PLUG

Change.

It’s the biggest word buzzing about our country right now, but to some it’s a scary one.

Obama has brought in change to the White House that has been fairly well received, but a lot of other things are changing quickly these days and people don’t always react so kindly. While the need for change in America is pretty obvious, the public can be quick to reject transformations we don’t see as necessary. We also reject anything we don’t like, so it’s no surprise to see companies getting a lot flack for trying to stay with the times these days.

Facebook changed its look right before break, and as usual, the people revolted. Just like the last Facebook facelift, users formed hate groups trying to sway the developers to revert their update and go back to the “old Facebook.”

Since when was old ever a good thing? Sorry, senior citizens.

Remember the last time Facebook got a makeover? We revolted against that one too: we saw the origination of the “stalker feed,” something that many were actively opposed to upon inception but are now missing dearly in the new, simplified look that borrows big from rising social networker Twitter.

The dictionary defines change as becoming different, modifying, transitioning, or converting.

Most of these words are generally positive. Sure, anything can take on a negative connotation, but we need to stop seeing change as a bad thing. No one intentionally changes for the worse.

Now, not everyone is on the right track: there are sparse fans of PepsiCo’s new modern, smirking, wave logo and Tropicana’s image update is reverting back to classic.

If you don’t change, you fear a static culture. One that remains unchanged and becomes rigid and old in no time.

Take construction as another example. The mess of hard hats and orange vests doing work where Temple Ave. turns into Amar past Mt. Sac causes two blocks to take 30 minutes sometimes, and seems to have been going on forever. While it creates stress and angst among many drivers, it also generates creativity: cars seek alternate routes in the shopping center parking lot or residential neighborhoods to cope.

From an economical standpoint, the creative coping mechanism is a good thing. It forces fresh thinking and opens up eyes out of necessity and brings out something better in the end: perhaps those businesses by Stater Bros. have actually gotten more traffic from what they thought would be a hindrance. Marketers are supposed to think outside the box anyway. Without change, creativity would be stifled.

It’s easy to become comfortable in a certain mindset; satisfied with what’s at hand. But refusing to be open to new ideas kills the innovation that America thrives on.

Take Cal Poly as my final example. Officials are working on a comprehensive campaign right now to rebrand the university’s image and part of that involves capital fund raising to help the university survive the trying times and distinguish itself from, e.g., Pomona Pitzer and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. That might mean a little change around this place, so don’t get your panties in a bundle if you see a transformation process on the horizon.

In addition, faculty and staff discussed at the March 19 budget forum in Ursa Major ways of keeping money on campus: buying supplies at the Bronco Bookstore or seeking catering through Foundation to keep university organizations surviving. Money kept on campus helps all of us in the long run, and while it won’t directly get an extra section of that GE you need, we should applaud the campus for seeking alternative routes of generating revenue internally as well as externally.

Philosopher Henry David Thoreau said, “Things do not change, we change.”

What he must have meant is that we change the things around us because we change. Things aren’t supposed to remain the same. Yet, every time an organization tries to do something different, people are up in arms at the slightest sign of discomfort.

So next time you see a redesign, understand the intentions before you start crying out.

**What change have you seen recently that you were in favor of or vehemently opposed to? Weigh in.

My stomach’s growling.

Now to Cal Poly:

•There’s a campus tagger who goes by “Meow.” Look for a peculiar cat painted where it shouldn’t be or a graffiti stlye “M3OW”

•Graduate students are getting less for their money at Cal Poly — TAs are getting half as much as they should for twice the class size and graduate students are getting bigger classes for the same amount of money

•The parking structure leaks

•Students don’t read. Especially COM students. The Poly Post bin in front of Building 1 is full at the end of the week and reporting students suggest ideas already published in the paper. The staff bin, luckily, is often empty by Friday. At least someone’s paying attention.

Though independent culture has been on the rise for years, it has taken a step back with the removal of alternative rock radio station Indie 103.1 from the airwaves.

While I sparsely listened to 103.1, I’m sad to see it go. It will be moving online with an attempt to reinvent alternative radio, but it has yet to be seen how that will fare.

The company began to succumb to corporate pressures toward the end of its five years on the air, despite being released from ownership by media conglomerate Clear Channel.

But Indie’s existence in a silicon-injected cesspool represented an underdog attempt at quality while popular music has continued to be run by the next American Idol, Britney Spears or Katy Perry.

Too often we see and hear only what the Big Four – that’s the only four record labels dominating the music industry today – want us to, and too often that is crap.

The kids’ stuff – Miley Cyrus, High School Musical – is cool for the kids. But anything with a pretty face and hot beat philosophy seems to stick to the American culture as a whole.

We unknowingly accept whatever is shoved in our faces, even if the quality level is lackluster at best. Listening to mainstream music is like sloppy seconds: everyone does it but no one likes it – and you still feel guilty afterwards.

For once, you should listen to your parents. Maybe there was something to those Beatles, Jerry Garcia, and Bob Seger LPs of the ’70s. Now, everyone likes something different, but it’s a matter of taste and a matter of class.

We should all be able to push past the Britneys and the T.I.s of the world, because if we don’t, it’s only going to get worse.

I mean, the T.I. and Rhianna single “Live Your Life” samples (rips off) the melody from a song by European group O-Zone that was made famous on YouTube by a fat kid dancing to it in front of his computer screen.

It’s pathetic to hear what is being masqueraded as music these days, and the lack of creativity and originality “artists” strive for. A rapper who calls himself Jibbs stole the tune for his no. 7 Billboard hit “Chain Hang Low” from the childhood song “Do Your Ears Hang Low,” which can also be heard ringing from ice cream trucks.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

There is so much more music worth listening to, whatever your style may be. And it’s up to us – the consumers and the listeners – to decide what succeeds and what fails.

Web sites like Pandora.com and last.fm provide personal music suggestions based on artists you choose to develop custom streaming radio stations.

SimplifyMedia is a free application for Mac, PC, iPhones, and iPods that allows wireless streaming of an iTunes library.

The iTunes Store has a free single for download every week, and National Public Radio offers free downloadable podcasts of complete live concerts.

Somehow, the labels have managed to tap into the subconscious of even those who don’t want to listen, reiterating the same samples and overprocessed pop.

In the end, it’s the same as always: the talentless thrive while the talents starve to survive.