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MUSTANG NEWS MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY WINS FOURTH STRAIGHT TITLE
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Austin Linthicum
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Grant Anderson Lauren Brown Kiersten Stevens Jack Berkenfield Lily Dallow Matthew Bornhorst Daisy Kuenstler Kelly Trinh Anya Dimaio Sofia Silvia Luke Deal
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IN THIS ISSUE
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
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
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 Luke Deal
EYE OPENER
Johnny Venus (Olu Fann) of the rap duo Earthgang, performed at Fremont Theater this past Wednesday night on their debut album tour to a sold-out crowd. Earthgang hails from Atlanta and is signed to the Dreamville Records, with other artists like J.I.D. and Ari Lennox. DIEGO RIVERA | MUSTANG NEWS
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CO P Y Amanda Simonich Francisco Martinez Eddie Railsback D ESI GN Solena Aguilar Director Von Balanon Samantha Shin Lucy Houghton Sophie Kroesche
Spring 2019 student course evaluation rates hit four-year low
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
Student organizations propose Stenner Creek tunnel renovation
Athlete graduation rate climbs to 85 percent
GRADING ON A CURVE
SO C I A L Lauryn Luescher Miranda Knight Kelsey Luvisa Cammy Okmin
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OFF THE FIELD
The number of students who completed course evaluations in Spring 2019 dropped to 51 percent — the lowest since Spring 2016, according to the Office of Academic Personnel. The surveys, distributed to students electronically during the week leading up to finals, are used by campus departments to evaluate faculty and make hiring decisions. A university program has been changing evaluation procedures since Fall 2015 when an evaluation pilot program was launched. The average response rate since Fall 2015 is 57.5 percent of students.
4 CSU proposes extra math admissions requirements
7 Cal Poly hosted an inaugural first-gen student event
POWER MOVE
Mayor pushes to make PG&E a cooperative As frustrations grow over planned power blackouts, more than two dozen California mayors, including San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon, are calling for Pacific Gas & Electric to become a customerowned power company. “Proud to be joining with mayors across the state to start this essential conversation of creating ownership by the people rather than the corporation,” Harmon wrote in a Tweet.
8 Local band Próxima Parada returns to SLO with new album
The graduation rate among Cal Poly’s 550 student-athletes increased to 85 percent, according to the NCAA Graduation Rates Report released by the NCAA. This represents a 3 percent increase from last year and a 16 percent rise over the past nine years. Men’s golf, men’s soccer, men’s tennis and women’s swimming and diving all had 100 percent of their senior athletes graduate. The current Graduation Rates Report compiles data about students and student-athletes entering as freshmen in 2012.
AUSTIN LINTHICUM | MUSTANG NEWS
12 Men’s Cross Country wins fourth straight Big West title
STUDENT-DRAFTED HOUSING TRANSPARENCY LAW TO TAKE EFFECT AFTER LOBBYING IN SACRAMENTO
LIZZY MARSHALL | COURTESY PHOTO
Students wrote the bill in a political science class taught by Den Hartog and former Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian.
BY NATALIE YOUNG & CHRISTINE LEE
A bill drafted by Cal Poly students to increase housing cost transparency was signed into law Oct. 4 and will go into effect Jan. 1, 2020. The bill is an update on Senate Bill (SB) 467, which originally only required Universities of California (UC) and California State Universities (CSU) to post information on the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in areas near campus online. The new bill requires the UC and CSU to provide information about
the cost of housing outside of campus, estimates of other cost-of-living expenses, descriptions of how these estimates were calculated and a statement emphasizing how the costs may differ. “I think it’s as good of an example of what you’re gonna get in political science,” political science professor Chris Den Hartog said. “Political science isn’t something where you can do as many labs or hands on kinds of activities as in some of the other disciplines.” The students wrote the bill in the class California Student Bill
Project (POLS 440), taught by Den Hartog and former Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian. The class is a three quarter-long series where students work to develop a policy that will help a specific problem they want to address. “We wanted to address something the students would be familiar with and be motivated about,” Den Hartog said. “We also wanted something that was feasible to do within a year.” The cost of a single room apartment for a student who lives on-campus after their first year this academic year costs $10,581,
or an average of $1,175 per month, according to University Housing. A double-room for continuing students living on-campus costs $10,017, or an average of $1,113 per month. University Housing only charges residents for nine months as opposed to the usual 12-month lease off-campus residents sign. However, the cost of off-campus living ranges depending on the proximity to campus and the type of housing. University Housing compiled a list of average prices for apartments near campus for single and double rooms. According to their list, housing can range from $750 to $1,435 per person per month. Political science junior Lizzy Marshall said the class was very collaborative and group oriented. She said Den Hartog started the class off with an idea to address the perceived discrepancy of the cost of living figures on the Cal Poly website. In Spring 2019, the class traveled to Sacramento to lobby for their proposed legislation. Many students had the opportunity to meet with several members in the Committee on Higher Education, Marshall said. “The whole legislative process was cool to see right in front of my eyes,” Marshall said. “I learned a lot about lobbying and the process of drafting a bill.”
BY CHRISTINE LEE
New office hours scaling proposal UNITS
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Brown said. “I spoke against it because I thought not having that definiteness made it harder on the students,” Brown said. “They would have less clear expectations that their faculty would have meaningful office hours set aside.” In this new policy, there is criteria for scaling office hours based on instructional hours, requirements for posting office hours, one hour of online office hours and other requirements that can be seen on the Academic Senate Executive Committee Agenda. The new office hour policy will most likely be implemented by Fall 2020, according to Brown. The policy must undergo revisions from the Academic Senate before President Jeffrey Armstrong approves the policy.
FACILITIES IS ASKING CAMPUS RESIDENTS TO SAVE WATER AFTER PUMP FAILURE BY AUSTIN LINTHICUM
Cal Poly is asking campus residents to reduce all non-essential water usage after a university reservoir pump was taken out of service Sunday. However, University Spokesperson Matt Lazier said these measures will only ensure campus water reserves stay at normal levels and there is no danger of running out of water. While the university is only requesting residents cut water usage where they can, a campus-wide email said water could be completely shut off for a short period of time while repairs are being made. The broken pump is one of two that feeds water from a campus reservoir near the Village Drive parking structure. It was disabled due to excessive leakage, according to Lazier. While the remaining operating pump will cover normal campus use, Facilities Management and Development wants to maintain water levels at another campus reservoir near the “P” until the failed pump is back in service, Lazier said. The second pump is expected to be restored by Tuesday, Nov. 19, according to the campus-wide email. While the repairs are being made, all landscape irrigation systems will be shutoff. Water needed for critical agriculture operations will still be available. In the event more water is used than expected while repairs are being made, the on-campus water supply would simply be less than desired, Lazier said.
NEWS
“[The Faculty Affairs Committee] wants to be really clear about meeting the needs of the student,” Faculty Affairs Committee chair and philosophy professor Kenneth Brown said. The proposal also states the format of office hours must be congru-
ent with the mode of teaching. For example, a professor could hold office hours on a video conference instead of in-person for online classes. Colleges may also assign office hours to advising functions. The Academic Senate Faculty Affairs Committee has representatives from each college, the library, professional consultative services, Academic Affairs and student representatives from Associated Students, Inc (ASI). In 2018, an office hour task force proposed an update to the office hour policy, but the policy was rejected. Brown was on the Academic Senate Committee when the policy was proposed. The policy was rejected because there were no definite time requirements for the number of office hours faculty should hold,
A leaky pump at one on-campus reservoir leaves Cal Poly struggling to reduce water as repairs are made.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
Tenure-track professors may gain an extra hour each week as an Academic Senate resolution seeks to update the existing office hours policy. The existing policy has been used since the 1980s. While the existing policy is more ambiguous, the resolution defines the exact number of office hours faculty members must hold. Whereas full-time faculty were previously mandated to hold five office hours each week, the resolution would only requires four hours. The number of office hours is dependent on the number of instructional hours. The existing policy does not consider online communication or email, according to the resolution. The resolution also notes the previ-
ous policy was created when faculty taught more classes (4-5 per term) than they do now (2-4 per term).
AUSTIN LINTHICUM | MUSTANG NEWS
MUSTANG NEWS
PROPOSAL WOULD REDUCE OFFICE HOURS REQUIREMENT
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CSU ADMISSIONS PROPOSAL COULD REQUIRE ONE MORE MATH CLASS
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS PROPOSE STENNER CREEK TUNNEL RESTORATION
NEWS
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
BY LAUREN WALIKE
The California State University (CSU) is considering requiring applicants to take an additional course in quantitative reasoning in high school, but critics say it would disproportionately affect underrepresented student populations. Currently, the CSU only requires incoming students to have a minimum of three years of math. The proposed requirement would mean high school students, beginning with the freshman class of 2026, would need to complete an additional quantitative reasoning course to be eligible for CSU admission, according to the proposal. Students who complete three years of science — more than the required two years — would also satisfy the CSU quantitative reasoning requirement. “During the development of this proposal, the CSU has maintained a commitment to avoid placing an undue hardship on students who are unable to fulfill the new requirement because of limited course offerings in their high school,” the proposal read. However, the California State Student Association (CSSA), comprised of delegates from all 23 CSU campuses, unanimously passed a letter of opposition to the proposal Oct. 20. Associated Students Inc. President Mark Borges said one of the main concerns was that the workload to meet the new requirement would fall on the California State School System. “There was no plan as to how we would help school districts along the process of ensuring they can meet this requirement,” Borges said. According to Borges, if low-income school districts were not able to meet the new requirements, it would create barriers to student’s success. The requirement would also shift focus away from liberal arts courses. “If we need an additional faculty member in the STEM fields, that’s going to pull funding away from, say, theater or art,” Borges said. Although Borges is in opposition to the proposed requirement, Cal Poly is the most selective CSU campus and would likely be not feel the effects of the proposed change. “It wouldn’t impact [Cal Poly’s] admissions too much because we already recommend a fourth year of solely math not just looking at quantitative reasoning,” Borges said. The CSU Board of Trustees will vote on the quantitative reasoning proposal at a meeting November 19-20.
SOFIA CLARK | MUSTANG NEWS
The tunnel is located beneath the train tracks on the corner of Foothill and California.
BY LAUREN WALKIE
Underneath the railroad tracks that run parallel to California Street, a passage used by many students to get to Cal Poly is teeming with trash-saturated, murky water and a unique stench. However, the Cal Poly Democrats and fraternity Alpha Gamma Rho are teaming up for a solution. Although there are no known reports of sexual assault in the passageway, it is often refereed to among students as “the rape tunnel.” But the tunnel is not a tunnel at all, according to Aaron Anderson from the City of San Luis Obispo’s Street Maintenance Program.
“It’s a creek,” Anderson said. “It was never engineered for people to cross.” However, students have made haphazard paths to cross anyway. “I definitely don’t like to go through the tunnel because it’s scary at night and never clean, but it’s the quickest way,” animal science sophomore Marie-Claire Lamoureux said. Currently, the only way to cross the murky water is by student-built structures that are constantly on the verge of collapse. “It disgusting, that’s the best way to characterize it,” political science junior Ian Levy said. And Levy, the treasurer of the Cal Poly Democrats, said he and other
students are working to change that. On Nov. 4, the Cal Poly Democrats club teamed up with AGR to begin planning a semi-permanent, non-invasive bridge to make the tunnel more accessible for students. Levy said his vision for the bridge “isn’t luxurious – it’s just better.” He said he pictures a clean, flat surface without cinder blocks, cracked wood or planks that students have to hop across – something that can last for a year or two. He said AGR members suggested lining the tunnel with reflective tape to provide lighting as well. “We just figured it could be better, and why not make everyone’s life easier?” Levy said.
Levy said he wants to build a bridge without overstepping boundaries with the city, because as Anderson said, it was not built with the intention to cross. “We know that the city’s not going to fix this problem,” Levy said. “When you bring it up to the city there’s going to be bureaucracy, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It just means that it’s going to take time.” If the city asks him to remove the bridge, Levy said he would, with the condition that the city puts something to replace it. Security only watches over the grounds Thursdays through Sundays, according to Brian Oliva-Hagerty, owner and operator of Spector Security which watches over the Stenner Creek Apartments. Anderson said people who are homeless sometimes camp under the tracks and recommended students not use the passageway at night. “Always travel in packs,” Oliva-Hagerty said. “And if students must venture through the tunnel alone, they can call someone on the phone until they’re in the clear.” Levy said he hopes to complete the project in the next two to four weeks. Funding for the bridge will come directly from the Cal Poly Democrats club, a budget that Levy oversees. “We figured ‘Hey, we have the money to fund this project,’” Levy said. “I’d rather see us spending money that makes a difference than just holding it for no reason.”
CIE ANNOUNCES THREE NEW ELEVATOR PITCH COMPETITION WINNERS BY ETHAN TELLES
Three developing student businesses now have money to launch their companies as winners of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s (CIE) Elevator Pitch Competition. On Monday, Nov. 4, the 10th annual Elevator Pitch Competition awarded three startups grants of up to $1,000 to launch their company. “We support the promotion of startup businesses in Cal Poly and the entire [San Luis Obispo] community,” CIE event coordinator intern Olivia Van Hoy said. “We provide a support system [with] multiple workshops, workspaces and mentorships.” Each of 10 finalists had 90 seconds to pitch their business to four judges and a crowd.
Business administration freshmen Alexandra Joelson was a first place winner with company Intego Sportswear. Her pitch involved a silicone like mold that covers the bottom of any pair of cleats to prevent wear and tear on the pegs that comes from walking on asphalt, Joelson said. She said her vision was spurred from 15 years of experience in soccer with the “frustration of constantly lugging around an extra pair of shoes,” Joelson said. Second place went to an Alan Hancock College student Tyler Little, the CEO of Jupiter Wrenches. Little’s pitch was to create a wireless, trackable toolbox that allows for rechargeable and automatic tools. “We’ve all had that situation where we’ve tried to get a bolt or a nut out
and when it doesn’t work for us we wreck our knuckles, which I have done countless times,” Little said. “Or, we just get frustrated and angry and walk away from the situation.” The audience choice award went to biomedical engineering junior Clara Brechtel, the co-founder of Connection Devices. The company is creating a wearable device to help therapists tailor therapy to individual patients based on the patient’s activity, Brechtel said. This device will speed up recovery and make therapy a lot more efficient as information will be automatically submitted to databases in physical therapy labs, according to Brechtel. The competition was judged by Glenn Burdette Accounting Principal Mical Bovee, Wells Fargo District Manager Mark Corella, at-
torney Dallas Mosier and SESLOC Federal Credit Union Vice President Ken Long. Participants were judged based on level of engagement, knowledge and call to action. This year’s keynote speaker was former pitch competition winner and alumnus Haley Pavone. Pavone is the CEO of Pashion Footwear, a fashion tech startup that has created the world’s first convertible heel. Her business is now three years into the making and has developed her innovative product’s technology, secured patent-pending status in 30 countries, executed the first round of production and raised more than $1.7 million dollars in seed funding, according to the CIE. “We started with this exact event,” Pavone said. “We won $1,500 here, which was fantastic.”
PEGGY PAPATHAKIS | COURTESY
Nutrition professor Peggy Papathakis studies nutrition in developing countries and to provide students with a global perspective of nutrition in class and in the field.
PROFESSOR SPENDS 10 MONTHS IN AFRICA RESEARCHING MALNUTRITION abeth Central Hospital in Blantyre approximately three times a week, working mainly in the burn unit and kitchen. The burn unit has, on average, 15 patients of different ages. Burn accidents are common in Malawi — appliances like stoves and ovens are unavailable in rural villages. Open fire pits and bonfires are commonly used to cook meals and provide heat. The hospital kitchen lacks tools to improve nutrition for patients in the hospital and does not have a functional stove or refrigerator. This is a big issue because Papathakise said the foundation of wound healing is centered around proper diet and nutrition. “I always ask myself ‘How I can use what is here to help improve nutrition?’” Papathakise said. “I have made up a formula to give as tube feedings, otherwise it’s porridge going down the tube.” Papathakis said the hospital does not have high quality food. Donations are provided through non-profit organizations like the United
NEWS
food to feed themselves and their family,” Papathakis said. There is a fee for secondary school and the need to purchase supplies, which is expensive for many households. The lack of clinical nutrition experts and registered dietitians is also a leading contributor to malnutrition in Malawi. There are currently only 8 dietitians in Malawi. Papathakis is one of them. “When I worked in U.C. Davis [Medical Center], I was at a hospital with 350 beds and there were 23 dietitians there,” Papathakis said. “[This hospital] has 1,000 beds and there’s no dietitians.” With a population of 18.62 million people, there is one dietician per 2.5 million people. To help increase the number of dietitians and nutritionists, part of Papathakis’ research involves developing syllabi for courses that will be taught in Malawi after she returns to the U.S. Besides working with the college, Papathakis also visits Queen Eliz-
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
A 10-year-old boy arrived at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital with severe burns on his face. His lips were scorched off and was blinded. Over the weekend, the hospital staff pitched in to buy medicine for the family. On Monday morning, nurses discover that the boy is dead. This was just one of the many cases that nutrition professor Peggy Papathakis dealt with during her 10 months in Malawi, Africa. Located in southeastern Africa, Malawi is known as “the warm heart of Africa” for its kind-hearted and friendly people, Papathakis said. Malawi is also one of the poorest countries in the world, with 50.7 percent of the population living under the poverty line, according to a 2017 International Monetary Fund report. Since coming to Cal Poly in 2006, Papathakis has sought to build nutrition research in developing countries and to provide students with a global perspective of nutrition in class and in the field, she said.
Papathakis helped send more than 30 students to Malawi to volunteer at community clinics. Her previous research studies were focused on developing methods to increase the nutritional intake of pregnant women. In 2018, Papathakis received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to spend 10 months in Malawi. She found that there was a need to improve nutrition education and worked with professors at The University of Malawi College of Medicine in Blantyre. A 2018 report found 37 percent of children under age five in Malawi are stunted and 12 percent are underweight, according to the Malawi National Statistical Office. The economy of Malawi is largely agricultural with many families practicing monocropping, mainly depending on corn. Combined with severe climate catastrophes, Malawi continues to be susceptible to malnutrition. “Families have to trade off between selling produce to allow their children to go to school, or using the
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MUSTANG NEWS
BY CHRISTINE LEE
Nations Children’s Fund, but these donations come sporadically. When there is a lack of donations, Papathakis gives patients ready-touse therapeutic food (RUTF), a dietary supplement used for feeding malnourished children. That is where some of the Cal Poly students currently in Malawi come in. Cal Poly graduate students Emma Scudero and Natasha Wright are working with Project Peanut Butter in Malawi to study maternal and child nutrition and to screen for children who may be eligible for the study. Project Peanut Butter’s research in Malawi is focused on developing an RUTF that will maximize a child’s neurocognitive development. The “peanut butter” is made of peanut paste, brown sugar, powdered milk, vegetable oil and added vitamins and minerals, according to Project Peanut Butter. The Project Peanut Butter began in 1999 when Dr. Mark Manary, a pediatrician and professor, spent 10 weeks in Malawi to understand what type of therapeutic food was most effective for its inhabitants. Project Peanut Butter was officially founded in 2004 and continues research and relief work in Malawi, Ghana and Sierra Leone. The team in Malawi is currently researching ways for children to reach a higher recovery rate from malnutrition, according to Scudero. Currently, malnourished children who use RUTF have a 75 to 95 percent recovery rate. A typical day for Scudero and Wright begins at 5 a.m., preparing to visit clinics throughout the day. Drivers will pick them up, along with other research assistants and nurses. The drive to these clinics can take up to three hours. They screen children and check their feet for edema — the swelling of limbs from low protein levels — and measure their arm circumference before deciding if the children are eligible for the study. Even if children are not eligible for the study, the team still searches for ways to help the family, said Wright. Papathakis concluded her trip at the end of October and said she plans to return to Cal Poly to continue teaching. She said she e hopes to have set a path for further education of nutrition in Malawi and that the hospital will finally receive the resources needed to serve the community. Her hope for the future of Malawi is that the country will be more self-sustaining, she said. By developing a curriculum with the College of Medicine, her goal is to equip future nutrition professionals to share their knowledge in communities and hospitals. “I’ll find a way to stay connected here,” Papathakis said. “I don’t know what that is yet, but I definitely want to keep the Cal Poly connection going.”
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CELEBRATING FIRST GENERATION STUDENTS Cal Poly hosted an inaugural first-gen student event
CAROLINE SILVA | MUSTANG NEWS
Director of the TRIO Achievers Ethny Stewart talks with students as they check into the inaugural First Generation Celebration event.
BY C.M BATEMAN
Cal Poly celebrated first-generation students on Nov. 8 at the inaugural celebration for first-gen students on campus. “We have a lot of things that are kind of against us and it’s kind of hard to even go to a four-year university or any higher education in that case,” political science soph-
omore Adrian Torres said. “To be first-gen is a really great thing because you’re kind of breaking down that barrier and you get to go on to higher education regardless of all the hardships that you’ve had.” Dawin Whiten, an academic advisor with the Mustang Success Center, said the Center for First-generation Student Success was encouraging colleges and universities nation-
wide to participate in celebrating first-gen students. “I was wondering, you know, why doesn’t Cal Poly do something like that to honor first-gen students and provide an opportunity for them to interact with other students, faculty and staff that identify as first-gen,” Whiten said. The celebration was organized by Whiten, Ethny Stewart and Nelit-
za Morales of TRIO Achievers, Kari Howell of Cal Poly Scholars and Ana Cabezas of Campus Health and Wellbeing. The committee worked closely with counselors and the Educational Opportunity Program office to make the event possible. “I myself am a first generation student,” Howell said. “And I just love the idea that we can celebrate first-gen [students] and provide some additional resources and love and support for an invisible facet of diversity.” The event featured several resource booths of campus programs or accommodations, many which focus on helping students who identify as first-gen. Programs like TRIO Achievers, the Mustang Success Center, Cal Poly Career Connections, the Dream Center, CalFresh and the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority and Underrepresented Student Participation in STEM (LSAMP) program set up booths around the University Union plaza. There was also a postcard writing station for students to send a “thank you” message to a supporter and a check-in booth with first-gen swag. “People shouldn’t think that we’re just like these needy students, we actually do need these things be-
cause we lack certain aspects that normal students do have,” biochemistry senior and TRIO achiever Ashley Calloway said.
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You’re kind of breaking down that barrier and you get to go on to higher education regardless of all the hardships that you’ve had. —ADRIAN TORRES
Throughout the three hours of the event, students were given pamphlets detailing resources available to them on campus and interacted with other first-gen students attending the celebration. “I think it’s important to have celebrations like these because it really brings the community of first generation students together and just helps everyone meet people just like them, and not thinking you’re the only one who did it,” sociology freshman Daniel Vizcarra said.
STUDENTS LEARN IN A ‘PLAY-BASED ENVIRONMENT’
Child development students gain teaching experience firsthand
STUDENT LIFE
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
BY EMILY GASSAWAY
Cal Poly is more than a place of learning for college-aged students and adults, even preschoolers come to this campus to learn. At the Preschool Learning Lab, located in the Math and Science building, Patty Clarkson curates a learning experience where both Cal Poly students and preschool-aged children can learn in an environment that supports a natural learning process. “A focal point of the Preschool Learning Lab curriculum is to offer innovative inquiry-based learning experiences that support children’s natural interest and engagement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM),” the Preschool Learning Lab’s website reads. Not only do children come to the preschool lab for exemplary education, but child development students are given a hands on experience. “[Students] enrich their understandings of children’s development, early childhood educational practices, and the integration of research, theory and practice under the guidance of a highly qualified and experienced teaching team,” Clarkson wrote in an email to Mustang News. Child development sophomore
Kaitlin Tabor said students learn about different approaches to education in the lab. “We look at the constructivist approach when working with children,” Tabor said. “We have a whole checklist of things that a constructivist classroom should look like and we have to develop an action plan of how we’re going to implement that in a classroom. So whether that be helping kids learn how to do problem solving, experience empathy and cooperation or increasing their vocabulary in terms of STEM, we have to come up with a plan of how we’re going to naturally implement that in a classroom.” Learning how to take early education theories and implement them is especially useful to students pursuing careers in a classroom setting like child development senior Zoe Phipps who said she hopes to be a special education teacher. “It’s definitely made me more confident in what I think I know about child development,” Phipps said. “It’s one thing to learn about how preschoolers learn or how kids learn and their curiosity and even impulse control, but to see it and to work with it hands-on for an entire quarter really solidifies what I’ve been learning.” Phipps said her experience in the
preschool lab taught her how to be flexible. “Learning to be accepting and understanding of kids whether they have a disability or really anything, to be ready to work with that and work with the parents and what they expect from you ... was one of the biggest takeaways I had from that class,” Phipps said.
Learning to be accepting and understanding of kids whether they have a disability or really anything, to be ready to work with that and work with the parents and what they expect from you ... was one of the biggest takeaways I had from that class. — ZOE PHIPPS
Child Development senior Skyler Gin said child development students are intentionally building their in-
teractions with the children through experiences the kids are interested in and at their own developmental level. The students have to observe the children over-time, learning what interests them to effectively facilitate growth. “The learning isn’t structured, it’s more so based on what the children want to learn in the lab, in the environment and how that affects them,” Gin said. Clarkson said the natural learning process used at the preschool lab goes hand in hand with STEM because it supports risk taking, creativity and inquiry-based questions. “If we’re teaching kids to be curious, to ask questions to wonder about the world and to see things with the lens of ‘I want to know more about that, I don’t know about that now, but I will eventually learn about that soon,’ that’s when they develop the growth mindset, that you will learn more, you can learn more, that there are no limits on what you can learn,” child development sophomore Kaitlin Tabor said. “I think that’s why it’s important at a very young age to start teaching them about being curious because then they’re not going to be afraid to ask questions and put in that effort when they’re older.”
The Preschool Lab class is about learning on all levels, whether that be the Cal Poly students learning from the children, the children learning from the students, or the students learning from the faculty. “This is a reciprocal process … children and college students learn from each other,” Clarkson said. “College students learn how to ask effective open-ended questions to promote critical thinking and understanding of concepts, much like their own learning is facilitated in this class.” The learning that occurs in this class can extend beyond the classroom as well. Children have a vastly different outlook on life than adults do, having not had the same amount of experience with life as adults have. The children in the lab have provided the students and faculty who work with them valuable personal takeaways. “My favorite thing about working with kids is their childlike wonder and that’s why I love working with them because as we grow up and as we get older we tend to take things in the world for granted,” Tabor said. “It really reminds me to be young again and to see things with new and fresh wonder of just how beautiful this life and this world is.”
Arab music ensemble
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KEN HABIB, director | JENNA MITCHELL, dance director
Critically acclaimed guest artists will join the ensemble: Fathi Aljarrah on kamanja (Arabic violin), and Faisal Zedan on riqq (tambourine), daff (frame drum), and darabukka (goblet drum). Both musicians were raised in Syria performing the types of music on the program, and are currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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7:30 P.M. SATURDAY, SPANOS THEATRE TICKETS: $9 STUDENTS, $14 GENERAL 805-756-4849, tickets.calpoly.edu For more information, call 805-756-2406 or visit music.calpoly.edu/calendar/.
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PRÓXIMA PARADA COMES HOME
ANDY SHERAR | MUSTANG NEWS
Próxmia Parada recently finished a country wide tour.
Local band Próxima Parada returned to SLO Brew Rock with new album
ANDY SHERAR | MUSTANG NEWS
Próxima Parada took over SLO Brew on Nov. 9 to announce the release of their new album.
ARTS
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
BY JAKOB MCQUADE
Local band Próxima Parada is constantly moving forward. They started playing a new genre of music, moved out of the house with the porch they used to stomp on, lost and gained essential band mates and woke up in different beds for the better part of the year. “When Bryson left, I mean, we weren’t even sure if we could keep the band going because he wrote half the songs,” frontman Nick Larson said. “That’s a huge hit.” But there are still some constants in their lives, like Linnaea’s Cafe. The second show that Próxima Parada ever played was at Linnaea’s Cafe in San Luis Obispo. Their first interview with Mustang News took place in the same courtyard. A few years later, they sat at the same cafe
with Mustang News when founder Bryson Bailey left the band for personal reasons. The band is comprised of Cal Poly alumni. Despite spending the majority of their time in places foreign to them, they said San Luis Obispo is the one that they call home. “I was a pretty introverted kid and I feel like I did a lot of personal growing here that I didn’t do in high school — a lot of personal milestones,” Kroeger said. “Even though I didn’t grow up here, there’s a lot that ties me to [San Luis Obispo].” Larson sat across from one of the newer members of the crew, Aaron Kroeger. They just returned to San Luis Obispo after crossing the country for their latest album, Kind Reminder. This was their first album that had been backed by the support of a record label, AntiFragile Music.
“To go from that to releasing Big Seven, which was the first album where people around the world are listening to our music,” Larson said. “Now, we have this record deal, we have a booking agent, we’re doing this touring around the country. Full time. I can’t believe that we pushed through that.” Together, Larson and Kroeger explained the techniques tey have been learning on the road — they refered to it as “leveling up.” Though Kroeger spent time in school-affiliated jazz combos or attending the weekly Linnaea’s jazz jams, neither he nor Larson studied music in school. “I didn’t play music until I came to college. This is where I learned how to play music: San Luis Obispo. That’s pretty crazy,” Larson said. “San Luis Obispo is where I’ve written al-
most every song that I’ve written.” Larson studied physical therapy in college. After graduating with a kinesiology degree and a career-worthy GPA, he said he began to question the path he had slated for himself. Soon after walking with a cap and gown, Larson said Próxima Parada picked up in intensity, and he said a fully produced EP and more live performances inspired him to reconsider. “I started feeling like, ‘Oh, this is actually not a hobby. This is a calling,’” Larson said. “This feels like my truest self is being expressed here. So, little by little, I was finding ways to stay here in San Luis Obispo to stay with the band.” Fast forward a few years, and their tracks have received over a million plays on Spotify. Próxima Parada performed Nov.
ARTS STUDENTS LAND OPPORTUNITIES WITH “ARTSTAGRAMS”
Sushi shop hangs student’s art after discovering her Instagram account BY OLIVIA MEIS
Local artists head to events like Art After Dark to display their work once a month for the public to see. But Cal Poly students are taking to Instagram to grow their network, community and artistic confidence – and for a select few, even their resume. “Artstagrams” are a tool to network and sell artwork for students like art and design sophomore Lauryn Sugai. Sugai began sharing her work on her “Artstagram,” @laurynsugaiart, in 2018 after a professor encouraged her to try reaching a broader audience.
Since then, Sugai said she has received messages from students hoping to commission work and brands such as Kate Spade. According to Sugai, her instagram landed her artwork a place to display at Kuma, a Los Osos sushi and ramen restaurant. She said the opportunity has been her most exciting and humbling chance to date. “This is a huge opportunity,” Sugai said. “One hears about networking opportunities, but the fact that he saw my pictures and reached out was really amazing.” As an artist himself, Kuma’s Kitchen Manager Jerry Appling said that he
and his boss, Brian Englund, wanted to show appreciation for the talent of the San Luis Obispo community. “A piece of art can move a person in ways they can’t articulate,” Appling said. “We [at Kuma] respect the power of art and want to have that represented in our vibe at Kuma for all to see.” Art and design sophomore Olivia Andersson is concentrating in studio art said that her “Artstagram” helped her grow more comfortable with the vulnerability of sharing her art with an audience. “Since having this account, I’ve felt so happy showing my art to the world no matter what size the community
of viewers is,” Andersson said. “It’s helped me form a kind of portfolio and guide me in discovering my own style and aesthetic as an art student.” Andersson said she also uses her art account for bonding with fellow artists at Cal Poly and around the globe. “This account shows me how each artist’s work is so incredibly different from my own and inspires me to explore new realms of the art world,” Andersson said. “It keeps me connected with the bigger picture and with my classmates who also have accounts.” Anderssson described her account
9 at SLO Brew Rock. Both SLO Brew Rock and Próxima Parada once considered the very same street — Garden St. — as their home before expanding and relocating, providing an almost poetic parallel to one another. The band members said San Luis Obispo is their favorite place to perform. Instead of fighting for the crowd’s attention, Larson and Kroeger said they can just have fun. They said are playing with the home-court advantage. “We get our Cal Poly family there, too,” Larson said. “They bring such good energy. I always love when the college kids come fired up.” When Larson performs, his beaming smile demands the attention a frontman deserves. His joy is, according to himself, contagious. “A lot of the smiles come from just like gratitude. Like, holy shit,” Larson said. “I can’t believe that this moment has finally arrived. All the effort that went into it. It’s like, ‘It’s happening.’ It’s like a wedding day or something. Wow. Whoa, our wedding day’s here. I can’t believe I’m so happy.”
as her own exhibit to curate herself, similarly to how art and design junior Kat Schroeder put it. “I realized I needed an online presence and an easy way to show people my portfolio, and Instagram was a free space with a built-in audience,” Schroeder said. “[It] lets me see how others are creating and marketing their art, lets me ask questions and give advice, provides a sense of community and gives me a lot of inspiration for my own work.” Art and design students said their social media presence are ways to document and motivate artistic processes. “No matter where you go to school, even if you’re at an art school, it’s very difficult to enter into a field that is so saturated with work,” Sugai said. “Everyone can make art, so it’s really difficult trying to make yourself stand out.”
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PUZZLES & HOROSCOPES
CLUES ACROSS 1. Shelter for pigeons 5. Popular lit genre _ _-fi 8. Used to harvest agave 11. Wintertime accessory 13. “Gandalf” actor McKellen 14. Taxis 15. Political plot 16. Public television 17. Nigerian ethnic group 18. Informal loan clubs 20. “Wheel of Fortune” host 21. C C C 22. North, South and Central make them up 25. In an early way 30. Lied down in rest 31. Female hip-hop trio 32. Improves 33. Genus of mackerel sharks 38. Electronic countermeasures 41. Emerging 43. Balkan body of water 45. A type of delivery 47. Ancient kingdom near Dead Sea 49. Title given to a monk 50. Partner to “oohed” 55. “Luther” actor Idris 56. Supporting pin (nautical) 57. Golden peas plant 59. One point north of northeast 60. Unit of measurement 61. Where clothes hang
62. Opposite of night 63. A way to change color 64. Korean independence proponent Syngman CLUES DOWN 1. Reciprocal of sine 2. Political organization 3. Defunct funk record label 4. Geological times 5. One who drinks slowly 6. Nightclub entertainment 7. Establish in one’s mind 8. Restaurants 9. Off-Broadway theater award 10. Requests 12. You don’t watch to catch it 14. Intestinal pouches 19. Satisfy 23. Wet dirt 24. Regularly repeated 25. Before 26. The color of Valentine’s Day 27. Indicates near 28. Bon _ _: witty remark 29. One’s holdings 34. Request 35. Prefix meaning “badly” 36. Midway between north and northeast 37. Ottoman military title 39. Teased 40. Happily 41. Pie _ _ _ mode
*See answers at mustangnews.net/games-answers/
42. Mars crater 44. Sports TV personality 45. Taxi driver 46. Abba _ _, Israeli politician 47. The sick are sometimes on it 48. Relating to olives 51. Swiss river 52. Grayish white 53. A way to engrave 54. Where Coach K. works 58. Midway between south and southeast
ARIES – March 21/April 20 Aries, you may have to make your own opportunities rather than waiting for some to fall in your lap. Only then can you prove to others what you’re worth. TAURUS – April 21/May 21 Few things rustle your feathers, Taurus. But when your ire is up, take a step back to collect yourself. Use the latter half of the week to get things back in order. GEMINI – May 22/June 21 It may take a few steps in the wrong direction to realize you need to change course, Gemini. But smooth sailing will soon prevail. Stay the course. CANCER – June 22/July 22 Cancer, with many new changes happening in your life, you may be wishing for the familiarity of things you once had. Revisit photo albums or talk to old friends for nostalgia. LEO – July 23/Aug. 23 Leo, when you take a stand, others are sure to take notice at what you have to say. You have the kind of magnetism and presence to garner the attention and support of others. VIRGO – Aug. 24/Sept. 22 Work-related stress may not go away entirely, but you can find a way to reduce it, Virgo. Indulge in a long lunch with coworkers or take a much-needed day off to clear your mind.
LIBRA – Sept. 23/Oct. 23 It may take some extra motivation for you to get moving on a project at home, Libra. But once the momentum takes hold, it will be smooth sailing for several days. SCORPIO – Oct. 24/Nov. 22 Many times it is not what you say but what you do not say that has the most impact, Scorpio. Consider your words carefully before speaking up. SAGITTARIUS – Nov. 23/Dec. 21 Managing a household can be just as important as keeping your professional life running smoothly, Sagittarius. Give yourself a pat on the back if you’re accomplishing both. CAPRICORN – Dec. 22/Jan. 20 A vacation may be just what the doctor ordered, Capricorn. Begin researching destinations now and figure out the best way to finance a trip to get away and soak up the sun. AQUARIUS – Jan. 21/Feb. 18 A change of scenery may do you some good in the days ahead, Aquarius. See if you can fit in an extended weekend to clear your mind. PISCES – Feb. 19/March 20 Pisces, put some thought into the fun activities you can do with others. Organize a night out on the town with friends.
ALL GENDER IS A PREFERENCE
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It is time to correct how we talk about pronouns
Tessa Hughes is a journalism sophomore and Mustang News columnist. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang News. “I am Tessa Hughes and my pronouns are she, her, hers.” This is how I was told to introduce myself during my Week of Welcome (WOW) orientation leader training. We were taught this as a way to cultivate a safe space for incoming students. This way, right off the bat, the gender of the student would be known, never assumed. Going through WOW training, I understood why it was so important to use our gender pronouns when introducing ourselves and others, especially for students coming to a school notorious for being not so inclusive. I appreciated that the topic was being covered, but what got me is how we covered the terminology behind preferred gender pronouns.
By putting preferred in front of something inherently subjective (and thus preferred to begin with) is not only redundant, but invalidating to the individual. What we were discussing were gender pronouns. Yes, they were the pronouns people preferred to be called, but at the root of it, they were just pronouns. By adding the word “preferred” in front of the phrase, it felt as if something was being stripped away or invalidated. It felt like we were questioning the individual’s pronouns, as if we were saying, “We acknowledge the gender you prefer to go by, and we will call you by that. However that is not your actual gender, just your preferred gender.” The concept of preferred gender pronouns has always been around, however, it hasn’t always taken the form it does today. In 2012 gsafe (Gay-Straight Alliance for Safe Schools) updated their definition of the phrase “preferred gender pro-
nouns” to include pronouns outside of just feminine and masculine ones. I feel like that is when the preferred gender pronoun movement started to really gain traction. As I got older it was easy for me to grasp the concept as a whole, but no matter how it was introduced it was always preferred gender pronouns. Back in 2012, I understand the use of the phrase preferred gender pronouns. It was introduced during a time where gay marriage wasn’t even legalized, so the entire concept of identifying as a gender that does not match one’s born sex was difficult for some to grasp. Even though it has only been seven years since gsafe updated what it means to have preferred gender pronouns, I feel like the older generations have been able to wrap their minds around the idea that a person’s gender identity can be different than their born sex, and the term preferred gender pronouns was just a bridge between generations to
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES ARE ILLEGIBLE The city’s illegible street sign font needs to change BY JACK SEMANCIK
Prior to the subcommittee’s recommendations, city street name signs used a sans-serif font called Series E, which is extremely similar to Arial. In certain parts of San Luis Obispo you can still see remnant signs from this period, such as at the intersection of Craig Way and Patricia Drive, which feature a brown background paired with a white, Series E font. Ultimately, the subcommittee was split between sticking with the Series E font or adopting Libra – the Gaelic typeface that was, prior to the design standards, primarily used as the letterhead font for the city. The idea for adopting Libra was championed as maintaining the consistency of the city’s brand. On July 17, 2001, after slightly reducing the height standard for the street signs, the project was opened to bids. So that answers the when and why. This begs another question: “is the current design of the street signs achieving the design standards’ goals?” If the goal was to make consistent the city’s brand identity, then I’d say the design standards are successful. If, on the other hand, the goal was to design an easily legible sign, then the standards are an abject failure. Gaelic fonts are hardly readable when they’re printed on the cover of the Lord of the Rings, let alone when they’re speeding towards you on a brown signboard at night. For me, the reason the font is so illegible is its varying letter cases. This
is only compounded by the lacking visibility of brown street signs at night, against buildings and even against landscapes. Although they are certainly unique to San Luis Obispo, our ill-designed signs should not be something for which we as a city are known. Any charm they have is outweighed by the burden they place on pedestrians and drivers. San Luis Obispo has left me waiting for a sign – a legible one.
OPINION
notion in the air that people are not identifying themselves correctly. In order to completely erase this stigma, gender pronouns need to be taught just like that: gender pronouns. Not preferred gender pronouns. Gender pronouns are not a preference but an identification, so they should be treated and respected as such. Gender pronouns are what people are, not what they are merely choosing to be, and to drop that perception, we need to drop the preferred.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
I’ve lived in San Luis Obispo for two years – a lifetime in student-years – and one thing has always perplexed me: street signs. What began as a slight animosity for their design has gradually transformed into a hardy resentment. Now, I’m not just saying that the street signs are ugly, although that is also true. I find that the current street sign design obstructs their legibility – something that should not be the case for an object whose sole purpose is to identify roads. So why would someone in their right mind choose to place a white Gaelic font over a brown background? I began my investigation on the street corner outside my house. Staring at the brash typeface left me with a sense of confusion and frustration. I knew that there must be more to it than meets the eye. I searched through the municipal codes. Hours and hours of trawling public records resulted in a fried
ine that until the lifespan of the signs is reached, any thoughts of changing the font will be deferred,” she wrote in an email to Mustang News. “With so many pressing challenges, this just isn’t going to get to the top of the list soon.” I still needed to find out why. I turned up at the doorstep of the History Center of San Luis Obispo. After a wholly engaging discussion with the incredibly knowledgeable staff there, I knew what I needed to do. I reached out to the City’s Public Works Department. With a single email, the Public Works Department of the city of San Luis Obispo resolved the question that had been on my mind for years: why? Apparently, our current street sign design conundrum began in 1997, when the San Luis Obispo City Council received a letter from a visitor. Although this visitor stated he enjoyed his time in San Luis Obispo, he was frustrated by the lack of proper street signage. Thus, the city council sprang into action, establishing a subcommittee to create new design standards on March 2, 1999. When the subcommittee gave its recommendations on April 18, 2000, it was nearly unanimous – until it came to the font.
make the concept easier to process. Newer generations can comprehend why a person’s pronouns are what they are, not just what they “prefer to be called.” Yet there I was, sitting on a cold hardwood floor being lectured on preferred gender pronouns. I am a part of the generation that understands the importance, so using the phrase preferred gender pronouns feels belittling to many people, and frankly dated. By still using that phrasing instead of just gender pronouns, it leaves the old-fashioned
MUSTANG NEWS
Jack Semancik is a political science junior and Mustang News columnist. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang News.
computer battery and a lessened desire to go to law school. San Luis Obispo Municipal Code § 12.32.120 only requires the sign be readable, and does not designate a color palette for street signs. I was still without any leads. Maybe you, wise reader, are thinking to yourself, “What about the county? Perhaps the county sets that standard!” Nope. The San Luis Obispo County’s brand identity style guide doesn’t specify any design for the street signs. A phone call to the County’s Public Works Department confirmed that they do not manage the street signs in the City of San Luis Obispo. I was at my wits end. Just as I was about to resign from the case, a lead sunk its teeth into me, like a cat in the dead of night. I decided to reach out to City Hall. Apparently, I was not alone in my belief about the signs. City Council Member Carlyn Christianson told me that, while many in the community find the signs to be charming, she finds the signs difficult to read. Still, Christianson remains clearheaded about the signs. “Unfortunately, it costs a lot of time and money to replace street and other signage, so I would imag-
SOLENA AGUILAR | MUSTANG NEWS
SAMANTHA SHIN | MUSTANG NEWS
BY TESSA HUGHES
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VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS UC SANTA BARBARA TO EXTEND HOME WINNING STREAK TO 30 MATCHES
ANDY SHERAR | MUSTANG NEWS
Nikki Jackson (10) sets a ball during the Mustangs’ sweep over the Gauchos.
BY JACK CLARK
SPORTS
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
Cal Poly Volleyball extended their home winning streak to 30-straight games with an impressive sweep over rivals UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Nov. 9. inside Mott Athletics Center. The nation’s-best winning
KYLE CALZIA | MUSTANG NEWS
Maia Dvoracek (15) jumps for a kill.
streak was defended in front of a crowd of nearly 3,000 people, according to Cal Poly Athletics. “The Mott Magic is real,” head coach Caroline Walters said. “We’re fighting for a Big West Championship and for [the fans] to show up and have our backs, it definitely meant something tonight.” With the win, Cal Poly (17-7, 10-2 Big West) jumped UC Santa Barbara (19-4, 9-3 Big West) in the conference standings for sole possession of second-place. Hawai’i (21-3, 11-2 Big West) remain a half-game ahead of Cal Poly in first-place. Sophomore setter Avalon DeNecochea assisted the Mustangs’ initial three kills, which brought the first set’s score to 4-3. A kill from junior middle blocker Madilyn Mercer followed by back-to-back kills from senior outside hitter Jessica McRoskey pulled the Mustangs ahead to 7-4 as they began to take charge of the game. McRoskey went on to have a season-high performance, finishing 11 out of 14 attempted kills throughout the game. “Avalon was putting up some great sets and I knew I had five people right behind me covering for me, so I was just going for it and trusting that they had my back,” McRoskey said. The Mustangs went on to dominate the rest of the first set with a 13-8 run to bring the score to 20-12. The killstreak included three kills from junior outside hitter Maia Dvoracek and four from sophomore middle blocker
KYLE CALZIA | MUSTANG NEWS
Madilyn Mercer and Lea Ungar (4) embrace before the start of the rivalry match.
Meredith Philips. DeNecochea continued her consistent form and assisted the next five points to secure the first-set victory. The two teams traded points throughout the beginning of the second set until the score was tied at 9-9. The Mustangs eventually found their rhythm and went on an 8-3 scoring run to bring the set to 18-12. Three more kills from Dvoracek ended the second set for the Mustangs, who finished with a seven-kill lead at 25-18. “Our expectation was just that we worry about our side of the court and play good volleyball and keep to what we’ve been working on in training,” Dvoracek said. The final set started in favor of the Mustangs. A UC Santa Barbara service error followed by an attack error put Cal Poly at 2-0 within the opening minutes. McRoskey stepped up again and secured four out of the following nine kills to bring the set to 9-5. McRoskey went on to end the match with a .714 hitting percentage. “For an attacker in volleyball, that’s pretty unheard of,” Walters said. “[I am] pleased overall with [McRoskey’s] vision… her ability to take big swings even when the set wasn’t
perfect, so really good managing of the game overall by her.” DeNecochea and Dvoracek linked up four more times in the final set to bring the score to 21-17. The final set was DeNecochea’s best of the evening as she secured 13 assists. The setter assisted three of the final four kills, including the match-point
finished off by McRoskey. “Everything we do is for the team, Avalon said. “All the wins, all the work, it just really comes together on game-nights like these.” The Mustangs will be on the road for back-to-back games against CSUN on Friday, Nov. 15 and Long Beach State on Saturday, Nov. 16.
KYLE CALZIA | MUSTANG NEWS
Jessica McRoskey (12) smiles as she high fives teammate Mika Dickson (2).
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JOHN FA JARDO | COURTESY
The 2019 Men’s Cross Country team celebrate their title after outpacing second-place Cal State Fullerton by nine points.
in the history of the course. With the first-place finishes, Cal Poly now has 17 individual Big West titles and 40 all time individual titles. “Being able to balance academics and excel at their running at the same time means they’re headed towards great things in life, because they know how to achieve excellence,” Conover said. While Ritter was a standout in the men’s race, other members of the team had to step up. The team ran with seven runners, whereas most colleges had nine, because of injured runners, according to Conover. The seven runners were composed of five redshirt freshman — four of which finished in the top 16 out of 58 competitors.
Conover said he was pleased knowing his team worked as a unit. “This bodes well for not only the present, but for the future, obviously, since they’re so young,” Conover said. Postseason continues for the Mustangs in the NCAA West Regional Championships on Friday, Nov. 15 at Colfax Golf Club in Washington State. With the team looking onto nationals, Ritter said he feels prepared for the competition ahead. “I just keep telling myself, ‘It’s going to be difficult, but you are good enough ... all the training you’ve done leading up to this has prepared you well for Regionals.’” Ritter said.
JOHN FA JARDO | COURTESY
Junior runner Jake Ritter hoists his second consecutive individual conference title in the air.
COVER STORY
Cal Poly Cross Country continued to build upon its tradition of success on Saturday, Nov. 2 as Jake Ritter and Miranda Daschian repeated individual title wins at the Big West Conference Championships. In addition, the men’s team took home their fourth consecutive title win behind a 44-point finish on UC Riverside’s Ag-Ops Course. The feat of winning four Big West Titles in a row has been achieved only two other times in the history of the conference. The men’s title-win was Cal Poly’s 24th Big West Team Championship and 52nd team title overall. Cross Country head coach Mark
Conover expressed pride in his runners following the impressive showing, and said the win was a “testimony of hard work and dedication.” “All their hard work has been a true inspiration for me,” Conover said. “It brought tears to my eyes to watch them run so hard yesterday. It speaks volumes to honoring the Mustang Way, which is to honor those who came before them.” Daschian won the 6k with a time of 20 minutes and 20 seconds in route to the Women’s team’s third-place finish. Ritter’s 8k time of 23 minutes and 43 seconds outpaced the second-place runner, UC Santa Barbara junior Nick Randazzo, by a 42-second gap. Ritter’s time placed ninth
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
BY JORDANA GINSBERG
MUSTANG NEWS
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY WINS FOURTH CONSECUTIVE BIG WEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
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A PURE CONNECTOR
MIDFIELDER DIEGO ALONSO
KCPR PRESENTS
OPEN MIC
FREE FOOD AND ENTRY DIEGO RIVERA | MUSTANG NEWS
Diego Alonso (10) runs down the field with the ball close by during the Mustangs’ game against CSUN.
SPORTS
MUSTANG NEWS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019
BY ALYSSA TIERNEY
Men’s Soccer midfelder Diego Alonso did not let his circumstances keep him from pursuing his dream of becoming a professional soccer player. As a first generation student whose family immigrated from Mexico, higher education was not something Alonso considered until colleges began to recruit him in high school. Four years later, Alonso not only finished his collegiate soccer career as a captain, but as the backbone of Men’s Soccer’s midfield. “We all trust [Alonso] and we know that. Even if we win, even if we lose,” sophomore goalkeeper Carlos Arce-Hurtado said. “He’s always the first one to put the work in. We just follow him.” Alonso was born in Berkeley. Though he said he dreamed of being a soccer player as a child, he was not sure college would be an option. “You don’t see many low-income [athletes] going to a school like this and getting paid to go to school,” Alonso said. “It’s a huge blessing.” Alonso’s successful collegiate career started from the get-go. As a freshman, he started nine of 17 matches for the Mustangs. As a sophomore, Alonso started 17 of 18 matches, and as a co-captain junior year, he started all 15 matches as a vital component to the team’s midfield. During his sophomore year, Alonso’s team-leading five assists was ranked fifth in the Big West Conference among all players. “[Alonso] is truly gifted and, I think, one of the best players ever to have played in the Big West,” head coach Steve Sampson said. Alonso shines on the field in his technical aspect of play and even admitted to mimicking Eden Hazard, his favorite professional player. Hazard is known for his creative passes and fast, precise moves on the soccer field — much like Alonso’s style of play for the Mustangs.
“I’m trying to mirror my game off [Hazard’s],” Alonso said. “I try what he does during those games and do that during our games as well.” Throgh his quick footwork and clever ball-handling, Alonso racked up a team-leading four assists this season to extend his career-total to 11 assists. The midfielder found success through connecting passes on the field and choosing to assist rather than score. “It’s kind of unusual to say, but I like assisting more than scoring goals,” Alonso said. “Keeping the ball and just finding those key passes. I think that’s a big part of my game.” Despite his passing-centered style of play, Alonso collected more shots this season (31) than all prior seasons combined, with a .414 shots on goal percentage. Alonso’s first goal of the season, against Loyola Marymount, helped lead Cal Poly to its first win against a ranked opponent in three seasons. “He was what I would call a pure connector,” Sampson said. “But, I’ve been challenging him with his ability to get in behind defenses to be more goal dangerous.” As a captain for the second consecutive season, Alonso led the team to their first postseason run since 2015, where Cal Poly lost in the semi-finals to Cal State Fullerton. The team finished the Big West Conference season in fourth-place. The Mustangs started conference with two straight losses, but moved on with three straight wins, beating Cal State Fullerton (3-1), CSUN (2-0), and Sacramento State (1-0) for chance at postseason competition. Alonso’s motivation to play and do his best stems not only from his competitive spirit, but also his drive to make his family proud. The senior said his parent’s sacrifices throughout the years pushes him to succeed.
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BANDFEST 2019 WITH BOSTON BRASS!
For 31 years, Boston Brass has provided a one-of-a-kind musical experience. From exciting classical arrangements to burning jazz standards, the group treats audiences to a unique brand of entertainment that captivates all ages.
Christopher J. Woodruff conductor
WIND ENSEMBLE WIND ORCHESTRA
Nicholas P. Waldron conductor
MUSTANG MARCHING BAND Nov. 15, 2019 • 7:30 p.m. Friday Performing Arts Center Director of Bands
$9 & $12 students, $12 & $14 general
Assoc. Director of Bands
For more information, call the Music Dpartment at 805-756-2406, or visit music.calpoly.edu/calendar/.