T hur sday, A pr il 13, 2 017
C a l P o l y, S a n L u i s O b i s p o
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E s t a b l i s h e d 1916
Prove it Meet the freshman ready to break a world record PROVE L AB | COURTE SY PHOTO
SPEED RACER | Cal Poly freshman Lacey Davis will be the driver for the PROVE Lab’s car. The launch for her to break the record for the world’s fastest solar-powered car without a battery is set for June 2017. Cecilia Seiter @ cseiter17
When Lacey Davis started at Cal Poly this fall, she didn’t expect to be asked to drive the fastest solar-powered vehicle in existence. But standing at 5 feet 3 inches, the aerospace engineering freshman was the perfect candidate to squeeze into a sleek, aerodynamic car set to break a world record. Davis is a member of Cal Poly’s Prototype Vehicles (PROVE) Laboratory, a student-run organization designing what will be the fastest solar-powered car in the world. The project
has been in the works for more than a year and is set to break the world record for the fastest solar-powered car without a battery in June. In early January, the club still hadn’t found a driver for the car and Davis said she was hesitant to pitch her candidacy at first. “On the first meeting, my friend was like, ‘You should be the driver!’ And I was like, ‘No, they probably already have a driver, they’re not just going to have a first year be the driver,’” Davis said. “And then the first week in January they said, ‘We’re looking for a driver that’s shorter than 5 foot 6
that’s a daredevil, not afraid to take risks, and I was like, ‘Hey! That’s me!’” Davis, originally from Salinas, California, knew she wanted to be an aerospace engineer since she toured NASA’s Ames Research Center as a junior in high school. She figured joining clubs and gaining experience for her resume was the best way to make that happen, but she had no idea she would play this big of a role in such a large project as a freshman. “It’s quite an adrenaline rush,” Davis said. “I called my mom as soon as [they] said they’d let me be the driver and said, ‘Guess
what? I’m going to be the driver of this solar car and it’s going to break a world record.’” Davis will be the only passenger inside the vehicle, lying flat on her back to reduce drag. She’ll be driving on a straight mile-long track, so there won’t be much steering involved. Her main concern is getting the car to hit 70 miles per hour or above in order to break the standing record of 56.7 miles per hour. However, she won’t just be lying down pushing the pedal to the metal. The vehicle is so aerodynamic, she said, that hitting even a small bump in the road could generate lift.
On a sunny day, it’s not uncommon to see some students walking around campus without their shoes on. They’re equipped with a backpack and regular school attire. Though they keep the same pace as their peers, their lack of footwear makes some cringe and others wonder. According to aerospace engineering junior Riley Ormiston, the Cal Poly barefoot trend started with the Instagram account @calpolybarefooters, which features the “finest Cal Poly SLO barefooters.” He said the trend hadn’t gained much traction until recently, when he noticed an unusual number of barefooters around campus. There were so many that Campus Dining had to bar them from entering on-campus dining complexes. Shutting off autopilot Ormiston started going barefoot for a unique reason. He stopped wearing shoes when he broke his only pair on his way to class. By the time he received his order for a new pair in the mail, he had already committed to walking barefoot. “The reason I keep doing it is because college is such a precious
time in people’s lives and it goes by in a blink of an eye,” Ormiston said. “I found myself really dissatisfied my freshman year because I felt like I had been on autopilot for most of it. What I realized was when I wasn’t wearing shoes you can’t go on autopilot. You have to be constantly aware of your surroundings, how you interact with your surroundings and you just really can’t miss a moment.” Ormiston walks barefoot, rain or shine. The only times he considers wearing shoes depends on how hungry he is and how likely it is that he’ll be kicked out of a restaurant. While he isn’t sure what the physical benefits are of walking barefoot, Ormiston said that mentally, walking barefoot can be both relaxing and cleansing, like digging your feet into the sand during a beach day. The pain that comes from stepping on pebbles or gravel is minor to the feeling of being grounded. “There is kind of something really nice about having that contact with the earth,” Ormiston said. “It’s really calming and it’s like you know what, no matter what happens, the ground is still going to be here.” Barefoot benefits According to Dr. Rex Stevens,
PROVE LAB continued on page 3
Mustangs dominate in 15-run shut out
Why walking barefoot may be a step in the right direction Anjana Melvin @ CPMustangNews
“We have an anti-lift flap. I just have to know how to problem-solve in milliseconds,” she said. There’s no way to practice for a test like this, so in the meantime, Davis works with PROVE Lab’s outreach program, introducing local middle school students to different engineering design processes and projects. Thomas Rohrbach, technical lead of the outreach program and aerospace engineering senior, said Lacey has served as a mentor to the students she teaches.
Brian Truong @ CrusaderKitten
The Cal Poly (12-18) baseball team ended a four game home stand with a dominating 15-0 shutout over Santa Clara University (7-24) Tuesday evening at Baggett Stadium. In the Mustangs’ third consecutive win, sophomore center fielder Alex McKenna notched his first two home runs of the season in his game-leading five RBI performance. “I’ve been taking better swings lately, been working on
some mechanical stuff to try and get through more ball,” McKenna said. “Today I got a couple I could handle and was able to hit them out.” The Mustangs were tested early as the Broncos were on first and second bases, but a ground ball lead to a 4-6-3 double play to stop the Broncos’ offense. The Mustangs continued to keep the Broncos in check, holding them to only two hits the entire game. BASEBALL continued on page 8
TABATA GORDILLO | MUSTA NG NE W S
CALM | Ormiston said walking barefoot can be relaxing and cleansing.
a chiropractor for the San Luis Obispo Wellness Center, walking with shoes causes a heelto-toe drop, a decelerating and unnatural motion for the foot. “If you think back to the Looney Tunes, like the Road Runner, often they are going towards the edge of the cliff and they dig their heels in to slow themselves down,” Stevens said. “It’s a decelerating motion and not a great human motion if you’re trying to make yourself energy-efficient.” Stevens explained that walking
with shoes moves the angle of stress from the foot to the muscles that move the joints of the ankles, knees and hips. When people restrict their natural mechanics by wearing shoes, inadequate pressure in and around the bones in their legs often make them vulnerable to problems with the the iliotibial band, the ligament that runs down the outside of the thigh from the hip to the shin. BAREFOOT continued on page 4
YOU’RE OUT
MAT THE W L AL ANNE | MUSTA NG NE W S
| The Mustangs allowed only two hits Tuesday night.
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NEWS 2
MUSTANG NEWS
ISPs can sell your data, here’s how to protect yourself Megan Schellong @ meganschellong
Since the March 28 Congressional decision to allow internet service providers (ISPs) to sell data to other companies without user permission, student protection on the web has become a greater concern. Now, information like browsing history, app usage and financial and medical data can be sold to other companies. The bill, SJ Res 34, was presented and primarily supported by GOP members. Privacy advocates and Democrats were among those who opposed it, arguing that an internet s er vice provider shouldn’t be able to see and sell data showing websites and specific pages its users visit.
data to other companies. A main issue is that sites such as WebMD are not encrypted, putting health and lifestyle information at risk. This raises privacy concerns because not all people want their ISP to access which sites and pages they visit, especially not those that
you won’t want to have products marketed to you based on that,” he said. Encrypted websites are beneficial because they’re protected through https, which means there’s an extra layer of coding in the data between the server and the browser. “Anyone who is sitting in between that connection, including the ISP, cannot see what I’m saying to Amazon, they can see I’m talking to Amazon, but they can’t see what I’m saying to Amazon,” Peterson said. While sites like Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and Forbes, among a list of 100 non-Google websites that are https-secure, that’s not a guarantee the sites will protect a user completely. However, when given the chance to browse only https sites, Peterson highly recommends doing so in order to protect data. The concern extends beyond an ISP, knowing which disease a user thinks they have. It extends to lifestyle choices, behaviors and decisions. It points
These are things you won’t want everyone to know and you won’t want to have products marketed to you based on that.
The concern Many of those opposed to the bill are concerned that ISPs like AT&T, Charter and Verizon will be able to view the sites and pages of non-encrypted websites that users visit and sell that
ZACHARY PETERSON
explain health symptoms they might have, computer science professor Zachary Peterson said. “These are things you won’t want everyone to know and
to the larger picture of living in a “smart” world, where a watch, a phone and a laptop can track a person’s lifestyle behaviors, Peterson said. The push to innovate While privacy advocates feel they lost the battle on Congress’ resolution, computer science alumnus Liam Kirsch said the rollback is an incentive to create more protective measures for consumers. “I think less trust in ISPs will result in more innovation and better improvement of security tools so people don’t have to rely on legal regulations,” Kirsch said. “[That way] we don’t have to trust ISPs are complying with [the law].” Specifically, Kirsch said he’s concerned that an ISP can see the information he’s giving to unencrypted web pages. An ISP already has access to seeing which domains a user browses, like Facebook, but now it can see which specific pages they’re visiting on unencrypted sites, like CNN and Fox. As a result, Kirsch sees ISP accessibility to data as a call to action for hosts of unencrypted sites to encrypt their data. And
he’s not alone. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a “non-profit dedicated to fighting for civil liberties in the digital world,” wants to encrypt 100 percent of the web to increase consumer privacy. So far, they’re making progress. As of February, Mozilla Firefox reported that there are more encrypted websites than unencrypted websites online today. Some sites don’t encrypt because of lack of resources, Kirsch said. However, large institutions that need more credibility behind them are more likely to encrypt data. “Banks, Google and Facebook have a reputation to protect [data] so they put in the engineering resources and efforts to secure their sites [it takes some configuration to offer secure connections], but it’s free,” he said. Overall, Kirsch said he places more of his trust in strides in cryptography — writing and solving code — than in Congress’ policies. “Data is secured with math, and I would rather have my data secured by numbers than by regulations,” he said.
What students can do to protect themselves To create an extra layer between the user and the ISP, a user can purchase a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which masks traffic, Peterson said. While they do come at a cost, the VPN would decrease the chances of an ISP’s full access to personal data transmitted over the web. One downside to the VPN is that select sites, like Netflix, prohibit access to users who use VPN, he said. Another method of protection includes a Tor browser, which allows a user to search anonymously on the web. The Tor browser bounces a user’s traffic from several points around the web, confusing the ISP as to which location the user browses from. Because the spurts of traffic consume substantial bandwidth, highspeed internet connection could be compromised in exchange for browsing with an alias, Peterson said. While people can adopt ways to protect themselves on the web, no method guarantees complete privacy. And that is just a part of being on the internet today.
Tenure density continues to decrease as state funding drops Aidan McGloin @ mcgloin_aidan
Many Cal Poly professors are leaders in their fields. They are developing technology used by Boeing, finding planets that defy gravitational laws and creating open government databases to bring state government back to the people. They carry out these projects with students, offering them chances to put their education to use; they guide senior projects and they plan out the curriculum for courses. As the percentage of professors among all faculty members — tenure density — decreases, it becomes more and more difficult for them to perform these tasks. The drop Cal Poly’s paid Full Time Equivalent (FTE) faculty tenure density has de-
creased by seven percent since 2009, from 66.6 percent to 59.19 percent according to the 2016 Cal Poly Fact Book. Tenure density is calculated by dividing the sum of FTE instructional tenure track and tenured professors over all faculty, excluding the “others” category. Tenure track faculty has increased since 2012, from 162 to 198, but tenured faculty have actually remained relatively constant and lecturers have increased by 100, according to the Fact Book. The Cal Poly Academic Senate, the Academic Senate of the California State University (CSU) and the San Luis Obispo Chapter of the California Faculty Association (CFA) all agree that a 75 percent tenure density would be best for the university. Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong has also made it clear the university should hire
more faculty. The main issue, according to both CFA Chapter head and architectural engineering professor Graham Archer and Associate Vice Provost for Academic Personnel Al Liddicoat, is the decrease in state funds that makes it difficult for the faculty to grow. Archer also blames a lack of action on administration's end. Total funding is back up to approximately 2008 levels this year, although state funding is still low, according to online financial data from the CSU. Making it happen To make the move to 75 percent, the university would have to hire a mix
of 703 professors and convert 176 lecturers to tenure track positions. But this is easier said than done. According to the collective bargaining agreement, a conversion is not possible without a competitive search for other candidates for tenure first. This search requires national advertising, attendance at conferences and multiple readings of hundreds of applications for tenure. It takes a lot of money to put on this search and more tenure faculty also means more budgeting to pay these new professors. The Cal Poly Student Success Fee was the main reason Cal Poly was able to keep its faculty after the state furlough in 2008 that began the de-
crease in tenure density, Liddicoat said. The CSU system on average had a tenure density of 56 percent in 2014, meaning Cal Poly is actually above the curve. According to Liddicoat, the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences tried to increase tenure density. However, due to the difficulty of the job search, they were working past deadlines and in the end were unable to pull it off. He was unsure what year this process took place, but in 2015 Dean Thulin received a vote of no confidence because, according to CAFES faculty, he did not act on these requests in a reasonable time. Each applicant to a tenure or ten-
ure track position at Cal Poly has to go through the college they are applying to, go through the process described and be recommended by the Dean before President Armstrong even sees their application. This means the burden to increase tenure density falls upon each college as well as the administration, creating a loose structure that makes it difficult for density to change. According to Liddicoat, an increase in tenure track would diminish the hardship brought on by lack of tenure staff, but until tenure density actually increases, some professors will face greater and greater work loads.
Tenure density by college in 2016
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DECREASE
ILLUSTRATION BY AIDAN MCGLOIN | MUSTA NG NE W S
| Full Time Equivalent faculty tenure density has dropped by around seven percent since 2009, decreasing from 66.6 percent to 59.19 percent.
NEWS 3
THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2017
Anyone can join this club, it’s not just guys messing around with cars. PROVE LAB continued from page 1
“She’s worked with a group of 20 students to provide them with general engineering tools with the ultimate goal of having [the students] produce their own autonomously driven, solar-powered model vehicles,” Rohrbach
PROVE LAB | COURTE SY PHOTO
SOLAR | Approximately 20 students have worked in the PROVE Lab to make autonomously driven solar-powered vehicles.
said in an breaking LACEY DAVIS email. “Her car, Davis input has been became the insightful and inface of PROVE Lab, valuable in keeping students something that Will Sutton, actively engaged.” project manager and mechanical Driving the car and mentoring engineering senior, finds fitting. middle school students, however, “She’s excited and passionate are not her only responsibilities. about the project — the driver As the driver of a world record- is the face of the team and she’s
somebody who really embodies the project in that way,” Sutton said. “She’s super into alternative energy and a cleaner future, as well as promoting the notion of bringing more women into engineering, all of which the project aims to promote.” Davis said that, as a woman, being the face of a club in a
male-dominated industry sends an important message to prospective club members. “Anyone can join this club, it’s not just guys messing around with cars,” she said. “Everyone has a place here. I hope to do that and influence people to join the club, regardless of how they feel about themselves.”
Davis plans to continue working with PROVE Lab throughout college. She said she wants to become project manager or systems engineer in the future. “I’m just so happy that it turned out this way and that I joined PROVE Lab, because it’s honestly been my favorite experience of college,” Davis said.
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MUSTANG NEWS
CHRIS GATELE Y | MUSTA NG NE W S
BAREFOOT continued from page 1
Switching to a barefoot lifestyle isn’t ideal for everyone, especially not the elderly or people with foot trauma. Even for a healthy person, suddenly switching to no shoes could be too severe a change and may damage the soft tissue in the foot. Stevens suggested using two or three sets of shoes
with progressively lower millimeter drops between the heel and the toe before going completely barefoot. He also said if there was any time to start going barefoot, it’s between the ages of 18 and 22. “For the general population, it is worth it,” he said. “Getting back to the basic mechanics of foot strike is a very positive thing, we just need to get back to it gradually ... The benefits are endless,
The benefits are endless, not just for the feet but also for the knee, the hip and the spine.
FREE | Walking barefoot stregnthens muscles in the foot because they aren’t confned.
not just for the feet but also for the knee, the hip and the spine.” Betsy Shwartz, a certified and licensed massage therapist and reflexologist of 32 years, said it’s better to walk barefoot for two main reasons. First, it allows a person to articulate all the muscles in their feet without confinement, which keeps them strong. She said muscle tone in the foot is lost when people wear shoes
DR. REX STEVENS
because the ankles are really what’s moving the foot. Second, she said walking barefoot helps keep people grounded. “My thing is if you’re going to walk barefoot, walk on something natural, whether it’s grass, sand or dirt,” Shwartz said. “Our authentic selves need to be in nature, that’s when you’re going to harmonize and reach equilibrium.”
Review: ‘Pirates of Penzance’ captures jovial spirit of the operetta Sabrina Thompson @ sabrinaswriting
The Student Opera Theatre presented a semi-staged production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pirates of Penzance” with the help of OperaSLO April 7 and 8. Actors sang and moved about the bare stage in Alex and Faye Spanos Theatre while dressed in Victorian-age pirate attire. Behind the actors sat the ensemble chorus, making the performance partially staged, a term used to describe productions with limited props and set materials. The show’s story centers around a young pirate, Frederic (Chris Wall), who has the misfortune of accidentally joining a band of thieves after a mistake made by his nurse maid. Luckily for Frederic, the pirates in question are not very good at their jobs and don’t harm anyone. After 21 years, Frederic left the pirates and fell in love with one of Major-General Stanley’s daughters (aerospace engineering senior Zachary Davis and music senior Corey Hable, respectively). Frederic is also on a mission to defeat the band of pirates he was part of in order to relieve himself of the guilt he feels for being associated with a distrusted and disliked group. However, things do not go as planned.
Sung in English — as opposed to traditional opera sang in Latin, French or Italian, “Pirates of Penzance” — served as a social commentary on the political systems in the late 1800s. By its farcical nature, much of the operetta relied on comedic timing, which the students delivered, much to the audience’s delight. The opera was a learning experience for students, so the show was double-casted with
inner conflict was sung with the same sincerity as a soliloquy in a play. Hitting all the right notes, Wall was among the strongest performers of the show. Music senior Samantha Foulk played Frederic’s love interest, Mabel, on the first night of performances. Foulk’s range, which entered into the atmospheric high notes of sopranos, was displayed with the mastery needed for professional opera. Students and professionals from OperaSLO provided additional vocals throughout, giving students the opportunity to learn from industry professionals in a collaborative way. Though the opera focused heavily on the music, “Pirates of Penzance” delivered strong acting elements that added to the success of the overall performance. At times, the over-the-top reactions of the cast worked in their favor, adding to the comedic effect of the show. Like the accents used in spoken or sung lines throughout the show, each actor created a unique rendition of their character. The show, which was chosen by founder and producer of Cal Poly Student Opera Theatre Jacalyn Kreitzer, was picked to honor choral director and professor Thomas Davies before he retires at the end of the year.
Much of the operetta relied on comedic timing, which the students delivered.
some roles played by a different actor each night of the show’s two-night run. Music senior Chris Wall played the admirable and adorable Frederic both nights of the show. His portrayal of Frederic was as strong as the character’s sense of duty in the opera. Wall’s voice control and power made each song he performed more moving than the last. His
ARTS 5
THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2017
‘The Boss Baby’ is not awful Greg Llamas @ CPMustangNews
A common criticism of movie adaptations of book-to-film adaptations is that they try to fit too much of the book’s storyline into a two-hour film. The “Harry Potter” films exemplify this problem, cramming several hours of reading into half-baked two-hour films that leave out many interesting parts of the books. “The Boss Baby” suffers from the opposite problem. It’s adapted from a 36-page picture book by Marla Frazee, intended as a metaphor for babies bossing their tired parents around, not a story with an actual plot. It’s quickly apparent that the writer of the movie, Michael McCullers, had to come up with a story from essentially no source material, a task no one should have to do for an adaptation, no matter how loose it’s supposed to be. Set up for failure, “The Boss Baby” surprisingly isn’t that bad. It’s nothing special, especially when it comes to the plot, but the movie could’ve been a much more miserable experience. The film begins with Tim (voiced by Miles Bakshi) enjoying his life as the only child of Ted (voiced by Jimmy Kimmel) and Janice (voiced by Lisa Kudrow). Tim gets all the attention from his parents and cherishes the nightly ritual of being read a bedtime story. His routine is shattered when a baby (voiced by Alec Baldwin) dressed in a small business suit arrives at his home to be his baby “brother,” taking away all the attention that was given to Tim. Tim soon discovers that the baby, who works for BabyCorp, can talk quite eloquently. He is convinced that the baby is up to no good, leading to a full-blown sibling rivalry as Tim tries to
make the baby leave. However, when Tim discovers the true purpose of the baby’s intrusion, they hesitantly form an alliance, with the promise that the baby will leave after his mission for BabyCorp is complete. That plot summary might sound familiar. That’s because it’s been done many times before. The first “Toy Story” film had this exact premise: something old (Woody) struggling to accept being replaced with something new (Buzz). More recently, “The Secret Life of Pets” was a poorly done recreation of this same premise. In this regard, “The Boss Baby” offers nothing new. The sibling rivalry between Tim and the baby is uninteresting and predictable. Tim consistently tries and fails to prove to his parents that the baby can talk. It tries to come off as cute, though it’s a pretty weak attempt at trying to make the audience laugh. However, there’s a surprising amount of thought given to the world of the film. It explains that babies are not created by the parents, but rather just come into existence. In the film, a select few with cutthroat personalities are chosen to work for BabyCorp, the company that Tim’s “brother” is employed by. There’s an unexpected amount of detail and history that goes into this storyline, especially for something that’s catering to kids. “The Boss Baby” provides a twist on this formula when the intruder has a motive that isn’t just to replace the old figure. As the plot progresses, viewers learn that the baby has been sent by BabyCorp to stop the release of a new puppy from Puppy Co., because puppies are taking away all the love from babies. Tim’s household is a prime infiltration
T WIST
DREAMWORKS ANIMATION LLC | PROMOTIONA L
| Though the movie’s plot is similar to “Toy Story” and “The Secret Life of Pets,” it introduces a new motive for the antagonist.
point since his parents work for Puppy Co. Ultimately, the plot comes crashing into a heap, not because of how unrealistic it is (that’s just standard fare for children’s animated films), but rather for its reveal of the villain. It’s a twist that comes out of nowhere and it pads on an unnecessary amount of time. Throughout “The Boss Baby,” one element that repeats is Tim’s overactive imagination. This works some of the time, when the audience can relate their childhood imagination to Tim’s. Tim imagining his room as a prison when he’s grounded and imagining himself as an explor-
er is charming. The surreal animation during these sequences makes these scenes even more pronounced. But Tim’s imagination is also one of the more unpleasant things about “The Boss Baby.” The most unpleasant thing is Wizzie, Tim’s wizard alarm clock that gives advice to him whenever he’s struggling with the baby. Most of the time, pop culture references aren’t funny and they’re often an indicator of how much effort went into some of the characters’ lines. Every scene with Wizzie is truly abysmal. He spouts lazy Gandalf references such as “You shall not
pass” and “Fly, you fools.” Even the baby has to get in on the pop culture action, telling his lackey Jimbo that “cookies are for closers,” a reference to Baldwin’s line in “Glengarry Glen Ross.” This brings up the question of whether or not kids will even get these references (hint: they won’t) and if they’re actually funny to adults (hint: they’re not). It’s times like these in the film where any sort of charm is lost because of lazy writing. It might seem like “The Boss Baby” is trying too hard to be funny by having Alec Baldwin as the voice of the baby and jux-
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taposing the innocent nature of a baby with a deep businessman-like voice, but it’s surprisingly one of the best aspects of the film. Baldwin commands every scene he’s in with his voice, which is more noticeable than other characters. “The Boss Baby” is surprising because it’s not a complete abomination. There was nothing going for it; the trailers were bad and the premise seemed weak. However, it beat the odds and ended up as a mediocre animated film that I’ll forget about in a week. Congratulations to Dreamworks for making not the worst movie ever.
OPINION 6
OPINION
Elias Atienza @ CPMustangNews
Elias Atienza is a history sophomore and Mustang News columnist. The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints and editorial coverage of Mustang News. “Mass Effect: Andromeda” has only been out for a couple of weeks, but the game already has me thinking about its libertarian themes. It is set 600 years after the events of the original “Mass Effect” trilogy, which centered around Commander Shepard and his efforts to stop a galaxy-wide extinction from the mysterious Reapers, bypassing the controversial ending of “Mass Effect 3.” The majority of the libertarian themes within “Mass Effect: Andromeda” come from the Andromeda Initiative being a civilian project, not unlike SpaceX and our real
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Mass Effect: A libertarian dreamscape life Elon Musk. It is built on the foundation of space colonization in a distant galaxy, with a 100,000 individuals of different backgrounds and species coming together to do so. It blazes a new frontier, one where governments have not been established and privatization rules the landscape. The objective of the Andromeda Initiative is to establish a foundation in the Heleus Cluster of the Andromeda galaxy, which is more than 2.5 million light years away from the Milky Way. It carries the brightest minds humanity and her allies have to offer: scientists, engineers, military specialists and traders, all of whom are dedicated to the mission of exploration. The theme that resonates most with libertarians is probably that of diplomacy. The Tempest, which is the ship the
Pathfinder uses, isn’t heavily armored or armed, and the exploration vehicle, the Nomad, lacks a gun. The goal of the mission is
“Mass Effect: Andromeda” is probably the most libertarian game of the series. to create new relationships with the species of the Andromeda galaxy, as highlighted by the extensive library and archives dedicated to teaching others. Of course there is a need for self-defense, so the Pathfinder does have access to high-end
gear and weapons if necessary. However, the primary goal is to talk to the aliens inhabiting the cluster, not to shoot them. Other libertarian ideas blossom throughout the game as well. Governments are portrayed as oppressive, as seen in the Kadara port and slums. The Angarans (the native species of Heleus) had been living under Kett occupation for decades. But the Kadara port is “liberated” by a band of Nexus exiles who were kicked off the station for rebellion. As a result, the Angaran are ruled by a pirate gang who extorts them just like the Kett. However, this new found corporate rule is in line with anarcho-capitalists, which are part of libertarian thought. The exiles charge “protection fees” and kick out anybody who doesn’t pay them. Physical removal, so to speak, which would make
libertarian anarcho-capitalist philosopher Hans Hermann Hoppe cry with joy. However, the most prominent libertarian theme is that of self-reliance. There is no massive government, there is no welfare. Only the reliance on yourself, your friends and a lot of firearms. Unlike Commander Shepard, there is no military hierarchy you can fall back on for support, no massive fleet there to help save the day. It tells of the days of “Mass Effect 2,” when Commander Shepard had nobody but his crew and ship to rely on in order to take out the Collectors. “Mass Effect: Andromeda” is probably the most libertarian game of the series. It reminds me of “Firefly” in a way, but much more nuanced and even more libertarian. “Andromeda” is filled with these little pointers. It’s not as good as the other Mass Effect games, but it is still a fun way to waste time, just like the Libertarian Party.
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DEBATE | Gamers often argue about the gameplay of “Mass Effect: Andromeda,” but the libertarian ideologies that exist in the game are rarely mentioned.
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MUSTANG NEWS
MAT THE W L AL ANNE | MUSTA NG NE W S
| The Mustangs scored 15 runs Tuesday night, the second-highest in a game this season, in a shut out win against Santa Clara. Cal Poly travels to UC Davis (9-17) for a series this weekend.
BASEBALL continued from page 1
The score remained 0-0 until the bottom of the fourth inning, when sophomore catcher Nick Meyer’s single bounced past the Broncos’ short stop and allowed freshman infielder Bradlee Beesley and McKenna to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead. Meyer went 3 for 4 on the night with three RBI and two runs scored. Junior pitcher Kyle Smith was relieved at the top of the fifth after his third walk of the game by sophomore Cam Schneider. Along with two other relief pitchers, Schneider tallied six of 10 strike-
outs by the Cal Poly pitchers in his 2 and two-thirds innings. “[Schneider] came in and dominated on relief,” said McKenna. With Mustangs on first and second base at the bottom of the fifth, McKenna slammed his first homer of the season to center field, putting the Mustangs up 5-0. The Mustangs took charge in the sixth inning, more than doubling their runs. A sacrifice bunt by junior outfielder Josh George put two of his teammates in scoring position, which freshman infielder Scott Ogrin capitalized on with a double down the left field line to score the Mustangs two runs. Emmerson hit a near identical double
I feel as a team we’re ready ... our pitching staff looks really good and our hitting is coming along. We should be geared up to win. CAM SCHNEIDER
for another two runs, putting his team up 7-0. The onslaught wasn’t over, as four Mustang batters strung together another four runs in the inning. “It’s nice that our offense put up a lead,” said Schneider. “When you’re up by a lot it’s easier as a pitcher. All you have to do is throw strikes, so that’s all I was focused on.” The final runs of the game came from McKenna’s second homer of the season, putting the Mustangs up 15-0 and one run short of tying their season record of 16 runs. Cal Poly will return to Big West play with a weekend series at UC
Davis (9-17, 2-4 Big West) starting Thursday afternoon. “We weren’t going to do anything to jeopardize this coming weekend,” head coach Larry Lee said, referring to the lack of appearances by more experienced pitchers in order to rest them for the Mustangs’ third Big West series of the season. “Tonight was good to give some players some needed experience and other players some needed rest,” Lee said. “I feel as a team we’re ready,” Schneider said. “Our pitching staff looks really good and our hitting is coming along. We should be geared up to win.”