04-23-2012

Page 1

Baseball falls twice to Cal State Fullerton

SPORTS, pg. 8

Volume LXXVI, Number 109

Monday, April 23, 2012

www.mustangdaily.net

Then there were two KAYTLYN LESLIE

kaytlynleslie.md@gmail.com

Poly

The Associated Students, Inc. (ASI), presidential debate saw more than the one anticipated candidate when biomedical senior Nha Ha announced he was running for ASI president against previously unopposed candidate Katie Morrow on Thursday. Ha, who is running as a write-in candidate, said he decided to enter the race last minute to give students more of a choice in the election. “It wasn’t until (Wednesday) that I realized there was really only one candidate,” Ha said. “No one else is going to run, so

101

The past and procedures: part 1 DYLAN HONEA-BAUMANN dylanhoneabaumann.md@gmail.com

This article is part one of a two-part series on the Cal Poly “P.” Check out the paper tomorrow for part two, featuring the present and paths of the big “P” in the hills above campus. People go up to the 50-foot-by-30-foot “P” on the mountain at the back of campus at all hours of the day for dates, to see the view, go mountain biking, to paint it — for a variety of different activities. “The view is awesome, and it’s a great date spot,” Cuesta College student Ken Staal said. “It’s my birthday, and I got a kiss for my birthday up there, so that was good.” Staal is just one example that Cal Poly students aren’t the only visitors to

the “P” regularly, but students aren’t its only visitors. Cal Poly Athletics Director Don Oberhelman said he thinks it’s crazy if students don’t go up to the “P” at least once during their time here. “It’s a focal point for campus pride,” Oberhelman said. “I think it’s something that (students) should look up at and be proud of every day, and I think everybody should take a hike up there and take a view from up there. ... It’s an inspiring spot. It’s a beautiful spot. If when you go up there, you can’t be proud of Cal Poly and how fortunate we are to live in such a beautiful place, you’re crazy. I would encourage all students to go up there and take a look at it.” The “P” has a past Facilities Plan Room Coordinator Rex Wolf is responsible for archiving

all construction projects done on campus, including work done to the “P.” “It’s my job to keep records of all facilities-related projects, and I put the construction design of the ‘P’ into the archives,” he said. The “P” on the mountain stands for polytechnic. There’s been a “P” on the mountain since the early 1900s, and the word polytechnic was in the school’s name from the beginning, Wolf said. When Cal Poly was first established — before it was a university — it was called California Polytechnic School. At that time, the “P” was originally an outline of large rocks filled in with powdered limestone, Wolf said. “That one required a lot of maintenance, I imagine,” Wolf said. “It was probably just spruced up for a football game, and

when it came down to it, it was, you know, do it cause nobody else is going to.” Ha said his campaign platform is looking to address some of the issues he’s seen throughout his five years at Cal Poly. “My platform is open communication, trying to just educate everyone,” Ha said. “For instance, when we had the Student Success Fee forums, no one went to those, like one or five kids. I felt that it was ASI’s role to come out here, stand in the middle and yell, ‘Hey! You need to go to these things! This is going to affect you!’ I just feel see DEBATE, pg. 2

then it probably just fell apart real quick.” The “P” was reconstructed with concrete in 1957, probably to reduce maintenance, Wolf said. However, some maintenance was still required after 1957. The bottom of the “P” was reconstructed in 1997 because of damage from erosion caused by a big storm, Wolf said. It was rebuilt with rebar in the rock and brick, and then concrete was put over that. The bottom part is built to last, but it won’t last forever, Wolf said. When a student visits the “P,” they can see the erosion taking place and can imagine something drastic happening from another storm or something like that, he said. Another part of the history of the “P” is that it’s an old tradition for stusee THE ‘P,’ pg. 2

GRAPHIC BY MELISSA WONG/MUSTANG DAILY

KAYTLYN LESLIE/MUSTANG DAILY

Social sciences junior Katie Morrow (left) and biomedical engineering senior Nha Ha (right) participated in the ASI presidential debate in the University Union Plaza Thursday.

Candidate Q&A: Sit down with Morrow SEAN MCMINN

seanmcminn.md@gmail.com

Katie Morrow, the social sciences junior running for president of Associated Students, Inc (ASI), talks about women in student government, how the Student Success Fee is a temporary solution and why she’s never without her signature eyeglasses. You’ve been in Kiyana Tabrizi’s cabinet for almost a year now, and in ASI for two years. How has that changed your perception of Cal Poly? I get to see a different side of things. Going into committee meetings and learning things about budget structure and about how administration works, as a whole, is an experience most students never get to see. It gave me a chance to

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have personal relationships with administrators, in addition to business relationships, I don’t think most students get to experience. So how has your view of Cal Poly changed since you joined ASI? The biggest thing I’ve learned is administrators take a lot of pride in how our students work. And they make very, very difficult decisions on a daily basis about classes, about funding, about salary. It’s easy to get wrapped up in that and get angry when decisions affect you. I’ve definitely experienced that in the past, you know, when you see your tuition going up and your access to classes going down, that’s very frustrating. But the thing I’ve learned this year is that every single person that

I’ve had the chance to work with loves the students and wants them to do so well. If elected, you would be the fifth female ASI president in a row, dating back to 2008. Do you feel there is a disconnect between men and student government? I don’t know why it is that this position attracts females to it. I really have thought about this quite a bit, because we have one member of our leadership team right now who is male. Only one of six. And his relations are as great as anyone with the administration, completely equal, if not greater. There are many men in student government that would do a fantastic job as president. I think it’s just a coincidence. If elected president, you would

ARTS, pg. 4 #freshmanproblems

be co-chair the Student Success Fee Allocation Committee. How important is student input on where the money goes? It’s critically important. I would never make a decision without the students’ input. It’s very important to get input from student groups, especially those who have the special interests or who have more expertise in those fields who might need more money in the future. It’s also really important to get in touch with students who don’t have an easy connection, but who have an opinion, and whose opinion is just as valid. A big part of my job would be to hold the (ASI) Board of Directors accountable to reaching out to their colleges and really making an understandable plan of how they’re going to do that.

Tomorrow’s Weather: high Cloudy

66˚F

low 55˚F

Kiyana Tabrizi chose not to take a stance on the Student Success Fee in the lead up to the vote. Would you endorse or disapprove of a controversial issue like that while you’re in office?

to switch to semesters in the next few years. President Jeffrey Armstrong and Provost Kathleen Enz Finken have both expressed their preference toward semesters; what do you think?

We chose not to take a stance because students had the option to vote. And so they were going to have their own opinion, so it didn’t necessarily make sense for the student body president to have her own opinion. I would certainly be comfortable taking a stance if the students didn’t have that chance and couldn’t voice their own opinions. If I felt like the students didn’t see something that I would be able to show them, then I would take a stance.

I don’t know enough about semesters versus quarters, but my opinion is a student’s opinion. I want to work with the students to make sure our voice is part of that process. I want to make sure it’s not all of a sudden we’re on semesters, but make sure we’re in the conversation the entire time and are part of that decision that’s being made. And if they are against it, then that’s what I’m going to represent. If they’re in favor of it, that’s what I’m going to represent.

CSU-level discussions have put Cal Poly under pressure

see MORROW, pg. 2

INDEX News.............................1-3 Arts..............................4-5

Opinions/Editorial...........6 Classifieds/Comics..........7 Sports..........................7-8


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