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October 2, 2014

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Thur sday, October 2, 20 14

2014

2013

Volume L X X I X , Number 6

w w w.mus t angne w s .net

2013 Public intoxication arrests increased by 13 from 2013 to 2014. That is a 144 percent increase from last year.

Minor in possession arrests decreased by 32 from 2013 to 2014. That is a decrease of 45 percent.

2014

increase in fire & medical emergency incidences involving alcohol

2014

increase in fire & medical emergency incidences involving college students

Fire and medical emergency responses decreased by 16 from 2013 to 2014. That is a decrease of 15 percent.

2013

FILE PHOTO | MUSTANG NE WS

WOW 2014: New safety procedures yield mixed results Samantha Pryor @sammpryor

Historically, the start of a new academic year at Cal Poly causes a spike in criminal activity in San Luis Obispo. According to a San Luis Obispo Police Department (SLOPD) media release, Week of Welcome (WOW) 2013 and 2014 had significant differences in crime numbers. From 2013 to 2014, fire and medical emergency incidents involving alcohol increased by 35 percent and fire and medical emergency

incidents involving college students increased by 52 percent. The number of minor in possession arrests also plummeted from 71 in 2013 to 39 this year. In an opposite situation, drunk in public arrests increased from nine to 22. Changes in police coverage To increase public safety and minimize the spike in crime, SLOPD implemented several safety procedures during WOW. For example, SLOPD doubled its standard deployment during nights of WOW.

According to SLOPD Capt. Chris Staley, there was a strong effort to partner with other San Luis Obispo entities during WOW, including the University Police Department (UPD), San Luis Obispo Fire Department, Sierra Vista Hospital and San Luis Ambulance. “There was certainly more collaboration with Cal Poly,” he said. “This year is to a higher level than what we have done in previous years.” >>

see WOW, pg 3.

Football returns to Spanos on Saturday

see DELTRON, pg 5.

COURTESY PHOTO | ASSOCIATED STUDENTS, INC. IAN BILLINGS | MUSTANG NE WS HOME SWEET HOME | The Cal Poly football team returns home Saturday in hopes of its second home win.

The Cal Poly football team (1-3, 0-1 Big Sky) returns home Saturday to Alex G. Spanos Stadium to face Southern Utah (1-4, 1-0) in their second home game of the season. The Mustang’s offense has been rolling, led by junior quarterback Chris Brown, who has run for 443 yards and four touchdowns and passed for 479 yards and two more scores. Sophomore running back Kori Garcia and senior fullback Brandon Howe have anchored the rest of the Cal Poly run offense, combining for 523 yards and five touchdowns. Kickoff on Saturday is set for 6:05 p.m.

FEELIN’ GLAD | Deltron 3030 kicks off Associated Students, Inc.’s sunset concert series this Friday at 7 p.m.

Deltron 3030 to perform on-campus sunset show Annie Vainshtein @annievain

PREVIEW

Deltron 3030 — which has collaborated with Gorillaz — will take the University Union (UU) Plaza stage Friday at 7 p.m., bringing its futuristic hip-hop and debuting one of many free nighttime campus shows to come. >>

Cal Poly students volunteer for

National Good Neighbor Day Brooke Sperbeck @BrookeSperbeck7

State Farm isn’t the only good neighbor out there. Cal Poly students and community members banded together this past Sunday to clean local neighborhoods in recognition of National Good Neighbor Day, Cal Poly Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) President Joi Sullivan said. “It’s something that’s really important, especially for this community, because we have such a distinct community of college students,” Sullivan said. “Having those relationships with the community is really important for the health of San Luis Obispo.” The cleanup day, organized by Student Affairs, was inspired by conversations at a Student Community Liaison Committee (SCLC) meeting. >>

see NEIGHBOR, pg 2.

COURTESY PHOTO | SLO MOTION PICTURES

News... 1-3 | Arts... 4-5 | Opinion... 6 | Classifieds... 7 | Sports... 8


Thursday, October 2, 2014

NEWS | 2

SLO MOTION PHOTOGR APHS | COURTESY PHOTO GOOD DEEDS

| In honor of National Good Neighbor Day, Cal Poly students and community members cleaned local neighborhoods. A large amount of those students who participated were from fraternities.

NEIGHBOR continued from pg 1. The committee comprises students and community representatives including Sullivan, Vice President for Student Affairs Keith Humphrey and Panhellenic and Interfraternity Council (IFC) presidents. They meet monthly to discuss different issues affecting Cal Poly, Cuesta College and the community, Sullivan said. “There’s a wide range of entities that are very much invested in the community both on campus and off,” she said. “It’s a chance for people to share what’s going on in their end of things, to make sure everyone’s in the loop.”

In honor of the national service day, Wilshire Community Services, a local nonprofit on the SCLC, created bright green T-shirts for volunteers to wear in support of promoting neighborly acts of kindness all month long. “The goal is to have people with or without shirts participate in good neighborly activities, take a picture of them doing that and post it on social media with the hashtag #goodneighborslo, and they’ll be entered into a raffle to win a prize at the end,” Sullivan said. On Sunday, Cal Poly students wearing the green T-shirts met on California Boulevard and Taft Street, and on Foot-

hill Boulevard near the Sierra Vista apartments to pick up trash in the neighborhoods surrounding campus. More than half of the 80 Cal Poly volunteers were fraternity members, according to Kimberly Hampton, coordinator of off-campus programs. Agricultural business senior Russell Morra, a member of Phi Sigma Kappa, volunteered to pick up garbage with his fraternity on Foothill Boulevard on Sunday because his fraternity’s president sent him an email about the event. Morra filled three garbage bags with trash after just one hour of walking through the neighbor-

hoods by Campus Bottle. He found mostly alcohol containers items, pizza boxes and cigarettes, he said. “I think it’s a more enjoyable place to be when you see the neighborhood looks good and it’s all cleaned up,” Morra said. “No one wants to go through dirty neighborhoods.” Philosophy freshman Jason Hopkins also chose to participate in the Good Neighbor Day cleanup. Hopkins said he signed up to volunteer at a booth during the Week of Welcome Club Showcase. Hopkins wanted to volunteer because he believes it’s important for students to be involved in the

community, especially since they make up a large percentage of the population. “We are a part of the community,” Hopkins said. “We’re kind of one and the same. We need to take care of San Luis Obispo so we can take care of campus.” The Good Neighbor Day event gave students a chance to see how their actions affect other community members, Sullivan said. Though students occasionally “make it challenging” for their neighbors, community members are understanding of college students’ lifestyles. “They all went through it, and so they know,” Sullivan said. “But it is really hard when you’re raising a

family in a heavily college-populated area who likes to stay up late and play loud music, and that’s fun and it’s great, but it is really hard for them.” Though Cal Poly is already part of an “incredible community,” Sullivan said the Good Neighbor Day event offered students and community members a chance to further develop their relationships. “I think that’s the beautiful thing about this good neighbor thing.” she said. “It gives people a chance to realize that there are human beings on the other side of the fence, and how you act even within the confines of your home affects everyone else.”


Thursday, October 2, 2014

NEWS | 3

IHC President Zia Absar

on her new gig, selfies and Ellen Maria Zelada @riazelada

Inter Housing Council (IHC) President Zia Absar has one goal in life. It’s a simple one: to be happy. With a bright grin and bubbly manner, the graphic communication sophomore gushes joy and prides herself in making others feel the same way. “I like helping others and supporting them,” Absar said. “I just thought president was the best way to get to everyone, instead of a just a few. People calling me ‘president,’ I don’t like it. I don’t like the title. I just like being a leader.” After being part of Community Council her freshman year, Absar did what seemed natural and joined IHC, ensuring she could continue her goal of helping others. “I just want to make sure that all the residents on campus feel like they’re at a home away from home,” Absar said. “I know that it’s hard to come to college, not seeing your mom every day, your sister, not seeing your dog.” She knows firsthand the challenges of freshman year, but Absar found her way by par-

ticipating in clubs and organizations such as Community Council. “As a freshman, one of the most important tasks for success at Cal Poly is finding your place,” Absar said. “You have to find what you love doing and be a part of it.” The Muslim Student Association was another outlet that made Absar feel at home. She felt understood at a different level, she said — “a spiritual level.” Absar also spent a few days reuniting with relatives in Pakistan this past summer. She returned to San Luis Obispo with freshly drawn henna draped along her arms. Now fading, the henna is a reminder that it’s time to get back to work. The busy president spends her weeks rushing from class to club meetings, executive board meetings and, well, even more meetings. Yet she still finds the time for selfies. The self proclaimed selfie-taker has been waiting for more than a year to take a selfie with none other than the selfie queen herself, Ellen Degeneres. “If you know Ellen, hit me up,” Absar said. Absar succeeds previous President and mechanical engineering sophomore Christian Odegard.

JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NE WS A NEW FACE | Graphic communication sophomore Zia Asbar succeeds previous President and mechanical engineering sophomore Chistian Odegard. Absar was part of Community Council last year.

WOW continued from pg 1. In addition, SLOPD Neighborhood Outreach Manager Christine Walkers met with greek organization presidents prior to WOW. “We wanted to make sure we reached out to the whole greek community and make sure they were aware of issues like the double fine zone,” Staley said. “(We) used it as an educational opportunity.” California’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control also joined SLOPD and UPD during WOW to conduct plain clothes detail — when officers dress in regular attire rather than uniforms and report law violations. Before this year, the department had never used this tactic during WOW.

“We found other agencies that were using (the tactic) in their community,” Staley said. “We wanted to see how effective it would be here.” The detail netted 22 violations. It allowed police to see activity they wouldn’t normally be able to observe in uniform, Staley said, and acted as an effective deterrent. SLOPD and UPD also combined patrols on foot and in vehicles. Most commonly, a SLOPD officer and a UPD officer were paired together in a “party car” to patrol the neighborhoods and respond to party complaints. “We work really closely as far as putting our resources towards these things,” Staley said. “We will continue that when we have Halloween or the UCSB soccer game.”


Thursday, October 2, 2014

ARTS | 4

DAKOTA GREENWICH | MUSTANG NE WS GOOD EATING | Real Food Cooperative’s head chef, Chris Sayegh, invents and cooks many of the dishes served by the cooperative, a student-run entity aiming to bring fresh and sustainable foods to campus.

Real Food Cooperative brings fine tastes to Dexter Lawn Will Peischel @cpmustangnews

In San Luis Obispo, the sunshine becomes particularly noticeable around 11:45 a.m. Like a petulant child, it pokes your back with rays of heat — a phenomenon marking the moment black pants become the worst idea of the day. Despite the heat, nearly every student walking by Dexter this past Tuesday stopped for a look at the grand opening of the Real Food Cooperative. Head chef Chris Sayegh looked like he was exactly where he belonged. Between greeting an astonishingly large number of friends and watching over his duties, he explained his vision of the largely local fair trade experiment. “We’re trying to be gourmet grab-and-go,” he said. The energetic foodie was adamant about the idea of expanding horizons and options for stu-

dents eating on campus. He spoke specifically about local food, some of which Real Food obtains from Cal Poly’s facilities. Sayegh had room to be ambitious; his past work experience includes employment at Melisse in Santa Monica, a twoMichelin-starred restaurant. “We want to give the students something better, a better choice for campus,” he said. The menu includes both breakfast and lunch. Options include bowls, salads and plates, many of which have a mixture of vegetables, beans, grains and rices, sauces and optional meats. His involvement with Real Food is largely thanks to chance. Environment protection and management junior Jesse Gibson, co-founder of Real Food Cooperative, lived next door to Sayegh last year. Gibson founded the cooperative with forestry and natural resources junior Eli Grinberg. “Jesse branched out,” Grinberg said. “He talked to

Chris and asked if he’d like to join to team. Chris said absolutely. It came together so organically.” According to Grinberg, the cooperative has been in the works since he and his friends were freshmen. The result was several students’ involvement in the Real Food Collaborative, a Cal Poly club. Grinberg spoke proudly about the fact that their business model is cooperative rather than hierarchical. “Everyone (working there) has equal play, an equal say in issues,” he said. “We think it’s a little more transparent when everyone has the same title. There’s less arrogance.” Another important facet to the creators of Real Food Cooperative is their dedication to using locally grown food. They see San Luis Obispo’s agricultural roots as an important advantage for students to use. “Before I was involved with RFC, I was an employee at the Cal Poly organic farm,” Grinberg said. “I realized how much of a resource — a beneficial

resource — it is to have that availability for stuff that we can easily serve to people.” Grinberg even buys some food for Real Food Cooperative from the campus’ organic farm. Grinberg doesn’t see the cooperative as competing with Cal Poly’s already available on-campus options, he said. Instead, he sees it as an opportunity to better the quality of food across the board. Grinberg said the California State University (CSU) system recently mandated that its campuses should each buy at least 20 percent of their food locally by 2020. Currently, Cal Poly buys approximately 8 percent of its products locally, Grinberg said, and the Real Food Cooperative will attempt to help Cal Poly reach the CSU’s goal. “It’s not by any means a competition,” Grinberg said. “We’re just trying to make people think more about food.” If Real Food Cooperative’s momentum continues, Sayegh and Grinberg hope to serve students at Dexter more than once per week.


ARTS | 5

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Deltron 3030 to perform on-campus sunset show Annie Vainshtein @annievain

Deltron 3030 will take the University Union (UU) Plaza stage Friday at 7 p.m., debuting one of many free nighttime campus shows to come. The event is hosted by Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) which invited Deltron 3030 after evaluating past campus shows with associated acts, such as Hieroglyphics and Murs. Musical entertainment student assistant and business senior Parker Glenn said

live hip-hop has fared well at Cal Poly. Deltron 3030, comprising Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and Dan the Automator, recently released their latest album, Event 2. The work features just about everyone from Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Amber Tamblyn. ASI recently surveyed students and found an overwhelming amount preferred later shows, which may shape the protocol for future event planning. Graphic communication senior Haley Brown works as outreach and student government special

You’d like Deltron 3030 if you listen to...

events student assistant. She said ASI is trying to meet students’ musical preferences. “As an organization, our goal is to bring students the type of entertainment they want in the setting they want — we’re just trying to meet the requests of the student body,” Brown said. DJ Quest, who is best known for his power-scratching ability, will also make a guest appearance at Friday’s show. “The great thing about them is that they’re real DJs,” Brown said. “They scratch — the whole thing. It’s not like a wedding DJ.” Students can look forward to a year of new and exciting music brought to campus for free. One last fun fact: Del Tha Funkee Homosapien is Ice Cube’s cousin. And they will be playing “Clint Eastwood.”

RENAUD PHILIPPE | CRE ATIVE COMMONS FUNKY | Deltron 3030, which has collaborated with Gorillaz many times, will come to campus Friday.

GORILLAZ MURS A TRIBE CALLED QUEST HIEROGLYPHICS AESOP ROCK

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Thursday, October 2, 2014

The perils of political polarization Eric Stubben @EricStubben

Eric Stubben is a mechanical engineering junior and Mustang News conservative columnist. Every week after my brain recuperates from class, I squeak open the top drawer of my nightstand, scrounge out my “conservative columns” notebook and open to the next blank page. From there, I skim back through notes of whatever ran through my head over the past week and begin jotting down all my thoughts and researching some supporting facts. Just like that, a new column is born. This week was different. I sat down, put my pen to the paper, and nothing moved. In a political world where so much happens every day, nothing compelled me enough to write about it. ISIS, ISIL, IS or whatever you want to call them? Of course they’re awful, but at this point, I couldn’t write an entire column about them. I sat down as I ate dinner and turned on the national news, still frustrated I couldn’t come up with any thrilling column ideas. But as I flipped from NBC to CNN, Fox News and even (believe it or not) MSNBC, I became frustrated by the polarization between the two political parties, especially the far liberal left and the Tea Party.

In a democracy, there’s no arguing that we need political discourse, debate and discussion. But when and why did our society flip from one of discussion and compromise to one of slander and rejection? It’s not just one side of the aisle, one branch of government or even one profession that’s fallen into this political trap. I watched each news station bring in “experts,” strategists and politicians just to have each one repeat the same lines. I felt like I was listening to a broken record: “The Republicans are trying to block (enter legislation here),” said the left. Then a far-right activist would come on blaming the left for trying to force legislation. Blaming and complaining from both sides of the aisle is nothing new. We’ve seen it since the birth of our nation. However, the one thing that stood out to me as I watched the news the other night was the fact that nobody — not one politician — offered some sort of compromise or realistic solution to the problems they proclaimed. Just 20 to 30 years ago, our politicians were able to compromise. For example, Reagan was one of the most popular and productive presidents in recent history, but not once did he have the House in his favor. Even during the first Bush and Clinton administrations, Congress worked and compromised with the president. It wasn’t easy, but Clinton and an entire Republican Congress worked out a budget deal and a

budget surplus. Now, only 20 years later, we have a stalemate. Times are telling when President Obama’s one signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), had to be pushed through Congress while Democrats controlled both the House and Senate. Even then, some of the ACA was written in “TBA” form. In fact, the biggest thing that happened since Congress split parties in 2010 was the government shutdown. How’s that for a stalemate? As I said before, I don’t know why this stalemate occurred or when. It’s a complex issue based on many different factors, better suited for a graduate thesis. What I do know, though, is the future doesn’t look much brighter unless the political world changes drastically. As long as President Obama’s “pen and cell phone” stay fully inked and charged, his mindset to bypass Congress and use his own executive orders won’t change. Meanwhile, the upcoming election doesn’t look too promising in the name of compromise, either. With the Senate up for grabs, a Republican takeover would put pressure on the left to begin compromising. But if all stays the same and Democrats retain Senate control, nothing is bound to change. What this country needs is a strong-willed, educated voter base — one that’s not afraid to vote out politicians who don’t work for the people. Young voters need to educate

the right angle themselves on the role and importance that policies and issues play on our society. A recent NPR poll revealed only 24 percent of Americans aged 18-29 plan on voting in the upcoming election. It’s no secret that political polarization brings out the worst in people. When political news focuses on stalemates, bickering and blaming, there is no incentive to vote. When there

is no incentive to vote (especially for new voters), the same politicians are elected over and over by the same voting block. I’m not being prophetic when I say this, but a country split down the middle with no compromise will go nowhere. It’s time for America to come back to the center and reap the benefits of compromise. True progress can’t be made without true political discourse.

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Thursday, October 2, 2014

SPORTS | 8

BIG WEST

SOCCER

HAS ARRIVED Nick Larson

@njlarson8

IAN BILLINGS (LEFT), CHRISTA LAM (RIGHT) | MUSTANG NEWS

JUNIOR STARS | Defender Kip Colvey will run the flanks as the men’s soccer team hosts No. 3 UC Irvine. Goalkeeper Alyssa Giannetti will continue her chase of the Cal Poly all-time saves record against Long Beach State.

Nonconference play is a time to travel the country, tinker with lineups and find out if the new freshmen can actually compete at the college level. For the Cal Poly men’s and women’s soccer teams, that time is over. Big West Conference play begins in the next few days for both sides. The men’s team faces No. 3 UC Irvine on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Alex G. Spanos Stadium. The women open with a similarly daunting task, traveling south to face the Big West’s highest-ranked team, Long Beach State. The nonconference matches were relatively successful for the men’s soccer team. Despite the disappearance of their head coach of eight seasons, the Mustangs have worked their way to a 5-2-2 record under former assis-

tant turned interim head coach Phil Ruskin. Their schedule was tough, including visits to North Carolina State and then-No. 1 UCLA. However, the Mustangs came away with a 3-1 victory against the Wolfpack, which began a six-game unbeaten run, and escaped with a shutout and a tie against the Bruins. Cal Poly, the seventh-highest scoring team in Division I last season, has been earning results, but without the same success as last year. The Mustangs are averaging just 1.78 goals per game this year, but are only giving up an average of 1.00 per game. Junior goalkeeper Wade Hamilton has been a rock in goal, shutting out four opponents in nine matches. “Obviously, soccer is a game

where scoring is very difficult,” Ruskin said. “It’s so important for our guys to understand that we’re still creating great chances, we just need to finish.” Ruskin still has high expectations for the Mustangs. “The first expectation, obviously, is that we are in the conference tournament at the end of the year,” Ruskin said. “Every point is crucial. We want to make sure to take care of our games at home.” UC Irvine is 8-0-1 this season, notching 21 goals in nine games. Its No. 3 ranking makes them the highest-ranked opponent to ever visit Spanos for a men’s soccer match. Despite their currently undefeated record, Ruskin feels confident in the Mustangs’ chances against the Anteaters.

“They have a couple areas we intend to exploit,” Ruskin added. “Our guys have a good scout on them. It’s going to come down to how they execute.” The women’s soccer team is just 5-6-0 in nonconference play, but head coach Alex Crozier isn’t worried about the Big West preseason favorites. “I think our nonconference schedule was more difficult than last year’s,” Crozier said. The Mustangs have visited three of the top 12 teams in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll — No. 3 Stanford, No. 11 Pepperdine and No. 12 California — and lost all three by a combined total of only four goals. “We played them, all three, real close,” Crozier added. “A couple of them we felt like we should

have won. We didn’t quite get the results we want, but we are getting better. I feel like we are moving in the right direction.” In 2013, the Mustangs went 4-6 in nonconference play, but still won the Big West with a 7-1 record in conference. Junior forward Elise Krieghoff, the nation’s leading scorer last year based on goals per game, has regained the form she had last year. Krieghoff has found the net seven times in her past four matches, and up to 10 goals on the season. She is only four goals away from first place on the Cal Poly all-time goals list. On the opposite end of the field, the Mustangs are just as solid. Junior goalkeeper Alyssa Giannetti is limiting her opponents to just 1.45 goals per

game and has recently moved to No. 2 on the Cal Poly all-time saves list. “We played some top teams,” Giannetti said. “You just have to take away things that you did well in those games. You can’t dwell on the results.” Giannetti dominated Big West play last year, giving up an average of just 1 goal per game in conference play. Her experience in the back has been invaluable, as the Mustangs lost six starters from last year’s squad. “You need to have your stuff down before going into conference,” Giannetti added. “We have one of the toughest soccer conferences, so it’ll be a tough one.” The Mustangs’ match at Long Beach State kicks off at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 3.


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