Earth Soil and Water Conservation Club
CLUB OFFICERS FOR 2008-09
President: Nathan Lurie
Vice President: Kristin Roberts
Treasurer: Kristine Johnson
Ag Council Representatives: Jose Gomez and Josef Schaffer
MESA Representatives: Ian Leslie, Megan Martin and David Phipps
VP of Communications: Jacqueline Rudy
Club Historian: Michelle Smith
Faculty Club Advisor: Dr. Chip Appel
Cal Poly recognizes fraternity student for anti-hazing efforts
This article was originally published in the January 15, 2009 edition of the SLO Tribune.
Daniel Kim, a 22-year-old soil science major at Cal Poly, nearly quit his fraternity because of his disgust with the hazing activities he underwent as a freshman and continued to observe within his fraternity.
But last year, as a leader of new pledges, he decided that instead of leaving he'd use his experience to persuade the brothers of Delta Chi that hazing is unnecessary and detrimental.
"I realized that if I simply quit, there would be no one to fight for what was truly right," Kim said.
For his courage, Kim recently was named a 2009 Anti-Hazing Hero by the Colorado-based organization hazingprevention.org. The nonprofit gives annual awards to those who speak out against or combat the dangerous practice.
Two other Cal Poly students - Jacob Lopez and Andrew Righter - also were honored as part of the organization's national recognition of six anti-hazing heroes. The awards come in the wake of the Dec. 2 death of Carson Starkey, who died after attending a fraternity party hosted by Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Police still are investigating the role alcohol may have played in Starkey's death, but preliminary evience shows that hazing was a factor. No arrests yet have been made and police haven't completed autopsy or toxicology examinations of Starkey's body, according to Lt. Bill Proll.
Kim said he doesn't want to get into specifics about the hazing he experienced, but like many, he went along to fit in. But he later realized he didn't want others to go through similar abuse; he spoke passionately against hazing with his fraternity brothers.
"I didn't have a lot of confidence at first," Kim told the Tribune. "But then I got e-mails and some phone calls from other people in the fraternity supporting me, and I started to gain more confidence. It was hard because it's a tradition within the fraternity."
The fifth-year student also collaborated on an educational hazing-prevention video that was noted in his award presentation, which he attended in Colorado. The two Cal Poly students who also received awards had experiences similar to Kim's. Lopez initially left his fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon, because of hazing, but agreed to return on the condition that no hazing would occur agian. He went on to create a no-hazing program for the fall 2007 class. Also a member of TKE, Righter took over as a first-year student president of his fraternity after the pevious leader was ousted because of hazing.
"I'm proud of the fact that I was able to make my fraternity much better than when I joined," Righter said.
Stephan Lamb, who as Cal Poly's associate director of student life and leadership oversees Greek affairs, said the university is proud of the awards.
"These three Cal Poly men serve as visible role models for their peers as they stand up for the ideals and values that are the foundation of a positive and healthy Greek community," Lamb said. Tracy Maxwell, the executive director of hazingprevention.org, said members of Greek organizations and other groups that experience hazing, such as college sport teams, rarely speak out about their experiences. Her nonprofit was founded in September 2007, but progrmas have existed since 2004 through an organization called CAMPUSPEAK, which partners with colleges.
Maaxwell said research has shown that 55 percent of college students belonging to groups such as Greek organizations and sports teams experience some form of hazing, Maxwell said. Maxwell advises those in hazing situations to protect themselves first, report the activity, and gain allies if possible.
"We tend to think of hazing as something physical, but mostly it's psychological," Maxwell said. "And often it leaves a lot of psychological trauma."
Cal Poly Soil Judging Team
The Cal Poly Soil Judging Team of 2007-2008, Angie Quintana-Jones, Charles Schembre, Jennifer Carr, Jessi Ghezzi, and Renee Nall, won first place in the Group Competition event in the National Collegiate Soil Judging Contest hosted by the University of Rhode Island, April 12 - 18, 2008. 
Soil Judging is a collegiate program sponsored by the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America. Students describe, classify, and interpret soils as a professional soil scientist would, under a time constraint. Following four days of practice, students judge three soils as individuals, and two soils as teams (“groups”). Cal Poly’s team won first place in the two-soil group event, which took place on April 18. Twenty-one teams competed, with a total of 82 students. Angie Quintana-Jones, at 13th place, was the highest placing individual from Cal Poly.
Student Wins Soil Research Competition!
Ian Leslie, a Cal Poly soil science senior, won first place in October 2008 in the National Undergraduate Oral Research Presentation Contest at the joint annual meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America International. Leslie presented a paper on research he and several others did in spring 2008, focused on assessing concentrations of chromium and nickel in the soil and vines at Cal Poly’s vineyard. These heavy metals are found naturally in serpentinite, California's state rock, which is abundant in many areas of San Luis Obispo County. Soil derived from this rock can have elevated levels of these metals, which could pose a hazard to soil and vine quality.
Leslie’s research found the levels of chromium and nickel in the Cal Poly vineyard soil were well below U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum contamination levels and posed no risk to vine growth or quality. The research was part of a laboratory project done in a soil and water chemistry course taught by Chip Appel. Leslie’s paper was co-authored by Appel, along with Keith Patterson, a viticulture professor, and Craig Stubler, an earth and soil sciences technician. Six soil and water chemistry classmates took part in the research with Leslie.
The societies’ meetings were held Oct. 5-9 in Houston, Texas. Leslie presented his research Oct. 5 and found out the next day that he had won the contest. This is the second consecutive year a student from the soil and water chemistry course has won the contest. David Guerena placed first in November 2007. Guerena’s research assessed levels of zinc around a galvanized power line tower in San Luis Obispo.
