Mustang News March 8, 2022

C AL POLY SAN LUIS OBISPO ’S NE WS SOURCE

MUSTANG NEWS

“C A L L O U S

AR N I DS K Y”

Immunocompromised people brace for spring quarter as Armstrong lifts mask mandate MARCH 8, 2022

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MUSTANGNEWS.NET

IN THIS ISSUE

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LEADERSHIP Tessa Hughes

Editor in Chief, Mustang News

MUSTANG NEWS NEWS

Catherine Allen Editor Lauren Boyer Assistant Editor Sierra Parr Amelia Wu Mckenna Rodriguez Benjamin Anderson Chloe Lovejoy Cole Presller Ethan Telles Esther Lo Emmy Burns Allister Loftus Elizabeth Wilson

OPINION

Nicki Butler Editor Cassandra Garcia Brayden Martinez Elijah Winn Neta Bar Owen Lavine Zoe Denton Rebecca Caraway

SPORTS

Diego Sandoval Editor Kyle Har Gabe Arditti Derek Righetti Gwendalyn Garcia Kylie Hastings Nick Bandanza Noah Greenblatt

UPFRONT

MUSTANG NEWS

TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022

ARTS & STUDENT LIFE Kiana Hunziker Editor Abigail O’Branovich Alisha Nazar Elissa Luce Lauren Emo Olivia Meis Naomi Vanderlip Krithi Sankar Tini Nguyen Emma Robertson Lauryn LaDuc Mari Stusser

DESIGN

Claire Lorimor Creative Director Megan Anderson Kayla Olow Karen Ma Coby Chuang Zara Iqbal

VIDEO

Sofia Silvia Video Manager Brady Caskey Matthew Bornhorst Ava Kershner Ariel Lopez Ellie Spink Angelina Salgado Gabrielle Downey Harrison Kaseff

Cameryn Oakes

Ashley Holly

Claire Lorimor

Sofia Silvia

Sophie Lincoln

Victoria Bochniak

Managing Editor Creative Director

Radio News Director/ Special Sections Editor

PHOTO

Emilie Johnson Editor Maddie Harrell Jacqueline Espitia Kayla Stuart Shaelyn Ashamalla Lily Tenner Emmy Scherer Fenn Bruns Jenna Pluimer Tiana Reber Eyasu Betwos Andy Sherar Jackson Damhorst

Social Media Manager

Video Manager

Digital Director

KCPR NEWS

Grace Woelbing Zara Iqbal Audrey Ryan Elise Bodnar Sarah Chayet Brett Vollrath

Sophie Lincoln KCPR News Director Alexa Kushner Tessa Hughes Ava Kershner Nikki Morgan Lauren Boyer Torstein Rehn Amanda Wernik Violet Macguire Sophie Corbett Jennie Le Nicolas Vinuela Jillian Butler Sofia Silvia Victoria Bochniak Trevor Baumgardner Jordan Triebel Avery Elowitt Maddie Harrell Abigail O’Branovich

SOCIAL

KCPR.ORG

COPY

Ashley Holly Social Media Manager Kiana Meagher Daisy Kuenstler Chloe Chin Talia Toutounjian Jillian Butler Claire Han

DATA

Omar Rashad Editor Stephanie Zappelli Sydney Sherman Alexis Bowlby Ryan Hunter Sophie Moore Sucheen Sundaram Jack Clark Jezzia Smith Roselyn Romero

EN ESPAÑOL Diana Beas José González Mike Esparza Ava Farriday

KCPR

LEADERSHIP

Sheri Donahue Marketing Director Nicole Herhusky Art Director Sophie Lincoln Radio News Director Zoe Boyd Managing Editor Liv Collom Programming/Music Director

DISC JOCKEYS

Zoe Boyd Tessa Hughes Liv Collom Kyle Himmelein Jaxon Silva Melissa Melton

Zoe Boyd Managing Editor Eden Baker Assistant Editor Abigail O’Branovich Addie Woltkamp Cayley O’Brien Emily Tobiason Emma Hughes Michelle Mede Ashley Oakes Emily Brower Alina Jafri Kaelyn Bremer Lily Tenner Navie Bower

MMG BUSINESS ADVERTISING & PR

Brynna Barton Advertising Manager Carley Epple Marketing/PR &

Operations Director Ryan Manseau Small Team Manager Ellie Auerbach Small Team Manager

Nicolette Laventure Ashley Pagsibigan Caitlin Willard Matt Daugbjerg Samuel Hubbard Yuka Shindo

ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Sheri Donahue KCPR Specialist Elaine Do Ad Design Manager Katherine Olah Ad Designer Cindy Nguyen Ad Designer ADVISERS Jon Schlitt General Manager Pat Howe Adviser Brady Teufel Adviser Patti Piburn Adviser

Cal Poly is in tiłhini, the Place of the Full Moon. We gratefully acknowledge, respect, and thank yak tityu tityu yak tiłhini, Northern Chumash Tribe of San Luis Obispo County and Region in whose homelands we are guests.

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HORSING AROUND: ANIMAL SCIENCE STUDENTS AID IN BIRTH OF NEW FOALS ON CAMPUS STORY BY Cameryn Oakes DESIGNED BY Coby Chuang

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‘CALLOUS AND RISKY’: IMMUNOCOMPROMISED PEOPLE BRACE FOR SPRING QUARTER AS ARMSTRONG LIFTS MASK MANDATE STORY BY Omar Rashad and Sierra Parr DESIGNED BY Zara Iqbal

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A NEW STRUCTURE HAS BEEN BUILT IN ARCHITECTURE GRAVEYARD FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 20 YEARS

STORY BY Krithi Sankar DESIGNED BY Megan Anderson

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POC-OWNED BUSINESSES IN A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE COMMUNITY

STORY BY Alina Jafri DESIGNED BY Karen Ma

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HOW THE JOURNEYS OF TWO BROTHERS MERGED ON CAL POLY’S WRESTLING TEAM STORY BY Derek Righetti DESIGNED BY Kayla Olow

EDITORIAL: CAL POLY’S COMMUNICATION IS FAILING US

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Content warning: This article mentions cases of sexual assault at Cal Poly.

Cal Poly’s administrative staff has repeatedly blocked Mustang News from receiving vital and basic information — even when it’s pertinent to the public safety and health of their own campus community.

The Mustang News staff works diligently to provide information and clarity on everything from COVID-19 policies and ASI elections to breaking news on emergency situations. The stories that we write, we write for you. We are the only news source centrally focused on the Cal Poly community and we act as a bridge between university leaders and the student body.

That’s especially important right now: two years into a pandemic, amid administrators’ push for increasing campus fees and several other pressing issues, Cal Poly administrators should be prioritizing effective and meaningful communication with its campus community.

University administrators and their chief spokesperson Matt Lazier have not prioritized that. But none of this is new.

The editorial board of Mustang News urges Cal Poly administration to foster transparency and communication with the campus community and to repair relationships with Mustang News and the broader Cal Poly community.

At the beginning of the winter quarter we had a record-high number of students test positive for COVID-19 as Cal Poly’s on-campus isolation beds reached maximum capacity.

COVID-19 is just one issue in which Cal Poly administrators have obscured basic details about volatile situations on this campus. Administrators and Lazier either consistently withhold information from Mustang News or refuse to answer basic questions over email.

In January, Mustang News broke the news that Cal Poly was isolating COVID-positive students in local hotels. A Mustang News reporter emailed Lazier questions and he confirmed a few details on the situation but he refused to answer most questions sent to him — including one on whether the university needed extra off-campus beds in order to isolate students who contracted the coronavirus.

Eight hours later, the Los Angeles Times published a story on the hotels being used for COVID-19 isolation, revealing that Lazier told the Los Angeles-based publication over email, “The university engaged off-campus beds because it needed more than the 62 beds available on campus.”

It’s unclear why Lazier refused to forward that very same comment to Mustang News and refused to respond to questions in the same vein. His behavior indicates a lack of respect and professionality, but also a disregard for the Cal Poly community.

The following day, the Mustang News reporter emailed Lazier, questioning him on why he gave that comment to the Los Angeles Times but not Mustang News. He didn’t answer why but he wrote back with the comment he gave the Los Angeles Times.

This is just one example of Lazier playing favorites. His actions obscure the full truth of situations. Callousness shown toward Mustang News is disregard and disrespect to the campus community.

Lazier says all media inquiries and requests for interviews or information are required to go through him first. Lazier says if any employees receive inquiries, the university asks them to redirect reporters to him and his office. He makes himself the sole voice for many campus entities that are outside his areas of expertise.

Yet opportunities to interview staff whose expertise and perspective benefit the topic at hand have become increasingly limited over the years. We are met with only written responses from groups like SAFER, due to a “department wide policy” to not give interviews, according to an email sent by a SAFER employee. Additionally, responses have to be pre-approved and scripted. This means Cal Poly administrators’ bias is forced into the voice of staff, minimizing expertise that most clearly speaks to issues at hand.

These are not isolated incidents, but rather barriers we’ve seen across university departments continuously — so much so that we cannot fit all our experiences onto this page. To be fair, Mustang News does not experience the same type of resistance from organizations like Cal Poly Athletics or the Cal Poly Corporation, two parties that we have good relationships with because Lazier is not their spokesperson.

As college journalists, we are taught to uphold truth, accountability and transparency.

However, as Mustang News reporters, we are prevented from doing so due to the university’s chokehold on its staff and their communication.

Mustang News editors have offered to meet with University Communications and other staff to address the issues at hand — as public relations professionals are supposed to do — yet the university has not been open to doing so.

This intentional disregard of communication doesn’t just hinder our reporting, this hinders your understanding of issues that directly affect our entire campus community and fosters ignorance among the Cal Poly community created by the university.

As the university’s gatekeeping of information inhibits our campus community greatly, something needs to be done to change this. Communication between Mustang News and the university, specifically with Matt Lazier, has not led to any change whatsoever.

We can no longer sit back and allow the university to ignore us: both as Mustang News but also the broader Cal Poly community.

Mustang News and its staff are doing their part in continuing to push university administrators and their chief spokesperson to be more transparent. We ask that the university no longer silences its staff and faculty, ending the practice of exclusively providing administrative information through a single person. We urge the campus community to join us in calling on university officials to hold the administration accountable to ensure that’s done.

We aren’t pleading, we are demanding. You can no longer keep the Cal Poly community in the dark.

MUSTANG NEWS

— MUSTANG NEWS EDITORIAL BOARD

TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022

EDITORIAL

Mustang News Editorial Board meets during its weekly staff meeting.

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BY ABIGAIL O’BRANOVICH

ARTS & STUDENT LIFE

MUSTANG NEWS

TUESDAY,MARCH 8,2022

Tim Seawell may work the typical carpenter job with a great crew at the Performing Arts Center (PAC), but his stagehand is someone who doesn’t actually have hands at all.

Meet Dakota, the seven-year-old rescue dog who has made her home in the technical department of the PAC on Cal Poly’s campus.

Seawell, Dakota’s owner, is the head carpenter at the PAC. He says Dakota is always on the job whenever he needs.

If you need a tool, you give her a little whistle, she’ll run over and give you what you need.

TIM SEAWELL PAC carpenter & Dakota’s owner

“[Dakota] is basically my shadow.

She loves to come around. She follows me pretty much everywhere she can go. She wishes she had thumbs that way she could follow me to the grid and do more work,” Seawell said. “But in a pinch, if you need a tool, you give her a little whistle, she’ll run over and give you something that you need.”

Dakota did not always have the loving and supportive home that

she has now. She was one of 23 dogs that were being stowed away in a house in Los Alamos that, according to Seawell, was “smaller than a quarter of this stage,” or approximately 675 square feet.

Her demeanor was drastically different than now, with her tail tucked between her legs, according to Seawell.

“The owner allowed [all the dogs] to live in their own feces and self-garbage,” Seawell said. “[Dakota] was the runt of a big group of dogs. You can see that she’s got a lot of scratches and damage to her muzzle.”

After living in this situation for two years, the sheriffs took over and “liberated all the animals,” Seawell said.

He found Dakota at the San Luis Obispo Woods Humane Society and has since become “her human.” He said that they are fortunate enough to have reconnected with many of her siblings, including her brother Bert who was moved to the shelter with Dakota.

While she now has a better life, her “checkered background” still follows her, Seawell said.

“When people see her with me, they think, ‘Oh, I want that.’ You have to earn that. She doesn’t come up right away,” Seawell said. “She’s obviously gotten a lot better than she was. She’ll greet you and check you out, but to really break through and be one of her special people takes a lot… and so she emotes that with me.”

Now Dakota has been working at the PAC for five years.

“She’s grown a lot and has slowly kind of won over everybody, one heart at a time, and has become a

ABIGAIL O’BR ANOVICH | MUSTANG NEWS Dakota, the stagehand for the Performing Arts Center carpenter, sits on the stage equipped with her backpack.

staple in our community and the PAC family,” Seawell said. “No pun intended, but we are a ‘pack’ and we do things in and out.”

Dakota works early mornings, late nights and is there for the PAC on the hardest days, according to Seawell.

“She’s right there beside us and she really is a beacon of light,” Seawell said. “She greets you. She gives you kisses. She just helps pick up the energy of every group.”

Throughout the time she has worked at the PAC, Dakota has made quite the name for herself.

She met John Madden while Seawell, the Cal Poly band, the football team and President Jeffrey Armstrong were in Pleasanton discussing business matters. At the end of

the meeting, Madden stood up and said, “so, who’s the dog?”

Seawell recounts this memory fondly.

“He just engulfs her with his hands, and I thought that was a really cool moment,” he said. “It’s a calming energy that she brings and everybody can be at ease with that.”

Snarky Puppy, a jazz band that performed at the PAC in October, asked for a furry friend in their contract.

“At least five or six other musicians and I think one of the technicians really took to her and she took to them,” Seawell said. “It was such an uplifting moment for the group because they are all traveling and they have animals at home that they love and miss. So to have a little surro-

gate love was a very positive thing.”

Not only are celebrities drawn to her, but she is also known to many who work at and frequent the PAC. Seawell says many of the front-ofhouse group and the select donors who have had chance encounters are “smitten with her.”

Dakota has taken the lessons she has learned from her tough upbringing and has flourished in her job as the “stagehand” at the PAC. Be it toting around her handy backpack or “sleeping on the job” in her bed backstage, she has impacted all who know her.

HORSING AROUND

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Animal science students aid in birth of new foals on campus

BY CAMERYN OAKES

It’s one thing to see something, but to get your hands dirty and get to do it, it’s a different experience.

TSETEN WANGYAL Foaling Manager and animal science junior

PHOTO COURTESY OF TSETEN WANGYAL Students assist in the birth of this year’s first foal.

SIERR A PARR | MUSTANG NEWS A foal nurses in the nursery paddock.

not learn elsewhere and, as Barnes said, is fairly unique for an undergraduate program.

“It’s not everyday that you get to see foalings and that you get to go into the stall while a horse is giving birth and help out if there’s an emergency, or even just getting to go in and rub off the baby because they come out wet and we need to dry them off,” Wangyal said. “The hands-on part of this class and like all the animal science classes, I feel like are the most special part.”

FEATURE

agers’] responsibilities were really cool and I feel like they made this enterprise really fun for me,” she said. “So I want to make it really fun for other people.”

Rather than just allowing Wangyal and the other students to watch the foaling process, she said the foaling managers facilitated more of a hands-on approach to learning.

She said she appreciated this type of learning because it prepared her for not only the continuation of her education at Cal Poly, but also her future post-graduation.

Wangyal said she is planning to attend veterinary school and become an equine veterinarian. Her experience at the Equine Center has taught her so much that she could

TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022

should be bred with one another.

Across the industry, about 70% of mares who are inseminated become pregnant, Barnes said, but the facility on campus yields a higher success rate. He was not able to provide the exact percentage.

This year, 13 foals are expected to be born. The first foal was born on Jan. 22 and will conclude with the final foal due on May 8.

Last year, the Equine Center welcomed 17 foals. The number of foals expected this year is lower than previous years due to issues with receiving semen to inseminate the mares, Barnes said. The facility sources much of its semen from Texas, and the pandemic has led to a lot of delayed or canceled deliveries.

“Then we’ve missed our window of opportunity to breed the mare because we have to breed them just prior to ovulation,” Barnes said. “So if the semen arrives 24 hours too

late, really, our chances of getting that mare pregnant goes way down.”

But once the mares are pregnant, it’s now the job of a new batch of students, those from the Foaling Enterprise class, to take care of and maintain the pregnant horses throughout their pregnancy. This will extend to also caring for the foal once it is born.

The Foaling Enterprise spans both the winter and spring quarters. Students who are taking the class for the first time are paired up and each pairing is assigned a pregnant mare to take care of.

Leading up to their mare’s foaling, Wangyal said, students spend time with the mare to build a bond.

She said this can be done through grooming and scratching their assigned mare, but some choose to simply sit with their mare while they do homework.

Once the horse’s labor begins, these students will aid in the delivery process. Their contribution could be towel drying the foal after it is born to stimulate it or assisting in pulling the baby out in the case of an emergency, according to Wangyal.

“When the horses give birth, some horses can be protective of their babies,” Wangyal said. “So if you have a little bit more of a bond, maybe the horse will trust you a little bit more [during the delivery].”

Wangyal was a student in the course last year, and this year she returned to the course as a foaling manager to oversee and manage the students in the course through the foaling process. As one of three managers, she no longer works with specific mares but rather helps the students who are. She also delivers most of the medical care to the mares.

Wangyal said she opted for the position of foaling manager because her managers last year fostered a beneficial learning environment and she wanted to give that back to other students. “​​I felt like [last year’s foaling man-

MUSTANG NEWS

On the night of Jan. 21, Tseten Wangyal didn’t get a second of sleep. Wangyal is the student manager who oversees the foaling process, and anticipating the first foal to be born this year, she was constantly awakened by calls from students reporting signs of Stylish, the mother horse, possibly going into labor.

But Stylish’s baby didn’t come until the next night. Even though she was exhausted from the night before, Wangyal made sure she was able to be there for an hour. She watched the foal attempt to take her first steps just 20 minutes after being born.

“Sometimes it does get wet and a little slick in there just because of the amniotic fluid that comes out, and so baby was trying to get up and it was super wet on the ground, and the baby finally got up and then totally just like fell back and slipped,” Wangyal said. “Her feet just went from under her and we all started laughing.”

It is foaling season at Cal Poly’s Oppenheimer Family Equine Center, and animal science students in the Foaling Enterprise class (ASCI 290/490) are involved in every step of the foaling process. Wangyal, an animal science junior, took the course last year and this year she has returned to the class as a foaling manager for first-time students.

Foaling is the process of a horse giving birth. At the Equine Center, mares are typically bred in May, or approximately 30 days after the horse gives birth, followed by an 11-month pregnancy and ultimately resulting in foals being born, according to Equine Center Manager Kent Barnes.

Every step of the foaling process is conducted at the Equine Center on campus, and students are seen as integral contributors and decision-makers at every point.

“It’s one thing to see something, but to get your hands dirty and get

to do it, it’s a different experience,” Wangyal said.

Foaling, as explained by Barnes, starts with the impregnation of the mares. He said that students involved in the breeding component are tasked with communicating with stallion, or male horse, owners as well as looking at the pedigrees of the horses to determine how they

“CALLOUS

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Immunocompromised people brace for spring quarter as Armstrong lifts mask mandate

NEWS AND THE HILL

MUSTANG NEWS

TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022

BY OMAR RASHAD AND SIERRA PARR

SHAE ASHAMALL A | MUSTANG NEWS Communication studies junior M.W. Kaplan has a weakened immune system and is at high risk of severe health complications if they were to get COVID-19.

M.W. Kaplan dreads thinking about an in-person communications theory class they are enrolled in at Cal Poly next quarter.

Kaplan, a communication studies junior, said they need to take the class to graduate — but with the university lifting the indoor mask mandate across campus starting in the spring, Kaplan is not comfortable going to class in-person.

Their immune system is weakened due to medication they have to take, so Kaplan is at high risk of severe health complications if they get COVID-19. They said pulling back the mask mandate makes it seem like university administrators do not care about immunocompromised community members.

“No one who’s high risk wants that to be happening,” Kaplan told Mustang News.

In an email to students on Feb. 24, President Jeffrey Armstrong announced fully-vaccinated students would not be required to wear a mask in all indoor settings starting in the spring quarter, including classrooms and labs. Cal Poly will not be verifying whether students are vaccinated before they enter facilities — effectively opening the door to anyone, regardless of vaccination status, to stop wearing a mask indoors.

The decision has left countless immunocompromised students, faculty and staff feeling ignored and abandoned. Mustang News spoke with several immunocompromised community members who said administrators are turning their back on the most vulnerable members of the Cal Poly community by lifting the mask mandate.

Armstrong consulted the university’s three experts — Aydin Nazmi, Trees Ritter and Kevin Ferguson — and San Luis Obispo County Public Health in lifting the mask mandate, Cal Poly spokesperson Matt Lazier confirmed to Mustang News over email.

Lazier added that the Disability Resource Center (DRC) and Office

of Student Affairs is consulted on COVID-19 plans broadly. Debi Hill, the director of the DRC, did not respond to emails from Mustang News seeking to confirm whether she was involved in the decision to lift the mask mandate.

Armstrong also lifted the mask mandate without consulting Cal Poly’s own faculty union, Mustang News confirmed with union president Lewis Call.

“I don’t understand why Cal Poly administration is in such a hurry to drop the mask mandate. What’s the rush?” Call wrote in an email to Mustang News. “It’s likely that for many faculty members, this will affect their decision to offer in-person classes in Spring.”

While Lazier said university administrators seek input from a variety of individuals on COVID-19 plans, he could not provide examples of Cal Poly administrators consulting student clubs or committees that serve immunocompromised students — not only for the decision to lift the mask mandate but on any COVID-19 plans developed during the pandemic.

Kaplan, who is the president of the Cal Poly Disability Alliance club, said their student organization was not contacted for any input on lifting the mask mandate. While it’s disheartening that university officials didn’t seek out immunocompromised students’ input, Kaplan said, it’s not surprising.

“They clearly didn’t want that advice, so I can see why they wouldn’t ask for it,” Kaplan said.

“They wouldn’t have followed it anyway.”

In an interview with Mustang News, San Luis Obispo County Public Health Director Penny Borenstein said Cal Poly’s move to lift the mask mandate for fully-vaccinated students mirrors her own move to do the same for San Luis Obispo County on Feb. 16.

Borenstein said not dropping the county’s indoor mask mandate after Gov. Gavin Newsom dropped his statewide indoor mask mandate would have caused confusion.

AND RISKY” what the rest of the CSUs are doing, he’s going to do what he wants,” the faculty member said, who hopes to be able to work from home next quarter.

I’ve already begun warning people with health issues not to apply to Cal Poly or accept and attend.

I hope that anyone looking at applying to Cal Poly that has an autoimmune disease takes that into account — that they might be safer somewhere else.

REINA KNOWLES Nutrition sophomore

With a majority of classes remaining in-person, immunocompromised students are having to convince their professors and peers that their health and safety are not something to be taken lightly.

Graphic communications senior Mia Lew found herself in a similar situation in January. Lew, who is

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TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022

EYASU BET WOS | MUSTANG NEWS Multiple students study on the third floor of the library without masks after Cal Poly lifted the mask requirement for indoor spaces on Feb. 18, excluding labs, classrooms, healthcare settings and Mustang Shuttle vehicles.

NEWS AND THE HILL

with health issues not to apply to Cal Poly or accept and attend,” Knowles said. “I hope that anyone looking at applying to Cal Poly that has an autoimmune disease takes that into account — that they might be safer somewhere else.”

Back in January, Cal Poly was the only California public university to reopen its campus to in-person class three days into the New Year. The university allowed students who had not yet confirmed negative COVID19 tests to attend classes.

That week, Cal Poly experienced its largest spike in COVID-19 cases ever, ran out of on-campus isolation beds and spent more than $100,000 isolating COVID-positive students off-campus — either by sending them home or putting them in local hotels.

Despite the Omicron-induced COVID-19 spike, Armstrong rejected the demands of a faculty-led petition with over 3,500 signatures, which called for more flexibility for classes to be held virtually.

At a Jan. 11 Academic Senate meeting, Armstrong said he “can’t make decisions based on petitions or anxiety.”

Immunocompromised community members who spoke with Mustang News said they were deeply hurt and offended by those comments.

Faculty and staff who said they could face repercussions or impacts to their career at Cal Poly are being kept anonymous.

One Cal Poly staff member — who is immunocompromised and lives with family who is at high risk of complications due to COVID-19 — said Armstrong’s comments in January were offensive to immunocompromised people by dismissing their very real illness and high risk as “some irrational fear.”

The Cal Poly staff member is considering leaving Cal Poly after hearing that the mask mandate would be lifted for the spring quarter.

“I’m so unsafe on campus and I don’t trust the administration anymore,” the Cal Poly staff member told Mustang News. “I’ll have to go at some point so I’d rather sooner than later when things get much worse.”

Another employee at Cal Poly, a faculty member, lives with immunocompromised family members at home and said the mask mandate being dropped for spring quarter is another example of President Armstrong’s stubbornly relaxed COVID-19 policies.

“Regardless of what the community wants, regardless of apparently

students’ physical wellbeing, Cal Poly administrators have also been dismissive of larger mental health concerns that arise from the stress caused by a pandemic, students said “To hear that Armstrong doesn’t care about people’s anxieties is really frustrating because it’s been running my life for the past two years,” Lew said.

Aichele has observed that the university consistently skews towards those who have very few concerns when making its pandemic policy.

“I don’t think that Cal Poly has made much of an effort throughout the entire pandemic to mitigate stress,” Aichele said. “I think that they’re more concerned with mitigating risk.”

While Kaplan figures out what they are going to do next quarter, concerned over being high risk and going to in-person class, Cal Poly’s COVID-19 policies have already put a dampener on activities they participate in.

During much of the pandemic, Kaplan said they frequented the Recreation Center — with a mask and face shield — for a yoga class three times a week.

“It was great for stress and just for being more focused and more grounded,” Kaplan said. “It also helps with a lot of my physical symptoms because I normally can’t do a lot of strenuous exercise.”

On Feb. 18, Armstrong announced via email that masks would not be required in campus facilities including the Recreation Center, Campus Dining, the Performing Arts Center and Kennedy Library.

Kaplan won’t be attending yoga classes at the Recreation Center anymore. They said it’s just not worth the risk.

MUSTANG NEWS

Declining COVID-19 cases in San Luis Obispo County and a decreasing appetite for indoor masking within the community were other factors that played into that decision, she added.

Borenstein clarified her relationship with Cal Poly is merely one in which officials confirm with her whether policies are legal or reasonable.

“I’ve largely left the decision-making to Cal Poly’s administration,” she said.

Borenstein has not made a recommendation to Cal Poly officials to specifically seek input from immunocompromised community members, she said.

Lifting mask mandates is an imperfect policy and immunocompromised people face the risk of being exposed to the virus through anyone not wearing a mask, she said.

Borenstein added that immunocompromised people’s perspectives remain important and should be prioritized.

“I’ve been saying all along that most important in our collective response to this pandemic, to this virus, is to make sure that we take care of the most vulnerable among us,” Borenstein said.

Immunocompromised community members do not think Cal Poly administrators have their health in mind when Cal Poly’s COVID-19 policies put them at risk.

Reina Knowles, a nutrition sophomore who lives on campus, was on medication that suppressed her immune system last year. While she is no longer immunocompromised, she got COVID-19 in January at Cal Poly and said she has been experiencing post-COVID-19 symptoms on top of having a chronic illness.

Knowles, who is also the treasurer of the Cal Poly Disability Alliance, said Cal Poly’s COVID-19 policies are reflective of ableism in systemically marginalizing people who are immunocompromised and excluding them from public health decisions. She said that if administrators care about people with weakened immune systems during a pandemic, they need to prove it in their policies.

Lifting the mask mandate is “callous and risky,” Knowles said.

She is currently questioning whether to enroll in classes at Cal Poly next quarter. Cal Poly is not a safe environment for students who are immunocompromised or on medication that suppresses their immune system, Knowles said.

“I’ve already begun warning people

immunocompromised and works on campus, was denied virtual accommodations for one of her classes at the beginning of winter quarter.

Despite an overwhelming number of students contracting COVID-19, Lew was forced to attend the class normally.

Her only other option was to drop the class and delay her graduation.

“I don’t think it should be my job to be begging for a professor’s understanding,” Lew said. “I’m literally just trying to survive and graduate.”

Kaplan, the communication studies junior, is in a similar spot: they need the in-person communications theory class in order to graduate and Kaplan worries that if they don’t take the class next quarter, it could delay graduation.

Kaplan is not sure if they can afford that and said it feels like they have to decide between their own personal safety and graduating on time.

“I’m going to college completely on financial aid and grants, most of which are for four years,” Kaplan said. “So at the end of four years, I would have to pay out of pocket.”

Business administration graduate student Nicole Aichele said it feels like she has to constantly remind people that she is immunocompromised, something invisible. When Aichele finds herself in situations on campus that make her uncomfortable she said that she’s likely to speak up.

“It definitely causes some friction or it’s difficult to connect with people when everyone has a different level of comfortability,” Aichele said. “To me, it’s very much the elephant in the room where I’m like ‘Is anybody else seeing this? Is anybody else uncomfortable? Because this is super obvious to me.’”

In addition to showing little concern for immunocompromised

A NEW STRUCTURE HAS BEEN BUILT IN

ARCHITECTURE GRAVEYARD IN 20 YEARS

8

ARTS & STUDENT LIFE

MUSTANG NEWS

TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022

FOR THE FIRST TIME

FENN BRUNS | MUSTANG NEWS The new structure in Architecture Graveyard is held together with upper and lower steel gravity cables to create a floating effect.

BY KRITHI SANKAR

Architectural engineering graduate student Will Adam said he didn’t realize how impactful his senior project would be at first glance. However, Adam had a bold idea from the getgo: construct the first experimental structure in Poly Canyon in 20 years.

The team — who dubbed their project “Tensegrity” — finished their project in Poly Canyon – otherwise known as Architecture Graveyard –

on Jan. 23 after working on it for over a year.

The Tensegrity group consists of Adam, Ivan Cruz, José Hernandez, Kasey Tatis and Truman Waller. They are all spring 2021 architectural engineering alumni, except for Adam and Hernandez who stayed for an extra year to complete their masters’ in architectural engineering The process of creating this structure was no small feat, according to the team. In late summer of 2020,

then-junior Adam assembled their five man team after recognizing the talents that they would each bring.

Adam met everyone through classes over Zoom, but after spending time with them working on homework assignments, he said he realized he needed to bring them on for their specific skill sets.

Tatis described Adam as “the visionary” behind the idea and the concept for the project. He was inspired to create an “impossible

floating structure” that would be able to hold its own weight and have a small sitting area in the middle of the structure for visitors to marvel at the structure in awe, according to the team’s concept plan.

The pavilion structure is based on four wooden pyramid structures, each atop a concrete platform.

Those structures hold up a parallelogram-shaped canopy on top with two pyramid columns hanging down on either side of the canopy. All while

SCAN HERE TO SEE A VIDEO OF THE STRUCTURE!

ings in the support shop given the unpredictable nature of the pandemic, fortunately the shop was relatively empty due to COVID-19, granting the team more space, equipment and attention from the in-shop technicians.

It is common – especially for work-intensive senior projects – to be finished beyond the scope of their undergraduate Cal Poly career, according to Adam. The team was withheld from receiving their diplomas until their senior project was finished as incentive for fulfilling the credit for the class Interdisciplinary Senior Project (ARCE 453).

TRUMAN WALLER | COURTESY

TRUMAN WALLER Member of the Tensegrity team

TRUMAN WALLER | COURTESY

ARTS & STUDENT LIFE

Waller said the project was taxing up until graduation day.

“I was up until 2-3 in the morning the day of graduation doing permit resubmits and having those sent off and then getting up and walking across the stage,” Waller said.

Tatis said that there were no plans of working on the project over the summer due to the team’s prior commitments and travel plans; however, the last stage of the construction was completed over the quarters of spring 2021, fall 2021 and the first three weeks of January.

During fall quarter and the first couple weeks of January, Adam and Hernandez finished the majority of the work on their own since they were both in San Luis Obispo completing their graduate degrees.

The final reunion of the Tensegrity team was the weekend of Jan. 21-23.

On Friday, Jan. 21, Adam, Cruz and Hernandez drove their rental truck all the way up to their construction site at Poly Canyon. They additionally brought up a special kind of construction tool called a Gradall forklift to gently lift the canopy portion from the courtyard of the support shop to the site.

Once all the materials needed for that day were brought over, the team needed to flip over the canopy – which was a surprisingly easy process, according to Adam. Then, they made sure that the pyramid columns were in place with the canopy before

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TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022

which was simultaneously viewed by a third-party structural engineering firm.

While the unit reviewed the concept of the project, the third-party firm is the one who issued their official building permit. The Tensegrity team went back and forth with sending over their calculations to the firm and the firm would send it back with markings on what improvements needed to be made to their plans. This portion of the project was deemed the most difficult, according to Tatis, as the project needed to fit under the firm’s specific parameters in order to be officially approved.

Throughout this stage in project development during winter quarter of 2020, the team spent a considerable amount of their time in the College of Architecture and Engineering Design (CAED) Support Shop, where they relied on the welding and construction expertise of in-shop technicians Tim Dieu, David Kempken and Vincent Pauschek. When the team wasn’t in class or doing homework, they were doing calculations and practicing welding with any technician available to them at the time.

“I hope they can receive credit for what they did because the work that these three guys do with helping students largely goes unnoticed,” Adam said. “This project literally could not be complete without them.”

There were challenges involved throughout the process of completing this project –– COVID-19 being one of the main issues.

Adam and Tatis said that while it was frustrating to coordinate meet-

moment was when the team slowly released the Gradall lift from supporting the structure and the structure held itself in perfect harmony.

“The gravity was holding it and ​​ there wasn’t any other force pushing on it,” Adam said. “It was just a really cool and kind of scary moment where it was holding still on its own like that.”

On that same day, Tatis commemorated the senior project with a slideshow on his Instagram feed, partially captioned: “I am very excited to be able to leave such a lasting mark on Cal Poly’s campus and grateful for the many individuals and companies who donated money, equipment or their time to help make this dream become a reality.”

Both Tatis and Waller said they recognized how beneficial the skills that they learned during their senior project timeline have been, but the occupations they took on and application of these skills are widely different for both people.

Waller said that the parallels between Tensegrity and his current occupation in film are almost uncanny.

“It’s been really interesting seeing how the pre-production for a movie is very similar to the planning for a building and just in terms of the different departments you need to contract, the different people you need to hire, and all the steps,” Waller said.

“And because I have that experience, I think it made me more successful.”

MUSTANG NEWS

the structure is held together with upper and lower steel gravity cables to exemplify the floating effect.

The concept of Tensegrity was pioneered by Buckminster Fuller, an architect who guest lectured at Cal Poly and developed the design for the geodesic dome at Poly Canyon in 1957. The term Tensegrity combines the words “tensional” and “integrity” and structures citing this principle use tractional cables and rigid materials such as wood and steel.

After deciding on the team, the concept and the location for the structure, it was time for the modeling process to begin.

During fall quarter of 2020, the team met up weekly to deliberate over the design, making new miniature stick models every week and deciding on what worked and what needed to be changed.

The designs turned out to be very rudimentary at first but as they spent more time and effort on what they were looking for every week, they honed in on the final structure.

“We were actually pretty pumped once we drafted up the final details because that’s when we realized we could pull this thing off,” Tatis said.

The next step for the team was figuring out the calculations needed to construct the tensile structures, which, according to Adam, is extremely challenging because “a vast majority of tensile structures are actually unstable.”

In the meantime, the group also submitted their building permit forms to the university’s Facilities Management and Development unit,

I was up until 2-3 in the morning the day of graduation doing permit resubmits and having those sent off and then getting up and walking across the stage.

they used the Gradall lift to hoist it into place.

Saturday, Jan. 22, was a very short day for the team. Adam made an important weld in the middle of the canopy that helped with structural support and the guys went home to prepare for the long next day.

All the team members, except Waller, as well as Dieu and Pauschek from the support shop were able to attend the Sunday of their last construction weekend. It took nearly 14 hours that day to complete the project in its entirety.

They started off by strapping together the Gradall lift with the rental truck, carrying all the remaining materials the team needed and then drove both vehicles over to the site one last time. Once they reached Poly Canyon, they added some scaffolding to brace the structure in the case of potential movement.

The team inspected what they had constructed so far and analyzed any areas of concern that didn’t match up with their intended model. Adam said that there were some components that were off by a few inches but the canopy was “exactly how they modeled it.”

To accommodate for the mistakes, the team adjusted some of the lower steel cables to wrap around near the pyramid columns for stability. The team welded together both sections of pyramid columns to come together at their respective points and added some of the remaining metal rods.

Adam said that the most exciting

10

POC-OWNED BUSINESSES IN A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE COMMUNITY

BY ALINA JAFRI

As a student of color living in a predominantly white town, it is a lot more difficult for me to navigate where I can find the nearest threading place or halal meat store than it is in my hometown.

My fellow people of color (POC) may relate to this experience and wish that there were places where they could embrace their culture and identity as they would back home.

While POC-owned businesses are limited in San Luis Obispo, here are a couple in the area to check out if you are looking to embrace your cultural identity or to simply support:

MUSTANG NEWS

TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022

SUSHI’S EYEBROW The small eyebrow threading business on 3212 Broad St. has been owned by Sushmita Shinde for over five years. Shinde is the sole employee and does all the threading herself.

During the pandemic, Shinde kept her business open for her customers by going through lengths such as wearing full body protection and setting up a station outside. Her business offers threading facial hair removal as well as henna tattoos.

CELIA’S BEAUTY SALON Celia’s Beauty Salon is a Latino-owned business on 582 Higuera St. and offers haircuts, hairstyles and other beauty treatments.

Civil engineering sophomore Nina Tamayo said she has been impressed with the haircuts she gets at her salon and has been a frequent customer.

“Talking to the owners in Spanish was so refreshing, especially being a POC at a PWI [primarily white institution],” Tamayo said. “It reminded me of my hairdresser back home.”

EBONY KCPR

Jackie Espitia | MUSTANG NEWS Sushi’s Eyebrow on Broad St. offers services including facial hair threading and henna tattos.

Ebony is not only the sole Ethiopian restaurant in San Luis Obispo, it is also the only one across the entire central coast. The restaurant sits on

4750 Allene Way at the Kitchen Terminal and specializes in vegan cuisine from Ethiopia.

The restaurant was created by four Ethiopian women, two of which are silent partners. The sister duo Helen Abraha and Martha Taezaz are the chefs behind the kitchen and each of their dishes is complete with traditional Ethiopian herbs, spices and seasonal ingredients.

SKY NAILS & SPA Right next to Ralphs grocery store sits Sky Nails & Spa. Cindy Tran has owned the nail salon for almost 20 years. Repeat customers come not only for their manicure and pedicure treatments, but their waxing services

Talking to the owners in Spanish was so refreshing, especially being a POC at a PWI [primarily white institution]; it reminded me of my hairdresser back home.

NINA TAMAYO Civil engineering sophomore

as well.

Forest & fire sciences sophomore Aneesa Qazi said she enjoys coming back to the salon for the conversation she has with the employees.

“They always ask how I am doing and seem to remember the smallest details about each customer,” Qazi said. “I brought a couple of my friends to get our nails done before going to a birthday party and the employees asked [us] to bring pictures of us all dressed up the next time we all came in.”

A SATELLITE OF LOVE Vintage boutique Satellite of Love is owned by Cal Poly alum Malik Miko Thorne, who is half-Indian and half-

Black.

The store rests in the outskirts of downtown on Walker St. and sells clothing, books, houseware, albums and much more. Besides selling vintage goods, Thorne’s store also hosts movie and music nights to support local artists.

For those who love to thrift and enjoy celebrating local art, check out A Satellite of Love.

LOS NEGOCIOS DE PROPIEDAD POC EN UNA COMUNIDAD PREDOMINANTEMENTE BLANCA

11

BY ALINA JAFRI

El artículo fue originalmente escrito en Inglés. La traducción en Español fue hecha por Mieke Esparza.

Como una estudiante de color viviendo en un pueblo predominantemente blanco, es mucho más difícil para mí poder encontrar el lugar más cercano de depilación con hilo o una tienda de carne halal que en mi pueblo natal.

Mis compañeros de color (POC) pueden relacionarse con esta experiencia y desean que hubiera lugares donde podrían expresar su cultura e identidad así como lo harían en su país natal.

Mientras los negocios de propiedad POC son limitados en San Luis Obispo, aquí hay algunos en la área que podría explorar si está tratando de expresar su identidad cultural o simplemente apoyar:

CELIA’S BEAUTY SALON

mente como una POC en un PWI [principalmente institución blanca]” — dijo Tamayo. “Me recordó a mi peluquero en casa”.

EBONY Ebony no es sólo el único restaurante etiopé en San Luis Obispo, también es el único en toda la costa central.

El restaurante está situado en 4750 Allene Way al Kitchen Terminal y se especializa en cocina vegana de Etiopía.

El restaurante fue creado por cuatro mujeres etíopes, dos de las cuales son socias silenciosas. Las dos hermanas, Helen Abraha y Martha Taezaz, son las jefas de cocina y cada uno de sus platos se completa con hierbas, especias e ingredientes de temporada tradicionales etíopes.

SKY NAILS & SPA Al lado del supermercado de Ralphs hay Sky Nails & Spa. Cindy Tran ha sido propietaria del salón de uñas por casi 20 años. Clientes frecuentes no sólo vienen para sus tratamientos de manicura y pedicura, sino también para sus servicios de depilación con cera.

Estudiante de ciencias forestales y de incendios del segundo año, Aneesa Qazi, dijo que disfruta volver al salón por las conversaciones que ella tiene con los empleados.

“Siempre me preguntan cómo me encuentro y recuerdan los detalles pequeños acerca de cada cliente” — dijo Qazi. “Traje algunas de mis amigas para hacernos las uñas antes de ir a una fiesta de cumpleaños y los empleados nos pidieron que llevemos fotos de nosotras vestidas y

arregladas en nuestra próxima visita”.

A SATELLITE OF LOVE Hablar con los dueños en español fue muy reconfortante, especialmente como una POC en un PWI [principalmente institución blanca]; Me recordó a mi peluquero en casa.

NINA TAMAYO Civil engineering sophomore

La boutique antigua Satellite of Love es propiedad del ex alumno de Cal Poly, Malik Miko Thorne, quien es mitad indio y mitad negro.

La tienda está situada en las afueras del centro en Walker St. y vende ropa, libros, artículos para el hogar, álbumes y mucho más. Además de vender bienes antiguos, la tienda de Thorne también presenta noches de películas y música para apoyar a artistas locales.

Para aquellos que aman ahorrar y disfrutan celebrar el arte local, vayan a Satellite of Love.

KCPR

Celia’s Beauty Salon es un negocio de propiedad latino situado en 582 Higuera St. y ofrece cortes de pelo, peinados y otros tratamientos de belleza.

Estudiante de ingeniería civil del segundo año, Nina Tamayo, dijo que estaba impresionada con los cortes de pelo que recibe en su peluquería y ha sido una cliente frecuente.

“Hablar con los dueños en español fue muy reconfortante, especial-

Jackie Espitia | MUSTANG NEWS Sky Nails & Spa, ubicado junto al supermercado Ralphs en Madonna Road, ha servido a la comunidad de San Luis Obispo por más de 20 años.

TUESDAY, MARCH 8 , 2022

El negocio pequeño de depilación con hilo situado en 3212 Broad St. ha sido propiedad de Sushmita Shinde por más de cinco años. Shinde es la única empleada y hace todo la depilación con hilo ella sola.

Durante la pandemia, Shinde mantuvo su negocio abierto para sus clientes al tomar precauciones como usar una protección de cuerpo completo y establecer una estación afuera. Su negocio ofrece depilación facial además de tatuajes de henna.

MUSTANG NEWS

SUSHI’S EYEBROW

12

HOW HOW THE THE JOURNEYS JOURNEYS OF OF TWO TWO BROTHERS BROTHERS MERGED MERGED

ON CAL POLY’S WRESTLING TEAM

SPORTS

MUSTANG NEWS

TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022

BY DEREK RIGHETTI

It’s not uncommon for athletes to refer to their teammates as family.

Most of the time, athletes tend to spend more time with their teammates and coaches than they do with their actual families. Of course, it’s noticeable during the season, but it’s the off-season workouts, study halls and recovery sessions where friends become family.

But what if your teammate is already your brother?

Evan Wick graduated from San Marino High School in the class of 2016.

After placing twice in the California State High School Championships, it was time for his decision on where he would go to college. Evan chose Big Ten powerhouse Wisconsin as his new home.

During the 2016-17 season, Evan began gathering credentials that would serve as the building blocks for his future wrestling resume, defeating multiple nationally-ranked wrestlers. Despite having a successful first season at Wisconsin, Evan decided to redshirt his freshman season, unattaching him from the team.

When a collegiate athlete makes the decision to “redshirt” a season, they remove themselves from varsity competition for a year in order to extend their eligibility. Redshirting allows an athlete five years to use four years of athletic eligibility.

In his second season at the collegiate level, Evan made himself a household name for college wrestling. He placed third in the NCAA Championships, becoming one of two Wisconsin wrestlers all-time to be named an All-American at 165 pounds in their freshman year.

Following his historic season, Evan posted record statistics once again. His fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships made him an All-American once again, becoming the 25th wrestler in Wisconsin history to do so.

In the 2019-20 season, Evan was never ranked below sixth place in the polls. After not competing in the Big Ten Championship, he qualified for the NCAA Championship as an atlarge bid, making his third appearance in as many years.

With three consecutive successful seasons under his belt, Evan chose to be an Olympic redshirt in the 202021 season. He did not enroll in any classes during the year, preserving his final year of eligibility.

LUK A WICK | COURTESY Evan looking for a takedown as Luka watches from the sideline.

Because the Tokyo Olympic Games were set for the summer of 2020, athletes were allowed an Olympic redshirt to spend a year training away from the team to focus exclusively on preparing for the Olympic Trials and Olympic Games.

Heading into his final year with the Badgers, Evan chose to transfer from Wisconsin.

“As many of you may already know, I have decided to leave the University of Wisconsin and explore other options for my final year of eligibility,” Evan said in an Instagram post.

“I have battled with making this decision for a long time, but I know in my heart that it is time for a change.”

Approximately 2,000 miles west, a senior at San Marino High School was contemplating his options for wrestling at the college level, Luka Wick, Evan’s younger brother.

Luka placed twice at the California State High School Championships, missing the tournament in 2020 due to a knee injury and the 2021 tournament being canceled due to COVID-19. Luka was being recruited out of high school by wrestling powerhouses Minnesota and Michigan amongst others.

“I was aware he would leave Wisconsin and asked him, ‘if I was at Cal

Poly and they could take him, would he come?’” Luka said. “He said yes.”

A huge worry as an athlete transitioning to college is wondering if you will fit in with your team and really be able to connect with them as a family. Evan already being a part of a family makes it an easy transition to make the whole team my family.

LUKA WICK Cal Poly wrestler

The Wick brothers were keeping tabs on each other’s recruiting ventures, but it seemed many schools were only wanting one or the other.

“We were both being recruited, but Cal Poly was the only place that would take both of us,” Luka said.

On April 15, 2021, Luka committed to Cal Poly.

The ball was in Evan’s court. Follow his younger brother to Cal Poly, or go his own direction.

On June 15, 2021, Evan committed to Cal Poly, exactly two months after his brother.

“On my recruiting visit, I came [to Cal Poly] and got to meet the coaches and see the team, and a lot of things stuck out to me and continue to shine during my time here,” Evan said.

Evan is currently the No. 1 wrestler in the country for the 165-pound weight class, according to InterMat. For the first time since the 2006-07 season, the Mustangs began the season with two returning All-Americans in the starting lineup, with Evan joining redshirt sophomore Bernie Truax.

“These highly rated recruits are now looking forward to the opportunity we have at Cal Poly,” head coach Jon Sioredas said. “Evan’s little brother Luka being one of them.”

The addition of Evan inserted another nationally ranked wrestler to the Cal Poly roster. For the first time in a decade, the Mustangs started the

2021-22 season with four nationally ranked athletes. Evan and Truax were accompanied by redshirt freshman Legend Lamer and redshirt sophomore Lawrence Saenz.

Cal Poly also began the season ranked as a team, No. 20 by InterMat. The last time the Mustangs were nationally ranked was in 2012, when they were No. 18 late in the season.

The Wick brothers have put on a show for the Mustangs in the only season they will be together for.

Luka is currently 12-0 this season.

Wrestling in the 149-pound weight class, he placed first in the Frosh-Soph Division of the Michigan State Invitational, first at the Roadrunner Open, and second at the Reno Tournament of Champions.

Countering, Evan is 15-0, placing first in the Open Division of the Michigan State Invitational and first in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

“A huge worry as an athlete transitioning to college is wondering if you will fit in with your team and really be able to connect with them as a family,” Luka said. “Evan already being a part of the family makes it an easy transition to make the whole team my family.”

MEET THE DUNKLES:

13

WOMEN’S TENNIS’ SISTER DUO

BY KYLE HAR

PEY TON DUNKLE Cal Poly tennis player

SPORTS

Her success last season earned her Big West Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week in April. So far this season, Delanie is 2-5 in singles and a team-leading 5-1 in doubles.

Both Delanie and Peyton attribute their success during their collegiate careers to their father, Bill Dunkle who played at UC Santa Barbara and the professional ranks for a while. He made things fun for the both of them when they were younger and had Delanie and Peyton play matches

EYASU BET WOS | MUSTANG NEWS Sisters Delanie and Peyton Dunkle compete on the tennis court for the Mustangs.

TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022

If anything, it was a healthy rivalry because we pushed each other to become better.

to 100 points, which Delanie credits with helping them with their intensity in doubles.

“The way we approach our game is very similar because we have both been taught by our dad,” Delanie said. “Tennis was always a big thing for me. Tennis was the sport that everyone must try at least in our family.”

While the Dunkles spent their childhood competing against each other, they feel that it has made them grow as players.

“If anything, it was more of a healthy rivalry because we pushed each other to become better,” Peyton said.

MUSTANG NEWS

While Cal Poly women’s tennis sisters and teammates Delanie and Peyton Dunkle have varying differences such as age, dominant hand and height, their relationship has been integral to their performance on the tennis court.

“Being sisters is just another connection that we have that is even stronger than being a teammate,” Delanie said.

Their close relationship started at a young age when they both started playing tennis. However, as siblings do, they argued. They could never practice together without getting into an argument about the score, Delanie said.

Their sibling rivalry continued at nearby Arroyo Grande High School.

When the Dunkles finally had the opportunity to compete against each other for the Central Section League championship, Delanie defeated her younger sister.

Now the two sisters are always on the same side.

They wear green and gold for the Cal Poly women’s tennis team and according to them, they have learned to grow from each other now that they are on the same team.

“Now, since we are on the same team rather than competing against each other, we compete together for a greater purpose,” Delanie said. “I think being on this team together has brought us closer rather than being rivals.”

The presence of Delanie, a redshirt sophomore, has especially helped her freshman sister this season. After not getting the results she liked in the 2021 fall season, Peyton currently holds the best singles record on the team at 6-2 this spring.

Although it was a “rough transition” from playing high school to college girls, according to Peyton, she credits her success to her sister for giving her tips along the way such as “settling into things” and “enjoying the experience.”

Along with Peyton receiving plenty of pieces of advice from her older sis-

ter, she also said she feels more comfortable with Delanie on the team.

“At first, I was overwhelmed, especially with all the hype around Delanie,” Peyton said. “After talking to Delanie and getting those tips from her, I settled in and played my game now.”

The “hype” around Delanie came from her impressive showings early in her collegiate career. In her true freshman season, she finished 6-1 in singles dual matches from the No. 3 and 4 spots in the Cal Poly lineup.

Along with this stellar play in singles, she went 5-3 in doubles with fellow redshirt sophomore Melissa LaMette.

In her redshirt freshman year, she went 11-4 in singles primarily from the No. 4 spot in the lineup while going 6-1 in Big West play. In doubles, she went 9-6 overall and 6-1 in conference play with LaMette from the No. 2 spot.

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