Los Angeles Loyolan | May 2, 2018

TOP STORIES TOP STORIES TOP STORIES 2017-2018 2017-2018 2017-2018 2017-2018

BREAKING: Student found dead in Redondo Beach Kellie Chudzinski & Sami Leung

NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS

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OPINION OPINION OPINION OPINION

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SPORTS Covering all of LMU's explosive SPORTS teams, our sports section brings SPORTS LMU's athletics spirit Covering all of scores LMU's and explosive Covering all of LMU's explosive to students, as well as profiles of teams, our sports section brings SPORTS teams, our sports section our student athletes.

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LMU's athletics scores and spirit our student athletes.

Gabby Green on Galaxy's journey from Cal toinLMU Miles Thomas Thomas LAFC speaks threatens presence L.A Miles Students react to Winona LaDuke's vision for the environment's future Paris Shepherd to students, as well as profiles of our student athletes.

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COMMENCEMENT

A year in review: From August to April

Jose Aguilla, Hayden Blaz, Juliana Ferraro, Lauren Holmes, Jason Munoz and Emily Sullivan | Loyolan

The Loyolan staff would like to commemorate the 2017-2018 school year with a photo essay highlighting some important and defining moments of the year. Our highlights of the year include Fallapalooza, Best Dance Crew, First Amendment Week, Denim Day March and the National Walkout. We wish the best for the class of 2018!

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Valedictorian for Ronan Farrow and Shane the class of 2018 Martin speak at ceremonies Dean of graduate studies to give commencement address before departure from LMU. Mitch Storey & Zhi Jiao Danielle Goh News Interns @LALoyolan

Julianna Ferraro | Loyolan

Santos, a Bay Area native and sociology major, is this year’s valedictorian.

Santos will be working at the NBC Universal PAGE program after graduation.

Kayan Tara

Asst. News Editor @LALoyolan

Senior class of 2018 valedictorian Jonathan Adam Manalo Santos, a sociology major, grew up surrounded by diversity — in a community that was predominantly Asian, Hispanic and African American — in the Bay Area city of Union City. Having attended James Logan High School, one of the biggest public high schools in Northern California with over 4,000 students, Santos had many experiences that cultivated his leadership skills, his critical thinking ability and his passion for social justice.

According to Santos, roughly 40 percent of students from his high school moved on to receive a higher education when he attended. The knowledge of this statistic instilled in Santos a passion for increasing the pipeline for students of color into higher education and making a pathway for young people who are underrepresented into higher positions.

“No matter where you come from, no matter who you are, no matter what your identity is, you can achieve something great,” said Santos. “You can achieve a platform to speak to the larger community.”

For Santos, being valedictorian is an important symbol of representation.

Drawn to LMU because of its small class sizes and tight-knit community, Santos feels representation is important within the LMU community.

“I first met Jonathan in my Language of Journalism course in fall [of] 2017. It was an intro class, but from the start, I could tell that Jonathan was no newbie,” said journalism professor Katherine Pickert.

“Before enrolling in his first journalism course at LMU, Jonathan had already secured an internship with NBC News.

[The fact] that Jonathan will be LMU’s 2018 valedictorian should come as no shock. He is smart, hard-working, humble

and determined to make a difference in the world.”

Since being at LMU, Santos has been a peer mentor for the academic community of excellence, a part of Han Tao, the Chinese culture club, president of Alpha Kappa Psi, a professional business fraternity and president of Harambee.

Harambee is a LMU student-run mentorship and tutoring organization that seeks to lead high school students on the path of post-secondary education, as previously featured in an article by the Loyolan’s social justice section.

Harambee, in Swahili, means “come together,” and as president of the club his junior year, Santos was able to mentor students at the Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets school on Manchester.

Santos said the school has a predominately African American student body and doesn’t have resources and tools to access higher education for its students. Santos was able to provide the students with academic support, as well as advice about college.

“One of the cool things [the organization had us do was] encourage dialogue about social justice issues and introduce these 14 to 18-year-olds to larger political conversations,” said Santos. “Especially if you come from a marginalized community, it is important to come into the world with a knowledgeable perspective and outlook.”

Santos will be spending his first year post graduation working at NBC Universal PAGE program. The job is a year-long rotational program where employees work in different departments of the NBC Universal company, according to Santos.

“As someone who didn’t come from necessarily a very wealthy background, I wanted to prove to myself that you don’t need money [and] you don’t need a whole lot of privilege; all you need is hard work, help from family and friends and guidance, and you can achieve anything.

Impossible is nothing,” Santos said.

For more on this year’s valedictorian, see our interview with Santos on page 8.

Journalist Ronan Farrow and the outgoing Dean of the School of Education, Shane Martin, will be delivering commencement addresses at the end of the 2018 school year.

Farrow, the undergraduate commencement speaker, received recognition recently for his work investigating allegations made into Harvey Weinstein in a comprehensive article that ran in The New Yorker.

Although The New York Times reported on Weinstein first, Farrow’s article dove into the allegations, unpacking the accounts of numerous victims who had been physically and mentally abused by the producer.

His research contributed to the rise of the #MeToo movement, according to Variety.

Callie Carlucci, a senior theatre arts major, said that while she wasn’t familiar with Farrow, she knew LMU would “pick someone who is renowned and credible in their field of work and someone who has good guidance to offer those going into the world.”

Farrow’s work in The New Yorker won a George Polk Award in 2017 in the category of National Reporting. According to Long Island University, who presented the awards, “[a George Polk Award is] the first major award of its kind to recognize reporting across all media.

This prestigious honor focuses on the intrepid, bold and influential work of the reporters themselves, placing a premium on investigative work that is original, resourceful and thought-provoking.”

This April, Farrow’s investigative work into Weinstein won a Pulitzer Prize, and the journalist was named into the Time 100 Top Influential People for the 2018 year.

Before his article in the New Yorker, Farrow worked for the State Department in Afghanistan and Pakistan under the Obama administration. In 2011, he served as Hillary Clinton’s special adviser for Global Youth Issues and director of the State Department’s Office of Global Youth Issues. He is also a graduate from Yale Law School.

“I think Farrow’s journalistic work in exposing Weinstein’s sexual assaults is important and relevant,” Isabel Ngo, a senior theatre arts major, said. “But it would have been awesome to have a commencement speaker who is a person of color, especially considering the activism of many women of color in the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements.”

Shane Martin will be serving as the commencement speaker for the graduate

Embassy of the United States via Flickr Commons

Ronan Farrow, pictured above, is the undergraduate commencement speaker.

school commencement. He was made the Dean of the School of Education in 2005 and the Dean of graduate studies in 2012.

LMU’s press release said that Martin is a state commissioner to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and a board member of Green Dot Public Schools and Teach for America Los Angeles.

“I’m looking forward to Shane Martin’s speech in graduation,” Justine Martinez, who is currently in LMU’s MBA program, said.

“He’s an educational expert, by theory and practice, with knowledge and passion for intercultural education and diversity. From this perspective, I believe his speech will resonate with the values of the graduating class of 2018.”

Martin is also a founding member of Deans for Impact, “a national organization committed to improving student-learning outcomes by stewarding the transformation of educator preparation,” according to the Deans for Impact Website.

Executive Vice President and Provost of LMU Thomas Poon said in a statement to colleagues last November that, “Thanks to [Martin’s] thoughtful guidance, three academic centers, the LMU Family of Schools and multiple initiatives and institutes were developed in key areas such as STEM education, English Learner education and Catholic education. LMU is a bolder, stronger university because of all that Martin has accomplished here.”

Martin has spent more than 40 years at in LMU. He first became an undergraduate student in 1976 and returned in 1992 as a counselor in the residence halls while completing his doctoral studies.

He became a full-time member of the faculty in 1995. During his time in office, the School of Education experienced a groundbreaking rise in the U.S. News & World Report “Best Graduate Schools of Education” ranking. Martin will continue his career as the next provost of Seattle University, beginning June 1.

According to LMU’s official website, enrollment for graduate students has also increased by over 60 percent, increasing to approximately 1,500 students under Martin’s leadership. The University’s education unit also managed to receive approximately $60 million in sponsored research, contracts and saw nearly $8 million added to SOE’s scholarship endowment.

“I’m very much looking forward to hearing him and seeing what perspective he has to offer the senior class, especially coming from an academic standpoint,” said Alexander Lorenz, a senior English major.

Martin will deliver his on Sunday, May 6 at 10 a.m. and Farrow will be delivering his address for undergraduate commencement on Saturday, May 5 at 9:15 a.m.

Shane Martin via LinkedIn

Shane Martin, pictured above, is the graduate commencement speaker.

COMMENCEMENT

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A year in review: Lion pride in action

Hayden Blaz, Alex Farrell, Juliana Ferraro, Matt Goddard, Jason Munoz and Emily Sullivan | Loyolan

Lion sports saw a lot of success this year, with men’s tennis earning one of their highest rankings in school history. Women’s basketball won 19 games, which is the most in over ten seasons. Softball currently has a conference record of 10-1. Women’s water polo showed strong resilience as they overcame a 1-4 start to now being ranked No. 15 ranked in the country.

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COMMENCEMENT BURNING QUESTIONS

week, Asst.

ThisThis issue, Asst.

News News Editor Kayla Editor Sonja Bistranin Brogan satwith down with sits down senior Jonathan Adam graphic design major Manalo Santos, Nick Garcia to talk senior sociology major about his battle with and the class of 2018’s cancer and awareness valedictorian. efforts.

What was your reaction when you found out you were named valedictorian?

I got a phone call on a particular morning and [the call woke me up] because I like to sleep in on Fridays. I didn’t recognize the number. And I was waiting for the news, so I was like, “Oh is this the valedictorian phone call informing me if I got in or not?” So I answered it. Tanya, the commencement coordinator, said I got in. I was glowing, I was super excited, I jumped out of bed half naked. I was a mess — I was seriously a mess. I hadn’t showered, I hadn’t brushed my teeth, I was just in my room hyperventilating almost because I was so excited. It wasn’t a pretty sight, but that is the truth. I called my parents after, and then I went back to bed.

1

What do you hope to do after you leave LMU?

Yesterday I got a phone call saying I got accepted into the NBC Universal PAGE program, which I am really excited about. It is a year-long rotational program where you work in different departments of the company. It is a really long process to get in and I learned that from the articles that I read — I don’t know if this is correct, but I’ve heard it is harder to get into than the Navy Seals and Harvard University. That was another instance where I was like, “Do I deserve this?” I am speechless. I am just a normal guy but I am just really excited to work with the company. I intern there now and it has been an amazing experience. Getting to continue the next year of my life at NBC Universal is pretty exciting.

2

What has been your greatest academic challenge here at LMU?

3

You have so many responsibilities outside of the classroom that you really have to find a balance between getting all your assignments done and taking care of all of your other commitments. It is so easy to get invested in your internship, or your work, or the extracurricular activities that you delay writing that paper or you procrastinate homework or studying. I think [it’s] a big challenge for a lot of students at LMU, because we are a very involved, very active community, that finding the time to be by yourself and just get work done can be difficult.

Do you have a favorite memory at LMU?

I have so many good memories here but I think one of my favorite memories, within the LMU context, would be going on retreat ... with the Chinese culture club, Han Tao. I am not on e-board, I am just a general member but I have a lot of really close friends that are a part of that community. We went to a cabin last semester. As a senior and being with a lot of younger people, I really just got to soak in one last time what it is like to be a young college student. We had really intimate discussions, I got closer to a lot of my friends there, and I think that retreat experience was one of the last times I really felt like, “Wow this is college, this is what being young person is like,” before things started to become too real and adult-like.

4

What is one thing you will miss the most?

5

Honestly, I’m going to miss walking on the Bluff, enjoying those sunsets that you don’t expect. Strangely, I think I will miss the sound of the chapel bells, the smell of Iggy’s – the little things you take for granted. The crossing guards that give you fist bumps. I will miss everything. It is those little moments throughout your LMU experience that you take for granted that end up being the things that you miss the most. All of the little day-to-day LMU experiences.

Do you have any advice for incoming students?

6

Take care of yourself, because your happiness, your well being and your mental health should always be your priority. At LMU you are presented with so many awesome opportunities on a silver platter to get involved and be busy. None of that is worth it if you are not taking care of yourself. Take time to relax, read a book, watch Netflix, take a walk, go on a hike [and] just enjoy the ride, because you blink and it is gone.

WANT MORE ANSWERS?

Want to read even more questions with Santos?

Check them out at laloyolan.com.

COMMENCEMENT

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Swedish duo strengthen bond through LMU Two sophomores extend a friendship that began six years ago in Sweden.

Tim De Vries

Former Sports Editor @LALoyolan Roughly six years ago, long before he ever put on an LMU jersey, sophomore guard Erik Johansson was training with his native Sweden’s U16 national team, when he caught wind of a new addition to the program: a 7-foot-1, 16-year -old center, who had just begun to play basketball in the months leading up to camp.

Upon his arrival at training camp, Johansson recalls noticing a couple of things about the newcomer. First, he noticed that he was really tall. Second, he noticed the inexperience. While playing among the best players in Sweden for his age group, the center was still learning the rules, the terminology and strategy of the game of basketball. The athletic ability was certainly there, and Johansson recalls thinking that this guy would certainly improve, and quickly. One thing that did not cross Johansson’s mind was that the two would be college teammates in the United States just a few years later.

As it turns out, that lanky

teenager would become LMU sophomore center Mattias Markusson. Now teammates here in Los Angeles, more than 5,000 miles away from their native country in northern Europe, the two have formed a unique friendship under relatively unlikely circumstances.

Basketball is not the chief sporting export of Sweden. Just three Swedish players have ever been signed to an NBA roster, while the majority of the nation’s prominent athletes compete in ice hockey, tennis, winter and summer Olympic sports and floorball — a game similar to hockey, but played in gymnasiums on hardwood floors with plastic sticks and a hard rubber ball. Many of the top players in Basketligan, the professional basketball league simply known as “The Swedish League,” hail from other countries such as Italy, Spain and the United States.

Despite the constant urging from Markusson’s friends — who encouraged him to play because of his height — the lack of prominence of Swedish basketball was part of the reason that basketball hardly interested him as a child. He loved sports from an early age, but was drawn towards hockey, tennis and floorball instead. There was inspiration to be found in these

LMU Student Special

sports that couldn’t be found in basketball for him personally.

“My older brother played ice hockey, and growing up he was my role model, so I started playing ice hockey too,” Markusson said.

However, the young big man was never destined to skate. “I was all out of balance, I was tall, I didn’t have that coordination when I was younger,” he said. This prompted a switch to floorball. Despite attending a basketball practice at his local club in Stockholm, floorball would remain Markusson’s primary sport until the age of 16. He admits that at the age of 12 — when he orginally tried basketball — he didn’t understand the sport, so he disliked it.

By the time Markusson was 15, his friends were back on his case.

The second time Markusson came out to practice, he claims he did it simply to appease his friends. Once he arrived, he enjoyed himself, much to his own surprise. Markusson’s coach made an impact from the outset, offering to work with the young center on the nuances of the game, assuring him that he had a lot of potential in the sport.

In just over a month with his club’s U16 team, Markusson garnered the attention of the Swedish Basketball Federation (SBBF), prompting a visit from one of the coaches at a practice.

“At that point, I was like ‘OK, this could be kind of serious,’” Markusson said. “A coach from the national team is coming to see me, and I’ve only been playing for like a few weeks.” Markusson recalls being surprised and nervous, but also excited by the interest from the national team.

Before long, Markusson was invited to join the U16 national team’s training camp. It was here that Markusson and Johansson’s basketball lives intertwined.

For talented young basketball players in Sweden looking to expand their horizons, the option is either to go pro, perhaps leaving for another nation with a more established league like Spain or Italy, or to come over to the States and continue their amateur careers while getting a degree. The latter was the route that Johansson had chosen for himself, with overwhelming support from his friends and family.

As Markusson became more and more serious about the game of basketball during his time with the youth national team and with Jamtland Basket, his Swedish club, he too was faced with this choice.

Ultimately, he would choose the same path as his future teammate.

Johansson’s path into SBBF, premier club basketball and eventually his journey here to LMU were far more linear than Markusson’s. Johansson took up the sport at the age of 7, beginning with the local club in Sodertalje, a Swedish industrial city approximately 20 miles southwest of Stockholm. Johansson would rise through the club’s ranks over nine years as a youth, being called up to the senior team at the age of 16. In three seasons in the Swedish

Kevin Chan | Loyolan

Although he didn’t play basketball until the age of 15, 7-foot-3 sophomore center Mattias Markusson looks to become a dominant force in the paint.

League, Johansson’s Sodertalje Kings were among the top clubs in the nation, and won a league championship. Instead of going pro, however, Johansson had long set his sights set on college basketball in the United States.

Eventually, both players were connected to LMU recruiters and Head Coach Mike Dunlap through their respective coaches — Markusson through a youth tournament and Johansson through the national team — and were won over by LMU’s academic reputation and the personal interest that the program had taken in them.

“They actually came to Sweden three times during that year to meet with me,” Markusson said.

“Other schools were recruiting me, but I knew this was serious, because why else would they come to Sweden three times? I said ‘Yeah, this is the right school to go to, this feels great.’”

During their years playing in Sweden, the two competed with each other in the top divisions of Swedish basketball — both remaining amateurs despite playing with semi-professionals and professionals, most of whom were much older than the two teenagers. In the summers, they would play together for the Swedish youth national team. Despite being in close proximity to one another and getting along, Johansson says the two hadn’t yet established the friendship they share today.

“Right away we had a good connection,” Johansson said. “We were never really best of friends before we got here, but he was always one of my favorite guys on the national team.”

Johansson said he was drawn to

Markusson’s positive attitude and willingness to learn, and believes that his current teammate has far exceeded all expectations that he had for him as a basketball player.

In the past two years at LMU, the duo have become closer, helping one another through the process of adjusting to life in Los Angeles and the differences in the style of play between basketball in Sweden and basketball in the U.S. Both have said that the primary difference is the speed of the game, and the physicality and athleticism of the players. According to Johansson, this contrasts the European style of play and is something the pair is still adjusting to together.

“Through my eyes, I believe that the European game is evolving, and that it’s played with a very high level of basketball IQ,” he said. “The way players read the game is very high-level, but the athleticism and physicality of the game here is at another level for sure. I think that’s something that both of us were not really expecting.”

Both Johansson and Markusson plan to graduate before undertaking a future in basketball, yet both have expressed a desire to continue their playing careers beyond their time in the Lion uniform. For the next three seasons, the two will continue along a familiar path here in Los Angeles: cultivating a friendship through basketball which originated in a Stockholm gym.

“Although we were confused in the beginning, it’s always great to have someone to talk to that comes from the same country and the same background as I am,” Markusson said. “It’s always nice to hear Swedish too, that’s always a good thing.”

COMMENCEMENT

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Saying thank you to Nora Romero Kellie’s Konfession Kellie Chudzinski Editor-in-Chief @LALoyolan

W

hen Nora Romero quietly announced her retirement to her department and student workers this semester, she had one request: no celebrations in her honor. She even went as far to tell the adviser of the Loyolan to advocate against an article on her. As

you can tell, I’m writing it anyway.

Although many of you may not know Romero and haven’t interacted with her, it is important to know that deflecting focus from herself is very typical of her.

Since joining LMU in 1999 from Loyola Law School, she has worked in multiple departments, spending most of the last 10 years working as a student affairs associate in the Office of the Senior Vice President for Student Affairs (OSVPSA), where she has managed the student workers and has been a key figure in the office. She was awarded the

inaugural Student Supervisor of the Year for her work with student workers at this year’s Student Leadership and Service Awards.

“I wish she could train all of our student supervisors,” Dr. Lane Bove, senior vice president for student affairs, said.

Bove also shared that she believed if Romero’s training program was implemented across divisions and departments that LMU’s student work program would be a “best practice.” She attributed the success of the program to Romero’s balance of caring for students and

Hayden Blaz | Loyolan

Nora Romero (center) at the Student Service and Leadership awards recieving the Student Supervisor of the Year award from Dr. Lane Bove, Senior VP for Student Affairs (left), and President Timothy Law Snyner (right).

having high expectations of what is expected of them in their work — being professional, engaged, good communicators and learning to do all of the small tasks in office, from making coffee to setting up for board meetings.

Elaborating more on what makes Romero’s training program great, Bove said it can be easy to do the 80 percent and that “[Nora] trains for the last 20 percent.”

Olivia Sikora, one of the two student managers in the student affairs office this year, shared the impact her three years with OSVPSA and Romero have had on her. She said that her time working and training with Romero has made her a “better person and harder worker.”

“The greatest lesson she taught me is that kindness goes a long way,” Sikora said. “Any situation, professional or otherwise, as long as you are kind, understanding and willing to communicate, everything will eventually work itself out.”

Bove praised Romero for taking an interest in every student that works for her and mentoring and training them.

“There are a lot of balls [being juggled] in this office,” Bove said.

“And she makes sure they don’t hit us on the head.” She also said that everyone in the office will have to have a lot of patience when Romero leaves, since she “answers every question.”

This year I have been lucky enough to work with, and get to

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know a bit about Romero, and I have been amazed by her kindness, understanding and ability to always have the answers I’m looking for.

During her time at LMU, she has worked with and interacted with thousands of students, having an impact on many student’s lives, mine included. She has been given various awards on campus and in 2013 she completed her undergraduate degree while working at LMU. Her dedication to LMU and its students can be seen in her almost 19 year career here.

Discussing how the office will be different without Romero, Sikora said it will be an adjustment for her as she gets used to working without her.

“Her bright spirit and positive attitude have inspired all of us,” Sikora said. “I can’t thank Nora enough for everything she has done for me, all of the students she’s met, LMU, OSVPSA. I know she touched so many lives, and she certainly has touched mine.”

She may be leaving the Bluff but the lessons, skills and compassion she has taught students and others, will continue to work while she’s gone and hopefully, that is one way in which we can honor and celebrate Nora.

This is the opinion of Kellie Chudzinski, a junior communication studies major from Palo Alto, California. Tweet comments to @mskelliec or email comments to kchudzinski@theloyolan.com.

Tanabe reflects on his time as ASLMU president

In his final interview as president, Hayden Tanabe discusses his next steps.

Sami Leung

Managing Editor @LALoyolan

Hayden Tanabe, a senior business management major, is a wellrecognized name across campus.

From his freshman year as Del Rey South Residence Hall Association (RHA) president, his sophomore and junior years as RHA president and his senior year as ASLMU student body president, Tanabe has held multiple influential positions with “immutable joy,” as described

by President Timothy Snyder.

As Tanabe prepares to leave the bluff, Loyolan Managing Editor Sami Leung sat down with him for one last interview to reflect on his time as president and his plans for after graduation.

Sami Leung (SL): You mentioned in your campaign and in various appearances that you’ve wanted to be ASLMU president since the beginning of your collegiate career. Why was that such an important goal for you?

Hayden Tanabe (HT): Transitioning out of my senior year of high school, I was really involved. I was our senior class president, I was on this youth council for the city of Torrance, where I’m from, that advised our Torrance City Council on matters pertaining to the youth of Torrance. I was very into student government. The reason why I chose to attend LMU is because I wanted to get involved in a large scale right away. I knew that once I had committed to an institution that I just wanted to take it and run with it and try to, in a way, recreate my high school experience, but also

be mindful that in the collegiate setting it’d be much different. I knew that I wanted that additional responsibility of leaving this institution better than we found it, and I knew that being ASLMU president during my senior year would be the way to do that. That’s why I committed to that the first day of my freshman year.

SL: What would you say were your highest and lowest points of being president?

HT: My highest and lowest point came within the same week, December specifically. One of my favorite things about this role was assuming it and committing to it being record-breaking, because that’s just something that I’ve always wanted to do. I always enjoy the Christmas tree lighting because [it has been] our programming team’s goal for a really long time to expand that program to greater heights by encompassing so many more groups on campus and bringing everyone together. The lighting was unique in that this was the first time that President Snyder came, we had so many neighbors — we had faculty, staff, students, alumni — it was just really special.

My lowest low during our term – wouldn’t call it our lowest low, I would call it a learning moment, definitely, for not only myself in the role, but for our organization and the entire student body at large — was when the Snapchat incident occurred. I’m not going to comment too much on it, because I’m trying to let it go, but I definitely think that that incident specifically was a really large moment for our institution to demonstrate that our campus is not immune to the challenges that the larger country is facing, in regards to civil discourse and implicit/explicit biases.

SL: What is something that you would change about LMU? HT: As of right now, add more housing units to this university to ensure all of our students have a place to live on campus if they so choose, but it’s coming. Don’t fret, LMU, but that’s more of a cosmetic addition. If I could change one thing – I carry a lot of LMU spirit, [and] everyone shows their LMU pride in different ways, but I do wish we had more of a collective, outward LMU spirit. President Snyder and I get lonely at basketball games.

SL: What are you going to miss most about LMU? HT: Everything! I mean, for the past four years, LMU has been probably the largest part of my identity, so it’s going to be interesting leaving the Bluff and having that stripped away on such an in-your-face kind of level.

There’s not a single thing I’m not going to miss about this place. The good, the bad, the ugly, all of it. It’s just been who I am.

SL: Do you think LMU will play a big part in your life in the future?

HT: Absolutely. I want to become the youngest trustee ever, on our board of trustees. I would love to be our university’s president someday.

I always joke with Snyder about it, that I’m going to be the next one right after him. I do plan on staying involved; I already have a filming appointment as an alumnus with our university’s marketing communications to open the Playa Vista campus. I’m excited to stay involved. People always ask me, ‘What are your plans after graduation?’ I keep responding that the better question is how I’m going to stay involved with LMU

after I graduate. There are so many different ways to be involved as an alum, whether it’s donating money, joining the alumni association, and I plan on doing those things, but like I said, I do plan on coming back to this university in some large capacity to really give it the proper thanks that it deserves in being so formational to me and I hope to create that experience for someone else. But I want to be president.

SL: What are your plans after LMU? HT: I’m working for a Fortune 50 global technology company called

Hitachi — it’s a multinational conglomerate, so there’s a bunch of companies within it, and one of the companies within it is called ‘Hitachi consulting,’ which is a management consulting firm.

[It’s] global, but I’m going to be specifically hosted in California.

My official title is ‘Consultant for Hitachi consulting’. I’m going to be traveling up to 60 percent of the time, but I’m still excited to call Los Angeles my home.

For the full article, go to laloyolan.com

Emily Sullivan | Loyolan

Former ASLMU President Hayden Tanabe speaks at the official ASLMU and GSLMU inauguration on April 18, 2018 at 4 p.m. in Malone.

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Graduates receive debt with their diploma If you’re missing a sash and feel left out, just wear your receipt!

Amanda Nahin

$180,000 in debt already Graduates can’t wait to walk across that stage and get handed the keys to the rest of their lives.

Unfortunately, along with the degree, they’re also locked down with student debt.

This year, LMU has added a little something special to your diploma. Once you open that degree, inside you will see a receipt. This receipt accounts for

all the loans you’ve taken out to pay for your four-year education at this private university.

This receipt isn’t like any other — there are no refunds.

Unfortunately, you can’t just return your cap and gown. You’re stuck with this purchase. After all, it’s not four years, it’s for life.

Don’t you hate when you buy one thing at CVS and your receipt is 29 feet long? Well, now you get to see something longer than your CVS Rewards. And unlike those coupons on shampoo, this receipt won’t expire.

These receipts are so long some of them reportedly trail off the Bluff to downtown L.A. However, you don’t have to

worry about the cumbersome length. In LMU fashion, the receipt will be tied up with a pretty little bow (for the additional low cost of $60,000).

Some student’s gowns are decorated in sashes in honor of their organizations and their accomplishments during their time at LMU. If you’re disappointed in your lack of sash decorations, display what you will be putting the most hard work and dedication into — wear that debt around your shoulders with pride. Lion Pride.

Congratulations, graduates.

Enjoy this day of celebration, and make sure you thank grandma for picking up the tab at brunch.

Aurora Occelli | Loyolan

Seniors wanting to fit in can wear their debt receipt as a sash.

Seniors planning not to attend graduation Seniors are doing what they do best: skipping anything and everything.

Thomas Richmond Also not attending

LMU’s 2018 undergraduate commencement will now run half an hour shorter. This announcement comes after many of the honored graduates were reported absent from the ceremony check-in.

Public Safety already began sweeping campus locations where there is a shred of possibility seniors might be. Library study rooms were ransacked. They checked beneath every table in the Loft for passed-out scholars.

Officers even kicked in Leavey apartment doors, hoping seniors who hung around after the housing move-out were sleeping in. Only 20 absentees have been accounted

for and the rest are presumed to be running late or enjoying their Saturday, and are planning to pick up their diploma later.

Marketing major and class valedictorian Erica Marsden was scheduled to deliver a rousing speech about how she never dreamed of even making it past high school and the power of persistence. She has been given jury duty and the Los Angeles court system refuses to let her be excused from or deferred to a later date.

Biology major Roberta Sanchez, recipient of the University Scholar of the Year award, called in sick saying she was being rushed to an emergency medical operation.

Two weeks ago, she won a free spa weekend at the world renown Montalbán Resort where wellness specialists work to give guests the comfort they personally fantasize about. Montalbán has a policy of sending helicopters to pick up its guests in order to

preserve the mystery of its secret location. No information is known about when Sanchez will return, but she will doubtlessly feel amazing today.

Administration prepared for this problem, keeping a network of their most notable alumni on standby just in case this special lifetime moment needed to be saved with shock and awe.

Parents will instead be treated to the privilege of seeing incredibly successful businesspeople, politicians and other celebrity alumni pick up diplomas in their child’s name. Known as the “degree with distinction protocol,” it marks the last wasteful bit of discretionary spending LMU will put towards the class of 2018. The stand-in “graduates” won’t be waiving their standard appearance fees for family photos.

Aurora Occelli | Loyolan

Skipping classes actually counted for class credit for some seniors.

The Bluff is a humorous and satirical section published in the Loyolan. All quotes attributed to real figures are completely fabricated; persons otherwise mentioned are completely fictional.

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laloyolan.com

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2018 Thinking about your future?

Consider Graduate Studies at LMU! With more than 40 doctoral, graduate, and certificate programs, Loyola Marymount University offers a rigorous academic experience to ambitious students committed to lives of meaning, purpose and success. Explore one of our many programs in: Business Bioethics Communications & Fine Arts English Film & Television Loyola Law School Science & Engineering Theological Studies Yoga Studies

Education Philosophy

Take the first step to realizing your potential, visit graduate.lmu.edu or call 310.338.2721.

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Stay, challenge yourself and be open Red nose Randolph Katie Randolph Managing Editor @LALoyolan

T

he first time I stepped onto LMU’s campus as a junior in high school, I had the flu, had fainted the day before from medication and possessed just enough energy to walk half a football field before needing to sit down. I thought about quitting and going home that day, but staring at the chapel and half listening to my tour guide, I felt oddly at home.

“What is easy is seldom excellent.”

These words by Samuel Johnson echoed through Gersten Pavilion as my peers and I sat anxiously and, for many, the first time truly on our own. I remember thinking about what they meant; I was homesick and overwhelmed. My decision to attend this school was seemingly more reckless by the minute, but I felt relieved thinking that the experience I was being thrown into would change my life.

There are a lot of things I could tell you about how to live out your college experience, but I chose the three that I tried to live by during my time on the Bluff.

3.Stay.

Homesickness will drive you crazy, and you will want to go home. Don’t. Listen to your heart. You came here for a reason; growing up doesn’t happen overnight, I certainly learned that the hard way. Stay here and let yourself grow. LMU can help you become the best

version of yourself if you let it.

It’s hard to describe, but there’s just something about this place that makes you feel like you belong, like you truly matter.

You deserve your place here, and you should spend your four years soaking up every bit of it.

2. Take classes that will challenge you.

We are so privileged to be surrounded by amazing professors and scholars. Don’t take an easy semester just because you can, take classes that will change the way you see the world around you. Read books that will inspire you to break habits and stand up for issues that matter. Balancing school, work and a social life isn’t easy, but who said it would be?

1. Be open.

Don’t let fear keep you from experiencing everything that LMU has to offer. There are a lot of paths you can take in your four years. Find yours, and make it your own. Join clubs to find your family, go through recruitment or live in your office because the people you work with are amazing. Taking every opportunity will help you truly appreciate LMU — that’s the best way to make this campus your home away from home.

I don’t think I have to explain how special LMU is to any of you.

So take advantage of everything this campus has to offer. It won’t be easy, but if you open your heart and challenge yourself, it just might be excellent.

This is the opinion of Katie Randolph, a senior communication studies major from Rochester, New York. Tweet comments to @LALoyolan or email jlee@theloyolan.com

Surround yourself with people who truly care for you.

Photos courtesy of Katie Randolph and Matt Kishaba

Pictured throughout her four years at LMU with friends, Ka t i e R a n d o l p h ’s a d v i c e i s a l l a b o u t s t i c k i n g a r o u n d .

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When it comes to LMU: Don’t have regrets ChloeUp Chloe Cunningham Senior Editor @LALoyolan

I

’ve thought a lot about what I could possibly say in this column, in terms of giving advice, that you haven’t already heard. And honestly I don’t think there is any, and because that sounds like a lot of pressure, I’m just going to advise you on how not to do college. This isn’t a typo, but rather an exposé of things that I, as a nervous gal, wish I would have known sooner than my last semester here, at the greatest college on Earth.

When it comes to friends: Ya need em. Friends come in all different shapes, sizes and times.

However, this is not limited to anyone specific. Try not to envision the friends you think you need, but rather the friends that will be just that, friends.

Sometimes you don’t realize the friends you need until they walk into your life second semester of your sophomore year. Expect to be unexpectedly surprised at how many wonderful people you will find when you decide to show people the most authentic version of yourself.

When it comes to classes: There will be times when finishing that paper comes second to consoling a friend.

Take those moments as a separate part of your education

that is just as valuable. Focus on taking classes that challenge what you think and why you think that way. Find solace in being pushed from the areas of comfort to those of discomfort, all in the hopes of progressing down a path to find the final product that LMU promises you that you will become.

When it comes to your major: You are already in college. You did it. You’ve decided to do the hard part. Don’t worry too much about what your major will do for you, but rather how what you chose to study informs you as a person of this world. I’m obviously not a writer, but I chose design as my major, and it has ended up teaching me more about the kind of person I want to be rather than the importance of using a grid when it comes to typesetting a book. Connect with your professors and learn from the students you sit next to in class, even if it is your upper division philosophy class and all you want to do is die in your seat/desk duo chair because that would be less painful.

When it comes to studying abroad: Do it. I was lucky enough to study abroad during the summer in the beautifully overrun city of Florence, and I would not take it back for anything. It’s ironic that you might have to travel to the other side of the world in order to meet some of your most cherished LMU friends.

Additionally, we are all lucky enough to be apart of a school

via Chloe Cunningham Chloe’s time at LMU focused on friendship, adventuring, and making lifelong memories.

Hopefully, at least some of to the Bluff, you do so without community that values the status of being a global citizen, these revelations will help you regret or remorse. so take this opportunity when it during your journey to the final comes a- knocking (and you too frolick across the graduation can end up on a train that will stage in Sunken Garden. So This is the opinion of Chloe Cunningham, a arts major from Alameda, California. inevitably take you an hour in the much so that, when your time studio Tweet comments to @LALoyolan or email comes to give your final wave kchudzinski@theloyolan.com. wrong direction).

Before transferring, give LMU a chance Big Mac Gracie McManus Video Editor

@LALoyolan

I

n January of my junior year, I decided I wanted to transfer out of LMU (spoiler: I didn’t, but I think you probably saw that one coming). I felt like a big fish in a little pond, and not in a good way — I thought I had seen all there was to see at LMU. I wasn’t in a service organization or sorority so I didn’t have a big group of friends, and I was, frankly, a little bored. So I decided that it might be a good idea to transfer to a larger state school (probably the University of Oregon) where I could meet tons of new people, join new clubs and organizations and start planting my roots in Oregon where I wanted to live after graduation (another spoiler, I’m staying in L.A. after I graduate).

What jolted me back to reality was a networking call I made to an alumnus who works at Adidas in Portland. After talking for 20 minutes about my career goals and his work in marketing, I

brought up that I was considering transferring. “That’s crazy,” he said. After making his case that LMU really is the best place ever, he asked me, “Have you really given L.A. a chance? So many things are happening around you, especially in marketing, and you’re not experiencing any of it because you’re just sitting on the Bluff.”

A light bulb really went off for me in that moment — I hadn’t given L.A. a chance. Besides the standard tourist-y sightseeing everyone does as a freshman, I hadn’t really explored L.A. very much. I usually spent my weekends pent up in my apartment (it really was no wonder I was so unhappy) rather than seeing new places.

I then re-evaluated my feelings about my situation at LMU. When I told some of my friends I was thinking of transferring, I realized that people cared if I left! And looking back it was silly to think they wouldn’t, but at the time I was so wrapped up in my own issues I couldn’t appreciate those around me. So I decided things were going to be different.

I started to appreciate my individual friendships and let go of the idea that you need a clique

to have a social life. I started making time to explore new places in L.A., with and without other people. I put my heart into my work at the Loyolan, building out the video team and producing consistent video content. I felt incredibly invigorated and excited that I had cultivated such an amazing team, and I can’t wait to see what they can accomplish in the future with their new fabulous leader Meghan Mariani, a sophomore English major.

Now, as I graduate, I am so happy that I stayed at LMU. Although I didn’t enjoy some moments, my overall experience was worth every second. I hope that if you are experiencing feelings of doubt and restlessness, or are considering transferring, that you also give L.A. — and LMU — a chance.

This is the opinion of Gracie McManus, a marketing major from Portland, Oregon Tweet comments to @LALoyolan or email kchudzinski@theloyolan.com.

via Gracie McManus Gracie learned to take full advantage of the fun L.A. has to offer.

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College really is about connections Quaye-ker Oates Karis Addo-Quaye Senior Editor @LALoyolan

A

round this time last year, a friend of mine posed a rather philosophical question via Facebook: What’s happiness in one word to you? Replies were going to be anonymously included in the yearbook, and 'naps' was definitely among the comments on the post, so my deep contemplation for an answer was more likely an unwarranted attempt to evade whatever assignment I should have been working on instead, but I digress.

I commented “connection,” yet what did I mean? Is that a goal or a destination in the pursuit of happiness, or simply the tracks I’d follow to get there? I’ve had a full year of mulling by now, and my answer wouldn’t change, but now I can tell you what I meant on that Facebook comment.

Connection of ideas: I have thoroughly used this newspaper. For every speaker event that caught my interest but no one else was going to, for every loud crowd I felt too small and quiet to join, for every intimidatingly cool upperclassman or professor I wouldn’t otherwise have talked to — I used the Loyolan to push myself past those hesitations and social anxieties and reflected on my own ideas by writing. I’ve built a lot more confidence since

then, especially in my short time as editor in chief. I don’t use the paper to push myself anymore, but from all of these encounters and events and dialogues and panels and rallies and marches and talkins we’ve reported on, from all the interviews done and quotes gathered, I’ve learned more than any single course or even these four years of college could have ever taught me alone.

Connection with places: Travel. Travel. Travel. To whatever capacity you’re able to — whether you have one more ­ semester or four more years to go, travel while you’re at LMU. Spend a semester or summer studying abroad. Apply for the Alternative Break and Ignacio Companion trips. Go on retreats like the Skid Row retreat. Don’t be like me and go on at least one De Colores trip.

Try to get into the courses that include immersion trips, use that Lion Express if you don’t have a car to get off campus. Love the Bluff, but leave the bubble. Being in a new physical space forces a perspective shift that no book, Google search or Instagram account can quite match. It opens you up to encounter people in an honest and vulnerable way, and that’s where the best kinds of exchanges happen.

life, who and what helped me get here and the obstacles I still need to overcome. The massive gaps in my journal entries are a testament to the fact that I can’t go back and recapture the realizations I was having when, of course, being busy was an inevitable fact of life.

Not every single moment can be captured, pickled and preserved in a mason jar. There’s no moment where I became a new person in college. I don’t know precisely who I am yet, but I have a better idea of who I want to be and why, and that counts for something.

Connection with Self: I have been blessed to be somewhere as beautiful as the Bluff, with grassy, sunny spots across campus to lay down in while contemplating where I am in

Connection with others: Some relationships have been fleeting, tentatively tied together by passing conversations, or that quick bond that’s struck between strangers. Some have been formed in the familiarity of frequent stops at the C-store and on campus cafeterias, or from quick chats in the hallways as I come back from an all-nighter. Some have been with the faculty and staff that have inspired and supported me from day one. Many of the most important relationships have come out of those travels I mentioned, especially during my semester abroad at Cardiff University.

Most have been through my families on campus: the bold and beautiful souls in my Ignatians service organization, my inspiring and hilarious Loy fam, my goofy and groudbreaking 2015 ACE cohort and my roommates, among others.

There’s a long list of people who populate the village behind

feminism. It was a decent but wordy overview of what I learned in my women of color in the U.S. class — very 'me,' nonetheless.

Less than a year later as a managing editor, I was writing with more confidence and a stronger voice about whitewashed movies and self-care for activists. All of my

experiences at the Loyolan — writing and editing — led me to my most eye-opening interview senior year while reporting on National Recovery Month.

And in between all this time working at the Loyolan? I was a busy theatre major, proud service org member, high-key

via Josh Soriano

Friendships are the connections that sustain and enrich your time here.

Karis and her friends, including her day one roommate Hiranmayi, are pictured above. Shout out to Isabel and the Iggies pictured below! my success, but my actual family is at the core of it all, especially my stronghearted mom. Being away from them, I’ve never necessarily felt homesick, but over time I’ve been hit with how much I’ve depended on them, how much they’ve shaped me and how lovingly their wisdoms and their support for me, even their disagreements with me, have carved me into the woman who will walk across the stage.

Connection with God: From Ghana, where my family is from, comes the phrase “Gye Nyame” or “God above all things.”

I can explore and connect with new ideas, different places, myself and others, but without a

spiritual center and the humbling understanding that my small beingness is part of something greater, then I’d be lost. I don’t have the answers — ­­ no one person or faith does — but from the beauty felt in all of these connections, I’ve experienced the fleeting yet deeply resounding and peacefully powerful thing called happiness.

It’s rooted in something I can never actually “get” or achieve. Leaving this community of faith to go into this great big world, I can stretch without bounds because my resilience and my power is rooted in faith.

This is the opinion of Karis Addo-Quaye, a senior psychology major from Las Vegas, Nevada. Tweet comments @LALoyolan, or email editor@theloyolan.com.

Sappy words for a 21st century college kid Ngo Regrets Isabel Ngo Former Managing Editor @LALoyolan

I

f I had to pinpoint the moment where my writing leveled up in clarity and technique, it would have to be first semester freshman year in my lower division philosophy class (shoutout to Dr. Stackle). It was a special course.

Interesting lectures.

Frustrating discussions — there’s just something about Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. More importantly, one of my first college accomplishments took place in this class: I didn’t start one of my papers until the morning it was due, printed the pages at the literal last minute and aced it anyway.

The Loyolan was where my writing grew into my own, and it was one of the places on campus where I could cultivate my ideas about social justice. I started off as a humble, but observant, copy editor (though I’ve seen more than four copy editors rise the ranks to join the executive b o a r d during my years at the L oyolan ) .

Don’t underestimate us — one day, we’ll rule the world.

Sophomore year, I wrote my first article about intersectional

procrastinator, overachiever, student activist, hopeless romantic (mostly based on huge, unfruitful crushes if we’re being honest), sporadic Catholic, artist, poet and friend. College is hard!

But I survived and am so grateful for the diversity of experiences

via Isabel Ngo and LMU Alumni Association

From her time at the Loyolan, Isabel knows the power of words and self-expression. And as her photos with her fellow Ignatians pictured above show, there’s so much life to be lived and laughs to be had.”

and relationships I’ve encountered and sustained.

So advice for Lions who have a couple more years at LMU: Hold onto that reusable water bottle.

Absorb everything you can from your classes and professors. Read, write and draw for fun! Seek out the empty classrooms in U-Hall after 11 p.m. so you can plug your music into the speakers and use the front of the room as study break dance party space. Try to be less hard on yourself. Remember to eat and to sleep. Go to SPS. Indulge in cry sessions on the Bluff when you need to (make sure to bring your headphones and your favorite sad girl playlist). Don’t drink if you’re not feeling it; don’t do anything you don’t want to. Be proud of yourself for doing the best you can, especially on days when getting up in the morning is your biggest accomplishment. Treasure late night heart-to-hearts with your friends, even if that means staying up ‘til 4 a.m.

Share what you’re learning with your parents. Be generous with your time, but also with your gratitude. Live, love, laugh.

This is the opinion of Isabel Ngo, a senior theater arts major from Pasadena, California.

Tweet comments @LALoyolan, or email editor@theloyolan.com.

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My

life

was

Michael Peters Asst. Digital Editor @LALoyolan

Editor’s note: While awaiting two organ transplants in 2017, Michael Peters died of health complications. Before his death, he advocated for people to become organ donors. He would have graduated in the class of 2018.

April marks the 15th year of National Donate Life Month.

This 30-day occasion is sponsored by Donate Life America – one of the country’s leading organ and tissue donor awareness organizations. The goal of National Donate Life Month is to honor the heroes who make the choice to save countless lives every year while also calling attention to how many more lives could be saved.

As a recipient myself, this occasion is unquestionably important to me. When I was five weeks old, my parents were informed that I was suffering from cardiomyopathy – a disease that causes heart muscle to replace itself with tissue. I needed a new heart. I can only imagine how exhausting the next seven months proved for my family, but eventually I received one.

I have never known the name of the person who saved my life after theirs ended, and I never will. However, I have carried their gift with me every day for nearly 20 years. Without the choice they or their family made, I would certainly not be here today. I would never have attended LMU and I never would have written this column.

You may choose to label me as biased on this topic, and you would be correct, but I hope you will have the opportunity to learn more about what it means to donate from my experience. Recently, I wrote an article in the Loyolan detailing my own experience with polycystic kidney disease. My current condition – which is unrelated to my previous cardiomyopathy – guarantees that I will need another organ in order to survive: a kidney.

Therefore, donation is a topic I hold very dear to me. According to Donate Life America’s website, approximately 21 people will die today as a result of not receiving an organ soon enough. In the time it takes for you to finish this article, another name will be added to the national waiting list. Too many people are suffering from a problem that could be addressed with simple

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education and a checked box on a driver’s license application.

The steps to register as a donor are absurdly simple: All anyone has to do is mark “yes” on their driver’s license application. That means every single person of driving age in the entire country could enroll to give. It takes no effort at all, yet according to the American Transplant Foundation, “More than 123,000 people in the United States are currently on the waiting list for a lifesaving organ transplant.”

Death can be terrifying. Still, in terms of your own decision outside of religious beliefs, there is no reason for you to say no to donating organs. If you were to die under any circumstance, you would have no more use for your tissue. Despite what some people think, your doctor will never let you die just to ‘harvest’ your organs.

Death is a reality and will continue to take place. But, you can prevent it from happening to someone else. Why not make life out of the grief that you have been dealt?

You could even give the gift of life while you’re living. Kidneys can often be given using living donors as well as those who are deceased. Living donors give while still alive and will continue to fully function even after the surgery.

Many may be familiar with the fact that humans can survive with only one kidney. Other examples for this process include segments of lungs or intestines. Often, living donors could be individuals within the recipient’s own family.

These transactions are equally as necessary as other forms of donation, and donors of all kinds deserve respect both during this month and throughout the entire year.

Additional aid can be offered simply through awareness. If you would like to help, do your part by making sure you are registered for donation and educating others on the issue. A single donor can end up contributing to multiple parties, so every “yes” now could result in the recovery of many more people.

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Hannah Kim | Loyolan

According to the New York Organ Donor Network, “One organ donor can save up to eight lives. The same donor can also save or improve the lives of up to 50 people by donating tissues and eyes.”

I owe a stranger everything I have because they chose “yes.” This month is more than just a time to ask for others to give and is certainly more than merely the celebration of the life I have been given. This month is the celebration of the life someone else lived, and what that someone else gave, in order for more people to celebrate the future Donate Life Months to come.

This is the opinion of Michael Peters, a freshman screenwriting major from Omaha, Nebraska. Email comments to jee@theloyolan.com.

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