Year-round operations will harm Cal Poly, students say

Author

Carly Heltzel
April 13, 2026

Good morning. It’s Monday, and I’m watching clips from this weekend’s 4th annual beaver festival. Onto the five Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

More than 80% of engineering students think that year-round operations will harm Cal Poly. The plans will create a third, equal semester during the summer, and students would be chosen to enroll in any two of the three semesters to make room for increasing enrollment. Engineering students surveyed were concerned about summer internships, clubs that revolve around annual competitions, the lack of AC in buildings for summer classes, disruption of social lives and off-campus housing leases. 

2.

As ASI elections heat up, here’s an overview of the two presidential candidates and their platforms. Tanner Schinderle is the chief of staff for ASI’s executive cabinet, and he’s running to make dining and parking more affordable, increase resources like the grocery shuttle and study spaces and create more food-focused events. Caleb Shick is a transfer studying real estate, and he hopes to cut administrative red tape for clubs, cut unnecessary student costs, create a complaint website and put on more “spirit nights.”

3.

Off-roading will be suspended at Oceano Dunes starting Tuesday to protect an endangered species of bird, the snowy plover. A judge ruled that the parks and rec department violated the Endangered Species Act by not having the correct permit that would authorize activity that could cause unintentional harm to a protected species. Once the department gets the permit, off-roading access will be restored.

4.

After the Supreme Court struck down a Colorado law banning conversion therapy, California lawmakers are looking for new ways to discourage medical and mental health professionals from trying to change the gender identity or sexual orientation of their clients. One state senator is proposing an extension to the statute of limitations of medical malpractice lawsuits, allowing people who were subject to conversion therapy as youth to sue later in life. “So-called conversion therapy is fraud that harms patients,” the senator said.

5.

More than 300 students and community members packed into the UU on Friday night to watch Cal Poly alum and Artemis II pilot Victor Glover splashdown off the coast of San Diego. University President Jeffrey Armstrong predictably spoke about the merits of Learn by Doing and how far it’ll take you, and even some prospective students there for Open House went. “We see all these astronauts like Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin,” one said. “But this is someone local. That makes it different.”