W W W. L A L O Y O L A N . C O M
Los Angeles LOYOLAN The
EST. 1921
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. ME O . H ICE UR YO R VO S. W U YO R NE U YO
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ARTS E+ IF
Government shutdown affects student abroad.
West African film comes to LMU.
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V O LU M E
92
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09
Grades inf late to B+ average Students
advocate cultural dialogue For the second year, intercultural facilitators encourage ethnic equality. Carly Barnhill Copy Editor
@carlybarnhill
Information compiled by Sonja Bistranin, asst. News editor; Graphic: Sydney Franz | Loyolan
In the past two decades, average GPAs have risen at both public and private four-year universities. LMU is no different, with its average GPA rising from a C to a B+ in 20 years. This national trend is a hot topic in higher education circles both around the United States and in the LMU community. To read Asst. News Editor Sonja Bistranin’s full article, see Page 3.
News editor tries 12hour tech blackout In this first-person news analysis, Croley describes the paradox of stress and peace. Allison Croley News Editor
@allisoncroley
College newspapers around the country are reporting on students’ addiction to technology. University of Alabama’s The Crimson White reported in July that technology is contributing to student sleep deprivation. CSU Fullerton’s The Daily Titan similarly reported in September that technology is suppressing student success. In 2011, Huffington Post blogger Susan Moeller summarized a study of worldwide college students who turned off every form of technology for one day – phones, laptops, Playstations, televisions – and the responses of students participating in the study were quite in line with the issues college newspapers have been reporting. Most students in the study reported feeling like an addict when they unplugged. In fact, many of them showed actual signs of withdrawal. Frankly, I found this interesting but not
shocking. These days, we all rely on technology to communicate with people and do our work whether it’s school or job-related. I began to wonder how I would react to a technology blackout, let alone be able to do it without getting fired or failing out of school. So I tried it. No messages, no social media, no email, no television. For 12 hours, I put my phone on airplane mode, kept my laptop off and put a sheet over the television. What happened? The whole government shut down. But that might not have been because I unplugged. In all seriousness, my stress went through the roof, but life felt simpler. It was a weird paradox of hating myself for taking on the challenge and loving myself for sticking with it. Did I experience withdrawal? Not really. Was it possible? Yes, but only for a day. I started at 9 a.m. I chose a Monday because nothing big usually happens on Mondays and I’m in class for most of the day. Normally I walk to each class and meetings texting someone, looking at Facebook or checking my email, but without my phone I was forced to actually pay attention to what went on around me. I saw that the air was a little hazy, I smelled See Tech Blackout | Page 4
This year marks the second year for the Ethnic and Intercultural Service’s Intercultural Facilitator (IF) Program, which is made up of LMU students dedicated to student support. The student facilitators are in charge of campus-wide discussions and workshops regarding diversity, culture and various other topics. There are currently 25 facilitators involved in the program, with a waiting list of students interested in getting involved. According to the Student Affairs Division section on the LMU website, IFs “are open, friendly and supportive individuals who are genuinely interested in helping students become actively involved in issues related to the intercultural community.” This semester, approximately 350 students have been present at seminars, workshops and dialogues with these facilitators, according to Henry Ward, the Director of the Office of Intercultural Affairs. If it is hard for students to attend a meeting or a session, the IFs make time to reach out to the students themselves. Rather than holding these discussions and workshops as formal meetings and hoping that students come, the facilitators meet the students in other places such as residence halls, Ward said. See Intercultural | Page 2
Leslie Irwin | Loyolan
Foley Fountain purple for Domestic Violence Awareness November is Domestic Violence Awareness month, and Belles service organization, whose social justice concentration is domestic violence, is observing in a number of ways. One of these ways is coloring Foley Fountain water purple in order to remind passerbys of the women and children who have suffered from domestic abuse, according to Belles member McKenzie Cochran, a junior dance major.