December 2, 2013

Page 1

SPORTS, pg. 9: Men’s soccer looks to future

ARTS, pg. 4: Music columnist w(raps) up the year’s best albums

Monday, December 2, 2013

www.mustangnews.net

Volume LXXVIII, Number 22

Psychology professor brings Glass to campus BROOKE SPERBECK

@BrookeSperbeck

Imagine being able to send an email, check the weather or record video hands-free as you walk around campus, all by using a pair of glasses. Seem too good to be true? Not to psychology professor Laura Freberg, who was recently invited by her daughter to become a Google Glass Explorer. “My daughter Karen is a social media professor at Louisville,” Freberg said. “We all love tech. We’re all kind of geeky in our family.” After winning her Glass through a social media contest over the summer, Karen invited her mother to join. “She had this opportunity to invite, and I said, ‘Yeah, sure, I’d like to try,’” Freberg said. The Glass — eyeglass frames with a small screen and camera in the corner of the right eye — has capabilities similar to an iPhone or computer and is navigated by voice commands and a touch-sensitive bar on the side of the right frame. “The Explorer Program launched earlier this year and is designed for people who want to get involved early and help shape the future of Glass,” the Google Glass website states. “We’re expanding The Explorer Program little by little and experimenting with different ways of bringing new Explorers into the program.” After her daughter recommended her for the program, Freberg emailed back and forth with

Google representatives to confirm her background. As a blogger and psychologist, Freberg was an ideal candidate. Ultimately, Google looks for users who will experiment and provide feedback on the product, Freberg said. “They want to make sure that you have something to bring the table,” Freberg said. “They want a variety of people. I think what they’re trying to do is find out what all the possible uses are.” Freberg is now part of the Glass Explorers community group on Google, where she can connect with

other Glass users and see how the product is being used around the world. The group, which has approximately 18,000 members, shows people from doctors to race car drivers all

using Glass. Though Freberg jokes about putting the Glass on her dog for a “dog’s-eye” view, she already has some ideas about how to use it in the fields of psychology and academics. “I teach sensation and perception, so my initial interests academically are just kind of the Cal Poly Learn By Doing. What does this do for divided attention?” Freberg said. “It’s actually really unobtrusive; it’s extremely unobtrusive.” Freberg is also interested in potentially using Glass as adaptive technology for people with physical handicaps. One of her students, psychology junior Amber Garman, is a quadriplegic and has trouble using her hands. “This is perfect for her,” Freberg said. “It’s voice activated, she can take notes by speaking. She can do all of the functionality by tapping the side.” Since Garman has limited use of her fingers, voice recording notes could make lectures easier, Garman said. She said she could also use the Glass instead of a computer at home. “The coolest part that was unexpected was it was really comfortable,” Garman said. “I thought it was going to be not so comfortable, and when I put them on, it was like, ‘Whoa, I’m wearing, like, nothing.’” Though Garman only used the Glass briefly, she sees the benefits both academically and for entertainment purposes. “Especially for the disabled community, this is really, really advanced technology that will really help us,” Garman said. see GLASS, pg. 2

CEA president ‘saddened’ by Yount’s death in Spain SAMANTHA SULLIVAN

@ssulli04

Business administration junior Matt Yount drowned in Sevilla, Spain while on a CEA Global Education study abroad trip on Nov. 21. CEA’s local team has worked closely with the authorities, the United States Embassy and students on site to memorialize Yount and to determine the cause of the accident, CEA President Marcie Schneider said. “This impacts all of CEA as well as Cal Poly,” Schneider said. “We’re all very saddened by the lost of a student on one of our programs.” Before a student departs for a trip through CEA, they are educated on best traveling practices and safety tips, Schneider said. This advice is reiterated when students arrive on site through an orientation program, she said. Student safety is critical and of the “utmost importance” to

CEA, Schneider said. The organization will continue to reemphasize its safety orientation with all students that come to its locations, she said. There are no plans now for any immediate changes because of Yount’s accident, Schneider said. Schneider has been with CEA for three years. Senior Vice President for Program Management and Development Caroline Walsh has been with CEA for 14 years. To their knowledge, CEA has not had a tragedy like this before, Schneider said. Approximately 5,000 students a year go on the CEA program, Schneider said. “We value each student that goes on our program, and it’s very important to us,” Schneider said. “We’re all very saddened and looking for ways to support see CEA, pg. 3

Writing Center hopes to widen its scope KAYLA MISSMAN

@kaymissman

The Writing and Rhetoric Center plans to expand its services to help students communicate on different platforms, not just with writing. The ultimate goal is to create a multi-literate center, where students can brainstorm for an assign-

ment, get feedback on outlines and essays, unpack hard data, practice presentations and receive help on multiple levels, Writing and Rhetoric Center Director Dawn Janke said. “It’s not just the written word anymore; it’s how written modes of communication interact with other modes,” Janke said. “A lot of writing

experts these days are focusing on how — because technology shapes culture and shapes communication so strongly these days — we really need to expand the ways in which we help students communicate effectively.” Currently, the Writing and Rhetoric Center focuses on writing, but aims to help students realize skills they have

— beside grammar and punctuation — that will translate to other aspects of their lives, lead tutor and English senior David Llamas said. “It tends to go beyond what professors are looking for on an assignment sheet, to go and provide them things beyond the classroom,” Llamas see CENTER, pg. 3

Starkey’s death reverberates five years later BROOKE SPERBECK

@BrookeSperbeck

It’s been half a decade since Julia and Scott Starkey sent their son Carson to Cal Poly as an architectural engineering freshman to begin what were supposed to be some of the best years of his life.

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Instead, it was the last year of his life. After being hazed at a Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity event, Carson died on Dec. 2, 2008 from alcohol poisoning with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.40. Five years later, his legacy lives on at Cal Poly through

Aware Awake Alive, a nonprofit organization Julia and Scott started to make sure what happened to their son doesn’t happen again. Though hazing was one of the main causes of Carson’s death, the Starkeys felt alcohol poisoning was the “last straw.” “Two factors that stood out

were the young people that surrounded him did not recognize the severity of his situation, meaning they didn’t understand what alcohol poisoning looked like, and secondly they were afraid to act because they didn’t want to get in trouble,” Scott explained. “Those were the two tips of

SPORTS, pg. 10

Tomorrow’s Weather:

Women’s basketball sweeps weekend games sunny

high

the spear, so to speak, that we decided to go after with Aware Awake Alive.” Cal Poly has been a supporter and partner of Aware Awake Alive since it started in 2011, Julia said. After the Starkeys put together the resources see STARKEY, pg. 2

INDEX News...........................1-3 Arts.............................4-6

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CARSON STARKEY

Opinions............................7 Classifieds.......................8 Sports..........................9-10

mostly sunny low 37˚F partially cloudy

cloudy

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