Feb 9, 2017

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Sound scientists

Creating a space for music lovers EXPLOR ATION

SAMMI MULHERN | MUSTA NG NE W S

| Austin Gandler and Christian Salyer formed their duo, Soul Patch, through the Music Production Union where they experiment with digital production techniques to create their synth sound.

Mikaela Duhs @mikaeladuhs

Four people sit in a circle, keyboards and laptops out, heads bobbing in unison with music blaring through multicolored headphones. These are the sound scientists, part of the 20-person

hip-hop collective of Cal Poly’s Music Production Union (MPU).

What started three years ago as a club of mostly acoustic singer/songwriters spawned into an equally vibrant digital production group with dozens of members meeting each week to hear each other’s beats, tracks

and melodies.

Its goal is to create a space where musicians with similar musical goals can get together and explore different areas of music production techniques.

This space to play and produce music gives artists the opportunity to see where others plan to

take their talents and creates a platform where students can collaborate freely. Beginners and advanced producers fill Graphic Arts (building 26), room 104 Monday nights from 8 to 10 p.m. to learn, create or just jam.

Biochemistry sophomore Austin Gandler and anthro-

pology and geography junior Christian Salyer met through the MPU. Now roommates and best friends, Gandler and Salyer spend many late nights making music together.

MPU continued on page 5

Local brewery brings kombucha to campus Dylan Ring & Savannah Sperry Special to Mustang News

Molly Barker lifted what looked like a slippery tortilla out of a jar of pungent tan liquid. She smiled as the smell of vinegar filled the air and the slippery disk dripped like a jellyfish out of water. Barker placed it back in the jar and drained the liquid. She was making her own kombucha.

“It’s kind of like drinking beer for the first time,” agricultural

systems management senior Barker said. “It just sort of grows on you. Now I’ve come to really enjoy the vinegary taste to it.”

What is kombucha?

Kombucha is a slightly vinegary fermented beverage made from brewed tea leaves. It has a low alcohol content (on average less than 0.5 percent) and bubbles lightly. Barker makes it using a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY), the jelly-

fish-like catalyst for making kombucha. She lovingly refers to “him” as “Scobes.”

“If you’re comfortable, he’s comfortable,” Barker said about finding the right temperature for brewing kombucha.

Barker said the temperature is an important part of the brewing process, which involves making tea first, letting it cool and adding the SCOBY. Barker sometimes adds fruit to make different flavors of kombucha.

Once all the ingredients are in,

she keeps them in a jar out of the sun and lets the mixture ferment.

For those who don’t make their own kombucha, the drink can be found at many local vendors. Local brewery Whalebird Kombucha recently started selling its product at Whole Foods, Kreuzberg and even on campus at 19 Metro Express, located within the atrium of 19 Metro Station.

KOMBUCHA continued on page 4

ON TAP

ALISON STAUF | COURTE SY PHOTO

| Students can purchase Whalebird at 19 Metro Express.

City council and Cal Poly draft pilot party registration program Megan Schellong @meganschellong

PART Y POLICE

HANNA CROWLEY | MUSTA NG NE W S

| The pilot program gives party throwers a second chance before a citation is issued.

City council is reviewing a pilot party registration program that could give San Luis Obispo residents who host parties an opportunity to quiet down before a citation is issued.

The program would allow a host to register a party location with the San Luis Obispo Police Department (SLOPD) a day or so in advance. The details are still in the works.

SLOPD proposed the plan to the San Luis Obispo city coun-

cil after receiving input from Cal Poly’s Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) and Interfraternity Council (IFC).

The new program would have the following steps: 1. Registration of a house/apartment unit with SLOPD the day before/day of a party 2. A tenant’s signature approving the agreement 3. Allowance of a 20-minute time window to quiet down after a noise complaint is called in. The house must be registered the day before/ of the party to receive this right.

“They’re not trying to do this

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

just to know where the parties are at,” ASI President and agricultural sciences senior Jana Colombini said. “They’re trying to do this to preserve the benefit of being a homeowner or renter in San Luis Obispo.”

If police spend less time patrolling parties, they could use that time to prevent other crimes, like theft or drunk driving, San Luis Obispo Neighborhood Outreach Director Christine Wallace said.

PILOT PARTY continued on page 2

NEWS 2

MUSTANG NEWS

HIV and other STIs on the rise in SLO Brendan Matsuyama @CPMustangNews

The number of HIV infections and other cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) has increases year by year in San Luis Obispo County since the 1990s. Employees at the Cal Poly Health Center link this increase to unprotected sex.

HIV According to the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department, 825 people have been diagnosed with HIV in the county since 1983, with 16 of those cases reported in 2015 alone. Fatality rates overall have fallen substantially since the 1980s and early 1990s — when HIV/AIDS had as high as a 95.8 percent fatality rate in San Luis Obispo — to approximately 41 percent in 2013. However, deaths caused by HIV/AIDS have increased from an aver-

age of two deaths per year from 2006 to 2009 to an average of 12 deaths per year from 2010 to 2013.

Though not as deadly as during the 1980s and early 1990s, San Luis Obispo County saw an uptick in AIDS/HIV deaths from 2011 to 2013.

The Health Center reported that it diagnosed three students as HIV positive over the last five years. Executive Director of Campus Health & Wellbeing Dr. David Harris cites that the Health Center has tested 1,865 people in San Luis Obispo — 447 females and 1,418 males.

“And we have a total of three positive HIV tests out of over 1,800 ... It’s a minuscule number,” Harris said.

Other STIs Despite the relatively small number of HIV positive cases processed through the Health Center, Harris and Dr. Aaron Baker, medical director at

the Health Center, said that a steady increase in cases of other STIs at Cal Poly and in San Luis Obispo County could point to increased vulnerability to HIV. “Chlamydia is sort of the canary in the coal mine,” Baker said. “HIV is present on the campus and it is a disease for which there is no cure. It can be controlled and helped, but there is no cure for it ... We’re finding based on the chlamydia studies that chlamydia is being transmitted, which makes us concerned that HIV is at risk of being transmitted as well.”

According to San Luis Obispo County Public Health Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chlamydia is the most common STI in San Luis Obispo and in the nation. Chlamydia is often asymptomatic in its early stages, meaning that a carrier likely would not know they had the infection until getting tested.

Based on statistics published

by the California Department of Public Health’s STD Control Branch, chlamydia rates in San Luis Obispo increased consistently since 1997.

From 2005 to 2015, cases of chlamydia increased 84 percent from 213.3 cases per 100,000 people to 392.2 cases per 100,000 people. As of 2015, San Luis Obispo County ranks 24th of California’s 58 counties in chlamydia rates, but is below the state and national averages of 486.1 and 479.0 cases per 100,000 people, respectively.

Almost two-thirds of these cases are females. People between the ages of 20 and 24 years make up the largest proportion of chlamydia cases at 463 cases out of the total 1,083 cases for the county in 2015.

The 15- to 19-year-old age range is the second most prevalent, at 279 cases in the same year.

In the report, the California Department of Public Health acknowledged that better meth-

SOURCE

PILOT PARTY continued from page 1

The city’s current noise ordinance states that a violation occurs when a resident can hear noise from a neighbor’s house within 50 feet of their property between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Additionally, between

the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., residents who hear noise from across their property line can report it.

While the pilot party registration program is relevant to students, the program would apply to residents city-wide.

Though San Luis Obispo party noise data shows a 64 per-

cent decrease in party noise violations since 2009, the pilot party registration program would provide new options to residents and police.

“We see this as an opportunity to do two things: to give folks a chance to register their party to avoid a citation, and free up time for police to do proactive en-

forcement like theft and DUI,” Wallace said.

The pilot party registration is not unique to San Luis Obispo.

The program is modeled after a similar one in place at University of Colorado, Boulder.

Boulder’s system is a two-step process: registering a party with off-campus housing by noon

ods of testing for chlamydia have been developed and may explain in part the increase of reported chlamydia cases, in addition to a true increase of cases.

Even so, Harris said the rise of chlamydia cases over the years is an indicator that people are continuing to engage in unprotected sex.

“What concerns us very much is that if our chlamydia infection rates are increasing that is our benchmark indicator that people aren’t wearing condoms,” Harris said. “And if they aren’t wearing condoms, then they’re going to be more susceptible to the other STIs, including HIV. So while it doesn’t reflect in our specific Health Center statistics, it would not be surprising that there are increasing rates [of HIV].”

If the Health Center diagnoses students as HIV positive, it refers them to the Access Support Network in downtown San Luis

Obispo for care.

“If we do diagnose someone as positive for HIV, [we] refer the patient to the AIDS network in town because they have access to physicians that are certified to care for HIV infection,” Harris said. “And they then can also avail themselves of all the expert counseling and so forth that they’re going to need for pretty much the rest of their life.”

The Health Center recommends that students take advantage of campus services that give barrier contraceptives, like condoms, away for free. According to the Dean of Students’ website, free condoms and dental dams are available for free at the Gender Equity Center as well.

Additional information regarding resources and support for students with HIV/AIDS and San Luis Obispo County’s anonymous HIV testing is available on the Campus Health and Wellbeing’s website.

BRENDAN MATSUYAMA | MUSTA NG NE W S

| California Department of Public Health STD Control Branch the day before and registering a name, student ID, telephone number and address.

If the party-goers at the registered house make too much noise and a neighbor complains, a dispatcher will call the registered tenant. Attendees then have 20 minutes to quiet down before the house is

issued a citation. For San Luis Obispo, the first citation will cost $350.

“It gives you a free warning,” IFC President and business administration junior Daniel Halprin said.

The final decision to approve the program will come this spring.

NEWS 3

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2017

Students develop solar-powered freezer to help struggling countries

SAMMI MULHERN | MUSTA NG NE W S

PROJECT FOR A CAUSE | Three seniors and two professors designed and created an affordable solar-powered freezer to be used in developing countries that might not have access to power.

Carly Quinn @carlyquinnMN

Located in the far reaches of Cal Poly’s agriculture fields, the Student Experimental Farm is home to interesting and innovative ideas.

In the summer of 2016, an idea blossomed in the farm that may one day reach across the globe.

Three seniors started working with two Cal Poly professors to design and create an affordable solar-powered freezer to be implemented in developing countries that might not have access to power.

Physics associate professor Peter Schwartz was working on solar-powered cookers when he started collaborating with physics lecturer Nathan Heston. Instead of turning solar energy into heat, Heston wanted to turn it into ice.

After living in Ghana from 2010 to 2014, Heston noticed there were no ways to preserve fresh food in the country. The problem specifically arose near Lake Volta, where fishermen needed a way to store fish for the weekly market.

“As an engineer or a physicist or a scientist, you can choose different world problems to work on,” Heston said. “I’m passionate about trying to make the world more sustainable, and that means less waste.”

The team hopes to be done with the design for the solar-powered

freezer by the end of 2017. Once it is finished, the product can be sold to Burro, a company that manufactures and sells products specifically designed for the developing world.

The problem with mass producing freezers lies in affordability. Normal refrigerators run on alternating current (AC) power, but because solar energy is direct current (DC) energy, the solar-powered freezer must run on DC power. DC power is normally stored in things like batteries, but batteries do not last long enough to power a freezer. The team wants to convert this DC energy into ice that can last multiple days, even when the sun isn’t out.

“I see our work here as trying to develop a tool that helps people in developing countries to do their jobs and make their countries better,” Heston said. “We need to move to things like solar power because it’s a sustainable solution.”

To achieve this goal, a DC compressor must be used to convert the energy into ice instead of the typical AC compressor. DC compressors take gaseous energy and convert it to a liquid. A heat dissipator then removes the heat from the freezer. The compressed liquid that results from the heat being removed expands into metal bars in the freezer, causing it to eventually freeze.

DC compressors typically have

brushes that break down refrigerant gas. However, the brushes in standard DC compressors create sparks that inhibit the breakdown from gas to liquid. This means a special DC compressor must be used for the solar-powered freezer. These compressors are currently expensive, but as they become more popular, the price drops.

According to Heston, the current cost of a solar-powered freezer is approximately $500. To be able to sell it to Burro, the price needs to be approximately $200.

“I’ve always been interested in green energy,” mechanical engineering senior Luke Holmes said. “This worked out perfectly as my senior project and fits my heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and refrigerating concentration.”

Holmes is working with two other mechanical engineering students, Tyler Batchelder and Jonathon Lo, to fulfill their senior project requirements.

For now, the team has to wait until the price of special DC compressors drop. In the meantime, the group aims for a smaller prototype that a few families or fisherman could share. The team doesn’t have a set location for installation of the first finished solar-powered freezer, but they are looking at a few African countries.

SAMMI MULHERN | MUSTA NG NE W S

A COOL IDEA | Instead of using solar energy to produce heat, the energy is being converted into ice.

ARTS 4

MUSTANG NEWS

Kombucha is kind of quirky; it’s two different things making a fermentation, it’s bacteria and yeast.

KOMBUCHA continued from page 1

A look inside Whalebird Founded in 2012, Whalebird Kombucha sits on the fringes of San Luis Obispo, nestled on the corner of Empleo Street, off of busy South Higuera Street. The scent of vinegar wafts from the distillery room as dark amber liquid ferments in 50-gallon vats.

Ceiling-high steel vessels line the walls of a space just beyond a rustic front tasting room where an energetic college student serves samples to customers.

Up a neon green ladder is a loft space above Whalebird’s tasting room. A punching bag, colorful cartoon-style art and hanging-hammock chairs reflect a playful company culture. Here, CFO Jake Pritzlaff, with a curling moustache like a silent movie villain, told the story of Whalebird.

“You look at Whalebird and instantly it makes you feel happy. It’s this funny little whale with a little

ALISON STAUF | COURTE SY PHOTO

SELECTIVE | A distiguishing feature of Whalebird’s kombucha is that it’s never bottled. It’s only available from a tap.

JAKE PRITZLAFF sideways the compasmile kind ny’s analyst. of smirking at Durighello and you,” Pritzlaff said.

Pritzlaff became more se“Kombucha is kind of quirky; it’s rious about their kombucha brewtwo different things making a fer- ery in 2015 after making $10,000 mentation, it’s bacteria and yeast.” from a Kickstarter campaign.

Pritzlaff related this marriage “At that point in time, kombuof bacteria and yeast to the cha, was very niche. It was drank company’s brand. by people who were in the yoga “A whale and a bird are another scene, the health and wellness two things that you wouldn’t think kind of industry, and it had a vibe go together,” he said. of something that maybe hippies drank,” Pritzlaff said.

Kombucha’s growing popuPritzlaff and Durighello larity wanted to make kombucha The drink originated in Asia hun- more mainstream. dreds of years ago but recently be“We wanted to take it and make came more popular. Kombucha it something for people who were sales increased by 29 percent from into craft beer, who were into 2013 to 2014 according to CNBC. soda, energy drinks, iced tea — Whalebird CEO Mike Durighel- that kind of thing,” Pritzlaff said. lo began Whalebird’s predecessor, “We felt like we’d do some good in Komplete Kombucha, in 2012 the world if they were picking up with two other founders — Alex a kombucha instead.”

Narodny and Molly Hemler — In 2015, Pritzlaff and Durighello who have since left the company. rebranded from Komplete When Narodny left the compa- Kombucha to Whalebird. ny in 2012, Pritzlaff joined as With 30 vendors on the Cen-

tral Coast alone, Whalebird is slowly dominating the local market for on-tap kombucha. Its distinguishing feature is that the product is never bottled, meaning it’s only available from a tap, like a keg of beer.

Spark Yoga in San Luis Obispo is one of Whalebird’s vendors.

Owner Steph Young has been selling Whalebird for two-and-ahalf years.

“Kombucha, the concept, when you talk about it, sounds frightening and disgusting,” Young said.

“But I’m a believer in it, I feel like it does help with your overall GI (gastrointestinal) health and it tastes good which is awesome.”

The good, the bad and the probiotics Barker said there isn’t a lot of science that supports the benefits or negative effects of kombucha, so she doesn’t buy into the probiotic craze behind it.

“There’s cases of people who have died from home-brew because it

grows some toxic mold and they didn’t realize it,” Barker said. “But there are some other people that say it’s cured AIDS. If it makes you feel good, you should drink it.”

Pritzlaff, however, thinks the bacteria in kombucha can be helpful in digestion and gut health.

“There’s a lot of research coming out on the nature of probiotics in general; so eating kimchi, sauerkraut, probiotic yogurt and drinking kombucha — they’re all part of a healthy balance of gut bacteria,” Pritzlaff said. “The more beneficial bacteria you’re putting in your gut, the better your digestion, which heavily influences your overall health and wellness.”

But nutrition professor Lisa Nicholson said it’s not that simple.

Nicholson said the word “probiotic” doesn’t always imply a positive effect on the body.

“The word biotics reminds us of something that is alive,” Nicholson said. “These are the bacteria that live alongside us. ‘Probiotic’ is the term that has come into use

that just means these live microorganisms.”

Nicholson said each person has a different balance of bacteria in their body and the intake of different probiotics can either help that balance or throw it off.

“If we have them in the right amount, we get a health benefit,” Nicholson said. “When you have ‘bacterial overgrowth’ where you get too much of one type of food substrate, then they kind of get out of balance and out of wack in your system.”

Barker said she only drinks a maximum of one glass a day because if she drinks too much, it could make her stomach hurt.

But agricultural communication junior Alissa Loftus said she has a different experience.

“I like to drink it whenever my stomach feels off or especially whenever I have to take antibiotics,” Loftus said. “All the good bacteria in there is basically the equivalent of taking a probiotic pill.”

Yellow Glass Media presents ‘Sa La’ Naba Ahmed @nabaahmed

Drugs. Communism. War. These are three of the reasons that Lahu native Moody Thiranai escaped to Thailand, where he set up a dormitory for underprivileged children.

Civil engineering senior Daniel Hornett heard Thiranai’s story on an Engineering Without Borders trip to Thailand and came up with a bold idea: make a documentary of Thiranai’s life.

“In summer 2015, I was listening to the life story of one of the

community members, Moody, and was struck by the humanness of it in that I had never heard a story like that in person,” Hornett said. “He told it with such love and no regrets. He was pretty incredible.”

Hornett came to Cal Poly hoping to convince his friend Michallyn Hoffman, industrial engineering alumnus, to aid him in his endeavors. They joked about it but soon became serious about making a documentary.

The two perused LinkedIn to find potential team members and landed on one profile: Nesrine

Majzoub, a videographer. They were impressed by her and after a quick interview, sociology senior Majzoub became the third member of their team.

Once their team was in place, they needed funds for the project.

They began with a Kickstarter campaign, calling themselves Unreasonable Productions. After exceeding their Kickstarter goal, the team went to Thiranai’s village in Thailand this past summer to document his story.

Born and raised in Burma, Thiranai started his career as a teacher. However, in 1990 he was

imprisoned for using and selling opium. In prison, despite having no medical experience, Thiranai became the doctor for more than 500 inmates. In search of refuge, Thiranai escaped to Northern Thailand where he now lives.

Although he is 90 percent blind, he runs a dormitory for children who were affected by drugs and poverty.

“The goal of [the] film is to tell the story of Moody and family because despite them working so hard and having to go through so many problems and issues throughout their lives, they are still so happy and excited to be doing what they’re doing,” Majzoub said.

Thiranai is one of about one million Lahu, an ethnic group of Chinese and mainland Southeast Asian people. Thousands of Lahu become refugees from military rule in Burma and China. With the documentary, Majzoub wanted to show that when visiting other countries, it is important to understand the different cultures instead of being so quick to judge.

“We recognized that it is really easy as westerners to fall into, ‘Well, they live in a hut, they’re more poor than we are so we should teach them how to be western,’” Majzoub said. “That really doesn’t take into account their cultural ideologies and so we kind of want to touch on — from both our perspective and Moody’s perspective — what’s the best way to travel and work

together with one while learning from each other rather than imposing ideals.”

Additionally, creating the documentary showed the team the power of connecting in a modern world.

“Something else I think we have all seen recently is this incredible amount of sharing happening on social media, [it’s] easy to connect with them in Thailand,” Hornett said. “As divided as the world is with borders and laws and wars, there is an incredible power to connect people and bring together that global conversation.”

The team is editing Sa La and hopes to complete the documentary by this spring. Their plan is to host a screening with friends and family in May. After starting the creation of the documentary under the name Unreasonable Productions, the team wanted to expand. However, that required rebranding. Out of their brainstorming came Yellow Glass Media.

After rebranding, the team sought to become a business, but didn’t have the means or background to do so.

Through the grapevine, they heard about the Cal Poly Center For Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s Hatchery prog ram. The Hatcher y program provides mentorship to students interested in launching a business. Now, the team has more opportunity to grow as a startup.

Next steps: Washington, D.C. On the day of the election, the members of Yellow Glass Media met to reflect on the results.

They knew the importance of storytelling in this critical time and, regardless of their political beliefs, decided to create a film outlining the political and social climate in America.

The team flew to Washington D.C. where they attended President Trump’s inauguration. They also attended protests and planned to interview National Public Radio and people in PACs. “It is about a way we can compromise and how we can understand each other from here,” Hornett said. “I think our nation is pretty divided and there are a lot of feeling[s] and events happening that are turbulent.”

Yellow Glass Media wants to provide a unique perspective in their second film, they said.

“We are not trying to take a political stance and are hoping to provide a perspective that is available to all sides,” Majzoub said. “We want to capture people’s stories and humanize other sides so that we can have these types of conversations that will be productive and unify[ing].”

They posted a teaser a few days after the inauguration and plan to release the full film, Voices of the Votes, early February.

This is not the last from Yellow Glass Media. They have big plans to continue their business and keep telling the stories they think are important.

ARTS 5

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2017

People talk about the struggles they have, the pain they have, and that inspires me to do the same thing ...

CJ SALYER

MPU continued from page 1

Salyer is trained in classical guitar and music theory. Gandler can play live instruments, but has extensive knowledge of music production and the ability to warp sounds in his projects with Salyer.

Together they form a duo called Soul Patch. The pair likes to make music that embodies peace, serenity and emotion with guitars, piano riffs and spacey groove synths.

Salyer’s production name is MNSGRV (moonsgroove) and his style can best be described as “chill hop,” drawing inspiration from emotion expressed through hip-hop music.

“I like hip-hop the most,” Salyer said.

“It’s a platform for people to just speak so much about any experience they are having. People talk about the struggles they have, the pain they have, and that inspires me to do the same thing because I want to help others like music helped me.”

Gandler, who calls himself “Lifegrid,” is inspired by people who push the boundaries of modern music through experimentation. For example, he admires the raw, primal sounds of DJ and producer Bassnectar.

“Music is the vibration of sounds around your ears,” Gandler said. “It can come into your ear and you can feel some of the craziest things you’ve

GROOV Y

PHOTO BY SAMMI MULHERN, ILLUSTRATION BY AARON MATSUDA | MUSTA NG NE W S

| Anthropology and geography junior Christian Salyer’s production name is MSNGRV (moonsgroove) and his style is best decribed as “chill hop.”

ever felt before.”

Salyer and Gandler make music using a device called a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) that transforms acoustic sounds to digital sounds. The MIDI device can act as any instrument the musician wishes. This allows a twoman band to create songs with upwards of five instruments in them. The pair mixes digital beats from the MIDI with live instruments and vocals to create their staple groovy sound.

Making music is something the pair enjoys doing on a personal level, but Soul Patch said they are also ecstatic when their friends hear their work.

“I love making music with my friends in my basement, but I also love watching people moving, grooving and vibing to the music we made,” Salyer said. “It just is so awesome to see other people receive it. You can control your area with sound, you can control the feeling and the vibe of a room with random sounds.”

Salyer and Gandler both write and produce to help cope with stresses in their lives.

According to Salyer and Gandler, when

they were feeling emotionally out of control, they were consoled by music. The duo said they hope to bring these feelings of security to other people through their music.

“We try to create a community that people feel comfortable [in],” Gandler said. “So many people are so far away from home. I come here to SLO now and it feels almost more like home than where I grew up was, just because how positive, inspirational and influential my friends are.”

Industrial engineering senior Logan Kregness, one of the founders of the MPU, is happy to have the company of members like Salyer and Gandler.

Aside from being part of the original MPU crew, Kregness is a solo artist pursuing production and beat making.

“It was hard for me at first because I struggled to bring in that crowd,” Kregness said. “There wasn’t much of a hip-hop production scene when MPU started here.”

Collaboration is a natural part of surrounding oneself with like-minded people. Mechanical engineering junior and MPU President Ryan Gelinas finds solace

in the combination of beautiful sounds.

“You can probably hear it right now,” Gelinas said as MPU members played music at their weekly meeting.

“Those are people who may or may not have ever played together before and they can because music is such a vuniversal language.”

Though most musicians in MPU pursue music consistently and passionately outside of the club, weekly meetings act as workshops where students can get advice from those who are more advanced.

“It’s kind of like a study session,” Gandler said. “If you were to go to a group study session for organic chemistry and you really understand one concept and someone else has no idea how to do that, you can exchange. You will probably learn more by showing them too. It kind of works the same way as school, it’s just a different field.”

Though the MPU can be thought of as a place to learn the basics, most production is done outside of the “classroom.”

Gandler said that succeeding in music production is all about dedicating time to refining the craft.

“The people who come consistently every week to MPU are the people making music because it’s what they want to do.

All the time,” Gandler said.

Despite the beats, sounds and rhythms that come from the MPU members, there is something more special that keep people coming back to the club: comradery and culture.

For these singers, songwriters, producers, beatmakers, DJs and rappers, the MPU is their home. And it is jamming.

“The best thing to come out of the MPU is the culture,” Kregness said. “It’s all about the culture, the space, just providing that resource to everyone where everyone can meet up and find something that they are looking for. There is a little bit of everything for everyone in MPU.” The hip-hop talent finely crafted in MPU will be showcased on Friday, at Operation: Hip-Hop. This is the club’s second year doing the signature event.

The free concert will feature rappers and breakdancers and starts at 7:15 p.m. in Chumash Auditorium.

Take it SLO delivers at a cappella competition Frances Mylod-Vargas @CPMustangNews

Melodies and harmonies filled the auditorium Friday night as Cal Poly’s a cappella team, Take It SLO, sang for a crowd of almost 700 while competing at the Los Angeles A Cappella Festival (LAAF).

Less than 48 hours earlier, the group was in the Christopher Cohen Performing Arts Center (PAC) parking garage rehearsing for the busy weekend. Sounds of honking horns and chatty students walking to class echoed through the garage, but the focus of the 13 musicians never wavered as they sang together one last time before the big performance.

As Take It SLO made last-minute modifications to their choreography and songs, most members were eagerly anticipating the opportunity to perWe’re practicing form on such a performing, our big stage. choreography, everything “We tried last year and didn’t that needs to be a part of make it, so this an a capella competition.

ADRIAN R ANGEL-SANCHEZ | COURTE SY PHOTO year came as a big SING | Take It SLO was among six high school and collegiate groups chosen out of 18 entries to compete at LAFF. It was their first time participating in the competition. shock,” earth and DYLAN KIRKBY soil science sophobest that I’ve To prepare for LAFF, they amped formed “Don’t Wait” by Mapei and critique from professionals in the a closer to one another, fostering a more Mikaela McGill heard this song up rehearsal time and intensity “Omen” by Sam Smith. Though cappella industry. An external set great group dynamic. said. “Overall, I’m actually in four years. That after winter break. they were disappointed, Kirkby of eyes helped provide the group “I think I’m just personally repretty confident in our group, just makes me super excited and “A typical practice will just be us thinks it was the best performance with helpful feedback on how to ally encouraged by the amount [we’re] doing really well. I’m just bodes well for the competition.” running through music, learning Take It SLO has ever had and a improve their performance in of openness and the amount nervous because it’s a huge crowd.”

Take It SLO is one of two a notes, practicing sectional stuff great achievement for the group. terms of staging and vocals. of support and love that’s been Take it SLO President Dylan cappella groups on Cal Poly’s and blend with the whole group, “I think as a group it was a Kirkby said Take It SLO’s pres- shown in the group this year,” Kirkby was filled with visible en- campus; the other is called That’s but these rehearsals leading up to strong performance,” Kirkby said. ence at LAFF set a positive trajec- Kirkby said. “I think the compeergy as he talked about his emo- the Key. While both groups have LAFF are pretty specific,” Kirkby “The competitive atmosphere, tory for the rest of the year. When tition and vocal advice from the tions surrounding the group’s attended LAFF in the past, this said. “We’re practicing perform- booming sound system and all surrounded by other a cappella master classes is great, but what final practice. was the first year that Take It SLO ing, our choreography, every- of our families in the audience re- groups, and after receiving advice, we’re really there to celebrate is “I’m super jazzed right now, qualified to compete in the scho- thing that needs to be a part of ally motivated us and drew out a Take It SLO crafted a vision for our connection with each other like I was just dancing a minute lastic competition. an a capella competition.” really special performance.” their group and got helpful ideas and the family we’ve been buildago,” electrical engineering senior Take It SLO was among six high At the competition on Friday, After the competition portion of for where to direct their focus next. ing. I’m just stoked that that reKirkby said. “We just did a run- school and collegiate groups cho- Take It SLO was eliminated after the weekend, Take It SLO attended Not only was the experience ally got celebrated and elevated through of a song that was the sen to compete out of 18 entries. the first round where they per- master classes where they received constructive, it brought members by the weekend.”

OPINION 6

MUSTANG NEWS

OPINION

Brendan Abrams @CPMustangNews

Brendan Abrams is a liberal arts and engineering studies junior and Mustang News columnist.

The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints and editorial coverage of Mustang News.

My stereotypical Jewish mother thinks I’m quite good at triathlons (races involving swimming, biking and running, for the uninitiated).

She’s wrong.

I don’t win triathlons, nor do I perform particularly well in them.

It would be more accurate to say that I just ... barely ... make it through ... to the end of the race.

I can forgive my mom for bending the truth, though. She only wants the best for me, and there’s no harm in allowing a few “alternative facts” to go unchecked. As I always say, “If it’s good enough for the White House press secretary, it’s good enough for me.”

Recent events threw a wrench in that philosophy. It turns out that alternative facts can be detrimental to the health of trustbased relationships, like the one between parent and child or the one between the president and the

How liberals can learn from triathletes population of his country. If we can’t trust the facts, can we trust anything at all?

In our divided country, we need to rebuild trust and community so we don’t burn the place to the ground. So quit being so nice to me, mom.

OK, now that my mom’s alternative facts are taken care of, how do we confront the tornado of lies and hate and ideological discord that is tearing its way across the country? Tornadoes are supposed to stay in the Midwest! One option is for California to secede and become a Canadian province. As attractive as that sounds, I’d like to propose avoiding another civil war by taking a few pages out of the triathlete’s book instead.

No, triathletes don’t spend their time sitting cross-legged in speedos while singing “Imagine” by John Lennon and talking about feelings. Not most of their time, anyway. Triathletes train with purpose, day in and day out, to accomplish entirely selfish goals. Maybe they want to run more efficiently, bike faster or avoid drowning. Any goal in an endurance sport can only be achieved through lots of hard work, laser-sharp

focus and minuscule improvements over time.

Likewise with the future of the United States. It’s clear by this point that whimpering, “Why can’t we all just get along?” is not going to effect any meaningful progress in areas like civil rights or environmental protection in this administration.

That’s why we need to keep fighting. And by “we,” I mean everyone. Not just my fellow liberal complainers who shut down major streets in major cities with their protests the day after the inauguration (that was awesome!) but also everyone else who has an opinion in this country. Those who make their beliefs clear are the ones who earn respect and progress.

Half-hearted, last-minute solutions don’t work. Triathletes won’t achieve personal records by training only the week before the race, and whimsical execu-

Day in and day out triathletes train with purpose to accomplish entirely selfish goals.

tive orders won’t achieve national security. In both politics and triathlons, exhaustive work toward selfish goals is really the only way to get things done.

“But wait, you egomaniac,” you say. “How can selfishness create a better community? That’s, like, an oxymoron!”

Firstly, you shouldn’t use the word “like” so often. This isn’t the San Fernando Valley.

Secondly, that’s where triathletes are interesting. We’re all brutally self-interested, yet love nothing more than seeing others succeed. Races are full of cheering volunteers and teammates (thanks, Cal Poly Triathlon team). Not everyone gets a trophy, but everyone gets smiles and words of encouragement.

It is because of our competitive urges that the triathlon community is incredibly vibrant and supportive. Everyone respects that everyone else is working hard to achieve their goals.

Why can’t our political community be the same way? Let’s respect one another and appreciate the fact that we can have civil discourse.

Competitive cooperation is exciting, fulfilling and productive.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Cal Poly community when that so called “alt-right” jerk Milo Yiannopoulos came to town.

A side note about this guy: He loves when protests force his appearances to be cancelled, because then he can go online and spew alt-facts about the horrors of the left.

Stop protesting his right to speak, and his influence will fade faster than you can say “bigoted internet troll” (looking at you, Berkeley).

Anyway, Cal Poly’s response in the form of Unite Cal Poly, a socially-aware comedy show and concert, was an excellent example to set. Allow both sides to say their piece respectfully, but push onward with those selfish goals.

It might not be pretty, and it certainly won’t be easy, but if average people in our country can continue fighting for what they believe in and stop fighting over whether we should fight, maybe that horrific metaphorical tornado will die down so that we can just … barely … make it through … the next four years. It would make my mom really proud.

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RUNNING WITH A PURPOSE

K YLE JORDAN | COURTE SY PHOTO

| Training for a triathalon requires direction, diligence and teamwork — traits that liberals should adopt when fighting for the causes they believe in.

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SPORTS 8

MUSTANG NEWS

The Mustangs’ winning formula Erik Engle @erik_engle

“Honestly, I have nothing against that team that I was on my freshman year, but you know, I see a lot more in this team,” senior guard Ridge Shipley said.

This is extremely high praise for a team with a 7-16 record, including only three wins since Dec. 10. However, Shipley could be onto something.

Shipley’s team from his freshman season in 2013-14 is the only team in Cal Poly history to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. They did so in dramatic fashion after winning four straight games as the seventh seed in the Big West Conference Tournament following a mediocre 10-19 regular season performance.

Is it possible for this year’s Mustangs to run the table in the conference tournament and return to the big dance? Yes, but a detailed look at the numbers gives an idea of what the Mustangs need to change before the tournament to have a shot.

Points in the paint differential If the Mustangs are going to be anything but a first-round out in the conference tournament, they need to play better in the post.

When they lose, the Mustangs are outscored in the paint by an average of 6.69 points per game. When they win, they only outscore their opponents by an average of 1.71 points down low.

A possible explanation for this is the Mustangs’ lack of height in comparison to their competition.

UC Irvine’s roster boasts four players measuring 6-foot-10 or taller, including 7-foot-2 center Ioannis Dimakopoulos.

By comparison, redshirt freshman forward Hank Hollingsworth is the only player on the Mustangs’ roster who stands over 6-foot-9.

Hollingsworth currently only averages 8.5 minutes and 1.1 points per

game. The large height differential between the two teams’ frontcourts makes it even more surprising that the Mustangs were able to outscore the Anteaters 36-24 in the paint on their way to victory at the Bren Events Center Jan. 26.

Despite their success against UC Irvine, the Mustangs’ lack of height prevents them from getting good offensive looks inside. This forces Cal Poly to stay out of the key and rely on their perimeter shooting.

The defense also suffers because of the missing strong interior presence. Other teams eventually force the ball into their post scorers, forcing the Mustangs to bring a defender off of a shooter to help double team low-post scorers. This has left the Mustangs’ defense vulnerable to shots from beyond the arc, and the data suggests opponents are taking advantage of it.

Second half three-point shooting and three-point defense The Mustangs live and die by the three-point shot due to their lack of an interior presence. In the second half of games this year the Mustangs attempted 273 three-point shots, 91 more attempts than their opponents in the same frame.

Though they are a dismal 1-14 when their opponent shoots a higher percentage from deep after the break, the Mustangs are 6-2 when shooting an equal or higher percentage from three than their opponent in the second half.

The Mustangs’ dependence on the three-point shot was on display again in their victory over UC Davis and their potential Conference Player of the Year, forward Chima Moneke. The Aggies and the Mustangs shot the same percentage from deep in the second half, but in that time the Mustangs attempted four more shots from long-range than the Aggies did. In both halves combined, the Mustangs attempted twice as many three-point shots as

MATT LALANNE | MUSTA NG NE W S

DOWN THE LANE | Points in the paint, like a layup here by sophomore guard Donovan Fields, are a huge part of the Mustangs’ success. the Aggies.

Winning the three-point battle tests both the Mustangs’ offense and defense. Their opponents shoot an average of 40 percent from downtown in the second half while the Mustangs three-point percentage drops from 37 percent in the first half to 31 percent in the second.

“I know when you struggle as a team shooting from behind the arc then you kind of lose that edge on defense as well,” Shipley said. “It’s hard not to worry about shots going in. That’s just growth, though. We continue to get better at it.”

These second-half lapses have been insurmountable for the Mustangs, as they have lost nine games in which they had tied the game or taken the lead by halftime or later.

Can they fix it?

Head coach Joe Callero absolutely

thinks so.

“We’re a little undersized team in comparison to most of our opponents and so I think we play very hard, but I do think fatigue has a tendency to catch us toward the end of games,” Callero said. “As we learn how to continue to handle that, I think that we have a good chance to finish out those games.”

If the Mustangs had been able to win half of those games they failed to close out in the second half, they would have a winning record instead of sitting at the bottom of the division.

While Callero said improved physical conditioning would play a role in overcoming some of the issues on defense, he feels that mental conditioning will be the most important factor for his team’s success in the Big West Tournament.

“We need to come very boringly

consistent,” Callero said. “What we do is very effective, both offensively and defensively. Our success will be directly related to how long we can maintain our focus and concentration on all of the areas, not just one area.”

With their recent wins against UC Irvine and UC Davis, the Mustangs picked up their first conference wins of the season and proved they can compete with the best teams in the division.

“To go in there (to Irvine) and come out with a win was a big confidence boost,” senior forward Zach Gordon said. “I think the guys still have a lot of confidence. Obviously, this year hasn’t gone as well as we hoped it would. Same thing happened that year (in 2013-14). I think we ended up winning eight or nine games before we went into tournament play and then we won

four straight.”

The gameplan for their win over the Anteaters could provide the Mustangs with the formula for success going forward. Cal Poly outscored UC Irvine 36-24 in the painted area and, while the Mustangs only shot 25 percent from long range in the second half, they held the Anteaters to a lowly 18 percent shooting from three-point range.

If the Mustangs are able to stop themselves from being bullied in the key, can stop the three-point shot and can shoot efficiently from beyond the arc, they will be able to compete with anyone in the division.

“Man, going into the tournament all I think about is winning it,” Shipley said. “I wouldn’t put anything against our team. I wouldn’t count us out for anything.”