Monday, A pr il 2 4 , 2 017
w w w. m u s t a n g n e w s . n e t
C a l P o l y, S a n L u i s O b i s p o
E s t a b l i s h e d 1916
$4,177
$4,128
Winners
SPENDING LIMIT
$3,000
$2,869
$2,696
Campaign expenses ($)
A first for ASI presidential elections
$1,783
Losers
$1,916
$1,867
$1,780
$1,000
$82 2013-14
2014-15
2016-17
2015-16
ASI PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN SPENDINGS BY TERM Total spending of each ASI presidential campaign by year
CAMPAIGN CASH CAP
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BRENDAN MATSUYAMA, CHRIS GATELEY AND ZACK SPANIER | MUSTA NG NE W S
| The ASI Board of Directors have set a spending cap of $2,000 on presidential candidate elections for the first time at Cal Poly, making it the CSU with the highest spending limit.
Brendan Matsuyama @ CPMustangNews
This year’s Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) elections are the first to feature presidential campaign spending limits. The $2,000 spending limit was passed by the ASI Board of Directors Jan. 11 as part of the ASI Election Code. This spending limit only applies to presidential candidates; there is no cap for ASI Board of Directors candidates. Prior to this policy change, Cal Poly’s ASI was among the few at California State Universities
(CSUs) to not have a mandatory presidential spending limit outlined in its election code. Not including Cal Poly, the average presidential campaign spending cap for CSUs with mandatory limits is about $540. Including Cal Poly, this average was raised to about $628. Currently, Cal Poly’s spending limit of $2,000 is equivalent to about 10 cents spent per student. This is down from last year’s winner who spent approximately 17 cents per student. Over the past four years, the winner of the ASI presidential
election spent the most money on their campaign. Current ASI President and agricultural sciences senior Jana Colombini spent more than twice the amount her opponent, mechanical engineering senior Isaias Diaz, spent in last year’s election. The candidate who spent the most money since 2013 was Jason Colombini, who served as the ASI President during the 2013-14 school year, at $4,177. Candidate opinions A spending limit on presidential campaigns has been universally
supported by ASI presidential candidates. Riley Nilsen, ASI presidential candidate and agricultural sciences junior, stated that the new limit is one of the factors that enabled her to run. “I personally have only spent $1,200 as of [April 19],” Nilsen said. “If I had to spend more than $2,000, [I] more than likely wouldn’t be able to run as I am dependent on student loans, scholarships and my job to pay for my expenses. ... I have absolutely seen the difference in regards to the presence of elections on campus this year because of
limited marketing, and I hope the amount of candidates all together will help us reach our traditional voter turnout.” Other candidates advocate for decreasing the spending limit even further. Davis Negrete, ASI presidential candidate and biomedical engineering junior, proposes further lowering the cap to $200. This would tie Cal Poly with California State University, Monterey Bay for the lowest spending cap in the CSU system. CAMPAIGN SPENDING continued on page 2
Organic vs. conventional food: Is one better than the other? Maddie Reid Special to Mustang News
MEGAN FRIZZIE | COURTE SY PHOTO
DECREASE | Last year, Relay for Life raised $27,000. They have raised $3,000 so far this year.
Relay for Life committee extends outreach to SLO community Cassandra Garibay @ CPMustangNews
Year after year, students join the fight against cancer with the help of the Cal Poly Relay for Life committee. However, this year, Cal Poly students aren’t going to be the only ones fighting alongside the campus committee.
Consolidating In previous years, San Luis Obispo High School, San Luis Obispo county and Cal Poly held separate Relay for Life events. However, the American Cancer Society retired and combined several relay committees in a nationwide analysis of their spending efficiency verses funds raised for cancer research. This
is an ongoing process that has been in the making for several years, Relay for Life Community Manager Nicole Takeda said. Both the county and high school committees were not able to continue this year due to reevaluation. RELAY FOR LIFE continued on page 4
Nutrition senior Rachel Del Toro-Gipson owns a health and wellness blog called “Viva La Vegan.” However, she chooses not to spend extra money on organic produce. Organic foods have a reputation of being healthier and better for the environment than conventional foods, yet there is still some debate about whether they live up to that reputation. A 2014 Gallup poll found that 45 percent of Americans actively seek out organic foods, 15 percent actively avoid them and 38 percent don’t consider how their food is produced when shopping. What’s the difference? Organic food is grown without artificial chemicals. This includes avoiding the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to alter the DNA of the plant seed to make the produce more appealing or larger. Conventional farming methods rely on synthetic chemicals
to create pesticides and antibiotics used for production and preservation. These chemicals are used in several ways, such as adding nutrients into the crop soil or enhancing crop seeds with GMOs. Organic farming methods avoid the use of most synthetic chemicals The Cal Poly preference Many Cal Poly students say they would prefer to eat organic food, but high prices and lack of availability are sometimes obstacles. “I think that it’s good to have [food] that isn’t necessarily super processed or has a lot of genetic modifications ... Definitely not having as many pesticides is a good thing because they don’t have a lot of long term studies on the effects of pesticides or how it will affect you,” Del Toro-Gipson said. Avoiding the use of synthetic chemicals to preserve produce and opting for a more natural way of production sounds like a better way to get food, so why doesn’t everyone jump on the organic food trend? VIVA LA VEGAN continued on page 4
DANI ORLANDI | MUSTA NG NE W S
News 1-3 | Arts 4-5 | Opinion 6 | Classifieds 7 | Sports 8
Layla Lopez RVG endorsed | ABM/NAMA endorsed
for CAFES Board of Directors
Vote April 26th 9am to April 27th 9am on your Poly Portal.
NEWS 2
MUSTANG NEWS
Cal Poly breaking ground for largest single solar array in the CSU Austin Linthicum @ austinlinthicum
Cal Poly will break ground this summer on the largest single solar array in the California State University (CSU) system. It will generate up to 25 percent of the university’s power, according to Cal Poly Sustainability. The 18.5-acre solar farm will be built adjacent to Highway 1 on the western side of campus. The project, scheduled for completion by Winter 2017, will include more than 16,000 individual solar panels, generating enough energy to power the equivalent of 1,000 homes, according to Cal Poly Sustainability. The solar farm will use advanced tracking technology to follow the sun across the sky, producing about 30 percent more energy than a
stationary system. The energy produced by the solar farm will result in direct savings on Cal Poly’s utility bills, totaling about $17 million in 20 years. The solar farm will be financed, designed, constructed and maintained by local company REC Solar through a power purchase agreement. This allows Cal Poly to purchase the solar energy at a lower rate than from the grid, without paying for the system construction and maintenance, according to Cal Poly Sustainability. REC Solar’s San Luis Obispo roots are tied to its two co-founders, Judy Ledford and Fred Sisson, who graduated from Cal Poly with the goal of making solar systems a mainstream energy source for home owners. On Earth Day 2016, Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong
signed the Second Nature Climate Leadership Commitment to take the university beyond this goal and reach full climate neutrality by 2050, meaning net zero emissions from all sources. “This is the first major energy project Cal Poly has undertaken since we committed to achieving climate neutrality,” Director of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability Dennis Elliot said. “This is a huge step toward our goal.” The project will also incorporate a solar engineering laboratory for students to conduct experiments with solar technology in a hands-on environment. A wide variety of performance data will be continuously measured and made available through a webbased dashboard to aid in solar technology research. “I think that with the commercial direction the solar market is heading, having the lab will be a super valuable resource,” electrical engineering graduate student Maxwell Muscarella said. The lab curriculum will integrate solar photovoltaic fundamentals into a variety of science
CAMPAIGN SPENDING continued from page 1
“The spending cap should be lower, ideally at about $200,” Negrete said. “Spending caps make elections more fair and personal; more about getting to know the candidates than seeing the signs they post, for example. I hope the current cap makes this election more fair than in years past.” Before the spending cap was initially passed, ASI presidential candidate and political science
1500+ ft
BRIGHT FUTURE
PHOTO ILLUSTR ATION BY AUSTIN LINTHICUM AND A ARON MATSUDA | MUSTA NG NE W S
| The energy from the solar farm will save Cal Poly about $17 million over the course of 20 years.
and engineering courses and create new courses for renewable energy system design. “The lab will be a place where students can explore the latest technology in solar, like inverters and various modules, in a hands-on environment,” Garrett
Colburn, Director of Marketing, Communications and Demand Generation at REC Solar, said. In addition, Cal Poly’s animal science program will use the site to research vegetation management practices for utility scale solar farms while grazing the
site with its sheep herd. “We hope this solar farm sets the standard for how these infrastructure projects can support the university’s academic mission, and we are proud to be doing so with a local company with such strong ties to Cal Poly,” Elliott said.
junior Chase Dean and Gianna Ciaccio, College of Science and Mathematics director and statistics junior, motioned to further lower the proposed spending limit to $1,500. In their argument, Ciaccio and Dean cited the lower limits at other CSUs as examples. However, this amendment did not pass due to worries that a cap at $1,500 would be too drastic of a decrease. “I advocated for it to be even lower when the issue was brought to the Board of Directors,” Dean said. “I believe that by implementing a spending cap we open the door to more creative campaigns and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds.” Archie Mitchell, ASI presidential candidate and business administration sophomore, told Mustang News that one of his policy goals would be to further reduce the spending cap. “If elected I will work to make the spending cap significantly lower,” Mitchell said. “Having a spending cap of $2,000 suggests students should be spending that much, which is ridiculous. It also puts anyone without the means to
fundraise $2,000 at a severe disadvantage, which is also ridiculous.” However, ASI President Jana Colombini said during a Board of Directors meeting that a candidate’s network is far more important than their budget. “Speaking from someone who spent her own money, it is the best campaign that wins, not the one who spends the most money,” Colombini said.
nonprofit corporations could not be prohibited from independently campaigning for a political candidate — indirectly contributing to a candidate’s campaign — under freedom of speech. “We decided to consult with a lawyer about the issue given that spending money is considered speech,” Klyczek said. “The lawyer advised us from passing student government legislation that would restrict the amount of money candidates are allowed to spend on their campaigns because of the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. A university in Oregon that one of my [advisers] used to work at had some [legal] l troubles on their hands when they attempted to limit campaign spending.” Meanwhile, California State University, Long Beach’s ASI has a voluntary spending limit. In its bylaws, candidates are encouraged to pledge to not spend more than $750 on their campaigns. Of the schools with mandatory spending caps, the one with the next highest limit is San Jose State at $1,000, while CSU Monterey Bay’s is the lowest at $200.
Other schools A number of CSUs do not have mandatory spending limits on their presidential races. According to Jon Slaughter, the director for California State University, Chico’s Associated Students programs, Cal State Chico has not had a spending limit on its campaigns in almost 15 years due to issues with the valuation of materials and enforcement. California State University, Fullerton ASI Election Commissioner Justin Klyczek claims that the Cal State Fullerton ASI does not impose a spending limit due to the 2010 Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The court’s ruling declared that
NEWS 3
MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2017
Cal Poly Digital Democracy project holds government officials accountable Aidan McGloin @ mcgloin_aidan
Every video can be clipped and shared on social media.
Digital Democracy, a Cal Polybased open government project, begins its second legislative session with new tools and a third state to serve. The project’s employees take videos of hearings and committees posted by the state government and automatically generate a searchable transcript, which students manually check for accuracy. Anyone can search by bill, representative name or keyword and find the speech they were looking for. Christine Robertson, associate director of the Institute of Advanced Technology and Public Policy (IATPP), described Digital Democracy as “a practical solution to a pervasive problem.” The IATPP is the parent institution of Digital Democracy. The database is intended as a way for citizens, journalists and advocacy groups to hold representatives accountable. The database uses technology that identifies speakers through a combination of text, video and facial recognition. It connects information from California websites to include 76 data columns connecting bill texts, bill analysis, transcripts, lobbyists, staff gifts, campaign contributions, votes cast and hearings.
Moving up Digital Democracy expanded to New York’s legislature in 2015, and is planning to create another open government database for Florida this year. According to software engineering senior Nick Russo, who is involved in the project, the Florida database has been filled, but they are having difficulty with inputting lobbyist information. They have 50,000 registered users. The Cal Poly connection Sam Blakeslee, former state senator and assemblyman, created Digital Democracy in 2014. It is one of three current initiatives IATPP is working on. The IATPP is tied with Cal Poly, has its offices in Warren J. Baker Center for Science and Mathematics, and was created by Blakeslee in 2012. While the staff focuses on the IATPP’s projects, its experts are professors at Cal Poly and the current employees are students. Students are paid or receive senior project credit for their work. About 30 to 40 students work every year for the project, according to Robertson, with some working 40 hours per week over the summer. Cal Poly computer science professors Alex Dekhtyar, Foaad Koshmood and Davide Falessi make up the advising team.
BR ANCHING OUT
FRANK HUANG | MUSTA NG NE W S
| In addition to California, Digital Democracy expanded to Florida and New York to increase government transparency.
They currently have 52,239 bills, 22,019 speakers and 23,706 video segments available to search, according Dekhtyar. New features Version three of Digital Democracy
brings an alignment meter, developed primarily by statistics senior Andrew Voorhees, which displays how much a representative tends to vote in favor of the same bills that an organization approves of. Digital Democracy is also working
on a partnership with Cal Matters, a non-profit news organization, to create news feeds based on each representative’s actions. Digital Democracy is non-partisan, and makes their technology available to everyone.
The other programs started by the IATPP are CalWave, a proposed wave energy test center, and Connect Academy, a project that helps parents from non-English speaking households assist their children with English learning.
ASI presidential candidates discuss issues at debate Sydney Harder @ CPMustangNews
The four Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) presidential hopefuls met Thursday during UU Hour to discuss the concerns and responsibilities they would face if elected. Political science junior Chase Dean, business administration sophomore Archie Mitchell, biomedical engineering junior Davis Negrete, and agricultural sciences junior Riley Nilsen participated in six rounds of debate, each given one minute to answer a question and 30 seconds for rebuttals. Opening statements Dean led off the first round, briefly explaining the three pillars of his platform: affordability, equity and community. He spoke about the need to “give marginalized people a platform to speak on,” and mending the relationship between permanent residents of the San Luis Obispo community and students. Nilsen followed, drawing upon her experience in student government to establish her qualifications for the ASI presidency and explaining her understanding of the issues facing each college at Cal Poly. Mitchell highlighted the importance of “making students aware that there is someone out there fighting for them,” and expressed hopes to unify the student body under his leadership. Finally, Negrete emphasized his “campaign on character” and stressed the fact that he represents the average student at Cal Poly. “I’m campaigning because I truly care,” Negrete said. Overcoming conflict Candidates were asked to talk about a time they worked on a team with conflicting viewpoints and how they approached that challenge. Candidates spoke of different experiences, with Nilsen reflecting on the collaborative environment she helped foster as chair of ASI Board of Directors, and Davis remembering the intensive team effort that
was required as a resident advisor to plan programs for students. Similar to Nilsen, Dean discussed how his role as College of Liberal Arts representative on
I am doing this solely because I see the issues that you face, and I’m tired of those issues just like you are. DAVIS NEGRETE
the ASI Board of Directors taught him how crucial it is to “build relationships outside of the board room and outside of meetings” in order to achieve compromise and collaboration that can benefit every student. Mitchell, an international student from Sheffield, England, discussed his first-ever group project at Cal Poly and the coordination that was needed to successfully complete the assignment. All candidates explained how they would apply the lessons learned from their respective experiences to the ASI presidency. Work ethic In the following round, candidates spoke about their ability to balance their personal and professional lives. As a first-generation college student, Negrete described how he balanced two jobs to pay for college, along with maintaining a full course load and helping as a student assistant at the Multicultural Center. Negrete walked the audience through his morning routine, demonstrating his preparedness to take on and balance the additional workload that comes with the ASI presidency. “I’m passionate about working well under pressure,” Mitchell said, referring to when he trained upwards of 20 hours a week for
his swimming career at Cal Poly while managing an intense round of classes. “I understand it’s going to be hard [as ASI president], but I love public speaking and connecting with people. I’m excited to work tirelessly to give students what they want and need.” Nilsen opened up about a personal experience, explaining how stressors from the previous fall quarter pushed her to reach out for support at the counseling services on campus. “It made me realize how much students need these resources,” Nilsen said. “Regardless the stress I was undergoing, I felt the need to create the campus-wide initiative of Buck the Stigma, and I couldn’t have asked for a better event.” She explained that the “end goal of serving students” motivates her to work endlessly for the student body. Dean demonstrated his ability to balance school, personal life and relationships with peers by discussing his current packed schedule and the success he still achieves because he is “committed to what [he does].” “I’m taking 20 units, I’m on the ASI Board of Directors, I tutor people in English downtown and still take time off for myself,” Dean said. “I have written resolutions, endorsements and held the necessary conversations while maintaining this balance, and I can more than handle the plate put in front of me.” Primary role as ASI president An audience-submitted question asked candidates to consider what they see as the primary role of the president, other than being the voice for students. Mitchell argued that the role of ASI president is to unite 20,000 students together to champion common causes. “When we all rally together behind someone who can lead us, we can initiate change that will impact all our lives,” Mitchell said. In a similar response, Negrete also advocated to push for and solve students’ concerns. Dean spoke passionately about leading by example, particularly
when addressing the problems faced by minorities on campus. “I will be out there advocating, making sure we are sitting down with those students at those meetings, hearing them out instead of assuming what they’re saying,” Dean said. Nilsen asserted that “the primary role is always to serve the students, regardless of what you are doing.” She emphasized how important it is for the ASI president to prioritize building relationships with local government and administrators in order to best serve students. Easing tensions The second audience-submitted question focused on how the candidates plan to ease tensions between students on campus. “We’re all people, we’re all trying to have a good experience,” Mitchell said. “We need to expand our understanding of people from all groups, be more empathetic and approach conflicts in a mature way.” Mitchell added that he would love to see more open interactions from people of different backgrounds, and create a climate that is ensured to be inclusive and diverse. Dean spoke of his goal to create more open forums and initiate dialogues that will uncover the
root of the animosities directed toward minorities. Under his leadership, Dean said, “hate speech will not stand on this campus. This is our home, and the right to free speech doesn’t mean that hate speech can spread. We need to call it out for what it is.” Nilsen also recognized the need to dissect why students feel the way they do. She discussed how diversity roundtables are “a great way for students to share their voice, collaborate and learn from each other.” “We need to make sure students feel safe on this campus,” Nilsen said. In accordance with his campaign on character, Negrete asserted the power of empathy and compassion in addressing tensions on campus. “Try to put yourself in their shoes, ‘Why do they feel this way? Why are they hurting?’ That is the fundamental breakdown and I will always promote this,” Negrete said. Closing statements In her closing statement, Nilsen pointed out the asset that makes her the most qualified candidate for ASI president. “I am the only candidate with the experience and established re-
lationships to implement change [from the start],” Nilsen said. Dean concluded by reminding the audience of his resolution to make tangible changes if elected ASI president. “Some people say change is hard, but when students like all of you look around and say, ‘The status quo is unacceptable,’ that’s how real change starts. We are running on the idea that these issues have tangible solutions,” Dean said. Negrete established an appeal to the “regular Cal Poly student,” explaining his motivation for running for ASI president. “I am doing this solely because I see the issues that you face, and I’m tired of those issues just like you are,” Negrete said. Mitchell focused on the longterm impact he would leave if elected. “I want to leave a legacy for future students to feel safe, to have a great experience on and off-campus. I’m invested in Cal Poly,” Mitchell said. Voting for the 2017 ASI election opens Wednesday at 9 a.m. on the student portal, and closes the following day at 9 a.m. The winner will be announced Thursday at 11 a.m. in the Julian A. McPhee University Union plaza.
ARTS 4
MUSTANG NEWS
Tomato Mania sells largest harvest yet Sabrina Thompson @ sabrinaswriting
More than 70 tomato varieties filled Poly Plant Shop in Environmental Horticultural Science (building 48) Saturday and Sunday. Cultivated by a team of six students, Tomato Mania celebrated its 15th year and largest harvest yet. The agricultural and environmental plant science students spent two quarters growing the tomatoes that sold at $6 per plant. The students grew more than 5,000 tomato plants from the seed, which home gardeners can plant to produce tomatoes through the summer. During the first day, the Poly Plant Shop sold about 3,000 plants and within two hours sold out of Murray Smith and Early Doll. Agricultural and environmental plant sciences junior William Samson said this year’s sale brought the most attendees. Best of the bunches Tomatoes can be used for a variety of dishes. Some are better for burgers than for sauces,
RELAY FOR LIFE continued from page 1
“The only relay that is still a thing [in San Luis Obispo] is [Cal Poly’s], so we are really trying to open it up this year to the community and everyone in general, rather than just the college kids,” Cal Poly Relay for Life co-president and business administration junior Megan Frizzie said. Student-run, but not by choice In addition, the Relay for Life staff member that directly oversaw the Cal Poly committee was relocated this past year. Takeda was assigned as the new staff member in charge
some need to be bite-sized for snacking. Of the 73 different tomatoes being sold, these are what the team recommends: Best for burgers and sandwiches: Murray Smith tomatoes are grown specifically for the San Luis Obispo climate. A full-size tomato, these are the perfect size for slices on a burger. Best for pasta sauce: Alaskan Fancy tomatoes are juicy, which makes them excellent for adding flavor to pasta sauces. Best for snacking: Jelly Bean Red Hybrid tomatoes are small in size, but big in flavor. Up to 30 of these tomatoes can come from one plant, making it hard to stop popping them into your mouth once you’ve had one. Best for being unique: Kellogg’s Breakfast are unique because of their size, color and flavor. Weighing up to 32 ounces, these tomatoes are orange in color and have a good mixture of solid and gel texture for the perfect bite. of Cal Poly. However, she is located in Santa Barbara and oversees four other Relay events. Takeda’s location has limited her ability to to help the students beyond best practices and legal questions. As a result, this year is truly a student-run event. “Honestly this year, I felt like we started over completely since we didn’t really have someone there to help us keep our structure,” Frizzie said. In starting over, Frizzie and co-president Mitchell Liwanag found themselves taking on a lot of the responsibilities previously handled by the staff member in addition to their expected admin-
Tomato recipes Didn’t make it to Tomato Mania? Here are some recipes that can be made with tomatoes from the grocery store: Stuffed tomatoes Ingredients: Skyreacher tomato Breadcrumbs Seasoning (Italian recommended) Parmesan cheese Olive oil Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the Skyreacher tomato horizontally and scoop out the insides, placing them in a bowl. Combine seasoning and breadcrumbs with the tomato innards. Put the hollow tomato halves on a baking sheet and fill with the mixture. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and drizzle with olive oil. Place in the oven for 30 minutes, until the top of the tomatoes are lightly toasted.
SAMMI MULHERN | MUSTA NG NE W S
BOUNTY | More than 5,000 tomato plants of over 70 different tomato species were grown for Tomato Mania.
Caprese salad Ingredients: Brandywine tomatoes Fresh buffalo mozzarella Basil leaves Balsamic vinaigrette Salt and pepper
Instructions: Slice 1/4-inch thick pieces of Brandywine tomato to be arranged on a plate. Alternate mozzarella and basil leaves between tomato slices. Lightly season with salt and pepper and drizzle balsamic vinaigrette over the top.
Tomato soup Ingredients: 1/2 Wins All tomato 1/4 white onion 1/2 tomato-vegetable cocktail juice Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions: In a food processor or blender, puree the tomato and onion. Then transfer the mixture to a small saucepan. Stir in vegetable juice. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
istrative roles. Liwanag, an agricultural communication senior, said he has seen a fluctuation in community managers over the course of his four years. His freshman year, a similar situation occurred in which Cal Poly did not have a designated staff partner. “Watching things grow from having no staff partner ... to having a really good one ... to losing that really good resource, I think [the event] definitely has become more of the students’ responsibility,” Liwanag said. The lack of a staff member has negatively affected their funding. In the previous year, the club event was able to raise roughly $27,000
for the American Cancer Society with more than 40 student teams signed up to participate. This year, the club aimed to meet the same amount in donations. Unfortunately, only 23 teams have signed up so far, amounting to roughly $3,000 of funds. Though it is common for teams to wait until the last day to sign up, Liwanag said, it has been difficult spreading awareness of the event. They have turned to local fundraising to compensate for the lack of teams. “We are pretty far behind honestly because us presidents can’t do all the normal stuff we would do,” Frizzie said. “We usually try to help out with recruitment and help out
here and there with what people need help with, but we haven’t been able to be that resource for people.”
students. By reaching out, there has been a significant rise in the amount of survivors planning on attending the event. “We are really lucky and we have two really good survivor-ship chairs who are really good about reaching out to all the programs they have for survivors in San Luis Obispo, and really trying to get the survivors from past years to come back and get new ones,” Liwanag said. The event will take place May 13 at the Cal Poly track from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Smile and Nod, the Lonely Monsters and Take it SLO are all planning to perform at the event.
VIVA LA VEGAN continued from page 1
passes, fruits and vegetables lose nutrients. Combine this with a 40 percent more for organic produce price statistic and the choice to eat organic becomes less black and white.
Saturday, April 29th 5:30 - 8:30 pm
Disproving myths Cal Poly registered dietitian Megan Coats hears all the stereotypical beliefs about organic and conventional food. She sees the positives and negatives that come with each production method. “The most misconceptions I hear from students, or people in general, is that [organic] is healthier … but it’s really just looking at the practices that are used by the producer or food manufacturer when it comes to chemicals or pesticide residues,” Coats said. There are no studies or scientific evidence that suggests eating organic is healthier or more rich in nutrients. In fact, many organic fruits and vegetables found on local shelves spend more time in transit than conventional, locally produced food. According to Coats, this means the produce is not as nutritious because as time
Moving forward Despite the obstacles, Frizzie and Liwanag are staying positive and viewing the challenges as a learning experience. “It has definitely brought the students a lot closer because we are all kind of stressing together to get everything done,” Frizzie said. “People are definitely stepping up and helping out.” It also gave the committee the opportunity to extend the invitation to the San Luis Obispo community, rather than focus on Cal Poly
The environmental factor Another reason cited for eating organic relates to environmental factors and world population. Agricultural communication professor Scott Vernon has worked with both organic and conventional farmers in his career. Vernon cites world population as a major factor to consider when debating the merits of organic vs. conventional food. “When you consider the global environment and the needs of our global population, which is growing to be 9.2 billion by 2050, we have to increase our food production by 70 percent in the next 30 years or so, with declining resources,” Vernon said. The demand to feed the vastly growing population requires
farmers to increase their annual supply. To do so, sustainable agriculture must be “economically viable, socially responsible and ecologically sound.” Unfortunately, organic produce doesn’t match this criteria. “With that said, when you look at the organic side, organic production is a method of production. There’s nothing inherently wrong about it,” Vernon said. “But it takes more resources, it takes more labor and it’s not without inputs, and inputs being plant protection, inputs, chemicals.” While the great debate between organic and conventional production can be blurry at times, American consumers have the fortune to be able to choose foods based on the production values and prices that match their lifestyle. “So both have value and they have a place, and the nice thing is, that American consumers have a choice,” Vernon said. “Their choice is how much they want to spend for their food.”
PARTY WITH THE ANIMALS!
sample CRAFT brewS, Cider & MORE while strolling the zoo! Food available ADULTS 21 + ONLY! DJ • DANCE CONTEST LIVE MUSIC • KARAOKE!
$30 early bird/$35 at the door $5.00 designated drivers
VisitAtascadero.com/Brew-At-The-Zoo PRESENTED BY
Design donated by Annie Wilson/Grape Encounters Empourium
DANI ORLANDI | COURTE SY PHOTO
TRADE OFFS | Organic food is often unsustainable, as it takes more resources and labor to produce.
ARTS 5
MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2017
Not only is it OK to show your body consistent love, but to flaunt the heck out of it.
REAL AND REL ATABLE
SAMMI MULHERN | MUSTA NG NE W S
| In her review, Herzog (pictured above) explains how HBO’s “Girls” touched on themes in her own life including self-image, friendships, relationships and stumbling through early adulthood.
Review: What I learned from ‘Girls’ Shanti Herzog @ CPMustangNews
Shanti Herzog is a journalism freshman and Mustang News reporter. The views expressed in this column do not reflect those of Mustang News editorial. HBO’s “Girls” finally wrapped up its raunchy, real and boundary-pushing series April 17, bringing the work of Lena Dunham and partners Jenni Konner and Judd Apatow to its six-season close. The show followed the lives of four women living in New York City as they stumbled through relationships, adulthood and self-awareness. “Girls” ended with the show’s main character Hannah (Lena Dunham) struggling with new motherhood and settling into a mature adult life in upstate New York. The ending made me sad, because when things end it makes anyone sad. But the finale didn’t really feel like the end for me. Hannah, having trouble with getting her new baby (conceived from a surf instructor who knocked her up while she was on assignment at a surf camp) to breastfeed, finally gets him to latch. This happens amid other problems with her best friend turned part-time nanny and tough-loving mother. Like the rest of the show, the finale left me believing that even though I couldn’t predict what bizarre and unlikely situation Hannah or the other girls would get into next, they were going to be OK. Reasons for fangirling I became a fan of “Girls” for a few reasons. The first was because I love anything Judd Apatow is involved with. If you didn’t love what he did with the show “Freaks and Geeks,” I’m honestly confused. Maybe you at least liked the “Anchorman” films — he produced those too. I also saw him in a theater in Los Angeles once and it may have been the most amazing
thing that’s ever happened to me. The second and most life-changing reason I fell in love with “Girls” is that the show taught me that I can be super OK with my boobs being out. I didn’t suddenly start walking around my apartment topless like Hannah or Jessa. But after seeing Lena Dunham exist as a naked human and saying, “Yeah this is my body, and?” I began to realize that not only is it okay to show your body consistent love, but to flaunt the heck out of it. Whether it be taking a bath, having sex or freely walking around the apartment, “Girls” depicted the lives of these women in a realistic way, and that often involved boobs. I also loved “Girls” because it was a place where I could go to feel like other people have stupid problems just like my own, if not worse. I loved being able to lose myself in their absurd world. Overwhelmed by school, extracurriculars and work, I could watch the show and say, “Phew, at least my life isn’t as messy and ridiculous as theirs. Like, at least I have some of my shit together because I went to class today.” But then again, my life is kind of as ridiculous and messy as theirs, just in a different way. “Girls” also captured the extreme unpredictability of life. Nothing happens all at once. Not every action we take brings us instant gratification. This is so frustrating because we can get that instant gratification on social media and we can see it in film and television, but it doesn’t happen for us that often in real life. “Girls” brings that struggle to the screen so eloquently, as so many of the characters throw a fit if things don’t go their way and are quick to blame others for their own actions. It’s overwhelming to think as a college student, “Am I doing enough? Should I try to get an internship now or enjoy one last summer of freedom? Is my GPA high enough? Shouldn’t I be working more because I am so poor?
What happens after I graduate?” But as Lena Dunham explained in her commentary in the last episode, “Everyone is trying to figure it out ... It doesn’t matter where you are, there’s like this lack of resolution, but you can always make the decision to do better.” She’s right. This show followed its characters as they were just trying to figure it out. Hannah, Jessa (Jemima Kirke), Marnie (Allison Williams) and Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) were always just trying to figure out where they were most valued and what would make them happiest. All about love Like many shows whose premise revolves around a group of friends “just trying to figure it out,” they fought with each other, fell in and out of love a couple of times, did some drugs, had bad jobs and great jobs. Somehow, they managed to stay in each other’s lives throughout it all, sometimes hating each other, sometimes as close as ever. As much as Shoshanna began to feel that the rest of the girls were holding her back, or Marnie realized that she couldn’t control her friends no matter how many “emergency meetings” she called, they all knew they’d never stop loving each other. That love didn’t need to be the type that gets lunch every week either. It could be miles away, happily settled into different lives and not talking much. But it could be the type that you can count on for anything. That is awesome to think about, that no matter how hard or how weird life gets, as long as you have those people that will hold you when you’re sad and laugh at your jokes, you’ll be okay. In the penultimate episode, Hannah and Jessa had this moment where they both apologized for what they put each other through and recognized the pain they’d both put up with. A little context — Jessa began a serious relationship with
Hannah’s longtime boyfriend Adam (Adam Driver) which virtually ended their friendship. In season six, episode six, Jessa went to Hannah’s apartment and told her that she couldn’t lose Hannah as a friend, to which Hannah responded, “I don’t care about you anymore.” However, in the finale, the pair had a tearful reconciliation. “We were just doing our best,”
Hannah said, to which Jessa responded, “Our best was awful.” As Hannah agreed, they both laughed because sometimes life is so ridiculous and painful that it feels like a joke. Their best may have been awful because it wasn’t perfect and they sometimes hurt themselves and others. But it couldn’t have been all awful because it was what felt right in the moment, and like
always, it turned out pretty OK in the end. I think their best was all this show was about and what most of our lives are about. I think it was great, in all of its messiness and absurdity, as those are often the casualties of doing our best. Their best made their life crazy, but it also made their life good and I think that’s all we’re hoping for.
OPINION 6
MUSTANG NEWS
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SAVE THE HUMAN
SOPHIA O’KEEFE | MUSTA NG NE W S
| Breast cancer research receives more funding than any other form of cancer, but the reasons for the hype may be more exploitative than altruistic.
OPINION
Abbie Lauten-Scrivner @ CPMustangNews
Abbie Lauten-Scrivner is a journalism sophomore and Mustang News columnist. The views expressed in this column do not reflect the viewpoints and editorial coverage of Mustang News. Breast Cancer Awareness month is six months away. Which means companies, sports teams and charities are already gearing up for their massive annual campaign of pink products: pink uniforms, pink ribbons, pink everything. The White House might even turn pink again. The rallying behind breast cancer is truly something to behold. No other illness is privileged enough to receive the same level of international support. It’s incredible that so many women and men benefit from the awareness, support, research and funding that breast cancer campaigns bring to those in need. However, this support reveals an issue with which I find fault. With 1 in 8 women likely to develop breast cancer, it is certainly deadly, and all too common. But it ranks the third deadliest of cancers. Breast cancer enjoys more than double the funding lung cancer (the most common cancer) and
The sexualization of breast cancer colon/rectal cancer (the second most common). Now, this treatment is not undeserved. What I am sensing, however, is that much of it may be at least misguided. A distinctive trait of breast cancer campaigns is their ability to transform a painful, deadly illness into something delicately feminine and even glamorous. I suspect the reason for this comes from the source: breast cancer affects, well, breasts. Mainly, breasts belonging to women. It is no secret that female breasts happen to be one of the western advertising industry’s favorite body parts. Though this assumption may seem shallow, I believe it is corroborated by breast cancer awarenss ads themselves. To name a few slogans sighted from a quick Google search of “breast cancer ads,” I found, “Save the tatas!” “Save the hooters!” “Keep a breast!” “Keep calm and save boobs!” Most of these ads depicted images of nude women in which their faces were either cropped out or turned away. The focus, of course, was entirely on the breasts. Mainly plump, white, conventionally attractive breasts attached to thin, white, conventionally attractive
young women all shrouded in cute, soft shades of pink. To be blunt, these ads are sexualized. This conversation about breast cancer must not revolve around saving boobs. It is the actual lives of the people to which the breasts are attached that are at risk. I find it insulting and objectifying to women that the salvation of the fatty tissue on their chest seems to be valued above their actual experience as women battling a deadly cancer.
... breast cancer still enjoys more than double the amount of funding than lung cancer.
This is especially injurious since most campaigns aim to increase awareness of breast cancer. Considering more than 70 percent of breast cancer cases affect women older than 50, ads that mainly show young 20-somethings are
campaigns of misinformation. As is concentrating on women who are white, since African American women are more likely to die from breast cancer. The sexualization of the female body is not the only explotative enterprise that comes from breast cancer awareness support. Every year, corporations take advantage of the widespread support to sell their own products. The transformation of breast cancer into an illness with a palatable face has created a level of hype that lends itself to incredibly successful marketing for corporations. Many businesses participate in Pinktober in a valiant, beneficial manner. Pink products sold with profits being donated to research are a significant part of why breast cancer research has been funded so much more than any other cancer. However, many other businesses capitalize on this deadly cancer every October without giving anything in return. Some even contribute to the problem. This is called pinkwashing. Organizations feign shallow ethics while maintaining practices that act against whatever cause they are pretending to promote.
Exploiting the generosity of the selfless and the plight of the ill for financial incentives is frankly despicable. But it happens all the time. Consumers must be aware of how they participate in the market, especially when their dollars may become involved in life or death situations such as this. I’d like to end by sharing how this slough of issues first came to my attention in a painful, personal way. When my grandmother first became sick, none of us expected to be put through the torture of wondering for over a year what sickness she was battling. Dozens of tests, medications and misdiagnoses later, the doctor finally discovered the colon cancer ravaging her body. By then of course, it was far too late to extend her life or even bring her comfort. After she died, there was no international battle cry against her illness. Although March is colon cancer awareness month, it clearly receives little notice and far less funding. If awareness for this cancer had been more emphasized, would we have caught my grandma’s cancer earlier? Would she have been saved a year of increasing pain and paranoia? Unfortunately for my grandma, and millions of other victims, it’s just too difficult to make a colon sexy.
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NEWS 8
MUSTANG NEWS
Mustangs take down No. 8 Fullerton
DOWN GO THE TITANS
ILIANA ARROYOS | MUSTA NG NE W S
| The Mustangs’ series win against the No. 8 Titans was their first win against a ranked opponent this season. With the win, Cal Poly moves into second place in Big West.
Ayrton Ostly @ AyrtonOstly
The Cal Poly baseball team won 8-4 Sunday afternoon at Baggett Stadium winning its series against No. 8 Cal State Fullerton and moving into second place in the Big West Conference. Friday The Mustangs (18-20, 8-4 Big West) lost 7-4 in the series opener Friday night, but opened the game by running out a 4-1 lead by the end of the third inning. After Scott Hurst’s run on a throwing error put the Titans (24-14, 6-3) on the board first, Cal Poly sophomore catcher Nick Meyer singled to center field to score Bradlee Beasley.
Josh George singled to score Michael Sanderson and Colby Barrick hit a RBI single to plate Meyer before Elijah Skipps brought George home to cap off a four-run scoring spree. The Mustangs headed into the fourth inning with a comfortable three-run lead. But it didn’t last long against the top-ranked team in the conference. Cal State Fullerton responded with a pair of unearned runs in the top of the fourth that cut the lead to 4-3. Later on in the seventh inning, the Titans evened the score following Sahid Valenzuela’s RBI to score Hank LoForte. They notched another run in the inning with a bases-loaded walk to cap off
the comeback and lead 5-4 with two innings left. After a pair of scoreless innings by the Mustangs, Titans Taylor Bryant hit a two-RBI single in the top of the ninth that proved too much for the Mustangs to overcome. Junior pitcher Erich Uelmen was credited with his sixth loss of the season after giving up seven hits and five runs in six and 1/3 innings pitched. Saturday After a disappointing loss Friday night, the Mustangs returned Saturday night to even the series in a 13-6 win. The two teams traded runs in the second inning as the Titans scored on a grounder to second base before
Alex McKenna singled down the left side to score Barrick. Starting sophomore pitcher Bobby Ay kept the Titans relatively at bay in the third inning, giving up a single to Hurst that pushed Fullerton’s lead to 2-1. And then the Mustangs got hot. The third inning scoring started with a run by Marinconz after Scott Ogrin was hit by a pitch. Barrick was then hit by a pitch as well to plate Michael Sanderson and Kevin Morgan hit a two-RBI single to score Ogrin and George. McKenna then tripled to score Morgan and Barrick to finish off a sixrun inning and put the Mustangs up 7-2. The Titans responded with a
run in the fourth before Ogrin tripled to bring home George and Barrick singled to third base to plate Ogrin as well. Fullerton scored another three runs in the top of the fifth but Cal Poly rattled off four unanswered runs by the end of the game and even the series at one game apiece. Sunday The Mustangs maintained the scoring through to Sunday’s game, tying the score 1-1 after the first inning before notching five runs in the bottom of the second. Morgan doubled down right field to score Barrick and George before McKenna doubled to score Ogrin. Morgan
and McKenna both scored to give the Mustangs a 6-1 lead after two frames. The Titans came back over the third and fourth innings to score three runs and cut the lead to 6-4 before Ogrin singled down the left side to score Meyer in the bottom of the fifth. The Mustangs added another run in the bottom of the eighth when George scored an unearned run to put the game away for good at 8-4. With this series win, the Mustangs have won all four conference series on their schedule so far this season and 10 of their last 14 games. They play another game Tuesday against Fresno State at 6 p.m. in Baggett Stadium.