Leadership Announcements

Oct. 25, 2023: Halloween Message from the Dean of Students

Hello Mustangs!

Halloween is around the corner, and I know that many of you will celebrate with your fellow Mustangs. If you do, I hope you will make the choice to celebrate respectfully and with your safety — and those of others — in mind.
 
With this in mind, I strongly encourage you to read the following tips and information to help you celebrate safely.
 
Fentanyl
Fentanyl is a dangerous and lethal synthetic opioid, and it is being cut into much of the illegal drug supply. Every illegally purchased substance is suspect. Narcan is a safe and lifesaving opioid antagonist available to all active Cal Poly students. Head to the Health Center Pharmacy or stop by the Health Center Lawn on Fridays from 4-6 p.m. to receive education and your overdose prevention kit. If you give someone Narcan, stay with them until emergency help arrives or for at least four hours to make sure their breathing returns to normal. For more information, visit the CDC website.
 
Be Aware of Double-Fines Violations During Halloween
During Halloween, the city enforces a safety enhancement zone or double-fine period for party-related violations. It is my hope that you will keep these law enforcement precautions and policies in mind as you celebrate responsibly.
 
Be an Upstander
Wherever you choose to spend the weekend, I hope you will be an Upstander — a proactive bystander who will take action to prevent harm to others. Do your part to look out for your peers and intervene by speaking up or calling for help if you feel something isn’t right. You can help prevent acts of hate and bias, sexual violence, and alcohol/drug-related injuries and overdose. If you witness or experience a bias incident, you can report it through the Bias Incident Reporting Form.
 
When celebrating Halloween, know that Cal Poly prioritizes the health and safety of all students. The amnesty protocol provides a mechanism that allows students to call for help without fear of consequences in medical emergencies or suspected medical emergencies.
 
Avoid Cultural Appropriation
Cultural appropriation is the adoption of certain elements from another culture, which often plays into negative stereotypes and does not consider cultural significance. When picking out a Halloween costume, it is important to be aware of the costume’s cultural context and avoid cultural appropriation. Regardless of intent, cultural appropriation for the sake of a Halloween costume dehumanizes and demeans cultures and communities.
 
Housing Guests
Visitors and guests of campus residents are not permitted to stay overnight in University Housing. The no-guest period is 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, to 8 a.m. Monday, Oct. 30. Any guests should make plans to stay off campus.
 
Celebrate with On Campus Events

• Respecting Boondaries — Safer Halloweekend Booth, Thursday, 10/26 from noon to 2 p.m.
  • Join Safer in brewing a consent culture! Our booth will have Halloween-themed activities, stickers, and candy to promote a safe and consent-centered Halloweekend.
• Party Smart Pregame and Narcan Distribution Pop-Up on the Health Center Lawn, Friday, 10/27 from 4-6 p.m.
  • Get ready for the first night of “Halloweekend” with pumpkin carving and scary movies put on by PULSE, Mustangs for Recovery and ASI. Campus Health & Wellbeing will also be distributing overdose prevention kits, refills, and training those interested on how to use Narcan and its benefits, including reversing a fentanyl overdose. Come learn about the signs of overdose and how to prevent it. All kits and refills are free and distribution is anonymous.
• Sinster Circus on Cerro Hill, Friday, 10/27 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.
  • Inter Housing Council's Event Team is hosting Sinster Circus on Cerro Hill in Cerro Vista Community Center. This is a haunted house and costume dance party. 
• Fright Night Movie Social, Friday, 10/27 from 6-8 p.m.
  • Campus Health and Wellbeing Health Education and Mustangs for Recovery will host a movie social at the Health and Wellbeing patio. Followers on Instagram @calpolyrecovery will vote between three movies: "Scream," "Beetlejuice" or "Nightmare Before Christmas." Join the Wellbeing staff and Mustangs for Recovery leaders in putting on a dry social event to kick-off Halloween.
• Fright Fest, Saturday, 10/28 from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. 
  • Join ASI Events in celebrating the spooky season at the Cal Poly Recreation Center with Fright Fest! Attendees can expect numerous fun activities such as scavenger hunts, inflatables, crate stacking terror trucks, and more. Free food will be provided by Woodstock's Pizza with treats from SLO Mama Sweets. Costumes are encouraged!
• Halloween Neighborhood Clean-Up, Sunday 10/29 from 10 a.m. to noon on the corner of Hathway and Longview. 
  • Sink your teeth into some free ghostly donuts as a reward for your efforts. Best of all, this event is eligible for Paths credit, so you can earn rewards while helping to keep our community eerie-sistibly clean. Don't ghost us —see you there!

More information and additional events can be found at Cal Poly Now.
 
Personal Safety

• Rave Guardian is a free safety mobile app that can send anonymous tips to the Cal Poly Police Department, set a safety timer when walking from place to place on campus, text Mustang Patrol, connect to 24-hour police or support services, or facilitate easy communication with CPPD. Download the Rave Guardian Mobile App from the Apple Store or Google Play.
• Request a safety walk with Mustang Patrol by calling Cal Poly Police Dispatch at 805-756-2281. Mustang Patrol operates on campus safety walks Thursdays 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Mustang Patrol members are your student colleagues who are focused on your safety, whether or not you've been drinking.
• The Mustang Shuttle runs from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday with the evening shuttle running 7 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. seven days a week. On Sunday, Nov. 5, the evening shuttle will switch to starting at 6 p.m. to accommodate for daylight savings. Catching a ride on the shuttle is even easier with the Mustang Shuttle app that allows users to track the location of the shuttles and see accurate arrival times.

 
Additional safety tips
If you choose to celebrate this weekend, please remember these additional tips:

• Plan for safe transportation.
• Stay with a friend.
• Don’t leave any drink unattended.
• Eat and stay hydrated.
• Less is more — stick to one alcoholic drink or less per hour.

I hope you will make choices that uphold the values of The Mustang Way. The choices you make this Halloween are about personal responsibility and making good decisions for yourself, but also embracing our responsibility to look out for each other as a community.
 
Respectfully,
 
Joy Pedersen, Ph.D.
Dean of Students

Oct. 24, 2023: Student Affairs Shares Important After-Hours Contacts

Dear students,

We're reaching the halfway mark of the quarter, and I hope that you have settled into your classes, made new connections and found spaces where you feel a sense of belonging on campus. I know the past few weeks have been difficult with the violence and terrorism in Gaza and Israel, and I want to reiterate our care and concern for your well-being.

Our team in Student Affairs has created something new for you — a webpage with links to virtual contact cards that you can download directly onto your device so you can reach out whenever you need support. They include after-hours resources such as Counseling Services, Health Services and other on-campus and community resources with 24/7 support. There are also evening contacts for those living on campus in our residence halls and apartments.

You can also save important contact numbers that you may need to reach during the day, including food resources and basic needs; accommodation services; and support for those who have experienced intimate partner violence, sexual assault, stalking, sexual exploitation or harassment. Visit this new webpage now.

Many other programs and resources are available through our Student Affairs website. We are here to support your success, so don’t hesitate to reach out.

In community,
Keith B. Humphrey, Ph.D.
Vice President for Student Affairs
Pronouns: he, him, his

Oct. 2, 2023: Cal Poly Career Services Shares Tips to Avoid Job Scams

Dear students,

When seeking job and internship opportunities, it is important to be vigilant about job scams and fraudulent employers from any source, whether it be direct email, general job boards (e.g., Indeed, Craigslist), or MustangJOBS powered by Handshake.*

Protect yourself by being proactive and informed. I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the job scam information on Career Services’ website. Here are a few red flags to look for:

• Jobs that offer an opportunity to become rich without leaving home.
• Jobs that ask for money upfront for a uniform or other expenses.
• Jobs that offer a salary or benefits that seem too good to be true.
• Jobs that ask the employee to cash a check sent by the company, then wire a portion of the money to another entity.
• An unsolicited job opportunity via email directly to you.
• Job postings with grammatical and spelling errors.

If you become involved with a scam, you may file a report with the Cal Poly Police Department (805-756-2281). If you have sent money to a fraudulent employer, contact your bank or credit card company immediately to close the account and dispute the charges. If the incident occurred completely over the Internet, file an incident report with the FTC or call the FTC at: 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).

Career Services is here to support you if you encounter a job application or job offer situation you are unsure about. We offer drop-in hours and scheduled appointments, or you may contact us at careerservices@calpoly.edu.

Sincerely, Amie K. Hammond, Ed.D.
Executive Director, Career Services

*Listings on Handshake are independent of Cal Poly. Cal Poly makes no representations about the jobs or the entities who submit the listings.

Sept. 20, 2023: Welcome back to SLO from Vice President for Student Affairs Keith Humphrey

Hi Mustangs! Welcome back! I hope you are as excited as I am for the year ahead.

Everyone in Student Affairs is here to help you achieve your goals and dreams and to make the most of your Cal Poly experience.

You’ve been through SLO Days and WOW, and you know a ton about how we can support you on your journey to graduation. But, just in case you need a reminder I’ve put links to key resources for you at the end of this message. We are all here to help you.

If you haven’t already, download the new Cal Poly Now app (available for Apple and Android users). Cal Poly Now is your go-to source for events, clubs, and resources you need. We have hundreds of opportunities for you to connect with your fellow Mustangs each week. You can go through it on your own or check out my weekly Mustang Mondays Instagram post for highlights.

We have about 6,100 new students joining our family this week, and they will need all of our help finding the right club, learning all the fun things to do in San Luis Obispo, and getting to know their way around campus. Thanks in advance for helping and welcoming these new Mustangs into the Cal Poly community.

I hold Mondays from 4-5 p.m. as my office hour for students – feel free to drop by the Administration Building, Room 206, if I can support you. Have a great fall quarter and go Mustangs!

Helpful Resources:

• Important health and wellness services including counseling, vaccinations, health screenings and more.
• Career advising and opportunities to build your professional network.
• Disability resources and support in the classroom.
• Student clubs to help you build your social circle.
• Cultural and identity-based programs to help you deepen your connections with fellow Mustangs.
• Basic needs services for those times when you need a little extra support.

Sincerely,

Keith B. Humphrey, Ph.D.
Vice President for Student Affairs
Pronouns: he, his, him
805-756-1521
humphrey@calpoly.edu

Sept. 18, 2023: Dean of Students' Message to Housing Residents

Dear Residents,

We hope you are settling into your new home. The university is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy living and learning environment for students, faculty and staff. Each member of the campus community must choose behaviors that contribute toward this end. Students are expected to be good citizens and to engage in responsible behaviors that reflect well upon their university, to be civil to one another and others in the campus community, and to contribute positively to student and university life.

It has come to our attention that certain behaviors, such as large gatherings, underage alcohol use and vandalism, have been observed in our residence hall community, jeopardizing these expectations. These actions not only put your fellow residents at risk but also reflect poorly on the entire university community. We ask that you make responsible choices that uphold the values of The Mustang Way and demonstrate your commitment to our shared community.

Please be mindful of how your actions impact those around you. It is important to recognize that other students do not appreciate the actions of those who violate the Student Code of Conduct and how that impacts their residential experience. Your actions impact not only your peers but also the staff, including University Housing staff, who work tirelessly to maintain the cleanliness and safety of our residence halls.

Please be aware that should you be found responsible for violating the Student Code of Conduct, you will receive appropriate sanctions. While this is not our desired outcome for any of our students, we do expect that all students abide by the expectations of the university.

Let us work together to create a safe and respectful environment within our residence hall and uphold the values of our university community. Your cooperation is vital in ensuring a positive living and learning experience for all. Thank you for your attention to these important matters.

Joy Pedersen, Ph.D.
Dean of Students