November 17, 2014 by Mustang News

Monday, November 17, 2 0 14

Established 19 16

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

NET

NEUTRALITY 6 questions you didn't know to ask @kaymissman

Kayla Missman

Define net neutrality. Chances are you can’t. A recent poll indicated that 72 out of 100 Cal Poly students hadn’t even heard of net neutrality. Of those who had, only 18 could define it. Net neutrality is arguably one of the biggest issues facing the country — President Barack Obama, John Oliver and even porn stars have taken a stance on the debate. But there is a surprising amount of ignorance around the topic. If you’re confused, here’s everything you need to know about this developing issue. See Net, Page 3

PHOTO ILLUSTR ATION BY HARRISON CHEUNG | MUSTANG NE WS

Men's basketball drops season opener Mustang News Staff Report @CPMustangSports

The Cal Poly men's basketball team dropped its season opener in a 65-49 loss at Nevada on Saturday, its third straight loss to open a season. Despite leading by eight points early and maintaining a lead at halftime, the Mustangs were outscored by 17 in the second half. This is the third year in a row the Wolf Pack have defeated the Mustangs. Junior guard Reese Morgan led the Mustangs with 13 points and added seven rebounds. Morgan's contribution is promising, considering the knee problems he's dealt with during his career. Junior guard David Nwaba, the Mustangs' leader in field-goal percentage last season, added 11 points and four rebounds after going 3-of-7 from the field. Senior guard Maliik Love logged a team-high 30 minutes in his debut as the primary point guard for the Mustangs. Love tallied four points, eight rebounds and six assists. Overall, the Mustangs struggled on the offensive side of the ball. They

shot just 31 percent from the field, 18 percent from the three-point line and an abysmal 50 percent from the freethrow line. Nevada forward AJ West dominated the Mustangs in the paint with his size, grabbing eight rebounds and blocking six shots. The Mustangs, coming off a Big West Conference Championship and an NCAA Tournament victory in their 2013-14 campaign, are no strangers to a tough nonconference schedule. They went 4-9 last season prior to Big West play, but the schedule featured matches against then-No. 5 Arizona, Oregon and Stanford, three Pac-12 powerhouses. This season, the Mustangs will travel to California to take on the Golden Bears and will also visit Seattle to face Gonzaga in Key Arena. The Mustangs return to Mott Athletics Center for their next two games against San Francisco State and Delaware on Nov. 18 and Nov. 21, respectively. Both games are set to tip off at 7 p.m. BL AKE MILLER | THE NE VADA SAGEBRUSH

Nick Larson contributed to this report.

ON POINT | Senior Maliik Love debuted well as the starting point guard for the Mustangs in their season-opening loss at Nevada.

Castration and charades: 'Betty's Summer Vacation' rebukes gossip-obsessed America Kristine Xu @kristiners

The first half of “Betty’s Summer Vacation” could be summed up in three phrases: bloody gloves, disembodied voices and aggressive flashing. Set during the ‘90s, “Betty’s Summer Vacation” aims to reveal America’s obsession with tabloid-style entertainment and the private (or not-so-private) lives of celebrities. Along with shriek-inducing events, no topic was too taboo for this rendition of Christopher Durang’s dark comedy. English junior Karlee Benner played Betty, a '90s-girl protagonist seeking refuge from the high IAN BILLINGS | MUSTANG NE WS BETTY | The rendition of Christopher Durang’s dark comedy used shocking vulgarity to reveal society’s tabloid obsession and the problem of gossip.

see BETTY, pg 5.

News... 1-3 | Arts... 4-6 | Opinion... 7 | Classifieds... 8 | Sports... 10

stress of city life. In an attempt to relax during summer vacation, Betty and her friend Trudy rent a timeshare, completely unaware of the absurd occurrences about to unfold. Benner pointed out how the play, which opened this past Thursday, brought light to how celebrities are treated. “It’s interesting to see how (the play) correlates with real life," Benner said, "and how a lot of time celebrities are just seen that their private lives can be publicized, even though they’re things that should be kept private."

Monday, November 17, 2014

NEWS | 2

Grades ain’t nothing but a letter: San Luis Coastal Unified School District eliminates letter grades Lindsy Mobley

Old System

A, B, C, D or F New System

@lindsy_mobley Students dedicate years of their lives to seeking the approval of a letter grade, which defines their performance in academia. One district has decided to change this dynamic. The San Luis Coastal Unified School District has implemented a pilot program for grades K-6 to eliminate letter grade report cards and adopt a standards-based report card. Amy Shields, elementary director of learning and achievement for the San Luis Coastal Unified School District, believes this new report card gives students and teachers a better understanding of where the student is and what can be improved, she said. She also pointed out that report card skills such as collaboration, problem solving and responsibility are behaviors that are important to have as a 21st-century student. “It’s much more relevant to the kind of teaching and learning that we want our students to be involved in,” Shields said. According to Shields, a factor in adopting the new report card system was teachers’ concerns that the old system was not showing an accurate picture of how students were performing at any given moment in time. The process of adopting this new system took a year and a half and involved 37 teachers, principals

and coaches — and they will continue to evaluate the system moving forward. After going through the pilot this year and getting feedback, they will present the system to the school board in hopes of officially changing the board policy, Shields said. Shields acknowledged the shift will take a tremendous toll on teachers because the new system requires a more specific standard of achievement. The letter system is open to interpretation from teacher to teacher, but the new standards-based system is more uniform across teachers and schools. “(It’s) a lot of extra time because you have to change your teaching,” she said. “And you have to truly understand the new state standards and what they’re asking students to know and be able to do, in order to be able to assess correctly how they’re doing on it.” To assist teachers with this, the district has developed a teacher handbook for each grade level that explains how grading should look as well as which assessments can indicate where a child stands at the end of the trimester, Shields said. The district has also provided a surplus of information that explains what the new standards ask of the children. They also provided a template of the

see GRADES, pg 3.

1, 2, 3 or 4 (for academic standards)

Consistently, Usually, Sometimes or Never (for behavioral standards)

DANIEL DEMPSTER | MUSTANG NE WS FOCUSING IN | The district focuses more on specific skills like collaboration, problem solving and responsibility. Each skill is looked at individually instead of receiving a general letter grade for all of them.

Monday, November 17, 2014 NET continued from pg 1.

cess any website or idea without extra cost.

What does ‘net neutrality’ mean? Net neutrality is the principle that all websites should have equal treatment on the Internet, with no one website loading faster than another — a “level playing field,” according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates communication within the U.S. Without net neutrality, Internet providers could charge certain companies, such as Netflix, to deliver their content at faster speeds to consumers.

What’s the issue? Now, the federal government is debating whether Internet providers — such as Charter or AT&T, which serve San Luis Obispo — should be able to control how long a website takes to load. If net neutrality is upset, these providers would be able to charge for faster loading speeds. Some, such as Turner, think Internet access should be seen as a public utility, the same as electricity and water. Under that definition, everyone must have equal access to the Internet for a fair price set by the public, he said. In fact, the Internet was created as a way to safely share ideas and communicate, especially under the threat of war. The World Wide Web, as it was known, was meant to serve as a “web” of information anyone could freely access. However, in the past decade or so, the court has sided with big companies instead of upholding the idea that the Internet is a public utility. Earlier this year, Netflix agreed to pay Comcast — an Internet provider used in approximately 32 million households in the U.S. — for smoother streaming. Comcast claimed the extra cost would reduce congestion and

What is the Internet like now? As it stands, the Internet is similar to a public square with a library in the middle, computer science professor Clark Turner said. “So everybody can discuss everything, it’s accessible and we can contact each other without much trouble,” he said. “It’s simple, we’re close — the net makes us close, in a way.” Ideas, he said, are free and open to all. “I can get ideas from the library, and one book isn’t harder to get than another,” he said. “I have free access to people and free access to information — open access, all the same kind of access.” Essentially, Internet users can ac-

GRADES continued from pg 2. new report cards for parents to review, Shields said. President of San Luis Coastal Unified School District’s Board of Trustees Jim Quesenberry is on board with the switch to standards-based report cards, he said. “I think this is more descriptive of what the students are to achieve, what goals are being set, what goals are being agreed upon,” Quesenberry said. “And it meshes better with the core curriculum so that students will be mastering the information and the skills they need to be successful in middle school, high school and hopefully post secondary, so somewhere in college or

NEWS | 3 ensure quicker loading speeds for Netflix’s approximately 30 million paid subscribers. If Netflix had chosen not to pay, Comcast could make it so slow that consumers wouldn’t be able to watch it, Turner said. “If they’re not a public utility, they can charge whatever they want — they can slow it down, speed it up for whoever they want; they can deny access for whatever they want,” he said. The Internet could look drastically different if this trend continues. In essence, there would be a fast lane and a slow lane — those who can pay for faster speeds and those who cannot. Websites from large companies would likely load quickly, while local sites would take more time. What’s at stake? Without net neutrality, the idea of a free, open library could change fundamentally, according to Turner’s analogy. Some books might be more expensive or harder to read, meaning that not everyone would have the same access to the same ideas. Turner compared the issue to the Hobby Lobby case earlier this year. In the same way that some companies are no longer required to pay for contraceptives because of religious reasons, Internet providers could slow down certain websites because they don’t agree with

technical schools.” Shields believes the system would become more complex if implemented in high school because A through G requirements and college applications are added to the mix. The standards would have to fit all these rules. Shields’ jurisdiction ends at sixth grade, but she said the secondary director is looking at moving toward the first step of aligning grading between schools, teachers and subjects. “I think we need an overhaul of the college acceptance system,” Shields said. Shields watched two of her children go through the system and believes the college acceptance system is deeply flawed. “But I think if we could get the college on board

their content. Then, Turner said, consumers would be left with two options: Accept what content they have quick access to or find another way to access that content. “They can build a model that is of the most profit to them and provide access to me,” he said. “While I would pay the cost of trying to get information that used to be accessible but may not be, or getting another Internet line, or driving down to the library or using a phone modem — God forbid — to try and get through to something else.” Small companies wouldn’t be able to pay the Internet providers’ fees for faster loading speeds, but a bigger company could. Therefore, the Internet would no longer be a level playing field. “Capitalism, when it works, does a pretty fair job when there is an open market,” Turner said. “But this would not be very good capitalism.” How does that affect me? If net neutrality is overturned, students wouldn’t be able to compete with larger companies, said computer science sophomore Liam Kirsh, who is starting the Cal Poly Free Culture Club, which aims to promote open source content, among other things. Students who try to publish their

Visit mustangnews.net for the full multimedia story

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOSEPH PACK | MUSTANG NEWS EQUALIT Y

| The FCC wants a “level playing field” for all websites.

original work online — whether it’s an independent film or a video game — and receive recognition would have to compete with companies who can pay for faster loading speeds. It would cost money to gain an audience, Kirsh said. But beyond recognition for work, having to compete for an audience means that ideas wouldn’t be spread easily, he said. “On a slippery slope argument, if you escalated that to allowing people to also pay to get higher publicity for their ideas, I think that could silence the opinions of minorities,” he said. “And so large PACs and large lobbying groups would promote their ideas, and the opinions of other groups and students would be silenced.” Consumers would lose access to content they want — and are already paying for. When biological sciences junior Gian

to understand what the Common Core is asking of students, and the rigor of that, I think that would be the first door in opening the idea that maybe there is a better way of grading our students than this A, B, C, D, F level,” she said. Shields also said a standards-based system evens the playing field for less privileged students who do not receive a lot of assistance at home. With trimester grades coming out soon, people will have a chance to evaluate the new system. “The elementary is starting very soon to do their

Gamboa learned what net neutrality is, he said it was unfair that smaller companies are “just being stomped on by the bigger players in the game.” “Regardless of how big or how small a company is, I should have the freedom of being able to click on either (website),” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s my choice, and I don’t think it’s fair for my choice to be limited just because somebody has more money than another company.” What’s happening now? Currently, the FCC is debating whether Internet providers should be allowed to control loading speeds. Since it’s a political issue, Kirsh recommends students write to their Congressional representatives, sign a petition or simply share information about net neutrality with their friends.

conference week, which will be utilizing these reports,” Quesenberry said. Overall, the system is supposed to help students be more motivated about learning, not getting a grade, Shield said. “We are looking to help build intrinsic motivation in our kids and do less of the motivation by grades,” she said. “More motivation for the sense of learning, for the sense of personal accomplishment, for the pride that they feel when they work really hard on something that’s difficult.”

Monday, November 17, 2014

ARTS | 4

Pen15 Club’s ‘Manalogues’ get Cal Poly talking

DYLAN SUN | MUSTANG NEWS

OUT OF THE BOX | The Pen15 club used sketch comedy and audience-interactive discussion to highlight issues surrounding male stereotypes. Kelly Trom @kttrom

Did you know that the average ejaculation speed is 28 miles per hour? Or that the average male orgasm lasts six seconds? Students who attended the Gender Equity Center’s (GEC) quarterly Pen15 Club event, themed “The Manalogues,” in Chumash Auditorium on Thursday night do. But conversation didn’t just revolve around sexual trivia — it was a serious discussion about the stereotypes

surrounding masculinity. Travis Raynaud, a graduate assistant at the GEC, emceed the event and helped lead the talk. “At the Gender Equity Center, we don’t put on events about men and masculinity because we feel that it is an underrepresented population,” Raynaud said. “It’s more about that this is a population at Cal Poly and it is okay for us to get together and talk about it.” The night kicked off with a classic gender education tool: the Man Box and Lady Box. Students in the audience were asked to name all the traits and stereotypes of the “perfect” man

and woman. They were asked what people who don’t fit into those boxes are called, what happens to those people in society and what they do to cope. Raynaud pointed out that the purpose of the exercise wasn’t to make students feel bad if they fit the traits in the boxes, but to realize many of the boxes’ traits contradicted themselves. It was impossible to fit into the box entirely. The exercise disproved the myth of the gender binary, which states there are two distinct genders whose lines never cross. Audience participant and biological sciences senior Avity Norman, who acted in the event, enjoyed hearing everything people wanted to

share and added thoughts to the larger conversation. “There is this pervasive idea that male is neutral and gender is women,” Norman said. “Talking about masculinity helps combat that and bring up that male is a gender that comes with its own set of issues and quirks. Even if it also comes with a lot of privileges, it is still worth talking about.” The next segment of the event added even more voices to the discussion. A video filmed on Cal Poly’s campus asked students what they thought the stereotypical guy at Cal Poly was like. While many of those interviewed thought Cal Poly was a relatively accepting place for everyone, some recognized the privilege of fitting into the white, male and heterosexual box. After the film, Cal Poly students sitting in the audience got a chance to comment on their peers’ views. Ethnic studies junior Mario Espinoza appreciated the fact that many types of students were able to speak openly and honestly. “I liked the diversity of the crowd,” Espinoza said. “It didn’t just focus on heteronormativity. We had gay men and lesbians enter the conversation. This conversation is important for awareness and celebration and inclusiveness of diversity, so that people are aware that there is more than one type of college student.” Live comedy skits followed the film and discussion. The “Bro Code and Girl Code” skit focused on the differences between girls and guys in their bathroom habits, use of social media and gym time. Another skit concentrated on how males cannot show their true emotions in social situations, such as talking to their friends after a date. Espinoza acted in this skit, playing one of the friends who only talked about the girl’s appearance and whether or not the main character had sex with her. “It was fun, and I feel like we were delivering a really strong message,” Espinoza said. “I feel like it sparked a lot of conversation within the student body, which is a good thing. A lot of participation from each side of the room.” Psychology freshman Jonathan Schaffer, who also acted in the skit, believed that performances and other discussion-generating exercises are necessary for the campus’ overall health. “A lot of people aren’t presented with ideas of toxic masculinity,” Schaffer said. “And when you see it presented on stage, they can realize what is happening and realize what needs to be changed.”

ARTS | 5

Monday, November 17, 2014 Betty continued from pg 1. Betty, the sole voice of reason among a group of otherwise bizarre and outlandish characters, arrives at the beachside bungalow for some much-needed rest and relaxation. One by one, each member of the household arrives. There’s Keith, a quiet and reserved man armed with an ominous hatbox and shovel; Mrs. Siezmagraff, the landlord and mother of Trudy; Buck, an unashamedly horny frat star; and Mr. Vanislaw, a flasher and lover of Mrs. Siezmagraff. “Betty’s Summer Vacation” painted an honest portrait of America’s love affair with tabloids, such as Buck’s insatiable sexual conquests and the voice’s insistence for entertainment. “That’s basically what Betty is to the voices,” Benner said. “The people in the house are the voice’s play things to do whatever they want.” Sprinkled with profanity and punchy one-liners, the audience couldn’t help but laugh along with the voices in the ceiling. In the aftermath of the gruesome beheading and castration, Betty exasperatingly announces, “Now we have to sew on his penis and his head!” Witnessing a sexual assault, two castrations and a deadly explosion, the audience is rocked to its core and left to contemplate our society and culture after the performance. “It was an interesting combination of challenging material that was presented in a lighthearted manner, making it even more disturbing,” audience member Michael Carver said. “I appreciated the ques-

IAN BILLINGS | MUSTANG NEWS

SHOCKING | Jacob Corsaro plays Buck, a sex-obsessed “hunk.”

tions raised, specifically people’s suffering as a form of entertainment.” And while all members of the household nonchalantly accepted the existence of the disembodied voices, the voices in the ceiling served as a laugh track and later as commentary for the various events in the house. “The voices were interesting and a great addition to the show. It’s unique,” aerospace engineering sophomore Justin Fukada said. Every time the laughter drifted from the ceiling, it set off a chain reaction of laughter from the audience, which made the laughing last even longer than expected. “It’s weird because when you act and there’s only your director and people who have seen it a million times, they’re not going to laugh,” Benner said. “So it’s weird trying to fit in the flow of things with the laughter and waiting for the audience to stop talking so you can say your next line.” There was no shortage of talent during the two-hour performance, and theater sophomore Sarah Gamblin’s monologue helped prove it. Her flip-flop between three differently accented characters during the trial was surreal to watch. “It was a long process, but we worked on the different voices for each of them, which helped keep them straight in my mind,” Gamblin said. The final scene starkly contrasts the rest of the play, where we find Betty, the sole survivor of the explosion, resting alone on the beach. It ends with her contemplating the events of the summer while listening peacefully to the ocean. Looking back at her opening night performance, Benner said she was satisfied with the results. “There are little things here where I’m

like, ‘Shoot, I messed that up,’” she said. “But in the overall arch, I feel like we just all really clicked really well … You just feel really good about yourself when you finish, because you’re like ‘Yeah! That worked!’ even though there’s a few hiccups here and there.” Over the course of many months, Cal Poly’s theater and dance department prepared for the large-scale production. “Auditions were the first week of school,

I APPRECIATED THE QUESTIONS RAISED, SPECIFICALLY PEOPLE’S SUFFERING AS A FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT. MICHAEL CARVER

and then the week after that we started rehearsals, which are originally just Sunday through Thursday from 7-10 every night,” Benner said. “But then as it gets closer to the actual performance, it’s every single day from 6-11 p.m.” As with any long-term project, the cast and crew of Betty’s Summer Vacation dedicated their waking moments of fall quarter to refining and perfecting their characters together. “Being in theater together and being together for so many hours of the day, they end up being part of your family, and I haven’t gotten sick of anyone yet, so that’s good,” Benner said. “They’re all really good people and really talented. It’s really impressive.” “Betty’s Summer Vacation” will run again Nov. 20, 21 and 22 at 8 p.m. at the Alex and Faye Spanos Theater. Tickets are $12 for students and $20 for the general public.

Monday, November 17, 2014

ARTS | 6

UU to become art gallery for ASI’s Create and Connect

BRENNA SWANSTON | MUSTANG NEWS

CONNECTING | The Craft Center will offer craft activities to Create and Connect participants. Brenna Swanston @Brenna_Swanston

The Julian A. McPhee University Union’s first floor will transform into an art gallery next Friday for the Associated Students, Inc.’s (ASI) Create and Connect exhibit, which will honor Cal Poly student artists and musicians. Graphic communication senior Haley Brown, who works as ASI’s outreach and student government special events student assistant, said the event will aggregate artists in a social environment. “There isn’t really a place to showcase student artists outside of the student gallery, so this is a little more in-your-face, bringing it out and making those connections,” Brown said. The event will include food and live music, and the Craft Center will open up to participants interested in doing their own hands-on crafts. “It’s a chance for people to come out, meet stu-

dent artists, see student work and do something creative for themselves,” Brown said. Kinesiology junior and ASI special event student assistant Delaney Nicholas said the Craft Center will offer canvas squares, mugs and mason jars to decorate, as well as origami art. Brown said she hopes Create and Connect will blend student artists and their work with the rest of the student body. “More than anything, we want people to have a good time,” she said. “We’re hoping to bring together different artists throughout the campus to showcase the artistic talent on campus so people feel a little more connected to the work students are putting out.” Students interested in being featured at Create and Connect can email asievents@asi.calpoly.edu to submit their work. Create and Connect will take place Friday, Nov. 21 from 8-11 p.m. The event is free to all students with a Cal Poly ID.

OPINION | 7

Monday, November 17, 2014 MUSTANG NEWS Graphic Arts Building Building 26, Suite 226 California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, CA 93407

CONTACT EDITORIAL (805) 756-1796 ADVERTISING (805) 756-1143 CLASSIFIED (805) 756-1143 FAX (805) 756-6784

EDITORS & STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jacob Lauing MANAGING EDITORS Kyle McCarty, Kayla Missman BROADCAST NEWS DIRECTOR Morgan Butler COMMUNITY OUTREACH DIRECTOR Melissa Nunez NEWS EDITOR Celina Oseguera ARTS EDITOR Katherine Benedict SPORTS EDITOR Nick Larson BROADCAST CONTENT PRODUCER Leah Horner BROADCAST SPORTS DIRECTOR Trent Merfeld BROADCAST SPORTS PRODUCER Ashley DeVriend PHOTO EDITOR Joseph Pack HEAD DESIGNER Megan Heddinger SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Rachel Sun WEB EDITOR Kenny Gurney SPECIAL SECTIONS COORDINATOR Suha Saya STAFF REPORTERS Brooke Sperbeck, Samantha Pryor, Lauren Piraro, Maria Zelada, Savannah Sperry, Lindsy Mobley, Olivia Proffit, Olivia DeGenerro, Brenna Swanston, Kelly Trom, Annie Vainshtein, Sam Gilbert, Will Peischel, Trevor Melody, Rafael Salinas, Erik Chu, Amelia Parreira, Allison Edmonds, Harry Chang COPY EDITORS Brenna Swanston, Drew Gorman, Nikki Petkopoulos, Kristine Xu DESIGNERS Jordan Dunn, Lauren Wallack, Monique Martinez, Zack Spanier OPINION COLUMNISTS Zachary Antoyan, Eric Stubben PHOTOGRAPHERS Ian Billings, Sophia Liu, Dylan Sun, Christa Lam, Dakota Greenwich, Evan Noronha ADVERTISING MANAGER Connie Lewis ART DIRECTOR Albert Chang PRODUCTION MANAGER Joseph Hewison MARKETING MANAGER Nikole Knak DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Kalei White ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Anna Seskind, Ashley Safari, CJ Estores, Ian Taylor, Johnny Galvez, Kenney Young, Kristen Corey, Maddie Spivek, Melissa Mubaraki, Phil Ramos, Sam Patterson, Shakti Rajput, Victoria Howland ADVERTISING DESIGNERS Jordan Triplett, Scott Cutler MARKETING ASSOCIATES Kelly Witkop, Ross Pfeifer, Kelsey Payton FACULTY ADVISER Pat Howe GENERAL MANAGER Paul Bittick

WRITE A LETTER Mustang News reserves the right to edit letters for grammar, profanities and length. Letters, commentaries and cartoons do not represent the views of Mustang News. Please limit length to 250 words. Letters should include the writer’s full name, phone number, major and class standing. Letters must come from a Cal Poly email account. Do not send letters as an attachment. Please send the text in the body of the email. EMAIL editor@mustangnews.net ADVERTISING EMAIL advertising@mustangnews.net MAIL Letters to the Editor Building 26, Room 226 Cal Poly SLO, CA 93407 ONLINE mustangnews.net

CORRECTIONS Mustang News takes pride in publishing daily news for the Cal Poly campus and the neighboring community. We appreciate your readership and are thankful for your careful reading. Please send your correction suggestions to editor@ mustangnews.net.

NOTICES Mustang News is a “designated public forum.” Student editors have full authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval. Printed by UNIVERSITY GRAPHICS SYSTEMS ugs.calpoly.edu ugs@calpoly.edu Mustang News is a member of Associated Collegiate Press, California Newspaper Publishers Association, College Newspaper Business and Advertising Managers and College Media Advisors. Monday, November 17, 2014 Publishing since 1916 ©2014 Mustang News

“Today’s Wednesday, right?”

Social media shapes politics Eric Stubben @EricStubben I have a confession: I am what some would call a “Twitterholic.” I’m not the biggest fan of Facebook, couldn’t care less about Instagram and Snapchat just isn’t my thing. As the midterm elections ramped up, political activity slowed down. The coming of the political downtime mixed with the need to study for midterms seemingly skyrocketed my use of Twitter. Come on, what’s the fun in solving some bizarre engineering problem when I can post a quality tweet instead? By some odd turn of events, however, my go-to tool for procrastination turned out to be my inspiration for this column. While I scrolled through tweets from our own Department of State, Department of Agriculture, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and various other political figures that ended up in my feed, I began to realize the impact of social media on politics and elections in the United States and around the world. As a society, we’re more connected than we’ve ever been. We’re able to see the words and thoughts of leaders worldwide in real time via social media. People are flooded with information, links and opinions, forcing them to discern what is real and what is not. In fact, nearly three quarters of Americans use social media, 18 percent of Americans are on Twitter and Facebook has more than 1 billion users. Though social media is

becoming ever present in politics, I’ve voiced my skepticism and am still skeptical about how much good it does. Oftentimes, tweets and posts turn into a false sense of action. Do those same tweets and posts actually turn into votes? I don’t have a statistics answer to that question, but I’d be willing to go out on a limb and say that more often than not, the opinions represented on social media do not translate into a bubble on the ballot. Though I criticized social media as a shelter for critical voices in a previous column, I’m beyond that, and in all honesty, probably even guilty of it. What I believe is more frustrating is the way social media filters and skews information. “Likes” and “follows” define what information a social media user sees in their feed. I’d like to think social media helps inform these users about politics and various issues, but I’m a realist. Most people have preconceived notions and beliefs. I can only help but think that the tailored information that comes across personalized user feeds adds to the stifling partisanship and rigidity in politics today. To see the effects of Twitter’s character limit, one only has to look back to the 2012 presidential election. While it was widely recognized that Mitt Romney outperformed Barack Obama over the course of their debates, Romney ended up losing via social media. With debates and speeches condensed to 140 characters, Romney’s “binders full of women” and “cut PBS funding” remarks were widely spread. In a world where everything can be condensed to 140 characters, even small blunders can be blown into huge mistakes. Politico writer John Harris sug-

the right angle gests that constant communication and information “means that politics simply moves faster.” Since the 2008 presidential election, I believe he’s right. Between the Democrats’ constant posting of #WarOnWomen or Republicans honing in on #ObamaCare, nearly every issue or political race is accompanied by a hashtag. In the meantime, politicians are continually looking for ways to one-up each other in terms of social media. Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton sporadically writes for BuzzFeed while his Democratic ally Harry Reid started a Spanish Twitter account to connect with Latino voters (though it hasn’t caught on.) In an attempt to undermine President Barack

Obama’s social media success, Romney hired roughly 200 staffers to deal solely with social media and the Internet back in his 2012 presidential campaign. Though Romney’s attempts at social media relevance did not go unnoticed, he failed to succeed in social media’s entire purpose: connecting with his audience. Though many Americans, including myself, liked Romney’s message and political stances, he rarely let the enthusiasm of his beliefs shine through the screen of social media. Though the Republicans deserve a pat on the back for their efforts and successes in the midterm elections, now is not the time to become complacent, especially

when it comes to social media. They succeeded in washing away the so-called #WarOnWomen (there was never really a war), and now is the time for Republicans to gain some social media momentum. Use social media effectively: Be creative, be smart and let emotions through to highlight the significance of and confidence in conservative values. Gone are the days of relying on mailed flyers and door-todoor campaigning. While those are still useful and important campaign tactics, voter outreach and political mobilization now include mobilizing thoughts, promises and stances about the web in hopes of garnering more votes.

Classifieds TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD:

Order online at www.mustangnews.net or call 805.756.1143 a day prior by noon Ads must be prepaid by check made out to Mustangs News or paid by credit card online.

CROSSWORD

CLASSIFIED ADS ARE FREE FOR STUDENTS Stop into MUSTANG NEWS to find out how to place your ad!

POP CULTURE SHOCK THERAPY

SPONSOR THE COMIC! $50 A DAY

CALL 805.756.1143 F MINUS

SUDOKU

SPONSOR THE COMIC!

SPONSOR THE SUDOKU!

SPONSOR THE COMIC!

CALL 805.756.1143

$50 A DAY

We did it again! This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s awards... Pinnacle Awards Advertising 1st Place - Best Social Media Strategy Design 1st Place - Best Online Infographic Paige Cross

Online 1st Place - Best Multimedia Feature Story

JJ Jenkins, Carly Rickards, Jefferson Nolan, Ian Billings

3rd Place - Best Social Media Presence Hannah Croft, Rachel Sun

Photo 1st Place - Best Breaking News Photo Morgan Butler

Sports 1st Place - Best Portrait Ian Billings

2nd Place - Best Sports Game Story Jacob Lauing, Stephan Teodosescu, JJ Jenkins, Ian Billings 3rd Place - Best Social Media Presence Honorable Mention - Best Sports Section

and... A.C.P.

(Associated College Press)

Advertising

2nd Place - House Ad Nicole Bergmann 4th Place - House Ad Joe Hewison 4th Place - Ad/Editorial Supplement Melanie Lapovich Honorable Mention - Brochure/Rate Card Albert Chang

Story of the Year Best of Show

Honorable Mention - Editorial/Opinion MN Editorial Board Multimedia Package Sean McMinn, Leah Horner Special Edition Website Large School

Online Pacemaker 1st Place - Newspaper 10001-20000 enrollment

SPORTS | 10

Monday, November 17, 2014

Football downed by UC Davis, playoff hopes crushed Rafael Salinas @ROCSalinass

In front of a crowd of more than 10,000 on Saturday night, the Cal Poly football team (6-5, 5-3 Big Sky Conference) surrendered possession of the Golden Horseshoe — and any chance of a playoff berth — after a 4835 loss to UC Davis (2-8, 1-6) at Alex G. Spanos Stadium. This was the Mustangs’ first home loss of the season and 48 points is the most they’ve allowed all year. The Aggies entered the contest with only one victory this year and were winless in Big Sky Conference play. Cal Poly once again dug itself a hole early, trailing 31-14 at the end of the first half. After the Mustangs’ second touchdown — a 70-yard run by senior fullback Brandon Howe — the Aggies defense stopped the Mustangs for the rest of the first half. The Aggies were propelled to victory by senior running back Brian Manzanares, who rushed 37 times for 230 yards and three touchdowns. Cal Poly’s defense simply didn’t have an answer for the senior back, who set a new career high in rushing. “(Manzanares) did a great job with his vision and cutbacks to start the game,” Cal Poly head coach Tim Walsh said. The Mustangs amassed 457 total yards of offense, but the majority of them came in the second half when the Mustangs were attempting to make a comeback. The Aggies out-dueled the Mustangs in this category as well, gaining 530 yards of their own. With 8:14 remaining in the third quarter, Manzanares had already rushed for 207 yards while the Mustangs had just 250 total yards of offense. The Mustangs’ leading rusher

on the night was sophomore running back Kori Garcia, who rushed 20 times for 151 yards and a touchdown. Junior quarterback Chris Brown rushed 15 times for 24 yards and two touchdowns. He also went 13of-19 in the air, passing for 159 yards and another touchdown. “We got knocked around, we got beat up out there and for tonight, the better team won,” Walsh said. Cal Poly had trouble defending the pass, too. The Aggies were consistently able to pick up yards in bunches with deep passes down the sideline. Five different players finished with three or more catches. “We weren’t physical against a physical team,” senior linebacker Nick Dzubnar said. “They’re gonna run it up against you and it ends badly.” While the Mustangs did get the offense going, the 17-point deficit proved too difficult to overcome. Cal Poly came out in the second half and cut the lead to 10 when Brown punched in a score from the 1-yard line after Garcia drove the offense down the field. The defense forced a field goal after initially surrendering a 50yard pass play, which seemed to gain momentum for the Mustangs. But the Aggies passing attack really began to click in the second half much more than the first half. There were some uncharacteristic penalties and fumbles by the Mustangs, enabling the Aggies to keep drives alive and add points to their lead. “I got a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, and that can’t happen,” Dzubnar said. “When I lose my head, other guys start thinking it’s okay for them to lose their head.” Senior running back Kenny Mitchell fumbled on the 46-yard line, setting up a field goal for the

IAN BILLINGS | MUSTANG NEWS

LOOKING BACK | Despite 151 rushing yards from sophomore running back Kori Garcia, the Mustangs were unable to defeat UC Davis.

Aggies, extending their lead to 17. Both teams essentially went on to trade scores until the final whistle blew. Dzubnar is now in sole possession of the single season tackle record, with 160. The previous record was held by Kyle Shotwell, who made 158 tackles in 2005. The Mustangs also set the Big Sky Conference record for rushing touchdowns with 41 on the year. The 41 rushing touchdowns also ties the school record set in 2006. The final game for the Mustangs will come on the road when they travel to San Diego on Nov. 22. “This one hurts,” Dzubnar said. “I’m just looking forward to going out there one last time and having fun with these guys.”