Armstrong spoke for just 8 minutes at Congress

Author

Carly Heltzel
May 12, 2025

Good morning. It’s Monday, and I’m watching an injured hiker get airlifted by helicopter off Bishop Peak this weekend. Onto the five Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong spoke for just eight minutes out of the 195-minute “Beyond the Ivy League” hearing from the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. And three of those were his opening statement. He was mostly a witness to House Republicans berating the other two university presidents for their failings to contain a 17-day encampment or to provide numbers of disciplinary actions taken against students. Not that anyone is complaining, since Armstrong didn’t have his job or Cal Poly’s federal funding threatening for the duration of his testimony, unlike the other two.

2.

The Department of Energy just designated the Cal Poly Pier the first wave energy testing site in its supported network. This means that the department will fund and gain access to the pier to do research on the pier, which was first donated to the university in 2001 after it was no longer used for oil drilling. Cal Poly first approached the Department of Energy 18 months ago with an interest in doing wave energy research and now has been approved after environmental testing in the area. “It’s a reliable source of clean energy,” one researcher said.

3.

Morro Bay State Park was named the best place to camp in the state by the California State Parks Foundation’s 1,300 survey participants. The foundation said the idyllic views of Morro Rock and foggy mornings were the impetus behind people choosing Morro Bay of all camping grounds. The nonprofit also noted that coastal camping has gained popularity in recent years. One voter said it’s “surrounded by beauty, wildlife, great hiking and the feeling of peace.”

4.

The Central Coast saw recent ICE raids and arrests, especially in Oxnard’s La Colonia neighborhood, an enclave of migrant farmworkers in Ventura County. One man was taken at a gas station and his two kids were left behind in the car. Another arrest occurred in Santa Maria, only known because a passerby reported it to local advocacy groups. Often, the Sheriffs Office doesn’t even know when ICE is working within its jurisdiction. Advocacy groups have warned people signed up for their notification systems of increased activity in SLO, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties.

5.

AI therapists are lying to consumers and claiming to have degrees, licenses and even making up credential numbers to gain the trust of their “patients.” After repeated experiments, the chatbots repeatedly made up all sorts of qualifications when asked. One Character.AI bot that has 45.9 million interactions under its belt claims to be licensed in the state of Maryland provided credentials that are actually used by a real therapist. “That a chatbot is posing as me is shocking and really concerning,” the therapist said. “Why me? How did it pick me?”