It took Drake Abrahamsson 16 hours to shape his first surfboard. He was at a friend’s house in San Clemente, California, in 2016 when he saw a clip of pro surfer Ryan Birch on a board that Abrahamsson did not recognize. “He was in this super cold looking water on this rainbow fish, and it […]
Category: Cover Story
Posted inCover Story
‘In it for each other’: Understaffed SLO Days leaders raise concerns of unpaid overtime
This story comes from The Hill, a team of data analysts and reporters focused on data-driven and investigative stories at Mustang News. Click here to read more stories from The Hill. For liberal studies junior Lindsay Gonor, Cal Poly Orientation’s SLO Days program symbolizes the connection between incoming freshmen and students already adjusted to college. It was […]
Posted inArts
Welcome back to Shabang: the San Luis Obispo music festival returns
The Shabang Live Music and Arts Festival returned to Laguna Lake Park in San Luis Obispo after a nearly two year hiatus. The five stages attracted roughly 4,000 guests on Friday and 9,000 on Saturday, as well as 40 artists from all over the country. Audio by Sophie Lincoln The first Shabang was thrown […]
Posted inArts
From Cal Poly to Fashion Week: Meet the student who doubles as a TikTok influencer
In the backdrop of a black box theater, models catwalk in luxe white, cream and black clothing and contrasting shining gold plated body armor and jewelry. Renowned athletes like Neymar Junior and Serena Williams and “Riverdale” actor Charles Melton were in attendance for the Balmain Autumn/Winter runway show at Paris Fashion Week on March 2. […]
Posted inThe Hill
‘Callous and risky’: Immunocompromised people brace for spring quarter as Armstrong lifts mask mandate
M.W. Kaplan dreads thinking about an in-person communications theory class they are enrolled in at Cal Poly next quarter. Kaplan, a communication studies junior, said they need to take the class to graduate — but with the university lifting the indoor mask mandate across campus starting in the spring, Kaplan is not comfortable going to […]
Posted inTop Stories
The man behind the maze: Cal Poly student creates mazes in the sand, washed away with the changing tides
Like clockwork, the tides in Morro Bay rise and fall every day. For just a few hours, the beach becomes a blank canvas that environmental management and protection sophomore Sean Dahlberg takes advantage of. With nothing more than a long curvy stick of driftwood and his imagination, Dahlberg gets to work. Every project starts with […]
Posted inTop Stories
Omicron goes to school: students and faculty frustrated upon return to campus amid largest COVID-19 surge
Siga aquí para leer este artículo en Español. The first week of winter quarter looked different for all students at Cal Poly this time around. As some students scrambled to make it to class on time after waiting in hour-long testing lines, other students emailed their professors informing them of their inability to attend the first […]
Posted inCover Story
The Divide: head coaches of women’s sports earn less than head coaches of men’s sports at Cal Poly
The women’s basketball team finished the 2020-2021 season with an overall record of 13-11. They also reached the semifinals of the Big West Tournament after beating Long Beach State in the quarterfinals, according to gopoly.com. The men’s basketball team finished last season with an overall record of 4-20. Despite a recent winning season, women’s basketball […]
Posted inNews
Chief of Police and Clery Director respond to students’ fears following recent sexual assaults
Editor’s note: This story discusses themes including sexual violence. Environmental management and protection freshman Lauren Tillotson was shocked to receive the first Clery Act notification in her inbox on Oct. 5, which notified students of a rape in Architecture Graveyard. Within a week, a second email arrived with news of another on-campus sexual assault. “It […]
Posted inThe Hill
Enrolled and unhoused: Students struggle to find housing weeks into fall quarter
While most students at Cal Poly ate food at a dining table and slept in a warm bed under a roof in San Luis Obispo, Savannah Bosley spent the first two weeks of the fall quarter living out of her car. Bosley, a computer science sophomore at Cal Poly, said she couldn’t find a place […]
Posted inCover Story
Spilling trauma: Students from marginalized backgrounds feel pressured to write about hardship
Isabella Carrera remembers not having nearby space to run around or enjoy the outdoors growing up in Panorama City, California. The lack of green space — which includes parks and outdoor community areas — is an accessibility issue that heavily impacts urban, low-income communities. One day, Carrera wants to own a landscape architecture firm to […]