In his latest email to the Cal Poly community, President Jeffrey Armstrong addressed concerns about in-person classes amidst a COVID-19 spike — but data he referenced contradicts data on the university’s own COVID-19 Dashboard. Armstrong’s Jan. 13 email noted how “[t]he university tested all 21,000+ students within approximately one week of their arrival.” Cal Poly’s […]
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Cal Poly community petitions for safety protocols after week one COVID blunders
One week into winter quarter, Cal Poly community members are petitioning for safer COVID-19 policies after what they say is university administration’s mishandling of its worst coronavirus surge yet. The petition garnered more than 2,960 signatures in just a few days, including university employees, students, parents, alumni and community members. It cites a main issue […]
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Cal Poly is isolating COVID-positive students in off-campus hotels
Cal Poly has become so overwhelmed by on-campus students testing positive for COVID-19 that the university began isolating COVID-positive students in local San Luis Obispo hotels on Wednesday, Jan. 5. “The university engaged off-campus beds because it needed more than the 62 beds available on campus.” Cal Poly spokesperson Matt Lazier wrote to Mustang News […]
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Record-high number of Cal Poly students test positive for COVID-19
Three days into the new year, more students have tested positive for the coronavirus through Cal Poly’s COVID-19 testing program than ever before, according to the university’s COVID-19 Dashboard. On Sunday, Jan. 2, Cal Poly reported a record-high of 81 positive tests out of 1,939 total tests performed. Cal Poly students made up about 39% […]
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Cal Poly isn’t doing enough to address sexual assault, students say in survey
Editor’s Note: This article discusses specific experiences and themes regarding sexual assault and sexual harassment. Survivors of such experiences can access virtual confidential services through Cal Poly Safer’s website. The sun had already set by the time Morgan Saltamachio was walking back from class to her Cerro Vista apartment, where she worked as a resident […]
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Growing number of students have stopped completing daily symptom screener
Since the beginning of fall quarter, a growing number of students have stopped filling out Cal Poly’s daily symptom screener, meaning less students are reporting whether they have COVID-19 symptoms to the university. Over the first five weeks of the fall quarter, the weekly count of completed daily symptom screeners fell by 32% — from […]
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COVID-19 cases in San Luis Obispo County continue to decline
Following a spike in August, new daily COVID-19 cases in San Luis Obispo County have steadily decreased. So far in October, there have been 920 new COVID-19 cases, compared to 2,500 cases in September and 3,543 cases in August, according to data from the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department. Cases this month are […]
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Overall crime decreased on campus last year except for sharp rise in stalking cases
Editor’s note: an error in the data in the first graph “Over the last three years, reports of stalking have increased at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo” was changed to reflect the correct percentage increase of 33%. Crime at Cal Poly decreased overall in 2020 in most categories compared to the prior two years aside […]
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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 […]
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Cal Poly students prefer the Pfizer vaccine, poll shows
Mustang News surveyed a random sample of 422 students and an overwhelming majority of respondents selected Pfizer as their first choice for the COVID-19 vaccine, Moderna as their second choice and Johnson and Johnson as their third choice. Out of the 422 Cal Poly students who were surveyed, only 36 of those students (8.6%) chose […]
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Major COVID-19 spikes occurred after Halloween and New Year’s Eve. Now students are concerned about cases after St. Patrick’s Day celebrations
Through the duration of the pandemic, major spikes in cases at Cal Poly occurred after two major holidays: Halloween and New Year’s Eve, according to statistics from Cal Poly’s COVID-19 dashboard. Now after dozens of Cal Poly students were seen gathering at St. Patrick’s day parties, students are wondering if another spike is in the […]