The Great California ShakeOut, the quarterly Safety Alert System test and a visit by the U.S. secretary of agriculture top President Ortiz’s weekly video update.
The Great California ShakeOut will take place at 10:16 a.m. this Thursday. It is a drill that provides the public a chance to practice what to do when an earthquake strikes: to drop cover and hold on to something.
Simultaneously, the university will conduct its quarterly test of the Safety Alert System. The system will send a test message to phones, emails and university-owned computers.
Last Friday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack toured AGRIscapes, visiting the Farm Store and an entomology class, and heard presentations from students and faculty from the College of Agriculture. It was the first time an agriculture secretary has visited Cal Poly Pomona, and Vilsack got to see some of the research that the USDA has sponsored.
The start of Fall Quarter saw University Housing Services help 2,400 students move into the residence halls and suites in a few days, and more than 1,000 freshmen participated in the four-day Welcome Week orientation program.
In addition, the Hot Dog Caper doled out more than 16,000 free hot dogs to students, faculty and staff. More than 9,000 beverages and nearly 13,000 popsicles also were passed out.
Professors Vilupanur Ravi and Angel Valdes have received a $203,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to purchase a scanning electron microscope that can provide topographic data and the chemical composition of material on a microscopic level.
Greek Life received an Outstanding Event Award this summer at the national Collegiate Leadership Seminar. In the past 10 years, Cal Poly Pomona students have raised more than $142,000 for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital through an event called “Up Til Dawn.”
Cal Poly Pomona’s athletic teams are on a winning streak. The men’s soccer team is undefeated and leads the CCAA conference, while the women’s team beat a nationally ranked team and is 8-4. The volleyball team won this past weekend’s games against CSU Monterey Bay and East Bay.
Cal Poly Pomona has a number of exciting events scheduled this weekend:
- Matt’s Run will take place Saturday. The 5K run/walk raises money for scholarships in memory of Matthew Myers, who died on campus in 2005.
- Preview Day will on Saturday offer 1,000 prospective students the chance to learn more about Cal Poly Pomona.
- Thousands of people will come to the Pumpkin Festival at the Farm Store over the weekend to pick pumpkins, wander through the corn maze, pet farm animals and enjoy other activities.
- Live and preserved insects will be on display and for sale all weekend at the Insect Fair in the Bronco Student Center.
To read the whole video message, download a PDF of the transcript.