Fulbright's future is uncertain

Author

Carly Heltzel
May 01, 2025

Good morning. It’s Thursday, and I’m reading about Brass Mash, the all-brass cover band that’s selling out shows around town. Onto the five Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

The Fulbright program is facing major cuts from the Trump administration, just after Cal Poly was named a top producer of Fulbright scholars with three faculty chosen this year. Fulbright gives out roughly 8,000 grants per year to send faculty and master’s students abroad to teach, research and study. A leaked memo from the secretary of state showed that the only programs that were continuing would send master’s students to study national security. One professor who did the program said we should be ”more expansive and less insular” as a country.

2.

Don’t drink tap water in Pismo Beach right now, unless it’s been boiled. Authorities detected unsafe bacteria in water samples earlier this week before expanding the advisory to Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Oceano, Avila Beach. The bacteria is said to cause stomach and intestinal issues, and no source of the bacteria has been made public. Officials estimated that the issue will be resolved by Sunday and will notify residents then.

3.

Fundraising efforts have taken a toll on Cal Poly’s swim and dive team members. One captain said he consistently puts fundraising efforts above his academics and social life, essentially becoming “another full class that I’m taking,” he said. Another member has struggled to keep training saying there’s “not as much motivation to swim.” But with a revised goal from the university, it refocused the team on that $20 million benchmark. “It’s very moving to realize that everyone is willing to drop everything and work towards this goal,” the captain said.

4.

For those who find the farmer’s market overstimulating, including those in the neurodivergent community, Cal Poly students and professors are holding the last pop-up Resilience Room tonight that allows you to escape the madness. For the past five weeks, the group has set up a low lighting, quiet, comfy space with fidget toys and noise-canceling headphones to help people reset in an accessible environment. “They go on in and when they come out, they always come back, say 'I loved it,’” the lead professor said.

5.

A UC Berkeley student is at the center of a “real game-changer” animal rights case — she faces up to 5.5 years in prison for stealing slash rescuing four chickens from a poultry farm in Sonoma County. She identifies with the “total animal liberation” movement, hoping to outlaw slaughterhouses and set a legal precedent for “open rescues” in which animal activists can free any animal they deem is being treated inhumanely. But Sonoma County is known for its fierce protection of agriculture. As she awaits her trial, she’ll bedazzle her ankle monitor with Cal colors for graduation.