The California State University (CSU) announced Tuesday morning that all students and employees accessing campus facilities are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 going into the fall term. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their last vaccine dose. Cal Poly requires residential students to be vaccinated by Sept. 14. All other […]
Author Archives: Catherine Allen
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A judge ruled to end new DACA applications. Here’s what that means for Cal Poly students.Â
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program can no longer accept new applications after a federal judge ruled on Friday that the policy was unlawful, according to a July 21 university email sent to students. The DACA program, created by former President Barack Obama in 2012, serves approximately 616,000 people nationwide and nearly 200 […]
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Masks no longer required for vaccinated students, Cal Poly says
With summer quarter starting Monday, Cal Poly announced in a campus-wide email that vaccinated students are no longer required to wear face coverings due to updated state guidance. “Students who are not vaccinated at this time should still wear a mask when you are indoors,” Cal Poly Emergency Management Director Anthony Knight said in the […]
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BLMCA hosts Juneteenth event in Mitchell Park tomorrow
Black Lives Matter Community Action (BLMCA) is celebrating Juneteenth and Black joy with performances, food and activities tomorrow in Mitchell Park. Juneteenth celebrates June 19, 1865, when the Union army’s Major Gen. Gordon Granger ordered the freeing of more than 250,000 Black people that were still enslaved in Texas, despite the implementations of the Emancipation […]
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“Nowhere to go”: Morro Bay homeless encampment on Vistra-owned land destroyed
Audio by Marcus Cocova On and off for four years, 70-year-old Kevin Miller would stay with 20 to 30 others at an encampment near Morro Creek, living off small amounts of social security, services and some work on the side. Last week, an excavator cleared through that encampment. A Texas-based energy company, Vistra Corp., owns […]
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Some students billed for required COVID-19 tests
Editor’s note: This article was updated on June 2 to include comments received by Avellino Labs after publication. Update June 2, 2021: Avellino Labs Spokesperson Angela LaprĂ© told Mustang News students may have received billing statements if their insurance sent checks directly to the insurance holder rather than to Avellino, or if the insurance holder […]
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Cal Poly is the only predominantly white CSU. Here’s why
It wasn’t until after their high school’s sports signing day that civil engineering junior and track athlete Kaila Bishop found out they would be one of 23 Black students enrolled in Cal Poly’s class of 2022. The class consisted of 4,398 freshmen total. “I was a little scared,” Bishop said. “But not much, because I […]
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A Central Coast May Day: activists demand justice for workers, BIPOC communities
On May Day, Princess Nokia’s song “Brown Girl Blues” echoed throughout Mission Plaza, her spoken-word-like lyrics filling the plaza with graphic imagery of the adversary and abuse people of color experience in the United States. “You think it’s been a long time since Civil Rights?” the lyrics read. “No, still our people have to go […]
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SLO County moves to Orange Tier starting tomorrow
San Luis Obispo County will be in the less restrictive Orange Tier starting Wednesday, April 28 at 8 a.m. — making way for increased reopening of businesses, activities and Cal Poly’s in-person graduation ceremonies. Announced by County Public Health on Tuesday, April 27, the shift from Red Tier to the moderate Orange Tier allows for […]
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Power imbalance in COVID-19 enforcement
Biological sciences professor Pat Fidopiastis said he never wears a mask “unless required to do so.” Consequently, he’s sometimes been unmasked while moving between multiple labs on campus or while talking to students. “I’m like a four-year-old in a Sunday suit,” Fidopiastis said. “I just don’t like masks, I don’t like confining — I feel […]
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Paul Flores arrested for murder of Kristin Smart nearly 25 years after her disappearance
Update April 14: Paul Flores and Ruben Flores have not formally been charged for murder and accessory after the fact, respectively. They were arrested on suspicion of these charges and booked into jail, and will later be formally charged by the District Attorney. After 24 years, 10 months, two weeks and five days, the 1996 disappearance of […]