April 10, 2018

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

C a l Po l y, S a n L u i s O b i s p o

w w w. m u s t a n g n e w s . n e t

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

PAGE 10

MUSTANG BAND FEATURE

PRIVA

A World Leader in Indoor & Horticulture Automation

VISIT US @ THE CAREER FAIR ON APRIL 18 & 19 Engineering- Sales - Horticulture - Automation - Business

Our Ambition is to be known as the leading technology and service provider for sustainable urban deltas

www.PRIVA.com

@priva_inc

Priva Inc.

@privaINT

Content NEWS

PRIDE MONTH .............................................4 CALWISE DISTILLERY...................................5 MUSTANG PARENTS’ PAGE .......................13

ARTS

SOUL YOGA .................................................6 UNIVERSITY GRAPHIC SYSTEMS ................7 RECORD STORE DAY ...................................8

OPINION

ELON MUSK ..............................................16

SPORTS

MUSTANG BAND FEATURE .......................10 BEACH VOLLEYBALL .................................17 VICTOR JOSEPH ........................................18

Mustang News TODAY ,S ISSUE TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2018 VOLUME O, ISSUE 24

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

Engineering for people: Engineers Without Borders and the people of Pa Kloi Emily Merten @ e_merten

Deep in the hills of Northern Thailand, the people of Pa Kloi transformed a group of five Cal Poly students.

In December 2017, an Engineers Without Borders (EWB) team installed a project that was years in the making: a slow sand filtration system to provide a clean, sufficient water source to Pa Kloi, a rural community of about 125 people in Northern Thailand near the Burmese border.

EWB is a nationwide organization that facilitates engineering projects abroad to help developing communities fulfill their needs. Cal Poly’s chapter of more than 200 members has five different project teams. Each team partners with a community for five years at a time to work on development projects. Along with the Thailand team, the longest standing team, Cal Poly’s chapter has a Malawi team, a Nicaragua team, a Fiji team and a local team that works in San Luis Obispo County.

Electrical engineering junior Cole Cucinella is one of the Thailand team’s project managers.

He said EWB stands apart from other development organizations.

“We’re not just dropping something off,” Cucinella said. “There’s a huge education aspect of it all.”

Despite a language barrier, the team provided the Lahu people of Pa Kloi with resources to understand the project and learn maintenance procedures. The team gave them instruction manuals with translations and diagrams.

“We have community members who are really hyped on it,” Cucinella said. “It’s incredi-

ble to see all these people who don’t have the education we have just huddle around these diagrams, excited to learn about how this biosand filter kills E. coli when it’s just sand. That’s some of the coolest stuff ever.”

Learning on both ends While the Cal Poly team helped the people of Pa Kloi learn about the filtration system, the community helped teach the students as well.

“We had such an idea about how things should go down in our heads and we get there and they use a piece of bamboo and a machete and get things done a hundred times better in a way we wouldn’t have thought [of],” Cucinella said.

Side by side, the Lahu people and the Cal Poly team carried more than 100,000 pounds of sand and gravel in 50-pound rice bags on their backs to deliver to the filtration system at the top of a steep hill.

“It was one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life,” Cucinella said. “It was such grueling labor.”

Many people in Pa Kloi left their day jobs and volunteered their time to help with the filtration project over the course of three weeks.

If a problem came their way, they were eager to find a way to fix it.

“It became a running joke that whenever a community member disappeared, he or she would surely return in minutes with the perfect solution to the problem,” mechanical engineering junior Gabrielle Bullen said.

Understanding differences When the water filtration project began, the team’s main goal was to efficiently create a func-

tioning filtration system. But understanding the community’s customs and values turned out to be just as important.

“They had to try and understand the village’s interests, their goals and their lifestyle, which is obviously so much different from the students’, or any of ours,” senior technical mentor Dan Johnson said.

The Lahu people believe separate water sources should not be crossed, as they each hold associated spirits. When waters cross, they believe the spirits can clash, become unhappy and bring conflict to the community.

When the EWB team suggested better allocation from two separate water sources, they quickly learned the plan would not align with the community’s values.

“If we went in there arrogantly and decided what we thought was the best solution and just did it, they wouldn’t have used it,” Cucinella said. “They wouldn’t have touched it. They wouldn’t have believed in it.”

This is why community assessment is the essential first step of any EWB project. In March 2017, months before the implementation trip, the team first took an assessment trip to meet with the Lahu people face-to-face.

This step in the process for each team ensures that they fully understand the community’s needs through an assessment trip. Once they better understand these needs, the team returns to Cal Poly to work on a design. From there, the design must be approved by engineering professionals. They then travel back for the implementation trip.

EWB continued on page 4

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | Naba Ahmed MANAGING EDITORS | Gina Randazzo and Brendan Matsuyama NEWS EDITOR | James Hayes 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

Mustang Band: who they are and what they do.

Photo by Carsten Frauenheim, Mustang News.

EWB TEAM

ABBIE BULLEN | COURTE SY PHOTO

| Five Cal Poly engineering students on the Engineers Without Borders’ Thailand team traveled to Pa Kloi in December 2017.

Taylor Petschl Special to Mustang News

Treating sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like chlamydia, gonorrhea or herpes can be as simple as taking a pill or two. Telling current and past sexual partners that they might be infected is often much harder.

The number of STI cases in San Luis Obispo has been on the rise. As an at-risk population, Cal Poly students can be carriers for undiagnosed STIs especially because sharing STI statuses is a difficult conversation for most partners.

“It’s interesting because it’s easier to have sex with a stranger than it is to tell the stranger, ‘We maybe shouldn’t be having sex without a condom because I have herpes,’” Pamela Parker, a gynecologist at Cal Poly’s Health Center, said.

STIs can be spread despite the use of contraceptives like condoms or dental dams, and carriers can be asymptomatic, making it easy to unknowingly get an STI from an infected partner.

Having the conversation After being diagnosed with either a chronic or treatable STI, it is up to the individual to share with their past or future partners, since many STIs do not present visible symptoms, according to Planned Parenthood. As a licensed marriage-family therapist, Cal Poly psychology and child development lecturer HOW THEY SPREAD | Sexually transmitted Elizabeth Barrett believes an infected individual must first be comfortable with the diagnosis before having the difficult conversation to know I have herpes and I really value with a partner. your safety and want to make sure you’re Knowing all the facts about a diagnosis prior comfortable and I want to share this with to sharing STI information will help you.’ Coming from a place of concern make the conversation easier, or care for the other person, it Barrett said. sets up an avenue for dia“The very first thing logue,” Barrett said. is being able to work L ang u age choi c e through any shame, is not the only imThe very first thing embarrassment or portant factor in guilt that you feel, communicating is being able to work or anger about your STI status through any shame, getting the diagnowith your partner. sis and finding out A n a n o ny m o u s embarrassment or guilt. you actually have psychology sean STI,” Barrett said. nior was diagnosed ELIZABETH BARRETT “Find out as much as w it h a h i g h - r i s k you can about it, get restrain of human papilally educated about how to lomavirus (HPV) despite stay safe being sexual from this taking precautions. point forward.”

“I was basically a poster child for safe Barrett also suggested incorporating sensex,” the student said. “I always used contences starting with ‘I’ rather than ‘you’ when doms and regularly got tested ... but I still talking to a partner. got something.”

“If you approach it from a place with When it came to telling her partner she confidence and say, ‘Hey, I just need you had contracted HPV, she made sure her

KAYLEE BRUNKE | MUSTANG NE W S

infections can be spread despite the use of contraceptives like condoms or dental dams.

body language reflected her comfort with the diagnosis.

“I think if you come at [the conversation] hysterically because you’re not sure about [the STI], they’re probably going to freak out,” she said. “Because I came at it being

calm and in-the-know, like, ‘I can tell you all the science behind it,’ he was very receptive to that and we were able to get past it.”

RISE OF STIs continued on page 5

TUESDAY • APRIL 10, 2018 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS

Rise of STIs highlights importance of a dialogue with sexual partners

3

TUESDAY • APRIL 10, 2018 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS

4

Pride Month celebrates students’ unique identities Sonya Jindal @ sonya_jindal

Cal Poly’s LGBTQIAP+ community celebrates their most significant and impactful event: during the month of April: Pride Month. The Pride Center was created to support and advocate for the unique academic and social needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual and pansexual (LGBTQIAP+) students to promote personal growth and success, according to the center’s website. The center provides a safe and inclusive space, creating an empowering environment for the LGBTQIAP+ and allied communities at Cal Poly.

While the United States generally celebrates annual Pride Month festivities during the month of June, Cal Poly makes an effort to allow students the chance to participate in the activities while school is still in session.

“Pride Month has a whole plethora of events to celebrate all the different sexualities and genders that appear here on campus and truly highlight them and uplift them,” Queer Student Union member and political science junior Dominic Scialabba said. “I’m very excited for the drag show. The drag shows are always a good time and I give so many props to the drag queens and kings that perform here at Cal Poly. It takes a lot of confidence to go up there and do what they do in this space.”

Cal Poly’s Assistant Dean of Students and Director of the Cross Cultural Centers Bryan Hubain is excited for this event as well, for a specific reason.

“Some of our students did dare me to dress in drag,” Hubain said. “So, I will be going dragged EWB continued from page 2

Cal Poly EWB President Jessica Taylor said assessment trips allow the Cal Poly team to learn about the community members’ needs aside from basic logistics.

“You learn about the people in the community and how they operate first,” environmental engineering senior Taylor said.

“I think there’s a huge issue with development where college students will use the developing world as an engineering playground — just coming in and dropping something off,” Cucinella said.

He said this approach can lead to designing projects that communities may not have wanted in the first place. In these situations, if something goes wrong, there is no inclination to fix it.

“We are not the Western superheroes coming in to give someone in need a project that’s going to work forever,” Cucinella said.

out — hair done, face painted, six-inch heels ready to go. I’m really excited.”

Along with the drag show, the Pride Center will host a multitude and variety of events, including but not limited to:

Umbrella Dialogues • April 9-May 21 (Mondays at 6 p.m.) in Chumash Auditorium A closed space for non-cisgender and gender nonconforming students to build community and engage in dialogue.

Queer Dialogues • April 10-June 5 (Tuesdays at 6 p.m.) at Cal Poly Pride Center A closed space for queer and/or trans-identifying students to build community and discuss contemporary topics.

Convos for QTPOC • April 17-May 29 (Tuesdays at 6 p.m.) at Cal Poly Pride Center A closed space for queer and/or trans people of color to share their experiences.

Queer Women Wednesdays • April 18-May 30 (Wednesdays at 6 p.m.) at Cal Poly Pride Center A closed space for queer-identified women to build community and network.

State of Gender Sexualities • April 23 (6 p.m.) at Julian A. McPhee University Union An opportunity for students to go on stage and speak their minds about Cal Poly and their state of being.

When unexpected problems arise, EWB aims to provide ways to fix them. They use locally purchased parts in their designs, so if something breaks, the community can buy the parts to fix.

Even after implementation, the Thailand team continues to partner with the Lahu people to ensure the filtration system is running as planned. The next step in the partnership is a water source protection project. The team plans to travel back to Pa Kloi in December 2018.

“It’s important to us to maintain relationships with our communities and not just leave them after a project,” Taylor said.

Shaping tomorrow’s engineers Cal Poly’s EWB chapter receives guaranteed funding from the College of Engineering. While much of the funding goes toward the project itself, a portion pays for the students’ travel fares.

“There are times where I’ve questioned if it’s worth it. There’s a much more efficient way to

The State of Gender and Sexualities event is one Hubain was especially excited about.

“This is new and something we started off and tested it with the ‘State of Blackness,’ which was amazing. The students spoke out and were amazing. I loved the students coming and stepping out,” Hubain said. “We need to be able to talk about our issues — ­­ a space to talk about our own experience, but also things that make us happy, things that celebrate our identity. Often times I’ve realized underrepresented students lack pride in their identity. Not all, but some.”

Pride Month is extremely important to the LGBTQIAP+ community at Cal Poly, allowing a time to celebrate their own unique identity unapologetically.

“My community is so important to me and in this world and especially in this political climate, queer people aren’t supposed to have fun,” comparative ethnic studies junior Gianna Bissa said. “We aren’t supposed to feel empowered. We aren’t supposed to be building these communities and expressing our love for one another. Any time that there is a space for us to come together and have a great time is not only a great night, it’s a night of resilience.”

For others, it is a reminder of how much they have grown since they initially came out.

“Pride Month for me is really a chance to celebrate my queer identity and celebrate how I choose to represent myself,” Scialabba said. “I just feel as if there’s a continual coming out that occurs always, whether it’s coming to campus or starting a new class with unfamiliar faces.

It’s not just coming out, like ‘Oh, I’m queer,’ it’s a coming out of who I am and this is where my interests lie, whether it’s in academia or just in a social setting.”

While Cal Poly aims to promote inclusivity throughout the various communities on campus, some students feel a lack of support from administrators.

“Cal Poly has a lot of work to do. [The campus] continually says ‘inclusivity and diversity,’ but those seem to be completely empty terms that do not hold anyone accountable,” Sciablaba said. “We have seen the incorporation of a queer studies minor, which is amazing to show repre-

sentation in academia, but also to provide a new critical lens to students to analyze the United States and systems that are in place at Cal Poly.”

Though the campus has worked to improve the resources available for the LGBTQUIAP+ community, such as a limited number of gender neutral restrooms, some feel as if administrators have not been prioritizing the needs of these students.

“We don’t have a Pride Center coordinator right now, we have very few Cross Cultural [Centers] coordinators right now because they’ve all left Cal Poly and that’s something Cal Poly needs to take a stand on,” Scialabba said.

However, many members still find solace in the celebration of their identities, leaning on one another for support and love. Pride Month is a celebration for the whole world to be boastful in their lifestyles.

“To actually be able to find the confidence, find the strength to be out­— I get to be gay my own way and that is what I love,” Hubain said. “There is no one way to be gay and that’s what pride is really about. It’s a time for me to celebrate who I am, the way I am.”

take the money we spend and complete an engineering project in a community, but it’s so much more than just going to a place and implementing a project,” Taylor said.

The team came back to Cal Poly with experience under their belt and a new perspective on engineering. The partnership in Pa Kloi taught the team engineering outside the classroom and outside their comfort zones.

“Engineering for people is different than just building a system,” Bullen said.

Cucinella fondly remembered the last day of the Pa Kloi water project. More than 30 community members had hauled heavy sandbags on their backs all day. After weeks of labor, the project was finally nearing completion. Cucinella lifted one of the final bags for the last sand dump that finished the project.

“The dust cleared and the sand settled and all these people were sitting on the ground underneath because we had just finished after weeks of construction,” Cucinella said. “I remember

I just said, ‘Done,’ and they all said ‘Ah bo u ja,’ which means ‘Thank you.’ And I just shouted from the top of the scaffolding, covered in dirt on my face, and I said, ‘Techimahae,’ which means ‘No worries’ in Lahu. It was just all these people, laughing at this dumb, dirty, goofy white guy, covered in dirt and sweating, about to faint, trying to say ‘No worries’ in their language. It was one of the coolest moments I’ve ever had.”

The team returned to the U.S. one day before Winter 2017 began. Campus seemed the same; the team recognized the familiar bustle of students shuffling from class to class. They continued plugging numbers and solving equations in their classes, but some found new value in their work.

“Engineers are often taught how to solve problems, but not how to find them,” Taylor said.

“We are not taught about how our work can impact other groups of people. We’ll make the world a better place by giving this education to students.”

FR ANK HUANG | MUSTANG NE W S

Matthew Medlin Special to Mustang News

After he got kicked out of Cal Poly’s Cerro Vista Apartments for distilling liquor, Aaron Bergh took the whole operation and turned it into his own business.

Bergh graduated from Cal Poly in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural and environmental plant science and started CalWise Spirits (formerly known as Calivore Spirits) just three weeks later. With help from Cal Poly’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), he got his company off the ground after one year.

Today, CalWise Spirits can be found at California Fresh Market, Granada Hotel and Bistro and Flour House in downtown San Luis Obispo.

The idea to distill his own liquor began much earlier, back when Bergh, a wine and viticulture minor, had just transferred to Cal Poly from Ventura College.

“I studied [agriculture] in college, and a peach, plum or strawberry with a little bruise on it would get thrown out and wasted. And I’m all about efficiency, so I thought, ‘What could I do to give this new life? Why not mash it up, ferment it and make it into brandy?’”

Bergh said.

After succeeding at making his brandy, Bergh quickly expanded into rum, whiskey, liqueurs and gin.

“I probably ditched about half of my Cal Poly classes by staying home and making booze instead,” Bergh said.

However, it is illegal to distill your own alcohol in the state of California, let alone in your residence hall.

RISE OF STIs continued from page 3

Researching information about STIs on the web can lead to even more questions, which is why the student said it is best to ask a health professional about a specific diagnosis.

STI testing is available at Cal Poly’s Health Center, Planned Parenthood and The Center for Health and Prevention.

Standard STI tests through Cal Poly’s Health Center appear as general health center charges on the student portal. An HIV blood test is about $10 and a herpes lesion swab is $12, while the price jumps to $40 for a combined gonorrhea and chlamydia swab.

Cal Poly senior Lauren* contracted oral herpes in elementary school after sharing a water bottle with an infected peer.

“I think we just put the trust in someone that it’s something they would tell,” Lauren said.

“But maybe they might just not even know,

“They gave me a slap on the wrist and kicked me out,” Bergh said.

Not one to be discouraged, Bergh moved off campus and continued making spirits. His roommate gave him the idea to turn this little hobby into a business.

Bergh decided to take a leap and apply for Innovation Quest, put on with the help of the Cal Poly CIE. As an outside nonprofit, Innovation Quest works with Cal Poly student entrepreneurs to help them pursue their ideas and chooses three startups to support. However, Bergh did not make the top three.

Bent on achieving his goal, he continued to press onward and applied to the CIE’s Hothouse Accelerator Program.

The Hothouse Accelerator program, like Innovation Quest, is open to all Cal Poly upperclassmen with an idea for a startup and provides them with the necessary funding and tools to launch their fledgling businesses.

Once again, Bergh hit a roadblock.

“I didn’t make it to the top 10, so they didn’t give me any money or anything. But they said ‘We like your business, and we think it’s viable, so you can still be a part of the program if you want to.’”

Bergh has since been running the business-side of the company out of the Hothouse, while producing his spirits in Spring Valley, San Diego. But it is time for a change of scenery.

Bergh said things are starting to feel a little cramped and he is planning on expanding in a big way.

“I’m moving from that 10-by-10 square [feet] over there, into a 6,000-square-foot distillery and tasting room in Paso Robles.”

Bergh will be joining nine other distilleries in the Paso Robles area, all of which offer their own tastings.

Steve Kroener, co-owner of KROBĀR craft distillery just off Highway 46 in Paso Robles, said that the area is a natural fit for craft distilleries.

“Since we’ve got all these homegrown ingredients and fun things going on in [San Luis Obispo] county, it’s just the next easy step in progression,” Kroener said.

The newfound popularity of distilling in California has a lot to do with Assembly Bill 1295, better known as the California Craft Distillers Act of 2015.

The bill, which creates a new license category for craft distilleries that allows them to compete with breweries and wineries, is mostly succeeding.

“There’s a lot of movement to be had, but what’s happening so far is great. We’ve just been allowed to pour distilled spirits in our tasting room two years ago,” Kroener said.

Signed into law in October 2015 by Governor Jerry Brown, the act also allows distillers like Bergh and Kroener to hold private events, offer cocktails and sell as many as three bottles of spirits to a customer from their tasting room.

According to the 2017 economic briefing from the Craft Spirits Data Project, the number of craft distillers in the United States has grown by 20.8 percent in the last year.

But the rise of craft distilling comes down to more than just changing laws.

Bill Owens, who founded the American Distilling Institute in 2003 to promote and defend craft distilling, said that there’s a larger cultural movement going on.

“It’s part of this renaissance in American culture, supporting local businesses and saying ‘Screw the big guys!’ … These distilleries are opening everywhere from Seattle to Miami. It’s exciting,” Owens said.

Bergh wants to be a part of that excitement but will not settle for just being average. It is not in his character as the self-titled “Commander in Mischief ” of CalWise Spirits.

“I don’t wanna be another serious, dull brand out there. I want there to be some edge and personality to my brand, to not come off as being so serious and into itself,” Bergh said.

CalWise currently sells three different products, each of which Bergh has given its own character: spiced rum, Big Sur gin and a blonde rum.

“I call it blonde rum because it was rested in a chardonnay barrel. I want it to be unique, to be different ... and I thought, ‘Let’s use a wine barrel, showcase that California wine country,’” Bergh said.

The same thing goes for CalWise’s Big Sur gin. Even though gin has to be made from juniper berries, Bergh still found ways to showcase the uniqueness of California.

“This is a California gin, I wanna showcase California native plants, there’s things like white sage, elderberries, yerba santa, bay leaves to give it the taste of the California hillside ... it gives it this silky smooth mouthfeel that’s not in most gin,” Bergh said.

Just like his spirits, Bergh wants his distillery to stand out from the competition.

“I do want a place that people can come, like a winery or brewery, and hang out, get a drink or two. A place where people can come experience the spirit,” Bergh said.

which is why getting tested is so important.”

While having the initial conversation might feel uncomfortable, Lauren said most of the people she has shared her diagnosis with said they wish they had known sooner.

“It’s so hard [to bring up the conversation],” Lauren said. “I still don’t know how to bring it up just because it’s just such a casual thing that doesn’t bother me daily. I feel sometimes when you sit them down and tell them, ‘Look, this is what’s going on,’ it makes it seem like it’s a really huge deal. I’m still trying to find the right way to be open and talk to people, but also knowing how early to bring it up is hard because it does matter from the beginning.”

Planned Parenthood reports that having an open and honest conversation about an STI diagnosis is one of the few ways to ensure partners are fully aware of potential risks.

“We can’t ever change another person’s beliefs or feelings about anything, only they can,” Barrett said. “All we can do is offer as much honesty and sincerity as we can for

our story and our truth.” *The student’s last name and major have been excluded for anonymity.

TUESDAY • APRIL 10, 2018 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS

Former residence hall distiller turns underground hobby into a business

5

TUESDAY • APRIL 10, 2018 | ARTS | MUSTANG NEWS

6

Soul Yoga becomes donationbased studio Tabata Gordillo @ tabatagordillo

When Soul Yoga owners Laura and Jason Rogers decided to open up a studio, their initial idea was to have a donation-based business that would benefit the San Luis Obispo community. After running the first couple months of business conventionally, the owners decided a change needed to be made.

Soul Yoga became a donation-based studio, two months after its grand opening. The donations made by the students contribute to paying the yoga instructors and keeping the studio doors open.

According to Jason, a wide range of community members expressed that yoga was not as accessible as they would like.

“We felt that, here is this great, very beneficial space for people to help themselves physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, but they had very limited access to it or they couldn’t afford it,” Jason said.

Laura saw this pattern when she taught yoga at a rehabilitation center people with drug and alcohol dependency.

“A lot of the people’s favorite part about the program was when I would come every week and teach them yoga,” Laura said.

“It was amazing to watch their growth, but a lot of them couldn’t afford to buy a membership.”

This vision of a donation-based yoga studio was also shared by their roommates, Jerry Cortes and Troy Phounsavath.

Cortes, an environmental engineering senior, began his yoga journey taking classes at the Cal Poly Recreation Center. After training to be a yoga teacher in India, he decided to give back to the Cal Poly community by teaching at the Recreation Center.

“It’s so cool to be able to teach college students because I can relate to everyone,” Cortes said. “We all go through the same cycles and I just feel a deeper connection with Cal Poly students.”

Because he wanted to become a yoga teacher to give back to the community, Cortes had set a goal to manifest a donation-based yoga studio in San Luis Obispo before 2020. Once he shared this vision

with Phounsavath, they reached out to the owners of Soul Yoga, offering to help make their dream a reality.

“We both brought the enthusiasm and we wanted to help in any way that we could,” Cortes said. “We wanted to help envision how the transition would take place.”

The couple saw this as their opportunity to give back to the community. Making Soul Yoga donation-based would make yoga accessible to every demographic, allowing them to practice the yoga and donate the amount they felt was right.

According to Laura, this new policy holds similar values as the traditional Buddhist thought process known as Dana, a philosophy of generosity and charity.

“Students who come into Soul Yoga are actually helping their teachers keep the doors open,” Laura said. “The doors are open, we have amazing instructors, it’s a beautiful space, and if you can only bring oranges or tea to share with the community, then so be it.”

Once this new change is well-established, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to non-profit organizations in San Luis Obispo County.

Cortes, Phounsavath and the Rogers are all confident that this transition will positively impact the San Luis Obispo community.

Cortes said that this is an opportunity for people of different backgrounds to come together.

“I can really see it bringing together people who are passionate about creating positive change in the community, helping bring leaders together, and allowing people to experience the benefits of a yoga practice,” Cortes said.

Laura said she believes the new policy at Soul Yoga will create a domino effect of positive change in San Luis Obispo.

“One of the reasons that we do yoga and love yoga and opened up a yoga studio is because we believe that the more people that do yoga, the happier people become and the more compassionate they become,” Laura said. “We hope that this change brings about this place of compassion around yoga that is not just fitness, it’s about this wholeness of who you are.”

MORNING GLORY

TABATA GORDILLO | MUSTANG NE WS

| Soul Yoga students are engaging in a morning power flow pose.

TABATA GORDILLO | MUSTANG NE W S

HELPING HAND | Instructor AJ Fewell gives his students the option to practice inversions during class.

7 TUESDAY • APRIL 10, 2018 | ARTS | MUSTANG NEWS

CHOP ‘EM

EMMA KUMAGAWA | MUSTANG NE W S

| The upgraded graphic communications cutting board helps the University Graphic Systems for specialty printing as the students experiment with new methods of printing.

Cal Poly’s UGS evolves with changes in graphic communication Emma Kumagawa @ emma_kumagawa

The buzzing of printers and students fills the space of Room 212A, contributing to the hustle and bustle of Graphic Arts (Bldg 26). The University Graphic Systems (UGS) team can be found here, providing a variety of print and design services and experimenting with new methods and mediums.

UGS is the Graphic Communication Department’s print and design enterprise. UGS consists of 11 student managers, each with specialties in various areas of the industry. Recently, the managers have experimented with new innovations to help evolve the company as consumer culture shifts in new directions.

“It’s an important year because the company is changing so much,” graphic communication senior and UGS General Manager

Cory Mojo said. “We kind of have to figure out who we’re going to be in the next couple of years, because we can’t be who we were in the last 20 years anymore.”

One of the greatest changes has been the recent removal of the department’s printing press, which was a primary resource in terms of services and funds. Now, as commercial print is undergoing a wider digital transformation, UGS is taking a more entrepreneurial approach to graphics, especially with product development.

UGS continues to offer high-quality services, such as printing and binding anything from homework to professional documents, as well as designing logos or layouts. The team has also recently started to use new equipment functions to create specialty products, such as vinyl banners, cardboard cutouts and stickers.

“It’s the epitome of this Learn by Doing thing and I think it’s the perfect time to try things out,” graphic communication lecturer and UGS advisor Lyndee Sing Small said.

Printing and selling stickers was masterminded by graphic communication junior and Specialty Printing Manager Brienne Hong. During Winter 2018, Hong was responsible for three graphic communication student interns. Since Hong had just learned how to use a UV printer feature to print vinyl stickers, she assigned her interns to create their own stickers. As a result, the UGS Sticker Shop was born and has transformed into a collection of student artwork.

“We’re definitely trying to evolve and grow and get some more traction,” Hong said.

“Artists like to get their art out, and it’s a good experience for us in graphic communication to get to prepare and print those

files and work with other people.”

Stickers can be viewed on Instagram (@ ugs.stickershop) or in the UGS room where they are sold. The team hopes to expand their outreach and receive more email submissions from the Cal Poly community.

According to Mojo, one of UGS’ goals for Spring 2018 is to sell more pre-made products, such as planners and t-shirts with student designs. He hopes to engage in more integrated marketing communications and digital packaging to advance in the industry.

The UGS team has already begun preparing for next school year, when new managers and a new advisor will take over to continue the UGS legacy, as well as implement their own creative visions.

“It’s an important time right now,” Mojo said. “It’s really vulnerable to change, in a good way. I think we’re on an upward hill.”

TUESDAY • APRIL 10, 2018 | ARTS | MUSTANG NEWS

8

Record Store Day will celebrate record stores and the vinyl revival Emily Merten @ e_merten

For generations, music lovers have cherished the experience of sifting through vinyls in record bins. It is a ceremonial experience worth celebrating and it’s making a comeback, according to Boo Boo Records Manager Mike White.

This unique way of discovering music inspired Record Store Day, an annual international celebration of independent record stores and small labels. San Luis Obispo record stores Boo Boo Records and Cheap Thrills Records will host Record Store Day celebrations at their stores April 21 with live music, sales and limited edition LPs. “We think it’s essential to be able to shine a light back on retail brick-and-mortar record stores,” White said.

Boo Boo Records was part of the original coalition of independent record stores that created Record Store Day in 2007. Eleven years later, the celebration has gone worldwide, with record stores on six continents participating in Record Store Day. Record stores have seen an increase in

vinyl sales in the past decade, reflecting a widespread resurgence of an old-school trend that music experts did not see coming.

They call it the “vinyl revival.”

“There’s been quite a renaissance,” White said. “Vinyl never went away, but over the last 10 years, it’s grown and it continues to grow.”

Cheap Thrills Records General Manager Richard Ferris said vinyl is the only sector of music that has experienced an increase in sales in the past decade. He considered the reason for this resurgence.

“It’s two-fold: one is all of us old geezers are re-buying vinyl from our youth,” Ferris said. “But more so, it’s all the new young bands that are putting stuff on vinyl. Sometimes it’s even a priority over CDs.” Ferris said that a record has higher fidelity and more detailed music information for reproducing than a CD or an MP3 download.

“Vinyl is important because even a scratchy record that skips has more music on it than any CD ever made,” Ferris said.

“If you’ve ever listened on a really good stereo system, you can hear the difference between a record and a CD. It’s essentially

LOOKING FOR DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH

a live recording, whereas a CD or MP3 is a digital recreation.”

Even the digital generation is turning to records for their music for this reason, according to White.

“I think there’s a certain segment of the music-buying public that just thinks it sounds better,” White said. “It has a warmer, more organic sound and it’s taken on a life of its own again.”

Every day is Record Store Day for city and regional planning senior Heather McCoy. She does not use Spotify. Instead, she turns to vinyl and CDs for her music.

“Records are artifacts,” McCoy said. “I go to a record store and most of the time I don’t know what I’m going to buy. I just dig through the racks and find things. It’s kind of like antiquing. You never know what you’re going to find within the record bin racks.”

Because many albums issued as LPs were reissued on CDs or digitally, vinyl can be the only way to listen to some music.

McCoy said she appreciates the vinyl revival because it brings more revenue back to the artist.

“I think it’s awesome that the younger generation is getting into vinyl because it’s a great way to pay an artist for that work,” McCoy, a former sound engineer, said.

“Spotify does not pay a lot of royalties and vinyl does.”

Small labels and distributors will release limited edition records only available on Record Store Day. Hundreds of limited edition records will be available for purchase at Cheap Thrills Records and Boo Boo Records on Record Store Day. Record Store Day is Boo Boo Records’ biggest day of the year, according to White.

“We usually have a line up and around the corner on Record Store Day,” White said.

Boo Boo Records will open one hour early for the event at 9 a.m. They will have t-shirt screen printing on the sidewalk and live bands performing throughout the day inside the store. A new band will perform every hour.

Cheap Thrills Records will have sales, discounts and freebies for customers, in addition to the limited edition records.

More information about Record Store Day is available on the event’s official website.

EMILY MERTEN | MUSTANG NE W S

| “Flipping through records is a unique and ceremonial music discovery experience,” Boo Boo Records General Manager Mike White said.

STUDENT CHOICE WINNER – THAI You asked, we answered. The Student Choice venue in The Avenue will have build-your-own Thai bowls starting April 16! It’ll be sooo appe-thai-zing!

#CHOOSEWELL Keep it lean! Choose lean or low-fat meat and poultry when possible! When eating chicken, remove the skin to reduce your fat intake.

SAVE THE DATES! We have plenty of good eats to kick off Spring Quarter starting with our 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

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER! Campus Dining sources poultry from farmers who don’t add antibiotics developed for humans to their chickens and turkeys, aligning with recommendations from the US Department of Agriculture!

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

TUESDAY • APRIL 10, 2018 | SPORTS FEATURE | MUSTANG NEWS

10

We’re a unique band, we do stuff that other bands don’t do.

CHRISTOPHER WOODRUFF

MUSTANG BAND THE EPITOME OF SCHOOL PRIDE Brendan Carretero @ brendan_breezy3

CARSTEN FR AUENHEIM | MUSTANG NE W S

As Cal Poly fans enter Mott Athletics Center, they may notice the arena is quiet with the exception of balls bouncing and some mingling amongst the crowd and players. However, that all changes as game time approaches and Cal Poly’s secret weapon makes their entrance.

From a distance, noises get closer and closer. The crowd hears chants and loud footsteps approaching before they can identify a source.

Mustang Band comes bursting through the doors while simultaneously dancing and chanting, also known to them as “georging.” The band situates themselves in the bleachers where they make their presence felt for the entirety of the game no matter the outcome.

With the fun chants they scream and the pep tunes they play during the game, the band strives to be energizers for the team and crowd until the game is over. Interestingly enough, it is not their pep tunes or uniforms that make them standout from any other band in college sports. Rather, it is their georging.

Standing apart from the crowd The routine of georging can best be described as the moment when the full band breaks from a disciplined marching style to a quasi-improvisatory dancing and interaction with the crowd, according to interim band director Christopher Woodruff.

“I don’t know where it came from and I couldn’t possibly tell you how long we’ve had it, but it is a unique tradition that, in my 25 years of doing this, I’ve not seen any other bands do,” Woodruff said.

This hallmark of the band is a good representation of what they are all about as a group: having fun while being themselves and showing school pride.

Music sophomore Kent Giese, who has leads the pep band as one of the drum majors, believes their band is unlike any other he has seen.

“We’re a unique band, we do stuff that other bands don’t do,” Giese said. “I’ve never seen georging anywhere else and that really defines Mustang Band.”

While “georging” is a long standing tradition that is one of the unique traits of Mustang Band, there are other traditions and fun things they do that set them apart from others as well.

From their own separate band Week of Welcome (WOW) to their “Run Like Hell” tradition involving a late night fight song chant outside the band director’s house, the way these traditions have been carried on speaks to the comradery of the program as a whole.

Good times on the road While the band continues to george and perform their pep tunes at homes games, that is not the only place they show their school pride.

With the exception of the Chinese New Year Parade and other events where they are invited to play, Mustang Band supports Cal Poly athletics at the Big West Tournament every year, eager to bring as many people as they can.

“I think that, compared to other bands, we have a very large presence in terms of cheering because we usually come with the max[imum] amount of people we can,” architectural engineering senior and trombone section leader, Bryce Gagner said.

“Everyone is there and providing a lot of noise and energy to it so I feel like we’re one of the most prominent bands that goes to the Big West Tournament.”

With the whole day dedicated to the tournament and fewer members allowed than usual, Giese noticed the slight change in the atmosphere.

“It’s a lot higher energy and it might not sound like that just because we have a lot fewer people as opposed to the regular amount of people that we have at games,” Giese said.“The number’s a lot less but our energy is a lot higher, which I think is pretty cool.”

People often hope for the kind of memories band members make with each other in a short amount of time. It is the unity and joy members have with one another that often prompts members to join Mustang Band.

“One of my primary reasons for doing Mustang Band was because it’s fun and it taught me to just have fun and make the most out of every single experience,” Giese said.

HANDS UP

An inseparable bond Many members of the band said they love the bond between band members.

“One of my favorite things about us is the camaraderie we have and all that really comes from the fact that were all kind of here for the same reason, which is to play some good music and be a big spirit function for the school,” Gagner said. “It’s just really cool to be part of a group that large where we all kind of connect really well. Even people I don’t know super well, I can still kind of just goof around with.”

After years of being part of Mustang Band, Gagner is one of many members who feels it has impacted his relationship with the university and changed his feelings of school pride.

“I think what the band has done most for me is given me a sense of school pride,” Gagner said. “I know a lot of people who come in and are like, ‘School pride is lame and I don’t want to do a lot of it,’ and I felt that way originally because of my high school, but coming here made me want to be a part of this school spirit and make it grow and get other people super involved in it.”

Standing at the helm of the band and always preaching to “play a beautiful sound,” Woodruff said he hopes these students take everything they have learned from Mustang Band, in terms of music and hard work, into their future after college.

“They give a lot of their energy, talent and spirit to this activity and I think that it represents Cal Poly really well,” Woodruff said. “If they can take that spirit, focus, discipline and commitment of volunteerism into their lives past Cal Poly, then great.”

Through the countless hours they have spent with each other practicing good music, band, in Gagner’s words, “always wins.”

“That’s one of the coolest sentiments that we all share. No matter what we’re doing, we always feel like we’re winning and we’re doing a great job,” Gagner said. “No matter what happens in a sporting event or anything else we always come out of it together.”

CARSTEN FR AUENHEIM | MUSTANG NE W S

| Sophomore Hugh Garmany and junior Caroline Hodes are part of the band’s wind section.

Mustang News Presents

Deals of the Week 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)

open daily from 7am to 2pm

(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

FOLLOW

YOUR NO.1 SOURCE FOR CAL POLY AND SLO NEWS

Divya Thirunagari Special to Mustang News

Does the name Traci Holmes Libby ring a bell? ­­If you have ever been on the Cal Poly SLO Mustang Parents Facebook page, you would almost certainly recognize Libby as a frequent commenter and poster of need-toknow information – a notable accomplishment given it is a closed Facebook page with 10,871 members as of April 8.

So, who exactly is she?

She is not an administrator on the page or a Cal Poly employee. Libby is just one of the many parents who frequent the page.

Libby joined the Facebook page in 2014 when her daughter was accepted to Cal Poly.

She gradually became more involved with it as she started to learn more about the school.

“I became more active on the page around my daughter’s junior year [at Cal Poly] as a way to pay it forward for all the help I received as a parent of an incoming student,” Libby said. “I appreciated its sense of community – with as many people as are on the page, parents could gain an understanding that they weren’t alone in going through the chaos and that their worries weren’t unique just to them.”

According to Libby, Cal Poly’s communication with parents and students can be spotty at times and the Facebook page helps fill in the gaps by providing the necessary resources, such as information on local storage options students can use in the summer or how to utilize unused meal plan money.

Libby makes sure to spend at least three hours each day on the page, posting and commenting.

The Cal Poly SLO Mustang Parents Facebook page Of the more than 10,000 members of the page, approximately 75 percent are women and 40.1 percent are within the 45-54 age group, according to an analytics report from the Parents Advisory Council (PAC).

The PAC is made up of 24 parents and supporters who advise the university administration on matters involving student development and success, with members serving three-year terms, as detailed on the Cal Poly Parent and Family Programs website.

The Cal Poly SLO Mustang Parents Facebook page is managed and monitored by nine PAC members, but the Cal Poly administration has no direct involvement with the page.

From Jan. 15 to March 16, there were almost 1,800 posts on the page, ranging from a parent inquiring about the College of Liberal Arts’ reputation to reminders to empty on-campus fridges before spring break.

Sandy Holve O’Meara, PAC member and administrator on the Facebook page, said a significant portion of administrator duties revolve around handling the heavy flow of member requests to the closed page. According to O’Meara, as college acceptances are rolling out at the moment, there can be as many as 50 member requests per day from incoming Cal Poly parents and students waiting for approval from administrators.

All Cal Poly parents, supporters and students are encouraged to join the page by sending a request to the group and filling out the accompanying short questionnaire.

Each member request goes through a fairly lengthy approval process as administrators double-check that potential members have a verifiable connection to Cal Poly.

O’Meara and other administrators achieve this by looking up the possible members on the Cal Poly directory and examining their Facebook profiles.

“While it is a closed [Facebook] group, there are a lot of people on the page with plenty of information being shared. So, we make it a priority to make sure that all the people who are accepted to the page actually belong there,” O’Meara said.

Administrators tend to stay in the background, not interfering with the Facebook page, except in cases of problematic posts where the page’s guidelines are clearly not being followed, such as cases where members show a lack of respect to other members. For example, in February, comments on a post about the proposed Cal Poly Opportunity Grant became somewhat emotional.

In this case, O’Meara and other administrators chose to start removing comments and eventually settled on disabling further commenting on the post, citing that it was getting to be more about personal opinions rather than the original subject.

“We want people to be able to express their opinions, but we also want to make sure that the page is focused on support for Cal Poly parents and students. We try our best to limit the discussion if it gets way out of the bounds of what’s happening at Cal Poly and how it’s affecting our students,” O’Meara said.

Helping in times of need The page has a history of charitable and philanthropic efforts, where the community comes together to help each other through its extensive support network.

During times like winter break, Cal Poly parents from all over the country offer accommodations and transportation services to stranded Cal Poly students.

“I’ve been that frantic parent who [has] been worried about her daughter stranded at an airport in an unfamiliar city, so I try my best to make sure that other parents don’t have to feel that panic,” Libby said. “It never stops to amaze me how willing Cal Poly parents are to open their homes to stranded Mustangs without hesitation.”

More recently, Libby helped coordinate a group donation of gift cards and supplies to help support the families of Cal Poly students who lost their homes in the Santa Rosa fires in Northern California.

“These are some of the many ways that parents really support each other

through the page,” O’Meara said. “Traci really spearheaded the whole [Santa Rosa] effort and made sure we were able to collectively help when it was really needed.”

For Libby, however, one of the most rewarding experiences she has had through the Facebook page was helping fellow Cal Poly parent Julie Farotte Irwin when her daughter had a medical emergency.

It all began with Irwin’s post on the page on May 23, 2017, asking for help in properly notifying Cal Poly about her daughter’s critical condition in the ICU with double pneumonia and sepsis. Within a couple of hours, the post had 602 comments, full of resources and well wishes. Libby’s was one of them.

Irwin credits Libby with being there for her family every step along the way, from informing the Disability Resource Center about Vega’s condition to organizing groups of parents to bring the family care packages.

Libby also set up a GoFundMe account to help the family pay for the medical bills that ended up raising more than $11,000.

“She was my lifeline; it felt like, in a few weeks, I had made a new best friend. I can’t thank her enough for how much she did for us and how she got us through those couple of weeks. And all of the friends we made through her,” Irwin said. “I’d do anything for that woman.”

Libby plans to actively contribute to the Facebook page for the foreseeable future, even after her daughter’s graduation from Cal Poly this June.

LOUISE BOISVERT PICKERING | MUSTANG NE W S

COMING TOGETHER

| Cal Poly parents from the San Diego area gathered at the inaugural San Diego Coffee Social in March.

TUESDAY • APRIL 10, 2018 | ARTS | MUSTANG NEWS

Cal Poly SLO Mustang Parents Facebook page offers a helping hand

13

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 singer/actress born in New Hampshire on April 10, 1984. I have starred in many notable movies and even voiced a Disney princess. Today, I am seen on a hit NBC television family drama.

*See answers at mustangnews.net/puzzles/

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

SSIGWN

1. Upon 4. Roman Statesman 8. A protective covering worn over the face 10. Perfected 11. British school 12. Colored with red powder 13. Tivoli 15. What bowlers hope to knock down 16. Finnish lake 17. Damaged regions of tissue 18. World-renowned guitarist 21. Political action committee 22. Oxygen reduction system 23. Part of a circle 24. Italian monk’s title 25. Kidney problem (abbr.)

26. One point east (clockwise) of due north 27. Home to a world famous bay 34. Mollusk 35. Large nest of a bird of prey 36. Predict 37. Reconnaissance 38. Move in a particular direction 39. Cut with a tool 40. True firs

41. Heaven’s opposite 42. Employed 43. “Partridge Family” actress Susan CLUES DOWN

1. Induces vomiting 2. Gloss or sheen on wood furniture 3. Meteorological line 4. Help shoppers save money 5. Heart condition 6. What tweens become 7. __ and ends 9. Small knob 10. Island capital 12. Refinisher 14. Brazilian city 15. Pearl Jam’s debut 17. Resinous substance of an insect 19. Stretched out 20. Bag-like structure in a plant or animal 23. Reference works 24. Hoover’s office 25. Confused 26. The Science Guy 27. A young woman 28. Used to express good wishes 29. Body part 30. Draw blood 31. Curved 32. __ Kidman, actress 33. Profoundly 34. Fools 36. Wife (German)

HOROSCOPES ARIES – Mar 21/Apr 20 Aries, you’re about to blow your top. Cool down and focus on what you can do one thing at a time. Go for a long run Wednesday night.

TAURUS – Apr 21/May 21 I know it feels like the end, Taurus, but you’ve a long way to dear friend. Hang in there, you’ll finish eventually. Do squats Thursday morning.

GEMINI – May 22/Jun 21 You are testing people’s limits lately, Gemini.

Back off and let people be, you can’t call all the shots. Do burpees for three hours Saturday night.

CANCER – Jun 22/Jul 22 Cancer, you are trying too hard. Relax, it’s about the climb, not the destination. Stretch for an hour Monday afternoon.

LEO – Jul 23/Aug 23 You’re feeling awful today, Leo. Do something for yourself and celebrate the life you’ve lived thus far! Jog up a hill Friday afternoon.

VIRGO – Aug 24/Sept 22 You’re on top of the world! You just acheived something you’ve had your eye on for a while.

Celebrate! Don’t exercise at all this week.

LIBRA – Sept 23/Oct 23 Libra, you’ve got something in your chest and

it is bothering you. It might be a ball of stress.

Figure out what that dang thing is and fix it! Do 25 push-ups Tuesday afternoon.

SCORPIO – Oct 24/Nov 22 Your mischievous ways are catching up to you.

Don’t meddle where you shouldn’t. Go on a long hike Friday morning.

SAGITTARIUS – Nov 23/Dec 21 Sagittarius, a new lover might be looking your way. Don’t fall too fast though, if you know what’s good for you. Do an ab circuit Thursday night.

CAPRICORN – Dec 22/Jan 20 Your coworkers are getting on your last nerve, Capricorn. Learn to carry yourself with respect and tolerance, it will serve you. Swim for a bit Wednesday night.

AQUARIUS – Jan 21/Feb 18 Aquarius, things haven’t been going as planned. Roll with the punches, you might learn that some things don’t matter as much as you think they do. Lift weights for two hours Tuesday morning.

PISCES – Feb 19/Mar 20 Big news is headed your way, Pisces. Don’t blow the surprise though, if you know what’s good for you. Go rock climbing Sunday afternoon.

TUESDAY • APRIL 10, 2018 | OPINION | MUSTANG NEWS

16

Elon Musk is making science cool again Kendra Coburn @ Kencob97

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

Elon Musk’s aerospace manufacturing company SpaceX made headlines with the successful launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket Feb. 6.

The SpaceX website touts Falcon Heavy as “the most powerful operational rocket in the world,” capable of carrying twice the payload of its closest competitor at one-third of the cost. SpaceX also promises that Falcon Heavy “restores the possibility of flying missions with crew to the moon or Mars.”

This is an optimistic promise for the scientific community, as the last manned mission to the moon (Apollo 17) occurred more than 45 years ago in December 1972. Budget cuts and lack of support from the Trump administration have left scientists at NASA and other government-funded facilities clinging to SpaceX’s promise that humankind has not made its last trek into the final frontier.

Various organizations have led dozens of manned and unmanned missions into space in the 45 years since Apollo 17. While a few have gathered fame (or, as in the case of the Challenger mission, infamy) among the public, few have whipped up as much excitement as the Falcon Heavy launch. A large part of the mission’s public relations success may be attributed to Musk’s uniquely cheeky decision to mount his personal Tesla Roadster to the Falcon Heavy rocket, complete with a dummy in the driver’s seat. Perhaps because most of us can’t fathom sending $200,000 up in literal flames, or maybe because we have never encountered something quite so absurd before, Musk’s roadster has captured the effervescent glint of the public’s eye.

Why is there a disconnect between the scientific community’s interest in the Falcon Heavy launch and that of the American public? When it comes to STEM subjects, why are Americans seemingly only interested in the silly and absurd?

I propose the nature of television as a source of entertainment is responsible for the American public’s treatment of science as a pop-culture

OPINION

SPACEX

NASA | COURTE SY PHOTO

| Coburn argues that Musk is making Americans more interested in science and continuing the work of Bill Nye and others.

subject. Easy access to basic scientific knowledge With his infectious enthusiasm and effortless was not available to the average American until talent for lecture, Sagan became a kind of TV became popular in the 1950s. “gatekeeper of scientific credibility,” a mediTelevised science education really bean between the austere world of science gan with “Watch Mr. Wizard”, a and the hopeful hearts of Space 30-minute show hosted by Mr. Age-era Americans.

Wizard himself, Don HerA decade later, William bert, from 1951 to 1965, Sanford Nye, better known in which Herbert demonas Bill Nye, would earn the Musk tapped into strated experiments for adoration of a generation the American his young viewers to try of schoolchildren with his at home. This Peabody 1993-1998 hit series “Bill scientific tradition.

Award-winning series Nye, the Science Guy.” You encouraged children to will be hard-pressed to find KENDRA COBURN engage with science in a an American student on our completely new, hands-on way. campus who can’t recall the In the wake of Herbert’s success, delight felt upon seeing their grade Carl Sagan was next to capture the Amerischool science teacher pop a Bill Nye tape can public’s imagination with “Cosmos,” a 13into the VHS player. Although Bill Nye conpart miniseries that aired in the early 1980s. tinues to work with Netflix to create scientific

entertainment, he has happily relinquished his title as America’s science teacher to the Internet, which exponentially increased the sharing of scientific knowledge around the world. Today, one can easily find scientific programming targeted toward any age range.

By sending his prized roadster into space, Musk tapped into the American scientific tradition. We are a culture that values confidence, charisma and, above all, flashiness. The fact that the roadster fell out of its planned trajectory within a week of the Falcon Heavy launch is irrelevant to the general public. Musk understands that the sciences can come across as exclusionary to the uninitiated. As the saying goes, if you want somebody’s opinion on something, you have to give it to them. And that cherry red roadster drifting through space is Musk’s way of reminding Americans that it is time to care about science again.

17

SAWYER MILAM | MUSTANG NE W S

ON THE ATTACK | With a record of 19-3, this is beach volleyball’s best start in program history.

Beach volleyball rises to fifth in the nation Megan Healy @ HealyMegan

one of those teams it’s something to cherish.”

On Saturday, the Mustangs split their matches defeating the CSU Bakersfield The No. 6 Cal Poly beach volleyball team Roadrunners in a sweep and falling to No. went 4-1 on the weekend, falling only to No. 3 Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine 1-4. The No. 5 3 Hawai’i. pair senior Hannah Hubbard and sophomore The Mustangs defeated both the Cal Heather Pembroke took down the RoadrunState Northridge (CSUN) Matadors and ners 21-12 and 21-9 and were the sole victors the Sacramento State Hornets in 5-0 sweeps against the Wahine, winning 21-17, 16-21 Friday. The victories brought the and 15-13.

Mustangs their 13th and 14th The Mustangs went on to deconsecutive wins. feat No. 5 Long Beach State Sophomore Torrey Van 3-2. Torrey Van Winden I think this team Winden and freshman and Miric defeated the Tiadora Miric played Beach 21-10 and 21-9 is super special in the No. 1 spot takin the No. 1 spot. Adlee because they don’t ing down the Matadors Van Winden and Nelson 21-15 and 22-20 and won the No. 3 spot 21know how good the Hornets 21-11 and 16 and 22-20. The bigthey can be.

21-10. Junior Adlee Van gest battle occurred at the TORREY VAN WINDEN Winden and senior Taylor No. 2 position with junior Nelson played in No. 3 posiSamantha Manley and sophotion and took down the Matadors more Emily Sonny coming out on easily 21-6 and 21-5 and the Hornets 21-13 top in a back and forth battle 21-13, 17-21 and 21-12. and 24-22.

“I think this team is super special because With the win against Long Beach State, they don’t know how good they can be. A Manley and Sonny improved their pair relot of other teams have already had that cord to a program record 20-1 on the season. experience in Alabama and those teams The Mustangs moved up to No. 5 in the have already been at that highest level and nation with the defeat of Long Beach State. this is just a bunch of girls who happen to The team is now 19-3 overall, the best start work really hard and I think that we are all in program history, and 5-1 in Big West Conreally excited about our potential,” Torrey ference play. They will next play April 7-8 Van Winden said. “I love being the underin Palo Alto, California where Cal Poly will dog team. That’s just something that feels so take on three ranked opponents, including special and any time you get to be a part of No. 1 UCLA.

For details see www.mustangnewsbusiness.net

TUESDAY • APRIL 10, 2018 | SPORTS | MUSTANG NEWS

Advertise with

TUESDAY • APRIL 10, 2018 | SPORTS | MUSTANG NEWS

18

Victor Joseph and the Big West finishes second at the 3X3U National Championship Brian Truong @ _BrianTruong

Former Cal Poly men’s basketball guard Victor Joseph took second place with the Big West Conference team at the Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship.

The inaugural tournament consisted of players who had finished their NCAA careers. At the Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, Texas, 32 4-player teams representing each NCAA conference battled for a piece of a $100,000 prize pool in a special 3-versus-3 format. The first team to 21 points won. Baskets inside the arc counted for one point and baskets outside the arc counted for two points.

“It was a great trip and I got to play with some great players that I’ve been competing against all year,” Joseph said.

Joseph was joined by UC Santa Barbara forward Leland King II and guard Gabe Vincent as well as UC Riverside guard Chance Murray.

The Big West team went 3-0 in group play, taking down the Mid-American, Atlantic Sun, and Big East teams. Joseph recorded a team-high nine points against the Atlantic Sun and eight points against the Big East.

“We were just on a roll,” Joseph said. “After we won our third game, we were like, ‘Let’s just go win it all.’”

In the quarterfinals, the Big West dominated the Ivy League team 21-11 to advance to the final four. Joseph tallied seven points in a 21-17 win over the MEAC in the semifinals. The Big West was defeated 21-13 by the Big Ten in the finals.

“I really appreciate all the support from the community, the school and everybody back home watching the games and everything,” Joseph said. “It was a great experience to see that they still have a love for me even though I’m done with my playing years here.”

AUSTIN LINTHICUM | MUSTANG NE W S

ON A ROLL | Mustang News reporter Brian Truong interviews Victor Joseph who averaged 14.4 points per game in his final season with the Mustangs.

New patients welcome • Emergencies seen promptly

Smiles are Contagious!

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

vs.

CAL POLY

UC DAVIS

BASEBALL

SOFTBALL

MEN’S TENNIS

FRI, APR 13 AT 6 PM SAT, APR 14 AT 6 PM SUN, APR 15 AT 1 PM [Baggett Stadium]

SAT, APR 14 AT 1 /3:30PM SUN, APR 15 AT 1 PM [Bob Janssen Field]

SAT, APR 14 AT 12 PM SUN, APR 15 AT 1 PM vs. Santa Clara [Mustang Tennis Complex]

STUDENTS RECEIVE FREE ADMISSION TO ALL EVENTS

1.Sign-up for just $10 and be a member for life!

2.Get an official Stang Gang T-shirt with your membership!

3.Swipe your ID card and earn points by attending athletic events!

4.Receive great rewards when you reach certain point levels!

5.Repeat steps 3 & 4 all year long!

FOR MORE INFO OR TO JOIN, VISIT GOPOLY.COM/STANGGANG!