C AL POLY SAN LUIS OBISPO ’S NE WS SOURCE
MUSTANG NEWS
FEBRUARY 15, 2022
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IN THIS ISSUE
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LEADERSHIP Tessa Hughes
Editor in Chief, Mustang News
MUSTANG NEWS NEWS
Catherine Allen Editor Lauren Boyer Assistant Editor Sierra Parr Amelia Wu Mckenna Rodriguez Benjamin Anderson Chloe Lovejoy Cole Presller Ethan Telles Esther Lo Emmy Burns Allister Loftus Elizabeth Wilson
OPINION
Nicki Butler Editor Cassandra Garcia Brayden Martinez Elijah Winn Neta Bar Zoe Denton Rebecca Caraway
SPORTS
Diego Sandoval Editor Kyle Har Gabe Arditti Derek Righetti Gwendalyn Garcia Kylie Hastings Nick Bandanza Noah Greenblatt
UPFRONT
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
ARTS & STUDENT LIFE Kiana Hunziker Editor Abigail O’Branovich Alisha Nazar Elissa Luce Lauren Emo Olivia Meis Naomi Vanderlip Krithi Sankar Tini Nguyen Emma Robertson Lauryn LaDuc Mari Stusser
DESIGN
Claire Lorimor Creative Director Megan Anderson Kayla Olow Karen Ma Coby Chuang Zara Iqbal
VIDEO
Sofia Silvia Video Manager Brady Caskey Matthew Bornhorst Ava Kershner Ariel Lopez Hayate Moro Ellie Spink Angelina Salgado Gabrielle Downey Harrison Kaseff
Cameryn Oakes
Ashley Holly
Claire Lorimor
Sofia Silvia
Sophie Lincoln
Victoria Bochniak
Managing Editor Creative Director
Radio News Director/ Special Sections Editor
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Emilie Johnson Editor Maddie Harrell Jacqueline Espitia Kayla Stuart Shaelyn Ashamalla Lily Tenner Emmy Scherer Fenn Bruns Jenna Pluimer Tiana Reber Eyasu Betwos Andy Sherar
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Video Manager
Digital Director
KCPR NEWS
Grace Woelbing Zara Iqbal Audrey Ryan Elise Bodnar Sarah Chayet Brett Vollrath
Sophie Lincoln KCPR News Director Alexa Kushner Tessa Hughes Ava Kershner Nikki Morgan Lauren Boyer Torstein Rehn Amanda Wernik Violet Macguire Sophie Corbett Jennie Le Nicolas Vinuela Jillian Butler Sofia Silvia Victoria Bochniak Trevor Baumgardner Jordan Triebel Avery Elowitt Maddie Harrell Abigail O’Branovich
SOCIAL
KCPR.ORG
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Ashley Holly Social Media Manager Kiana Meagher Daisy Kuenstler Chloe Chin Talia Toutounjian Jillian Butler Claire Han
DATA
Omar Rashad Editor Stephanie Zappelli Sydney Sherman Alexis Bowlby Ryan Hunter Sophie Moore Sucheen Sundaram Jack Clark Jezzia Smith Roselyn Romero
EN ESPAÑOL Diana Beas José González Mike Esparza Ava Farriday
KCPR
LEADERSHIP
Sheri Donahue Marketing Director Nicole Herhusky Art Director Sophie Lincoln Radio News Director Zoe Boyd Managing Editor Liv Collom Programming/Music Director
DISC JOCKEYS
Zoe Boyd Tessa Hughes Liv Collom Kyle Himmelein Jaxon Silva Melissa Melton
Zoe Boyd Managing Editor Eden Baker Assistant Editor Abigail O’Branovich Addie Woltkamp Cayley O’Brien Emily Tobiason Emma Hughes Michelle Mede Ashley Oakes Emily Brower Alina Jafri Kaelyn Bremer Lily Tenner Navie Bower
MMG BUSINESS ADVERTISING & PR
Brynna Barton Advertising Manager Carley Epple Marketing/PR &
Operations Director Ryan Manseau Small Team Manager Ellie Auerbach Small Team Manager
Nicolette Laventure Ashley Pagsibigan Caitlin Willard Matt Daugbjerg Samuel Hubbard Yuka Shindo
ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Sheri Donahue KCPR Specialist Elaine Do Ad Design Manager Katherine Olah Ad Designer Cindy Nguyen Ad Designer ADVISERS Jon Schlitt General Manager Pat Howe Adviser Brady Teufel Adviser Patti Piburn Adviser
Cal Poly is in tiłhini, the Place of the Full Moon. We gratefully acknowledge, respect, and thank yak tityu tityu yak tiłhini, Northern Chumash Tribe of San Luis Obispo County and Region in whose homelands we are guests.
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“WHAT IS GOING ON? WHY DOES IT SMELL LIKE SMOKE?”: FIRE IN YOSEMITE TOWER 6 FORCES STUDENTS TO EVACUATE STORY BY Cameryn Oakes & Ava Kershner DESIGNED BY Claire Lorimor
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CAL POLY SPENDS MORE THAN $100,000 ISOLATING COVID-POSITIVE STUDENTS OFF-CAMPUS STORY BY Omar Rashad DESIGNED BY Coby Chuang
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THE MAN BEHIND THE MAZE: CAL POLY STUDENT CREATES MAZES IN THE SAND, WASHED AWAY WITH THE CHANGING TIDES
STORY BY Brady Caskey DESIGNED BY Claire Lorimor
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LOCAL ROLLER SKATING CREW CHAMPIONS INCLUSIVITY
STORY BY Olivia Meis DESIGNED BY Claire Lorimor
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THE TOP MURALS TO CHECK OUT IN SAN LUIS OBISPO STORY BY Ashley Oakes DESIGNED BY Karen Ma
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“WHAT IS GOING ON? WHY DOES IT SMELL LIKE SMOKE?”: fire in Yosemite tower 6 forces students to evacuate
NEWS AND VIDEO
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY,FEBRUARY 15, 2022
BY CAMERYN OAKES AND AVA KERSHNER
Rory Bruton was fast asleep when he was awoken by a blaring loud noise around 3 a.m. Thursday morning. It was the fire alarm. “Nobody was expecting it. Everybody was just sound asleep and just enjoying their dreams and then,” Bruton said, imitating a crashlike sound. “Blasted lights blaring, smoke coming up our noses. It was pretty quick.” The earth and soil science freshman lives on the third floor of Yosemite tower 6, one floor above where an electrical fire occurred Feb. 10. The electrical fire was started due to an “improperly overloaded power strip in a resident’s room,” President Jeffrey Armstrong wrote in a campuswide email. One student obtained minor injuries and another 58 students were forced to evacuate their dorms, leaving them displaced for the remainder of the day. Bruton said that when he was awoken by the alarm, there was no smoke on his floor. Yet, when he went down the stairwell to evacuate, he opened the door to the second floor and could see only smoke. “It went from peacefully asleep to ‘What is going on? Why does it smell like smoke? What do I need to grab
right now that I might need tomorrow?” Bruton said. The fire was contained by the sprinkler system inside the residence hall prior to the arrival of San Luis Obispo Department fire crews, according to
It went from peacefully asleep to ‘What is going on? Why does it smell like smoke? What do I need to grab right now that I might need tomorrow? RORY BRUTON Earth and Soil Science Freshman
public information officer James Blattler. Sociology freshman Taylor Brandenburg, who is neighbors with the person whose room was the location of the fire, said that the floors were “soggy” due to the sprinklers. Brandenburg was not in her dorm the night of the fire, but was allowed
SHAE ASHAMALL A | MUSTANG NEWS Students in the Yosemite tower 6 residence hall were woken up early Thursday morning to an electrical fire. One student sustained minor injuries.
to go to retrieve items on Thursday, where students were sent in groups of three. Bruton said he was given four minutes to retrieve his personal belongings. The university aided the impacted students by providing them breakfast the morning of the fire, as well as toiletries. Brandenburg said she found the university’s assistance helpful whereas Bruton said he believes they could have done more to keep students out of the dark. “I’m going to say [the university]
definitely tried, but many students, we were just kind of hanging out in the common room … I feel like since it was so late, it really wasn’t that big of a deal because the sun was going to come up in about two hours,” Bruton said. The fire is currently being investigated by the State Fire Marshal’s office since it was on state property, according to Blattler. SCAN THE QR CODE TO WATCH THE FULL STORY!
CHICK-FIL-A RETURNS
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TO CAL POLY DESPITE
ANTI-LGBTQ+ RHETORIC BY SIERRA PARR
SERRINA RUGGLES Director of Operations for SLO’s GALA Pride and Diversity Center
TIANA REBER | MUSTANG NEWS
NEWS
“Right now is a really important moment in the fight for LGBTQ rights and so to have a group like Cal Poly, that does have such an impact on our local community, come out and say ‘yeah, we want to invite this controversy back in, we want to invite this group that has this history of anti-LGBTQ actions back onto campus’ I think sends a louder message than they might be aware of,” Serrina Ruggles, the Director of Operations for
SIERR A PARR | MUSTANG NEWS The new Chick-Fil-A, located in Poly Canyon Village, serves a limited menu. It is a temporary location that is expected to be open until the end of the school year.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
I think [the continued relationship with Chick-Fil-A] sends a strong message of ‘we hear you, we see you, we’re not going to do anything about it.’
San Luis Obispo’s GALA Pride and Diversity Center, said. According to Thomas Gutierrez, Academic Senate Chair and author of the resolution, despite the strong recommendation of the Senate, the university chose to disregard the resolution on the basis of protecting Chick-Fil-A’s right to free speech as a business. “The contract that Cal Poly has with Chick-Fil-A makes the university a lot of money and in this case, it feels like the university is ignoring the concerns of its students and faculty to continue making that money,” Gutierrez said. Ruggles, a San Luis Obispo resident, said she feels that the franchise is very closely tied to Cal Poly within the local community. “I grew up here. I’ve lived here for most of my life and the only time I really hear much talk about ChickFil-A, other than when I see it in the news, is when it becomes an issue on campus again,” Ruggles said. “I think [the continued relationship with Chick-Fil-A] sends a strong message of ‘we hear you, we see you, we’re not going to do anything about it.’” The resolution claims that the presence of the franchise at Cal Poly negatively impacts the campus climate for LGBTQ students and faculty alike. “Unfortunately, we’re used to it. We expect it when we walk into a room, we expect that we’re going to have to fight and we’re still not going to be listened to,” Ruggles said. “If they really want to make a change, if they really want to commit to diversity and equity and inclusion and make their students feel [heard], feel seen and feel safe on their campus then they need to put their money where their mouth is.” Despite the continued presence of Chick-Fil-A on campus, Gutierrez said he does not plan to pursue further action through the Academic Senate. “I’m proud of the work we did with the current resolution, our recommendation to the university is on the record, but unfortunately our jurisdiction is limited,” he said. Cal Poly’s most recent five-year contract with Chick-Fil-A will be up for renewal in 2023.
MUSTANG NEWS
Just three years after the fast-food franchise Chick-Fil-A’s public reckoning for donations made to anti-LGBT organizations, Cal Poly has reopened the popular yet controversial establishment on campus. On Jan. 18, Cal Poly opened a temporary Chick-Fil-A location in Poly Canyon Village (PCV). The new location serves as a replacement for the original Chick-Fil-A housed in the now-defunct Avenue dining complex. The pop-up location will have no indoor seating and serve a limited menu of familiar items like chicken sandwiches, nuggets and waffle-cut potato chips. The opening of Chick-Fil-A in the former What’s Cookin’ location came with no public announcement from the university. According to Aaron Lambert, a communications specialist for the Cal Poly Corporation, Campus Dining relies on word of mouth for more popular venue openings. “This approach helps control the customer volumes and ensures that the campus community can be served promptly and safely,” Lambert said in an email to Mustang News. “The opening of a pop-up in PCV was an opportunity to take advantage of a location that was not being fully utilized and offer a dining option that has consistently been one of the most popular on campus.” The original Cal Poly Chick-Fil-A location previously received an award for reaching $2 million in sales in 2018. Cal Poly’s Chick-Fil-A was one of the top 52 sales-generating locations out of 362 nationwide. The university plans for the PCV location to operate through the current school year. A permanent ChickFil-A location will be installed in the renovated University Union dining complex. While the return of the popular dining option has drawn many students to the pop-up location, it has also reignited the controversy concerning Chick-Fil-A’s anti-LGBTQ+ views. In an Academic Senate resolution that was passed in 2019, the university was encouraged to sever ties with
the franchise because the relationship promoted “worldview[s] highly inconsistent with our values of diversity and inclusivity at Cal Poly.” According to ThinkProgress, a progressive news website, Chick-Fil-A donated $1.6 million in 2017 to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for summer camps, an organization which bars its employees from homosexual acts, as well as $6,000 to Paul Anderson Youth Home, a “Christian residential home for trouble youth,” that teaches boys that homosexuality is wrong. As of 2022, the franchise itself no longer donates to these organizations; however, CEO Dan Cathy remains one of the top donors of the National Christian Charitable Foundation, a group that has bankrolled opposition to the Equality Act which would expand civil protections for the LGBTQ community.
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CAL POLY SPENDS MORE THAN $100,000 ISOLATING COVID-POSITIVE STUDENTS OFF-CAMPUS
THE HILL
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
BY OMAR RASHAD
Cal Poly spent more than $100,000 isolating students off-campus in January after a record-high number of students tested positive for COVID-19, according to documents obtained by Mustang News through a public records request. Cal Poly officials signed contracts with three local hotels to isolate COVID-positive students: the Lamplighter Inn, Sands Inn & Suites and Hotel Buena Vista. In the first week of January, more than 250 on-campus students tested positive for COVID-19, which was more than four times Cal Poly’s on-campus isolation capacity — 62 beds — at the time. University officials booked 41 rooms in the Lamplighter Inn for $55,442.24, 20 rooms in Hotel Buena Vista for $25,452 and 13 rooms in Sands Inn & Suites for $16,967.84. University officials also gave out two dozen $400 university store gift cards — another $9,600 — to students who left campus to isolate at home instead of relying on the university to be isolated on-campus or in a hotel. In total, off-campus hotel rooms and university store gift cards cost Cal Poly $107,462.08. “The university engaged off-campus beds because it needed more than the 62 beds available on campus,” Cal Poly spokesperson Matt Lazier wrote to Mustang News on Friday, Jan. 7. Besides relocating students to on-campus isolation beds, off-campus hotels or sending them home, university officials also told students who live in on-campus apartments to isolate in their bedrooms even if they lived with others who did not have COVID-19. All three hotels gave Cal Poly discounted rates, according to obtained documents. A room with a king bed at the Lamplighter Inn cost the university $69 a night. At Hotel Buena Vista, a two queen bed and 1 king bed arrangement cost Cal Poly $79.95 a night. Amidst a COVID-19 surge due to the highly transmissible Omi-
cron variant, Cal Poly was the only California public university to hold in-person classes three days into 2022. On Jan. 5, three days into the winter quarter, officials reached out to local hotels to book rooms, according to obtained documents. Following the first week of January, 293 on-campus students were in isolation, university COVID-19 expert Aydin Nazmi confirmed to Mustang News. During the first week of the winter quarter, it took 10 hours for agricultural business freshman Savannah Kennefick to be relocated to Hotel Buena Vista after taking a PCR test at the Health Center. All she could do was sit in her on-campus dorm, wear a mask and stay away from her roommates as she waited for more instructions, she said. Kennefick added that in the hours she waited for instructions to get relocated, an isolation and quar-
antine staff member told her over the phone that the university was “really backed up” in relocating COVID-positive students. Kennefick said she did not think Cal Poly should have allowed students to attend in-person classes or move back into on-campus dorms without first supplying a negative COVID-19 test result. “I think it was not a smart decision to even think about returning to campus and not having a negative test and being able to go to in-person classes and at the risk of spreading it to other people — even if you didn’t know you had it,” she said. Agricultural science freshman Matthew Hendricks also said it was not smart for the university to bring students back to on-campus dorms or in-person classes without testing them first. He attended three in-person classes prior to finding out he was positive for COVID-19. It took nine hours after he took
OMAR R ASHAD | MUSTANG NEWS Cal Poly housed COVID-positive students in three hotels off campus due to an overwhelming number of students testing positive. One hotel was Hotel Buena Vista.
a PCR test at the health center for isolation staff to contact him with instructions on isolating at Hotel Buena Vista. In that period of time, he called three phone numbers for advice and more information on what to do but did not get through
to anyone. “It was definitely frustrating,” Hendricks said. “Not being able to talk to anybody and just kind of like sitting around, pacing in my room, waiting for what would happen or where to go.”
“We need to address the elephant in the room”:
IMMUNOCOMPROMISED STUDENTS FACE INCREASED RISK ON CAMPUS BY TINI NGUYEN As Cal Poly students returned to campus after winter break amidst the Omicron variant, there were a number of students who were hesitant to do so due to their increased risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus: the immunocompromised. Individuals who are immunocompromised have a weaker immune system as a result of either a chronic illness or from taking medication that suppresses their immune system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
M.W KAPLAN Commuincations studies junior
“When it’s left up to the professors, they aren’t going to choose to accommodate disabled students if it’s going to be more work for them usually. Some definitely do, but there aren’t enough that I think it’s a real problem for immunocompromised students,” Kaplan said. Knowles shared the same sentiment about immunocompromised students not being acknowledged and included in Cal Poly’s COVID-19 protocols. “I think it’s some systemic discrimination that we’re experiencing,” Knowles said. “I think that one of the
biggest things that Cal Poly could improve on is acknowledging that we have a decent-sized immunocompromised population.” The risks immunocompromised students face do not stop inside the classroom. Lew works at the craft center on campus and was told that employees could still report to work despite being exposed to the virus. “They told us that we can come in if we’ve been exposed,” Lew said. “We’re allowed to come in and work. It’s up to our discretion.”
With new variants of the coronavirus continuing to emerge, immunocompromised students continue to live in fear of contracting the virus while having to balance their education and jobs on top of that. “We need to address the elephant in the room, which is that immunocompromised people exist on campus at Cal Poly. We are here. We are invisible. You cannot tell who’s immunocompromised by looking at them,” Knowles said. “But there are a considerable amount of students that are immunocompromised on this campus.”
ARTS & STUDENT LIFE
“I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, which is like arthritis in my hip. If I don’t take care of it, my spine will fuse together,” graphic communications senior Mia Lew said. “So, I have to give myself an injection every two weeks…and it suppresses my immune
When it’s left up to the professors they aren’t going to choose to accomodate disabled students if it’s going to be more work for them usually. Some definitely do, but there aren’t enough that I think it’s a real problem for immunocompromise students
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
REINA KNOWLES Nutrition sophomore
ble disabilities, and is also the head of the Disability Alliance. They believe that there should be an online alternative for every class, which would allow students to do their work remotely.
MUSTANG NEWS
It’s really hard to tell if someone’s immunocompromised unless you’re watching them go to the hospital to get their infusion or watching them pop their prednisone in the morning
system to help with not being in pain.” Immunocompromised individuals live with invisible illnesses and because of that, others are not aware of them or may not take their condition seriously, according to nutrition sophomore Reina Knowles. Knowles has been diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease similar to inflammatory bowel disease. “It’s really hard to tell if someone’s immunocompromised unless you’re watching them go to the hospital to get their infusion or watching them pop their prednisone in the morning,” Knowles said. “You’re really not going to know—it’s completely invisible.” At the beginning of winter quarter, many professors offered their classes in a virtual format, including all of Lew’s professors. However, after two weeks, one of her classes transitioned to in-person with no online alternative. Worried, Lew emailed her professor asking if it was possible to attend lectures via Zoom. “[My professor] said I should take it in the fall. She said I should just wait until then, and I’m a fourth year,” Lew said. “I don’t think that because I’m disabled, I should have to postpone my education.” Lew is only one of the many immunocompromised students on campus who are facing this issue. “The in-person only class [I have] has been getting progressively scarier, I would say, because there’s no online component. There aren’t slides. There aren’t notes that you can get from the professor, or anything like that,” communications studies junior M.W. Kaplan said. “I don’t really have a choice but to go to class, which freaks me out every time I go.” Kaplan has a chronic illness that they said is believed to be an autoimmune disease with neurological dysfunction. They organized a support group for students with chronic illnesses and invisi-
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THE MAN BEHIND THE MAZE:
Cal Poly student creates mazes in the sand, washed away with the changing tides BY BRADY CASKEY
grid and make a bunch of possible paths and potential routes you could take to get to the end,” Dahlberg said. “You want confusion; you also want people to walk the paths rather than trying to solve it from the side.” Fully completing a maze takes Dahlberg anywhere between two and three hours, he said as he cut off another path. In that time he is frequently interrupted by locals, tourists and beachgoers enquiring as to what he is doing. On this day, tourists from San Francisco stopped to take pictures. A small family with kids began walking the unfinished maze, trying to decipher the spiral shape at the start. An 80-year old man jokingly asked if he was making crop circles so that “the aliens” knew where to land. “I think most people are kind of in awe and kind of surprised because they’ve never seen anything like it,” business administration sophomore Will Zeliger said, who is a friend of
Dahlberg that often accompanies him to make his mazes. “It kind of provides an attraction where you can get a community of people together.” Dahlberg first started making mazes when he was young and would visit his extended family on Vashon Island in Washington for the 4th of July. “My dad had a walking stick and he went out to the beach and started drawing a maze… I remember having a lot of fun trying to solve the maze that day,” Dahlberg said. “I kept asking him to make me a maze… you know he’s got other things to do, he’s not trying to make a maze everyday, so he told me to try making one myself.” His dad taught him how to pick a good stick to draw with and how to keep track of his paths in the maze. “My first maze was much smaller… I actually liked making the maze just as much as I liked solving the maze,” Dahlberg said. The young maze maker began crafting his creations every time he’d visit Vashon Island and eventually found the perfect stick for his projects. “One year I went up there and I found this stick and it was the perfect
size,” Dahlberg said. “It helped me draw lines a lot straighter and I could rest it over my shoulder and just back up,”
You will never see two of my mazes that look exactly the same, every one will be unique in its own way.
SEAN DAHLBERG Maze-maker and environmental management and protection sophomore
The piece of sunbaked, smooth and curvy driftwood made its way from Washington all the way to San Luis Obispo. Dahlberg keeps it in
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
Like clockwork, the tides in Morro Bay rise and fall every day. For just a few hours, the beach becomes a blank canvas that environmental management and protection sophomore Sean Dahlberg takes advantage of. With nothing more than a long curvy stick of driftwood and his imagination, Dahlberg gets to work. Every project starts with drawing four simple lines in the wet sand. He estimates how big he wants his creation to be based on how long he has until the tides rise again. On a recent Sunday afternoon down on the Morro Bay Strand, he made a canvas 40 feet long by 40 feet wide. Once his frame is set, he begins methodically drawing within the lines. “I like making a spiral to start,” Dahlberg said as he dragged a large stick in the sand. He is making a maze.
“You will never see two of my mazes that look exactly the same, every one will be unique in its own way,” Dahlberg said as he carefully drew seemingly random patterns in the sand. “I’m not really keeping track of how I got to a point but just that you can get to that point.” Though they may look sporadic and uncoordinated, Dahlberg’s strategy for creating these large intricate mazes is far from random. “I like to do some kind of zig-zag pattern where I have two paths coming back and forward, you can’t really tell which one is which until one gets cut off,” Dahlberg said. He utilizes plus shapes, T-junctions, parallel lines and really any pattern he decides to fill in the maze. He works to fill in certain sections with dead-ends, double backs and junctions to make the maze more challenging to solve. “It’s pretty much a puzzle that you can walk into. I like to open up the
VIDEO
Brady Caskey | MUSTANG NEWS Dahlberg uses a special long and straight stick when drawing his maze which allows him to keep his lines straight.
Brady Caskey | MUSTANG NEWS Dahlberg focuses on different patterns to fill in his maze. Spirals, zig zags, T-junctions, pluses and countless other patterns can all be found drawn in the sand
Solve one of Dahlberg’s mazes yourself!
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start here
now about halfway done crafting his creation. He will often invite a group of friends to accompany him and have a beach day while he works on the maze. After Dahlberg completes his project, he and anyone that wants to try to solve the maze walk to try to find their way out. “I know people who have walked through the first try and it’s taken a matter of minutes… there are some
times when you see people stuck in a maze for 10-15 minutes,” Dahlberg said. However, his friends aren’t the only ones who try their hand at solving the maze. Beachgoers oftentimes are waiting for the college student to finish so they can make an attempt of their own. After Dahlberg solves the maze, his work is done and he leaves his art piece for others to enjoy. According
to the TideForecast.com, Morro Bay’s tides cycle every six hours. He finishes just before sunset and his creation only has a few hours of life left for people to try their hand at cracking it. Then, just like clockwork, the tides rise and the beach is wiped clean, now a blank canvas once again waiting for the maze-maker’s next creation.
VIDEO
Scan here to see a video of Dahlberg’s maze-making
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
the trunk of his car in case he ever wants to make a spontaneous maze somewhere. “I think for Sean it’s almost a way to get out and kind of escape the stresses of college,” Zeliger said. “He’s been doing this for so long, it’s almost like every maze he goes out there and tries to improve it compared to the last.” Dahlberg sees creating mazes as a hobby and a creative outlet, he said,
MUSTANG NEWS
Brady Caskey | MUSTANG NEWS An aerial view of the maze shows the scale and intricacies of Dahlberg’s project, stumping many people who tr y.
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LOCAL ROLLER SKATING CREW CHAMPIONS INCLUSIVITY BY OLIVIA MEIS
ARTS & STUDENT LIFE
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
Rollerskating alongside fellow members of San Luis Obispo’s skating group, Sk805, takes the best kind of courage, according to English sophomore and Sk805 member Hana Sehic. “Learning to skate has boosted my confidence immensely and I’m very lucky to find a hobby I enjoy so much,” she said. “You can get hurt, but you’ve got to get up and try again.” Members of Sk805, known on Instagram as @_sk805_, pride themselves on emphasizing the inclusion of the roller skating experience, gender identity, sexuality and ages of all ranges, according to Sehic. Sk805 co-founders, Lauren Briley and Kennedy Hale, got Sk805 rolling in May to create a safe space for local skaters to teach and learn the art of skating, according to Briley.
“It’s really about supporting each other, learning from each other and welcoming people into this crazy sort of family,” Briley said. Since she came to San Luis Obispo, Sehic has skated with Sk805. She said the adrenaline rush of skating paired with the “extremely welcoming community” transformed exercise into joy. “Sk805 has open arms,” Sehic said. Skaters include Cal Poly and Cuesta students, as well as local high schoolers. Most members roller skate, although there are also some skateboarding members. Once a month, Sk805 can be found gathering at a local park to skate. “What we really want is to inspire a love of this sport to anyone and everyone,” Briley said. Members practice a variety of rollerskating styles, including halfpipes, street skating and vertical ramps – throwing tricks in for fun.
“[When you’re in the zone,] you don’t think at all — your body knows exactly what to do, and you’re literally flying,” Briley said. “You feel
Learning to skate has boosted my confidence immensely and I’m very lucky to find a hobby I enjoy so much
weightless.” No experience is needed to join Sk805, and members love to meet and help new skaters find their skating flow. When friends challenge fellow skaters to step outside of their comfort zone, it’s a thrill that bonds people together, high school freshman Hale said. “[Sk805 offers] an amazing way to meet new people,” Hale said. “Roller skating in general teaches you a lot of life skills, like how to get back up after falling.”
HANA SEHIC Sk805 member and english sophomore
BANDA DE PATINAJE LOCAL DEFIENDE INCLUSIÓN POR OLIVIA MEIS
La traducción en Español fue hecha por José González. Patinar junto a compañeros del grupo de patinaje de San Luis Obispo, Sk805, requiere mucho valor, según la estudiante de segundo año de inglés y miembro de Sk805 Hana Sehic. “Aprender a patinar me ha aumentado la confianza muchísimo y soy muy afortunada por haber encontrado un pasatiempo que disfruto tanto”, dijo ella. “Te puedes lastimar, pero debes levantarte e intentarlo de nuevo”. Miembros de Sk805, conocidos en Instagram con el usuario @_sk805_,
se sienten orgullosos por enfatizar la inclusión de la experiencia del patinaje, identidad de género, sexualidad y de todas las edades, según Sehic. Los co-fundadores, Lauren Briley y Kennedy Hale, avanzaron con Sk805 en mayo de 2021 para crear un sitio seguro para que patinadores puedan enseñar y aprender el arte del patinaje, según Briley. “Se trata más de apoyarnos mutuamente, aprender unos de otros  y darle la bienvenida a cualquiera que quiera integrarse a este tipo de familia loca”, dijo Briley. Desde que vino a San Luis Obispo, Sehic ha patinado con Sk805. Ella dijo que la adrenalina de patinar junto con la “exageradamente
acogedora comunidad” transformó el ejercicio en alegría . “Sk805 tiene los brazos abiertos”, dijo Sehic. Los patinadores incluyen estudiantes de Cal Poly y Cuesta, al igual que estudiantes locales de la secundaria. La mayoría de los miembros patinan sobre ruedas, aunque también hay miembros que usan monopatín. Una vez al mes, Sk805 se puede encontrar reunido en el parque de patinaje local. “Lo que verdaderamente queremos es inspirar amor por este deporte a todos”, dijo Briley. Miembros practican una variedad de estilos de patinaje, incluyendo halfpipes (el medio tubo), el skate urbano y rampas verticales – también
COURTESY Sk805 is a local skating group that offers an inclusive space for all roller skaters. The practice a variety of roller skating styles, including halfpipes
haciendo trucos para divertirse. “[Cuando estás bien concentrado,] ni lo piensas tanto  — tu cuerpo sabe exactamente qué hacer, y literalmente estás volando”, dijo Briley. “Te sientes sin peso”. No se requiere nada de experiencia para integrarse al Sk805, y a los miembros les encanta conocer y ayudar a nuevos patinadores a encontrar su ritmo de patinaje. Cuando amigos se retan a salir de su zona de confort, es una emoción que
crea un vínculo para la gente, dijo Hale, estudiante de primer año del colegio de secundaria. “[Sk805 ofrece] una manera increíble para conocer a nueva gente”, dijo Hale. “El patinaje por lo general te enseña muchas habilidades para la vida, así como levantarte después de haber caído”.
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BY SIERRA PARR
Cal Poly Humboldt | COURTESY Cal Poly Humboldt became the third polytechnic of the CSU in January. The title was granted to them after Gov. Gavin Newsom granted them $458 million.
“It’s weird to think that the name Cal Poly is actually a title that can be given to any CSU,” Gladish said. “After going to this school for four years it’s hard not to feel like the name belongs to San Luis Obispo.”
From the year of its founding in 1901, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has touted the “learn by doing” philosophy that has now become synonymous with all three polytechnic universities. Cal Poly Pomona, located in Southern California, has its origins as an extension of the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus until it separated in 1966. According to the Cal Poly Humboldt website, a polytechnic university is defined by its experiential approach to education as well as providing a high concentration of programs in STEM and applied sciences.
The move to make Humboldt into a polytechnic university began in August of 2021 when Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new state budget allocated a historic $458 million for the infrastructure required to create Northern California’s first polytechnic. According to Cal Poly Humboldt Communications Specialist Grant Scott-Goforth, the transition was a long time coming. “Students will benefit from the expanded programs, classes, and facilities as we transition to a polytechnic,” he said in an email to Mustang News. “Thanks to California’s confidence in our approach and its historic investment in our future,
WHY HUMBOLDT? As of 2021, Cal Poly Humboldt is 30% under-enrolled and, by increasing STEM-focused curriculum offerings, Scott-Goforth said the school hopes to provide the northern part
commitment to social and environmental responsibility which drives the university’s close relationship with tribal communities and its extensive offerings in Native American education. According to the university’s website, Cal Poly Humboldt plans to hold tribal knowledge to the core of its unique polytechnic teachings.
WHAT WILL CHANGE? While the university is expecting a 50% enrollment increase by 2025, there are currently no plans to change the admissions process or raise tuition costs. Expansion plans are in the works to accommodate the expected influx of students. Humboldt emphasizes that the polytechnic designation will not negatively affect current humanities programs and that no programs will be cut or reduced. The Class of 2022 will be Cal Poly Humboldt’s first graduating class.
NEWS
THE EDUCATIONAL INVESTMENT
of the state with access to high-demand programs that will increase educational and career opportunities in the surrounding area. Humboldt’s polytechnic designation is projected to draw students who seek the prestige associated with the name Cal Poly and bring broader recognition to the university. “In many ways, Humboldt was already a polytechnic university,” Scott-Goforth said. “There is a rich history of programming in STEM fields — particularly in the area of Natural Resources — and the formal designation will be a clear signal to students about the type of education the campus offers.” Before program additions, Cal Poly Humboldt had the third-highest percentage of students in the CSU enrolled in STEM programs, falling just behind Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly Pomona, according to the Cal Poly Humboldt website. Humboldt also has a longstanding
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
POLYTECHNIC LEGACY
students at Cal Poly Humboldt will now have more access than ever to practical experiences, from out-ofclass research to on-the-job learning.” The new funds will be used by the university to launch 12 new academic programs in Fall 2023 with additional programs following in years to come. Some proposed new programs include cybersecurity, energy systems engineering, geospatial analysis and cannabis studies. Several plans for new academic facilities, building renovations, upgrades to lab spaces, additional student housing and added technology throughout the curriculum at Cal Poly Humboldt have also been made possible by the state funding.
MUSTANG NEWS
When liberal studies senior Elana Gladish was accepted into Cal Poly, she had to clear up a lot of confusion. “I always felt like I had to say Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, which is kind of a mouthful, because otherwise people would mix it up with Cal Poly Pomona,” Gladish said. “I had classmates who would say they were going to Cal Poly but they actually meant Pomona. It’s just confusing because the schools seem linked but they’re not really.” Now a third school will be added to the Cal Poly confusion. On Jan. 26, the California State University (CSU) system announced the designation of CSU Humboldt as a polytechnic university, making Humboldt the third Cal Poly. Cal Poly Humboldt, as it will now be known, joins Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly Pomona in providing students with a STEM-focused education that is distinct within the CSU system.
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ARTS & STUDENT LIFE
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
EMILIE JOHNSON | MUSTANG NEWS Morro Bay surf life
STUDENTS REFLECT ON LOCAL SURFING SCENE POST
SHARK ATTACK
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BY MARI STUSSER Manufacturing engineering junior Jack Adema and marine science junior Johnny Paneno have been surfing almost every day in San Luis Obispo for the last two years. “My mental state goes way downhill if I don’t surf,” Paneno says. “You get thrown in the flow state in the water, you don’t have to think — just be aware of what’s around you and that puts you in the present moment.” However, the local community received a shock in December when a man was killed in the first fatal US shark attack of 2021. Now Cal Poly students and surfers are reflecting on what the attack means for them. “It hasn’t changed anything for me,” Paneno said. “When I saw it I knew my mom would freak out, but I wasn’t too stressed.” Adema said that after the incident, he got stripes for the bottom of his board to deter the sharks. Research shows that the stripes stand out and look like the skin of certain snakes and fish that sharks normally try to avoid. He said he is more worried about crashing into other surfers when he goes out than ocean predators. “Longboard fins are like giant knives and have cut me up,” Adema said. “With the coast being such a popular spot, most days you are sharing the water pretty close to other people.” Business administration senior Sidney Humble said the fatality has not affected her relationship towards the ocean. “In a weird way, I like the thrill of not knowing what’s underneath me,” Humble said. “Sometimes my leash will touch me in the water and I have to check what it was.”
something that troubles her the most about the local surf scene is not the risk of a shark attack, but the intimidating lack of female surfers. “Honestly I think about that more than sharks when I’m out there — and it’s one thing that deters me,” Humble said. “I’m always scared I’ll get in someone else’s way.” Construction management junior Jaden Green said the only time he feels uneasy is when he is surfing by himself in the spot the fatality happened. If other people are around, he feels fine. Green says surfing always pulls him back because “it’s not like setting your phone down or getting out of your house; it’s like being in the middle of nowhere.”
Honestly I think about that more than sharks when I’m out there — and it’s one thing that deters me. I’m always scared I’ll get in someone’s else’s way. SIDNEY HUMBLE Business administration senior
MUSTANG NEWS
Humble said she does not go to secret spots without crowds and feels more safe in numbers. However, according to Humble,
ARTS & STUDENT LIFE
JACK ADEMA Engineering junior
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15 2022
My mental state goes way downhill if I don’t surf. You get thrown in the flow state in the water, you don’t have to think — just be aware of what’s around you and that puts you in the present moment.
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A PAIR OF MLB PROSPECTS LOOK TO LEAD THE MUSTANGS IN
2 22
SPORTS
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
BY DEREK RIGHETTI Cal Poly baseball will open up the 2022 season with two MLB draft prospects on their roster: Brooks Lee and Drew Thorpe. They will look to lead the way for the Mustangs, who hope to make their first NCAA Regional since 2014. “As it pertains to the MLB draft, there’s a lot of players that really struggle with putting a lot of pressure on themselves to do well and perform in front of scouts,” head coach Larry Lee said. “What Drew and Brooks have, they don’t put that type of pressure on themselves.” According to MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Draft prospects, Brooks Lee is listed as the No. 5 player overall. He is their No. 2 college player and No. 1 shortstop. “That’s what our goal has always been, to play Major League Baseball and be an impactful player at the big league level,” Brooks Lee said. “We’re looking forward to that when the time comes.” Brooks Lee was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 35th round of the 2019 MLB Draft directly out of high school, even after he notified all 30 professional teams that he decided to honor his verbal commitment to play at Cal Poly. After missing almost the entire 2020 season with injuries, Brooks Lee broke out in the 2021 season. En route to being named the Big West Conference Co-Field Player of the Year, he led the Mustangs in batting average, home runs, RBIs, hits, triples and total bases at the plate. In the field, he ranked second in fielding percentage amongst shortstops in the Big West. His efficiency at the plate and in the field led him to be one of six finalists for the Brooks Wallace Award, which goes to the nation’s top shortstop. Brooks
Lee was also a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, presented to the college baseball player of the year. This past summer, Brooks Lee was a member of USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team. He hit .306 with a home run and four RBIs during the 11-game Team USA intrasquad series. He also competed against the U.S. Olympic Team, where he went 3-for-10 with a home run. This season, Brooks Lee has been named a preseason All-American by all five major organizations: Collegiate Baseball News, Baseball America, D1Baseball, Perfect Game and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). The NCBWA placed him on their second team, but the other four all named Brooks Lee a first-team honoree. However, amidst all the accolades, Brooks Lee said he is focused on one thing: Cal Poly’s success. “We want to get a good position in conference to have a high chance of making a regional,” he said. “That’s the ultimate goal and going forward, whatever happens, happens, but it’s more team-oriented than anything.” On the mound, Thorpe is currently listed as the 95th overall player in the 2022 MLB Draft by MLB Pipeline. “I’ll look forward to that in July, after the College World Series, and hopefully we’re ending our season there,” Thorpe said about the draft. Thorpe began his Cal Poly career as the Sunday starter during his true freshman season in 2020. After outings against Vanderbilt and BYU, he began to make a name for himself. In 2021, Thorpe became the Mustangs’ Friday night starter, posting a 6-6 record with a 3.79 ERA. He led the team with 104 strikeouts over 90 1/3 innings, which ranked third in the Big West in
strikeouts and second in innings. Thorpe joined Brooks Lee as a member of the USA Collegiate National Team. He had a record of 1-1 and struck out 11 batters over eight innings of work. In addition, Thorpe has been named a preseason All-American by Baseball America and D1 Baseball. This year, Thorpe will lead the Cal Poly pitching staff once again as their Friday night starter for the second con-
As it pertains to the MLB draft, there’s a lot of players that really struggle with putting a lot of pressure on themselves to do well and perform in front of scouts. What Drew and Brooks have, they don’t put that type of pressure on themselves.
same thing and moving in the right direction,” Thorpe said. Brooks Lee and Thorpe are primed to lead Cal Poly to the postseason this year. The two emphasized the importance of winning 40 games this season,
which should put them in the running to make an NCAA Regional. “What’s most important to them is winning and they know that if we win as a team, then their accolades will come,” Larry Lee said.
Kyle Calzia | MUSTANG NEWS Brook Lee (22) watches a line drive down the first baseline against CSU Fullterton on May 15.
LARRY LEE Cal Poly’s head baseball coach
secutive season. With two years under his belt in the rotation, Thorpe said he is looking to step into a leadership role within the pitching staff, emphasizing the need to work as a collective unit and not as individuals. “I feel like it’s kind of been my job this year to take over the pitching staff and make sure that we’re all wanting the
Kyle Calzia | MUSTANG NEWS Drew Thorpe (33) pitches as Cal Poly takes on San Jose state at Baggett Stadium on April 1.
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WHAT STUDENTS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
THE NEW PCV HOUSING LOTTERY
TIANA REBER | MUSTANG NEWS BY ABIGAIL O’BRANOVICH
Next year, 500 students will be selected for on-campus housing by entering into a lottery due to a limited availability, as announced by University Housing on Jan. 12. According to an email sent to students, most of the spaces available in on-campus apartments “will be filled by students who are part of the University’s required two-year housing program.”
TIANA REBER | MUSTANG NEWS Students can apply to live in Poly Canyon Village via a lottery. Approximately 500 students will be selected.
ARTS & STUDENT LIFE
These students include first-year Cal Poly Scholars, student-athletes and students in the College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences (CAFES), College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED) and the College of Engineer-
This housing plan is all contingent on enrollment remaining stable for the 2022-2023 school year, and University Housing plans on housing all first-years in residence halls. By 2035, the Campus Master Plan calls for housing up 65% of students on campus by 2035. For more information and details, visit the full On-Campus Housing Lottery Timeline on Cal Poly Housing’s website.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
NONA L. MATTHEWS Assistant Director of Outreach and Communications at University Housing
when the application opens,” Matthews said. “Offering spaces by lottery ensures students who could not sign up right when the application opens or on the same day it opens can still have a chance to secure housing.” Once students have expressed their interest in the lottery in the first list, the initial list will be cleared, with a new interest list opening at a later date. This date is still to be determined and will be based on availability. Matthews says that a reminder will be sent out for the students who were not successful in the first round of interest. This reminder will allow students to “sign up for this second interest list when it opens, if they still want campus housing.” “We want to fill those roughly 500 spaces as soon as possible, so that students can proceed with any off-campus housing options they are considering,” Matthews said. For students planning to live off-campus, University Housing stated in an email that they encourage students to begin searching now. Josh Tarica, who is currently in the application process for a Resident advisor (RA), is applying for the lottery as a backup plan in case his mentor position doesn’t work out. “I think that if anything fell through, I would probably go off-campus because of the limited space that there is in Poly Canyon Village (PCV),” Tarica said. University Housing provides resources for students to explore the variety of off-campus housing options available.
JAN. 20: First year students who are included in the two-year on-campus housing requirement can start requesting exemptions, if desired. Details can be found on the University Housing website. FEB. 8: On-campus housing application opens for required students with a $500 initial payment required during sign up. FEB. 24–27: Interest list for the 500 spots reserved for non-required students is open at 9 a.m. on Feb. 24, and closes at 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 27. Since the spots will be awarded by lottery, there is no benefit to signing up early, but you must sign up during the window the application is open. No payment is required when signing up. FEB. 28: Students on the waitlist will be contacted if their name is drawn by lottery. If contacted, they’ll have 48 hrs to pay their $500 nonrefundable initial payment and list their housing preferences, based on select housing learning communities. MARCH 2–18: Required students and students who have been awarded the 500 lottery spots can form roommate groups of up to four students. Requesting a roommate group of fewer than four is allowed. There
will be some five-person and six-person apartments, but there is no way to form a guaranteed group of five or six students to fill those apartments. MARCH 18: This is the final day to edit roommate preferences. All roommates in a group must list the same preferences for housing learning communities or their requests might not be processed correctly. APRIL 5–20 (TENTATIVE)*: Roommate groups will select their rooms and apartments. The order of selection will be by lottery. Groups will be able to choose apartments that are within their chosen learning community and the locations of those communities in PCV and Cerro Vista will likely be published before March 18. *According to the full schedule posted on University Housing, “additional dates may be added. Dates marked tentative are subject to change.”
MUSTANG NEWS
Offering spaces by lottery ensures students who could not sign up right when the application opens or on the same day it opens can still have a chance to secure housing.
ing (CENG), the newest college to join the housing requirement. These groups of students will be prioritized in applications. Nona L. Matthews, the Assistant Director of Outreach and Communications at University Housing, said that second-year students who don’t fall under the category of the two-year on-campus requirements “can sign up on the interest list with all other students, including third, fourth and fifth years.” Construction management freshman Anthony Roesnch is required to live on campus for two years because his major is housed in the College of Architecture and Design. Knowing he is guaranteed housing, he said that the new housing lottery seems to give everyone an even shot, “regardless of knowledge or status of maybe disabilities or other ailments that might affect them.” For the 2022 to 2023 on-campus housing lottery, the 500 spots will be available to other Cal Poly students outside of the housing requirement but are still interested in living on campus, according to University Housing. Those interested will have to fill out an interest list which opens at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 24, and will close at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 27. University Housing anticipates a high demand for the “roughly” 500 spaces available, hence the initial interest list will remain open for a limited time frame of four days, according to University Housing. Matthews said the lottery was designed with flexibility in mind for students’ schedules. “Many students may have class, work or other conflicting priorities
Listed below is a summarized version of the current timeline for the lottery via the University Housing website:
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DATING BY DEFAULT: Casual sex to commitment
BY NETA BAR
OPINION
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY,FEBRUARY 15, 2022
Neta Bar is a business administration sophomore and opinion columnist for Mustang News. Her views reflected in this piece don’t necessarily reflect those of Mustang News. You meet at a party, in class, on an app or through friends. You kiss before you talk and you’re in each other’s beds before you know each other’s last names. Their number might go unsaved in your phone during the first couple of weeks of hooking up. Time goes by and you inevitably meet a fork in the road: the “what are we” talk — defining the relationship. One wants more and one craves casual. You come to a half-hearted consensus: “fuck it, let’s be exclusive” and, before you know it, a new relationship is born. This is college hookup culture. This is modern romance. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for our generation exploring sexuality in a way that is more open (read: less taboo) than our predecessors. However, with that openness should come honesty and communication — crucial pieces that tend to be missing in the framework of hookup culture as it exists today. In fact, we see quite the opposite. We see a feigned vulnerability. People build a façade of trust as they learn everything about one another
physically, but nothing about each other’s genuine personhood. This dynamic fosters a false intimacy that evokes feelings adjacent to true connection, when, in reality, the chemistry is half-baked. This lack of sincerity as couples first build their sexual relationships is a catalyst for major cracks in the foundation as the relationships turn from casual sex to commitment. The foundation of a loving, healthy relationship is multifaceted and looks different for each unique couple. There are several critical components we see without fail in the relationships that actually see longevity — trust, transparency, openness and honesty; collectively, the antithesis of a fling that flimsily evolves into something more. In consequence of the false intimacy, these relationships are ticking time bombs. By conflating the infatuation of physical intimacy with the fulfilling emotions that love is supposed to elicit, we convince ourselves that we have real feelings for the other person. We find each other cool enough, attractive enough; if they’re tolerable enough to sleep with, why not date them? Couples must choose to either remain stagnant and keep hooking up, unlabeled and inexclusive, or be cornered into a clumsy, rushed, foundationless relationship, for no reason other than pure convenience. When the beginning of a relationship develops on the basis of a
particular goal (such as sex), there is not as much room for the relationship to legitimately grow. As opposed to the organic sequence of events that typically leads to a romantic relationship — namely, friendship as a first step — people are now dating almost by default. The dating begins simply due to the fact that this is the new norm; essentially because they “might as well.” None of that is to say that these couples wouldn’t necessarily be a good match under different circumstances — in fact, quite the opposite. At the end of the day, people are entering a dynamic in which they know the most physically intimate yet least personal things about each other. They know every curve of one another’s body but not the complexities of each other’s minds. They could be absolute soulmates, if the relationship they rushed into wasn’t designed to collapse. Seeing people as goals or endpoints, instead of thoughts and passions, is hindering our generation from cultivating genuinely sustainable relationships. Our culture is contributing to a troubling butterfly effect: as individuals recognize that all people our age are looking for is casual intimacy, many lower their standards of fulfillment to adjust to the new norm. The result? A fundamental loneliness that people don’t even realize they’re experiencing, as they’re too afraid to ask for more.
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BIGGER AND BROKE BY REBECCA CARAWAY
Rebecca Caraway is a journalism junior and Mustang News opinion columnist. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang News.
find things that I actually like and that fit me. Their website has a plus size section and offers sizes from XS to 2X. The vintage design allows for more plus size options as the patterns and design work well with curves. HepKat is the only store I go to that I actually enjoy trying stuff on in. I love how I look and feel in the vintage dresses and tops. However, the items are still out of my budget. Due to the high demand of vintage designs, most of their dresses are well over $100. For a college town, San Luis Obispo needs more inexpensive and size inclusive clothing stores. I wish I could shop in more of the boutiques downtown but they’re so far out of my budget. With Ross gone, I hate that I can only afford to go to places like Target and Old Navy. Until the need for more affordable and inclusive clothing stores is met, I think myself and other students will find that they aren’t able to spend money on clothes downtown anymore.
MUSTANG NEWS TUESDAY,FEBRUARY 15, 2022
Outside the Ross in Downtown San Luis Obispo is a sign that reads “this Ross location is closed permanently. Thank you San Luis Obispo for all the great years.” With that, the last truly affordable store leaves the downtown area. There have been so many times I’ve gone shopping with friends downtown and they decide we should all grab a couple items of clothes and try them on for each other. Nearly every time, the clothes they grab fit them perfectly and they don’t have to struggle with the zippers or buttons. However, for me, I don’t come out of the dressing room to show off my new look. I either can’t get it over my head, zip it up or it simply doesn’t flatter me. Everyone knows the horrors of a dressing room — the sense of doom and embarrassment when that pair of jeans just doesn’t fit over your thighs, when a dress just won’t zip up or that top that is just too tight. Anytime this happens you can’t help but feel alone and compare yourself to your friends that somehow pull off every outfit. This is an experience that happens nearly every time I go shopping for clothes downtown. I wouldn’t consider myself plus size as the plus size sections at stores and online are often too big. However, I do have a bigger waist, bust and stomach than almost everyone I know and the cute and trendy stores downtown aren’t catering to people that look like me and, even if they were, I could never afford them.
Blue Harvest Apparel has plenty of stylish casual wear with floral tops and large sweaters. However, their average top is nearly $40 and the largest size you’ll find is just a large, which are few and far between. The most expensive pair of jeans on their site is $178 and the sizes only range from 25-29. The cheapest pair of pants is $39 and ranges from an extra small to a large. Their most expensive dress is $148 and only goes from small to large. The cheapest dress is $50 and is currently only available in a small. This trend can be seen in nearly every clothing store downtown. The cost of clothes downtown is not realistic for college students. Most students don’t have the kind of jobs that provide them the means to afford to shop regularly at these stores, especially if they pay for their own tuition, housing, gas and food, like I do. There are at least two stores downtown that are still expensive but do offer more size inclusive clothes. Athleta, while being a big brand company, offers plenty of plus size options, with their size range being XXS to 3XL. They even have a plus size mannequin in the store and plus size models on their website. Athleta mostly specializes in active wear, though they do offer a number of casual dresses. One of the most expensive dresses is $99 but is available in all sizes. While Athleta is definitely out of my price range it is nice to see a more size-inclusive store, even if it is an athletic clothing store. Then there is HepKat Apparel, my personal favorite shop downtown. HepKat has been open for 20 years and offers a variety of vintage inspired clothes with a wide range of sizes. The store is my favorite because it’s the one store where I can
OPINION
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THE TOP MURALS TO CHECK OUT IN SAN LUIS OBISPO BY ASHLEY OAKES
The SLO Art Museum is welcoming another mural to Downtown. Southern artist, Erin LeAnn Mitchell will be visiting the San Luis Obispo area this month to paint a new mural on the side of the museum building. Mitchell will begin painting on Feb. 3 and will reveal the mural on Feb. 23. The mural “Califia was Here,” will replace the old mural “Pacific Caribbean” by Juan Alberto Negroni. The mural will include imagery and figures of Black History in California and the fictional queen
of California, Queen Califia. All around the San Luis Obispo area there are large murals painted by local artists. These art installments exemplify the rich culture and arts present on the Central Coast through the unique and hard-tomiss medium of murals.
BROAD STREET MURAL When exiting Downtown San Luis Obispo and entering the more residential areas on Broad Street, you might find the painted landscapes belonging to the Natural Healing
Center mural. Located on the side of its building, Marmalade Mural Co. used vibrant colors to illustrate popular features of the San Luis Obispo area, stretching from the beach to the hills. This mural is just one of many murals done by Marmalade Mural Co. in San Luis Obispo county, including an electric box art piece on the corner of Broad and Higuera.
SEVEN SISTERS MURAL Located on the back side of the Fremont Theater, this mural spans 80
feet across two different buildings. It towers over San Luis Obispo with radiant colors and locally significant motifs woven in, such as seven of the Central Coast’s mountain peaks. The artist, Maria Molteni, researched the essence of San Luis Obispo before beginning the mural and made sure to incorporate unique aspects of the area combined with features from mythology. The Seven Sisters mural can be viewed on Higuera Street. To check out more of Molteni’s artwork, visit @strega_maria on Instagram.
THE ARCHWAY OF HAPPINESS MURAL
MARSH STREET BRIDGE MURAL One of Marmalade Mural Company’s larger murals sits under the newly constructed Marsh Street bridge. Even though it is a little hard to see at first, once found, it depicts a collection of California wildflowers.
Jackie Espitia | MUSTANG NEWS The San Luis Obispo landscape mural at 2640 Broad Street is on the exterior wall of the Natural Healing Center.
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
The mural located on the Marsh Street parking garage mural is hard to miss. The painted arch is at the
entrance of the garage and displays large flowers in pastel colors. “The Archway of Happiness” piece adds a pop of color to the block and is a great spot for a photo op. The Pineapple Co. artists responsible for the mural looked to “use imagery that embodied the spirit of the community” according to the City of San Luis Obispo website.
KCPR
Jackie Espitia | MUSTANG NEWS The Archway of Happiness mural is at the entrance to the parking garage on Marsh Street. Jackie Espitia | MUSTANG NEWS The mural painted on the side of Marsh Street bridge depicts a variety of California wildflowers.
IMPORTANT ABOUT DIABLO CANYON POWER PLANT
Welcome to Cal Poly. We are glad you have chosen to make San Luis Obispo your home. Located within the county is Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP), a nuclear power plant that generates approximately 10% of California’s electricity. If a serious emergency were to occur that would require you to take action, to tune to a local radio or television station for emergency information and instructions. When at sea, tune to Marine Channel 16. The siren system is tested regularly throughout the year and may be used for any local emergency. Additional emergency planning information regarding DCPP is in the current Emergency Planning calendar, and at www.ReadySLO.org
www.ReadySLO.org
FIND YOUR HOME ON SLO LIVING! BECAUSE HOME IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER! SCAN TO FIND YOUR HOME
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the County would sound the Early Warning System sirens. The sirens are an indication