When architecture senior Rioka Anne Kanazawa first told her parents about virtual study abroad, they didn’t think it was worth it. After explaining that it was her only option to experience architecture from a different cultural perspective during her years…
“It almost didn’t feel real”: Cal Poly community responds to riot in the U.S. Capitol
Students watched Twitter instead of their Zoom lectures as pro-Trump extremists invaded the Capitol building in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, Jan. 6. Armed with firearms, the mob pushed past police in an attempt to stop the Electoral College vote count…
Together Apart: What student clubs and organizations look like during the pandemic
As if virtual learning wasn’t difficult enough, socializing online has proven even more difficult for students. When Cal Poly announced in August 2020 that the majority of Fall quarter classes were online and that clubs were prohibited from meeting in…
“A super last minute scramble:” students recall leaving study abroad programs during COVID-19
It was 2 a.m. on March 12. President Trump had just issued a travel ban for Europe. “At the time, my friends and I were at the club, so it was the craziest experience of my life,” Economics and finance…
The activists who can’t go to protests: How immunocompromised students show up for Black Lives Matter
“No justice, no peace!” hundreds of students chanted as they walked shoulder-to-shoulder down Higuera Street. Cardboard signs with names, “George Floyd,” “Breonna Taylor” and “ Trayvon Martin” written in all-caps, raised over the heads of hundreds of masked walkers. A…
Letter to the Editor: Cal Poly should delay in-person classes and further de-densify the dorms
This letter was originally published online by the writers on Dec. 13, 2020. On Dec. 17, President Jeffrey Armstrong announced that all students, living on and off campus, are required to be tested for COVID-19 twice a week during winter quarter.…
SLO County gives first round of COVID-19 vaccines
San Luis Obispo County administered their first COVID-19 vaccines to health care professionals Thursday and Friday. “Is this an exciting day or what?” Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said. The County Public Health Department has received 1,950 doses of…
District Attorney Dan Dow removed from Tianna Arata’s case
San Luis Obispo District Attorney (DA) Dan Dow has been removed from Tianna Arata’s case due to a conflict of interest. Arata was arrested on the night of July 21 for coordinating and participating in a Black Lives Matter protest.…
CSU System anticipates in-person instruction in Fall 2021
The California State University (CSU) anticipates that they will be able to offer almost all in-person classes in Fall 2021, they announced in a press release Dec. 9. “While we are currently going through a very difficult surge in the…
Lockdown Literature: How Students are Rediscovering Reading During COVID-19
Sitting in her backyard, mid COVID-19 lockdown, English junior Abby Edgecumbe recognized that her current read, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, was a little on the nose. She swears the theming was unintentional but she might…
Playing it by ear: a look inside Mustang Band’s socially distanced practices and weekly COVID-19 tests
Walking up to the group of masked students holding instruments, she said she was nervous and unsure. More than anything else, she said she was excited because of her love for marching band. There were only 45 people at the…