Feb 4, 2016

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Why should you care about the Congressional debate?

The sold-out debate will be held in Spanos Theatre on Thursday from 6-8 p.m.

Watch live on mustangnews.net, Charter channel 2 or listen on KCPR 91.3 FM. Then stay tuned for an aftershow featuring members of the Cal Poly College Republicans and Democrats.

What is the purpose of the debate?

• This is the first election in the last 18 years that hasn’t involved Congresswoman Lois Capps.

• Get to know the leaders that will represent much of the Central Coast, including San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara (the 24th Congressional District).

Who are the candidates?

• Seven candidates will be participating in the debate, with their current positions ranging from within the private sector to the mayor of Santa Barbara. The candidates are Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian, Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal, Pro Band Sports Industries Vice President Justin Fareed, Citizens Congress Director Bill Ostrander, engineer Steve Isakson, former congressional committee director Jeff Oshins and Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider.

What is the role of the 24th Congressional District representative?

• The 24th Congressional District member will cover the largest geographic area of anyone in the House of Representatives.

How is the debate structured?

• Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong will begin with his opening remarks, which will segue into each candidate’s own opening statements. KCBX FM News Director Randol White will moderate the discussion segment. Each candidate will have 1.5 minutes to answer each question. With the debate at Cal Poly, debate organizer and political science professor Michael Latner anticipates discussion about diversity and inclusivity, such as SLO Solidarity’s movement and recent administrative campus efforts. The audience will have a chance to ask the candidates questions for the last 25 minutes.

What topics will be discussed at the debate?

• Topics will include education policy, the role of government in higher education, economic policy, tax policy, environmental policy and social divisions in society, including diversity on campus.

Take control by: • Helping impact decisions in your district by choosing the next Congressman for the 24th District.

• Becoming an educated citizen in your district.

News... 1-2, 8 | Arts... 4-5 | Opinion... 6 | Classifieds... 7 | Sports... 9-10

Thursday, February 4, 2016

NEWS | 2

AGR placed on extended social probation Gina Randazzo @Gina_Randazzo1

Alpha Gamma Rho (AGR) has been placed on extended social probation through Spring 2017.

According to university spokesperson Matt Lazier, the chapter violated its current probationary status by hosting an unregistered party on Sept. 17.

“This event created an environment that led to a physical altercation, which later resulted in the stabbing of two Cal Poly students near the chapter facility,” Lazier said in an email.

Cal Poly greek life officials notified the chapter of its extended probation in a letter on Jan. 21.

In addition to not being allowed to host social events, AGR must comply with a separate set of directives outlined in a letter sent from AGR’s Home Office on Jan. 21.

The fraternity-imposed sanctions include the removal of members from their house on

California Boulevard, according to agricultural business junior and AGR president Thomas Sawyer.

AGR members will not be allowed to live in the house, which is owned by the chapter’s alumni association, for one year beginning in Fall 2016.

AGR has the opportunity to appeal its social probation to Cal Poly’s Vice President for Student Affairs within 20 business days of receiving the letter on Jan. 21.

Sawyer says the chapter is still discussing whether or not to appeal.

After the stabbing took place in November, then-president Brad Kurtz told Mustang News that approximately 16 nonmembers were present at the house.

Suspect Jay Hernandez, a Cuesta College student, was reportedly denied entrance at the front door, then entered briefly through the back door and was kicked out of the house. Hernandez and an accomplice allegedly stabbed a Cal Poly student and a Cuesta College student, both of whom had attend-

ed the party, on Foothill Boulevard approximately a half hour later.

Though the sanctions were imposed separately by AGR’s Home Office and Cal Poly, both Lazier and AGR’s Director of Chapter Advancement Grant Bargfrede said the two groups worked cohesively to resolve any issues associated with the chapter.

“After working in concert with our students and with the national fraternity, we believe Cal Poly’s AGR chapter is well on the road to culture change and that the organization can emerge with a greater focus on the health and safety of all its members and the greater Cal Poly community,” Interim Dean of Students Joy Pedersen said in an email.

AGR also says it is focusing its efforts on the fraternity’s philanthropy and academics.

“We are looking to put AGR in a positive light by improving our academics, philanthropy efforts and agricultural aspects of our fraternity,” Sawyer said.

FILE PHOTO | MUSTANG NE WS BOOTED

| AGR will be losing its housing for a year due to breaking the party registraton policy.

Why cybersecurity should be on your radar Alexander Davidson Special to Mustang News

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ZACK SPANIER | MUSTANG NE WS HACKED | There is a good and bad side to technology — while it is more convenient, it can also be vulnerable.

When computer engineering professor Bruce DeBruhl sees students pass by on their phones, or sees them on their computers in class, he doesn’t just see a text or a Facebook update, he sees valuable information that can easily be compromised.

“The devices that are always on and always collecting our data are a really interesting change to large-scale culture,” DeBruhl said. “They’re interacting with our cars. They’re interacting with our homes.

They’re interacting with our lights, our washing machines and our fridges. They’re just so encompassing, and I don’t think we consider the privacy and security implications that come with these connections nearly enough.”

The technological field and connectivity of our society have created a booming cybersecurity industry. There is a massive demand for employees, and Cal Poly is trying to supply that demand with a new cybersecurity center, new professors and new classes.

In 2014, the dedication of the Cal Poly-Northrop Grumman Cyber Lab took place with the goal of training students in encryption, malware, hacking and fighting cyber terrorism among other things. The lab was the first of its kind, and with the way that technology is constantly evolving, it will likely not be the last.

Companies like Northrop Grumman, an American global aerospace and defense technology corporation, are massive. According to University Relations Specialist for

Northrop Grumman Benjamin Chulaluxsiriboon, large companies are on the prowl for new recruits in the field of cybersecurity.

Technology is not only becoming more advanced, it is also becoming more widespread.

With this rapid expansion comes susceptibility to attack, and Cal Poly users have been the recent victims, according to an email from Cal Poly’s Information Technology Services.

“With every (piece of technology), there’s a happy medium; there’s good and bad,” Chief Information Security Officer for Mindbody Michael Hanson said. “For every security person, there’s the ethical hacker and the unethical hacker. There’s the good and the bad. What companies are faced with now is active defense.”

Both companies and individuals need to be aware of the hackers that exist in today’s society.

Without a defense plan, and without hackers that are trained to keep these groups safe, endless aspects of our lives could be affected.

The public’s information is vulnerable. Cyber attacks are becoming more widespread. In March 2015, up to 11 million customer’s information was affected when Primera Blue Cross was hacked. The breach exposed members’ names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, mailing and email addresses, phone numbers and bank account information, according to a report filed by The New York Times.

That same report notes that in October 2014, Staples was hacked and 1.16 million credit cards were compromised; in September of that same year, Home Depot was hacked, compromising 56 million credit

cards. Cyber attacks are costing businesses $400-500 billion a year, according to Forbes.

It is vital for our society to understand the ramifications of the technology that we’ve implemented into our everyday lives.

“Some of the concerns that we all need to have from a cybersecurity perspective really involve our everyday lives,” Vice President of Cyber Programs at Raytheon Jeff Snyder said. “Cybersecurity related to systems that we rely on every day is becoming increasingly important.”

As technology becomes more of an integral part of our lives, individuals will rely heavier on cybersecurity to stay safe.

That’s part of the reason why programs like those offered at Cal Poly are so critical.

The cybersecurity program at Cal Poly has grown from two courses to a new curriculum of five courses.

Northrop Grumman currently has 70,000 employees; Raytheon has more than 61,000 employees. The job market for cybersecurity is only growing.

The U.S. government has spent $100 billion on cybersecurity over the past decade and has $14 billion budgeted for this year alone. The worldwide security market is also estimated to grow from $75 billion in 2015 to $170 billion by 2020.

Even if one doesn’t have a degree in computer science, the information that is taught in cybersecurity classes is a worthwhile skill, according to Chuck McGregor, director of cybersecurity operations at Parsons.

“Even if your major doesn’t deal with cybersecurity, there’s a lot of value in being able to have that in your background,” McGregor said.

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Thursday, February 4, 2016

ARTS | 4

Making a difference with Student Community Services Will Peischel @CPMustangNews

Apathy and sleeping in are particularly endemic of the 18-22 age demographic. This fact made three dozen students gathered by Pismo Pier on a Saturday morning a particularly strange sight — brave souls who answered the Facebook event’s call. Guilt, personal fulfillment or service hours, the bunch gathered around the staging area marked by boxes of latex gloves and trash bags: This was a beach cleanup.

Pismo Beach oscillated: the sun, glazing the beach, was strong for 10 a.m. On the other hand, ocean gusts and waves compelling enough to close off the pier dashed any contemplation of short sleeves. Even so, Pismo Beach was busy.

Townies walked their dogs, and out-of-townies scanned for parking kiosks. Flocks of tiny birds ran up and down with the tide. A biplane momentarily ran off with the beach’s attention as the pilot soared down to touch the unpredictable waves with landing gears, before flying back up.

In the name of Cal Poly’s service organization Student Community Services (SCS), the students hit the beach. Founded in 1972, SCS was created to empower students to empower the community. Students volunteer to advocate for and assist the greater San Luis Obispo area in an array of events organized by members.

For two hours, volunteers combed through the sand. They

meticulously worked down the length of the rusted sea wall, collecting bits of styrofoam. Other students had a littered playground surrounded, picking at the dunes as a kid on a swing looked on.

Biological sciences senior Ian Sicher is a bonafide member of SCS. He helped facilitate the beach cleanup. According to him, the turnout was good. Sicher was well-spoken and relaxed, delegating late stragglers. This event wasn’t mandatory, he was just happy to see people who care. Sometimes nobody comes.

The weekend proved to be an active one for SCS, which usually hosts one or two events over the weekends. This time, it hosted four (three on Saturday alone). On behalf of the organization, groups of volunteers assisted in a technology class for elderly, helped at a canine rescue facility and swept Pismo Beach simultaneously.

According to Lead Program Assistant and communication studies senior Danielle Berton, SCS is able to juggle the large volume of events simultaneously because it’s divided into sub-genres, per se.

The organization splits into eight subsets, each with a group lead and three members. Each part of SCS handles a different issue that affects the Cal Poly community, and the subsets are able to put on their own events with independent ease.

The eight parts handle empowering the disabled (SSPD), homeless advocation (Beyond Shelter), conservation (Environmental Council), food security

awareness (Food Insecurity and Nutrition), animal rehabilitation and assistance (Poly Paws), senior citizens (Senior Services), physical health (Students For Health and Well-Being) and youth support (Youth Programs).

In some cases, SCS offers extra hands to institutions or events already curated by the community.

“We never tell them what they need,” Berton said. “We always try to ask what the (institution’s or organizer’s) needs are.”

Berton fondly remembered the gratifying moment SCS brought volunteers of Grizzly Youth Academy, a military school for at-risk high school-aged youth, located on the California National Guard’s San Luis Obispo base. Naturally, the school is heavily structured with an emphasis on discipline.

They also needed math tutors. “(The students) were asking me all these questions,” Berton said.

“This one girl was telling me that she wanted to be a lawyer because ‘both of my parents are lawyers.’

She was telling me about her career aspirations. These kids really wanted to do good, even though they may have been there for something they may have messed up in — but they were all really excited about their futures.”

Surely the presence of SCS was valued at Grizzly Youth Academy. However, as voluntourism and other symptoms of the white savior complex — the idea that the satisfaction of service is an entirely internalized affair for the volunteer, rather than satisfaction from seeing someone

WILL PEISCHEL | MUSTANG NE WS A HELPING HAND | Every weekend, Student Community Services usually offers volunteer opportunities.

helped — bubble to the surface of society’s cognition. The same lens should be applied to Student Community Services.

“We spend a lot of time working with these things and our criticisms,” Berton said. “Last night we had a two-hour talk about what does service mean? What does volunteering mean?”

SCS, as an organization, is well aware of white saviorism, and that some charitable organizations become stuck in that mud. Programming is intentionally in place to avoid the slippery slope, promote awareness and combat a mentality of pedestal-sitting from entering the equation.

“We talk a lot about privilege,” Berton said. “A big thing we do is define certain terms. Everyone has a different understanding of what social justice is. We have a social justice series every month.

The one last night was the ethics of volunteering. Next is the rhetoric of immigrants and how we talk about them.”

Berton smiled to herself as she remembered a pajama movie

night coordinated with the Boys & Girls Club of America on campus.

Only two kids showed up.

“The kids were really enthusiastic,” she said. “They had no idea that there were supposed to be more people. The kids had the time of their lives; they were making snowflakes and watching movies.”

The event was considered a success despite the small turnout. If that doesn’t pass as a litmus test of sincerity for SCS, what does?

Perhaps the authenticity of SCS comes as the result of the direct, simplistic thought process on which it was founded. In 1972, Pete Evans, then the Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) president, created Student Community Services. To him, the logic was simply a surplus of resources, adjacent to a deficit. “(My reasoning was) the vast amount of wasted energy and time that Cal Poly students were exhibiting, but they had a huge pool of talent, energy, strength and vitality. You find a lot of people that are just running out of gas

or are overwhelmed and they need help,” Evans paused. “I’ve always valued the incredible feeling you get when you help someone else.

You can’t buy that. There’s nothing like that. I tried to carry an overabundance of energy to an abundance of need.”

Evans thinks that as long as Cal Poly exists, there will be students in San Luis Obispo with extra time best used in a charitable manner. He stands as a personal example: He primarily devotes his time as an activist in combatting the town from selling out its land to developers.

Student Community Services is more than 40 years old. Its makeup has altered and adjusted to the needs of the era; however, the bottom line remains the same, summarized passionately by Evans: “If not me, who? If not now, when? You do it and you do it now. Otherwise you’re just kidding yourself. If everyone had that attitude, we’d be working together to fix stuff and it wouldn’t fall on you. It would fall on all of us. It’s the activist in me screaming.”

2016

Congressional Debate Listen to and discuss plans for our Economic Future

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Thursday, February 4, 2016

ARTS | 5

Is Pinterest ruining creativity in the tattoo industry?

Madi Salvati @MadiSalvati

Her steady hand moved easily across the girl’s arm, slowly going over the outlines of a dragonfly design with a needle gun that drew on black ink. The girl, enduring the point of the needle, did not so much as flinch.

“If you don’t like pain, then tattoos probably aren’t for you,” the tattoo artist said, nonchalantly waving her needle gun around.

Jeana Jane, 31, is a tattoo artist originally from Washington.

Tattoos of intricate design adorn both her arms, face and chest — a butterfly covers her throat area, a compass on her arm and most strikingly, a needle gun that covers part of her head and the side of her face. There were more, all delicately placed and drawn.

“I’ve been tattooing for about five years,” Jane said. “I love that it’s a challenge ... I consider myself very lucky that I am in an industry where I get to draw pictures. I’m not great at math, so it worked out for me.”

Nikki Caminski, 27, was Jane’s appointment that day. Caminski sat calmly in a chair with her arm resting on a small platform covered in blue plastic.

“This is a memorial piece,” Caminski said, gesturing to her arm that Jane was tattooing. “I got the dragonfly for a friend of mine who died when we were 18.”

Jane is adding her own special touch to Caminski’s tattoo, with small designs that danced around the dragonfly, giving the impression of movement — as if the very picture would flutter off her arm.

“Every year I add something new to the tattoo,” Caminski said. “I would like to eventually have my whole arm done, a whole sleeve.”

Traditional Tattoo, located on Higuera Street, is where Jane does her art. The place is a kind of art gallery — always a work-inprogress, with new designs being inked onto different people, along with hundreds of different drawings and pictures hanging from the walls.

Jane was currently stationed in a corner of the tattoo parlor, where each wall surrounding her work space is covered with her original artwork, as well as pictures of her two kids.

Jane explained what type of art she specializes in when it comes to tattoos.

“I do heavy, heavy black work,” she said. “What I mean by that is that I do a lot of super traditional-type stuff.”

Jane said traditional stuff means the classics: eagles, anchors, etc. — things that never go out of style.

However, the traditional classics for today’s younger generation has gone out of style. The Internet allows access to millions of styles of artwork online and that has posed both as a challenge and blessing for tattoo artists, according to Jane.

“The advent of the Internet to tattooing has been a kind of blessing in a lot of ways because it makes it a lot easier to find what you’re looking for,” Jane said. “But it’s also stolen a lot of the art from the artist.”

Today, Pinterest is the name of the game when it comes to finding the perfect tattoo. And while there are countless ideas out there, the same designs seem to circulate and appear on everyone under the age of 25, Louie Campopiano, another tattoo artist at Traditional Tattoo, said.

“Right now it’s whatever the front page of fucking Pinterest is,”

JASON HUNG | MUSTANG NE WS THE PINTEREST PROBLEM | Tattoo artists like Jeana Jane prefer collaborating with customers in developing the concept for a tattoo.

Jane said, laughing. “If Pinterest has arrows on it today, then we are doing fucking arrows.”

It’s a trend, and Jane explained that tattoo artists have seen this before.

“Back in the ‘80s, it was the little rose buds,” Jane said. “All the 40-year-olds today have a rosebud on their ankle, on their boob ... Things come in waves like that.”

Jane and Caminski were taking a short break before the rest of the tattoo was finished. Caminski predicted she would be sitting in that chair for approximately five hours total. It had taken Jane about two hours to draw the design on Caminski and another hour to begin the actual process of adding ink. It would most likely take another two hours to add color to the tattoo.

It’s a lengthy process, but it’s one that all tattoos artists specialize in and love, Jane said.

“None of us enjoy when you bring in a picture off of Pinterest and ask us to tattoo it,” she said.

“And we’ll do it because it’s your body. It would be so much better though if you came in and said, ‘I want a couple of arrows; will you draw them for me?’ because that’s what we do for a living.”

Before getting inked, it’s important to remember that tattoo artists are actual artists. They have a whole portfolio of work they would love to show you to help you get some ideas.

“You’re stealing from us when we feel like we are copying someone else’s work,” Jane said. “It’s giving a very common tattoo to everybody.”

Environmental engineering senior Priya Chopra recently got a small tattoo at Keith Duggan’s Ink Dynasty Tattoo in Pismo Beach.

“I actually went online for the idea,” Chopra said. “I really wanted a nature-based tattoo and I found a couple ideas I liked.”

Though Chopra found her ideas online, she took the examples to Ink Dynasty and consulted with an artist.

“I let him put his own personal spin on it,” Chopra said. “It wasn’t too different from what I wanted in the first place.”

Even though Chopra found the idea online, she still coordinated with the artist and let him do what he thought would look best.

“I think a lot of tattoos are inspired by media nowadays,” Chopra said. “But just be

open-minded when you go, listen to the person who is doing your tattoo and make sure you look at their art and you get a good vibe from them.”

Tattoo artists appreciate their customers’ trust in their ability, and back in Jane’s corner of Traditional Tattoo, Caminski looked at her arm, pleased with the process.

Jane sat down to continue her art. Pointing to an area on Caminski’s arm she said, “That’s the part you’re just going to have to trust me with.” Caminski nodded and explained what she was thinking would look best there.

“It’s your body, it’s your choice,” Jane said. “It’s also you putting trust in an artist to do something for you. If you could do it yourself, you would do it yourself.”

Thursday, February 4, 2016

OPINION | 6

How to survive at a predominantly cisgender school However, the same goes for cisgender male expectations.

So I’m somewhere in between.

Erica Hudson is a journalism That’s what makes me genjunior and Mustang News guest derqueer. But it isn’t always a contributor. The views expressed spectrum. That would imply in this article do not necessarily being on a scale that ultimatereflect the viewpoints or editorial ly is held by the standards of coverage of Mustang News. being more or less masculine and/or feminine. Some people Not only is Cal Poly predomdon’t feel masculine or femiinantly white (58.7 percent of nine at all, and that is perfectundergraduate students), but it’s ly normal. There is no right or also incredibly straight. There wrong gender identity, and for is a very limited window for some people, there isn’t even a queer, gender-nonconformgender identity representing students to feel comed that fits their feelings. fortable. It’s basically Gender expression, a school rampant or lack thereof, is with “allies” that purely a social don’t understand construct that why we need each individuThere is no right or wrong gender-neual should have tral housing or the freedom gender identity, and for some bathrooms one to determine people there isn’t even a gender minute, and for themselves. then once a litAnd t h a t ’s identity represented that fits tle visibility is where pronouns their feelings. shown, they praise come in.

Cal Poly for being the most progresGendering people: Erica Hudson sive institution around.

Don’t do it These are the people that It’s really easy to see somehear they/them/their pronouns one in passing and say something and say, “Wait, but like … That’s like, “Wow! That girl looks realnot grammatically correct.” responds with your ly good.” However, just because Now, I can spend all the time sex assigned at birth. This is the someone presents themselves in in the world ranting about the only time gender and in-utero a way that may seem feminine ignorance I’ve experienced here. sex are synonymous. Cisgen- doesn’t make them a girl. Hasn’t From being pansexual to being der expression often coincides anyone ever told you not to judge genderqueer, I’ve had my fair with a traditional, heteronor- someone based on their appearshare of moments where I had mative notion of femininity ance? Don’t gender them either. to explain to oblivious people and masculinity.

That perpetuates the idea of genwhat my identity meant, as well For myself, there’s a lot of so- der being a universal identity for as the importance of things oth- cietal expectations that come which each person has the same er than line dancing and keep- along with being a woman that prescription. What does it even ing fraternities alive. However, just don’t resonate with me. mean to “look like a girl?” That’s Erica Hudson @CPMustangNews

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it would be a better use of my time and yours, to address the root of this ignorance and how it can be combatted.

Why isn’t there more visibility for different identities?

I can count on one hand the number of people I met my freshman year that even knew what the word “cisgender” meant. If you’re not familiar, to be cisgender is to have a gender identity that cor-

EDITORS & STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Kayla Missman MANAGING EDITORS Celina Oseguera, Benjy Egel BROADCAST NEWS DIRECTOR Leah Horner DIRECTOR OF OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT Melissa Nunez NEWS EDITOR Jen Silva ARTS EDITOR Frances Griffey SPORTS EDITOR Eric Stubben BROADCAST CONTENT PRODUCER Michelle Logan BROADCAST SPORTS DIRECTOR Allison Edmonds SPECIAL SECTIONS COORDINATOR Suha Saya PHOTO EDITOR Georgie De Mattos OPINION EDITOR Liana Riley HEAD DESIGNER Jordan Dunn SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Cara Benson

an extremely limiting concept.

If you don’t know someone, it’s really easy to use they/them/their pronouns when referring to them.

If everyone made a conscious effort to use gender-neutral pronouns, then gender nonconforming, transgender or gender fluid individuals not only would stop being treated as a rarity, but it would be a safer environment for everyone, reducing privilege and violence against noncisgender people. It is not an insult to be referred to with gender neutral pronouns. It is an insult to misgender someone. If you do it by mistake, it happens. Apologize, and proceed to use their correct pronouns.

With awareness comes the opportunity for acceptance. We shouldn’t allow modern society to chastise the ‘abnormal’ simply

because of a lack of visibility.

Different gender identities are not some new fad, they’ve been around for long time.

Introducing yourself with your pronouns is another way you can bring visibility to noncisgender expression.

Even if you’re cisgender, clarify your pronouns. If I haven’t made it clear, you cannot assume someone’s gender just by looking at them. If cisgender people introduced themselves as, “Hi, my name is ______. My pronouns are she/ her/hers, what are yours?” not only would it be perceived as normal to include pronouns, but it eliminates the possibility of being misgendered while letting noncisgender individuals claim their identity for themselves.

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Thursday, February 4, 2016

NEWS | 8

Students, professors install clean water system in Ecuador

Natsuki Nishikawa Special to Mustang News

Four construction management students and two professors spent their winter break installing a pipe distribution system to deliver clean water to a community in Ecuador.

Parker Haerr, David Mulder, Tyler Peinado and Dhakshan Potuhera partnered with Reach Beyond, a Christian organization that develops areas in need of clean water and healthcare. The four students joined professor Lonny Simonian and lecturer Paul Redden in Santa Rosa, Ecuador last December to finish a solar-powered clean water distribution system.

Santa Rosa is a small farming vil-

lage in the Amazon, away from many western amenities. Its main water source is the Pastaza River, which is contaminated by sewage water.

Before the construction management students went to Santa Rosa, the villagers’ only clean source of water was a spring dug up by the government. Natives would collect water at the spring and bring them back to their families, bucket by bucket.

By installing pumps and solar panels to a pipe distribution system already built by Reach Beyond, the students were able to connect the water storage tanks to the system.

“From what we did, we were able to get the water to (the villagers’) houses,” Potuhera said. “So now they don’t have to take a bucket and

go all the way (to the spring), it was really amazing.”

Potuhera said he and his team had a great experience and learned many things during the project.

“It was such a big culture shock,” Potuhera said. “The way they did things was completely different and it’s a different, new perspective for us.

It was like a reality check. We have all these comfortable things, we have toilets everywhere we go, we have clean water … (It) was an amazing cultural experience. Being in the jungle, it brought the team together.”

The National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) funded the project.

DHAKSHAN POTUHERA | COURTESY PHOTO HYDR ATED

| From left: Tyler Peinado, Dhakshan Potuhera, Parker Haerr and David Mulder worked alongside professors to install the solar-powered distribution system to provide clean water in Ecuador.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

SPORTS | 9

FILLING SCHLEMER’S SHOES: Hannah Gilbert shines on the court this year

CHRISTA L AM | MUSTANG NE WS REBOUNDER

| Since the Mustangs’ 72-54 win over Sacramento State on Dec. 29, Gilbert has averaged 10.3 rebounds per game. Gilbert leads the team with an average of 9.5 rebounds per game this season.

Ayrton Ostly @CPMustangSports

Pass. Dribble. Shoot. Miss.

It’s a cold, damp Friday morning outside Mott Gym. At 8 a.m., campus is quiet. But in Mott Athletics Center, it’s a cacophony of yells, dribbles and whistles as the Cal Poly women’s basketball team practices the day before taking on Cal State Fullerton.

Pass. Dribble. Shoot. Miss.

“Why are my shots not falling?” junior forward Hannah Gilbert said, visibly distraught. She’s the focal point of the offensive set the starters are running in preparation for the Titans. She has been unable to connect from the low block so far in this set.

Pass. Dribble. Shoot. Score.

That’s more like it.

Gilbert has quietly put together a stellar season that only expanded on her performance last year.

She leads the team and stands third in the Big West Conference in field goal percentage this season (52.4 percent), leads the conference in rebounding (9.5 per game) and stands fifth in conference in scoring at 13.4 points per game. She controls the paint for the Mustangs with her efficient scoring and reliability on the glass.

Pass. Dribble. Shoot. Score.

Gilbert’s blonde ponytail whips around her shoulders as she celebrates with a fist pump.

On to the next set.

Last season, Gilbert was tasked with filling the shoes of one of Cal Poly’s best athletes, Molly Schlemer. Schlemer was awarded Big West Conference Player of the Year when Gilbert was a freshman and currently plays professionally in Turkey.

“I’m very privileged that I got to watch the Big West Player of the Year and that was my introduction to the team,” Gilbert said.

“She’s always been someone I’ve aspired to be like — to be a leader and someone that produces points, rebounds, whatever the team needs.”

Gilbert arrived on campus an award-winner, already with an established pedigree. As a senior at Morro Bay High School, she was named The Tribune’s San Luis Obispo County Player of

the Year and led the team to two consecutive league titles.

Though Morro Bay is only 13 miles from Cal Poly, staying local wasn’t a huge deal for Gilbert. Instead, she focused on the academic benefits of coming to school here.

“It’s such a highly academic school here,” she said. “It’s really hard to get in to. So sports helped me get to a school I’ve loved watching since I was younger.”

On the court, it’s hard to miss when Gilbert is in the game. If the bleach-blonde hair wasn’t obvious enough, her 6-foot-3, long-armed frame deftly navigating the paint is hard to miss.

“Usually when you’re taller, you tend to slow down,” she said. “I think I’m pretty fast for my size, so it helps me get around people in the paint. And my teammates always know where I am, so they’re great at getting me the ball.”

“Her height and ability to run are two things that can’t be taught,” senior guard Beth Balbierz said. “She could outrun any post I’ve ever played against which is advantageous for us since our primary goal is transition on offense.”

And getting her the ball more on offense has a direct effect on the team’s performance. The team is 4-3 when she gets a double-double, and she’s scored in double figures in all but two of the team’s wins.

On the season, the team stands at 10-10 and 3-4 in Big West play, and recently Gilbert has been on a tear. The first game to start her recent run was a 23-point, 17-rebound game in a 97-72 win against Sacramento State on Dec. 29.

Following that home win against Sacramento State, Gilbert has averaged 16.5 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, setting another career high in rebounds with 18 in a 72-54 road win over UC Irvine on Jan. 9.

“Her ability to enjoy the game has led to her performance being better,” head coach Faith Mimnaugh said. “Defensively, she’s come up with huge blocked shots for us, she’s been great on rotations, she can move off of ball screens, she’s so agile she can

defend anywhere on the court.

She’s becoming a fabulous player.”

Winning three of their last four games has moved the Mustangs up to fourth in the Big West standings as the season turns to primarily conference matchups.

With Gilbert leading the team in points, rebounds, field goal percentage and blocks, making up a three-game gap to conference-leading UC Riverside (137, 6-0) isn’t out of the question, especially with the majority of the conference schedule still to come.

Beyond basketball, the recreation, parks and tourism administration student takes pride in things outside of dominating the paint for the Mustangs. She’s concentrating in event planning,

taking after her mother, who is the vice president for the Scenic Coast Association of Realtors in Morro Bay. Often, her mother organizes events for realtors, hosts meetings and budgets events among other duties.

“It’s perfect. I get to be design-oriented, it’s a social major and I’m very organized,” she said with a smile. “My mom and her job — I’ve watched her and that’s the kind of job I want to have.”

Wherever her future lies — in basketball, event planning, or something else entirely — you can be sure Gilbert will take care of business in the same way she leads the Mustangs this season: efficiently and reliably. And with that signature blonde hair.

CHRISTA L AM | MUSTANG NE WS SCORER

| Gilbert averages 13.4 points per game this season.

CHRISTA L AM | MUSTANG NE WS STUDENT

| Taking after her mother, Gilbert majors in recreation, parks and tourism administration, concentrating in event planning.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

SPORTS | 10

SPORTS TO CATCH THIS WEEKEND Women’s Tennis Feb. 6 Away vs. Hawaii 1 p.m.

Feb. 7

Away vs. Hawaii Pacific 1 p.m.

Women’s Basketball Feb. 4 Home vs. Hawaii 7 p.m.

Feb. 6

Home vs. UC Irvine 4 p.m.

Men’s Tennis Feb. 5 Home vs. St. Mary’s 12 p.m.

Feb. 7

Home vs. SDSU 12 p.m.

Men’s Basketball Feb. 6

Home vs. Hawaii 7 p.m.

GABBY PAJO | MUSTANG NE WS

2016

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