we’re all alive today,” Taylor said.

Max Goldberg, Emily Fagenstrom and Carter Harrington contributed to this story,

C A RTER H A RRI N GTO N | M USTA N G N EWS

Taylor can often be found brainstorming the next beer pairing event or craft grilled cheese concoction to grace the brewery.

TUESDAY • NOVEMBER 27, 2018 | STUDENT LIFE | MUSTANG NEWS

TEACHING BY DAY, BREWING BY NIGHT

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TUESDAY • NOVEMBER 27, 2018 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS

8

STUDENT CHEF EXPANDS EMPIRE

A COOKBOOK & TEDx TALK: WHERE IS DENCH FOUNDER JIMMY WONG NOW?

BY SON YA J I N DAL Since his news debut last school year, food science senior and creator of pop-up restaurant DENCH, Jimmy Wong has become San Luis Obispo’s resident student-celebrity chef.

Wong swept over the San Luis Obispo food scene, taking part in various events such as the annual Cal Poly Evening of Green and Gold dinner. The success Wong has garnered since his initial media introduction has reached beyond his own expectations.

“When I first started doing the pop-up I thought I’d have to beg my friends each week to come, but I saw how receptive ... and supportive people were even after just the first article,” Wong said. “After that, articles kept on coming and it was crazier and crazier.”

Despite appearing in Cal Poly Magazine, The Daily Meal and ABC’s The Chew, Wong said there is one particular event that truly opened his eyes to the magnitude of his success: cooking for President Armstrong last spring.

“Armstrong, sitting at this table, eating two feet away from my bed,” Wong said. “I would always joke about how I was going to cook for Armstrong one day, but I never really thought

it was actually going to happen. When you have someone like that right in front of you, it [is] like, ‘Oh shoot.’”

Wong had the pleasure of hosting President Jeffrey Armstrong at his pop-up restaurant.

Toward the end of summer, an executive board member of TedX in San Luis Obispo contacted Wong to speak at their upcoming fall event. Wong spent the next few months preparing for the talk and was even set up with a speaker coach to help guide his speech. The TedX event focused on student stories, ranging anywhere from five to 17 minutes.

“The title of my talk was ‘Food, Identity and Kung Fu Panda’ — the holy trinity. I was able to share more about my story,” Wong said. “It was crazy meeting all the other speakers and the event itself was super high production. I am just really happy with how it turned out and really grateful that it happened.”

Currently, Wong has put his pop-up restaurant DENCH aside to focus on some bigger projects, including a cookbook for his senior project.

“It’s going to be all the recipes and stories

ONE PICTURE AT A TIME GLOBE-TROTTING WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC’S ANNIE GRIFFITHS

BY GRA N T AN D E RS O N One picture can say a thousand words; take more and pretty soon you’ll have a story to tell. For Annie Griffiths, one of the first female photographers to work for National Geographic, her pictures tell a story of globe-trotting adventure — one that has taken her through all 50 states and to nearly 150 countries.

Griffiths gave a talk on her photographic career at the Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, Nov. 14, where she discussed her passion for “telling stories that never get the front page.”

Originally studying journalism at the University of Minnesota to be a news reporter, she switched over to photojournalism during her junior year to let her pictures speak for themselves. After two years of hard work and dedication, she landed a job at National Geographic as a photographer.

“Early on there were so few women do-

ing this,” Griffiths said in an interview with Mustang News. “Publishers and editors and directors of photography were protective of me [and] I had to explain ‘I can’t be the girl photographer.’”

Being a woman in a largely male-dominated field did not hinder Annie Griffiths. Upon seeing the outside world in her travels, she discovered the strengths of many women despite hindering societal standards.

Take for example her trip to an African village, where indoor smoke can often be the No. 1 killer over AIDS. In her photos, the subjects are women of the village building chimneys for huts and designing solar panels. In one picture, a man looks over at a woman adjusting wires for a panel.

Griffiths said the man wanted to create solar energy, too. He was quickly informed that it was a woman’s job in the village.

Among other things, Griffiths wanted to clear the stigmatized view of the Middle East.

She said people she would meet there were

from the pop-up and I’m trying to self-publish and get it printed,” Wong said. “I’m really excited to be able to really share all the stories and show people what I’ve done with the popup in a tangible way.”

Wong has been contacting local businesses in pursuit of holding pop-ups for DENCH to accommodate more than he currently can with his constrained apartment capacity.

Through all his accomplishments, Wong remains dedicated to his work ethic by expanding his creativity and skill set.

“There’s so many areas I want to grow as a cook,” Wong said. “I want to keep working at

restaurants, whether that be going back to San Francisco [after graduation] or going abroad to, like, Paris or Hong Kong. No immediate plans, but the end goal is still to open up my own place — how I [will] get there, I’m not sure.”

The support and loving embrace the San Luis Obispo community has given Wong boasts a strong foundation for future endeavors.

“I’m super thankful from the support for this community and Cal Poly,” Wong said.

“I’m just really grateful for that and I’m excited to see where this takes me and what I can do with it.”

S ON YA J I N DA L | MUSTA N G N EWS

Wong created a high-class pop-up restaurant in his apartment.

some of the most caring individuals. Up on the screen flashed the photo of a man wearing a ghutra with his arm around Griffith’s child.

They were caught up in a sandstorm in the Saharan desert and the man wanted to make sure her boy slept peacefully.

Griffiths would take her two kids on most of her trips to avoid being separated from them for too long. She carried her camera bag between all the diapers.

Even though the people in Griffiths’ photographs speak many different languages, she insists on traveling without an interpreter.

“Make an idiot of yourself,” she said. “[Express] compliments and then they will be comfortable enough to do the same.”

Griffiths’ next few trips are already set up for when she returns to the East Coast: Antarctica, then England, then a private National Geographic flight to nine other countries.

Environmental Earth and Soil Sciences junior Rialda Mustić said she is inspired by Griffiths’ worldly journeys.

“I feel like that’s a way you can learn the best — by immersing yourself in all these different cultures,” Mustić said. “We’re so brainwashed and whitewashed here, and it’s scary ‘cause you don’t really know what’s outside your own doorstep.”

Griffiths said she believes the first step anyone can take to follow in her footsteps is solv-

ing their own personal problems that hold them back from success.

“It’s what I learned from my mom,” she said.

“OK, you’ve got a problem? Figure out a way to go around it.”

And if it is a problem with the world? Perhaps you can figure it out by going around that, too.

CON N OR F R OST | MUSTA N G N EWS

Griffiths was one of the first female photographers to work for National Geographic.

MEET THE STUDENTS DOING THEIR OWN STICK AND POKE TATTOOS

S HANNON KERNER | COURT ESY

Originating in Europe, the DIY tattoo method is common among professionals and hobbyists.

BY ALLY MA DOLE The third grade days of doodling a smiley face on a friend’s arm with a pen are over. As the years pass, do-it-yourself sketches on body parts have become more and more permanent.

Commonly performed casually by a friend on a living room couch, stick and poke tattoos are done by injecting a needle in and out of the skin enough times to make a straight line that transforms into a shape, creating a DIY tattoo.

The choice of tools is entirely up to the tattoo artist. One common choice among stick and pokers is a sewing needle stuck into the eraser of a pencil.

“What [I] do is get a pencil and wrap string around it and poke the needle into the eraser so it absorbs the ink,” sociology senior Holland Bool said.

Although she has only done a few, Bool’s history of stick and pokes dates back to a “vision quest” she experienced with her high school when she was 18 years old at Mono Lake, California.

“I had lost three people in my life recently and felt like I just needed to do something,” Bool said. “So I took a pine needle and put it in pen ink and put three dots in my skin.”

For some, stick and pokes are a method of illustrating a personal story on their body. Although it began as a personal sentiment for Bool, she now shares her hobby with a few of her friends who have her art on their bodies.

Other stick and pokers began their hobby as an outlet for art and creative expression. While some choose sewing needles, others opt for buying a stick and poke kit, which contains all the necessary tools.

For agricultural and environmental plant sciences sophomore Shannon Kerner, the hobby sprung from a bad tattoo experience her freshman year at Cal Poly. As a result, Kerner has given about 40 stick and pokes within a year, etching minimalistic designs like snakes, flowers and other images of nature.

“Me and my friends wanted more tattoos, but didn’t want to pay $80 minimum when I could do it for free in 20 minutes,” Kerner said.

The business

Due to the flexibility of the price of stick and pokes, the range of professionalism is entirely up to the giver and receiver of the tattoo.

“I honestly wasn’t v ery careful when I gave them to my friends because the placement is usually on their butts,” Bool said.

A hobby for most, stick and pokes are a cheap way to have ink on your body forever — potentially, at least. Some last longer than others, as the permanency of the stick and poke depends on the depth of the needle in the skin.

When receiving a stick and poke, one should not assume it will look exactly like the ones found on Tumblr or Pinterest, according to environmental management and protection junior Sarah Orth.

“I stick and poked my roommate a little sun and it’s literally gone, and it was my favorite one,” Orth said.

Since the beginning of her stick and poke journey a few months ago, Orth has given 16 tattoos among friends, roommates and acquaintances.

“I just really loved getting a tattoo and it made me feel like I could do anything,” Orth said. “It seemed like a good way to make money doing the art I like to do.”

The art of stick-and-pokes is a trial-and-error process, and just like any other hobby, it takes time and patience. Even the smallest designs can take up to two hours.

“I did it for free in the beginning, but now I charge people because it takes a lot of time,” Kerner said.

Factors such as the color and thickness of skin can determine the willingness of the skin to absorb the ink. For this reason, many novice stick and pokers have a tough time making the tattoo permanent.

Those with the steadiest of hands are the ones who have practiced the art for years. Two professional stick and poke tattoo artists from Traditional Tattoo explained their relationship and journey with the profession.

“The biggest misconception is that it is easy,” tattoo artist Matt Southwood said. “People think they can get a safety pin or buy some needles from Amazon and do a good stick and poke tattoo, but it’s actually probably the hardest form of tattooing there is.”

Just like with any other art form, there is a lot to learn when handling a needle and ink, which is why most tattoo shops require at least a year of apprenticeship. With its beginning in Europe, the history of stick and pokes reaches far beyond the recent trend seen today.

“I think tattooing and piercing is such a huge part of our culture throughout all of time and I think we are slowly rediscovering it and taking it back,” Southwood said.

The internet plays a large role in this redis-

S A RA H ORT H | COU RT ESY

Stick and poke tattoos can be permanent, depending on ink and depth.

9 TUESDAY • NOVEMBER 27, 2018 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS

ALTERNATIVE INK

Trial and error

covery. Videos on YouTube and images of DIY tattoos serve as inspiration for aspiring tattoo artists or people who want a spark of creativity.

There is also something more personal that comes with this newly popularized hobby. In contrast to a tattoo machine gun, hand-poked tattoos break the boundary between the artist and the receiver of the tattoo.

“The feeling is different with the hand poke,” Naualli Ñu Savi of Traditional Tattoo said.

“The connection with the people is different than with a machine.”

TUESDAY • NOVEMBER 27, 2018 | STUDENT LIFE | MUSTANG NEWS

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STUDENT GIVES MIGRANT CHILDREN A CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE THE OUTDOORS line, more and more people became interested in what Ramos was doing. She soon had to get some of her friends to help her out with the kids, and the operation has been growing ever since.

On top of running Get Out, Stay Out, Ramos also promotes positive change in the outdoor community by attending industry conferences.

She recently flew to Jacksonhole, Wyoming to take part in the Shaping How We Invest For Tomorrow (SHIFT) festival put on by The

Center for Jackson Hole organization. The goal of this year’s conference was to take a holistic look at the health of Americans and how time spent outside can help benefit people’s overall wellbeing, according to their website.

Finding time to spend outside and do the things she loves helps keep her happy, Ramos said. But most of all, she said chasing her passions and working toward something she believes in motivates her no matter how busy her calendar may be.

KA R EN RA MOS | COU RT ESY

Migrant children are given the opportunity to learn and play outdoors through student-founded non-profit Get Out, Stay Out.

KAREN RAMOS | COURT ESY

Parks and toursim administration junior Karen Ramos founded Get Out, Stay Out.

BY JA K E WE NE R One student is working to connect indigenous-migrant children with the same outdoor adventures she had growing up.

In 2016, Recreation, parks and tourism administration junior Karen Ramos started Get Out, Stay Out, a non-profit that gives kids the opportunity to run, play, and discover themselves outdoors through hikes, camping trips and multi-day backpacking adventu res.

“I had all of these opportunities when I was younger to get outside in a formal sense and get to hike, backpack, canoe and more. I loved these experiences,” Ramos said. “I just noticed that my instructors throughout all of those experiences never quite reflected who I was and the culture I identified with.”

After taking some time away from college, Ramos found herself in her hometown of Santa Maria working a job in children’s education.

After a long day of work, she decided to go out hiking.

While taking in the freshly green vegetation from a day of rain, she started to reflect on how much she loved the kids she worked with

and the outdoors. She decided to combine these two worlds by taking some of the kids out on a hike.

“There isn’t a word for hiking in Spanish that is precise like hiking, so I pretty much asked all these parents if I could take their kids walking through some fields,” Ramos said. “I was worried they all would be concerned and say no, but surprisingly, they all agreed and signed the slips.”

“I was worried they all would be concerned and say no, but surprisingly, they all agreed and signed the slips” After putting some pictures of the hike on-

CAL POLY BANDS! WIND ORCHESTRA, WIND ENSEMBLE CHAMBER WINDS, MUSTANG MARCHING BAND TICKETS $9 and $12 students $12 and $14 general

NOV. 30, 2018 FRIDAY AT 8 P.M.

TICKET OFFICE 805-756-4849 tickets.calpoly.edu

PERFORMING ARTS CENTER CHRISTOPHER J. WOODRUFF CAL POLY’S NEW DIRECTOR OF BANDS Sponsored by Cal Poly’s Music Department, College of Liberal Arts and IRA program.

For more information, call 805-756-2406, or visit music.calpoly.edu/calendar.

11

Campus Dining is partnering with Cal Poly’s Swanton Pacific Ranch to host a special event on Tuesday, 11/27.

Located near Santa Cruz, Swanton specializes in sustainable ranching and organic farming. The event will be held at 805 Kitchen from 4-6pm, and students can meet the team, learn about internships and enjoy their grass-fed beef and organic produce.

MUSTANG MEAL SHARE

Z AC H A RY DON N EN F I ELD | MUSTA N G N EWS

OP INION

WHY YOU SHOULD HELP WILDFIRE VICTIMS

BY NOEMI KH ACH IA M

The Mustang Meal Share program supports students on campus who are experiencing food insecurity by creating an avenue for students to donate meals from their dining plan.

Noemi Khachian is a communication studies sophomore and Mustang News columnist. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang News.

Donate at: www.calpolydining.com/ diningprograms/mustangmealshare

#CHOOSEWELL When in doubt, go without!

Most options on campus are customizable, so feel free to ask for a substitute item or “without” an item. This is a simple way to make most options vegan or vegetarian.

SAVE THE DATES! This week’s events include a Chef’s Table showcasing a carving station, Cooking in the Canyon featuring a gluten-free grain dish, and a FriYaY! Dinner serving up some Surf ‘N Turf. Silk will also be giving out free samples of their cultured yogurts at 805 Cafe on Thursday, 11/29.

GET THE DISH DELIVERED HOT TO YOUR INBOX WEEKLY. SUBSCRIBE AT CALPOLYDINING.COM / THEDISH

The wildfires in California forced thousand of people from their homes — some homes that are now destroyed. A total of 153,336 acres have burned in the northern part of the state; another 96,949 acres have turned to ash in the south, according to Cal Fire. The two blazes have claimed at least 87 lives so far.

I know people want to help. It’s incredible to see how communities join together to provide relief. But so many people still have the urge to do something yet feel so helpless when confronted with such an enormous situation like this. Ultimately, no act is too small. Everything counts, everything is appreciated and anything helps.

First, you will need to research before you donate. Whether it’s money, clothes, food, or your time that you’re giving, research will ensure your actions can have the most direct impact. There are general relief efforts like The California Fire Foundation and the American Red Cross. Then there are housing efforts, like the Airbnb Evacuee Program and the Salvation Army providing shelter for those who have lost their homes. There are even animal services like the Humane Society and the Los Angeles County Animal Care Foundation to provide shelter and aid to lost and evacuated animals.

Lastly, you can volunteer where you go out with an organization and help where help is needed.

If you cannot physically help, you can send packages to relief centers, fire stations or friends and family. Don’t be fooled — this does not mean sending blankets, wipes water, food, snack bars or eyedrops to firefighters — as you may have seen in recent social

media postings. The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) said this is just a “rumor” and “couldn’t be farther from the truth.” They explained that although their recent budget isn’t able to support the donation of personal care items, food or water on the fire line, it “thankfully is NOT needed at the time.” If anything, these kinds of donations are on the border of causing harm. LAFD stations are well prepared for situations like these, so when they return to their stations to find gallons of water and thousands of pounds of food taking up space, maintaining it becomes an unmanageable task. They recommend that rather than donating to them directly, you should donate to foundations that support them like the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region, in addition to other non-profits that are supportive in times of crisis. A few of them include the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, where lifesaving backpacks are put together, or Widows, Orphans, and Disabled Firemen’s Fund, or the Fire Family Foundation.

Another thing you can do is to prevent wildfires from happening in the first place.

Wildfires have the potential to be preventable because many originate from human error. Here are some little things you can do to ensure you have no part in another wildfire igniting: never leave a fire unattended. If you are sleeping or are about to leave a campsite, make sure you completely extinguish your fire by throwing water on it and making sure the ashes are cold. Next, nature is not a trash can, so do not throw your matches or cigarettes on the ground. And when disposing of these materials, make sure to completely extinguish it before doing so. Lastly, do not be afraid to call 9-1-1. Whether it’s to report a fire or simply an unattended campfire, this can be one of the most immediate actions one can take to prevent the situation for potentially getting out of hand.

TUESDAY • NOVEMBER 27, 2018 | OPINION | MUSTANG NEWS

GET A TASTE OF RANCH LIFE

PUZZLES Sudoku Fun by the Numbers Like puzzles? Then you’ll love sudoku. This mind-bending puzzle will have you hooked from the moment you square off, so sharpen your pencil and put your sudoku savvy to the test!

Guess Who? I am a comedian, actor and television host born in New York on November 28, 1962. I began my standup career at The Bitter End in NYC. My offbeat comedy helped secure my spot as a host on a popular satirical “news” show.

Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

Word Scramble Rearrange the letters to spell something pertaining to Thanksgiving.

A Y M S

CLUES ACROSS 1. Scottish lawyer (abbr.)

4. __-bo: exercise system 7. When you hope to get there 8. Jewish spiritual leader 10. Long, pointed tooth 12. Hillsides 13. Scandinavian god 14. Keyboard key 16. Indian title of respect 17. The end 19. Shaft horsepower (abbr.)

20. Domesticated animals 21. The gridiron 25. Disfigure 26. Central processing unit 27. Get in _ __: fight 29. Jacob __, US journalist 30. One point north of due west 31. He said, __ said 32. Where people live 39. Sheep noises 41. The ocean 42. Packers’ QB Rodgers 43. One who buys and sells at the same time 44. Place to get cash 45. Dog’s name 46. Aviation enthusiast 48. Plant of the lily family 49. Larval crustaceans 50. Brooklyn hoopster 51. Military force ready to move quickly (abbr.)

52. Make an effort

CLUES DOWN 1. Set back 2. Flat 3. Place to gamble 4. Dark liquid 5. Mortified 6. Famed movie critic 8. Corpuscle count (abbr.)

9. Egyptian goddess 11. Type of garment 14. Extremely high frequency 15. More peppery 18. The big game (abbr.)

19. Single Lens Reflex 20. In addition 22. In the company of 23. Order’s partner 24. Upon 27. Dazzles 28. Baseball stat 29. The 17th letter of the Greek alphabet 31. Helps little firms 32. Arrested 33. Haw’s partner 34. Expresses surprise 35. Stumblebums 36. Align relative to points on a compass 37. LA ballplayer 38. Showing disapproval toward 39. “Diamonds & Rust” singer 40. Protects the wearer’s body 44. Yes vote 47. British Air Aces

VOLLEYBALL TO PLAY SAN DIEGO IN FIRST ROUND OF THE 2018 NCAA TOURNAMENT

BY B RIA N T R U O NG Repeating as Big West Conference Champions was never the Cal Poly volleyball team’s sole goal this season. The Mustangs have had their eyes set on the 2018 NCAA tournament throughout their dominant season — and now they know their first round opponent.

The Mustangs (25-2, 15-1 Big West) will play the University of San Diego (15-12, 13-5 West Coast) in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday, Nov. 30 in USC’s Galen Center.

“We knew that we were going, but to see it on the screen and hear it on national television is always something really special,” junior outside hitter Torrey Van Winden said. “I think that last year left us really hungry to get past that second round. We’re excited for this tournament, we feel a little more experienced and a little more excited to go into it.”

The No. 14 ranked Cal Poly team qualified after winning the Big West Conference Championship title by sweeping UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton to close out the regular season. The Mustangs also recorded the best start in program history at 19-1 and had a peak national ranking of No. 11 earlier this season.

Last season’s team also saw similar success with an undefeated record in Big West play,

only to fall 3-1 to UCLA in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Torrey Van Winden said she believes last year’s team faltered due to its limited mindset going into the post-season.

“I think that was a mistake from last year, our goal was just to win those first two rounds and that limits yourself,” Van Winden said.

“This team has its mindset on a national championship.”

The first round of the NCAA Tournament will be a unique test for the Mustangs. The team will play in a venue, and against an opponent that the program has not seen since 2012.

“I think that some of the biggest challenges are it’s a neutral court and it’s win or go home,” head coach Sam Crosson said. “It really helps having the leadership of [Torrey Van Winden] and [Adlee Van Winden] and [Katherine Brouker], three players that have been here before, who have the experience and know what the atmosphere is like.”

The Toreros are no strangers to the unique pressure of the NCAA Tournament, as the program is making its ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance after earning an at-large bid. San Diego finished third in the West Coast Conference, behind the no. 4 seeded BYU and Pepperdine, and ended the regular season on a two-game losing streak.

Last year, San Diego were defeated 3-1 by USC

in the second round of the tournament.

Despite Cal Poly’s statistical advantage over San Diego, the Mustangs are not looking past the first round yet.

“I think that [the Toreros] are really disciplined, good athletes and they’re a tough first round for us,” Torrey Van Winden, who faced San Diego in her freshman year at UCLA, said.

“I think it’s better to have a tough first round

B R I A N T R U ON G | MUSTA N G N EWS

With the best start in program history, the Cal Poly Volleyball team advances to the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

13 TUESDAY • NOVEMBER 27, 2018 | SPORTS | MUSTANG NEWS

BRIAN T RUONG | MUSTA N G N EWS

Senior outside hitter Adlee Van Winden earned 261 kills and 233 digs in the 2018 regular season.

to prepare you for that second round. It keeps us focused on one game at a time. There’s no overlooking anyone.”

A win over San Diego would advance Cal Poly to the second round to take on the No. 11 seeded USC or Samford on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.

“I think that we’re going to level up a lot better than last year,” Torrey Van Winden said.

“I think that’s just because as a program, our coaching staff and our girls in general knew that, throughout our training and the season, we couldn’t just train to win against the Big West schools, we had to train to win against the schools that we’re going to see.”

Torrey Van Winden earned the Big West Player of the Year honor after ranking third in Division I players with 5.07 kills per set in the regular season. Freshman setter Avalon DeNecochea received a Co-Freshman of the Year award, as she averaged 10.32 assists per set and lead the Big West with a .295 hitting percentage. The Mustangs’ offense is also bolstered by senior outside hitter Adlee Van Winden’s 2.84 kills per set average and freshman middle blocker Meredith Phillips, who averages 1.8 kills in 86 starts.

The Mustangs are 15-2 on the road this year.

Torrey Van Winden said she believes playing the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at USC will be beneficial for the team.

“I’m just excited that we’re going some place that’s not going to be a BYU or a Wisconsin or something that’s, right off the bat, super, super aggressive in your face type fans,” Torrey Van Winden said. “We are really good when we have to create our own energy and build our own atmosphere on the road, so I think we’re going to have the opportunity to execute that.”

With the Mustangs preparing to face their toughest opponents of the year, Crosson emphasized what the team will need to do to overcome the unpredictability the NCAA Tournament brings — believe.

“It’s a biggie for me, for them to understand the concept of belief,” Crosson said. “It’s one night. It’s not a conference season, we’re not playing 20 matches against these teams. It’s who’s ready to play and who can just go out there and play as if there’s nothing to lose.”

TUESDAY • NOVEMBER 27, 2018 | SPORTS | MUSTANG NEWS

14

MUSTANG IN FOCUS

BRI A N TRU O N G | M USTA N G N EWS

Senior fullback Joe Protheroe set a Cal Poly record for yards rushing in a single season against Idaho State with a career-high 260 yards.

SENIOR FULLBACK JOE PROTHEROE

BY KY LE HAR & P R E R N A AN E J A Senior fullback Joe Protheroe not only dreams of making it in the NFL, but plans to make it a reality. He made something out of nothing through his career at Cal Poly, earning the motto for No.5 Protheroe: “It is what it is, onto the next chapter.”

Mustang News: What’s been going through your head with this last game coming up and just looking back on your whole career here at Cal Poly?

Joe Protheroe: Just a lot of flashback memories of all the games I had here, all the people I play with and I’ve seen a couple hundred people come through here. I just remember being the young guy and now it’s crazy, I’m the old guy. My last practice was today and it was a little emotional.

MN: Your MCL injury has been a major obstacle in your football career here, so what have you learned from it?

JP: I just learned not to count myself out.

When I was laying in bed injured, I was thinking, “Well damn, there goes my shot at a good senior season.” I was getting told that I wouldn’t be the same running back.

Eventually, when I was able to walk and run on my own, I blanked everything else out and just started working hard, rehabbing my knee, and just worked hard on getting stronger and faster. I learned that it was a minor setback and minor setbacks and major comebacks are a real thing.

MN: When most athletes get injured, they think they are never going to be the same.

What message do you have to other studentathletes who have gotten injured?

JP: My message to them would just be to not give up. People might say some things and think that you’re going to be a different athlete, but it’s all up to you.

MN: How did your friends and family help you get back into mental and physical shape for this season?

JP: My family – obviously, my wife, my kids – they’re the reason why I do everything that I do. Motivation-wise, I am motivated by them alone. Khaleel Jenkins was a big factor for me because he hurt his knee last year too.

He’s like my brother and we just locked in and did what we had to do. It was great having someone go through the same struggles, so over the summer we could push each other to strive to be the best. He is an inspiration to me because he is so determined to go out strong this season and he’s currently playing on six injuries. He’s a solid person with a good attitude that’s contagious.

MN: What’s been your favorite moment at Cal Poly?

JP: My favorite moment at Cal Poly is going to be my last game on Saturday [against Southern Utah], and hopefully it’s a memorable one. Although, if I were to have to choose a moment or game, it would be Montana 2015 when we came back and kicked a game-winning field goal with three seconds left. There were 20,000 fans there and they

were super mad that we won that game. It was a big game.

MN: What has been your favorite place to travel to? Throughout your career, you’ve traveled to many places. Which one place did you enjoy going to?

JP: Whoever had the best food. I liked going to Sacramento State. It’s back up North near home. The food there was good — chicken and some roast beef.

MN: What have you learned throughout your career here about life through football?

JP: People will go through adversity in life.

It gives them a chance to be great. With some adversity, you can come back from it and be great at whatever you’re doing. Just fight through adversity.

MN: How does the team positively move forward when fans that do show up leave at half-time?

JP: It’s nice to have fans there, but we’ve got to a point where all that matters is 11 dudes on the field and the young guys on the sidelines with us. For me, I love having my wife and daughters going to every game because they are the only fans that really matter-matter, but it would be nice to have more people there.

MN: What was it like for you to have your dream of making it to the NFL become more of a responsibility for your family?

JP: You can look at it as a dream or you can look at it as reality. You just have to chase it. If you look at it as a dream, if you fail you can say, whatever, I was dreaming. If you try to make it a reality and don’t have a plan B, if you fail

at that point which you probably shouldn’t, it’s life crushing. When I got injured, I was sure I was going to get my shot at the NFL that year.

When I tore my MCL, it all got ripped away.

My dream was crushed.

MN: Your name is going to be in Cal Poly Football record books, what do you hope having your name there represents?

JP: When we look back, our whole offense, every offense I’ve ever played behind was successful. It wasn’t just me. Having my name is history books is cool and 20 years from now, I can show my kids that I was pretty good at football. I would want it to be more of a motivational thing, like this dude bounced back from a pretty solid injury and made something out of nothing.

MN: Since it’s your senior year, would you like to give out any special thanks?

JP: To the football community, my brothers out there. I’m excited to go play my last game with them and I’m thankful for everything they’ve done for me. I’m thankful for all my coaches. I don’t really talk about it, but I don’t come from a lot of money back home and I came here with almost no money in my pocket and a pregnant girl. My wife was pregnant and we had almost nothing. Coach Walsh gave me an opportunity: my only scholarship offer which is why I feel like I owe it to him to try to ball out for as long as I’m here. So thank you to Coach Walsh. Thank you Coach AT, my mentor. Thank you to my whole O-line, every O-lineman I’ve ever been behind. Thank you to all of them.

FA L L C O N C E RT

SAMUEL SHALHOUB, ACTING DIRECTOR — F E AT U R I N G T H E — CHOOKASIAN FOLK MUSIC ENSEMBLE PERFORMING A SPECIAL SET OF ARMENIAN MUSIC D E C . 1 , 2 0 1 8 | 8 P. M . S A T U R D A Y S PA N O S T H E AT R E , C A L P O LY $9 STUDENTS, $14 GENERAL C A L P O LY T I C K E T O F F I C E : 8 0 5 - 7 5 6 - 4 8 4 9 , T I C K E T S . C A L P O L Y. E D U Sponsored by Cal Poly’s Music Department, College of Liberal Arts and IRA program.

For more information, call 805-756-2406, or visit music.calpoly.edu/calendar.