11-23-09

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CA L I F O R N I A P O LY T E C H N I C S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

Volume LXXIV, Number 46

Student Community Services holds events to benefit the homeless.

After three days UCSC protesters forced out by police.

Mustangs fall to Weber State to end season.

IN ARTS, 7

IN NEWS, 3

IN SPORTS, 12

Monday, November 23, 2009

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Graduation rates at all-time high Will Taylor mustang daily

Cal Poly leads the California State University (CSU) system with 74 percent of students graduating within six years. Provost Robert Koob predicted these rates will continue to rise despite the poor economic environment in California.

Additionally, the freshman retention rate (which measures the amount of Cal Poly students who return for their sophomore year and, Koob said, is strongly influential in graduation rates) from 2008-2009 was at a record high.

Of the 3,011 freshmen who enrolled at Cal Poly in 2003, 2,288 graduated within six years, according to a press release from the provost’s office. The standard for higher education graduation rates nationwide is measured by six- and four-year rates, according to Integrated Postsecondary Edu-

cation Data System, which operates under the National Center of Educational Statistics.

Of the 3,575 students who came to Cal Poly in 2005, more than 30 percent (1,073) graduated within four years. This percentage is up from a 15 percent four-year graduation rate 10 years ago.

Koob attributed Cal Poly’s graduation rate to the highquality students and faculty who care about education, orientation and residential housing programs.

These programs are crucial to creating an environment that make students feel comfortable and enables them to succeed. Koob’s goal is to increase the six-year graduation rate 6 percentage points to 80 in the next four years.

Koob plans to raise the rate in part by maintaining and raising an already high freshman retention rate. Students returning that first year is key because of high dropout rates at that time. In 2008,

3, 450 freshmen enrolled at Cal Poly and 91.4 percent returned as sophomores; it is the highest this rate has been in Cal Poly’s history.

Koob said he does not think the current budget deficit will affect the graduation rates or freshmen return rates.

“The standards haven’t changed; it’s our enforcement that seems to be changing,” he said.

In fact, Koob said it should help students who can’t graduate on time figure out early and decide on other plans. This might translate to higher graduation rates.

“The graduation (rate) will go up because the budget crisis will force us to be more selective,” he said. “We’ve gotten so much better information about what each student needs to take when.”

Carole Moore, program coordinator for Career Services and a career counselor, said there was

CAL POLY GRADUATION RATE

by the numbers

In ,  percent of the previous year’s freshman class returned as sophomores.

dodged water balloons and hauled turkeys into delivery trucks to raise money, and clubs in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences competed to see who could donate the most canned food.

see Thanksgiving, page 2

see Workshop, page 2

 percent of students who enrolled in  graduated in four years.

see Grad rates, page 2

In the few weeks before Thanksgiving, students around town and on campus have been volunteering Two college women took it upon and donating resources to help those themselves to organize a winter in need. Many people get into the clothing drive, fraternity members spirit of donating because of the season, but these students felt compelled to help in the general spirit of wanting to aid the community.

The Prado Day Center is one organization receiving donations from Cal Poly students. The center assists more than 100 homeless people in San Luis Obispo every day by offering shower facilities, job assistance, medical services and more. Maureen Cusick, a five-year volunteer at the center, said it’s not uncommon to see students volunteering.

“A lot of times, kids have done things where it’s a class requirement, but I have seen people do it for the class but still come leTiCia rodriGueZ mustang daily back on their own time,” Erika Anderson (left), a Cuesta sophomore and Eva Sanders, a journalism senior Cusick said. collected almost 150 bags of clothing on Saturday.

speCial to tHe mustang daily

Although the majority of the generosity this season takes place in the spirit of Thanksgiving, Cal Poly journalism senior Eva Sanders and her roommate, Cuesta sophomore Erika Anderson first thought of having the Warm a Cold Shoulder winter clothing drive after noticing the homeless people around San Luis Obispo during summer. Sanders said she wondered how they stayed warm during cold winter nights. Sanders and Anderson got the word out about their clothing drive by posting invites on their Facebook and Twitter accounts. The two also walked through neighborhoods delivering fliers and paper bags. From neighborhoods alone, they collected 50 trash bags full of clothing and almost 150 more after setting up a drop-off location at Meadow Park Nov. 21.

All proceeds went to the Prado Day Center and a Grassroots center in Los Osos.

“We had a better, more enthusiastic reception than we could have imagined. It’s just so cool that so many people want to give and so many people want to help,” Sanders

 percent of students who enrolled in  graduated in six years or less.

Whether it’s their own initiative, greek life or other clubs some students find a way to give back mustang daily

Sarah Mullen Society looks at a person as a man or a woman, but in reality, there is a spectrum of genders, said Pride Center program assistant Bryn Smith.

“It can be as simple as pronoun usage,” Smith said. “People who are transgender may not identify as he or she.”

Gender binary is a convention that recognizes male and female as the only genders. It was just one of the items on the agenda for the Pride Center’s Trans 101 Workshop on Wednesday. The workshop included terminology, a questionand-answer period and a facilitated discussion.

The Pride Center really does not educate on transgender issues, said Pride Center student coordinator Jessica Cresci.

“We touch on them a little bit in Ally Training,” Cresci said.

“But it is such a complex topic.

It really needs a workshop of its own.”

Trans 101 is the first of three events hosted by the Pride Center during Transgender Awareness Days. The center also sponsored a movie night and an art exhibit.

The Pride Center showed “TransAmerica” Wednesday night. The film is about a male to female transgender who learns he has fathered a son.

“It shows that transgender people are no different than anyone else,” Pride Center student coordinator Ebony Chetto said.

Last year, the Pride Center played two movies: “TransParent” and “TransGeneration.”

“TransParent” is about female to male transgenders who have given birth. “TransGeneration” is about college students who identify as transgender. The movies really help present the difficulties a transgender person faces, Smith said.

“Trangenders are some of the most misunderstood, persecuted people with a high rate of violence against them,” Smith said.

Students help out during holiday season Leticia Rodriguez

Trans 101 educates students

2

Grad rates continued from page 1

significantly more freedom to take classes when she was a Cal Poly student.

“There was no hurry,” Moore said. “We don’t have that luxury now.”

Moore said that Cal Poly still has an approach that fosters student and faculty relationships. Job fairs, orientations and networking all add to the Cal Poly experience, she said.

“I think that Cal Poly, as opposed to other schools, has a close relationship with its students,” she said. “My guess, just being here on campus, is the personal approach we take to education.”

Workshop continued from page 1

The Pride Center also hosted an art exhibit recognizing victims of violence against people who are transgender. It featured handprints with names of people in the United States who have been targets of violence because they are

News editor: Tim Miller mustangdailynews@gmail.com

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News

“There are a lot of really lasting relationships,” Moore added.

Moore said the fact that Cal Poly makes newly admitted students declare a major upon applying to the university can be difficult for students if they want to switch, but it could help the graduation rate. Students like it here, she said, and rarely want to leave, even if the school doesn’t have a desired major.

“I meet with students constantly about changing their major,” she said. “One question we ask is it a major we offer at Cal Poly. Almost always the answer is, ‘I want to stay at Cal Poly.’”

Cindee Bennett-Thompson, the associate director of admissions, said the declaration of a major is key to retaining students

and having them graduate.

“One of the biggest reasons for (high graduation rates) is students are required to declare a major when they apply,” BennettThompson said. “Once they’re here, they know they want to be here.”

All these factors lead to Cal Poly having the highest graduation rate in the CSU system. For instance, CSU Long Beach has a 54 percent graduation rate over a six-year period, according to their Web site.

The University of California system generally has higher graduation rates. For instance, UC Santa Barbara has a 61 percent rate in four years and 79 percent in six, according to their Web site.

transgender, Smith said.

“We are making a hand-print for each transgender person who was physically harmed in the past year,” Smith said. “The list has more than 200 names.”

The exhibit gives the community a chance to contribute. Anybody who knows a transgender person who was a victim of an act of violence can add their name to

the exhibit, Chetto said.

“We hope that this will make people more aware of the hate crimes committed against transgenders both in the community and across the country,” Chetto said.

Transgender Awareness Days were held in celebration of National Transgender Awareness Day on Friday.

Thanksgiving continued from page 1

said.

“We’re hoping to make as many people as warm as possible.”

The fraternity members of Alpha Epsilon Pi wanted to add flare to their donation event. The fraternity wanted to do something a little more creative this year to not only get participants, but to also make the event fun and effective. When a brainstorming session of donation ideas yielded a Turkey Shootout, it

Monday, November 23, 2009 drive. In addition to helping at the event, fraternity members donated four turkeys and nonperishable food items from their homes. Frick said he was ecstatic with the success of the turkey drive and everyone’s willingness to help. All the proceeds went to the food bank.

“I was really proud of the whole greek system for coming through as much as they did. And with the city,” he said. “That’s a lot of money, that’s a lot of turkeys. I was overjoyed.”

Even though philanthropy is strongly encouraged in the greek system, Frick said Zeta Beta Tau chose

We try and do our part as well as we can as college students but it’s definitely important that we help out the local community.

—Ellie Michel Agricultural science senior

seemed like the perfect option. The fraternity members built Mayflower and Plymouth Rock replicas to hide behind while dressed as pilgrims, ears of corn and turkeys.

Community members paid $3 for five water balloons and all the proceeds went to the SLO Food Bank, a group that helps deliver almost 4.5 million pounds of food a year to the homeless and low-income seniors and families on the Central Coast.

Fraternity president Jordan Leib said the club raised $300-$400. He hopes to continue it next year.”It was a really good time. We had dozens of people come out throughout the day, and we’re going to try to build it up for next year so that we can make it bigger for the food bank,” Leib said. “We liked what happened, and we think we can make it really good for next year.”

The members of Zeta Beta Tau participated in a turkey drive Nov. 13.The event was sponsored by local news station KCOY.Volunteers collected over $10,000, 300 turkeys and 12-15 bins of canned food and other nonperishable items. The fraternity members worked all day to load turkeys onto trucks at Sierra Vista Hospital and collect food in bins at grocery stores. Fraternity vice-president Grant Frick said a lot of the donations came from anonymous doctors, radio stations, news stations, community members and the hospital CEO, who matched the $1,500 donated by doctors. Individual fraternities and sororities also donated approximately 40 turkeys to the

to get involved in the turkey drive because the fraternity wants to share with others the blessings they have.

“I think it’s important to give back during all times of the year, and one of the main focuses of the fraternity is to give back,” he said. “We do things during other times of the year, you just don’t hear about them.”

The Collegiate Future Farmers of America (CFFA) also take pride in their yearly canned food drive, the proceeds of which go to the food bank. The contest is held between the clubs in the CAFES to donate canned food in bins located around the Alan A. Erhart Agriculture building. The winners are based on the weight of the club’s bin and its decoration. Club member Ellie Michel said that although each club would love to have the bragging rights associated with being the winner, their main focus is to donate as much as possible.

“We try to do our part as well as we can as college students, but it’s definitely important that we help out the local community,” Michel said.

Even though donation events are most acknowledged during the holiday season, Leib would encourage students and other community members to give back throughout the year.

“If you can, then why not?” Leib said. “You should always be trying to help out people that are less fortunate than you. This is the time to remind ourselves what’s important in life and try to help out whoever we can.”

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Briefs State

National

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MCT) — A 19-year-old local college student has been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department announced Saturday night.

Health officials strongly suspect that he could have the form of the disease known as meningococcal meningitis. That form is relatively rare, with up to 3,000 cases nationwide and 125 deaths annually, according to health officials.

The young man was described as “a student at a local college,” but health officials would not disclose which one.

Bacterial meningitis is spread in saliva or other oral secretions, usually by coughing, kissing and sneezing, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WASHINGTON (MCT) — Without a vote to spare, Democrats pushed their healthcare overhaul legislation over its first obstacle on the Senate floor Saturday, as the chamber voted to begin formal debate of a sweeping measure to guarantee medical coverage for all Americans.

The 60-39 procedural vote — backed by all 58 Democrats and two independents, with Ohio Republican George Voinovich not voting — overcame a Republican-led filibuster designed to block consideration of the bill and kept up momentum behind President Barack Obama’s top legislative priority.

•••

MONTEREY,Calif. (MCT) — A state appeals board has ordered reinstatement of eight correctional officers who were fired from Salinas Valley State Prison in the wake of revelations about a rogue gang of guards known as the Green Wall.

The state personnel board ruled last week there was insufficient evidence to support allegations that the officers stood by or helped beat up an inmate during an unauthorized “extraction” from a caged exercise yard.

•••

FORT HOOD, Texas (MCT) — Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan faces a pretrial confinement hearing Saturday at the San Antonio Army post where he lies paralyzed in a heavily guarded intensive-care unit.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, previously told The Dallas Morning News that Hasan wired money to Pakistan, a hub for terrorist fundraising. McCaul did not link the transfers to U.S.-born al-Awlaki, whose terrorist ties have been investigated for at least a decade.

Fridays’s confinement hearing could speed the psychiatrist’s transfer to a jail cell to await trial on 13 counts of premeditated murder, his civilian attorney said Friday.

News

mcclatchy newspapers

WASHINGTON — What’s the hottest ticket in the nation’s capital?

An engraved invitation to Tuesday’s White House State Dinner, the first hosted by President Barack Obama.

He and the first lady will honor India’s prime minister — in a big way, and in their way. In a departure from the most traditional venue, the elegant, high-ceilinged State Dining Room, the Obamas instead will gather with a few hundred VIPs in a huge, heated tent on the South Lawn.

The guest list for the black-tie gala remains a closely guarded secret, so there’s heavy speculation about who may turn up. Expect Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill. Look, too, for top Obama aides, such as David Axelrod, Valerie Jarrett and Rahm Emanuel.

One White House veteran, Dee Dee Myers, who served as press secretary for Democratic President Bill Clinton, is certain that there’s been “relentless” lobbying by lesser mortals seeking an invite.

“The lobbying is generally pretty big, but add the social cache of the Obamas and the fact that it’s the first state dinner. The first is always the most dramatic. First impressions are important. That’s your A-list, that’s your top game right there. By the time you get to the eighth state dinner, it’ll be a lot less important.”

The dinners generally draw administration officials, members of Congress, the Cabinet and the dip-

lomatic corps. Obama donors and corporate titans, Hollywood glamour, athletic greats and leading artists are bound to be thrown into the mix, possibly joined by some academics and journalists.

The gargantuan tent, still being assembled late last week, affords a bigger crowd than could fit in the State Din-

3

UC Santa Cruz police International force demonstrators out of Kerr Hall

KUWAIT (MCT) — For a second consecutive year, Kuwait dropped in a global corruption ranking assessing 180 countries, according to a leading graft watchdog. Transparency International (TI), a non-partisan global organization, released yesterday the world index that measures corruption levels in the domestic and public sectors. In TI’s annual global Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Kuwait slipped further from 65 to 66 place in a roster of 180 countries. According to the Berlin-based organization fighting worldwide corruption, Kuwait hit the bottom spot as the most corrupt country in the Gulf, following Jordan (49) and Tunisia (65). Kuwait ranks ninth in the Middle East and North African region.

•••

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (MCT) — In 2008, Mexican immigrants living in the United States paid $53 billion in taxes, directly and indirectly, which is double the amount of remittances — about $26 billion- they sent home during the same period.

José Luis Ordaz, an economist and expert in migration and development from the BBVA-Bancomer Financial Group, said on Wednesday that Mexi- cans contribute to nearly 4 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.

Anticipation high for Obamas’ first state dinner Katherine Skiba

Wire Editor: Jennifer Titcomb

mustang daily

Monday, November 23, 2009

ing Room, which holds only 140.

After the last glass is raised and the music fades out, the affair will be breathlessly scrutinized: What did Michelle Obama wear? Did Barack Obama seem larger than life? What did guests eat and drink? How were see Dinner, page 4

J.M. Brown - Santa Cruz Sentinel mcclatchy newspapers

SANTA CRUZ — Demonstrators say police officers in riot gear began forcibly removing dozens of barricaded students from UC Santa Cruz’s Clark Kerr Hall at dawn, and after an hour-long standoff, students vacated the administration building.

Protesters have been occupying offices in the building for three days in opposition to a 32 percent fee hike, employee furloughs and other budget cuts. Campus officials had warned of possible arrests on Friday but continued to negotiate with students and faculty advocates until Saturday night, when both sides say talks broke down.

After students refused to heed an order from police to evacuate the building at 7 a.m. Sunday, officers moved in with batons to force protesters out, according to several people at the scene.

The 70 students barricaded inside Kerr Hall with cables and office equipment barring the doors eventually left along with 30 students who had been standing outside blocking the entrance, said graduate student Don Kingsbury, a spokesman for the group. Protest-

ers then began marching to Kresge Town Hall for what he called “a victory rally.”

No arrests were immediately reported, though a faculty member received minor injuries during a fall from a second-floor railing.

While on the phone with the Sentinel shortly after dawn, Kingsbury described a chaotic scene after officers from the University of California police force and Santa Cruz Sheriff ’s Office arrived.

About 30 demonstrators could be heard chanting “peaceful protest” just before Kingsbury said officers moved in a line toward the students, who were singing “Let It Be.” Kingsbury said he watched police strike several students in the chest area with a baton.

He also said officers shoved other students who had amassed on a second-floor deck outside an entrance stairwell. Anthropology professor Mark Anderson, who was among several faculty members on site to observe the showdown, was caught in the crush on the deck and fell off of the railing several feet to the ground, Kingsbury said.

Campus spokesman Jim Burns said he could not verify the level of force used to remove students this see UCSC, page 4

4

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Monday, November 23, 2009

News

UCSC

Word on the Street

“What do you think about the class selection offered for winter?”

“It’s hard. I didn’t find my classes easily, I had to use a priority.”

“I get priority so it has less of an effect on me. I’ve never really had a problem (getting classes.)”

“I took a priority and didn’t end up getting all of the GEs that I wanted.”

“It’s scary and depressing. I’m supposed to be graduating but it makes that a lot harder.

It doesn’t look hopeful.”

-Jessica Williams, biology junior

-Taylor Frostholm, physics senior

-Reed Kelly, landscape architecture senior

-Nicole Siminski, modern languages and literature senior

“I’ve looked at it but I don’t register until the second to last day. So I’m a little bit worried about getting the classes that I wanted.”

“I haven’t registered yet. I’m not too worried though.”

-Katrina Schwarz, social sciences freshman

-Jared Lee, environmental engineering junior

compiled and photographed by jennifer titcomb

Dinner continued from page 3

the toasts? And the music?

And, chiefly: Did this most memorable of nights have the requisite allure, aura and grandeur?

The morning after, hotheads left off the A-list are bound to let off steam. “There’s always a few angry calls,” Myers says, “because people read the guest list” in the morning papers.

But until the dinner is pulled off, the heat is on, perhaps for no two people more than Chicagoan Desiree

Rogers, the White House social secretary, and Cristeta Comerford, the White House’s top chef.

Others play a key role, such as Capricia Marshall, chief of protocol at the State Department — and a close friend to Myers.

Planners, says Myers, “work their heinies off for weeks.”

Myers was a guest at a few state dinners put on by Clinton and thenfirst lady Hillary Clinton, who is another guaranteed attendee Tuesday since not only is she secretary of state — a regular at such functions — but she hand-delivered the invitation to India’s prime minister, Manmohan

Singh, in July.

By custom, state dinners make for smashing soirees that live on in guests’ memories, if not the public’s.

But the first state dinner a president hosts is not necessarily the most memorable, said Carl S. Anthony, historian for the National First Ladies’ Library in Canton, Ohio. He cited Dwight D. Eisenhower hosting Queen Elizabeth, Jimmy Carter’s dinner honoring Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and Ronald Reagan having Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

The Obamas’ first, he said, “certainly will be the one to produce the most images,” but their entertaining style “will very much evolve” during his time in office.

Whether enduring photos emerge, expect a first-class meal, domestic wines complementing the food, an out-of-this-world dessert, astonishing floral arrangements and music that has party-goers on their feet.

But the particulars of these and other sought-after details aren’t likely to come into focus until Tuesday afternoon. That’s when the first lady and others make a presentation on the history and protocol surrounding state visits. She’ll be joined by some of the young women involved in the new White House leadership and mentoring program. Others expected to be on hand: White House curator

continued from page 3

morning or the events surrounding Anderson’s fall. But he said the decision to remove students came after days of repeated warnings that they were unlawfully occupying the building.

“They have had every opportunity to leave,” Burns said.

History faculty member Emily Honig, who has been on the scene with students since 5 a.m., verified the story that police arrived in riot gear and cornered demonstrators on the second-floor deck.

She confirmed that Anderson fell while trying to get away.

“There were a lot of people pressed against the railing of the deck,” she said. “In trying to get out, (Anderson) fell and landed on his back.”

Anderson was taken away on a stretcher to Dominican Hospital, but was later released. Professor Dana Frank, who was also present at the showdown this morning, confirmed that Anderson was resting at home and had no major injuries.

Honig said she could not verify whether police actually struck students with batons but said officers were certainly using the weapons to move demonstrators out the way.

mcclatchy-newspapers

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attend the Congressional Black Caucus’s annual Phoenix Awards dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C. William Allman and Tanya Turner, a State Department protocol official.

That preview event will be held

in the State Dining Room, the same place the Obamas are shunning to style the party in their own way.

Tented parties for state dinners aren’t entirely new. For example, President Clinton in his final year in office had about 700 guests under a tent for an earlier Indian prime minister, Atal Vajpayee.

There are two views when a president takes his guests into his sprawling backyard:You lose the intimacy, history and formality of the State Dining Room, but you gain space for more guests, it isn’t as stuffy and you have more freedom in styling the party.

Myers said the Clintons heard some complaints about their tented affairs from critics who judged it “too Arkansas, too big and not exclusive enough.” In addition, there were “noisy heaters” hauled in to warm the tent, she said.

monday, November 23, 2009

arts & Entertainment editor: cassandra keyse

See the Need Week Murphy’s rounds out album of helps homeless in the decade series with nostalgic, SLO County melodramatic lyrics music column

Erin Hurley mustang daily

Student Community Services’ (SCS) annual See the Need Week drew attention to the very serious hunger and homelessness issues worldwide and in San Luis Obipso. The week was filled with many different events, including speeches from experts, hunger demonstrations and meals at local shelters.

“Most people in San Luis Obispo are fairly affluent and don’t realize how much assistance the hungry and homeless really need or the many ways they can

help the less fortunate,” said Tara Johnston, one of the director coordinators of SCS. See the Need Week offered several opportunities to help, beginning on the weekend of Nov. 14-15 with food drives at local grocery stores like Scolari’s Market and Food 4 Less.

“We like to be very community-oriented and participate, and we really support Cal Poly’s efforts,” said Beth Hatchard, manager of the San Luis Obispo Food 4 Less.

Food and school supply drives see See the Need, page 8

erin hurley mustang daily

Sociology students Diana Chang, Katie Gluck and Shannon Nelson volunteer outside of Scolari’s Market during a canned food drive.

“Primal Instincts”

Nostalgia is a dangerous thing.

The past was not how we remember it, and we simply will never relive whatever warm-fuzzies we think existed in the nebulous “back then.” Example: I will never get that soft-focus childhood Christmas, even after I’ve eaten a whole stack of Advent calenders in the attempt.

James Murphy, the man behind LCD Soundsystem, knows the allure of such straw-grasping exercises.

“Sound of Silver,” Murphy’s 2007 release, takes a long, hard look at some of the “Millennials’” hangups: early-onset, pseudo-mid-life crises and nostalgic longing for the ridiculously recent past. “You turned 25, and you’re all out of escapes,” he sings in “Watch the Tapes,” expressing a panicked, melodramatic sentiment that would be absurd except for the fact that it typifies the honest-to-god thinking of a shiny, new adulthood.

The epic pile-driver of the record, “All My Friends,” uses sentimentality over raw panic to create a compulsive dance song that elevates “running out of drugs” and drunken treks home at dawn to the stuff of sighing remembrance, the circular, ceaseless piano marching on as endlessly as the days of your life ticking by.

As Murphy layers progressively more chaos into the mix, you can’t help but be sucked into mythologizing your own analogous experiences as beautiful and precious, simply because they are gone: “You spend the first five years trying to get with the plan, and the next five years trying to be with your friends again.” In fact, listening to this song in the right context, I’ve found myself overwhelmed with instantly produced nostalgia for the present, as illogical as that is.

Similarly, “Someone Great” has a persistently wistful content and real danceability (I think it’s the Glockenspiel that really pulls the whole thing together). The lyrics lend themselves to multiple readings, with the lost “someone,” possibly an ex-lover or a recently-deceased mentor: “You’re smaller than my wife imagined / Surprised, you were hu-

man.”

“New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down,” may be a nostalgic wax for a pre-9/11 NYC, but probably not the one you might expect. Rather than mourning a loss of innocence, this song see Murphy, page 8

Hipster Bullshit

by Jesse Bo Widmark

8

Arts editor: Cassandra Keyse mustangdailyarts@gmail.com www.mustangdaily.net

mustang daily

Monday, November 23, 2009

Arts

Science-fiction author Stephen King releases 51st novel James Lileks Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

“You know, I’m a lazy son of a gun.”

So says Stephen King: a man who just published a story in the New Yorker and a review of the Raymond Carver biography in the New York Review of Books.

He also has a piece in the horror mag Fangoria and a poem in the current issue of Playboy. Anything else? “Under the Dome,” his 51st novel, all 1,072 pages, drops this month. He just finished a five-part graphic novel for DC comics, as well. In his spare time, perhaps between putting away the breakfast dishes and waiting for the computer to boot up, he wrote a musical with John Mellencamp.

Lazy?

We’ll get to that. Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way first.

No, he’s not spooky. Anyone who expects a creepy guy with a ghoulish laugh probably thinks Vincent Price sat around the house in a black cape, casting spells. Stephen King is an affable, funny, gracious, effortlessly conversational fellow.

He could be a guy you worked with in a college restaurant who’d dropped out but knew lots of stuff and had some interesting ideas.

A normal fellow — except for the part about being one of the most successful authors in history,

Murphy continued from page 7

pines for the filthy, unfriendly city that existed before terrorism turned everyone into a bunch of wishy-washy, falsely-patriotic dipshits. Murphy pines: “You’re safer and you’re wasting my time...so the boring collect / I mean all disrespect.”

On that note, the album’s rocker is a catchy little thing called “North American Scum” that superficially defends America from perceived cultural deficits, while nonetheless going over them like a laundry list (overzealous cops, ignorant citizenry), perfectly capturing the casual (however genuine) self-hatred held by US citizens born after the seventies. This song seems to pop up everywhere (“Stepbrothers”?) with seemingly no reasoning. But of course, no one really cares what the lyrics are in dance records, right?

Anyway, the story goes that the last 10 years or whatever have marked a major shift in cultural values (cultural-studies whatzits Howe & Stauss going so far as to declare an Emerging “Great Generation”), but some things never change, and if the Millennials have anything in common with their baby boomer parents, it’s chronic nostalgia and a genuine fear of adulthood. “Sound of Silver” has the unique ability to convey this feeling in all sincerity, without condemning it or endorsing it directly, which is pretty impressive for a dance record.

Jesse Bo Widmark is a KCPR DJ and “Hipster Bullshit” contributing columnist.

the American answer to Dickens.

His latest, “Under the Dome,” might be described as “‘The Stand’ Under Glass.” It has the epic length and apocalyptic character of his eschatological pandemic classic, but instead of a cross-country tale of harrowing collapse, the story unfolds under a clear dome that seals off a small town in Maine (just north of Castle Rock, for all you Constant Readers). It can’t be breached. There’s no explanation.

I wanted to amuse myself, because if it doesn’t interest me, it won’t interest anyone else.

—Stephen King

science-fiction author

How things fall apart, how ordinary folk react to extraordinary, inexplicable circumstances — these are timeless King themes. So perhaps it’s apt that they come together in a book he’s been working on for more than half of his fans have been alive.

“I started it in 1976, got about 75 pages into it — and then I saw what the scope of the thing was going to be, how many technological issues it raised, and I buckled. I’m not a sci-fi writer; I don’t know a lot about technology, so I thought I’d try again, set it in an apartment building, and then I wouldn’t have to deal with what the weather would be like under a dome. But I didn’t like any of the characters, so I put it away.”

When he returned to the book years later, he had help with issues most of us don’t confront in our jobs: the proper way to amputate a leg, meteorology in closed systems and the consumption rate of LP gas, which matters a lot when you’re cut off from civilization, all you have is propane, and most of

See the Need continued from page 7

were held on campus outside Campus Market and Village Market, offering students a more direct way to donate. The school supplies will be brought to New Orleans over winter break by members of Student Life & Leadership.

“I hope this week makes Cal Poly students step back and really think about how much they have and how much they spend without knowing it. I want them to be inspired to give something back to the community,” Johnston said.

The week also included several talks and speeches by experts on hunger and homelessness issues.

On Nov. 16, a hunger benefit dinner was held at Baja Sol. Political science professor Emmit Evans

it’s been diverted by the bad guys.

But King had the same question as the readers: What caused a typical American town to be cut off from the world on an ordinary October day?

“I knew what was generating the dome, but I had no idea who or why or what. I think things happen, and we don’t understand why; one of the great attractions of some stories is the uncertainty.”

That’s his strong suit, really; the uncertainties provide more delicious shivers than the answers.

“From a Buick 8,” a novel about the Maine Highway Patrol that also happens to be about a car from another world that spews nightmarish flora from its trunk, has no answers. We’re not really sure what happened in the ‘20s at the Overlook Hotel in “The Shining,” are we? There’s a handful of smoke at the heart of his best stories. Is this any different?

“I went into this with a commitment to letting the reader know they find out why it all happened.

In a book this long, the reader deserves an explanation.”

That’s reader, singular. Not “readers.” It’s a one-on-one relationship. At this point in his career, the 62-year-old King has extraordinary creative latitude, but he doesn’t write to the readers’ expectations; he writes first for himself and the work.

“With ‘Under the Dome,’ I wanted to write a story that’s all story,” he said. “I wanted to amuse myself, because if it doesn’t interest me, it won’t interest anyone else.”

When he first started selling big, he hit a sweet spot that seldom happens in publishing and is rarely maintained over decades: instant connection with a large audience.

It was as if the subconscious of the era was a downed power line, sparking and dancing, and King just happened to pick it up and plug it in.

Or so it seemed. The success annoyed some critics, who regarded the books as the literary equivalent of a big tub of buttered popcorn. The much-praised movie version of “The Shining” was seen more as director Stanley Kubrick’s work than King’s, and the pop-cult mulch that King heaped around his stories made it easy to dismiss them as things you’d take

to occupy the hours on a beach vacation. “Misery,” a lean, horrifying and grimly comic account of a popular fiction writer held captive by a sweet, crazy fan, was the first book it was OK for critics to like, it being meta and self-referential and all that cool stuff.

Since then, he’s alternated between enormous tales of things unworldly, and spare novels whose brisk economy intensifies the unsettling effects. “Under the Dome” is definitely the former. But is this the unexpurgated version?

“The original manuscript was longer, but it’s not like ‘The Stand,’ which was cut by 600 pages. Not that there was anything wrong with it — the kind of book-binding Doubleday used back then made it impossible to be printed as one volume. So I said yes to the cuts — I needed the money!”

When the uncut version of “The Stand” came out 10 years later, King had to update the popculture references.

“I tried as much as I could to move the book from 1978 to 1988 ... I didn’t want it to be something

caught in the past — you want to believe the flu is happening the day after tomorrow.”

But keeping up with pop culture is more difficult now; things arise faster and become passe just as quickly.

“If you read ‘Under the Dome’ closely, you’ll see my blind spots.

There’s a reference to Facebook, but not to Twitter — that’s the Internet I don’t understand.” He laughs about the one pop-culture event he missed completely: “My sister read it, and said, you know, there’s something like this in the Simpsons movie. The whole town is under a dome. At least someone in the book should mention it.”

If the movies don’t get in front of you while you’re typing, politics will: “In the first draft of the book, the president is consistently referred to as she, because I was convinced that Hillary Clinton was going to win. It’s hard; all this stuff becomes obsolete. Things move on. When you write it, you’re a prisoner of your time.”

So: a lazy son of a gun, eh?

talked about worldwide hunger issues and the stark contrast between the lives of the wealthy and poor.

After the talk, a hunger demonstration was performed. The audience of about 30 was divided into four groups representing the four main income groups in the world, and each group of participants was served a meal based on the income and lifestyle of their world group.

The groups were each given different meals, from steak and potatoes for the wealthiest group to rice and water for the poorest.

The demonstration clarified how little some people in the world have to live on and evoked many emotions from the participants.

Liberal studies junior Kaitlin McCormick, a member of the poorest group, said she felt jealous of the other groups.

“I kept thinking, ‘Why can’t I have all that?’” McCormick said.

On Nov. 17, renowned author and social justice advocate Jonathan Kozol gave a speech in the University Union. He addressed a different aspect of hunger and homelessness by stressing the importance of education reform.

Kozol believes that a solid and well-rounded education can lead students to be more sympathetic toward social justice issues. The speech touched many members of the audience, including graduate student Lillian Dennis, who is also a part of the credential program.

“I want to be a teacher, and it’s so gratifying to know that teachers are still considered to be so important to society,” she said.

The third part of See the Need Week was serving meals at local homeless shelters. On the morn-

ing of Nov. 18, volunteers and SCS members went to the Prado Day Center to serve breakfast and spend time with the clients. Also, on Nov. 20, another group of volunteers went to the Maxine Lewis Memorial Shelter to cook and serve dinner.

Shari Worthington, the director of Beyond Shelter, a program within SCS that deals directly with helping the homeless, said people should consider volunteering and donating beyond the holiday.

“This week is about reaching out to the homeless as well as the hungry, especially right around Thanksgiving. I think it’s great that people have reached out this week, but they should remember that homelessness goes beyond just this week - it’s always there and always in need of people willing to help.”

mcclatchy-tribune

Author Stephen King has published 51 novels to date. His latest release, “Under the Dome,” came out Nov. 10.

opinion/editorial Monday, November 23, 2009

Editor in chief: Emilie Egger Managing Editor: Alex Kacik

mustang daily The voice of Cal Poly since 1916

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Poly student sustainability mindset needs improvement The time Cal Poly students spend studying for exams, writing research papers and following Cal Poly’s mission statement of learn by doing makes them extremely attractive candidates for employment upon graduation. But what virtue of our time as Cal Poly students leaves us so well off? How do long days and all-nighters translate to a successful education? Although knowledge gained in college gives us an edge when seeking employment, I think we’re missing one major component beyond the wealth of knowledge that we acquire from our respective studies. We must develop a unique epistemology of thinking systems; that is, an understanding of how problems can be solved by looking at the components as part of the whole. In this sense, it is within our innate ability to devise a mindset for our actions, both personally (as part of the whole) and within our studies at Cal Poly. I ask this question: Is something missing from our current mindset as students?

we take as individuals that fuel the innovation toward a more sustainable lifestyle, for consumers, businesses, the government and the world collectively.

Sustainability is Our Future Although sustainability has just recently found limelight in the

mainstream, it is a topic and a way of life that has been part of human civilizations since antiquity. A sustainable mindset is one that seeks to better environmental, economic, cultural and social standards. It is a basic survival skill that invests health, wellness and prosperity of future generations. If we as students develop a sustainable mind-

Our Personal Lives Developing a holistic mindset that allows us as individuals to think about our impact on the world is thinking with a split frame of mind. This mindset includes looking inward at our personal actions (micro) and is also looking at our contributing effects at a global level (macro). As individuals in a world economy, each and every one of us holds the power in deciding which products are produced simply by buying them or not. So when a person walks into a retail store and buys something, he or she is approving of the product, how it is made, what materials are in it, the manufacturer and what strains it might leave on the environment both in its production and after it is used, consumed and then discarded. It is purchasing power that drives the economy. It is the actions that

If you’d like to contribute to “The Green Spot,” let us know at mustangdaily@gmail.com.

pedro molina newsart

This is a beautiful cause. Great article, I have a greater appreciation for hospital symbols now as a universal language.

—Anonymous

Make Sustainability Your Life I believe we are missing the sustainability element in our mindset as students. So how do we get to that point? As students of a polytechnic university, we have the ability to accentuate a specific line of study. If sustainability is something that you would like embedded into your studies at Cal Poly, ask for it to be taught in your classes. Research like crazy. Learn everything you can about the current happenings of the sustainable movement and bring them into your various classroom discussions. It is a paradigm shift in the way that we must begin to think about our lives and the effect we have on the world. If we understand the impacts of our day-to-day decision making and make the smartest choices possible, we will be living green. It’s that simple. We must begin to cultivate this mindset within our own minds in order to live green from within.

Tyler Hartrich is a city and regional planning senior, Empower Poly Coalition vice president and Mustang Daily columnist .

In response to “Health care reform uncovered

Isn’t it convenient how we’re only seeing change in this reform after swine flu cases are reported to be going down? What kind of country is this we live in. I thought we lived in the United States of America, not the United States of whenever we get around to it. Terrible.

set during our studies at Cal Poly, we will have the ability to perceive a truly sustainable future in which we can all play a part.

If agricultural students develop sustainable local agriculture, architecture students design sustainable cities, engineering students demand the most efficient methods for utilizing resources and business students market companies that seek to enhance their sustainability practices, we will be setting the foundation for a sustainable revolution.

–Selina In response to “Art students submit designs for hospital symbols contest” It isn’t just Republicans’ refusal to raise taxes that has put this state in a budget crisis, its also Democrats’ refusal to cut certain welfare programs, and the people’s decisions to keep incompetent politi-

cians in office.

By making a temporary cut to welfare programs to fund education, we will see a larger educated workforce in the near future, and thus more taxes that can be used to fund the welfare programs. Just because you are a Democrat doesn’t mean you are not allowed to see fault within your own party.

—Chris In response to “AB 656 could ease CSU budget woes” Right now we have no other option but to use oil to transport ourselves and our products, right?

Are we being forced to use oil? In-

directly, we have no other choice, our paycheck doesn’t allow it. If this is the case, I think it would be fair to force oil prices to go up so that the other energy prices can go down and can finally become affordable for the average Joe. —Jorge In response to “AB 656 could ease CSU budget woes” 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.

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editors & staff editor in chief Emilie Egger managing editor Alex Kacik news editor Tim Miller wire editor Jennifer Titcomb arts editor Cassandra Keyse online editor Megan Hassler sports editor Brian De Los Santos design editor Kevin Black copy editors Scott Silvey, Katie McIntyre, Beth Shirley, Susie Kopecky photographers Ryan Sidarto, Nick Camacho, Patrick Fina, Elizabeth McAninch, Daniel Triassi advertising coordinator Stephanie Murawski production manager Andrew Santos-Johnson assistant production manager Jason Cope business managers Brittany Kelley, Joe Merkel marketing manager Kelsey Magnusen advertising manager Kristin Coplan ad designers Mai-Chi Vu, Sara Hamling, Justin Rodriguez, John Dixon advertising representatives Erika Powers, Giana Ronzani, April Manalotto, Adam Plachta,Tarah Brinkerhoff, Lindsey Bly, Jenna Perkovich, Jenelle McDonnell, David McCutcheon, Amanda Dennin faculty adviser Brady Teufel general manager Paul Bittick

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Monday, November 23, 2009 Volume LXXIV, No. 46 ©2009 Mustang Daily “Mustangs avoid penetration.”

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sports

women’s basketball | Cal Poly 62, pepperdine 59

Cal Poly holds back Pepperdine behind Santiago Megan Hassler mustang daily

A 33-18 advantage in free throw attempts helped the Cal Poly women’s basketball team edge Pepperdine 62-59 at Mott Gym Saturday.

In the last three minutes of the first half, junior forward Kristina Santiago visited the free throw line 12 times. She sunk nine of 14 from the stripe overall.

With four players out with injuries and Santiago playing with a back injury, the team has had to adjust. Players have stepped up to fill the gaps.

“It is always physical, especially when you play a post position, so I was kind of expecting it, but I am always a little cautious because of my back,” Santiago said.

The physicality of the game led both teams to the free throw line.

“It is hard to be as physical as you want to be,” Santiago said. “Most of the time, I can overcome it because I just get so focused in the game I don’t really think about it.”

After the fouls against Santiago in the first half, the Mustangs continued to try to keep Pepperdine from penetrating the key.

“We definitely wanted to take them out of penetration, that’s their

game,” head coach Faith Mimnaugh said. “In the games we have been watching of them, they live at the free throw line they penetrate the ball so much.”

Cal Poly was able to hold off the Waves as they came back in the second half. At the half, the Mustangs held the lead 32-23, but the Waves closed the point gap.

The Waves out-rebounded the Mustangs 42-39. But sophomore guard Ariel Gregersen led with 10 rebounds.

“Rebounding is just my job, so I get on the court and all I want to do is rebound offensively and defensively,” Gregersen said. “You need to be a scorer; you don’t need to be anything else. You need the boards no matter what.”

Junior guard Rachel Clancy said that rebounding was a point of emphasis for the team.

Another point of emphasis is keeping Santiago in the game.

“One of our goals this year is seeing how long we can keep Santiago on the court,” Mimnaugh said. “She is a heck of a player, and the more minutes she gets on the court, probably the better we are going to do.”

The end of the fourth minute in the second half, Santiago received her fifth foul.

“It is probably the worst thing as a basketball player to foul out.

You kind of feel like you let your team down, you let yourself down, you let the fans down,” Santiago said.

Even with a player out of the game, Cal Poly was able to maintain the lead to the end. Knowing the Waves had just come off a 49point loss to Stanford helped the Mustangs focus from the beginning of the game.

“We knew they would be hungry and turning up the pressure right from the get-go,” Clancy said.

The Mustangs matched that pressure Saturday.

Santiago led the Mustangs with 15 points, followed by Clancy who went 5-6 from the field with 13 points.

Katie Menton led the Waves with 20 points.

Cal Poly will host the third annual Courtyard by Marriott Holiday Beach Classic Nov. 28-29. The Mustangs will play Illinois to kick off the competition at 2 p.m. Saturday Nov. 28 in Mott Gym.

nick camacho mustang daily file photo

Junior forward Kristina Santiago posted 15 points despite fouling out with four minutes left in the game against the Waves.

men’s basketball | Cal Poly 83, portland state 92

Cal Poly falls to Portland State mustang daily staff report

The Cal Poly men’s basketball team put forth an offensive outing that boasted 83 points, but fell short to Portland State which shot a redhot school record 67 percent from the floor, 92-83 at the Stott Center Saturday night.

Dominic Waters led all scorers with 32 points for Portland State (1-3), while senior guard Lorenzo Keeler scored a season-high 20 points for the Mustangs (0-3).

Cal Poly held its first lead of the season in the first minute of play when Keeler hit a three to give the Mustangs a 4-2 lead, but PSU answered back when Waters responded with a three of his own. Cal Poly briefly regained the lead on an inside jumper by Will Donahue, but Waters responded again with a jumper giving PSU the lead.

PSU went on to hit 71 percent of its field goals in the half and went into the break with a nine -point lead 44-35.

In the second half, the Mus-

tangs mounted a comeback to close within one, 55-54. With 13:51 left in the game, Keeler went to the line to shoot three free throws after he was fouled on a 3-point attempt.

He made all of them.

Portland State responded and stretched the lead to six, 62-56, when Jamie Jones connected on a jumper with 12:05 remaining.

Cal Poly kept it close and cut the lead to one, 62-61, for the second time when Charles Anderson connected on a three with 10:52 left.

After battling back, the Mustangs managed to tie the game, 6969, at the 7:32 mark when Justin Brown hit a three.

Cal Poly took the lead, 71-70, its first since the opening moments of the game, on a Anderson jumper with 6:54 left.

Waters’ hot hand returned on the next possession when he hit a jumper giving PSU the lead they would not relinquish.

Keeler’s 20 points came when he hit six of 17 shots from the floor and made three of nine from be-

yond the arch. Donahue added 14 points while Anderson came off the bench to tie a career-high with 13 points. Anderson was three of five from long range.

Donahue led the Mustangs with eight rebounds while Shawn Lewis, starting for the first time this year, added seven.

The 67 percent from the floor

by PSU broke a school record that had stood since 2002 when the team shot 65 percent against Idaho State. The Vikings made 54 percent of their three-pointers.

Cal Poly shot 40 percent from the floor and converted 43 percent from long range.

The Mustangs out-rebounded PSU 33-24 with 20 coming on the offensive end.

Cal Poly committed only 11 turnovers in the game compared to 14 by the Vikings.

The Mustangs return to the court Monday for their fourth game in a five-game road trip at Moraga against Saint Mary’s College at 7 p.m.

mustangdaily.net

Volleyball continued from page 12

other player on the court.

The lone senior on the team, Friday night was Fithian’s final match of her collegiate career.

She is the only remaining player from fifth-year head coach Stevenson’s first campaign in 2005.

Fithian said Friday’s game was bittersweet and one she will remember out of all the others in her career. Her volleyball career at Cal Poly has taught her life lessons about working on a team and appreciating each part of the game, she said. “It’s all about the little moments.”

The team’s easy demeanor and supportive attitude were obvious on the court; Fithian said they have great chemistry on and off the court. “It’s a fam-

ily,” she said. “I’ve never been on a team that got along so well.”

Fithian leaves Cal Poly ranked eighth in program history with 1,617 assists and the eighth-best single season total in Mustang history with 1,181 assists recorded during her 2008 junior campaign.

Karina Woehrstein, a psychology junior and libero for Cal State Northridge, said Division I volleyball is more competitive than she expected. Like every team, the Matadors have both beat and lost to teams they shouldn’t have. “Everyone kinda beats everyone,” she said. She attributed Cal Poly’s win to the Mustangs’ ability to pass, set and serve well on the court.

CSUN head coach Jeff Stork clearly summed up the hectic and competitive volleyball season when he said, “You win some, you lose some, and you got to play another one.”

mustangdaily.net

Monday, November 23, 2009

SPORTS

sports editor: Brian De Los Santos

mustangdailysports@gmail.com

MUSTANG DAILY

football | cal poly 14, weber state 47

Mustangs fall to Wildcats in season finale Brian De Los Santos mustang daily

A 47-14 season-ending loss to Weber State Saturday marked the end of Cal Poly head coach Tim Walsh’s first season leading the Mustangs.

The former Portland State head coach led Cal Poly to a 4-7 record, racking up four consecutive loses for the first time since 2002.

Before the Mustangs, Walsh had a 117-82 record in 18 seasons as a head coach. His 14-year stint with Portland State (90-98, 93-06) and his four years at Sonoma State (8992) netted him a 70 career-winning percentage.

His first year at Cal Poly resulted in a 47 winning percentage, 11 points lower than the Mustangs’ alltime record as a football team (453356-20).

Succeeding former head coach Rich Ellerson, who departed last year for Army, Walsh has etched Cal Poly’s first winless road schedule in 11 years.

Under Ellerson, four-year starters Ramses Barden, James Noble, Stephen Field and Tre’dale Tolver and transfers Ryan Mole and Jonathan Dally departed after an 8-3 season.

This season,the roster featured 64 underclassmen.

Cal Poly held 37 upperclassmen, including 12 seniors who played their final game as a Mustangs this weekend. The group includes the likes of Jono Grayson, Carlton Gillespe and

nick camacho mustang daily file photo

Wildcats quarterback Cameron Higgins passed for 399 yards and two scores against the Mustangs, who finish 4-7.

Jon Hall, among others.

It was déjà vu for Cal Poly as No. 12 Weber State ended Cal Poly’s season for the second consecutive year.

The Mustangs’ offense rolled early, piecing together an 80-yard drive capped with a 28-yard David Mahr touchdown reception for the first possession of the game.

Weber State responded, notching

31 points in the second second quarter against a Cal Poly defense that has struggled in past weeks.

Thirty-eight points, 293 yards and three Mustang turnovers later, Cal Poly answered back.

Junior fullback Jordan Yocum caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Smith, ending a 70-yard, 16play drive that took 8:43 off the

clock in the third quarter.

Weber State added a field goal and junior quarterback Cameron Higgins’ fourth touchdown pass to complete the offensive showcase.

Wildcat senior running back Trevyn Smith cracked the 5,000yard mark in career rushing. Higgins, who passed for 364 yards, connected with Bo Bolen on a 15-yard scor-

ing pass and with Tim Toone on 26-, 17- and 44-yard touchdown passes as Weber State improved to 7-4.

Toone finished the regular season with his 200th career catch and 28th career touchdown. He had 11 catches for 176 yards against the Mustangs.

Cal Poly’s leaders offensively were Jake Romanelli, with 55 yards rushing on 15 carries, and Smith, who completed 11 of 24 passes for 166 yards and both Mustang touchdowns.

He was sacked five times and threw a pair of interceptions.

Mahr, Jon Hall, Eric Gardley and Jono Grayson each had a pair of catches for Cal Poly.

Junior linebacker Marty Mohamed recorded eight tackles and senior cornerback Xavier Gardner added seven for Cal Poly.

For Weber State, Higgins completed 23 of 33 passes. He passed for 399 yards and two scores in a 49-35 win over the Mustangs in last year’s first-round NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoff game.

This season Cal Poly’s rushing attack ran for 1,963 yards and the Mustang passing threat contributed 1,686 yards.

This season marked a 1,408-yard drop-off on the ground.

The Mustangs fell short of last year’s campaign by 305 yards. Smith finished his first starting season with 1,618 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Dally passed for 1,960 last year.

Cal Poly ended its season unranked and at the bottom of the Great West.

Volleyball | GAme 1 25-18 Cal poly, game 2 25-17 cal poly, game 3 25-21 cal poly

Mustangs sweep Cal State Northridge to end season Kate McIntyre mustang daily

With six freshmen, the Cal Poly women’s volleyball team is young, but all 13 team members grew up over the course of the 2009 season, according to head coach Jon Stevenson. With a 29-match slate and only 11 home games, Steven-

son was right when he said that the team has been through a lot this season.

“They began a totally different team from start to finish,” Stevenson said.

Cal Poly was selected for a third-place finish in the Big West Conference standings following the results of the preseason coaches poll; as a result of Friday night’s game, they placed seventh out of nine.

Going into its last game of the 2009 regular season, the Cal State Northridge Matadors had a halfgame lead in the battle for seventhplace in the Big West standings. But Cal Poly (9-20, 5-11) won 3-0 Nov. 20 at Mott Gym, 25-18, 25-17, 2521, earning its ninth-straight victory against Cal State Northridge (8-21, 4-11) since 2005.

Stevenson said the game was a great way to end the regular season, capping three months of intense competition, practice and

even transformation. The team changed a lot over the course of this season in the players’ attitudes and interactions, he said.

Not only did the players grow up during the three-month season, Stevenson added, their skills improved on the court.

At their first 2009 season game against Oregon State Aug. 28, the team recorded a .196 attack percentage, but on Friday night, the three sets averaged .272. Stevenson attributed the night’s high hitting percentage to good passing. The team’s attack percentage for the season was .195.

If effective passing is what it takes to win a game, Cal Poly can credit reserve setter Hailey Fithian for Friday night’s game. While her teammates had either one or no assists, Fithian recorded 32 assists against CSUN, more than any see Volleyball, page 11

nick camacho mustang daily file photo

Senior Hailey Fithian was the lone senior honored at senior night. She leaves the Mustangs as the eighth-best assist leader in school history.