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Learn about this year's First Amendment Week speaker, activist Monica Lewinsky. Page 11
February 12, 2020
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Celebrating Black History Month on campus Events will occur all month, ranging from a film festival to a discussion with the LAPD. Kennedi Hewitt Asst. News Editor @LALoyolan
In the midst of the Valentine's Day celebrations a and pink decorations, something else is happening during the month of February: Black History Month. There will be many LMU events taking place on and off campus throughout the month. According to LMU This Week, the events, organized by the Office of Black Student Services (OBSS), began with a pop-up African marketplace in Lawton Plaza on Feb. 3 and will culminate with the unveiling of a statue of LMU basketball legend Hank Gathers at Gersten Pavillion on Feb. 29. See Black History | Page 3
Dr. Hyslop makes a difference at Homeboy Industries The SHS medical director recounts his volunteer experiences removing tattoos. Grace McCauley Asst. Managing Editor @LALoyolan
Dr. Dan Hyslop is the medical director and a physician at Student Health Services (SHS) on campus. When he’s not treating students, Dr. Hyslop devotes his time to volunteering at Homeboy Industries. Homeboy Industries helps former gang members “redirect their lives” and is the “largest and most successful gang intervention, rehab and reentry program in the world and has become a model for other organizations and cities,” according to their website. LMU alumnus Father Greg Boyle S.J., M.A. ('85), founded the organization in 1988. Hyslop volunteers to remove tattoos that would otherwise prevent some of the clients from rejoining the workforce. Hyslop recalled his own past with gangs. “I have a lot of gratitude because where I grew up, we were in a gang. I was arrested when I was 16 years old on a felony charge, I was convicted, I was on probation and only because I was under 18 was my record expunged and I was able to go onto college and medical school.
You don’t go to medical school with a felony,” said Hyslop. “I go [to Homeboy Industries] because it could have just as easily been me had a couple of things not gone right for me.” Hyslop has been volunteering at Homeboy Industries for many years. “A friend of mine was volunteering at Homeboy ... she got me down there. I went down and you just need to have a medical license ... I think there's even dentists doing it,” he said. The removal process involves a laser that penetrates the skin and disperses the ink. Hyslop explained that the pain involved with this process is far greater than the pain people feel when they get the tattoo. “They say it's like hot bacon grease popping on your skin,” said Hyslop about the removal process. “I’ve seen guys who’ve done hard time, real rough and tumble guys, have tears in their eyes it hurt so much." Hyslop said that every time he has gone to Homeboy Industries, he has interacted with people whose stories changed his life. “I met a young woman who was kidnapped from the high desert after cheerleading practice and she was sex trafficked around the world." See Dr. Hyslop | Page 3
Photo: Alyssa Reece | Loyolan
Dr. Hyslop, medical director and physician at LMU, poses next to a framed print of a tattoo by artist George Perez. Hyslop does volunteer tattoo removal services for former gang members and the formerly incarcerated at Homeboy Industries.
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BURNING QUESTIONS
Black History from Page 1
Editor-in-Chief Molly Jean Box sat down with astronomy lecturer and human rights activist Rajiv Uttamchandani to discuss his work to prevent crime against women.
What brought you to Los Angeles? It’s a rather surprising fact, considering what I do today. I chose to migrate to Los Angeles due to my desires in my teen years to become a professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). I’ve been a lifelong fan, and desired to enroll in a training school named Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), in fact the same training school that John Cena was in. The school was located in El Segundo, however due to my parents’ pressure for me to at least enroll in a normal college, I studied astrophysics (a strange choice I know), at Cal State Northridge, while preparing for my wrestling training program.
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Where and when did your work as a human rights activist begin? I started my charity as the International STEM Society for Human Rights which has since been re-named H.E.R. (Humanity Education & Rights), in January 2015. I was extremely bothered by violence against women, especially the Delhi Bus Rape Incident which occurred on December 16, 2012, and ISIS’ invasion and subsequent sexual enslavement of Yazidi women in Mt. Sinjar, Iraq on August 4, 2012. This cannot be, and upon speaking with an individual whom I greatly respect and admire, I was told to “focus on the solution, not the problem.” I haven’t looked back since.
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In your opinion, what is the greatest human rights issue facing our world today? There are multiple — the global refugee crisis, combined with violence against women and child pornography, are the greatest and most heinous issues we as a species are currently facing. I ... understand the importance of climate change, especially as a factor which exacerbates the aforementioned crises. However, the thought that hundreds of millions of children, women and men being displaced, sexually imprisoned and forced to do things we cannot even imagine quite literally as slaves, is something unacceptable ... We are falling behind in addressing this problem.
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Want to read even more questions with Uttamchandani? Check them out at laloyolan.com.
Reflecting on stories of former gang members Dr. Hyslop from Page 1
“She was covered in tattoos with the names of the four or five guys who trafficked her, was pregnant by one of them and was coming back to try to start her life over,” said Hyslop. “I’m not the same after I leave there based on the people I see and the stories I hear and I’m just completely blown away,” said Hyslop. Hyslop keeps track of some of the most “powerful” quotes from his clients. One of the quotes that stuck with him was, “Sometimes it’s harder to remove the character you’ve created than it was to create the character.” Another quote was from
February recognizes the importance of Black history
a man named Rabbit who described to Hyslop why he liked Homeboy Industries: “It’s like going into the yard without all the tension, like being with the people you’re comfortable with.” “They create these characters to survive in the neighborhoods they’re in which are incredibly violent,” said Hyslop. “Most people join gangs out of desperation.” On Hyslop’s office wall hangs a framed print of a tattoo by the artist George Perez, which Hyslop says is a reminder of his time volunteering with Homeboy Industries.
Author and historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson started Black History Month as “Negro History Week” in 1926. Woodson arranged for this week, which was eventually expanded to a month in 1976, to take place in February so that it would align with Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays, according to the Library of Congress. Dr. Nate Sessoms, the director of OBSS said, “It’s beneficial for [LMU students] to engage in the campus’ celebration of important people and events in the history of the African Diaspora, while also recognizing the central role of Blacks in U.S. history.” Black History Month is the annual celebration of Black history and achievements, according to History.com. Henry Ward, the senior director of Ethnic and Intercultural Advancement (EIS) at LMU, said, “It’s difficult to limit the contributions of Black people to a single month ... I do think it’s important that the nation recognizes the critical role Black folks have played in the history of the country.” Acco rd i n g to LMU T h i s We e k , o t h e r eve n ts happening this month include a Black Heritage Poetry Night, a book talk
hosted by LMU professor Dr. Adilifu Nama, a diversity panel hosted by LMU’s National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) chapter and a Pan-African film festival. All o f the events are open to all LMU students.
“I do think it’s important that the nation recognizes the critical role Black folks have played in the history of the country,” said Ward. AnaLexicis Bridewell, interim program coordinator for The Learning Community, a program for first year LMU students of African descent, said, “It’s our time to celebrate us, but with that is an invitation extended to everyone no matter your race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation. We want you to come out and engage with us. We want you to learn about our culture, how we do what we do, and why.” Justin Whittingham, a freshman film and television
production major, said, “I’m really excited for the Pan-African Film Festival … I would love to learn more about African film. That’s really awesome to me and I’ve never been immersed in it.” Since 1992, the PanAfrican Film Festival has showcased hundreds of films created by filmmakers of African descent, according to their website. When asked what he hopes to gain from the Black History Month celebrations on campus, Whittingham said, “I hope to gain stronger footing in my community among the people in my class and the upperclassmen … I think it will be good to have a lot of time where we will be able to interact and connect with each other over a shared identity that we have.” Ward said, “The entire LMU community is invited to participate in Black History Month events. It is an opportunity to gain a greater appreciation of Black culture and history.” Every event except for the film festival will take place on LMU’s Westchester campus, making it more accessible for students to partake in the celebration of Black history throughout the month.
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This past weekend “Parasite,” the comedy thriller directed by Bong Joon-ho, made history by becoming the first film in a foreign language to win Best Motion Picture, and first South Korean film to win an Oscar. Nominated for six awards, it won four including Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film. The massive win and overall acknowledgement of the industry outside of Hollywood serves as a reminder that we should be immersing ourselves in international culture; one of the most accessible ways to do that is through film. The lense of a foreign film allows us to learn more about a culture where it was made, and forces us outside of our comfort zone. In the category for Best Motion Picture, “Parasite” was up against some of this year’s film giants: “Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood,” “The Irishman” and “Joker.” In a preawards season interview with Vulture, Bong had stated that “The Oscars are not an international film festival. They’re very local.” Bong’s assessment was previously accurate, the last 91 winners of the Best Motion Picture category have all been English films, until “Parasite” destroyed that precedent. Although there is still much work to be done to adjust the whitewashing that Hollywood award shows represent, this could very well be the first of a longoverdue inclusion of international films— and global culture—in the public sphere. Critics have pointed out that while “Parasite” was nominated for six Academy
Awards, none were for individual acting credits. “Slumdog Millionaire,” another film set in Asia, was put in the same situation at the 2009 Oscars when it received eight nominations and seven wins but no individual acting nominations. This shows that while the Academy is making strides in some senses, it is still lagging in others. Notably, it is lagging in its recognition of people of color. This year the 2020 Oscar nominees for individual acting categories were all white, except for Cynthia Erivo in “Harriet.” In an industry that has favored English language films since its inception, the win for “Parasite” marks a new beginning. It encourages us to look to foreign films and learn more about acclaimed foreign directors like Bong. Acknowledging the film industry outside of Hollywood and America is part of what it means to be a global citizen. While we must acknowledge how far the Academy still has to go, we can celebrate the impact that “Parasite” will no doubt have on the world of film. The LMU mission statement asserts that it aspires to “prepare the next generation of principled leaders and global citizens.” If we are to align ourselves with our University’s mission, we should extend our focus to film, media and culture that exists outside our own reality. As Bong stated in his Golden Globes acceptance speech, “Once you overcome the 1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”
“If we are to align ourselves with our University’s mission, we should extend our focus to film, media and culture that exists outside our own reality.”
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Veronica Backer-Peral
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Asst. Opinion Editor @LALoyolan
s expected, senators voted almost exactly along party lines on the decision to remove President Donald Trump from office. More importantly, their votes showed little regard not only for the Constitution and our democracy, but also for the will of the American public. It is now our responsibility to hold those senators accountable. On the eve of the impeachment trial, a majority of Americans were in favor of impeachment and removal from office. A poll by Business Insider found that 55% of Americans were in favor of impeachment and removal, as opposed to the 33% against it. Although these numbers alone, even if they had been accurately reflected in Congress’ decision, would not have been enough to remove the president from office—which requires two-thirds of senators’ support—there is one statistic that is even more startling. Seventy-five percent of Americans wanted the Senate to vote in favor of allowing witnesses to testify at the trial, as reported by CNN. Seventyfive percent of Americans wanted a real
trial. And still, less than 50% of the Senate voted to give it to them. “I don’t understand why Republican senators voted against allowing witnesses in the trial,” said Emma
Murphy, a sophomore psychology major. “It feels like they are hiding the truth. You don’t have anything to fear if you don’t have anything to hide.” See Republican | Page 5
Cartoon: Jacob Johanson | Loyolan
Mitt Romney was the only Republican senator brave enough to defend the voice of the American public. It is our responsibility to hold the remaining senators accountable.
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Let’s turn the corner on campus free speech Speck and Spielmann Cristobal Spielmann Asst. Opinion Editor @LALoyolan
E
ven with all the construction occurring on campus (whether it’s new housing or a new SFTV building), there’s one thing we actually need: a speaker’s corner. If you don’t already know, a speaker’s corner is a concept traced back to the U.K.’s past, when free speech rights were more limited than they are today. The most famous example is from Hyde Park in London. Its history of free speech extends back to the 1100s and has since allowed a plethora of radical debate and the sharing of ideas, as detailed by Atlas Obscura. Think of it like a permanent free speech zone, like the one that was temporarily in place during the presidential debate at LMU in December. It’s a spot for you and anyone else in the community to express your opinions freely and for others to engage with those opinions. Now, a similar corner at LMU wouldn’t have to just be limited to a literal platform for public discussion, as we have enough space to incorporate papers and other media. The corner would just need to have a space to solidify its legitimacy. The perfect place to build this area would be right outside the Lair near Malone, replacing the glass panels that divide the outside tables from the tree and lion statue on the grass. People already stick dozens of posters for on-campus events, job listings and political opportunities onto those glass panels, so why not make the area a larger place for discussion? My proposal would involve having to replace the glass panels with cork bulletin boards so that people wouldn’t have to use tape to hang papers up, dirtying up the glass and giving the panels an ugly appearance. With cork boards, people would approach the posted papers in order to see what the campus was thinking about rather than simply ignore them. In large part, this supplementary idea is modeled after Pepperdine University’s Freedom Wall, which is described in Pepperdine’s Seaver College Student Organization handbook as “a venue for individual
Cartoon: Camille Bautista | Loyolan
While the origin of speaker’s corners may be antiquated, in practice, they serve as a useful tool for free expression, free assembly and free speech. LMU should seriously consider building one on campus.
members of the community to respectfully express themselves.” One notable example of the Freedom Wall being used for good was in October, when a disabled senior student named Mackenzie Mazen photographed disabled parking spaces being taken up by garbage and unmarked vehicles in order to highlight accessibility issues and discrimination on campus, as reported by The Pepperdine Graphic.
But why invest in a speaker’s corner if LMU already has a strong Freedom of Expression policy? Easy: this policy hasn’t been seen enough on campus. An initiative like this corner would just be a boost to issues LMU students and professors are already enthusiastic about, giving a more visible platform for those issues to really shine.
“As an LMU student, I normally wouldn’t write praise of a rival school like Pepperdine, but efforts like the Freedom Wall are commendable and should be replicated here.” As an LMU student, I normally wouldn’t write praise of a rival school like Pepperdine, but efforts like the Freedom Wall are commendable and should be replicated here. Regarding the corner itself, a permanent platform placed near the lion statue would serve as the actual corner for anyone to express their views to anyone within earshot.
Think about how long clubs like ECO Students have tried to encourage LMU to divest from fossil fuels, particularly tar sands, an issue that’s been around since at least 2013. Imagine if there was a constant reminder about LMU’s contributions to the dirtiest oil on Earth, as described by the Sierra Club. Tons of people walk by Malone every single
day; you’d think the message would be clear at that point. Plus, think about what kind of message this would send. At a time when politicians, particularly Republican politicians (as highlighted by college lecturer Jeffrey Sachs in a piece for Arc Digital) are threatening to silence free speech, making what is essentially a monument to free expression would be a bold stance. This idea obviously isn’t perfect, and like any system, it can be prone to abuse. Pepperdine’s own Freedom Wall has faced plenty of issues in recent years, from being hijacked by far-right groups like Turning Point USA in 2017 to homophobic comments in October, according to The Pepperdine Graphic. Those events, in turn, have sparked controversy on their campus. But if we’re not going to even offer the platform for that debate to occur, most of us will miss out on a lot of the strong ideas as well. As we soon head into First Amendment Week, it’s important to keep the spirit of free discussion, open expression and protection from censorship alive and well on campus. We have the space to make something beautiful out of that spirit. This is the opinion of Cristobal Spielmann, a sophomore environmental science major from Brentwood, Tennessee. Tweet comments @LALoyolan, or email astory@theloyolan.com.
Give Republican senators a piece of your mind Senators from Page 4
The implicit question in Murphy’s answer—and the question looming over the situation as a whole—is why? Why were Republican senators willing to overlook popular opinion and vote against witnesses? An article by The New York Times offers two explanations: On the one hand, voting to prolong the trial would add an unknown variable into the situation and potentially
throw the Senate, and the nation, into a political frenzy. Especially in light of the fact that a majority of GOP senators
would imply that the senators were taking the trial seriously — something that they appear to be avoiding at all costs.
“Congress, more than any other branch of power, is designed to be the voice of the American public.” undermined the impeachment investigation as a partisan effort with little credibility, the action of calling witnesses
On the other hand, there is one very political motivation for acquitting the president as quickly as possible. The reality
is that President Trump garners a strong base of support for the Republican party, and there are a number of Republican senators running for reelection who could face political consequences for alienating Trump supporters. Both reasons lead me to the same conclusion: it is now our responsibility to show Republican senators and the world that regardless of their motivation, disregarding the will of the American people will never be an effective strategy for
reelection. Congress, more than any other branch of power, is designed to be the voice of the American public. It is vital that in the future, it truly is. To read more stories by Backer-Peral, go to LALoyolan.com/opinion.
This is the opinion of Veronica BackerPeral, a sophomore film and television production, history and computer science triple major from Pasadena, California. Tweet comments @LALoyolan or email astory@theloyolan.com.
Students of TEAM work to dismantle racism By Jessica Glassberg, design editor
Together as Effective AccoMplices (TEAM) is a new student organization that works to combat racism on campus. Design Editor Jessica Glassberg interviewed junior double individualized studies and Spanish major Taylor Pajunen, the president of TEAM, to learn more about this organization and what it has accomplished for the LMU community. Jessica Glassberg (J.G.): What does your organization do? Taylor Pajunen (T.P.): We are Together as Effective AccoMplices. TEAM is the acronym, and we are a registered student organization that is open for all people, but predominantly we are trying to invite white people to come in and talk about what it means to be a white accomplice in anti-racism work. [It] is really a time and a space for us to learn and possibly unlearn a lot of things that we have grown up with and kind of recognize our privilege within the broader context of white supremacy ... This is really a place to ... practice how we can be effective accomplices and go into multiracial settings in a way that is beneficial to actually taking down white supremacy. It is really just a place to practice and to learn. J.G.: What purpose does your organization have on campus? T.P.: On campus, I think, right now, there are a lot of amazing groups that are dedicated to social justice work, but a lot of them—not that they need to—don’t make it a priority for white people to recognize their whiteness, and to recognize their role in white supremacy. At least for me, it took me a long time, and I am still very much in the process of it, to recognize what I bring to this work. I am a very talkative person. I overbear a lot of conversations and ... [with] good intentions. I want to help and in that process I silence people and I take the focus away from the
communities that are actually trying to get the work done and I put it on me. And that’s not okay. So, this is a chance to really unpack that and to grow from it. And then also [we want to] take the responsibility off people of color and other marginalized communities to teach us. Because that is probably one of the biggest things. We are just continuing systems of oppression by making other people teach us our wrongdoings ... We should be able to get our own work done before we go into these settings so that we can work together and not [make others] spend time going back and having to teach white people all the wrong via Taylor Pajunen stuff we are doing or just the hurtful things The group aims to talk with white members to educate that we don’t mean to be doing, but often one another on being accomplices in anti-racism work. that’s what happens. AWARE and I really enjoyed it, but it’s just a J.G.: Why did you decide to create this long drive. So I was like, you know, I’ll just start organization? my own. I was asking my friends and it was T.P.: Last year I went on AB Chicago, which really interesting hearing people’s responses is [an] Alternative Breaks [program]. That because, for the most part—and [this is] how was during spring break and each AB trip has it is even now—white people are not on board, a different focus. Ours was racial injustice but people of color are like “Yeah, please do and xenophobia. I really just wanted to go that” ... So we got all the documents ready. and learn and that is definitely what this was Then we tabled at EXP Fest and started last … Each day was comprised of learning in a semester and it’s been a journey. classroom and then going out to a community J.G.: What are some of your biggest organization to see what they are doing to accomplishments or future plans? help their community or just work with the T.P.: Biggest accomplishment so far, community. There was no time where we were well, we made it a semester. We have been going and doing something. We were just collaborating with the Indigenous Student going and learning something. Union a little bit. They are a new org as well. One of the leaders of the trip recommended We have been trying to just hear what we can that I go to AWARE, which is the Alliance do as accomplices. They hosted a whole week of White Anti-Racists Everywhere. [It’s] a on Mauna Kea, which is a mountain in Hawaii. national organization and they have a chapter It was … an awareness week, but also a “we in L.A. [It] is a place for white people to come gotta do stuff” week. and do this work and talk about this stuff and For future things, honestly, it’s hard because get it out, not at the expense of people of color what we are primarily focused on is that busy or marginalized communities ... So I went to work that needs to get done in the class or in the small setting … We’ll always be encouraging members of the group to go to events on campus that are open to all people. For example, Black History Month [has] so many events. We are going to be encouraging people to go to those, but TEAM is just a supplement to that, so we can reflect. We can learn. We can think together, so that we can be better white people together and recognize we are going to make mistakes. We are not perfect, so we’ve got work to do. That doesn’t sound that fun to a lot of people, but [it’s] so necessary. That being said, we are doing some fun things … In April, probably our biggest thing is that we are going to the White Privilege Conference (WPC) in Mesa, Arizona. That will be April 1-4 and we are going with a multi-cultural coalition of students. So it is not just TEAM members, and via Taylor Pajunen that conference is dedicated to bringing people Taylor Pajunen, the president of Together as Effective AccoMplicies (TEAM), explained the purpose and formation of all backgrounds together to come and do this of the student run organization that recognize their role in white supremacy and how they can tackle such issues. work and get empowered.
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For inclusivity, T-Law sends everyone a Valentine-gram With many students not expecting a Valentine-gram this Friday, one man intends to change that. Connor Rose
Longest Relationship was with Scientology
It’s that time of year, everyone: Valentine’s Day, the holiday that many spend with loved ones and others spend bitterly tweeting about being single. Around campus, you can find opportunities to send Valentine-grams to that special someone; however, the school has found that only a small minority of people actually receive one on the day of romance. One man has stood up to change that. One man has promised to make sure every student receives a Valentine-gram, whether they like it or not. And that man … is our University president.
Some students were inspired by his act of kindness and many were confused, but all could see T-Law hard at work in his office, cranking out Valentine-gram after Valentine-gram over the course of a dozen 9 to 5’s. “I can’t believe he did it,” said Brooke N. Hart, the University president’s personal assistant. “This morning, I saw him pushing in a whole cart of those grams. Like I genuinely think it’s literally impossible for him to have filled out all of those in one day.” But he did the impossible. The next day, every single LMU student could found a heart-shaped piece of paper taped to their door sending the kindest words from the face of our campus — all in exquisite cursive, I might add. “Yeah, it was nice and all,” said Sing El, a freshman psych major whose Instagram bio has a link to his Tinder account. “But the card was personalized, which was a bit odd.”
Every Valentine-gram written was personalized and tailored to each student, after T-Law conducted research on each individual student in order to give a level of sincerity that sending an entire school the same Valentine-gram could never accomplish. “Yeah, at the bottom, it says ‘P.S. You’re not giving yourself enough time to eat if you go to the Lair at 12:30 and have class at 1. Go earlier,’” continued El. “I don’t think I’ll ever know how he knows I eat at that time.” El noted that eating earlier isn’t a bad idea and he wants to thank T-Law for his helpful advice. No one really knows what caused our president to accomplish such a generous feat for the LMU community, but what we do know is that T-Law is weeks behind on work now due to his act of kindness.
Cartoon: Ellen Na | Loyolan
Dr. Timothy Law Snyder, Ph. D. toils away, hard at work so students can wake up to a personalized Valentine-gram.
Y.A.C. to open a Living-Learning Community Finally, a safe space for Young Conservative Americans Gabi Jeakle
Registered Socialist
Palm South and Palm North are scheduled to open in fall 2020. Palm South will be home to a few new LivingLearning Communities. These communities are for students
Cartoon: Sarah Cheung | Loyolan
The Graham Community for Patriotic Excellence young people who love America and hate snowflakes. Stay triggered.
seeking an interdisciplinary living environment; each floor will be dedicated to people who share like-minded ideals. The Young American conservatives (YAC) will be opening the Graham Community for Patriotic Excellence. Bluff sat down with the brains behind the project, Trip Whitman. “We are a minority here in L.A. Jesuit school is all about giving platforms to minorities, right? We’re just trying to level the playing field for young, rich, powerful Republicans. Our mission is justice.” Named for U.S. Senator and judiciary king Lindsey Graham, the Graham community will have several unique amenities. TVs have been specially programmed to only play Fox News, with the exception of local campaign ads supporting candidates with traditional family values. The Shapiro
kitchen, named for YAC mascot Ben Shapiro, is always fully stocked with unsalted butter and plastic straws. Every bed is graciously adorned with American flag sheets and MyPillow™ pillows. Each wall is lined with framed pictures of GOP members of the past. In the center is a giant picture of President Abraham Lincoln, who Whitman continually reminded us was in fact a Republican and would be totally in support of what is happening with the party today. An element of communitybased learning is shared academic and co-curricular experiences. For example, Veneer, the service focused community, will host weekly community dinners and do group service. The Graham community will participate in what is being called Kaitlyn Bennet-style
journalism, where they ask children about their opinions on capital punishment. But it’s not just about work. The community has also built in space for fun. Saturdays are movie nights, where students can choose to either sit silently while watching a Clint Eastwood movie or shout loudly in protest as Brokeback Mountain plays in all its glory. It is rumored that Palm North will feature a Young Democrats living community, but the votes haven’t been fully processed for that one.
Want to write for the Bluff? Email gjeakle@theloyolan.com
CHECK US OUT ONLINE LALOYOLAN.COM 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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Darn Things Kids SAy
GALLOWS
By Ellen Na, cartoonist
By Harrison Klein, cartoonist
Goodbye everyone! Thanks for laughing with us!
The Los Angeles Loyolan is welcoming Gabrielle Ouellette as our new Cartoon Editor and saying goodbye to our Seniors Christian Boggs, Ellen Na and Harrison Klein.
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editor’s pick
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The Del Rey Players present ‘The Nerd’
Photos: JP Shannon | Loyolan
Students in The Del Rey Players, a student-run theatre company, perform on opening weekend of the play “The Nerd.” The play will run a second weekend 13-15 at 8:00 p.m. in the the Del Rey Theater.
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life+arts
Page 15
Chili cook-off celebrates Charles Darwin’s discoveries The worlds of science and food collide on this year’s Darwin Day celebration. Michael Carandang Life+Arts Intern @LALoyolan
The biology department and Beta Beta Beta (Tri-Beta), the biology honor society, co-organized a chili competition on Feb. 7 to commemorate the work of Charles Darwin, who was a prominent scientist in the field of biology. Darwin published “On the Origin of Species,” which proposed the theory of evolution. Dr. Kam Dahlquist, a professor of biology and faculty advisor for Tri-Beta, gave a
Photo: Michael Carandang | Loyolan
Chili Pot #3 won the contest. Seven chili dishes were made in the competition.
thorough explanation of Darwin and his achievements in biology. “The way that science was done back when he was alive was so different than the way science is done today,” said Dahlquist. “You could call him a scientist, you could call him an adventurer [or] you could call him an explorer.” Dahlquist calls Darwin “foundational to the discipline [of biology].” But what does chili have to do with Darwin? Mikaela Karin Ribi, a senior biochemistry major and president of Tri-Beta, talked about their relationship. Darwin helped inspire the theory of natural selection, which states that having more diversity is better for a species and its survival. “Chili is extremely diverse because there are so many components [to the recipe],” said Ribi. The competition established three categories for the process of voting, “a meat category called carnivores, a vegetarian category called vegetarians and a best overall category called omnivores.” By making it a competition and voting for the best chili, the contest mimicked natural selection. One of the chili tasters was David Ramirez, a junior biology major and a member of Tri-Beta. He found out about the event from the flyers that were posted in the Life Sciences Building. He said it was “[his] first chili cook-off and that [he hasn’t] tried chili in a long time,” so he really enjoyed getting to taste it again. Although it’s been a while, Ramirez has strict standards for his chili. He first
Photo: Alyssa Reece | Loyolan
Senior biology major Lily Bautista puts in her vote in the voting beaker. Each year, the biology department and Tri-Beta (Biology Honors Society) puts on a chili cook-off to celebrate Darwin Day.
looked for thickness, then checked how much meat was inside, and finally he said, “I evaluate the other ingredients such as vegetables and corn that help increase the taste of the chili.” Ramirez described some features of the top two chilis he voted for. He tried all three carnivore chilis, and out of all of them he enjoyed number three the most. He appreciated the “chunkiness and quantity of the meat” used in the chili and gave it one vote. However, in the omnivore category (overall) and vegetarian category, he voted for number six twice because he thought the “thickness and texture” of the vegetables were just right. Votes by the student chili tasters determined the winner, and the competition ended with a surprise.
According to Dahlquist, all the chili was made by the biology faculty, except for one that was made by a math faculty member. “Sometimes students make it but it’s difficult to cook in the dorms, so students are generally tasters,” she said. At the end of the competition, the same person won all three categories. The winner was Cathy McElwain, an emerita faculty who has retired from LMU but returned to enjoy the event. She received a saucepan trophy with a plaque inside engraved “Best Chili of the Year Award.” The Darwin Day Chili Cook-Off is an annual Tri-Beta tradition and there’s no telling who might win it next.
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Page 17
Five07 launches clothing line LMU alumnus and cofounder, Sean McCarthy, shares his vision for Five07. Francesca Bermudez Asst. Life+Arts Editor @LALoyolan
Two years ago, Sean McCarthy ('12) co-founded The Five07, a coffee bar in Thousand Oaks, California, which he describes as a community and creative space. They recently launched a new clothing line with the help of Leeban Farah, a senior economics major, who holds the position of creative director. Five07's clothing line is ethically sourced and embodies the laid-back SoCal vibe. I had the opportunity to ask McCarthy about Five07’s rapid rise and their first capsule — a collection of three casual pieces you can incorporate into your everyday looks. Francesca Bermudez (F.B.): What does it mean to be a “community and creative space,” and what does that allow you to do as a team? Sean McCarthy (S.M.): There is so much freedom within [that title] because all of our decisions don't have to be, "Oh, we have to make this type of coffee, or follow these specific recipes." [That title] allows us to be an organically moving organization that listens to the community for what is most needed. We see ourselves as a place for the community to come together first, and then whatever
else we are flows from there. There's [no] way to force anyone who walks in our doors to create the best lives for themselves, but we hope [that] by fostering creativity within our own team and space, our community [will move] towards a more fulfilled and beautiful life. F.B.: What was the inspiration behind your first capsule? S.M.: Our inspiration for the design process was SoCal creatives. We've been lucky enough to witness how society can truly be shifted through the day-to-day actions of individuals who choose to create a better situation for themselves. This is why we chose [to use colors such as] a deep red/brown [and ombrés] from black to gray. From there, we used SoCal's love for fall/winter designs, combined with its rather warm weather [and] active lifestyles as the basis for our silhouettes. F.B.: Can you tell me more about Five07's sustainable practices and why it was important for the items to be sourced sustainably? S.M.: Our first priority was getting all fabrics from America. Not only does this allow for less travel … but also ensures that a certain base level of working conditions are realized due to federal law here. Modern life is so dynamic, with each decision having ramifications way beyond our original intentions. For
example, let's say someone is trying to eat healthier so they buy an apple. That apple might have been produced using pesticides, which then ran off into a local stream, causing destruction of an ecosystem. It might also have been picked by exploited migrant laborers. These complexities aren't going away … but what we can— and should—choose to do is take as much care as possible in minimizing the potential negatives. As a company, we have the chance to help our community members live a more in-tune experience by putting so much emphasis on this. F.B.: You must be proud of what Five07 has accomplished in a fairly short time. How has the community grown over the past two years? S.M.: The community has grown from the seed of an idea in 2015 to a blossoming community of people who come from all different backgrounds and with different passions [and] talents. [However, they all share the same] Five07 mindset of wanting to create the best life possible while doing the most good for those around us. Seeing people continue to buy into this crazy idea has been the most magical part. Shop their clothing line at https://www.thefive07.com/ creativeshop.
SPORTS
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The USWNT is redefining pro sports Next of Kinney Ellie Kinney
O
Asst. Sports Editor @emkinney4
n a day in early July almost five years ago, my life changed in a
monumental way when U.S. women’s soccer star Carli Lloyd scored one of the greatest goals in history. Lloyd sent a long shot halfway down the field, just over the keeper’s reach and into the net. This play helped the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) win the 2015
World Cup, a tournament that kickstarted the movement of gender equality in sports. The USWNT is leading the charge in transforming the sports industry into a platform for social change. The team has brought women’s sports into the national spotlight and
Photo: Ellie Kinney
L-R: Sophomores Ellie Kinney, Natalie Robinson and Christine Wooler attend a U.S. women’s soccer Olympic qualifying match in Carson.
are using their success to fight for gender equality and inspire young girls to chase dreams they thought were impossible. I’ve been an athlete and a huge sports fan my entire life, but I had never heard of the USWNT until the 2015 World Cup. Women’s soccer and professional women’s sports in general are barely talked about or given airtime; a USC study found that media coverage of women’s sports has hardly improved in 25 years. Due to their lack of primetime coverage, I only heard about the team from friends who played soccer themselves. From the moment I turned on the World Cup final and watched the sold-out crowd go wild as the United States lifted the golden trophy, I was hooked. Having a team of successful, talented women I could support and look up to as role models completely changed the way I viewed myself as an athlete and as a fan of sports. The USW NT has had enormous success since their first World Cup win in 1999, winning four World Cups and four Olympic gold medals; but they still make less money and have worse working conditions than the Men’s National Team (that has never won a World Cup or a gold medal) despite earning more revenue. However, the players refuse to stand for this and have been legally battling the U.S. Soccer Federation for years for equal pay and working conditions. The team’s fight has inspired other women’s sports, such as the WNBA and the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team, to demand improvements as well. With chants of “equal play, equal pay!” at every game, it is clear that the USWNT has started a movement and will not settle for inequality in sports any longer. This past Sunday I had the chance to watch the USWNT compete in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Carson, California. I attended with two friends who play for LMU’s club soccer team: undeclared liberal arts sophomore Natalie Robinson and sophomore English major Christine Wooler. All three of us have been heavily inspired by the USWNT’s relentless pursuit
of success and their fight for gender equality in sports. “This team is full of role models,” said Wooler. “They display determination, hard work and virtue ... they’re perfect examples for soccer players and everyone.” Upon walking into the stadium, the atmosphere was very different from an average sports game. People of all ages, gender identities, gender expressions and sexual orientations filled the stadium, supporting not just a team but a greater movement of tolerance and diversity in sports. I’d never noticed how heteronormative men’s sporting events were until I was immersed in the alternative; the USWNT has brought together everyone traditionally left out of the sports community, and because of it they’ve developed a passionate fanbase. The most inspiring part of the game for me was seeing all the excited young girls at the stadium cheering on the team and donning the jerseys of their favorite players. If you’d asked me not even 10 years ago to name a professional female athlete, my only answer would have been Serena and Venus Williams. Today’s children are able to look up to well-known female sports stars, many of whom are tirelessly advocating to secure equal pay as well as respect for future generations of women in sports. “The USWNT engenders optimism for all women’s sports,” said Robinson. “More specifically, in their fight for equal pay, the USWNT has inspired and pioneered a pathway for other female athletes.” The thousands of young girls at Sunday’s game, and the millions across the globe, could be the next collegiate or professional athletes, coaches, broadcasters, analysts or even sports writers like me. Because of the USWNT paving the way, they will grow up in a world where women in sports are more numerous, celebrated and equally treated than ever before. This is the opinion of Ellie Kinney, a sophomore communication studies major from Boston, Massachusetts. Tweet comments to @emkinney4 or email comments to ahutton@theloyolan.com.
SCORES UPDATE
W W W. L A L O Y O L A N . C O M
8-7 W
W. Water Polo
vs. UC Davis
LION
5-0 L
Softball
at CSU Fullerton
M. Tennis
6-1 W
SPORTS
SPORTS
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Your Home. Your Voice. Your News. EST. 1921
vs. San Diego St.
W. Basketball
70-68 L at San Francisco
February 12, 2020
Page 20
Baseball aims to build off 2019 success Coming off an NCAA Regionals apperance, the Lions look to make a postseason return. Nick Rossi
Asst. Sports Editor @LALoyolan
This Friday, the men’s baseball team will once again hit the diamond to kick off their 2020 season at home against the University of Washington. The three-game series against the Huskies will be the Lions' first since their dramatic NCAA regional series of games against then No. 1 UCLA that capped off last season. The 2019 season proved to be one to remember for the Lions. Posting a record of 15-12 in West Coast Conference (WCC), LMU squeaked into the conference tournament as its fourth and final seed. In the first round of play, the Lions upset the No. 1 seed Brigham Young University by a score of 4-1. Then defeating St. Mary’s in both the semifinal and final of the tournament, LMU claimed a WCC championship. More than this, the program booked its first NCAA regionals appearance since 2000. The Lions were then slated to play Baylor University in the first game of NCAA regionals. Behind the heroic pitching of Codie Paiva, LMU blew past Baylor and earned a matchup against No. 1 in the nation UCLA. The Lions dethroned the Bruins, beating them 3-2. However, in the following
via LMU Athletics
Nick Frasso follows through after hurling a pitch toward home plate. The junior right-hander was named to the All-WCC preseason team.
two regional matchups against the Pac-12 powerhouse, the Lions could not replicate another upset. They lost the pair of preceding games 6-1 and 6-3, respectively. The Lions' season would end with these losses. However, the 2019 season could be considered more than a success for the program. Riding the hype of 2019, the baseball program is now looking to replicate last season’s high, but they will have to do it without the previous campaign’s head coach Jason Gill. Gill took the head coaching job for USC’s baseball team following the success he claimed at LMU. Even without their former coach, the Lions are still well oriented for success.
In the WCC preseason poll, LMU was picked to finish third among the 10 teams in the competition. LMU will square off against No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 BYU this season for the conference’s championship and a spot in the NCAA regionals. LMU still has plenty of returning talent on the roster to lean on. Both infielder Trevin Esquerra and pitcher Nick Frasso were named to the AllWCC preseason team. In his junior season last year, Esquerra posted some impressive numbers, hitting .322 with 60 RBIs and 16 home runs. The slugger led the Lions in nearly every offensive category — including batting average, slugging percentage,
RBIs, hits, doubles, home runs, at bats, and total bases. On top of this, he appeared in 59 games, emphasizing his durability. The Lions will certainly hope Esquerra can recreate these numbers and carry their offense once again this season. The other half of LMU’s dynamic duo comes in the form of junior right-handed pitcher Nick Frasso. The multi-purpose pitcher had an overall earned run average last year of 2.22. He took the mound in 19 games overall, starting five of them. Crucially, Frasso recorded 10 saves for the Lions last season. This figure was good enough for the third most saves in the WCC. His mix of pitching utility will be vital to the Lions this upcoming season. Another integral component to the Lions' performance in the upcoming season is Nathan Choate, who will be serving his first year as LMU's head coach. Choate already served on the program’s staff as an assistant coach, first hired in 2018 to specialize in pitching and recruiting. Under his guidance, the LMU pitching staff has excelled so far. The assistant lead the Lions' pitchers to earn the best ERA in the WCC, giving up an average of 3.5 runs per game. The baseball team will play its first game in a three game series against the University of Washington this Friday, Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. at Page Stadium.
Q&A with LMU track alum Jack Polerecky The 2018 grad discusses his recent Olympic Trials training and qualification. Jameson O'Neil Asst. Sports Editor @LALoyolan
LMU alumnus Jack Polerecky ('18) will compete in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta, Georgia on Feb. 29. Polerecky, who ran cross country and track during his time at LMU, qualified for the event after running 2:18:25 at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon on Nov. 9, 2019. The Nebraska native has trained professionally since his graduation from LMU in winter of 2018. Asst. Sports Editor Jameson O'Neil talked to Polerecky about his transition to professional running. Jameson O'Neil (J.O.).: After your graduation from LMU, where did you go and what were your postcollegiate plans? Jack Polerecky (J.P.): After I graduated I moved to Flagstaff, Arizona ... It’s in the mountains, it's at 7,000 feet [and] it's the hub of distance running. And so I moved there, and I kind of really didn't have a
plan when I moved there. I was just like "Okay, I want to run." I had a restaurant job set up, and I was doing that, but over time, I found a coach [and] I got a job coaching other people, and I've been training for the past year and a half or so. J.O.: When during your time at LMU did you realize you wanted to run professionally, or at least semi-professionally? J.P.: It was kind of a slow journey to that realization. I was a [biochemistry] major and I thought I would be doing either medical school or [physical therapy] school afterwards. Towards the end [of my time at LMU], I knew I just wanted to take a break from school [and] focus more on running, because I'll have my brain forever, but my legs will only really last me throughout my 20's and whatnot. And so pretty much [during] my last semester, I knew that my running journey wasn't over and that I wanted to keep pursuing it at some level post-college. I didn't know if that would just be a year, but now I'm realizing that I'll probably be running for a quite a while.
Graphic: Alena Copeland | Loyolan
Jack Polerecky trains for the Olympic Marathon Trials in a track workout. The 2018 alumnus has been training in Flagstaff, Arizona.
J.O.: When it came to which event to focus on professionally, how did you know you were going to focus on the marathon? J.P.: I knew that the longer the distance, the better [for me]. I didn't know I wanted to do the
marathon until right when I graduated. The [indicators] for that were that the [Marathon] Olympic Trials are only every four years. It felt like a cool challenge to see if I could do it, and over the course of a year, transition from a 6.2 mile race
to a 26.2 mile race. It was tough, but I knew it would be within my wheelhouse. J.O.: What has training been like and what is your goal for the Trials? J.P.: For the buildup of the trials I was running 100 to 110 miles a week. But [due to injury] within the past month or two, I haven't been able to do the big workouts necessary to really train as I did for Indianapolis. My goal for the trials is get to the trials feeling healthy, and have that leg be back to 100%, and just enjoy lining up with the best in the nation. J.O.: How do you think your time at LMU shaped your professional career? J.P.: My time at LMU really helped me fall in love with the sport. I was surrounded by some guys that encouraged and pushed me, [and] a coach that did the same. It was cool running at a school that wasn't necessarily a powerhouse. They cared more about the individuals and everybody kind of had a chip on their shoulder. Entering the post-collegiate life, I still have that kind of chip on my shoulder and I feel like I have a lot to prove.