Two-year housing will start with class of 2030

Author

Carly Heltzel
November 18, 2025

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, and I’m reading about the Australian murderer who is suing for his right to eat Vegemite in prison. Onto the five Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Cal Poly’s class of 2030 will be the first students to be offered guaranteed two-year housing. In a major change, second years will no longer be able to have a car on campus when living there for two years becomes a requirement. Modular dorms and apartments currently under construction will add 3,500 to 4,000 beds over the next five years as a part of the 10-year campus expansion plan. Students can file exemptions from the housing requirement on a case-by-case basis.

2.

Cal Poly is polling prospective students about whether or not they would be willing to delay starting college until spring semester. The question showed up on the Cal Poly application as a way to research for planning year-round operations, but the university is not planning to delay anyone’s start, even if the applicant checks the box that they would be willing. Current students had different takes on whether they would be willing, generally saying only if it would increase their chances of getting in.

3.

Two people died in a suspected murder-suicide in Grover Beach on Saturday. The incident occurred in an alleyway between single-story apartment buildings at around 2:20 a.m. and both individuals were found dead with gunshot wounds. Police have not released more details due to the ongoing investigation. “Autopsies are scheduled and will hopefully provide more information,” one official said. 

4.

Researchers are trying to quantify the impact that data centers have on California’s grid using the “almost zero” information provided to the public. By the researchers’ estimates, the centers’ collective energy consumption nearly doubled from 2019 and 2023 (ChatGPT was released in December 2022), and their water consumption more than doubled to cool down the servers. One opponent argued that the “voracious consumption of energy and water” will increase carbon emissions and cause higher rates for residents across the state. 

5.

The actor who played “Dez” in the Disney Channel show “Austin and Ally” (think ginger) founded an avatar-based AI app that hopes to bring back the dead. An ad for the app, named 2wai, shows the AI creating a hologram of a young user’s dead grandma and allowing the boy to talk to her again. But the actual app is barely functional and doesn’t produce much more than slop and facts about the actor’s career. And critics say the app’s concept mirrors the plot of an actual Season 2 “Black Mirror” episode.