Monday, Januar y 30, 2017
E s t a b l i sh e d 1916
w w w. m u s t a n gn e w s . n et
Unite
Cal Poly Allen Stone to bring soulful
performance to the PAC Rebecca Ezrin @CPMustangNews
S oul singer Allen Stone writes music that doesn’t just sound pretty, but is real and relatable. “I want to write music that’s joyful and inciteful, that talks about real things and hopefully is an inspiration,” Stone said. Cal Poly will host the singer along with comedian W. Kamau Bell at Unite Cal Poly, Tuesday at the Christopher Cohen Performing Arts Center (PAC). The concert is the first of its kind and
FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT
is planned to be an annual celebration of diversity and inclusivity. Unite Cal Poly is scheduled during the same time that controversial “alt-right” speaker Milo Yiannopoulos will be speaking at Alex and Faye Spanos Theatre. “It’s an alternative for individuals who don’t have time for rhetorics of hate and discrimination,” Stone said. “I’m hoping that this event will continue the fight for love and hope and faith.” STONE continued on page 4
RED LIGHT MANAGEMENT | COURTE SY PHOTO
| Stone said that events like Unite Cal Poly are important, as they bring together students of all backgrounds. He wants to celebrate that diversity through his music.
Cal Poly Rodeo premieres
in Spanos Stadium Austin Linthicum @austin_linthicum
The 77th annual Cal Poly Royal Rodeo is preparing for a brand new audience experience with its premiere at Alex G. Spanos Stadium this spring, increasing the previous capacity to 11,000. “Relocating the rodeo is monumental,” Cal Poly rodeo team coach Ben Londo said. “This will not only improve the spectator experience but [will] allow the Cal Poly Rodeo program to make history by potentially becoming the largest college rodeo in the country.” Though their previous off-cam-
SHARING STORIES
pus venue held 2,500 spectators, while the team estimates they brought in roughly 5,000 to 6,000 viewers in past rodeos. “People were climbing fences and standing wherever they [could] to watch the show last year,” Londo said. “There [were] probably ten-deep worth of people standing. It was just chaos.” College rodeo athletes from all over the West Coast will compete for a championship title in events such as barrel racing, team roping, breakaway roping, tie-down roping, saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, bull riding and steer wrestling. The rodeo will also include stunts, clown acts,
calf dressing and more. “From the level of comp to acts we bring in, we rival any professional rodeo on the West Coast,” Londo said. The rodeo dates back to 1949 when Cal Poly sent six men to the inaugural College National Finals Rodeo. Since then, Cal Poly Rodeo’s student-athletes have gone on to win six national championships — more than any other school in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association competition — and 44 national titles. RODEO continued on page 2
A CHANGE
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY AUSTIN LINTHICUM | MUSTA NG NE W S
| Above is a Mustang News rendering of what Spanos may look like after the transformation.
HANNA CROWLE Y | MUSTA NG NE W S
| Cal Poly Democrats club members who organized the event from left to right: Erin Chazer, Ted Tran, Anne Campbell, Vice President Sebastian Hamiran and President Liana Riley.
Cal Poly Democrats hold panel to empower women Cecilia Seiter @cseiter17
Nine female activists from the Central Coast took the floor to discuss discrimination, activism and social progress in Chumash Auditorium Tuesday night. They
drew in a large, diverse crowd that buzzed with excitement about the forum’s discussion topic: empowerment in the time of Donald Trump. Cal Poly Democrats held the forum to “invite successful women to Cal Poly to counter any poten-
tial sexist, racist, or xenophobic sentiments,” according to the event’s Facebook page. San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon and local sports radio host CJ Silas were among the women who spoke on the panel. Cal Poly Democrats club pres-
ident Liana Riley posed the first question for the panelists: “Describe a time you experienced discrimination. How did you handle it?” Almost every woman on the floor had the same reaction: “Where do I even begin?”
Janice Mehring, rabbi at Congregation Ohr Tzafon and board member of People of Faith for Justice, described her difficulties breaking into the male-dominated sphere of religious leaders. As a young girl, she was told that women couldn’t be rabbis at all.
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She said many women who attempt for leadership positions in religious communities are judged by their physical appearance, including herself. EMPOWERMENT continued on page 3