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
A SURVIVOR’S STORY AFTER HER PERPETRATOR IS ALLOWED TO RE-ENROLL PAGE 6
Austin Linthicum
Lauren Arendt
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NE WS Cassandra Garibay Editor Isabella Paoletto Roselyn Romero Lauryn Luescher Sabrina Pascua Samantha Spitz Ashley Ladin Maureen McNamara Hailey Nagma Emily Quesada Intern
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ARTS Emily Merten Editor Sabrina Thompson Michaela Barros Sydney Sherman Grant Anderson Kiana Meagher Alegra Zuchowitz Intern OPINION Olivia Peluso Editor Zachary Grob-Lipkis Hanah Wyman Abdullah Sulaiman Bailey Barton Sierra Parr Yervant Malkhassian Noemi Khachian Lilly Leif Kendra Coburn Jaxon Silva SPORTS Brian Truong Editor Lauren Kozicki Naythan Bryant Francisco Martinez Sophia Crolla Garrett Brown Sydney Finkel Prerna Aneja Intern Kyle Har Intern PHOTO Zachary Donnenfield Carolyne Sysmans Kylie Kowalske Alison Chavez Diego Rivera Connor Frost Kyle Calzia Luke Deal Intern
IN THIS ISSUE
TUESDAY • APRIL 2, 2019 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS
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Social Media Managing Editor
CAL POLY NOW USING STUDENTS’ PREFERRED NAMES IN DIRECTORY
ONLY PREFERRED NAMES WILL DISPLAY IN NEW UNIVERSITY INITIATIVE changes supportive of identity inclusivity are expected. To set a preferred name in your Cal Poly portal, log in and click the Personal Info tab. Under “My Info” click edit in the Preferred Name box. Write your preferred name and click save. Students who identify with their legal name will not need to make any changes. The portal automatically sets preferred names to be the same as legal names until manually edited.
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Why it matters
D ES I GN Calista Lam Director Michelle Cao Solena Aguilar Julia Jackson-Clark D I V ERS I TY Monique Ejenuko Editor PR Alyssa Wilson Dominique Morales Kaitlyn Hoyer Mikaela Lincoln Tess Loarie Intern Christina Arthur Intern SOCIAL Emma Kumagawa Hanna Crowley Danielle Lee Kelsey Luvisa Candace Lee Intern S PEC I A L S ECT I O N S Isabel Hughes Editor A DV ERT I S I NG Bianka Pantoja Manager BJ Drye Manager Kylie Goldfarb Manager Shea Irwin Design Manager Keilani Waxdeck Design Lauren Marshall Design Steven Nguyen Design Von Balanon Design Kendra Oliver Design Jasen Journeycake Distribution A DV I S O RS Paul Bittick General Manager Pat Howe Brady Teufel
S OF I A C LA R K | MUSTA N G N EWS
As of March 25, only student’s preferred names will appear when searched in the directory. BY AS HL E Y LADIN Cal Poly students, staff and faculty will be listed under their preferred name in the Cal Poly directory beginning March 25. A campus-wide email from Information Technology Services (ITS) announced the change March 22, recognizing the importance of a name to individual identity.
What is changing
While the Cal Poly portal already allowed users to add a preferred name different from their legal name, the directory was searchable by both legal and preferred name. Now, only preferred names will be listed. The email stated the update is in response to requests from students, faculty and staff. Chief of Data Management Dave Dobis, who helped with the technical side of the change alongside ITS, said a member of the Office of University Diversity and Inclusion asked him to look into preferred name usage. “They explained that there are many members of the Cal Poly community —
students, faculty and staff — to whom a preferred name is more than just a nickname,” Dobis wrote in an email to Mustang News. “Some examples include people in transition and married people whose professional name is not their legal name, and others.” The Office of Data Management worked with representatives from Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, the Office of University Diversity and Inclusion, ITS and the General Counsel to carry out the change. While working on the project, Dobis said the team realized there was more work to be done. “It became very obvious that this was just one small part of a much larger issue,” Dobis wrote. “Where else should we default to preferred names? How do we integrate pronouns into our correspondence and communications? How do better recognize non-binary gender identity?” A working group is being put together to develop a plan on how to best answer these questions and make appropriate changes to university technology systems and campus processes. More
CONTROVERSIAL FREE SPEECH WALL TO RETURN
CAL POLY LAUNCHES TOOLS FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS
PRÓXIMA PARADA TALK SLO BREW ROCK SHOW
NEW MEN’S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH JOHN SMITH
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Environmental management and protection junior Autumn Ford identifies with a different name than the one given to her at birth. She is a member of the Student Diversity Advisory Committee and has been advocating for university changes supportive of individual identity. “This change matters because it’s important to have someone’s identity seen and heard and for their agency to be in their own hands to show who they are in the directory,” Ford said. “[This change] will increase identity visibility.” Leece LaRue, a philosophy junior who uses they/them pronouns, also identifies with a different name than their birth name. LaRue said they think the change is a positive step toward a more inclusive campus. “Even if some people think this is a small change — and granted, it is small compared to others actions the university could take — everyday changes can help affirm who a person is,” LaRue said. “Instead of having to go explain to every person why their name is different than the one in the directory, it’s cool that someone doesn’t have to disclose that every time.” While LaRue said they hope the university will find more ways to support all identities, they view this as a good start. “This will help marginalized students dictate their own experience at Cal Poly,” LaRue said.
COVE R STO RY
A SURVIVOR’S STORY ABOUT A CHANGING SYSTEM C A L I STA LA M | M USTA N G N EWS
AFTER RECEIVING STUDENT FEEDBACK, DINING DOLLARS ARE BACK
CONNOR FROST | MUSTANG NEW S
Dining Dollars, similar to Plus Dollars, will replace the current meal credit and declining balance system.
BY ROS ELY N R OMER O Campus Dining released new dining plans for incoming freshmen and continuing and transfer students for the 2019-20 academic year. Dining Dollars, similar to Plus Dollars used during the previous two academic years, will replace the current meal credit and declining balance system. According to Cal Poly Corporation Communications Specialist Aaron Lambert, the decision to implement change was a result of feedback from students regarding the current meal credit system. “Three years prior, there was one plan and students wanted more options, so Campus Dining created three completely new options and expanded the offerings to continuing and transfer students” Lambert said. “Changes are a big deal and only occur based on input and feedback from students.”
New options
Similar to the current dining plan system in place, incoming freshmen will get to choose between three dining plans: First-Year Flex Max, First-Year Flex Prime and First-Year Flex Basic. The First-Year Flex Max offers students enough Dining Dollars to pay for 18 meals per week. This plan costs $5,886 for the entire school
year, translating to about $1,617 per quarter. The First-Year Flex Prime costs a total of $5,490 for the entire year, with enough Dining Dollars for 16.5 meals and snacks per week. The third and cheapest option for incoming freshmen is the First-Year Flex Basic, which costs $5,193 per academic year and offers Dining Dollars for 11 meals per week. Continuing and transfer students will have the choice between the Mustang Flex Max, Mustang Flex Prime and Mustang Flex Basic, according to Cal Poly Campus Dining. Each plan is about 40 percent cheaper than the freshman variation. “It’s just Plus Dollars on a Poly Card, like a debit card,” Lambert said. All plans include a base cost of up to $825 to provide a discount at 805 Kitchen and Vista Grande, scheduled to open prior to Fall 2019. Dining Dollars can be used at all Campus Dining locations, and some can roll over to the following quarter. At the end of Spring Quarter, however, all remaining Dining Dollars are forfeited unless the student purchases a new plan for the 202021 academic year, according to the Cal Poly Campus Dining website. Lambert said the executive chefs and their teams are constantly receiving feedback from students and customers and are whipping
up new recipes for Campus Dining venues like 805 Kitchen to “break up what some can see as monotony and others love as consistency.” “Whether it is through the text and tell program, focus groups or people simply mentioning it to them in 805 Kitchen, [the Campus Dining chefs] take that information to heart and are happy to offer something different,” Lambert said.
Student response
Landscape architecture senior Luke Gamboa had meal credits his freshman year, but called it a “very complicated system.” Freshmen during the 2014-15 academic year were given specific times for meals, each of which had a set cost, with breakfast priced at $8, lunch at $9, dinner at $10.75 and late night at $9. If the meal exceeded the predetermined price, the remaining cost was taken out of freshmen’s Plus Dollars, according to Lambert. Though he will be graduating in Spring 2019, Gamboa said he is happy Campus Dining is switching to Dining Dollars for the next academic year because it will give freshmen more freedom to use their money as they like. “If freshmen don’t want a drink or chips with their meal credit, it’s kind of a waste of a meal,” Gamboa said. “Dining Dollars don’t seem as restricting and are a much better system.”
Civil engineering senior Marcial Lamera also had meal credits his freshman year, but he said he did not like them as they were difficult to keep track of throughout each quarter. “Meal credits are less intuitive because in the real world, you won’t be budgeting meal credits. You’ll be using cash, which is more similar to [Dining Dollars],” Lamera said. Anthropology and geography senior Marielle Concejo said she enjoyed having Plus Dollars when she was a freshman and felt disappointed when Campus Dining made the switch to meal credits for the 201819 academic year. Concejo said that when she had Plus Dollars her freshman year she would end up finding ways to spend excess Plus Dollars by purchasing food for random students at the library or for homeless people she would encounter off campus when shopping downtown. “There were students who would cry over me buying them one croissant from Julian’s,” Concejo said. “You never know what people are going through.” Business administration freshman Karenna Case said she began the year with the Mustang 150 Plan, the cheapest dining option for the 201819 academic year, but she switched to the Mustang All Flex Plan at the start of Winter 2019. “The meal credits were just not a good meal plan,” Case said. “When I had the Mustang 150, I had to buy a lot of people lunch because I had so many meal credits left over last quarter.” With the Mustang All Flex Plan, Case said she feels she has much more flexibility than when she had meal credits, even though she had to convince her parents that the higher cost of the All Flex Plan would be worth it. Next academic year, all on-campus freshmen will be required to purchase one of the three dining plans, while the plans are optional for continuing and transfer students. Cal Poly offers students more than 27 on-campus dining venues composed of three food trucks, three markets and more than 1,000 menu options, according to Campus Dining.
BY BIA NKA PA NTOJA California law enforcement from across 70 agencies, including University Police Department (UPD), arrested or cited 335 individuals March 10 as part of a statewide underage drinking operation. The operation occurs annually where California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) agents and local law enforcement conduct a program known as the “Decoy Shoulder Tap Operation.” A minor, under the direct supervision of an officer, asks adults outside of a store to buy them alcohol. If the adult complies with the request, an arrest and citation for furnishing alcohol to a minor may result. According to UPD Deputy Police Chief Brenda Trobaugh, UPD caught one adult furnishing alcohol to a minor before rain prevented the operation from continuing. The consequence for furnishing alcohol to a minor is a minimum $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service. The statewide operation is part of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s GAP Grant Project. It is funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety. UPD plans to do another operation sometime this year, but it will not be done simultaneously with other departments across the state as was the case on March 10. “We want everyone to enjoy their college, but we want them to be safe while they do it,” Trobaugh said. In addition, the grant allows UPD to program and educate students about alcohol rather than just enforce California laws. UPD has arranged programs with so-called beer goggles, which are designed to stimulate the effects of being under the influence. Recently, UPD has been working on public service announcements (PSA) with campus partners. In collaboration with Fraternity and Sorority Life, they filmed an educational PSA about how to host a party for St. Patrick’s Day. The next upcoming PSA they are working on is with Cal Poly Rodeo about being responsible with alcohol.
3 TUESDAY • APRIL 2, 2019 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS
CAMPUS DINING OVERHAULS PLAN OPTIONS FOR SECOND YEAR IN A ROW
UPD USES DECOYS TO ENFORCE UNDERAGE DRINKING
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F I LE | MUSTA N G N EWS
The Cal Poly College Republicans’ Free Speech Wall has happened annually since 2011.
THE FREE SPEECH WALL: DIFFERENT QUARTER, DIFFERENT MEANING?
COLLEGE REPUBLICANS’ CONTROVERSIAL WALL TO BE UP FIRST WEEKEND BY KYLA OSBURN Two demonstrations of the First Amendment were notably absent from Cal Poly’s campus Fall 2018: the Free Speech Wall and the protests against it. For those who missed it, there is no reason to worry; the Cal Poly College Republicans promise the wall will be back Spring 2019. Although they have not officially announced the dates for the wall, Cal Poly College Republicans’ Treasurer and child development senior Hannah Stanford said the wall will likely go up during the first week of Spring 2019, despite some Cal Poly administrators’ requests that the wall go up a different week. In addition to administrators, some Cal Poly students have taken issue with this timing because it is set for the same week as PolyCultural Weekend, a weekend for admitted students to visit campus and attend events put on by Cal Poly cultural organizations; it will also be the one-year anniversary of the blackface incident. This is just the latest development in years of controversy surrounding the Free Speech Wall on Cal Poly’s campus. In the past, the wall has reportedly featured homophobic, racist and
Islamophobic comments and drawings, including a large drawing of the prophet Mohammed in 2016, which is forbidden in the Islamic religion. Members of the organization Students for Quality Education (SQE) have raised concerns with the wall being present during PolyCultural Weekend, due to the wall historically featuring offensive comments towards minority groups on campus. According to SQE member and electrical engineering senior Alejandro Bupara, having the Free Speech Wall, which he refers to as the “Hate Speech Wall,” on campus during PolyCultural Weekend would be hugely problematic. “Admitted marginalized students [will] have to go past [the wall] and see all that filth,” Bupara said. In response to the complaints surrounding the Cal Poly College Republicans’ chosen date, Stanford maintained that the wall should not be an issue. “Free speech is for everyone, no matter if it’s PolyCultural Weekend or not,” Stanford said. “That could maybe even be a part of it, and they could write what they want to on the wall.” The Free Speech Wall made its first appearance at Cal Poly in Nov. 2011. Cal Poly alumnus and former Cal
Poly College Republicans’ President Brendan Pringle started the tradition at Cal Poly. Pringle said the wall was the club’s way of participating in the Young America’s Foundation’s Freedom Week, which takes place from November 6-11 and celebrates both Veterans Day and the fall of the Berlin Wall. In past years, the Free Speech Wall has been constructed to commemorate the Berlin Wall, as well as to celebrate the freedom of speech enjoyed in the United States that those living under communist rule were not privy to. According to Pringle, the wall was not the subject of controversy when it debuted in 2011. “People from both sides of the aisle would write on it,” Pringle said. “If someone disagreed with something someone else had said, they would just cross it out and write something different.” Starting in 2015, SLO Solidarity, a progressive group on campus, began protesting the wall and the offensive comments on it. “The things written on [the Free Speech Wall] were disgusting,” Cal Poly alumnus and member of SLO Solidarity Matt Klepfer said. “It became a very visible symbol of our
campus climate.” Klepfer described the protests at the wall as more of a discussion. “I remember folks coming together to strategize, ‘How do we take action to make this campus a better place?,’ at the wall,” Klepfer said. “Out of [those discussions], SLO Solidarity had some very large rallies and protests, but those were more about the campus.” This is the first year since the wall debuted at Cal Poly in 2011 that it did not take place during fall quarter. According to Stanford, the club decided to hold off on the wall until later in the year because members were busy working on local political campaigns during Fall 2018. Although the date change takes the focus away from the Berlin Wall, Stanford said the wall will still serve the same purpose of celebrating freedom of speech. “For the campus, a lot of the meaning behind the Berlin Wall got lost, and we were just focusing on the free speech aspect, so we didn’t see a huge problem with moving it away from when the Berlin Wall fell,” Stanford said. “I think it will still have the same kind of impact no matter the time we do it.” For some, this change was viewed
as contentious. Cal Poly College Republicans’ Adviser and French professor Brian Kennelly said he cautioned the club against having a wall this year after Freedom Week had passed. “I told them, ‘It will no longer coincide with this commemorative event that this wall was constructed for, and if you do have this wall later in the year, [the club] might be seen as being divisive,’” Kennelly said. Klepfer cited this change in timing as evidence that the Free Speech Wall is not about what the Cal Poly College Republicans say it is about. “The College Republicans say it’s all about commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall,” Klepfer said. “Now that it’s not happening around the anniversary of the Berlin Wall, clearly that really shows that it was never about that. It was about creating a platform for people, and frankly their own members, to write the things that they want to say that they know are f**ked up things to say. There’s a reason you can’t say these things that are degrading and racist and super f**ked up.” Due to the anonymity the wall provides, it is impossible to know who is responsible for the offensive comments that have been made in years past. Stanford insisted that the statements on the wall do not represent the club’s views. The club does not endorse any of the statements, just the right of individuals to say them. “We can’t regulate what gets put on the wall, because that then defeats the whole purpose of free speech,” Stanford said. “It sucks that people kinda suck and put bad things on there. It’s awful, but filtering the wall isn’t going to change the people writing it, and the wall is supposed to be a representation of free speech.” If the wall does stand tall throughout PolyCultural Weekend, the comments on it may give visiting admitted students an inside look at another side of Cal Poly’s campus culture.
TUESDAY • APRIL 2, 2019 | NEWS | MUSTANG NEWS
F I LE | MUSTA N G N EWS
Anyone in the community is welcome to write on the wall.
TUESDAY • APRIL 2, 2019 | COVER STORY | MUSTANG NEWS
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CAUGHT IN A CHANGING SYSTEM
Z AC H DON N EN F I ELD | MUSTA N G N EWS
A SURVIVOR’S STORY AFTER TITLE IX CHANGES ALLOW HER PERPETRATOR TO RE-ENROLL BY ISABE L HU GH ES Editor’s note: An animal science senior who wishes to remain anonymous will be referred to as Jane Roe for the purpose of the story. Her perpetrator will be referred to as he/him. Jane Roe said she was raped as a freshman in her residence hall room. She filed a complaint with Title IX. The university upheld her complaint, finding the accused man in violation of Title IX. In fact, the university upheld it three times, counting two denied appeals. The next year, he was kicked off campus and expelled. The case was closed and she was told it would never be reopened. Now, Roe is a senior. She was told earlier this year that the man she said raped her is allowed to re-enroll this quarter because of a court order that is upending how the entire California State University (CSU) system deals with Title IX cases. “It’s been hard. Because now he could be over there – I don’t know. He could be on campus again. But with this I have become kind of vocal about it because I’m angry, I’m so angry,” Roe said. “And I’m hurt and
I’m upset and I feel defeated. I’ve lost trust in a system that’s supposed to be set in place to help and it’s not helping.”
How did this happen?
The possibility of anyone expelled for sexual misconduct re-enrolling at Cal Poly is occurring as a result of several events. In August 2018, a state court ruled that a student at Claremont McKenna College who violated Title IX was denied a fair hearing because he was not able to question the woman who accused him of rape in the case Doe vs. Claremont McKenna. Shortly after the Claremont McKenna case, Roe’s perpetrator sought a writ of mandate – an order from an appellate court directing Title IX to change its ruling. The appellate court ruled in his favor, finding he was denied a fair hearing because he was not provided with all evidence against him or given an opportunity to question Roe. Both rulings align with the California Appellate Court overturning Title IX findings against a University of Southern California (USC) student, who was accused of sexual misconduct, on the grounds that he did not
have the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses directly or indirectly. The USC case set the precedent for a California law put into effect Jan. 4, 2019 requiring California universities to adopt a cross-examination model for headings in all Title IX cases. Roe is one of many students affected by these changes. Currently, Title IX cases at Cal Poly and every other CSU are halted. The university is unable to provide the number of cases directly affected at Cal Poly due to privacy matters, according to University Spokesperson Matt Lazier. The California mandate reverses the expulsion of students who were expelled through Title IX and are in the appeals process or still have time to appeal. There is nothing legally preventing students who violated Title IX and were expelled from re-enrolling in Cal Poly. Currently, Title IX cases cannot proceed past the Investigation Report, a summary of investigative findings that does not include the investigator’s decision as to whether the accused was in violation of Title IX or not. Cases that are still pending will have to redo the fact-finding process under the new cross-examination model.
The California mandate is separate from U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’s proposed Title IX changes, although, one of DeVos’s proposed changes would also require a live-hearing model. It is unknown when DeVos’s changes will be implemented, if at all. In an interview with Mustang News, President Jeffrey Armstrong said he would be a proponent of limiting live hearings as much as possible. The
side,” Roe said. “And I finally got the courage to go to the police station a few months later and report what happened to me, which was obviously very difficult — you relive the whole entire thing and it’s just a really hard process in itself.” After a five-month investigation, Roe was notified by Title IX that based on a preponderance of evidence, the university found sufficient evidence of a violation of Executive Order 1097,
I stayed silent for a really long time and it really started to eat me up inside. CSU Chancellor wrote a letter to DeVos regarding concerns about these proposed changes. This letter was signed by all 23 CSU presidents, including Armstrong.
A timeline of Roe’s case
On May 25, 2016, Roe reported to the University Police Department (UPD) that she had been raped. She initially went to Safer, but said she was told there was no chance of her winning her case. “I stayed silent for a really long time and it really started to eat me up in-
which prohibits sexual misconduct of any kind. A preponderance of evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the violation occurred. On Nov. 9, 2016, the accused assailant appealed the University’s decision. On Dec. 14, 2016, his appeal was denied by the Chancellor’s Office. On Feb. 24, 2017, the university held a sanctions hearing before Hearing Officer Tera Brisbee, who recommended the university expel him. On March 21, 2017, Vice President for Student Affairs Keith Humphrey expelled him.
TIMELINE OF ROE’S TITLE IX CASE After being found in violation of Title IX, the alleged assailant appealed the University’s decision.
March 21, 2017
The Vice President for Student Affairs expelled the alleged assailant roughly a month after the University held a sanctions hearing before Hearing Officer Tera Brisbee, who recommended he be expelled.
September 2018
The survivor is informed her perpetrator has filed a lawsuit to return to Cal Poly and was subsequently granted a petition for writ.
SEEK THEN SPEAK MADE POSSIBLE BY $300,000 GRANT TO CAL POLY January 2019
Dec. 14, 2016
April 2017
The alleged assailant appeal was denied by the Chancellor’s Office.
In April 2017, he again appealed this decision, and the Chancellor’s Office denied his appeal again. After months of ongoing investigation, Roe said she felt relieved when he was expelled. She was told her case would never be reopened. “I felt safe on campus because when they’re expelled, they’re not allowed to step on any CSU campus,” Roe said.
Safe?
But that feeling of safety changed when Roe got a call from the Title IX Office during the first week of her senior year at Cal Poly, in September 2018. “I got a call from the Title IX Office saying that he had filed a lawsuit to be let back into Cal Poly. It threw Title IX off,” Roe said. On Sept. 21, 2018, he was granted the petition for writ on the basis that he was not provided with all of the evidence or given an opportunity to question Roe or other witnesses in any manner. The accused assailant’s lawyers did not respond to Mustang News for comment.
What’s next for Jane Roe
After Roe learned he would be allowed to re-enroll at Cal Poly, Roe inquired about reopening her case with Title IX. She said she asked how a live hearing would work and was told there is no live hearing process established yet. Roe said her only options to avoid going to school with him
The alleged assailant appealed the decision again, and the Chancellor’s Office denied his appeal.
would require reopening her case. However, even if she decided to reopen her case, she would have to wait until the cross-examination process is implemented by Title IX. Roe said undergoing the cross-examination process raises concerns in itself. “I have gone through such intensive therapy, if they tried to interview me, I don’t know if I could talk about it in as much detail as they would want,” Roe said. Roe’s only option that would not require her to undergo the cross-examination process is to not reopen the case and know that he could be on campus. Lazier was unable to comment on the accused assailant’s enrollment status. Mustang News cannot confirm whether the student has yet returned to Cal Poly. In an interview with Mustang News regarding Safer joining Campus Health and Wellbeing in Fall 2018, Safer Coordinator Kara Samaniego explained the toll that sexual assault can take on a person’s health. “When we’re looking at somebody holistically and they experience violence, we know that there’s not just that emotional impact, there’s not just these isolated impacts in their life, it really affects their holistic wellbeing — every aspect of their life,” Samaniego said. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 23.1 percent of females and 5.4 percent of males experience rape or sexual
As a result of a USC case, California law now mandates all CSU’s implement a cross-examination model. All Title IX cases are paused while CSU’s decide a further course of action.
assault among undergraduate students. At Cal Poly, total sexual assaults including rape, incest, fondling and statutory rape increased by more than 50 percent from 2015 to 2017, according to the latest Annual Security Report. Safer also saw a 45 percent increase in students, faculty or staff utilizing Safer Crisis and Advocacy services consistently from 2014 to 2017, according to the 2016-2017 Safer Annual Report. Roe said she and other sexual assault survivors are uniting to support each other amidst the backpedalling and halting of Title IX cases. “We’re in the process of rallying the troops and definitely trying to keep ourselves as resources for girls and trying to have a support group because this is such a bizarre thing that’s happening,” Roe said. Following DeVos’s proposed changes, both faculty and students made efforts to promote comment writing on campus during a 60day comment period in order to fight back against proposed Title IX changes. Roe added that she wants to make sure people are aware of changes being made to Title IX and how they have already begun affecting students. “It’s not just my life; it could be a future woman. Or even a future male. It’s something that needs to be known that it’s happening,” Roe said.
Resources available to sexual assault survivors Campus Health & Wellbeing Counseling Services (805) 756-2511 Students can access counseling services free of charge through the on-campus Health Center.
Safer (805) 756-2282 Safer provides confidential advocacy, education and support resources for sexual misconduct issues and sexual assault survivors.
RISE (855) 886-7473 RISE is a crisis and resources center off campus for survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence, offering a 24-hour crisis line.
MI C H A ELA B A R R OS | MUSTA N G N EWS
Seek then Speak was announced March 21 at the San Luis Obispo Superior Court. BY MIC HAE LA B AR R O S Cal Poly and several community partners unveiled a new resource for sexual assault survivors, assisting them in anonymously gathering information, exploring local services and reporting the crime when they are ready. In the Seek Then Speak app, survivors are guided through a series of questions to determine the best options to get assistance. The free program is designed to help close gaps in the current system of reporting and promote justice and healing. “Through Seek Then Speak, survivors take control of their healing experience from the very beginning and decide what their next steps are going to be,” Cal Poly Assistant Director of Wellbeing Kara Samaniego said. Cal Poly Safer and Title IX programs, University Police (UPD), San Luis Obispo Police, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff ’s Office and RISE held a press conference on March 21 to announce the launch at the Superior Court in San Luis Obispo. UPD Chief Hughes said that he believes the new program will make survivors more comfortable with reporting sexual assault. “We understand victims and survivors of sexual violence may not want to initially speak with [an officer], or
have an officer show up to take a report, and they have many other challenges to reporting these crimes,” Hughes said. “Seek Then Speak was created to provide solutions to these challenges and improve the police response to sexual violence.” The tool also allows users to learn about what the experience of a police investigation would be like, prior to filing a report. The launch of Seek Then Speak countywide was made possible by a $300,000 grant to Cal Poly from the Department of Justice. San Luis Obispo District Attorney Dan Dow said that out of 100 sexual assaults, only 5 to 20 are reported to law enforcement. He said that out of those, five or six out of 100 are actually able to be prosecuted because there is enough evidence to go forward. Out of those prosecuted, zero to five are actually convicted. “I believe that we need to shift in our country to create a safer environment for victims of crime generally, but specifically sexual assault, so that survivors know that the community cares and will be listened to in a safe environment that may or may not include prosecution at their request,” Dow said. Seek Then Speak is available to anyone in San Luis Obispo County through visiting SeekThenSpeak.org, calling 888-865-9863 or downloading the app (Android and iOS).
7 TUESDAY • APRIL 2, 2019 | COVER STORY | MUSTANG NEWS
November 9, 2016
NEW TOOL CONNECTS SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS WITH LOCAL RESOURCES
TUESDAY • APRIL 2, 2019 | ARTS | MUSTANG NEWS
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CIGARETTE BUTTS INTO SURFBOARDS A TOXIC TRASH IS THIS SURFER’S TREASURE
C A L P OLY S U R F R I DER C LU B | COU RT ESY
The Cal Poly Surfrider Club teamed up with San Jose State alumnus Taylor Lane to use cigarette butts to make surfboards, making the ocean a cleaner place to surf. BY SYDNE Y SH ER M A N It may be common knowledge that smoking cigarettes is harmful — but what about using them to make surfboards? The Cal Poly Surfrider Club teamed up with San José State alumnus Taylor Lane and put discarded cigarette butts from San Luis Obispo to good use. Three years ago, Lane entered the Vissla and Surfrider Creators and Innovators Upcycle Contest with a body surfing hand plane he constructed entirely out of champagne corks, old t-shirts, a surf bootie and climbing rope. He made it to the finals but none of the leaderboards. Lane’s good friend and film partner Ben Judkins suggested, “We need to make a surfboard next year,” to which Lane responded, “Tight.” Thus began work on the surfboard that would change Lane’s path entirely. They entered their first cigarette surfboard, which would go on to take first place and gain international recognition. They were able to get funding to produce an environmental surf film inspired by the project and create a “ciggy-butt material,” which has now been used to create version five of the surfboard. When asked why cigarette butts would be the star of his project, Jud-
kins simply replied, “What’s everywhere?” While Judkins said he initially predicted he would need 10,000 cigarette butts for the first cigarette board he constructed; he ended up using more than 13,000. President of the Cal Poly chapter of the Surfrider Foundation Marissa Miller met Lane at at a Global Wave conference in Santa Cruz and wanted to get involved in the project. “I was stoked on what she was doing, leading the youth activism within her university in her little cohort of people that she can,” Lane said. Miller became the president of the Cal Poly Surfrider Foundation in Winter 2018. She noticed a lack of active members at the time, but she said she was determined to make something more out of the club by “implementing more projects, getting everything to be more active and building some solid leadership within the club so that we could actually get things done.” The club is a chapter of a national organization whose mission is to “protect and enjoy the world’s oceans, beaches, and waves,” according to Miller. Through the club, Miller organizes beach cleanups, conducts water quality testing with Blue Water Task Force, and promotes movements such as “Rise Above Plastics,” a cam-
paign to help raise awareness about plastic pollution on campus. The club’s most effective projects are its beach cleanups. It is from these beach cleanups that members are able to collect the hundreds of cigarette butts that end up contributing to Lane’s surfboards, among a few other organizations along the California coast. “[Cigarettes are] the most common pollution on our beaches and they are really toxic and they don’t break down,” Miller said. The club collects at least a few hundred cigarette butts at every beach cleanup, and in one instance, they collected more than 1,400 in just a two-hour period. “It’s really empowering to see it all collected in one place and putting out those numbers and being like, ‘Hey, this is all us,’” Miller said. Miller said she hopes the cleanups will inspire people to not only get involved, but to also change their littering habits in the future. “It’s up to us to change this,” Miller said. “It’s not coming from anywhere else.” The cigarettes the club recently collected contributed to Lane’s last three cigarette surfboards, which he will feature in a documentary he is currently producing called, “The Cigarette Surfboard.” The documentary is an environ-
mental surf film that, in Lane’s words, is meant to “address sort of the disconnect that the cigarette butt symbolizes in our culture as a single-use, out of sight, out of mind, flick-it-away [culture] — and that has sort of polluted our sea.” “But more importantly, the film is going to dive into what sort of surfers and other ocean-oriented locals around the world and individuals are doing to kind of create more stewardship and local community action to create a toolkit for people to get more inspired to do more ocean-oriented work,” Lane said.
Lane also said he hopes to potentially dive into public policy and even propose a new design for a cigarette filter. The current filters are made from plastic, which does not fully break down, and are created to “filter out” some of the toxic chemicals when smoked. When it rains or when cigarette butts enter the waterways, the chemicals seep into the ocean and the environment. “We can’t change people’s habitual habits, but we can change the things that [are] leading to the further problem of toxifying our environment,” Lane said.
C A L P OLY S U R F R I DER C LU B | COU RT ESY
The surfboard project used more than 13,000 cigarette butts.
DI EG O RI VERA | M USTA N G N EWS
Local San Luis Obispo band Próxima Parada played at SLO Brew Rock on March 22.
PRÓXIMA PARADA STARTS NATIONWIDE TOUR BY K I A NA M EAGH ER After a long, rainy winter, the sun was finally out as groups of green-clad partygoers celebrated St. Patrick’s Day morning in Downtown San Luis Obispo. Amidst the excitement sat Nick Larson and Kevin Middlekauff at a small table at Kreuzberg — both Cal Poly alumni and one half of the band Próxima Parada — who seemed to soak in the joy of the people around them. The San Luis Obispo-based band, which also includes drummer Aaron Kroeger and guitarist Josh Collins, are halfway through their West Coast tour. They have been playing their soulful, groovy music along the coast and stopped in their hometown for a show March 22 at SLO Brew Rock. This is projected to be a big year for the band, with their first U.S. tour, an album release and a spot on the Lightning In A Bottle lineup. The self-managed band has acquired listeners from all over the globe, with some of their largest fanbases hailing from New York City to Berlin. “It’s been really cool to see people discovering our music around the world,” lead vocalist Larson said. “People all around are connecting with us and it’s super cool.” After the success of their 2017 album, “Big Seven,” the band has been hard at work producing an upcoming record. With plans to release the album in the fall, they have been working tirelessly every day to perfect their music. “This new album we just recorded — we all four wanted to agree on everything, and that’s really hard,” Larson said. “We all decide everything. In a way, we all play each other’s instruments. It really feels like a unit and not just like four individuals trying to show off how good they are.” Larson, who also plays keys and guitar, and Middlekauff, who plays bass, started playing music together in the residence halls. “We have a great communication style,” Larson said. Not only is communication within the group a driving force for the band’s success, but also communication between the band and their audience. The vulnerability in their lyrics allows for listeners to connect to the band on a deeper level, they said. “People say our music is soulful,” Larson said.
“We’re playing music that feels personal to us. It’s original music, we’re not playing covers. Each song is going to sound different. It all has a life of its own.” Their openness with their audience has allowed fans to reciprocate, sharing personal stories and emotional vulnerability with the band. “People feel like they know us because they’ve heard our music,” Larson said. “We’re sharing our soul with them, so they want to do the same.” This year will introduce them to thousands of new listeners when they showcase their talents on the Lightning in a Bottle stage. “Festivals are fun,” Larson said. “It’s like a builtin audience too, which is so nice. You get to share with people who might not have come to your show, never heard of you, or maybe they don’t think they like that genre or something, ‘but that actually sounds really good,’ so you get to pull in some new ears, which I really appreciate.” Whether it is toward their devout listeners, festival-goers or the band members themselves, Próxima Parada values honest, human connection. While they have not jetted off to travel the country just yet, they already recognize that the magic of San Luis Obispo is too strong to ignore. “I just get kind of overwhelmed, so I come to [San Luis Obispo] and there’s a pace that’s really nice,” Larson said. “You walk down the street and people smile. People say good morning. It just feels so good. Great community.” San Luis Obispo’s rising music scene and smalltown feel make the Central Coast feel like home for Próxima Parada. “I love the idea of us to keep touring nationally and internationally and be able to come back to [San Luis Obispo],” Larson said. Middlekauff agreed with a nod. “I like that idea, too.” Whereas most aspiring musicians choose to migrate toward Los Angeles, New York, or Nashville, San Luis Obispo’s rising music scene and smalltown feel make the Central Coast home for Próxima Parada. “I love the idea of us to keep touring nationally and internationally and be able to come back to SLO,” said Larson. Middlekauff agreed with a nod. “I like that idea too.”
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OPINION
THE INVISIBLE CRISIS ON CAMPUS BY L IL LY L EIF Lilly Leif is an English sophomore and Mustang News columnist. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang News.
MIC HEL L E C AO | MUSTANG NEW S
Today, the media we consume influences almost every aspect of our lives. From Twitter to Netflix, what we see shapes our understanding of social and cultural norms, whether they are accurately depicted or not. These platforms usually entertain and inform us; however, the stereotypes we see portrayed on television play a crucial part in fueling a culture complacent with its ignorance surrounding mental health in young adults. The portrayal of mental illness in film and television only assists in stigmatizing depression. Because the media has created false impressions of what mental
health actually looks like, people lack an understanding of basic mental health education. Several misconceptions should be reversed, and we must work to break these stereotypes down by generating real discussions about depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses. One of the biggest misconceptions about mental health portrayed in entertainment media is that people who suffer from mental illness can never recover or get the proper help that is needed. Shows like 13 Reasons Why make feeble attempts to increase visibility for mental illness but ultimately only succeeded in romanticizing depression. Hannah Baker, the protagonist of 13 Reasons Why, leaves behind a series of tapes explaining her suicide while essentially placing the blame on
ďƒš Continued on page 19
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?
Word Scramble
I am an actress and model born in California on April 3, 1998. I am the only daughter of a pop music icon, and he received custody of me and my brothers after my parents’ divorce. My first public appearance was at age 11.
R Rearrange the letters to spell
*See answers at mustangnews.net/games-answers/
something pertaining to jazz.
E T A S B
1. Defense Department 4. Diminutive hoopster Webb 8. Cools 10. Chili con __ 11. Quantitative fact 12. Enliven 13. A woman of refinement 15. Where royalty live 16. Beverage made of oatmeal 17. Replaced 18. UK’s largest city 21. Obamacare 22. When you expect to get there 23. Deutschland 24. Consumed 25. Paddle 26. A way to consume 27. “Walter White” 34. The opera has one 35. Honk 36. Disorganization 37. Secret political clique 38. Recounted again 39. Converts to leather 40. Consisting of a single element or component 41. Therefore 42. Clownish 43. The habitat of wild animals
CLUES DOWN
1. Dreary 2. Book page size 3. Become less lively 4. Grassy plain 5. Attached a figure to 6. Hungry 7. NY-based department store 9. Pedestal 10. Single-celled animal 12. National capital 14. China’s chairman 15. Al Bundy’s wife 17. Acid in all living cells 19. Told 20. Displays heartbeat 23. Softly 24. Swiss river 25. Small chapel 26. Electronic countermeasures 27. Asian nation 28. Neither 29. Peacock network 30. List of candidates 31. Medieval garment 32. Type of juice 33. “Coach” actor 34. Puerto Rican dance music La __ 36. Texas politician Ted
ARIES – March 21/April 20 Something positive will come from your efforts at work, Aries. It’s just what you need to rev up your energy levels and fire through the last of the projects that have been on your list.
LIBRA – Sept. 23/Oct. 23 Growing comfortable expressing your feelings has you reaching out for new friends and relationships, Libra. You never know who you might meet when you open yourself up.
TAURUS – April 21/May 21 Encouragement will come from an unlikely place, Taurus. This may be someone who you thought wasn’t on your side, but really is. This realization may be a shock.
SCORPIO – Oct. 24/Nov. 22 Lately your identity seems to be shaped by the company you keep, Scorpio. That means your colleagues, friends or family are playing a key role in influencing your behavior.
GEMINI – May 22/June 21 Some unusual possibilities for the future are coming your way, Gemini. Make an effort to be receptive, or they could pass you by before you know it.
SAGITTARIUS – Nov. 23/Dec. 21 Sagittarius, when you focus your efforts, time seems to dissipate and chores vanish. This week you may find yourself blasting through tasks one by one.
CANCER – June 22/July 22 Cancer, you will often find that success comes not just from professional matters and connections, but by how you present yourself. Appearances have an impact.
CAPRICORN – Dec. 22/Jan. 20 Capricorn, if you have been feeling stressed out or unimpressed with a relationship, you may need to infuse a little extra energy into the mix this week.
LEO – July 23/Aug. 23 A sense of play may come over you this week and put you in a creative mood, Leo. You may find that a few artsy projects will get all sorts of ideas flowing.
AQUARIUS – Jan. 21/Feb. 18 Aquarius, your tongue may be extra sharp this week, so be careful in how you talk to the ones you love. Exercise caution around people at work as well.
VIRGO – Aug. 24/Sept. 22 Far-reaching ideas are on your mind, Virgo. You aren’t sure which path you want to take just yet. It can be fun to experiment with experiences outside of your comfort zone.
PISCES – Feb. 19/March 20 If you are single, this is the perfect time to get out with friends as much as possible, Pisces. If you are in a relationship, prioritize date nights.
13 other people. Instead of showing alternatives and options to get help, Hannah’s suicide is depicted in an incredibly graphic manner. Hannah
never makes any significant attempts to seek help and quickly resorts to suicide. By popularizing the “misguided teenage girl” stereotype, among others, film producers have inadvertently guaranteed that generations are raised dismissing serious mental health problems as regular “teenage angst.” This angst is something quite prevalent on college campuses, as we see a plethora of students experiencing legitimate symptoms of
Today, several other recent studies suggest that approximately one-third of college-age students meet the criteria for depressive or anxiety-related illnesses. It is difficult for students to seek out the help they need for these issues because television and film have promoted the idea that these behaviors and symptoms are normal in college. Television and movies often sum up college culture as getting three hours of sleep, waking up hungover and popping an Adderall before class. Then after class, it’s time to cry and take a nap before trying to cram in as much homework and studying as possible. As a result, students assume these behaviors are normal and that everyone else is doing them, rather than recognizing them as legitimate signs of mental illness. Instead of potentially seeking help or counseling, vast amounts of students carry on with these unhealthy coping mechanisms. These numbers suggest a stigma surrounding mental illness that prevents young adults from getting the help they need. I believe this stigma is embedded in a lack of understanding and an unwillingness to confront such complex issues. Although the mental health crisis in America is a multilayered and varied issue, there are
Perhaps because San Luis Obispo is dubbed “The Happiest City in America” by locals and nonresidents alike, students are embarrassed to admit that they could be suffering from mental illness. depression and anxiety that are instead cast off. The enormous pressures of trying to figure out what we want to do with our lives all add to the stress of working, attending classes and studying on a daily basis. This pressure inadvertently can lead to multiple physical and emotional responses, such as constant worrying, lack of motivation and feelings of being overwhelmed, among others. Rather than accept those as the norm, we should be taking strides to assess the issue before it turns into something worse. Many college students consider sleep deprivation and substance abuse to be a rite of passage, rather than recognizing them as the major symptoms of most mental illnesses that they are. In many cases, students have trouble acknowledging when their environment becomes unhealthy. This is especially prominent on Cal Poly’s campus. Perhaps because San Luis Obispo is dubbed “The Happiest City in America” by locals and non-residents alike, students are embarrassed to admit that they could be suffering from mental illness. However, according to a 2016 Healthy Minds Study conducted at Cal Poly, 11 percent of students who responded to a campus-wide survey reported that they had serious thoughts of suicide. In my own experiences, I have found it difficult to cope with my depression knowing there is a constant pressure to fit into San Luis Obispo’s happy facade like everyone else. A 2016 study conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute found that 37.5 percent of college freshmen reported feeling frequently anxious, while only 13.9 percent anticipate making use of their college’s counseling services. According to Psychology
steps we can take as a society to help destigmatize mental illness. We need to change the way we look at mental illness. We need to reject the current culture surrounding mental health that was built on shame, weakness and complacency, and strive to build a new one founded on knowledge and support. Most importantly, as students, we must look out for each other and pay attention to potential warning signs in others who may be struggling. Such common behaviors found in students include extreme lethargy, lack of motivation and constant sleep deprivation. The stress of midterms, extracurriculars and trying to get adequate sleep can make university life extremely difficult. But there should be no shame in seeking help, whether it be from a counselor or a
trusted friend. Mental illness awareness and education is a daunting issue, but with a willingness to learn and understand each other a little better, we can slowly work at creating an environment where mental health is prioritized and respected.
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HOROSCOPES
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MEN’S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH ANNOUNCED FULLERTON ASSISTANT HEAD COACH JOHN SMITH TAKES CALLERO’S SPOT
CA L P OLY ATHL ETICS | COU RTESY
Smith helped bring the Titans to the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
BY N AYT H A N B RYA N T On Thursday, March 28, Cal Poly named Cal State Fullerton associate head coach John Smith as Cal Poly’s next Men’s Basketball head coach. The announcement was made by
President Jeffrey Armstrong and Athletic Director Don Oberhelman inside the Performing Arts Center (PAC). As previously reported, Smith will replace former head coach Joe Callero, who was let go after ten years with the Mustangs.
Smith spent the last six seasons with CSU Fullerton during the program’s most successful period in recent history. Over the last three seasons, the Titans made back-to-back Big West Championship appearances, an NCAA Tournament appearance and averaged 18 wins per year. Credited for his recruiting efforts, Smith helped build a program that produced three All-Big West honorees in 2017. Oberhelman noted Smith’s background in education and said he embodies the Mustang Way by being an educator first. “When it comes to our head coaches, I believe they’re among the finest educators we have at this university,” Oberhelman said. “They utilize the competition field, the practice field and the court as a Learn By Doing leadership laboratory every single day, and they’re amazing.” Smith began by thanking Cal Poly, his family and CSU Fullerton head coach Dedrique Taylor. Smith also
pointed out his appreciation for his brother Steve Smith – a retired WNBA coach who also served as John’s coach during his senior year at Dominican University. “The life lessons [Steve] has taught me are insurmountable,” Smith said. “Wherever he goes, everybody just loves him. So I try to take some of that personality from him, and hopefully you’ll see that in the next five to ten years while I’m here.” Smith said his vision as the leader of Cal Poly’s basketball program attracted him to the job. “This job is a gold mine, I feel, in the Big West Conference,” Smith said. “I’m a lifelong educator, so the opportunity to coach at one of the top public universities in the country closely aligns with who I am as a person … [My family] believes that a quality education will outlast a playing career anytime, and that’s what I try to impart in any student I come across.” Smith said San Luis Obispo’s energetic community also drew him to the
job.“This is, by far, one of the hardest places to play on the road because of the community, the energy that you guys bring every single game,” Smith said. “Here, I see the energy. Our style of play, I hope, will bring out even more of the community.” Smith described his servant leadership approach to coaching and said it embraces communication, conceptualizing, caring and stewardship. The new head coach also told the audience what to expect out of his style of play for the future – fast-paced offense mixed with a variation of match-up zone defense. “We’re going to be fun,” Smith said. “We’re going to play fast, exciting and make sure [our opponents] are uncomfortable.”In closing, Smith once again thanked the community for the warm welcome. “I couldn’t imagine it being any different,” Smith said. “This is phenomenal … I just want to say, it’s a great day to be a Mustang.”
J A N EL L E RO SS | CO U RTESY
For Cal Poly players made the 2019 Western Regional All-Star team.
JAN EL L E ROSS | COU RTESY
The team is looking for its first nationals win in over 20 appearances.
POLO TEAM ADVANCES TO NATIONALS FOR THIRD YEAR IN A ROW BY E M M A KU M AGA W A The Cal Poly Polo team once again advanced to the United States Polo Association (USPA) National Intercollegiate Championship in Charlottesville, Virginia April 1-7. The teams will
face off against other top schools, including University of North Texas, Texas A&M University, University of Virginia and Cornell University. The teams have been to the National Championship almost 20 times combined, but they are looking for
their first win this year, according to coach Megan Judge. Cal Poly advanced to the finals after the women’s team had back-to-back wins against Stanford University and Point Loma Nazarene University and the men’s team was victorious in
their match against Oregon State. “I’m really proud of them, and I obviously know that they’ve worked really hard to have earned it,” Judge said. Environmental management and protection junior Sage Ellington-Lawrence said the team is excited to be attending Nationals for the third year in a row. “We’re really looking forward to spending that time together and getting a chance to play at that level,” Ellington-Lawrence said. “Honestly, the really big thing I’m most looking forward to is being around other people our age that are really into polo and getting a chance to fly as a team to go play polo in Virginia.”
Cal Poly Polo will be holding more practices and scrimmages with guest players in the upcoming weeks to prepare for the championship. The team manages 30 school horses, and team members typically practice five days a week at the Central Coast Polo Club. The team has approximately 20 members and is sponsored by the United States Polo Association. Four members are on the honorary 2019 Western Regional All-Star team. Cal Poly students interested in joining Cal Poly Polo can participate in recruitment in Spring 2019, Open House or Week of Welcome. No riding experience is required to join.
CLUB ROLLER HOCKEY QUALIFIES FOR NATIONAL TOURNAMENT BY F RA N C I S CO M A RT I N E Z The Cal Poly Club Roller Hockey club team qualified as one of 16 Division II teams for the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships in Rochester, New York from April 10–14. The Mustangs will roll into Rochester with 16 wins, three losses, two overtime losses and a Western Collegiate Roller Hockey League (WCRHL) title. Spirits are high for the Mutangs, with team members saying they believe their shot at bringing a national title to San Luis Obispo is at an all-time high. “We just have a great group of guys,” senior forward Danny Kumata, who is also team captain and club president, said. “Honestly, the competition isn’t, frankly, what it used to be. We’re better equipped than ever with the guys we have right now.” Kumata scored a hat trick against Cal State Fullerton, contributing to the Mustangs’ 7-1 victory in the final of the WCRHL Championship in Corona, California. Throughout the season,
Kumata has led the team in assists with 25. He also had 19 goals and has a team-leading 44 points. Winning the WCRHL title against the Titans was revenge for the Mustangs, due to the team’s previous two losses against Cal State Fullerton earlier in the season. “Going into the championship, since there was so much on the line, we just had everyone on board,” senior forward Alex Waddel said. Waddel had one goal and three assists in the championship game against the Titans. His 21 goals this season were the most of any Mustang. “The energy was just flying around for the team [and] everyone was upbeat,” Waddel said. “From the start of the game, we just jumped on them and just played a great game.” One of those key players in the title-clinching game was sophomore goalie Nicholas Leacox. Leacox saved 17 out of 18 shot attempts against the Titans. His save percentage this season is among the best in the division at .847, and he has a 2.80 goals against average as well.
DIEGO RIVERA | MUSTAN G N EW S
Senior forward Danny Kumata leads the team with 44 points and five game-winning goals.
Since Cal Poly was relegated from Division I this season due to league re-structuring, the regional championship meant more to the team than just a trophy. “We definitely felt like we had something to prove all season,” Waddel said. “We have a
21 TUESDAY • APRIL 2, 2019 | SPORTS | MUSTANG NEWS
DIEGO RIVERA | MUSTA N G N EWS
The club won the regional championship in a 7-1 victory over Cal State Fullerton.
great team that can definitely play with the top division too, so we felt like we really needed to dominate the new division we’re in now.” Winning the regional title and qualifying to nationals was likely on every player’s mind this season. Anything less than a WCRHL championship would not have sufficed for the team. “I don’t want to sound conceited, but [winning the WCRHL title] is sort of what we wanted and expected from the start,” freshman defenseman Sam Blakewell said. Blakewell has played in all 16 games so far this season, and has averaged more than one assist per game. His 17 assists and 10 goals make him the team’s third-highest point scorer this season. “All the puzzle pieces fell together,” Blakewell said. “It just went exactly to plan.” With the Mustangs’ jigsaw puzzle solved, the team embarks on a race for the prize to be crowned the best roller hockey team in the nation. Most of that, according to Kumata, will be determined by how cohesive each team’s chemistry is. The club president is confident in his team’s unity and how well it will translate in Rochester. “It’s just unique chemistry,” Kumata said. “Just the way we play together. We know each other’s styles now. It’s definitely getting down to how well the chemistry of each team breaks down in nationals, and I think we definitely have one of the best in the country.” The Mustangs’ first game in pool play is against Kennesaw State on April 10 at 10:15 a.m. Pacific Time. Cal Poly will then take on Stony Brook later that evening at 6:45 p.m. and cap off play in Pool A against Massachusetts on April 11 at 5:45 p.m.
KY L E C A L ZI A | M USTA N G N EWS
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The Honolulu native hit a walk-off single against Columbia on March 8 and scored the game-winning run over Baylor on March 16.
PRERN A A N EJ A | M USTA N G N EWS
LEFT FIELDER COLE CABRERA BY PRERNA ANEJA & KYLE HAR
Sophomore left fielder Cole Cabrera is leading Cal Poly Baseball with a team-high 13 runs. The Honolulu, Hawai’i native has come in clutch for the Mustangs this season, hitting a walk-off single against Columbia on March 8 and scoring the game-winning run over Baylor on March 16. Mustang News: What was going through your mind on that play for the walk-off win? Cole Cabrera: [Blake Wagenseller] hit that triple to set the tone with two outs. I was calm in the box. I was ready for it. 1-0 curveball — I took that and I told myself I was not going to get even. I jumped on the fastball and kept it fair. That got the win for us, and it was a very exciting moment. That was my first walk-off win, and to do it here at
home, it was just phenomenal. Seeing all my teammates run out to me was something I will not forget. MN: We’ve heard your grandma travels to most of the games. How does that make you feel knowing that you have a family member in the stands? CC: A lot of my family comes and supports me at my games whether it be my mom, dad or grandparents. They are always there for me. It is really cool having familiar faces in the stands, especially your family who has been there your whole life. They have followed me throughout my whole baseball career. I am really blessed that they take their time to come out here and watch me play. MN: You had a great game last year in Hawai’i. What was it like playing in your hometown?
CC: That was super cool for me. Going home, seeing all my friends and family, and just to get in there was really cool. I came in at the top of the ninth. That was probably one of the most nervous at-bats in my life. I wanted to get a hit in Hawai’i, and I did. Just growing up and going to the games there as a fan and coming back as a player was special for me and my family. MN: What are your favorite places to eat in Hawai’i? CC: I love Shabu Shabu. It is a cook-your-own-meat place. Rainbow Drive-in is also a must. MN: Do you also feel that way here because SLO is a small town? Is there any difference between SLO and Kauai? CC: Definitely the weather. I can’t handle this weather. I’m so used to
sunshine and 80-degree weather, so the weather is definitely a change of scenery for me. Probably the beach. The beaches in Hawai’i are the beaches in Hawai’i, so. That’s definitely a contrast too when it comes to both places, but I love San Luis Obispo. It is my second home. MN: So what made you come to Cal Poly? CC: Going back to wanting to play baseball in college, Cal Poly was really my only option, so I took a visit here and met with Coach Lee and Teddy. I fell in love with the beautiful stadium and the clubhouse. I didn’t really know much about Cal Poly, so I did my research and found out that their education is great – in California where I really wanted to go, and in the Big West so I could go home every other year to Hawai’i. That
was a really big part of it. I’m glad I made the decision to come here. MN: What has been your favorite moment at Cal Poly so far? CC: That walk-off was probably my favorite moment. I came in in the last game of the last season against UC Riverside. They put me in in the bottom of the ninth with two outs in left field, and the ball comes to me, and that was super cool. I was out there for two pitches, and I come in and give us the lead to win that game in the last season, so that was also really cool. And also Hawai’i. Probably the walk-off and Hawai’i are my favorite moments here so far. MN: What is your favorite baseball team, and who is your alltime favorite baseball player? CC: My favorite baseball team is the Miami Marlins actually. I grew up playing on the community Marlins team, so it kind of just stuck with me. I’d say the Tampa Bay Rays or the Marlins. My favorite baseball player is Kolten Wong. He’s from Hawai’i too, so it’s nice. He’s doing good things for the Cardinals. It’s good to see another Hawai’i boy out there doing what he does. MN: What is something you want people to know about you? CC: I like açaí bowls and the Cincinnati Bengals. It’s been my team since I was six. I’m probably the only Bengals fan everyone knows.
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