Rodeo team preps for Open House. SPORTS, pg. 10
Thursday, April 12, 2012
WORD ON THE STREET Do you think the Recreation Center is missing anything?
“Every time I try to do squats, the machines are full.” • Ezra Bertuccelli physics sophomore
Volume LXXVI, Number 103
www.mustangdaily.net
Missing: Recreation Center towels AMBER DILLER
amberdiller.md@gmail.com
Towels at the Cal Poly Recreation Center have been gradually disappearing since they first appeared about a month after the gym’s opening. There are only approximately 150 towels remaining out of the original 2,000, University Union Advisory Board (UUAB) chair Karen Mesrobian said. “It was not something we foresaw as being an issue,” Mesrobian said. English freshmen Christian Thatcher admitted to accidentally taking a towel from the Recreation Center. “I rarely use (the towels) but one time I did use them, I put it over my shoulders, and I forgot to put it back,” he said. “If the Rec Center wants it back, I’ll wash it and
return it.” Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) is currently taking measures to solve the problem, including buying new, lime green towels and improving the signage to make it clear to drop them off when exiting, she said. “If we do as much as we can and it’s still a problem, we might have to look at discontinuing them,” Mesrobian said. Discontinuing the towel service will be a last resort, ASI Membership and Staff Services Coordinator Lindsey Lee said other measures will be taken before talk of discontinuing happens. “It’s always a reevaluation process,” Lee said. “We are looking into putting more baskets out and using bright colors to remind students to return them.” ASI wants to keep the ser-
GRAPHIC BY MELISSA WONG/MUSTANG DAILY
vice going because it is a perk to students and to people with memberships, Lee said. “We want to live up to people’s expectations,” Lee said. The idea for the towel service came about because ASI wants the Recreation Center experience to be really nice and hoped to give the gym a “club feel,” Mesrobian said. Towels will not be handed out until the delivery of lime green towels arrives, which is expected to be within the next week. The lime green towels won’t all be put out at once, either. They will be phased in and inventory will be taken once a week to find out if the problem persists. “I think the best thing you can do is at least put a neon sign or check out towels with the hand-scanners,” Thatcher said.
Grand stoplights activated by next week DYLAN HONEA-BAUMANN
dylanhoneabaumann.md@gmail.com
“Not off the top of my head.” • Jen Gemkow biomedical engineering junior
“A ‘cuzzi and a wetand dry-spa.” • Brandon Parham biomedical engineering senior
“Beds for me to sleep in.” • Dulce Martinez mechanical engineering junior
The often blind intersection at Grand Avenue and Abbot Street will soon be regulated by a stoplight. Traffic lights, street lights and “signalized” crosswalks are being installed on the intersection in order to reduce congestion of traffic f low coming off the freeway and to make the intersection a safer place for drivers and pedestrians, traffic operation manager of San Luis Obispo Jake Hudson said. “Accidents were not the primary reason, but there were about three to four collisions a year.” Hudson said. “The justification was the traffic volumes. We haven’t done any studies to see if the majority of the traffic is from Cal Poly.” In his opinion, he said it does seem to be from a lot of Cal Poly students. From Feb. 1, 2009, to Feb. 29, 2012, five accidents at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Abbott Street have been reported to the San Luis Obispo Police Department (SLOPD), according to a department report. Officers reported there were two injuries out of the five accidents, and SLOPD classified the injuries as minor and not too serious, SLOPD records supervisor Tera Rapp said. The accident reports don’t include an area for where the people involved in the accidents work or go to school, so there isn’t information about whether or not the accidents were Cal Poly-related, Rapp said. Of the reported accidents, one occurred in 2009, one in 2010 and three in 2011. The report also said the primary cause of all of the accidents was a failure to yield.
DYLAN HONEA-BAUMANN/MUSTANG DAILY
The $229,000 stoplight construction project on Grand Avenue, approved in October, is funded by the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program Grant. In addition to efforts to make the intersection safer by inserting traffic lights, street lights and crosswalks, pedestrian areas around the intersection are being upgraded to meet the requirements set by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA-compliant upgrades include making sure all the ramp grades are at the proper slope and installing yellow areas with bumps called tactile domes, which are for the visually impaired, Hudson said. The contract to construct the $229,000 project was approved in October 2011. All of the funding is coming from a federal grant known as the Highway Safety Improvement Program Grant,
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Accidents were not the primary reason. The justification was the traffic volumes. JAKE HUDSON SAN LUIS OBISPO TRAFFIC OPERATION MANAGER
Hudson said. Sara Kidd, who lives close to the intersection, doesn’t think the project is worth spending $229,000 on. “I really don’t think it’s that busy of a street,” Kidd said. Though the City of San Luis Obispo isn’t paying for the project, permits for the project were a joint effort between the city and the California Department of
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Transportation (Caltrans), Hudson said. “Anytime you do work in the public right of way, you have to obtain a permit, it’s just a way to let the city know what’s going on and to let you know what people are doing,” public works civil engineer II for San Luis Obispo, Matt Crisp said. The City of San Luis Obispo is responsible for the permits
INDEX News.............................1-3 Arts..............................4-6
for construction and traffic control on Grand Avenue and Abbott Street, and Caltrans is responsible for the permits for construction and traffic control for the freeway off ramp that goes into the intersection, Crisp said. Student’s, however, shouldn’t worry about being late to class due to the construction since there should only be minor traffic control and lane delineations, Hudson said of the intersection. “When we review traffic control for construction projects, we make every attempt to have the construction impacts avoid peak traffic times,” he said. Crisp said Caltrans had see TRAFFIC, pg. 2
Opinions/Editorial............7 Classifieds/Comics..........8 Sports.........................8-10
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Thursday, April 12, 2012
TRAFFIC continued from page 1
to close the offramp at one point during construction, but he doesn’t think they’ll have to close it again. “The ramp is all Caltrans, I can’t tell them what they can and can’t do on that ramp, that’s out of my jurisdiction,” Crisp said. “There won’t be any full closures, as far as restrictions on roadway, on Grand and on Abott. Access will always be available.” Caltrans didn’t respond to when the ramp will be closed as of press time. One of the primary workers on the project, Jaime Ribra, agreed to be interviewed about the project while removing dirt from the bottom of the off ramp. Ribra works for Lee Wilson Electric, the company contracted out to do the construction work. He said he thinks the traffic lights will be helpful for people trying to turn left off the freeway offramp because he said it’s hard to see when big vehicles are parked along the curb to the left. He also said the lights will be helpful in the morning when it gets busy and the ramp is backed up halfway to the freeway. One of the main duties Ribra had was installing sensors around the intersection so the lights turn green when people drive up to the intersection if no one else is waiting at other parts of the four-way intersection. “If there isn’t anyone coming down Grand, it will turn green for people on Abbott,” Ribra said. Ribra said installing the sensors in boxes underground wasn’t the most challenging part of the project, even though it took quite a while. The most challenging part of the project was digging 9-foot holes for the light poles on the side of the intersection. “When you’re at the bottom of the freeway offramp, usually it only takes around 30 minutes to dig the holes for the poles, but we had to spend two days on those poles because it was all rock underground.” Ribra said. “It’s almost done, maybe this week on Friday it will be done.” Though installing the poles took longer than expected, the project will still be finished earlier than planned. The project permit was for approximately 40 days, and the project is on schedule, Crisp said.
Bicycle Coalition spreads awareness
COURTESY PHOTO
Sloan Campi and his powder blue Speedster, “It’s gone with me just about anywhere”. BRIAN DE LOS SANTOS
bdelossantos.md@gmail.com
City and regional planning senior Sloan Campi refuses to use his 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee, given to him as a gift, as his main method of transportation. Rather, the vehicle he prefers has two wheels, two fenders, a cracked, powder blue paint job and the words “Schwinn Speedster” written in white lettering on its side. Others call it a bike, he calls this his car. “My dad gave me this bike about two years ago,” Campi said. “It’s gone with me to just about anywhere. I use it practically every day. When it breaks down on me, I get mad at it; when it does well for me, I am proud of it.” In Campi’s time spent on his favorite two wheels, he’s noticed a few things about Cal Poly, specifically, its need for greater biking awareness. So he, environmental management and protection senior Michelle Keplinger and architecture senior Marisa Low co-founded the Cal Poly Bicycle Coalition. The potential club, based on biking safety, will encourage students and staff to bike more, Campi said. It also plans on working closely with facilities and other facets of campus administration to create a friendlier and safer biking experience on campus through new infrastructure and renovations. “I know many students who don’t want to own a bike because they’re too scared; they don’t know the rules or they don’t know how to ride,” Campi said. “But, our goal is to educate all of those groups, so that the bikers are safe, the pedestrians are safe and everyone else is enjoying the campus.” That’s all to change the current biking experience on
campus. It’s a disconnected system where bike paths stop abruptly and dangerously, particularly at the areas on the west side of campus, Campi said. The stoplight at Alex G. Spanos Stadium is one of the worst areas, Campi said. With the exception of one stoplight, cars, pedestrians and bicyclists blow through that area unmonitored and unregulated. “I’ve seen people get hurt on their bikes, run into people,” Campi said. “There’s just this tension that gets created between people on bikes and pedestrians. Right now, it’s just a cluster and a mess.” Making those areas safe has been the group’s plan since the get-go. Campi, Keplinger and Low started the group as a class project, which inspired the idea to make it an official club. They’ve turned in the required paperwork to Associated Students, Inc. Club Services and expect to receive a decision on the charter in two weeks. From there, the co-founders aim to obtain “Bicycle Friendly University” status from the League of American Bicyclists. The accolade is given to college campuses that are biker-friendly to faculty and students. With Cal Poly being as much of a biking campus as it is, Keplinger said it’s surprising the school hasn’t already reached the status yet. “All the big bike schools like (University of California), Santa Barbara and (University of California), Davis, they all kind of have specific bike groups just like this,” Keplinger said. “They are all in the Bike Friendly University list, and we’re just trying to get where they are at, mimic what they do as a guide.” The group has also received
help from the San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Coalition. And while the on-campus organization will not be affiliated with the county’s biking coalition, the Coalition couldn’t be happier a group dedicated to biking is starting on campus, San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Coalition executive director Dan Rivoire said. “While we appreciate the work Cal Poly has been doing to put in more bike parking, bike lanes and facilities around campus, we think that they could (do) an even better job making it safer for bicyclists and pedestrians to get around,” Rivoire said. “The Cal Poly Bike Coalition will be able to emphasize the importance to build those smart facilities and remind administration how important it is to build that stuff quickly.” Cal Poly hasn’t had a group such as this previously because of lack of awareness, Low said. Since there’s never been a group aimed toward bicycle safety, no one’s ever taken action or tried to communicate the problems to campus administration. “Our organization is going to try and be that communication, but there hasn’t been any in the past,” Low said. “That’s probably why it’s not really on anyone’s mind. It’s kind of something that’s been put on the backburner.” Not for long, Low, Keplinger and Campi hope. With their chance at a new club charter, they’re hoping spread awareness for campus safety — so everyone can enjoy riding their bike as much as Campi loves riding his 1978 Schwinn Speedster. “I have used my bike since day one at Cal Poly; this thing is my daily driver,” Campi said. “It’s the most efficient mode of transportation for me.”
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After being involved in a traffic accident that occurred two weeks ago, former Campus Dining employee Christian Green has been listed in fair condition as of yesterday, according to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center spokesperson Ron Yukelson. “He’s still being monitored, but he’s able to be out of the intensive care unit,” Yukelson said. Green was originally listed in critical condition after the single-car collision. The driver of the vehicle, Michael Jones, 22, has been released.
In rejecting freedom for Charles Manson, a California parole board Wednesday said they were swayed in part by comments he made to prison psychologists. John Peck, a member of the parole panel, quoted from the statements. “‘I’m special. I’m not like the average inmate,’” Peck said, according to the Associated Press. “‘I have spent my life in prison. I have put five people in the grave. I am a very dangerous man.’”
Former Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs and executives at five major book publishers illegally conspired to raise e-book prices, costing consumers tens of millions of dollars, federal and state officials alleged in antitrust lawsuits filed Wednesday. The collusion began in 2009 and price fixing took effect with the launch of the Apple iPad in early 2010, boosting the average cost of e-books by $2 to $3 each “virtually overnight,” said Sharis Pozen, the acting head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division.
WORD ON THE STREET WHAT SHOES DO YOU WEAR WHEN IT RAINS?
“Just my Vans.” • Daniel Holl biological sciences junior
“Rugged Outback boots.” • Garret Close business administration junior
“Rainboots.” • Beth Balbierz biological sciences freshman
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MDarts 4
Thursday, April 12, 2012 COURTESY PHOTO
Rain, rain go away Annual Tractor Pull depends on weather. DAVID YRIARTE
davidyriarte.md@gmail.com
A select group of Cal Poly students can be found on any given day dedicating their hours to pushing the pedal to the floor, ripping up dirt and hauling a giant sled across a dirt field until their multi-engine tractor cannot go any further. These students will be featured at Cal Poly’s 33rd Annual Truck and Tractor Pull on Saturday. The event will feature tractors from the western U.S., including Cal Poly’s own Mustang Fever and Poly Thunder. The event, run by the Cal Poly Tractor Club, has held been held almost every April since 1972, bioresource and agriculture engineering professor Mark Zohns said. In 2006, the pull was cancelled because of rain. “If it’s down pouring cats and dogs, and not letting up, then we will have to cancel,” Zohns said. “When we canceled the pull in 2006,
the rain came late and we couldn’t set up the bleachers.” The bleachers for this year’s event are already set up, and barring rain, more than 40 competitors will come to Cal Poly to participate in the following pull classes: injected, blown, mini-modified tractors; super stock and promodified 4WD and 2WDD trucks; and single, multi-engine and superstock tractors. “Hopefully, one of the tractors that’s going to show up will have five engines on it,” Cal Poly Tractor Club president Robert Brown said. “Each engine is about 2,000 horsepower each, so a total of 10,000 horsepower all together. It’s mainly for show, you can put all the power to the ground.” Cal Poly’s own tractor,
Mustang Fever, has an impressive Allison V-1710-85 Aircraft engine. The same engine was used in World War II American fighter aircrafts, such as the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. Building this beast was not an easy task, especially since it was a student project constructed in less than four months, said Zohns, who was a facility adviser on the project and spent many hours helping students complete the tractor. “The students worked a lot of late nights,” Zohns said. “Gary Weisenberger and myself did a lot of the machine work in our spare time to help the students get it done in time.” see TRACTOR, pg. 6
“April showers...” • PHOTO CREDIT Krisha Agatep •
MDarts 5
Thursday, April 12, 2012
There’s always something to enjoy at Avila Valley Barn
Erin Hurley is a journalism senior and Mustang Daily SLO lifestyle columnist. One of my favorite memories as a kid was going to a local farm during the summer to pick berries with my family — we’d each take a box and pick until we couldn’t carry any more. As a result, I’ve really come to love the idea of farms that invite people to come out and buy or pick what they grow. They’re fun to visit, and it’s a way to know exactly where your produce is coming from. And buying locally is always a good idea. Avila Valley Barn is a great local example, and not just because of all the great local produce — it offers so much more than that. The barn also sells ice cream and baked goods, has a variety of animals to visit and has a store full of homemade, spe-
cialty food items. Avila Valley Barn started in the 1980s and was much smaller than it is now. According to Sandra Olea, one of the managers, it was “a picnic table with an umbrella” and a small amount of produce. The place is a “family outing,” Olea said. “It’s a whole different experience of farming and how it is to grow our own produce and our food,” Olea said. “It grew as a family environment type thing ... and it still is.” The Ice Cream and Sweet Shoppe opened in 2005, and the store now offers a wide range of delicious-looking gourmet and specialty items such as cheeses and spreads, as well as cooking books and supplies. There’s also a range of homemade Avila Valley Barn items such as fruit spread and peanut brittle. The shop tries to buy lo-
cal products at Avila Valley Barn, Olea said, and when the barn can’t grow a type of produce itself, the shop will try to buy that locally as well. The store also offers a number of homemade, baked goods too, such as pies, turnovers and scones. I love cooking, so I was stoked about this store. I wanted to buy everything. Avila Valley Barn is going to have an online store soon, too, Olea said, so people who live further away can purchase Avila Valley Barn pies. The farm’s produce comes from 50 acres dedicated to farming as well as leased property around the area. It offers much of the same items you’d see in a grocery store, except it’s all local. Right now it has strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. In summer and fall see BARN, pg. 6
CHRISTIAN MILLAN/MUSTANG DAILY
Photographer captures ‘juvi’ life Photographer Richard Ross visited Cal Poly to talk about his project, “Juvenile-in-Justice,” at Phillips Hall on Friday, April 6. He talked about some of his experiences and the series that took him five years to complete. Visit mustangdaily.net to see a slideshow and an interview with the photographer. COURTESY PHOTO
MDarts 6 TRACTOR continued from page 4
From an idea to a powerful machine in only a few months, Mustang Fever came a long way and is ready
for this weekend, Zohns said. Poly Thunder is the other Cal Poly tractor ready to let its engines roar this weekend. Though Mustang Fever is the better-known tractor, Poly Thunder is considered to be one of the top tractors
Thursday, April 12, 2012 in the western U.S. “We’ve gotten a few first places,” Brown, a bioresource and agriculture engineering junior, said. “It all depends on who shows up and who does well. Mustang Fever is usually in the middle of the pack, and Poly Thunder tends to do very well.” This Saturday Mustang Fever and Poly Thunder will be seen ripping up dirt and raising money for students. All ticket sales from the event will go to a scholarship endowment that goes to hard-working students of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, Brown said. Selling tickets is not difficult since the truck and tractor pull is one of the most popular events every Open House Weekend, drawing in more than 4,000 spectators. It has been the major feature of the weekend for more than 20 years, even back when Open House was called Poly Royal. Though the event draws in large numbers every year, many students such as industrial engineering junior Bradley Jackman have never seen a tractor pull. “I’ve never had the opportunity to see a tractor pull,” Jackman said. “I think it’s a good thing to check out because there’s such an agricultural influence at Poly.” Mustang Fever, Poly Thunder and other powerful machines will compete at 1 p.m. across from the Crops Unit. Tickets are $8 for adults and $3 for children 10 and under.
BARN continued from page 5
the number of seasonal produce starts going up and includes olallieberries, nectarines, plums, multiple types of apples and vegetables such as squash, green beans and peppers. The great thing is most of this produce is available for people to go pick themselves starting in late May. And get this — Olea said on nearby property at Gopher Glen Apple Farm, apple tasting is offered during the season, so people can try up to 60 different varieties.
When the weather gets colder, it doesn’t mean there’s nothing to be found at the farm, though. In October and November, it offers more than 20 kinds of pumpkins and gourds, Olea said, and the local schools come to pick pumpkins. I too went pumpkin picking at the farm last October with some friends, and the atmosphere was so much fun. It reminded me of the good old days when I was a kid. And then, in late November and December, the farm brings out the noble fir trees from Oregon, Olea said. Basically, there’s something great to be found at the farm
just about all year round. If all that wasn’t enough, Avila Valley Barn has a number of adorable, fun animals, including emus, alpacas and donkeys. Olea said most of the animals are permanent residents, but sometimes new ones will come — for example, right now it’s spring, so they have a number of baby animals. I seriously considered trying to take one of the piglets home in my purse. Olea said she thinks Avila Valley Barn is “definitely at its peak.” It gets adults coming back who came as kids, she said, and teachers who bring students back year after year. A lot of Cal Poly students work there year round as well, according to Olea — she even gets calls about bringing WOW groups there. And this place isn’t just popular with locals. Olea said during the summer a lot of visitors are tourists — for example, there are some visitors who come every year from Fresno. What brings people here is the experience of being at a farm, Olea said. “I take it for granted because I am here all the time, but to see the joy on these kids’ faces sometimes ... to me it’s just a magical little place.” It didn’t take me long to love this place, and I bet you all will too if you don’t already. With all the stress and worry that we have in our lives, a place such as Avila Valley Barn is pure, simple fun that is a great idea anytime.
MD op/ed 7
Thursday, April 12, 2012
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The agony of ‘out of touch’ politics Andrew Bloom is an English senior and Mustang Daily liberal columnist. Sooner or later, every American incumbent is eventually called “out of touch” — just as all flowers are eventually called pretty and all Cal Poly professors are eventually accused of inflating their own PolyRatings. When elected politicians are accused of this crime, it is usually the case that some appeal to populism was originally intended, a wedge meant to be driven between the smiling likenesses on the campaign posters and the reality of the candidate himself. The attack itself is a relic of 1920s populism, mired in the cynicism of 1970s postmodernity and, finally stranded in the strange times of today, when an ever-growing centrist movement voices its frustration with partisan politics despite the number of electable figures remaining an implacable two. Continuing a centuries-old debate among the likes of Russell and Frege, the OutOf-Touch Attack (OOTA, henceforth) goes after the inherent difference between sense and reference; it seeks to paint a caricature of a person, to expose the widening gap between this caricature and the person, and to congratulate those under its rhetorical spell on the efficacy of their suspicions, the truth-revealing powers
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Thursday, April 12, 2012 Volume LXXVI, Number 103
©2012 Mustang Daily
“I saw your story in the MD! Congratulations!”
the omnipresence of out-oftouch attacks in our rhetoric expresses some ugly truths about our politics. Time Magazine’s Michael Crowley, a dependable centrist, theorizes a two-fold explanation for this phenomenon. First is that, though the office of the Presidency offers numerous political perks, “it does trap its occupant in a bubble of prestige which is impossible to avoid.” The Romney campaign seems to have realized that it need only attract attention to the President’s inherently elite status, no matter what cost to credibility or consistency of message, to somehow alter Obama’s personal character from whatever it was beforehand. Secondly is the sad truth that “stereotypes die hard in politics, and certain attacks
are more effective against one party than against the other.” Despite the tendency of the facts to suggest their candidates are far more elite than their opposing Democrats, the GOP has touted for decades the zeitgeist of liberals as bookish academics unfit to lead something as quotidian as the federal government. Not only are OOTAs innately misleading, I believe they deal considerable damage to our national rhetoric — far more than meets the eye — and further casts Americans in a shameful light around the world. The hypocrisy is certainly one thing; now that everyone’s message seems to be one of anti-cynicism, the claim that each of our elected officials is masquerading as a misreading of their surroundings is childishly paradoxical. But I also dislike how these
attacks condition us to look at each other. How much longer will it be before the belief disappears that politicians even have a personality behind the mask? Before voters, whether they agree with you or not, are immediately discounted as ideological slaves or else fraudulent phantasms? The OOTA is metaphysically egocentric; I make myself feel realer and more perceptive the more and more jaded I become about the faces on the television. But this, of course, is mere self-aggrandizing fantasy —nor will it matter in the scope of things. As the Central Coast poet Robinson Jeffers once wrote, “Imagine what delusions of grandeur, what suspicion-agonized eyes, what jellies of arrogance and terror this earth has absorbed.”
Miscommunication Daily KAYTLYN LESLIE kaytlynleslie.md@gmail.com
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of their skepticism. The OOTA is inherently tautological, valid no matter what when used on President Obama, Governor Romney, Senator Franken, Donald Trump, George Clooney, yourself, myself or anybody. It relies on a straw-man fallacy, at least two post-hoc ergo propter-hocs, a slew of ad hominems and very often a circulus probando — or begging the question — when the direct takeaway of your opponent’s out-of-touchness is the perceived increase in your own in-touchness. But no matter. OOTAs seem poised to persist in our politics for the conceivable future, watering down robocalls and stump speeches for years to come. “Years of flying around on Air Force One, surrounded by an adoring staff of true believers telling you what to do,” Mittworth Willard Romney said to a group of Wisconsinites last Tuesday. “Well, that might be enough to make you a little out of touch.” The rhetorical chastity climbed to utter silliness on Sunday, when Romney speculated in Pennsylvania that Obama had perhaps “spent too much time at Harvard.” Aside from the comic shamelessness of a candidate for the president of the United States, in possession of two Harvard degrees himself, broadcasting such banter into national air waves with a straight face,
Journalism has a problem. It’s not the lack of money (though that does definitely exist). It’s not that technology is changing media (though, again, this is also true). It’s that in general, nobody understands what we do, not even us at times. Some more cynical people’s understanding of journalism involves sneaky reporters interviewing good, honest, hardworking folks and then unabashedly misquoting and misinterpreting their words to suit our own agenda. This year alone, Mustang Daily has been told it is anticonservative, anti-liberal, too risque, too boring, insensitive, too sensitive, prejudiced against greeks, ignoring greeks, stupid students, fake journalists and my personal favorite, without morals or shame. We’ve even been renamed the “Fuckstang Faily” by one commenter. Even though it’s difficult to maintain these contradictory stances, if the comments on our website are to be believed, we’ve been excellent at being all of them. Yes, we make mistakes. But we own up to them. I’ve swallowed my pride and written countless editor’s notes alerting you to our errors, your comments appear in the paper and we ask for letters to the editor informing us of how we are doing. We want your input, and aren’t looking to stop that. But we first have to clear up some misconceptions. The easiest way to do this is to bring up the latest example of the tumultuous relationship between Mustang Daily and some individuals in greek life. One of our news reporters, Sean McMinn, recently wrote an article about the cease and desist order issued to Delta Sigma Phi following an alleged party which might or might not have drawn 300 attendees and
did end in four citations by the San Luis Obispo Police Department (SLOPD). In this article, McMinn directly quotes Student Life and Leadership Director Stephen Lamb, greek life director Diego Silva and SLOPD Captain Chris Staley. He also obtained matching “no comments” from the presidents of both Delta Sigma Phi and Phi Sigma Kappa (the investigation of which has since been dropped). Yet, the majority of the 35 comments on this article say it is biased, and that Mustang Daily doesn’t include facts in its articles. According to these anonymous commenters, we are “biased” because the sources included had negative things to say about the issue, even though these not only are the top people a reporter is expected to contact for anything related to greek life but are also admittedly expected to be the most in favor of greek life. Who else would they like for us to talk to? Mustang Daily isn’t out to get the greek system. I have absolutely no problem with it, except for this annoying habit that as soon as we report anything bad, we’re told we hate greek life and never cover anything good about them. If that’s true, then how do we get stories such as these: “LGBT making allys,” “Sorority grants wishes with annual casino night,” “Rush week concludes with big numbers” and “Record-breaking rush wraps up recruitment.” The above headlines were all stories written this year that cast greek life in a favorable way. (By the way, all of these were front page above the fold articles as well.) But guess what? None of those articles have near as many comments as the articles on cease and desist orders or hazing. And the majority of comments on those “exciting” stories aren’t by people who “hate the greeks.” The majority of the comments are by people, you
guessed it, saying the Mustang Daily is biased against fraternities and sororities. It’s a horrible circle, that quite honestly, I’m not sure how to remedy. All I can say is Mustang Daily does everything it can to cover greek life in the most equal and unbiased way possible. We have reporters whose specific beats are to cover greek events. We’ve made attempts to team up with SLL and create a monthly greek life update. And we accept press releases from everyone, so please don’t hesitate to send us one. We don’t rate greek life events any less important than an event by the Pride Center, Safer or the MultiCultural Center, all of which recieve a lot of coverage in the paper. An even worse phenomenon though, is the blatant attack against the reporter of such articles. In McMinn’s article, 10 of the 35 comments directly state that McMinn is either a jealous shut-in who doesn’t get invited to parties, or a stupid reporter who just likes to write negative stories about stuff. I will vouch for McMinn in this instance and say that he is neither. When he began this story, he didn’t call up the editors and say, “Haha, greek life screwed itself again, and I’m going to expose that.” He, as well as other members on staff such as our managing editor Karlee Prazak and news reporter Victoria Billings — who by the way is also listed as a contributor to the article, spent the day carefully checking every bit of in-
formation they received. When the story got to copy editing, we carefully read it to make sure there was absolutely no opinion in it, and it was just the bare facts — we even had the police report as reference. We literally did everything we could to make sure the story was without bias, and we still received crap for it. So here’s the deal. Nobody at the Mustang Daily enjoys the animosity that pops up in these situations. None of us want to have ongoing drama with any campus groups, and we’ve found that the best way to cut off these problems is to let you in on our process. So now on our website, we’ve included a new page on your rights as a source and what you can expect when being interviewed, as well as updating our comments and anonymous sources policy. We’re also creating a brand new “About Us” page where readers can go to find out about our entire staff, and hopefully, realize we’re actual, real people, not nameless evil. We want to be open with you, and we want you to be open with us. In the coming weeks, we will feature a survey that allows readers to rate how they think we cover campus issues. I encourage everyone to fill it out and turn it in to our newsroom (you get a free T-shirt as well), so we can start to fix our respective misconceptions. Maybe then, we’ll start getting more comments on article about a sorority philanthropy event than a fraternity party.
Parties have proved to be safe places for college students to gather and drink RESPONSIBLY. To add to the excitement of parties, people theme them to pop culture trends — including this alleged “playboy party.” Nothing about this is childish … it is human nature. BTW: DSP delivers way more to the students, campus and community as a whole than any other greek organization affiliated with campus. Thousands of dollars are raised, several foundations and charities benefit every year. Which part of this sounds not worthy of being treated like an adult? Immaturity and jealousy on the other hand can cause malicious, spiteful behavior. I think if Cal Poly further investigates, they will find that DSP did nothing out of the ordinary. The only people who find problems with what DSP did are the immature and jealous people not lucky enough to get an invitation to the party. — Gandalf the Grey In response to “Two fraternities under investigation after 300-person party” NOTE: The Mustang Daily features select comments that are written in response to articles posted online. Though not all the responses are printed, the Mustang Daily prints comments that are coherent and foster intelligent discussion on a given subject. No overcapitalization, please.
MDsports 8
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Mustang teams prepare for season-defining matchups MUSTANG DAILY STAFF REPORT
mustangdailysports@gmail.com
With Open House taking most of the weekend spotlight, both softball and men’s tennis will still compete on campus, while the baseball team travels to Southern California for a three-game series. Men’s Tennis The Cal Poly men’s tennis team competes in its final home match of the season on
Sunday against Fresno State at 11 a.m. The No. 49 Mustangs compete in two more Big West matches before heading to the conference championships in hopes of securing a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Most recently, the team lost to No. 34 Santa Clara 6-1 after the doubles team of Andre Dome and Matt Fawcett, the 55th-ranked duo in the nation, defeated Ilya Osintsev and John Lamble. Marco Comuzzo and Jurgen De Jager also defeated
Santa Clara’s Nicolas Vinel and Eugene Muchynski to secure the doubles point, but it was the only one Cal Poly would earn. The Big West Championships take place April 27 to 29 in Indian Well, Calif., with the top finishers moving onto nationals in mid-March. Baseball Despite a one-run loss to UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday, see WEEKEND, pg. 9
NHA HA/MUSTANG DAILY
Andre Dome, ranked 20th nationally, will face Fresno State’s top player this weekend.
Twitter is changing the way we watch J.J. JENKINS
mustangdailysports@gmail.com
Editor’s Column My dad and I had a Saturday ritual before I left for Cal Poly. Every Saturday afternoon in the fall, we would go for a run in the morning having recorded all the big college football games that day. By the time we got back, showered, ate breakfast and took care of a few household chores, we’d plop down in front of the couch and watch college football. Besides not answering phone calls or listening to anyone in the house who might know the scores, we could blissfully live in the past and buzz through commercials like nobody’s business. But that was before Facebook exploded and Twitter was just a verb to describe the birds chirping. I’m not sure we could repeat our ritual today. Not because social media is too intrusive, not because our phones are glued to our hands and not because a simple text can ruin everything. If given the choice, for most big sporting events, I won’t watch them on tape delay because reacting alongside friends and celebrities on Twitter has become part of the game experience. Before the heyday of social media, reacting to the big moments in the Masters (the double eagle, the crazy hook shot from
Bubba Watson in the playoff) came the next day at school or work. Now journalists on the scene can react to a shot or play before it appears on your television screen (thanks to Janet Jackson and the sevensecond delay). And reporters on the scene can begin reporting on quirky stories hours ahead of a journalist without Twitter. Minutes after Louis Oosthuizen tossed his double-eagle ball into the crowd, ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski found the lucky recipient, talked to him and posted about it.
A few hours later, he checked back with the man and heard that he had returned the ball to the club, presumedly in exchange for something (hopefully, a round of golf at Augusta). These little stories that provide asides to the main story create a more compelling sportswatching-experience and are only possible because of the instantaneous nature of Twitter. Plus we get to read hilarious tweets from Bubba Watson, such as the one he posted hours before going out for his final round. “How do I get my
hair to look so good???? #GoatMilk,” he tweeted. Social media now takes the experience of watching sports with your buddies and amplifies it. You can still watch the big game with your friends over a bowl of chips and guac, but now the best comment can be posted, retweeted and re-upped in the Twittersphere. Plus 80 percent of people multitask while watching TV, according to a recent survey by Yahoo Mobile and Razorfish, so taking 30 seconds out to post a quick comment doesn’t take away from the interpersonal interaction when done in moderation. Now Twitter and the second-screen effect, watching TV with another device in front of you, is an advertisers best friend. Tivo and other DVR options are still a great way to catch shows and games when you’re away, but now the experience is different from watching live. Consequently, people not only watch commercials, but tweet about them too. It’s no coincidence that the first ad after the Super Bowl started ended with a hashtag to promote Budweiser’s new platinum beer ... whatever that means. Obviously though, there’s a limit to social sharing. Once people start Instagramming themselves watching a game while tweeting in an attempt to ironically share the game, we’ll know we’re doomed.
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MDsports 9
Thursday, April 12, 2012
BCS change on the way BLAIR KERKHOFF
McClatchy Newspapers
Hark, the sounds of spring football: Coaches barking, pads bashing, motorcycle s crashing. If we’re finished rubber-necking at the wreckage of a Harley and a coaching career at Arkansas, it’s time to move on to an issue with wider impact in college football. During the next couple of months, the quiet and steady progress of restructuring the national championship will come to a resolution. “We’re getting down to it,” said Bill Hancock, executive director of the Bowl Championship Series. “Pretty soon, it’s going to be time to make a decision, and I’m confident the game will be better for it.” Coaches like the shamed Bobby Petrino come and go, but the idea of crowning a college football champion through what in all likelihood will be a playoff is revolutionary stuff for a sport that kicked off 143 years ago and largely identified its champion through opinion polls and computer rankings. Last week, a position paper surfaced that detailed the most discussed options of change among conference commissioners. Those with visions of eight- or 16-team playoff s will be disappointed. Let’s start with the option that, from interviews, seems to have the most traction: a fourteam event with seeded semifinals and a championship game. This model works because it satisfies the desire for change without, traditionalists believe, diminishing the value of the regular-season and bowl games. New school and old school forging a new path. It sells. The devil, as is his custom, plunges his pitchfork into the details. Would the semifinals be played in bowls, where the
bowl experience becomes a business trip and fans of the winning team would have to travel twice? Or would the semis be contested on campus? The smaller classifications make it work, but Division I-A scale is much different. National semifinals would be the second-largest productions of a season, with enormous attention from the news media. BCS bowls and NCAA Final Fours in large cities can handle the congestion. Could Manhattan, Kan., or Stillwater, Okla.? This concern has been quietly expressed. Also discussed as a fourteam option would be holding the semis and final at neutral sites through a bid process not branded as bowl games. If this were a PowerPoint presentation, Cowboys Stadium and Jerry Jones would fill the screen. A piece of two of the models may work best: semifinals at bowl sites — winner could get an Orange Bowl trophy like the AFC champion hoists the Lamar Hunt Trophy — and the finalists advance to the biddedout College Bowl (OK, you come up with a name). Applying last year’s BCS standings, the winners between LSU-Stanford and Alabama-Oklahoma State would have met in a championship. Three other models for determining a national champion are offered in the paper, and fall into two categories: Not enough and too much. First are two ideas that aren’t bold enough. One thought is to stay the current BCS course but eliminate the limit of teams from one conference and do away with the automatic qualifiers that have kept out higher-ranked teams. The other thought is the original “plusone,” selecting two teams after the bowls. The third model intends to preserve the Rose Bowl. The
two highest-ranked teams from the Big Ten and Pac-12 would always play in Pasadena, Calif., and if it were part of a national-title structure, fine. If not, fine. The Rose Bowl was/is/always will be special and has survived the invasion from Oklahoma, Texas and TCU. The Granddaddy can keep its Big Ten/Pac-12 game, dropping in the standings for a matchup if the champions are involved in a fourteam playoff. But if Oregon and Wisconsin were top-four teams, they ‘d have to line up with the rest of college football and engage in the playoff. It doesn’t work otherwise. The commissioners have talked about more than a championship. Also on the table are models to reshape the highest-profile bowls, with matchups determined by a committee “with the aim of providing the most evenly matched and attractive games that make geographic sense for the participants.” Five to 10 bowls would be involved, and this would be the postseason experience for conference champions of non-playoff participants plus at-large teams. BCS officials meet later this month in Florida, but Hancock said no action would be taken on the postseason format’s future. Conference meetings in May and June will bring university presidents up to speed, and a new college football postseason world is expected to be unveiled by July 1, to become effective with the 2014 season. It won’t arrive with the suddenness of a motorcycle crash, but change is coming. An official close to the BCS told me recently, “Don’t be surprised if the BCS as we know it goes away.”
WEEKEND continued from page 8
the Mustang baseball team has an opportunity to move up in the Big West standings while playing three games against Cal State Northridge this weekend. The Matadors are 2-4 in conference with a 14-18 record overall, while the Mustangs are 20-11 and 4-2. A strong performance over the weekend could be crucial to continuing Cal Poly’s
momentum as the team faces top-ranked Cal State Fullerton next week. Softball The softball team has struggled to find a rhythm this year, but Cal Poly notched an extra-inning victory over Fresno State on Tuesday going into their series against Cal State Northridge at Bob Janssen field this weekend. Despite missing veteran pitcher Rebecca Patton, the Mustangs are led at the plate by junior
center fielder Whitley Gerhart who’s batting .421 in Cal Poly’s last seven games. The series begins with a doubleheader on Saturday, and first pitch comes at noon. Club Tennis The club tennis team travels to Cary, NC, this weekend to compete in the USTA On Campus National Championships. The squad qualified as one of the 64 best teams in the nation. The team is making its first appearance since 2008.
MAX ZERONIAN/MUSTANG DAILY
Cal Poly’s Sunday starter, Kyle Brueggemann, has posted a 4-2 record over eight games this season with a 4.01 ERA. The Mustangs are 20-11 overall and 4-2 in Big West play.
MDsports 10
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Rodeo ropes in the competition
PHOTO COURTESY OF KELLY SING
ALLISON MONTROY
allisonmontroy.md@gmail.com
Natalie Dinges slowly lowers herself onto the back of the bull for the first time. Firmly taking the rope in her left hand, she finds her balance and raises her right hand to signal she’s ready to go. The gate swings open and the steer charges, kicking his back legs until Dinges flies off the side and into the mud. A cheer erupts from a crowd of cowboy boots and jeans sitting on the gate. Welcome to the Cal Poly Rodeo Class. Dinges, a business administration junior, was one of 10 students in the class randomly chosen to ride a bull at the upcoming 72nd Annual Poly Royal Rodeo April 13 to 14. For many students. this test-run was their first ride. “I’ve sat on a horse twice in my life,” Dinges said. “(It was) really fun, but kind of nervewracking. Falling off was the scariest part.” Helping with the class were members of the Cal Poly Rodeo team, a 30-member intercollegiate rodeo team that has been riding bulls and racing horses since 1946, member and animal science senior Kalysa Hamilton said. The Cal Poly Rodeo team will host Poly Royal Rodeo at Cal Poly’s Open House this weekend. “Last year, over 2,000 people came out,” Hamilton said. “The thing that is awesome about Poly Royal is that other (rodeo) competitions try to get people, but there are no crowds like Poly Royal. It’s tradition.” All of the events at Poly Royal “come from ranch jobs, like roping cows,” Hamilton said. When ranchers needed to help sick cows on the ranch, they would use methods such as tie-down roping, which is roping and tying down a steer cow calf. Poly Royal gives the Cal Poly community a taste of “the ro-
deo world and the western heritage most people don’t get to see,” agricultural communication freshman Lane Santos Karney said. Karney competes in three of the men’s events, including tie-down roping and steer wrestling. Agricultural communication junior Morgan Defty is the team’s only bull, or “rough-stock” rider, but that hasn’t stopped him from scoring fourth in the region. Defty’s advice for new riders is “(to) stay up on the rope, mentally focus and practice with technique.” The women’s team stands second overall in the nation going into Poly Royal, and the
I’ve sat on a horse twice in my life. (It was) really fun, but kind of nerve-wracking. Falling off was the scariest part. NATALIE DINGES BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION JUNIOR
men’s team at 13th. A majority of the schools competing center their focus on the rodeo, according to coach Tony Branquinho. What sets Cal Poly apart is the team members also work hard in a competitive educational environment. “Our students focus really hard on school, and they com-
pete,” Branquinho said. Rodeo students not only have the responsibility of schoolwork, but they also take care of any horses they bring, feed livestock, clean the stalls and arena, as well as practice their sport. “But really, how many people can say that they rode a steer in class before?” Branquinho said.
PHOTO COURTESY OF KELLY SING
Animal science senior Kalysa Hamilton won first place in the barrel racing event at the West Hills College Rodeo. The team will compete this weekend during Open House.