C AL POLY SAN LUIS OBISPO ’S NE WS SOURCE
MUSTANG NEWS P R O F E S S O R BY DAY
SCAM BUSTER BY NIGHT How one business professor helps scam victims
DECEMBER 3, 2019
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Upfront
Austin Linthicum
President, Mustang Media Group & Editor in Chief, Mustang News
Cassandra Garibay
Danielle Lee
Emily Merten
Sam Spitz
NEWS Sabrina Pascua Editor Stephanie Zappelli Assistant Editor Maureen McNamara Hailey Nagma Ryan Burr Kylie Smith Lauren Walike Natalie Young Ethan Telles C.M. Bateman Sadie Rhen Aidan McGloin
Lily Dallow Matthew Bornhorst Daisy Kuenstler Kelly Trinh Anya Dimaio Sofia Silvia
Managing Editor
Video Director
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O PI N I O N Olivia Peluso Editor Sean McDonald Sophie Hosbein Jack Semancik Grace Kitayama Hannah Perinich Lilly Leif Leilee Naderi Tessa Hughes Hannah Benson Izaac Tompkins Kiana Meagher
A R TS & STU D E N T L I F E Kailey O’Connel Editor Olivia Meis Emily Gassaway Sara Pedro Olivia Monoforte Sydney Sherman Hannah Frye Alegra Zuchowicz Kiana Hunziker Amanda Rondez Cameryn Oakes VIDEO Sam Spitz Video Manager Justin Garrido Executive Producer Sydney Brandt Chief Anchor Kallyn Hobmann Brady Caskey Lauren Brown Kiersten Stevens Jack Berkenfield
IN THIS ISSUE
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019 MUSTANG NEWS
PH OTO Carolyne Sysmans Editor Diego Rivera Kyle Calzia Alison Chavez Connor Frost Sofia Clark Jack Sann Andy Sherar Rachel Arabia Caroline Sliva Kylie Kowalske
EYE OPENER
Gusty southerly winds and periods of rain are forecast to continue through Saturday, Dec 7, according to PG&E Meteorologist John Lindsey. San Luis Obispo is expected to receive at least one inch of rain, but Big Sur could receive up to one foot.
CO P Y Amanda Simonich Francisco Martinez Eddie Railsback
SPO R TS Naythan Bryant Editor Kyle Har Adam Birder Diego Sandoval Jack Clark Garrett Brown Alyssa Tierney Jordana Ginsburg Gabriel Arditti Brian Truong Sydney Finkel
UPFRONT
Social Media Director
CONNOR FROST | MUSTANG NEWS
D ESI GN Solena Aguilar Director Von Balanon Samantha Shin Lucy Houghton Sophie Kroesche
BUTTERFLIES
Monarch population doubles in Pismo Beach
SO C I A L Lauryn Luescher Miranda Knight Kelsey Luvisa Cammy Okmin A DV ERT I SI N G & PR Alyssa O’Halloran Manager Victoria Coen Assistant Manager Shannon Weiss Assistant Manager Rachel Marquardt PR Manager Steven Nguyen Design Manager Justin Vermeltfoort HR Manager Grant Mitchell Distribution Manager Max Jenkins Ad Designer Elaine Do Ad Designer Von Balanon Ad Designer Michelle Kang Ad Designer A DV I SO RS Jon Schlitt Student Media Manager Pat Howe Advisor Brady Teufel Advisor
There are twice as many butterflies this migration season at the Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove, according to the Western Monarch Count Resource Center. This count comes after a record low amount of monarch butterflies at the Monarch Butterfly Grove in Pismo Beach in 2019, with a population of about 2,000. There was an overall estimated decrease of 99.4 percent of monarch butterflies from the 1980s to 2019. Western monarch butterflies, which spend spring and summer in an area between Washington and Arizona, migrate to more than 200 sites along the California coast.
Mustang News is an Associated Collegiate Press 2019 Pacemaker Award Recipient.
4 PROVE solar car approaches record speed
6 OCOB professor helps victims of scams piece their lives together
THREE-PEAT
Volleyball returns to NCAA tournament Cal Poly Volleyball will return to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year after earning an at-large bid on Sunday, Dec. 1. Cal Poly will take on Georgia in the firstround match Friday, Dec. 6 at 4 p.m. inside Stanford’s Maples Pavilion. The Mustangs earned the bid after producing an overall record of 20-8 with a second-place Big West Conference finish of 13-3. Members of the South Eastern Conference, the Georgia Bulldogs went 20-9 this season with a conference record of 12-6. It will be Georgia’s first appearance in the tournament since 2013.
7 Meet the goats helping protect campus from wild fires
8 Here’s what has changed a year after the Camp Fire in Paradise
ON POINT
Holiday poinsettia sale starts Friday Cal Poly’s annual poinsettia sale, with 4,191 plants and dozens of varieties and colors, will start this Friday, Dec. 6, at the Poly Plant Shop and will run through mid-December. Sizes range from small plants in four -inch pots to large six-inch pots. Prices are $5 to $50. In addition to poinsettias, the Poly Plant Holiday Sale also features student-made wreaths, centerpieces, succulents, ornaments and gifts. The plants are grown by students in the Poinsettia Agriculture Enterprise.
17 Football Head Coach Tim Walsh announces his retirement
CHRISTMAS MARKET ADDS STUDENT-BUILD ADVENT CALENDAR
SIGRID DERICKSON | COURTESY
Four mechanical engineering students built a 14 x 20 ft. advent calendar for the Cambria Christmas Market.
BY SOPHIE LINCOLN
On Nov. 29, the Cambria Christmas Market debuted a life-sized motorized advent calendar — a new feature designed, engineered and constructed by Cal Poly students. Mechanical engineering seniors Sigrid Derickson, Oma Skyrus, Danny Clifton and Tyler Koski took on the calendar as their senior design project in early January 2019. According to engineering professor Lee McFarland, the senior
design project is a course spanning three academic quarters, wherein students are assigned to engineer specified solutions for external companies who sponsor the project. The group constructed 25 distinguished boxes — one to represent each day of December leading up to Christmas, and 17 of which simulate motion — over the course of 10 months. The boxes fit into a 20-foot by 13-foot facade that the group painted and decorated to match the “German Christmas
village” theme of the calendar, according to Skyrus. “It’s a real challenge, and in many ways it’s similar to what they would experience in the real world,” McFarland said. Cambria Pines Lodge, which hosts the annual Cambria Christmas Market, sponsored the project. According to McFarland, lodge owners approached the Cal Poly engineering department last winter with “just an idea” of what they wanted the calendar to entail. It was then left to Der-
ickson, Skyrus, Clifton and Koski to design and manufacture a real-life, working apparatus. “It’s been quite the rush because we had a very early deadline compared to other senior projects because the Cambria Christmas Market opens the day after Thanksgiving,” Skyrus said. According to Derickson, there are three levels of mechanical motion the group incorporated into the project. The first level involves moving lights — objects engineered to light up. The second level “takes rotational motion from the motor and turns it into linear motion,” Derickson said. This type of motion is used for simpler motions, like a waving snowman featured in one of the boxes. The third level of motion involves spinning objects. The group relied heavily on Mustang 60, the Cal Poly College of Engineering Machine Shop, for access to tools like laser cutting systems. “All the resources at Mustang 60 have been absolutely essential for us to get this done,” Skyrus said. The motorized advent calendar is on display at the Cambria Christmas Market from 5-9 p.m. until Dec. 23. WATCH
Head to mustangnews.net to see it in action
STARBUCKS LOCATIONS WILL SERVE STRAWS ONLY BY REQUEST BY LOGAN KIMBALL & STEPHANIE ZAPPELLI
fill, they produce methane, which is released into the air as a greenhouse gas, Nicole said. To avoid this problem, when the straw gets soggy, consumers can put their paper straw into an indoor potted plant as mulch, or into a worm bin instead of a trash can, Nicole said. To be more environmentally friendly, Nicole recommended that instead of using paper straws, customers bring their own metal straw to Starbucks or go without a straw. Agriculture and environmental plant sciences sophomore Maddy Garner said she carries a metal straw in her backpack to use when she needs it. “There’s no reason to be using so many [straws], because if you go out often, it really adds up,” Garner said. “I’m almost 20, and I feel like I only really started paying attention a couple years ago, so that’s like literally 20 years of plastic straws . . . You don’t think about it but it adds up over time.”
BY AUSTIN LINTHICUM
San Luis Obispo Legal Assistance Foundation Legal Director Stephanie Barclay said she has never received as many calls from residents being served eviction notices as she does now. Why? At the start of 2020, landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants in California without just cause. They will also be prohibited from dramatically increasing rent. “Landlords who are savvy to what is going on are serving eviction notices now,” Barclay said at a Tuesday, Nov. 13 emergency city council meeting. To protect residents from large rent increases and eviction for the next month, the San Luis Obispo City Council passed a last-minute ordinance before renters are covered by California’s Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482) starting in January. California’s Tenant Protection Act limits annual rent increases to no more than 10 percent a year. Landlords are also required to show just cause before evicting a tenant in good standing. The law was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 8. The new city ordinance has the same rent and eviction provisions as the state law. It takes effect immediately. Several California cities, including Grover Beach, Los Angeles, San Mateo, Redwood City, Daly City, Milpitas and others, have adopted emergency ordinances similar to San Luis Obispo’s, according to a news release. The city ordinance includes retroactive coverage for renters served eviction notices before the protections took effect. “[A landlord] could have provided a notice months and months and months ago, but if they haven’t completed the entire process, and if an unlawful detainer hasn’t been issued, then this ordinance applies,” City Manager Derrick Johnson said. About 65 percent of residents in San Luis Obispo rent, according to the news release. The ordinance was passed unanimously by the council. “There is zero downside to taking this action,” Council Member Aaron Gomez said at the meeting. “It’s not perfect by any means, but nothing is, especially in the world of housing.”
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fact that that they were using a lot of plastic straws,” Nicole said. “They just decided to stop buying plastic straws and switch to paper straws.” Before Cal Poly transitioned to paper straws, students, faculty, staff and visitors used about 1 million plastic straws a year. The straw policy moves Cal Poly toward the goal of “diverting 80 percent of consumer waste away from landfills by 2020,” a Cal Poly news release said. Though paper straws reduce plastic waste, they still contribute to landfills, Nicole said. The compost facility in San Luis Obispo is only able to compost food waste, so compostable straws, utensils, cups or any other items end up in the landfill, according to Nicole. Compostable straws are made of paper, so they decompose in 30 to 60 days, according to a Cal Poly news release. The straws’ rapid composting rate is helpful if they go to a compost facility, but when items decompose quickly in a land-
Ordinance fills gap in coverage before state law takes effect
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019
The three Starbucks locations on campus will serve plastic straws only by request starting Winter 2020, according to Cal Poly Corporation Communications Specialist Aaron Lambert. Starbucks was the last on-campus dining facility to still give out plastic straws. Cold drinks will be served with nitro lids, which will replace the traditional lids built for straws. Frappuccinos will be the only drinks still needing a straw, and compostable straws will be available for them, according to Lambert. “Starbucks has a long history of sustainable innovations and has shown time and again that they are committed to these changes,” Lambert wrote in an email to Mustang News. After the passage of the Seattle city law that banned plastic straws, the Starbucks corporate office announced in July 2018 that they
would phase out plastic straws in 28,000 stores by 2020. Many Starbucks locations, including others in the city of San Luis Obispo, have already stopped using plastic straws. In San Luis Obispo, restaurants are only allowed to serve straws if their customers ask for them due to an ordinance the city passed in 2018. Starbucks locations on-campus do not have to follow the San Luis Obispo straw ordinance because Cal Poly is governed by the state, not the city, according to Cal Poly Zero Waste Coordinator Anastasia Nicole. Now, however, Starbucks locations on campus will be in compliance with city law anyway. Campus Dining announced a campus-wide switch to paper straws with the start of the 2018-19 academic year, according to a Cal Poly news release. “[Campus] Dining saw the writing on the wall and also heard a lot of students complaining about the
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MUSTANG NEWS
Starbucks was the last on-campus dining facility to still give out plastic straws
CITY PASSES EMERGENCY RENTER PROTECTIONS
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PROVE SOLAR CAR APPROACHED GUINNESS WORLD RECORD SPEED
CAL POLY PROVE LAB | COURTESY
The vehicle, named “Dawn,” is a solar powered car built by members of the College of Engineering’s Prototype Vehicles (PROVE) Laboratory.
BY KIANA HUNZIKER
Cal Poly team members kept their eyes on El Mirage Lake’s horizon, waiting in anticipation. Just then, the futuristic vehicle they knew all too well emerged from a mirage and sped across the desert. The vehicle, named “Dawn,” is a solar powered car built by members of the College of Engineering’s Prototype Vehicles (PROVE) Laboratory to attempt to beat the Guinness
World Record for the fastest solar powered car. The solar car is funded through a combination of corporate sponsorships, individual donations and academic grants. In August 2019, the car reached a peak speed of 51 mph, just a few miles short of breaking the world record. A student team from Ashiya University in Japan set the world record of 56 mph in 2014. However, the PROVE team’s model has the poten-
tial to reach a top speed of 65 mph, and its members said they hope to blow the current record out of the water. The key to achieving 65 mph lies in PROVE’s unique approach in design. Members built the car specifically to beat the record and factored certain qualifications into the design from the beginning. A major parameter to qualify for the Guinness World Record states that the car cannot use battery stor-
age–meaning renewable energy from the sun must be sent directly to the motor without being stored. “Since we’re going directly from solar to the motor, that’s a unique challenge that we’ve had to face,” co-project manager and mechanical engineering junior Kristin Kraybill said. The qualifying criteria gave the PROVE team unique freedom in building the car but also presented challenges.
“They didn’t say how big the car was supposed to be,” Kraybill said. “They didn’t say what it was supposed to look like or anything like that.” Team members settled on building the car using about 600 commercial grade solar cells with a nontraditional aerodynamic shape to minimize wind resistance. “We built everything from scratch for ourselves, both because we wanted to and because we were able to get the resources and the time to do that,” co-project manager and aerospace engineering junior Aaron Li said. PROVE member, ‘Dawn’ driver and aerospace engineering senior Lacey Davis said she considers the attempt a success even though they did not break the record. “Overall everything is about how we can do things safely and get the correct data,” Davis said. The team is currently working to solve its problems. Not only were members unable to test the car on the optimal date of the summer solstice, but they also had trouble using older solar panels in the design and ensuring the car’s motor ran at an expected 97 percent efficiency level. Kraybill and Li said they expect to resolve these issues in time to return to El Mirage Lake and beat the speed record in summer 2020.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019
LOCAL BAKER DELIVERS ORGANIC, FRESH BREAD STRAIGHT TO CAMPUS
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MUSTANG NEWS
BY ALEGRA ZUCHOWICZ
SAM DENICOLA | COURTESY
Sam DeNicola bakes 60 loaves of bread per week and sells them on campus.
One San Luis Obispo resident’s small business is bred out of passion and shared with the community with the help of a bike. Local baker Sam DeNicola said he developed a passion for baking fresh, organic bread and has been doing so for the past eight years. According to DeNicola, his bread is different from the store-bought kind. Freshly milled, whole spelt, einkorn, whole grain elements and sunflower and pumpkin seeds are just some of the ingredients he adds to an average loaf – although he noted how the simplicity of the baking process is precisely what makes it so good. “There is just flour, water and salt, [and] a bunch of time, and then you have a loaf of bread,” DeNicola said. He now bakes up to 60 loaves a week and sells them to community members through his mobile shop, SLO Bread Bike. “I love food, and making food, because I like to share with other
people,” DeNicola said. “Bread is super easy to share, and everyone loves it.” The business began when he first hopped on his bike and started delivering bread to his friends. Eventually, more and more people began showing interest in DeNicola’s products, including Cal Poly students and employees. The Real Food Collaborative, a Cal Poly club, has gathered local and sustainable produce for students and community members since 2016, according to its website. DeNicola recently partnered with the Real Food Collaborative. Now his bread is included in the biweekly vegetable delivery service on Dexter Lawn. For $100 per quarter, the club also offers a subscription for five deliveries of fresh vegetables from the Cal Poly Orchards and Organic Farm. Each Wednesday from 3 - 6 p.m., subscribers of the Real Food Collaborative pick up fresh produce and browse DeNicola’s bread at the neighboring stand.
Interested buyers can also contact him via Instagram to reserve a loaf in advance. “We get a lot of interest from people as they pass by SLO Bread Bike’s stand,” business junior and Real Food Collaborative club member Emma Cecil said. Cecil said the Real Food Collaborative hopes to soon give buyers the option to subscribe to DeNicola’s bread as well as the vegetables. Dexter Lawn is the ideal location to set up shop for Cal Poly students, DeNicola said, because the coveted foods are all in one spot. “It’s also nice because I get to see everyone and meet everyone, and hang out and eat vegetables and bread,” DeNicola said. In the future, DeNicola said he hopes to expand the pickup locations for his bread and also one day sell his products at a bakery. “The thing that really drives me is seeing people eat my food or be happy around my food,” DeNicola said.
FRANCISCO MARTINEZ | MUSTANG NEWS
Megan’s CBD Market has a variety of cannabis items for customers to choose from.
THE SLO CANNABIS INDUSTRY’S STRUGGLE TO OPEN STOREFRONTS BY FRANCISCO MARTINEZ
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Of course we don’t own our dispensary, because it’s taking millions of dollars to get it off the ground. And we didn’t have millions of dollars to get it off the ground. Megan’s Organic Market co-founder Megan Souza said.
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plore these career pathways,” Donahoe said. Arnold said she is not anti-cannabis or against any industry, but that she wants to be aware of all conflicts that exist in the county. This includes any land use conflicts involving homeowners, event venues, wineries and other property uses, according to Arnold. “The increased revenue is nice to have, but not at the expense of existing land uses,” Arnold said. “We have to be careful that we’re not creating serious problems for the people that already live here and the businesses that already exist here.” While Laurent said the setbacks he and many others have experienced are “a game meant to provoke failure,” his optimism and experience as a cyclist at the 1996 Olympic Games made him familiar with competition. “It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” Laurent said. “This is an endurance event, and you have to have planning, and capital, and perseverance and the willpower to see that through.”
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019
overview. The cannabis tax is Grover Beach’s third-highest source of revenue. Only property and sales taxes, respectively, are greater revenue sources. While California is projected to have more than $7 billion in the cannabis market in five years, according to an Aug. 15, 2019 report released by Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics, Laurent said county governments across the state are not cooperating with local cannabis businesses. In addition to his role as C4’s president, Laurent operates Pilothouse Management, a local management consultancy company that specializes in the cannabis and hemp industries. “They’re poking holes in it and extending the process,” Laurent said. The business cost of cannabis Souza is now C4’s vice president. Souza said the process of opening up her dispensary in the city of San Luis Obispo was “agonizing.” “Of course we don’t own our dispensary, because it’s taking millions of dollars to get it off the ground,” Souza said. “And we didn’t have millions of dollars to get it off the ground.” Annual renewal fees for cannabis retail businesses within the city of San Luis Obispo cost more than $93,500, while manufacturing businesses and cultivation businesses have renewal fees of around $74,000 each, according to San Luis Obispo city public re-
world didn’t end. And now we have fewer than 20 licensed operations.” San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Debbie Arnold said that the county government has taken a slow approach to cannabis because of the industry’s relative newness. District 5 is represented by Arnold and covers portions of the city of San Luis Obispo, along with the yakʔitʸutʸu residence halls. “We knew when we created our ordinance here that our county is a smaller size county and that we did not have the resources to put everything we had into permitting the cannabis industry,” Arnold said. “The planning and building department has been doing the best it can to get these businesses through the process.” Donahoe said his frustrations are why he considers cannabis to be an important issue in upcoming San Luis Obispo County elections. “From the hemp and the farm bill and the cannabis perspective, if you’re interested in these industries as a potential career, you should be very frustrated that in your backyard there’s not a good opportunity to ex-
MUSTANG NEWS
Megan Souza went all in on someone else’s dream. Her partner Eric Powers wanted to get involved in the cannabis industry. Souza, having used the drug to handle anxiety and temporomandibular joint syndrome, joined in. The two began working together by investing their life savings in the budding industry. Souza and Powers began a delivery service, and customers soon came in. “It was sort of easy to be successful because we were doing it differently,” Souza said. Souza, who began operating a delivery service, said she is hoping to open Megan’s Organic Market — one of the three permitted cannabis dispensaries in the city of San Luis Obispo — in March 2020. Souza also runs Megan’s CBD Market in Atascadero and Morro Bay. There is a problem, though: Creating a comprehensive regulatory system for dispensaries in the city is moving at a “glacial” pace, according to Central Coast Cannabis Council (C4) President Adam Laurent. The Central Coast Cannabis Council’s (C4) goal is to “create a regulatory system where the deserving companies and the deserving people can get licensed” in the area, according to Laurent. To move to a more traditional trade organization, more cannabis busi-
nesses need to get involved with the group. For that to happen, local governments across the county need to cooperate with these industries, Laurent said. Souza, along with many of her competitors and the rest of the local cannabis industry, is now looking to gain respect for her industry from the local government. “For all projects in [San Luis Obispo] County, every single developer will say how challenging [it is] to say get a building built or [get] a project approved,” Souza said. “But for cannabis, you can imagine everything is more challenging.” After ensuring local businesses can have “a level playing field,” Laurent said the objective of the council is to establish a more traditional trade group, akin to the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance. Money in cannabis Recreational cannabis was legalized in California after voters approved Prop 64 and San Luis Obispo city residents approved cannabis dispensaries in 2018. However, Laurent said the “political will” of the county government has made progress slow in processing dispensary applications, despite massive financial incentives in the cannabis industry. The Grover Beach City government projected 12 percent of its $12.46 million budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year to come from the city’s cannabis tax, according to the city’s budget
cords. The initial application fee for cannabis storefronts was $23,262.13. For comparison, annual renewal fees for retail storefronts in Grover Beach are $15,000, according to Grover Beach city public records. Renewal fees for cultivation and manufacturing ranges from $10,000 to $15,000. Souza said she formed partnerships to ensure that she can get her dispensary off the ground in San Luis Obispo while working with property owners in “green zones,” the permitted areas in which cannabis dispensaries can be operated within San Luis Obispo. While Souza said the city of San Luis Obispo was “super wonderful to work with” in setting up her dispensary, she said other business ventures in Morro Bay were much more difficult for her. “We had to hold a very expensive building that we were planning on having just [be] the dispensary, and hold it for a year and a half,” Souza said. The application process for getting the Morro Bay dispensary included submitting applications, going through several months of background checks and paying around $6,600 per month for the building as part of the application process, according to Souza. “And in the end, we didn’t get that permit,” she said. The ballot box and cannabis Among all U.S. college students in 2018, 42.6 percent reported using cannabis within the last year and 24.7 percent reported using cannabis within the last 30 days, according to a University of Michigan survey released Sept. 5, 2019. C4 member Sean Donahoe has been involved in the policy and business sides of the regulated cannabis industry since 2013. Donahoe co-founded the California Cannabis Industry Association trade group and advocated for cannabis in the state Capitol, but has since taken on a consultancy role within the local cannabis industry. He said the prevalence of usage among college students is enough reason for students to consider cannabis when voting at the ballot box. “They don’t have access to regulated, safe cannabis delivered in a regulated fashion that you know where the money’s going and that you know the product’s being tested and it’s a safe standard,” Donahoe said. “Even if you aren’t planning on going into the cannabis industry, you should care about safety.” In addition, the cannabis industry is the “most exploding industry all across the country,” according to Donahoe, and its prevalence will transform food, energy and “everything else for the next generation.” The regulations placed on the cannabis industry in San Luis Obispo County have hindered any sort of progress, according to Donahoe. “We’ve moved backwards as a county,” Donahoe said. “Previously, there were 330 registered cultivation operations within the county and the
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PROFESSOR BY DAY, SCAMBUSTER BY NIGHT OCOB professor helps victims of scams piece their lives together
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY | COURTESY
POLICE ARREST PROWLER RACHEL ARABIA | MUSTANG NEWS
A Cal Poly OCOB Professor said she had been able to infiltrate scammer operations and knows enough about them that she can pretend to be one herself.
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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019
BY SARA PEDRO
Two years ago, a 70-year-old woman met who she thought was the love of her life on a dating website. She was a widow, and her late husband had left her a quarter of a million dollars. Although she had never met her long-distance lover in person, he convinced her online that he would move to the United States and marry her if she just sent him the money to do it. It was not until she spent thousands of dollars, eventually losing her house and having to live out of her car, that she realized, with the help of one Cal Poly professor, she had been scammed. The widow had been the victim of a love scam, which is just one of the many types of scams the Orfalea College of Business professor deals with. For six years, she has helped victims rebuild their lives and works with an organization to alert them that they have been scammed. By communicating with perpetrators and wasting their time, she stays up to date on the newest scams and educates the public on what scamming looks like. After receiving multiple death threats in the past, the professor requested to remain anonymous. In the past, scamming emails were easy to identify. However, modern scams are becoming more sophisticated, according to the professor. The love scam, she said, particularly struck her.
“[The widow] is always on my mind,” the professor said. “That story just absolutely broke my heart. A lot of times, I kind of dedicate my work to her.” In addition to love scams, the professor said she has seen a recent increase in fake job emails to American college students. This is a result of collaboration between scammers from different countries, leading to a merge of different techniques from all over the world. Students can even now see scam emails on job-seeking platforms like Handshake, or receive compromised emails from people who actually work at different educational institutions. “I don’t want students to waste their time on a bogus job offer,” the professor said. “I want them to be able to tell the fake ones from the real ones.” Her goal is to get to the scam victims before they spend any money. She said she had been able to infiltrate a couple of scammer operations and knows enough about them that she can pretend to be a scammer herself. She does this by emailing back-and-forth with scammers, sometimes using her victim identity, a male from another state, and sometimes using her scammer identity. Once she is able to identify a possible victim, she then tries to help them piece their lives back together. Oftentimes, she said, scammers have another job in addition to scamming and are primarily men.
The professor has asked scammers what they spend their money on and their top two responses, regardless of which country they are from, are fancy clothing and prostitutes. According to the professor, almost all the scam emails have patterns in common, such as offering a personal assistant job and containing frequent mistakes in grammar and structure. Business sophomore Amy Lan said she was contacted by a scammer posing as a new Cal Poly professor moving to San Luis Obispo. When she replied saying she was interested, he immediately sent her a check for $1,500 to deposit and pay a moving company. When she did not reply for a few days, the scammer got very angry and sent threatening emails, trying to pressure her into going through with it. “It was just a very aggressive email,” Lan said. “It was late at night, and I was panicking.” She eventually deposited the check into her Wells Fargo bank account, which, to her surprise, automatically accepted it, despite the check being fake. Before it could bounce, Lan called the company of the check, whose employees told her the check number did not exist. She also called the department that the alleged professor said he would be teaching for and was told there was no professor under that name. She immediately stopped contacting him. A less prevalent identity theft
scam occurs when scammers request that victims fill out documentation with their personal information, including a social security number. The professor said people should never give out this information until attending an in-person interview.
A bad check can haunt you for about three months. Identity theft can haunt you for the rest of your life. the business professor said about the importance of helping victims of scams.
“A bad check can haunt you for about three months,” the professor said. “Identity theft can haunt you for the rest of your life.” The professor said she believes educating the public about how to identify scams will make a real difference. If someone receives a scam email, she said to just ignore it. Letting scammers know you figured them out will just educate them. For further help, victims can create an anonymous account at scamwarners.com and submit the email there without a personal address. “If it is too good to be true, it probably is,” Lan said.
Women getting ready for bed were his alleged targets BY AUSTIN LINTHICUM
A man was arrested Tuesday night after being linked to multiple prowling incidents on the 800 block of Boysen Avenue, according to San Luis Obispo Police (SLOPD). Juan Francisco Rodriguez Espino, a 35-year-old resident, was arrested while SLOPD was conducting a surveillance operation after receiving evidence linking him to four prowling incidents, according to a news release. Investigators believe Espino has been targeting women getting ready for bed. The incidents are believed to be sexually motivated, according to the news release. Espino was arrested behind a closed office, hiding in bushes near a window at 11:40 p.m. It is unclear what his motivation for being on the property was, according to SLOPD. Espino was booked at San Luis Obispo County Jail for prowling. SLOPD is reminding residents to “remain vigilant about their personal safety and to immediately report any suspicious activity.”
Annual Audit has been completed for FY 2018-19 Copies of the audited financial statements are available to the Public at the Corporation Administration Building 15 or on line at: www.calpolycorporation.com
CAL POLY GOATS EAT TO PREVENT FIRES FROM SPREADING
MONICA FOLGAR | COURTESY
Three-to-four months out of the year, Cal Poly goats create a firebreak.
BY ALISON PREWITT
A student-designed robot to help prevent wildfires BY CHRISTINE LEE
“John and I wanted to create a way [so] that a homeowner wouldn’t have to make a decision to stay and defend their home, but still be able to put out fires that are relatively small with a hose,” Emberley said. A majority of wildfires are started by embers that are hot smoldering bits of bark that fall on a resident’s lawn, according to Emberley. He added that with EMBER, these small fires would be stopped before it could escalate into a wildfire. There is still much work to be done with finalizing the robot, Ridgely said. For example, Ridgely said he wants to continue researching for an improved way for EMBER to distinguish fire apart from other heat sources, like an animal at night or hot cars. Another goal for the team is to make EMBER more affordable and
Using goats for fire prevention is not unique to Cal Poly. “I think it’s becoming more common practice,” animal science sophomore and Sheep Unit student manager Georgia Jellen said. “There are a lot of different larger operations with thousands of animals that are going through larger areas.” In October, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley was threatened by a fire, but saved in part by a firebreak created by goats, according to USA Today. And more than a thousand goats work to help prevent wildfires in Laguna Beach, according to ABC News. “I think every time there’s a really big fire event that people start to think about it some more,” Marti Witter, a fire ecologist with the National Park Service, said about using goats. But she said people need to understand success with goats depends on
accessible for most homeowners, Santoro said. It currently costs $330, but the team anticipates that if the device is mass produced, it could cost less than $150, according to Santoro.
“What we’re hoping is that some entrepreneurs will pick this up and make it into a product,” Ridgely said. “It’s a long way from getting an idea and showing an idea that works.”
CHRISTINE LEE | MUSTANG NEWS
Students stand next to their senior project named EMBER, a device that would prevent wildfires from occurring in residential areas.
NEWS
A team of Cal Poly engineering students created EMBER, a robot that can detect burning embers and extinguish them immediately, for their senior project to help combat California wildfires. The prototype is a red, cylindrical device with an outer tubing of PVC piping material. EMBER contains an encoder-controlled motor that allows it to pivot 360 degrees and uses a Lepton thermal camera to detect
heat. Once the robot detects heat, it will extinguish any fire embers with a spray nozzle that can shoot water up to 25 feet. “We can think of it like an automatic sprinkler,” mechanical engineering senior Daniel Santoro said. EMBER — or Economical, Mechatronic, Burn-Extinguishing Robot — was conceptualized by mechanical engineering professors Richard Emberley and John Ridgely after the 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County. “When I was watching some of the heartbreaking news about the fires in California, the idea just came to mind,” Ridgely said. The project started in January 2019 and took three quarters to complete. Emberley said their main focus was to create a device that would prevent wildfires from occurring in residential areas.
The firebreak
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019
MEET EMBER
that they have within the herd,” Folgar said.
three to four days, Reynolds said. They go between more than 36 pens to ensure that they clear the vegetation uniformly and get it down short enough. “If you gave them a whole area, like 30 acres, and let them just roam around, you’re gonna have patches where they didn’t really get into it or corners they never really went,” Reynolds said. This form of prevention invigorates the plant community and stimulates regrowth. It also creates a varied product, Reynolds said. It also benefits the animals, as it provides them food, Jellen said. It typically takes the animals around three months each year to make the firebreak, beginning right after spring commencement in June and ending in September, Reynolds said. However, this year the project went until October. “Grazing in general I think is a great opportunity to manage vegetation better, and I think there should be more of it,” Reynolds said. “I mean definitely with the fire hazard. There’s definitely a lot of interest in having more grazing going on.” The fire department has now stated that managed grazing can be an effective tool to reduce the risk of fire, according to Reynolds. Throughout the rest of the year, the goats graze at various locations on campus, including the Beef Unit, the veterinary clinic and some of the creeks, Reynolds said. They control invasive weeds and make things look pretty, according to Reynolds. This off-season grazing is not as intensive as the firebreak project — the goats are in larger pens, moving locations less often and not taking the vegetation down as low, Reynolds said.
MUSTANG NEWS
Not long after the start of the school year in 2017, Cal Poly students were already evacuating from their residence halls. A fire was burning near The Cal Poly P. But the fire stopped before it hit the residence halls thanks in part to Cal Poly’s goats. Cal Poly’s goats graze on campus for numerous reasons, one of which is to create a firebreak as a buffer, giving defensible space in case a fire threatens the school, according to animal science lecturer Beth Reynolds. Reynolds manages the Sheep Unit and Goat Enterprise. The main breed of Cal Poly’s goats is Kiko, Reynolds said. The goats are selected for being healthy, good moms and good eaters. Dairy goats would “almost be starving” if put into these goats’ situation, according to Reynolds. Cal Poly’s goats, which are meat goats, are aggressive foragers, meaning they go after food, she said.
There are currently around 50 goats at Cal Poly, according to Reynolds. Most of them are female, and around 50 more goats will be born in February. Many students work with the goats, including the goat section of Animal Production and Management Enterprise (ASCI 290). Animal science senior Monica Folgar has served as a student manager for Cal Poly’s Sheep Unit, which includes goats, for three years. “I think having sheep and goats provides that stepping stone to helping other students develop and build more confidence in working with livestock,” Folgar said. Most of the goats have names, usually tied to the way they look or behave, according to Reynolds. One goat, Donkey, is named for having the coloring and coat of a donkey, Folgar said. Another, named Quad Mom, produces quadruplets every year, and a third, Speckles, is spotted, according to Folgar. “I really enjoy their different personalities and different cliques
what people want the goats to eat. The goats know what they want to eat, but it is not necessarily the plants people want them to eat, according to Witter. Witter said goats do a great job is in mature chaparral, which can be found at Cal Poly, with a dense understory that they thin out below, leaving a canopy. Currently, the Cal Poly firebreak goes from around the Avila House to the back of Poly Canyon Village, according to Reynolds. “Right along the backside of the residence areas — PCV, Cerro, the dorms — is this huge hill with a huge amount of fuel. So that’s really important,” Jellen said. The project’s main focus is reducing fine fuels, such as dry leaves and grass, which ignite quickly and lead into denser fuels, Reynolds said. Goats eat the fuel, whereas mowing and weed wacking leaves the fuel on the ground. Around 30 goats graze alongside 26 sheep when creating the firebreak, Reynolds said. The goats, who “get kind of bored” eating a bunch of layers of grass, eat weeds, brush, parts of trees and some grass, while the sheep help clean up the grass, she said. Ideally, the firebreak would stop a fire, as the animal impact makes the area less likely to ignite, according to Reynolds. But even if it does not, it makes it easier for firefighters to do their jobs. The amount of fuel is reduced so the fire does not burn as hot, which potentially reduces how quickly it spreads, Reynolds said. In addition, since the plants are lower to the ground, the fire is slowed down, giving firefighters defensible space so they can battle it while it is at their ankles rather than hips, she said. During the project, goats are in a concentrated area, moving every
7
8
ONE YEAR
Looking back a year after the Camp Fire in Paradise
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019
BY CONNOR FROST
BEFORE
LATER
AFTER
PG&E
has officially been ruled the cause
NEWS
of the fire.
9
The population has gone from almost
27,000 people 4,000 residents. down to around
Almost
19,000 businesses, homes, and structures
MUSTANG NEWS
were destroyed in the blaze.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019
After being closed because of the fire, Paradise High School welcomed back its students this year.
The Camp Fire is the deadliest
fire in California hisotry with 85 lives taken. NEWS
A year later, 11 homes have been rebuilt with many more being constructed
10
CASSANDRA GARIBAY | MUSTANG NEWS
John Ty has been beatboxing for a few years and said he would like to stat a club to connect beatboxers at Cal Poly
BEYOND BOOTS AND CATS How beatboxers are making music at Cal Poly “Sometimes people just stare at me in fascination because they don’t know what’s happening,” art and design senior Lukas Wegmuller said. “That’s how I fell in love with beatbox — that sort of awe-inspiring feeling of, ‘How is this happening? How is that one person?’” Wegmuller plays music, but mostly without the instruments. He can make dubstep drops and snares without a computer or a mixing board. He is one of the few students on campus who practices beatboxing, the art of making music and beats with only one instrument: your mouth. From music production and a capella groups to simply making beats to blow off steam, these students have brought beatboxing to Cal Poly. And they said they would like to see more of it here.
We all have heard of it, but what is it? While musicians around the world have used vocals to imitate percussion instruments throughout history, modern beatboxing is considered the “fifth element” of hip-hop, according to Wegmuller. Musicians in the hip-hop scene began to mimic drum machines (which were called beatboxes at the time) with their mouths. When humans began to create these sounds without the machines, they created human beatboxing. While the other four hip-hop elements — DJing, emceeing, breakdancing and graffiti — have surged in popularity over the decades, beatboxing has taken a backseat in the modern hip-hop scene. Wegmuller said he would like to see that change. “It’s been sort of removed from its
origin point,” Wegmuller said. “I’m interested in how rap is thriving right now, and how those two things can be reconnected.” In the 1980s, Doug E. Fresh pioneered the modern beatboxing scene by using his own beats for the entirety of his song, “La Di Da Di.” He is now often referred to as “The Original Human Beatbox,” according to popular beatboxing forum Human Beatbox. Another major contributor to modern beatboxing was Rahzel, who was formerly in hip-hop band The Roots. He was well known for beatboxing and singing at the same time (although, Wegmuller noted, it is not really at the same time — it is just quick enough to where most cannot hear the difference). Decades ago, beatboxing was more percussive, Wegmuller said. The goal was to mimic the sound of drums to
The beatboxing community Aerospace engineering alumnus Austin Kolegraff recalled the moment he decided to turn the post-concert lull into an opportunity to practice some of his sounds on a crowd. A swarm of students were hovered on Monterey Street waiting for the Uber surge to die down after electronic funk DJ GriZ performed at the Fremont Theater. “My brain was still hearing the music, so I just tried to create it with my mouth,” Kolegraff said. “Everybody around me just started dancing.” Getting to the point of beatboxing in front of others took a while for Kolegraff, but if one thing is universal among the beatboxing community, it’s the notion that anyone can beatbox with practice.
“I learned one dubstep drop freshman year at Cal Poly because I just did it to the beat of my walking while walking to class,” Kolegraff said. The internet has connected beatboxers worldwide and served as the primary space for innovation, according to student beatboxers at Cal Poly. YouTube videos and online forums like Human Beatbox and SwissBeatbox have introduced beginners to a world of beatbox discovery. Without a teacher, people can learn how to beatbox from others around the globe. “It’s really expressive for me,” landscape architecture sophomore John Ty said. “If I’m really stressed out, I’ll just beatbox really fast and get it all out.” Every beatboxer who spoke to Mustang News said they learned on the internet. They also said they do not know many other beatboxers in San Luis Obispo. “There’s not really a community for us here,” Ty said. Wegmuller said he believes most beatboxers keep their practice private because it is difficult to find others within the niche community to affirm their talents. But he said he hopes beginning beatboxers can push past self-doubt. “There’s a leap from doing beatbox for yourself and being known for doing beatbox,” Wegmuller said. People started to pay attention in his junior year. He performed for a crowd for the first time at an Open Mic Night at SLO Donut Company. Watching the crowd’s reactions of awe and disbelief affirmed to him that he was doing was more than making weird sounds with his mouth, he said. It was music. “I think the biggest misconception about beatboxing is that it’s kind of a party trick or a magic trick more so than a medium in itself,” Wegmuller said. “People are making really amazing original music with beatbox, and it’s growing to a level that people should expose themselves to.” Check KCPR.org next quarter for a live loop recording session with Wegmuller in the KCPR studio.
ARTS
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019
BY EMILY MERTEN
keep a rhythm going for singers and rappers. But now, beatboxing has evolved far beyond keeping a beat going. Modern music production has allowed beatboxers to copy the sounds of modern electronic music, such as clicks and snares. “All of the sudden, people are coming up with new sounds every year,” Wegmuller said. “There are championship events, and people battling each other. And now the loop station is becoming a part of that.” Wegmuller’s RC505 Loop Station allows him to mix, add vocal effects and layer sounds. With the loop station, he can make full songs with all of their intricacies and without the instruments. This is what he has been building toward the past few years. While Wegmuller takes a music production approach to beatbox, kinesiology senior Brian Ebisuzaki beatboxes to anchor That’s the Key, an on-campus a capella group. “What I tend to do more of is imitating a drum kit,” Ebisuzaki said. “My main focus as a beatboxer in an a capella group isn’t how many sounds I can make, but more about keeping rhythm in my group. I’m that foundation that they can build upon.”
CASSANDRA GARIBAY | MUSTANG NEWS
CASSANDRA GARIBAY | MUSTANG NEWS
Lukas Wegmuller uses an RC Loop Station to “live loop” and make beats on the spot.
Lukas Wegmuller said anyone can learn how to beatbox with time and practice.
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12
THE HOOF
ANXIETY HACKED!
CSU ANNOUNCES STRESS BALLS FOR ALL STUDENTS BY HANNAH BENSON
The Hoof is a satire column created to find the humor in the daily life of Cal Poly students. If you’re looking for news, this is not it. Hannah Benson is a journalism senior and satire columnist. The views represented do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang News. The California State University (CSU) system is asking for more money, again. The announcement reported the arrival of another health fee increase for Cal Poly students to fund the CSU’s new campaign to end mental illness forever. The main focus of the “Just Don’t Worry” campaign is the distribution of stress balls to each member of the student body. The balls are labeled with different phrases, such as “Don’t Be Sad” and “You Should Go Outside.” “We are so thrilled to have students fund us, so we can provide the modern technology to fix those affected by mental illness,” CSU administra-
tor Justin Hale said. Hale is spearheading the campaign and said he hopes to implement it in a couple of other schools, specifically in Northern California. The CSU system is not currently concerned with Southern California students, as they experience year-round sunshine and therefore don’t need additional help. “I’m so excited for the students,” Hale said. “I have never experienced a panic attack before, and my appetite isn’t affected by hopelessness, but just holding that squishy ball I couldn’t dream of being anything but happy.” Along with stress balls, the “Just Don’t Worry” campaign aims to implement more signs pointing to the Rec Center to advocate more exercise across campus. All hydration stations will be labelled “It’s All in Your Head, Just Drink Water.” Meanwhile, therapy dogs will be stationed in every building on campus, 24-hours a day.
SAMANTHA SHIN | MUSTANG NEWS
“I remember how dejected I felt when Counseling Services told me ‘We can’t help you,’” very stressed student Rory Bueller said. “I get it, they don’t have enough resources due to funding, but then I heard about golden retrievers in Baker . . . I felt better for about three minutes.” The CSU administrators have al-
ready reached out to Bueller to become the face of campaign. “Since mental illness among college students will be finished after the campaign’s implementation, students can use the stress balls to play fetch with the dogs who absorbed all the mental illness,” Hale said. “I could use scientific termi-
nology here, but I don’t really understand how therapy dogs work.” As responsible members of the community, the university states it is “crucial” for students to support the campaign or else Oprah won’t call San Luis Obispo the “Happiest City in America” next year, and that’s just sad.
OPINION
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019
HOW TO SURVIVE
CUFFING SEASON
BY LEILEE NADIRI
Leilee Naderi is a business administration sophomore and opinion columnist for Mustang News. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang News. Spooky season has passed, and the girl you like dressed up as a ghost long before it was Halloween. With a change in temperature, Cuffing Season will make its unwanted arrival. A single drop of rain falls, and people instantly feel like they need to hold hands. You look to your right: a couple forms. You look to your left: a freshman starts walking closer to that cute girl from his Week of Welcome group. It’s fine if you are not a part of this demographic. There is a way to survive “Cuffing Season.” Next year,
when the temperature drops, you’ll be one step ahead of the game. When it’s warm outside, that’s when you start building up the armor that you deem impenetrable during the colder months of the year. By this, I’m saying it’s fall and the sun is still out, and this is when you begin forming your healthy habits. Right when winter commences, you have some asset under your belt, like an investment portfolio, or something. You don’t need to start all at once. That’s why investors start as micro-investors. Consider your efforts as an incremental approach to defeating Cuffing Season. Hypothetically, during a time like the summer, it would be ideal to stockpile hobbies or “talents in progress” that you can dedicate your time to when it starts getting
ALISON CHAVEZ | MUSTANG NEWS
cold outside. Instead of directing your attention to why you’re single during the holidays, you can expand on all the dormant activities you compiled for yourself earlier. Another approach to surviving Cuffing Season is all about mindset. Just because the masses are deciding to shack up doesn’t mean you need to adopt conformist ways and follow them. Cuffing Season could
definitely end up in a hasty relationship where this chosen person is only remotely your type outside of the warmth they provide when you guys hold hands and go ice skating. Individualism could definitely be the best path for this phenomena of a season. Being comfortable with yourself and your own hobbies could also be gratifying. Before you know it, the sun will come out again
and so will the attractive people around you. Cuffing Season is ultimately not too lengthy, although the long winter nights and short days might distort your keeping of time. Knowing that being lonely during the winter is temporary — as all pain is — is powerful. Powerful enough to let you survive Cuffing Season and just be lonely again during spring.
DEALS OF THE WEEK LIGHT UP THE HOLIDAYS Looking for holiday festivities that include a holiday light display and charming holiday market? Look no further than the our Light Up the Holidays Festival at Poly Canyon Village, Saturday, Dec. 7, from 5-8 p.m. Enjoy listening to lively music, get creative with free cookie decorating, and shop for your friends and family at our holiday market featuring local artisans and vendors.
MUSTANG MEAL SHARE Mustang Meal Share allows any student with a dining plan to donate up to $65 dining dollars per academic quarter to help ensure every student has access to nutritious meals each day so they can stay focused on their studies and success. Now, that’s the Mustang Way! Donate at bit.ly/mmealshare
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1074 Higuera St. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Right behind the Fremont Theater and Woodstocks Monday - Friday 7AM - 9PM , Saturday 11AM - 9PM
PUZZLES & HOROSCOPES
CLUES ACROSS 1. Egyptian bull-god 5. America 8. Type of field (abbr.) 11. Reagan’s Deputy AG 13. Negative 14. Mother of Hermes 15. Summer and Winter Olympics gold medal winner 16. In shape 17. Oh my goodness! 18. People of Guinea or Sierra Leone 20. A form of “to be” 21. Succulent plant 22. Estranges 25. Honest 30. Showing conviction 31. High schoolers’ test 32. Implant 33. Acknowledgment 38. Cash dispenser 41. Transferred to another 43. Superhero group 45. Photographers 48. Small, rich sponge cake 49. Power to perceive 50. Heavy cavalry sword 55. Israel’s first permanent UN delegate 56. Everything 57. Afflicted 59. Language spoken in Chad 60. Pioneering MC Kool Moe 61. Jewish spiritual leader 62. Keyboard key
63. Soviet Socialist Republic 64. Impudence CLUES DOWN 1. Type of degree 2. Expression of sorrow or pity 3. Large, predatory lizard 4. River in Romania 5. Biased 6. Parties 7. TV’s used to need one 8. Philly football player 9. Recognized ethnic group of China 10. Gradually disappear 12. Large, dark antelope 14. Vegetarians won’t eat it 19. Takes the energy out of 23. Body part 24. Succeed in achieving 25. Where golfers begin 26. Computer memory 27. One who buys and sells securities 28. Midway between north and northeast 29. Quiet and rather dull 34. A limb on which to walk 35. It precedes two 36. Of she 37. Commercials 39. Necessary for sewing 40. Infectious viral disease 41. Expression of good wishes 42. Some are contact
*See answers at mustangnews.net/games-answers/
44. More plentiful 45. Secret political clique 46. Behind the stern of a ship 47. Supernatural force 48. Altar in Orthodox churches 51. Swiss river 52. Impartiality 53. “Luther” actor Idris 54. They resist authority (slang) 58. Criticize
ARIES – March 21/April 20 Do your best to put power struggles at work or at home into proper perspective, Aries. Looking at things through a new vantage point can serve you well.
LIBRA – Sept. 23/Oct. 23 Libra, it is time to spread your wings and try something new this week. You’ll get restless tied behind a desk. Take some time off to indulge your wanderlust.
TAURUS – April 21/May 21 Taurus, you are ready to break out of a rut that has kept you in neutral for some time. You may have to sacrifice some comfort to get up and moving.
SCORPIO – Oct. 24/Nov. 22 Scorpio, loosen up the purse strings a little bit this week, as you have been quite disciplined with your finances lately. If you are ahead of the game, splurge.
GEMINI – May 22/June 21 Gemini, you are outgoing in the days ahead, and the stars are aligned with your interpersonal relationships. This combination could prove rewarding.
SAGITTARIUS – Nov. 23/Dec. 21 Don’t try to rein yourself in this week, Sagittarius. The cosmos are certainly against it. Pour your heart out to someone or take on a grand project.
CANCER – June 22/July 22 Cancer, take some time this week to do something that makes you feel good. Don’t just focus on the physical; concentrate on your emotional well-being as well.
CAPRICORN – Dec. 22/Jan. 20 Take your foot off the gas pedal this week, Capricorn. You have a funny way of always being on the move. Sometimes you need to scale back and do nothing.
LEO – July 23/Aug. 23 Leo, you do not need a reason to be self-indulgent this week. Just step out there and go get what you desire. You’re a hard worker and have earned the privilege. VIRGO – Aug. 24/Sept. 22 Virgo, you may be compelled to drop by a friend’s or family member’s house unannounced this week. Better to pick up the phone and talk things out first.
AQUARIUS – Jan. 21/Feb. 18 Sometimes the most exciting things happen when you allow them to develop organically, Aquarius. Let things unfold without too much oversight in the days ahead. PISCES – Feb. 19/March 20 Pisces, many people see you as gentle and cooperative. These are valuable traits that can benefit you and those around you in the coming weeks.
CLIMBING CAL POLY
Why some student climbers find their passion on the rocks CAROLYNE SYSMANS | MUSTANG NEWS
The Cal Poly rock wall, located outside the recreation center, is a popular spot for students to climb and free to use.
BY JAKOB MCQUADE
Before the sun rises on San Luis Obispo, the town sits in a serene silence. Though the fauna on Cuesta Ridge have yet to begin their morning, computer engineering senior Kaito Trias is already breaking a sweat. With pounds worth of gear and a climbing partner to belay him, Trias scales a tricky route to reach his favorite view. “We’ll be climbing since sun-
rise, and it’s really nice,” Trias said. “It’s like going on a nice hike, but you’re climbing.” San Luis Obispo’s scenic landscape and sprawling hills make a perfect hub for a bustling rock climbing community. But, one of the most crowded climbing spots in San Luis Obispo is not tucked away in a wooded grove or atop a ridge — it lies right on Cal Poly’s campus. The rock wall at Cal Poly sits just outside of the Recreation Center.
With two climbing walls jutting into the skyline, music drifting through the campus, and a constant network of students navigating the colorful routes, it is hard to miss. Climbing park supervisor and civil engineering senior Ben Tinklenberg finds himself there most days. “Working here is the best job on campus,” Tinklenberg said. “We get to climb during our shift, we get to set the stuff, and I’m just here to make sure people are safe. Also, I
can get people excited about the sport.” There is one large difference between climbing indoors and the varieties of outdoor climbing: danger. When it comes to difficult routes out in nature, like the ones fellow climbing park supervisor and computer engineering senior Linn Rising have conquered, there are lifeor-death moments on the line. “You have this piece that is protecting you if you fall, and you have the choice to climb above that,” Rising said. “There’s a lot of implications with that. If you fall the next 25 or 30 feet, you’re in for a death fall.” Though it might seem intimidating to be staring down on climb, overcoming that fear is part of climbing culture. “We had a funny moment,” Rising said. “My friend got to the last 10 ten feet and he asked, ‘Can you pass me a rope from up top because I don’t want to die.’ When the rope got to him, he was like, ‘No, no, pull it back up, I’m doing this the right way.’” While there are ways to use equipment to assist in a tough climb, there is a sense of pride that comes with forgoing these safety measures. For some climbers, like civil engineering senior Eleni Korogianos, facing extreme heights is actually a benefit of the sport. “I used to be pretty afraid of heights,” Korogianos said. “Climbing helped me stop freaking out about it. I think that when it gets really scary, I just have to tell myself, ‘It’s fine. I have protection.’ Usually, that is just a breathing thing.” The mental challenge of triumph-
ing over innate fears is an important part of the exhilaration of climbing. Whether that be in a padded gym or deep in a gully of Yosemite, Tinklenberg said this is one of his favorite reasons to climb. “You just end up in some really cool spots that nobody has ever seen unless you climb,” Tinklenberg said. “That and then overcoming of fear and challenging yourself is awesome.” There is more than just fear to defeat while climbing. According to Trias, approaching a new climbing route is like solving a puzzle. The mental stimulation that comes with figuring out a route — “talking beta,” as climbers would say — is so compelling, exercising becomes a side effect of the hobby. “I like the problem solving aspect of it,” Trias said. “When climbing a route, each one is really different. It doesn’t really feel like I’m actually exercising. I’m just climbing.” For climbers like Korogianos, the gym is used as a training grounds for the outdoor climbing. She said testing out different techniques pays off when you can apply them out in the wild. Progressing through these physical and mental puzzles is “super addicting,” Korogianos said. “Nothing’s laid out for you, [you] just have to get out there and figure it out,” Korogianos said. “In the gym, you have like these perfect holds, whether they’re pretty chunky, or really extruding out some of the wall. Whereas outside there’s harsher environments. If it’s granite, it’s super harsh and it really stabs your fingers. But it’s worth it. It’s part of the experience.”
BY NAYTHAN BRYANT
Friday versus Old Dominion
Saturday versus Lamar
Freshman point guard Abbey Ellis scored a game-winning layup with one second on the clock in Cal Poly’s 57-56 win over Lamar Saturday, Nov. 30 inside Mott Athletics Center. The victory concluded the two-game ShareSLO Holiday Beach Classic, which saw the Mustangs go 1-1
against non-conference opponents. Ellis shot 8-for-16 from the field for a team-high 20 points while Roufosse added 14 rebounds in the victory. Cal Poly opened the game with a strong performance in the first quarter and outscored Lamar 20-9 for an early advantage. The Mustangs held onto their 11-point lead as the game was extended to 26-15 midway through the second quarter. However, the Cardinals closed the gap to just seven points as the first half concluded with Cal Poly ahead 32-25. Cal Poly continued to dominate offensively and scored five straight points to close out the third quarter at 45-34. A lay-in by junior forward Kirsty Brown brought the score to 49-36 in the fourth quarter for Cal Poly’s largest lead of the night. However, Lamar responded with a 12-0 run to pull the score within one point at 49-48 with just over four minutes remaining. After an Ellis three-pointer broke
the Cardinals scoring drive, Lamar scored five unanswered points to take their first lead of the game at 53-52. A Lamar three-pointer maintained the team’s lead at 56-55, but the Cardinals missed five consecutive free throws in the ensuing minutes to keep Cal Poly’s hopes alive. In the final possession of the game, Ellis drove toward the right side of the basket with two Lamar players in her path. As the opposition started to close in, Ellis took a 360 degree spin and shot a backwards layup with her back to the net. The shot miraculously found its way through the net for a 57-56 Cal Poly victory. Old Dominion took home the Beach Classic title after wins against Cal Poly on Friday and Idaho on Saturday. Monarch player Amari Young was named Tournament MVP. Cal Poly will be on the road for its next match at Saint Mary’s on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m.
SPORTS
Cal Poly (1-5) outscored Old Dominion (4-1) 22-13 in the fourth quarter, but the Mustangs lost 61-55 in the game Friday, Nov. 29. Redshirt junior Sierra Campisano had a team-high 19 points and added eight rebounds.
a comfortable 48-33 lead. Cal Poly bounced back midway through the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run that pulled the team within seven points at 51-44. The Mustangs continued to close the gap until an Ellis layup brought the difference to one possession at 58-55 with 17 seconds remaining. However, Monarch player Taylor Edwards was fouled on the ensuing play and sunk back-toback free throws to regain the fivepoint advantage. After a failed Mustang attack, Edwards added another free throw as Old Dominion finished out on top 61-55.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019
Cal Poly Women’s Basketball earned one win and one loss against non-conference opponents in the ShareSLO Holiday Beach Classic Nov. 29-30 inside Mott Athletics Center. After a 61-55 defeat against tournament champions Old Dominion on Friday, Cal Poly bounced back with a one-point victory over Lamar in a 57-56 battle on Saturday. The tournament also saw head coach Faith Mimnaugh earn her 300th career victory. Mimnaugh is in her 23rd season with the program.
Old Dominion opened the game with a 13-3 run that saw all five Monarch players score. Freshman point guard Abbey Ellis was the only Mustang to respond with a lone three-pointer. Cal Poly shortened the gap to five points behind a three-pointer from sophomore guard Gianna Silvestri and a layup from Campisano with 2:08 on the clock. However, the score of 13-8 was the closest Cal Poly came to finding the lead for the remainder of the half, which closed with Old Dominion ahead 32-19. Old Dominion extended their lead with an 8-2 run thanks to two three-pointers from guard Victoria Morris. Morris, along with teammate Amari Young, co-led the Monarchs with 11 points each. A pair of free throws from senior forward Alicia Roufosse brought the score to 45-33 with under a minute remaining in the quarter, but a Monarch three-pointer granted Old Dominion
MUSTANG NEWS
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GOES 1-1 IN SHARESLO HOLIDAY BEACH CLASSIC
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MATTHEW LALANNE | MUSTANG NEWS
Cal Poly’s logging team has won numerous awards throught the years, including first place at the Cal Conclave Nov. 4.
BEHIND THE SCENES OF CAL POLY’S NATIONALLY RANKED LOGGING TEAM
SPORTS
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019
BY JAKOB MCQUADE
What if the Olympics took place in the middle of the woods instead of on a track? What if instead of using javelins, they used chainsaws? How about climbing up redwoods instead of jumping over hurdles? The answer to these questions is tucked away three hours north at the Cal Poly owned Swanton Pacific Ranch. Last month, all five of California’s school-affiliated logging sports teams congregated at this year’s Cal Conclave in Swanton to compete. “From a ways away, you hear the chainsaws running,” fruits and crop science senior and logging team Vice President Erin Sheridan said. “As you come in, you can smell fresh wood. We start at the break of dawn. People are running around, getting their events ready, prepping their wood, and making sure the equipment is running correctly. It is this little beehive of loggers.” When a tree falls in the woods, the logging team is there to hear it. These tasks that are now banal to this select group of loggers are, for most, a sight to behold. As shavings fly off of the logs cascading into perfect sheets of timber, this busy hive of workers has been through this too many times to stop and look around in awe. The weekend is truly Olympian in its breadth; chainsawing, double bucking (two people on either end of a saw), tree climbing, and axe throwing are all on the docket for the weekend. Usually, log rolling would be
too, which has competitors trying to stay afloat on a log out in a lake, but there was none big enough for the competition at Swanton. Sheridan’s specialty event, though, represents the core of timbersports. “I love chopping, that is my favorite event. Almost every morning I’ll chop a block,” Sheridan said. “I love making big pieces of wood into smaller pieces.” Though the spirit of the sport may be simple, prepping for the competition is anything but. In order to get the team prepared, Stihl Timbersports Series champions Chrissy Ramsey and Alvie Marcellus put their lives in Washington on pause to help the Cal Poly logging team establish a smoothly running competition. “Nothing in this sport is ever perfect,” Ramsey said. Marcellus, her 74-year-old father, was out at the logging unit with the team to help coach their technique before Cal Conclave. His father, Leland Marcellus, and his grandfather, Artell Marcellus, all competed in the sport alongside their brothers. The sport runs in the family. There is a good reason why timbersports competitors are so involved; the tight-knit community fosters close friendships that pass down through the generations. Rachel Wherman, forestry and natural resources senior and president of the Cal Poly logging team, said logging has become a huge part of her life since joining and moving up the ranks.
“It honestly feels like a good community group, and I just like to be around it,” Werhman said. “I feel like the only friends I have at school are on the logging team, which is perfect for me. I kept wanting to do more stuff with the team. I wanted to train more and get better.” That camaraderie also drove Sophia Marquez, environment management and protection junior and secretary of the Cal Poly logging
team to push herself in the sport. After losing the team aspect of high school marching band, she said she needed to find a community on campus. That is where logging sports entered the picture. After watching a video of herself wielding a chainsaw in the “power saw” competition, she was hooked. “I saw the video of myself and I thought, ‘This is sick, I’m kind of badass. Maybe I should keep doing this,’” Marquez said. The spectacle is a sight to behold for onlookers, if they should find themselves out in the groves of Swanton on the right weekend. As Marquez experienced, wielding a chainsaw — or an axe, or a two-man
saw — with dexterity is striking. “People usually think, ‘Oh, timber sports, that’s cool,’” Sheridan said. “But, then they see it and think, ‘Holy smokes. That’s insane.’” The sport is quite literally unlike anything most students have ever seen before. Most people on the coast of California do not often see the physical labor that goes into splintering wood, let alone at competition speeds. “We’re doing these crazy events with chainsaws, axes, saws and all of these sharp objects, pushing the boundaries of human limitations — especially for college girls,” Marquez said. “The sheer capability of what we can do surprises people.” But none of the loggers on the team are surprised by what they can do. After countless hours of training, the goal is no longer just to split the wood in half. Now, it is all about efficiency. The velocity, the angle, the swing path of the axe are all being calculated in their minds to beat their own personal best times. “Hitting those lines, keeping that technique — you almost black out while you’re doing it,” Sheridan said. But, when it comes down to it, the part of logging that brings people like Sheridan and Wehrman out day after day is not just the sport: it is the people. “A big part of timber sports is being supportive of everybody that is there doing it, even between other schools,” Wehrman said. Wehrman said the sense of belonging and camaraderie is unparallelled among other sports. “It is awesome to have the team aspect in college,” Wehrman said. “When you come to college you’re free floating a little bit. It is cool to be part of a team that is supporting you and competing with you.”
MATTHEW LALANNE | MUSTANG NEWS
The Cal Poly Logging Team trains for events, including chainsawing, wood chopping and axe throwing, every Friday.
FOOTBALL HEAD COACH TIM WALSH ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
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BY GARRETT BROWN
Cal Poly Football head coach Tim Walsh announced his retirement Monday evening after 11 years with the Mustangs, according to a Cal Poly Athletics news release. Walsh’s retirement comes on the heels of a 3-8 season — the third losing season in a row for the program. “On behalf of our department staff, and the hundreds of young men who have received the benefit of Tim’s mentorship, we thank Tim for his leadership over our football program,” Cal Poly Director of Athletics Don Oberhelman said in the news release. Walsh’s career as head coach of the Mustangs started in 2009 on a
high note, with three of his first four years as winning seasons. During that time, the team also won the 2011 Great West Conference and the 2012 Big Sky Conference. During the 2012 season, Walsh led the team to a 9-3 record, the second round of the FCS Division I playoffs and a No. 11 national ranking. The team lost to Sam Houston State in the second round. Walsh also reached the playoffs in 2016 where a 7-5 Cal Poly team, No. 24 in the coaches poll, lost in the first round to San Diego. Walsh leaves Cal Poly with a career record of 59-66. Walsh’s collegiate career began as Sonoma State’s head coach, where he had a 27-14 record from 1989-1992.
CAL POLY ATHLETICS | COURTESY
Tim Walsh will retire after 11 years of working at Cal Poly.
From there, Walsh served as the longest-tenured coach in program history at Portland State, coaching from 1993-2006 with a 90-68 record. Before coming to Cal Poly, Walsh was the quarterback coach and later the offensive coordinator at Army from
BY DIEGO SANDOVAL
Johnny Millard in 2013. Millard went on to play for the St. Louis Rams for a brief period of time. “The thing I am most excited about is going out against the best of the best all across the nation and proving what I can do on the field,” Koski said. “I’m confident in what I can do and show out there, and I’m looking to show that I am an all-around football player.”
Koski’s Cal Poly Career
As an incoming freshman, Koski said he came to Cal Poly with the mindset that he could make an impact as a No. 1 receiver even in Cal Poly’s of-
leader,” Koski said. “It’s been fun to build a relationship with the younger guys and teach them the things that I wish I had known my freshman year.” With leadership came the ability to help those around him become better players. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jalen Hamler worked with Koski throughout the off season and the regular season. “I can always count on [Koski] to be where I need him to be at the times when I need him to be there,” Hamler said. “He makes my job easier. He is always picking everybody’s heads up no matter what the score is, telling them that we have to play ball no matter what.” In four years, Koski solidified himself as one of the greatest wide receivers to put on a Cal Poly uniform. With 120 catches, 2,305 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns, Koski is within the top five all-time players for each of these categories in program history. When asked about his achievements during the past four years and being considered one of the greats, Koski said that it’s “pretty special.” “I feel like I’m the same kid that came in here my first day,” Koski said. “There’s a lot of help and effort that has gone into this.” Although his Cal Poly career has come to a close, Koski cemented his legacy in the Cal Poly record books. Now, he will hope to hear his name called next June in the 2020 NFL Draft. “I always knew deep down that if I got the opportunity, I would be successful,” Koski said. “Last year, I took a big step and actually began to think that I could do this beyond college.”
SPORTS
It’s not easy being a star wide receiver in a run-heavy, triple option offense in college. However, senior wide receiver J.J. Koski managed to make a name for himself as a focal point of the Cal Poly offense for four years in a row, with 2019 capping off a historic career. His time as a Mustang even led Koski to draw interest from numerous NFL scouts. “We knew we had something special when he got here his first year,” head coach Tim Walsh said. “He has been able to improve upon his toughness and the little things at the
receiver position.” To add onto his impressive career accolades, Koski accepted an invitation to play in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in January 2020. The Collegiate Bowl is a highly-competitive postseason all-star game for college football players who are eligible for the NFL Draft in 2020. Scouts, general managers, and head coaches from NFL organizations attend the event every year, giving players plenty of exposure at the professional level. Koski will be the first Mustang in six years to participate in an all-star game. The last Mustang to participate in an all-star game was linebacker
fense, which is geared towards the running game. “I knew that if I proved myself when I got my opportunities, then the coaches would get me the ball,” Koski said. “I’ve always been that hard worker and I’ve never really known any other option than to put my head down and work hard. I knew my time would come.” This hard working attitude would prove to pay off for the 6’1” receiver, as he soon became the leading wideout in Cal Poly’s offense within his first two years with the team. Koski’s numbers steadily increased over the past four years as he cemented himself as the No. 1 receiver in the Mustang offense. As a freshman, he reeled in 18 receptions for 323 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games played. In his final year in green and gold, he racked up 41 catches for 862 yards and 8 touchdowns. “I’ve grown in a lot of aspects of my game,” Koski said. “From getting stronger in the weight room, to my mental toughness, I’ve grown a lot as a player.” The leading receiver never missed a game, suiting up for all 44 games in four seasons with the team. “He loves the game of football and he doesn’t want to miss a game,” Walsh said. “He always says ‘I can,’ which allows him to do the things he wants to do and allows him to stay healthy.” After proving his value and consistency on the field during his first three years as a Mustang, he was challenged with being thrown into a leadership role as a team captain in his final season. “I’ve never been much of a vocal
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019
J.J. KOSKI REFLECTS ON HISTORIC CAL POLY CAREER
Portland State. Walsh was also a finalist for the FCS Coach of the Year award in 1999 and 2012. With the season over, Cal Poly will begin searching for a new head coach immediately, according to the news release.
MUSTANG NEWS
KYLE CALZIA | MUSTANG NEWS
Senior wide receiver J.J. Koski accepted an invitation to play in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in January 2020.
2007-2008. In his last three years as head coach, Cal Poly Football has led the Big Sky Conference with the top graduation rate. Walsh has been inducted into the Hall of Fame for Sonoma State and
TEAMWORk cal poly
Cabrillo High School cal poly choirs Madrigal Singers SCOTT GLYSSON JENNIFER PETERSON DIRECTOR
DIRECTOR
cal poly symphony: teamwork
Central Coast Youth Chorus
The concert will celebrate the many kinds of teamwork that are possible at Cal Poly! Guest jazz saxophonist Dave Becker will be featured on music from the album “Charlie Parker with Strings.” The new Cal Poly Chamber Orchestra will make its debut without a conductor. The full orchestra will present music from Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet, “Romeo and Juliet,” with large screen projections crafted by student teams from the Art and Design Department. The orchestra will
join forces with a student team from the Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies major to present video game music with visual projections on the interior of Miossi Hall. This immersive experience will include the works “Tetris Theme,” “Advent Rising – Muse” and “Final Fantasy – Liberi Fatali.” The concert will conclude with a performance of Leonard Bernstein’s “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story,” a 20th-century re-telling of the Romeo and Juliet story.
MELODY SVENNUNGSEN DIRECTOR
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POLYPHONICS
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PAUL WOODRING
UNIVERSITY SINGERS
MEMBERS OF THE
ACCOMPANIST
CHAMBER CHOIR
CAL POLY SYMPHONY
WOMEN'S CHORUS
dec. 7, 2019 • 7:30 p.m. Saturday PERFORMING ARTS CENTER $12 AND $14 GENERAL, $9 AND $12 STUDENTS CAL POLY TICKET OFFICE: 805-756-4849, TICKETS.CALPOLY.EDU Sponsored by Cal Poly’s Music Department, College of Liberal Arts and IRA program. For more information, call 805-756-2406, or visit music.calpoly.edu/calendar/.
dec. 6, 2019
FRIDAY AT 7:30 P.M. PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
$9 and $12 students/$12 and $14 general Cal Poly Ticket Office: 805-756-4849, tickets.calpoly.edu For more information, contact the Music Department:805-756-2406, music.calpoly.edu/calendar/.