05-15-2012

Track falls short at Big West Finals.

SPORTS, pg. 8

Volume LXXVI, Number 122

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

www.mustangdaily.net

Need equipment?

WORD ON THE STREET Have you ever used resources from PolyConnect?

“I don’t think so; is it where students connect?”

• Carli Roth business administration freshman

They can help DAVID YRIARTE/MUSTANG DAILY

The PolyConnect services in Robert E. Kennedy Library offers iPads, laptops, projectors and other electronics for students and faculty to check out.

DAVID YRIARTE

davidyriarte.md@gmail.com

Finals are approaching, and projects are piling up. The old creaky laptop sitting on the desk is on its last leg and decided to crash. The stress sets in as project deadlines approach.

To help reduce the stress, PolyConnect Service Desk, located on the first floor of Robert E. Kennedy Library, offers students the opportunity to check out various electronics, from iPads to video cameras, for school projects or personal use.

“We have Dell laptops students can checkout; they are similar to the desktops we have here,” philosophy senior Robert Cameron said.

“They just do not have the

“Projectors and cameras for SHPE.” • Samantha Suriano mechanical engineering junior

“Hell no. Like iron?”

• Reid Allyn electrical engineering sophomore

advanced engineering software on them.”

Cameron works daily helping students check out needed equipment at the PolyConnect front desk. Though the laptops do not have advanced software on them, they do come equipped with Adobe CS5 and Microsoft Office 2010.

Laptops are the most popular items, but students can also check out computer accessories, projection equipment and other useful electronics. All that is needed to check out equipment is a valid student ID and less than $10 in outstanding fees on the account, Cameron said.

“The biggest fee I saw was about $400,” Cameron said.

“It was mostly from a ton of overdue books.”

To avoid fees, students should be sure to return borrowed equipment on time or extend the checkout online; some items are not available for renewal.

Many of the larger items have a checkout time of three days, including scanners, video cameras and projectors. These items can be borrowed for up to three days with the option of one two-day renewal. Other popular items, such as laptops and headphones, can only be checked out for three hours at a time, with no renewal option. Though these rental periods are short, the availability of such devices has helped many students in need. Business administration junior Devon Lauren

said she utilized PolyConnect’s services when she left her laptop at home.

“I was working on a group project, and I was responsible for bringing the computer, which I forgot at home,” Lauren said. “I checked out a laptop for a few hours, and got our work turned in on time. The machine was kind of slow, but it got the job done.”

The temporary use of equipment is useful, but students can also check out iPads and Kindles for a longer period of time.

Kindles are available for seven days at a time, with the option of two seven-day renewals. iPads can only be checked out for three days with no renewal.

“I had no idea that iPads were available at Poly,” Lauren said. “I would use them to take surveys

for some class projects.”

PolyConnect’s arsenal of electronics includes equipment to help students with their presentations. Mechanical engineering junior Phillip Streeter checked out laptops, projectors and screens to create and display a final project last quarter.

“My laptop has seen better days,” Streeter said. “(PolyConnect’s) services have helped me a lot these past few quarters. If I didn’t have access to a working laptop, I would have died.”

PolyConnect Service Desk allows students to check out equipment Monday to Thursday from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Fridays from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Students play games with autistic spectrum DYLAN HONEA-BAUMANN has been great, and it’s always worked out well.”

Stepanek was first introduced to the autistic community in For two years, mathematics the area in fall 2010, through senior Dara Stepanek has held Kim Richards, an employee at a game night in Muir Hall ev- Tidelands Counseling Center ery quarter for people in the in San Luis Obispo. Richards autism spectrum (those with sent an email to Cal Poly Unipervasive development dis- versity Housing saying there orders), and anyone else who was going to be a teen dance wants to participate. The last for children with autism and game night was Friday. she wanted Cal Poly students Stepanek has been a resident to volunteer, Stepanek said. advisor (RA) in Muir Hall for Three Fridays in a row Stetwo years, and one of her du- panek went to plan meetings ties was to put on activities. for the dance. The point of “I thought the game night the planning meetings were would be a great way to con- to help the kids plan and nect freshmen students in implement their own dance.

Muir Hall dorms with autis“They picked the themes, tic children,” Stepanek said. they made the decorations,” “The response from resisee AUTISM, pg. 2 dents, and from the guests, dylanhonea-baumann.md@gmail.com

“The computer lab for homework between classes.”

• Keith Sutherland civil engineering sophomore

CHECK OUT

ARTS, pg. 4

MUSTANGDAILY.NET

Annual slam poetry competition returns to Chumash.

for articles, videos, photos & more.

DYLAN HONEA-BAUMANN/MUSTANG DAILY

A group of Cal Poly Hip Hop Congress members played Apples to Apples with autistic children in Muir Hall on May 11 at the all-ages autistic spectrum game night.

Tomorrow’s Weather: high Sunny

75˚F

low 52˚F

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

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

MDnews 2

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Students earning extra credit — the hard way MERCEDES RODRIGUEZ

mercedesrodriguezs.md@gmail.com

For most students, extra credit can mean writing a few extra book reports or attending an on-campus presentation. But for students in sociology professor Ryan Alaniz’s courses, earning extra points might mean hours of hard labor in the hot sun.

Depending on the course, Alaniz gives his students the option to experience homelessness or hunger, spend a week in a wheelchair or the opposite gender’s clothing, commit legal acts of deviance or work alongside migrant workers picking strawberries for a day.

Alaniz, who attended Cal

Poly for his undergraduate education, has been teaching here since the beginning of the academic year. He also recently accepted a tenure track in an assistant professor position.

Marlene Ruttenberg, a sociology sophomore, is taking International Political Economy with Alaniz and was on her fifth day of fasting during her interview with Mustang Daily. She said a student suggested the fasting activity as extra credit during a discussion on worldwide hunger, and Alaniz worked with other students to create a plan.

While she said most of the students who are taking part in the activity chose to give up solid food for two or three days, she was committed to making it through the week drinking only juice and water.

“Today has been a mix of happiness and weakness,” Ruttenberg said. “It’s been five days so my body is used to it, but the mental aspect of wanting food is so hard.”

Alaniz uses the honor system to ensure his students are committed to the activity, but Ruttenberg doesn’t believe this is a problem.

“I think we’re all being honest, and I don’t know if that’s naïve, but integrity is a huge thing for me, and I feel like that’s the case with most Cal Poly students,” Ruttenberg said.

Alaniz has also taught at University of California, Santa Barbara and at the University of Minnesota. He believes Cal Poly’s “Learn By Doing” approach offers a great opportunity for this kind of alternative learning experience.

“There has been a large push for active-learning and learn by doing here and at other universities,” Alaniz said. “In addition, the academic literature and my own experience have highlighted the strengths of bringing students outside of the classroom to engage the world on a deeper level. This is a perfect fit with sociology. I want students to use sociological knowledge gained in class to critically engage the world around them.”

Alaniz said the safety of students is always first priority.

Female students are required to pair up for the homelessness activity, and extra credit is assigned on a sliding scale so no student feels pressured to complete a task that might harm them. Students are required to sign waivers and

AUTISM continued from page 2

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Stepanek said.

The dance was a success and Stephanek had fun being involved. She had the idea to put on game night in the dorm because she realized there aren’t many local activities put on for people with autism.

Normally when there are events planned, they’re not intended for people on the autistic spectrum or are intended exclusively for people on the autistic spectrum, but the dance was open to anyone, Stepanek said.

“It was advertised as an allinclusive teen dance,” Stepanek said.

Stepanek said she knew how much fun everyone had at the dance, and she wanted to have an all-inclusive game night as well.

“I just like kids, so I think that’s a big part of it,” Stepanek

Part of the experience is pushing beyond our comfort level to better understand what millions of people deal with on a daily basis.

RYAN ALANIZ SOCIOLOGY PROFESSOR

complete a worksheet with guidelines before taking on any task, but discomfort is part of the learning experience.

“Part of the experience is pushing beyond our comfort level to better understand what millions of people deal with on a daily basis,” Alaniz said. “Can someone really understand hunger without experiencing it?”

Sociology senior Diane

Twitchell took a class with Alaniz last quarter.

Of her class, she said approximately eight people chose to take part in the strawberry picking activity.

“Everyone who went said it was really eye-opening to view different socioeconomic statuses in the community, and see how people actually earn wages,” Twitchell said.

said about why she likes working with autistic children. “I think it’s probably the easiest mental or social disorder to introduce yourself to.”

At game nights, attendees on the autistic spectrum have ranged from age 4 to 27, Stepanek said.

The autistic spectrum ranges from low-functioning to highfunctioning people. People on the high-functioning end of the spectrum mainly just have problems with socializing, Stepanek said.

Although Stepanek can’t be an RA next year because she will be a graduate student, she said she hopes to eventually move the game night into a bigger area outside of Muir to get more students involved.

Mathematics freshman Maria Manzo currently helps Stepanek with game night and plans to lead the event as an RA next year.

“I want to be a teacher and thought it would be a good

opportunity to get involved with people of different ages,” Manzo said.

Manzo said she enjoys spending time with people who are autistic.

“By helping them out, I feel that I’m able to be a sort of support system for them,” Manzo said. “And also just be a friend for them.”

There were a variety of games and paints were out for the last game night. All of the games and paints are available at the front desk in the dorms, and the only thing the students had to do to prepare for game night was put them out on the tables. Plus, there’s a budget for putting on events in the dorms, and Stepanek usually spends $20 on snacks.

Contractor Brian Cully, brought his son, Cypress, to game night for the first time on May 11 so he could have an opportunity to be more social

see EXTRA CREDIT, pg. 3

see AUTISM, pg. 3

MDnews 3

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

EXTRA CREDIT continued from page 2

STATE

NATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

SAN JOSE —

GEORGIA —

COLOMBIA —

When Facebook goes public — as it’s expected to do this week in what’s almost certain to be the biggest stock debut for an Internet company — it will be more than a milestone financial event.

It will also be a reflection of how tightly a company launched eight years ago in a college dorm room has become woven into the fabric of society.

In its ability to shape the way hundreds of millions of people around the world communicate, Facebook might be the biggest technological advance since the advent of broadcast television.

A federal judge in Atlanta has ruled mostly in favor of Georgia State University in a copyright case that would allow professors to continue posting excerpts of published works online for their students.

In a case closely watched by academia and publishers, Senior U.S. District Judge Orinda Evans rejected 69 copyright claims filed by Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press and Sage Publications.

She found that Georgia State had violated copyright infringement law by using five excerpts from four books.

Years in the making, the U.S.Colombia free trade agreement goes into effect Tuesday.

The new agreement will immediately eliminate duties on 80 percent of commerce between the two countries and phase out the rest over time.

Business people say it gives stability to the commercial relationship between the countries and could unleash new opportunities for both.

Exporters, importers, consultants, shipping lines and lawyers are among those expecting to gain from the new relationship.

PG&E seeks pipeline safety records MIKE TAUGHER

Contra Costa Times

As investigators poured into the San Francisco Bay Area city of San Bruno in the immediate aftermath of the September 2010 pipeline explosion that killed eight people, PG&E gave them a piece of astonishingly inaccurate information.

Although the pipe’s failure would eventually be traced to faulty seam welds, PG&E’s database showed the pipe to be seamless.

But the bad data was only the “tip of the iceberg” in a recordkeeping system so inadequate that the company could not possibly maintain its highpressure gas lines safely, a consultant later concluded.

Since then, hundreds of technicians and engineers have spent thousands of hours poring through millions of individual documents in an unprecedented effort to build a detailed view of PG&E’s vast gas transmission system — and to repair the utility’s tattered reputation.

So far, the effort has involved collecting 3 million records scattered in file cabinets in about 60 PG&E offices between Eureka and Bakersfield and shipping them to Emeryville. Once there, technicians scanned them into a computer system. Dozens more technicians based in Walnut Creek offices have been meticulously indexing those documents so engineers can click on any length of pipeline and see all the available records — purchase orders, engineering drawings, manufacturers’ documents

and other kinds of reports.

The level of detail that will be available to the company’s engineers, and the speed with which the database is being compiled, appear to be unprecedented, said Sumeet Singh, who is heading the quarter-billiondollar project.

“We’re going through every single record for every single foot of pipe,” Singh said.

But PG&E’s sloppy handling of its records over many decades makes the project difficult and expensive, and could ultimately limit its effectiveness, critics say.

“It’s good they’re trying to make things better, but they’ve got a lot of work,” said Richard Kuprewicz, a pipeline consultant in Redmond, Wash., who consults for The Utility Reform Network, a San Francisco consumer advocate organization.

One of the major problems for the company is the sheer number of records that are missing, Kuprewicz said.

That will require engineers to make assumptions, and that is where the company can get into trouble, he said.

State regulators last year launched an investigation into whether PG&E’s recordkeeping practices have been unsafe and illegal. In opening the investigation, the California Public Utilities Commission said it was “prepared to impose very significant fines” if it determines faulty record keeping contributed to the San Bruno explosion, which in addition to the deaths, injured many more people, destroyed 38 houses and damaged several more. Hearings are scheduled this fall.

Of the nearly 2,100 miles

of pipelines buried beneath urban areas that were examined with the new database so far, engineers were able to use records to verify that the pipeline was operating at safe pressures about 80 percent of the time. The other 20 percent were analyzed using conservative assumptions in place of missing records, Singh said.

By lowering pipeline pressures and examining equipment in the field, PG&E has verified the allowable pressures in its pipes are safe in those urban areas, according to the company.

The company has months of work ahead as it continues to compile information and analyze pressures in the other 4,600 miles of transmission pipelines.

For Nick Stavropoulos, who was hired by PG&E last year to turn around a gas business whose neglect was tragically exposed by the deadly San Bruno explosion, the development of a solid recordsbased description of the company’s pipeline network is one of his top priorities. So is instilling more attention to safety issues, deploying better information technology and rebuilding the pipeline safety management program.

“I have had this relentless focus on the records,” said Stavropoulos, PG&E’s executive vice president for gas operations. “I’m determined that we’re going to be the best in class.”

By the time the project is done next year, the utility will have spent an estimated $272 million and have a stateof-the-art record-keeping system that will lead the way among gas companies, according to PG&E.

Alaniz was born to a Mexican-American father and a white mother and grew up on Nipomo’s San Ysidro Farms.

It’s the same farm he takes his students to work on.

“I wanted students to understand more about where commodities come from,” Alaniz said. “Strawberries come from somewhere — the sweat, labor and the backbreaking work of immigrants.”

California’s population of current residents born abroad increased from 1.8 million in 1970 to more than 10 million in 2009, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

“San Luis is like a bubble; it’s very protected,” Alaniz said.

“But if I can bring stories and pictures from Latin America, I can get people to empathize with others.”

All of Alaniz’s activities are designed to take students out

AUTISM continued from page 2

and meet people.

“Cypress’ favorite game tonight is Monopoly,” Brian said. “(Cypress) doesn’t really have any issues; he’s just shy. He seems to be socializing well here. It seems like a lot of kids like games these days, you know, so it’s a cool thing to do.”

Brian said he’ll leave it up to his son to decide if he wants to come back to the next game night.

Another father that brought his son to game night for the first time is Eric Ferrari, a mathematics teacher at Righetti High School in Santa Maria.

Ferrari and his son found out about game night through his son’s counselor at Tidelands Counseling. His son has Asperger’s — a syndrome similar to autism, but children with Asperger’s are normally

of their comfort zones.

“He gave us the opportunity to wear a full length burqa just to expose us to different cultures,” Twitchell said. “This blond-haired, blue-eyed girl did it — you couldn’t even tell what she looked like. A football player wore girl’s clothing for a week to break gender norms. He said he heard a lot of people making fun of him behind his back.”

Though Alaniz has discontinued the burqa activity, saying he wanted to be sensitive to all cultures on campus, he said there have not been any calls for him to discontinue his alternative teaching opportunities from the community.

“A huge risk is that students will make the experience into a joke,” Alaniz said. “If this were to happen, it could put all of the activities into jeopardy.

To avoid this, I meet with each student individually and we go over behavior guidelines before they begin the activity.

They must sign the guidelines, which explicitly state that if

they do not follow the rules, they risk losing the grade and perhaps failing the course.”

So far, students have been receptive, he said.

“I’ve had students tell me that it’s the best experience they’ve had in their college career, and that they’ve learned more putting on a dress for a week than in years of college courses,” Alaniz said.

Though there are some exceptions, Alaniz approximated that 90 to 95 percent of students who take part in the extra credit activities appreciate the opportunity to think about social norms differently.

“This might be the one time in the lives of these students that they question white privilege,” Alaniz said. “It’s not a bad thing, but it is an issue.

I think I would like students to walk out of my classroom thinking more critically about the world and putting themselves in other’s shoes more often. If I can get them to do that, I think I’ll have been successful.”

higher-functioning and mainly have problems with skills such as socialization.

Many people don’t realize it, but some people with Asperger’s and autism attend college and live life like any other person. Ferrari’s son’s friend, Cal Poly alumnus Dana Goyette, graduated in 2011 and also comes to game night.

“It’s a good chance to meet people and get away from the computer — where I am usually,” Goyette said.

“I came to game night just to play games and to meet people,” Patrick Foster said.

“I liked playing Twister and meeting all the people.”

Foster said he found out about game night through his mom, Victoria Randall.

“I started a social group for young adults with autism,” Randall said.

May 11 was the second time Randall and Foster went to game night with the group.

“I just think it’s great be-

cause the students interact and mingle and it’s a real good social activity,” Randall said. “(Foster) enjoyed it the past two times … I hope they continue it next year.”

In addition to Muir residents and residents of Trinity helping, some members of Cal Poly Hip Hop Congress went to game night as well.

It was their first time helping out.

“We got invited because we’re helping with the autism dance,” Cal Poly Hip Hop Congress club president and computer science senior Ryan Badilla said. “I just think the kids are really, really cool.

They’re stoked about everything, so it’s really fun.”

The teen dance Cal Poly students are helping put on will be at United Methodist Church on May 18 from 7 to 9:30 p.m.. Though the dance is being held at a church, it’s not based around religion, Stepanek said.

DYLAN HONEA-BAUMANN/MUSTANG DAILY

Locals with autism socialized and played Monopoly on May 11 in Muir Hall.

MDarts 4

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

The Anthem brings slam poetry to Cal Poly

COURTESY PHOTO

Poets, such as Buddy Wakefield (above), will come together Friday to compete in Cal Poly’s annual slam poetry competition, The Anthem, from 7 to 10 p.m. in Chumash Auditorium.

BRIAN DE LOS SANTOS

bdelossantos.md@gmail.com

Business administration senior Jared Weiner saw something he hadn’t ever seen before at last year’s The Anthem poetry competition.

Sitting in the front row, he watched slam poet George Watsky step off stage in the middle of his performance and pull a set of portable steps to the front of the audience. Watsky’s poem was dedicated to a crush he had in his past, and how a fear of stage-diving during a Sum 41 concert cost him a “kiss at the end of the night.”

So, staring down 700 students in Chumash Auditorium, he climbed up the steps and did something he never had a chance to do.

He jumped.

“He always wanted to stage-

dive, so he just went ahead and did it,” said Weiner, who has been a member of The Anthem committee in each of his four years on campus. “We’ve had performers say some funny things, and maybe throw in some dance moves, but easily that was the craziest thing I’ve seen.”

While there may not be crowd surfing this year, The Anthem is gearing up for its sixth annual poetry slam set from 7 to 10 p.m. this Friday in Chumash Auditorium. Five poets will headline the competition, with one — Prentice Powell — participating as the master of ceremonies.

Most of the participants are new to The Anthem, but some have performed at Cal Poly before. Rudy Francisco, a 2009 National Underground Poetry Slam Champion from San Diego, came to Cal Poly for An-

other Type of Groove in April 2011, and Buddy Wakefield, the Individual World Poetry Slam Champion in 2004 and 2005, came to Cal Poly in September 2010 as part of the Nite Kite Revival tour.

Powell — who will be participating as a host, not a competitor — is a regular participant in Cal Poly’s slam poetry events, while Tatyana Brown, Josh Healey and Nash Quest are all coming to campus for the first time.

The poets will participate in three rounds of 2- to 4-minute segments. Each poem will be rated on a score of one to 10 by four judges, and the poet with the most points at the end of the night will be named the winner. And the poets will tackle a wide range of topics, including anything from love to information men to fatherhood. It’s a diverse group that

will only make the competition better, English junior and Anthem committee member Cate Harkins said.

“It’s going to be great,” Harkins said. “Some of them will have experience behind them, knowing what the Cal Poly groove is really like and how stoked we get on slam poetry.

Some of them are going to be experiencing it for the first time, so I am really looking forward to the diversity that they are going to bring.”

That diversity extends to the audience as well. The poetry is not just for liberal arts majors to enjoy, it’s poetry that all students and faculty can relate to, Harkins said.

“It’s something that ends up crossing major boundaries,” she said. “It’s not like we have 700 liberal arts majors in Chumash; it’s everybody. We get engineers, business majors, liberal arts majors and agriculture majors because the poets don’t just speak about poetry, it’s about living, relationships and just trying to get by in life.”

Those topics have drawn large audiences in years past.

Four years ago, the event drew close to 1,000 students, Weiner said. A year later, it drew 900 students, and last year close to 700 students came out to the competition.

That turnout is what has given Cal Poly name recognition as one of the better venues in the slam poetry community, The Anthem committee president and software engineering junior Mark Lerner said.

“We surprisingly have a good reputation in the poetry community as one of the best campuses to come and perform at

because the audiences are always high energy,” Lerner said.

“Especially last year’s anthem, we had an amazing turnout for some really good poets. We’re hoping to have the same thing this year.”

Lerner said he couldn’t be more exited for the event this Friday. He and most committee members have waited for this day since The Anthem ended last year. Mostly, he’s excited for the honesty slam poetry brings, he said. There’s

something that everyone can take away from it.

“There’s so much that you can show people and tell people in a poem that you can’t in normal conversation,” Lerner said. “It’s such an amazing event, and I think it’s one of the big things Cal Poly puts on that really makes this campus special. It’s something that everyone should see before they graduate, that’s for sure.”

Admission to The Anthem is free.

“May flowers” • PHOTO CREDIT Krisha Agatep •

MDarts 5

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

The ins and outs of office etiquette

Erik Hansen is a graduate student pursuing a master of public policy and Mustang Daily graduate columnist.

Are you graduating this spring and about to start a 9-to-5 job/career? Or maybe you still have a year or two to go before you can don a cap and gown, but you are about to get a taste of office life during a summer internship. Either way, you are going to want to make a positive first, and lasting, impression; being conscience of office etiquette is one way of making such an impression.

Many of you will be thrown into some new, “professional” environment this summer, an environment where you will be expected to adhere to a certain unwritten code of office etiquette. And while everyone exists in their own distinct paradigm, when grouped together with other human beings in a confined space, certain norms should be adhered to.

Of course, there are the basics — showing up on time, dressing appropriately, being clean and saying “Please” and “Thank you.” Hopefully you already have those down pat by now. The following are a few more for you to consider: Your phone During office hours, put your mobile phone on vibrate. No one wants to hear your new ringtone of Justin Bieber singing “Boyfriend” every time one of your lady friends calls.

And when/if your girlfriend or boyfriend does call during office hours, take the conversation outside so everyone does not have to hear whatever plans you might be making for the evening.

Also, on the topic of mo-

bile phones, smartphones and other devices can seriously downgrade your productivity, so save your texting and web surfing for lunch or non-working hours; an office meeting is not the time to be pecking away at your QWERTY keyboard.

Lunch Most cooked foods possess the potential of stinking up confined spaces. And while you might think taking your rotisserie chicken back to the office for a “working lunch” is a good — and productive — idea, your co-worker gagging in the next cubicle over would strongly disagree. Some of your safest choices are to: • eat out • eat something bland and uncooked at your desk • eat in the break room If you have leftovers, putting them directly into the office refrigerator might be a good idea too — if only to avoid food poisoning. Also, when you are all done with lunch, skip the gum and grab a breath mint. There is nothing professional about someone chewing gum; leave it at home.

Think before you talk to others No, you do not know everything. Be open to learning a thing or two from others and be thankful they are taking the time to help you out. And when someone is talking to you, helping you or providing you with advice, wait until they are done talking to have your say; few things are more annoying than being constantly cut off mid-sentence.

When you are talking to others, keep your personal life and opinions to yourself. Seriously, unless you are talking

to family or friends, no one else really cares. And when you are talking to others, remember to watch your language and volume; dropping the occasional F-bomb does not make you sound intense or determined, it only makes you sound unprofessional.

It is also important to learn when the appropriate time is to use speakerphone. Again, no one wants to hear your conversations.

Company time and property When you are in an office setting, treat it as though you are in someone else’s home.

As such, keep a tidy workspace and always clean up after yourself. Ask before using or borrowing office supplies — never steal office supplies.

And save your job searches for non-working hours. We all know you are ambitious and constantly on the lookout for that next step up the career ladder; however, it is extremely disrespectful to look for that next step on company time.

Respect others On the topic of respect, personal space and privacy should always be respected.

If an office door is closed, it is usually for good reason.

In addition, cubicles can be small and personal; do not go barging into someone’s cubicle. And finally, lay off the office gossip. There is an old Jewish proverb that goes something like: “What you do not see with your eyes, do not witness with your mouth.”

By taking the preceding tips into account and using a little bit of common sense, you can hopefully make a strong first, and lasting, impression wherever you end up this summer.

MD op/ed 6

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When I first saw the new Time magazine cover of a nearly 4-year-old boy nursing on his mother’s exposed breast, I must admit it made me nostalgic.

For a time when they wrapped magazines in brown paper.

I’m no mothering expert, but I do believe, as a general rule, that if you are standing up and wearing long pants, your breast-feeding days are over.

But what do I know? Using the headline “Are You Mom Enough?” Time has gotten tons of attention for its cover shot of 26-year-old Jamie Lynne Grumet yanking down one side of her tank top for her son Aram, who breastfeeds while standing on a stool and wearing — I’m not kidding here — sneakers and camouflage pants.

Grumet is a devotee of attachment parenting — the subject of the cover story — and, I admit, she and her boy do look attached. Very attached. Although I wonder how hungry that poor kid must have been. I’ve been to photo shoots. They can take hours.

Then again, why would the boy want to move? In their famous “2000 Year Old Man” routines, Mel Brooks tells Carl Reiner that the key to his long life was doing things slowly: “I breast-fed for 200 years.” He quickly adds, “I look back at that as the happiest part of my life.”

©2012 Mustang Daily

“You should probably go away if you’re going to be a cannibal.”

Good for them. Really, they did a good thing.

But shame on the Mustang Daily for publishing this useless article. After reading all of the apologies you have made to the greek system after they complain about biased reporting: SACK UP, its obvious

this is just an attempt to make amends.

But $6,000? That’s it? One week of “philanthropic work” and that’s all they have to show?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but if there are roughly 2200 members in our greek community, so if they each were to donate just $3 they would’ve raised about $6600?

Maybe next time they should consider dipping a little deeper into the alcohol budget?

Philanthropic work my ass.

good parent.

Attachment parenting was started by Dr. Bill Sears 20 years ago with a best seller called “The Baby

SA

But Brooks was making a comedy album.

Time is trying to make a statement.

Well, I take that back. First, Time was trying to make a splash. Then make money.

Then make a statement.

Why else do this cover? It’s 10 percent substance and 90 percent shock value. Yes, Grumet actually breastfeeds her son (and I feel sorry for that kid when he hits school, now that the whole world has downloaded that image). But I doubt Grumet earned the cover with her story.

Would the magazine have used her if she were 50 pounds o v e r weight and had a funny nose and frizzy hair? The fact that she is attractive and stands pitched in a slightly sexy pose — wearing skinny jeans, with her shoulders bare and a hand on her hip — should tell you what Time most wants from this whole thing: buzz.

And yes, we are helping the magazine achieve that by writing about it. But the image is too omnipresent to ignore. And it has, for a few days (which is as long as anything lasts in America now), sparked another discussion over what makes a

EW

Mitch Albom is a columnist for the Detroit Free Press.

RT

Nursing mother just the hype the doctor ordered

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Tuesday, May 15, 2012 Volume LXXVI, Number 122

she could remove her white jumpsuit, and become a distinct person separate from the uniformed world of the previous hour, made all of the confusion about the meaning of the play fade away, leaving me with a sense of wonder at how everyone has an individual story, even if we don’t realize it.

I can’t even begin to guess the message of some of the interactions (try as I might, I just can’t wrap my head around why Moses walked through carrying the Ten Commandments, or why a bird-person fluttered about with a cage in hand), but I still came away from the performance with an awareness that wasn’t there before. Now, maybe instead of walking through the UU with my headphones in, obliviously heading to my next class, I’ll take a moment to wonder about the people walking past me. Who are they? Where do they come from? What is their story?

And maybe if I go watch the performance again, I’ll get the answer.

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Mustang Daily reserves the right to edit letters for grammar, profanities, and length. Letters, commentaries and cartoons do not represent the views of the Mustang Daily. 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.

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(Handke) is extrapolating us as voyeurs to see the amount of different characters ... that walk through one particular space.

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EDITORS & STAFF

Last week, after writing the article on it, I had the privilege of going to see “The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other,” and I will be the first to admit I didn’t have any clue what was going on 60 percent of the time.

But the 40 percent I did understand was amazing.

The first indication this was going to be a less-thannormal theater experience (which is saying something in the theater world) was the lack of an actual plot synopsis anywhere online. After pulling up the Wikipedia page on “The Hour,” I realized why everyone else was so vague: The only explanation for the play is that Peter Handke wrote it after sitting in a café for an afternoon with a glass of wine.

When writing the article, the best explanation I received was from play director Josh Machamer.

“What (Handke) is doing is extrapolating us as voyeurs to see the amount of different characters and the amount of different people that walk through one particular space,” Machamer said. “That space is something that is physical; it is something that is metaphorical, that we can start to connect the dots of the stories that people take with them, not just within this particular space, but within the space that they bring with them.”

For those of you who just went, “Huh?” believe me, I get it. But after watching the show on Saturday, I can totally see what Machamer was saying.

The pre-play starts with a squarekeeper — played by Matthew Herman — sweeping throughout the University Union (UU) Plaza, at times interacting with the audience and passers-by by making them move their feet or even chasing them across the plaza. All of this occurred to the sound of upbeat, jazzy music playing through a set of wireless headphones. Every once in a while a mechanical voice — of whose message I haven’t yet fully grasped — would alert the audience members that the play was set to start in such and such minutes.

As the anticipation rose through the chilly plaza, audience members bundled up under blankets and with hot

drinks (Starbucks for me of course) to stay warm.

Finally, the play began with an actor walking across the “stage” with a shaking hand, and from there, everything exploded. Increasing exponentially in speed, more and more actors crossed the plaza wearing sterile white jumpsuits (which play an important part later), until all action stopped, as an actress in a red hat and heels crossed the stage.

All eyes were riveted on the character who I could only assume was the “beauty” — one of three continuous characters appearing throughout the production, played by Nora Doane — as she literally strutted across the plaza in bright, red heels. The quiet click-clack of her heels, in contrast with the loud music of before, was surprisingly impactful. I don’t know if the point of this was to emphasize the beauty’s role in the production, or if it was meant as commentary on the power of appearance in our society, but whatever it meant, from that moment I was hooked into the production.

As characters swirled, twirled, ran, marched, crawled, tumbled, cantered and dragged themselves through the plaza, my eyes were constantly drawn to new people and situations. While all of the ensemble had wonderful moments, one actress in particular fascinated me almost every time she walked across. Shelby Lewis, who I’ve seen perform with Smile and Nod, had such an expressive face in every character she brought to the stage that I would pretty much only watch her at times. Close to the end, when she stumbled across stage blindfolded, I was struck by how frightening taking those steps must be, and how much trust there must be between cast members to be willing to do that.

The other standout for me was Amy Shank as the “fool.” Her wide-eyed observation of the chaos surrounding her was the calm in the middle of a storm. Though she was branded a fool — someone less than everyone else — she seemed to be the only one who realized how at times ridiculous and funny, or by contrast sad and awful, the people around her were. She was truly an outsider, like us audience members, looking in, which made her moment of realization at the end all the more powerful. The joy on her face when she realized

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MUSTANG DAILY

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Book.” Sears suggests longterm breastfeeding, sleeping in the same bed as the child and wearing the little one in a sling against your body.

Personally, had I been raised in such a system, I would never have learned to walk. Why bother? I’m riding shotgun and sleeping next to my food source.

Anyhow, why are we so fascinated by parenting techniques? Not long ago, it was the Tiger Mom. Even more recently was pre-chewing your child’s food. Every five minutes, there seems to be a new,

better way to bring up your kids. You wonder how adults ever managed for millions of years before Time needed to sell a copy.

And, as with other lifestyle magazine stories, you wonder how many people are really living the trend, and how many are just gaping at the cover. Sears’ book has sold in excess of a million copies over the last 20 years, but in a nation of more than 300 million people, that’s not big penetration. According to Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter of the American Academy of Pedi-

—QWERTY

In response to “Greek life donates thousands”

with it for 10 weeks.

— Jeff In response to “Stress: More or less”

Although the quarter system is complete chaos at times, its nice to be busy. I feel like it keeps me out of trouble. Sure, it would be nice to have a little more time to do things, but that really only promotes procrastination. Besides, if you don’t like a class or a professor, you only have to deal

We have read closely, and we are not buying it. It still says “second place overall win.”

Since when does 2nd place in the World Series, a presidential election, or the Super Bowl constitute a “win?”

Communication is defined as the right word in the right order.

This article fails that definition.

atrics, “only 12 percent of American mothers exclusively breastfeed even for the first six months.” The number goes down after that.

Breast-feeding has many benefits, and it should be celebrated, but ask yourself: Really, how many people do you know who still are nursing their 4-year-olds? Is this really a national issue, or, like that famous picture of a naked, pregnant Demi Moore on the cover of Vanity Fair, just a great way to boost newsstand sales?

The truth is, as enlightened as we think we are, many Americans still get worked up over seeing an attractive woman’s naked breast on a magazine cover. To us, it’s a big story; to a baby, it’s breakfast.

Makes you wonder: Who’s the mature one here?

— Bob Phelam

In response to “Human powered vehicle team brings home wins”

NOTE: The Mustang Daily features select comments that are written in response to articles posted online. Though not all the responses are printed, the Mustang Daily prints comments that are coherent and foster intelligent discussion on a given subject.

No overcapitalization, please.

MDsports 7

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Red Raiders knock Mustangs out of title hunt MUSTANG DAILY STAFF REPORT

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The men’s tennis team concluded its season with a 4-1 loss to No. 22 Texas Tech in the first round of the NCAA Championships on Saturday.

Junior Andre Dome will compete in the individual championships and Matt Fawcett will join him in the doubles tournament, both of which will be held from May 23 to 28 in Athens, Ga. The Mustangs came into the match ranked No. 63 in the nation and won their only point of the day by taking

two doubles matches against the Red Raiders to begin the match. Jurgen De Jager and Marco Comuzzo won 8-6 while Jordan Bridge and Brian McPhee sealed the doubles point with a 8-4 win.

The singles matches, however, broke the other way for the Mustangs. Fawcett was narrowly defeated in consecutive 6-4 sets against Rafael Garcia and Sebastian Bell, the hero of the Mustang’s Big West Championship victory over UC Santa Barbara, fell 6-1, 6-3.

Dome and Gonzalo Escobar were locked in a 3-3 tie in the deciding third set and De Jager led Francisco Zambon

in their final set, but before they could finish, Texas Tech’s Vitor Manzini completed a 6-4 third-set victory over Bridge to give the Red Raiders the win. Had the match gone the other direction, Cal Poly could have come out victorious with wins from Dome and De Jager.

The team’s loss concludes the season for most of Cal Poly’s roster and marks the end of McPhee’s and Bell’s Mustang career. Dome, a product of Arroyo Grande High School, will anchor the Cal Poly lineup again in 2013 with De Jager and Comuzzo filling out part of the starting roster.

NHA HA/MUSTANG DAILY

Junior Andre Dome (above) came into the match ranked No. 40 in the nation, and despite the team’s loss, he will compete in the NCAA Individual Championships in Georgia next week.

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MDsports 8

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Mustangs race to season’s finish line in Irvine MUSTANG DAILY STAFF REPORT

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In a season filled with many ups and downs, improvement has been a satisfying constant for the Cal Poly men’s and women’s track teams.

“It’s always hard to have a perfect meet,” head coach Mark Conover said. “There are so many events and sometimes you get a little glitch. I think the men competed very strongly. Fourth place and very close to third is about what we were expecting.”

The fourth-place finish by the men’s team marks an improvement from sixth overall in 2011.

UC Santa Barbara claimed the outright title with a score of 179, topping second-place Cal State Northridge by 62 points.

Junior Derek Thomas posted his season best 3:43.44 as he peaked in the 1,500 — good enough for second overall trailing only UC Davis’s Jonathan Peterson. Behind Thomas, David Cardona and Blake McDowell posted fifth- andsixth place finishes, respectively. A time like this primes Thomas for a very likely birth

into regionals.

The duo of John Prader and Kyle Inks continued to display their dominance of men’s pole vault with first- and fourthplace finishes, respectively.

Prader’s mark of 17 feet, 6.5 inches not only claimed the outright conference title but also set a personal record, while Inks posted 16 feet, 10.75 inches.

“Practicing with Kyle Inks is nothing but a positive thing,” Prader said. “We usually compete at every meet. It’s awesome having that one person you are competing with. Both Kyle and I are just trying to stay healthy, and we will have a very good chance at advancing to nationals.”

Team captain Eric Surprenaunt finished third overall in the 400 hurdles at 52.27, good

enough to advance to regionals.

Surprenaunt placed seventh in the 110 hurdles as well with a time of 14.73.

“He’s a genuine person,” Conover said. “He recognizes that it’s a privilege to be at a meet like the conference and that you earn the right to be there. He conveys that message to his teammates every practice and meet.”

In the grueling 10,000 meter, Chris Frias claimed the silver medal with a time of 31:24.80, barely falling to UC Riverside’s Chad Hall, who posted a time of 31:32.81.

Brandon Shirck set a personal record in the steeplechase with a time of 9:09.61 followed by teammate Blake Ahrold’s sixthplace finish and personal record of 9:11.71.

Jamison Jordan’s 10.64 in the 100-meter dash helped lead him to a bronze medal.

On the women’s side, UC Davis claimed the Big West Conference title with a score of 170. Cal Poly came in eighth posting a 52.5.

Conover viewed the eighthplace finish as an important stepping stone for a very youthful team whose potential is signified through a few key performers.

“The women’s team is very young, and we were hit by a few key injuries,” Conover said.

“With the young group at full health and an outstanding recruiting class, we have an extremely bright future.”

Leading that group of women are freshman Lia Rivers-Birt and sophomore Jenna Davis.

The two claimed third- and fourth-place in the 800 meter with personal records of 2:11.15 and 2:11.16.

Whitney Sisler, a standout forward on the women’s soccer team and known more so for her high jump abilities, claimed the long jump conference title with a distance of 19 feet, 6.5 inches, nearly 5 inches greater than the second-place finisher, Danielle Littleton of UC Riverside.

The NCAA regionals take place May 24 to 26 in Austin, Texas, where Cal Poly will battle for spots at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships held in Des Moines, Iowa. The seedings will be released Thursday.

Conor Mulvaney contributed to this article.

NHA HA/MUSTANG DAILY

The women’s track and field team finished eighth at the Big West Championships in Irvine last weekend. Sophomore Lia Randazzo (far left) finished the women’s 100-meter hurdles in 15.46. The men’s team finished fourth with the help of Eric Surprenaunt’s (far right) third- and seventh-place finishes in the 400- and 110-meter hurdles, respectively.