California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

Students

Demographics

Cal Poly has been criticized for its lack of diversity, especially considering the very ethnically diverse area in which it is located. Roughly 65% of the students are European American, 12% are Latino American, 11% are Asian American, and less than one percent of students self-report as belonging to any other distinct ethnic category.

In other demographic measures, about 56% of the student body is male and 44% female. 31% of freshmen come from the San Francisco Bay area, 23% from Los Angeles, and most of the rest come from other areas of California. Only about 7% of students are from outside California, and international students comprise less than half of 1% of the entire student body.

Clubs and Organizations

There are several dozen clubs and organizations on campus, including student government, academic interest-based groups, social clubs, and intramural sports. Greek life is vibrant, with 10 USFC fraternities and sororities, 18 IFC fraternities, 8 panhellenic sororities, a panhellenic interest group, and 3 governing Greek councils. The Gender and Equity Center provides a safe space for men and women alike to deconstruct gender, explore meaning, and expand their worldviews.

Residential Life

Over 95% of first-year students live on campus. There are five different groupings of residence halls on campus. The South Mountain halls host living/learning programs, which means that students live with others in their area of study, building small, intensive communities within the wider university framework. Fremont Hall is home to students in the College of Agriculture, Food & Environmental Sciences; Muir Hall is home to students in the College of Science and Mathematics; Sequoia Hall is home to students in the College of Architecture & Environmental Design; Tenaya Hall is home to students in the Orfalea College of Business; and Trinity Hall is home to students in the College of Liberal Arts. Sierra Madre Hall houses the Connections Program for first year students. This program supports new students by guiding them through campus resources for academic success, extracurricular learning activities and field trips, and social action projects as a micro-community.

The North Mountain Halls of Shasta, Diablo, Palomar, Whitney, and Lassen house students from the College of Engineering, although they are more loosely structured than the learning/living program dormitories of South Mountain. The Canyon Village apartments offer housing for the Sophmore Success Program (similar to the Connections Program for freshmen) and housing for continuing students. The Cerro Vista apartments house the Transitions Program, which helps prepare students about to move from an academic environment to an adult work environment, and the honors community. There is separate, on-farm housing for Agriculture students.

Eating on Campus

There are many dining options on campus, including Einstein Bros Bagels, Jamba Juice, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, BackStage Pizza, Julian’s Patisseries, Tacos To-Go, Starbucks, and more. For an upscale meal on campus, students can visit Sage, an eclectic Mediterranean and Asian restaurant. There are some local foods available through Campus Dining, but the majority of food options are conventional. Despite the fact that the university has its own organic farm, seasonal produce from the farm is only available from Sage Restaurant and is not well-represented on campus.

Transportation

Many sources report parking on campus to be difficult. The university is currently expanding parking spaces and bicycle racks, and also encourages students to use public transportation alternatives. The San Luis Obispo public transit system is free for students to use to and from campus.