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Beyoncé 101 ethnic studies department to teach Beyoncé class
K YLE GOECKE | COURTE SY PHOTO
IRREPLACEABLE | Beyoncé: Race, Feminism, and Politics (ES 470) will explore women of color, feminism and anti-black racism while covering one of the 12 themes in her visual album “Lemonade.”
Allison Royal @ alpalroyal
The Cal Poly ethnic studies department is mixing pop culture and academia by offering a class on Beyoncé Knowles-Carter Spring 2017. The class is called Beyoncé: Race, Feminism, and Politics (ES 470). The syllabus is modeled after Beyoncé’s visual album “Lem-
onade.” Each week the class will cover one of the 12 themes Beyoncé covers in the album: intuition, denial, anger, apathy, emptiness, loss, accountability, reformation, forgiveness, resurrection, hope and redemption. The class will culminate in a Beyoncé conference called “Cal Poly Bey Day,” which will consist of a screening of “Lemonade,” faculty and student presenta-
tions, panels on Beyoncé’s work and student performances set to Beyoncé’s music. The class will also construct an altar dedicated to Beyoncé and women of color who have been subject to police violence. The altar will be based on the African American Policy Forum’s “Say Her Name” Campaign. Jenell Navarro, a self-described unapologetic Beyoncé fan, will
be the first to teach the course at Cal Poly. “We were looking at women icons of color in the 21st century and no one can deny Beyoncé that title,” assistant professor Navarro said. Rutgers University has offered a Beyoncé course for about 12 years. “Certainly, long before the rise of the ‘Lemonade’ album
and that particular explosion in Beyoncé’s career, people have being using sort of academic life in conjunction with Beyoncé’s superstar status to really explore women of color feminism, anti-black racism as major themes that need to be explored,” Navarro said. BEYONCÉ continued on page 4
Sister act: Leaupepe twins and basketball Michael Frank @frankmichaelss
They walked out of their Polynesian hula dancing class and into the nearby gym, just because they wanted something to do. They saw people shooting baskets and decided to try it themselves. They were only in the fourth grade. Now 11 years later, they’re still playing basketball. Junior guards and twin sisters Dynn and Lynn Leaupepe from Camarillo, Calif., are the two leading scorers on the Cal Poly women’s basketball team. They have been tearing up Big West Conference competition this season, and both rank in the top 30 all-time in school scoring history. Oh, and again, they’re only juniors.
The importance of family From an early age, the Leaupepes were exposed to basketball. Like many Los Angeles area families, they loved the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant. “We grew up watching the Lakers,” Dynn said. “We watched them play with our dad a lot. That’s something I remember most about growing up. It’s kind of how we learned the game of basketball as well.” With eight other siblings and a Polynesian heritage, the Leaupepes felt family was everything. Every sibling would attend each others’ sporting events. Because of this, their family grew closer. The entire family still tries to every Cal Poly game to see Dynn and Lynn play. Although a full
decade separates them from a couple of their siblings, it doesn’t change how they interact. “Whenever we get together, it’s as if we never separated,” Lynn said. The twins have only one younger sibling, their brother who is on the autism spectrum. Both Dynn and Lynn couldn’t help but smile when talking about him. He is a huge part of their childhood and an important part of what has helped shape them into who they are today. “He taught us how to be more patient. He taught us to think more about other people’s lives,” Lynn said. LEAUPEPE TWINS continued on page 8
OUTSIDE TOUCH
FILE PHOTO | MUSTA NG NE W S
| Junior guard Dynn Leaupepe (above) and her sister lead the team in scoring this year.
CAMPUS DINING | COURTE SY PHOTO
THE NEW VISTA GRANDE | Pictured above is a rendering of the new Vista Grande replacement that will be a three-story complex with six different micro-restaurants, each with its own unique cuisine.
Companies to bid on VGs replacement Brendan Matsuyama @ CPMustangNews
Cal Poly will receive bids from prospective contractors for the Vista Grande replacement March 22.
The plan to replace Vista Grande was announced by Cal Poly in Spring 2016, scheduling the grand opening for Fall 2018. The new complex will be the closest dining option for the Sierra Madre and Yosemite res-
idence hall residents, as well as Student Housing South, slated to open in 2018. The lot that once housed Vista Grande on the corner of Grand Avenue and Deer Road has remained vacant since the demo-
lition of the building concluded in Fall 2016. Cal Poly, put out a bid to contractors for the complex’s construction while waiting to get the project approved by the state and the California State University (CSU) system.
Cal Poly Corporation Executive Director Lorlie Leetham addressed a number of questions raised by Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) directors during the ASI board meeting Feb. 8. Among these questions
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was a request for clarification on the bidding process by College of Liberal Arts Director Cyrus Ebadat. REPLACEMENT continued on page 2