Ke Alaka'i - December 2016

D E C E M B E R 2 016 · Vo l u m e 116 : I s s u e 2

THE LEAD ER

Page 32 N at i v it y c o l l ec t or s display them to re me mb er C hr ist

Pa g e 2 8 D is n e y ’s ‘ M o a n a’ create s w a v e s o f m i xe d opi ni on s

Page 34 Fi l m ‘ Trans c end’ c hro nic les the l ife o f Jo n Mo z o

Page 52 H is to rian Ric hard Bus hma n shed s light o n Jo s eph Smi t h

DECEMBER 2016 • VOLUME 116 • ISSUE 2

ADVISOR Le e A n n Lam ber t MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISTS Kelsy Simmons Leslie Owusu Savanna Bachelder Zoe Rounseville Patrick Campbell Dylan Sage Wilcox Gabriel Fryar

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Cam ron St ockf ord Josh M ason COPY EDITORS Kev i n Brown Danna Osumo Alex Maldonado PHOTOGRAPHERS Lex i e Kapel i el a O l iv i a Tsan

Gosuke Kawano

Chant al Hopper

Brooklyn Redd

ART & GRAPHICS

Alyssa Odom VIDEOGRAPHERS Be n W hat cot t A rman d o Ja red Leon INTERNS Yu ki m i Ki shi Hailey Rasm ussen

NEW S CE N T ER BOX 1920 BYUH LAIE, HI 96762 PUBLISHER P r int Ser vi ces Editorial, photo submissions & distribution inquiries: ke a l a k a i @ by u h . e d u .

To s u b s c r i b e t o t h e R S S F E E D o r t o v i e w a d d i t i o n a l a r t i c l e s , go t o ke a l a k a i . by u h . e d u

Hai l ey M ol i na Kyung Ji Ki m Dorot hy Chi u ART DIRECTOR Yuki m i Ki shi SOCIAL MEDIA Dyl an Sage W i l cox

CONTACT

E-mail: keal akai @by u h. edu Ad Information: keal akai ads@gmai l . com Phone: (80 8 ) 6 7 5 -3 6 9 4 Fax: (8 0 8 ) 6 7 5 -3 4 9 1 Office: BYU -Hawai i Al oha Cent er 13 4 ON THE COVER: The Mary and baby Jesus figures from the large Nativity in the Aloha Center. The LDS Church’s Christmas inniative is #LightTheWorld, which encourages people to spread the light of Christ through service over 25 days in 25 ways. Photo by Yukimi Kishi

ABO UT US The Ke Alaka‘i began publishing the same year the university, then called Church College of Hawaii, opened. It has continued printing for more than 60 years. The name means “the leader” in Hawaiian. It began as a monthly newsletter, evolved into a weekly newspaper, then a weekly magazine, and is now a monthly news magazine with a website and a social media presence. Today a staff of about 25 students works to provide information for BYU-Hawaii’s campus ohana and Laie’s community.

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PH OTO SUBMISSIO N Ashkiiyah Harvey grew up on a reservation and is displaying her Native American heritage. The full story is available at kealakai.byuh.edu..

Photo by Kelsie Carlson

Share your photo with us and we may feature it in our next issue. E-mail us your high-resolution photo with a caption at kealakai@byuh.edu

F O L LO W U S AR O U ND THE WE B

KEA LA KA I.B YUH .EDU Instagram: @KEALAKAINEWS Snapchat: @KEALAKAINEWS Facebook: KE ALAKA‘I YouTube: KE ALAKA‘I NEWS

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DECEMBER 2016 • VOLUME 116 • ISSUE 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CAMPUS LIFE

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A day in the life of Parker Lovett English major tells of his hopes to go to graduate school in Italy

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Lexie Breen’s adoption November is adoption awareness month and Breen shares her story

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Dr. Nielsen retires Coworkers say he was genuinely happy to treat people at the health center

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Great Ideas Competition Judges gave advice to participants to follow their intuition and never give up.

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Brent Baccala He wears his white robe for the same reasons that LDS missionaries wear tags

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COMMUNITY

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Visitor’s center fireside Missionaries use music to inspire people to #LightTheWorld

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Moana creates waves Proponents and critics respond to Disney’s newest film

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FRIDAY Music Department Christmas Concert is free and open to the public at 7:30 p.m. in the CAC

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TUESDAY Women’s Basketball against Alaska Anchorage at 7 p.m. in the CAC

The Jon Mozo story in film A BYUH alumni’s influence beyond his work as a wave photographer

WEDNESDAY

LIFESTYLE

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Inexpensive Christmas decorations Students share how to make decorations out of recycled materials

RELIGION

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Annual Christmas devotional President Eyring says the peace of the Christmas season is the peace of God

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Historian Richard L. Bushman Bushman gives a broader perspective on the life of Joseph Smith

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DECEMBER

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Nativity scenes in Laie Collectors display them as reminders to focus on the Savior at Christmas time

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C A L E N D A R

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The Hub Karaoke Night at 8 to 11:45 p.m.

FRIDAY

Mini Farmer’s Market in the Aloha Center Mall from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

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SATURDAY Men’s Basketball against HPU at 7:30 p.m. in the CAC

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MONDAY

Winter Break from Dec. 19 until Jan. 2.

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SUNDAY Mele Kalikimaka!

Mormons Media Studies Scholars present their year’s worth of research at BYUH Symposium D EC EM B ER 2 0 1 6

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Campus Comment: Favorite Christmas Movies

St u de nts sa y Chr istma s f il ms made in t h e 1 9 9 0 s are t h e ir favorit es B Y L E S L I E O W U SU / P H OTO S B Y L E XI E KAPE L I E L A

Audrey Acomb, a senior from Utah in graphic design, said, “I love ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ because it’s super artistic and really fun. It teaches us not to judge by appearances. There’s that sappy undertone to it. I just think Jim Carrey is the best.”

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Charlie Hola, a senior from Tonga in political science, said, “‘Home Alone’ is my favorite. I’ve been watching it since I was a child. I love everything about it. The kid is so creative! Even during the year I’ll still watch that movie.”

Aline Weitzel, a junior from New York in hospitality and tourism management, said, “My favorite Christmas movie is ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ because the first time I watched it was in Mexico and it was in Spanish. My parents brought it from California so it was really special. Also, I really like Tim Burton as a director.”

B.K. Kim, a junior from South Korea studying exercise science, said, “[My favorite] is probably ‘Home Alone.’ It’s an old movie but it’s still good. It teaches a lesson about the importance of having good behavior, especially as children, and it’s funny.”

Courtney Schwendiman, a freshman from Washington in exercise science, said, “‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ is my favorite Christmas movie because the character of the Grinch is hilarious.You have to love him. Every Christmas, my family and I make a fort and watch this movie.”

campus life

in this section English major Parker Lovett tells of his hope to go to graduate school in Italy

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Great Ideas judges say to never give up on entrepreneurial projects

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Student Lexie Breen shares her adoption story to benefit others

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The goCampus App is a one-stop directory for BYUH services

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After 30 years of service at the Health Center, Dr. Doug Nielson retires

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University Disability Council seeks to meet disability needs on campus

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Brent Baccala wears a white robe to show his commitment to Christ

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Parker Lovett

English Major B Y K E L SY SI M M O N S Parker Lovett spends five hours a day reading and studies other languages as well. He hope to go to graduate school in Italty.

Photo by Lexie Kapeliela

Studying English with international students is preparing Parker Lovett, a senior from California, for a career as a dipolmat. Besides his English major, he is working on getting his legal studies and international peacebuilding certifications. Lovett said while he spends hours a day reading, he loves it.

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What made you decide to study this major?

Lovett said he loves English because it helps him understand people in his everyday life. “When you are able to understand language and communication better, you are able to sympathize and have greater compassion for people.”

What makes your major unique?

“We have several non-native speakers in this major. When you think of the people who are in the class, people from mainland China and the islands of Samoa, it’s really amazing that different people from different cultures can come together and appreciate the same language.” Then going further, he said, they are able to extend their experience “into their own language and their own understanding of literature.”

What do you want to do with it?

“I plan on going into international relations, like doing foreign service. I plan on doing more government work such as diplomacy. Currently, I’m looking into studying at an international relations program in Italy.” He said his major and all his studies are preparing him to “be able to make a clear arguments for public policy for the U.S. government.”

Favorite Class “The most challenging and interesting [class] for me was the Critical Theories class. What we do is discuss general language theories like Marxism, socialism and feminism but also more English-based structuralism. It helped me expand my view on what English really is. It helped me see how much English helps with understanding and being able to communicate with other people.”

Describe a typical day “I’m pretty good at following a schedule so I get up at around 5:30 a.m., exercise for an hour, do scripture study for an hour and then get ready. I’m usually out of the house by 7:30 a.m. and go to the library to study for an hour to prepare my mind for all my classes. I work at the Public Relations Services for the school from 12-3 p.m.

I’m done with classes by 5 p.m. After classes, I always set aside an hour to study one language.”

Number of people in the major There are 54 English majors, according to information from Academic Advisors Office. “Generally we have classes of about six to eight people. Each graduating class is about four to six graduating seniors. So we all know each other by the end.”

Time spent in a day “Usually because English majors require so much reading. I would spend a good four to five hours each day reading. We go through books like crazy. Usually six books per class plus textbooks. But I love reading so it’s great.”

Pros “One of my favorite things about the English major is you get you read classic literature and understand different cultures. In every class, I get to experience a brilliant writer of some sort.”

While he said students often don’t have time to read books and relax, that’s exactly what English majors do. “We read books.”

Cons “We do tend to spend a lot of time inside, just because we are constantly reading. Another con for me personally is the bad reputation English majors have that we are not taken seriously when it comes to future careers. There is a misconception with a lot of people thinking English major will not get a job.”

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Campus Life

Lexi Lexi Breen Breentalks about herbrings experience Student out the with to help life others best adoption of her adopted says reading a letter birthlife mother was a turning point Student brings out the best offrom her her adopted

BY LES LIE O W U S U

Lesie Breen says while she is Lexie if open about talking about adoption, others are not as comfortable. Photo by Lexie Kapeliela

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C ampus L i fe Lexi Breen holds a photo of her parents and siblings. She was adopted by them through LDS Services.

Two other sibling were also adopted. Photo by Lexie Kapeliela

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exi Breen said while some people shy away from speaking of being adopted, she believes sharing her experience can help others.

“Some people don’t want to talk about things in their life because they’re afraid of it, but to me it can be something that can help other people. So if you don’t want to talk about it, it’s okay. But if you do it can really help a lot of people. We can help make a difference,” said Breen, a senior from Sandy, Utah, majoring in hospitality and tourism management.

Breen said she had a misconception during her childhood about what adoption meant.

“I thought that I was adopted because my birth mother didn’t love me and she wanted to get rid of me.” She said her her adopted mom ‘would be so hurt if she knew I ever said that, but for some reason I had this misconception.

It’s because she couldn’t take care of me – not that she didn’t love me.”

In the United States, November is recognized as Adoption Awareness Month. As reported by adoption.com, “On a national level, while all adoption-related issues are important, a major focus of this month is the adoption of children currently in foster care.”

Breen said, “I think this month is so great because adoption is such a beautiful thing. I think it’s great that people can be aware. Adoption is just so amazing. I don’t even know how to put it into words. If someone gets pregnant young, it’s so hard on them, it’s hard on the 12

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family, and it’s hard on the children. However, it doesn’t have to be the end.”

During the month of November, organizations, communities, families, and individuals “come together to celebrate adoption as a positive way to build families. Across the nation, activities and observances such as recognition dinners, public awareness and recruitment campaigns spotlight the needs of children who need permanent families,” according to adoption.com.

Families come in different shapes and sizes, and Breen’s family is no different. She is the oldest of six kids. She has four brothers and one sister. She said the three oldest children in her family are adopted and the youngest three are not.

“My parents couldn’t have children. They had a really hard time. So they filed for adoption. They adopted my brother and I through LDS Social Services. The rule used to be that you can only adopt two kids, so then my next brother was an open adoption in California,” she said.

Breen said she and her brother had closed adoptions, and her parents only had contact with her birth mom for the first six months of her life. She said they never knew her name and the only contact was through pictures and letters. “I don’t remember how old I was when my parents told me I was adopted. But I knew at a young age. I remember being in the first grade and telling someone I was adopted.”

Breen said the process of adoption takes a long time. “It was a lot of paperwork and a lot of waiting. They go through everything. I was adopted through LDS Services, so my birth mom got to pick. She went through all the different applications and she got to pick who the parents were. Just from what she read about them, she thought that I would be the best fit with them.”

The hardest thing for Breen and her younger brother was discovering their third adopted brother received money from his birth mother and they didn’t, Breen said.

A major turning point for Breen was when she found letters from her birth mom to Breen. “I found the letters. I don’t know when my mom was going to give them to me, but I found them first and that’s when it clicked and I understood it more.

“She wanted what was best for me. When I found the letter, I learned that she was in high school. She wanted me to have a better life.

She knew she could give me that kind of life one day, but she didn’t know when.”

Breen said her birth story is crazy. “When I was born, I was actually pronounced dead at birth. My heart wasn’t beating. My birth grandma was the one who wrote a letter telling me about this experience. My birth grandma wrote, ‘You have so many people who love you.’

“I only have one letter from my birth mom directly to me, and it’s the sweetest thing.

She talks about how Christ had to give his life,

and she felt like what she was doing was hard but it was the right thing for me. In the hospital, all she could say was how much she loved me. It’s one of my favorite things. I read it from time to time.”

Breen said she has been fickle about finding her birth mother. She said she always told herself that when she turned 18 she would find her birth parents.

She said she tried once right before leaving to serve in the Idaho Nampa Mission. “I got the paper for it. But I didn’t want my mom to feel bad, and they weren’t going to get information for me in time, so I decided just to wait and do it after I got home...There are times when I think she would want me to find her. I still want to. I just don’t know when.”

Breen said she doesn’t know much about her birth dad, but she believes he didn’t want to contribute to the family once he found out about the pregnancy.

Growing up, Breen’s family didn’t talk about her being adopted too much, she said, and her parents loved them all the same. “I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but we didn’t talk about it as much growing up, but it was fine.

“Looking at our family, people would never tell who was adopted because in my family everyone was treated the same.”

While growing up, Breen said she wanted to go into social work because she wanted to help other children who are adopted. She

said, “I feel like with adoption, people who are adopted have different views and this is just my view. Other kids are more open or less open.

Some want to find their birth moms; others don’t want to find their birth moms. Some love that they’re adopted, and some are ashamed that they are adopted.”

Breen said her family loves to go to Disneyland, and they went a lot while growing up. “That was probably our favorite vacation.

We’d go to Disneyland and the beach. We know Disneyland like the back of our hands. I still love it. I’m still a little kid.”

She said her family participates in a lot of holiday traditions. The one they look forward to the most is when their mother makes egg casserole on Christmas and Easter. “[Family members] are people that love you no matter what,” she said.

“I would say I’m close to my parents, maybe not as close as I’d like to be, but I did learn a lot from them. Being the oldest, I’ve become really independent. They’ve always supported me. That’s one thing I love about my parents. They’ve always supported every decision I’ve made,” Breen said.

Her friends describe Breen as bubbly, likeable, sociable and a great cook.

Breen’s boyfriend, Timoci Tupua, a sophomore in political science from Fiji, said, “I’m proud of her. I’ve met people who don’t like to talk about being adopted but... she has learned to accept it.”

Karissa Maughn, a senior in marketing from Utah, said, “Family is what you make it.

For me, I have blood family, and my roommates are family, and then I have an ohana here in Hawaii of friends and aunties and uncles.”

Tupua said, “My family means everything to me. It’s my identity. It’s where I came from.

Everything about you ties back to them. I’ve left my family and have found another family here. I’ve found Lexi. Heavenly Father definitely orchestrates these things in our lives.”

Tupua said, “I met Lexi my first week here on campus last November. There was a concert at Foodland, and we met through a friend. Her smile was my very first impression.

Her face was red because she was sunburned but her smile stood out to me.”

Maughn, a housemate and friend of Breen, agreed Breen never stops smiling. “Lexi’s laugh is so contagious. When she starts laughing, you can’t stop laughing. She is completely fine talking to anyone. She’s very welcoming and accepting of everyone. People are instantly friends with her,” she said.

Gretchen Hamblin, an alumna who studied elementary education from Wisconsin, is also a friend and housemate to Breen. She said, “Lexi is very selfless and she puts her priorities second to her loved ones.”

Tupua agreed and said some people take advantage of Breen’s consideration of others.

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C ampus L i fe College Dr. Dougstudents Nielson with surf on the web his wife, Madelyn, while in line.at pausewaiting for a photo Photo

by AP. luncheon. their farewell Photo by Hailey Rasmussen

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Health Center Dr. Nielson says ‘Aloha ‘Oe’ to Hawaii Coworkers say he leaves behind a 30-year legacy of hard work and compassion B Y H Y R AM YARB RO & L E E AN N L AM B E RT

The BYU-Hawaii ohana held a farewell luncheon for Dr. P. Douglas Nielson, director of services at the BYUH Health Center, on Nov. 16 where Nielson said the friendships he and his family have made in Laie are eternal.

“We have heartfelt gratitude for all you,” he said to the crowd in the Aloha Center Ballroom, “and to all at the Health Center, we love you…. Thank you for the years of memories.

These memories are forever and these friendships will never end.”

Nielson leaves a legacy of hard work, compassion and empathy, according to those who have worked alongside him in the Health Center.

Dave Kader, a medical assistant who has worked at the BYUH Health Center for one year, said, “Dr. Nielson has not only helped me as I have been a patient at the health center but also he has been an excellent example to me of how to live a Christlike life in a professional settling. He is what a doctor should be in my opinion.”

According to the BYUH Health Center website, Nielson came to BYUH in the summer of 1986. The site said, “Dr. Nielson is a family practice and sports medicine board-certified physician. He received his medical degree from the University of Utah, graduating summa cum laude. He completed a residency in Family Practice at McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah; he then returned to Beaver, Utah, to fulfill his boyhood dream of being a country town Family Practice physician.”

Dorothy Fiso, the medical biller at the Health Center, said, “I have worked at the Health Center for 17 years, and Dr. Nielson has been a very big impact as to how I should

be coding and using correct diagnosis when submitting for billing purposes. He is a very knowledgeable individual who is very compassionate and kind. He has made my place of employment an enjoyable and wonderful place to work. He is also an excellent doctor.”

A poster picturing Nielson can be seen at the Health Center, with his words, “My greatest joy at work is helping people to heal physically, mentally and spiritually. Their expressions of gratitude and appreciation are very important to me. Every interaction that we have is an opportunity to educate and help. We hope that when our patients leave here, they will have a better understanding of how they can maintain their health for the rest of their lives.”

Kader said, “[Nielson] is a very caring person and that shows in how he interacts with our patients. He always has a friendly demeanor and shows compassion to everyone. Dr. Nielson never complained or spoke negatively about a patient even if they were late for an appointment or if the procedure was particularly difficult or time consuming. He is always genuinely happy to treat patients.”

Fiso expressed her gratitude for Nielson and said she will miss his intelligence, compassion, and love for all the employees more than anything else.

According to Kader and Fiso, his wit and humor will be missed by all who have worked at or visited the Health Center.

Nielson’s legacy and commitment to BYUH and the Health Center will never be forgotten, they said, and his words will remain a message of love for all who knew him.

Debbie Hippolite Wright presented a wooden poi bowl to Nielson at the luncheon

and expressed gratitude for all he has done over the 30 years he was the campus doctor.

Neilson and his wife, Madelyn, will be moving to Galax, Virginia, and live with their son, Ryan and his family. Neilson said they are looking forward to doing missionary work and building the LDS Church in that area. They have a grandson who just was called to serve a mission in Virginia and there isn’t a branch or ward in Galax, he said. In fact, to go to church services they have to travel an hour.

At the luncheon, Neilson said while driving around the Big Circle on campus recently, he was thinking about how hard it was to leave Laie when inspiration came to him in the form of a question, “How many high priests are there in Galax?” Neilson said he called Ryan and asked him that same question and Ryan said there are two high priests and one is inactive, so they need Neilson there.

While cleaning out his office in the Health Center, Neilson said he found the book “Enchantment,” written by his long-time friend and LDS author Orson Scott Card. The book’s storyline includes a bridge that appears only after you take a step into the unknown, he said.

Inscribed in the book is a message from Card to Neilson that says, “Doug, there’s always a bridge. Love, Scott.”

Neilson said as they have been preparing to retire and leave BYUH, he has felt with each step into the unknown, “a bridge has been built under our feet. It is the right time to leave.”

Speaking of the people he has met while living and working in Laie, Neilson said it is not a coincidence they have all come here. “We have all felt compelling reasons for being here and we are so very grateful for being here.”

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C ampus L i fe From Left to right: Benoy Tamang, BYUH President John Tanner, Athelia Wooley Photo csption.

LeSure, Fredo Solar, Michael and Michelle Nielsen, and Rich Raddon. The Photo by AP Nielsens placed second in the domestic category. Photo by Olivia Tsan

Elvin Jerome presents to the judges at the PCC theater. Photo by Hailey Rasmussen

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Participants showcase their ideas at a speed networking event prior to the competition. Photo by Hailey Rasmussen

Great Ideas contest judges advice is never give up Participants are encouraged to keep life in balance and don’t be afraid to fail B Y K E L SY SI M M O N S

BYU-Hawaii hosted the Great Ideas competition from Nov. 16 to 17, where students presented their ideas through video and public speaking. Judges shared personal experiences, struggles and advice on how to have successful businesses despite failure.

Benoy Tamang, BYUH alumnus and CEO of eFileCabinet, told students winning the competition was not a measure of their success because he has seen ideas that didn’t seem good at first eventually turn into fabulous businesses. “Don’t listen to people. Don’t listen to even the faculty [or] us. We are probably wrong. In the end if you truly believe it, you will ram rod it and you will be successful.”

Athelia Woolley LeSuer, a fashion designer from New York and CEO of Shabby Apple, said, “It’s okay to fail. Entrepreneurs fail nine times out of 10.” When asked what keeps her inspired throughout those nine failures, she responded, “The one win. The potential of the one win.”

Fredo Solar is another BYUH alumni, and founder of Bucareli Chocolate in Mexico City. He said when he was a student, he participated in the competition almost every year and made it into the finals when he was a freshman.

He said the conference gave him the practice and confidence he needed. He also looked up to the businessmen and women who judged the conferences, and collected a stack of their business cards to stay in contact with many of them. “Students who are not here are wasting the opportunity to mingle with people who have been successful,” he added.

Along with diligence and endurance, all the judges said it is important to keep life in balance. Tamang described spending hours of church, family, plane rides, and work as being quite hectic if he did not prioritize his life. “It’s like putting an oxygen mask on yourself first. If you don’t do that, you are going

to spiral out of control; and how can you help anybody else?

You’ve got to keep that oxygen mask on and keep your life in balance.”

Before presenting the winners of the competition, BYUHawaii Pres. John Tanner stood and gave closing remarks for the competition. He advised the students to not forget the Lord as they strive to fulfill their dreams and businesses.

“Along with your genius and talent, good luck, good fortune and work, I would encourage you to remember your covenants in whatever you do.”

Solar also expressed the importance of keeping the Lord in your mind always. “I pray a lot. Things can be really hard. I just pray and ask for help. It’s not about us, it’s about who we are helping and what we want to build. It’s something bigger than myself.”

All the judges said they were impressed with the students who competed. “I can’t believe how mature they are,” said Tamang, “They have plans and their one-minute elevator pitches down.You can tell they practiced.”

Rich Raddon, co-founder and co-CEO of ZEFR, added, “People in general are innately creative. We like to create and build. I think we get that from our Heavenly Father. When you act upon that and are a part of creating something, there is a lot of satisfaction in that.”

During the last portion of the competition, Raddon shared one time he was laughed out of the room when he tried to strike a partnership with YouTube. He was able to land the deal on the flight home when he ran into an old acquaintance who worked for YouTube. “Failure is not an option. Don’t be afraid to fail, and if you are going to fail, fail fast; but go for it with everything you’ve got.”

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The free app goCampus, created by Kevin Tan, gives students information like library hours, ward meeting times and what’s on the menu for the Caf. Photos by Josh Mason 18

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Go on campus with goCampus Student-made app provides one-stop directory for BYUH services B Y DAN N A O SU M O

GoCampus, a smartphone application created by student Kelvin Tan, helps BYU-Hawaii students find out campus information conveniently. “You can check the Caf menu, find basic information on operation hours, emails and phone numbers of professors,” said Tan, a senior studying computer science from Malaysia.

Tan said the application was created in October 2016 and has since been downloaded and used regularly by around 100 students. “I can see the statistics to see how many students use it and around 30-40 students download it each day,” said Tan.

The app has six sections for students to use: myBYUH, where students can access their myBYUH accounts; a map that shows where students are and has points on buildings; Indoor Building, which allows users to access maps of rooms and their numbers in each building; Cafeteria Menu, which accesses the Food Services website to show the menu for the week; Wards Schedule, which displays ward details such as names of the bishop, meeting times, location, and ward boundaries; and Useful Numbers, which includes emergency numbers like the on-call nurse and 24-hour security number as well as convenient numbers like the temple.

When asked what makes the app different than the school’s website, Tan said, “ The BYUH website has a lot of information, but you need to be able to know how to get around. I could get around the website pretty easily getting things I need, but not a lot of people could do that – especially those who are not so good on browsing around. goCampus is a compilation of all the information you need.”

Benjarin “Beam” Tan, Kelvin’s wife and a senior studying TESOL from Thailand, said the application is free

and useful. “I use it to look at the time when certain departments or the Cafeteria closes. Even though I don’t use it often, I need it to look at information instead of looking through all the websites,” she said.

After seeing how the other BYU schools had their own campus app, Kelvin Tan said he took the initiative to form the application. “I don’t get anything out of it except experience. I’m glad that several people have come up to me to request for android and other business proposals.”

Tan said he does not plan to monetize the app.

“Because it’s a free app, I don’t think I am putting as much efforts on it. It will most likely be my experiment in trying new things while I build other paid apps,” he said.

For Tan, making the map in the application gave him the hardest time. “I had to find out the coordinates [like] longitudes and latitudes of specific places, take pictures, and find out information about them by myself.”

Lee Yi Hong, a sophomore from Singapore studying business, said the application is important for campuses.

“Sometimes the information on the school website may not be accurate, such as the ward times or meeting place. It is good to have an application that can give us more accurate information.”

The future plan is to have the app update when there are events going on around campus, said Tan.

Beam said she enjoyed watching Tan use his major to benefit others. “When we think of computer science, we may think of games or fun apps. But what he wants to do is make apps that will be helpful and not take time away from family.”

The application can be found in the Apple app store, titled goCampus.

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University Disability Council Representatives strive to inform and protect the rights of people with disabilities S AVAN N A B ACH E L D E R

The University Disability Council members are left to right, Leilani Auna, Barbara Hong, Philip Realtor, Eugenia Soliai and Debbie Hippolite Wright. They have specific areas they focus on and people can go to them with questions or concerns. Photo by Yukimi Kishi

Leilani Auna (Students): 675-3999; leilani.auna@byuh.edu Dr. Barbara Hong (Faculty): 675-3887; Barbara.hong@byuh.edu Eugenia Soliai (Human Resources): 675-3675; eugenia.soliai@byuh.edu Philip Relator (Campus Safety): 675-3411; philip.relator@byuh.edu

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he purpose of the University Disability Council is to review and recommend policies and procedures related to disability issues on this campus, according to council members. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), no individuals may be discriminated due to their disabilities in any areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, private or public places that are open to the general public.

“Our campus has several professionals who are dedicated to seeing that the disability laws to protect the rights of people with disabilities in the educational setting are maintained,” said Debbie Hippolite Wright, vice president for Student Development and Services, who also chairs the Disability Council. She continued, “They inform, assist, and improve the studying, working and living conditions of students, faculty, staff and visitors.”

The University Disability Council currently consists of four representatives—Employees (Eugenia Soliai); Students (Leilani Auna); Faculty (Dr. Barbara Hong); and Campus Safety (Philip Relator).

“We want the whole campus to be cognizant – faculty, staff, administrators, and students – about people with disabilities and respect each other’s rights,” said Barbara Hong, the program coordinator of Special Education in the School of Education. “My role in the council is to support faculty in understanding how they can provide equal access to students with disabilities that is fair and legal.”

Hong said, “On a diverse campus like ours, many international, and even domestic students and staff, may not be aware about their rights under ADA or the proper procedures for obtaining accommodations. It is important that we’re all on the same page for the same reason.”

Leilani Auna, the director of Counseling and Disability Services, said, “My role in the University Disability Council is to advocate for students who have a grievance issue with their academic, housing or food accommodations and to assure reasonable accommodations for students with a disability. If the student has a grievance with Disability Services, than they can appeal directly to the University Disability Council.”

Auna continued, “It is very important that students, faculty and staff know the differences between Counseling and Disability Services. Counseling Services will assist students in resolving personal and emotional problems that impede graduation, by providing cultur-

ally-sensitive and professional counseling, centered on gospel principles and evidence-based treatments. There are licensed clinical counselors who can work with students with personal, relationship and mental health issues.

“Disability Services exists to assist students in functioning in and graduating from Brigham Young University-Hawaii in spite of physical, learning, or other challenges. We coordinate efforts, services and programs that are assistive, supportive and empowering.

We allow students to do for themselves all that they can do and then encourage and support them in their educational goals. The Disability Services coordinator will assist students in obtaining reasonable accommodations in the classroom, housing and food services.”

Confidentiality and sensitivity are important issues for members of the council. Hong said, “We have to be very careful about how we identify people with disabilities or else it becomes a stigma. Students won’t get help because they don’t want to be labeled as having a disability. Just because you have a disability, it doesn’t mean that you are cognitively disabled. Sometimes you are just struggling with certain aspects and need help.”

Auna agreed confidentiality is a priority. “Everything we discuss in here is confidential. Disability Services and Counseling Services don’t disclose information between each other or with other faculty and staff without a consent to release of information from the student,” she said.

Eugenia Soliai represents ADA issues that involve employees of BYUH, ensuring that reasonable accommodation needs are addressed and met. Soliai said, “As an institution, we are committed to providing equal opportunity to all employees and prohibit any discrimination against persons with disabilities. We do our best to reasonably accommodate those who are eligible so we can better work together as a community.”

The council addresses the logistical issues that arise when working toward being in compliance with ADA. “I work with the physical side of the Disability Council,” said Philip Relator, the Training and Safety manager with Facilities Management at BYUH. “I work in collaboration with Facilities Management to ensure that there is consideration for people with disabilities. I make sure that construction and existing structures are up to date.”

If you have any concerns that you would like to discuss, please contact your council representatives.

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Campus Life

Brent Baccala in the white robe He wears his robe for the same reason LDS Missionaries wear name tags

BY A LEX MAL D O N AD O

Baccala said he has been wearing a robe every day since 2011 to show his commitment to nonmaterialism.

Photo by Yukimi Kishi

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rent Baccala said he is a Christ-serving monk devoted to obedience to the commandments and helping others. Baccala described the robe he wears as monastic attire, or an outward symbol of his devotion to God. “When you wear a suit and tie, you want to present yourself as professional,” Baccala said.

“Mormons wear a name tag to show they’re missionaries. I wear my robe for the same reason. I want people to see me as a disciple of God.”

Baccala explained he began wearing a robe every day when he was living with a small spiritual community north of Fairbanks, Alaska, some time between 2011 and 2016. He said the community was led by Timothy Shouts, a man who had traveled the United States in the ‘70s preaching about Christ.

Baccala described the community as, “Totally off the grid. [We had] no electricity except what came from a few solar panels; we used wood stoves, and everybody lived in cabins they’ve built themselves. It’s a bit of a harsh lifestyle.

“At one point, [Shouts] asked me if I wanted to wear a robe and I said yes,” he continued. Baccala said he wore the robe into tatters until a seamstress friend offered to make him a new one he still wears to this day.

Baccala said he strives to live his life as the Savior taught in Matthew 19:21, “…If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”

He said he has taken the Savior’s council to heart, and his only earthly possessions are his tent at Malaekahana Beach – his mattress, robe, laptop, cell phone, and a few other small things he keeps in his tent.

Inspired to take up his nonmaterial lifestyle in 1992 when he was 23, Baccala said he was led by the Holy Spirit to ride a bicycle across America. He began in New Jersey and rode all the way to Arizona, stopping to visit different spiritual communities along the way.

At the end of his trip, he felt impressed to give away his bike and all he had with him.

Since his trip, Baccala described his commitment to nonmaterialism as a progression and a struggle. He said, “A lot has happened [since the trip]. For example, when I was 33, Continue on page 24

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Left: Brent Baccala likes spending time in college environments. He chose to live close by BYU-Hawaii since it is a Christian university.

Photo by Yukimi Kishi

Continued from page 23

my father died and I received a $30,000 inheritance. Some of it I spent on myself. Some of it I gave away. [This] included two cars I bought, drove for a while, and finally gifted each of them to two different people. After I gave the last car away, all of that money was gone.”

Baccala said when he decided to purge his life of his worldly possessions, technology proved to be one of his biggest hurdles. “My computer and work were the hardest things to give up,” he said, “I had so much self-identity in my work [as a computer programmer] and my computer. After I had decided to sell my it, I prepared an add on craigslist; $250 or best offer.

“Before I even put the ad up, a friend of mine called me up, gave me a bank card number with $500,” Baccala continued. “He said I could keep the computer and keep using it, but I couldn’t sell it and I couldn’t give it away. The hand of God works through other people. He tests us and was seeing if I would hold on to my material things. Then he came through last minute and blessed me.”

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work as a computer programmer. Staying true to his conviction, all the programming he does is completely free.

Baccala does much of his programming at BYU-Hawaii because he said he liked to work in a college environment. When he moved from Alaska to Hawaii in mid-2016, he first lived in Wahiawa, but didn’t find the environment to be what he was looking for. He was debating between BYU-Hawaii and the University of Hawaii, and ended up choosing the former of the two due to it being a Christian university.

He said a friend who had previously lived in Laie for a couple of years had recommended checking out a few hot spots around town like the Aloha Center and Laie Point. Baccala said, “I went over to Hukilau Beach and there were some guys there drinking kava who told me about some homeless people. I thought it looked like a reasonable spot, so I had a friend of mine help me move a couple days later with his pickup truck.”

Baccala said meeting his every day needs require a lot of prayer. Much of his prayer is simply expressing his gratitude. Gratitude for the tent he has, being able to live on a beach

in Hawaii, and so on. “I camped homeless in Alaska in December. I’ll take my beach front property on Oahu with a nice breeze that keeps the mosquitoes down.

“I shower at the beach park, which is really nice. They’re cold showers, but a shower is a shower so I shower every day. There’s foodbanks; there’s a woman who works at McDonalds who… will sometimes help me out with a free cup of coffee or a sandwich.” When doing laundry, Baccala said he has a friend in BYUH’s IT department who will regularly lend his washing machine for Baccala’s robe.

This is the second time Baccala has lived in Hawaii. He said he first moved here in 2010 when he was putting the finishing touches on a novel he had been writing. According to Baccala, his book, “Icarus Wing,” is a fictional story of a Christian revolution which takes place in Hawaii. A good portion of his motivation in moving to Hawaii was to get a first-hand experience of what it was like to live here, so he could incorporate it into his story.

“Icarus Wing,” as well as several of Baccala’s essays and blog entries can be read for free on his website, www.freesoft.org.

community

in this section Temple Visitors’ Center missionaries use music to inspire people to #LightTheWorld

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Disney’s “Moana” creates waves of opinion among BYUH ohana and beyond

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Local Nativity collectors display them as reminders to focus on the Savior at Christmas time

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Film debuts about Jon Mozo, a big wave photographer, BYUH alumus and devoted father

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Temple activity inspires students to share the gospel on social media B Y B R O O K LY N RE D D

The missionaries of the Laie Temple Visitors’ Center inspired the community with music and invitations for attendees to come closer to Christ on Sunday, Nov. 27 during its “Light the World” event.

“This devotional is opening the Christmas season. We want everyone to have Christ at the center of their Christmas,” said Sister Staneli, a missionary serving in the Visitors’ Center.

The performers sang numerous selection of Christmas songs while standing in front of the iconic Christus statue. The center showcased the various Christmas trees scattered throughout the center decorated by Oahu LDS stakes. The missionaries performed classical Christmas songs such as “Star of Bethlehem,” “Oh Holy Night,” and “Silent Night.”

Sister missionaries who performed during the production said they hoped to invite others to Christ and help them to understand the true meaning of Christmas.

Staneli said, “This season… we are actually having a ‘Light the World’ campaign and we want to spread the light of Christ into everyone’s lives and to keep his light at the center of Christmas.”

Mormon.org encourages people to share the light of Christ “in 25 ways…over 25 days,” which the center used as the focal point of the “Light the World” initiative.

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Sister Lundgren, one of the event’s soloists, said, “What we want to do is spread the light of Christ in serving other people and share his message throughout the world… with the music. We want to spread Christ and his love into the hearts of the people we sing to.”

Elder Swinton, the director of the Laie Temple Visitors’ Center, shared his experiences of serving in the center since beginning the calling in January. He said most of the visitors he had met were from China, and many had joined the church through their experiences at the Visitors’ Center.

“A church analysis determined that a third of those who joined the Church had their first contact at a visitors’ center. This analysis shows the importance of what takes place here,” he said.

As the director, Elder Swinton said he is responsible for everything happening at the Visitors’ Center. He said he is also in charge of marketing to attract more people to come and feel the spirit.

Nelson Tai, a senior from Hong Kong majoring in accounting, said he felt touched by the performance and inspired to share the experience with his own family members. He said, “Most of my family members are not members yet. I would invite them to listen to the missionaries… to take this time to not worry whether they need to believe or not…just

Left: Sister missionaries perform Christmas music that focuses on Christ. Right: The LDS Church enacts the “Light the World” initiative, offering members 25 different ways to “light the world” for each 25 days of December, ending with Christmas. Photo by Olivia Tsan

listen and try to feel the Spirit. If they feel it is something they want in their lives, then keep listening.”

Elder Swinton concluded, “We have about 600 people a day on average who come here to the Visitors’ Center. A lot of them have never heard anything about the church. Their first impression of the church will be what they felt when they first walked on the temple grounds.”

After the event, those in attendance were encouraged to leave referrals for the missionaries no matter their location around the globe.

Christian Pate, a senior from Nevada majoring in finance who is a recent convert who attended the event, said, “The spirit I feel here is the same spirit I feel on campus. When I came here as a student, I came as a non-member. That was three years ago. For me, the spirit I felt tonight was the same I felt on campus that made me want to investigate the church.”

Other attendees also said the sister missionaries did very well on portraying a spirit of culture, considering BYU-Hawaii’s diversity. Sam Clayton, freshman from Colorado majoring in biology who served an LDS mission in New Zealand, said, “They combined cultures very well.

Having served my mission in a very diverse place, I really appreciate the strong mix of cultures. I think one of my favorite performances was

when there were two sisters, one from Japan and the other from Korea, playing the violin together.”

Clayton continued, “The Spirit speaks universally across all cultures. We have two different cultures, but just one spirit.”

Sister Evans, a missionary preparing to return home, said, “My hope as a missionary was to involve the whole audience, whether they are members, non-members, or less-actives.”

The event showcased vocal performances with piano accompaniment from missionaries, including senior couples, and also performances involving the flute, guitar, and violin.

Sister Swinton, the director’s wife, said, “The event showcased so many nations, so many people, their talents, enthusiasm, and love for the Lord.”

The Laie Temple Visitors’ Center announced it would be hosting “A Medley of Christmas Firesides” every Sunday evening leading up to Christmas Day.

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Community

‘Moana’ creates waves of mixed opinions P r o p o n e n t s a n d c r i t i c s r e s p o n d t o D i s n ey ’s n ewe s t f i l m

BY DY LA N-S AG E W I LCOX

Disney’s newest animated film, “Moana” casts a world spotlight on Polynesian culture. Photo by AP

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YU-Hawaii student and faculty reactions differ on Disney’s newest animated film, “Moana,” which was released into theaters Thanksgiving weekend and places Polynesian culture in the world spotlight.

Critics have voiced their concerns to Disney for culturally appropriating Polynesian stories. One such critic is BYUH anthropology Professor Tevita Ka‘ili. He argued Disney is profiting from the stories of Polynesian people by making “Moana” while the actual people who are connected to those stories get little to no benefit.

“This is a big display of our culture,” Ka‘ili said. “I wanted people to see the complexity of who we are as a people. Unfortunately, it just didn’t come out at the end, or at least the way I wanted it to.”

Ka‘ili has written Facebook posts and articles for the Huffington Post on the validity of Disney’s use of cultural stories from the Pacific. Ka‘ili’s biggest critique is of Disney’s depiction of the demi-god Maui as an “egotistical buffoon.” He said Maui doesn’t need his fishhook to shapeshift. He also thought the name for the giant crab, Tamatoa, didn’t fit well with the name’s meaning. “Tamatoa is supposed to mean a warrior and I don’t know why they would give that name to a crab. A tamatoa, a person who is a real warrior, is someone who is respectable and people look up to the person. It just didn’t fit well with the crab,” Ka‘ili said. “[Disney] did try to learn as much as they could about the culture, which was mainly Pacific Islanders. There was actually a small group of people representing the Pacific as consultants, the Oceanic Story Trust. They made an attempt to bring different elements of the different cultures into the movie,” Ka‘ili said.

Peter Sciretta, a writer for slashfilm.com, took a closer look into how Disney created the Oceanic Story Trust. Sciretta said, “[Moana] is set in ancient Polynesia, so Disney wanted to honor the people and culture of the South Pacific Islands. Directors Ron Clements and John Musker took research trips to many islands in the South Pacific, and those visits changed the vision of what the film would become. They had gone in expecting to be wowed by the beauty of the islands, but it was the people they met during these trips that inspired the film significantly.”

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Continued from page 29

As a result of these experiences, Disney Animation organized three trips to the South Pacific Islands: to Tahiti and Samoa in October 2011; to Bora Bora, New Zealand, Moorea and other islands in March 2014; and again to Bora Bora, Moorea, and Tahiti in November 2014.

“It was through these visits that they began to form ‘the Oceanic Story Trust,’ which is kind of like the Pixar brain trust for this story, but instead [they’re] in charge of ensuring the people of the region were depicted authentically.

“Polynesia is a region that has been misrepresented in the media, and they wanted to make sure that doesn’t happen with this movie.

They would not only fact check any story beat, but almost every aspect of the film from the music to costumes,” Sciretta said.

Ka‘ili followed the film’s production closely and said there were some aspects of the movie where Disney portrayed Polynesian culture accurately. He said the different motifs found on the characters’ clothes as well as the design carved into the canoe were authentic.

The wayfinding in the story, which was inspired

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by Hokule‘a Navigator Nainoa Thompson, is also accurate, Ka‘ili said.

He said he would give the movie three stars out of 10. While Disney has done a lot to tell the story of Pacific navigation using Polynesian legends and themes, Ka‘ili feels Polynesians should be the ones who tell their own story.

“I wanted to like it, but it fell short. I think we should tell our story our own way and not filter it through Disney,” he said. “We, as Polynesians, have so many rich stories. Our stories are very complex, rich and beautiful.

That’s something we should celebrate.”

Kelela Mo‘o, a freshman majoring in computer science from Laie, said, “I want the Pacific Islanders to take advantage of this spotlight to really educate people about their home island culture and current issues. We can’t expect Disney to tell our own story for us. We need to tell our own story.”

Mo’o, who is Tongan, Tahitian, and Hawaiian, added, “There were parts that were authentic and there were parts that Disney could’ve tried harder on. I hope that ‘Moana is the beginning of Pacific Island culture being

portrayed in mainstream media.”

Ian Nakayama, a sophomore from Kahuku studying psychology, had a positive view on the film. He said, “As a Native Hawaiian, as a person who grew up in Hawaii, and as someone who attended a Hawaiian school, I liked ‘Moana.’

“As any movie, there are many good things and many bad things that were represented in the film. But I have to say that the good outweighed the bad, and the film delivered a very powerful message.”

Nakayama said he thinks Maui’s character was misrepresented, “but that is completely overshadowed by the true meaning and message ‘Moana’ is sharing,” he said.

Nakayama said he believes the film will have a positive impact on the awareness of Pacific culture overall. He said, “It was also written in a way that once you saw it, you would want to research more about the history of the Pacific.

It was a fictional movie made for families, and I believe that it did a good job in being that.

However, it also did a good job in sharing what

Left: Moana (right), voiced by Auli‘i Cravalho, encounters Maui (left), voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, after she becomes stranded on a remote island.

Right: Grandma Tala, voiced by Rachel House, encourages Moana’s desire to navigate the oceans beyond their island home of Motu Nui. Photos by AP.

Polynesia is to those who otherwise have little to no interaction with it.”

With regards to the film’s cultural accuracy, voice actress for Moana, Auli‘i Cravalho, said, “Anyone who hears about a movie being inspired by their culture will want it to be done right. I can honestly say I’m so proud of working on this film because it’s done so well.”

Kaulana Triphahn, a close friend of Cravalho, said, “I liked that [Disney] did their research and tried to stay true to the culture of Polynesia.” Triphanh was invited by Cravalho to attend the movie premiere in California. “I think it represents the Polynesian culture well, but also it was a mash up of all of [the Polynesian cultures], not necessarily one in particular.

It had a lot of validity in my eyes. They especially did a good job explaining wayfinding,” she added.

Providing the voice of Maui in “Moana” enabled Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to share his culture. “People around the world have asked me about my culture a lot. It’s a great opportunity for me to talk about growing up in Hawaii and the islands. I’m always very proud

to share culture with the world, especially my experiences in Hawaii,” he said.

Cravalho said, “I grew up on an island.

I’m very connected to my culture through my schooling and through living on the island.”

Proponents of the movie felt even though the film may not be completely culturally accurate, Disney’s aim was to market the film towards children. Triphahn said, “I would tell people ‘Go watch it!’ It’s fun and entertaining and a great movie. I think people need to keep in mind that it is a kids’ animated film, so even with the true stuff, there’s silly and imagination stuff in there, too. I loved it and hope others do too.”

Ka‘ili said the film was cinematically appealing. “It was beautiful. The island, the stream, the ocean – animation-wise, I think that it was beautiful.”

Music for the film was written by LinManuel Miranda, director and composer of Broadway’s hit musical “Hamilton,” in collaboration with Opetaia Foa‘i of Te Vaka, an oceanic music group. Miranda said he spent a couple of weeks in New Zealand where he began to learn

more about Polynesian culture.

At the world premiere of ‘Moana,’ Miranda said in an interview, “It takes a village to build a movie like this, and I think now more than ever. It’s wonderful to see a story about a young woman who is a hero who saves her family, saves the island and saves the world. Auli‘i was destined to play Moana and her performance speaks for itself.”

Osnat Shurer, a producer for the film, said, “Moana is an incredible character who is made up of so much courage, and yet, compassion and empathy. She’s a female heroine like we’ve never had before.”

Cravalho said, “I was really blessed to be a part of this film. I think the journey Moana goes on is something everyone can connect to.”

Cravalho is a junior at Kamehameha SchoolsKapalama. She auditioned for the part two years ago when she was a freshman in high school.

According to Forbes, Disney’s “Moana” broke box office records by making in $2.6 million on opening preview night.

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Top left: Sis. Susan Tanner has seven Nativities set up around her home on campus. Top right: Anjeny Salts has one of her10 Nativities on display outside of the BYU-Hawaii Bookstore. Above: A large Nativity owned by Carla Lombard sits outside of the Laie Marriott Hotel. Photo by Olivia Tsan

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Collecting Nativities Fi g ur ines remind mo thers an d t h e ir familie s t o focu s on Ch ris t B Y K E L SY SI M M O N S

Mothers in Laie collect Nativity sets from various parts of the world, each being unique in color and size, and said it helps them keep the true spirit of Christmas alive in their own and others homes.

Sis. Susan Tanner, the wife of BYU-Hawaii President John Tanner, said she has around seven Nativity sets from Peru, Bolivia, Czechoslovakia, the Philippines, Brazil, Africa and Israel placed around her house. “To have Nativity sets surround me in my house is just a good reminder that this is the season we celebrate the birth of Christ.”

Carla Lombard, a Laie resident, said she started collecting Nativity sets because she had to travel often to foreign and remote places due to her husband’s job in the military. Some of these places did not have the Christian faith, said Lombard.

“In Turkey, we were not allowed to have any Christian-like celebration. So there was something nice about having the Nativity set right there in your home.…Then I started to collect and just like anything else I didn’t know when to stop,” said Lombard, “I have very big ones and some little ones that are so small. I almost need a house just for them!”

Anjeny Salts, a BYUH alumni from Pompeii Micronesia, works at the BYUH Bookstore and has collected up to 10 Nativity sets. “Where I come from, Christmas is not about presents. It is about the family getting together with the story of Jesus,” said Salts.

She continued, “I like having them around the house because how we celebrate Christmas [in America] is more about the gifts.

So when I have them all around the house, my kids will see them and I can teach them this is what [Christmas] is all about.”

Tanner said her favorite Nativity is from Israel. “I saw the

olive wood one from Israel [and] in some ways, it felt more authentic to me…The real birth was not so pristine or fancy as white ceramic [but]… more rustic, and a little more common. It represents the humble circumstances under which he was born,” explained Tanner.

Lombard said she doesn’t know how many Nativities she has because she has lent out many of them to her friends, sisters in her Relief Society, the Laie Marriott Hotel and the PCC. “I almost need someone to have a check in and check out like you do with the library.”

Tanner said the Nativity captures “the beauty of motherhood.”

Regarding Mary’s role, Tanner said, “[There was] a physical act of her giving birth to this child and also her spiritual receptiveness to accept the calling to do that. It filled my heart with the real reason that we are celebrating this whole season.”

She also added the year she had a baby in November was a glorious Christmas for her.“The whole Christmas season I could just cradle this infant in my arms and feel the way a new mother feels, which is filled with love and appreciation.”

Lombard said besides the large Nativity in front of the Laie Marriott Hotel was lent out by her, she has set up to no less than five nativities around the Call Center of the PCC. Lombard said she was doing it because of her love for the Savior. “It was so touching to me… to see [the characters from the Christmas story] all in one little place… and put it up.”

One of Salt’s Nativity sets is displayed in the window outside of the bookstore. “I love that one because it is the town of Bethlehem.” She said she soon hopes to get a Nativity made out of Legos so her children and grandchild can finally play with one that will not break.

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Community

‘Transcend:’ The Jon Mozo Story in film A b i g - w ave p h o t o g r a p h e r a n d a l u m n u s ’ i n f l u e n c e b eyo n d h i s p h o t o s.

BY HA ILEY R AS M U S S E N

While a student at BYUH, Jon Mozo survived a shark attack at Hukilau Beach. Beyond being a noted surf photographer, he was the father of four children and husband of Nikki. He passed away 12 years ago.

Photo provided by Nikki Mozo

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he documentary “Transcend,” which commemorates the life of Jon Mozo, came under the spotlight at the Honolulu International Film Festival on Nov. 4. Mozo was a BYU-Hawaii alumnus who was known to the public as a professional wave photographer.

The unifying trait of the ocean was a theme woven in throughout the film. Mozo used the ocean in his work to transcend culture and time, says the documentary. Devin Graham, also known as DevinSuperTramp on YouTube, filmed the majority of the footage shown in the film. The film was six years in the making and the production team reworked the story of the film three months before the premiere, said Nikki Mozo at the premier.

Jon Mozo said the ocean gave so much to him. However, the lifeguard who was on duty the day he died, said the ocean claimed his life on the most perfect day to be out in the waves.

He died in 2005 after hitting his head on the reef at Pipeline.

Among those close to him, Jon Mozo was first and foremost known as a father.

People revered him for how he treated others.

“The impression Jon left as an artist and as a person continues to inspire people to be more loving, more engaged and more conscious of the beauty in and around us,” according to the Mozo collection website.

Home video footage showed Jon Mozo in a gallery with his work behind him and his children in front of him. Instead of beginning by speaking about his photographs, he spoke about his family and their central place in his life.

Amber Mozo, his oldest daughter, has followed in her father’s footsteps as a photographer. She said in her book “Chasing Light,” “My dad was everything to me. Everything I wanted to be. He chased light every day and died doing what he loved…[our family] had to decide that we were going to find the light again, to chase it and to be it.” Amber captured images that took her on an emotional journey to find healing. She recorded those thoughts with the images in her book.

Jon Mozo often spent time in Tahiti and the people he interacted with still have a special place in their hearts for him. One of the locals said, “Before, we didn’t like people. We kept to ourselves, but Jon changed that.”

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Left to right: Makana, Nikki, Anella, Jon, Amber, and Yani Mozo gather for a family portrait not long before Jon passed away.

Photo courtesy of Nikki Mozo Continued from page 35

Interview after interview of his wife, friends, brothers, children, and mother all reiterated the same central message: His kind and loving treatment of people was especially significant about him.

Graham said the process of making this film changed him. He said, “Though I had never met Jon, I have felt his influence through the people he inspired and the legacy he left behind. I attribute the discovery of my own voice because of Jon’s story. I was inspired to pursue my own passion and remember the importance of my voice and influence on others… [Jon Mozo] was a family man first and foremost.

People know me as a filmmaker first and I want to switch it around. Obviously it doesn’t change in an instant, but it’s what I’m aiming for.”

Nikki Mozo said an Enactus team at BYUH wanted to make a film about the Jon Mozo story and they connected her with Graham. “He moved here to make this film. We gave him a place to live and a van to drive for free and he filmed the interviews. Nikki Mozo said this was before he was well known on YouTube as DevinSupertramp.

She said after he came here, he started

producing a video about every other Tuesday for his YouTube channel. “There were adventurous college students living in a beautiful place and he took advantage of that.” She said, “We never gave him a dime for the project, and in the end, he spent a lot of money hiring an editor to finish the film on time since he was busy with other projects.” She said that through the process of making the film, they grew close with Graham. “We gave him a hard time just like family does when he started getting famous on YouTube.”

SY N O P S I S O F TH E M OV I E

“Transend,” started at the beginning of Jon Mozo’s life. He was born in Hawaii, but since his dad was in the military, they lived all around the globe. His family was living in Japan when Jon Mozo graduated from high school and he decided to move back to Hawaii for college.

There he began working at the Polynesian Culture Center Photo Pali, where he took pictures of visitors and worked in the lab developing photos. Nikki Mozo was working at the PCC as well and a mutual friend of theirs introduced them. “On our first date, he took me to the campus movie. He was very shy.

The next date was bowling at the game center, and from that point we spent our weekends together,” said Nikki Mozo.

Jon Mozo went back to Japan for the summer and Nikki followed him there. They were married the following spring, and a year and a half later they had their first child Makana. They later had three more children, Amber,Yani, and Anela.

Back at BYUH, Jon and Nikki Mozo were trying to balance between school, work and taking care of their young family. They decided Nikki, who was closest to graduating, would finish up school and get a full-time job while Jon took care of their children and pursued his career in photography. It was during this time that Amber Mozo became his work (buddy).

She would go with him to photo shoots.

He pursued his career in photography in full force when he began taking photos of models here in Hawaii. They decided Nikki would quit her job to raise their children. Nikki said this pushed him to work even harder.

They moved to New York for Jon to go to art school. “He showed them his portfolio, and they told him he didn’t need to go to school for what he was doing already.” Nikki continued, Continued on page 38

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According to Nikki Mozo, this was her husband’s favorite photo.

Tahitian Glass by Jon Mozo

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Devin Graham poses with a fan outside the theater after the premiere of “Transcend”.

He was a co-producer with Nikki Mozo for the film. Photo by Hailey Rasmussen Continued from page 37

“Working at Photo Pali gave him resources to be innovative. He was doing things that no one was doing at the time. His experience eliminated his need to go to art school.”

In New York, he worked as an apprentice for a well-known photographer. Nikki said, “He did a lot of high-end weddings.” She said her husband wanted to start his business where they were going to live, so they moved back to Hawaii after two years in New York.

An interview of Jon Mozo showed him pensively describing his relationship with the ocean. Jon had an innate fear of the ocean. He was aware of her [the ocean’s] power. His tone and body language in the film showed he had a deep sense of respect for her.

One morning he was on a Jet Ski on his way to take photos out at Keana Point and his box of equipment fell off and was lost at sea.

Nikki Mozo said when he came home he wasn’t upset. He said it was okay for the ocean to take from him because, “She gives me so much.”

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On another occasion, a shark attacked his feet while he was surfing at Goat Island and left him unable to walk for a few weeks. She said, “A community member gave him an electric wheelchair for him to use while he recovered, and he made his way up to the temple to shoot a wedding shortly after his attack.”

Nikki Mozo said her husband had a premonition his life was coming to an end. He wrote a note to his family on the back of one of his large prints and stowed it away in their shed.

Nikki found it after he passed away. She said it served as a reminder to her that even though he wasn’t there physically, he was still there.

Jon Mozo died on the North Shore at Pipeline. “He was especially excited to get in the ocean that day for some reason,” said Amber Mozo. He arrived at Pipeline right as his brother Allen was leaving. He also said Jon was very excited to get in the water.

That was the last time Allen spoke with his brother. The movie showed how pulling

these heart-wrenching memories to the surface drew raw emotion up with it.

Nikki was driving back from town when she received a phone call informing her Jon was critically injured. She and her family didn’t know what the extent of his injuries were, but she knew it was serious. She said deep down she knew that Jon wasn’t coming home when she was told he was at Kahuku Medical Center and they weren’t going to move him to a different hospital with better equipment. She was right. Jon didn’t come home.

The website jonmozostory.com says the film is about, “A man’s love affair with the ocean; a love that reached out to embrace him and never let go.”

Proceeds of the film go to The Jon Mozo Legacy Fund which offers grants and micro loans to 16-26 year olds who need assistance launching their businesses.

lifestyle

in this section Six simple do-it-yourself Christmas gift ideas from students

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Non-profit builds disaster-resilient homes and seeks to improve quality of life in the Philippines

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Making Christmas ornaments from recycled materials

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Student Melissa Leete shares her Christmas Nutella-stuffed cookie recipe

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Decorate your Christmas tree with Good Housekeeping’s delectable hot chocolate ornaments. Photo by Olivia Tsan

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6 homemade Christmas gift ideas B Y SAVAN N A B ACH E L D E R

H OM EMA DE S U G AR C R AB

Bailey Myers, a freshman agricultural tourism major from Oregon, shared her Christmas craft idea for a homemade sugar crab. “You will need sugar and coconut oil. Mix the sugar and coconut oil together and add mint oil or honey.You can even mix in food coloring if you want. Then, put it in a small jar and tie a ribbon around it.”

Myers also gave instructions listed below on how to make a picture wreath, a color package, and ocean-inspired sand candles.

COLO R PACKAG E

Myers said a simple color package “is always fun.You just have to go to the Dollar Store or Walmart and buy everything in one color like candy, a blanket, body wash, or chip bags.You can put that in a bag or a cute basket.”

OCEAN-INSPIRED SAND CANDLES

“For sand candles, you need sand, wax, and seashells, or whatever you want to decorate it with,” Myers said. “Buy candles you like the smell of and melt them down for wax; or you can buy clear wax and color it with crayons.You need to make a mold in the sand for your candle, so make sure the sand is a little moist and packed down tightly.

“Once the wax is melted, put your decorations as well as the wick in the mold. [Next], pour your wax in the mold by staying close to the mold and pouring slowly. Add any decorations or shells to the top once it has cooled and dig is out of the sand. This is a great gift because it includes a little piece of Hawaii, and it can be used later. If you burn the candle, you might want to put a plate or something under it.”

PI CTU RE WREAT H

“Cut a donut shape out of cardboard the size you want the picture wreath to be. Make sure the cardboard isn’t too thick. Then, hot glue clothes pins on the flat side, going all the way around the wreath. Clip photos into the clothes pins on the wreath.”

H OT CHOCO LAT E O R N AM E N T S

According to the Good Housekeeping website, hot chocolate ornaments are a cheap and easy gift. Start by screwing off the top of a plastic ornament, then fill it with hot chocolate mix, chocolate chips, peppermint shavings, and mini marshmallows. Screw the top of the ornament back on securely, and tie a bow around it or decorate the outside with a metallic sharpie.

“Ornaments can be very unique,” said Paul Wroblewski, a worker at The Only Show in Town, a craft and bead store in Kahuku. “They make great Christmas gifts, and they can even tell a story.”

DE CO RAT ED MA S O N JAR S

According to Huffington Post, decorated Mason jars full of assorted items are a good holiday gift. Take a Mason jar and put red or green fabric in place of the thin aluminum sheet on the inside of the lid. Then, fill the jar with Hershey’s kisses, mints, and any other small gift the receiver might like. Lastly, close the jar and tie a ribbon around the outside.

Kevin Revillo, a junior from the Phillipines studying music, said, “People always love food. If you buy colorful gift bags and fill them with chocolate and candy canes, you could seal that and make it a perfect gift most people will like. It’s nice because you could make most of them cheaply, and make them in bulk, so you have something for all your friends.”

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From left to right are IHHELPP representatives Rene Doria, Jean Doria and Paul Staple in front of the McKay Foyer.

Photo by Olivia Tsan

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Building disaster-resilient homes in the Philippines Non-profit group seeks to improve standard of living in island nation B Y SAVAN N A B ACH E L D E R

IHHELPP is a non-profit foundation aimed at “improving health, housing, education, and livelihood of the poor in the Philippines,” according to its mission statement. IHHELPP has projects building disaster-proof housing for the poor, distributing hygiene kits, feeding children, providing some health care services, training people to enter the workforce, and giving students resources to pursue an education.

Paul Staples, the vice president over operations for IHHELPP , a BYU-Hawaii alumnus, and local LDS bishop, said, “A lot of our workforce are volunteers, and many of them are BYU students.

They donate their writing skills, photography skills, and video skills to IHHELPP in order to help these people. When we built our first disaster resistant house in the Philippines, we saw BYU students from Hawaii and Provo there to help.

“A lot of people want to help, but there is no set vehicle for them to help. I think IHHELPP provides that opportunity. People can donate as much or as little time as they want to, which keeps this organization running.”

“We are taking the talents from our talent pool and experimenting with providing services to professional industries like the real estate industry, and asking them for donations to IHHELPP instead of payment, trading services for donations.”

Jean Doria, the vice president over communications at IHHELPP, said, “The IHHELPP program is basically a foundation that seeks to bridge disparities in health, housing, education, and the condition of the poor in the Philippines. We want to assist them in those four areas, so that they will have a better quality of life. Our vision is to have both members and non-members [of the LDS Church] to have better lives.”

The president of IHHELPP, Rene Doria, commented on past projects. “We have created communal bathrooms in order to improve health. After the typhoon, there were a lot of homes created with no bathrooms. Working on that project was the start of our organization. We are building homes for the poor. We have acquired several properties in the Philippines for building these homes.”

Jean Doria discussed the specifics of how these homes will be resilient to damage. “These homes are going to be constructed with compressed earth blocks. They are disaster resilient, affordable, high-quality, and visually appealing.

“This will meet the needs of the people because the Filipino government has been calling for disaster resilient homes. There is an estimated need of about 6.5 million homes. The Philippines gets visited by a lot of typhoons, and I don’t know of any other organization that tries to make disaster-proof homes.”

As well as providing disaster-proof housing, IHHELPP has projects aimed at increasing overall welfare. Jean Dorian said, “We have livelihood programs that interface education, housing, and livelihood for members and non-members. This will increase employment and quality of life for the people there.”

The organization’s website, www.ihhelpp.org, has information on how to volunteer and contact the organization’s founders.

Monetary donations made through the website go directly to helping families in the Philippines by providing them with disasterproof homes. Staples said, “We are helping families, one brick at a time.”

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L i fe st y le A snowman ornament made out of recycled bottle caps. Photo by Chantal Hopper

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Recycled Christmas decorations Instead of buying Christmas decorations, students share how to make their own B Y GAB E F RYAR

Recycled materials can be used to create Christmas decorations while keeping the Christmas hype and wallets thick, according to topinspired.com. With recycled Christmas ornaments, BYU-Hawaii students said they can invite the Christmas spirit, save money, and bond with friends.

Andrew Hunter, a freshman psychology major from Laie, said Christmas decorations are “really expensive to buy and they’re not worth it. Like, how could I afford ornaments when I’m trying to save money for food and housing?”

Antonio Cardona, a business management senior from Guatemala, said he feels using recycled Christmas decorations is a good idea. “In Guatemala, most people use plastic Christmas trees to save money. We also do the same with our ornaments. I think using recycled materials is good.”

In addition to saving money, students said recycled Christmas decorations also act as a great way to connect with friends during the Christmas season. Sarah Knight, freshman from California studying music, said, “Making homemade Christmas decorations with friends is a great way to make lasting memories. If I make an ornament with one of my friends, I’ll remember that memory we had making it every year.”

Despite being away from home, Knight said friends on campus make it better and having decorations invite the Christmas spirit in students’ houses. “It is a great way to get them excited for Christmas.”

Snowman Ornament

With a little bit of creativity, students can transform their trash into tree and house decorations. Bottle caps are something most college students can find lingering at the bottom of their recycling bin. As explained on a howto-guide found on www.topinspiried.com, these bottle caps can act as a snowman ornament.

According to the guide, students collect three bottle caps with white bottoms, glue a ribbon on the back of the three bottle caps to connect them, and be sure to loop the ribbon at the top of the parallel bottle caps to create a hook. Next, get creative with a sharpie when creating the snowman. Add some more ribbon and a button as a scarf for an added touch to the snowman decoration.

Coconut Nativity Scene

In the website, another decoration students can make are from coconuts. Students can honor and remember Christ’s birth story by setting up a nativity or manger scene using coconuts.

To create this, students must first find a decently long-sized coconut and husk it. Next, open the coconut up and harvest the coconut milk and meat. After clearing the inside of the coconut, carve the walls of the coconut to create a shelter for the manger. For an added effect, students can use the outside straw shavings of the coconut as the straw base in the manger. Go to lds.org to find a simple Nativity to print out on recycled paper to go inside your coconut shelter.

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Lifestyle

Recipe: Christmas recipe: Nutella-stuffed cookies Cookies TMelissa h e s e Leete c o o k shares i e s a raerecipe n ’t j uto s t help f o r celebrate S a n t a Christmas

BY KELSY S IM M O N S

BY KELSY S IM M O N S

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A simple recipe to be shared with families and friends to celebrate the spirit of Christmas, according to Melissa Leete. Photo by Olivia Tsan

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Melissa Leete, a psychology junior from Portland, Ore., said Nutella-stuffed cookies are perfect for Christmas because “when it’s warm, it’s just happiness.” In the United States, leaving out a plate of cookies on Christmas Eve is a popular tradition, she said but Santa never ate her cookies. “Although he didn’t eat the cookies, I continue to make them for my friends because I think that is the spirit of Christmas. Sharing,” Leete continued.

Ingredients 1 cup butter, softened ½ cup shortening 1 ½ cup dark brown sugar ½ cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 4 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoon cornstarch 2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 bag mine semi-sweet chocolate chips

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Instructions 1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Scoop rounded inches of Nutella onto wax paper covering a baking

sheet. Freeze Nutella for 2 hours.

2. Prepare 2 large bowls. In one bowl, mix butter, shortening and sugar till light and fluffy.

Then, add egg and mix well.

3. In the other bowl, mix flour, corn starch, baking soda and salt. Or you can buy premade

cookie mix.

4. Combine both mixtures and blend well. If dough is sticky or crumbly, stir in 1 teaspoon of

water. Mix chocolate chips with dough.

5. Have the cookie dough cover the Nutella. Place dough in freezer for 2 hours.

Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes or until set.

religion

in this section President Henry B. Eyring says the peace of the Christmas season is the peace of God

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Noted Mormon historian Richard Bushman gives insight into Joseph Smith’s life

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More than 40 scholars share their research at the Mormon Media Symposium

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Clockwise from top left: Members file into the conference center for the devotional. President Henry B. Eyring speaks about peace coming from god. The First Presidency pictured at the devotional. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform. Photos by lds.org

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Eyring: ‘Peace of Christmas is the peace of God’ Annual devotional directs focus from commercialism to the Savior B Y DYL AN -SAGE W I LCOX

Peace on earth through celebrating not only Christ’s birth but also his atonement and resurrection were the takeaways BYU-Hawaii students and community members received after watching the First Presidency Christmas Devotional on Dec. 4.

“Each of the speakers went past the glitter and glamour of Christmas. This [devotional] goes beyond all of that. What they say appeals to all followers of Christ in our different needs, levels, and understandings,” said President Vonn Logan, the first counselor in the Laie YSA 2nd Stake Presidency.

Logan said the Christmas devotional “lays the ground work” for the Christmas season not only for members of the church, but also for all believers of Christ, celebrating and remembering the birth of the Savior.

President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, and other general authorities of the church, emphasized the birth of the Savior through four talks given during a broadcast to thousands of members of the church in the conference center and throughout the world. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir serenaded members of the church in the conference center with traditional Christmas hymns as well as other arrangements such as, “Whence Is That Goodly Fragrance Flowing” and the “Wexford Carol.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, spoke on the prophecies of the birth of Jesus Christ, recounting that the birth, life and death of Jesus Christ is central to God’s purposes of the eternal salvation of mankind.

What we seek is peace. Peace is not something

Elder Craig C. Christensen, of the Presidency of the Seventy, addressed the importance that we gain through money. It’s not something that comes through position, and [President of Christ’s birth as being “the birth story of the ages.” Christensen quoted President Gordon B. Eyring] points that out so significantly.”

Eyring focused predominantly on peace Hinckley, who said, “There would be no Christ- during Christmas. He noted Jesus was not born mas if there had not been Easter,” focusing on during the best economic and political time. the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

“The peace of Christmas is the peace of God,

Brother Douglas D. Holmes, first counwhich passeth all understanding,” he said. selor of the Young Men General Presidency

“Henry B. Eyring’s talk stood out to me,” related the importance of the gift of the Holy said Samuel Mangakahia, a sophomore majorGhost. “Giving and receiving gifts is part of ing in graphic design from Australia. “Finding Christmas…the joy of giving and receiving traditions in your own family based on what gifts turns our hearts,” Holmes said.

Christ would do and remembering who to

Leah Rasmussen, a freshman majoring worship – especially Heavenly Father – and in business management from Alaska, said her keeping the commandments. After doing these favorite speaker was Holmes. “I found it very things, peace and hope will be found.” profound that every day we have the opportuPresident Logan said President Eyring’s nity to pursue light and truth. That really stood talk and “parental observations” on peace out to me,” Rasmussen said. “I feel like this devotional is one of the first that I’ve felt where reminded him of the Christmases he spent with I actually participated and engaged in it. I think his family. “President Eyring’s talk was very heart-warming,” he said. “My wife and I were any messages the church puts out at Christin the same situation where our Christmases mastime, Mormon Messages, Light the World were spent with our children and now we’re or Because of Him, all those things encourage just shrinking back again.”

Christ year-round,” she added.

Logan added the most important things

President Logan said when he compared aren’t the material things people often associhis first Christmas with his wife and newborn ate with Christmas, such as gifts and other daughter, they were poor college students and commodities. “[My wife and I] didn’t feel any only had three gifts under their small tree: a different between our beginning and where we glass tumbler he bought his wife, a bottle of are now. The most overwhelming part of our Old Spice men’s cologne she bought for him Christmas wasn’t the value of what was under and a little rattle for their daughter. the tree but what we felt in our hearts,” he said.

Twenty years later, President Logan “That suggests to me the value of peace.” Love said their financial situation has improved and and obedience are two things Logan attributes they’re able to afford more gifts. However, he said, “The thing that is most important is peace. to having a peaceful home and family.

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Religion

Joseph Smith Lecture Series B u s h m a n g i ve s n ew p e r s p e c t i ve s o n t h e l i f e o f t h e P r o p h e t

BY DA NNA O S U M O, DY LA N-S AG E W I LCOX , KEV IN BRO W N & S AVA NNA B AC H E L D E R

Richard Bushman discusses the importance of the gold plates. Photo by Rocky Woo

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T HE R E STO R AT I O N

During BYU-Hawaii’s weekly devotional on Nov. 15, students and faculty were addressed by one of the LDS Church’s most well-known historical scholars, Richard L. Bushman, as he spoke of the various accounts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision.

Bushman was introduced by his wife, Claudia Bushman, as she said he is traditionally known as the “rock star of Mormon history.”

She said he received his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees in the History of American Civilization from Harvard University. She also said he has received several awards for his books, including his notable biography “Joseph Smith; Rough Stone Rolling.”

Richard Bushman opened his devotional speech by referencing the environment of the university. “This is a very unusual collection of saints, in an unusual location.” He said it was quite different from educational institutions in his area of New York City, where he and his wife currently reside.

In his devotional speech, he drew attention to the work of historical scholars, whose work have discovered nine separate versions of the First Vision. “Some church members might be astonished that there are other versions… each one has a different emphasis,” he stated.

He said many historians believe the first recorded account was in 1838 because this was the year the First Presidency “sought out to record the history of the church for the first time.”

Richard Bushman said many critics of Joseph Smith, including biographer Fawn Brodie, pointed out the large gap between the occurrence of the First Vision and the official recording of it, as a viable reason for their questioning of the authenticity of the event. He said through the work of historians, the idea of the first account being in 1838 was “effectively displaced” as other versions were discovered in 1832, 1835, and others following them.

According to research done by Richard Bushman and other scholars, Joseph Smith wrote the majority of his accounts and documents personally and seldom used his secretary, Fredrick G. Williams. He also went on to describe some of the distinct differences in the accounts of 1838 and 1832.

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Continued from page 53

“In the account of 1838, Joseph Smith did not mention God the Father, and he did not mention the darkness that surrounded him. He only was summing up what happened,” he said.

In contrast, Richard Bushman said the 1832 version placed an importance on worthiness. He said, “This account throws a new light. Joseph was not worried about the state of churches, but on the state of his being. The first thing the Savior did was to forgive Joseph of his sins.” He said Christ’s forgiveness of sins became a common practice of continuing visitations with the prophet.

Breno Rivera, a sophomore from Sao Paulo, Brazil, studying marine biology, spent two years of his life preaching the account of the First Vision in the Brazil Brasilia Mission.

He said, “The devotional was incredible. It made me think how blessed I am to have the gospel in my life. With a step of faith, a young boy received the answer to his prayer, so all of us can receive instructions from God.

“I am so grateful for the restoration of the gospel because it was the same message,” he said, his grandparents heard, and as a result, “ I am here today.”

Due to the sacredness and complexity of the First Vision in the first decade of the

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history of the church, Richard Bushman said it was quite possible many members did not fully understand what had happened. He said the initial message of the church was “to convince people that Jesus is the Christ.”

Towards the end of his speech, he said some members likely base their testimonies off of the wrong foundations. “When [doubters] begin to question the prophet, they lose their faith in the Savior. Joseph Smith had been the foundation of their testimonies. Christ should be the anchor,” he said.

“To know [my husband] is to love him,” said Claudia Bushman. She said her husband’s level of passion for history influences his testimony of the gospel.

Brandon Chan, a junior from Malaysia studying biomedical sciences, said of the importance of the First Vision: “I know it is one of the many latter-day revelations that we received and it’s testimony to me that Heavenly Father still speaks to his children.”

Chan continued, “Heavenly Father knows us on a personal level, as the first words that were spoken by the Father were calling Joseph by name. There is no greater act of love and mercy when the Father and the Son appeared to Joseph than the atonement of Jesus Christ.”

Richard Bushman ended his devotional

with a personal testimony of the gospel. He said, as far as his testimony goes, the fact that someone has seen God the Father in this dispensation is valid evidence supporting the truthfulness of the gospel.

Bushman continued onto his second lecture later that evening that focused on “the reconstruction of Mormon history.” He said he has visited with members who faith was wavering regarding Joseph Smith and the history of the church. One woman said she had to reconstruct the narrative of the First Vision.

“We must ask questions based on documented evidence,” Bushman said.

In response to these inquirers, the church has since released published essays and compilations to help members and non-members understand the church better. “That’s what the Joseph Smith Papers were about: Getting to the bottom of his life,” he said. “We all have to somehow reconstruct the narrative with this history.”

Those who attended the lecture participated in a Q&A session with Bushman. One student asked about Joseph’s ties to the Free Masons. Bushman said the Masons’ ceremonies do have some relation to temple worship. “[Joseph] sensed inside himself those ceremonies had something potent. The restoration

Left to right, Ira Young takes notes during Richard Bushman’s lecture about the gold plates. Marcus Martins adds his insights about the Restoration..

Richard Bushman speaking at a lecture. Photos by Lexie Kapeliela and Rocky Woo

wasn’t just restoring truth from the Old Testament, but wherever the truth could be found,” he said.

Another attendee asked about a notable characteristic of Joseph Smith. One such characteristic Bushman found “troubling” about Joseph was his temper. However, Bushman said, “Not only did his anger erupt, but his love would erupt,” calling Joseph an effective, powerful leader despite his outbursts. “He was someone who wore his heart on his sleeve.”

In response to a question regarding the church’s past practice of polygamy, Bushman said, “Joseph received the commandment to practice polygamy in 1831. He acted when commanded from the Lord, except on polygamy.” Bushman said Joseph had a difficult time telling his wife, Emma, about it.

“There were deep conflicts in their marriage. They even contemplated divorce.

But she accepted [the commandment] and he trusted her,” Bushman said. After Joseph was martyred, he said, Emma kept a lock of his hair in a locket she kept around her neck.

JOSEP H S MIT H’S G O L D P L AT E S

Richard Bushman emphasized the significance of the gold plates at the Joseph Smith Lecture Series on Nov. 16. BYUH students said the

lecture helped them understand how the plates were part of the American culture, a learning tool and an evidence of the Restoration of the gospel.

Bushman said the purpose of his lecture was to demonstrate how the gold plates continued to live after they disappeared and said he intended to write a book about it. “The point is they didn’t disappear… Both non-believers and believers have kept the plates alive.”

He gave several examples of how the plates were used in art, which included pop drama and literature such as the “Book of Mormon” musical and the South Park “All about Mormons” episode.

He said the use of the plates’ history shows how they have been embedded into the American culture.

Taimi Guiterrez, an ICS major from the Philippines, said she had never realized how important the plates were to the gospel. “I’ve been on a mission and we always teach about the First Vision and the Book of Mormon.

However, today I learned how important the gold plates actually were.”

She said she liked how Bushman explained why there were many different replicas and art forms of the plates. “I didn’t know the Mormon Pavilion was shaped as the gold plates,” said she

about a building the church once used at a world fair.

Regarding the plates as a learning tool, Bushman said, “In addition to remembering… the past, we need to know what we can learn from it.”

Tatum Sammons, a freshman from Arizona studying business, said she found the lecture interesting, especially the personal stories Bushman shared of meeting different scholars.

“There is so much we can learn from him because he is a ‘Joseph Smith expert,’ as Brother Marcus Martins said,” Sammons added.

Bushman said the gold plates help prove Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. “The plates were the most extravagant and exotic part of Joseph Smith’s story. Although Joseph Smith said he saw the Lord, lots of others have said they have seen God,” said Bushman.

Sammons said Bushman posted a question that made her think of the significance of the gold plates. “He shared how the Moroni on the Hill Cumorah monument, Los Angeles temple and Washington D.C temple, have the gold plates kept on Moroni’s left arm. That shows how important the plates are,” continued Sammons.

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Claudia Bushman introduces her husband during the devotional. Photo by Lexie Kapeliela

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Claudia Bushman discussed on Nov. 17 the compilation of interviews with LDS women she published while working at Claremont College, “Mormon Women Have Their Say: Essays from the Claremont Oral History Collection.” The book features the stories of Mormon women from around the world and all their different walks of life. The women featured in the book discuss their feelings and experiences regarding faith and womanhood.

Bushman began by asking the audience to record their own stories. “First, you want to do it because you are a historian of your own life,” she said adding, “You don’t know what you really think until you write it down.”

Bushman said it is important for women in particular to write down their stories. She said because women are socialized to assume their stories are meaningless, they think they should have nothing to say. She said it is hard for women to not apologize for recording their stories because it seems self-important. She promised no one would ever regret taking time to write down their own experiences.

Bushman told students why they should preserve their family oral histories, as well as record their own. “There is a proverb that says, ‘When an old person dies, it’s like a library burns down.’ Think about how much informa56

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tion there is in each person’s mind, and how important it is for the college students to interview their parents and talk to them – not just because they should do it, but because it will help them and situate them for their future lives.You need to know where you come from to know where you’re going.You will find wonderful things that are much more significant than imaginable.”

Bushman shared an anecdote to outline the importance of record keeping. According to her accounts, her husband didn’t remember a particular part of their courtship the way she did. Their differing accounts of the event led Bushman to look through her old journals in order to prove her point. However, when she found her journal entry of the event, she realized both of them were wrong. Having a journal allowed Bushman and her husband to get a correct account of their story.

Bushman said when she and her team were gathering the interviews, they weren’t trying to get anything in specific, just the stories of LDS women. “We went on a fishing trip for whatever we could find,” she said.

Jamie Loveridge, a junior English major from California, said, “I’m here for a women’s studies class, so I thought the stories that she gathered were interesting. The way they did their research was also interesting. They

weren’t trying to get a specific sample. They were just trying to record history.”

Caleb Brady, a senior from Arizona studying business management, said, “I thought it was interesting to listen to a lady with a lot of experience and history related to the church and women, and to have her compile a story of women’s views on certain things.”

Rebecca Carlson, a special instructor of physical science for BYUH online, said, “I thought her challenge to keep a journal until the end of the year was very inspiring. I do write a family letter every week, and I write letters to my missionaries, but I haven’t kept a journal very much. I think people don’t realize the time we live in now has never been like this before and will never be like this again. It’s really important for everyone to write about their experiences. It’s going to be so precious to our posterity.”

Martins, chair of Department of Religious Education, said future lecturers will be chosen by the Religion faculty where they list names of LDS scholars, and they put those names to a vote.

“After that, we’ll submit the name for approval by the President’s Council and the Board of Trustees,” he said. Martins said next year’s Joseph Smith Series lecturer will be determined in the coming months.

“We must ask questions based on documented evidence.�

Richard Bushman signs copies of his book during his visit.

Photo by Lexie Kapeliela

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Mormons Media Studies Scholars share insights from a year’s worth of research B Y H AI L E Y RASM U SSE N

Clockwise from the top left: Gavin Feller, from the Univeristy of Iowa, looks over the symposium schedule. PCC employees perform the Haka, which Debbie Hippolite Wright spoke about during the event. Alexander Baugh, a church history professor from BYU, talks with other presenters. Carving at the PCC Maori Village. Photos by Hailey Rasmussen

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istinguished scholars and researchers presented their findings on Mormon-related topics ranging from anti-Mormon literature in the 1800s to online support forums for members with questions, at a Mormons in the Media symposium at BYUHawaii on Nov. 3-4.

“The main goal is to publish the research we find so it is accessible to all,” said Alexander Baugh, a church history professor at BYU.

This was the first time this conference was held on campus, said BYUH ICS Professor Chiung Hwang Chen, who helped organize the event along with her colleague, Professor Daniel Stout. They were also moderators and speakers at the conference where more than 40 people presented their findings.

Vice President of Student Development and Services Debbie Hippolite Wright also spoke giving the context and the history of the Haka, and BYU in Provo Religion Professor Spencer Fluhman tied her thoughts into his presentation about the transparency of the church to the public.

Hippolite Wright said the cultural context in which the Haka is performed is what makes it so significant. She told the history of where the Haka started and showed a recorded performance by the Maori people. “I got chicken skin when I watched this for the first time,” she said. She encouraged her audience to look at the faces of not only the men performing, but also the women and children. She noted there is an evident balance between the men and women in the true Haka.

Next she showed several other versions of the Haka on YouTube. Each one fell further away from the true meaning. She ended with a clip of a computer-animated gingerbread men chanting indiscernible gibberish that mimicked the voice inflection of the true Haka. It was clear that to Hippolite Wright this was desecrating the sacredness of her culture’s ritual.

Fluhman said he admired what Hippolite Wright did for her audience in explaining the context and significance of her culture’s ritual.

He has a desire for Mormons and non-Mormons to understand LDS doctrincal context and significance just as Hippolite Wright’s audi-

ence understood her explanation of the Haka.

He said there is a trend in society that is pushing for complete transparency. However, he said, “It is critical for our religious community to keep sacred secret things secret.” Fluhman fears making outsiders feel comfortable about temple worship should not be the ultimate priority. “What might we lose if we normalize the temple experience for others or ourselves?” He said,“ As a bishop, I would tell those preparing to enter for their first time that the temple is not meant to be a ordinary experience.”

Since the church has been in the public eye more regularly, there are specific things the media wants to know about. The media picks out visible quirks the general public doesn’t understand and they want the boiled down answers without the hours of backstory that go into understanding the full picture. For example, Fluhman’s article tells of a story of Elder James Talmage in 1919 when he showed up at a National Reform Association world conference. He was allowed to speak for five minutes amid a hail of hisses, but the speaker following him suggested he be stripped to reveal his temple undergarments bearing the marks of his “treasonous” oaths.

Lane Williams, from BYU-Idaho, said journalists tend to be less religious than the public at large. He said, “News coverage about Mormonism fails to be taken seriously. It faces benign neglect at best and a mocking tone at worst.” The Freedom Forum’s Robert Giles said there are five concerns the public has about the ethics of media. Two of those are bias and lack of expertise. Williams noticed these two issues are evident in the media when it comes to covering Mormon-related news.

Publications that are recorded in searchable databases, such as the New York Times or the Washington Post, rarely reference the Book of Mormon outside of talking about the “Book of Mormon” musical.

The line is being blurred between the secular and religious, according to Stout. He gave the example of thousands of Elvis fans gathering to cross over his grave with candles and TV shows like “The Andy Griffiths Show” that included moral messages into its episodes.

Two professors from Utah Valley University, David W. Scott, a professor of communication, and Boyd Petersen, the program coordinator for Mormon Studies, talked about the creation of the proclamation of the family and how policy makers in Hawaii are partly responsible for it.

“It was spurred because of same sex marriage here in Hawaii. It came out at the height of the gay rights in Hawaii,” said Petersen.

Their research showed some people see the family proclamation as scripture and others see it as policy. Scott said, “It really seemed to be used in a political realm initially, but later on, Ensign articles turned it into a spiritual icon.”

Gerrit Dirkmaat, an assistant church history professor from BYU in Provo, spoke on the beginnings of anti-Mormon literature.

He talked about the context of anti-Mormon articles and their authors to give a clearer view of what influenced their writings. He said Doctor Philastus Hurlbut, an infamous antiMormon author, threatened to wash his hands in the blood of Joseph Smith. A non-Mormon judge put him on probation because Hurlbut’s actions were causing problems in Mormon and non-Mormon communities.

Joseph Straubhaar, from the University of Texas at Austin, said there are online forums where people have conversation about things they don’t feel like they can talk about in their home wards. He said there is value in an open, honest and non-hostile environment for people to have a dialogue. “We even had a temple marriage result from two people connecting on one of these forums,” he said. Straubhaar referenced timesandseasons.org or feministmormonhousewives.org as a starting place for those with questions or concerns beyond what lds.org provides.

Julie K. Allen, from BYU in Provo, talked about her book, “Danish but not Lutheran.” It tells about how the Danish public responded to the influx of Mormons. The majority of the media depicted “women succumbing to the lure of Mormonism,” she said. Danish media showed a theme of leaving Denmark for America for an unrealistic idealized life.

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#LightTheWorld – Figures from a Nativity in the Aloha Center. Photo by Yukimi Kishi