Recent News
Graphic Communication Major Shares Color Research
Dec 12, 2019
The 2018 FFTA Rossini North America Flexographic Research Scholarship second-place recipient Linnea Landgren, a senior graphic communication major, shares her research on replicating consistent color.
Music Student Produces Two Videos Featuring Mustang Band for SLO Transit
Dec 12, 2019
Brian Mendez filming the SLO Transit videos.
It’s not often that music junior Brian Mendez produces something without sound — especially when it’s a video of a band. But when SLO Transit asked the Mustang Band to produce a promotional video for the buses, he was up for the challenge.
A jazz saxophonist, music producer and video producer, Mendez directed a promotional video and an instructional video featuring the Mustang Spirit Team that now screens daily on SLO Transit buses. He spearheaded the entire project, from storyboarding to filming and editing.
“It was hard to come up with everything from scratch, but honestly, that was part of the fun,” Mendez said.
There were two videos: One promotional video showed the Mustang Spirit Team (comprised of the band, cheer and dance teams) using SLO Transit to get to the Big Game at Spanos Stadium. The video served as a promotion for Cal Poly Athletics and SLO Transit alike. The second video was a detailed demonstration on how to use the bus for new passengers.
Mustang Spirit Team poses for a group photo while
filming the SLO Transit videos.
Director of Bands Christopher Woodruff knew when he was contacted by the City of San Luis Obispo about a video collaboration that Mendez would be a great leader for the project.
“As a member of Mustang Band, he is very aware of the character of the band and what aspects of their performance carry that special visual energy,” Woodruff said. “When I first suggested the project to him, he jumped at the opportunity and already had some ideas for the shot list.”
Mendez faced a few hurdles when tackling the project. One of which was the mere size of the instruments when loading onto the bus.
“We knew going into this that we weren’t going to have many tubas,” Mendez said. “When I was planning it out, I wrote, ‘one tuba at most.’”
Another challenge was creating a video that showcased the vibrancy and enthusiasm of Mustang Band — without the music.
“They told me the video would have no sound on the bus, so I had to make it more visually interesting,” Mendez said.
Mendez commutes using the bus daily. In addition to the thrill of seeing his name under “directed by” while riding the bus, he said this project made him realize the value of being a selfstarter.
“I learned that I am really capable of doing these things on my own. I feel like a lot of people are under the impression that to make something happen they’re going to need a lot of help,” Mendez said. “Obviously help is needed in the long run, but I realized that as an individual, you can make a lot of things happen.”
Note: Since the video is played on buses, there is no audio on the video.
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CSU + Adobe XD Creative Jam
Dec 11, 2019
Participants from eight different CSU schools — including Cal Poly — took part in CSU + Adobe XD Creative Jam on Oct. 11–12. Creative Jams, an event series where local thought leaders share a behind-the-scene peek into their processes and projects; meanwhile, teams compete in a tournament that puts their creative skills to the test using Adobe Creative Cloud.
CLA Students Earn Top Spots at CSU Media Arts Festival
Dec 11, 2019
Three students placed at the 29th annual CSU Media Arts Festival in Los Angeles on Nov. 13, sweeping the top three spots in Screenwriting and first in Promotional Video. The annual CSU Media Arts Festival is a film competition for students in the 23-campus CSU system.
Journalism major Shanti Herzog placed first and third in the Screenwriting category for two original screenplays; English major Matthew Lam placed second in Screenwriting for an original screenplay; and art and design major Casey Wieber placed first in Promotional Video.
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Join Cal Poly Career Connections!
Dec 10, 2019
Career Connections is an exclusive online networking and mentoring platform that connects you to Cal Poly’s professional community.
Alumni want to be here for you – they want to help you as you explore your own career path. As a student, you can utilize Career Connections in a number of different ways:
- Reach out to alumni to get career related advice
- Explore the profiles and career paths of Cal Poly alumni
- Browse the many resources and online career tools available to you
- Join groups that match your career interests
Make Career Connections your own!
Maybe you have a few questions to post on the discussion board or you want to have a quick video chat. You may also want more involved interaction – you decide what’s right for you. It’s free, easy and a great way to connect with the Cal Poly community.
How do I get started?
- Go to careerconnections.calpoly.edu
- Click “Join Now!”
- Complete your profile (log in with your Cal Poly user name for quick access)
- Start exploring and networking!
Career Connections was built with your busy schedule in mind. It’s free and takes just a few minutes to get started. Learn more and sign up today at careerconnections.calpoly.edu
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CLA Student Works on Project with New York Times Student Journalism Institute
Nov 15, 2019
Recent journalism and ethnic studies alumna Isabella Paoletto had the opportunity to work on a journalism project with the New York Times Student Journalism Institute during her last quarter at Cal Poly.
Isabella Paoletto in front of the New York Times office
The two-and-a-half week-long institute provided training and writing opportunities for student journalists who are members of the National Association of Black Journalists or the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, or who attend a historically black university. Paoletto traveled to New York in May to participate in the program and received training from New York Times journalists and editors.
Paoletto pitched and wrote her own long-form story about the horrors of New York subway systems. She interviewed approximately 50 strangers on the subway for her article, “Your Tales of Subway Horror: How Bad Is It?” In addition to anecdotes of crawling rodents and sexual harassment, the article delved into the issue of the subway system’s failing infrastructure and organizations that are working to solve the issue.
“This definitely taught me to overcome my fear of going up to random people and asking to interview them, which is a good skill to have,” Paoletto said.
But she was no stranger to reporting before the Institute. As a journalism student and a reporter for Mustang News, Paoletto said she learned the skills necessary to enter the experience with confidence. She credited the Journalism Department for teaching her the reporting skills that prepared her to cover the issue.
“I was actually surprised because a lot of the things [The New York Times journalists] were teaching in those training sessions, I had already learned at Cal Poly,” Paoletto said.
The article was published on the New York Times Student Journalism Institute’s website, along with a biography on Paoletto and her dedication to social justice and covering underrepresented voices.
“The journalism industry itself is predominantly white, so it was nice to be around people who have similar perspectives and cultural backgrounds as support,” Paoletto said. “That was the first time that I learned these spaces existed for students of color in journalism.”
Journalism associate professor and Mustang News print advisor Patrick Howe commended Paoletto’s adventurous work ethic, as she had to take time out of her last quarter and keep up with classes while completing the project in New York. Her willingness to take on challenging projects translated to the newsroom as well.
“What I remember most about Isabella is she took on some of our most serious topics as a reporter here,” Howe said. “In particular, I remember her for her coverage of diversity and inclusivity issues. She explored campus culture on another level of depth than most student reporters do, and she dove into issues that actually affect the campus.”
Now, Paoletto lives in New York full-time and is completing a fellowship with Business Insider. She hopes to eventually return to the New York Times as a reporter covering immigration and race-related issues.
“It’s my dream job,” Paoletto said. “I just love all the work they do.”
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From Syria to SLO, Psychology Student Tackles the Issue of Homelessness
Nov 12, 2019
As a high school student, Alaina Martine knew she cared about the issue of homelessness. She had volunteered at homeless shelters and taken service trips to do her part. But after one service trip to Greece, she returned feeling transformed and ready to make a lasting impact in homeless individuals’ lives.
"I never liked inequality, but when I was in high school, I kind of had my blinders on and wasn’t paying attention,” Martine said. “I didn’t realize it was such a large issue until traveling, volunteering and getting to college."
Martine, who has travelled to three continents – helping orphans, Syrian refugees, and disabled communities – recalled one profound moment while volunteering on a service trip in Greece in 2015. While donating supplies to Syrian refugees, she met a displaced girl named Sarah.
Sarah was Martine’s age and she was the only one in her family who spoke fluent English. She was dedicated to helping her family communicate with others on their journey, and had learned the language by watching a Disney movie over and over again.
“We were able to compare our lives and see we have so many similarities,” Martine said. "But solely because of where she’s from, she’s going through all these hardships that I am not. It was by complete chance."
Alaina Martine
Martine returned to San Luis Obispo, motivated to tackle the issue of homelessness in her own community. She started researching the issue as it pertains to California and produced a video to educate the public about ways they can help.
The video delved into the uncontrollable factors that often lead to homelessness — such as natural disasters, mental health issues, and domestic disputes.
“Being displaced doesn’t make anyone a bad person, but simply a person in a tough situation,” Martine said.
The video has several calls to action — ways that governments, organizations, and individuals can help the homeless. She submitted the video along with an essay to ApartmentGuide, which earned her a competitive scholarship for the quarter.
The Center for Service in Action Program at Cal Poly also keeps Martine connected to volunteer experiences abroad. With help from anonymous donors, she has been able to take service trips to three different countries despite her financial obstacles.
Martine plans to use her psychology major and biology minor to pursue psychiatry in low-income communities. In the meantime, she is looking into volunteering at the SLO Needle Exchange Program, which aims to combat issues like addiction and drug-related infections on the Central Coast.
Martine’s ambition to help solve this global problem has inspired her fellow students and professors, like her Multicultural Psychology professor, Susana López.
“We need more students like her. We need more people like her,” López said. “I know she will continue to do well for herself and for others.”
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Uncovering the Untold
Nov 12, 2019
Students and professors launch the Queer Archive Project to document Central Coast history
Students and faculty from Cal Poly and Cuesta College are collaborating for the Central Coast Queer Archive Project (CCQAP), which uncovers untold history and documents that history from the lives of the LGBTQ+ community on the Central Coast.
Researchers with the CCQAP are not only collecting archival research using local newspapers and Cal Poly archives, but they are also filming oral history interviews for a deeper look at the history.
“That’s the exciting thing — it’s not like we’re treading ground that’s already been covered,” environmental protection and management senior Autumn Ford said. “We’re not looking through secondary sources that tell the story. We’re going out into the world, finding the primary newspaper sources, talking to those people and documenting history that can be preserved for later generations. That’s what’s so amazing about it.”
Ford, who is part of the Science, Technology & Society minor program, began research on the Queer Archive Project through the BEACoN mentorship program, where she was matched with English professor Steven Ruszczycky as a mentor. Together, along with a local documentary filmmaker and Cuesta College students and professors, they created a website to help find untold stories.
Recently, Ford conducted a video interview with Lisa Dean, who was a prominent figure in the Central Coast LGBTQ+ community in the 1980s and 1990s. She ran and operated Breezes, a gay bar that shut down in the late 1990s due to high rent prices, and advocated for treatment and support during the United States' HIV/AIDS epidemic.
“It’s indescribable in a way, being able to sit down with someone who was established in the queer community and who lived it,” Ford said. “It helped me to understand what growing up with the AIDS crisis, and the turmoil of having a space and losing it does for a community of queer people. It was one of those experiences you can’t quite replicate.”
Kennedy Library Archives and Special Collections will preserve these oral history videos so future students and researchers can listen and use them for their own projects.
The project has also sparked the addition of a new Women and Gender Studies special topics course — WGS 302: Contemporary Issues in Queer Studies - Queer Oral History. The course will debut in winter 2020.
“It’s important that this history is not seen as a niche history,” Ruszczycky said. “It’s not a supplement to the main story; it is a part of the main story.”
Steven Ruszczycky
Ruszczycky said queer and trans people have often been excluded from institutions of official public memory — except as unfortunate examples, such as disease, disorder, or crime. The Queer Archive Project attempts to celebrate the untold positive contributions to local life members of the LGBTQ+ community have made on the Central Coast.
Although the stories of the LGBTQ+ community have been excluded from public record, the history still exists in the memories of those who lived it, Ruszczycky said.
“In a way we’re going back and filling in the holes in history, but what happens when you go to fill in those holes is that it changes the whole story,” Ruszczycky said. “This work can be really transformative in terms of how we understand the history of San Luis Obispo and how different communities experience this place.”
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Emily Ryalls Guest Stars in Podcast "Historians on Housewives"
Oct 16, 2019
ISLA Professor Emily Ryalls was featured on a podcast from Historians on Housewives, which brings together scholars from interdisciplinary backgrounds to explain The Housewives phenomenon, and to explore how issues of race, gender, class, and sexuality can better shape understandings of American and world history.
Graphic Communication Senior Selected for Cal Poly's Accelerator Program
Oct 14, 2019
GrC graduating senior Joe Sobrero successfully participated in Demo Day earlier in the month for his product Ropegun, a fitness tracker, route-guide and social media platform for climbers. Nathaniel Furbeyre, a mechanical engineering graduate, also worked on the team.