04-03-2012

Page 1

Fawcett returns to tennis after injuries. SPORTS, pg. 8

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

WORD ON THE STREET What do you think WASC stands for?

Volume LXXVI, Number 97

Poly accreditation under review SEAN MCMINN

seanmcminn.md@gmail.com

Cal Poly will try to put its best foot forward today after five years of work preparing for this week’s visit by a university-accreditation committee. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) will send five delegates to campus today. Led by former Washington State University president Samuel Smith, the group will tour Cal Poly and speak to people from different areas in the university, including Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong. During the visit, which typically occurs every 10 years, WASC will evaluate the university on predetermined criteria. To keep the university’s accreditation status, Cal Poly must meet all of the criteria. Director of the Cal Poly Center for Teaching and Learning Bruno Giberti and associate vice president for institutional review David Conn led the effort to prepare for the WASC review. The two said their goal was to make sure Cal Poly is ready for the visit.

“Women’s American Sports Center.’” • Edgar Uribe mechanical engineering sophomore

“Western Association Student Accreditation.” • Steven Chin computer engineering sophomore

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“In some ways, it’s the culmination of a five-year process,” Giberti said. That process started with a submission of documents to WASC, indicating Cal Poly’s plan on how to self-evaluate the university before the committee comes. The proposal, which WASC accepted in late 2007, focuses on Cal Poly’s identity as a polytechnic university in the 21st century. Giberti said they found that Cal Poly is unique in its work as a polytechnic school. “It combines aspects of different kinds of universities,” he said. “So at this point in the game, it is a complete, comprehensive polytechnic university.” Students will also have the opportunity to speak about Cal Poly with WASC representatives at an open forum Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. Conn said he anticipates students who attend will have very specific issues they want to discuss with the WASC panel, but he hopes that by combining the forum with visits around campus, the committee will see an accu-

rate slice of what it is like to attend Cal Poly. “The team is here to validate what they read in the report and see what Cal Poly is like in person,” Conn said. Cal Poly administrative coordinator Rachel Henry worked to organize committees for the self-evaluation and was one of the editors of the final report. She said though the WASC team will spend most of its time on campus with administration and faculty, she strongly encourages students to attend the forum and become involved in the evaluation process. “It’s a good opportunity for students to take ownership of their own education,” Henry said. As part of the proposal and reports created in preparation for the WASC visit, the teams Henry helped form evaluated the status of current university practices. One of their findings is, though the university has embraced “Learn By Doing” as a philosophy ingrained into the see WASC, pg. 2

GRAPHIC BY MELISSA WONG

Climbing park to open mid-month BRIAN DE LOS SANTOS

bdls.md@gmail.com

“What A Sarcastic Animal.” • Nick Shields kinesiology senior

“Women’s Association Scuba Diving Convention.” • Joi Sullivan political science freshman

BRIAN DE LOS SANTOS/MUSTANG DAILY

The new climbing park at the Cal Poly Recreation Center will feature a climbing tower which is 42-feet-tall and a 13-foot, free-climb boulder.

CHECK OUT

ARTS, pg. 4

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New poet brings hip-hop to ATOG.

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Cal Poly Recreation Center attendees will soon have another form of exercise to choose from — but it’s a bit different than lifting weights. A new, outdoor rock-climbing park featuring a four-story climbing tower and a 13-foot boulder is set to open as early as mid-April. The park, which is an expansion of the original wall that stood on the Northeast side of the McPhee University Union, is located between the Recreation and Health centers. It will feature more options and routes that range in difficulty from inexperienced to experienced climbers, options the former wall did not have, Associated Students, Inc. outdoor program coordinator Nancy Clark said. “We had a very big climbing group that always came and always climbed,” Clark said. “But the wall itself was so small that if we didn’t change out the routes on a more regular basis, they got bored with it. This one is just going to have more surface area to keep everyone entertained for a longer period.” The routes in the new rock park won’t be that easy, as they fall into the highest class (class five) of the Yosemite Decimal System — which gives numerical values to rate the difficulty of various climbs. According to Climber.org, a grade-five climb is one that requires a safety rope and protective gear, among other requirements. The tower outside the Recreation Center will range anywhere from a 5.5 to 5.8 grade, Clark said. “We do have some systems that go up to 5.10, and you would have to be a pretty good climber to climb 5.10,”

Tomorrow’s Weather: high mostly sunny

72˚F

low 50˚F

Clark said. While the the rock wall itself will have users strap up into harnesses, the new boulder will give members a chance to free climb above a softened landing area. Once students reach the top, there will be an area where they can walk down safely without having to climb, known as a top-out boulder. Adding new features and expanding the climbing park is something that University Union Advisory Board (UUAB) chair Karen Mesrobian said will add to the diversity of experiences at the Recreation Center, and expose people to exercises they might never have had the chance to do before. “It’s daunting, but it’s also amazing,” Mesrobian said. “If we can just get people to try it, to broaden their horizons, and also provide an opportunity for the people who are skilled to have that access, that’s the goal. If people are using it, then we’re successful.” And that includes beginners. Clark said the 10 newly-hired climbing wall supervisors will offer training courses to novice climbers, so the area can accommodate users of all skill levels. Prior to the opening of Cal Poly’s park, climbers had other options at two local gyms, Crux Climbing Center and SLO-Op Climbing. While both specialize in different types of climbing, Clark said she is convinced the new park will not affect membership numbers at the local gyms. “We are so student-based, and I know a lot of my staff climbs at SLOOp, and they are not going to stop doing that,” Clark said. “It’s a different environment. It’s a different clientele. It’s a different feel.” Mechanical engineering senior Myl-

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

see CLIMBING, pg. 2

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


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