Cougars & Mustangs 

Do you like boxes? Let’s be real, here. Boxes are the best. They store and carry precious cargo. They provide endless hours of entertainment for toddlers and cats. And, with proper printing on their sides, they make products more attractive to potential customers. 

To add to the latest string of Mustang trophies and/or victories, an interdisciplinary team of three Cal Poly students took first place in the 48 Hour Repack, a packaging redesign competition that gave its contestants just two days to create better packaging for a pre-existing product. The team in question? Cal Poly industrial technology and packaging seniors Brooke Billmeyer (Solana Beach) and Macintyre Peek (San Marcos), along with art and design sophomore Samuel Baber (Rancho Santa Margarita).

The trio spent 48 hours of a January weekend designing new packaging for individual Keurig K-Cup coffee pods. Ultimately, their design was chosen. It featured a hexagonal tube made from a single piece of recycled paperboard, which served both to protect as well as display the coffee pods. The package even featured a unique re-closable lid with artwork differentiating between blends when set for display upon a counter top. 

More than 45 entries competed for the love of a four-judge panel before Cal Poly was announced as the winner. In March, during the final round in Atlanta, the team was awarded $3,000. Last year’s entry in the competition earned Cal Poly second place. 

More information on the fascinating event can be found at 48hrrepack.com/2016-competition/. 

Now, one of the only things as exciting as boxes is a capella music. Do you need a capella music in your life? If so, perhaps you should check out Cal Poly a capella ensemble That’s the Key’s Spring Concert at 8 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday May 6 and 7 in Room 218 of the Davidson Music Center (building 45) on Cal Poly’s campus. The group’s 14 students of various fields of study sing original arrangements of popular music for you for the low, low price of $5 at the door, proceeds from which benefit their travel and competition expenses. 

Further details about the group can be found at facebook.com/thatsthekey, by emailing [email protected], or by calling the Cal Poly Music Department at 756-2406. Remember, our student ensembles are looking for your support!

Contributor Lola White-Sanborn tried to tie these ideas together with a pun involving BOXING EARS but her editors found it too lame to print. Send her your collegiate news via [email protected]!