Mustang News May 14, 2019

C A L P O LY S A N LU I S O B I S P O ’ S N E W S S O U R C E

MUSTANG NEWS SALAT ON CAMPUS

FINDING SPACE FOR PRAYER

PAGE 6 MAY 14, 2019

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MUS TA NGNE WS.NET

WINERY FILES LAWSUIT TO STOP EL CAMPO CROSSING CLOSURE

Austin Linthicum

President & Editor in Chief Quinn Fish Print Managing Editor

Lauren Arendt Social Media Managing Editor

Rachel Marquardt Digital Managing Editor

Rachel Showalter Video Managing Editor

NEWS Cassandra Garibay Editor Ashley Ladin Emily Quesada Isabella Paoletto Hailey Nagma Lauren Kozicki Lauryn Luescher Maureen McNamara Roselyn Romero Sabrina Pascua Samantha Spitz Aidan McGloin

V I D EO Connor McCarthy Chief Anchor Justin Garrido Video Editor Sawyer Milam Sports Video Director Reid Fuhr Sports Video Producer Sydney Brandt Video Producer Kallyn Hobmann Kayla Berenson Jared Smith Emi Powers Intern Lily Dallow Intern

ARTS Emily Merten Editor Sabrina Thompson Michaela Barros Caitlin Scott Grant Anderson Kiana Meagher Sydney Sherman OPINION Olivia Peluso Editor Hanah Wyman Abdullah Sulaiman Yervant Malkhassian Lilly Leif Jaxon Silva SPORTS Brian Truong Editor Francisco Martinez Sophia Crolla Garrett Brown Kylie Smith Sydney Finkel Naythan Bryant Prerna Aneja Kyle Har PHOTO Zachary Donnenfield Editor Carolyne Sysmans Kylie Kowalske Alison Chavez Diego Rivera Connor Frost Kyle Calzia Sofia Clark Luke Deal

FAMILY OF FRESHMAN JORDAN GRANT CALLS FOR BOYCOTT

COPY Amanda Simonich Copy Chief Kelly Martinez Jarod Urrutia D ES I GN Calista Lam Director Michelle Cao Solena Aguilar Julia Jackson-Clark D I V ERS I TY Monique Ejenuko Editor SOCIAL Hanna Crowley Kelsey Luvisa Danielle Lee Candace Lee Kelsey Parmenter

J A MES GRA N T | COU RT ESY

Lawsuit delays project to restrict left-hand turns on El Campo Road .

BY AUST I N L I N T HI CU M

PR Alyssa Wilson Dominique Morales Kaitlyn Hoyer Mikaela Lincoln Tess Loarie Intern Christina Arthur Intern S PEC I A L S ECT I O N S Isabel Hughes Editor Ava Fry Sophia Lincoln Lauren Walike Samuel Serra A DV ERT I S I NG DE S IG N Keilani Waxdeck Lauren Marshall Steven Nguyen Von Balanon Kendra Oliver

Bianka Pantoja Advertising Manager

Shea Irwin Advertising Design Manager

BJ Drye Advertising Manager

Jasen Journeycake Distribution Manager

Kylie Goldfarb Advertising Manager

Claire Blachowski PR Director

IN THIS ISSUE

TUESDAY • MAY 14, 2019 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS

2

Work to restrict left-hand turns at El Campo Road and three other Highway 101 crossings was delayed after a local winery filed a lawsuit against Caltrans.

The family of Cal Poly student Jordan Grant, who was killed in October 2018 at the crossing, is calling for a boycott of Laetitia Vineyard and Winery. Owned by parent company Vintage Wine Estates (VWE), Laetitia is located off of one of the crossings scheduled to closed.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge ordered the project to be temporarily stopped while the merits of the case are litigated, according to Caltrans.

“It’s uncertain how long this project will be suspended,” Caltrans Public Information Officer Jim Shivers said in a news release.

Shivers said Caltrans has no further comment at this time.

Sacramento Superior Court documents obtained by Mustang News show VWE filed a temporary restrain-

ing order and injunction to stop the project Tuesday, May 7.

VWE alleges Caltrans violated the California Environmental Quality Act by failing to prepare an environmental impact report, not providing enough time for public comment and failing to adopt feasible mitigation measures. They also allege Caltrans failed to analyze alternatives to the project and that the findings are not supported by substantial evidence.

“The project’s approval is motivated by political interest,” VWE said in the lawsuit.

The $250,000 median closure project between Los Berros Road in Nipomo and Traffic Way near Arroyo Grande was expected to begin Monday, May 13, according to Caltrans.

This comes after the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) board recommended stopping lefthand turns to cut down on unsafe crossings in the county April 3.

The closures were initially set to be completed by the end of May.

On October 7, 2018, Jordan was traveling south on Highway 101 to watch a launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base when a driver crossing at El Campo Road hit his motorcycle. The driver, Cal Poly alumnus Richard Giuli, was charged with a single count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence April 25. If convicted, Giuli faces a fine of $1,000 and a maximum of six months in County jail.

Jordan’s family and friends have been advocating for the removal of left turns on Highway 101 near El Campo since the crash.

“Until those changes are made, the next Jordan could be killed,” Jordan’s father James Grant wrote in an email to Mustang News.

In addition to the boycott, James started a change.org petition that already has more than 1,000 signatures.

The family also plans to picket outside of Laetitia this week, according to James.

VWE was unable to be reached for comment.

COVER

SLOPD REPORTS RISE IN CRIMES REPORTED

RESOLUTION TO REMOVE CHICK-FIL-A PASSED

RETHINKING ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

MEET THE DESIGNER BEHIND CAL POLY’S PAST LOGOS

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SALAT ON CAMPUS: FINDING SPACE FOR PRAYER CAROLYNE SYSMANS | MUSTANG NEWS

NEARLY 6,000 STUDENTS ACCEPTED OFFER

BY LAU RE N KOZ IC K I

C AL P OLY ENGINEERING | COURT ESY

College of Architecture Dean Christine Theodoropoulos, CEO of Granite Construction Jim Roberts and College of Engineering Dean Amy Fleischer announced the minor at this year’s Poly Royal Rodeo.

BY NATA L IE WEIS Amidst bull riding and other festivities at the Poly Royal Rodeo, Cal Poly announced the new heavy civil construction minor, courtesy of a $5 million donation from the Granite, Caterpillar and Beaver Charitable Trust.

Civil Engineering Department Chair Charles Chadwell said the $3 million endowment from Granite will go towards faculty and resources for the minor and the other $2 million will go towards scholarships for women in construction and underrepresented minorities in heavy civil engineering.

The minor will begin in fall 2019 for incoming sophomores to apply. Through these applications, 12 students from construction management and 12 students from civil engineering will be selected to form the first 24 student cohort.

Heavy civil construction is a category of engineering that specializes in large public structures such as bridges, dams, railways and highways and utility distribution.

“There’s great opportunities for them in the heavy civil construction sector … not many of our students even think about that as an opportunity right now,” Construction Management Dept.

Chair Allan Hauck said. “This is going to provide a great career opportunity for them.”

President and CEO of Granite Construction James Roberts, who helped transform Spanos Stadium into the rodeo arena, helped sponsor the new minor.

The Granite Construction company is a large-scale company in infrastructure solutions regarding transportation, water resources and mineral exploration. Caterpillar, a leading manufacturer in construction equipment who helped with the transformation, and Beavers’ Charitable Trust, a non-profit supporting goodwill and leadership in the heavy engineering construction industry, also helped sponsor the new minor.

The minor will be formally called the granite heavy civil engineering and construction minor.

“I’ve always believed that we could have a better relationship between the civil engineering and the construction management,” Chadwell said. “I’ve been pushing for a construction engineering collaboration for a very long time.”

Chadwell said the new minor stems from the job market.

Starting with 12 students from each major, it will offer the opportunity for construction management students to take more civil engineering classes, and civil engineering students to take more construction management.

It will offer two unique classes that are only accessible to seniors in the minor and a third senior capstone design experience class also exclusive to all 24 students.

Students will also complete two internships with Granite during their time in the minor. Details about the internship portion are still being worked out.

“We want to make it very competitive so when they have that on their degree, the companies in

this business will know that they are a very small selected group among very selected people that can even get into Cal Poly,” Chadwell said. “It really does identify the best of the best among our students.”

Hauck said this kind of program is quite uncommon and Cal Poly is making great moves forward.

“This is the first time that I know of that we’ve got the funding to do an endowed professorship who will have a joint appointment in both departments across the colleges, so I think thats what makes it unique,” Hauck said.

Civil engineering senior Nick Fantozzi said he appreciates the new opportunity and he thinks it will help students gain a more diverse education to set themselves apart from others.

“It’s a great program because it allows Cal Poly civil engineers to be more effective entering the workplace with a strong grasp on the construction management computer programs,” Fantozzi said.

Construction management junior Avery Spector said she has high hopes for the future of Cal Poly’s students following this addition.

“I‘m excited and a bit envious of the students who are going to benefit from the grant and new minor,” Spector said.

She said that getting students interested and educated about heavily civil construction early in their studies is a powerful tactic.

“I think that with this new minor, our school can build leaders within the industry and that’s really awesome,” Spector said.

After receiving more than 65,000 applications and accepting around 15,000 new students, nearly 6,000 students committed to Cal Poly as of May 1, National Decision Day. Director of Admissions and Operations Terrance Harris said 5,000 of that total number are incoming freshmen, and 900 are transfer students.

There were approximately 4,500 spots that Cal Poly wanted to fill originally. However, Harris said the university is on track with enrollment goals.

“Typically, between 6 to 9 percent of the students that confirm their offer of admissions will not show up, so we anticipate those numbers dropping down to somewhere between 4,600 and 4,700 first time freshman and between 800-900 transfers that enroll this fall,” Harris said.

Admissions staff accounts for students who will turn down their acceptance to Cal Poly because of other schools after the May 1 deadline.

In Fall 2017, 22,370 students enrolled at Cal Poly, forcing the university to quickly accommodate nearly 1,000 more students than expected. This year, there were 855 fewer freshman students compared to 2017, final census data revealed.

There is no predetermined number of students that will be taken off the waitlist.

“The waitlist is meant as a tool to make sure we do meet our enrollment,” Harris said. “Last year we needed to go to the waitlist pretty extensively, this year at this point we haven’t made any final determinations, but the pictures definitely different than it was last year at this point in time.”

According to Harris, preliminary data looks like this will be the “most diverse incoming class that Cal Poly has ever had.”

The exact breakdown of ethnic diversity has not been released yet, but Harris said they expect the incoming class to considerably diverse compared to last year.

Last year, Cal Poly’s enrollment of first-time freshman African American students was the lowest since 2010, with just 19 students.

This is compared to 41 African American first-time freshman that enrolled in 2017.

“I do believe that last year the outcome in terms of who chose to come here was impacted by some of the things that were taking place on campus, and this year looks different, and I think that’s to the credit of the university for paying attention, being open, listening and making positive efforts,” Harris said.

As a public California university, race, ethnicity and gender cannot be used in determining admissions decisions.

Cal Poly application quantity compared to enrollment 80000 70000 60000 50000 40000 30000 20000

2000

2019

Applicants

Enrollment MI C H ELLE C AO | MUSTA N GE N EWS

The number of applicants has continued to increase for the past 20 years.

3 TUESDAY • MAY 14, 2019 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS

NEW CIVIL ENGINEERINGCONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT MINOR BEGINS FALL 2019

INCOMING CLASS COULD BE THE “MOST DIVERSE” YET

TUESDAY • MAY 14, 2019 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS

4

“UNPRECIDENTED” RISE IN REPORTED CRIMES SLO POLICE REPORT A 14 PERCENT INCREASE IN VIOLENT CRIME IN 2018

BY SY DN EY B RAN DT The City of San Luis Obispo saw an increase in crime like never before in 2018, according to San Luis Obispo Police (SLOPD) Chief Deanna Cantrell.

The city reported a 14 percent increase in violent crime, with spikes in rape, robbery and burglary from 2017 to 2018. There was a 2 percent increase in crime overall, according to SLOPD. Nearly half of the reported bur-

glaries were in neighborhoods near Cal Poly.

The number of reported sexual assaults increased by 41 percent from 2017. In 2018 there were 52 reported rapes, compared to the 37 reported in 2017.

“We know that up to 90 percent of sexual assaults that are committed on college campuses or in cities where college campuses exist go unreported,” Cantrell said.

“We are in a partnership with Cal Poly SAFER, Cal Poly PD and RISE

CRIME

2017

2018

Aggravated Assault

97

93

Burglary

174

235

Homicide

0

1

Larceny (Theft)

1158

1529

Motor Vehicle Theft

99

78

Rape

37

52

Robbery

22

32

Violent Crimes Total

156

178

J ULIA J ACKS ON -CLARK | MUSTAN G N EW S

and it’s about trauma enforced responses to sexual assaults.”

Robberies in San Luis Obispo had an increase of 45 percent in 2018, with 10 more reported robberies in 2018. Sixteen of the 32 reported were shoplifts that turned into robberies, theft with force.

SLOPD also found a significant increase in the number of residential burglaries, increasing by 56 percent from 2017 to 2018. In 2018, 235 burglaries were reported. Seventy seven percent of the reported residential burglaries were committed with no force entries being made, a 20 percent increase from 2017. Of these burglaries, 43 percent occurred in neighborhoods surrounding Cal Poly’s campus.

Despite increases in violent crime, traffic incidents and noise violations have decreased.

ported in 2018, but warnings have increased by 6 percent with 5223 reported. Last year, 9,944 traffic stops were made, compared to 8,671 in 2017.

Traffic breakdown

Driving under the influence (DUI) arrests have decreased by 10 percent from 2017, with only 329 made in 2018. DUI’s will continue to be a priority, especially with the recent legalization of cannabis, according to SLOPD.

In 2018, vehicle collisions overall decreased by 1 percent, with a 24 percent decrease in pedestrian involved collisions, but an increase of 21 percent in bicycle involved collisions. Last year, there were 522 reported collisions, 33 involving pedestrians and 48 involving bikes.

Traffic citations in 2018 have decreased by 16 percent with 5015 re-

OVERALL CRIMES REPORTED FOR 2018

2,020 OVERALL CRIMES REPORTED FOR 2017

1,987 Noise breakdown In 2018, party related noise complaints have decreased by 3 per-

cent, marking the second year in a row that SLOPD has seen an all-time low in party related noise complaints since 1998. In 2018, there were 1439 reports of noise complaints.

In 2018, 115 party registration applications were received and 88 were approved. Of those approved, only nine phone warnings were made and one single citation issued to an event failed to eliminate noise after the warning phone call.

The Investigations Bureau reported an 8 percent decrease in number of cases for 2018. SLOPD attributed this decrease to the reassignment of the Special Enforcement Team and a notable homicide investigation, a murder for hire, and an extensive robbery investigation in 2018, which required a tremendous amount of work.

At a city council meeting on Tuesday, May 7, Cantrell said SLOPD has five goals they hope to work towards with the community in an effort to reduce harm. She said they hope to reduce crime and the fear of crime, increase multimodal safety, increase personal resilience, strengthen regional partnerships and prioritize community engagement.

FOUR STUDENTS ESCAPE APPARTMENT FIRE DESPITE NON-FUNCTIONING AND REMOVED SMOKE DETECTORS

BY B R EN DA N C AR R E T E R O Four students were able to escape their apartment unit after it caught on fire early Friday, May 10, despite their smoke detectors not alerting them of the fire.

The San Luis Obispo Fire Department arrived at the Lee Arms Apartment Complex on California Boulevard after receiving a 911 call at 4:43 a.m. A first-floor bedroom was engulfed in flames after a candle was left unattended by the occupants before going to sleep, according to San Luis Obispo Fire Department Deputy Chief Keith Aggson.

According to one of the tenant’s fathers, the tenants had taken the smoke detector in the kitchen off of the wall. However, the smoke detector in his daughter’s bed-

room, where the fire started, was intact and on the wall. he said it did not get set off likely due to dead batteries.

Firefighters arrived quickly and began controlling the fire from the outside before transitioning into the interior, Aggson said. Fire personnel and San Luis Obispo Police evacuated the surrounding units before the fire was controlled within 10 to 15 minutes, he said.

Apartment residents were able to escape by the time firefighters arrived. Despite the severity of the fire, only one of the residents sustained a minor first-degree burn and was treated at the scene.

“Literally one or two breaths of the smoke being emitted from the products of combustion would make you unconscious. They’re

very fortunate they didn’t become incapacitated with the amount of smoke that was there, and, had it been just a minute more, it may have been an entirely different outcome,”Aggson said.

Before leaving the apartment, the residents shut the door of the bedroom that was on fire. Aggson said that may have prevented the blaze from being even more destructive.

“Just by the simple act of shutting the door, the fire was confined and made it safe for the occupants in the other bedroom to exit and not be affected by the fire,” Aggson said.

Besides Unit 1, firefighters cleared the building and residents were allowed to return to their apartments.

The apartment manager was not available for comment.

K EN DA L L BLA N C H F I EL D | CO U RTESY

Students escaped an apartment fire at Lee Arms early Friday morning.

IS CAL POLY PREPARED? NO ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING REQUIRED

BY SA MA NTH A SP ITZ

AUST IN LINT H ICUM | MUSTAN G N EW S

The Academic Senate passed a resolution to kick Chick-fil-A off campus.

BY CHRISTIN A A RTHU R A resolution urging Cal Poly to kick Chick-fil-A off campus passed with overwhelming support at the Academic Senate meeting on May 7, but Cal Poly has no plans to remove the fast-food chain.

Academic Senate Vice Chair Thomas Gutierrez argued the franchise’s donations to anti-LGBTQ groups does not align with Cal Poly’s values. The Chick-fil-A Foundation donated more than $1.8 million to groups with a history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination in 2017, according to ThinkProgress.

Gutierrez said Cal Poly already filters their vendors based on their values and that there is no reason Chick-fil-A should be an exception.

“We don’t sell pornography in the bookstore and we don’t have a Hooters on campus — we already pre-select those kind of things based on our existing values,” Gutierrez said. “This is a similar thing. The difference is we’re actually profiting from this.

So our money, every dollar a student is spending at Chick-fil-A, is going to these causes that are in violation of our values.”

During the discussion, concerns were raised about the legal ramifications of canceling the franchise contract with the Georgia-based fast-food chain. Gutierrez said it would probably be expensive and most likely not a good use of resources to cancel the contract, but he also said he believes there is a possibility to find creative solutions when the time comes.

A five-year contract was signed in 2018 to continue the franchise agreement.

Gutierrez said the main point of the resolution is acknowledging there is a problem.

While there was some opposition in the room about the complications of removing Chick-fil-A, most members said a franchise that supports anti-LGBTQ values does not belong on Cal Poly’s campus.

In response, University Spokesperson Matt Lazier said while Cal Poly disagrees with the values Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy has chosen to make donations to, they have no plans to sever ties with the organization.

“It is the right of each campus member to make their own decisions about supporting — or not supporting — a given business at Cal Poly,” Lazier wrote in an email to Mustang News.

“It is the right of each campus member to make their own decisions about supporting – or not supporting — ­ a given business at Cal Poly” According to Lazier, ending Cal Poly’s relationship with Chickfil-A because the administration disagrees with the religious or political beliefs of the franchise would be its own form of censorship and intolerance.

Moving forward, the Academic Senate will urge both the Cal Poly administration and Cal Poly Corporation to “sever ties with Chick-fil-A and terminate the contract with the on-campus franchise” and to “be mindful of the practices and donation patterns of its business partners and that said partners are held to the same high diversity and inclusion standards of as the rest of the campus community,” the resolution read.

Cal Poly is the only California State University with a Chickfil-A on campus. The Cal Poly Chick-fil-A is the only location in San Luis Obispo County and was recognized for hitting $2 million in sales in 2018, according to Cal Poly Corporation Communications Specialist Aaron Lambert.

Cal Poly Lead Coordinator of LGBTQ Initiatives Samuel Byrd said this is just one example of moral conflicts in the world.

“I think this is a conversation that had been going on for many years,” Byrd said. “And issues like these are seen in more places outside of this campus as well.”

Cal Poly currently requires three trainings for all faculty and staff.

Active shooter response training is not one of them.

In 2019 alone, there have been 29 school gun violence incidents in the United States, with a total of 31 injuries and deaths. This number continues to rise.

According to data from the U.S. Center for Homeland Defense and Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), there were 97 school gun violence incidents in 2018 — a record high dating back to 1970.

To put this in perspective, most schools are in session 180 days a year, which means there was an incident involving gun violence approximately every two days. The number of injuries and deaths were also at a record high of 165 people in 2018.

Many students at Cal Poly, like construction management freshman Sophie Stewart, are unaware of the available resources and campus rules about active shooting preparation.

“I don’t even think they’ve ever mentioned anything about a school shooting and what to do if it were to happen,” Stewart said.

This begs the question: How does Cal Poly prepare its students, faculty and staff for this situation?

Is Cal Poly Prepared?

Faculty and staff are only required to complete the Injury and Illness Prevention Program, Sexual Misconduct Prevention Program and Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Program.

“If you start mandating too many trainings, it can cause some problems,” Assistant Vice President of Public Safety and Chief of Police George Hughes said.

“It’s very time consuming, so we would have to discuss that with the labor unions if we were going to do any more mandated training,” However, the University Police Department (UPD) trains five to six times a year for this situation and at least once a year with the San Luis Obispo Police Department.

UPD’s training includes going to the firing range or training in a building, practicing movements and techniques.

“It’s very unlikely that you would find yourself in the middle

of an active shooter situation, but we still need to train and be prepared for it just like we would a fire alarm,” Hughes said.

UPD offers an hour-and-a-halflong presentation once every quarter on surviving an active shooter situation.

“Sometimes they’re heavily attended,” Hughes said. “Sometimes there’s only a few people that show up.”

These active shooter sessions are hosted and marketed by Associate Students Inc. (ASI) in partnership with UPD. The presentations are optional and open to everyone.

Why active shooter training isn’t mandatory According to University Spokesperson Matt Lazier, the campus cannot mandate trainings unilaterally. All trainings required for members of a labor unit must go through a meet-and-confer process with the California State University (CSU) system and affected unions.

Cal Poly’s three required training programs have all gone through the process.

“Cal Poly has so many trainings on other areas like alcohol, drugs [and] sexual abuse, and I think if they just implemented the same practices from that to educating students on school shootings it would be beneficial,” Stewart said.

Even though Cal Poly has not begun required trainings, oth-

er areas on the Central Coast are starting to take action to increase awareness of active shooter preparation. Atascadero State Hospital held an active shooter drill May 6 with the Atascadero Police Department.

Data from the U.S. Center for Homeland Defense and FEMA also shows California with the highest number of school gun violence incidents out of all the states in the U.S. with 158 incidents since 1970 followed by Texas at 133 incidents and Florida with 90 incidents.

Recent events — such as the University of North Carolina at Charlotte shooting that left two dead and four injured on April 30 and the shooting at South Ridgeline Boulevard and Plaza Drive (STEM) School in Highlands Ranch, CO that resulted in one dead and eight injured on May 7 — were less than two weeks apart.

“I think it would be beneficial to start doing trainings on school shootings, at least for the staff and faculty that are required along with the sexual health clinic,” Hughes said. “For now, we need to make sure we are continuing to offer it.”

The next Surviving an Active Shooter presentation is on Wednesday, May 15 at 10 a.m. in room 220 in the University Union (UU).

For more information about active shooter trainings visit the Cal Poly Department of Emergency Management website.

F I L E | M USTA N G N EWS

The University Police Department trains for school shootings four to five times per year, but for the rest of Cal Poly training is optional.

5 TUESDAY • MAY 14, 2019 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS

CAL POLY WILL NOT SEVER TIES WITH CHICK-FIL-A ANYTIME SOON

TUESDAY • MAY 14, 2019 | FEATURES | MUSTANG NEWS

6

1 PRAYER ROOM 5 DAILY PRAYERS

ADDITIONAL PRAYER SPACES ADDED FOR RAMADAN FOR FIRST TIME

C A R OLY N E SYS MA N S | MUSTA N G N EWS

The prayers involve a series of movements, including bowing and kneeling with forehead and palms touching the floor.

BY AS H L E Y LADIN Abdullah Sulaiman prays five times most days. Usually, three to four of those prayers happen on Cal Poly’s campus.

There is only one designated area for prayer on campus: a small, approximately 8’x11’ room on the fourth floor of the Robert E. Kennedy Library called the Inclusive Prayer/Meditation/Sensory Room.

Sulaiman said he spends most of his time on campus away from the library, leading him to use impromptu spaces for prayer — building corners, quiet walkways and empty classrooms.

As a practicing Muslim, president of Cal Poly’s Muslim Student Association, a general engineering senior and Mustang News opinion columnist, Sulaiman participates in salat (also spelled salah). Salat is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and instructs Muslims to complete a ritualistic prayer five times

a day during certain timeframes.

Time windows for prayer are based on the position of the sun.

There are dawn, midday, late afternoon, sunset and evening prayers.

Some Muslim students use the app Muslim Pro, which sends out phone notifications during prayer windows each day.

The prayers involve a series of movements, including bowing and kneeling with forehead and palms touching the floor. Each prayer position has a corresponding recitation of a chapter or portion of the Quran. The prayers are done facing qiblah, which is the direction of the sacred building at Mecca, Kaaba.

Religious studies professor and Muslim Student Association advisor Stephen Lloyd-Moffett said the Five Pillars of Islam can be seen as tools to help Muslims stay on the best spiritual path.

“In Islam, salat is a daily discipline to keep you remembering

God,” Lloyd-Moffett said. “The idea is about every three to four hours, you need a gentle five-minute reminder of who God is.”

Sulaiman said he usually has one of two experiences while completing salat.

“I think a generic response is satisfaction that I completed an obligation,” Sulaiman said. “At the very least, it is me showing gratitude five times a day. The sometimes response, not rare but not often, is peace, tranquility, humbleness.”

Praying on Cal Poly’s campus Sulaiman said where he prays can affect his experience. He is usually not close enough to the library to use the prayer room, so he prays near his classrooms and favorite study spots. In public, he often rushes through prayers.

“I feel weirded out because people feel weirded out,” Sulaiman said.

“There’s a sense of ‘Ah, shoot, what

are they going to think?’ Sometimes I just don’t care and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m doing what I got to do.’ I’m more proud of it. But other times, I feel a little bit more on edge.”

In a small walkway he prays in at night, women often pass by, and he said he worries they might be suspicious of his presence. Once, when praying near the Health Center with his head bowed to the floor, a nurse came out to ask if he was okay. Unable to stop the prayer to speak, he gave her a thumbs up

“It’s nice to go pray in there because, for one, there’s a sign so people know what you’re doing, and you have a space no one is passing through,” Sulaiman said.

Inclusive Prayer/Meditation/Sensory Room The room opened in May 2017. Rubia Siddiqi, an environmental engineering alumna, was president of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) at the time.

There’s a sense of ‘Ah, shoot, what are they going to think?’ Sometimes I just don’t care ...

But other times, I feel a little bit more on edge. to communicate he was fine.

Even though Sulaiman said he enjoys praying outside in nature, he said he would use the prayer room more often if he could easily reach it between classes.

That year, a library staff member told a student in MSA there was a room in the library which was not being used for anything.

Siddiqi worked closely with the library and university to open up

Praying during Ramadan

If people knew what Muslims do in so far as prayer, that would make me feel less awkward.

CASSAN D RA GAR IBAY | MUSTAN G N EWS

Bismah Siddiqi’s brother worked closely with the library and university to open up the room for prayer.

the room for prayer. The room is inclusive and multi-purpose, not just reserved for Muslim students.

“For years, MSA has tried to get a prayer space,” Siddiqi said. “Before, we used to pray on the library’s second floor, kinda in an open area by the emergency exit sign. Even though it’s not a huge room, I’m so grateful we have [the prayer room] as a resource on campus.”

Praying with the hijab Siddiqi’s sister, Bismah Siddiqi, is currently an anthropology and geography senior at Cal Poly. Unlike Sulaiman, she does not feel comfortable praying outside on campus and only uses the prayer room.

ble.’ So I would rather not. ” Siddiqi’s concern partially stems from experiences on campus. When Milo Yiannopoulos came to Cal Poly to speak, she said a group of men stopped walking to bark at her. In one of her classes, she said a student raised her hand and said it was un-American to wear a headscarf and stay with an abusive husband — linking the two ideas together.

Siddiqi said she likes the location of the prayer room because she spends much of her time studying at the library. However, she occasionally misses prayers throughout the day when she cannot get to the library in time between classes.

Like Sulaiman, Siddiqi said having another designated space for

fortable bringing up the topic. She said it would be nice if the university let professors know that students participate in salat, particularly during Islamic holidays when prayer is especially important.

which is May 5 through June 4 this year. This is the first year extra prayer space has been available for Ramadan.

The observance of Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

During the month-long holiday, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk.

Lloyd-Moffett said Muslim students who are not always able to participate in salat usually rededicate themselves to prayer during Ramadan.

While this additional prayer space on campus is temporary, there is potential for more permanent prayer spaces to be established.

In an email to Mustang News, Vice President of Student Affairs Keith Humphrey said a second prayer room is not out of consideration. The difficulty would be in identifying space for it.

“It’s kind of hard to ask for

is currently working on securing private support for the potential facility. All funding would need to come completely from donors.

“This facility would provide space for individual and group prayer, spirituality activities and personal meaning making,” Humphrey wrote. “It would also promote intentional collaboration, exploration and understanding across the different faith identities our students hold.”

Sulaiman said he would appreciate more designated space to pray, but he would also feel more comfortable praying anywhere on campus if there was greater understanding of Islam at Cal Poly.

“If people knew what Muslims do in so far as prayer, that would make me feel less awkward,” Sulaiman said. “Then people would just pass by and be like, ‘Okay, that guy is just praying.’”

Rationally, I don’t think I’m in danger at all here, but in the back of my head I’m like, ‘It’s possible.’ So I would rather not.

Siddiqi said she is unable to concentrate on her prayer when people are looking at her. She also said she worries about the safety of praying in public.

“Being visibly Muslim is different,” Siddiqi said. “A lot of the guys can kind of blend in when they pray — people don’t usually understand what they’re doing. But when I’m praying, it’s obvious because of my hijab. Rationally, I don’t think I’m in danger at all here, but in the back of my head I’m like, ‘It’s possi-

prayer more centrally located on campus would be helpful.

“I had a schedule one time when I was literally missing so many prayers because I had classes back to back,” Siddiqi said. “I felt weird telling my professor, but if there was just somewhere I could go really quickly, that would be nicer than nothing.”

Siddiqi said she does not think any of her professors would have an issue with her leaving class to pray, but that she feels uncom-

C A SS A ND RA GA R I B AY | M USTA NG NE W S

Bismah Siddiqi said she likes the location of the prayer room because she spends much of her time studying at the library.

7 TUESDAY • MAY 14, 2019 | FEATURES | MUSTANG NEWS

MSA advisor Lloyd-Moffett worked with the university to secure two additional prayer spaces, one in the University Union (UU) and one in the Recreation Center, for Muslim students during Ramadan,

multiple prayer spaces, but the prayer spaces are fairly simple because you just need a ground, just need an empty room,” Sulaiman said.

Humphrey also wrote about the potential for an Interfaith Center on campus. Student Affairs

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OF COLLEGE MEDIA MUSTANG NEWS A P P L ICAT IO NS ARE NOW O PE N FO R THE 2019-20 SCHOOL Y E AR AP P LY.MUSTAN GN E WS. NET DEADLINE: MONDAY, MAY 20

Deals of the Week

TREATING PARKINSON’S ONE STEP AT A TIME

TUESDAY • MAY 14, 2019 | FEATURES | MUSTANG NEWS

10

CO NNO R FROST | MUSTANG NEW S

Campus Health & Wellbeing held the grand opening of the Cal Poly Farmer’s Market Tuesday, May 7, on Mustang Way.

CAL POLY DEBUTS FARMER’S MARKET

BI-WEEKLY EVENT OFFERS BOTH LOCAL & CAMPUS PRODUCE

BY SY DN EY S H E R MA N Students no longer need to weave through a crowded Higuera Street to enjoy fresh, local produce.

Campus Health & Wellbeing held the grand opening of the Cal Poly Farmer’s Market Tuesday, May 7 on Mustang Way. The market will be held on the first and third Tuesday of each month, from 3:30-5:30 p.m., according to organizers.

Five vendors lined Mustang Way at the inaugural market, selling fresh products like bread, fruit, meat, cheese and an assortment of vegetables.

“We just wanted to provide readily available products and fresh goods to students,” Campus Health & Wellbeing educator Christine Nelson said.

The farmers market is made possible through a $130,000 donation from the Cal State University.

The funding includes $30,000 for The Sustainable Food Hub Project, which provides accessible services, support and resources such as the Cal Poly Farmer’s Market, the Community Garden and the Cal Poly Food Pantry.

“I like how chilled out it is,” animal science freshman Mack Croxdale said. “It’s definitely better that it’s not so crowded and that it’s like just a few of them, so

I don’t have so many choices to choose from.”

Products for the market are sold by both Cal Poly and local vendors, including the Cal Poly Dairy and the Cal Poly Organic Farm.

“We’re defining local farms within [San Luis Obispo] County only,” Nelson said. “From Los Osos [and] Arroyo Grande to Shandon — all over [San Luis Obispo] County they’re participating.”

Business senior Gianna Prainito works on the Cal Poly Organic Farm on campus.

“It’s changed a lot,” Prainito said. “It’s more kind of student-oriented, and we make most of the decisions. I want to know where my food comes from, and I want to know how much work it takes.

The products from the Cal Poly Organic Farm are sold at the Cal Poly Farmers Market, at the downtown market on Thursdays and at the Madonna Inn on Saturdays.

“We’re really excited just to see this thrive and how the farmer’s market is really going to infuse a culture of health and wellbeing on our campus,” Nelson said. “We’re just excited to see it build[ing] momentum and getting staff, faculty and students all coming together around food.”

MEGA N DAY | MUSTA N G N EWS

Sidney and Orlando walk to pass a door frame, a commonly difficult task for an individual with Parkinson’s due to its narrow structure.

BY DA NI EL SA NCH EZ Eighty seven year old, Jack Brill, has Parkinson’s disease, which had taken away his ability to walk. However, one Cal Poly Biomedical Engineering graduate changed all of that.

“It changed my life. It has been a tremendous help,” Jack Brill said.

Brill was unable to walk before he attached a little black box to his walker.

In the United States, roughly one million people are predicted to have Parkinson’s disease by 2020 (and 10 million worldwide), according to the Parkinson’s Foundation. Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder; this means the brain and or spine lose(s) cells, causing dysfunction and disability, Alzheimer’s and Lou Gehrig’s Disease are examples. Parkinson’s, specifically, is different in that your brain loses the ability to send signals to certain parts of your body. For example, those with an advanced form of Parkinson’s disease, like Brill, are likely to experience a symptom called, “Freezing of Gait.” This symptom occurs because the brain is unable to send signals to the legs and can make a person feel like they’re unable to pick up their feet and make their knees shake, as if your feet were stuck in cement. Parkinson’s disease received its name from London doctor James Parkinson after publishing the medical essay “An Essay on the Shaking Palsy,” ac-

cording to Parkinson’s Disease Information. It is the leading cause of falls for people with Parkinson’s disease.

Founder of a medical device company called De Oro Devices Sidney Collin is out to change that. The company has produced a device, called “Gaitway,” it offers a possible solution to freezing of gait by producing certain sensory cues that change the intention of the brain. The invention of this device started as a project in the summer of 2016 when Cal Poly professor, Dr. Lily Laiho, connected Collin and a masters student to Jack Brill.

“There are no words that I can say to describe to you what it was like to see Jack use this for the first time,” Collin said.

Collin’s device attaches to a cain or walker and helps with freezing of gait by changing the “intention of the brain.” The device projects a green laser line in front of the user. This allows the brain to send signals to the legs because the intention has gone from “step forward” to “step over the line.”

The device also has a speaker embedded within it with a metronome. The metronome’s consistent beat has been proven to help those with trouble walking.

It compliments the laser and gives the user a beat to walk to, which research has proven to be effective. Orlando Severo, one of the people who tested the device this last weekend, described Gaitway as nothing less than a miracle.

“The metronome is a beat, it helps me in the corners and the laser on the straight away,” Severo said.

Feedback from support groups has been a key part of developing the device and changing little things like laser color. The laser used to be red but after further analysis, it was changed to green simply because of social norms and understandings that, “red means stop,” and, “green means go.” This last weekend people were able to take the device home and before the weekend was over, everyone responded positively.

One person responded explaining he was able to walk into Mass for the first time this year.

“That is why I’m doing this.

That’s the reason I’m getting this out because, people need it,” Collin said.

Contrary to similar devices, Gaitway is light and has the ability to attach to any cain or walker. Others display similar sensory cues, but are usually heavy and built into a walker. People with Parkinson’s are very particular about their cains or walkers and usually rely on a spouse to transport it, eliminating the option of heavy walking aids.

The software for the device is just about complete, but a few user friendly changes will be made before it hits the market.

Some of these changes include: attachment and detachment to and from the device, the feel of the buttons and making it weather proof. Reducing the cost of goods is another thing the company will try to achieve before it is released.

De Oro Devices look to expand their team and are currently attempting to hire a Cal Poly student. They plan on launching their first 200 devices in September, and their second run will be in December where they will launch 500 to individual buyers.

Next year, they project selling about 6,000 to 7,000 Gaitway devices.

“No numbers that I can put on a slide are going to convince you how much people need this. It’s the interactions we have with people,” Collin said. De Oro Devices is redefining the limits of Parkinson’s disease and the company’s goal is to get this product out to help as many people with Parkinson’s disease as they can.

THE TINGLING

SENSATION

THAT TOOK OVER THE NATION

BY JAMES HAY ES Cal Poly alumna Nikki Telegan remembers sticking her hands and feet into homemade mud pies as a child, reveling in the sensation of the mud between her digits.

Her curiosity toward the sensation persisted into her adult life, and playing with mud pies evolved into playing with food.

“Definitely anything wet or gushy feels really interesting to me,” Telegan said.

It was not until last year when someone told her that what she was feeling — the pleasant, visceral experience — was ASMR. Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) has carved a niche for itself within pop culture — predominantly with women “ASMRtists” on YouTube — since the term was coined in 2010. Now

as one of the top 20 YouTube channel genres, ASMR videos have caught the attention of millions of people around the world. The popularity is a result of the reported euphoric, tingling feeling some people experience when listening to or watching an ASMR video.

ASMR is usually articulated as “brain tingles,” a physical sensation that moves down the head, neck or scalp. It can also be psychological, bringing on feelings of relaxation and ease. The woman responsible for the acronym ASMR, Jennifer Allen, originally described it as a “brain orgasm.”

Allen came up with the acronym ASMR to articulate feelings she had been having since she was a child. In 2009 after multiple goog searches, Allen found people on online message boards having similar sensations and without vocab-

ulary to describe them. In 2010, she presented her acronym to the message boards, and by 2015, ASMR had an established foothold in pop culture.

Telegan is one of those people who experience ASMR, as well as one of the many people experimenting to discover new ways to feel the ASMR sensation. She uses food — pulling it apart and squishing it between her fingers — to discover new ways to trigger the sensation with day-to-day items.

“We could be so cognizantly aware that ‘Oh, I’m doing this to this thing,’ but at the same time you kind of lose yourself in it,” Telegan said. “Our brains don’t overthink the reaction, we just have it.”

Telegan also regularly watches an ASMRtist on Instagram who takes five minutes to open one Kinder Egg while she taps colorful acrylic

have a different type of activation in what’s called the default-mode network in the brain, which is a series of brain areas that are active at rest.”

Cacciamani said she thinks because some still see ASMR as a pseudoscience, there is a hesitation to accept it as an area of study. Despite ASMR’s popularity within pop culture, research on it has been sparse. According to the online archive ASMR University, the first published peer-reviewed paper on ASMR was published in 2015, and only 10 have been published since.

Regardless of research, ASMR YouTube channels keep posting videos to millions of subscribers.

The world of ASMR has grown immensely since the first video posted to YouTube in 2009 — a less than two-minute-long video of a girl whispering about how good it feels to whisper.

The fast growing community of ASMR means trends within the genre move quickly, catering to whatever new triggers are discovered. Whether it is biting into a whole honeycomb, fluttering fingers that dance like they are doing the itsy-bitsy spider or extreme roleplay — like a sassy flight attendant whispering flight safety instructions — ASMR continues to evolve. As it evolves, it attracts more people like Telegan trying to find out what makes them feel good.

“Depending on their experience, or aesthetic preferences, or sensation preferences or behaviors that will impact what their specific reaction is, I think everyone is capable of understanding an ASMR reaction,” Telegan said.

OLI VI A VORT | MUSTA N G N EWS

ASMR can be experienced live, through video or through recordings.

11 TUESDAY • MAY 14, 2019 | FEATURES | MUSTANG NEWS

OL IVIA VORT | MUSTANG NEW S

Some people refer to the sensation of ASMR as a “brain orgasm.”

nails against the plastic exterior.

“If you’re aware of what you’re excited by, you have this ability to discover the potential of everything around you,” Telegan said.

A young girl roleplaying as a state police officer issuing a ticket, three-hour-long videos of cats purring, a woman taking a slow bite into a whole pickle, Cardi B reciting her signature ‘Okur’ at a whisper — there is no shortage of YouTube videos created by different ASMRtists exploring possible triggers. There is even a video of a girl roleplaying as a doctor running different ASMR tests to see if you are able to feel the sensation.

The sensation of ASMR is not felt by everyone. For some, the experience can be anything but pleasant.

In response to a Facebook post asking for opinions about ASMR, one student wrote: “It sends [me] into a white hot rage.”

However, those that do experience ASMR report it helps with stress, sleep and even depression and anxiety. Oftentimes, they can also recall feeling simi lar sensations before the age of 13.

Assistant Professor of Psychology Laura Cacciamani does research focused on sensation and perception and how the senses interact with each other, and said she shares people’s curiosity towards ASMR. In her study of the subject, she said she has learned about some of the ways the brain reacts to ASMR. “ASMR tends to activate the award center of the brain, so kind of like a pleasure-seeking feeling that you can get from many different types of objects,” Cacciamani said. “I did see that people who tend to experience ASMR

TUESDAY • MAY 14, 2019 | OPINION | MUSTANG NEWS

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OPINION F I LE | MUSTA N G N EWS

Cal Poly is one of the few universities that requires incoming freshman to choose their major upon applying.

UNDECIDED NEEDS TO BE A DECISION WE SHOULD BE PRIORITIZING CAREER EXPLORATION DURING FRESHMAN YEAR

BY JAXON S ILVA Jaxon Silva is a civil engineering freshman and Mustang News columnist. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang News.

Picture this: a senior in high school sits down and is told that right then and there they have to decide what they want to do for the rest of their life until they retire.

How much faith would you put in that teenager to choose the major they would be completely satisfied with for the rest of their working lives? How much faith would or did you put in yourself in that situation?

Cal Poly is unique, as it tends to stress prospective freshman into having their major figured out before they start their academic careers at Cal Poly. Once students begin their degree, Cal Poly makes it extremely hard for students to switch majors, as they have to attend special workshops, required classes and have to follow an Individualized Change of Major Agreement (ICMA).

Other schools generally have a

petition for change of major and some required coursework for the harder majors or majors that a lot of students try to switch into.

While the idea behind Cal Poly’s intensive change of major is to streamline the process for students to enter major coursework during their first year of study, what it really does is cause students unnecessary stress. It also wastes students’ valuable time and money.

The 1995 book “The Undecided College Student: An Academic and Career Advising Challenge” found that an estimated 75 percent of college students change their major before graduation.

Even a fraction of this number would indicate that many students are not satisfied with their initial choice.

In the 2013 Penn State study “The Developmental Disconnect in Choosing a Major: Why Institutions Should Prohibit Choice until Second Year”, Liz Freedman elaborates that the reason for this challenge for first-year students to successfully select and retain a major is due to freshman students not being developmentally ready to decide on a path

that most reflects their values and ideals.

This can be seen in Cal Poly itself, as 94 percent of all of the major changes in the 2017-18 academic year were for freshmen. Approximately a quarter of the freshman class for 2017-2018 changed their major that academic year.

However, there is also a disconnect between the perceived view a freshman student may have of their major before entering college compared to the understanding they form once fully immersed in their coursework.

In recognition of this, some colleges like University of Washington and Baylor University have pre-major coursework for their freshman students. This allows students to gain a better understanding of their major and whether or not it is the right fit for them before they get in over their head with major-specific coursework.

I understand the existing system in place is efficient compared to having an undecided major. Placing someone in their preferred major at the beginning of college means they can take major-level courses earlier than other schools.

However, to assume that every stu-

dent who enters Cal Poly knows everything about their major and career they are studying for is unrealistic.

Instead of boxing in students and making it difficult for them to switch majors, why not first let students explore what’s out there?

After all, they are the ones paying for the education. Students should be able to see what their intended major looks like in the real world, and that is not a view that every student gets to experience in high school.

We should be prioritizing career exploration and self-discovery during freshman year here at Cal Poly. Under the current system in unit-intensive majors such as civil engineering, students don’t have the time to do so without making sacrifices.

A study by Canadian researchers Terence Tracey and Steve Robbins followed 80,574 students in 87 colleges over a five-year period.

They found the best GPA scores correlated most to having a major strongly related to one’s personality and values.

Wouldn’t it be even more efficient to help students have a complete idea about their major

by their second year than to have third-year students panicking because they have no clue what they want to do post-grad?

We could easily dedicate a yearlong class toward career exploration and self-discovery and give students the opportunity to truly discover what major and career calls to them. If students want to jump in to fast-track their academic progress, they can submit a petition to be removed from the class. Sure, it would require working with the different colleges to coordinate their coursework to accommodate the career exploration class, but for students to truly know what they are doing, it is worth it.

Yes, some students will have a definite idea of what they want to study by the time they apply, and that’s great. But for the rest of us, shouldn’t we get an extra year to truly explore what these majors are really like? Is it really that hard to implement an undecided major, or even dedicate freshmen year to providing students the necessary tools to help decide their future career more easily and effectively than the current system at hand allows?

13

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

BY W AYNE L ELA The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang News.

So, the faculty voted to kick Chickfil-A off campus over the company’s support for some “politically incorrect” conservative causes.

What a hoot! But should we be surprised?

Many colleges have allowed the development of a hostile atmosphere toward conservatives and conservative speech. Similar protests towards conservatives happen across the country routinely. Trump handily beat Clinton in part because a lot of decent, moral people are getting really fed up with liberal judgementalism, liberal self-righteousness, liberal name-calling, liberal violence and hate, liberal divisiveness, liberal intolerance, liberal

closed-mindedness, liberal bullying, liberal bigotry and liberal discrimination.

During Obama’s eight years as president, Republicans picked up around 1,000 seats on the state level, state senators and state house representatives (thank you, Obama!). More and more people are seeing liberals for the colossal hypocrites they really are and are soundly rejecting them. That’s a good thing.

Many schools in this country have been discriminating against conservatives and conservative speech for years, like by implementing bizarre, totalitarian, Orwellian “speech codes” (for example, according to warped politically correct speech codes it’s okay to call decent moral conservatives “homophobes”). It’s not okay to call homosexuals “heterophobes” (The latter is considered

so-called “hate speech” and will get you in a lot of trouble with liberally-biased administrators).

The legal group Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which defends conservative teachers and students who have been discriminated against by liberal bigots on various school campuses, could provide you with a lengthy list of such cases. The civil rights of conservatives are under attack on many school campuses (but you don’t hear about all this discrimination by liberals because the “fake news” liberal media don’t want you to know).

It’s no big secret many teachers are liberal, especially on college campuses.

Hopefully students are aware of all the one-sided, liberal propaganda they are manipulatively being exposed to, and hopefully they are aware that they and their parents

Z AC H A RY DON N EN F I ELD | MUSTA N G N EWS

Although the Academic Senate resolution to end ties with Chick-Fil-A passed, the chain will remain on campus.

are essentially paying for liberal indoctrination in many cases and are being cheated out of a decent education. But I fear they are not.

It would be nice to see students pushing for intellectual diversity at their schools, and maybe even affirmative action for hiring a true minority on school campuses: conservative teachers. Until that happens, liberal teachers and administrators will freely continue to try to take advantage of their

students, to indoctrinate them instead of educate them in order to impose their questionable values on them. That needs to change.

Let’s teach those intolerant and discriminatory “teachers” a lesson by kicking them off campus.

Let’s do to these liberal bigots what they want to do to others.

Maybe they’ll get the message — though their thick skulls are probably so closed-minded they won’t “get it.”

TUESDAY • MAY 14, 2019 | OPINION | MUSTANG NEWS

THE CHICK-FIL-A RESOLUTION FROM A CONSERVATIVE PERSPECTIVE

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 musician born on May 10, 1960 in Dublin. My nickname is derived from the Latin phrase “bonavox,” which translates to “good voice.” My band has sold more than 150 million records.

*See answers at mustangnews.net/games-answers/

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

P P S I E

1. Half-conscious states 8. Strange 13. Deep regret 14. Rogue 15. Took without permission 19. An alternative 20. Performer __-Lo 21. Partner to flowed 22. Best day of the week (abbr.)

23. Body part 24. Famed river 25. Lake __, one of the Great 26. Make free from bacteria 30. People native to Canada 31. Japanese seaport 32. Least clothed 33. Horse of small breed 34. Italian doctor and poet 35. Moving away from land 38. One who parks cars 39. Some are front and some are back 40. Views 44. Ancient Greek shield (alt. sp.)

45. Spanish seaport 46. New England college (abbr.)

47. The woman 48. Belgian province 49. Danish krone 50. Excessive dose (abbr.)

51. In great shape 55. 7th month of Islamic calendar 57. Shaped 58. Icelandic poems 59. Swollen area within tissue

CLUES DOWN

1. Small amounts 2. Duplicate 3. Current unit 4. Neither 5. Chromium(II) oxide 6. Second sight 7. The absence of mental stress or anxiety 8. Supplemented with difficulty 9. Not the beginning 10. Dorm employee 11. Hard, white substances 12. Scariest 16. Spanish island 17. Having sufficient skill 18. Where golfers start 22. No charge 25. Print errors 27. Where rafters ply their trade 28. Paintings of holy figures 29. CNN host Lisa 30. Gives whippings 32. Type of tie 34. Unbroken view 35. Blemish 36. National capital 37. “Captain Marvel” actress Larson 38. Tenth pair of cranial nerves 40. Arizona native peoples 41. Confuse 42. Body parts 43. Plays a fast guitar 45. Tub 48. Pen parts 51. Supervises flying 52. Cars come with one 53. Some are fake 54. Calendar month 56. American whiskey (abbr.)

HOROSCOPES TAURUS – April 21/May 21 Others understand that you’re the go-to when things need fixing, Taurus. You have the ability to help in any situation. Embrace this talent and help others as much as you can.

GEMINI – May 22/June 21 Listen to your gut, Gemini. If you do so, others will follow your lead. It is time to step up and take charge. Don’t worry, you will not need to justify all the decisions you make.

CANCER – June 22/July 22 You must be very honest in your relationships this week, Cancer. Don’t confuse opinions with the truth. Maintain an open dialogue with others around you.

LEO – July 23/Aug. 23 Guessing will only get you so far, Leo. Instead, you must base decisions off fact and forethought; otherwise, you may end up having to do everything all over.

VIRGO – Aug. 24/Sept. 22 Take a break from alone time and make reservations for dinner for two or more, Virgo. Socializing is invaluable and can have a positive, long-lasting effect on your relationships.

TUESDAY • MAY 14, 2019 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS

ARIES – March 21/April 20 The more you take on, the more support you need, Aries. You can benefit from a mentor or consultant who has the expertise to help you get where you need to go.

15

LIBRA – Sept. 23/Oct. 23 It’s alright to cede a little control this week, Libra. Delegating and sharing responsibilities can open your eyes to the talented people around you. Don’t feel guilty about taking on less work.

SCORPIO – Oct. 24/Nov. 22 You are a creative force who inspires others to take up their own projects or follow their hearts, Scorpio. Expect others to recognize your influence and express their appreciation.

SAGITTARIUS – Nov. 23/Dec. 21 Sagittarius, take a step back and slow down the pace if you find you have been spreading yourself too thin. This is not giving up, but taking a break.

CAPRICORN – Dec. 22/Jan. 20 Some pretty big ideas may inspire you to do some impressive things, Capricorn. You just need to find an investor and put some firm plans on paper.

AQUARIUS – Jan. 21/Feb. 18 It can be challenging to be productive if your house isn’t in order, Aquarius. Give your personal life some attention and tend to affairs that may have been on the back burner for awhile.

PISCES – Feb. 19/March 20 Pisces, take charge of a mission by encouraging others to stay focused on the task at hand. You need to be the ringleader and set an example for others to follow.

Z AC H DON N EN F I ELD | MUSTA N G N EWS

Textbook publishers Cengage and McGraw-Hill announced their plan to merge in 2020.

THE TWO LARGEST TEXTBOOK PUBLISHERS ARE MERGING HOW THE MOVE COULD AFFECT PRICES

BY M E GA N LAC HA N C E On top of tuition, housing and other college fees, Cal Poly estimates that students spend $1,599 on textbooks per year. For many students at Cal Poly that means about three textbooks every 10 weeks.

And the price may be going up. The two largest textbook publishers, Cengage and McGraw-Hill, announced their plan to merge in 2020.

“I think their intentions are to make more money,” U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Higher Education Campaign Director Kaitlyn Vitez said.

“They’ve shifted from putting out paper books and being publishers of content to software developers.”

Organizations such as PIRG have noticed the expensive rates of textbooks and are working to give students more reasonable and affordable options for their studies. Vitez works closely with issues that affect students, and one issue she is particularly passionate about is textbooks.

According to Vitez, the reason why textbooks are so pricey is because of their publishers. Vitez said companies such as Cengage and McGraw-Hill have dominated and manipulated the market for decades, and there is no coincidence when it comes to their business tactics.

Publishers understand their customers are students and that they have found ways around high prices, such as borrowing textbooks or even illegally downloading them. To keep their margin of profit high, publishers have responded with new editions every year and non-refundable digital access codes to profit from, according to Vitez.

According to Vitez, the two publishers are hoping to continue to market their digital materials, on top of creating a new system called Inclusive Access, under which students will be automatically billed. The future of textbooks is not the merge between the two leading textbook publishers, but a new concept known as open textbooks, Vitez said.

This cheaper alternative to commercial textbook publishers lets professors publish under open copyright, which lets them edit the content for their classroom. Students can then download the books for free or pay a low cost to have them printed.

Open textbooks are already a reality on multiple college campuses, such as the University of Connecticut and the University of Massachusetts — and, according to Vitez, they are a success.

“You shouldn’t have to pay to participate in classes,” Vitez said. “We are trying to break out of this cycle of dirty tricks by the publishers.”

TUESDAY • MAY 14, 2019 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS

16

UNIVERSITY REBRAND WAS NECESSARY, ACCORDING TO PREVIOUS LOGO DESIGNER

PI E RR E RAD EMAKER | COURT ESY

Rademaker worked with former Cal Poly President Warren Baker to design the seal for the university’s 2001 Centennial.

BY KAIL EY O’CON N ELL Almost 7,500 people have signed an online petition to stop Cal Poly’s rebrand. However, such a rebrand was necessary according to designer of the previous Cal Poly

logo.

Pierre Rademaker designed both the Cal Poly seal and shield, while also teaching graphic design at the university for 14 years.

Rademaker worked with former Cal Poly President Warren Baker

to design the seal for the university’s 2001 Centennial. This was when the lamp of learning, open book, feather and hammer icons were conceived.

“Everything in that symbol had a meaning,” Rademaker said.

It wasn’t until around 2012 that the university wanted a design for everyday use, Rademaker said. In 2015, he had the idea of a shield, simplifying the complex seal while uniting community members with key symbols.

“It was a way of making everyone feel important,” Rademaker said.

However, the shield became difficult to use in small sizes. Its thinness and light gold color made the logo nearly illegible when produced in small digital mediums, which is why Rademaker said he understood the motivation to clean up the logo even further.

The new logo displays the words “Cal Poly” in a thicker, darker green font.

“The typography is very legible and stronger than it was before,” Rademaker said. “It’s not classical or modern, but still strong.”

Rademaker has since left Cal Poly to pursue his freelance business, Pierre Rademaker Design, full-time.

For graphic design senior Aliza Ackerman, the university succeeded in simplifying the Cal Poly logo. Minimalistic designs are trending, she said, but usually for startup and technology companies rather than universities.

“I think they did a good job of creating something minimalistic that still represents Cal Poly,” Ackerman said. “They’re making a logo that’s supposed to embody a whole university in three inches on a screen.”

According to Ackerman, the new logo’s thicker “Cal Poly” typeface will stand out in whichever medium it is displayed.

“Moving into the digital revolution, I think this logo is better to be used on a website or digital format,” Ackerman said. “That was a good call and will definitely be translated better in things like the Cal Poly app.”

Graphic design senior Jake Giusto also has experience with rebranding. A freelance visual

designer, Giusto doubles as a photographer for the College of Liberal Arts, where he often works with Cal Poly’s logos, applying them to photos and videos.

Giusto’s biggest concern is the amount of different logo variations Cal Poly uses, which he says is more than most universities.

Not only does Cal Poly use the well-known shield and seal, but also other miscellaneous logos such as the thick typeface “Cal Poly” with a mustang charging between the two words.

“Cal Poly is not very consistent with its brand image, and that hurts them in a lot of ways,” Giusto said.

Giusto said rebranding any business means connecting with as many community stakeholders as possible. To do this effectively, he said, would require a local company rather than SimpsonScarborough, which the university hired to spearhead its rebrand.

“I think Cal Poly should’ve consulted a local agency or alumni in the field for this rebrand to be more representative of the community,” Giusto said.

TACO TEMPLE OPENS SECOND LOCATION IN SLO

BY AL I EPPLE California fusion-style Mexican-restaurant Taco Temple just opened their second location in San Luis Obispo on Calle Joaquin Street May 1.

Taco Temple’s new location closely follows the opening of other Mexican-food restaurants in the San Luis Obispo area, including a second Taqueria Santa Cruz Express, San Luis Taqueria and Efren’s Mexican restaurant, but manager Patrick Lynch said Taco Temple stands out against the rest.

This local taco shop features what Lynch described as open face, knife and fork tacos, filled with locally-sourced ingredients.

“We are about big plates, and we are also about fresh product,” Lynch said. “Nothing is out of a

can here except the basics. We buy product that is indigenous to the area, always fresh [and] always local when possible, including seafood and produce.”

Their opening has “exceeded expectations” according to Lynch, who noted that Taco Temple sold around 650 meals a day last weekend, with a wait from opening to 8:30 p.m.

“We had a lot of people coming from South County that were going all the way to the Morro Bay store and who would eat there once a month, because it was a day trip, and they’ve gotten really excited that they’re saving gas mileage and can participate in the Taco Temple experience more than once a month,” Lynch said.

Taco Temple moved from Cayucos to Morro Bay in 2015, when it

was taken over by Jim Leage. Leage and Lynch have been friends since 1988 and have now teamed up to take on the San Luis Obispo county taco scene.

“We’ve been through thick and thin together and he’s provided me several opportunities, and this is one,” Lynch said.

Leage is still managing the Morro Bay Taco Temple but said he saw a need for a location in San Luis Obispo.

“This seemed like the perfect spot for us,” Leage said. “We bring fresh, authentic taste to the table, and I think people will see that.”

Lynch has 44 years of restaurant experience, which started at age 14 washing dishes. With the help of assistant managers Juli Foster and Jeremy Jackson, Lynch said this position is “his last campaign.”

A LI EP P LE | MUSTA N G N EWS

Taco Temple follows the openings of several other new Mexican restaurants in SLO.

The restaurant is complete with bright colors, local art, a designated takeout and dessert section for efficiency and an outdoor patio in the making.

“We are very eclectic,” Lynch said. “We are open to expressionism here.”

All recipes and menus remain consistent with the original location and are carried out by new head chef Peter Irwin. Irwin brings local culinary experience to the team with past employment at Big Sky Café, Giuseppe’s and The Dutchman in Morro Bay.

17 TUESDAY • MAY 14, 2019 | SPORTS | MUSTANG NEWS

BEACH VOLLEYBALL WINS FIRST BIG WEST TOURNAMENT HEAD COACH WINS COACH OF THE YEAR

C A L P OLY AT H LET I CS | COU RT ESY

Cal Poly Beach Volleyball head coach Ted Rogers was named the Big West Coach of the Year after leading the Mustangs to a historic 2019 season.

CA L PO LY ATHLE TI CS | COURT ESY

Tia Miric (left) and Crissy Jones (right) finished the season with a 22-8 record.

BY JA KOB MCQUAD E The 2019 season for the Cal Poly beach volleyball team, led by 2012 Olympic gold medalist and coach Tod Rogers, was historic. The team won the Big West Tournament championship, made their first

NCAA tournament and Rogers was honored with the 2019 Big West Coach of the Year Award.

“At the Big West Championships, the team played really well,” Rogers said. “Everyone gelled together. We had lost to Long Beach State at our Big West Challenge that we

hosted in Pismo, so there were a lot of gals that were pretty fired up to play them again. They were ready. They were really hungry.”

For the team, passion was definitely not a problem. However, there was another aspect of their game that was crucial to their successful season.

“The biggest piece is simply communication,” Rogers said. “It’s a big area to cover for two people, versus indoor where there’s six, so communication is so critical to have in every part of the game.”

Throughout the season, the Cal Poly team was consistent in their performance. They were able to maintain a top 10 national ranking every week in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll.

“We beat the teams we were supposed to beat,” Rogers said. “We started off in the top 10, and we didn’t lose any crazy upsets. We lost to some teams in the top five [in] what is a proverbial ‘good loss’ — everyone recognizes that that’s a really good team.”

Though Rogers said he keeps an eye on the AVCA polls, he also said he does not get nervous about the rankings. He said he prefers to devote his attention to other aspects

of teams that are more important.

“Your video, your scouting, your practice plans,” Rogers said.

“What do my teams need to do to get better?”

This was Rogers’s third season with the team. As far as coaching skills, Rogers said he has a lot to owe to his background in the sport as one of the top players in the world.

“I have always seen myself as more of a cerebral player, not dominating physical,” Rogers said. “So, I used that a lot to get these gals to think the game through rather than just play the game — thinking the game through and actually understanding it.”

Rogers said his experience and game-sense contributed a huge amount to his coaching methods.

However, through it all, he said he has not forgotten the importance of good athleticism.

“My high school coach always used to say, ‘This game is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical,’ and I took it to heart,” Rogers said. “The higher level you get, the more physical you have to be to perform, so it’s probably more like 60-40.”

Even with the honors, Rogers and his team are out practicing,

because he said they cannot help but look ahead to the next season.

“Well, we lose three seniors, so we have to find a way to replace them,”Rogers said. “We have a pretty talented program, so I think we can be a team that is just as good, if not better. That’s the goal, really, to win Big West and go back to NCAA. Instead of ‘uno, dos, adios,’ send some people home and make waves, instead of us being the first to go home.”

Cal Poly Beach Volleyball’s No.1 pairing of senior Crissy Jones and sophomore Tia Miric were named All-Americans on May 8.

The pairing finished the season with a team-high 22-8 record, leading the Mustangs to their first NCAA Tournament appearance.

Jones and Miric were one of eight All-American pairs awarded by the AVCA. Near the end of the season, the duo won 16 of 17 matches, including a 4-0 run in the Big West Tournament to propel Cal Poly to its first Big West championship title.

Miric, a sophomore from Ontario, Canada, was also an All-American in 2018. Jones is a graduate transfer from the University of Washington, where she earned a second-team All-American honor.

Deals of the Week

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SAVE THE DATES! Chef’s Table will be serving up gumbo this Wednesday at 11 a.m. outside of 805 Kitchen.

Craving a colorful rice bowl topped with delicious steamed vegetables? Look no further than Rice Bowl Thursday and Friday at Campus Market from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. See our Facebook event page for more info.

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SPEND YOUR SUMMER

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