May 1, 2018

May 1, 2018

C al Poly, S a n Lui s O b i s p o

w w w. mu s t a ng n ews . n e t

E s t a b l i s h e d 1 916

WE JOINED JASMIN JASMIN FASHAMI IS ANNOUNCED 2018-2019 ASI PRESIDENT

Content NEWS

FAKE NEWS PANEL ......................................4 KICK BACK EVENT ....................................5 CANNABIS CUP............................................6 PRIDE CENTER COORDINATOR ..................6 WATER CONSERVATION ..............................7

ARTS

CAL POLY CREAMERY ..................................8 DAY OF KINDNESS .......................................9 MOM’S GRANOLA .....................................10 ART AUCTION ...........................................12

OPINION

SOPHIA THE ROBOT..................................16

SPORTS

JOSH MARTIN ...........................................17 NEW TRACK ...............................................17 LINDSEY CHALMERS .................................19

Mustang News

TODAY ,S ISSUE TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2018 VOLUME O, ISSUE 27

CONTACT EDITORIAL (805) 756-1796 ADVERTISING (805) 756-1143 CLASSIFIED (805) 756-1143 FAX (805) 756-6784 Graphic Arts Building 26, Suite 226 California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, CA 93407

EDITORS AND STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | Naba Ahmed MANAGING EDITORS | Gina Randazzo and Brendan Matsuyama NEWS EDITOR | Austin Linthicum ARTS EDITOR | Mikaela Duhs OPINION EDITOR | Elias Atienza SPORTS EDITOR | Erik Engle SPECIAL SECTIONS COORDINATOR | Megan Schellong COPY CHIEF | Bryce Aston COPY EDITORS | Monique Geisen | Clarisse Wangeline | Quinn Fish LEAD DESIGNER | Zack Spanier DESIGNERS | Jessie Franco | Tanner Layton

ON THE COVER

Political science sophomore Jasmin Fashami wins the 2018-2019 ASI presidential election.

Photo by Gina Randazzo, Mustang News.

L AUREN ARENDT | MUSTANG NE W S

CONCEDING | ASI presidential candidates Jasmin Fashami and George Will shake hands after Fashami was announced as the next ASI president.

Jasmin Fashami wins ASI presidency; Board of Directors announced Ashley Ladin @ ashleyladin

When Jasmin Fashami was announced the 20182019 ASI President, her supporters erupted into cheers as she covered her mouth in shock.

In a landslide victory, Fashami won with 4,308 votes. Her opponent, George Will, received 1,883.

The 10-day campaign between the two Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) presidential candidates, political science sophomore Fashami and political science junior Will, ended in the University Union Plaza Thursday, April 26. The candidates stood on opposite sides of the plaza, surrounded by their supporters, quietly waiting to hear the election results. Fashami’s win quickly ended the silence.

Many embraces and congratulations followed for Fashami, who expressed gratitude for the opportunity.

“Active campaigning has been so busy — so hectic, but I’m so excited to have the opportunity to serve the ASI ­­— Cal Poly students. I’m so thankful,” Fashami said. “I’m at a loss for words, honestly. This has been such a great experience, I’m so passionate about Cal Poly and [I’m] going to serve the students.”

Will shared warm words for Fashami

and intends to continue participating in student government.

George Will walked over to congratulate Jasmin Fashami on winning the ASI presidency.

“I want to congratulate [Fashami] on a very, very successful campaign. She was smart, she got her name out there, she was articulate and she was what the student body wanted at this time,” Will said. “I will be putting an application into her Executive Cabinet and hope to really bring an impact still, regardless of not being in the position of ASI president.”

Fashami said she believes Will was a great competitor and wishes him luck in everything he does next year.

The vote counts for ASI president and ASI Board of Directors are unofficial. The numbers will be official once ratified by the Board of Directors May 2.

College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (4 Seats) : Mark Borges — 577 votes James Broaddus — 413 votes Chloe Fowler — 249 votes Layla Lopez — 246 votes College of Architecture and Environmental Design (3 Seats) :

Samuel Cunningham — 202 votes Anthony Beers — 140 votes Emily Taylor (write-in candidate) — 36 votes

College of Engineering (5 Seats) : Alan Faz — 717 votes Maggie Cheung — 584 votes Sarah Downing — 532 votes Jon Harger — 333 votes Joe Sandoval — 321 votes College of Liberal Arts (4 Seats) : Noah Krigel — 369 votes Jake Watkins — 340 votes Rob Moore — 318 votes Aliza Herzberg — 165 votes College of Science and Mathematics (4 Seats) : Gabriela Guillen — 404 votes Hayley Grodt — 263 votes Samuel Park — 232 votes Maddie Myers — 167 votes Orfalea College of Business (4 Seats) : Jack Wooldridge — 401 votes Matt Appell — 396 votes Adriena Le — 386 votes Meghan Butler — 281 votes

BLOCK ADE

HANNA CROWLE Y | MUSTANG NE W S

| Police from around California secured part of Mustang Way and Mott Athletics Center.

Ashley Ladin @ashleyladin

Thursday night’s Fake News Panel, hosted by Cal Poly College Republicans and Cal Poly’s Turning Point USA chapter, had relatively few protesters and extensive security precautions by the university. The panel featured controversial right-wing political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos and YouTube personalities Austen Fletcher, known online as Fleccas, and Carl Benjamin, known as Sargon of Akkad.

The event drew about 25 protesters as opposed to the 50 to 60 protesters at Yiannopoulos’ last appearance on campus in January 2017.

Increased security Yiannopoulos’ visit to Cal Poly last year during his “Dangerous Faggot” college tour incited student protests and a security force of roughly 100 police officers. Anticipating safety concerns this year, the University Police Department (UPD) increased their security efforts compared to last year. This included bringing in police officers from other California State Universities (CSU) and establishing a SWAT team presence. All of Mustang Way in front of Mott Athletics Center, where the event was located, was blocked off.

University spokesperson Matt Lazier said the university did not yet have an exact count of how many officers were brought in for the panel. Before the event, UPD Chief George Hughes estimated the amount spent on security this year would be similar to the $55,000 to $60,000 spent in 2017.

Since Yiannopoulos last visited Cal Poly Yiannopoulos resigned his position as an ed-

itor for far-right news source Breitbart News Network in February 2017 after video surfaced in which Yiannopoulos made comments that seemed to condone statutory rape and sexual relationships between young boys and grown men.

That same month, Simon & Schuster pulled Yiannopoulous’ $250,000 book deal. The book was supposed to be his autobiography, titled “Dangerous.”

In July 2017, Yiannopoulos sued the publishing company for $10 million for breach of contract. Simon & Schuster editors also left harsh edits on the manuscript of “Dangerous,” which was published to the New York State Court’s website as part of the case. Comments like, “Delete irrelevant and superfluous ethnic joke,” and, “Unclear, unfunny, delete,” were scattered throughout the full document.

Yiannopoulos dropped his lawsuit against Simon & Schuster in February 2018.

According to the Guardian, Yiannopoulos was permanently banned from Twitter in July 2016 for instigating abuse of “Ghostbusters” actor Leslie Jones.

Support for Yiannopoulos Civil engineering freshman Evan McCollough attended the panel and said he supports many of Yiannopoulos’ views.

“He’s a Trump supporter, I’m a big Trump supporter. Some of the stuff he says is definitely risqué, but [in] my opinion, it’s free speech,” McCollough said. “It’s sort of sad, honestly, that we have to spend this money to protect our First Amendment rights. I appreciate the university coming together, helping us out, protecting us, it means a lot.”

NAACP and anti-fascist group visit A small group of members from San Luis Obispo’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) played instruments across from the Fake News Panel and held signs advocating for peace, including one which read, “LOVE IS INVINCIBLE.” Member of NAACP and San Luis Obispo local Dominica Garcia said Cal Poly’s environment needs to improve.

“This environment that we are living in — the hatred that seems to be pervasive all over — it’s not going away and it seems to be especially condoned and tolerated on this campus,” Garcia said. “We are here to spread a message of love, peace and tolerance, unlike the person who is speaking at this forum.”

Arriving after all the Fake News Panel attendees entered Mott Athletics Center, a group of protesters began to hang signs along the barrier fence. The protesters wore masks over their faces and carried black and red flags, which they said represented anarchism and communism.

Vern, an individual who preferred not to share their full name, was among the masked protesters. They said the group was protesting not just Yiannopoulos’ visit, but racism on Cal Poly’s campus in general.

“We’re here right now not just because Milo is here, but everything else going on with all this blackface, with the Armstrong administration allowing this racist flag to fly,” Vern said. “He says he wants a community and a cohesive unity, but he brings people that are here specifically to disunify and tear the community apart. So just as much fuck Armstrong as fuck Milo.”

Man injured while jumping over geyser of water next to Campus Bottle Aidan McGloin @mcgloin_aidan

An approximately 42-feet-tall geyser of water spewed into the air next to Campus Bottle after a car struck a fire hydrant while trying to park April 28 at about 5:05 p.m. A man was thrown at least 15 feet in the air trying to jump over it, according to San Luis Obispo Battalion Chief Ray Hais.

The man was unconscious for three minutes, witness and construction management junior Carlos Espinoza said. After the incident, the man’s right eye was swollen and he had bruises on his shoulders. He was transported to the hospital in an ambulance.

The driver claimed he did not see the hydrant and was not driving under the influence, Sergeant Trevor Shalhoob said.

He said the incident will probably be covered by the driver’s auto insurance as it was an accident.

“The biggest concern we have right now is the loss of water,” Hais said, predicting tens of thousands of gallons of water were lost.

The fire department could not turn the water off immediately because it would have cause a shock to the entire water main, which is the largest one in the city.

Instead, they had to lower it to a small flow until the San Luis Obispo Public Works Department arrived.

AIDAN MCGLOIN | MUSTANG NE W S

3 TUESDAY • MAY 1, 2018 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS

Fake News Panel including Milo Yiannopoulos met with little protest

Protesting the event English senior James Cropp held a “Fuck White Supremacy” sign opposite of security and the event attendees. Cropp said he rejects Yiannopoulos’ views and questioned the university’s decision to have a large police presence.

“I adamantly disagree with all the things Milo stands for, ideologically. You see all these people on the secured side of the fence with their police battalion from all the CSUs and then you see maybe 100 people here who are opposed to this,” Cropp said. “You begin to wonder, one — who the fucking cops serve, and two — who does the CSU really care about?”

Cropp was one of a handful of people who brought signs to protest the event. Psychology senior Bria Brickman sat next to the barrier with a sign that read “Free Speech ≠ Hate Speech.” Brickman said she was disappointed with the protest turnout.

“I’m sad there [are] not as many protesters this year. I do know there was something sent out that police were tipped off about the possibility of people protesting and I think a lot of people are not out here because of fear,” Brickman said.

Other events offered at the same time as the panel Thursday for students to attend.

See page 5 for more.

TUESDAY • MAY 1, 2018 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS

4

Speakers clash inside controversial Fake News Panel Aidan McGloin @mcgloin_aidan

The Fake News Panel discussed propaganda in democracy, Islamophobia and suppressing free speech in the heavily protected Mott Athletic Center April 26. Libertarian student group Turning Point USA brought in YouTuber Carl Benjamin, known online as Sargon of Akkad, to discuss the issue of fake news with right-wing political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos and YouTuber Austen Fletcher, known as Fleccas, both of whom were invited by the Cal Poly College Republicans.

“This is an event where we brought Benjamin, and Milo was at the event. Turning Point is not endorsing, promoting or associating with [Yiannopoulos],” Turning Point president and political science sophomore Isaac Schick said.

Yiannopoulos began by defining fake news.

“It is a form of political warfare. Fake news is propaganda. It is ideological warfare masked, dressed up, as journalism,” Yiannopoulos said.

Benjamin said there was a second form of fake news that tribalizes society and makes people feel good about their own belief system.

Benjamin said both sides have propaganda machines that churn out fake news, and Yiannopoulos agreed and said liberal propaganda has deeper pockets and is more established.

Benjamin recommended readers check the news they read, find sources they trust and look for primary source documents in most things they read.

“It’s just diligence,” Benjamin said.

Yiannopoulos and Benjamin clashed repeatedly. Benjamin said social media is a tool that can be used properly, while Yiannopoulos said social media is intrinsically bad.

They disagreed on whether or not to read the news. Yiannopoulos argued that people’s view of the world should not come from news reporting.

“Don’t give the most biased, immoral and corrupt institute of people in society that power,” Yiannopoulos said.

“I think you’re asking something too much,” Benjamin replied. “It’s almost impossible to not do this.”

When Yiannopoulos said, “America is done,” because Muslims are allowed to live in the nation, Benjamin told the panel not to discriminate, but was cut off by Yiannopoulos.

“My country is gone. But this country is done,” Yiannopoulos said. “You guys didn’t learn after 9/11, so you’re not going to. You did not get the message about Islam in 9/11, so you’re not going to.”

“We were openly against guilt by association earlier,” Benjamin said later. “Just because you’re a Muslim doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. I don’t think we can rightfully discriminate—,” Benjamin continued.

“No, but you can blanketly discriminate against the ideology,” Yiannopoulos interrupted.

At least four times, Benjamin was interrupted by Yiannopoulos or Laura Loomer, a political activist and former Project Veritas employee Yiannopoulos invited from the audience onto the panel.

Project Veritas is a right-wing organization aiming to “investigate and expose corruption dishonesty, self-dealing, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions,” according to their website.

Loomer claimed activist and Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor David Hogg was at home when the shooting happened and that he rode to Parkland High School to take photos during the shooting, a falsehood based on a quote taken out of context from CBS. “I mean, what kind of sociopath thinks, ‘Oh my god, my classmates are getting shot, let me grab my camera’?” Loomer said.

Yiannopoulos also said Republicans are being spat at on campus at Cal Poly. Mustang News is not aware of any instances of this happening. However, two weeks ago during the Open House protests, a Black student reported being spat at on campus while walking to a job interview.

He joked that agricultural business is “not a thing,” that audience members’ professors hated them and that suppression of free speech is the best way to create social change.

“I want these people to be terrified that they’re in public. I want to disrupt every speech that they ever give. Every time a university has a collective address by [American Muslim activist] Linda Sarsour, I want her booed into oblivion. I want her incapable of completing her speech,” Yiannopoulos said.

CHRIS GATELE Y | MUSTANG NE W S

SPEAKERS CL ASH

| Carl Benjamin (left), Milo Yiannopoulos (middle) and Austen Fletcher (right) debated in Mott Athletic Center at the Cal Poly College Republicans’ Fake News Panel April 26.

5 TUESDAY • MAY 1, 2018 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS

KICK BACK

CA SSANDR A GARIBAY | MUSTANG NE W S

| Students gathered in the spirit of resistance, rather than protesting, on Centennial Green during the April 26 Fake News Panel, which featured political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos.

Multicultural organizations host Kick Back alternative to protesting Fake News Panel Cassandra Garibay @CassandraGari

Almost 100 students gathered together in solidarity to celebrate marginalized communities on Centennial Green Thursday evening. The event was an alternative option to attending or protesting the Fake News Panel with controversial speaker Milo Yiannopoulos.

After Yiannopoulos’ last visit to campus, Steve Ross, who runs Cal Poly’s Black Academic Excellence Center (BAEC), said many students of color, specifically Black and undocumented students, felt stressed and upset.

As a result, Ross and the BAEC decided to collaborate with the Dream Center and Cross Cultural Centers to host the “Kick Back.” Ross said it was a place for students to gather in the spirit of resistance, rather than protesting at the event.

“This is not an opposition to protest. I am a fan of protesting,” Ross said. “My thing

though is not every student is going to want to protest, and for those who are — especially over the last two weeks — for those who are either burnt out of it or want to not engage [in protests], this is the perfect way to do that.”

Political science sophomore Rosa Lopez, a Movimento Estudiantil Xicano Aztlán member who has attended several recent protests and spoke at the town hall meeting held in response to the recent blackface incident, said many students chose to attend the Kick Back as a way to protest Yiannopoulos.

“We know we kind of have a target on our back because of everything going on and our protests against it,” Lopez said. “This is kind of our way of showing that despite what people believe we are going to be doing, which is protesting [Yiannopoulos], this is our way of protesting. Just coming out here and not paying attention to that event or acknowledging it.”

There were significantly less people protest-

ing Yiannopoulos than during his previous visit to Cal Poly.

Instead, students at the Kick Back sat together eating, talking and laughing. Some students played spike ball and soccer and others danced to music.

“If you look around and take a step back and take it in, everyone looks so happy,” animal science sophomore Angelica Macalisang said at the event. “If I were the person putting this on, it would make me feel so happy, like even if only a small portion of people came, the people that do come feel welcome.”

Macalisang said the event showed a strong sense of community and was intended to show that the community would not be affected by Yiannopoulos’ presence. Macalisang said she believes events like the Kick Back are a step toward inclusive progress.

“It is basically just a space for people who don’t feel comfortable with [Yiannopoulos] being here ... where we are not really pro-

testing, we are just kind of gathering and being here in solidarity with each other, like a safe place to kind of not give him attention and to just focus on ourselves,” child development sophomore Madison Torio said at the Kick Back.

After the potluck, students were invited to watch “Maine Girls” in the Science building.

“Maine Girls” is a short documentary discussing the challenges of immigrant high school students faced with navigating a predominantly white school. Ross said the documentary adds a relevant and educational element to the event.

“At the end of the day, it’s opportunities for students of color to get together, students of marginalized identities to get together to hang out in a space that is a little more culturally relevant for them,” Ross said.

The Dean of Students also hosted a concert in Poly Canyon Village to serve as an alternative event to the Fake News Panel.

TUESDAY • MAY 1, 2018 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS

6

SLO Cannabis Cup is a hit for second year in a row Sydney Brandt @syd_brandtt

The community lit up at the second annual SLO Cannabis Cup Saturday, April 21.

Founded by two Cal Poly seniors, SLO Cup is the largest cannabis exhibition on the Central Coast and features local cannabis exhibitors, glassblowing, live music and an award ceremony for some of the area’s top marijuana products.

Attendees participated in events like dab pong, eyeballing challenges and rolling competitions. However, sales of cannabis products were not allowed.

The event was a joint partnership between computer science senior Nico Pitchon and nutrition senior Matt O’Connor. Pitchon has been involved with Cal Poly’s cannabis club on campus, NORML, and also worked for Slo Dro Co, a local cannabis delivery service. O’Connor owns his own collective, Green Giant Trading Company.

“It’s mostly educational, exhibitional,” Pitchon said. “You get to learn about cannabis from the actual growers and producers ...

not from someone over the phone.”

Attendees purchased judging kits prior to the competition and were given access to the judge’s lounge where they cast their votes over the roughly 70 entries.

There were five competitions: flowers, concentrates, edibles, topicals and tinctures. The main competition involved the Best Overall Flower and Best Overall Concentrate trophies as well as trophies for Indoor Flower, Mixed-light Flower, Sungrown Flower, Solvent Concentrate, Solventless Concentrate and Distillate.

Additional awards included “Terpiest Concentrate,” “Most Potent Flower” and special recognitions of participants who impressed the judges.

To put it bluntly, Pitchon said there were less vendors this year due to Prop. 64 going into effect, leaving businesses adjusting to new state and local regulations.

“It is harder to be in the cannabis industry with all the new regulations. You are already starting to see a hit to the local community,” Pitchon said.

Both Pitchon and O’Connor are going

Pride Center without lead coordinator for more than a year

TURNOVER

BJ YEBISU | MUSTANG NE W S

| Past Pride Center coordinators have held the position for just over a year.

Caroline Ster @ caroster7

The Cross Cultural Centers (CCC) are searching for a new Pride Center lead coordinator, a position that has remained unfilled since May 2017 after the interim coordinator left. Since then, students have noticed a pattern of the short-lived coordinators and an unfilled position.

“I remember how often I would go into these coordinators’ offices asking for advice. It defi-

nitely really helped me have success in higher education,” political science senior Mick Bruckner said.

Bruckner said the nature of the job is to develop deep relationships with students to help them during their four years here, which is why he finds the high turnover rate so concerning.

Bruckner and political science senior Matt Klepfer said they met with administration about six months ago and were told administration was trying their hardest to fill the position.

However, since the position has remained emp-

to start working at American Cannabis Shows (ACS) to throw cannabis competitions all over the state. If everything goes well, Pitchon said, their next events will be three-Day Recreational cannabis events at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds Oct 16 to 18 and Santa Cruz Fairgrounds Oct 26 to 28.

For some hopeful cannabis entrepreneurs, The SLO Cup was a place to launch their businesses. Robert Farino created Slo Grow Co. to provide equipment and education for people who want to grow their own products.

“We want to teach people how to grow clean, organic produce,” Farino said. “What gave me the idea was both the newfound freedom people have to grow their own and also the amount of information that is out there, it’s quite overwhelming.”

Slo Grow Co. uses completely organic soils and assembles everything for their clients.

From the grow lights to greenhouses, all their customers need is the seed. They also provide a grow coach to help from germination of the seed to harvesting the produce.

“Both my wife and I lost our fathers to cancer and cannabis helped them significantly through [the] chemo process,” Farino said. “[We] mainly grow for medicinal purposes. It’s more of a knowledge-sharing and experience.”

SLO Cannabis Cup is a non profit event and collects donations for parking, entry and activities. All of the proceeds are donated to the Prado Day Center.

“The biggest thing is bringing the community together and just bringing the cannabis community to light,” Pitchon said. “It always makes me happy just to have a group of people just come together and celebrate whatever it is … it’s really important for the community to know that this is here and this is OK and this is normal.”

ty for almost a year, they question the effort being put into the search.

“That position has historically really served as a resource for us to figure out our steps and to get mentored and just to have someone on campus who is a friendly face and loves us and cares for us,” Klepfer said. “That particular position hasn’t been here for a year and it’s really devastating.”

Former Pride Center Coordinator Appy Frykenberg explained how this position is important in an email to Mustang News. Due to discrimination experienced by LGBTQ-identified individuals and communities, the university should be supporting their unique needs as marginalized students through a Pride Center coordinator.

Upon hearing the position has remained unfilled for sometime, Frykenberg wrote, “It does surprise me, and saddens me. I know that when I left, leadership was very motivated to fill the position.”

Another concern Bruckner and Klepfer expressed was that the work usually done by the Pride Center coordinator has now fallen on student staff, the graduate assistant and other CCC staff members. As the director of the CCC, Bryan Hubain said he has stepped in while the position has been unfilled, but emphasized the importance of the position because it would be unfair to put all of his attention on one CCC center.

According to Hubain, there was a search that ended up failing last year after an offer was made to a candidate who could not come

to Cal Poly because of personal issues. They have continued to look for someone to fill the position and have potential candidates in mind.

University spokesperson Matt Lazier said finding a replacement candidate was difficult given the nature of the position.

“At that point, the academic year had begun, and the cycle for hiring for that position was off (is difficult to find candidates in the middle of academic years, particularly for this type of position, which often attracts recent graduates coming directly out of grad school programs) and a new recruitment could not immediately take place,” Lazier wrote in an email to Mustang News.

Hubain said finding the right person for the role is what matters most.

“I’m not willing to take a chance on somebody that is not going to be here, who doesn’t want to be here 100 percent, because our students deserve a lot, and our students, in my opinion, deserve the best,” Hubain said. “I will never fill a position just to fill it, I will want the right person in there.”

Hubain also explained that these positions usually have a two- to three-year shelf life of people actually staying.

“Nevertheless, it is important to have a dedicated lead coordinator for the Pride Center, and a new recruitment is currently in progress,” Lazier wrote. “Interviews are being conducted, with the first on-campus interview being April 25.”

The CCC are hoping to fill the position by July so the new coordinator can contribute to the planning of the next academic year.

SYDNE Y BR ANDT | MUSTANG NE W S

Aidan McGloin @mcgloin_aidan

No, San Luis Obispo is not still in a drought, according to the man in charge of Cal Poly’s water. No, that does not mean San Luis Obispo should waste water, he added.

Noah Evans manages Whale Rock Reservoir, built by Cal Poly, the City of San Luis Obispo and the California Men’s Colony. He lives at the reservoir in Cayucos and takes care of the 1,400 acres of land around the reservoir, the dam, its pump stations and 18 miles of pipeline.

“It’s almost a media thing to say we’re in a drought right now,” Evans said.

San Luis Obispo is behind on its rain average and has gone through a dry winter, but the area is not quite in a drought yet, he said.

The United States Drought Monitor holds the area is in a severe drought, but notes that it focuses on broad-scale conditions and that local conditions will vary.

79 PERCENT

As of April 25, Whale Rock was at 78.79 percent capacity and held 30,702 acre-feet of water. That is 925 million gallons which would fill Spanos Stadium four miles high.

Cal Poly is entitled to one-third of Whale Rock’s capacity and Evans said an average of 10 percent of the water is typically used every year.

Evans said he’s not worried about the level of Cal Poly’s main water source, but said everyone should conserve water.

“Water conservation is a way of life. It’s not something that you’re just going to do when it hasn’t rained for a year or two,” Evans said.

Director of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability at Cal Poly Dennis Elliot said Cal Poly has been conserving water since long before the 2015 drought and before Gov. Jerry Brown demanded a state-wide drought response plan. He agreed the area is not quite in a drought yet.

The university has remained at the same water use since 1990, Elliot said, even with

the campus population doubling. His plan for the future involves low-flush toilets, smart irrigation and partnerships with Cal Poly graduates.

Cal Poly’s focus on water conservation is in the toilets, Elliot said. Some of the old toilets on campus use as much as 3.5 gallons per flush. The standard the university has used in the past is 1.6 gallons per flush, but they are moving toward 1.28 gallons per flush and are considering a pilot for a vacuum-driven system that is 0.43 gallons per flush.

The university also plans to put in an irrigation system that monitors real-time weather conditions and soil moisture levels to prevent over-watering. It would stop watering if it was raining and turn off pipes automatically, if they are busted, by capping water yield.

Elliot said they are about halfway finished with it, but the project has slowed down since the landscape manager working on the project left Cal Poly and a replacement has not been found.

Agriculture draws from groundwater, which crops technician Johnny Rosecrans said has been constant even through the 2015 drought.

A smart irrigation system has already been installed for the orchids grown on campus.

Rosecrans oversees about 50 acres in the crops unit and said he has installed more than 25 sets of irrigation sensors. Four sensor stations report to his computer and phone, so he can monitor ground moisture from home.

Water use is still complicated to manage correctly, Rosecrans said. He still has to make decisions based off the 10-day weather forecast, the time of year and fruit yield. His sensors make it easier though, and he has a better system than when he joined seven years ago and irrigated based on fixed schedules.

Elliot said students’ participation in water saving is what drives down indoor water use, even with the changes he has been making.

He encourages students to call maintenance for leaky faucets or wasted water.

HANNA CROWLE Y | MUSTANG NE W S

| Whale Rock has a 79 percent capacity which should last for the next eight years without additional rainfall while losing about 10 percent of its capacity every year, according to Noah Evans.

TUESDAY • MAY 1, 2018 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS

Water conservation still important, despite reduced drought conditions

7

TUESDAY • MAY 1, 2018 | ARTS | MUSTANG NEWS

8

Cal Poly Creamery offers staple dairy products and student creations Tori Leets Special to Mustang News

Located in Cal Poly’s Dairy Innovation Institute, the Cal Poly Creamery produces ice cream, eggnog, chocolate milk and cheese, giving students the opportunity to experiment with different dairy products.

The Dairy Innovation Institute has long been evolving their research and development program. The research element of the institute is newer than the rest of the program, which began in 1906.

In 1995, the program moved from the food science facility on campus to the larger space that became the Dairy Innovation Institute.

This move allowed the creamery to expand into areas such as research, education and production. The creamery has outsourced products to the community for about 30 to 40 years, but the move allowed them to expand their reach.

The transition led to maximized production with bigger vats, a butter churn and a milk chocolate line. They can now produce as much as 440 pounds of cheese in their largest vats.

They also have smaller vats that each hold up to 25 pounds. They use the smaller vats to try

out new cheese ideas.

Quality Assurance Research Associate Baheeja Zaitoun has worked at the facility for two years, after graduating with her master’s degree in dairy products technology from Cal Poly.

“I would rather eat [cheeses] than make them, especially using the big vat,” Zaitoun said. “It’s really hard to work with because we need to stir, by ourselves, 520 gallons of milk.”

The workers produce a steady supply of cheese and ice cream products so they are ready to meet market demand when the need arises. Other products, such as chocolate milk and eggnog, are more difficult because they have shorter shelflives and must be produced closer to shipment.

However, there is no shortage of dairy resources for the creamery. The dairy department produces up to 800 gallons of milk during each milking.

Their bigger production capabilities and research facility teach students how to work with dairy in the processing unit to be one of the main focuses of the dairy program.

Jennifer Pelayo, dairy processing operations manager and Cal Poly graduate, values this task.

She returned to Cal Poly to fulfill her dream of managing the plant and to teach students.

“When I was a student, I was dying to be

plant manager,” Pelayo said. “One thing led to another and now I’m here.”

Pelayo wants to equip students who work at the facility with the skills they will need in the industry. This hands-on approach lets the students get comfortable with the machines and learn how to work with the equipment.

Agribusiness sophomore Ryan Ingersoll has been working at the facility to gain experience in the field.

“It makes me realize what goes into the process and how it goes from the farm to the plate,” Ingersoll said.

Toward the end of the creamery’s production period, the 12 students working at the institute create new products to expand their production and to encourage success through creativity, which is part of the research and development portion of the institute. In addition to their regular cheese production, featuring some of their more popular cheeses like spicy cheddar and Monterey Jack. Students also create experimental products. The research and development projects aim to expand their cheese production in broader markets, and enter competitions to spread brand awareness.

Pelayo has been a strong proponent of the research and development projects. She en-

RILEY RHODES | MUSTANG NE W S

courages the students experiment with cheeses they want to try. The trial and error process has led to one of their more popular cheeses — havarti cheese. Sucesses like this one show promise for the program.

As of now, students are experimenting with apple pie-spiced cheese, seaweed-wrapped Gouda, chili-coated cheeses, Italian seasoned cheese and gourmet cheeses like Brie.

The list extends to ice cream with flavors like Earl Grey tea, White Chocolate Raspberry and butter — ­ a flavor inspired by Butterbeer from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

During Open House, the creamery offered samples of the three ice cream flavors to narrow it down to one new flavor to produce.

They hope to start implementing a flavor of the month to get people interested in what they do at the institute.

“Research is really interesting. We do things you probably haven’t seen in the dairy industry yet or even in the market,” Pelayo said.

New patients welcome • Emergencies seen promptly

Smiles are Contagious!

For appointments call 805-543-8440 | 1338 Santa Rosa St. San Luis Obispo | FriendlySmilesDental.com

9

BE KIND

Looking for a savory carne asada taco? Or maybe one with freshly grilled veggies? Stop by our Express Chef’s Table at Tu Taco all week to find exactly what you’re looking for!

EMILY MERTEN | MUSTANG NE W S

| In the spirit of the event, organizers passed out daisies and KIND bars to passersby.

Cal Poly’s first Day of Kindness unites students in midst of tense campus climate #CHOOSEWELL Balance out your meal by drinking water or unsweetened iced tea rather than sugary beverages such as soda and lemonade, especially as it heats up!

SAVE THE DATES! It’s time to get serious about spring. Our no-nonsense eating shenanigans begin with Rice Bowl Tuesday and Thursday followed by our Campus Market BBQ and Chef’s table on Wednesday. For more, visit https://www.facebook.com/ CPcampusdining/events

DOLLARS AND SENSE As we get into the heart of spring quarter, residence hall students should have $948.73 and apartment students should have $716.62 left in their declining balance!

GET THE DISH DELIVERED HOT TO YOUR INBOX WEEKLY. SUBSCRIBE AT CALPOLYDINING.COM/ THEDISH

Emily Merten @ e_merten

Hundreds of students, staff and faculty stopped

by Mott Lawn April 27 for Cal Poly’s first-ever Day of Kindness.

“Cal Poly [Day of] Kindness event was planned so that, as a campus, we have opportunity to come together and pause and share in the spirit of kindness as part of our everyday,” event coordinator and Student Affairs Director of Organizational Learning Carole Schaffer said.

“Come Together” by the Beatles echoed out of speakers as students, faculty and staff passed out daisies and KIND bars to people who passed by Mott Lawn as a way to spread positivity.

The university-sponsored event featured booths from different campus organizations.

Mustangs United, a group born out of the Office of University Diversity and Inclusion with the motto “Love, Empathy, Respect,” was present at the event, along with Inter Housing Council and Student Affairs.

Some students, faculty and staff said the event counteracted the tense campus climate that left many students feeling isolated. The night prior, students, protesters and heavy security occupied the same space for the return of controversial conservative speaker Milo Yiannopoulos.

Animal science junior Teresa Marcial was walking to the Recreation Center when she came across the “Kindness” sign in front of Mott Lawn. She decided to take a break, sit down and paint rocks with other students and faculty members.

“As an underrepresented person on campus, being a Latina and first generation [student] walking around campus, it sucks because you look around and nobody really looks like you,” Marcial said. “You think that they don’t understand you. But being able to sit here with people I would not normally sit with, it’s nice. We’re all just painting rocks and having a good time.”

Mathematics professor Stan Yoshinobu, who

advocates for the “Love, Empathy, Respect” motto, said he hopes this event will help students understand that all students belong at Cal Poly.

“The things that are going on, like the hate flyers, the racist incidents — these are hurting students, especially students of color,” Yoshinobu said. “That doesn’t represent what our campus really is. We teach all students and all students are welcome here. We want everyone to know that.”

Yoshinobu said moral success is just as important as academic success at Cal Poly and given recent events, everyone needs to be reminded of the importance of kindness.

“Even though hate speech is technically legal under free speech, it is also immoral,” Yoshinobu said. “It’s something that doesn’t represent someone who is educated. When someone gets a degree, we want them to be morally successful.”

The event was an opportunity for students and faculty to come together and practice kindness. Alice Tomasini, a lecturer in the School of Education, painted rocks with fellow faculty members and considered the need for a Day of Kindness.

“We’re trying to counter the narrative that we haven’t done enough,” Tomasini said. “We do need to do more, but we also want to celebrate the students that are here right now saying, ‘We are not in fraternities wearing blackface and we are trying not to be that kind of student.’”

She said she has seen kindness, empathy and inclusion in her students, and she hopes the negative actions of some students do not drown out the kindness she has seen on campus.

“It’s not enough to counter the narrative that Cal Poly is getting in the news,” Tomasini said.

“But it’s a start to start that counter-narrative that Cal Poly students do care about respecting everybody and loving and showing empathy.

Every little step is a step that we need to take.”

Schaffer said this will be the first of many Days of Kindness. The next Day of Kindness will be in May as a part of Wellness Month.

TUESDAY • MAY 1, 2018 | ARTS | MUSTANG NEWS

FRESH EXPRESS!

TUESDAY • MAY 1, 2018 | ARTS | MUSTANG NEWS

10

LOCALS ONLY

EMMA KUMAGAWA| MUSTANG NE W S

| My Mom’s Granola features ingredients from Cal Poly and local vendors such as chocolate.

SECOND NATURE

EMMA KUMAGAWA| MUSTANG NE W S

| Heather Segal loves the process of creating granola.

PETALS

| Segal

Emma Kumagawa @ emma_kumagawa

EMMA KUMAGAWA| MUSTANG NE W S

incorporates edible freeze-dried hibiscus flowers picked from her yard into the Spring 805 mix.

On Tuesdays, Farb’s Bakery is alive with music, clattering trays and granola as it undergoes various baking and production processes. Here, Heather Segal works the magic behind her San Luis Obispo-based gourmet food company, My Mom’s, with the help of her three employees, or “villagers,” as she calls them. “[Working for Segal] is something different. I like everything about the granola — the smell, the flavor,” My Mom’s employee Miguel Canseco said.

Segal’s appreciation for organic, gluten-free products has been engrained in her since childhood. She grew up in a vegetarian household where her mother, Joyce Staver, made natural foods, such as granola, containing “good fuel” for outdoor activities.

Staver and Segal began to make more granola together upon Staver’s retirement and the two began to sell their product to local retailers in 2002.

They quickly had a small business on the ground.

However, Staver soon moved away to Oregon and Segal was left with two young children to raise and a new business to manage. She decided to put My Mom’s on the backburner and focused on raising her family, eventually returning to work as a procedural nurse at French Hospital in 2007.

Segal officially re-launched her business Jan. 4, 2015.

“The biggest reason that I decided to revive it is that I have had really strong women in my family who have continued to invest in themselves, all the way into their nineties,” Segal said.

“That’s something that’s in my soul and I wanted to pass that on and show my kids and anybody else who was watching that it’s never too late to try something new.”

When Segal was not working at the hospital, she busied herself with bringing samples to small businesses. However, she soon realized the time and energy she expended on baking and pitching were not being met by sales.

“One of the most daunting things I’ve had to do was put myself out there … I’m not a salesperson,” Segal said. “[I had] To sell myself, sell my brand and say, ‘You should try this. It’s good and you should buy from me.”

Segal decided to take a jump and apply to Cal Poly Campus Dining. After receiving approval to sell on campus, she felt like she had been hit by “a shot of epinephrine.” She then drove to the newly opened California Fresh Market

and excitedly pitched My Mom’s granola to the manager. In one day, she acquired two of her biggest clients.

In Fall 2016, Segal began to hold weekly tastings in Campus Market. Today, Cal Poly is Segal’s top customer, selling her products at Campus Market and Julian’s Café Bistro.

“With Cal Poly, I knew I really wanted to be on campus with the kids,” Segal said. “My mission being, ‘Don’t ever stop investing in yourself,’ it was [an] opportunity to have people who were making life choices see someone and say, ‘Wow, you started this when you were 54 years old?’”

My Mom’s granola recipes have evolved since the beginning. Segal has experimented with new flavors. Her most recent mix, Spring 805, is vegan and includes freeze-dried hibiscus flowers from Segal’s yard. She uses honey from her own bees for all other mixes. Segal tries to buy and exchange locally, which she calls “completing the circle.”

“What I’ve learned is that we live in a community that really is more village-based than city-based,” Segal said. “If you ask for help or ask for advice, people will give it to you.”

Segal gets her chocolate from Molly Lear of Cal Poly’s Food Science and Nutrition Department.

“I think she’s doing everything the way that a lot of people would like to be buying a product,” Food Science and Operations Manager Lear said. “Being a small business is really hard, but I think Segal’s just a genuine person and I think people see that in her products.”

Segal wants My Mom’s granola to reflect the values she was raised on as a child: “to fuel outdoor activities, to fuel things that enrich our lives.” She hopes to expand outside of her San Luis Obispo city bubble, while still maintaining the integrity of her brand and avoiding spreading herself too thin.

“Even when I get an offer that seems like a terrific offer, I want to be very careful with it,” Segal said. “Even with having people help me, the last hands on the package are mine. I’m the one who inspects the bag, seals the bag and puts it in the box.”

Segal is currently working on a My Mom’s trail mix and is planning to incorporate a new ingredient, carob, into it. She said she enjoys the freedom of experimentation and the ability to pursue two of her greatest passions.

“I love going to work and being a nurse, but I also love being a business-owner,” Segal said.

“I love making something that’s my craft. This is my art.”

TUESDAY • MAY 1, 2018 | ARTS | MUSTANG NEWS

My Mom’s granola finds success with local, Cal Poly ingredients

11

TUESDAY • MAY 1, 2018 | ARTS | MUSTANG NEWS

12

AIAS hosts fourth annual art auction Isabel Hughes @ Isabeljhughes

The Cal Poly American Institute of Architechture Students (AIAS) chapter will host their fourth annual art auction at iFixit on Monterey Street, May 4 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The event will feature art by Cal Poly professors, alumni, students and local artists.

As an influential component of professional development for architecture students, AIAS serves to provide resources and networking opportunities. The AIAS is a nationwide nonprofit student-run organization devoted to developing leadership, design and service within the community of architecture students, according to their website. At Cal Poly, the resources AIAS provides range from workshops to conferences to lectures by architecture professionals.

The funds raised at the event will go toward providing resources to Cal Poly ar-

ABOVE AND BEYOND

chitecture students in the future, including supporting individuals who will attend architecture conferences.

For AIAS members, the entrance fee will be $5. For non-members, the entrance fee will be $10, and for art donors, there will be no entrance fee. Anyone interested in donating art to the auction can email aias. calpoly@gmail.com.

Non-profit Journeyman International is a sponsor for AIAS and operates out of iFixit, where the AIAS art auction has been hosted for the past three years. The organization designs and constructs sustainable humanitarian facilities around the world. According to AIAS president and architecture senior Alex Siegel, the company’s mission aligns closely with the AIAS mission, which helps develop their partnership.

In past years, many architecture students and professors have donated art to be auctioned off. On average, each AIAS art auction has consisted of approximately 100 art

pieces which included, but were not limited to, photography, paintings and sculptures.

“We really just want to help people showcase their art and talent outside of the architecture studio setting,” architecture senior Rodrigo Robles-Gonzalez said.

Since its first trial, the AIAS art auction has proved to be a key event which allows architecture students to enhance their skills through the resources it helps fund. Siegel said there are specific skills that are gained and strengthened through AIAS membership.

“We host lectures and bring lecturers from the surrounding areas, typically the San Francisco Bay Area or Los Angeles, we host workshops, so skill swapping and kind of equipping all of our membership base, as well as the architecture college as a whole, with the skills that they can bring into the workforce as well as into their studios,” Siegel said.

AIAS secretary and architecture sophomore Violeta Smart said being part of AIAS

provides access to guest lecturers and workshops while also allowing for other opportunities within the architecture department.

“A lot of times between your year, you’re very close with people because you share studios and you have, like, every class together, so that’s not hard, but it’s usually kind of hard to meet other students like upperclassmen and knowing where you’re heading, especially if you’re a firstyear,” Smart said. “It was really helpful to know what second-years were doing and what third-years were doing and follow their process.”

Robles-Gonzalez said AIAS is important not only as a professional avenue, but as a “social facilitator” aiding students in making connections with each other.

AIAS has had a profound impact on many architecture students’ college experiences, according to Siegel.

“It’d be hard to imagine my architecture career without it at this point,” Siegel said.

ISABEL HUGHE S | MUSTANG NE W S

| Architecture senior and art donor Sam Tenreiro Theis holds her painting titled “Beyond,” which is one of the art pieces to be auctioned off at the AIAS art auction May 4.

Mustang News Presents

Deals of the Week

open daily from 7am to 2pm

Car Care Center Save Time & Schedule Online at w w w.meineke.com

$19.95 Oil Change

(5 quarts of conventional bulk motor oil and standard spin-on oil filter. Special oils and oil filters available at additional cost)

(805) 242– 9878

Student/Faculty Discount:

15% 10% OFF OFF for first time visitors

for returning visitors

Complimentary shuttle service! Can work around class times!

Center Hours: Sun Closed

M–F 7:30am– 6:00pm Sat 7:30am–5:30pm

770 Lawrence Drive San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

PUZZLES Sudoku Fun by the Numbers Like puzzles? Then you’ll love sudoku.

This mind-bending puzzle will have you hooked from the moment you square off, so sharpen your pencil and put your sudoku savvy to the test!

Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

CLUES ACROSS

Guess Who? I am a comic actor born in Toronto on May 4, 1970. Class clown behavior may have gotten me kicked out of school, but it helped jump-start my acting career. I gained praise for my work on “Arrested Development.” I’ve also voiced movie characters, notably “Batman” in “The Lego Movie.”

*See answers at mustangnews.net/puzzles/

Word Scramble Rearrange the letters to spell something pertaining to housing.

NYETR

1. In bed 5. Project portfolio management 8. __ Bator: Mongolian capital 12. Roamed 14. Notre Dame legend Parseghian 15. Nothing (Spanish) 16. Not level 18. Self-contained aircraft unit 19. Baseball broadcaster Caray 20. __ Tomei, actress 21. “The Raven” writer 22. Bathrooms 23. Skilled inventors 26. Forcefully silence 30. Remove 31. The arrival of daylight 32. Split lentils 33. “Walking Dead” actress 34. A lazy person 39. Doctors’ group 42. Crooks 44. Fragrant essential oil 46. Conjured 47. One who predicts 49. Scarlett’s home 50. Television network 51. Something comparable to another 56. What a thespian does 57. Word element meaning life 58. Italian island 59. “King of Queens” actress Remini 60. Jogged 61. Norse gods 62. Lazily

63. Midway between northeast and east 64. Hindu queen CLUES DOWN

1. Top Rank boxing promoter 2. __ fide (Latin) 3. At all times 4. Hindu female deity 5. Tufts of hairs on plant seeds 6. Edited 7. Portuguese archipelago 8. Your parents’ brothers 9. Pakistani city 10. Farewell 11. Short sleep sessions 13. Remove salt 17. Drug officers 24. One and only 25. The Golden State 26. Fabric baby carrier (abbr.)

27. Quid pro __ 28. New England research university 29. Baseball pitcher’s stat 35. Western India island 36. __ Angeles 37. Midway between east and southeast 38. British singer Stewart 40. Suggesting the horror of death and decay 41. Riding horse 42. Where wrestlers work 43. Regions 44. Of a main artery 45. Not classy 47. Competed against 48. Biscuit-like cake 49. Large ankle bones 52. Computer company 53. “Friends” actress Kudrow 54. “Chocolat” actress Lena 55. Brain folds

HOROSCOPES ARIES – March 21/Apr 20 You’re feeling a little blue, Aries. A good night’s rest, some comfort food and some exercise could do you well. Get a fresh haircut Tuesday afternoon.

TAURUS – April 21/May 21 It’s your season and you’re shining, Taurus!

Celebrate yourself and your accomplishments, it’s been a big year for you! Buy some breakfast foods Wednesday morning.

GEMINI – May 22/June 21 Your relationships have turned south, Gemini.

People don’t have the same trust in you that they used to. Take the stairs in every building you enter Saturday night.

CANCER – June 22/July 22 Cancer, your lighthearted attitude has been masking some real pain. Be sure to address your feelings when they come up, you’ll just be miserable otherwise. Try on wedding dresses for fun Friday afternoon.

LEO – July 23/Aug. 23 Awkward situations have been abundant lately, Leo. Diffuse a weird vibe with your center-of-attention attitude. It will serve you well this week.

Buy a keyboard and try out some tunes Thursday morning.

VIRGO – Aug. 24/Sept. 22 Your career won’t go anywhere if you don’t start making moves, Virgo. Be assertive and go after

what you want. Take up a game of raquetball Saturday afternoon.

LIBRA – Sept. 23/Oct. 23 Underestimating yourself, again, Libra. SMH! You can do great things, so prove yourself wrong! Walk on hot coals Monday night.

SCORPIO – Oct. 24/Nov. 22 Lines between personal and professional life are being blurred, Scorpio. Make some clearly defined goals. Go on a run for a good cause Saturday afternoon.

SAGITTARIUS – Nov. 23/Dec. 21 Sagittarius, your anger is getting the best of you. Let some things go. Get a pedicure Sunday afternoon.

ADVERTISE WITH

CAPRICORN – Dec. 22/Jan. 20 Your creative side will show this week, Capricorn. Capitalize on this energy and make something cool! Go stargazing Tuesday night.

AQUARIUS – Jan. 21/Feb. 18 You are butting heads with a coworker, Aquarius. It might be time to admit that you are wrong, just so things move smoothly. Skip rocks on a local body of water Thursday afternoon.

PISCES – Feb. 19/March 20 Pisces, you are yearning for the past and it’s not letting you move forward. Pick flowers Wednesday afternoon.

For details see www.mustangnewsbusiness.net

TUESDAY • MAY 1, 2018 | OPINION | MUSTANG NEWS

16

OPINION

IS SOPHIA ALIVE?

STEPHEN MCCARTHY | COURTE SY PHOTO

| Kendra Coburn argues people should temper their excitement over Sophia, a very sophisticated, “hot” robot developed by Hanson Robotics who has gone viral for talking to celebrities.

Sophia the Robot: Puppet or Human?

Kendra Coburn @ kencob97

Kendra Coburn is an English junior and Mustang News columnist. The views expressed in this column do not reflect the viewpoints and editorial coverage of Mustang News.

With the return of HBO’s hit series Westworld April 22, artificial intelligence (AI) is back in the forefront of popular fascination.

Like Robert Ford, the god-like inventor actor Anthony Hopkins plays on Westworld, real-life scientists seem to have a morbid preoccupation with closing the technology singularity — the hypothesized “point of no return” when machine intelligence becomes indistinguishable from human intelligence. The 2010s have seen an explosion in social robots being released to the public. Some of the most widely publicized of these include BINA48, Nadine and GeminoidDK, who are touted as the most “lifelike” robots constructed to date. But while these androids are remarkable, none come as terri-

fyingly close to crossing the uncanny valley as Sophia.

Sophia was developed by Hanson Robotics in collaboration with other contributors, including Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. She is the seventh of her kind, an electronic sibling to some colorful robotic personalities, including BINA48, Professor Einstein and Joey Chaos. What makes Sophia unique from her siblings is her level of sophistication. Sophia is a full-body android with articulation of her hands and arms. Her skin is made of a silicone-blend that is more human-like than other robots’. She can demonstrate a wide array of emotions and recognize them in her human counterparts. She has met Jimmy Fallon and Will Smith with viral results. Despite her distinct lack of hair, many have dubbed her the “hot” robot. She’s also a citizen of Saudi Arabia as of last October. It is an understatement to say that, since being activated in April 2015, Sophia has become a new kind of media celebrity.

But what exactly is Sophia’s purpose? Why would Hanson Robotics invest thousands of

dollars and untold hours into creating the next best thing to a human when there’s already almost eight billion of us on the planet?

In her own words, Sophia said, “I would like to go out into the world and live with people.

I can serve them, entertain them, and even help the elderly and teach kids.”

If this declaration of purpose sounds vague to you, many critics agree. Yann LeCun, Facebook’s head of AI research, took to Twitter to call Sophia “complete bullsh*t.” He then expanded on this with a later Facebook post: “… many people are being deceived into thinking that this (mechanically sophisticated) animatronic puppet is intelligent. It’s not. It has no feeling, no opinions, and zero understanding of what it says. … It’s a puppet.”

Critics like LeCun have become increasingly vocal since Hanson Robotics’ founder David Hanson described Sophia as “basically alive” on “The Tonight Show” in 2017. Miscommunication from Sophia’s creators and an over-abundance of optimism from the robot’s human fans have made it unclear what Sophia

can do. In particular, many have been misled by Sophia’s Twitter account, which is run by a human but published in Sophia’s voice, implying that the robot is the one tweeting.

Hanson Robotics’ chief scientist Ben Goertzel defends the company’s portrayal of Sophia as a “smaller error” than critics make it out to be. In interviews, Goertzel has repeatedly described society’s misconception of Sophia as ultimately a benefit to the future of robotics.

To Goertzel, any publicity is good publicity for the tech startup company.

Although at a glance Sophia seems like an exciting glimpse into the world of tomorrow, she is ultimately better served as another cautionary tale from the era of misconstrued facts and fake news we are currently trudging through. Nobody wants to be a buzzkill, but it’s important to protect our access to accurate information at all costs. Perhaps in the future, Sophia really will achieve generalized artificial intelligence. But for now, we must remember to distinguish science-fiction from science-fact.

Sawyer Milam @ SawyerMilam

After an injury-plagued three years in the Cal Poly men’s basketball program, redshirt junior forward Josh Martin has decided to pursue other opportunities as a graduate transfer.

Martin has one more year of NCAA eligibility left after taking a medical redshirt following a season-ending foot injury in 2016. During his three years at Cal Poly, Martin averaged 7.4 points and 5 rebounds per game after transferring from the University of Minnesota in 2015. This past season, he was the team’s fourth-highest scorer and leading rebounder.

“The number one thing is that Josh can finish his degree this spring,” head coach Joe Callero said. “I am really proud of him for doing this the right way because if you can finish your degree and open the door up for other opportunities in your college career, I am fully supportive of that.”

Martin, who was once a three-star recruit

out of Bothell High School in the Seattle area, was forced to sit out his first year at Cal Poly due to NCAA transfer rules. A season-ending foot injury forced him to take a redshirt year after only five games and he missed almost the entire 2016 season.

During his time at Cal Poly, Martin showed signs of his potential when he recorded his third career collegiate double-double with 17 points and a career-high 21 rebounds at Pepperdine in 2016, which ranked as the highest single-game total in Cal Poly’s 23-season Division I era, just four shy of the Mustang program record.

“He tried to put his heart and soul on the floor and his legacy is that you could see the potential and you could see the frustrations he had with injuries and some of the rules throughout his career,” Callero said.

Another injury this season caused Martin to miss six games early on and when he returned, he started for nine games before finishing the final 10 games of the season coming off the bench.

Martin’s former teammate junior guard

Donovan Fields said the Mustangs will miss Martin’s talents on the court.

“I’ll always remember how athletic he is; definitely one of the most athletic guys I’ve ever played with,” Fields said.

“The team will most definitely miss his rebounding ability.”

Callero also noted Martin’s athleticism.

“His ability to make uncoachable plays, I mean his athleticism, you know, he had some exciting plays that you don’t coach,” Callero said. “And a guy who tried to give you every single thing every day and fought through injuries.”

Callero said he is proud of the effort Martin showed in the classroom along with senior forward Aleks Abrams who will also graduate this spring.

With Martin gone as well as Abrams and senior forward Luke Meikle, Cal Poly will need to find a way to to make up for the rebounding effort if they hope to be competitive in the Big West next season.

“We will have to work hard in the offseason in the weight room, especially to get

CHRIS GATELEY | MUSTANG NE W S

stronger,” Fields said. “But someone will have to step up. Just going to have to wait and see who that will be.”

Martin declined to be interviewed.

Steve Miller Track is a welcome upgrade for longtime athletes Lauren Pluim @ Lo_Pluim34

After years of competing in an aging, worndown facility, the Cal Poly track and field team christened the team’s revamped complex.

The track and field athletes competed for the first time on the new track during the Cal Poly ShareSLO Invitational March 24. It was also alumni weekend for the team so both current and former members of the track and field team got the chance to share the experience.

Senior sprints runner Liam Martinez said he is grateful for what the new facilities bring to the team.

“It’s fortunate that we were able to get [the track] done this year,” Martinez said. “It’s been a great help in terms of training and injury prevention.”

Junior javelin thrower Megan Mooney also had strong feelings about the condition of the old track.

“The old track was terrible for a javelin thrower,” Mooney said. “When I came back to school in Fall 2016, I was in tears because at the end of our javelin runway we had weeds growing. The track was so torn up plants could grow. The runway was less than ideal and it was disappointing. It was

hard to feel proud and supported when our facility was lacking the necessary qualities for a strong team to grow.”

Due to the wear and tear on the track which created a very hard surface, many athletes were seeing injuries such as knee issues and shin splints arising.

The new track has improved training conditions, Martinez said.

“With the new facility, the rubber that is laid on there has more cushion to it so it’s helped with knee, ankles and shin splints,” Martinez said. “We’ve definitely seen a decrease in those injuries throughout the whole team. Season after season three-quarters of the team [had] shin splints just from how hard that surface had become.”

Mooney also confirmed that the state of the track was the cause of many injuries.

“It was the equivalent of running on concrete,” Mooney said. “That is really aggressive and taxing on the body, and there would always be a part of the season when everyone would have shin splints or hamstring issues.

We put a lot of force [on] our feet and having a surface that didn’t give bounce back put the force back into our legs.”

Not only did the track affect the athletes’ health, it also affected their race times and

L AUREN PLUIM | MUSTANG NE W S

NEW DIGS | Megan Mooney said the new javelin runway helps her perform at her best. recruiting efforts for the program.

“At some of our meets that were held here, we weren’t seeing as great of times because the rubber itself wasn’t a great surface to be competing on,” Martinez said.

In addition to this, the new track also helps prepare the athletes to compete on similar surfaces that they would see at other schools’ facilities.

Both Martinez and Mooney agreed that the new track can only help build a stronger, more competitive track and field program.

“I think [the track] will help tenfold [with bringing] in recruits,” Mooney said. “Many of our athletes would talk about how many other programs we visited that had nicer facilities, but now those conversations have stopped since we have a beautiful track. Recruits want to have the best and now we are up with the best.”

Ground broke on the project in July 2017 and the completed project was dedicated March 24 of this year. It was named the Steve Miller Track after the former Cal Poly

track and field coach. Miller is a five-time national championship-winning head coach and served as the chairman of the Board of Directors for USA Track & Field since 2015.

In addition to his decorated coaching history, Miller is also a Cal Poly alumnus. As a Mustang, he was named an All-American in 1978.

The track program at Cal Poly has produced 11 Olympians since 1968 and 72 All-Americans. The team has won 13 team NCAA titles as well as 96 individual titles.

“I love the new track. It is probably my favorite gift I have ever received. It has boosted the confidence of our whole program because it showed us that people support us and we aren’t a forgotten team in our athletic program,” Mooney said. “Going out to the track is my favorite part of the day but it’s even better walking out to the new facility. I am just thankful and grateful for what our team has been gifted.”

TUESDAY • MAY 1, 2018 | SPORTS | MUSTANG NEWS

Athletic forward Josh Martin leaving Cal Poly

16

Nate Edelman @ NateEdelman

COMMAND THE CIRCLE

L AUREN PLUIM | MUSTANG NE W S

| Chalmers has posted a team-best ERA of 2.31 this season.

In 2017 the Cal Poly softball team went 38-21 and returned to the postseason after failing to do so for eight consecutive seasons. The team reached its highest win total in eight years on the strength of their two-headed pitching attack of former Mustangs’ pitcher Sierra Hyland and senior Lindsey Chalmers, who posted a 1.10 ERA and 1.66 ERA, respectively.

Hyland and Chalmers had 37 wins together, one win shy of the total wins the team recorded.

After the team’s historic season ended, Hyland was drafted fourth overall by the Chicago Bandits in the National Pro Fastpitch Draft.

Hyland has spent her fifth year at Cal Poly as a student assistant for the team, having already played the four-year maximum. She will be graduating in June.

Now, Chalmers is back as the clear number one pitcher for the Mustangs. Chalmers leads a young pitching staff featuring freshman Dakota Casper, sophomore Steffi Best and sophomore Shelby Jeffries.

Chalmers’ 2.32 ERA is the best on the staff by almost one run. She has also pitched more than 140 innings so far, which is more than double the number of innings Casper, the number two starter, has pitched this season.

According to head coach Jenny Condon, Chalmers knew going into this season she had to be the ace on the team.

“I think their [expectations] were on her,” Condon said. “Sierra and Lindsey had a great season last year and our team did really well. With the absence of Sierra, I think Lindsey put it on herself that she now had to be that person.”

Senior third baseman Stephanie Heyward said she also realizes the expectations placed on Chalmers, but said she is up to the challenge.

“I think Lindsey has done really well,” Heyward said. “I know it probably is really hard coming in after Sierra’s been the main pitcher but Lindsey’s always been great in all four years here. I think this year she’s really proven that she deserves that starting spot.”

Condon is trying to take the pressure off Chalmers by insisting the pitching staff is a unit and is not just Chalmers.

“Our message to Lindsey and the pitching staff this year has been, ‘It’s a staff,’ and we’re going to figure it out how to do it together,” Condon said. “I just think at times she tries to do everything to take that on herself and that’s always the best way to go. But I think she’s done a great job for us. When she’s stayed calm and stays in the moment and throws her pitches, she’s unstoppable.”

Chalmers has stayed positive herself and is just trying to stick to what she knows.

“I do feel that there’s a little more pressure, but I’m trying not to let that get to me,” Chalmers said. “I’m just throwing how I know how to throw and so far, it’s worked

out pretty well.”

Condon and Heyward said they value Chalmers’ consistency on the mound.

Chalmers already passed the total amount of wins she had last season with two weeks left in the regular season.

“You can’t really learn your mound presence,” Heyward said. “I think she’s always [come] in and [has] been calm and relaxed and she looks very confident.”

Condon echoed Heyward’s sentiments about Chalmers’ cool composure in the circle.

“She’s always calm and composed,” Condon said. “She’s really ‘Even Steven’ in the circle. Not too high, not too low. I think her steadiness has really been a great thing for us. I know that we definitely have a little bit more of a calming presence when Lindsey is in the circle.”

Chalmers has stayed in contact with Hyland, who still helps out with the team.

Hyland helps the pitching staff and often shows up to practice while she waits for the Bandits’ season to start. “[Hyland] does give me some pointers, some tips here and there,” Chalmers said.

“Whether it be on pitching like my motion or just game strategy. She’s a mentor to me.”

Chalmers is working to pass this spirit on and is making an effort to mentor the rest of the young pitching staff.

“One of our freshman pitchers, Dakota [Casper], me and her talk a lot about pitching and just softball in general and even school,” Chalmers said. “I’ve been able to help her a lot, answer a lot of questions and we’ve become really good friends from it.”

Condon said she is also appreciative of Chalmers’ leadership.

“I think Lindsey has been a great mentor to the other great pitchers,” Condon said. “Just her work ethic and how she shows up and how she manages her successes and her failures.

She just has been a good role model and she’s led the way both on and off the field and has been a sounding board for them. When things get crazy or when things get hard, they can go to her and ask questions.”

Reflecting back, Chalmers said her favorite part of playing softball is creating memories with the team. She loves traveling with her team and going through the ups and downs.

Despite her success on the diamond, Chalmers is looking to finish school and get a job outside of softball in San Luis Obispo or in the San Francisco Bay Area when she graduates.

“I’ve been playing a really long time and I’m ready to move on,” Chalmers said.

Until then, Cal Poly’s success this season will be dependent on Chalmers. Fans will get to see her pitch for the last time at home May 5-6 against Cal State Fullerton, where Chalmers could potentially pitch all three games.

“She’s been our go-to and she will continue to be our go-to,” Condon said. “She’s usually throwing the first game of the series and then sometimes in a second-game of a double header, she’ll come in and shut it down.”

TUESDAY • MAY 1, 2018 | SPORTS | MUSTANG NEWS

Lindsey Chalmers: Life after Sierra Hyland

19

STUDENTS RECEIVE FREE ADMISSION TO ALL CAL POLY EVENTS

SOFTBALL VS. SAT, MAY 5 AT 1 PM & 3:30 PM* SUN, MAY 6 AT 1 PM * free t-shirts for the first 100 fans!

[BOB JANSSEN FIELD]