5-3-11

Page 1

weather tomorrow

Sunny High 74˚/ Low 51˚

Food columnist discusses Fair Trade movement. IN ARTS, P. 6

Libertarian columnist goes for the gold.

Men’s tennis seeks at-large bid.

IN OPINION, P. 9

IN SPORTS, P. 12

mustangdaily Tuesday, May 3, 2011

volume LXXV, number 114

www.mustangdaily.net

Gender-neutral housing in works for Poly Katelyn Sweigart katelynsweigart.md@gmail.com

There has been a quiet quest for equality on the Cal Poly campus for two years. In 2009, students approached University Housing with a proposal to have gender-neutral housing, which would allow men and women to live together in the same apartment. The policy would help lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students feel more at ease in their living situation on campus, as well as help individuals who feel more comfortable rooming with the opposite sex. Paul Armer, a software engineering sophomore and Pride Center housing liaison, is an advocate for gender-neutral housing. He said it is an issue that will change a lot of people’s lives for the better. Armer himself didn’t spend much time in his dorm on the all-male first floor of Yosemite Hall freshman year bekatelyn sweigart

cause of the pressure he felt to not be open about his sexuality. He said he metaphorically had to go “back into the closet.” “I feel like your dorm life is a really defining point in your life, because that’s when you really live alone from your parents,” Armer said. “If you are stuck in a place where you are being essentially forced into the closet or being made fun of for being out of the closet, it can really change your life. It can really make you approach new situations differently.” Gender Equity Center assistant coordinator Veronica Heiskell said the biggest argument against gender-neutral housing is promiscuity. “(People think) co-habitation means just rampant sex, and they all just go crazy, and that it’s just going to cause a huge amount of promiscuity,” she said. “But in reality, it’s college. People are mature enough to make their own decisions and

living in separate rooms in one area is not going to make you any more likely (to be promiscuous) than if you’re living in a hall with someone.” Last year, gender-neutral housing advocates seemed to gain ground after starting up a pilot program, which is a model for possible future development. Liz Goralka, a history sophomore, is the president of Spectrum, Cal Poly’s gender and sexuality alliance, and she signed up for the program along with approximately 30 other students, but it was put on hold because of the president change. “Basically what it was is that select students were going to be able to live in mixed gender housing, and you could select your roommates or do it at random with anyone who signed up for the program,” Goralka said. Midsummer, University Houssee Neutral, page 2

mustang daily

Cal Poly students react to death of Osama bin Laden Victoria Billings victoriabillings.md@gmail.com

Cheers went up from Poly Canyon Village, and Facebook statuses were full of triumphant messages Sunday night when President Barack Obama announced the death of alQaida leader Osama bin Laden. The news quickly spread via text message, word-of-mouth and Facebook among Cal Poly students. Chemistry sophomore Allee Macrorie said she was in a study room with a friend in Poly Canyon Village when a student ran in to spread the news. Macrorie said students were also waving American flags, playing “God Bless America” and shouting the news from their windows. “It was pretty crazy in PCV,” Macrorie said. “It got a little intense. I didn’t expect people’s reactions to be so for it. I expected it to be kind of like ‘Oh my gosh what just happened?’ but people were cheering and

yelling. I didn’t know that people would be so excited at the death of someone. I hope that it doesn’t lead to some retaliation from al-Qaida.” Other Cal Poly students got the news not from their neighbors, but from Facebook friends. Paul Skillin, a general engineering senior and ROTC cadet, said he saw the news first on Facebook, and then immediately checked it on the websites of several news organizations he follows, like Al Jazeera. Though Skillin understands the ecstatic reaction to the news, he said the death of bin Laden is not quite the major victory people think. “In terms of what it means to us, I feel like it’s going to be more of a symbolic victory than anything else,” Skillin said. That symbolic victory is one that has been decades in the making. Bin Laden was active in global see bin Laden, page 2

photo courtesy of the white house Before making a speech announcing the death of Osama bin Laden on Sunday, President Barack Obama and National Security officials, as well as Vice President Joe Biden, receive updates about the military operation in Pakistan in which bin Laden was killed.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
5-3-11 by Mustang News - Issuu