Rodeo student night sells out in 30 seconds

Author

Carly Heltzel
February 19, 2025

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, and I’m reading about what happens when you call the number on the “WE BUY SOULS!” signs across LA. Onto the five Cal Poly, SLO and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Cal Poly’s rodeo student-only showcase sold out in a record-breaking 30 seconds yesterday. That’s 2,000 tickets gone in an instant. All proceeds of the student-only night go directly to the Cal Poly Rodeo Program. Tickets go on sale at noon today for the intercollegiate rodeo competition events on Friday and Saturday of that week, and these tickets are open to the public, not just students. Rodeo organizers expect these to sell out just as quickly, so if the clock says 12:01 p.m., you might not even bother checking. 

2.

Cal Poly charges almost double the student fees of any other CSU — and roughly six times more than the cheapest one. Fees are different from tuition and include college-based fees, ASI fees, student success fees, and more, totaling over $6,000 for some students at Cal Poly. Fees are set for four years when you enter college, meaning some first years pay about $2,600 more each year than they would have three years ago. The architecture, agriculture and engineering schools have both the highest student fees and the highest fee increases, with each college getting a 6-8% increase each year.

3.

SLO’s nonprofits have heard nothing from the federal agencies that fund them after President Trump froze funding and shifted national budget priorities. Diversity Coalition, a nonprofit focused on advocacy around DEI issues, said 30% of its budget is from federal money; 10% of that would be threatened in 2025 and 100% would be threatened in 2026. Lumina Alliance, which supports nearly 2,000 survivors of sexual assault per year, receives 47% of its over $5 million budget from federal grants. “Every single one of our programs is threatened by these cuts,” the Alliance’s CEO said.

4.

ADHD patients are worried medication could get significantly harder to access after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as President Trump’s health secretary last week. Plus, a new executive order created a commission to target ADHD medication claiming that overdiagnosis and overmedication are a “dire threat to the American people.” Kennedy has argued that alternative treatments such as access to sports, nature and a healthy diet will quiet ADHD symptoms, despite many patients saying they need stronger drug treatments. The main concern is that if the government stops recommending the medications, insurance companies will stop paying for them.

5.

A little-known species of whale washed up dead on Pismo State Beach last week, giving researchers a rare opportunity to study the deep sea creature. Twenty researchers performed a necropsy on the 10-and-a-half-foot-long adult pygmy sperm whale to help build baseline data about the species. The cause of death is unknown. The last time one washed up in California was 2021. One researcher said the opportunity to examine it is “invaluable” as it gives clues on how best to protect the whales.