The bottom half of the Performing Arts Center. Jam-packed.

Taken aback by the mass crowds pouring into the Performing Arts Center at Cal Poly, I was nearly knocked over by people racing to get seats at Thursday’s speech by Michael Pollan.  There was an excitement in the air as everyone took their seats and I was also pretty excited since I got the top level seating with the swivel chairs.

I talked to a woman named Sandra Evans, a San Luis Obispo native, who was telling me about how she first came upon Pollan’s ideals when she read his books about gardening. She said, “I really like him and am very supportive of his plans about sustainability.” She was with a group of people, obviously friends, as she joked that her husband is also supportive since she was. Many people, like Sandra Evans, came to see what other ideas he had to share about sustainable agriculture, and ask questions concerning the cost of potentially expensive earth-friendly agriculture in a troubled economy.

Many students who sat around me were attending the speech only for an extra credit assignment for their classes. Julie, a kinesiology major, said even though she “wasn’t aware of the ideas concerning sustainability,” she was still excited to get a better look at how she can help out the environment.

Michael Pollan sitting in the panel while the Director of the Agriculture Department gives his welcome speech.

Michael Pollan sat in a panel during the discussion including Earth-bound Farm co-founder, Myra Goodman, and distinguished Colorado State University professor, Gary Smith. A moderator also sat in the panel. He was in charge of asking questions during their answers to give the audience a better feel for their concerns and opinions of the subject.

The first question to the panel was to define sustainability for the audience. Pollan stated, “sustainability is simple, it is really an ideal. We don’t need inputs on how to be involved.” He explained we really just need to be motivated to better our earth and ourselves.

He talked about fossil fuel and it’s meaningless place in our economy saying solar energy to create power is the best way to run our country and our planet. He took out four glasses, a thermos filled with (what he said was) oil and a McDonalds Big Mac. He filled each glass six ounces to total twenty-six ounces. The oil (which was later identified as chocolate syrup) represented the amount of oil it took to produce one Big Mac or any other fast food item.

Keeping this example in mind, Pollan went on to say that even though America takes pride in selling cheap food, we shouldn’t take pride in the rising health concerns after consumption. Although cheap food helps feed our citizens, healthy, natural food grown from farmers become more expensive. Because of higher prices, farmers are feeling the heat. The highest grossing health risk in America is related to poor diet causing the most harm to the body. Pollan says, “We are moving into an era where it is either pay the farmer or pay the doctor. What we are doing, as you know, is pay the doctor. But what we should be doing is paying the farmer.”

Pollan raised awareness in his speech that sustainability is the only way to a healthier individual and a healthier planet. The controversies surrounding the topic are ever growing.

Just like the controversies Pollan addressed, Cal Poly’s Greek community are also dealing with many controversies. The greatest one deals with the act of hazing within Greek houses.

Cal Poly describes hazing as “any activity that causes physical or emotional harm, degradation, or humiliation during initiation into a social group,” according to Cal Poly’s Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities Web site. (Mustang Daily). Many common acts of friendship now are considered hazing if taken the wrong way, such as: sleepovers, giving nicknames, glasses that can be used for alcohol, and even memorizing active members names. The state of California defines hazing if an act or situation is likely to cause serious bodily harm.

The four students charged with assisting in Starkey's death

Cal Poly, however, had to crack down on hazing after the 2008 death of Carson Starkey. Carson Starkey was a pledge member of the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) “after he was given large amounts of alcohol at a pledge event known as “Brown Bag Night” (Mustang Daily). Sadly, Starkey died of alcohol poisoning soon after the event.

After Starkey’s death, SAE was quickly taken out of the Greek system at Cal Poly and four former members of the fraternity are being criminally charged with his death.

Strict hazing policies have now been put in place in the Cal Poly Greek community for very good reason. Greek members must now sign a waiver that no one will part-take in any hazing activities.

In my opinion, hazing is a complete waste of time. A new member should be picked not for their willingness to put themselves in awkward positions, but for what they can contribute to a positive experience in the Greek system.

Beer - A College Favorite

Alcohol is one thing that is always present in the Greek community. Whether you choose to part take in the act of drinking and so called “blacking out” is completely up to the individual. Even during the Week Of Welcome (WOW) at Cal Poly, alcohol was the main influence on many arrests and citations. The Mustang Daily reported “more than 80 citations from Sept. 10 to Sept. 21, including 49 citations for open containers, 16 for noise violations and 12 for urinating in public. The San Luis Obispo Police Department also arrested more than 25 people for a variety of offenses, including public intoxication, driving under the influence, one case of driving under the influence that resulted in an injury, battery and resisting arrest.”

On Saturday October 9^th, my sorority was planned to go on a sisterhood retreat to my favorite place on earth, Disneyland. A sisterhood event is where the whole sorority travels to a place, event, or getaway in order to bond with their sisters and the girls of the new rush class.

A couple days before our departure, we were advised to attend a meeting on the reasons alcohol should not be present at the “happiest place on earth”. One reason was that there were to be little kids around, parents, and the elderly. Another was the fear that if too much alcohol was consumed, we could be sent home with severe consequences including suspension from the sorority. The last reason was by far the only reason that I thought necessary; it’s the G** damn happiest place on earth, why the hell would you want to be intoxicated when the atmosphere gets you high on life?

The shirts we dawned that day

I know that some people might have different opinions on the way they would like to spend their time at Disneyland but I was quite concerned that this issue was even being brought up.

I was so relieved that there was no alcohol present, although highly talked of, at Disneyland. The main drug of choice for the day, caffeine, even taken in high quantities, couldn’t keep us from crashing as soon as our sorority behinds hit the bus seats.

Even though I am very bitter that after five years of searching Disneyland’s grounds I still haven’t met Cinderella, I had one of the best times of my life, sober or not.

Bonding really does exist in sororities and we really do all become friends sooner or later. The rumor that alcohol bonds people faster than over a cup of coffee will forever be a stupid excuse to get drunk and make a fool of yourself. Can someone really be that dull or boring that they are only interesting under the influence? If so, Lord help us all.

In the courtyard of the Monte Vista Apartments near Cal Poly, a reggae band tunes their instruments for a special occasion, a fraternity rush event. Every year, hundreds of male students gather at various fraternity houses in hope of joining a brotherhood. With the hope of sparking interest in a large crowd of students, one fraternity decided to use a different approach with rush. The Chiller Whales were picked to play at a fraternity bbq, by their own fraternity.

The Chiller Whales started as a bunch of friends and fraternity brothers with the common interest of playing music. Anything but the typical looking fraternity guys, the Chiller Whales consist of five guys looking for a place to spread their “awesome sauce” music.

They addressed the crowd with much enthusiasm and were surprised with the large crowd awaiting the show. Although this was a rush event trying to attract freshman males to ‘go greek’ many locals and friends also attended the event. All members dawning their bright blue Chiller Whale tank tops while pointing out the similar shirts on the fans in the audience.

Unlike the common stereotype that the average fraternity member insist on boozing his life away, these guys played music that had everyone drunk on “feel good songs.”

The Chiller Whales playing at Native Lounge

The Chiller Whales first started playing small gigs set up in the back yards of friends houses and slowly have evolved to play shows at bigger events such as the Annual Grover Beach Festival, SLO’s Native Lounge Sundays, and Cal Poly’s “Up Till Dawn” fundraiser for  St. Jude’s Childrens Hospital.

Sevren Smith, a senior and Cal Poly and the band’s singer said the show was a hit because “people are creating cool and positive vibes listening to our music and that’s what we aim for.”

“We took the vibe from [Santa Barbara's reggae band] Rebelution and added our own flare of alternative rock and have a rapper,” said guitarist Scott Schrag.

Their popular song, ‘Wowies’ was written during the beginning of the band’s debut to San Luis Obispo in 2008 and talks about “the shenannigans” Wowies find themselves in. The band’s new song called ‘Smile When I Sleep’, debuted at the rush event, showed the band’s acoustic vibe while also giving a reggae beat to flow to.

Top Chiller Whale Songs to Look Out For

• Feel Good Song
• Disillusionary Leader
• Come Alive
• Crucial

The Chiller Whales post their upcoming shows on their MySpace. No shows are posted for now but they are eager to keep spreading their positive vibes throughout San Luis Obispo and beyond.

A fan showing their love

The Many Houses of Greek Life

The basis of my blog is not to condone or to point fingers. I am merely stating the facts. My name is Laura Reynolds and I am in the Greek system at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. The Greek community of Cal Poly is condoned for many reasons, some involving hazing, partying, and excessive drinking. I am here to help the reader better understand Greek Life.

When I was a freshman, I was very against being Greek after rumors flew around about the different sororities and their involvements with fraternities and partying. The friends I made were also not interested in being a part of “the cults”.

Through the rest of my freshman year, my idea of sororities never really changed from the movie aspect of back-stabbing girls and rumors of excessive drinking. With the birth of the website “JuicyCampus” the Greek system took a harsh blow, and it definitely didn’t help anyone’s reputation.

Because I wasn’t affiliated with sorority events, I tried to create friendships by joining the clubs and trying to find people that had the same interests as myself. During my sophomore year, however, many girls I met were joining the Greek system but I kept my ground. This might have been the worst decision of my life.

I saw all my girl friends be sucked into a world that I thought was something that I could never be a part of. Each sorority held a not-so-pretty stereotype whether they wanted one or not. But as I watched my friends pick houses that I thought were part of a “fake friendship”, they came back with life-altering information. Were the rumors that I thought to be true actually just a rumor? Sadly, yes.

In the Spring of 2009, I joined the Greek community. I have never been happier and have surprised myself in so many ways. I joined the house that I heard to be the one filled with fake friendship and self-absorbed members. Before I decided to look at the rumors from the other side, I stood my ground about my opinions. But after I met many girls from each sorority, I realized my mindset was completely false.

With movies like Legally Blonde and The House Bunny, the fantasy of a glamorous and sometimes stuck up life of a sorority girl somehow always gets stuck in people’s thoughts towards Greek life. The fraternity member must always drink excessive amounts of beer and have the IQ of a snail. The sorority girl, typically blonde and ditzy, rarely ever steps out of the world of revealing clothing and manicures and always carries her unnecessarily small dog companion.

This is why I am creating this blog. To help the uninformed to not believe anything they hear without cold, hard facts. For each house’s safety, I can’t state which house the information comes from and many names will have to be changed for the protection of some Greek houses.

The rumors will be revealed, examined, and hopefully be broken down so the truth of Greek life can change the way San Luis Obispo feels about Cal Poly’s Greek members.

Beat: Greek Life Stereotypes

Main Issues: The main issues affecting Greek life stereotypes are the opinions of Cal Poly and Cuesta students, the bias students have against Greek life coming into Cal Poly, and the rumors surrounding different houses of the Greek system. Another issue is the huge effect “JuicyCampus.com” had for or against certain houses in Greek life and the different opinions each house had against eachother.

Story Ideas:

1.)   Juicy Rumors from Juicy Campus –This story takes the website Juicy Campus into consideration and compares the opinions of students before the site surfaced to the present. Did the website effect students opinions about going Greek? Did it point them to a certain house or make a student away from a house?

2.)   Blondes, Brunettes, and Redheads  – Although the movie ‘Legally Blonde’ portrayed a huge hair color stereotype, does the Greek system pick girls based upon hair color? Does outer appearance really matter when choosing girls for a specific house? How far does diversity go within the larger houses?

3.)   In a Haze with Hazing – With the ever growing rules against hazing in the Greek system, does it still happen? Even if rules are applied, how does the system make sure students are being treated with respect? Why should hazing even be applied when rushing a house? How far is too far?        *Include an anonymous (or not) story from a student’s point of view going through the rush process and being exposed to hazing. How did they handle themselves under peer pressure? Did they comply with the house or Cal Poly’s rules?

Contact Info and Sources:

1. Student Life & Leadership – Greek Life
University Union (Building 65), Room 214 – (805) 756-7270
http://studentlife.calpoly.edu/greek/index.asp

2. College Prowler
http://collegeprowler.com/cal-poly/greek-life/

3. Mustang Daily

Graphic Arts Building, Suite 226
California Polytechnic State University
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
http://mustangdaily.net/Greeklifediscussesfutureatsummit/

4. San Luis Obispo Tribune
3825 S. Higuera St.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93406
805-781-7800
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/728015.html

5. Mustang Daily
http://mustangdaily.net/geeked-on-greek-look-before-you-leap/