Feb 23, 2017 by Mustang News

Thursday, Febr uar y 2 3, 2017

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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

News 1-3 | Arts 4-5 | Opinion 6 | Classifieds 7 | Sports 8

was a request for clarification on the bidding process by College of Liberal Arts Director Cyrus Ebadat. REPLACEMENT continued on page 2

NEWS 2

MUSTANG NEWS

No sleep for the weary:

Cal Poly students struggle with sleep

SLEEPLESS IN SLO

DREW HAUGHEY | MUSTA NG NE W S

| While the recommended amount of sleep is six to eight hours, an average of 52 percent of Cal Poly students said that they only had between three to five days of sufficient sleep in a seven-day period.

Cassandra Garibay @ CPMustangNews

Sleep is often a low priority for college students. However, the effects of sleep deprivation can have a serious impact on health and learning ability. The American College Health Association performed a National College Health Assessment on Cal Poly students in 2016. The results showed 28.3 percent of female and 19 percent of male students found sleep was “difficult to handle in the past 12 months.” An average of 52 percent of students said

they had between three to five days of sufficient sleep within a seven-day period. “We know that college students have a wide range of different commitments,” Genie Kim, director of wellbeing and health education for Campus Health and Wellbeing, said. “So although the recommended amount of sleep is six to eight hours, we know that it’s just not realistic for some students.” Cutting caffeine and phone time Kim said in order to make the most out of limited sleep, stu-

dents should cut back on stimulants such as caffeine before bed. Reducing bright lights and screen time could also help students fall asleep more easily. Weekend rest Time management plays a major role in the amount of sleep students receive, Kim said. Between studying, classes and club commitments, people often forget to allot time to care for themselves. “I am at the library until midnight some nights and then I have 8 a.m. [classes] so I am up pretty early,” English sophomore Krista Hershfield said. “So balancing ev-

erything is kind of hard.” Kim said that if students cannot achieve the recommended hours of sleep during the week, it is important to allow time for the body to rest during the weekend. “[Little sleep] gets me day to day but I can tell on the weekends [because] I am sleeping like 10 hours because my body is so exhausted,” Tyler Deere, an electrical engineering sophomore, said. Napping Napping is another way to combat sleepiness throughout

REPLACEMENT continued from page 1

“[We] have been waiting for the construction documents to be finished and receive all the approvals through the state, the CSU, etc. and to be issued as out to bid for contractors to bid on the project,” Leetham said. “It’s a Request for Proposal for major capital projects. So, that’s what out to bid means.” In addition, College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences ASI Director Roman Waskiewicz inquired into what student involvement in the project has looked like and will look like in the future. “We used students to help

ASSOCIATED STUDENTS, INC.

the day. According to Kim, rapid eye movement (REM) research shows that an ideal power nap is between 20 and 30 minutes. Anything longer than that and the brain goes into the next cycle of sleep which could make a napper more groggy when awoken. Regardless, Kim said naps should not be replacements for a full night’s rest. “Your body is able to handle a couple all-nighters that you are pulling for studying,” Kim said. “But when you get to the point of where you are maybe not sleeping for three or four days

in a row, you could appear to be drunk and there are a lot of studies that support that [lack of sleep] is dangerous.” On the other hand, sleeping too much can also have negative effects. Kim said oversleeping is a common sign of anxiety and depression. If a student notices that oversleeping is causing them to miss obligations regularly, Kim advised they visit the Health Center. “It just depends on student to student,” Kim said. “Some students really need that sleep and some students can function really well with little sleep.”

develop some of the ideas around the original concepts and design,” Leetham said. “But it’s going to be survey and focus groups going forward.” Contractors will submit bids for the project before 3 p.m. on March 22, 2017 to Cal Poly Strategic Business Services. At this time, bids can be viewed by the public at Building 70, Room 110. According to the project’s bidding and contract requirements, the current estimate cost for construction is $22 million. Cal

Poly Corporation stated that the Vista Grande replacement will be its largest capital project to date. Cal Poly Facilities Planning and Capital Projects expects construction to begin on April 1 ,2017 and be completed by Nov. 30, 2018. This aligns with the university’s goal of opening the new dining complex during Fall 2018. The project’s contract requirements stipulate that the contractor may be charged $1,000 in damages for every day the project is delayed. If all goes according to plan, construction of Vista Grande’s replacement will conclude 837 days after its demolition began Aug. 15, 2016.

We used students to help develop some of the ideas around the original concepts ... LORLIE LEETHAM

CANDIDATE FILING: February 6 at 8 am – February 24 at 4 pm

CANDIDATE INFORMATION SESSIONS: Tuesday, February 7 at 11 am, UU 216 Monday, February 13 at 7 pm, Cal Poly Rec Center Training Room

OPEN HOUSE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING: Wednesday, February 22 at 4:30 pm, UU220

FILE TODAY! ASI ELECTION PACKETS AVAILABLE: ASI Student Government Office and online at asi.calpoly.edu/student_government/elections

#whyasi

#WhyNotYou

FALL 2018

BJ YEBISU | MUSTA NG NE W S

| Construction on the VGs replacement is expected to be complete by November 30, 2018.

NEWS 3

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017

Cal Poly’s tenured track faculty at all time low Cal Poly’s tenured density, the percentage of tenured or tenure-track faculty out of all faculty members, is the lowest it has been in the past 10 years. As of 2015, the most recent year for which data is available, 64.1 percent of faculty were tenured or tenure-track. Tenured density peaked at 73.4 percent in 2009. From 2007 to 2015, full-time equivalent (FTE) lecturers increased by 70 members, FTE staff increased by 100 members and FTE tenured track or tenured faculty decreased by 20. Since Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong’s first year in 2010, FTE faculty lecturers increased by 100, FTE staff increased by 60, administration increased by 83 management personnel and tenured and tenure-track faculty members increased by 93 members. This means while administration, staff and lecturer positions all increased, tenured positions did not. According to Graham Archer, Cal Poly California faculty advisor chapter president and architectural engineering professor, Armstrong’s Vision 2022 includes a goal to increase the tenured density to 75 percent in the next five years. This

would mean either converting 176 non-tenure lecturers to a tenured track, releasing 176 lecturers in order to hire tenured professors in their place, or implementing a combination of converting and hiring. University spokesperson Matt Lazier explained that the trend

toward more staff is due to a focus on student support and services and that the decrease in tenure density is a result of high incoming student enrollment between 2013 and 2015. With more students than anticipated, the gap between instructors and classes was filled in the short

term by lecturers. These increases in administration and staff occurred at the same time that Cal Poly professors were refused raises to adjust for inflation. Additionally, some professors were placed back on wages from before cuts were made due to the

2008 recession. After threatening a strike, professors received increases in 2016 from the Chancellor’s office, gaining a 10.5 percent increase over time with an additional 2.65 percent service salary increase applicable to faculty who have worked longer at Cal Poly.

FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT EMPLOYEES 1200 NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

Aidan McGloin @ mcgloin_aidan

1048

1040

1033

986

1000

1017

996

1091

1043

1028

800 665

637

661

623

600

622

619

615

400 276

268

240

247

265

259

617

592

290

317

346

200 0

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 YEAR Tenured/tenured track

Lecturers

Staff

AIDAN MCGLOIN | MUSTA NG NE W S

Associate Director of Forensics and communications lecturer John Patrick, who is non-tenure, said he has to work what he describes as “side hustles” to support himself and his family. He teaches at Cuesta, teaches full-time at Cal Poly and coaches the debate team while also picking up work with workshops and outside courses when he can. Professors are paid below San Luis Obispo’s annual cost of living, according to Archer, who said the average is around $75,000. Two professors who were offered positions at Cal Poly last year turned down the position after hearing the pay, Archer said. One senior professor left Cal Poly in the past two years for the same reason. Archer is still struggling with his student loans and putting his five kids through college, and said his future retirement is uncertain given his circumstances. “There is a scarcity of resources. We can argue and strike and all that stuff to get our salaries. And that’s a hard process and we are doing it but on the other side we have the administration and they can hire without asking anyone,” Archer said. “They can increase salaries without asking anyone and so they have done that.”

ARTS 4

MUSTANG NEWS

Beans and brushes: Artist combines coffee and art Carly Quinn @ carlyquinnMN

The logical left side of the brain and the creative right side sometimes fight for dominance in our personalities. But, for artist and teacher Andrew Wilkie, it seems the sides of his brain have found a happy medium. An anatomy, physiology and biology teacher at Atascadero High School, Wilkie has always loved coffee. After living in Costa Rica for a few years with his family, he considers himself a “coffee snob.” A pre-cancerous skin treatment

left Wilkie stuck inside his home in Morro Bay for a week last July, but being cooped up gave him a new reason to love the fragrant beans. As Wilkie worked on a black and white painting while cup after cup of coffee, an idea sparked: maybe he could use the coffee beans in his art. “I’d seen some sand art before and basically thought, ‘Well, why not coffee grounds?’” Wilkie said. “It’s a unique art form because there’s the visual aspect, texture and smell.” Wilkie made his first piece, a heartbeat through a treble clef ti-

tled “Coffee Makes My Heart Sing.” Wilkie had no intention of selling his work until a former student asked to buy the piece hanging in his classroom. His wife encouraged him to enter Avila Art on the Beach, an art show that takes place every Sunday. The show helped Wilkie realize that people had real interest in his work. “I really did not expect this to take off, but people really took interest in it,” he said. Wilkie takes photographs and transforms them into coffee creations. He started creating landscapes, close-up portrayals of

objects and even people, as seen in his favorite piece hanging in Bello Mundo Cafe in downtown San Luis Obispo of a man walking down train tracks. “I feel like I’m very pensive in life, like this guy walking on the tracks; I feel like that’s me,” Wilkie said. “Just walking, thinking about life.” Blackhorse Espresso and Bakery, Atascadero Brew and Kreuzberg Coffee Company in Paso Robles all display Wilkie’s artwork on their walls. Once his work was publicly displayed, people started commissioning Wilkie for his pieces. With all

of this exposure, Wilkie found himself a very busy man. “My wife is awfully gracious and my sons are all older, but I have an awesome daughter named Sophie who is six now,” Wilkie said. “We’re not going out with friends all the time, so I have a lot of time at night again now, or in the summer as a teacher.” Wilkie uses his own blend of specially treated and roasted French roast beans and adhesive to create these caffeinated masterpieces, each taking around 12 hours to make. He said sometimes he’ll throw in a bean of kopi luwak, the

most expensive coffee in the world, just to say the piece contains it. Wilkie normally sells his art for anywhere from $150 to $400 and makes about two sales per week. The future promises more dynamic pieces from Wilkie. He started to toy with a 3-D look for certain designs and said he hopes to explore this further in the future. “Right now I’m in a wine phase, but I would love to do more animals as well,” Wilkie said. “I’ve had people contact me from all over the world.” Wilkie’s art can be seen on his website or Instagram.

SOPHIA O’KEEFE | MUSTA NG NE W S

RICH BLEND | Wilkie creates landscapes and close-up portrayals of objects and people in his coffee art.

BEYONCÉ continued from page 1

CARLY QUINN | MUSTA NG NE W S

JAVA BUZZ | After displaying it at Avila Art on the Beach, Wilkie realized people were interested in his art.

HELP BUILD A

BETTER DINING EXPERIENCE Do you have something to say about Campus Dining? Take nine minutes to answer Campus Dining’s survey and be entered to win one of several awesome prizes including an Apple Watch. Terms and conditions apply. Take survey at calpolydining.com/survey

#HEALTHYHACKS Romaine calm and have a salad! Buildyour-own salad bars are available at four different Campus Dining locations, making it easy to eat your greens. (Registered Dietitian approved)

TASTE. LEARN. WIN. This Wednesday, February 22, our registered dietitian will be in Campus Market discussing heart-healthy foods. Stop by between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to sample nutritious snacks and enter for a chance to win a basket full of superfoods. A happy heart fuels a healthier you!

RE-USE AND MORE Invest in a reusable tumbler for your regular coffee pick-up. To show their commitment to reducing waste, Starbucks offers a 10-cent discount to those who bring in their own cup. It’s a brew-tiful thing for both you and the environment!

Navarro, who teaches in the ethnic studies and the women’s and gender studies departments, wants to teach a course relevant to students today. “I don’t know if there’s anything more relevant in our current moment than dealing with police brutality, which Beyoncé has dealt with very overtly and evidently,” Navarro said. Beyoncé’s performance at the 2016 Super Bowl inspired worldwide conversations about police brutality. She paid tribute to the Black Panther Party, Malcolm X and Mario Woods, a man shot and killed by San Francisco police in December 2015. “I’m interested in thinking about ways to positively heal from racism and sexism,” Navarro said. “I think music is one way we heal. It is a medicine for us in so many ways. That’s why ‘Lemonade’ has been so striking for millions of people because they can resonate with so many of the themes on that album.” Business administration senior Mary Butcher is interested in taking the class before graduating this June. “I think it would be really interesting to take a different approach to someone that I admire and that is current,” Butcher said. “It’s not often you get to learn in a classroom about one of your favorite artists.” Navarro wants it to become a permanent class that more faculty members will choose to teach in coming years. “Some have questioned if the course is too specific or irrelevant, but we teach a class on Jesus on this campus,” Navarro said. “There could be arguments made that that’s too specific or not relevant. It’s called academic freedom.”

Navarro wants to study how Beyoncé exercises her political and economic power to create a positive change. The class will explore Beyoncé’s upbringing and Texan roots, including her relationship with her parents and her sister Solange. Navarro says B eyoncé’s popularity makes it easier for people to have open conversations about race on a predominantly white campus. Navarro calls Cal Poly a “PWI,” a predominantly white institution. “Her music and music videos lend themselves to critique and sort of the social fabric of U.S. life right now,” Navarro said. The class is not a general education course and meets no degree requirement other than an upper division elective, so Navarro hopes only students genuinely interested in the material will register for the class. She is interested to see if the class will consist of mostly students of color, white students, or a diverse group. Course materials will include texts from Beyoncé’s influences like bell hooks and Audre Lorde. Assignments will include group analysis of Beyoncé’s music videos that will encourage students to think critically. “Black motherhood and even women of color mothering. What does it mean to be a politically charged mother? A revolutionary mother? What does that look like?” Navarro said. “Honestly, the only good news we’ve gotten since Trump was elected into office is that Beyoncé’s gonna have twins. That’s the only good news we’ve gotten.” Navarro has two children herself. “I say it’s important to raise my kids on Beyoncé,” Navarro said. Butcher says her excitement for the course is related to the professor as well as the content. “I’ve had Professor Navarro before and she’s really cool and

really knows what she’s talking about,” Butcher said. “Especially with Beyoncé getting so much attention in the media lately, academically it’ll be interesting to discuss her impact.” Beyoncé’s influence spreads far beyond Cal Poly. She is currently the woman with the most Grammy award nominations of all time. Beyoncé has six solo albums, all of which will be discussed in the class. “All of them have themes I think have never really tired in her cannon,” Navarro said. In her Video Vanguard Lifetime Achievement Award performance in 2014, Beyoncé performed her hit song “Flawless,” which samples author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, to a backdrop reading “FEMINIST.” In addition to her more recent and overtly political performances in recent years, Navarro says Beyoncé has been a feminist trailblazer since her days in all-girl R&B group Destiny’s Child. “Her black woman intuition goes back to Destiny’s Child,” Navarro said. “To have a song like ‘Independent Woman’ or ‘Stand Up for Love’, ‘Survivor’, that’s critical, right? That’s critical.” Biological sciences sophomore Mandy Helle attended her first Beyoncé concert last spring at Levi Stadium during the singer’s Formation tour. Although she doesn’t yet have the necessary standing to register for the course this spring, Helle hopes to take the course later in her Cal Poly career. “I think it’s awesome there is a Beyoncé class,” Helle said. “She is one of the most famous women of our time and I feel like she is inspirational to a lot of women everywhere, and she is amazingly talented. Who wouldn’t want to learn more about her?”

ARTS 5

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017

Cassandra Garibay @ CPMustangNews

Rolling out of bed in the early hours before the sun rose, general engineering freshman Gabriel Santos and his friends found themselves hurriedly hiking up the Cerro Alto trail in the dark to see the sunrise from the highest point in San Luis Obispo. “Everything did not want [the hike] to happen,” Santos said. “We went on the wrong road and by the time we got to Cerro Alto campgrounds, we had 45 minutes to do the whole hike. So we just ran up it, but I don’t know, seeing the sunrise made it all worth it.” This is only one of the many scenic views that makes hiking worth the effort for Santos. Many students like Santos take advantage of Cal Poly’s surroundings and accessibility to hiking. However, most do not take this opportunity as frequently as him. Santos promised himself he would hike every day of winter quarter. His roommate, environmental management and protection freshman Kyle Rathbone, said Santos kept this commitment so far. “When he told me he was hiking everyday, I thought, ‘Wow this guys is crazy. I couldn’t do that.’ But I believe in him. I believe in his perseverance,” Rathbone said. Santos said the decision began as a spur of the moment idea, but became both a mental and physical challenge. “I came back on a Saturday from the break and I was like, ‘Aww back to school,’ and I wasn’t too happy [...] but while hiking, while even being wet, I was super happy,” Santos said. “And I told myself, ‘If this is what makes me happy, I am going to keep doing this every day.’” Santos hiked roughly twice a week prior to this quarter and loves being outdoors. He said

his appreciation for nature has been most heavily influenced by his father. Typically, Santos decides when and where he will hike when he wakes up in the morning. He uses the website AllTrails.com to find new trails around San Luis Obispo County and to search for rugged, challenging hikes. When Santos plans on going somewhere he has never been, he prefers hiking with friends so he can share the experience of discovering something new. Although his hikes aren’t usually planned out in detail, Santos says how long he spends hiking depends on how many classes he has that day. “Hiking organizes your day because you need to find time to do it and the rest of your time is, like, how you are going to allot that time,” he said. Besides organization, Santos said hiking affects his life in several different ways. He said it has led to a healthy eating regimen, something that gives him fuel and energy. Hiking also motivates Santos and gives him something to look forward to every day. “Any time students have time to get away from the built environment to replenish and refresh themselves and get perspective can benefit their health and their well being,” Genie Kim, director of wellbeing and health education, said. As long as students have proper gear and stay hydrated and well nourished, Kim said hiking has physical and mental rewards. Despite the benefits, there are days when hiking seems more like a chore than a leisure activity for Santos. However, he does not let himself get distracted. “Tuesdays and Thursday[s] I finish [class] at 6 p.m. and I need to go hike at night and sometimes it’s raining and so I try not to think about it and put my boots on and get out there,” Santos said.

HOUSING FAIR 2017 Thursday, March 9 th 11am –1pm Cruise through this housing season with some help from Mustang News.

Once he is “out there,” Santos uses the strenuous parts of his hikes to relieve stress. By distancing himself from technology, he is able to appreciate all that is small and humbling in nature. “If you think about the students in general and the technology around us and how much we live an urban lifestyle [...] we are just so accessible, we constantly have our devices on us [...] so some of the benefits of going out into nature and going on a hike can help us get away from that, and that changes the way we perceive our environment around us,” Kim said. According to Kim, scientific research proves nature has a positive effect on behavior, happiness and creativity. In the end, Santos agrees submersing yourself in nature always pays off. He said the improvements he sees within himself remind him of why he loves the challenge of hiking and exploring nature. He also said by surrounding himself with people who hold him accountable, he has no excuses to waver in his commitment. For example, when he sees his roommate get back from working out, it motivates Santos and vice versa. “I see him hiking and it makes me feel like I should not waste all my time doing nothing and watching Netflix,” Rathbone said. “It just makes me want to be productive.” By bettering themselves, Rathbone and Santos also encourage one another. Rathbone said he wouldn’t be surprised if Santos hikes once a day for the rest of the school year, not just the quarter. “My main support is just my own fulfillment, which I think is very important, but if hiking involves helping other people get motivated, that’s awesome,” Santos said. “I will keep doing it for myself and for those other people.”

I see him hiking and it makes me feel like I should not waste all my time doing nothing and watching Netlix. KYLE RATHBONE

IT’S THE CLIMB

SAMMI MULHERN | MUSTA NG NE W S

| Though a tough challenge, hiking can improve one’s mental and physical health.

OPINION 6

MUSTANG NEWS

Return to rationality: OPINION

Graphic Arts Building 26, Suite 226 California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, CA 93407

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Conservatism’s role in the liberal academy

EDITORS & STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Celina Oseguera MANAGING EDITORS Gurpreet Bhoot, Olivia Proffit BROADCAST NEWS DIRECTOR Chloe Carlson DIRECTORS OF OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT Cara Benson, Hannah Avdalovic NEWS EDITOR Naba Ahmed ARTS EDITOR Gina Randazzo SPORTS EDITOR Ayrton Ostly BROADCAST SPORT PRODUCER Clara Knapp BROADCAST SPORTS DIRECTOR Allison Edmonds SPECIAL SECTIONS COORDINATOR Kristine Xu PHOTO EDITOR Chris Gateley OPINION EDITOR Neil Sandhu HEAD DESIGNER Zack Spanier COPY CHIEF Bryce Aston OUTREACH COORDINATORS Hayley Sakae, Claire Blachowski

THE ACADEMY

TABATA GORDILLO | MUSTA NG NE W S

| The majority of American professors are liberal. However, this favoritism does not necessarily mean that liberalism is best for our modern society.

Brandon Bartlett @ CPMustangNews

Brandon Bartlett is a philosophy junior and Mustang News columnist. The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints and editorial coverage of Mustang News. The average university has nearly 12 liberal professors for every 1 conservative professor, and at face value this seems to make a strong case for liberalism. If those who would be expected to know the most about the world overwhelmingly favor a certain viewpoint, then who am I to disagree? And yet, I cannot help but feel that conservatism has something to offer both universities and the country. I hope to make a case for that through this article in a way that is both true to my own position and shows the proper respect for my professors. If I must fail at one of these tasks, I pray it be the former. To begin, let us take the face value argument to its logical end: If it is true that my leftist professors know best about what should be done for the economy, human rights and global relations, then the only reasonable thing to do would be to put them in charge. If they actually know best, then giving the vote to someone as unqualified as me is the equivalent of giving the vote to a child, or a jackal for that matter — it would be a waste. We would be tying

one hand behind our back (for what reason, again?), hoping for the best. And yet, our civilization agreed that democracy is superior to oligarchy, and it seems that history would confirm this hypothesis. So let this be our starting point.

has an equal chance of being wrong. And after some thought, I have become convinced that this is correct. Education, it seems, works very much like armor: It is just as good at halting the blade of a deceitful enemy as that of a corrective surgeon. This is why the change that a 30-second ad may have on the opinions of the layman is far greater than the change that volumes of peer-reviewed research can have on an intellectual. A professor’s beliefs are stable, for she has a reason behind each one; the public opinion can change overnight and for no reason at all. The layman’s strength is that he can move quickly, but this strength is based on a certain unwavering impulsiveness, a refusal to weigh every option and deliberate over every consequence. It seems the public is quick and the academy is slow; and yet, we must admit that the converse is also true. While the above professor may never be swayed by the research that she has read, the views she holds are often years ahead of public opinion; which is to say that while the university speeds ahead into the future, the public lags several decades behind. The public, then, is a slow moving mass full of rapidly transforming individuals, whereas the academy is, or at least should be, a rapidly moving mass full of static individuals.

Education, it seems, works very much like armor: it is just as good at halting the blade of a deceitful enemy as that of a corrective surgeon.

The Weakness of education “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried,” Winston Churchill once said. In deciding to be democratic, we have decided against the well-educated oligarch — and we have even decided against a system in which the more educated get more voting power. Instead, for whatever reason, we have decided that in politics all opinions are equal. The best sense that I have been able to make of this is the assumption that each person, regardless of education or social standing,

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And this paradoxical system works perfectly as long as both parties closely watch the other: the public must apply the ideas emerging from the university and the university must take in feedback from the applications of the public. However, this balance was broken when the academy began ignoring the consequences of its ideas. It gave us Marxism, a forgivable mistake, but has still refused to repent after the world was forced to witness the largest genocide ever practiced. It gave us postmodernism, a forgivable mistake, but has yet to recount after the philosophy was proven utterly untenable (I shall attempt to prove this thesis in my next article). The university was meant to be a safety net, the vanguard, the filter for new ideas, a partitioned section of society to test the most radical and creative

of philosophies. But as it turned its back on the people, the people have been forced to turn their backs on it. The people no longer know where their ideas will lead them, but this uncertain chaos was deemed a better option than continuing down the same path as before. That is why we saw the up-shoot of “outsider candidates,” and the reason why even the most avid of Trump supporters have no idea what is going to happen in the next four to eight years. So why is conservatism a viable position? Because, at least for now, it represents the prudence of the people, the feedback for the academy; the wisdom that our democracy is demanding that we re-examine. Who am I to disagree?

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LEAUPEPE TWINS continued from page 1

An early start In the fourth grade, the Leaupepe twins decided to officially start their basketball careers. They played on the same team up until their last year in recreation league basketball, winning a few youth championships along the way. By the time they were eighth-graders, the league decided it was too unfair to continue allowing both of them to be on the same team. At that point, the twins realized they might be pretty good at this game called basketball. High school challenges At Camarillo High School, the Leaupepe twins worked every day to have the chance to play in college. They wanted scholarships to play Division I basketball and nothing was going to

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stand in their way. That included showing up early to practice and going to the gym on the weekends, constantly perfecting their skills. However, Lynn suffered a major setback as a junior. She tore her lateral meniscus and missed most of the season. “I was devastated. I was so sad,” Lynn said. “I was just motivated to come back and get better. Missing those 10 games was so hard to just watch and not be able to play.” She tore her medial meniscus senior year but decided to play through it. She couldn’t stay out again. Lynn had surgery after her senior year and has stayed healthy ever since. Dynn and Lynn were recruited by most Big West schools — and yes, they were a package deal. Cal Poly won the recruiting sweepstakes and soon enough, the twins were in San Luis Obispo.

Cal Poly progression With the same major, recreation, parks and tourism administration concentrating in experience industry management, the Leaupepe twins have grown even closer in college. They take classes together, live together and practice together. School has always been a major focus for the twins so the adjustment to college was relatively easy. Adjusting to college basketball has also come easy to the twins and they’ve progressed to become the team’s top scorers. “They’ve learned how to control their speed and be more savvy by getting around people,” head coach Fa i t h M i m naugh said. Since their

freshman year, Dynn and Lynn have increased their shot attempts per game, free throw percentage and points per game, evolving from bench players to starters to leaders. Both Dynn and Lynn have career highs of 31 points and seven rebounds, started every game this season and average more than 26 minutes per game. The twins have gone from learning who plays in the Big West to being in the top five league lead-

ers in several categories. Lynn is third in the conference in rebounds per game at 7.8 per game and fifth in fieldgoal percentage at 45.9 percent. Dynn is first in the conference in free throws made with 98 made and free-throw percentage at 90.7 percent, the latter good enough to be eighth in the country. Currently, Lynn and Dynn are fifth and sixth in the conference in scoring at 14.8 and 14.6 points per game. These numbers are far more than the 5.0 and 7.9 points per game they averaged their freshman year. This increased scoring has spurned new leadership roles for the Camarillo kids. Combined with strong work ethics, the Leaupepe twins have become

By the time they were eighth-graders, the league decided it was too unfair to continue allowing Dynn and Lynn to be on the same team.

MUSTANG NE WS | FILE PHOTO

| Junior guard Lynn Leaupepe drives with her left hand to the hoop against Hawaii.

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a driving force for the Mustangs this season. “Any time we ask them to step up and talk on defense or encourage their teammates, they’re the first ones to do that now,” Mimnaugh said about the twins. “They certainly are leaders in their actions on the court, but they’re also leaders verbally.” Dynn and Lynn have grown together into impressive college basketball players. This progression will likely lead to more wins, possibly new school records and hopefully a Big West title. When asked about who would win in a one-on-one game, the twins couldn’t help laughing. They’ve never played one-onone, and they never will. They play and grow together, not against each other. And that’s what makes them so great.

MUSTANG NEWS | FILE PHOTO

| Her twin sister Dynn dribbles to the basket down the right baseline against CSUN.