Pepperdine Magazine Vol. 14, Iss. 1 (Spring 2022)

Volume 14 Issue 1 Spring 2022

THE

NEXT

FRONTIER

Moments

Arms outstretched to the sweet sounds of praise and ears perked toward lifeaffirming testimony, attendees of the inaugural Pepperdine Worship Summit held in November were surrounded by fellow Waves compelled by the power of a faith-filled community.

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Contents

F E AT U R E S

14 Take This Job Employers face a new set of challenges as workers decide to take their work life into their own hands

20 The Next Frontier As the world looks to advancements being made by space futurists, Pepperdine alumni explore the evolving landscape of the space economy

26 Like It or Not As social media marketing matures, the evolution of engagement on various platforms signals a new era of influence

The Phillips Theme Tower recreated in Minecraft by the Pepperdine esports team.

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VOLUME 14 | ISSUE 1 | SPRING 2022 Pepperdine Magazine editor

Gareen Darakjian

senior designer

Courtney Gero

writers

Amanda Pisani Abigail Ramsey Cassidy Woodward (’21)

graphic designers

Mallory Bockwoldt (’16) Danae Doub

SPOTLIGHT

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44

Are Animals People Too?

A Writing Marvel

A Caruso School of Law professor shares his views on a most controversial question

Screenwriter, producer, and Emmy Award–winner Michael Waldron (MFA ’14) shares how his younger self set the stage for his success in drama and science fiction writing

38 Called to Respond

46

LAPD chief police psychologist Edrick Dorian (PsyD ’03) supports the city’s first responders through times of crisis and calm

An Abundance of Spirit Seaver students are sprinting on their spiritual paths with unbounded energy

42

photographer

Ron Hall (’79)

copy editor

Amanda Pisani

production manager

Jill McWilliams

Published by Integrated Marketing Communications Nate Ethell (’08, MBA ’13) Senior Director of Communications and Brand Development Keith Lungwitz Creative Director Allen Haren (’97, MA ’07) Director of Media Production Mauricio Acevedo Director of Digital Marketing Tamara O'Brien

Reframing Her Story

Director of Operations

Through careful editing and perseverance, Seaver College professor Maire Mullins challenges depictions of intimate partner violence in the 19th century

Pepperdine Magazine is the feature magazine for Pepperdine University and its growing community of alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends. It is produced with guidance from an advisory board representing a cross section of the University community.

1 Moments

9 Headlines

6 Inside Voices

32 Snapshot

7 Campus Notes

48 The Cut

ADVERTISING Each issue of Pepperdine Magazine contains a limited number of half- or full-page advertising opportunities for University departments and initiatives. To learn more about advertising, contact magazine@pepperdine.edu.

Manage your subscription to Pepperdine Magazine: magazine.pepperdine.edu/subscription Send letters to the editor and other queries: magazine@pepperdine.edu All material is copyrighted ©2022 by Pepperdine University, Malibu, California 90263.

Pepperdine is affiliated with Churches of Christ, of which the University’s founder, George Pepperdine,

PA2202550

MAGAZINE.PEPPERDINE.EDU

was a lifelong member.

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Editor’s Letter

If we have learned anything from the last two years of great personal, societal, and global change, it’s that we don’t know and will never know what’s coming next. That despite careful planning and projections, beyond the future we have envisioned for ourselves and the strategic thinking applied to every decision we have made, we can never predict how our lives will unfold.

Perhaps the daily reminders of the instability around us provide a source of comfort as they reinforce the universality of our experiences and their corresponding feelings. This issue of Pepperdine Magazine addresses some of those uncertainties while affirming the roles the members of our community play in promoting progress toward a more definite future.

In our cover story, Pepperdine’s most sought-after experts weigh in on the evolving landscape of the space economy as scientists, engineers, and policy makers direct their gaze to the skies beyond our atmosphere toward space exploration, innovation, defense, and, very possibly, inhabitance.

This issue also explores another great unknown: the future of the labor economy as workers consider how their jobs fit into their lives and employers explore ways to maintain productivity in a volatile and completely unpredictable job climate.

In this issue’s Snapshot, we are invited to a digital world created by members of Pepperdine’s esports team to help fellow students navigate college as an unexpectedly remote experience and provide a sense of home to those

feeling far away from campus. And Graduate School of Education and Psychology alumnus Edrick Dorian, who has built a career around addressing the mental health needs of the members of the Los Angeles Police Department, illuminates how first responders have coped with the very public trials and identity issues that have impacted their daily lives for the last few years.

This summer, the next issue of Pepperdine Magazine will also bear (planned and exciting) change. In lieu of a typical print edition, the magazine staff will design a completely digital experience that will feature curated content and a brand-new look. We can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the new direction of the Pepperdine Magazine website and the content exclusive to the web in the coming months.

Though we are never able to predict what’s to come, we can marvel at the mysteries of the great unknown while remaining flexible to the exciting developments that may catch us by surprise. The wonders of life—however pleasant, painful, or unpredictable—are limitless. Regardless of what lies ahead, the pursuit will surely be riveting.

GAREEN DARAKJIAN editor

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1 CHOICE

THE #

FOR CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY GRADUATE DEGREES IN THE US

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, more students choose Pepperdine graduate programs in clinical psychology than similar programs at other universities in the United States. ▶

▶

MA in Clinical Psychology with an Emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy Day | Evening | Online | Latinx Communities MS in Applied Behavior Analysis

GSEP.PEPPERDINE.EDU

▶

MA in Psychology

▶

PsyD in Clinical Psychology

Inside Voices “We recognize that there are new heights of excellence we must achieve to become global leaders in higher education.”

Bringing the Future into the Present

By Tim Perrin Senior Vice President for Strategic Implementation

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I remember the exact day of the very first meeting about Pepperdine’s 2030 strategic plan. It was a Friday—August 2, 2019, and it coincided with my second day back at Pepperdine (having previously served for two decades as both a member of the faculty and administration), my second day in the new position of senior vice president for strategic implementation, and the second day in office for president Jim Gash, the University’s eighth president.

In other words, we hit the ground running!

I was still trying to move into my new office when I joined that first meeting with President Gash, then provost Rick Marrs, vice provost Lee Kats, and others to map out the strategic planning process. As we gathered that day, we shared the enthusiasm and anticipation that come with new beginnings. We could not imagine what the future held—a global pandemic!—but we all shared a sense of the profound opportunity and responsibility before us to chart the path forward and upward for Pepperdine.

Strategic planning at a place like Pepperdine is a complex undertaking. At its best, it effectively engages all key constituent groups within the University and produces a plan that is both bold and inspiring, tied to reality and measurable.

To manage that complexity, we formed a 10-member strategic planning task force. We intentionally limited the size of the group while ensuring that it was representative. We valued collegiality but also a diversity of experiences, perspectives, and responsibilities. The group began meeting in

October 2019 and came together for the last time in August 2021.

Over the course of almost two years, the task force met dozens of times, evaluating the landscape of higher education; assessing the University’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; facilitating more than 20 listening sessions with hundreds of community members—faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents, friends, donors, and boards; and developing multiple drafts of a comprehensive University strategic plan.

Perhaps most significantly, we became friends and trusted colleagues. I’m deeply grateful to Mark Chun, Cynthia Colburn, La Shonda Coleman, Rick Gibson, Sara Jackson, Lee Kats, Rick Marrs, Nicolle Taylor, and Natasha Thapar-Olmos.

There are, of course, other people and groups who played a critical role in the development of Pepperdine 2030: Ascend Together. The Board of Regents took seriously its governance responsibility and created a strategic guidance document that identifies five distinctive pathways the University must travel to fully realize its bold vision. President Gash added his voice throughout the strategic planning process, offering a presidential vision statement on Pepperdine’s grand and unbounded future. And there were so many more!

The title of the strategic plan—Ascend Together—is drawn from President Gash’s inaugural address. It is a fitting way to envision the next decade at Pepperdine as we look to the Santa Monica Mountains that surround our majestic Malibu campus.

We recognize that there are new heights of excellence we must achieve to become global leaders in higher education. The University has enjoyed remarkable success in its first 85 years, but I’m convinced that the best is still ahead of us as we ascend . . . together.

ཁ Discover Pepperdine 2030: Ascend Together:

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Campus Notes PEPPERDINE PEOPLE

Eric Gero Manager of Printing Services Eric Gero is principal of the press at Pepperdine Pepperdine University Printing Services executes approximately 170 projects per month ranging from a letterhead order to printing and binding 19,000 commencement ceremony programs.

“I don't think print will ever go away. My childhood books still work. My cell phone from 10 years ago doesn't. Websites change. People will always desire a sense of craft, of permanent things, of things that will last for 1,000 years.”

“All components—paper size and type, writing, and design—have to be considered equally to create a memorable printed piece. A great novel poorly typeset on chintzy paper will discourage someone from reading it.”

For eight years Gero taught digital photography at the California Institute of the Arts and two courses on the use of narrative in photography at his alma mater, the Otis College of Art and Design.

Gero’s team revitalized wide-format printing at Pepperdine, which has enhanced speed and efficiency, allowed for printing on more sophisticated surfaces, and enabled creativity that is typical of projects produced by commercial print shops.

“Choosing paper is an art form. People say paper is like an artist’s canvas, but I think it’s so much more than that. It’s a narrative tool. It can be used to add meaning. It can add gravitas or keep things playful.”

In 2012 Gero launched Eric Gero Editions (EGE) and produces limitededition artwork with internationally known artists such as Lawrence Weiner and Barbara Kruger. EGE has led to collaborations with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions as well as recent projects featuring traditional woodblock printing.

Demand for printed materials increased after declining paper sales due to the pandemic created massive production delays of materials like the coated paper stock used to produce Pepperdine Magazine. Standard-grade paper is currently hard to find, requiring Gero and his team to think strategically about future print projects at the University.

Before Pepperdine, Gero’s work included reproductions of illuminated manuscripts and alphabets for the Vatican Library, props for films such as Iron Man 2 and Angels and Demons, and the production of gift products and limited editions with Frank Gehry related to the Walt Disney Concert Hall opening.

Breath of Fresh Air Aliento, the Center for Latinx Communities at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, trains students to intentionally and strategically address the individual and communal mental health needs of the Latinx population.

Between 2020 and 2021

62 95.5% 76.5%

students

ENROLLED

identify as are

FEMALE

FIRST-GENERATION graduates

Between September 2020 and August 2021, ALIENTO STUDENTS provided:

COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECTS Between January 2021 and August 2021

4,624

330 DAYS 754 7 COUNTIES

hours of

THERAPY including:

2,423 TELEHEALTH hours 3,476 hours to LATINX clients 1,416 hours in SPANISH

total

hours

across the

USA

Source: Graduate School of Education and Psychology

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Campus Notes SOUND BITES Explore a collection of some of the most notable moments from recent events held across the University.

C H AT T E R The Pepperdine community celebrated Thema BryantDavis (MDiv ’16), professor of psychology and director of the Culture and Trauma Research Lab at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, on her election as president of the American Psychological Association (APA).

JONATHAN JONES (’96, MS ’02, MDiv ’06) Waves continuing to make an impact in all our disciplines!

I LOVE THIS! Congrats!

“God wants us to use a united church to heal the division in our nation right now . . . He reveals in order to heal.

He is turning the tapestry around a little bit so we can see what he is working on.”

Will Ford III, Minister, Author, Speaker EVENT: President’s Speaker Series: The Dream King: How the Dream of Martin Luther King, Jr. Is Being Fulfilled to Heal Racism in America

“There is no reason [California] could not continue to lead the world in reducing [greenhouse gas emissions] with feasible, cost-effective technologies and racially equitable strategies. Environmental justice [is] one slice of the civil rights pie.”

Jennifer L. Hernandez, Partner, Holland & Knight EVENT: Entertainment Evolution Symposium: How Technology, Data, and Analytics Drive the Industry Post-COVID-19

KAREN MAGNER (MA ’00, EdD ’10) Dr. Bryant-Davis speaks with eloquence, deep meaning, and poetry in every word. It has been a blessing to know her, and I am very excited for both her and the APA— so richly earned and deserved.

MATTHEW MCCAY (MDiv ’16)

“Businesses will be stronger the moment they are more reflective of the world in which we live and the communities that we serve.”

Jeffrey R. Baker, Former President, CBS Television Network

Congratulations, Thema!

May God bless your service!

EVENT: C200 Women in Leadership Conference

“Imagine a world where all leaders led with humanity. Imagine a world where everyday people approached their days with compassion, empathy, generosity, and courage.”

Sandy Heydt, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Heydt Marketing and Development EVENT: Margaret J. Weber Distinguished Lecture Series: Christ in Action

HOLLY NEYER (MA ’19) Had the privilege of listening to Dr. Bryant-Davis during my time at Pepperdine. What an incredible choice in leadership for the American Psychological Association.

FROM THE ARCHIVES Students participate in a beach cleanup alongside the Malibu Pier. Year unknown.

DID

YOU KNOW

Information Technology offers a new high-performance, remote computing environment for complex University research projects in need of taxing computations or storage systems.

Source: University Archives Photograph Collection

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Headlines

Pepperdine University Launches Pepperdine 2030: Ascend Together Strategic Plan Following a two-year planning process that invited the participation of every segment of the University community, Pepperdine launched its strategic plan, Pepperdine 2030: Ascend Together, which will inform the next decade of Pepperdine’s story as the University continues its pursuit of faith and truth and commitment to students as the heart of the educational enterprise. Facilitated by the Strategic Planning Task Force, the plan features strategic guidance approved and adopted by the Board of Regents, the University’s governing body and chief policy board, a presidential vision statement from Jim Gash, and an executive summary providing a road map to guide the University’s path ahead.

“The Pepperdine 2030 Strategic Plan is the result of a sustained community effort and the culmination of more than two years of listening, strategizing, and collaborating,” says Tim Perrin, senior vice president for strategic implementation. “Hundreds of community members played a role in the development of the plan, including the Board of Regents, students, faculty, staff, administration, alumni,

parents, and donors. In particular, I owe a special debt of gratitude to the Strategic Planning Task Force members for their wholehearted investment of time, energy, and wisdom.”

The plan particularly emphasizes a commitment to reinforce Pepperdine’s culture in the key areas of scholarship, spiritual life, service, athletics, and the arts and harnessing the values of courage and integrity to strengthen community belonging. Throughout the next decade, the University will strive to achieve six strategic objectives, including goals to enhance academic excellence, diversity and belonging, and Pepperdine’s presence in the local community and across the globe.

“My sincere hope,” shares Perrin, “is that the 2030 strategic plan both challenges and inspires, calling us upward to ever greater levels of distinction and excellence while remaining anchored in Pepperdine's core identity and values.”

ཁ Learn more: magazine.pepperdine.edu/strategic-plan

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eH adlines President’s Speaker Series Presents Two Conversations at the Intersection of Faith and Healing The 2022 season of the President’s Speaker Series opened on February 16, 2022, with faith leaders Will Ford III and Matt Lockett, coauthors of the book The Dream King: How the Dream of Martin Luther King, Jr. Is Being Fulfilled to Heal Racism in America. During their powerful discussion, they recounted how providence and prayer not only brought them together but also uncovered hidden truths of their linked histories.

Ford, the director of the marketplace leadership major at Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas, Texas, and the founder of Hilkiah Ministries, opened the discussion by sharing the significance of prayer throughout his family’s history. Lockett, the executive director of the Justice House of Prayer DC located on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, shared how prayer brought him and Ford together and allowed for forgiveness and healing in the midst of painful truths. Since discovering Lockett’s ancestors enslaved Ford’s ancestors generations ago, the two have united in prayer and faith through their

lives and their work to move forward in healing, especially for future generations.

On March 10, 2022, professor and author Byron Johnson, Distinguished Professor of Social Sciences at Baylor University, led an exploration of his scholarship on the impact of faith on human flourishing and the potential for religion to facilitate and contribute to the common good of all humanity.

Johnson shared his extensive research on the positive impacts of Christian faith and practices on the behavior of incarcerated individuals in the Angola prison in Louisiana.

He also provided an overview of the Global Flourishing Study, a research project he is co-leading that will survey more than 240,000 people in 22 countries around the world to explore the causal link between faith and human flourishing.

Following Johnson’s discussion, provost Jay Brewster announced the creation of the new Center for Faith and the Common Good at Pepperdine that integrates key

components of Johnson’s work and supports scholarly investigations of faith structures that influence the common good. Johnson will serve as part of the center’s executive leadership team alongside Pepperdine president Jim Gash (JD ’93) and will join the School of Public Policy faculty as a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Religious Studies and the Common Good.

“As a Christian university committed to the relentless pursuit of faith and truth together, Pepperdine University must encourage the critical conversations that examine the interplay and impact of these two cherished values,” says Gash. “We are delighted to welcome distinguished scholars to Pepperdine who will compel our community to consider deeply the challenges and opportunities contained within these important topics.”

Sean Burnett Named Senior Vice President for Integrated Marketing Communications and Chief Marketing Officer Following an extensive national search, Sean Burnett has been appointed to the role of senior vice president for integrated marketing communications and chief marketing officer at Pepperdine University.

“I look forward to Sean’s stewardship of the Pepperdine brand and story and am energized by the knowledge and experience he brings from his years of leadership in strategic communications, organizational development, and advancing invaluable opportunities in the fields of healthcare and higher education,” says Pepperdine president Jim Gash (JD ’93).

Burnett brings extensive experience in brand positioning and marketing as well as a deep Christian faith and a profound appreciation for Pepperdine’s mission and place in higher education. As the leader of Pepperdine’s award-winning marketing and communications team, Burnett will work alongside a dynamic group to share the Pepperdine brand story to an ever-widening audience through signature events, publications, and emerging technologies to position Pepperdine as a leading global Christian university. Burnett will work directly with the Steering Team and leaders around the University to shape its vision and advance Pepperdine's mission, illuminating it for various audiences and providing message leadership through integrated marketing strategies.

Burnett joins Pepperdine from Houston, Texas, where, since 2017, he has served as vice president of marketing and corporate affairs

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for HCA Healthcare’s Gulf Coast Division, one of the nation's leading providers of healthcare services. In that role, Burnett successfully led the launch of the company’s rebranding initiative, managed crisis communications through Hurricane Harvey and other incidents, and significantly increased awareness of HCA Houston in the region.

Burnett has also held critical advertising, branding, and marketing roles in both the healthcare and hospitality industries throughout his career, including vice president of sales, marketing, and training at Covia Health, an innovative healthcare services firm based in Houston and focused on detecting and preventing late-stage breast cancer. With more than 20 years of experience in brand management and strategic planning, Burnett has launched comprehensive marketing programs, designed communication initiatives, and impacted global brands such as OSI Restaurant Partners, Inc. (Outback Steakhouse), Yum! Brands (KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut), IKEA, Igloo Products Corp., and SYSCO Foods, among others.

At Rice University, Burnett served as a director of the Jones Graduate School of Management, from which he graduated with an MBA in 2006.

As director of MBA programs at the business school, Burnett oversaw the administrative and programmatic strategy for Rice’s 500-student, internationally recognized MBA program, including academic policy execution and enforcement, student affairs, and overall program development.

Burnett attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he received a bachelor’s degree in advertising. Beyond his professional duties, Burnett serves as the president of the board for Cornerstone Christian Academy, a K–8 school in Sugar Land, Texas, launched by the First Colony Church of Christ, where he and his wife Nancy are members.

Deryck van Rensburg Concludes Tenure as Pepperdine Graziadio Business School Dean

Professor Thema Bryant-Davis (MDiv ’16) Named President-Elect of the American Psychological Association

At the close of the spring 2022 semester, Deryck J. van Rensburg concluded his appointment as dean of the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. Van Rensburg will return to the classroom as a Graziadio faculty scholar at the beginning of the 2023–2024 academic year after a yearlong sabbatical.

Since 2016 Van Rensburg led Graziadio’s business programs with more than three decades of global business experience as the school climbed the national rankings and grew its scholarly reputation. His passion for experiential learning supported the growth of new academic programs at the business school, including the doctor of business administration degree, which was introduced in 2018. His commitment to developing students into Best for the World Leaders became a hallmark of Graziadio’s ASPIRE 2025 strategic vision.

“Deryck has been an outstanding leader,” says president Jim Gash (JD ’93). “The University’s Steering Team has benefited tremendously from the wisdom and experience he brings to every topic we discuss. He will be missed at Graziadio’s helm."

After a long campaign focused on the platform “Thriving in a PostPandemic World,” Thema Bryant-Davis was named the president-elect of the American Psychological Association (APA), the leading scientific and professional organization representing the field of psychology in the United States. Bryant-Davis, who serves as a professor of psychology at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, will bring her expertise in multicultural psychology and trauma in diverse communities to her leadership at the APA. Bryant-Davis will chair the APA’s council of representatives and its board of directors to address COVID-19 recovery, racism, and other forms of oppression from within the field of psychology.

“This is a significant moment for Pepperdine because of its foundational value of viewing faith and scholarship in partnership rather than in opposition,” said Bryant-Davis, “especially as I continue to highlight the role that faith, spirituality, and religion play in the realm of mental health.”

Alumnus Jeffrey Rohde (’10) Named Chief Investment Officer of Pepperdine University Jeffrey Rohde, who has served the Office of Investment Management in various roles and implemented several keystone initiatives to further strengthen the office, was named chief investment officer.

Rohde succeeded Jeff Pippin (MBA ’83), who retired in October 2021 after 40 years of service to Pepperdine.

“Our longtime colleague and friend, Jeff Pippin, was a tremendous steward of

Pepperdine’s investment portfolio and helped usher the University into a period of financial strength,” said president Jim Gash (JD ’93). “I am confident Jeffrey will fill the role with excellence and continue to oversee Pepperdine’s investments with discernment.”

After completing his bachelor of science in business administration at Seaver College, Rohde joined Pepperdine’s Office of Investment

Management as an analyst. Upon Pippin’s retirement, Rohde served as the acting chief investment officer, using his diverse skill set, which includes sourcing and underwriting investments, constructing portfolios, and building risk models.

Rohde will continue to manage the University’s growing endowment fund alongside the Board of Regents Investment Committee.

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Headlines Alumnus and Venture Partner Eric Wolford (’88) Named to Pepperdine Board of Regents

The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection Displayed at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art Pepperdine University appointed alumnus Eric Wolford to the Board of Regents, the governing body and chief policy board of the University. Alongside University leadership, Wolford and the distinguished members of the board shape policy and direction for Pepperdine and each of its schools.

Wolford brings years of venture capital experience to the board. Since 2014 Wolford has served as a venture partner at Accel Partners, focusing on enterprise infrastructure companies. Wolford also held a variety of product and management roles at FastForward Networks, Inktomi, and Riverbed. He is an active community and church member with his wife, Jennifer (’88).

“Eric is an inspiring man of faith as well as an important leader in the technology industry,” expressed Dee Anna Smith (’86), chair of the Board of Regents. “He will be an invaluable addition to our board.”

The Cultivators: Highlights from the Kinsey African American Art & History Collection opened on January 15, 2022, in the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art on the Malibu campus. The collection was on display through March 27, 2022, and welcomed nearly 4,000 faculty, staff, students, alumni, and members of the Los Angeles community throughout its run.

The award-winning exhibit features an extraordinary survey of African American history and culture collected by Bernard Kinsey (MBA ’73) and his wife, Shirley (MA ’76), through the decades. Curated by their son, Khalil, the collection includes more than 150 masterful paintings, sculptures, photographs, rare books, and more, celebrating the achievements of African Americans from the late-16th century to the present day. Viewed by more than 15 million people, it provides a well-rounded look at the African American experience and the integral roles Black Americans played in building the United States.

More than 1,000 community members celebrated the opening of the exhibit on February 19, 2022, highlighted by a vibrant celebration held on the Malibu campus featuring guided exhibition tours, food trucks, a collaborative paper quilt art project inspired by artist Bisa Butler, and live music. Guests were also invited to a lecture presented by the Kinsey family on “The Myth of Absence,” a concept woven throughout the collection’s curation that underscores the often unacknowledged presence of Black Americans in the creation of the art, culture, and history of the United States.

Seaver College Theatre Department and Flora L. Thornton Opera Program Present Spring Performances In February and March 2022, Seaver College students returned to the Smothers Theatre stage for two moving productions. The Flora L. Thornton Opera Program, accompanied by the Pepperdine University Orchestra, presented Le Nozze di Figaro on February 24 and February 26, 2022. The opera was directed by Keith Colclough (’08), assistant professor of vocal studies at Seaver College, and conducted by Long-Tao “Pierre” Tang, assistant professor of music at Seaver College. The production followed a vibrant and three-dimensional cast of nobility and servants supported by Mozart’s seamless melodies. Both hilarious, with chaotic plots and counterplots, and poignant, the performance was a must-see for new and returning opera fans.

From April 6 through April 9, 2022, the Seaver College Theatre Department presented William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, which was directed by Hollace Starr, associate professor of theatre at Seaver College. Seaver students retold the story of a jealous King Leontes that shed light on the damaging effects of isolation and the power of time in facilitating hope and forgiveness.

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Seaver College Announces Chris and Amy Doran Climate Fellowship The Seaver College dean’s office announced the new Chris and Amy Doran Climate Fellowship, which aims to support a rising senior at Seaver College pursuing research and education initiatives related to anthropogenic climate change.

“Our desire for this fellowship is that it will give students an opportunity to do serious research that they’re compensated for and give Pepperdine an opportunity to show its support of their efforts,” said Chris Doran (’98, MDiv ’02), professor of religion and founder of the Seaver College sustainability minor.

In addition to a $7,500 scholarship to support research development and implementation, the student fellow will attend Pepperdine’s Climate Calling program, special guest lectures, and other critical climate work at Seaver College while helping the University strengthen its sustainability efforts. The first fellowship will be awarded for the 2022–2023 academic year.

WSCUC Reaffirms Accreditation of Pepperdine University The Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) announced that Pepperdine University’s accreditation has been reaffirmed for a full 10-year term.

The announcement followed a four-year process aimed at assuring that Pepperdine meets WSCUC’s core commitments and standards, such as defining institutional purposes, achieving educational objectives, and creating an organization committed to teaching, learning processes, and improvement.

In its letter to the University, the WSCUC provided Pepperdine with commendations that recognized the school’s strong dedication to its mission and vision of community and its emphasis on strengthening student learning and

Caruso School of Law Hosts Second Annual Belonging Awards On February 24, 2022, the Caruso School of Law hosted the second annual Belonging Awards to honor faculty, students, and student organizations influencing a culture of diversity, inclusion, and belonging in their communities.

“It was particularly meaningful for our community to come together in person and celebrate the hard work of our students, organizations, faculty, and alumni in transforming the legal progression into a place where all belong," shared Chalak Richards (JD '12), associate dean of student life, diversity, and belonging.

Three awards were presented to current members of the community informed by community nominations. The Faculty Award honored Tanya Cooper, associate clinical professor of law, for her dedication to supporting survivors of intimate partner violence. Shayna Elian, who serves as the vice president of student group OUTLaw, director of social media for the Women's Legal Association, and director of membership of the Students for Reproductive Justice coalition, received the Student Award.

For their work advancing support for Latino and Latina law students, the National Latinx Law Students Association received the Student Organization Award.

In addition to these awards, the Caruso School of Law presented judge Beverly Bourne (JD ’91), Nathaly Medina (JD ’19), and Elizabeth Eubanks (’05, JD ’08) with the Alumnus Award, Young Alumnus Award, and the Larry Kimmons Award, respectively.

enhancing curriculum. Among its recommendations, WSCUC proposed that the University accelerate progress on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion and develop and codify a definition of shared governance that clarifies roles and responsibilities of the faculty and administration.

The WSCUC will visit Pepperdine in spring 2025 to evaluate the University’s progress in its execution of the commission’s recommendations with a reaffirmation visit to follow in fall 2031.

Caruso School of Law Announces Newly Endowed Brenden Mann Chair in Law and Religion The Caruso School of Law announced the newly endowed Brenden Mann Chair in Law and Religion supported by a generous $2.5 million commitment from the Brenden Mann Foundation.

“This extraordinary gift from the Brenden Mann Foundation will equip the law school to further enhance the University’s commitment to teaching and leading at the intersection of faith and law,” said Paul Caron, Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean and professor of law at the Caruso School of Law. The endowment will ensure a faculty position dedicated to scholarly research, classroom instruction, and thought leadership on the relationship between law and religion. World-renowned religious law expert and Caruso School of Law professor Michael Helfand will serve as the inaugural chair and continue to support the vital work of fostering student inquiry into the intersection of faith and law through campus colloquiums, presentations, and more.

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Features

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If LinkedIn notified you that you appeared in 37 searches this week, you’re not alone. Businesses are hiring.

Over the course of 2021, on average, nearly four million people quit their jobs every month in the United States.

While not everyone who stepped away did so in search of a new beginning—a portion of the people who left the workforce were retiring baby boomers—the numbers were significant nonetheless. Retirees aside, agreement is widespread that the pandemic is the overarching force behind the workplace flight we’re calling the Great Resignation. But the ways in which the virus has affected workers vary greatly. Concerns about contracting COVID-19 and about bringing the virus home, experienced early on by essential workers, also became an issue for the many service-industry and professional workers called back to the workplace last year. Employees who had for a long time felt themselves reasonably safe at home had to confront a new risk that, even if vaccinated, was unwelcome. Organizational psychologist Lola Gershfeld (MA ’05) notes that not all business owners made a point of communicating their safety protocols, if they existed, with their staff or of listening to their worries. The fear and stress among employees at all wage levels were more than some were willing to tolerate.

Other workers, particularly women and mothers, just fell to the demands of the circumstances. Gershfeld, in her position as a corporate team counselor, helps employees manage their relationships at work. She relates speaking with one mother of two children who was also a team manager at her office. Pressured to be both at home with her kids and at work, leading her staff became overwhelming. Her supervisor’s response, advising her to “just stay positive,” did not begin to address the impossibility of being in two places at once.

Other observers agree that the pandemic created a maelstrom for women at work.

The 2021 “Women in the Workplace” study by McKinsey and Co. and LeanIn.org reported that one in three women were considering either leaving their jobs or downshifting their careers.

Bobbi Thomason, Graziadio assistant professor of applied behavioral science, points out that pre-COVID-19, women were already stretched thin with their parenting, home, and work responsibilities. When the pandemic hit, the basic infrastructure of their support system— school, daycare, childcare, activities—no longer existed. “Two full-time jobs, along with facilitating home schooling, just fell brutally on working women,” she says. “What we saw in the Great Resignation was an exodus of millions of women from the workforce.”

And the need to be homeschooling while attending to business, or the need to just take time away from work altogether, has been damaging to women’s careers. Thomason further notes that not only has women’s participation in the workforce diminished, but there has also been a cost to women in the leadership realm and in professional achievement. “There have been some sobering studies on how male academics have actually become more productive during the pandemic, and women have been less so,” she says.

Similar outcomes have been occurring in other professions where employees are largely evaluated on their hours at their desks, such as law firms and investment banks. Jaclyn Margolis, Graziadio associate professor of applied behavioral science, concurs that the trajectory of many women’s careers has seen a serious setback. “Women were making strides and getting past the broken rung that kept them from moving up the corporate ladder, and now you see some of those trends reversing,” she says. “It is heartbreaking.”

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hile stress, burnout, and exhaustion make up one part of the great resignation’s origin story, students of the phenomenon are celebrating the remarkable shift in self-determination representing its other side. Many social scientists are calling this turn away from the workplace the “great awakening.”

Ann Feyerherm, professor of organizational theory and management at the Graziadio School, explains that COVID-19 required everyone to work differently. Retail workers had to wear masks and gloves, and those in the medical field had to learn how to treat patients remotely or expose themselves to tremendous risks. Office workers had to figure out how to work effectively from home. Across a wide swath of occupations and income levels, people woke up to the reality that their work could be accomplished in a way that was previously unconsidered, if not unthinkable.

Along with this realization came the constant pandemic-inspired reminders, both from personal experience and from the media, that life is finite. Accordingly, says Feyerherm, workers began to ask themselves, “Do I still like this job?

Do I still like my coworkers? My boss?

Can I have a better, more rewarding, more accommodating work experience elsewhere?” A robust labor market, combined with a refusal to continue work as they knew it, resulted in a massive uncoupling of employees and employers.

So what do workers want now ?

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Of course, workers are looking for positions that provide better pay and better benefits. But they also want a supportive work environment.

A culture of caring and belonging goes far in sustaining a satisfied workforce.

Gershfeld points out that employees seek both physical and psychological safety.

The latter, the confidence that one can risk offering a new idea or admitting a mistake without being punished or embarrassed, is important to a fulfilling work experience.

She also notes that everyone yearns for emotional connection, and when employees feel supported and, even further, allowed to be vulnerable, they work together much more effectively. They’re more creative.

“When people can bring their whole selves to work, they feel more engaged in what they’re doing,” she says.

Workers are reconftguring the experience they want

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And organizations have to be a p art of the dialogue

In addition to an affirming corporate culture, the need for autonomy is at the top of employees’ must-have lists. The autonomy workers are demanding is composed of two interrelated desires: 1) to work from home (or wherever they want) and 2) to have more flexibility in creating their work/life integration.

Mark Allen (MBA ’90), practitioner lecturer of organizational theory and management and academic director of the MS in human resources program at Graziadio, cites one study of individuals called back to the office last year. It found that 58 percent of workers said that they would consider quitting their jobs if they could no longer work at home. “We all learned during COVID-19 that we can work at home, and we like to work at home,” he says. Feyerherm confirms that the ability to work away from the office is at the top of many employees’ demands, as they’re making lifestyle choices that are contingent on having a long-distance career. “Now Boise, Idaho, is the country’s fastestgrowing city,” she says, “because people are leaving the big cities with the plan to work remotely, and they’re not going to move back.”

And while some managers question whether employees working from home (or elsewhere) are actually working, 83 percent of respondents in a 2021 OWL Labs

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study of more than 2,000 workers said that when working from home, they are as productive, or more so, than when in the workplace.

Workers also want to customize their work arrangements so that they meet their work/life preferences. “We can now work flexible schedules and arrange for flexible time, and a lot of people discovered that they really don’t want to go back to the traditional work week and work schedule,” says Allen. The opportunity to create one’s own work experience, perhaps with a long break midday, or summers off altogether, or simply starting the workday a bit later in order to bring one’s child to school, are the types of accommodations that employees want to build into their lives. Margolis gives the example of an online retailer that has developed “prime time hours,” from 11 AM until 2 PM for all meetings. Employees may otherwise work during the times of day that best meet their needs.

Thomason points out that although some employers have offered such accommodations in the past, people generally haven’t taken advantage of them. “They know it’s not rewarded,” she says, “and this needs to change.”

Margolis further observes that one way to obtain a perfectly bespoke career is to strike out on one’s own, and many people did just that.

According to the Census Bureau, about 4.4 million new businesses were created in 2020, and 5.4 million in 2021. (For comparison, 2010 saw the establishment of 2.5 million new businesses.) Of course, some new entrepreneurs had been laid off or had worked for organizations that closed. Nonetheless, the explosion of entrepreneurship is largely related to the great awakening, says Margolis. “People are saying, ‘I need to make my job and my life work together.’”

And they’re unwilling to accept a situation that doesn’t align with their needs. Zhike Lei, associate professor of applied behavioral science at the business school, refers to this insistence that one’s work and personal life align as the “great annealing.” Annealing is the process whereby metals are heated to a specific temperature and then cooled at a slow and controlled speed in order to be softened and malleable. Lei argues that the dramatic stresses of the pandemic, like the heating and cooling of the metals, powerfully transformed workers and engendered in people a new way of thinking about their careers and their lives. “Such a process is personally painful— but necessary for society,” she says. “Workers are reconfiguring the experience they want. And organizations have to be a part of the dialogue.”

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o attract the most talented workers, and to retain the staff they have, today’s employers need to keep up with this trend, and the pressure is now on businesses to reexamine their approach to their personnel.

“Organizations need to ask, ‘What are our practices? What are our policies? What are our relationships with our workforce?’” says Feyerherm.

Thomason agrees that companies desiring the most skillful workers in the field need to acknowledge that employees have lives outside of work. “Family, caregiving, elder care, life crises—there has got to be more space for those things to coexist with careers,” she says.

Taran Alexander (MS ’20), an HR director for a workplace development firm in the Bay Area, agrees. “We’re constantly equipping ourselves to be more attractive because people are our number one asset,” he says.

Employers must be creative in providing real responses to workers’ requests. “Even the global juggernauts can no longer rely on a legacy

reputation at this point.

Having free lunch and bikes— that doesn’t work anymore.”

He points out that potential staffers are now interviewing him. In addition to questions regarding benefits and perks, they’re asking “Where do you see me going within this role.

What kinds of skills can I expect to develop from working with your organization?”

Advocates for workers are generally optimistic about today’s empowered labor force and the changes that it is bringing. Margolis observes that workers are not shy about trying to get what they want. “From the very beginning, they’re asking about flexibility, work from home arrangements—things that you could have asked for five or 10 years ago, but that would have been the exception.” As a recruiter, Alexander finds that he and his clients are in continuous conversations about how to engage employees. “It’s not the same game that it once was,” he says. “Reacting positively is the only option.”

Even the global juggernauts can no longer rely on a e l gacy reputait on lunch and bikes—

at this point. a H ving free that doesn’t work anymore .

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t’s a great time to be looking for work. The advice to those about to graduate or those looking to take on a new role is to be thoughtful and open-minded. Allen notes that the need for skilled positions is high, and with the greater acceptance of remote work, the marketplace for labor, at least in professional jobs, has opened to the whole world. Employees in Los Angeles can now seek work in China or Canada. The trend away from traditional, full-time positions will continue to grow, and job seekers might consider contractual, defined-term jobs that would allow them to take long stretches of time off. Again, the corporate environment is a critical factor, and Allen advises his students to think about what kind of culture they want to work in. “The focus should be on joining an organization based on culture, as opposed to finding the highest paying offer,” he says. Lei agrees that long-term satisfaction is derived from both meeting one’s own needs and from contributing to the business as a community.

In evaluating a new position, she says, “People should think about not just meaningful ways to care for themselves, but how they might build a better workplace.”

To ensure that better workplaces are an outcome of today’s workercentric environment is the task ahead. Reversing the losses to women will require significant effort. Even with rising career opportunities and the paradigm shift in thinking, women are still being disproportionately left behind. Research from the National Women’s Law Center shows that men gained nearly

100,000 more of the jobs created in January 2022 than women. Women continue to struggle because the many factors that caused so many of them to leave the workforce have not abated.

As society’s primary caregivers, women are most likely to need the work/life accommodations that employees are desiring.

But they must be implemented carefully, notes Thomason. Their use must be offered with grace and perceived as unexceptional.

Penalizing those who take advantage of them, which has been the unofficial rule of so many businesses in the past, will render them a nullity. Businesses will also have to be deliberate in promoting and creating leadership opportunities for women, looking at their performance and not just the number of hours they clock.

It’s in employers’ interest to do so, says Gershfeld, reflecting that women’s ability and willingness to effect the psychologically safe, supportive environment that workers want make them all the more desirable as today’s leaders.

“Businesses that don’t take the lead in engineering positive employee experiences are going to suffer,” says Alexander. Lei agrees that organizations should not waste this opportunity to redesign work. She also believes, however, that united workers can do much to further organizational change. “To get the kind of work arrangements they want, employees must cooperate,” she says. “They need to make it a practice to speak up. We are in a defining moment for the future of work, and we all need to act.”

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FRONTIER As the world looks to advancements being made by space futurists, Pepperdine alumni explore the evolving landscape of the space economy

By Abigail Ramsey

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More than five decades have passed since Neil Armstrong’s voice crackled over television sets and radios across the United States announcing the Apollo 11 mission had successfully landed man on the moon. “That’s one small step for man,

A radio telescope and the Milky Way

one giant leap for mankind,” Armstrong said before planting an American flag in the moon’s rocky terrain. The phrase is often the first thing that comes to mind at the mention of space, along with, perhaps, William Shatner’s iconic introduction to the science fiction favorite Star Trek, “Space: the final frontier.” These two perceptions of space exploration have rendered the topic to moments in history and tales of fiction, even as the US took first place in the space race of the 1950s and ’60s and established itself as a leader in lunar missions.

In recent years, space exploration has returned to the front page of the news cycle as billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson launched orbital or suborbital vehicles into the atmosphere and set in motion the public’s interest in private spaceflights. While space exploration became a trending topic almost overnight, industry insiders have, for years, been involved in the critical work being done behind the scenes that have launched those headlines into the hands of fascinated and mystified readers.

BEHIND THE HEADLINES Following the declaration of the end of the Cold War, America refocused on regional counterterrorism that Gregory Pejic (MPP ’06), former deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy at the US Department of Defense, says may have leveled the playing field for global advancements in space. “While those conflicts distracted us,” he says, “China and Russia were making investments to catch up with America’s more advanced technical capabilities and took steps to militarize space.”

During the end of the century, US researchers focused on collaborations at the International Space Station and other non-human, artificial space exploration technology, such as the launch of the Mars rovers and other satellites orbiting Earth’s planetary neighbors. With the retirement of the space shuttle program in 2011, human space flight slipped further back in Americans' minds. The concept of space tourism remained in the realm of science fiction.

However, for the last 20 years, Musk’s SpaceX, Bezos’ Blue Origin, and Branson’s Virgin Galactic have been working behind the scenes to develop, test, and innovate rockets and technologies with strong support from public entities including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). While a fascinated public watched as the founders tested their respective products firsthand, hundreds of engineers, scientists, and technology innovators were also working tirelessly to propel their out-of-this-world innovations into the future.

Inventors have begun drafting proposals for robotic technologies to explore lunar craters and mine rare materials from asteroids. Scientists observing space weather and Earth’s neighbors have gained a better understanding of potential climate disasters at home. Astronomers have expanded our understanding of deep space, looking into neighboring galaxies, black holes, and supernovas.

In 2022 even more progress will be made as engineers and scientists continue critical missions to comprehend the cosmos. Another rover will make its way to Mars and begin to study deep subsurface soil for the first time. The rover will continue to uncover the possibilities for human habitation on Mars.

By 2024 Axiom Space will send the first module of the first commercial space station to the International Space Station, allowing private industries to test out new technologies and research even more innovation alongside projects underway there. The Axiom commercial station, with its cushioned sleeping pods and sophisticated manufacturing and research facilities, is thought to be the next step toward a thriving lowEarth orbit economy filled with tourists and researchers alike.

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HERE ON EARTH

It’s a common misconception that space doesn’t impact our life on Earth, but with our dependence on communications, GPS, and weather monitoring, space impacts our daily life much more than we think.

—Gregory Pejic (MPP ’06)

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Despite these exciting developments, the average American might still be challenged to understand the benefits of space exploration. Society continues to grapple with climate change, rising poverty and homelessness rates, and, since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a 2019 survey from the Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans viewed human space travel as less important than routine climate and asteroid monitoring. The common critique as Musk, Bezos, and Branson each made their highly publicized journeys to space was, “Why does this matter?”

“That is sort of the question, right?” asks Pejic. “It’s a common misconception that space doesn’t impact our life on Earth, but with our dependence on communications, GPS, and weather monitoring, space impacts our daily life much more than we think.”

When advances are made in space technology, they are not only applicable to space solutions but can more often than not be applied to terrestrial life and solve pressing problems on Earth.

GPS systems and satellite imaging services have been used to help farmers assess crops. Additionally, radar technology, developed to track seismic shifts or gravity fluctuations on planets, have been adapted to identify slight movements underneath dense rubble following natural disasters.

On Earth humans must meet several needs every day in order to survive— clean air, nutritious food, and drinkable water. To meet these needs in space seems so daunting that it’s difficult for average Americans to justify the cost. Experts believe that if we can learn to survive in space, the solution to the terrestrial-based problems becomes closer than ever. For example, NASA’s efforts to cultivate produce in controlled environments like the International Space Station unlocked a pathway for farmers to build two-acre indoor vertical farms that sustainably produce the same yield as a farm hundreds of acres larger.

Material used for insulation to keep fuel reserves cool or to keep astronauts comfortable inside their hefty space

REACHING for the Stars suits has been adapted to create insulated blankets and clothing to withstand subzero temperatures on Earth and to keep racecar drivers cool as they speed hundreds of miles per hour around the racetrack. These are just a few of the thousands of technological projects that have improved terrestrial life due to their success in space.

“In the last two years, we have seen advancements in technology that we did not see for the last 20 years,” says Pratish Shah (MBA ’10), general manager of the United States operations of leading satellite solutions manufacturer Aitech.

“The reason for this shift is the onslaught of the commercialization of space.”

One challenge that new developments can only curtail in part is the need for a clear analysis of a project’s feasibility and utility.

Private businesses must assess a part’s profitability long before they send it through the development processes. This allows for companies to pursue promising endeavors, provide an exceptional advancement to the landscape, and produce advanced materials in higher quantities at reduced costs.

“I don't want to build one component for one satellite,” says Shah. “I want to build components

for thousands of satellites. That drives me to have business-scaling in mind while making products that are safer and more ubiquitous.”

Aitech is making critical strides in the space technology landscape.

The company’s supercomputers are designed to bring advanced computing capabilities to satellites with a fraction of the weight of earlier models while withstanding space’s high radiation levels. Its space-safe solid-state storage hard drives boast terabytes of storage, opening up the opportunity for a space-based data center to house the massive amount of digital data humans create on a daily basis. The company is also exploring how to improve network capabilities in space hubs such as the International Space Station as promises of interplanetary tourism require the availability of Earthbased conveniences far away from the planet.

“The technology and the innovation is outpacing the customer demand,” says Shah.

“But as more and more progress is made and businesses keep up this competition, these costs will be reduced, which opens space travel opportunities for the average person, just like we saw with aviation and air travel.”

In 2019 NASA partnered with private businesses to explore 3D-PRINTING TECHNOLOGY to manufacture and assemble materials in space, potentially reducing launch and technology assembly costs.

In 2020 SpaceX transported NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, becoming the FIRST PRIVATE COMPANY to do so and removing NASA’s dependence on Russian spacecraft to transport astronauts.

In partnership with NASA, American 3D-printing architecture company ICON will put SPACE INHABITANCE to the test in 2022 with a terrestrial-controlled simulation in a carefully crafted facility in the Mars-like Texas desert.

The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, abbreviated as JUICE, will launch later this year to begin its nineyear JOURNEY TO JUPITER’S ORBIT to study the possibility of life on the planet’s moons.

By 2024 NASA’s Artemis program, fueled by innovative technology from private companies across the nation, will send the FIRST WOMAN and FIRST PERSON OF COLOR TO THE MOON.

The International Space Station in orbit above Earth

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A view of Earth as seen from the International Space Station porthole

PUSHING THE LEGAL ENVELOPE As with maritime law developed following the advancements of nautical travel and aviation regulations established years after the Wright brothers’ first flight in 1903, lawyers and policy makers are also pondering the nuances of international space law.

“As the science and technology continues to expand, we are going see a lot of rethinking and reframing of some of our international space laws that are currently in place,” says Brian Link (JD ’10), assistant professor of teaching of business law at Seaver College.

Since 1967, the space environment may be used only for peaceful purposes and, according to the Declaration of Legal

like ‘Who can own the moon?’” says Link.

“If a tourist books a flight to space and there is an accident, who is liable for that accident? Does the tourist assume the risk or is the private company responsible?”

The hypotheticals are seemingly never-ending. In the case of rare mineral extraction from asteroids, how does a nation claim and mine those resources if an asteroid cannot be appropriated by a national power? The question becomes more nuanced if the resources land in the waters or on the soil of another nation on their return back to Earth.

Skilled people from all sectors must contribute to the development of laws to address these questions, assess risk, and lay a foundation for acceptable behavior in space. Within the next decade, Link anticipates significant changes to international space law to make room for such groundbreaking technological advances.

With increased interest and traffic and the very real potential of space tourism in the near future, safety is crucial for the space economy to continue on its course.

“I think it can be easy for us to take for granted our own safety at home and in space because of America’s global standing,” shares Pejic. “But should conflict arise in space, it has the potential of disrupting our daily life in big ways. We need to work with allies and partners to establish norms of behavior for operating in space, and we need to do everything possible to protect our vulnerable space assets.”

These new technologies push our existing legal frameworks to questions we’ve never posed before, like “Who can own the moon?”

—Brian Link (JD ’10) Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space adopted in 1963, the United Nations declared that celestial bodies, which refers to any non-synthetic object in space, whether planet or asteroid, cannot be appropriated by any nation. However, with science pushing toward Mars inhabitance and the potential of precious mineral mining, these existing laws become even more complicated.

“These new technologies push our existing legal frameworks to consider questions we’ve never posed before,

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RISK ASSESSMENT In November 2021, Russia tested an anti-satellite weapon system and destroyed one of its own inactive satellites.

The immediate concern was the resulting debris cloud that cluttered low-Earth orbit and jeopardized the safety of other satellites, the International Space Station, and each of the astronauts on board. While the debris did not result in further harm, it put international powers, especially the US, on edge and shed light on the precarious state of the space economy if safety and defense are not top priorities.

“We saw with President Trump’s announcement of the creation of the Space Force in 2019 how space defense was a bit of a laughable topic for many people,” shares Jeremy Grunert (JD ’13, MPP ’13)*, US Air Force major, judge advocate officer, and assistant professor of space law at the United States Air Force Academy. “But if we explain to people just how dependent the United States is on space technology such as GPS, which is integrated into our financial and shipping systems and on which first responders rely to provide needed services, the concept of an organization that protects those things makes a lot of sense.”

Prior to the United States’ creation of the Space Force and the acknowledgment of outer space as a war-fighting domain, international competitors had already recognized the importance of safety for space and its impact on national security and cybersecurity. For example, in 2015 China launched the Strategic Support Force branch of the China People’s Liberation Army, which focused on protecting space and cyberspace. As more nations developed anti-satellite weapons systems, and as the global network of thousands of functioning satellites remains virtually undefended, the US jumpstarted its development of defense measures for the safety of all space users. Grunert now balances the challenges of educating people about the misconceptions and importance of space defense with the nuances of existing international space law.

“Humankind was molding the law of an entirely new physical domain before we could even do certain physical things in outer space,” says Grunert. “Eisenhower’s and Kennedy’s administrations worked to balance US security concerns and the development of international law in outer space, and the US settled on a ‘nonaggressive’ interpretation of what it means to use outer space for ‘peaceful purposes.’ This concept, combined with later binding space law prohibiting nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction in outer space, is actually very permissive from a military perspective and allows a wide range of military and dual-use space systems.”

Some of that dual-use equipment could be photo surveillance satellites currently used to monitor farmland, forests, or other environmental conditions adapted to become photo reconnaissance technology if the need arose. As these technologies are used for so many critical Earth-based functions, the importance of their safety is multiplied.

Private companies are also evaluating safety risks when determining their foray(s) into space exploration. If mining equipment were to disrupt an asteroid’s orbit even slightly, thousands of satellites in low-Earth orbit would be at risk and, in a worst-case scenario, Earth itself could be compromised.

Questions about how to protect and prevent these events from occurring remain.

“Assessing all of the risk is really only possible with strong international and public and private collaborations,” says Pejic.

“We’ll need all of these players to continue setting standard rules and norms of behavior as activity in space becomes more and more commonplace.”

Like Link, Grunert believes adjustments will likely be made to international space law within the next decade to give both those in business and government more peace of mind in their space expeditions. Additionally, with the introduction of space tourism in the very near future, consumers and providers will need to be assured of safety. Even in the midst of these challenges and incalculable unknowns, Grunert sees a new generation of talent quickly emerging that is both passionate and motivated about the possibilities in outer space. With more space-trained talent, Shah believes innovations in technology will continue to go to places formerly thought of as impossible.

“We are dealing with a 20- to 30-year gap in space interest and skilled space personnel, many of whom are now retiring,” says Shah. “Now as interest expands particularly in these last few years, new talent that is able to respond to requests from space commercialization businesses with realistic technical solutions will enter the industry and push the technology even further—so much so that we could see space tourism become more accessible to the average person in about 10 years.”

*Views expressed do not reflect the official policy or position of the US Air Force Academy, the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the US government.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft cruising over the coast

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NOT As social media marketing matures, the evolution of engagement on various platforms signals a new era of influence

BY GAREEN DARAKJIAN

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UN DER TH E I N FLUENCE

When it comes to making decisions that form the foundational elements of your life, who do you turn to for expert guidance?

Are you more compelled to consider the opinions of a friend whom you trust or does the authoritative voice of an engaging stranger with two million loyal subscribers have more sway?

From the cooking tools that improve your chopping efficiency in the kitchen to the restaurant you choose to celebrate your spouse’s promotion to the books that may or may not be collecting dust on your nightstand, many of the experiences and things that we elect to improve, enhance, and elevate our lives have been carefully curated by tastemakers that have created hugely successful businesses with massive followings based on their personal— and largely self-taught—expertise.

These tastemakers, commonly known as influencers in the social media world, might be home cooks who gained popularity for their sourdough-scoring technique. They might also be video game enthusiasts who developed compelling playing strategies or young women with style and charm who turned their outfitof-the-day posts into top-selling athleisure brands. The content they produce generates millions of dollars per year and contributes to a growing economy of creators and marketers with distinctly influential niches.

And we just can’t stop consuming it.

Since the advent of social media in the early aughts, influencers have been changing the ways their followers live, buy, and believe in extraordinary ways.

In a 2020 survey, 61 percent of consumers aged 18 to 34 reported that they made purchases based on influencer recommendations on social media. These recommendations are typically delivered through strategically packaged photo or video content that demonstrates the product’s appeal to the target consumer and provides honest and balanced testimonials from an influencer the viewer has grown to admire and trust over time.

In recent history, the phenomenon can be traced to 1996 when Oprah Winfrey launched a book club that highlighted the talk show host’s reading recommendations to audience members who would be encouraged to read the picks prior to on-air book discussions. Initially criticized by the literary world for its unstructured and expansive format, many of Winfrey’s selections climbed to the top of the New York Times Bestsellers List, which shocked the literati and established the credibility of celebrity Building a endorsement and influence as legitimate and lucrative.

In Winfrey’s case, she was a globally recognizable successful opinion leader with an established audience. In the case of homegrown influencers who share their aspirational personal brand lives on social media platforms, strategy is everything.

Twenty years ago, as experts first discovered a decline requires creators in the efficacy of brand advertising on television and in to recognize and express print, they reported a shift to advocacy-based marketing efforts in the press, in celebrity endorsements, and in their unique point of view, the blogosphere. In the last decade, this group has also included a range of influencers. differentiate themselves and In 2006 a company called PayPerPost became the first their content, and demonstrate service to help web content creators—primarily bloggers at the time—develop and manage strategic brand an understanding of their partnerships to monetize their content. At a time when most creators were sharing authentic, self-created, content category. and largely unscripted material, many wondered how product placement and sponsored posts would impact —TARA LOFTIS (’05) the integrity of the content being produced on the blogs as they knew it. The phenomenon created a distinctly different experience for users and established new standards (and later laws) for content strategists. It also created some concerns. Today, more than 18,900 influencer-marketing-related companies and platforms around the world operate to elevate people’s personal brands.

“The perception that influencer marketing is about product placements and endorsements grossly oversimplifies it,” says Tara Loftis (’05), global vice president of brand marketing and public relations for Kendo Brands, Inc., a beauty brand incubator owned by Paris-based LVMH whose portfolio includes influencer favorites Fenty Beauty by Rihanna, KVD Beauty, and OLEHENRIKSEN. “The art of influencer marketing is truly just an evolved version of the public relations practice wherein the goal is to educate, gift, and build genuine relationships with key opinion leaders with the goal of ultimately building brand and product affinity.”

Loftis shares that influencer marketing aims to encourage content creators to post organically and with genuine conviction about product performance.

“Once a brand has a proven, preexisting relationship with an influencer who is a recognized supporter of the brand, paid opportunities come into play,” she says. “This becomes a win-win situation because their followers already know that they’re a fan of the brand, so the partnership makes sense.”

According to eMarketer, brands will spend more than $4 billion on influencer marketing in 2022 in the US alone. Despite successful and mutually beneficial brand partnerships, many that bring in sales and income in six and sometimes seven figures, Loftis contends that creators must also continue to market themselves beyond the products they promote on their platforms.

“Building a successful personal brand requires creators to recognize and express their unique point of view, differentiate themselves and their content, and demonstrate an understanding of their content category,” she says.

“Creators are not merely vessels for third-party brand promotion.”

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Features ME , MY SELFIE , AND I In October 2012 Facebook (now Meta) CEO Mark Zuckerberg reported that the website had reached a milestone of one billion active users per month. The social media boom that originated with the rise of the social networking service advanced at an unprecedented rate as content creators, marketers, and audiences became increasingly sophisticated in the ways they created, promoted, and consumed social media content. As the use of the short-form video platform Vine dwindled, other platforms began to evolve swiftly, prompting creators and brands to adapt quickly to consumer preferences that were seeking a less curated experience.

“TikTok rose to prominence because people had an urge and a longing to express themselves in authentic ways on their own terms,” says Klive Oh, assistant professor of public relations at Seaver College. “The app happened to be in the right place at the right time. It became the people’s playground.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic created varying circumstances of isolation, it furthered a trend of self-made content creation by both brands and influencers that prioritized building community and connections over the quality of the produced content. In addition, follower feedback, both solicited and unsolicited, has indicated a desire for a more authentic influencer engagement experience. The next phase of influencer marketing, Loftis predicts, will elevate influencers who present an unvarnished version of themselves that will allow audiences to relate more easily to the figures who typically curate a more aspirational lifestyle on their feeds.

TikTok rose to “Consumers are craving—and even desperate for—genuine, authentic, and prominence unbiased reviews from both experts and real consumers,” she says. “There because will always be a place for large-scale people had an influencers with huge followings, but authenticity is king.” urge and a longing to express Experts believe this shift toward more unrefined content is a result themselves in authentic of growing mental health concerns among content consumers and a desire ways on their own terms. to counter the cognitive dissonance experienced when viewing unrealistic —KLIVE OH and embellished content.

“Much of the content on platforms like Instagram present a sort of hyperreality, but many influencers are starting to talk about their personal issues,” says Oh. “While this may also be a strategy to engage their followers in a different way, they’re not shying away from sharing real and raw personal experiences.”

In terms of platforms, Loftis shares that TikTok’s brief, raw content appears to resonate with all users and continues to drive the conversion and momentum seen with YouTube several years ago. “TikTok is growing very quickly because users beyond Gen Z are connecting with it,” she says, referencing the typical generational affinity for the platform, especially during the pandemic when people across the globe were craving quick and convenient connections with just about anybody.

Loftis also posits that Twitch, an interactive livestreaming service historically used predominantly by gamers, will be the next platform with a mass following. “Twitch is designed for unscripted engagement, which makes it a perfect fit for all industries, and not just gaming.”

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THE TROUBLE WITH TIK TOK In a Psychology Today article titled “Why TikTok Made Us Buy It,” Cristel Russell, professor of marketing at the Graziadio Business School, examines the shortform video-sharing app’s particular pull in influencing consumer behavior. Media company the Business of Fashion claims TikTok’s emergence posed the first real competitive threat to Instagram for brands’ marketing dollars.

“It’s just exacerbated because everything is so much faster now,” says Russell, whose research interest and expertise lies at the intersection of marketing and entertainment, a combination she calls advertainment.

“Content is so much more readily available and so much bigger. It’s the same phenomenon as in the old days when people would watch TV together with family or friends and discuss the show in person. Except now, interacting with your friends on social media expands your network. There are many more media mechanisms for these interactions.”

An expert on product placements in television and other media delivery platforms such as video games, Russell’s research and lectures illuminate the pervasiveness of marketing messaging that ranges from subtle to overt. While traditional product placements in TV series and films discreetly promote merchandise in the form of a brand-name wearable technological device or a branded alcoholic beverage, social media influencers have shifted from sharing well-disguised sales pitches to directly stating that they were paid to promote a particular product on their platforms.

“The reason [more subtle persuasive promotion] has been so powerful is because we don’t realize they are trying to influence us,” she says. “It’s that pervasive.

When you read a book, you get immersed in the book and live in its world,” she continues. “It’s a form of escapism, of immersion, of letting go. But the differences in social media are that there are endless mechanisms for people to be influenced without their explicit consent. They have not consented to be exposed to certain ads and products. Immersion in art has been polluted.”

In her article, Russell refers to the platform’s obvious attempts at consumer persuasion with strategic product placement that informs the viewer that they are being persuaded and the trend among TikTok users to proudly share their often unnecessary purchases that have been influenced by a video they watched on the app. “People are claiming and advertising that they’ve been influenced almost as a way to excuse their consumption,” she says. “That’s even more evidence that it’s out of control. But the key is to just be educated about it and be savvy about both obvious and covert influence.”

Oh shares that learning more about user behaviors and preferences based on what people post on their personal accounts and the content they engage with regularly is the key to financial success for both brands and social media platforms.

“They can sell that information to advertisers, which is a practice documented in platforms’ terms of service that people never read but sign anyway just to use the apps,” he says. “In order for you to be more mindful of how your information is being used, you have to be mindful of what you post and how you interact.”

A N E W WAV E O F I N F L U E N C E R S Kylie Mazon-Chambers (’13), a writer, cook, and photographer whose blog Cooking with Cocktail Rings has gained a large following on Instagram (131,000 followers at the time of print), has amused and delighted her demographic of 25-to-34-year-old women with professionally composed photos of food, travel, and recipes. Her trusted insights have inspired thousands to create restaurant-quality dishes at home and explore new and unfamiliar cuisines. The success of her blog has also led to a book deal that put on paper Mazon-Chambers’ passion for bringing fellow food lovers together. Share + Savor: Create Impressive + Indulgent Appetizer Boards for Any Occasion hit retailers in August 2020.

Mazon-Chambers, who grew up in New Jersey and moved to California to attend Pepperdine, discovered her passion for collecting and curating recipes when she was compiling the family recipes she enjoyed growing up as a going-away present for her mother.

Through the process, she found that she enjoyed thoughtfully organizing and presenting dishes that held significance to her and to others. She later published some of her favorite recipes to her blog and, eventually, ventured into the social media space.

When Mazon-Chambers first began to create social media content, she found it difficult to establish herself in the saturated market. While many food bloggers and content creators inhabit a particular category, such as gluten-free or vegan cooking, Mazon-Chambers discovered her forte was, in fact, not narrowing her niche. A self-taught cook, she instead invested in developing her photography skills and sought out and created dishes that captured the palate she had developed through her various travels and restaurant visits.

“I found the most success when I found my own voice and was true to my own content and style,” she says. “The most rewarding and fulfilling feeling is recognizing that you have your own voice—that it has been there all along— and learning how to find your voice in your own work.”

As a content creator with a prominent social media presence, Mazon-Chambers is part of a large freelance marketplace made up of career influencers who make a significant living by displaying clickable ads on their blogs and securing paid brand partnerships for their social media accounts. A full-time food influencer, she often works with brands to integrate

their products into her recipes, tagging their social media accounts on Instagram and linking to product websites on her blog. While many influencers with larger followings are paid a predetermined amount to post branded content—fees that are set based on engagement rate, follower count, and reach—influencers with smaller followings are offered products in exchange for a post or mention on their accounts.

Many influencers such as MazonChambers are represented by management agencies specific to supporting and nurturing social media talent. Loftis recommends that influencers partner with an agency to assist with negotiating their rates, streamlining their deliverables, and ensuring that the brand’s expectations are met. “While it comes at a premium for the influencer and the brand,” she says, “it often prevents frustration on the brand side.”

While influencers may find many avenues of monetization and modes of income in the relatively new industry, Mazon-Chambers explains that maintaining income transparency ensures integrity across the industry and pushes the industry toward establishing a pay scale that is fair for all content producers.

“I consider other creator friends my coworkers because we share our brand deals and partnerships with each other,” she says. “It keeps us from being isolated and creates more transparency within the industry. It’s hard to set your own rate when you don’t know what someone else is charging for their content.”

As she continues to grow her following and create and share dining experiences that inspire her readers, MazonChambers is determined to nurture a kind community of fellow influencers and serve as a resource to budding entrepreneurs like herself.

“Creating content, from ideation to testing to producing the actual content, and then promoting it, takes a lot of hard work,” she says. “You shouldn’t be working for free, even if you have a smaller following, because you’re still providing a service. Whether brands are using your work on their platform or you are using theirs on yours, you should be able to charge for that.

It’s important to be more open about rates, and I always try to engage with other influencers to give them the insights I wish I'd had when I was first getting started.”

The evolution of the modern influencer and the social media platforms that have catapulted them to unprecedented success continues to keep audiences and social scientists cautiously optimistic. As technology and user preferences change and as societal and generational shifts continue to influence content and policy, experts are looking at further integration of advancements such as virtual and augmented reality in social media as well as privacy laws that protect users from improper uses of their behavioral data.

Some experts say people can only avoid such privacy intrusions if they stop using social media altogether. But many aren’t ready to give it up just yet.

“That's the price you pay,” says Oh, about the pervasiveness of social media and how it has irreversibly transformed our culture for better or worse. “But when I ask my students if they will change their habits, if, before they go to sleep, when they’re lying in bed, they are going to scroll through their Instagram feeds and press the like button knowing that somebody is listening to them and recording their every search, I’ve yet to hear someone say no.”

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CONTINUE

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Snapshot

You Here

An aerial view of campus

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Far from the endless stacks of books sitting unread in Payson Library, the once-bustling courtyard of Mullin Town Square between classes, and the still sanctuary of Stauffer Chapel, five students yearning for the sights and sounds of the Malibu campus during a time of remote learning took matters into their own hands by recreating a virtual version of Pepperdine in Minecraft. In fact, four of the five students, part of Pepperdine’s esports team who created the computer-generated world, were transfer students or first-years who had begun their college experience during the pandemic and had never experienced the Malibu campus in person.

Over the course of several weeks, Cole Chuang, Julianna Wagner, Joseph Heinemann, Anastasia Condolon, and Grace Ramsey (’21)—the only student on the team who had spent an extended period of time on campus and served as the primary consultant to help design building interiors—brought Pepperdine to virtual life. They used the video game to get to know their new school, remind students studying abroad what awaited them back at home, give prospective students a different perspective in the absence of in-person tours, and create a virtual space to commemorate the power of a physical place—one that they looked forward to being a part of very soon.

Willie the Wave spreading joy in Mullin Town Square

Payson Library interior

Lower Mullin Town Square

Thornton Administrative Center exterior

Stauffer Chapel interior

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Spotlight

Are Animals People Too?

A Caruso School of Law professor shares his views on a most controversial question

By Amanda Pisani

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Unlike the elephant in the room, Happy, an Asian elephant residing at New York City’s Bronx Zoo, is the topic of a great deal of discussion.

Happy is at the center of a legal dispute initiated by an animal rights organization seeking her removal to an elephant sanctuary. Studies show that elephants live communally and cooperatively and appear to grieve when a member of their herd dies.

Happy lives alone in an enclosure about an acre in size, and while she can sometimes see, smell, and even touch with her trunk the only other elephant at the zoo, her interactions are mostly with her human handlers rather than other elephants. The organization claiming to act as her representative is seeking her transfer through a writ of habeas corpus, a legal vehicle traditionally employed to request the release of an allegedly unduly confined human. In this lawsuit, Happy is the named petitioner, the zoo is the defendant, and the case has reached the highest court in New York State.

At issue is whether highly intelligent animals such as elephants are entitled to “personhood” under the law, entitling animals to have the power, through some form of legal guardian, to assert their interests in court. All US courts that have considered the argument have ruled in the negative, allowing animals to be the subject of protective legislation, but not to be actual litigants. The fact that the New York Court of Appeals agreed to hear the case at the request of the appellant/animal rights organization (the court was not required to do so pursuant to court rules), has only increased the speculation among animal law scholars about the outcome.

In fact, Happy’s case is the most significant animal rights case in our country’s history, according to Richard Cupp (’83), animal welfare advocate and Caruso School of Law John W. Wade Professor of Law.

Cupp is not a newcomer to the animal personhood/protective legislation controversy. In 2014 Popular Science magazine described him as “a hugely influential force” in the animal legal personhood debate. More recently, three of the unanimous appellate courts that have rejected animal legal personhood thus far have cited Cupp’s law review articles or one of his amicus briefs in support of their decisions.

His expertise in the world of animal law arose out of his love for his dog, Shasta. As a single, young torts professor in the mid-’90s, Cupp spent a lot of his spare time hiking in the hills around Pepperdine with Shasta, and their connection was very important to him. Reading about a $30,000 settlement for the emotional distress an individual suffered when his dog was negligently killed got him thinking. “It occurred to me that there is this huge disconnect between how we value our companion animals and how the law values them in the torts system. I loved Shasta with all my heart, but I knew that his market value was less than his weekly dog biscuit bill.”

Cupp decided to share his musings in a 1998 op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, posing the question of whether the law should provide compensation in the form of damages for the loss of a pet that is negligently killed. Noting that the loss of a pet’s companionship is a very real, very deep loss for many individuals, he concluded that it would ultimately be best not to make such a change. Observing that the law doesn’t always compensate losses and must also look at public policy and what’s good for society, Cupp further reasoned that a likely result of such a policy would be an increase in the number of lawsuits brought against veterinarians. This would result in higher insurance costs for the veterinarians and higher veterinary fees, which would lead to less willingness among some pet owners to pay for treatment.

In the long run, the losers in this scenario would be the animals themselves.

More broadly, Cupp wrote that he felt the law’s distinction between animals and humans was proper—the relationships between humans, while undoubtedly more complicated and challenging than humans’ relationships with animals, take us deeper and call us to a higher ground. “It makes sense to me,” he recalls concluding, “to draw a line between humans and animals and say that the law needs to treat humans as a higher priority.”

Animal personhood advocates disagree, arguing that animals that are considered highly intelligent should be deemed legal “persons,” entitled to serve as legal entities in court. They contend, among other things, that “personhood” is not equated with being human from a purely legal standpoint. Instead, the proper legal construction of a person is that of a being capable of rights or duties (rather than both). Because the law protects humans who have rights but who cannot bear duties, such as infants and people who are comatose, animals who cannot bear duties should not be precluded from legal personhood.

Advocates for animal legal personhood also point to many animals’ intelligence and autonomy, particularly those of chimpanzees and elephants. Proponents for legal personhood for Happy tout her exceptional self-awareness. In a study conducted nearly two decades ago, Happy was the first elephant to pass a “mirror test,” in which observers found that she recognized herself as a self—an awareness seen in a very few species.

Proponents argue that such self-recognition is linked in humans to personal memory and is demonstrative of an ability to direct one’s behavior.

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Spotlight

Briefs in support of the lawsuit have been filed by highly respected legal scholars from both the US and the UK and groups of philosophers, Buddhist scholars, and Catholic theologians, among others. Many people believe that Happy's present existence is a sad one and that she is lonely and suffering. The Bronx Zoo rejects arguments that the 51-year-old elephant is languishing. In 2020 it issued a statement reading, “At this time, the veterinarians, keepers, and curators at the Bronx Zoo believe it is best for Happy to remain in familiar surroundings with the people she knows, relies on, and trusts.” Further, organizations such as the American Veterinary Medical Association, the National Association for Biomedical Research, and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums have filed briefs opposing the lawsuit.

While not an expert on elephants, Cupp considers the question of what is the best home for Happy to be a legitimate debate. Granting Happy legal personhood is not the prudent path toward greater protection of animals under the law, according to Cupp and other proponents advocating for legal protections for animals rather than legal personhood.

“My primary argument is that our society appropriately connects personhood rights with a norm of societal accountability,” he says. “And divorcing personhood rights from the human community’s norm of accountability is

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particularly dangerous for vulnerable human beings, such as children or people with intellectual disabilities. If an elephant or a chimpanzee is found to have higher cognitive capacities than an individual human, and a basis for legal personhood is the intellectual capability of some individual being, over time it could result in our society and courts deeming some humans to be inferior.”

Cupp elaborates that we would soon see a flood of lawsuits seeking to end, as examples, much biomedical research and the consumption of meat. “If we move toward treating animals like humans under the law,” he says, “we then open the door to arguments that it is immoral to value an animal’s life less than a human life, or even that some intelligent animals’ lives are more valuable than the lives of some humans.”

A better way to move forward in safeguarding animals’ welfare, argues Cupp, is through thoughtful legislation.

He notes that as a society, our laws are continually developing in recognition of animals’ intellectual capacities and in furtherance of their well-being. “The best illustration is, if you went back 30 years ago, almost no states made animal cruelty eligible for felony status,” he says. “But because society has been shifting, there’s been a huge evolution such that in 2014, South Dakota became the final state to make animal cruelty felony eligible.”

If we move toward

treating animals like humans under the law, we then open the door to arguments that it is immoral to value an

animal’s life less than a human life, or even that some intelligent animals’ lives are more valuable than the lives of some humans.

Richard Cupp (’83)

While firm in his stance against animal personhood, Cupp is not an ideologue. “I’m an animal welfare advocate,” he says. “And if you’re an animal welfare advocate, you can’t just say no to everything that might have implications in support of an animal personhood argument.” The right approach, in Cupp’s mind, is to weigh the benefits to animals against the risks of creating an animal personhood paradigm. When he understands the benefits to be greater than such dangers, he supports the related evolution of law or policy. In keeping with this belief, Cupp published a law review article favoring a 2016 Connecticut statute that, although it could be argued as a stepping stone toward animal legal personhood, allowed judges to appoint advocates for justice (who are likely to promote the interests of the animal) in animal cruelty prosecutions.

The New York Court of Appeals has accepted the responsibility of making a decision of major consequence.

Beyond Happy’s future, the management of our many and varied relationships with animals, and even one another, could hang in the balance. Happy’s case has called us as a society to engage deeply in the moral struggle of how the law should treat animals. She may, in fact, be one elephant in the room we will be talking about for years to come.

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Spotlight

CALLED

to Respond LAPD chief police psychologist Edrick Dorian (PsyD ’03) supports the city’s first responders through times of crisis and calm

By Gareen Darakjian

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In the year 2021, surveys measuring the mental health status of law enforcement agents indicated alarming increases in rates of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, hopelessness, and despair among them nationwide. Over the last two years, public opinion of first responders has shifted significantly. Deemed heroes during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, they fell to public enemy number one during the anti-police protests following the murder of George Floyd. Widespread calls for reform have reverberated through agencies and invited more scrutiny of police officers and their actions than ever before, particularly regarding discriminatory practices against Black Americans. Edrick Dorian, chief police psychologist of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), knows intimately the realities of the profession and how the daily pressures and perils of the job impact officers, their families, and the communities they serve.

The native Angeleno was drawn to police psychology by a combination of desires to aid those who serve and protect us and to apply the practical wisdom of the behavioral sciences in overcoming some of the greatest challenges impacting society. When Dorian started his career with the LAPD in 2006, police and public safety psychology would not be recognized by the American Psychological Association as a distinct specialty area for another seven years. Today, he is inspired by the people he works with and serves, who he describes as individuals who have committed to a cause greater than themselves and a readiness to face daily challenges with discipline, camaraderie, courage, and compassion.

What are some misconceptions about mental health as it relates to police officers or first responders?

I believe two of the biggest misconceptions are that first responders must all be traumatized by virtue of their professional experiences and that they are generally averse to psychological services.

It is true that, unfortunately, a percentage of first responders develop posttraumatic stress reactions during their careers, but the reality is that most prove to be resilient in the face of trauma. It’s important for the public to know that, today, large police agencies like the LAPD have embedded mental health professionals who routinely provide clinical training and consultative services throughout the department. As a result, personnel receive high exposure to, experience with, and education from mental health professionals, resulting in substantial use of psychological services and a much more psychologically minded workforce than they might imagine.

How do regular sessions with first responders impact their capacity to do their jobs well?

At Behavioral Science Services, the division I oversee, both sworn and civilian LAPD personnel can obtain individual and relationship psychotherapy from police psychologists, nutritional counseling from a registered dietitian, and peer-based substance abuse counseling from specially trained police personnel. Moreover, we have mandated protocols for the aftermath of officer-involved shootings and other major uses of force, serious traffic collisions, and exposures to extreme or graphic circumstances such as serious injuries or deaths involving children or multiple victims. All these services combine to promote psychological, emotional, physical, social, and career well-being.

Is police psychology designed to benefit first responders themselves or create a more healthy environment for the individuals they interact with?

One of the rewards of being a psychologist serving first responders is knowing that by extension of one’s services, one is also having an indirect impact on the community they serve. Police psychology arguably traces its roots to the early 20th century with a focus on crime detection and police selection, but the provision of direct psychological services to law enforcement personnel became a dominant focus in the late 1960s. As the field has matured, the focus has broadened from psychological interventions to psychological assessments of police candidates, operational support activities such as crisis negotiations, and consultation activities to improve organizational effectiveness. Police psychologists’ activities in each of these domains have the potential to benefit the officers themselves, create a more harmonious work environment, and improve contacts and relations with community members.

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Spotlight Cognitive errors are more common when someone is under stress, and when faced with a crisis, most humans get into fight or flight mode. First responders often have to react in ways that betray what comes naturally. How do they exercise the mental toughness required to do their jobs well?

It first begins with a general goodness-of-fit to the demands of the profession. The reality is being a first responder is not for everyone. Police officers, for example, are initially selected based on their personal history of behaviors and character dimensions, which include factors such as stress tolerance and the ability to confront and overcome problems. Upon selection, their training includes both classroom and scenario-based instruction.

The former includes peak performance strategies taught by police psychologists and the latter are designed to simulate the real-world stresses they will experience on the job. These experiences, coupled with those obtained in the field, ultimately serve to help officers perceive bizarre or dangerous events with greater familiarity and control, become more aware of their emotional and physiological states, and practice skills associated with regulating those states to minimize cognitive and decisional errors.

What are some of the exercises you employ to promote mental strength?

Police psychology, military psychology, and sports psychology all share a common interest in promoting mental fortitude. As a result, many of the interventions we employ overlap with the resiliency and peak performance training strategies used by servicemembers and athletes. Examples include visualization exercises, diaphragmatic breathing techniques, positive self-statements, and even mindfulness practices. Additionally, we aim to normalize stress reactions and promote effective coping behaviors in the immediate aftermath of stressful events, such as spending time with family and friends, good nutrition, adequate sleep, regular exercise, engagement in hobbies and interests, and limited or no alcohol use. Lastly, when conducting psychological debriefings of critical incidents, we focus on the construction of meaning around events, ensuring that officers recognize and extract growth from challenges or adversities, even if they’re accompanied by some degree of expectable emotional distress.

Have you noticed a shift in mental health trends in police officers over the last few years?

The past few years have been particularly challenging for police officers. Police departments throughout the nation were already under increased scrutiny due to several high-profile police killings of Black Americans. But in 2020, police officers experienced the roller coaster of being treated as heroic essential workers at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to being viewed as pariahs in the spring when George Floyd died under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer who was later convicted of murder. As we all know, waves of protests calling for police reform swept across the country and anti-police sentiment soared. Most police officers actually welcomed discussions of reasonable reform, but because they were inundated with criticisms that were all too frequently extreme and overgeneralized, we saw officer morale plummet and rising rates of depression, burnout, and even resignations. I believe the pendulum is swinging back again, particularly as crime rates have increased and society has come to better appreciate why ensuring the well-being of law enforcement agencies and their personnel is in everyone’s best interest.

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As communities of color grapple with ideas of discrimination among law enforcement, how does that impact police officers of color? How does the LAPD support that?

It’s always a challenge for police officers to balance their careers with their personal identities. The challenge, of course, is magnified when a police officer strongly identifies with two communities at odds, either for historical or contemporary reasons.

This is often the case for police officers of color, and specifically for our Black officers, who have had to reconcile their complex historical, personal, and professional experiences with oversimplified and unsatisfactory pro- or anti-police narratives. The LAPD, through its own historical trials and tribulations, recognizes these challenges and strives to be a national leader in supporting the diversity of its personnel and the communities they serve.

Because this requires sustained, meaningful efforts, the LAPD has a dedicated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Division that leads efforts in continuously reflecting, partnering, and innovating to address these concerns. Police psychologists supplement this work based on their training and professional experiences in cultural competency and emotional intelligence.

As we have seen a significant rise in calls for the reimagining of public safety and police reform, what role does psychology play in these efforts? How has shifting public opinion played into the support that your role offers?

As public opinion of police officers and the mission of policing shifts, it reverberates throughout the department and all its support entities. Psychologists experience an increased call for consultation on themes related to leadership, internal and external messaging, employee morale, and recruitment and retention. Clinically, a negative shift in public opinion contributes to increased rates of sadness, confusion, frustration, anger, helplessness, or hopelessness among officers. Psychologists monitor and attend to these changes by collecting data through surveys and focus groups and by providing innovative psychoeducational outreach through webinars, brief roll call presentations, and more elaborate wellness day trainings.

Psychologists also oversee a large peer support team that identifies and guides employees in need of assistance. Lastly, psychologists employ principles of cognitive psychology in their interventions to ensure both leaders and rank-and-file officers maintain a balanced perspective and avoid polarized views. One example might be to focus on the desirability of some types of police reform, such as shifting the burden of a broken mental health system away from policing to other much-needed, and more appropriate, social services.

One of the rewards of being a psychologist SERVING FIRST RESPONDERS is knowing that by extension of one’s services, one is also having an indirect impact on the

COMMUNITY they serve.

How do the principles of social psychology such as personal bias or social cognition play into the ways police officers do their jobs?

There is no venue better suited for studying social psychology than a police department. The applications and implications are endless. As it relates to employee wellness and community contacts, officers must avoid falling prey to several biases and cognitive errors.

The most prominent example is in-group bias (e.g. ,“us vs. them” thinking), which can lead to rigid, overgeneralized views that impact how officers perceive themselves as separate from the public they serve.

Relatedly, the false consensus effect can manifest when officers show a tendency to identify their own characteristics, judgments, and behavior as typical within the overall population of officers. Lastly, officers must monitor the human tendency to overestimate the significance of personal choice and underestimate the significance of situational factors in the behavior of others—whether those others are suspects, community members, or their own peers and supervisors.

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Spotlight

Through careful editing and perseverance, Seaver College professor Maire Mullins challenges depictions of intimate partner violence in the 19th century

By Cassidy Woodward ('21) 42

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hen Seaver College English professor Maire Mullins received a letter indicating her book had been rejected from yet another publishing house, she refused to despair.

She continued to send out the manuscript until she received a yes—not because she was desperate to tell her own story, but because she was determined to share someone else’s.

Mullins was fighting to uncover the true story of Hannah Whitman Heyde, a 19th-century woman who had suffered intimate partner violence at the hands of her husband, notable Vermont landscape artist Charles Louis Heyde. To accommodate his career, the couple moved from one scenic outpost to the next, which moved Whitman Heyde away from her family and prevented her from making friends. Isolated from her loved ones, she wrote countless letters to her mother and her siblings recounting her experiences of domestic abuse in great detail. These letters, which were carefully preserved by her older brother, poet Walt Whitman, shared a victim’s perspective, which, as experienced by many others in that time period, had to become highly publicized before it was deemed worthy of attention.

“She was alone,” says Mullins.

“She didn’t have community, and she didn’t have rootedness, but she did have one thing. She had her letters.”

Whitman biographers have historically mischaracterized his sister as a neurotic and hypochondriac and for years failed to capture the complexity of the emotional, psychological, and physical abuse she experienced at home. As her depictions of her ongoing traumatic experiences painted a sobering picture, Mullins wanted the world to see the contents of Whitman Heyde’s letters in order to finally shed light on her actual lived experience.

In December 2021, Bucknell University Press published Hannah Whitman Heyde: The Complete Correspondence, the first complete collection of Whitman Heyde’s letters. Edited by Mullins and grounded on her years of research, the book provides a vital counternarrative to existing portrayals of Whitman Heyde’s character.

Mullins, a Walt Whitman scholar and the Blanche E. Seaver Chair of English Literature, became interested in Hannah’s story when she first felt the disconnect between what Whitman biographers wrote about her and the contents of her letters.

“Whitman biographies maintained that she was hysterical and kept a messy house,” Mullins says. “There were these two stories out there—the story that the biographers told and the story that Hannah told. And that’s where my research began.”

Publishing the letters was a labor of love for Mullins. Through the support of the Seaver Undergraduate Research Program and the Academic Year Undergraduate Research Initiative, Mullins and several students learned how to code from senior application analyst Jason Eggleston in order to digitize Whitman Heyde’s

words. The project first began as an online collection of letters, but Mullins quickly realized that the entirety of Whitman Heyde’s correspondence was worthy of being published, a fact that editors at various scholarly presses did not initially accept.

“This is a project that goes beyond Whitman studies,” Mullins says. “Her correspondence gives us a deeper understanding of what would happen to women in the 19th century who were experiencing intimate partner violence. I can’t tell you how elated I was when Bucknell University Press wrote to me and said they were interested. I wasn’t happy for myself. I was happy for Hannah.

Her story was finally going to be told.”

Despite her consistent communication with her brother and her detailed descriptions of the abuse she suffered, Whitman biographers have historically referred to another source when painting the picture of her life: her husband’s letters. In fact, Charles’ letters, each one presenting a counternarrative for each of his wife’s, were intentionally crafted to undermine his wife’s reality—one that he consistently challenged and denied. In his letters, he painted his wife as messy, a terrible housekeeper, and a hypochondriac. He described her as friendless, neurotic, and a burden. His story was the one biographers read, a phenomenon Mullins describes as common throughout history.

“Very often, biographers looking at correspondence will believe one correspondent more than the other,” Mullins shares. “What I know to be true is how the Whitman family responded to Charles.

There’s a word you never see in Walt Whitman’s correspondence, except when referring to Charles: ‘snake.’”

Yet, biographers took particular phrases out of Charles’ letters to characterize Hannah.

“This is a revisionist story of a woman who not only was abused by her husband but who had her history linked to the abusive narrative that he put forward about her,” Mullins says.

Hannah Whitman Heyde was an educated woman when education and literacy were becoming increasingly commonplace for women. In fact, a mutual appreciation for education is likely what brought Charles Louis Heyde and Hannah Whitman Heyde together. In an ironic twist, her education and her literacy are what ultimately empowered her to tell of his abuse. More than a century after her death, another woman of letters devoted years of her life to lifting the narrative veil Hannah Whitman Heyde’s husband had crafted. And now, Hannah's story is at last being told.

There were these two stories out there––the story that the biographers told and the story that Hannah told. And that’s where my research began.

Hannah Whitman Heyde image: courtesy, Walt Whitman House, Camden, NJ

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Spotlight Screenwriter, producer, and Emmy Award–winner Michael Waldron (MFA ’14) shares how his younger self set the stage for his success in drama and science fiction writing by abigail ramsey

given the chance to go back in time, what would you change about your past?

Top: Loki courtesy of Marvel Studios Bottom: Heels courtesy of STARZ

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Some of us would dedicate more time to hobbies, read more books, or spend more time with loved ones.

Michael Waldron (MFA ’14), who has built his career creating worlds of wonder and fantasy, would join his younger self in the living room and tell him to consume more television.

“Watch more,” he says. “Maybe watch less Star Wars and pick up a comic book once in a while. But watching wrestling on pay-per-view is going to pay off.”

In the years following, during breaks from consuming the stories that transfixed him, Waldron began to write his own, gradually building his narrative talent until he wondered if his thirst for storytelling could become a deeper and more impactful endeavor. Today Waldron is known for developing fan-favorite tales of competitive families, complex antiheroes, dubious time travel, and unlimited dimensions of possibility—not unlike the ones he devoured as a child.

On the road to shaping his career, Waldron enrolled in Pepperdine’s master of fine arts (MFA) in screenwriting program. Under the mentorship of seasoned screenwriter and playwright professor Ken LaZebnik, Waldron wrote his first television pilot, a TV-wrestling themed drama that became Heels. The story follows two brothers— one the hero, one the “heel”—whose interpersonal and professional challenges as wrestlers transcend the ring and trickle into their daily lives. It debuted on the STARZ network in 2021.

"Wrestling is such a creative ritual involving characters struggling to tell their own powerful stories, fighting with their egos, and also living outside of the ring,” he says. “Writing that is surreal. It all hits a bit too close to home."

Waldron credits the exceptional mentorship of Pepperdine’s MFA program faculty for everything they taught him about tapping into his own creative process. From Emmy Award–winning sketch comedy writers Dick Blasucci and Chris Cluess, Waldron learned the art of quippy dialogue and a perfectly timed punchline in his two short years in the MFA program. He also mastered drama alongside now mentor and friend Sheryl J. Anderson, known for her recent success as the showrunner for the Netflix drama series Sweet Magnolias.

With the help of a classmate, Waldron secured an internship with Rick and Morty, the animated science fiction show that had not yet made its debut on Adult Swim. Between the less glamorous moments of the internship, Waldron took advantage of his front-row seat to the cult hit show’s writers’ room and would sneak peeks at the scripts, gleaning all he could. While there, he developed a friendship with the show’s creator, Dan Harmon, who eventually asked Waldron to join the staff at NBC to support the fifth season of the sitcom Community as a writer’s production assistant. As he continued to build his relationship with Harmon and gain valuable professional experience at what he considered his first “real” job in show business, Waldron connected with an assistant at a management agency who would later become his own manager.

Together, Waldron and his manager tirelessly developed the Heels pilot before they began the grueling work of pitching it to studios.

Eventually, the breakout writer sold the pilot to STARZ and landed not only his first job in the writers’ room but his first job at the head of the table.

“I had no idea what I was doing,” Waldron recalls. “The only person I could technically advise was a writer’s production assistant, because it was the only other job I'd had. I was wildly insecure because we hired these brilliant writers who were all older than me and more experienced. But we wrote a great first season.”

Despite a book of season one scripts, Heels could not secure a cast to put the show into production. While STARZ committed to holding on to the pro-wrestling drama until a cast was confirmed, Waldron took a step back from the helm of a writers’ room and returned to Rick and Morty as a writer and producer alongside Harmon. As a staff writer for the show’s fourth season, he learned how an effective writers’ room functions and continued to hone his talents in working alongside a lineup of passionate talent.

“Any writers’ room is a constant conversation and collaboration between writers along with their negotiation with the showrunner executing that vision,” Waldron says. “It’s like a basketball team.

The showrunner is trying to figure out how to bring out their best and encourage them to use their strengths.”

A time of learning and experience was not the only thing Waldron achieved that season. He and fellow Pepperdine alumnus Jeff Loveness (’10) wrote “The Vat of Acid Episode” for Rick and Morty, which follows the show’s stars as they debate the importance of choice and taking responsibility for one’s actions, even across multiple dimensions. The episode, which aired in May 2020, received

my job is to put my personal touch on these well-developed characters and push them into storylines that haven’t been explored before. an Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program, earning Waldron his first Emmy and recognizing his strength in science fiction television writing.

When one of his feature-length scripts, which packed the timetravel science fiction, romantic-comedy, and action-adventure genres into one film, landed on the 2018 Black List, Hollywood’s catalog of the year’s most highly regarded unproduced screenplays,​​it caught the attention of Marvel producers exploring a time-travel-heavy series featuring the Loki character of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

With a Disney+ deal confirmed to lead the Loki series, Waldron stepped to the head of the writers’ room once again. Every day Waldron and his team of writers walked into the room eager to debate the rules and workings of time travel and the series’ Time Variance Authority tasked with regulating it.

The room began to resemble a conspiracy theorist’s office with lines drawn on whiteboards and notes scrawled in any margin available.

Their efforts paid off with a series that challenged everything fans expected from an MCU story, uncovered how demigod Loki struggled with human concepts of grief and identity, and broke open a realm of unlimited storytelling possibility within the universe.

“It is such an honor writing characters like Loki,” he says. “Loki [as we know him in the MCU] has been established through years of amazing creative stewardship beginning with Kenneth Branagh’s work. At this point, my job is to put my personal touch on these welldeveloped characters and push them into storylines that haven’t been explored before.”

Throughout the series, Loki jumps between timelines and multiverses, confronting his past selves and, akin to the Rick and Morty “The Vat of Acid Episode,” the impact of each of his decisions. His meticulous attention to not only Loki’s development but also the possibilities within the MCU itself with the introduction of the multiverse and incalculable variants did not go unnoticed. The series received accolades from fans worldwide and earned nominations for Best Drama and Best New Series from the Writers Guild of America.

Waldron’s success in pushing the MCU formula to tell new stories in the beloved universe is not yet over. The long-awaited Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, written by Waldron and directed by Tobey Maguire-era Spider-Man director Sam Raimi, will hit theatres in May 2022 after the Loki season one finale and Spider-Man: No Way Home left fans desperate for more multiverse action.

In less than a decade, Waldron has become a celebrated writer in the industry. Perhaps, in every segment of his work, he has succeeded in channeling his younger self in front of the television, paying homage to the science fiction and pro-wrestling enthusiast. With the announcement that STARZ would renew Heels for a second season and Disney+ would begin production on season two of Loki, as well as the premiere of Doctor Strange inching closer, audiences have yet to see so much more from this writing marvel.

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Spotlight

n Abundance of SPIRIT Seaver students are sprinting on their spiritual paths with unbounded energy

By Amanda Pisani

“Will anybody volunteer to help out at our gatherings?” wondered Ko Ku in September, as he began his first year as a worship chaplain with Pepperdine’s Hub for Spiritual Life.

Ku has not been disappointed. Seaver undergraduates are displaying an enthusiasm for service, worship, and spiritual fellowship that is positively palpable.

To be clear, an eagerness to work and worship together is not a new phenomenon among Pepperdine students. “Pepperdine is a very community-oriented school,” says assistant chaplain Shaya Aguilar (’20). “The hunger to be with others who are seeking to grow in their faith is consistent with the experience I had as a student. But I think the way that current students are expressing it is different.”

Certainly, undergrads are ready to get together and celebrate. The circumstances surrounding the pandemic hit college students particularly hard. According to a bestcolleges.com survey,

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46 percent of college student-respondents reported feeling more isolated and lonelier than they did pre-pandemic and close to one-third experienced feelings of hopelessness.

While today’s first-year students were finishing high school remotely and sophomores were experiencing their introduction to college from their old bedrooms, the staff at the Hub for Spiritual Life was devising a new program to support and engage them. The outcome was Seaver 200, a new, required course for first- and second-year residential students.

Seaver 200 opens with the Resilience-Informed Skills Education (RISE) team's spiritually informed programming, which focuses on tools and breakout group conversations on how to be a successful, resilient college student. Also designed to serve as an on-ramp to the school’s variety of spiritual growth offerings, the results have been heartening, according to associate chaplain Rachel Collins. “Many students reported that they could see a clear relationship between what they were experiencing in RISE programming and their spiritual life,” she says.

With the spring semester came a bevy of small breakout groups, a feature of Seaver 200, demonstrating the spiritual life team’s devotion to engaging deeply with the student body.

“The small groups were created for students to experience their spiritual lives in a way that makes sense to where they are on their spiritual journey,” says Aguilar. An Introduction to the Christian Faith speaks to students from non-Christian backgrounds. Spanish Chapel, Chinese Chapel, and a first-time Korean Chapel offer students the chance to meet and grow with those who share a language and culture.

“Students want to know ‘How do I find God in nature?’” relates Collins, and Faith and Hiking, which filled up quickly, gives them a chance to enjoy the beauty of Malibu while exploring their faith. The message, conversation, and time in the waves of associate professor Rob Shearer’s recurring Surf Chapel are now a Seaver 200 breakout group. Reaching out to faculty, staff, and student-led ministry leaders to serve as group leaders helped multiply the choices. For example, Regan Schaffer (MA ’93, EdD ’02), divisional dean of Seaver’s Business Administration Division, organized a Faith and Business breakout group that attracted about 50 students.

Each week, a different member of the division’s faculty shares their experience of faith and vocation, followed by smaller group discussions of the speaker’s insights.

Collins notes that students are making intentional decisions about which group to join. “They’re not just going where their friends are going,” she says. In fact, groups asking students to dig deep within themselves, such as Life Without Lack and the Secret of Joy quickly reached registration capacity. “Students have had real experiences of grief and challenge throughout the pandemic, and they’re asking these big questions about life,” she says.

“It’s up to our team to meet them with the Christian faith as a response and help them wrestle with and engage with these questions in a thoughtful way.” One-on-one spiritual mentorship has also proven to be popular with students. The opportunity to share their personal experiences and to discuss the questions most important to them with a volunteer staff or faculty member is a testament to undergrads’ appetite for both introspection and intimacy.

Perhaps on the other end of the spectrum, but just as telling about today’s students, is the aforementioned passion for worship and fellowship. As the supervisor of the school’s student-led ministries, Aguilar has observed a surge in enthusiasm for being together and worshipping with their peers.

“We're seeing a great response from students to our student leaders’ creation of places for them to authentically participate in worship and engage their faith in community,” she says.

It’s encouraging to STAND BY [students] as they seek out their own RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST and as they ACTIVELY LOOK for ways they can SERVE other students.

Shaya Aguilar (’’20) The team at the Hub for Spiritual Life could not be more grateful for the devotion and energy that they are witnessing.

“I’m so impressed by some of the seniors and their genuine desire to be leaders who live by integrity,” says Aguilar.

“It’s encouraging to stand by them as they seek out their own relationship with Christ and as they actively look for ways they can serve other students and meet them where they are.”

Ku agrees. “We now have more than 75 students that have expressed an interest in serving, whether it’s as a vocalist, a musician, a greeter, a welcome team member, or a set-up team member,” he says. He indicates that the energy of the worship services and the feeling of God’s presence seem to be overflowing into students’ personal lives and actions. The relationship that they are building with Jesus and their time in the worship gatherings are becoming increasingly less distinct.

Delighted with the ways in which this academic year has unfolded, the spiritual life team is preparing for next year by reviewing the breakout group requests it has received and organizing the launch of a new student cohort series.

The latter will provide it with a group of spiritual life student leaders to engage the students and guide the team members in how to best serve them. There is much planning to do, but Ku is undaunted. “God is going to show up anyway,” he says. “And when he does, it’s always something sweeter than what we anticipate.”

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e hT u C t

Learning How

to relate The Pain Cycle

D

ee Dee Mayer,

recently appointed as director of the

RelateStrong program at Pepperdine’s Boone

Center for the Family, explains the program’s psychoeducational model that is built on a foundation of theology and Restoration Therapy, a marriage and family therapeutic model that identifies identity and safety patterns while empowering emotional regulation and mindfulness for behavioral change.

If a conversation is making you feel unloved and unvalued, you might feel emotionally dysregulated and cope in a destructive way. You might try to control the situation by criticizing and blaming the other person. Or you might withdraw from the relationship completely. These coping mechanisms tend to simply further your pain. The other person is likely to respond in anger or to withdraw themselves. The pain you’re experiencing has been reinforced, and the interaction has been unsatisfactory for both participants.

The Peace Cycle

When you can identify old patterns of communication, regulate your emotions, and respond in ways that affirm what is true rather than what you fear, you promote a relationship that is healthy and healing. This type of mindfulness encourages the development of an orienting truth that regulates those emotions.

By affirming the truth that you are loved, you propel out of the reactivity of the circumstances and are able to respond differently in a way that is not destructive.

Home Study

Mayer says that the types of emotional pain that affect our ability to communicate are typically influenced by our home environments growing up and the people and circumstances of influence in our lives. These experiences impact the way we respond to others. For example, if you saw a parent get angry, acknowledge their anger, and yet not respond in anger, you learned that emotions need not control you. But if a parent figure did not demonstrate healthy emotional regulation, that experience may have influenced your behavior as you developed.

Otherwise Engaged

Relating well with people is an essential life skill—one that applies to relationships beyond romantic partnerships. While RelateStrong offers great relationship preparation for someone interested in finding a partner, improving your understanding of your emotional triggers and knowing how to take a firm hold on your orienting truths can help you further good relationships in every aspect of your life. When you have the ability to engage in healthy ways, you tend to choose friendships and partnerships that are healthy and pursue people and relationships that feel safe and worthy of contributing emotional depth.

A Christ-Like Love

As a therapist and spiritual life advisor, Mayer trusts that scripture has much to teach us. She encourages and employs a Christ-like approach to caring for the emotional well-being of all parties. “Christ died in order to show us the depth of God’s love for us, to secure our relationship with our creator,” says Mayer.

“When we learn to have good relationships with one another, we’re giving a picture of something that is holy.”

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