January 17, 2017

Tuesday, Januar y 17, 2 016

E s t a b l i s h e d 1916

w w w. m u s t a n g n e w s . n e t

Is Coachella worth the price?

SOPHIA O’KEEFE | MUSTANG NE WS E XPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME

| Many Coachella-goers said that the festival is worth the high cost because of its diverse lineup of popular artists like headliners Kendrick Lamar, Radiohead and Beyoncé.

Nicole Horton @ CPMustangNews

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has been attracting thousands to Indio, California every year since its origin in 1999. What started as a one-day concert featuring a few popular acts has now

350 BILLION

GALLONS of

WATER

added to reservoirs

grown into a three-day extravaganza spanning two consecutive weekends in April.

With the cost of a three-day general admission ticket coming in at around $400 from the Coachella website, this live music and art experience comes at a hefty price.

Is it worth it?

For business administration sophomore Matt Casadona, the answer is a resounding yes.

Casadona explained that it was Coachella’s friendly environment that persuaded him to buy a ticket.

“At Coachella, you meet so

20.01+ 10.01-15.00 4.01-5.00 2.01-3.00 1.01-1.50 0.11-0.25 <0.01

BRENDAN MATSUYAMA | MUSTANG NE WS

COACHELLA continued on page 5

Water fills reservoirs, students fill airports Brendan Matsuyama @ CPMustangNews

Percipitation (in.)

many amazing people. Everyone is so happy, nice and welcoming,” Casadona said. “There’s nothing better than dancing to music and to me that’s all Coachella is. It’s my happy place.”

Cal Poly began the Winter 2017 quarter on Jan. 9, only two days after the beginning of a Pineapple Express — a non-technical term for a corridor of atmospheric moisture that causes heavy precipitation on the West Coast.

As last week’s storm made landfall, the impact was intense.

On one hand, the storm provided some relief from the drought that has afflicted California since 2011. The storm added

much needed water to many of the state’s reservoirs and the snow pack in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 41.78 percent of the state is now out of the drought — an increase from 32.39 percent on Jan. 3, 2017 and from 16.41 percent on Oct. 11, 2016. Additionally, the Drought Monitor reports that only 2.13 percent of the state remains in a state of exceptional drought, down from 42.66 percent one year ago.

On the other hand, many communities in Northern California specifically have experi-

enced a large amount of flooding. According to The Weather Company, there were over 100 reports of floods and landslides in California, Nevada and Oregon on Jan. 8. The California Department of Water Resources opened the Sacramento weir’s floodgates on the Sacramento River for the first time in 10 years and the Russian River only began to recede on Jan. 12 after extensive flooding of communities in Sonoma County.

STORM continued on page 3

Why New Year’s gym resolutions don’t work out after January Cassandra Garibay @ CPMustangNews

It happens every January; people make promises they may or may not intend to keep and enroll in gym memberships they often forget about by mid-year.

Even at Cal Poly, where the Recreation Center is always buzzing with movement, fitness class attendance drops between January and June. Gregory Avakian, director of recreational sports for Associated Students, Inc., (ASI) said that the severe decrease in gym

attendance rates typically aligns with dead week and finals week in March. However, after a spike in attendance in April, the fitness class attendance declines again.

According to psychology professor Daniel Levi, failed resolutions are often a result of a person’s environment. Since behavior is often affected by a person’s social environment, it is difficult for a person to break a behavior that surrounds them.

RESOLUTIONS continued on page 2

DREW HAUGHEY | MUSTANG NE WS NEW YEAR, NEW ME

| From 2013-2015, there has been a spike in attendance at the Recreation Center at the onset of the new year.

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

NEWS 2

MUSTANG NEWS

Jana Colombini looks back at fall quarter, pioneers plans for winter Sydney Harder @ CPMustangNews

Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) forged strong connections with the student body through a record number of events and a revamp of social media outreach throughout fall quarter, according to ASI President Jana Colombini.

During the first few months of Colombini’s presidency, ASI hosted several new events, including the Sustainability Fest.

They also hosted the “Flex Your Right” voter registration drive again. According to Colombini, the campaign resulted in a record number of newly registered student voters, surpassing that of Stanford University and all other California State Universities (CSU).

“We had a little over 2,000 [people registered to vote], other CSU’s would have 700,” agricultural sciences senior Colombini said. “We were almost just an outlier, so that was a huge success.”

Colombini also made efforts to increase the accessibility of ASI for students, particularly with the creation of the ASI President Snapchat. Colombini also introduced her open office hours, during which students could approach Colombini with ideas, concerns and general input to guide future ASI decisions.

“Care, Communicate, Connect,” are the guiding principles for Colombini’s agenda, which focuses on increasing transparency be-

RESOLUTIONS continued from page 1

“A famous psychologist, Kurt Lewin, said it is easier to change your group of people than it is to change an individual and put them back in the group,” Levi said. “The individual’s behavior will revert back to the group’s behavior, and that’s a problem for New Year’s resolutions.”

That is not to say that in order to have a successful resolution, people must completely abandon their current friends. Instead, Levi said to link a desired habit with another

tween ASI and the student body, as well as with the San Luis Obispo community.

“We have been attending city council meetings regularly and communicating with city council members in general,” Colombini said.

Colombini’s other visions have begun to materialize as the winter quarter begins. The recent passage of an ASI resolution to limit candidates’ campaign spending to $2,000 in future ASI elections, removing the filing fee — a safety deposit collected from candidates to ensure fair campaign practices— and digitizing applications marks several milestones for ASI. Prior to the resolution, there was no cap on campaign spending, so “that was a leap for ASI,” Colombini said.

The resolution ultimately aims to reduce barriers to running for an elected position within ASI, encouraging all interested students to participate.

At the Community Forum for Budget Priorities on Jan. 3, Colombini advocated for a portion of the city’s budget to be allocated toward the installation of more street lights in off-campus areas close to Cal Poly. Students have the opportunity to demonstrate their support for this measure via an (online voting platform).

“Because we have such inconvenient on-campus parking, students have done a respectful deed to walk [or bike] to campus.

When they go to walk home, it’s absurdly dark, especially now that it’s winter,” Colombini said. “To me, it’s such an injustice that the city doesn’t already assume that [lighting] should be a major goal of the budget.”

Along with solving this student concern, Colombini and her staff hope to make a number of ambitions a reality this quarter. “ We ’ v e put all

the visions and goals [on paper] that by the end of the year, if all of this is done, I would know that I was a successful ASI President; with campaigning I talked the talk, and throughout the term, walked the walk,” Colombini said. “I want to make sure people knew what they voted for when they voted for me.”

FAIRNESS | Colombini removed the filing fee for ASI candidates, giving all students a fair opportunity.

social group. In doing so, the person will choose to surround themselves with people striving toward a similar end goal.

“We tend to think of New Year’s resolutions as acts of willpower, but in many ways, successful ones are acts of social environment,” Levi said.

Accountability also plays a large part in the success of a resolution. President of Central Coast Psychology Association Hannah Roberts said when people keep their goals to themselves, it b e c om e s

easy for them to make excuses.

“By telling someone about your goal, and verbalizing it, that is another way to make it stick better,” Cal Poly’s assistant Director for Community Prevention and Intervention Roberts said. “The more ways you commit to that goal and make it real, the more likely you are to follow through.”

However, even if you are held accountable, if your goal is too broad, it is often not achievable.

People are less likely to achieve overgeneralized goals, such as

losing weight or drinking less.

Specific goals, such as working out twice a week or only drinking once a week are easier to reach.

Roberts said the best way to make a habit last is to have what she referred to as SMART goals, or specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-oriented goals.

SMART goals create systematic “mini-goals” that are not as ominous as an end goal. These can be used to evaluate your progress.

“Having SMART goals is saying exactly what it is you are going to do, not where you want to end up,” Roberts said. “And if

With campaigning I talked the talk, and throughout the term, walked the walk.

JANA COLOMBINI

JANA COLOMBINI | CORTESY PHOTO

you feel you have picked too big of a goal, I would say re-evaluate the goal and make it smaller and more manageable.”

Whether someone’s resolution is to form a new habit or stop an old one, making small progress before taking a big leap is very important.

In order to break a habit, Roberts said, it is easiest to replace it with something healthy. For example, rather than saying “I will not drink tonight,” people who are trying to stop drinking could say “I am going to study tonight.” Applying the mentality associated with a bad habit to a new or healthier habit

is an easier way to achieve a goal.

“It is really about creating a new habit to replace the old habit, because if you just avoid it [it] is really easy to go backwards,” Roberts said.

No matter what it is, Roberts says any goal should focus on self improvement or personal intent.

“Spending time reflecting on the previous year and celebrating what went well and thinking about what more you want to bring into the upcoming year are some things that people could do instead of reaching for a set bar every year,” Roberts said.

Making small progress before taking a big leap is very important.

DREW HAUGHEY | MUSTANG NE WS

NEWS 3

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2017

Students solve local community issues with apps Megan Schellong @ meganschellong

What has traditionally been an annual professor-led hack-a-thon became Cal Poly’s first entirely student-organized hack-a-thon on Saturday, Jan. 14.

More than 90 students came together to build cellular apps to solve local community issues at the Camp Polyhacks event at SLO Hothouse.

“There are real problems here (in San Luis Obispo), it’s not just about building an app,” organizer of Camp Polyhacks Jacob Johannesen said.

Traditionally, hack-a-thons promote the collaboration of students across all majors to create a product from an idea to a prototype in only one day. The same concept applies to Camp Polyhacks.

Within 12 hours, teams of six, made up of business, computer science, engineering and art and design students built an app surrounding one of three local problems: energy consumption, trail hiking usage and drunk driving.

“Instead of making the ‘next best recipe’ app, how ‘bout we get community members involved and figure out what problems they have to fix,” Creative Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Charmaine Farber said.

Camp Polyhacks is the first off-campus, student-organized event centered around community issues affecting the city of San Luis Obispo.

“Oftentimes when you’re building an app, you ask ‘What’s the biggest problem the world faces?’” liberal arts and engineering studies alumnus Johannesen said. “When really, there’s tons of problems technology can solve in your own backyard.”

After 12 hours of work, an expert panel of representatives from General Electric, TransUnion and Amazon allotted each team four minutes to pitch their app and had them participate in a separate two-minute Q&A session.

The winner of the hack-a-thon was Turn Down for Watt, a group that developed an app called

STORM continued from page 1

The rainfall proved to be an inconvenience and danger to many Cal Poly students who were returning to San Luis Obispo after the holidays. They faced flight cancellations, flooded roadways and unsafe driving conditions.

Vice President for Student Affairs Keith Humphrey e-mailed students on Jan. 6, advising them to take extra safety precautions when traveling and informing them that instructors were ready to work with students who would be unable to attend the first day of school due to dangerous weather conditions. Additionally, on-campus housing was opened early to offer students an opportunity to beat the storm.

“Our main focus has been working with the faculty to help them support students who may have missed their first class of the quarter,” Humphrey said. “We did antic-

JASON HUNG | MUSTANG NE WS HAPPY CAMPERS

| Cal Poly hosted the first student-organized hack-a-thon, “Camp Polyhacks,” where over 90 students worked in teams to create apps to solve local issues.

E-streak to reduce energy consumption at Cal Poly. The interface is similar to Snapchat: users film a short video of themselves recycling and post it to their newsfeed. From there, they receive points for doing an eco-friendly deed and acquire coupons to stores in downtown San Luis Obispo.

The runner-up team created the app “Go SLO,” which incentivizes students to travel the lesser-known

trails in San Luis Obispo. The app would then reward them with the opportunity to purchase unique stickers of each trail’s peak upon completion of the hike.

Placing third in the competition was the team The Brew Crew, with the app “GoGo,” which allows users to acquire points for calling San Luis Obispo company Safe Ride instead of driving home drunk.

ipate the problems and worked to open our residence halls on Friday instead of Saturday, allowing students to return early if they could.”

Many students posted on the Cal Poly Ride Share Facebook page during the days leading up to the storm, trying to make it back to San Luis Obispo before the first day of class.

Child development freshman and South Lake Tahoe native Sabrina Green posted on the Ride Share page on Jan. 6 trying to return to San Luis Obispo after the storm had passed, but was not so lucky.

“I was unable to leave the Tahoe basin after severe storm warnings of flooding and massive snowfall, as well as avalanche warnings,” Green said. “In one night we had over four feet of snow. There was no way I could get to the store — let alone SLO ... I missed a full week of school because of this storm, but luckily can come back at the end of this weekend.”

Biomedical engineering junior

Joseph Rainaldi faced a similar problem. He was forced to drive in a blizzard to avoid missing class after facing flight cancellations. “... After having flights cancelled four days in a row and potentially missing three days of school I drove three hours through blizzard condition to get on a plane which stranded me in an airport that I had to spend the night in,” Rainaldi said. “[I] did all this because I knew I was unfairly falling behind in classes that were moving forward at a quarterly pace without me in them.”

As of Jan. 14, much of the Sacramento and Northern San Joaquin Valley remain under flash flood watch and flood warning according to the Sacramento Weather Forecast Office. As Cal Poly heads into the second week of winter quarter, the National Weather Service has predicted that Northern California will experience more heavy precipitation beginning Jan. 18 that will likely continue until Jan. 20.

All participatns have the option to further develop their app beyond the competition.

Even students outside of the business entrepreneurship concentration found value in the hack-a-thon experience. The idea of building a start-up company from the ground up was particularly inspiring.

“It’s so exciting and you get to manage everything about compa-

nies and I want to have that experience,” computer engineering sophomore Christian Johansen said.

Others chose to participate in Camp Polyhacks simply because they wanted to try something new.

“I thought it’d be cool to put something on my resume and portfolio and learn new things,” graphic communications junior Farica Carroll said.

A leadership team of nine graphic

communications students and one liberal arts and engineering alumnus worked together to create this sold-out event.

Camp Polyhacks showed how strangers can become business partners in a day.

“It brings people together from business to design to create a product and shows that strangers can come together and build something,” Johannesen said.

ARTS 4

MUSTANG NEWS

How millennials have normalized the ancient art of body piercing

ILIANA ARROYOS | MUSTANG NE WS

Rebecca Ezrin @ CPMustangNews

Many ancient cultures practiced and cherished the arts of piercing, poking, dying and branding the skin, commonly known as body modification. With the growth of religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam and their stricter ethical structures, the practice of body art diminished in Western societies.

However, piercings are now a very common accessory, especially among American millennials.

As piercing and tattoo trends make their mark on the millennial generation, Traditional Tattoo in San Luis Obispo has become a popular spot for Cal Poly students seeking new body art. During promotions like their $20 Piercing Weekend, which took place Jan. 14-16, the studio does between 200 and 300 piercings a day.

“The number one piercing we do at Cal Poly is by far nipple piercings,” Traditional Tattoo piercer and tattoo artist Matt Southwood said. “I do so many nipple piercings a day, I can’t keep track. Almost all of them are girls. Right now, it’s really popular to show off nipples.”

By getting pierced, students are tapping into ancient adorning practices, Southwood said.

“I think generations are reclaiming cultural practices, whether they’re conscious of it or not,” Southwood said. “Maybe it’s built into the human DNA to want to adorn our bodies and skin.”

Southwood has been working in the piercing and tattoo industry for 16 years. He said that he has an undeniable personal connection with body art.

His own body art reflects that connection. He is covered in all-black indigenous-looking tattoos, with different shapes and patterns, evoking images from nature. A red-tailed hawk wraps around his neck and blends into the geometric designs running up his chin.

Southwood said that patterns come to his mind and don’t go away until he makes them a part of himself.

I think generations are reclaiming cultural practices, whether they’re conscious of it or not.

MATT SOUTHWOOD

Piercing trends According to Southwood, body piercings became more commonplace in the 1980s as a result of the gay rights movement. Around the same time, Southwood said piercing culture became popular with people engaging in the erotic practices of bondage, domination, sadism and masochism (BDSM).

Up until the mid ‘90s, body piercings were an adornment of punk rock culture, Southwood said.

Then, a tribal movement made piercing culture mainstream.

In 1993, Nomad Body Piercing was founded in San Francisco, in part by a man named Kristian White. According to Nomad’s website, it was the first body piercing studio in America that worked freehand, without the aid of clamps.

This means that piercers do not use tools such as forceps to support and stabilize the area being pierced.

“Kristian went all around the world staying with different tribes. He started bringing over organic jewelry, like plugs,” Southwood said. “He fell in love with indigenous cultures and their body art practices, and he made a business out of it.”

Plugs are short, circular pieces of jewelry commonly worn in larger-gauge ear piercings.

Visiting Nomad was Southwood’s introduction to the piercing world.

Today, his piercing room replicates the rainforest-inspired decor of the Nomad studio.

Eliminating the “pierced person” stereotype Southwood said there is no longer a certain type of person who gets piercings.

“The people that come here aren’t punk rockers with mohawks. All day long, it’s sorority girls and cheerleaders or an entire sports team,” Southwood said. “It’s everybody. It’s no longer an emo or gothic thing.”

Allison Teeter, a professional evaluator at Kansas State University, wrote her master’s thesis on the stigma associated with body art. Her report is called “Never Judge a Book by its Cover: a Sociological Examination of Body Art.” “I had multiple piercings and tattoos in graduate school and I noticed a stigma associated with body modification,” Teeter said. “Despite the fact that I was extremely educated, I would be looked at differently by people.

I was interested in why people were doing this.”

Based on her research, Teeter proposed nine analytical categories explaining why people get different forms of body art. Of the nine categories, Teeter said that five apply to piercings: to bond with others, to rebel, out of impulse, to develop their self-identity and to conform to current fashion trends.

Although there remains a stigma toward body art, Teeter believes that since her youth in the early 2000s, people have become more accepting of the culture.

“I think that gender stereotypes, like women needing to look and be a certain way, were more conservative back then,” Teeter said. “Companies didn’t want to hire me because they felt they would lose customers by hiring someone that looked different. As (body modification) becomes more popular, mostly through pop-culture, it spreads like wildfire.”

ARTS 5

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2017

COACHELLA continued from page 1

From headliners Radiohead, Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé to lesser known artists like Local Natives, Mura Masa and What So Not, Coachella brings a diverse mix of genres to one festival. Coachella allows attendees to experience their favorite artists and discover new sounds.

Many festival-goers find it easy to rationalize such an expensive purchase. Industrial technology senior Steven Pardo explained that bundling 180 artists into one festival is a steal, when compared to seeing the musicians at their own concerts.

“The ticket price is beyond worth it,” Pardo said. “The amount of artists you can see for the price is insane. To see all the artists venue by venue would be extremely expensive.”

However, the price of a weekend at Coachella includes a lot more than the cost of a ticket.

Expenses for

transportation, food and accommodations play a large part in the grand total for the event.

Because hotels and Airbnbs in the area book up far in advance of the festival, many attendees choose to camp on the festival’s grounds.

Pardo said that camping at Coachella made it the best festival experience he has ever had. Coachella 2017 will be his second time attending.

“The ability to camp and walk into the festival truly lets you detach for the three days you’re there,” Pardo said. “There is no better way to experience music and friends as camping there.”

Tickets for Coachella 2017 became available on www.coachella.com Jan. 4 and sold out within an hour. Because of this, many people had to scramble to find tickets elsewhere, primarily through third-party sites like Craigslist.

Biomedical engineering junior Natalia DeKock said that after an intense and stressful internet search, she paid $700 for her ticket.

“I would pay

upwards of a few hundred dollars just to see one of the artists individually, so I think an expensive ticket is a small price to pay,” DeKock said. “I was also lucky enough to get a car camping pass for $100, so that will cut down the costs and stress of hotel rooms and travel logistics. All in all, I think I’ll have a remarkable weekend and considering the length of the concert in its entirety, my money will be well spent.”

For these Coachella-goers, it seems that the quality of the festival trumps the hefty expense.

Though the weekend getaway can end up totaling close to $1,000, it could be worth it for the experience of a lifetime.

SOPHIA O’KEEFE | MUSTANG NE WS HIGH DEMAND | Tickets for Coachella 2017 sold out on the festival’s website within an hour of being available.

“The Price is Right Live!” courtesy of cal poly arts

is coming to the PAC Gina Randazzo @ Gina_Randazzo1

“The Price is Right Live!” will host a non-televised interactive stage show at the Christopher Cohen Performing Arts Center (PAC) Friday at 7:30 p.m.

“The Price is Right Live!” will invite contestants to “come on down” to play games like Plinko, Cliffhangers, The Big Wheel and the Showcase for the chance to win prizes that may include appliances, vacations or even a new car.

Throughout the nine years that “The Price is Right Live!” has been playing in theaters, the non-televised event has given away more than $12 million in cash and prizes.

CAL POLY ARTS | COURTESY PHOTO WINNER | “The Price is Right Live!” has given away more than $12 million in cash and prizes throughout the nine years it’s been traveling.

There is no purchase necessary to be selected to play. To register for the chance to be a contestant, visit the registration area at the PAC box office three hours prior to showtime. Registration is open to legal residents of the United States and Canada who are 18 years of age or older.

Tickets to watch the show are available for purchase online and at the box office. Purchasing a ticket will not increase the chance of being selected to play.

For more information on the rules and regulations of “The Price is Right Live!” at Cal Poly, visit or call the box office. For more information about “The Price is Right Live!,” visit priceisrightlive.com.

OPINION 6

MUSTANG NEWS

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In a feat worthy of a Westworld narrative, I fear Cal Poly students will be trapped in Milo Yiannopoulos’ loop when he visits campus on Jan 31. I can predict it here and now.

After being greeted by throngs of protesters outside the event, inside Yiannopoulos will provoke and mock dissenters in the audience. He’ll often emerge with the upper hand, given he’s the one standing on stage with a microphone. In articles and interviews afterward, Yiannopoulos will spin his experience, saying that for all their talk about tolerance, the liberals who protested and yelled at him at Cal Poly weren’t all that tolerant of his viewpoint, deplorable and repugnant as it is. I know, because it happens at nearly every campus he visits.

Cal Poly students are already starting down this path, scurrying to President Jeffrey Armstrong to protect them from Yiannopoulos’ trolling stunt. But I’d like to suggest a different route.

Claim as many tickets as you can, stand in line calmly, and when Yiannopoulos starts in on his canned speech, stand up and walk out into the lobby when you see fit. Leaving him behind with only his true believers and the scorn-worthy Cal Poly College Republicans is the best way to neuter his outrage-driven brand, because the only thing that separates Yiannopoulos from the guy screaming the book of Revelation at you on the bus is your willingness to engage.

If president-elect Donald Trump follows through on some of his extreme promises, there will be plenty of time and energy to be expended on

protests that could make a concrete difference. Unfortunately, all you will be doing by protesting Yiannopoulos is sustaining his career.

I’ve read that several student leaders on campus want the administration — which has an obligation as a public institution to not infringe on First Amendment rights — to make it clear that Yiannopoulos’ brand of hate isn’t welcome on campus. But the best way to show Yiannopoulos that he isn’t welcome is to just not engage. That and lobby your fellow students,

Small governments shouldn’t be in the business of deciding which person you’re allowed to marry or what type of non-addictive substance you should smoke. Small governments with smart regulations and incentives can encourage the next generation of jobs in America. And small governments can have the benefit of lower taxes, which everyone can get behind.

Unfortunately, that is not the message you are sending when you sponsor Milo Yiannopoulos on campus. You are sending a message that Muslims aren’t welcome in America, women suck at tech interviews (where many of your fellow male and female students will be employed after college), and — something that I think should disqualify him from being sponsored at Cal Poly — that “lesbianic feminist administrators” are attempting to curb dangerous hazing rituals as part of an anti-masculine agenda.

Why send that message when you can hold a forum or speech by a conservative thinker rather than a Republican provocateur? There are countless alternatives, from Stephen Miller to Ramesh Ponnuru to the pro-Trump Hugh Hewitt. My pick would be Grover Norquist. He almost single-handedly developed a national brand for Republicans.

No matter what you think of the policy, if someone signed his pledge, whether they ran for councilperson or president, voters knew the candidate would not vote to raise taxes.

You have every right to sponsor Yiannopoulos’ talk. My argument is that for the sake of your party, you should consider an alternative.

The best way to show Yiannopoulos how unwelcome he is, is to just not engage. which brings me to the Cal Poly College Republicans.

Let me read some stats to them.

Hillary Clinton lost the election while winning California by 30 points (61 percent to 31 percent).

Exit polls project that young voters voted for her by 17 points (54 percent to 37 percent).

I say that to impress upon these young Republicans that if they plan on winning statewide office in California anytime before 2050, they ought to be in the business of rhetorical persuasion. And Republicans traditionally have some great arguments to make, especially to young people!

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Tuesday, January 17, 2017 Publishing since 1916 Volume N, Issue 22

“Is it shit or lit?”

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SPORTS 8

MUSTANG NEWS

David Nwaba’s

journey to the pros Naba Ahmed @ nabaahmed

“No nonsense.”

That’s as simple as it gets when describing David Nwaba, said Coby Karl, head coach of the Los Angeles D-Fenders.

Nwaba hung up his Cal Poly Mustangs jersey in exchange for one from the D-Fenders, the minor league affiliate of the Los Angeles Lakers, when he was signed in 2016.

Karl already named Nwaba the best defender in the NBA Development League, indicating his potential to one day play in the NBA. As a child, the NBA wasn’t in Nwaba’s sights.

Basketball: Not always part of the plan He loved watching it; Kobe Bryant was someone he looked up to. It was great to shoot hoops during lunch, but it wasn’t ever a serious game. It wasn’t until his junior year of high school when he was the leading scorer of the varsity team that Nwaba recognized his potential.

College basketball Out of high school, Nwaba redshirted at Hawaii Pacific University, a Division II school. He decided that he had an opportunity to grow as a player and headed home and played at Santa Monica College for a year.

He made the most of that year, earning conference and MVP honors along with attention from Cal Poly.

Cal Poly is where Nwaba blossomed, coach Joe Callero said. Nwaba capped his career as a Mustang by making the 2016 All-Big West Conference team as an Honorable Mention. He also ranked 15th in program history with 465 rebounds and was one of 23 players to score more than 1,000 career points.

“He worked so hard during his

three years at Cal Poly,” Callero said.

“He kept improving his skill and led us in points, steals, rebounds and assists his senior year.”

Life after college With a Cal Poly sociology degree in hand, Nwaba planned to play professionally overseas. But when he got the chance to play at the Los Angeles and Las Vegas showcases for the NBA, he took it. After getting invited to a tryout with the Reno Bighorns, the minor league affiliate of the Sacramento Kings, Nwaba changed his plans and set his sights on the D-Fenders.

The D-Fenders took an interest in Nwaba, but were under the impression that they could not have him because he was an honorable mention. There was some miscommunication regarding his eligibility but, in the end, they made a trade for Nwaba during the D-League draft, Karl said.

Los Angeles D-Fenders Playing for the D-Fenders offered Nwaba a chance to return to his hometown, Los Angeles. Once he came home, Nwaba had to make the adjustment from college basketball to the faster, more scoring intensive, transition-based minor league game.

Despite his prodigious athleticism and large frame, Nwaba still has areas to improve.

“The most, of course, shooting,” Nwaba said. “I really want to develop my three-point shot.”

He’s spent his career staying inside the arc and driving to the paint, and still instinctively drives to the basket.

“It’s tough; I still have it in my head to go straight to the basket and score,” Nwaba said. “But I really just need to build confidence in myself and get rid of the negative energy.”

Nwaba understands that he needs to have more faith in himself in or-

der to improve his shooting. His coach and teammates have been helping him with this. One of his teammates, guard Vander Blue, is a top D-League prospect to go to the NBA. “When I compete against him during practice and I feel like I learned a lot and really improved my defense. I am glad to be by his side and play against him,” Nwaba said.

While Nwaba has only been with the D-Fenders for a few months, his improvement has not gone unnoticed, especially by Karl.

“With his shooting, he has shown more confidence in his shot,” Karl said. “You can tell that he is working really hard at it.”

Nwaba was the bench man to come in for Blue, but recently has been included in the starting lineup.

“He has been in the starting lineup the last couple of games,” Karl said. “One of the main reasons was because we needed our defense to improve and we were able to play him on the other team’s best player.”

Despite having areas to improve, Nwaba is still considered the best defender in the league. Just as he did with the Mustangs, Nwaba guards the opponent’s best player.

His comfort level on the team and in the league increased as the season progressed and he plans to continue playing for the D-Fenders next year.

“I initially planned on going overseas but at the moment, it’s not about pursuing money,” Nwaba said. “I think this is the best place to improve my game so I plan on staying.”

With a potential NBA career on the horizon, Nwaba is focused on developing his game further and understands it takes some time.

“I’m just enjoying the ride,” Nwaba said. “For the most part, I feel like this is the place to be; close to home, surrounded by talent with a great coaching staff.”

LOS ANGELES D-FENDERS | COURTESY PHOTO MR.DUNK

| Nwaba’s monstrous dunk has awarded him this nickname by the D-Fenders announcer.