Good morning. It’s Tuesday, and I’m reading about the starving piglets that were stolen from a controversial art exhibit. Onto the five Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

University President Jeffrey Armstrong wrote in a letter to the editor that any student who breaks the law during St. Fratty’s will be held “fully accountable” by both the city and university. Armstrong said the St. Fratty’s concert wasn’t meant to accommodate all students since most don’t participate in the block party every year. He added that the lack of a larger venue on campus limited the number of tickets possible since he required approval from the fire marshal. The concert will surpass the previous biggest on-campus event by 2,000 people. 

Jeffrey Armstrong / Mustang News

2.

Cal Poly’s Mustang News was inducted into the national collegiate journalism hall of fame this weekend. The organization has either won or been a finalist for the student journalism equivalent of a Pulitzer Prize 15 times since 1970. With over 570 media groups in the pool, Mustang News joins 57 student newspapers, 10 yearbooks and four magazines in the Hall of Fame. The journalism department chair said the induction is an “incredible milestone.”

Sadie Dittenber / The Tribune

3.

Psychology was the hardest major to get into at Cal Poly last year, with an 11% acceptance rate (507 out of 4,706 applicants). Cal Poly’s overall admit rate was 30%. Psychology was followed by computer science at 14%, education majors at 19% and fine and applied arts majors at 25% acceptance. Education had one of the of the highest enrollment rates, with 41% of admitted students enrolling for the fall compared to an overall 27% enrollment rate. Across the board, public schools in California were more selective.

Nami Sumida / San Francisco Chronicle

4.

A reporter for Cal Coast News is being sued for defamation for the second time — she previously lost a $1.1 million settlement in 2017. The article in question said a SLO attorney was using an “alias” while living with his wife in Arizona, when in fact the couple had been divorced and the wife moved and changed her last name to escape a violent stalker in SLO. The wife’s lawsuit alleges that the reporter demonstrated a reckless disregard for the truth and published false information about a private citizen. “I have to fight back,” she said.

Chloe Jones / The Tribune

5.

A recently discovered species of plant in Nipomo could already be under threat. A biologist first recorded the Nipomo Mesa manzanita plant while on a nature walk in 2021. The bush inhabits a 7-mile radius and lives in sandy conditions, most of which are on private property. Now, a massive housing development the city approved would all but obliterate the species limited habitat. The project’s only dissenter on city council said he had never seen this many “significant adverse impacts” to the environment from a single project. The shrub had a good run, I guess.

Olivia Harden / SFGate