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410:. A 1919 issue of the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student newspaper, The Polygram, states that one morning Poly students awoke to discover large “H’s” (for High) constructed out of stones on the hills surrounding San Luis Obispo. The Poly students changed each “H” to a “P”, and the high school students battled back, again changing the letters. Poly students began to concentrate their defense on a hillside overlooking the campus, where the “P” has graced the hill ever since.
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painted another rainbow over the green, yet students continued to paint over it. It became an ongoing cycle that triggered debate. The gay activists received permission to paint the "P" rainbow from the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Mustang booster club, the Running Thunder club, and the keepers of the concrete “P”. The students who painted over the rainbow did not get permission to do so.
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construct a giant "P". The idea of the "P" on the hillside won because of the expensive costs of purchasing a water tower. It was purposely placed in a spot that could be viewed from three specific locations: the administration building's porch, the newly constructed
Highway 101, and the air, as flying was becoming popular.
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The “P” was a perfect target for school rivals to attack. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's biggest rivalry was Fresno State. Each year, on the night before the big football game, Fresno State students would climb up to the “P” and change it to an “F”. In response, freshman began to have bonfires outside of
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Throughout its history, the “P” has been painted numerous times as well. In a response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the campus painted the concrete letter with the stars and stripes of the
American flag. For bicentennial, it was painted red, white, and blue. It has been painted with hearts for
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For about 13 years the “P” sat on the hill with no steady caretakers. Weathering and vandalism began to take its toll on the “P”, causing it to slowly decay. Many claimed that the “P” was a nuisance and an eyesore, and a petition to get rid of the “P” circulated. The petition received more than 1000
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One Friday night hours after the lights were out … there were rumors … that the school we were playing on
Saturday was going to deface the P. While trying to wake another friend, I was met by Captain Deuel . He shone his flash in my face and wanted to know what was going on … half the dorm was AWOL.
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In 1994 a spirit organization, Running
Thunder, was formed to take care of the “P” and to promote school pride. They cleaned, painted, and lit the “P”. The club, now called the Mustang Maniacs, continues to take care of the “P” and paint it about three times every year. Clubs are permitted to paint
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Our class this year has quite a few young boys are small in stature, but not in willpower. We held our own in the lining of … the Block P on the hill. Hauling the lime up the hill is no joke, but we didn't balk, just went right on hauling and lining. Maybe we are little, but we'll grow up some day
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The first recorded “P” to adorn the hillside was made simply of whitewashed stones. This was problematic because the wind and rain would wash the stones away. The stones also made it easy for the high school students to change the “P” to an “H”. Under the supervision of the sophomores, the freshmen
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In addition to the "Poly P" described above, there is another, less famous "P" on the face of Bishop Peak, facing the original "P", and still visible in 2022. According to a typewritten document held in university
Archives, a former student named Walt Lumley recalls painting the Bishop Peak "P" in
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It was decided that the maintenance of the “P” would lie in the hands of the freshman and sophomore classes in the form of a contest dubbed “The
Freshman Sophomore Brawl”. The contest featured events such as tug-of-war, three-legged races and talent shows. The loser of the two classes would be the
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The Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals United and Pride
Alliance Center painted it like a rainbow during commUNITY pride week. Immediately, a group of 15 to 20 students were caught with “John Deere green” paint trying to cover up the rainbow. The Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals United and Pride Alliance Center
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One story of its birth is that Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's students and administration wanted to present the school to the rest of the community by placing a "P" for Poly on the campus hillside. A lot of thought was put into the idea of whether to use a water tower with a "P" painted on it, or to
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Decorating the “P” and using it to spread messages is a long-standing campus tradition. In 1964, the “P” was transformed into “GOP”. In the 1970s, it was changed to “POT”. In the 1980s, “SPRINGSTEEN” appeared on the hillside. The “P” has been formed into the Greek letters of the sororities and
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As the campus population grew, “The Brawl” became less popular. As a result, a spirit organization, The Rally Club, formed in 1957 to maintain the “P”. On the day before a football game, the club would carry a generator up the trail to the “P” and light the monument. If Poly won the game, the
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The second “P” was constructed out of old, whitewashed barn doors by the Block “P” club. Again, this “P” was short-lived due to high school students who lit it on fire. Until plans were complete to build a concrete “P” on the hill, the letter was reconstructed from wood.
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and a group of agricultural engineering students stepped in to help build a long-lasting “P”. On May 3, 1957, the two groups finished construction on the new “P”. This is the same “P” that can be seen on the campus hillside today.
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The concrete “P” was also built by the Block “P” club and was overseen by then student body president, Harry
Wineroth. The new “P” was 40 feet (12 m) tall and 30 feet (9 m) wide, much larger than its predecessors.
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following night the Rally Club would replace the “P” with a “V” for victory. This tradition continued up until the late 1970s, when interest dropped and the club ended.
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1926 using ten gallons of white lead paint, a rope, and several volunteer assistants, one with a megaphone. He reports that the "P" was repainted 28 years later.
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As the controversy around the rainbow grew, minority students and professors held a march to protest Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's lack of diversity and tolerance.
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their dormitories and take shifts guarding the “P”. There were even rumors that one year Poly students placed explosives around the “P” to keep it safe.
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signatures, stirring a debate among students and alumni. Hostility against the “P” escalated as the school was unable to deter the vandalism.
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of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. If notability cannot be shown, the article is likely to be
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Another theory of the origin of the "P" is that it was constructed as a result of a rivalry between Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and
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the "P" provided they obtain permission from the
Mustang Maniacs and repaint it to its standard white within a reasonable time.
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When I told him … he said, Wake your friends and get up there … but spread the word — Don't step one foot off the campus.
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dorm boys maintained the 24-by-40-foot (7 by 12 m) “P”, tidying up its stone outline and refilling it when needed.
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The "P" has started sliding down the slope of the hill and is suffering from some stress fractures due to the movement.
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ones to maintain the structure. The sophomores usually won, leaving the “P” in the hands of the freshmen.
513:-Mike Sullivan, a computer engineering major and former president of Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals United
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Valentine's Day and red and green for Christmas. Zebra stripes have even been painted across its face.
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http://calpolynews.calpoly.edu/news_releases/2002/2002_news_releases/02archives_students/thunder.html
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391:. Its creation dates back to the early 1900s, and it has remained on the same hillside ever since.
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543:"Cal Poly P — San Luis Obispo @ VirtualSLO.com, Your Visual Guide to California's Central Coast"
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The "P" has been at the university since at least 1919, but its exact origin has been debated.
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By 1956 the “P” was in shambles and in desperate need of repair. The social fraternity,
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fraternities on campus. Even marriage proposals have been spelled out using the “P”.
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is a 50-by-30-foot (15 by 9 m) landmark located atop a northwestern hill of
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Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing
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Cal Poly's Letter P Target of Backlash – Los Angeles Times
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California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
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may contain excessive or inappropriate references to
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50:Learn how and when to remove these messages
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272:Learn how and when to remove this message
217:Learn how and when to remove this message
159:Learn how and when to remove this message
1245:2002 controversies in the United States
1230:California Polytechnic State University
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385:California Polytechnic State University
108:"The "P"" Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
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201:where they are used inappropriately.
244:tone or style may not reflect the
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1240:Hill figures in the United States
1124:South San Francisco hillside sign
31:This article has multiple issues.
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757:Cal Poly Universities Rose Float
254:guide to writing better articles
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1099:Effigy Mounds National Monument
884:Battle for the Golden Horseshoe
798:Robert A. Mott Athletics Center
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72:may not meet Knowledge (XXG)'s
39:or discuss these issues on the
659:Kennedy Library Online Archive
305:The Cal Poly San Luis Obispo P
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472:— Don Fulwider, class of 1925
655:"The Block P on Bishop Peak"
726:Orfalea College of Business
408:San Luis Obispo High School
389:San Luis Obispo, California
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1089:Battle of Britain Memorial
81:reliable secondary sources
70:The topic of this article
1209:Hill figures in Wiltshire
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803:Robert E. Kennedy Library
1235:Public art in California
1003:Alton Barnes White Horse
425:and make mighty Seniors.
1119:Shoreham Memorial Cross
1043:Marlborough White Horse
355:35.302798°N 120.65163°W
248:used on Knowledge (XXG)
1038:Litlington White Horse
1023:Folkestone White Horse
1008:Broad Town White Horse
963:Long Man of Wilmington
793:Leaning Pine Arboretum
788:Alex G. Spanos Stadium
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452:Maintenance Traditions
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252:See Knowledge (XXG)'s
188:self-published sources
1063:Uffington White Horse
1048:Osmington White Horse
808:Robin Baggett Stadium
564:Traditions – Cal Poly
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360:35.302798; -120.65163
1068:Westbury White Horse
1013:Cherhill White Horse
1033:Kilburn White Horse
1028:Hackpen White Horse
1018:Devizes White Horse
351: /
1114:Paracas Candelabra
1058:Red Horse of Tysoe
1053:Pewsey White Horse
896:Blue–Green Rivalry
851:Women's basketball
626:2006-09-08 at the
607:2008-10-06 at the
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781:Campus facilities
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1109:Lenham Cross
1094:Bulford Kiwi
944:Hill figures
861:Men's soccer
767:Mustang Band
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740:Student life
662:. Retrieved
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193:Please help
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1182:The Big "C"
1138:Related art
731:Engineering
591:polyHistory
493:Controversy
371:Established
358: /
346:120°39′06″W
334:Coordinates
85:independent
1224:Categories
1202:Y Mountain
978:Marree Man
968:Firle Corn
772:Mercy Bowl
664:2022-11-21
580:The Poly P
530:References
343:35°18′10″N
314:California
195:improve it
119:newspapers
93:redirected
36:improve it
822:Athletics
714:Academics
83:that are
42:talk page
1155:Land art
1150:Rock art
1145:Geoglyph
951:Humanoid
879:UC Davis
856:Football
841:Baseball
829:Programs
624:Archived
605:Archived
310:Location
1192:The "P"
1187:Block U
1177:The "A"
752:The "P"
381:The "P"
199:sources
133:scholar
97:deleted
996:Horses
872:Rivals
747:Alumni
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89:merged
1077:Other
140:JSTOR
126:books
95:, or
1172:List
762:KCPR
374:1919
112:news
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