Pepperdine Graphic 4-1-2021

THE PEPPERDINE GRAPHIC VOLUME L

|

ISSUE 16 |

April 1, 2021

|

pepperdine-graphic.com

|

follow us @peppgraphic

HRL prepares for a fully reopened fall A s h l e y Mo w re a d e r N E W S e dito r As COVID-19 cases drop in LA County and more University employees receive vaccinations. Pepperdine Housing and Residence Life prepares to house students at full capacity during a fully-reopened fall 2021.

Pepperdine, under county guidance, is unable to house students other than those experiencing hardship for the 2021 academic year but hopes to provide on-campus housing over the summer and plans to do so for the fall.

“We certainly can’t guarantee it, but based on what we know, we are planning as though the fall will be full capacity,” said Director of Housing Operations Robin Gore.

The Logistics Pepperdine released its Restoration Plan in May 2020, detailing the University’s strategies for reopening in regard to campus safety, COVID-19 testing, isolation protocols and more.

For fall 2021, Gore said she thinks many of these guidelines detailed in the restoration plan — like the mandatory Daily Wellness Check, mask-wearing and social distancing

— will remain in place unless county guidance dictates otherwise.

The University is considering surveillance COVID-19 testing in the fall, Gore said. Other universities, like University of California, Berkeley, randomly test residential students to help maintain health in the community, and Pepperdine might follow a similar route with an increase of students living on campus in the fall.

Despite the high number of students living off-campus for the 2021 academic year, Gore said fall 2021 numbers are projected to be normal — near the 2,500 student capacity available, which Gore said she thinks is due to student excitement.

“I think there’s plenty of students that want the opportunity to live on campus,” Gore said.

Pepperdine planned to waive the residency requirement for students for fall 2020 - allowing sophomores to live off-campus and only allowing first-years in the dorms if they were enrolled in in-person classes. For fall 2021, Gore said the residency requirement will be fully in place for first and second-year

Isabella Teague | Lead Designer

SE E H R L, a3

First-years seek off-campus housing in Malibu R eagan P hil lips New s Ass i s tan t Though Pepperdine’s on-campus housing remains largely closed for over a year, some firstyear students sought off-campus housing in the Malibu area. These new Waves spent the better part of their first year trying to forge a community in the Malibu area without access to campus.

Josie Snarr, a first-year student from Newport Beach, Calif., said she wanted to move to Malibu to meet other students, live away from home and experience the natural beauty of the area.

“I wanted to be able to get out on my own and kind of experience real college life away from my parents – even though I love them – just to kind of get that adult experience, ” Snarr said.

Since August, Snarr has lived in Malibu with fellow first-years Peyton Walker and Sophie Kairis, who she met through social media.

“I found them all through Instagram!” Snarr said. “I didn’t

even have a set roommate for Pepperdine before fall, and I just saw some girls posting about wanting to move to Malibu.”

Because she lived closest to Malibu, Snarr said she offered to tour potential housing. Snarr said the process was rushed, but, with the help of her parents, she and her roommates were fortunate to find a short-term lease they could afford.

“It was a challenge, because a lot of off-campus places want you to sign a one-year lease, and it’s just really hard to find a place that’s more affordable in Malibu,” Snarr said.

Creating a Community Despite the continuation of remote instruction, Snarr said she has been able to connect with other students in the area.

“We met through our classes and then I heard that they were in Malibu, so we messaged on Instagram and we’ve been able to meet in person,” Snarr said.

News

Wh at ’s A2AH E AD A8-

One of those friends is Nayeli Castillo, a first-year student from Chicago. Castillo and her roommates met through a mutual friend. Castillo’s roommate group remained in touch throughout the fall and winter, and made plans to live together when the University announced it would continue remote instruction in the spring.

Castillo said having spent a semester of online classes at home, she appreciated the change of pace and scenery. Especially after another Chicago winter, Castillo said Malibu’s beaches and sunsets were refreshing.

“I’m not a fan of the winters, so I’ve been trying to get out of Illinois for a long time,” Castillo said.

“I really just took a leap of faith, but I was determined to move out.

It’s crazy because this is my first time ever in California, and I just moved out here!”

Photo Courtesy of josie snarr

SEE Mal ibu, a3

Malibu Roommates | First-year roommates Peyton Walker, Sophie Kairis and Josie Snarr pose at their Malibu apartment on Feb. 17. Since August, they have lived together in off-campus housing near Pepperdine.

L if e & A r t s

Pe r s pe ct iv e s

Managing Editor Rowan Toke shares her Good News found in the Graphic.

Contributor A7- Guest Spencer Lindquist

Students find academic success in a remote semester.

Graphic staff A8- The B2shares their perspective

the the waves waves report report

B1-

discusses racial division set by SWAB and SGA.

on our community’s response to gun violence.

Fri: Fri: 3-4 3-5 ft ft

this week on

SP ORTS

Learn the spring 2021 style trends from Pepp students.

Men’s B3- Pepperdine Basketball dominates

Meet Jade Armstrong in this week’s Senior Spotlight.

baseball B4- Pepperdine defeats Saint Mary’s in

SAT: Sat: 2-4 3-5 ft

the CBI championship.

four-game weekend.

SUN: sun: 3-5 ft

MON: Mon: 3-4 2-4 ft

s p orts waves Sports Editor Paxton Ritchey and Sports Writer Karl Winter talk to Calvin Wood, PGM Staff Writer and baseball player.

Available anywhere you listen to podcasts.

TUES: Tue: 3-4 2-3 ft ft

A2

A P R IL 1 , 2 0 2 1 | N E W S | P E P P E R DIN E GR A P H I C ME D I A

Good News: A deeper need for community

THE DPS REPORTS Check out pepperdine.edu/publicsafety for the DPS Reports every week

No new crimes to report.

This week in SGA

1

r o wa n to k e M a n ag i n g e dit or

2

PRESIDENT’S BRIEFING & OTHER NEWS YOU MISSED The Car uso Sc hool of Law wa s R ank ed Numbe r 46 in the U.S. News & W orld Re port 2022 Be st L aw School Ra n kin gs. This is th e h igh est r anking the school h a s e v e r r eceived.

COV I D -1 9 Vacci ne E xp e r t s Le d t he T hi r d I ns ta llm e nt o f Pr e s i d e nt ’s S p e a k e r S e r i e s o n M a r ch 2 9 . T he i ns tal l ment f eat u red S t ép hane B anc el , C EO of Moderna and S t ep hen M. Hahn, f ormer c ommi s s i oner of f ood and dru g s at t he U S F ood and Dru g Admi ni s t rat i on.

Pe ppe rd in e Stud e n t He a lth C e n te r Vac c in ation C lin ic s off e re d C OVID -19 Vac c ine s to Unive rsity C ommun ity. As of Mar ch 24, the SHC has administer ed mor e than 450 of the available 500 doses.

THURS

MON

FRI

1

5

2

WHAT: PANDESAL NIGHT WHEN: 8 P.M. PDT HOSTED BY: PILIPINO AMERICAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION

No Events Scheduled

Pepperdine

TUES 6

What: Net impact: weekly networking when: 5 p.m. pdt Hosted by: Pepperdine graziadio

Malibu

What: Game Night with Steve Rouse when: 7 p.m. pdt Hosted by: Crossroads

California

3

SGA passed a resolution to advocate for on-campus housing during the time of commencement for the class of 2020 and 2021 students

WED 7

What: Intuitive Eating Workshop When: 9 a.m. PdT Hosted by: Nourish

United States

203 386 3.67M 30.4M two SEVEN 59k 551K cases

cases

cases

cases

deaths

deaths

deaths

deaths

subscribe to the pixel newsletter ROWAN.TOKE@PEPPERDINE.EDU

3

SGA passed a resolution to implement a multicultural center on campus for minority groups

v i r tu al e ve n ts f or the upc o min g w e e k

Covid-19 by the numbers

When I read the first Good News column in February, I immediately knew one of the places where I saw — and still see — good news in my life. It’s something that has been my good news since my first semester at Pepperdine but especially since March 2020: the Graphic.

While I have always loved the Graphic, the past 18 months have made me appreciate it even more.

As many juniors can attest, reintegrating into Pepperdine life after returning from abroad is difficult, and being remote compounds that difficulty. After losing the remainder of the spring 2020 semester in Buenos Aires, the possibility of not having a community to return to at Pepperdine lurked in my mind on the flight home.

Thankfully, once I virtually reunited with the Graphic in the fall 2020 semester, it felt as though I had never left. While some people had graduated, the people I knew made the transition and the beginning of the fully remote semester feel a bit more normal.

Since March 2020, the Graphic has provided me with a community to make the reintegration easier, all the while adding aspects of goodness to my days and weeks.

I see goodness while we are together on Zoom as an organization.

Before and after our meetings has become a time for catching up or proposing a random question for us to discuss, as Perspectives Editor AJ Muonagolu frequently does.

Further, there are few things more heartwarming than receiving a private Zoom message or a text from somebody, simply because they want to see how you are doing. I believe this remote time has made the Graphic staff more inclined to initiate conversations with existing and new staff members, not for work, but simply for the sake of building relationships.

I see goodness in the friendships we have built while we have been remote.

Last week, I realized I had not texted Copy Chief Tiffany Hall, with whom I communicate frequently, and I was moved to tell her how weird it felt not to be in contact with her. Despite never meeting in person, our friendship has thrived in a world of Zoom and texts.

Most of all, I see goodness in the new members of our staff.

Seeing the new faces join our Zoom meetings has reminded me of when I joined the Graphic. There is nothing more heartwarming than realizing that those new faces will eventually lead the Graphic.

Even though the news we cover isn’t always good, I see goodness in the Graphic every day. Even though I miss the hustle and bustle in the newsroom, that goodness radiates out of my Zoom screen.

With the shift to some in-person classes and on-campus activities, I hope to continue this appreciation and find more goodness along the way. And, of course, I hope we will eventually get back to that hustling and bustling newsroom.

S G A pas s ed a r es o l ut io n t o pr ov id e f un din g f o r a pr ivat iz ed c o ac hin g f eat ur e o n t he S anvel l o appl ic at io n f o r 1 0 0 s t ud en t s

( Sca n a n d scr o l l t o t he bot t om of t he page )

@Peppnewswaves

A3

P E P P E R DIN E GR A P H IC M E DIA | N E W S | AP RI L 1 , 20 21

HRL: Pepp preps for fall residence life F R OM A 1 Changes To Housing and Residence Life Living on campus is more than just a residential location; Pepperdine boasts its HRL program for fostering community, authentic relationships and building student resilience, according to the HRL website.

During the 2021 academic year, Residence Life employees’ roles changed as they could not offer in-person programming events and helped enforce COVID-19 protocols as outlined in the Student Code of Conduct, Director of Residence Life Maura Page said.

For the fall, Page and Gore anticipate offering in-person events, though a little different from a usual year.

“We will want to keep all types of communities safe, and so there will be some differences in maybe how things are delivered, but the actual topics of what’s delivered in those programs — the great events that we do, we still want to do those — it just might look a little different,” Gore said.

New to HRL this year are three interest communities: RISE resilience community in Seaside, Gaming and Esports, and Global Intersect Community in Towers.

HRL planned to soft-launch the communities in fall 2020, and despite the trial phase, interest has remained high both in student leaders and students, Page said.

“It’s very apparent that students want to be connected with others and I wonder if — we haven’t done survey data on this — but we wonder if it’s because the current firstyear students didn’t have that type

of community and those that are not going abroad that second year really are looking for more of those intimate niche type communities,” Gore said.

For the 2021 academic year, HRL student employees — Resident Advisors and Spiritual Life Advisors — were hired early March and will begin their responsibilities in August following training.

Juniors Michaela Gromer and Aniah Weaks were both hired March 2020 to be RAs in first-year dorms. Both Gromer and Weaks reapplied this February and were rehired by HRL for the 2022 academic year.

“I’m very excited,” Weaks said.

“I haven’t been on campus in a year so just being back in that environment, I’m super excited about it and just being with the freshmen.”

With the current county guid-

ance, Page and Gore said they anticipate RAs and SLAs will continue to enforce COVID-19 guidance like masking protocols and social distancing.

“I feel like it’s gonna be difficult to keep those COVID-19 regulations just because, I know how important they are but, knowing how students are wanting to be with their friends and hang out in their dorms and just things like that, I know it’s going to be difficult to uphold them,” Weaks said.

Gromer said she wants to be a good role model in her role as an RA, especially with COVID-19 guidelines.

“I have a group chat with the two other people in my triad and they’re amazing,” Gromer said.

“I’m so excited, but I haven’t even thought about reaching out to them to see each other just because I want to be a good example

in this position.”

More changes may be on the horizon with the SLA role and the dissolution of the Convocation office in February, Page said, but regardless HRL will continue to evolve to best serve the Pepperdine student body.

“Part of Housing and Residence Life is adapting to the community and the community needs,” Page said. “So whatever we face, that’s always our goal — to adapt to the community, be responsive to the heart of the community and help build community within whatever contexts we have the opportunity to do that.”

ASHL EY.M OW R EADER @PEPPER DINE.EDU

City of Malibu waives fire rebuilding fees, takes action for emergency preparedness L indsey Sul livan Cu r r ents Edit or Residents of Malibu are no strangers to the threat wildfires present to their lives, especially after the Woolsey Fire of 2018 left 488 homes in the area destroyed.

Since then, members of the Malibu City Council have taken action to better protect residents in the event of a wildfire and provide financial assistance to original homeowners who want to rebuild, including a fee waiver program that has saved residents more than $4.2 million to date, according to a council agenda report from February. By the time the waiver program is over, the total of fees waived and refunded is expected to exceed $5.8 million.

With an annual city budget of $30 million, Mayor Mikke Pierson, who created the initiative to waive city rebuilding fees June 2019, said the project is the largest singular financial expense the city has incurred since Woolsey.

“It’s hard to [re]build,” Pierson said. “We streamlined the permit process, we did everything we could, waived the fees, but still very few people were able to get going immediately. It’s just a lot of people were in shock.”

Out of the 488 homes that burned, the city reports a total of 24 completed rebuilds, 297 approved by planning and 182 with permits issued. At their meeting Feb. 24, the city council extended the deadline to apply for a fee waiver through June 2021.

Councilwoman Karen Farrer, who served as mayor between September 2019 and August 2020, said it is important to keep

in mind that, while she supports waiving fees for rebuilding, residents should also understand the money they save will be unavailable for the city to use toward other projects.

The fee-waiving program is one of many others the city implemented since Woolsey to assist residents and better prepare Malibu for a future emergency.

In February, the Federal Emergency Management Agency granted Malibu a hazard mitigation grant to complete the city’s outdoor warning siren system. The grant covers 75% of the costs — around $713,724 — with the city footing the bill for the remaining $237,908, according to a Malibu press release.

Once complete, Pierson said the sirens will support a larger city-wide emergency communications system allowing for changeable messaging to be placed along PCH and canyon roads and emergency alerts to be sent to all cell phones in the area.

In this 18-month plan to improve emergency preparedness, the city is working to install “beacon boxes” that will provide firefighters responding in Malibu with detailed information about neighborhoods and fire hydrant locations. In combined efforts with the California Department of Transportation, the city improved backup batteries on traffic lights during power outages to prevent traffic buildups during an evacuation.

Beyond response measures, the city also provides programs to help prevent and mitigate fires.

The city created a new position, fire safety liaison, and hired Jerry Vandermeulen, an ex-fire-chief

ali levens |photo editor

Order in the Court |The old Malibu Courthouse is located in the Civic Center Plaza.

Mayor Mikke Pierson, along with the Malibu City Council, created a fee-waiving program to help residents get back on their feet and rebuild what was lost in the Woolsey Fire of 2018. who served with the Ventura Fire Department for 35 years. Vandermeulen offers optional home inspections to Malibu residents to assess the ventilation, vegetation, landscaping and other relevant factors for fire safety and provide recommendations for improvement.

Vandermeulen said over 50% of homes lost in wildfires don’t burn because of direct flame contact but rather from embers that are cast from as little as half-of-a-mile or as far as a few miles ahead of the fire that land next to the house.

While 266 homeowners in Malibu have taken advantage of the home inspection service so far, Vandermuelen said responsibility

MALIBU: new students find home near pepperdine F R OM A 1 In Malibu, Castillo said she has found the friends she made to be welcoming and intentional about fostering meaningful relationships.

“I think people are just really going out of their way to make connections through social media and stuff to like meet up at the beach randomly or things like that,” Castillo said. “So even though we’re not on campus people are still trying to meet new people.”

Adapting to Independence Living away from home forced Castillo to become more aware of the responsibilities of adulthood.

Dealing with the duties of main-

taining an apartment in addition to the daily rigors of classwork provided a beneficial sense of independence.

Though she is only an hour and a half from her home, Snarr said living away from her parents allowed her to develop similar skills as an independent adult. Like Castillo, she said handling a lease, cooking and cleaning helped prevent melancholy and discouragement.

“Of course I miss my parents and I miss home, but I think it was the right decision to come here because I’ve definitely grown as a person on my own,” Snarr said.

“It’s nice to be able to know that I can do things for myself and solve problems for myself.

Snarr said she and her room-

mates are optimistic about the emerging possibilities for cultivating community among Pepperdine students. They plan to take advantage of the limited campus reopening by booking a reservation at Payson Library and participating if any of their classes reconvene at limited capacity later in the semester.

As they ponder the opportunities on the horizon, Snarr and Castillo both said they are deeply grateful for their opportunity to live near Pepperdine this year and the confidence it has given them.

RE A GA N . P H I L L I P S @P E P P E RD I N E . E D U

for emergency preparedness rests on both the city and Malibu residents to engage with the resources made available to them.

Not all fire mitigation actions cost the city money, Farrer said.

One example is a landscape ordinance Farrer initiated and the council approved in August. The ordinance prohibits the planting of certain types of non-native highly flammable trees like eucalyptus, palm and pine. It also sets guidelines for where plants can be located around buildings and how tall they can grow when near power lines.

The city is working with the fire department to provide up-to-date brush clearance regulations for

properties in Malibu.

Pierson said when it comes to wildfires, it’s only a matter of time, making precautionary measures the highest priority for the city.

“There’s a responsibility if you live in what we call the WUI, wild land urban interface, which is basically all of Malibu, where there is brush and houses living in the same place,” Pierson said. “You have to be aware of what that means and your responsibility to honor that in how you build your house, your landscaping, your preparedness, your awareness.”

L INDSEY.SUL L IVAN@PEPPER DINE.EDU

A4

P E P P E R DIN E GR A P H IC M E DIA | N E W S | AP RI L 1 , 20 21

Pepperdine announces new associate dean for curriculum and general education Ab by W ilt new s ass i s ta n t On March 18, Seaver Dean Michael Feltner announced in a community-wide email that Paul Begin would continue serving as the official associate dean for Curriculum and General Education at Seaver College. Begin served as the interim dean since fall 2019 and now will continue the position.

“I just feel really fortunate to be here and to be doing the work that I get to do,” Begin said. “I don’t know what would be better actually.”

Begin went through several interviews with the Seaver College cabinet and the Student Government Association and completed a public presentation to faculty and staff before the University selected him for this position. Begin will continue serving as interim dean through July 31, 2021, and his three-year term will begin Aug. 1, 2021, Feltner wrote in the email.

When Seaver created the position of associate dean for General Education and Curriculum in fall 2018, Begin said he was a divisional dean of Hispanic Studies and was enthused about the position because he was happy to see someone start overseeing the general education program as a whole.

“I was really excited to see this role, especially in an environment where we’re increasingly looked at for how we’re doing assessments and how we’re monitoring the quality of our programs,” Begin said. “I think it was a good move by Dean Feltner to create a position for somebody to tend to the bigger picture of the GE.” As associate dean, Begin said he wants to see more variety in the GE program, as well as more

flexibility in the GEs students can take. In addition, he might want to see the number of units required to graduate slightly reduced and to see more courses about society.

“There’s not a lot about just citizenship and I feel like given the last four years that we’ve gone through, whether you’re a Trump fan or not a Trump fan, what makes a good citizen is a question we should all be asking ourselves right now,” Begin said. “And how we can participate in democracy – I was kind of surprised we didn’t have as much of that in there.”

Junior SGA President Chase Johnson participated in the interview process for Begin and said he liked Begin’s experience in the role since he was interim dean and his research on Pepperdine’s GE program.

“It was really nice to see that he had compared our GE program to that of other schools,” Johnson said.

“He had a lot of really good ideas about how we can improve our GE program here based on what’s working at other institutions.”

Begin worked as the co-chair of the General Education report for Seaver College, which was a preliminary report on the current GE program at Seaver, meant to be suggestive, rather than prescriptive. The last time there was a slight change in the GE program was in 2000 –– when students no longer needed to take a physical education class and instead needed to take a fine arts course.

The job doesn’t come without challenges. Begin said he is concerned about achieving unity among faculty members for the policies he wants to implement.

“As faculty, we often work as sort of free agents so you have a lot of

photo courtesy of paul begin Pursuing His Passions| Paul Begin speaks to students at Stauffer Chapel during convocation. Seaver Dean Michael Feltner announced Begin will assume a new role as associate dean for Curriculum and General Education at Seaver College after serving as the interim dean since fall 2019, and will start his three-year contract Aug. 1. different views, and you’re trying to find consensus among those many views,” Begin said. “You’re having to work with lots of strong views.”

Begin has experience with curriculum changes at Pepperdine. When Begin was divisional dean, he helped revise the curriculum for the International Studies and Languages department for four out of the five majors.

“That’s where I really got into curricular design, and how you change curriculum,” Begin said. “I loved getting a bigger picture view of the university, and I really liked

working with faculty in trying to help them accomplish their goals whether they were curricular goals or just personal, academic goals.”

In his new role, Begin said he wants to see the GE report come to completion. Begin leads the committee working on the project, and they will continue to work on it for as long as it takes.

“My hope and goal is for us to stick together for another year or year and a half, and to take the information we’ve gathered to make proposals, and to get those proposals passed by the faculty,” Be-

gin said. “Then my job is to work on the implementation of it all.”

Begin said he looks forward to putting together potential options for GE changes for faculty to review by fall 2021 and talking to students about the value of general education.

“I’m gonna do the job the best I can, and I hope it goes well,” Begin said. “I am fired up about it – I mean, there’s just so much to love about working here.”

ABBY.W ILT@PEPPER DINE.EDU

Political clubs embrace political dialogue and make plans for a prosperous future annab el l e c hilders new s as si sta n t While the presidential election is long over, Pepperdine political groups are far from finished.

Pepperdine’s political clubs are known for gaining traction each presidential election, only to fade slowly to inactivity in the following months, lying dormant until students revive the clubs a few years later — usually in congruence with another election.

Though this cycle has been prevalent in Pepperdine’s history, the presidents of Pepperdine College Republicans, Pepperdine College Democrats and Young Americans for Liberty are determined to ensure their groups are permanent fixtures in the Pepperdine community, student leaders said.

“There shouldn’t be any time at Pepperdine where conservative students feel like there isn’t a community for them, where they aren’t able to voice their opinions, where they aren’t able to organize,” said Pepperdine College Republicans President Spencer Lindquist.

Political Student Groups: The Past, the Present and a Fruitful Future Students founded Pepperdine College Republicans in the 1970s, but since its formation, the group has alternated between periods of activity and inactivity, Lindquist said.

Lindquist reinstated the group in fall 2020, after a two-year hiatus, in an attempt to create a community for conservative students on campus. Since the group’s fall reinstatement, Pepperdine College Republicans has accrued 110 active members, Lindquist said.

“We’ve had an astronomical

rise just from word of mouth, just over being online,” Lindquist said.

“We’ve skyrocketed in our membership from nothing to over 100 members. I really want to see just how high we can get it once we’re in person, once we’re able to table.”

Alongside his goal to grow the group’s membership, Lindquist said he hopes to solidify the group’s permanent standing on Pepperdine’s campus.

“After I leave Pepperdine, I want to see it grow, and I want to see it be maintained, because in the past it has been hot and cold, on and off,” Lindquist said.

“I want there to be consistency.”

Pepperdine College Republicans meets weekly to listen to guest speakers, discuss current events or plan for future events, said Lindquist.

Junior Nicolas Armenta, president of Pepperdine College Democrats, was motivated to reinstate the Democratic student group after realizing during his freshman year Pepperdine did not have an active democratic chapter. After completing the necessary logistical steps for recreating the club in fall 2020, Armenta kickstarted the group this spring alongside juniors Cameron Zohary and Christian Parham, Perspectives assistant editor.

Armenta said he always wanted to take part in Pepperdine College Democrats and sees purpose in the club independent of presidential elections.

“I tried to switch the club from being solely about supporting whoever is running as a Democrat but also about talking about things on campus and being a huge supporter for certain students on campus,” Armenta said.

Now that Armenta reestablished Pepperdine College Dem-

ocrats, he said she plans to bring in high-profile speakers, including California politicians and professionals, to address the chapter’s members. Armenta said he also hopes to create an internship network for democratic students.

In the short-term, Armenta said he is excited to connect members to scholarship opportunities that the California Democratic Party offers and update students on events through the group’s newsletter.

Pepperdine College Democrats meet biweekly, and the group hosted an open forum March 23, for members to discuss their political beliefs and experiences at Pepperdine.

Aiming to Fulfill a Different Purpose While Pepperdine College Republicans and Pepperdine College Democrats fell into inactivity, YAL filled the void. However, as a relatively new club, it has experienced growing pains, YAL President Raymond Rider said.

Students created the Pepperdine chapter ofYAL in spring 2019.

Rider started his role as president in fall 2019, filling the position to meet the leadership needs of YAL. “It’s important to facilitate dialogue,” Rider said. “It’s important to get people to think about politics, and even though I personally wouldn’t consider myself a libertarian, I took over, because I felt that it was important, and if I didn’t take over, [YAL] just wouldn’t exist.”

Though the national YAL organization brands itself as a group for libertarian students, Rider said the overall mission of the club is very broad, aimed at any students who value the right to liberty. Under the overarching theme of liberty, Rider operates

the club as a group where students can openly discuss politics.

“The reason I started running it how I was, was because there was kind of a vacuum on campus of political discourse,” Rider said.

“The Republicans had brought Ben Shapiro on a few years ago and then just dipped; they just left and nobody really knew where they went. Apparently, the Young Democrats were around, but they didn’t really do anything.”

With the reinstatement of partisan political groups, Rider said he believes YAL can fulfill a different but necessary purpose. “[YAL] breaks the political dichotomy — that’s important to me,” Rider said. “If you don’t fit in in the young Republicans or the young democrats, then come to Young Americans for Liberty.”

Rider said he hopes to ensure a secure transfer of leadership after his time at Pepperdine, handing off YAL to a student who will continue promoting the efforts of the club once he has graduated.

Facilitating Political Discourse While Advocating for Important Partisan Issues Though there are many distinctions between the ideologies of Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians, Lindquist, Armenta and Rider said they agree that free speech is important and they are open to political discourse.

The presidents met with the Inter-Club Council at the beginning of the semester to have a conversation about the importance of free speech.

“We all got to have a conversation about the First Amendment and what that means on campus, and how to contact each other if there was anything we didn’t like

or we didn’t agree with and be able to have active conversations with each other,” Armenta said.

The Pepperdine chapter of College Republicans deeply values free speech and believes free speech is being threatened on college campuses nationwide, Lindquist said. Because of this belief, Lindquist said the organization is willing to engage in difficult conversations and open to hearing diverse perspectives.

“I wish people knew that Pepperdine College Republicans exists, yes to advocate for our opinions and our beliefs — and we unapologetically believe in conservative principles — but we are very open to interfacing with people who don’t agree with us,” Lindquist said. “It doesn’t matter if you agree with us on almost everything or almost nothing. We’re willing to have these conversations with anybody and everybody, and we really enjoy those conversations.”

Armenta said he believes students’ expressions of political beliefs are crucial for facilitating fruitful political discussions.

“Everyone has their own perspective from their life experiences, and I think it’s very important that we all get to hear that and understand why people think the way they do,” Armenta said.

When Pepperdine students can gather in person, Lindquist, Armenta and Rider said they are eager to facilitate political discussion.

“Once we’re on campus, we’re really looking forward to hosting debates or panels or forums of any type that really encourage that free speech and that exchange of ideas on campus,” Lindquist said.

ANNABEL L E.C HIL DER S@PEPPER DINE.EDU

A P R IL 1 , 2 0 2 1 | PE RS PE C TIVE S | P E P P E R DIN E G RA P H I C ME D I A

PERSPECTIVES SWAB and SGA use campus life fee to push racial division

spencer lindquist guest contributor

U

nder the guise of anti-racism, the Student Wellness Advisory Board and the Student Government Association used Pepperdine's Campus Life fee to promote an ideology of collective guilt and racial division.

In the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement and the accompanying protests and riots that the United States witnessed over the summer, the Student Wellness Advisory Board decided to take action and host a book giveaway last June. In February, the Student Government Association decided to follow suit and host a giveaway of their own.

Both organizations gave away “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo, which explores "the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged."

Among the wild claims found between the covers of “White Fragility” is DiAngelo’s assertion that “we are socially penalized for challenging racism.” DiAngelo’s own business model exposes the unmistakable absurdity of this idea.

Her claim is particularly ironic given that she masquerades as a revolutionary while making a living off of calling middle-class workers racist — supposedly “challenging racism” — in presentations sponsored by powerful moneyed interests like Amazon, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, various universities, municipal governments and school districts. While she claims we live in a "white supremacist culture," and white bias is "backed by institutional power," her own business model undermines this faulty understanding.

If white supremacy really did inform our cultural trendsetters and dominate our society’s most powerful institutions — including government, academia and multi-billion dollar corporations — it’d seem that DiAngelo might have a harder time getting hired by these very same institutions to do high paid speaking gigs.

In reality, calling out real or imagined racism is the most socially profitable way to virtue signal, a practice that involves publicly displaying approved opinions in order to gain acceptance from peers. The millions of black squares posted on Instagram on June 2, in support of

BLM are testaments to this fact, given that they had no beneficial impact but served to ward off accusations of racism from the social justice movement's digital hall monitors. Actor Jussie Smollett even fabricated a racist hate crime to give himself the chance to “challenge racism” in his own desperate attempt to virtue signal.

Meanwhile, those who are wrongly accused of racism have faced draconian social penalties. Take, for example, the false allegations of racism that led to the firing of one man over making the OK sign or the suspension of a Univerisity of California, Los Angeles professor who was called racist after refusing to waive a final following the death of George Floyd in an unapologetic email.

Equally as striking was an incident at Evergreen State College where protesters disrupted former professor Bret Weinstein's class after he "objected to a planned 'Day of Absence' in which white people were asked to leave campus" according to his testimony.

These social penalties have real, tangible costs. A survey from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education found that a majority of college students self-censor in the classroom, likely because they understand the costs of voicing unapproved opinions.

Perhaps the hesitance to broach controversial topics isn’t a sign of “fragility” like DiAngelo lambasts but rather of a fear of being socially or economically penalized over imaginary wrongdoings.

Unfortunately, DiAngelo’s ideology isn’t just hopelessly incoherent; it’s sinister. DiAngelo removes the mask entirely and takes it a step further in her book, remarking that “anti-blackness is foundational to our very identities as white people.” In other words, to be white is to be racist. DiAngelo doesn't just think they’re related; she thinks they’re synonymous. "White Fragility" undeniably singles out and attacks a specific racial group — even the title makes this clear.

Do SWAB and SGA agree with this flagrantly anti-white message they endorsed with our money? It’s a question worth asking, and it’s a question that deserves an answer.

If there's still any doubt that DiAngelo profits off of attacking an entire racial group, further evidence can be found in leaked screenshots from DiAngelo’s seminar with Coca-Cola, where she demanded that participants “try to be less white.” DiAngelo continues, explaining that being less white means being “less oppressive,” “less arrogant” and “more humble.” In DiAngelo’s opinion, negative qualities are the defining characteristics of white people.

Why is this tolerated? Better yet, why is it funded by a Univer-

sity that pledges in its Affirmation Statement that the student is a “person of infinite dignity”? Are people not denied their dignity when they’re told that they’re evil, simply by the circumstance of their birth? What dignity is afforded to those who are told they are born with a sickness?

If the conflict between Pepperdine’s mission and the vitriol that spills out of the pages of “White Fragility” isn’t apparent, notice how DiAngelo confidently states on her website that “racism is the foundation of Western society.”

This claim that racism — not Christianity — serves as the foundation of our society should startle our faculty, alumni, donors, administration, board members and our University as a whole, given our commitment to Western civilization within our curriculum.

DiAngelo’s doctrine is one of sin without redemption, as well as putrid, crippling self-hatred, all of which are rooted in a belief that people are tainted by the circumstance of their birth. Even worse, the solvency of her entire business model is dependent on the creation and perpetuation of collective shame.

Under this toxic worldview, one doesn't need to commit a crime to be found guilty.

Students unknowingly subsidized this animus when SWAB and SGA made the shameful decision to promote an author who has made a career off of repurposing — not fighting — racism. There is not a single student, regardless of their race, who is served by this decision.

How such a decision serves our campus community or promotes wellness in any capacity — not to mention basic decency — is entirely unclear.

SWAB and SGA’s decision promote, financially support and give away a book dedicated to promoting racial hatred and to amplify an author who has made her career off of promoting racial masochism wasn’t just irresponsible, it was unacceptable and grossly unethical. To do so with student money is even more egregious.

This decision betrayed the foundation of the University by endorsing a doctrine defined by blatant racial animosity. If SWAB and SGA are truly dedicated to our University’s mission and the students they serve, we should expect a swift apology for this mistake. Time will tell.

A5

*The Perspectives section is meant to showcase a variety of opinions and encourage discussion that is respectful and accurate.

MISSION STATEMENT

This claim that racism — not Christianity — serves as the foundation of our society should startle our faculty, alumni, donors, administration, board members and our university as a whole, given our commitment to Western civilization within our curriculum.

This claim that racism — not Christianity — serves as the foundation of our society should startle our faculty, alumni, donors, administration, board members and our university as a whole, given our commitment to Western civilization within our curriculum.

SPENCER LINDQUIST

“Pepperdine Graphic Media (PGM) is an editorially independent student news organization that focuses on Pepperdine University and the surrounding communities. PGM consists of the digital and print Graphic, a variety of special publications, GNews, Currents Magazine, social media platforms and an Advertising Department.

These platforms serve the community with news, opinion, contemporary information and a public forum for discussion. PGM strengthens students for purpose, service and leadership by developing their skills in writing, editing and publication production, by providing a vehicle to integrate and implement their liberal arts education, and by developing students’ critical thinking through independent editorial judgment. PGM participates in Pepperdine’s Christian mission and affirmations, especially the pursuit of truth, excellence and freedom in a context of public service. Although PGM reports about Pepperdine University and coordinates with curricula in journalism and other disciplines, it is a student (not a University) news organization. Views expressed are diverse and, of course, do not correspond to all views of any University board, administration, faculty, staff, student or other constituency.”

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the Editor must bear the writer’s name, signature, class standing, major, address and phone number (except in some circumstances determined appropriate by the Graphic). Letters must be fewer than 300 words and will be edited for syntax, grammar and brevity. Letters can be mailed to student publications or emailed to peppgraphicmedia@gmail.com

CONTACT US Email: peppgraphicmedia@gmail.com peppgraphicadvertising@gmail. com

Phone: 310-506-4311

Address: Graphic Pepperdine University 24255 Pacific Coast Hwy. Malibu, CA 90263

S P E N CE R. L I N D Q U I S T @P E P P E RD I N E . E D U

samantha miller | art assistant editor

STAFF LIST Executive Editor Makena Huey Managing Editor Rowan Toke Digital Editor Brianna Willis Copy Chief Tiffany Hall Pixel Editor Emily Shaw Video Producer Marisa Dragos Head Podcast Producer Kaelin Mendez Business Director Hadley Biggs Advertising Director Sahej Bhasin Photo Editor Allison Levens News Editor Ashley Mowreader News Assistant Editors

Natalie Hardt Kyle McCabe News Assistants Annabelle Childers Miles Cambell Reagan Phillips Samantha Torre Abby Wilt News Staff Writers Claire Lee Joseph Allgood Life & Arts Editor Sofia Longo Life & Arts Assistant Editor Beth Gonzales Life & Arts Staff Writers Harleen Chhabra Kayla Kahrl Lindsay Mase Xinyun Wang Addison Whiten Grace Wood Stella Zhang

Life & Arts Copy Editor Yamillah Hurtado Perspectives Editor Anitiz Muonagolu Perspectives Assistant Editors Christian Parham Sawatomo Yamakawa Perspectives Assistant Emily Chase Perspectives Staff Writers Sarah Best Joshua Evans Alice Han Bryant Yang Perspectives Copy Editor Ryan Bresingham Sports Editor Paxton Ritchey Sports Assistant Editor Justin Touhey Sports Assistant Camryn Jones

Sports Staff Writers Austin Hall Karl Winter Sports Copy Editor Alec Matulka Art Editor Allyson Armstrong Art Assistant Editor Samantha Miller Staff Artists Leah Bae Madeline Duvall Autumn Hardwick Nicole Wong Lead Designer Isabella Teague Life & Arts Design Assistant Nathan Huang Perspectives Design Assistant Rachel Marek Sports Design Assistant Kaitlyn Davis Staff Photographers

Leah Bae Ryan Brinkman Keonabelle Paniagua Head Podcast Producer Kaelin Mendez Assistant Head Podcast Producer Anitiz Muonagolu Podcast Producers Ivy Moore Paxton Ritchey Emily Shaw Lindsey Sullivan Karl Winter Podcast Production Assistants Celine Foreman Misha Semenov Marketing Coordinator Bryant Loney Social Team Claudia Hardianto Madilyn Henshaw Inez Kim Abby Wilt

A6

AP R IL 1 , 2 0 2 1 | PE RS PE C TIVE S | P E P P E R DIN E G RA P H I C ME D I A

Staff Editorial: We must grapple with gun violence After the incidents on March 22 in Boulder, Colo., and March 16 in Atlanta, gun violence continues to plague the minds of everyday, American citizens. While the Graphic continues to learn and hear varying opinions about gun regulations and the Second Amendment, we do know the loss of human life in this horrific way is unacceptable.

It's time to hold our political officials responsible for finding a solution to this problem of gun violence. No matter how against or for gun laws someone may be, everyone can agree with preserving the safety of life.

Over the past 10 years, there have been 245 mass shootings in the United States, which resulted in 1,391 fatalities, according to Everytown Research. Since 2009, 132 people died in 24 mass shootings. Moreover, since 2013, 622 incidents of gunfire at schools resulted in 220 deaths nationally. Those are just some of the few frightening statistics of gun violence.

Politicians and citizens alike need to commit to talking about guns in a productive way to ensure change happens in legislation. This means acknowledging the gun violence in the United States, disputing the myths about why it happens and approaching our government officials to enact bipartisan change.

Recent Gun Violence in America Gun violence is all around us, continuing to be a prominent problem and fear for many Americans trying to live everyday lives.

With shootings occurring in grocery stores, movie theaters, concerts, bars and even schools, it's hard to definitively point to one place that we are safe.

On March 22, a gunman horrifically killed 10 people in a grocery store in Boulder,

Colo., with a rifle. Witnesses said the gunman came into the grocery store and started shooting. A grandfather receiving his COVID-19 vaccine hid with his two teenage grandchildren in a coat closet before police rescued him.

A man in Atlanta went to three spas March 16, killing eight innocent people. Furthermore, six of the individuals were Asian women. Not only was this gun violence, but the use of a firearm perpetrated a hate crime against the Asian community.

Both shooters were only 21 years old — bringing even more concern to why gun violence is occurring among young adults. How are young people becoming so desensitized to be able to kill innocent people in such horrific ways? What can be done to stop this from happening?

Government Action The House approved two bills in March aimed at expanding and strengthening background checks for gun buyers, according to an article in The New York Times.

However, it is unlikely the two bills will pass in the Senate, as gun reform has failed in the Senate more than enough times.

On March 23, President Joe Biden called for a ban on assault rifles. Americans may be left unsure if any legislative action will be taken at all since none of the gun control proposals Biden pushed after the 2012 reelection during his time as vice president passed.

Notably, the president's current proposals regarding gun violence on his website are similar to the reforms he proposed as vice president — such as universal background checks and banning assault weapons. If Biden's proposals didn't pass back then, how will this legislation advance in 2021, especially since the

Republican stance on gun control is as strong as ever?

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing March 23, Republicans argued for "narrowly tailored changes to existing laws to keep firearms out of the hands of the mentally ill or criminals and bolstering penalties for government agencies that fail to report to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System," according to an article in Bloomberg.

On this opposite side of the coin, gun doesn't stop the misuse of guns but instead causes others to lose the protection a gun can provide.

During the Senate judiciary meeting, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz stood against universal background checks and an assault rifle ban, pushing his own agenda of increased funding to police forces in his legislation.

Whatever the problem may be — the guns, the shooters or both — there needs to be an effort from both political parties to come up with new legislation that will actually pass in the House and the Senate in response to gun violence. Saving lives needs to be the ultimate goal, which will be achieved through compromise, so lives are saved, not lost, and our leaders need to act fast.

The Myth of Mental Health and Mass Shootings For many, when they think of the cause of gun violence, they think of someone disconnected from society and facing mental illness. In actuality, that couldn't be any further from the truth.

Those diagnosed with mental illness are actually more likely to be on the receiving end of violence than the actual perpetrators of violence, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

For instance, individuals who experience schizophrenia — which many accredit as the primary mental illness that

adds to gun violence — face 65% to 130% higher police victimization rates compared to the general public, according to the same source.

This means the actual harm is done by those we would label as the general populous who are abusing either their authoritative power and/or their Second Amendment right. For example, after Missouri repealed its gun background checks, there was an increase from 55 to 63 gun homicides per year.

The real problems and causes of gun violence aren't that guns are in the hands of the mentally ill or that guns are legal; it's the ability to gain a gun at emotionally unstable times.

Childhood abuse, drug abuse, alcohol abuse and the ability to access a firearm during an emotionally overcharged moment all increase the rates of gunviolence by seven-fold, as explained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

For many, gun violence is a black and white issue, but this is untrue. Individuals have moments and gain access to tools that increase the effects and repercussions of their bad decisions and outbursts.

As politicians and society look for a solution, blaming it on those experiencing mental illness doesn't solve the problem — it only creates more harm to another group of people and allows the original problem to fester.

Standing in Solidarity The Graphic stands in solidarity to hold politicians

madeline duvall | staff artist accountable — we demand change from our leaders — to save American lives. The misuse of firearms causes immense grief and loss of life that we cannot ignore, as we need our leaders to compromise to enact significant, impactful change.

The Graphic staff has a responsibility as journalists to cover gun violence and have ethical principles, such as not naming the shooter.

Since the Borderline shooting, the Graphic decided and continues to place emphasis on remembering the victims over the wrongdoing of the perpetrator. This shows that the real point of contention and importance isn't about the gunman or some longstanding debate about the Second Amendment but about American lives that the nation's indecisiveness and neglect affect.

What the Graphic can — and always will — do is report and comment on events involving gun violence accurately. Furthermore, we will continue to create unbiased dialogue by creating a middle ground that is bipartisan. This includes mentioning as many points of view on issues as possible while also being accurate in its description.

However, the fact of the matter is that we, as a community, as a nation and as people need to confront the harms the use of guns brings through open dialogue and contend with them as a unified front.

Unlearn tragic history to combat racism against Asian communities

S awa ya m a k awa Perspectives A s s i s ta n t E d i t o r

Amid the growing cases of violence against the Asian community, March 11 marked the 10-year anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that claimed almost 16,000 lives. To many Japanese communities all over the world, March 11 is a date to remember, just as how Americans pay tribute to the Sept. 11, 2001 attack every year.

These days have a lot in common: Both are marked as important dates to honor those who died and #NeverForget is repeatedly used to remember the dates in both countries.

From the Chinese Exclusion Act to Japanese Internment, there is a long history of discrimination against the Asian communities in the United States.

The recent Atlanta attack revealed white citizens can “have a really bad day" and murder innocent lives while members of the Asian community are having a really bad year full of racial microaggressions and overt racism related to COVID-19.

In the past year,

many hashtags such as #StopAsianHate, #WashTheHate and #IAmNotAVirus have been trending on social media. Still, research by Stop APPI Hate reported 3,800 cases of antiAsian crimes in 2020 alone.

In the United States, racism and xenophobia oftentimes stem from an education system that seems to support an imperialistic notion that “the victor will always be the judge, and the vanquished the accused,” a statement by Hermann Göring, a German political and war leader who was convicted as a war criminal during World War II. Such a narrative, which protects the oppressors, helps normalize hate crimes and fails to respect tragic loss.

No one is born a racist because racism is taught.

Therefore, to become anti-racist, one must begin by “unlearning.”

Motivations behind racism can be caused by a superiority complex, a behavior in which a person believes one is superior to others. Another can be distorted ideology, a belief that derives from needs and desires.

These are sometimes taught unconsciously at schools during history classes.

Although some dehumanizing acts usually come from racial stereotypes and historical events, racist people seem to only look at how relevant those events are to them.

World War II is an example.

The United States is often credited for bringing an

end to the war when Japan surrendered on V-J Day, shortly after two nuclear bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

While this is true, it can promote positivity bias — a term used to describe a person’s tendency to favor positive information in reasoning. The negative effects of atomic bombs, such as the inhumane use of nuclear weapons and the dehumanization of JapaneseAmericans, are ignored.

Americans with nationalistic views fail to acknowledge the oppressive perspectives they subconsciously hold. Thus, they do not see the negative consequences of projecting racist sentiments, such as telling AsianAmericans to "go home." They view World War II — specifically the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki — as a victory because they only want to acknowledge the positive outcomes.

Seemingly, most of the time, racist slurs are created, used and perpetuated by these "victors" considerably due to positivity bias.

For those people, the unlearning process starts by recognizing that the outcome of tragic history is not a justification for hate. They must also remember the negative consequences of these events are still evident today — "Hope you get nuked again" is one of many offensive comments Japanese people still hear today.

By doing so, people can start to concede that the United States contributed greatly to

nicole wong | staff artist a prolonged war that claimed many innocent lives. People can also be aware that the United States is responsible for starting an international security threat by introducing nuclear weapons to immorally show its dominance and aggression.

To help eradicate racist thoughts and prevent anti-Asian sentiments from prevailing, one must detach from positivity bias to recognize and learn the multidimensional factors of historical events by delving past the facade.

Just as Sept. 11 is for many American people, March 11, Aug. 6 and Aug. 9 are important dates for many Japanese people.

For some people in the United States, these dates may have different meanings — the two latter dates may be acknowledged as signs of victory.

While it is normal to have such interpretations, historic victories cannot be justifications of discriminatory actions nor reasons for a particular group of

people to feel the need to stand as superiors. All historic victories must also be recognized as causes of on-going tragedies.

People rarely make derogatory comments regarding the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami because they acknowledge these events as tragedies. The bottom line is this: If an event causes casualties, it must be recognized as a tragic event.

Tragic events are not reasons to create hate. They serve as lessons to protect the lives of innocent humans.

Waves can demolish everything, just as a tsunami did 10 years ago in Japan.

Waves can also unite and create a strong force to fight against something much bigger, like racism.

So, Waves, which one do you choose?

SAWA.YAM AK AWA@PEPPER DINE.EDU

A7

AP R IL 1 , 2 0 2 1 | PE RS PE C TIVE S | P E P P E R DIN E G RA P H I C ME D I A

Pepperdine’s failures in Shanghai should not stop students from learning more about China

b r ya n t ya n g s ta f f w r i t e r Dean of Seaver College Michael Feltner announced the permanent closure of the international program in Shanghai to the Pepperdine community via email March 10. The decision to close this particular program at this time brought some dissatisfaction and disappointment from students.

Pepperdine's cancellation of the Shanghai program exposes the administration’s financial and political failures.

Pepperdine's Financial Mismanagement In the email, Feltner wrote that the Shanghai program's cancellation was due to "significant operational challenges and diminishing enrollment demand."

The fact that the Shanghai program experienced operational challenges is understandable because of COVID-19 and international travel restrictions.

The Shanghai program could not withstand the COVID-19's impact primarily due to Pepperdine's financial mismanagement.

In fact, opening a campus in Shanghai is not sustainable for Pepperdine at all.

Shanghai has one of the most expensive housing markets in the world. The "Magic City" has the fourth most expensive residential property market around the globe, according to CBRE. Moreover, the Jing'an district, where the Pepperdine campus was located, is one of the most expensive places to live in Shanghai.

The average house in Shanghai costs about $7,500 per square meter, while the housing in the Jing'an district costs about $18,000 per square meter. Among all the other international programs, Shanghai's housing might be the least economically sensible.

For example, one square meter in the city of Buenos Aires costs about $2,843, according to The Bubble, and one square meter in Lausanne

costs about $11,610, according to GlobalPropertyGuide. To maintain the same property size, Pepperdine must pay six times more in Shanghai than in Buenos Aires and 1.5 times more than in Lausanne.

In addition, the Shanghai program was Pepperdine's only international academic year program located in a majority nonwhite, non-Christian, non-western, non-capitalist and non-IndoEuropean speaking country. This program’s uniqueness can be one of its advantages, but it also can be a challenge for the participants.

Since China is racially, religiously, geographically, socio-economically and linguistically different from the United States, it is understandable that the culture shock and discomfort the Shanghai program's participants experience are severe.

Therefore, the enrollment of the Shanghai program was expected to have a “diminishing enrollment demand," which indeed became one of the reasons for this program’s closure.

In 2007, the University still opened a campus overseas in Shanghai — one of the world's most expensive places according to TimeOut. So, the administration must have canceled this program since the investment in Shanghai is so nonviable.

Pepperdine's Political and Cultural Mismanagement In the past year, the international image of China drastically deteriorated due to accusations of distorting COVID-19 case numbers and human rights abuses against Muslims in Xinjiang.

The allegations against China for supposedly covering up COVID-19 spreads are disputable because some health experts and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres praised China's efforts and transparency during the pandemic.

The claim of China persecuting Muslims might also be inaccurate because 50 countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, endorsed China's Xinjiang policies and claimed the Chinese government did not commit human rights abuses against Muslims.

Regardless of the questionable allegations against China, this country still inevitably has a hideous

Did Noah Bring a Shark on the Ark?

by AJ Muonagolu

Madeline Duvall | staff artist and threatening international image, especially in the West. In addition, its distorted appearance reveals many Americans do not have an objective view of China, which is completely unhelpful.

China's international image in the eyes of Americans is not only monstrous but also weak and fragile. For example, conservative columnist Gordon Chang repetitively claims China will collapse soon.

It is impossible for a country to be both monstrous and weak at the same time, but this is how China appears to the United States now.

American media and politicians refer to China as both an evil and powerful tyranny yet also a malfunctioning and collapsing regime.

China is mysterious because most Americans don't have the chance to go to China in person due to the distance, visa issues and other difficulties. After the closure of the Shanghai program, some students lost an opportunity to visit there.

Nonetheless, it's important for Americans to have an objective view of China. As U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “It's not a secret that the relationship between the United States and China is arguably the most important relationship that we have in the world going forward."

China is important to the United States not only because it is the biggest trading partner of the United States, but also because it might become the United States’ biggest competitor. It is important for both Americans and Chinese to keep the competition between these two countries positive and productive.

People cannot effectively interact with China without a deeper understanding of it. Pepperdine students — as future world leaders, concerned citizens and effective business people — need to have an

accurate understanding of China to create a better world. The best way to do this is to step on the soil of China. Unfortunately, this opportunity is no longer available to Pepperdine students.

Since Pepperdine closed the international program in Shanghai, students lost a precious opportunity to learn about China in person and eliminate its distorted appearances.

Moving Forward The Pepperdine administration should open another international program in China after the pandemic not only because of China’s cultural importance but also its geopolitical and economical importance. Moreover, this program should be located in a city more affordable than Shanghai.

China is more than Shanghai.

Many cities in China, such as Chongqing and Guangzhou, can also provide a vibrant environment for the Pepperdine community at a much more affordable price.

Other than financial concerns, having international programs in China can be one of the ways to ease political tensions between the United States and China.

With the experience of living in China, Pepperdine community members can fact-check what they hear from the media and politicians, thus forming an objective view.

Other than learning its geopolitical and economical importance, having international programs can also provide the Pepperdine community with an opportunity to learn and experience Chinese culture and the Chinese language.

But, for now, it's time to say “Zeh Wèh," which means “goodbye” in Shanghainese, to Shanghai.

Hopefully, Pepperdine will say "Nĭ Hăo," or "hello" in Mandarin, to a new international program in China.

BRYANT.YANG2 @PEPPER DINE.EDU

Online learning — what’s worked and what hasn’t

sarah best s ta f f w r i t e r It can be equally as challenging for professors to keep students engaged over Zoom as much as it is for students to engage with the professor. With a semester of online school already in the books, it's time to change how teachers approach online classes.

Student feedback at the end of the semester is vital for all professors to understand the logistics of what worked and what didn't in a semester, which is even more relevant now. To ensure the most positive experience for their students in such an unprecedented time of learning, professors need to keep things fun and interesting.

Associate Professor of Religion Nicholas Zola said he altered how he structured his spring classes thanks to student feedback from the fall semester. Attendance wasn’t required in his classes last semester, and students admitted to a lack of inclination to attend class at all in the course evaluation at the end of the semester. Alongside the absence of a participation grade, he has made attendance required this semester.

Though only a minor change to the structure of his class, the major impact of omitting the participation grade eases the pressure of having

samantha miller | Assistant Art Editor to unmute just because a grade depends on it. Required attendance in exchange for an absent participation grade seems like a fair trade.

Even with the limitations of Zoom, Zola said he finds unique methods of ensuring his students are paying attention and engaging with the material. He utilizes a system of notecards where any student can expect to be called on to share a brief insight with the class at any time.

“When I call on your name at random, and you give an answer that shows that you're paying attention, then that's enough for me,” Zola said. “I’ve done that on purpose because, in this Zoom world that we live in, I recognize it’s going to be hard for everybody to stay engaged all the time.”

Even the most extroverted students found it difficult at times to actively engage in class. Both in and outside of the Pepperdine community, it is no secret that learning via Zoom has been accompanied by an overwhelming amount of stress over something as simple as unmuting a microphone.

"I feel like with in-classroom engagement, I would still

PETTY PERSPECTIVE:

participate typically, but via Zoom, I feel a lot more anxious to participate," junior Katie Smith said. "I think just having an online setting makes it harder to feel more comfortable to participate."

Participation, whether too demanding or not demanding enough, is all subjective.

“Classes that require opinions and perspectives utilize a lot more participation with breakout rooms,” Smith said. “In those settings, it’s really beneficial because one, you get to hear the perspectives of your other classmates, and two, it makes you feel like you know other people in your class rather than just sitting in class with strangers, so at least it creates a little bit better of community."

Although class engagement can be advantageous in some courses, there is no blueprint for participation that applies as a comprehensive model for all classes.

“In my other courses that aren’t as perspective- and opinion-based, I hate to participate because I wonder if I have the right answer,” Smith said. “But with my BA 366 class, I enjoy the participation because you get to give more of

an opinion and there’s no right or wrong answer necessarily, it’s just your perspective. So I think participation is helpful in those classroom settings, but it doesn’t work for every other classroom setting.”

A further constraint contributing to the adversity of online school is the different ways students learn and retain information.

For students who aren't auditory learners, listening to a professor lecture for the entire class can be frustrating and mundane.

“I’m more of a visual learner,” first-year Alexander Dingman said. “It’s nice when they have the accompanying PowerPoints.”

Rather than waiting until the end of the semester to receive student feedback on what worked and what didn't, professors should be surveying their students now and adjusting their classes accordingly.

“We all develop our own ways to get comfortable,” Dingman said.

“Try to change up the format every three or four weeks. Basically, the idea is to keep students on their toes.”

It’s safe to say virtual modality has proven to be grueling for students and professors alike, and it’s important to note that all students are at different stages of comfortability with Zoom.

Whether it's by better utilizing breakout rooms or restructuring class ever so often, students are looking for unique ways to stay engaged with the material, and now is the time for professors to try new things.

SAR AH.BEST@PEPPER DINE.EDU

Petty Perspective is a column highlighting the rants and thoughts everyone thinks but never gets a chance to put into words. This time, we hear from AJ Muonagolu, who puts an interesting spin on the story of Noah and the exposition we are missing out on in Genesis.

samantha miller | Assistant Art Editor

When people think about the story of Noah's Ark — which is from the Book of Genesis — many Christians see it as historically accurate.

There are other writings and stories throughout history that recount similar events of a "worldwide flood." "The Epic of Gilgamesh" is one example of how the flood story is used outside the Bible — this is also a book that almost every Pepperdine student has read if they've taken HUM 111.

Debates aside about whether the story of Noah's Ark is historically accurate, Christians fail to recognize the real mystery — the animals!

No, it's not about whether unicorns were on the boat. It's about the FISH! Did Noah take two of every fish on the Ark? I mean, there are around 33,600 species of fish we know about in the world and the book of Genesis states, "Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him."

So, even if we are generous and call every fish an "unclean animal" and he only had to grab two of each, one male and one female, there's still one question lingering: Did Noah actually do this, and if so, how?

If you say he didn't, then he didn't follow all of God's rules.

Some might say it's unnecessary for him to take aquatic animals on the Ark, but it's not like every fish would survive a flood because freshwater species of fish can't survive in saltwater environments.

That means, if you do think Noah followed all of God's rules, then he did bring fish on the Ark, which leads to our next question — how?

Did he make mini aquariums and capture the fish from their natural environments? Also, what about larger aquatic animals, like squid? Did I mention they can grow to about 20 meters long? That's basically two maximum length school buses.

What about our more aggressive aquatic friends such as sharks and killer whales? It's not like Noah threw a Poké Ball and captured them with ease like a video game. So, how did he do it since he followed ALL of God's commands?

Maybe the debate should switch from if the story of Noah's Ark is true or not to how did he even do it — because let's be honest, Tiger King Noah seems a lot more interesting than him just building a boat.

So, next time you're reading Genesis in your religion class or chatting with your priest or pastor, ask them, "Was there a shark on the Ark?" Because the story of Noah is more "fishy" than we may realize.

AJ.M UONAGOL U@PEPPER DINE.EDU

A8

A P R IL 1 , 2 0 2 1 | N E W S | P E P P E R DINE GR AP H I C ME D I A

Seaver students success stats soar sawa yamakawa p e r specti ves assista n t edi tor Behind every success, there are countless hours of hard work, sacrifices and adjustments — especially during COVID-19.

After delivering its first fully remote semester, Seaver College saw 371 Seaver students earn the Dean’s List honor for fall 2020.

This is an enormous jump compared to the average of 308 students per semester for the last four fall semesters, according to the Dean’s List webpage.

From Zoom fatigue, issues with time zones and the lack of a sense of community, online learning came with many byproducts that hindered students’ anticipated Pepperdine experience.

“I think study habits are very different between [online] and in-person,” junior Joe Doonan said.

Even with those unexpected obstacles, many Seaver students adapted exceptionally well to the unusual learning modality — almost 12% of the full-time undergraduates earned this prestigious award, compared to less than 10% for the previous four falls.

Despite students facing many challenges, Christopher Heard, a professor of Religion and director of the Center of Teaching Excellence, said students worked hard to make the best of the situation.

“I’m proud of our students for coming through and persevering through all these challenges,” Heard said. “Not just not giving up and not just sticking in there but actually excelling even in this very unfamiliar territory.”

Understanding Faculty Members Provide Support and Encouragements Doonan said online learning was not as bad as he anticipated because his professors listened to student feedback and made changes during the semester to make classes as enjoyable and engaging as possible.

“Early on, my professor just lectured and I don’t think it was that engaging for us because we just sat there for two hours,” Doonan said.

“But eventually, he started teaching us a concept and then [we’d] go on breakout rooms and work on it together on examples.”

Faculty members also adapted to the virtual teaching style by implementing new Zoom-specific strategies, such as making breakout rooms, offering asynchronous options and frequently communicating with students.

As a result, some faculty members saw a boost in student participation.

“One of the things that have actually surprised some faculty members is that in this period of Zoom teaching or of conducting synchronous classes on Zoom, class attendance has actually improved,” Heard said.

Students Utilize Their Time Effectively Time was another factor that contributed to Dean’s List recipients’ success. With school being online, students had more time on their hands since they could take classes from practically anywhere.

Junior Allie Coates finished the semester with a perfect GPA while pursuing public relations internships and a part-time job at a jewelry store.

In a March 6 student survey of 161 Dean’s List recipients, Coates is one of the 76 students who earned the Dean’s List honor for the first time at Seaver College.

“Having the flexibility to have access to my [learning] environment anywhere has been really helpful,” Coates said. “When it was in person, I felt like I had to block out time to drive [to school] and then time to walk to my classes and time to eat in between classes.”

For Coates, who had a busy schedule balancing school and work, she said it was helpful that she allocated certain times of the

infographics by Sawa Yamakawa day to focus only on her college classes.

“Having such a rigorous schedule, I just did so much that I had to make sure what I’m studying and what I’m doing,” Coates said. “Just also making days where I was doing no work, I think, is really important too.”

Pepperdine Community Prepares for a Full Campus Reopening Despite adapting and finding success in online learning, most students still prefer in-person classes, with only 10 out of 161 students surveyed indicated they prefer online learning.

Seaver College puts a strong emphasis on creating a distinctive community on its Malibu campus.

Most students who prefer to return to in-person learning indicated they miss the community aspect. “[I want to form] an actual or stronger bond with professors, [but] it’s hard to get to know them and stuff when you’re on Zoom,” Doonan said. “I think that one thing that a lot of Pepperdine students can agree on is that the com-

munity at the school is one of the best things about it.”

The Malibu campus partially reopening is serving as a positive sign, as both students and faculty members are preparing for a potential full reopening in the fall.

With a case rate of 5.2 per 100,000 residents, LA County moved into the Red Tier on March 15. Due to the less restrictive COVID-19 protocols, Seaver College can now hold indoor lectures at limited capacity — 25% of the classroom’s capacity or up to 100 people, whichever is less, starting April 6.

Heard acknowledges that, due to the nature of the pandemic, not all students may be able to return on campus, even if the University and LA County lift some of their COVID-19 restrictions. Therefore, Heard is examining several hybrid opportunities to best accommodate all students.

Although the transition to hybrid modality may create additional obstacles, Heard said he is positive students will continue to achieve great things.

SAWA.YAM AK AWA@PEPPER DINE.EDU

Law competition takes place over Zoom C l air e Lee staf f w r i te r Each year, first-years, or 1Ls, at the Caruso School of Law compete in the annual Moriarity Moot Court Competition in the spring.

While this event is typically hosted in-person in Malibu, the pandemic moved it to the online platform a week before the competition last year. After a full year of learning how to utilize Zoom to its fullest potential, the student-led Moot Court Board is prepared to run its largest annual competition online March 25 through 31.

All 176 1Ls are required to partake in the preliminary rounds of the competition as a part of their Legal Writing class. Participants can opt into the competition after the preliminary round and compete through the quarterfinals, semifinals and final round, which will be available for the public to watch March 31. “[The competition is] a really great way to practice oral advocacy in a low stakes environment before you’re in trial or in a tryout for the moot court team,” said 1L Emily Olsen.

Jaimie Domke, student life and advocacy coordinator for the Caruso School of Law, said the competition is structured where each breakout room acts as a courtroom. Through this virtual format, the competition is also able to utilize the Zoom waiting room, Google Form scoresheet, the Zoom spotlight feature and a live transcript through Zoom for students with accessibility needs.

“Basically, we can still run the competitions very similarly to how we would have in person because of the different features in Zoom,” Domke wrote in an email to the Graphic on March 18. “We have had to do a lot of research to make sure the Zoom meetings run smoothly and we’ve had to schedule our competition a certain way.”

Moot Court Board Selection Chair and 3L Joshua Upham said he thinks the virtual format of moot court competitions levels the playing field for everyone and reduces the stress of travel.

“You go from people who have experience competing and doing competitions in person — and there’s obviously a lot of little nonverbal things that you do, like how you do your facial expressions or ways that you respond to and look at the judges and make eye contact and stuff like that — and that’s totally different now,” Upham said.

Upham said a consequence of the virtual format is the missing competitive ambiance.

“When you have it in person, it’s a very different atmosphere in the school on that day because everybody’s walking around in suits, everybody is kind of nervous and on edge, and you see people over in the quarters practicing their arguments to themselves,” Upham said.

The competition is including volunteers from the community to play a role, said Moot Court Board Chair and 3L Equiana Brown.

“We’re bringing it back to volunteers; so now, we’re going to have people’s moms and brothers

photo courtesy of Jamie domke If It May Please the Court | Caruso 3Ls (lower left to right) Joshua Upham, Karin Lang and Zacharacy Carstens speak before (upper left to right) Judge Howard D. Sukenic, Judge Karen L. Stevenson and Judge Jeffrey S. Boyd on Zoom on Feb. 12.

Students at the Caruso School of Law competed in the final round of the Moot Court Competition, the nation’s largest annual law competition. and people virtually popping up,” Brown said. The volunteers will act as bailiffs and timekeepers for the rounds.

After participating in the preliminary round of the moot court competition March 25, Olsen said she found the volunteers and feedback to be helpful.

“I thought it was really cool how many volunteers they had and how many people were willing to help us,” Olsen said. “Even the critiquing and stuff afterwards was so helpful and kind; it wasn’t mean, but it was very helpful to really understand how you can be a better oral advocate for those you’re advocating for.”

A team of law professors carefully selected the competition top-

ic, which is on the issues of police and corrections officers’ qualified immunity under the Fourth and Eighth Amendments in the United States Constitution.

The Legal Research and Writing professors began discussing the topic in May and finalized the case in December, said Stephanie Williams, assistant professor of Legal Research and Writing at the Caruso School of Law. The student-led Moot Court Board received the topic and organized this virtual moot court competition.

As someone who partook in the Moriarity Moot Court Competition her first year to now running the event as a third-year on the board, Brown said she finds this competition to be special because

of the visible evolution of the students’s skills throughout the event.

“It just starts off as an assignment, something general, and then as students get a taste for it — a buzz — then they start to grow and evolve and you see it throughout the whole competition as each stage goes on until it ends in the final round,” Brown said.

Judge Ryan J. Wright of the Ventura County Superior Court, Judge Rita L. Badhan of the Los Angeles County Superior Court and Mr. James S. Azadian of Dykema Gossett PLLC will judge the final round of the moot court competition. The final round will be available for the public to view live via Zoom on March 31.

C L AIR E.L EE@PEPPER DINE.EDU

Apr i l 1, 2021

The Graphic

B1

pepp e rd in e - g ra p h ic.co m

Spring 2021 style trends K ay l a k a h rl S ta ff w r ite r As temperatures rise and Los Angeles begins to reopen, Pepperdine students rock all sorts of unique styles, from bright-colored corsets to funky sneakers.

For senior Taylor Launius, spring fashion is all about incorporating vibrant colors into her outfits. She said she adds pops of color to her outfits through accessorizing.

“I love dressing very colorful,” said Launius. “I love fun necklaces. I’ll wear a bunch of necklaces with really fun beads all over them and I also love rings a lot.”

Although spring has just begun, clothing items with bright, funky colors and patterns have already become the newest fashion trend.

Launius said she’s loved seeing people venture out of their comfort zones with the outfits they’re putting together.

Her current favorite spring staple is her custom-made corset top, Launius said. Hailey Sunshine, an influencer who designs custom clothing items, created the top for her business Meye Sōl. Launius said she pulls a lot of fashion inspiration from her Instagram

page. Sunshine made this corset using upholstery from leftover sofa scraps.

“I love the way that she dresses because she dresses super funky and cool,” Launius said. “I feel like that’s kind of where the trend is going right now: Rather than neutrals and basics, everyone’s leaning towards fun patterns and everything.”

Junior Lauren Amigleo said she typically sways more toward an athleisure style and elevates her outfits using gold jewelry.

When shopping, Amigleo said she challenges herself to find pieces that are both fashionable and functional.

“When I get dressed in the morning, even just to go on a walk, I want [my outfit] to be functional, but if I go to dinner or somewhere after I want to be able to throw on a blazer or add a cool pair of sneakers,” Amigleo said.

Amigleo gets fashion inspiration from fitness influencers such as Sami Clark, who styles workout clothing for everyday wear. She said she’s fascinated by designers who find a way to incorporate their art into their clothing items.

An example of this is the work of Juliette Johnstone, who sells pants

covered in her own original paintings and affirmations.

Amigleo works as a sales associate at Vuori in the Malibu Country Mart, which specializes in both workout and athleisure clothing.

She said this job gives her an opportunity to style athletic clothing in many different ways.

“I generally have an interest in athleisure,” Amigleo said. “It’s fun for me to go into the store and style clothes from my own work even though they’re just workout clothes. I like having to put a twist on it and make it cute but still be able to move around in it.”

Gen Z college students popularized thrifting during quarantine.

Many students, like junior Maria Chavez, started buying a majority of their clothes second-hand from consignment shops.

When it comes to fashion, Chavez said she tries to be a conscious consumer. Chavez thrifts a majority of her clothes and loves to experiment with a lot of contrasting styles.

SE E Fa sh i o n, B 2

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY NATHAN HUANG

Sophomore strives to promote self-love and positivity with loungewear company So fiA L o n go Li f e & Ar ts E d itor Sophomore Liberal Arts for Education major Abby Gearhart said her mission is to spread positivity and self-love — no matter what.

After quarantine boredom inspired Gearhart to embroider her own designs on sweatshirts, she felt motivated to start a loungewear company.

Sweats by Abby G officially launched in September after Gearhart said she moved to Malibu from her home in Naples, Fla. Now, Gearhart designs all of her sweatshirts and sweatpants in Malibu. According to the company’s Instagram, its motto is “Spreadin’ Joy Through Comfy Clothes,” as positivity encapsulates all of Gearhart’s designs and branding.

“Self-love and all that is something that I am very passionate about and I just want other people to practice it, and even I need to get better,” Gearhart said. “Me creating all of this and trying to spread the message has helped me be like, ‘OK, reality check — you need to get better at loving yourself.’”

Gearhart struggled with comparing herself to others, particu-

larly in high school, and she said she believes comparison is the thief of joy that creates jealousy, especially between other women.

She wants her positive messages to help people grow more confident in themselves and she wants the best for others — and her mission is working.

“This girl from my hometown texted me and was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I was just in Walmart and some random person came up to me and said my hoodie made their entire week and that’s the most positive thing that they’ve seen,’” Gearhart said, after her friend wore one of her hoodies in public.

Every design Gearhart creates is intentional, she said. She will not use a design that she hasn’t thought about or worked on for a while.

“If I had to let people know something about my brand, I would really just say I want the mission to be the overall most important thing about it,” Gearhart said. “I don’t want people to just be like, ‘Oh it’s just sweatshirts.’

I want people to be like, ‘Oh my gosh, how inspirational.’”

Gearhart primarily gets inspiration for new designs on Pinterest.

In terms of individual designs, she

said she usually comes up with a vision and writes it down in her notes app. She then draws all of her designs by hand on her iPad and sends them to a screen printer in Westlake Village, Calif.

“Being in Malibu is great for the photos and branding,” Gearhart said. “I have all my friends here to help me and it’s easier to start a company when you’re out near Los Angeles.”

Starting a business from the ground up was more difficult than Gearhart initially thought, but she said she grew a lot on Instagram through hosting giveaways. She also posted a few TikToks, which gained popularity, and created an ambassador program.

“I got a very overwhelming amount of applications, so I just literally read through all of them and I only wish I could have taken in everyone, but the groups of girls that I took are so great,” Gearhart said.

Sweats by Abby G ambassadors repost content on social media, particularly Instagram, wearing Gearhart’s clothes to increase visibility. They also receive a discount to buy clothes. Even though the ambassador program hasn’t been one of Gearhart’s main social me-

dia growers, she said her audience became more engaged as new followers became more interested in buying her products.

Gearhart’s short-term goals for her company consist of focusing on rebranding and launching her new summer collection in May, while her long-term goals include securing an office space after she graduates. She plans to host popup shops and release new, simpler designs in her upcoming collection.

After successfully starting and launching a business during a pandemic and an online semester, Gearhart said she learned a lot about patience.

“You have to be patient on growing and having everything figured out,” Gearhart said. “It’s definitely not easy, but I think it’s definitely been worth it, and I think it’s crazy to think of how much I’ve just grown in the last couple of months.”

SOF IA.L ONGO@PEPPER DINE.EDU

Photo courtesy of Abby Gearhart Sweater Weather| Sophomore Abby Gearhart smiles while shooting promotional photos for her company, Sweats by Abby G, in September on Ralphs Beach in Malibu. Gearhart said she first started designing sweatshirts in May and officially launched her company in September.

B2

A P R IL 1 , 2 0 2 1 | L IFE A N D A RTS | P E P P E R DIN E G RA P H I C ME D I A

FASHION: Students step out in spring wardrobes

autumn hardwick | staff artist

F R OM b 1 When it comes to fashion, Chavez said she tries to be a conscious consumer. Chavez thrifts the majority of her clothes and loves to experiment with a lot of contrasting styles.

“I think my biggest priority when it comes to my style is buying pieces that are going to last

a lifetime, buying pieces that take care of the earth,” Chavez said.

“But also I think my fashion sense is versatile because I love a grungy, all-black look, but I also love wearing some heels and a dress with my hair up all nice and cute.

So I love everything under the sun when it comes to fashion.”

Chavez said she believes fashion is an accessory to confidence.

She said as long as a person is

proud in their outfit, others will be supportive and encouraging.

“I think that no matter what your fashion sense is or what you wear, as long as you love it, and you feel proud in it, it just adds to a whole other level of your confidence and your overall happiness in your day,” Chavez said.

Chavez started her own sustainable fashion business on Instagram called @thrift.w.maria,

where she thrifts unique pieces that can’t be found anywhere else and resells them. She said she started this business to celebrate sustainable fashion.

Some of Chavez’s favorite spring fashion trends include wearing hair scarves and experimenting with color blocking with bright colors. She said wearing these patterns and colors makes her feel youthful again, even

though she’s only 20 years old.

“For me, each season has its own specific color pattern. Spring for me, is yellow, green, blue and pink, but all the colors in the rainbow go off during this season,” Chavez said.

K AYL A.K AHR L @PEPPER DINE.EDU

Senior Spotlight: Senior discusses passion for law g r ac e w ood S taf f W r i te r Senior Jade Armstrong said she wants to take the skills she’s learned at Pepperdine and make the world a better place.

While working toward a degree in International Studies and a Hispanic Studies minor, the Kansas City, Mo., native used her time at Pepperdine to broaden her horizons and spent her sophomore year studying abroad in Buenos Aires. The following summer, Armstrong traveled to Fiji for the Pepperdine Medical and Service Mission.

After a chance encounter with Pepperdine alumna Andrea Zumpano on a plane from Malibu to Miami in December 2019, Armstrong formed a strong connection with Zumpano and her family that led to an internship at their Miami law firm last semester. After attending classes remotely while interning in Miami, Armstrong is back in Malibu for her last semester of college. Armstrong said her goal is to attend law school after graduation, with the eventual hope of running for Congress.

Why do you want to become a lawyer?

Jade Armstrong: I’ve been passionate about orphans and children in the foster care system since I understood the concept of what an orphan was and who foster children are. I was 13 years old when I met a foster child for the first time. Her name was Autumn, she was 3 years old at the time, and she had already been through horrible circumstances. She became my entire world; she was like a little sister to me. Because of her, I got to know a lot more children in the foster care system, and I just became attached to these kids.

I heard so much about the stories that they had gone through — sexual and physical abuse, trauma — so many things that you could never even imagine. And so it has always tugged on my heart; I was like, “This is exactly what I

Photos courtesy of jade armstrong Adventures in Argentina | Senior Jade Armstrong (left) poses with seniors Grace Benner (second to left), Sydney Griffith (second to right) and Grace Wilson (right) at the salt flats in Jujuy, Argentina in March 2019 during their time studying abroad in the Buenos Aires international program. Armstrong said the thing she misses the most about studying abroad is seeing friends every day in Casa Holden. need to do — I need to fight for these children.” Their voices are silenced, and no one knows these stories. I see them, and I want to elevate their voices and empower them to speak for themselves and do that through law and then effectuate policy. That’s why I want to go into politics.

What is your favorite memory from studying abroad at Pepperdine?

JA: It was Thanksgiving time when me and a group of friends went to the Patagonia mountains.

Since none of us were going to be home for Christmas, we decided to celebrate Christmas early and we had a massive Christmas dinner. We had all of these decorations and Christmas food. And it was just so fun. All we were doing was just laughing and eating and acting like it was Christmas even though it wasn’t, in the middle of

the mountains with just each other.

How has Pepperdine impacted the person you are today?

JA: At Pepperdine, I’ve become really independent. It’s entirely pushed me out of my comfort zone, like going to Fiji and Argentina. It’s taught me a new perspective of how I look at the world. I look at the world as full of adventure and so many opportunities, and I just feel like I’m so blessed to be able to see that and chase after all of them — I have life to chase. I never believed in myself like I do now. Because of Pepperdine, I feel like I can do anything.

G RA CE .W O O D @P E P P E RD I N E . E D U

Back in the ‘Bu| Armstrong smiles in Malibu in September 2019. Armstrong said she moved back to Malibu for her last semester of college after spending last semester interning for a law firm in Miami.

The Graphic

SPORTS Apr i l 1, 2021

pe p p e rd in e - g ra p h ic.co m

B3

Champs! Waves win CBI Austin Hall Staff Writer

Pepperdine Men’s Basketball coasted past the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in convincing fashion in the College Basketball Invitational championship. In their third game in three days, the Waves displayed offensive efficiency and high-volume shooting to carry them to an 8461 victory.

The victory vaulted the Waves to 15-12 on the season, and senior guard Colbey Ross, who exits Pepperdine as the program's all-time leader in points and assists, got to end his collegiate career with a victory.

Junior forward Kessler Edwards said while the team's performances weren't perfect, they had confidence they were the best team in the tournament.

“Whenever we were down, Coach would always remind us that we didn’t come this far to lose,” Edwards said.

During the Waves stay in Daytona Beach, Florida for the adjusted eight-team tournament, Pepperdine was tested far more than their three double-digit victories indicate.

In their first-round game versus the Longwood Lancers from Farmville, Virginia on March 22, the Waves played catch-up for most of the first half. The Lancers started with an 8-0 run that Pepperdine quickly addressed with a 12-2 run of their own to take the lead 12-10. The teams traded shots and the lead for the rest of the half. A tough layup with three seconds remaining in the period by junior center Victor Ohia Obioha brought the score to 32-31 with the Lancers on top.

“I wouldn’t say we were worried,” Edwards said. “For whatever reason, we were slow to start the game. They were scoring baskets and making shots that we shouldn’t have allowed. We made sure to pick it up.”

The Waves shot 37% from the field in the first half and were five points below their average of 36 first half points this season. The second half was a different story, as Edwards and Ross scored 14 of the first 19 points to start the second half.

Photo courtesy of steve simoneau

Curtain Call | Pepperdine Men’s Basketball team poses for a celebratory photo after defeating Coastal Carolina University in the College Basketball Invitational championship game March 24. The Waves are at 15-12 for the season.

With contributions from Ohia Obioha and redshirt junior guard Jadé Smith, the Waves had a commanding 57-44 lead midway through the second half.

They cruised to win 80-66, led

by Edwards with 22 points. Ross, Smith, Ohia Obioha and redshirt freshman guard Majok Deng, making his first career start, all finished in double-figures.

In the semifinal game versus Bellarmine, the Waves faced a tough test once again in the first half. The Knights shot efficiently in the first half, hitting 20 of their 31 shot attempts and 7 of their 13 3-pointers. Pepperdine was efficient as well, shooting 19-for-31 from the field. Despite the effort, they trailed 50-41 at the half.

“This was different than the first game,” Edwards said. “We knew we were messing up more.

The defense had some serious lapses. Going into the second half, we knew we had to play the type of basketball that we know we can.”

Five minutes into the second half, Pepperdine rattled off 12 straight points to take the lead.

Five minutes later, it was an entirely different ballgame, as Pepperdine orchestrated a 28-2 run that brought the lead to 75-60.

They cruised to an 81-72 victory.

Head Coach Lorenzo Romar used the tournament to experiment with his lineup. Deng, who averaged 7.5 minutes per game this season, started all three games in place of sophomore forward Jan Zidek. Zidek, who averaged 14 points per game in the three games leading up to the CBI, injured his ankle in practice before the team left for Daytona Beach.

A pleasant surprise from the tournament was freshman forward Kendall Munson. He scored six points and secured five rebounds against Longwood, and followed the performance up with 13 points and 6 boards versus Bellarmine. Two of Munson’s biggest baskets were thunderous dunks in the second half that helped fuel the Pepperdine comeback against Bellarmine.

Munson said he was excited to showcase his skills in some of the biggest games of the year.

“I like to think of myself as a defense first guy,” Munson said.

“I like the team aspect too, always making the extra pass and putting the team in good position. I think I was also able to showcase my high motor.”

Edwards said he was happy

with what he saw from the young guys.

“Even though they’re not as experienced, they’ve still been through some adversity,” Edwards said. “Majok can shoot the lights out and Kendall is a monster for a freshman.”

The CBI championship game, which took place March 24, wasn’t a high-intensity, climactic finish that college basketball fans equate to the month of March.

The Chanticleers came into the game headlined by DeVantè Jones, a top-20 scorer in the NCAA. Jones picked up two fouls in less than seven minutes before Head Coach Cliff Ellis benched him to avoid the point guard committing a costly third.

Ellis opted to check Jones back into the game two minutes later, and a layup attempt by Smith for Pepperdine drew the third foul on Jones that changed the outlook of the game. Coastal was beating Pepperdine 16-15 when Jones returned to the bench. The Waves went on a 25-6 run to end the half with a score of 40-22.

The Chanticleers never found their footing in the second half.

While it was more competitive, Coastal never brought the lead

to less than 12 and Pepperdine outscored them 44-39 in the second half for a massive 84-61 win. Ohia Obioha had a big night, scoring a career high 16 points and notching 6 rebounds. Junior guard Darryl Polk Jr. had a career day as well, scoring 19 points with 5 steals.

By stat sheet standards, Ross had a modest final game for the Waves. He scored 15 points but facilitated the Pepperdine offense throughout, dishing seven assists.

As a four-year starter, the championship marked his 53rd victory for the Waves.

“Man, it was the least we could do for him,” Edwards said. “He’s an all-time college basketball great. We’re one of the teams that ends their season on a win and I’m so glad we got to do that for him.”

AUSTIN.HALL@pepperdine.edu

Pepperdine Women’s Tennis begins conference play in style justin touhey Staff Writer The No. 7 Pepperdine Women’s Tennis team competed against Santa Clara in a WCC matchup Friday, March 25, at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center in Malibu. The Waves dominated the Broncos in a 7-0 sweep without dropping a set and are now 11-2 on the season with a 2-0 conference record.

The match started off with strong doubles performances by the Waves, as the duos of sophomore Lisa Zaar and No. 115 freshman Taisiya Pachkaleva and redshirt freshman Lexi Ryngler and sophomore Astrid Olsen each won their matches 6-2.

“Taisiya and I really enjoy playing doubles together, and we fire each other up,” Zaar said.

“We have lots of fun on the court, and when we play well in doubles, it translates to our singles matches as well.”

Ryngler and Olsen coasted to an easy victory despite being a completely new competitive partnership.

“Astrid and I play together all the time in practice, but we have

not had the opportunity to play in a match together yet,” Ryngler said. “It was awesome to play with her, and we were finally able to put our practice to use.”

The Waves continued to dominate in singles matches, as No. 14 graduate student Jessica Failla continued her impressive play as she defeated Jenna Marie Gordon in two sets 6-0, 6-1. Failla was previously No. 33 in the preseason poll.

Graduate student Ashley Lahey, ranked No. 1 in preseason, did not play against the Broncos and has dropped out of the Top 125 rankings due to a hand injury.

Zaar won her match 6-1, 6-0, soon after Failla’s victory to put the Broncos on the brink of losing.

“I want to build on the momentum that I gain every point, game and set, and I think that was shown in that I only dropped one game today,” Zaar said. “It shows that I have a lot of focus that I was able to keep throughout the match, which I was happy about.”

Pachkaleva’s victory gave the Waves the clinch point, as she won her match 6-2, 6-2.

After the clinch, the Waves and

Broncos continued to play the dual through, and Olsen added to the team performance with 6-0, 6-4 victory. It was the first time Olsen had played in a match since February.

“I had not played a single match yet so I was getting back into the groove every point,” Olsen said. “I was having fun, and I am super grateful to be able to play in a time like this.”

Ryngler then won her match on court four 6-3, 6-1, and is making a strong impact in the lineup as a freshman.

“I was focused on my match, but slowly I started to see our girls come off the court and I was excited to see how well they were doing,” Ryngler said. “Watching Lisa and Jess win so fast definitely gave me a confidence boost, so I just wanted to keep the momentum going.”

Graduate student Shiori Fukuda won the final match of the day 7-5, 6-2.

The Waves are entering the heart of their season, as WCC play continues over the next few weeks as well as matches against No. 35 Stanford on April 2, and No. 25 UC Berkeley on April 4.

“We are very excited to play the best teams in the nation, and we have had great success against them earlier this year,” Zaar said.

“We enjoy playing tough matches, and we want to find out how good we really are.”

Ryngler said she is looking forward to the challenge that playing top ranked teams presents.

“We are really excited to play teams like Stanford and Berkeley again, and everyone is looking forward to it,” Ryngler said. “We know how challenging it will be, but we have been practicing really hard and I know we can beat them again.”

Like her teammates, Olsen knows the team is training hard right now, but is confident it will pay dividends down the road.

“I think people came into this match a bit more tired than usual: it is just the training load we have been doing right now,” Olsen said. “I feel like we are prepared for everything that is coming our way.”

Justin.touhey@pepperdine.edu

Ali Levens | Photographer Fierce Fukuda | Graduate student Shiori Fukuda serves in her singles match against the Broncos on March 25. Fukuda’s victory during the final match gave the Waves the sweep.

P E P P E R DIN E GR A P H IC M E DIA | S PORTS | A P RI L 1 , 20 21

Baseball completes four-win week with series victory over Saint Mary’s

kar l w inter s taf f w r i te r

B4

Pepperdine Baseball's rollercoaster season reached an upswing, as the Waves recorded four wins in five games between March 23 and March 28.

Following a two-game sweep of Grand Canyon University in Phoenix on March 23 and 24, by scores of 14-5 and 4-3, the Waves turned their attention to their first WCC series of the season at Eddy D. Field Stadium.

The pitching staff helped deliver victories Friday and Saturday, 4-0 and 7-2, but the Waves lacked a timely hit in a 3-2 Sunday loss. The series victory against the visiting Saint Mary's Gaels moved the Waves to 11-11 on the season and 4-2 in conference play.

"Every weekend we're just trying to play a little better than we did last and that definitely happened this weekend," redshirt freshman pitcher Trevor Hinkel said.

Hinkel, Llewellyn Deal Friday Shutout A pair of young pitchers delivered Pepperdine a 4-0 shutout win in a pitchers duel in the series opener in Malibu.

Hinkel, who surprisingly became the Waves’ ace this season, tossed six plus innings of shutout ball. Hinkel scattered six hits and four walks across the six innings but worked his way out of multiple jams.

"Our coaches had a pretty good game plan as far as going to pitchouts and showing the other team that we had a plan to attack their baserunners, as well as the hitters," Hinkel said. "The plan worked perfectly. We kept the baserunners off balance so they weren't really able to get much motion going around the bases."

Hinkel battled with Saint Mary’s starter Carlos Lomeli through five innings, but the Waves broke the scoreless stalemate in the bottom half of the sixth.

Redshirt senior center fielder Reese Alexiades opened the scoring with a run-scoring groundout, then added a mammoth solo home run to

Ali Levens | PHOTO EDITOR

Ryan brinkman | assistant photo editor

Rocket Launch | Redshirt senior center fielder Reese Alexiades takes a deep cut Sunday in Malibu. Alexiades contributed three RBIs over the course of the weekend, as the Waves won two of three games against Saint Mary’s.

Moon Ball | Pepperdine senior first baseman Justin Lutes rounds third after blasting a home run to right field Saturday in Malibu. Lutes’ homer put the Waves ahead 2-1.

center field two innings later to make it 4-0.

Alexiades credited the pitchers for protecting the small lead.

"It really boosts our confidence a lot," Alexiades said. "The pitchers did fantastic this whole weekend, even in our midweek games as well. That really puts a lot of pressure off us hitters."

Freshman pitcher Brandon Llewellyn entered for Hinkel on the mound and only allowed one baserunner in three innings.

Llewellyn completed a rare nine-out save in his seventh appearance of the season.

The shutout was the Waves' second of the season. Hinkel said the weekend served as a confidence boost for the entire staff.

"It was definitely very encouraging, especially because we had a couple guys who came out of the 'pen in some tight situations with runners on base just to get one or two outs," Hinkel said. "They got their job done pretty quickly and saved a couple of runs."

Timely Hitting Leads Waves to Series-Clinching Saturday Win On another sunny and breezy afternoon, the Waves bats consistently put pressure on the Gaels' pitchers in a 7-2 victory.

Senior first baseman Justin Lutes skied a go-ahead home run to right field in the third

inning to put Pepperdine ahead 2-1, and the Waves never looked back.

Alexiades, who moved up to the number two spot in the batting order on March 12, and has hit there in each game since, expressed confidence in the entire lineup. Alexiades contributed a sacrifice fly in the game and his batting average remains above .380 in his 17 games this season.

"It's a lot easier for me to hit with [junior shortstop] Wyatt [Young] in front of me and then guys like Lutes and [sophomore utility man] Ryan Johnson behind me," Alexiades said. "It takes a lot of pressure off me, because I know if I don't get the job done, one of those guys will. Overall, every guy in our lineup has been producing, and it's really encouraging for us as a whole."

Starting pitcher Gunnar Groen departed following four and a third innings of two-run ball, and the bullpen took over and slammed the door. As the offense added insurance runs, sophomore pitcher Nathan Diamond twirled four scoreless innings to earn the win.

"It's a little different than coming in and just closing one inning, to be able to go in there and do it for three," Head Coach Rick Hirtensteiner said. "[Llewellyn and Diamond] have been tremendous for us, and it takes a lot of pressure off of the bullpen and it leaves you with a

ali levens | PHOTO EDITOR Chase Down | Pepperdine junior shortstop Wyatt Young pursues a Saint Mary’s player in a rundown during Sunday’s game at Eddy D. Field Stadium. The Waves defense committed only one error over the weekend series but dropped Sunday’s game 3-2.

Ryan brinkman | assistant PHOtO EDITOR Fire Away | Sophomore left-hander Nathan Diamond completes his follow through Saturday afternoon at Eddy D. Field Stadium in Malibu. After four scoreless innings in a 7-2 Waves win, Diamond holds an even 3.00 earned run average on the season. pretty good staff to pitch on Sunday."

Bats Go Silent in Sunday Loss Pepperdine struck first on a toasty Sunday but could not get a key late-inning hit in a 3-2 loss.

Johnson scored from second on a failed back-pick attempt when a throw from Gaels' catcher JC Santini struck a diving Waves third baseman Aharon Modlin, giving the Waves a 1-0 lead in the second inning.

Pepperdine junior starting pitcher Trevor Kniskern navigated the first three innings unscathed, but the Gaels pulled ahead with a fourth-inning twoout rally. Santini lifted a solo home run over the left field wall near the foul pole, and Blake Mann delivered a two-run single to give the Gaels a 3-1 lead.

Freshman second baseman John Peck smacked a fifth-inning home run to left field, but that would be the final offense the Waves could muster.

The team entered the series leading the WCC in home runs and mashed another long ball per game.

Along with Modlin, Young and Johnson, Peck and fellow freshman Connor Bradshaw have started every game this season for the Waves.

"My freshman year I could not have come close to what they're doing right now," Alexiades said.

"The maturity that Bradshaw and Peck have is pretty unbelievable.

They've solidified themselves as everyday starters, and we do the best we can to encourage them, but with their work ethic and preparation, it doesn't surprise me what they're doing."

Hirtensteiner said while the loss stung, it was encouraging to see the pitching and defense play well. The pitchers allowed only five total runs throughout the series against Saint Mary's.

"We were a little sloppy up in San Francisco when we lost our game," Hirtensteiner said.

"Today we were not sloppy. We just didn't score enough runs, flat out."

Waves pitchers had allowed more than six earned runs per game entering the weekend series, but the week offered a strong turnaround.

"It always starts with the pitching," Hirtensteiner said.

"If we can get good starting pitching, it'll be a good thing for us."

In a season without a WCC tournament to qualify automatically for the NCAA Baseball Tournament, the overall conference record throughout the season will determine the conference champion. Every WCC game matters, including the third game of a clinched series.

"There's not as much room for error this year, for sure," Hirtensteiner said.

COVID-19 Protocols Postpone Road Slate The Waves were set to hit the road for eight consecutive games, but COVID-19 protocols forced the postponement of all eight.

Pepperdine and UCLA canceled their March 30 matchup due to COVID-19related protocols, then the Waves announced a two-week pause of all baseball activities. Their next series following the pause is scheduled for April 16 at home against Gonzaga.

K AR L .W INTER @PEPPER DINE.EDU

B5

P E P P E R DIN E GR A P H IC M E DIA | S PORTS | AP RI L 1 , 20 21

Men’s volleyball beats GCU in three-game series ashl ey mo w r eader new s edi to r The No. 5 Pepperdine Men’s Volleyball team defeated No. 9 Grand Canyon in a three-match weekend March 26-28. Despite facing tough battles, the Waves emerged victorious, ending the series with an 11-5 record and holding their third place standing in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

The Waves are 5-0 in Firestone Fieldhouse against the Antelopes and 7-2 all-time.

“We knew it was going to be a grind going into the weekend and so it feels good to come out on top of it all,” redshirt sophomore opposite hitter Jacob Steele said.

Waves Sweep the First Match The Waves started the weekend strong on Friday with a sweep: 2522, 25-20, 25-21.

The Lopes came out strong in the first set with two aces in the first two points. The Waves struggled to get their momentum, accumulating more attack errors than points through 7-4. At 8-5, the Waves got their feet underneath them, racking up kills from Steele, redshirt senior middle Austin Wilmot and two from freshman middle Andersen Fuller to even out the score, 9-9.

The Waves expanded their lead to 21-16 but faltered, with the Lopes earning several kills and getting back in the game. The teams exchanged hits and errors before a service error by GCU gave the Waves set-point and a Wilmot kill finished the set, 25-22.

The second set saw more aggressive plays at the net by the Waves, with senior outside Spencer Wickens and Steele slamming kills and even a pass-kill by freshman

libero Trey Cole at 13-11. Redshirt senior outside Noah Dyer gave the Waves an ace for set-point, and Wickens sealed the set with a kill, ending 25-20.

The third set was filled with errors, with several service errors on both sides of the net — 3 from the Waves and 7 from the Lopes. The Waves accumulated 10 kills in the third set and 4 blocks. Fuller had three of those blocks: one solo, one with freshman setter Bryce Dvorak and one with Dyer. Steele ended it with a kill, finishing the set 25-21.

“Bryce had a great weekend,” Hunt said. “I think our team hit above .350 for the weekend against a really good team; I think that was credit to him to keeping our hitters involved.”

The Waves ended the match with 40 kills, hitting .375 with 9.5 blocks and 39 assists, 37 of which belonged to Dvorak.

A Record-Breaking Battle on Saturday On Saturday, the Waves battled hard against the Lopes, winning in five sets (25-20, 21-25, 30-28, 21-25, 15-4) and seeing several players hit career-high numbers.

The Waves logged 65 kills over the match, hitting .372 and earning 62 assists. Wilmot led the team in kills with 17 for the match and a career-best .650 hitting average.

Dvorak set his own records with 47 assists and 17 digs, also raking in 3 kills and 2 aces.

The Lopes continued to struggle with serving from the start; their first serve was an error, and they accumulated six more over the set. The Waves came out swinging with kills from Wilmot, Steele and Wickens.

The Pepperdine lead expanded to 8 points at 20-12 following an

Rising Up| Redshirt senior Austin Wilmot slams down a kill against Grand Canyon. Wilmot was one of the Waves offensive leaders during their three-game sweep.

keonabelle paniagua | staff photographer Cross Court| Senior outside hitter Spencer Wickens meets the ball during a weekend three-game series against Grand Canyon. The Waves won all three matches. ace by Fuller. Cole got the second ace of the match at 21-15 and Fuller ended the set with a kill, 25-20.

In set two, the Lopes came back with a vengeance, holding themselves to 3 service errors and increasing their kills to 17. The Waves fought hard, swinging at the net, earning 11 kills. However, the Waves registered 0 blocks and 5 attack errors, and GCU won the second set 25-21.

The third set was a hard won Waves victory. Pepperdine led from the start, with kills from Dvorak, Wilmot and Wickens. Steele and Wilmot logged two blocks, keeping the Lopes at 6 points while the Waves expanded their lead to 14-6.

GCU fought back, logging kills of their own by redshirt sophomore outside Christian Janke and redshirt senior middle Ian McClain, holding the Waves at set-point.

The teams challenged each other for the win until 28-28 when the Waves slammed two kills from Wilmot and Steele to end the set 30-28.

Set four saw a similar pattern to the second, with GCU coming out of the gate swinging, and taking a 5-1 lead. Pepperdine accumulated 15 kills over the set, but with six service errors and four attacking errors, they fell to the Lopes in the fourth set 25-21.

For the final set, the Waves stayed aggressive at the net, logging seven kills from six members of the team, and an ace by Wilmot. Dvorak helped end the match, slamming a kill for match-point and putting up a double-block with Fuller for the win. The Waves logged another win, but still needed to keep their momentum for the final match.

“I don’t think I’ve ever played the same team three times in a row, in terms of consecutive days, so we took the approach that there was just a lot of things we had to fix on our side of the net,” said Head Coach David Hunt. “It’s more of a marathon than a sprint.”

Sealing the Deal on Sunday On Sunday, the Waves finished the trifecta and swept the Lopes again: 29-27, 26-24, 25-18.

The match started slow, with an ace from the Lopes for the first point. Dvorak came out hot, placing smart jump sets across the court, giving Wilmot dimes to kill in the middle, which dropped right in front of the 10-foot line.

The Waves executed at the net and behind the service line, with killer topspins by Steele and short floats from Wickens. The team placed smart balls, often right in front of or on top of the GCU defense. Two kills went straight to the faces or chests of Lopes players — one by Wickens and another by Wilmot at 21-18 and 21-19.

The Lopes pulled ahead for a bit, but Steele stopped their momentum with a kill straight to the libero at GCU’s set-point. The two teams battled at the net for the final points of the set, which ended with a float serve from Dyer and a hitting error by GCU to finish 29-27.

“We started off a little slow,” Wickens said. “We can use the excuse that we played three days in a row, but they came out firing and we needed to match their level and thankfully we did, and we kept that going throughout the rest of the match.”

The second set started with a Waves serve and a point won by Firestone, according to the Pepperdine bench, who cheered “Firestone, Firestone!” after the Lopes failed to return a ball that hit the ceiling.

“Our ceiling’s lower than most, usually we play sometimes in these big stadiums, if we’re lucky, where the ceiling’s really high, but when it helps us out we let it know we’re thankful for it,” Wickens said.

GCU took a short lead 5-4, but the Waves caught up thanks to a kill

by Steele and two big blocks out of

the right side by Fuller and Dvorak. The team stayed scrappy, sticking with the ball and running solid plays.

Cole led the back row defense, staying smart and getting under hard hits from the GCU offense — Cole collected five digs for the match and had a perfect receive average.

Steele logged 7 of his 12 kills for the match in the second set and Wickens hit 4 of his 14, ending the game with a .500 average. Steele took the game to set-point with a back row attack and Dyer finished it off on the outside, ending the set 26-24.

For the third set, the Waves took the lead and ran with it. A service error by GCU put an easy first point on the board, and a kill by Wilmot and a Steele Wilmot double-block set the pace.

Senior outside Alex Gettinger saw the floor serving for Fuller and gave the Waves two aces throughout the night, notably at 22-12 in the third set.

At 23-13, Steele lost a shoe on the court in a tangle up with Dyer, ending the rally on one foot.

Wickens finished the match with a big cross hit from the outside, sealing the Waves’ victory.

For their gameplay over the weekend, Wickens and Dvorak earned MPSF honors for Defensive Player and Offensive Player of the Week, respectively. Wickens also received the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week, the second Pepperdine men’s volleyball player to ever do so.

Due to COVID-19 protocols forcing a cancelation of the Pepperdine v. UCLA game on March 31, the Waves will end their regular season on the road at Stanford April 9-10.

ASHL EY.M OW R EADER @PEPPER DINE.EDU

Spor ti ng ev en ts thi s week THU b as e ball

1

@ S a n d i e g o | postponed

FRI 2

SAT

SAT (CONT.)

3

3

w o me n’ s t e n ni s

M en’s g ol f

@ Stanford | 11 a.m.

@ augusta haskins award invitational in augusta, ga.

b e ac h Vo l l e yba l l arizona invitational in t ucson, az. vs. colorado mesa | noon vs. missouri st. | 3 p.m.

W. vo l l e y b a ll @ sa n ta clara | 6 P. M.

b as e b a l l @ San die go | post-

6

woMen ’ s golf

Men ’ s golf

w ic h ita , ka n s a s v s. S MU | 11 a . M.

@ a u g u sta h a sk i n s awa r d i n v i tati o n a l i n a u g u sta , ga .

@ l su ti g e r g o l f c l a ssi c i n b ato n r o u g e , la.

Men ’ s Ten n is

B aseb all

Track

v s. s a n die go | n o o n

@ apu invite in azusa, cal if.

W. vol l eyba l l

arizona invitational in tucson, az. vs. No. 10 Grand canyon | 11 A.M. vs. No. 13 Arizona | 1 p.m.

4

TUE

m en’s te nni s

wom en’s soc cer

be ach Vol l eyba l l

SUN

@ s a n ta c l a r a | 5 P. M .

base ba l l @ San diego | p o stponed

wi c hi ta, k ansas @ Wi c hi ta stat e | 1 0 a. m .

women ’ s ten n is @ ca l | n o o n

@ L M U | p o stp o ned

WED 7 woMen ’ s golf @ l su ti g e r g o l f c l a ssi c i n b ato n r o u g e , la.

B6

P E P P E R DIN E GR A P H IC M E DIA | S PORTS | A P RI L 1 , 20 21

ali levens | staff writer