Pepperdine Graphic 4-29-2021

THE PEPPERDINE GRAPHIC VOLUME L

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ISSUE 19 |

April 29, 2021

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Jay Brewster: Pepperdine’s new provost ashley mo w r eader new s edi tor Jay Brewster is many things — a father, a husband, a researcher, a professor, a Church of Christ elder and a Pepperdine fan. The newest title tacked on to his resume: Pepperdine provost.

President Jim Gash announced to the Pepperdine community April 19, that Brewster would succeed Provost Rick Marrs at the conclusion of his term July 31.

Gash selected Brewster out of the final six candidate pool, made up two internal candidates, one candidate who had previously worked for Pepperdine and three external candidates.

“The idea of jumping into a full time as Provost is a deeper dive into administration but at a level that is really exciting,” Brewster said. “I have deep respect for President Gash and his vision and I’m looking forward to being a part of some exciting things moving forward.”

Brewster graduated from Abilene Christian University with a degree in Science Education in 1989 and received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from Rice University in 1993.

He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at McLaughlin Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences but said he missed the undergraduate campus environment.

“It’s a privilege, I think, to work with undergraduates as they’re taking their first steps out of the home and into their adult life as an adult,” Brewster said. “I always tell my students in my class, it’s the best part of my day when I get to work with them, and talk to them and talk science with them and share our lives together.”

Brewster moved with his family to Malibu from Montana to teach at Pepperdine in 1997 and has taught in the Natural Science Division ever since.

“I’m here because I believe in

Pepperdine as a Christian university that is very unique: a partnership between scholars, scholarship, high-caliber students and a genuine commitment to a community of faith,” Brewster said.

When the provost search began, Brewster applied due to his relevant experience working as an associate provost for several years and serving as divisional dean of the Natural Science Division.

“It was not anticipated; I think we had a great group of finalists and I was just excited to be able to go through the process,” Brewster said. “But it was really exciting to hear the news, really exciting to talk with President Gash and think about the future. It’s been a dizzying week leading up to today, I would say,” In his announcement to the Pepperdine community, Gash called Brewster a person of “impeccable character” with “gentle yet profound” wisdom and commended him for his notable accomplishments at the University in his research and administrative leadership roles.

“All of the above clearly illustrates Jay’s heart to serve this institution that he loves and why he is the right person to lead the academic enterprise at Pepperdine in this next season,” Gash wrote in his April 19 email.

While the administrative aspects of higher education don’t appeal to everyone, Brewster said he enjoys that kind of work because of the impact it creates at Pepperdine.

“I get excited when I can be a part of a process that expands our capability to serve students, expanding facilities, brings more money to the University — all that is fun to me,” Brewster said.

Brewster will assume his role August 1, 2021, during a critical transition as Pepperdine plans to return to all in-person services and activities in the fall. Among his immediate priorities as provost

include vaccination, surveillance COVID-19 testing and community building, Brewster said.

“I think it will be really important for all of us to be available, to be engaged, to get to know professors, for professors to get to know students and to try to quickly adapt and adjust to what we hope will be a restoration of normalcy,” Brewster said. “I know it won’t be fully normal, but I think we want to move in that direction as quickly as we can.”

An educator at heart, Brewster said he would love to continue teaching, but his first priority is being an effective provost.

“It is hard for me to imagine not being a teacher fairly regularly, but we’ll see how it goes,” Brewster said.

The provost role at Pepperdine doubles as chief academic officer and manages the five schools as well as oversees several departments like OneStop, the Office of the Registrar, Office of Student Accessibility, Office of Institutional Effectiveness and the Center for Faith and Learning, among others.

Brewster acknowledged the large role the

provost plays and said he’s excited to work alongside other executive leaders at the University.

“It’s an adventure,” Brewster said. “I would say there’s a lot of unknown moving forward for me.

I’m excited when I talk to people in the TAC. I have a deep respect for those that I know that work in administration.”

ASHL EY.M OW R EADER @PEPPERDINE.EDU

“I’m here because I believe in Pepperdine as a Christian university that is very unique: a partnership between scholars, scholarship, highcaliber students and a genuine commitment to a community of faith.”

Jay Brewster Biology professor

Students elect new SGA Executive Board for 21-22 AB BY W ILt NEW S ASS I S TA N T Pepperdine’s Student Government Association welcomed its new executive board April 22, consisting of President Chase Johnson, Executive Vice President Madison Walker and Vice President of Administration Clara Fer-

manian, all who are rising seniors.

The position of vice president of finance is currently vacant.

Elections took place fully online April 21 and 22, and Pepperdine students voted through a Google Form received via their emails.

The executive vice president position was the only race with two candidates.

photo BY Dane Bruhahn Next SGA leaders | Madison Walker, Chase Johnson and Clara Fermanian stand on Pepperdine’s Malibu campus. The three rising seniors will serve on SGA next academic year.

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Wh at ’s AH E AD

“SGA is something that I am really passionate about,” Walker said. “Being able to have a leadership position that also is going to do good for the student body makes me really excited.”

Candidates campaigned this year fully online through social media posts, emails requesting for signatures and direct messages requesting votes. Fermanian said campaigning online was difficult because it was hard to reach enough people virtually.

“Emailing hundreds and hundreds of people to get those signatures was probably the hardest part,” Fermanian said. “When you’re on campus, you just walk up to random people with a binder, but online, you don’t really get responses.”

The new executive board campaigned online but also met and started to brainstorm for the year ahead online. They had their first FaceTime call to virtually meet each other right after they were elected. Walker said they were excited to work together and get to know each other better.

L if e & A r t s

Pe r s pe ct iv e s

“We all have the same drive and are willing to work really hard for it,” Walker said. “I’m just excited that we seem to mesh well together because I feel like how much you get done is dependent on how other people can work together.”

Students also elected officers for each class. The senior class president is Nicolas Armenta, and the senators are Jerry Calderon, Tamie Daniels and Melissa Mejia.

For the junior class, the president is Jessica Velicer, and the senators are Mikey Chan, Tise David and Jada Okhiria. The sophomore class president and one sophomore class senator position are vacant, and Sabrina Musharbash will fill the other sophomore class senator position.

Throughout the past year, SGA worked on resolutions to implement a spring recess over Easter weekend, advocate for campus access during the pandemic and propose programs like a cultural exchange program and a Great Books honors program.

This upcoming year, Fermanian said SGA hopes to increase trans-

this week on

SP ORTS

COVID-19 A7- Why Pepperdine should B1A3- Pepperdine mandate vaccinations outbreak continues

Concerts begin again after COVID-19 shutdowns.

Volleyball takes B4- Men’s the MPSF tournament.

A4- Graphic staff share

Meet some of the fresh faces of Pepperdine.

track runs B5- Pepperdine fast.

on campus, resolves within Athletics.

pieces of Good News from their lives.

the the waves waves report report

for students and staff.

Assistant B2A9- Perspectives Editor Sawa Yamakawa shares why LinkedIn is toxic

Fri: Fri: 2-3 3-5 ft ft

SAT: Sat: 2-4 3-5 ft

SUN: sun: 2-3 3-5 ft

parency between the officers and the students, and expand their diversity, equity and inclusion committee.

“Everyone is always like, ‘I have this campus life fee. Where’s it going?’ or ‘I know about SGA, but what are they doing?’” Fermanian said. “So I think increasing that transparency is really, really important.”

As Pepperdine is expected to fully open in the fall, Walker said the entire SGA board is excited to welcome students to campus and lead in an in-person setting.

“We’ve been apart for a whole year; I think it is going to be important to make sure everyone feels like their voice is heard and taken care of,” Walker said.

Students are still able to apply for the vice president of finance, sophomore class president, sophomore class senator, general judicial council chair and director of diversity, equity and inclusion.

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ABBY.W ILT@PEPPER DINE.EDU

FA C E T O FA C E Hosts Lindsey Sullivan and Ivy Moore talk to photojournalist Amy Zielinski.

Available anywhere you listen to podcasts.

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

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Good News: Healed by Moonlight

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

No new crimes to report.

This week In SGA

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Ti f fa n y H all C O py c h i e f

TIFFANY.HALL@PEPPERDINE.EDU

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PRESIDENT’S BRIEFING & OTHER NEWS YOU MISSED P eppe rd ine a n noun c e s in-pe rson c omme nc e me n t c o mmencement events will c o n tinue as scheduled. th e class of 2020 will gra duate may 21, at 3:30 P.M. P DT, and the Class of 20 21 will gr aduate MAY 22, A T 3 :30 P.M.

c omme n c e me nt gue st re quire me n ts Out-of-state guests must be fully vaccinated. all r egister ed students ar e consider ed in-state r esidents.

DA NCE I N FLI GHT P ep p erdi ne danc e i n f l i g ht wi l l p erf orm vi rt u al ly may 1 , at 6 p. m. P DT and may 2 , at 2 p. m. P DT.

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Each graduate may invite two guests. Outof-state guests must be fully vaccinated.

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There are open positions in SGA for the 2020-2021 academic year.

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

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What: songfest 2021 When: 6:30 p.m. PdT hosted by: pepperdine student activities

Covid-19 by the numbers

When the sun sinks behind the horizon and the moon is at just the perfect height in the night sky, the view from behind Stauffer Chapel on campus is breathtaking.

There’s something about the way the moon’s silvery light refracts off the water matched with the lazy rotations of the Santa Monica Ferris wheel that always made me feel safe.

The darkness after 10 p.m., has always been my favorite — everyone settling into their respective sleeping places and starting to slow down. Coincidentally, when I lived on campus, it was the time I’d start my descent from Eden Sigma Hall to main.

After waltzing around, saying goodbye to students scampering from Payson and listening to a good deal of music, I’d find my way to the same bench by the same chapel with the same awe-inspiring view and sit until I felt so small that everything else slipped away.

It was just me and the moon.

Now I’m home without my bench. Yet my wonder has not ceased.

Lucky for me, I continue to fall asleep underneath the same moon that stood watch as I explored the random nooks and crannies of Pepperdine at 11 p.m. Something about that feels comforting; it feels like home.

I realize my inner peace was never guided by my earthly surroundings, but rather I was stilled by the grandiosity that is the overwhelming expanse of night. When I walk from my car to my front door at 12 a.m., it always strikes me how beautiful the hush is.

You’ll have to forgive me as I wax on poetically; the serenity of midnight ignites a creative renaissance in me. The dearth of activity unburdens my soul.

On the occasion I’m up at 1 a.m., the world feels ethereal and mystical. It’s hard to be my normally pessimistic self when I’m staring up at the winking stars.

Problems that have plagued me all day slip away with a small whispered promise to be back tomorrow; but for tonight they’re gone. I can breathe.

At 2 a.m., I’ve relaxed so fully into myself that I do my best thinking. “2 a.m. Tiff,” my friends call me because this new persona is someone so different than the stressed day version of myself.

She’s reclusive, often overtaken by the fatigue of the day, but I constantly try to remind myself who she is.

If by some miracle, I’m still awake at 3 a.m., my bed is the comfiest it has ever been, and I smile falling asleep knowing I get to enjoy all the same serenity in another 24 hours.

That’s the secret of all of this pedantic nonsense I’m sharing — we all have something that will make us feel whole. There’s an action, a place or maybe even a time of day that allows us to breathe a little deeper, be inspired, feel safe.

I hope you find yours.

SGA announced Seaver College commencement ceremonies will be held in per son.

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What: songfest 2021 When: 6:30 p.m. PdT hosted by: pepperdine student activities

Pepperdine

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What: AAPI Heritage week: Healing workshop When: 6 P.M. PDT Hosted by: japanese student union

Malibu

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NO EVENTS SCHEDULED

California

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What: AAPI Heritage week: A Social-Academic Dialogue on Diverse Experiences When: 6 P.M. PDT Hosted by: Hawai’I CLUB

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Class of 2025 students commit to Pepp in virtual environment Sam T o r re New s ass i s tan t The admitted students of Pepperdine’s Class of 2025 find connections with their peers as they prepare to make a decision that will affect the rest of their lives.

This year, Pepperdine Admissions approached college-decision season with a new angle: depending on the severity of LA county regulations, events would need to be either socially distanced or virtual. Finding the balance between effectiveness and safety has led to the Admissions office creating student panels and drive-thru tours.

“When admitted students and families interact with us virtually, we hope to communicate the Pepperdine experience as best as we can,” wrote Becca Bommarito, Admissions counselor and events coordinator for the Office of Admission in an April 23 email to the Graphic. “Pepperdine has such a vibrant and tight-knit community, so we’re trying to find the best ways to translate that through our virtual events.”

Pepperdine Admissions Hosts Virtual Receptions Malibu Reception took place April 9 and 836 admitted students joined the event, Bommarito wrote.

Pepperdine held webinars for admitted Regents’ Scholars January 28 and April 6, Bommarito wrote. Professor Paul Contino held a virtual mock Great Books class April 12, for all admitted Regents Scholars. For Church of Christ students, Pepperdine held a virtual reception April 17.

Ulysse Saltiel, an admitted student from Olympia, Wash., was one of the Malibu Reception attendees.

“One thing I want to see more of is, it was really cool, they had a student panel,” Saltiel said.

“Talking to current students was really helpful.”

To further connect with current students, Saltiel said he used social media such as Reddit and Instagram.

Rianna Smith, an admitted

student from Fairhope, Ala., said she also attended a question and answer session with current Pepperdine students. Smith said she found the response of the Admissions Office special because many of her friends who went to different colleges did not get invited to receptions after colleges accepted them.

“At this time, we do not have details about in-person receptions,” Bommarito wrote. “We’re currently focusing our efforts on virtual events and minimal on-campus visitors.

Students Attend Drive-Thru Tours Admissions gave admitted students very few opportunities to visit campus this year, one of which are the drive-thru tours.

On April 2, Pepperdine hosted a Catch a Wave Drive-Thru day for in-state admitted students, Bommarito wrote. During this event, 217 students went on a 15-minute drive-thru tour of campus, and were given a “swag bag” with a QR code to an audio recording providing information.

Brooke Carter, an admitted student from Moorpark, Calif., went on a walking tour of campus in a group with three other in-state families. Carter said the walking tour gave her a much better idea of life at Pepperdine than the drive-thru tours.

Out-of-state students who self quarantine according to California Public Health Guidelines are able to go on driving tours of campus, Bommarito wrote.

“It’s kind of unfortunate that the actual tour couldn’t happen, that would have been great if I was able to walk around campus or get a guided tour that way,” Saltiel said. “But, you know, that is the best they could, so it was alright.”

Pepperdine is also offering virtual tours to students; Smith said she enjoyed these virtual tours because they allowed her to see campus in 3D. Several friends have sent her videos of drive-thru tours, and Smith hopes to visit campus soon.

photo courtesy of brooke carter

Car Ride through Malibu | Admitted student Brooke Carter attended Pepperdine Drive-Thru Day on April 2, where she went on a 15-minute car tour of the Malibu Campus. The University offered the tours to out-of-state students, and those who participate are gifted a “swag bag,” which includes a link to an audio recording with information about campus and plans to reconvene in another special meeting.

Admitted Students Connect With the Pepperdine Community Over the summer, the Pepperdine admissions counseling team will continue to set up virtual appointments, Bommarito wrote.

“Families and admitted students seem to understand the current situation and have been very flexible and accommodating to visitation restrictions,” Bommarito wrote.

Smith originally applied as a Religion major, however, she said she switched to International Business. Counselors at Pepperdine helped her make the switch, and Smith was able to talk to students within her major.

“I hope to talk more with counselors about that, and then, people who are actually in the program,” Smith said. “That would be nice to hear, to see what kind of careers people have pursued from their major so I hope that I get that over the summer, but also just connecting with people who are there and their experiences and what I have to look forward to.”

Pepperdine’s enrollment deadline is May 1, in accordance with National College Decision Day, Bommarito wrote.

The housing portal, Smith said, opens May 15, and she had enough time to connect with other students through social media and make her decision on attending Pepperdine.

“I felt so good about it because I had so much time to figure things out and figure out when I had a roommate,” Smith said.

“I applied Early Action to Pepperdine but then I got deferred to regular so that was good too because I had more time to meet people and that kind of thing, so it all kind of fell into place.”

Since he was an Early Action admit, Saltiel said he felt he had a sufficient amount of time to commit to Pepperdine. Saltiel was also able to change his major from Economics to International Business with the help of Pepperdine counselors.

Carter said the student-run Pepperdine 2025 Instagram placed admitted students into Snapchat groups together to encourage bonding. This group is

where Carter found her roommate.

Carter said she did not feel rushed to commit to Pepperdine, and after being accepted and talking with a financial aid adviser, she felt comfortable with her decision.

“I was ready to jump in; I mean Pepperdine was my reach school,” Carter said. “So when I found out I got admitted I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’”

While Carter has been able to interact with students, Carter said it had more to do with people reaching out over social media, rather than an admission event.

“I feel like if Admissions hosted events to allow students who are committed or deciding or whatever by May 15, I think that’d be a better way to like get to know even more people because it’s kind of limited to just the people in the group chats whereas it’d be cool to meet even more,” Carter said.

SAM .TOR R E@PEPPER DINE.EDU

COVID-19 outbreak update: Campus cases continue, Athletics outbreak ends Ashley mo w r eader new s edi to r The week of March 23, Pepperdine experienced its first COVID-19 outbreaks on campus.

The University has recorded 58 COVID-19 cases since March 25, 43 of those connected to the outbreaks.

The University tracked three outbreaks between students, Chief Business Officer Nicolle Taylor said. One outbreak stemmed from Athletics and spread between student-athletes, one from Lovernich Apartments and one from Drescher Apartments.

Of the cases, 22 came from Lovernich, 11 from Drescher and 10 from Athletics, with some over-

lap between Lovernich and Athletics, Taylor said, according to the Student Health Center’s records.

Since the identification of the outbreak, the University has performed weekly COVID-19 tests on Lovernich and Drescher residents and increased testing of athletes.

The Athletics outbreak is considered resolved as it has been more than 14 days since the last positive COVID-19 test result, Taylor said. Drescher and Lovernich, however, have continued to see positive COVID-19 test results, meaning the outbreak is ongoing.

“We still had positive cases coming up to the end of last week, and so we know that we are still in the outbreak scenario right now,”

Taylor said. “Until we don’t have positive cases that can be linked back, then we’re still in that same situation.”

Due to the continuation of the outbreak, Drescher and Lovernich remain at single-occupancy until further notice, Taylor said, meaning some students will remain in first-year residence halls or in Seaside.

“I suspect Lovernich will resolve before Drescher, because — knock on wood — unless another positive case comes either out of Seaside or Lovernich, then it is likely the Lovernich outbreak will resolve first,” Taylor said.

A S H L E Y. MO W RE A D E R@P E P P E RD I N E . E D U

screenshot by Ashley Mowreader Not so Novel No More | The Pepperdine COVID-19 dashboard shows weekly case numbers since January.

The University witnessed a spike in cases the last week of March and is beginning to see the outbreaks resolve.

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GOOD NEWS GOOD NEWS GOOD The Graphic staff shares pieces of good news from their lives.

Party On J o e A l l good N e ws A s s i s tant In less than two weeks, I’ll be flying to Nashville, Tenn., for my older sister’s wedding. Of course, I’m excited.

I’ve been looking forward to the wedding for a while now, for the obvious reasons. I’m very happy for my sister, and who doesn’t love a good wedding? My sister also placed me in charge of music for the reception — a decision that she may come to regret but will never forget.

Additionally, it will be my first “large-ish” event in over a year with a little over 200 people attending (I and most guests will be fully vaccinated and socially distanced). Also, because it comes at the end of this school year, I’m looking at it as a mental stand-in celebration for all the good things from over the course of the past year.

Like everyone, there are celebrations I’ve missed out on: two birthdays, my high school graduation, the traditional college sendoff, the pageantry of the holiday season and, in a couple weeks, the end of my first year of college. An unorthodox first year, but a first year nonetheless.

There have been small, intimate gatherings to commemorate these moments, but they don’t feel quite the same in the context of everything that’s going on. Everyone, myself included, is waiting for those celebratory moments to return, and they will.

Celebrations are a foundation of the human condition. I mean, there’s a reason Dionysus was one of the more popular Greek gods.

As an introvert, I’ve always been a bit restrained in massive

gatherings and celebrations. Sure, I enjoy a good party, but sometimes it takes a little bit more energy out of me than others. This past year has shown that even I need to cut loose on the regular.

Frankly, I feel like I have a bit of pent-up partying energy.

While I haven’t typically been the biggest party animal, I’ve come to appreciate the value of celebration.

During those times when revelry has been scarce, I’ve found moments to celebrate on my own.

I love music, and there’s no substitute for a good song. When I really let go, I’ve found myself singing loudly and dancing by myself to celebrate. In those cases, it may be better that no one sees or hears me.

When the parties return to their former glory, I’m sure they’ll be “the bee’s knees,” to use a term from the original Roaring Twenties. At the same time, I’m glad I’ve gained a larger appreciation for celebration. It feels great to just party on your own sometimes.

In the immortal words of KISS: “I want to rock-and-roll all night, and party every day.”

Well, maybe not all night and every day, I don’t know if I have the stamina that KISS has, but that doesn’t mean I can’t live like every day is something to celebrate.

Evening walks with man’s best friend Reagan Phi l l i ps News Assistant Walking Cricket has become one of the unexpected joys of a year at home.

Admittedly, I’m not always eager to drop what I’m doing, put on shoes, grab a coat and spend the next hour walking a seven-year-old golden retriever still bustling with the chaotic energy of a puppy. But without fail, each time I return home, I find myself calmer and more content than when I left.

Before COVID-19, Cricket would spend most of her energy greeting everyone in my home as we rushed in and out of the house throughout the day. If she was lucky, on some days she might pile in the car with us to run an errand.

But when the pandemic relegated me, my brother and our mother to our home all day, Cricket needed an outlet for all her unexpended energy.

To satisfy that need for exercise and engagement, my brother would play with her between classes, and I decided I would start walking Cricket after dinner each night.

So, for the past year or so, right around sunset, I’ve called out for Cricket, clasped a leash to her collar and set out across the neighborhood.

During spring and summer 2020, I had very little to do. As a result of that free time, it was very easy to develop our evening walks into a daily routine. However, as the months of online classes have rolled on, I’ve often found myself stuck in a perpetual state of half-focus and half-relaxation, distressed by the worst of both worlds. But by getting out of the house at least once each day, I’ve been able to punctuate my evening with an hour of recreation and reflection.

Feeling the cool evening breeze is calming. Speeding up my steps to keep pace with the energetic dog at the end of my leash gets me active. Even small things — like seeing neighbors hauling in their groceries — remind me that life is going on all around, even when I

can’t see it. Perhaps greatest of all is watching Cricket dart across the house, overcome with joy, when she first sees me put my shoes on.

After Cricket has run back inside and up to her bed, I’m still buoyed by the benefits of such a brisk break. When I return to my desk, I find I have more clarity and calm, and what overwhelmed me an hour ago seems that much more manageable.

What started as a way to satisfy my dog’s energy ended up serving as a much-needed daily decompression and a time to remind myself of the blessings around me and the tasks ahead of me.

As I round out my first year of college, I’ve started to sit with and examine the varying joys and disappointments I’ve encountered.

Such a practice can lead me to worry about missed opportunities or lost time. But whenever I think about my walks with Cricket, I remember the unexpected delights I’ve experienced, and like Cricket as we leave the house, my mind races with anticipation for the future.

R EAGAN.PHIL L IPS@PEPPER DINE.EDU

Reagan Phillips | News Assistant

J O E . A L L G O O D @P E P P E RD I N E . E D U

Happy Dog Happy Life | News Assistant Reagan Phillips’ seven-year-old golden retriever Cricket smiles at Phillips’ house. Phillips and Cricket go on nightly walks together since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Find appreciation in the pandemic H a d l e y B i g gs B u s i n e s s Di rect or In my lifetime, there has never been a time where every individual in the world was impacted by an event. COVID-19 changed this fact about my life. It brought with it a slew of destruction and disappointment.

Since Pepperdine students and I left campus March 2020,

COVID-19 has allowed me the space to reevaluate my priorities and focus on the positives.

As a senior and losing a year to the pandemic, it felt like disappointment after disappointment. I felt such a weight realizing that I would never be able to experience college to the fullest extent again as Pepperdine moved online.

I began to crave the most minuscule moments on campus like sitting in Payson Library or waving at friends from across the courtyard.

These are experiences I never fully appreciated when I was on campus. This craving also applied outside of the Pepperdine bubble,

like going to restaurants or being able to hang out with my friends with ease.

COVID-19 showed me and reminded me there is so much to be thankful about. Instead of being annoyed waking up to a 7 a.m., alarm clock for school, I will feel excited to be able to sit and learn in a classroom again with my peers.

This sentiment is shared not by just me, but also by people across the world. COVID-19 allowed people more personal time and the space to reevaluate their priorities and learn about themselves. It also brought new innovations, creativity and appreciation.

This time is similar to the beginning of the Renaissance. The Renaissance’s insurgence of arts and creativity emerged following the Black Plague. COVID-19 relates to this time as it is bringing new innovations, creativity, and Theaters utilized Zoom to continue to bring the arts to life on the online platform. Pepperdine’s theatre department put on an online adaption of “As You Like It”.

John Krasinski created the “Some Good News Channel” to remind people to stick to the positive when everyday life feels heavy.

In conversations with family and peers, we all have realized that COVID-19 changed us and made

us more grateful individuals.

Once the world opens back up, I will be more appreciative of the small things. Every cup of coffee I drink sitting inside a coffee shop will remind me how grateful I am to be experiencing life.

The good news is even though life is exhausting, this time will pass and I hope everyone found something to be thankful for while in quarantine.

HADL EY.BIGGS@PEPPER DINE.EDU

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NEWS GOOD NEWS Good News The Graphic staff shares pieces of good news from their lives.

Studying abroad in rural Texas A d d i s o n W h it e n L i f e a n d A rt s w rit e r To say things haven’t gone according to plan over the past year would be the biggest understatement of all time, but things haven’t really gone the way I planned them for some time now.

Traditionally at Pepperdine, your sophomore year is spent abroad. You go somewhere like London or Buenos Aires to explore and travel and “discover yourself” or whatever.

I’m a sophomore, and I’m spending my year abroad at home, in Whitewright, Texas, but I’ve still had what I would consider a life-changing experience, just like a normal Pepperdine abroad experience.

This past year or so at home has been a time of unprecedented growth, as I’ve reconnected to my home, my family, my local friends and, most importantly, myself.

I got to be home for two Bluebonnet seasons, three new Taylor Swift albums and, my personal favorite, my little sister’s 16th birthday. Normally, I wouldn’t be home for her birthday, so I felt so lucky to get to go with her to her driver’s license test and celebrate that milestone with her.

I got to celebrate my 20th birth-

day with some cookies and cream Blue Bell ice cream (the superior flavor and brand), and I’ve been on more late-night Whataburger (the superior burger chain) runs than I can count.

There have been some downsides, of course, to this time at home. In February, there was a massive snowstorm that devastated the entire state. My family and I weren’t able to get flights out to Cancun like some people, so we had to sit in our house and freeze until we were able to go to my grandparents’ home where they had power.

Even that, though, became somewhat of a funny memory for my family to look back on, as my mom likes to recount the worst part wasn’t having no power or

water, but rather being so bored we actually started coloring “like a bunch of kindergarteners,” as she puts it.

Being away from my Pepperdine friends forced me to reach out to old high school friends I hadn’t talked to in a while, something I’m now so grateful for.

Now that we’ve all been vaccinated, I spend almost all of my free time with my home friends, and we’ve become closer than we ever were as kids. I’m even planning a road trip out to Los Angeles next month with one of them.

I think this all feels like good news to me because I never expected to love my home this much. I expected to resent having to be here for so long, but now, the thought of leaving for Malibu

again makes me sort of sad.

I’ll have to celebrate things without my family, be intentional about maintaining the bonds I’ve reformed with my home friends and remember how to pretend I like the fries at In-N-Out, but I know I’m ready to go back to normal campus life in Malibu. The good news is I’ll just go back with a new appreciation for the place and the people I’ll always come home to.

ADDIE.W HITEN@PEPPER DINE.EDU

The good news is the news E l i z a b e th Sm it h P G M A dv i sE r The good news is the news.

The idea of good news has become novel, almost subversive, in today’s highly polarized news landscape.

Actor and producer John Krasinski hosted a show called “Some Good News” that became wildly popular on social media in the early months of the pandemic (remember March, April 2020?). The idea of Krasinski’s show played off the premise that things were so bad that audiences needed some rare, good news for a much-needed boost, a shot of dopamine, some hope.

I get it. The news can be scary, sad and even traumatic.

Beyond reports of COVID-19, racial violence and growing economic disparity, the news that I also find alarming is of the deep divisions that often seem to coalesce around the news industry.

That division is seen clearly, at least to a journalist, in the way people respond to journalists . But shouting or tweeting “fake news” at a hard-working journalist is less of an accusation and more a reflection of one’s values about information that is uncomfortable.

Actual misinformation threatens people’s lives and livelihoods and pedals false information about the pandemic, a political candidate or even an education policy with the aim to amplify division and hate. Misinformation is strategic, not factual.

Newsrooms are not perfect — not by a long shot. Newsrooms have failed, in many cases, to represent the complex diversity of their audiences.

There is a long-overdue reckoning happening in many newsrooms across the country, and it will be the work of all journalists to

ensure those places become more equitable institutions that seek to more deeply understand and tell the stories of entire communities.

But for all of its imperfections, the news tells us of the places in which we invest our lives, our time and our money.

As I scroll through the homepages of the LA Times, The Malibu Times and the Thousand Oaks Acorn, I see stories about poet laureates, community fundraisers, sewer charges and property taxes. I see reports about COVID-19 vaccines, the Academy Awards and funding toward low-income housing. None of these stories showed up on my social media feeds and yet, here they are helping me to better understand my neighbors, my community and my choices.

As I scroll through the homepage of the Graphic, I see stories of the incoming provost, the Model United Nations team and the recent graduation announcement. I see opinion pieces discussing Syria, vaccination policies and LinkedIn. I see sports reporting on the recent tennis wins and Pepperdine’s successes across the WCC. I see Life & Arts pieces on student teachers, the Compassion in Action Club and an indie Irish film.

In all of my years as a journalist, journalism educator and newsroom adviser, I am continually convicted that we cannot fully invest ourselves in our communities if we do not know the stories — big and small — of those communities.

Perhaps the best news in all of this is that the news isn’t some lark, some hobby or playful satire. News — real news — is representative of an essential value and the natural right to freedom of expression fundamental to the First Amendment. The beauty of the First Amendment is that it not only protects journalists, it protects each of us.

That’s more than good news — that is hope.

E LIZA B E T H .S MI T H @P E P P E RD I N E . E D U

Screenshot by Ashley Mowreader Virtual Newsroom | The spring 2021 News team meets for a final pitch meeting Monday, April 26. From left to right, Sam Torre, Ashley Mowreader, Kyle McCabe, Joe Allgood, Abby Wilt, Reagan Phillips, Claire Lee, Annabelle Childers and Natalie Hardt. Not pictured: Miles Campbell.

More still to come Ashl ey Mowreader News Editor When I first pitched the Good News column to my staff during our Monday night meeting, I wasn’t sure if this would be something anyone cared about. Looking at the nine faces on the screen unflinchingly staring back at me, I wasn’t even sure if this was something my own team cared about.

Luckily, I’ve been proven wrong in more ways than once.

The Good News column, though a little silly and very sappy, has provided an outlet for my news team and the greater Graphic staff to share their story in a present and powerful way I never could have imagined.

Watching each Good News piece pop across my desk, I get eager to open it and take a peek into someone’s life.

After collaborating with this fabulous Graphic staff for almost 14 weeks, I still have yet to meet most of them in person and getting this glimpse into the world beyond their Zoom backgrounds made me feel closer to each writer. Hearing each voice ring clearly through their column, my good news was that I was blessed with such an incredible gaggle of individuals as colleagues, mentors and friends.

Working as News Editor, it’s my job to stay on top of community news — whether that’s administrative changes, campus events, student life or Malibu life, I keep my eyes and ears peeled for the next big story. But I’ve found so much more joy in these little 500 word stories. They may never make it to A1 (the front page) but I’m glad to have them as a close second on A2.

In the past 10 weeks, I’ve been reminded of the good news of the rain, summersaults with friends, dogs, Pepperdine campus after dark, coffee in the morning, music, car rides with mom and especially Stella the Drescher dirt hill.

I’ve done my best to teach my team about what it means to be a diligent news reporter, but they’ve taught me the best news is often right under my nose.

So, what’s next Pepperdine community? The Good News column may be coming to a close, but that doesn’t mean the positivity has to.

The Graphic remains a place for the Pepperdine community to receive essential local and campus news, and we’ll continue to provide the hard-hitting content you need and deserve. But before you take to the Instagram comment section about where the good news is at, I’ll urge you to remember this lesson: It’s probably right in front of you, and it doesn’t take a student-journalist to tell you that.

Signing off, Your Favorite News Editor

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

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Pepp Model UN named ‘distinguished delegation’ at national conference annab ell e c hilders new s Ass i s tan t After months of preparation, the hard work of students in Pepperdine Model United Nations paid off on a national stage.

The National Model United Nations Conference awarded Pepperdine’s Model UN team with four awards following their participation in the virtual New York conference.

“It’s so good to have this shared experience with people from other schools and other states and other countries and other cultures who share the same passion for resolving international issues,” junior delegate Alexis Olmstead said.

March 28-31, 24 Pepperdine students participated in the conference, taking place on an online meeting platform called Gatherly.

Senior Hadley Biggs, co-president of Model UN and business director of the Graphic, said in previous conferences, around 2,000-3,000 students from around the world have participated over five or six

days in New York, spending ninehour days at the conference.

Due to COVID-19 and the virtual format of this year’s conference, the conference was shorter in length and smaller in size, with around 1,500 students spending six hours a day on Gatherly.

Despite the smaller size of the conference, Pepperdine’s team totaled nearly the same amount as previous years, with every member of the Model UN chapter attending the conference.

“We’re very thankful to be able to have the same quality team, the same size because we thought we were gonna have to downsize this year just because of COVID,” Biggs said.

Biggs said the conference was a culmination of the research and practice Pepperdine’s team had worked on throughout the year.

“Overall, Model UN is a representation of the United Nations at a small scale,” Biggs said. “I think it’s a great place for people to develop their professional skills as well as their people skills and their

annabelle childers | news assistant

world skills.”

The team participated in the conference on behalf of Mexico and spent months researching the policy and views of the country.

In the months leading up to the conference, Biggs said the chapter met weekly, simulating impromptu speeches and debates and writing their position papers.

Biggs said students submit the position papers months prior to the conference after conducting thorough research and writing on a topic crucial to current events from their country’s perspective.

Students cover their specific topics from many angles, and the position paper covers the United Nations’ previous discussions about the topic, other countries’ stances on the topic, Mexico’s stance on the topic and other facts and figures.

Pepperdine’s team submitted 12 position papers to NMUN, and two of the submissions won “Best Position Paper.” In addition to those awards, Biggs and sophomore delegate Alex Kwan won “Outstanding Delegate,” and the Pepperdine chapter won the second-highest overall distinction, “Distinguished Delegation.”

Pepperdine’s distinction marked the third year the team won “Distinguished Delegation.”

“It was great to see that we still kept up with the same caliber even online,” Biggs said.

The awards also added to the number Pepperdine won the previous year when the in-person portion of the conference was canceled.

“It’s actually really cool because the year before we didn’t go to conference, but they still gave out position paper awards, because they’re submitted months in advance,” Biggs said. “For the 13 papers we submitted, seven won

annabelle childers | news assistant best position paper for their committee, and we didn’t even go to conference.”

Olmstead and her partner, junior delegate Patrick Grace, wrote one of the winning 2021 papers.

Though her involvement with Model UN began when she worked with friends to bring a chapter to her high school, Olmstead’s involvement in the Pepperdine chapter started in fall 2020.

“Especially right now with COVID, I think Model UN provides an outlet for people to still meet other people that they would have met in person that are all around the world,” Olmstead said.

“It teaches you how to cooperate with other people and to listen to other people’s ideas and really just communicate with others in an effective manner.”

Biggs said this year of Mod-

el UN and NMUN has filled her with hope for the future as she sees the dedication and passion of other students.

“It was such an inspirational last meeting hearing everyone’s perspective and how excited they were to do Model UN the next year,” Biggs said. “We have freshman already being like, ‘oh yeah, I want to be president when I’m a senior in Model UN.’ My hopes are that the passion will never die for Model UN because it’s honestly a vital club to Pepperdine.”

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

Connie Horton helps students RISE above adversities with Student Affairs ab by w ilt New s Ass i s tan t Sixteen years ago, Connie Horton was helping her son look for colleges and a job listed on her alma mater’s website caught her eye: the director of counseling.

Even though Horton said she admittedly had not stayed very connected with Pepperdine after graduating in 1982 with a degree in Psychology, this opportunity interested her, and she suggested the idea to her kids of moving from Illinois to Malibu.

In 2005, Horton made the move with her husband and two children and started her career as director of counseling at Pepperdine. Five years later, in 2010, she became the associate dean of students, and after five more years, she started her current position as vice president for Student Affairs. Horton also leads the Resilience-Informed Skills Education Program at Pepperdine, which is a new resource that helps students navigate life’s hardships and care for themselves in times of need.

“I just love being in the academy,” Horton said. “There’s always lectures, speakers, controversies and panels and I just think, ‘What a privilege it is to be in this environment.’”

As vice president for Student Affairs, Horton oversees student activities outside of the classroom.

Horton said she thinks of her role in the form of a house — with spiritual life activities as the foundation; diversity and inclusion as the roof; and the three pillars holding up the house as the wellness programs, the community programs and the business programs.

“It’s not all me of course, it’s my team and it’s the students, but

it is a very meaningful experience when you feel like you are making a positive difference in the world,” Horton said.

Throughout COVID-19, Horton continues to supervise programs like the Counseling Center, Student Care Team and Intercultural Affairs which aim to help the mental well-being of students, provide support and teach lifelong skills. While Horton said she loves her job, she also recognizes that, during the pandemic, she’s encountered more challenges in maintaining her responsibilities.

“Right now, just like students, I have Zoom fatigue,” Horton said.

“It just really is exhausting. And even in normal times, there are just a lot of layers to this work.”

Building Resilience After the Borderline shooting and Woolsey Fire, Horton said she saw a need for a resiliency program in the Pepperdine community, resulting in the development of RISE. Horton also has experience with educating people about resilience after spending years researching trauma, operating a private practice and working on the academic aspect of counseling.

“I feel like [RISE] is the culmination of my life’s work so far,” Horton said.

When Horton first came to Pepperdine, she said mental health issues were just starting to increase for college students.

“Part of that might be because of taboo being diminished,” Horton said. “But not all, because we track how many students are feeling anxious, depressed, suicidal, etc., and it’s going up, up and up.”

The RISE program at Pepperdine focuses on giving students

the resources they need to develop coping strategies after trauma and to help them navigate emotional, spiritual, physical and mental challenges they face, Horton said.

“Let’s help students get the skills to be resilient,” Horton said.

“Life is hard, but you have to know how to do hard things.”

Horton said RISE focuses on helping students in six specific areas: physical health, social well-being, cognitive understanding, spiritual life, service activities and life skills.

RISE teaches these values through class lectures, films, testimonials, mentors and large, community-wide learning events. Horton said these six areas are well researched and are aligned with the mission of Pepperdine.

“Life really is hard, and the question is not if some things are going to happen — welcome to the human condition, you’re going to have hard things,” Horton said.

“The question is, can you be resilient? Can you bounce back when you have adversity? And in fact, can you bounce back, wiser, more mature or more insightful?”

A Focus on Relationships While every aspect is important, Horton said the relational skills RISE teaches are vital, whether students are struggling emotionally, mentally or spiritually.

“The research is very clear that relationships make a huge difference,” Horton said. “Yes, you want to fulfill your obligations, but relationships matter — real relationships — not just social media ones.”

When navigating hardships, Horton said she suggests connecting with others and taking advan-

Photo courtesy of connie horton Time with Students| Vice President for Student Affairs Connie Horton speaks to students in January 2020 at an Unplugged Retreat. Horton said the most rewarding part of her job is working with students. tage of the resources the University does offer, such as the Student Care Team and the Counseling Center. In addition, Horton said students should reach out to faculty members and get to know them on a personal level.

“Engage with what we have and engage deeply,” Horton said.

“Even in normal times, you are wasting a huge resource if you go through Pepperdine and you never get to know a faculty member.”

Moving forward, Horton said she hopes for students to collectively heal from the past year by investing in personal relationships and finding community at Pep-

perdine, whether that is through RISE or other extracurricular activities that the University offers.

ABBY.W ILT@PEPPER DINE.EDU

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PERSPECTIVES Pepperdine should put health first, mandate vaccination of all on-campus faculty, staff

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

MISSION STATEMENT

j o s h u a e va n s s ta f f w r i t e r

T

he COVID-19 virus can cross into the brain and cause a vast array of mental health issues, ranging from brain fog to severe anxiety, depression and psychosis.

For a school that values the fruits of the mind, Pepperdine should protect staff and student health best through mandatory vaccination.

It is a mistake for Pepperdine to hold in-person classes before students and staff are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. This decision puts the mental and physical health of the University's staff and students at risk.

Some people know COVID-19 can affect taste and smell, but most people have not considered how the virus may impact their mental health. Psychiatric and neurological changes can accompany the virus in some people.

The virus may enter the brain through different mechanisms including olfactory pathways. It can also impact brain functioning through inflammatory responses and strokes.

Peripheral and central nervous system symptoms and inflammation can lead to pain, brain fog and sensory symptoms like hallucinations, numbness, tingling, tinnitus, headaches and other body sensations.

Sleep is also impacted by the virus. Some people report COVID-19 correlated insomnia and severe sleep disturbances, which negatively impact mental health and potentially cause someone to be more prone to anxiety, depression and psychosis.

The Lancet reports that 34% of the over 236,000 COVID-19 survivors studied were diagnosed with psychological or neurological conditions within six months of acquiring the virus infection.

Anxiety and mood disorders were the most common findings.

An earlier 2021 study by Taquet, which also studied over 200,000 people, found that one in eight experienced

Nathan huang | Life & Arts Design Assistant the first episode of neurological or psychiatric illness within six months of testing positive for COVID-19.

For those with a history of previous psychiatric conditions, the rate of a new neurological psychiatric illness was one in three.

In many cases, the patients who developed these new mental health conditions did not have severe COVID-19 infections. Both diagnoses came as surprises to them.

According to The New York Times, alarming studies linked COVID-19 to first-episode psychiatric disorders in middle-aged individuals who had no obvious symptoms of COVID-19 but were suddenly struck with a mysterious psychosis illness. Despite having no history of psychiatric issues, these individuals arrived at hospitals experiencing hallucinatory symptoms resembling schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia usually involves hallucinations and delusions. People diagnosed with schizophrenia typically believe their hallucinations are real and the age of onset is generally in a person's late teens or twenties. However, this new patient group was middle-aged, and the patients with COVID-19 associated psychosis all had the awareness their hallucinations were not real.

Psychiatrist Dr. Hisam Goueli reports on the case of a 42-year-old mother of four who suddenly developed visual hallucinations of her children

gruesomely murdered. In reality, her children were alive and well. She had no psychiatric illnesses prior to her positive COVID-19 diagnosis.

Her psychiatric diagnosis does not fit neatly into established categories of psychosis and her hallucinations have not resolved. It is unknown how long these new psychiatric conditions will last.

Individuals need to pay attention to sensation changes and psychological symptoms like brain fog, insomnia and loss of smell and taste — all of which could be warning signs of the virus. For otherwise asymptomatic people, these sensory signals may be their only early symptoms, showing they have the virus initially, but research shows other psychiatric symptoms might appear later.

With several outbreaks in the Pepperdine dorms, Pepperdine students, staff and administrators should understand the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on their sensory system and mental health before deciding to come to campus without receiving the vaccine. For people planning to be on campus, vaccination is the safest choice.

Pepperdine should take steps to protect the community such as requiring all staff and students to be fully vaccinated if they plan to come onto campus. The University should join others mandating vaccination for fall 2021 such Georgetown, Cornell, Brown and Rutgers University.

Vaccination should be made easily available on campus. As a step in that direction, Pepperdine hosted a vaccination clinic for students on Friday, April 23.

Providing vaccine access on-demand in the future would be a great way to extend the vaccination drive to all staff and students by making it convenient to get vaccinated on campus and providing no excuses for people to say they cannot get vaccinated.

A system should be in place to quickly identify sick students and staff. Students and staff who report sudden psychiatric or neurological symptoms should be taken seriously, quarantined, evaluated for COVID-19 and offered psychological counseling and medications to address their symptoms.

Pepperdine should be concerned about the protection of physical and mental health and should insist all on-campus staff and students be vaccinated for COVID-19. Also, quick identification and support should be provided to students and staff who are ill with the virus.

“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

JOSHUA.EVANS@PEPPER DINE.EDU

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 Karhl 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 Saraah 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 Calvin Wood Sports Copy Editor Alec Matulka

Art Editor Allyson Armstrong Art Assistant Editor Samantha Miller Staff Artists Leah Bae Madeline Duvall Autumn Hardwick Nicole Wong Brian Zhou Lead Designer Isabella Teague Life & Arts Design Assistant Nathan Huang Perspectives Design Assistant Rachel Marek Sports Design Assistant Kaitlyn Davis Staff Photographers Leah Bae Ashton Bell Ryan Brinkman Caroline Conder Muriel Lee 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 Jillian Johnson Inez Kim Abby Wilt Karl Winter

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Environmental justice must be part of the fight for racial equity

christian parham A s s i s ta n t P E R S P E C T I V E S e d i t o r

For many, the sight of mudcolored water coming from a household sink is an image that will never be forgotten.

The Flint, Mich., Water Crisis began in 2014 and contaminated the predominantly Black city’s water with lead and bacteria. Despite numerous complaints, the city took years to fully address the problem, endangering the communities' mostly minority populations.

It received national attention, and suddenly whispers of environmental justice — the cultural norms and values, rules, regulations, behaviors, policies and decisions to support sustainability — for marginalized communities began to take hold across the nation.

Even still, environmental justice is not central to racial justice conversations, even though it should be.

Marginalized communities disproportionately deal with environmental degradation that manifests into physical and mental health struggles.

Minority communities become targets and dumping grounds for pollution and hazardous waste facilities as a result of limited regulation, according to Greenaction.org.

Cancer Alley, an area in Louisiana, is an example of this. This region, stretching 85 miles down the Mississippi River, is made up of mostly

autumn hardwick | staff artist Black residents. It is lined with oil refineries and chemical plants, which produce massive amounts of waste, enough to give this area the title of one of the most polluted places in the United States.

It received the name Cancer Alley because its residents are 50 times more likely to get cancer than the average American, according to Business Insider. This environmental degradation causes a variety of other physical health issues, including an increased rate of miscarriages.

The thick pollutants and chemicals also cause higher rates of COVID-19.

These pollutants damage the residents’ lungs, making them more susceptible to contracting the virus.

In addition to negative physical health effects, environmental degradation also causes extreme sadness, anxiety, frustration and helplessness in the Cancer Alley residents. A resident and activist named Robert Taylor

said the community always had suspicions that toxins released may be making them ill, but they all felt powerless to change it.

Despite numerous complaints, these companies are still unregulated in many areas because of lobbying within the government. Within Cancer Alley and communities around the country, lobbyists for large corporations will pay politicians to ignore issues of environmental racism like these to save money. This leaves residents helpless as they suffer alone.

This is the case in another town: Pahokee, Fla. — another predominantly Black community.

In Pahokee, farmers harvest sugar cane, meaning they must burn their fields to prepare them for the new harvest. This creates a “black snow” filled with hazardous air pollutants.

This “black snow” is known to cause numerous health issues for the residents, including asthma and immune system problems. Brazil

banned the practice of burning fields because of health concerns — leading many Pahokee residents to think the practice should not be continued.

As seen before in Cancer Alley, powerful lobbyists use money to block legislation addressing this issue.

Lobbyists from the corporation U.S. Sugar advocated for continued sugar field burning.

These are just two examples out of many that show the perilous state of the environment in many minority communities. With all this environmental injustice, people may wonder what they can do to help.

The largest thing one can do is vote. Legislation designed to help in the fight for environmental justice is frequently shot down by politicians who are influenced by lobbyists' dollars. By going out and voting for politicians who care about environmental justice, one can do their part to ensure the fight is not stopped by the federal

government.

Additionally, one should hold their elected officials accountable for addressing environmental racism. Too often, this issue gets swept under the rug and is only mentioned during the election cycle. Hold them accountable through calls, letters and messages.

Another way to advocate for this justice is by demanding better environmental protections from politicians.

They are elected to represent the needs and desires of the American people, and if enough people demand that more be done regarding environmental racism, they will be forced to listen.

Finally, one must educate themself and spread awareness for impacted communities.

The issue with environmental racism is that so many people are unaware of its existence and the harmful effects it has on so many families. By holding oneself accountable to learn about environmental racism, this knowledge can be spread to others and raise awareness.

Through this, one amplifies these marginalized voices so more people can understand this issue. This can also be done through something as simple as sharing stories of environmental racism on social media or discussing it with a friend.

Environmental justice must be a central part of the nation's continued discussions on racial inequalities. By addressing this, Americans pave the way for safer environments for future generations of POC.

C HR ISTIAN.PAR HAM @PEPPER DINE.EDU

The United States needs to trash its current garbage system

alice han s ta f f w r i t e r

In the United States, the average person produces about 4.4 pounds of trash every single day, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Although some Americans may respectfully sort and place trash into recycling bins, unfortunately, most waste that should be recycled ends up in the trash.

The United States desperately needs to reform its recycling system, as it was ranked as the world's third most wasteful country in 2019, according to Statista.

At most, only about 66% of discarded paper and cardboard is recycled, and less than 10% of plastic is salvaged, according to the Earth Institute.

Many Americans blamed China for this predicament since the country decided to close its market for foreign waste management in 2018.

The decision shocked the world as China made a large amount of money processing and selling the raw materials that resulted from its booming recycling business. China's decision essentially brought an overly delayed day of reckoning to the United States.

Due to lack of preparation, many recycling companies scrambled to search for new buyers from developing nations to substitute for China's waste management market.

Others ultimately resorted

Leah bae| staff artist to burning large amounts of low-quality recyclable materials in incinerators or dumping them into large landfills as they are monetarily cheaper.

Unfortunately, many of these landfills continue to grow quickly in populated states, like California and Nevada.

Landfills are not only blemishes to the land, but they also create many negative effects. They are environmentally dangerous as the materials in a landfill can release methane gas. Landfills also impact future biodiversity as well as the physical health of the residents that live near them, according to Sciencing.

The negative impacts landfills cause are gradually becoming uncontainable.

Without China's market, the recycling industry in the United States remains stagnant as many recycling companies hope some kind of domestic market will return.

Consequently, some cities in certain states, such as Sacramento, Calif., stopped accepting mixed plastics, while others, like Surprise, Ariz., ended curbside recycling altogether.

Although there is a clear

need for major investment in infrastructure, upgraded establishments are not worth anything if Americans don't improve their recycling habits.

Americans essentially need to relearn what they were supposed to know many years ago — self-educate, compost what can be composted and properly sort out recyclable materials.

Unfortunately, many Americans are lazy when it comes to properly sorting out recyclables as one in four items thrown into a recycling bin are not recyclable, according to an article from Mic. Not only is this partly out of ignorance, but it is also due to the past convenience the United States possessed as the country heavily relied on China to make proper distinctions regarding recyclable materials.

The United States desperately needs a unified system and domestic market for clean, sorted recyclables.

If possible, rinsing out any recyclable food containers, cans and bottles before placing them in a recycling bin would greatly reduce the chances of contamination.

To further avoid

contaminating recyclable materials with non-recyclable items, the United States needs a more diverse range of bins, similar to the system in Germany.

The majority of states in the United States simply offer their residents one single blue bin to put all their recyclable materials in. However, many items become accidentally contaminated by discarded food.

To fix this, the country needs a wider array of bins for each particular recyclable material with standardized messaging, such as "glass only" or "paper."

Additionally, it would be beneficial for the United States to divide waste management responsibilities between the federal and provincial governments — which is comparable to the environmental practice in Austria — to establish cooperation between municipal and private waste management.

With a regulatory framework alongside the implementation of economic incentives, Austria remains the greenest among all European nations.

To effectively put this

system in place, the United States needs to establish active policies and formal education concerning recycling. Wales — which has one of the highest recycling rates in Europe — continues to support its innovative policies concerning recycling through its education sector by establishing comprehensive awarenessraising campaigns.

For example, the United States can hold a campaign specific to composting as 72% of Americans do not compost due to inconvenience or lack of knowledge, according to Planet Forward. By composting, the average person can reduce their average amount of waste from 25% to 50%.

Although new innovations and machines have been developed to mechanically separate different recyclable materials, the United States remains fixated on the option to dump everything into a landfill. The country demands greater investment by private industries as well as the national government.

At the individual level, people must learn about both national and local recycling protocols and get in the habit of putting trash in the correct bin. It is up to these individuals to stave off contamination to ensure that as many recyclables make it to recycling companies.

These are small but impactful steps toward what is hopefully the start of a less wasteful recycling system.

AL IC E.HAN@PEPPER DINE.EDU

A9

APR IL 2 9, 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

Unlink from the toxic side of LinkedIn

S awa Ya m a k awa A s s i s ta n t p e r s p e c t i v e s editor “I am excited to announce that I will be interning/working at …”

LinkedIn members often start posts with this phrase to announce their internships or employment offers. While these posts receive many positive engagements and words of encouragement from their connections, they raise the question: How genuine are these congratulatory comments?

For some students, LinkedIn can be yet another toxic social media platform. Due to this, students must not solely rely on LinkedIn when searching for jobs.

LinkedIn first entered the market in May 2003 with a mission to “connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful,” according to its mission statement.

By providing a platform for its users to connect with each other, learn hard skills and apply for jobs, LinkedIn has established the world’s largest network of 740 million community members worldwide, according to its website.

When utilized to seek job opportunities, LinkedIn seems to be one of the best platforms, especially for those who already have ample professional connections.

The nature of this employmentoriented platform is to showcase appealing elements like a candidate’s alma mater, work

experience and qualifications.

LinkedIn members generally rely on these credentials to connect with other members who share the same or similar backgrounds or experiences.

Students tend to post their upcoming internship plans to notify and impress their connections. By doing so, they also have the possibility to receive recognition for their accomplishments and further connect with experienced business professionals in the industry.

That said, other users may not appreciate this information, especially if they do not have internships lined up. Due to LinkedIn’s nature, these conflicts are inevitable and can cause mental health issues. However, for students, that is not the case.

Since most students have limited experiences in the workforce, they can encounter two major byproducts on LinkedIn: inferiority complex and imposter syndrome.

The concept of an inferiority complex explains that a person’s feeling of inadequacy results in the belief that one is not as qualified as others. Just like how other social media platforms such as Instagram can dictate students’ online presence, LinkedIn can also create a similar effect of feeling deficient for some.

Students may experience inferiority complex differently.

Some may lose motivation to do school work while others may begin to have a pessimistic outlook on their post-graduate career.

These feelings can stem from not having confidence in their own experiences because they compare themselves to others.

These conflicts can also bring up another problem: Imposter syndrome. This phenomenon

Autumn Hardwick |Staff Artist occurs when an individual undervalues one’s own ability despite evident success. LinkedIn stimulates such a notion by giving off the impression that it is crucial to be hired by a top company to appear successful and employment is the most important thing after college.

Unfortunately, imposter syndrome is often enforced on LinkedIn because users are constantly exposed and compared to other users with similar credentials. In a success-driven society like the United States, this is a dangerous concept because high-achievers will never feel like their skills and accomplishments are good enough.

To combat these problems, student users should recognize that LinkedIn is another form of social media, just like Instagram.

LinkedIn should not be treated as an app used exclusively for

job hunting. It is important to remember there are many alternatives, especially for Pepperdine students.

Should students wish to search for jobs or internships, Seaver Career Center offers resources similar to LinkedIn’s job search engine but tailored specifically for undergraduate students, including Handshake and University Action Career Network.

For those who wish to connect with business professionals, PeppConnect and Career Coaching Program are some resources Pepperdine provides.

These platforms allow students to connect with Pepperdine alumni and receive insightful career advice from them.

Evidently, students do not need to spend hours perfecting their online profile to find career opportunities. Instead, they should focus on building their resumes

and utilizing more healthy, sustainable resources, such as those provided and recommended

by Seaver Career Center.

LinkedIn serves as a reminder that the line between personal and professional life is blurred in the digital age. Just as what students post on Instagram does not portray their lives, what students see on LinkedIn does not portray their full business capabilities.

If used appropriately, LinkedIn can be a good resource. However, students with limited experience and connections must use it with care. Since nothing on social media is a full representation of a whole human being, students should not let the toxic side of LinkedIn determine their unique values.

SAWA.YAM AK AWA@PEPPER DINE.EDU

It’s time to get rid of Humanities

SARAH BEST S TA F F W R I T E R Every Pepperdine undergraduate student must complete 19 general education courses, which is equivalent to 63 or 64 units and is excessive, according to the Seaver College General Education Plan. The average general education curriculum at a four-year university is 42 to 60 units, according to Pearson Accelerated Pathways.

Not only does Pepperdine require more general education classes than most schools, but the unnecessary inclusion of three mandated sequential Humanities courses in the curriculum is also absurd. The curriculum should be amended to replace Humanities with more culturally inclusive and diverse classes.

Paul Begin, Seaver College and associate dean of Curriculum and General Education, have been working since 2019 on addressing the general education plan with hopes of growing cultural awareness.

The required Christianity & Culture classes in the general education curriculum at a Christian university are not the issue. Humanities courses are not integral to Pepperdine's Christian identity the way religion is. So, why must students take three classes of it?

Humanities courses often overlap with what is taught in religion courses, as students learn how religion influences western art, literature and

society. The problem is that they undeniably teach history through a white man’s lens, illustrating art and literature overwhelmingly produced by white people.

“The student who completes the World Civilizations GE will be able to demonstrate an open-mindedness and empathy toward global communities and through a transformed awareness of self and through a knowledge of cultures outside the West,” according to the General Education Program Learning Outcomes.

Pepperdine stating that it's a school that "celebrates diversity" seems disingenuous when all students must take three classes that teach a narrow, non-diverse perspective of western culture.

The lack of cultural inclusivity in Humanities classes is a reason to omit them from Pepperdine's curriculum entirely.

A 2011 study from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni evaluated the general education plans at 718 colleges across the country, including both public and private institutions. The study assigned a grade to every school based on how many of the seven core subjects are requirements in a student's time at the university — an A grade entailing a required 6 to 7, a B grade of 4 to 5 courses and so forth. The more general education classes required, the higher grade received.

Subjects included composition, literature, foreign language, mathematics, U.S. government or history, economics and natural or physical science. Pepperdine earned a B grade for the five courses they require.

What the survey didn’t take into account was the general education requirements

Autumn Hardwick|Staff Artist exclusive to religious universities as Pepperdine requires nine Christianity & Culture units. Though these units are not mandatory at public institutions, faith and religion are foundational to Pepperdine’s identity.

Only 17% of colleges in the United States today require Western Civilization, also known as Humanities courses, according to Forbes. Former President of the American Historical Association and History Professor at Princeton University Anthony Grafton said Western Civilization courses were more timely for students in the 1960s but are not of the same interest to students today, according to Inside Higher Ed. If Pepperdine insists on requiring students to take Humanities courses, there

should only be one. Students are paying thousands of dollars to take three repetitive and unnecessary Humanities classes that take time away from majorspecific and more diverse classes.

Though entirely omitting the three required Humanities courses from the general education curriculum would be additionally beneficial in easing the workload of students by nine units, the option of providing a broader range of courses like African-American Studies and Women's Studies that teach different cultures and histories would also be a beneficial option.

The lack of diversity characteristic of Humanities courses is outdated and tonedeaf in the context of more important subjects that could be taught instead.

Pepperdine’s official Statement

on Diversity explains that “Our faith cherishes the sacred dignity of every human being and celebrates diversity as a true representation of God's love and creative expression.”

Claims of diversity shouldn't be made when the only mandated courses don't reflect the messages of cultural inclusivity they're sending. If those nine units are necessary to the curriculum’s composition, Humanities courses should instead be replaced with ethnic studies courses to promote a more academically reflective view of Pepperdine’s alleged stance on diversity.

SAR AH.BEST@PEPPER DINE.EDU

A10 APRIL 29, 2021 | PERSP ECTIVES | PEPPERDI NE GRAPHI C MED I A Hold Biden accountable for transgressions in Syria

B r ya n t Ya n g s ta f f w r i t e r

President Joe Biden declared "America is back” at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 19. What also is back is U.S.-led intervention in Syria.

On Feb. 25, Biden authorized U.S military to initiate airstrikes on Iranian-supported militia groups in Syria.

Biden's decision of taking military action in Syria raises concerns regarding human rights and a new wave of the refugee crisis. To prevent Biden's power abuses, the American people should pay close attention to Syria and its nearby regions while being more attentive to other countries.

During the Arab Spring, massive protests occurred in multiple Arab countries, including Syria. Antigovernment forces, such as the Syrian Interim Government and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, demanded President Bashar al-Assad to step down from his position for allegedly organizing unfair elections and human rights abuses. Eventually, the conflicts escalated.

In 2011, the Syrian Civil War broke out and former President Barack Obama decided to intervene in 2014. Nonetheless, after the inauguration of former President Donald Trump, the presence of the United States in Syria gradually reduced and Trump ordered to withdraw U.S. troops in Syria in 2019.

Biden's decision to take military action can be considered a continuation of

Obama's policies on Syria since both Obama and Biden took a more assertive approach in Syrian affairs.

The United States' policies regarding the Middle East are nothing to glorify. The U.S.led coalition allegedly killed 2,934 civilians, according to the UK-based non-profit company Airwars.

Furthermore, the United States is also partially responsible for causing the refugee crisis in Syria. If President Biden wants to make the American intervention in Syria effective and ethical, he must not follow his predecessors but should ask for help from the international community and specifically cooperate with the United Nations.

The United States' presence in Syria complicated the situation of the Syrian war, caused civilian death and elongated the war. Nonetheless, Obama did not face any serious consequences.

It is time to change.

Americans should know Biden's military actions in Syria can potentially be unethical.

Therefore, people should pay close attention to Syria and the Middle East to make sure Biden's military actions in Syria are ethical, legal and effective.

There are multiple ways for people to monitor the United States’ military actions, such as reports from news agencies, non governmental organizations and the United Nations.

If American troops actually commit unethical behaviors in Syria, people should hold Biden responsible for initiating them.

The consequences that Biden will potentially face should be corresponding to the seriousness of the unethical behaviors the U.S. troops commit.

If U.S. troops only commit minor unethical behaviors, such

There is No Room for Mushrooms

by Samantha Torre

ally armstrong | art editor as making the war devastatingly long, people can refuse to vote for representatives and senators that endorse Biden in the next midterm election or refuse to vote Biden in the next presidential election.

If the unethical behaviors are serious, such as massive killings, people should demand an impeachment and even persecute Biden as a war criminal.

On the other hand, if Biden's military actions are ethical and effective, people also can credit him by keeping him in the White House and nominating him for peace awards.

Obviously, the Syrian problem is more important than Biden's personal political career; it is associated with millions of lives, global peace and security because of Syria’s geographical and cultural importance. Therefore, the United States should not be the only country involved in Syria.

Solving the complicated issue in Syria requires efforts from the international community to help and avoid proxy wars.

To bring the efforts from the international community into Syria, the United States should cooperate with the United Nations. Demanding the United Nations get involved in Syria can not only aggregate some irreplaceable efforts and resources, such as Blue Berets and the Refugee Agency, but

can also keep American Primacy in Syria in check.

Besides, the United States is not the only country that intervened in Syria. Several other countries, such as Russia, Iran and Turkey, are involved in the Syrian war as well and their stances are not the same as the United States. The United Nations can provide a platform for negotiation.

If Biden takes military action in Syria for the sake of the people and the well-being of Syria, then Biden should initiate actions alongside the United Nations. Syria is not only the home of millions of Syrians but also a member of the international community.

Any action that Biden takes in Syria should fully respect the Syrian people and the international community. To make sure Biden’s Syrian policy is ethical, American citizens have an utterly important role to play. American citizens should pay close attention to Syria and use their votes wisely because their decisions are connected to millions of Syrians.

SA RA H . B EST @P EP P ERD I N E. ED U

Self-expression will die if censorship continues to live on

e m i ly c h a s e s ta f f w r i t e r

Censorship is a weapon wielded by those in power to control the flow of information and ideas into the world. Censorship endangers the freedom of self-expression and diminishes the meaning behind it, particularly targeting journalists and artists.

Censorship is the restriction of expression that deems itself threatening to the social, moral and political orders in society, according to the 2001 Columbia Encyclopedia.

“It may be imposed by governmental authority, local or national, by a religious body, or occasionally by a powerful private group," according to the Columbia Encyclopedia.

This definition focuses less on the legalities of what censorship is and more on the societal repercussions, while other definitions hone in on the legal aspect of censorship.

"The term censorship, however, as commonly understood, connotes any examination of thought or expression in order to prevent publication of 'objectionable' material," according to the U.S. Supreme Court case Farmers Educational & Cooperative Union v. WDAY. The two definitions provided describe censorship in two very different ways — one opinionbased, the other more legal-based.

Though censorship is legally permissible in limited and specific cases, it poses a threat to the

freedom of expression, with the stifling of writing, art and even basic broadcasting. From 2018 to 2019, there was a 14% increase in censored materials including over 607 types of books, movies and newspapers, according to a 2019 American Library Association study.

As time goes on and society advances, censorship becomes more prevalent in everyday life.

Given technology’s imminent advances, there is more room for the government to gain more control over what is shown to consumers on social media, the internet and television on a daily basis. Society should be wary of censorship and understand its adverse effects.

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides the protection of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly and freedom to petition the government. How can a person under American democracy enact these inalienable rights with the government constantly putting checks on it?

The answer is they cannot.

Under a democracy, a citizen cannot fully express their freedoms and cannot wholeheartedly pursue their life, liberty and property with the totalitarian power of censorship.

Major news organizations

PETTY PERSPECTIVE:

samantha miller| Assistant art editor and journalists over the course of history saw censorship threaten the integrity of their work.

One particular example of this in action was in the 1971 Pentagon Papers case. The New York Times and The Washington Post wanted to publish documents from the Defense Department study on U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The Nixon Administration attempted to stop the publication of such documents and censor the content of these major news outlets. The court ruled justly on the side of the newspapers and deemed that such censorship would violate freedom of the press in the United States.

Yet, even today, journalists still feel the obstructive repercussions of censorship.

"The negative atmosphere for journalists is damaging for the public and their right to information,” said Jodie Ginsberg, CEO at Index on Censorship in a 2017 report on censorship in media.

When thinking about censorship, one usually thinks of journalists and news, however, artists are also affected deeply by censorship. In March 2021, a coalition of artists came together to create a group called "Don't Delete Art," which works around the censorship rules of social media to display their art.

The group "gives artists the opportunity to maintain

control over their work. When your livelihood is compromised it causes stress and anguish," co-founder of Don't Delete Art Savannah Spirit said to The Art Newspaper. Censorship jeopardizes the individual freedom of the artists and their ability to share and display their artwork.

There are not enough discussions about censorship destroying the livelihoods and passions of the people who create and view incredible works of art.

There should be more attention brought to the issue of censorship.

Censorship should be about protection — not total dominancy of power. Even though censorship as a whole is bad, it can act as a way to manage and protect viewers from graphic content, indecent exposure to children and harmful language. Censorship is alright in moderation if the government is genuinely protecting the well-being of its citizens and not furthering its own agendas.

Expression through words, art, film, theatre, television and broadcasting is supposed to uplift, inform and entertain. Expression is a patchwork of the internal thoughts and feelings of artists. It is the exchange of information across media platforms. Self-expression is one of the most important instruments to add culture and depth to a society.

People in the entertainment, arts and media industries rely on their work to support themselves and their families. These people make themselves vulnerable to connect with audiences and create something beautiful and memorable. Censorship prohibits this from the beginning — and it needs to be minimized so expression can be magnified.

EM I LY.CH A SE@ P EP P ERD I N E. ED U

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 Sam Torre, who has a strong dislike for mushrooms.

samantha miller| Assistant Art Editor

Imagine this: You are sitting down at a restaurant, excited to eat dinner. Your waiter puts a delicious meal in front of you.

You lift up your fork, when suddenly, you see it. Mankind's greatest enemy.

The mushroom.

A mushroom is a "fleshy fruiting body of a fungus,” according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary. While I do not consider myself a picky eater, a fungus goes too far. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines a fungus as a "parasitic spore-producing" organism.

Both of these definitions are frankly horrifying and lead to me firmly placing mushrooms in the "absolutely not" category.

Also, have you ever seen a mushroom? They commit war crimes when people are not looking. I am completely serious.

Yet, it has come to my attention that some people are willing to eat mushrooms despite the risks they pose to national security and my mental state.

In answer, I provide a comprehensive list of why I hate mushrooms.

1. They are a fungus (see above).

2. They have the completely unique and unnerving texture of melted Tupperware that was pulled through a taffy machine.

3. Eating one feels like sitting in a room full of damp, mushy carpet. This is probably where the name "Mush-room” originated from.

4. The taste. Mushrooms are reminiscent of deceit and shattered childhood dreams.

They have a similar flavoring to both meat and vegetables, but the only reason this similarity exists is because the mushroom combined the worst qualities of both.

5. The mushroom can never decide whether it wants to make a statement or hide in the shadows. The taste can be so powerful that it completely overwhelms anything you eat it with. Trying to enjoy a nice plate of ravioli? Mushrooms can make it impossible. Or, mushrooms impersonate what they are cooked with, which is creepy and proves mushrooms are masters of deception and criminal behavior.

6. The smell. It deserves half a star. The half is purely because I am in awe of a mushroom's confidence to be that bold while smelling that bad.

While mushrooms provide vegetarians and vegans alternatives to hamburgers, there are countless other options.

Why would you eat an omen of destruction when you can eat Impossible Whoppers, tofu or chickpea, sweet potato and beanbased veggie burgers instead?

In conclusion, mushrooms are awful and we, as a society, have progressed past the need for them.

SAM.TORRE@PEPPERDINE.EDU

A11 Club Conversation: Gun violence is more nuanced than we realize APRIL 29, 2021 | PERSP ECTIVES | PEPPERDI NE GRAPHI C MED I A

Anitiz Muonagolu Perspectives Editor

Editors Note: March For Our Lives Pepperdine contributed to this column in conjunction with Perspectives Editor Anitiz Muonagolu When we discuss inalienable rights as citizens of the United States, many citizens will quote the Constitution.

But, what about the right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" as established by the Declaration of Independence? It seems now, in the midst of worsening gun violence, the conversation on how to protect life turned into a bipartisan debate on the Second Amendment.

Not only does this minimize the issue of gun violence, but it also completely ignores it.

Recently, President Joe Biden released a statement calling for a stop to gun violence, but it seems to only be in response to recent mass shootings.

While the sentiment is helpful, it also ignores the multifaceted issue that makes up gun violence and gun issues.

Are mass shootings the only form of gun violence that affects citizens of the United States?

No. Is there more to gun violence that the public is missing?

In short, yes.

Pepperdine's own March For Our Lives, which was founded this year, seeks to foster nonpartisan discussion concerning gun control.

Led by junior President Regann Flynn, March For Our Lives works to "empower and mobilize the students of Pepperdine towards justice, safety and equity for all, with an emphasis on issues relating to gun violence,” according to its bylaws.

“Our goal is just to do whatever we can to end gun violence and we really want to be able to support survivors and raise awareness for the issue,” said Rebecca Schubert, junior Inter-Club Council Representative.

March for Our Lives Pepperdine starts with encouraging mental health but focuses on the survivors, not the shooter.

Many people talk about mental health as a way to stop mass shootings, however, that just places focus on the shooter and creates a false narrative depicting those who face mental health issues as the cause for mass shootings.

“A lot of times when

we have the conversation about gun violence we just divorce victims of gun violence from the actual issue and we just talk about it as if it's some type of talking point, not like if there's real people involved,” Flynn said.

“Definitely centering victims and their needs and their mental health is a part of our mission.”

Sixty percent of gun deaths are suicides, which means some of the most prevalent gun violence is the violence that we do to ourselves. This further disproves the myth that those facing mental health are the cause of mass shootings and gun issues in the United States.

“We try to treat gun violence as a multifaceted issue, because it is, ” Flynn said. “We don't want to leave anybody out because violence is indiscriminate — it doesn't leave anybody out.”

This means that when people observe gun violence, they have to observe the harm and repercussion on all groups. For instance, gun violence in regards to police brutality links to the harm of both the Black community and those who experience mental illness.

Or, in the case of gun suicides, youth are more likely to participate in self-harm or have suicidal tendencies with a gun, according to Everytown

samantha miller| Assistant art editor Research.

Solving gun violence requires both nuanced and broad-minded thinking to understand and pinpoint the areas that need to be fixed. It isn't just the gun itself — rather the world in which firearms exist.

Everyone must participate in this conversation to solve gun violence, but coming together is only the beginning of finding a solution. Compassion is a virtue we all must remember when it comes to this dialogue.

This can be as simple as holding safe spaces and open dialogues where everyone is welcome to speak or holding oneself accountable and becoming more educated on the intersectionality when it comes to gun violence and gun laws.

If people only look at wanting to promote their

own agendas, it will never solve the issue because it places focus on winning.

Instead, the goal needs to be on protecting lives and utilizing compassion to stay focused on trying to end gun violence instead of personal politics.

As a community, a nation, a society or even just as a student organization, we all need to come together to answer one simple question: “How are we gonna end gun violence here in the United States?”

Only through compassionate, wellintentioned conversation can everyone create a world that doesn't place the value of a weapon over the lives of our society.

A J. M UONAGOLU@PEPPERDINE.EDU

LETTER TO THE EDITOR TO THE GRAPHIC: ‘LEFT COAST RACISM:’ — AN OPEN LETTER TO PEPPERDINE PRESIDENT JIM GASH Editor’s Note: Opinions expressed in letters to the editor are those of the author, and publication in the Graphic in no way represents an endorsement.

This space is provided to allow public response and commentary on articles and issues which are covered by the Graphic and important to its readership.

This letter was published in East County North Star on April 23 by Chandlor Henderson and submitted to the Graphic via email.

Dear President Gash, On April 19, 2021, it was announced that as the current President of Pepperdine University, you selected Divisional Dean of the Natural Science Division, Dr. Jay Brewster as the school’s next Chief Academic Officer. Considering the lack of racial diversity at Pepperdine University and its history of institutional racism, the selection of Dr. Brewster was expected; however, it was both devastating and disappointing. I attended Pepperdine University (Seaver) as an undergraduate from 1996 to 2000. While attending, I served as President of the Black Student Union from 1998 to 2000.

I also had the honor of being mentored by Pepperdine African American trailblazers such as Dr. Calvin Bowers, Dr. Dewayne Winrow and Dr. David G. Holmes. Dr. Holmes

was my first ever African American instructor and he instilled in me the resiliency to resist cultural assimilation and endure racial hostility as an undergraduate.

This spring, both Dr. Brewster and Dr. Holmes were among six finalists for the position of Provost.

I had the honor of having both Dr. Holmes and Dr. Brewster as professors. Both men are individuals of high moral character and excelled in their respective fields of study. This letter is not intended to disparage Dr. Brewster in any way; however, I speak on behalf of a large number in the African American community in expressing a collective dissatisfaction with your recent selection of university provost.

Dr. Holmes has been an English professor at Pepperdine from 1993 to 2020. He has served as the director of African American Studies and Associate Dean of Curriculum among other administrative duties.

He is also a cultural pioneer, becoming the first African American to receive tenure and the rank of Full Professor in English in the Pepperdine Humanities Division. He is a soughtafter lecturer and a nationally recognized scholar in his field. At Pepperdine University, Dr. David Holmes is a pillar of Black excellence and changed the perception of African Americans for thousands

of students for over a quarter-century.

Besides his excellence in academia, Dr. Holmes also has been a gospel preacher in the African Americans Churches of Christ since 1977. He has pastored churches in Watts, Westchester and the historic Figueroa Church of Christ. He came up under the tutelage of African American preaching legends such as R.N. Hogan, Dr. Calvin Bowers and Dr. Billy Curl. He is highly respected among the Black Churches of Christ who have been subject to discriminatory practices for years from white brethren. From the 1967 confiscation of the Nashville Christian Institute, the 1969 murder of Larry Kimmons, to the current race propping engineered by White religious paternalism, this selection only furthered the racial rift between Black and White Churches of Christ.

Black educators do more than develop curriculum. Their lives are living texts inundated with experiences of oppression and perseverance. They deposit a cultural capital not found in textbooks and are beneficial for ALL students. The university has no issue advocating being the salt of the earth, but what is salt without pepper?

Dr. David Holmes for

26 years has placed the "pepper" in Pepperdine.

Dr. Holmes is what Pepperdine needed in this current atmosphere of racial hostility. Dr. Holmes could have given the University the right perspective and assisted the school in navigating the racial waters of the 21st century.

Instead, President Gash, you played it safe and continued a long-standing Pepperdine tradition of practicing Left Coast Racism, nepotism and institutional ethnocentrism cloaked behind the veil of scripture. President Gash, even though in rhetorical jest you recently claimed to be an ‘African American,' you will never comprehend the horrific reality of being Black in the United States. Author James Baldwin famously once said, “To be an African American is to be an African without memory and an American without privileges.”

Since 1937, Pepperdine has allowed Blacks to move in but we have yet to collectively move up. The African American community has taken note and our collective response to your decision will be swift and demonstrative, ensuring that our voices are no longer ignored.

Dr. David Holmes would have made history becoming the first African American Provost in the history of Pepperdine. He is

the epitome of color with competence.

Instead of celebrating this seminal moment, we are left contending with the same university that cannot see Christ because it worships a whiteness that is portable, powerful and very profitable in Malibu.

In His Service, Dr. Lamont Ali Francies, PPSC Senior Minister Delta Bay Church of Christ Pepperdine BSU President 1998-2000 Seaver Alumnus (Class of 2000)

A12

P E P P E R DIN E GR A P H IC M E DIA | N E W S | A PRI L 29 , 20 21

Students share frustrations with Pepperdine’s partial reopening JO E AL L G OOD STAF F W R ITE R When Pepperdine’s Malibu campus reopened over a month ago, students in the area enjoyed the opportunities campus had to offer, but there are still many students who said they are frustrated about the reopening.

Given that around 53% of Pepperdine undergraduate students are from outside of California, according to the Seaver Office of Admission, many students are too far from campus to visit. All students interviewed said they believe they are disconnected or disadvantaged compared to students in the Malibu area. Some students said they are concerned about an increase in COVID-19 cases if reopening moves forward too quickly.

“When the reopening news first started, and there was that first day that students could go to campus and they had free Chick-fil-A and stuff, I did have a moment of frustration,” said Lauren Kinder, a first-year from Reno, Nev., in reference to the University handing out free food to students on campus the first day it was open.

“Being able to live near campus, in an apartment or something is an obvious privilege, and personally my family couldn’t afford it.”

Pepperdine has tried to include the entire community across the globe, from a virtual New Student Orientation last summer to the recent online Reel Stories Film Festival, but for some students, like Kinder, there is still trouble interacting with others.

“I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything academically necessarily, but definitely socially compared to my friends that were able to move in,” Kinder said. “It’s just like two different worlds almost.”

The fact that I came to Pepperdine as a Theatre Arts major to learn theater, it stings a lot to have that thrown away and to have an extracurricular like volleyball take precedence over an actual major with real classes.

CONNOR McKenzie, First-year student First year students face unique challenges due to the Malibu campus closure, according to an article from the Graphic. With distant physical and social connection to the Malibu area and the Pepper-

dine community, first-years can have trouble getting a foothold on campus. The effects of the last year may extend beyond the 2020-21 academic year, Kinder said.

“I’m supposed to go abroad for all of sophomore year, so I won’t really be on campus until junior year if that works out,” Kinder said. “I also won’t know the people that I’m going abroad with at all, because I do have some friends, but they’re really only in my classes, so mostly just Biology majors.”

All students interviewed said it has been a bittersweet feeling to see campus reopen.

“Initially, I was excited about it because I think in-person education is a lot better than online education,” said Aubrey Hirsch, a first-year from Elizabeth, Colo.

“But since they announced it so late in the semester, I probably won’t be able to go in person anyway.”

While students said they understand the University is working for the benefit of the students and most decisions are out of their control, the uncomfortable reality remains that some students are enjoying on-campus facilities and socializing while other students can’t, Kinder said.

“I know it’s not really Pepperdine’s fault,” Kinder said. “From my understanding, it’s LA County and California, not really Pepperdine’s decision.”

Health and safety remain a priority for others, with students choosing to remain cautious in returning back to campus. For students like Connor McKenzie,

Art by Leah Bae a first-year from Newbury Park, Calif., it can be frustrating to see students not following COVID-19 precautions, he said. While the University placed restrictions and rules in place to limit outbreaks, there have still been outbreaks, such as the most recent among the Men’s Basketball and Volleyball teams.

“I don’t think they’re turning a blind eye to it because it’s not the University’s responsibility to regulate those sorts of things, like the frat parties and the things that aren’t on campus,” McKenzie said.

“What the University is doing is almost facilitating it.”

McKenzie also said he thought there is some disparity in the availability of resources for fine arts students compared to athletes.

“Arts and athletics are really different obviously,” McKenzie

said. “The fact that I came to Pepperdine as a Theatre Arts major to learn theater, it stings a lot to have that thrown away and to have an extracurricular like volleyball take precedence over an actual major with real classes.”

Students who are unable to live on or near campus still remain hopeful they can visit before campus fully reopens. Kinder and Hirsch both said they would like to visit before the beginning of the fall semester.

JOE.AL L GOOD@PEPPER DINE.EDU

Freshmen Olympics, Senate bring together first-year students Sam ant ha torre New s As si sta n t First-year students put their game faces on with the Student Government Association Freshman Senate’s Freshmen Olympics.

The goal of the Freshmen Olympics is to use competitive activities to help first-years get to know their classmates. The Freshmen Olympics began April 11, and ended with a closing ceremony April 16.

Especially since this is most likely our last event, as freshmen, so it’d be nice for everybody to be able to spend some time with each other before we all go into finals.

Lidia Qaladh, Freshman senator The Freshman Senate announced this event in an email to the Class of 2024 on April 5. The Freshmen Olympics is a collaboration with the Student Programming Board.

“We just wanted to do something more competitive that still

had that kind of bonding aspect and just along the way morphed into this week-long event,” Freshman Senator Sabrina Musharbash said. “But I’m really excited for it; I think it’s going to go well.”

The event has been in the works since the last week of February into early March, Freshman Class President Lidia Qaladh said.

The idea for the Freshmen Olympics came from student feedback, in which students indicated they were not able to build close relationships because of COVID-19, Freshman Senator RJ Wicks said.

“We’re trying to think of something that we can do that, more than just like a one and done type of thing we want to do an event that can continuously help to build that relationship between freshmen,” Wicks said.

The event became a hybrid system, with some events synchronously on Zoom and some asynchronous between the teams to lessen stress for participating students, junior Lanah Jimenez, event coordinator for the Board said.

“We didn’t want it to be something where students felt like, ‘OK I’m done with class now I have to hop on another Zoom call to try and have a sense of community,’” Jimenez said.

During the Freshmen Olympics, first-years completed a variety of events asynchronously with a team the Freshman Senate assigns, Musharbash said. Firstyears had until April 16 to complete the events, and April 14 the senate sent out a check-in list so teams could see where they rank.

The asynchronous challenges were competition-based and involved TikToks, trivia and a movie night, Wicks said.

Musharbash said the Senate learned from the Board that bonding events provide the most turn-

out when they are competitive, which further expanded the idea of the Freshmen Olympics.

Senior Brenda Ascencio is one of the Board event coordinators.

“I think this is super successful,” Ascencio said. “It was very easy to divide up, and when you have more brains on it, it’s a lot easier to be able to fulfill different perspectives and appeal to more people in a wide range of live population on campus.”

Since town halls only occur once a semester, the Freshman Senate felt that they did not allow students to interact long enough to form a connection, leading to the week-long Freshman Olympics, Qaladh said.

“They get to meet more people and spend time with those people building those relationships instead of a one-hour breakout room and that’s it because I know it can be a little awkward to kind of reach out to people afterwards,” Qaladh said.

Another challenge of the Freshmen Olympics was finding ways to reach as many students as possible, Wicks said.

“We know not everyone is from LA or on campus or in one area, so trying to figure out how we can get international students to join, even students who are in different time zones in general,” Wicks said.

“How can we allow them to be a part of this activity in this event because we don’t want anyone to feel excluded or as if they’re not supposed to belong with us.”

To inform first-years of the event, the Freshman Senate sent out a variety of emails and advertised the event on Instagram with both their account and the Pepperdine Class of 2024 Instagram account.

“This time we’re really hoping that we can spread the word even

Photo Courtesy of Sabrina Musharbash Fostering Community | Senators (clockwise from top left) Lidia Qaladh, Sabrina Musharbash, Colton Jones and RJ Wicks prepare for the Freshmen Olympics opening event April 11. The Senate worked on this event since late February with the goal of increasing class bonding. more than our previous events and really get a way better turnout than our previous events and attract more people,” Qaladh said.

“Especially since this is most likely our last event, as freshmen, so it’d be nice for everybody to be able to spend some time with each other before we all go into finals.”

During the opening ceremony, the Freshman Senate made three teams of first-years and the Board tried to recruit more throughout the week, Ascencio said. Due to previous partnerships, the Board was able to schedule LiveSounds, a virtual and interactive entertainment company, to perform at the closing ceremony.

After the April 16 closing ceremony, the Board hosted an afterparty where they showed highlights from the event and announced the winners, Jimenez said.

“Depending on how this event goes and if we find that students really like it, we would love to do

it again, especially when campus opens up, we want to do, a more in-person experience, full of tons of fun things,” Jimenez said.

SAM .TOR R E@PEPPER DINE.EDU

Apr i l 29, 2021

The Graphic

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LIFE & ARTS Photo Courtesy of Cailey Benjamin Ardent Applause | The crowd claps along while it watch its favorite acts perform at Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco, in August 2019. Festivals like Outside Lands, Coachella and Stagecoach were postponed — Outside Lands postponed their festival to October 29-31.

Concerts begin to resume after COVID-19 B et h g o nz a les L i f e & ar ts assista n t edi tor Fans screaming as the lights in the arena dim, accidentally hitting your neighbor as your hands move to the beat or sitting down to catch your breath after the house lights come on — these are parts of live music that fans miss around the world.

When COVID-19 required the world to come to a halt in March 2020, many forms of live music such as concerts and festivals ceased to exist. Full-time musicians, underground artists and beginners suffered financial blows after losing work.

As 2021 progresses, some concerts and festivals are resurfacing, but the atmosphere might not be entirely the same as before the pandemic.

“It’s a shame that a whole year’s worth of musicians may never be heard because they took a chance at a rather unfortunate time,” said Colton Jones, first-year musician.

“I just hope musicians have the courage to try again.”

Canceled Shows

and

Rescheduled

Postponed tours, such as Billie Eilish’s Where Do We Go? World Tour and Halsey’s Manic World Tour, and many festivals are now set for 2021. Some are canceled all together, such as Coachella and Stagecoach, both hoping to come back in full swing in 2022.

Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean were scheduled to perform in Coachella’s 2020 lineup. Last year was the first year since 2000 that Coachella did not take place.

Other artists canceled their 2021 dates, including The 1975, who refunded fans in January.

“Until we can be sure that we will be able to play shows in a way that is safe for our fans and crew, we have decided the best course of action is to cancel our touring so that, where possible, everyone can get their tickets refunded sooner rather than later,” the band wrote on Twitter.

Many rescheduled their shows, including Harry Styles’ Love on Tour, with concerts rescheduled

to start in August. Artists are revamping their previously canceled tours and integrating the music and visuals into their new ones.

They will use their postponed tours to promote new music that has debuted in the meantime, like Justin Bieber. His tour, The Justin Bieber World Tour, is set to kick off June 2021.

Probable Restrictions The industry needs time to recover. Live music, touring and festivals will not come back in full swing anytime soon, meaning mosh pits may have to take a break.

First-years Anna Burkman and Cailey Benjamin bought tickets to see Bieber in June 2021 at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.

Benjamin said San Jose, Calif., is moving into the less-restrictive Orange Tier and the city has been actively rolling out vaccines. She feels confident about the ability for concerts to be permitted come June. Burkman is especially hopeful because she has only ever been to one concert, so she wouldn’t

Photo Courtesy of Colton Jones Jovial Jazz Jams at the Junction | First-year drummer Colton Jones performs with a jazz band at the University of North Texas in October 2019. Jones released music on multiple streaming services in September. mind restrictions if it means she can attend.

“I do not think it’s going to be fully normal, some restrictions, whether the capacity is lower or you get tested before,” Benjamin said. “I would have fun no matter

the rules; literally just being in the same room as Justin Bieber, I know I’m gonna be having the time of my life.”

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Student teachers persevere through virtual instruction Grac e W o o d S ta ff w r ite r

Photo Courtesy of Kasey Loucks English Educator| Senior Kasey Loucks poses at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., in January.

Loucks said she teaches English to 11th graders at Ánimo Inglewood Charter High School.

Photo Courtesy of Los Virgenes Unified School District

Over a year into COVID-19, seniors in Pepperdine’s Teacher Education program prepare to lead their future classrooms by gaining their clinical teaching hours virtually.

There are 23 seniors in the Teacher Education program — called “candidates” — who teach a variety of grade levels and subjects virtually at schools across the LA area. Candidates in the program are required to take three semesters of student teaching credits, which start with observation and culminate with candidates teaching full-time, totaling about 750 hours of student teaching. Since March 2020, candidates have been fulfilling these requirements by teaching virtually alongside a teacher mentor.

“Some of [the] candidates said, ‘No, this is what I want to do, I’m choosing this,’” said Somer Levine, director of Clinical Practice for the Teacher Education program.

“It’s been challenging, and it really highlights how resilient Seaver College’s Teacher Education candidates are. I’m so in awe of them because they’ve just rolled with the changes as they’ve come.”

Teacher Education Program Adapts

School Is in Session| The weekly schedule for David Kim’s fifth grade class outline when students are exWhen Pepperdine administrapected to be on Zoom as well as their break times. Kim tors sent students home in March said he is learning a lot from his mentor teacher, who 2020 due to COVID-19, Levine has taught for over 20 years. said she and other Teacher Edu-

cation faculty members were reeling, unsure of how to navigate the changes COVID-19 would bring to the clinical teaching experience.

“We were at a loss,” Levine said.

“It was uncharted waters, this has never happened in our lifetime.”

After receiving guidance from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, Levine said she and her colleagues acted quickly to restructure the clinical portion of the Teacher Education program, allowing all requirements to be filled remotely.

“We could not delay an entire cohort of teachers from graduating because of this,” Levine said.

Levine said she focuses on helping candidates navigate their clinical experiences virtually. After receiving instruction from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, she was able to restructure the hour requirements for the program, so candidates received credit for the hours they spent planning, grading assignments and developing curriculum after the school day finished.

“We were asking, ‘How can we support them in completing their clinical experience during this transitional time?’” Levine said.

“Our candidates were living this abrupt transition. It was going to be a very powerful learning experience for them in leveraging the power of technology in the classroom, but also learning how to build community during a time of virtual learning.”

Last spring, Levine said she and Assistant Professor of Teach-

ing Elizabeth Yomantas held workshops to help candidates prepare for virtual instruction. In these workshops, candidates learned how to communicate professionally with their assigned mentors over Zoom and offered their assistance.

Crucially, candidates also learned how to navigate technology platforms like Zoom and earned their Google teacher certifications.

“Zoom was not on teachers’ radars at all,” Levine said. “So [candidates] actually were able to be technology leaders — as a student teacher supporting their mentor — helping set up a lot of the virtual learning spaces that were new and now being created. They became student teachers, but they were wearing, essentially, director of technology hats.”

Virtual Student Teaching At the start of the pandemic last spring, senior Kasey Loucks said she thought about halting her Teacher Education studies and graduating with just an English degree. However, Loucks decided it would be worth it to attempt virtual teaching.

“I was really upset,” Loucks said. “Such a big part of becoming a teacher is the student teaching experience, so to have that taken was hard. But, who knows when everything is even going to be back to normal? That’s why I just decided to go with it.”

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APRIL 2 9, 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

RISE intern delves into world of politics

Fresh Faces features first-year and transfer students to unite Pepperdine students and build community, regardless of where they are.

Artistic student aims to broaden her horizons at Pepperdine gr ac e w o od s taf f w r i te r First-year student Chloe Chan uses art to navigate life and express herself.

Chan, an Integrated Marketing Communication major and Art minor, is a native of Silicon Valley, Calif., where she currently resides at home with her parents and golden doodle, Belly. Chan said she has a passion for all things creative, and she hopes to pursue a career that allows her to use her communication and artistic skills.

“I’m passionate about self-expression in various mediums — music, writing, tattoos, fashion,” Chan said. “I’ve been drawing and playing music for literally as long as I can remember.”

Chan said she grew up playing piano for seven years and she wants to learn to play more instruments in the future. Her biggest passion is drawing — her favorite medium is sketching with a pen or pencil — and she wants to explore other visual mediums as well.

“I would love to pick up photography,” Chan said. “I’m very interested in film and learning more ukulele and piano.”

In high school, Chan said she continued to pursue her passion for music. Along with playing varsity golf, Chan participated in her school’s choir and was the lead singer in a band.

“We played worship music, which was actually pretty fun,” Chan said. “We were pretty serious about it — we had real band equipment. I loved the team I worked with.”

Besides worship music, Chan

photo courtesy of chloe chan Art Lover | First-year Integrated Marketing Communication major Chloe Chan sits in November in Silicon Valley, Calif. Chan said it is her dream to work for Google because of the benefits and dog-friendly workplace. said she enjoys artists like Phoebe Bridgers, Elliott Smith and Julien Baker.

“I listen to all kinds of music, except country,” Chan said. “My main genre is really sad indie music. It’s not necessarily because I’m a sad person, that’s just where I gravitate toward.”

Chan said she set her sights on Pepperdine in high school because of the location and strong academic programs offered.

“One huge factor was the amazing weather and the beautiful campus, which is a shame because I’ve yet to experience it,” Chan said.

“It’s near a beach, which I love. I want to learn to surf one day if I ever get to campus.”

Another reason Chan said she decided Pepperdine was the right school for her is because of its International Programs. Chan is passionate about travel and wants to continue to explore new plac-

es once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. In the past, Chan spent time exploring Bali and Malaysia, where most of her extended family lives.

“I went to Bali when I was very, very little, but I remember so much of it,” Chan said. “And Malaysia — there were just so many fascinating monuments that I didn’t know existed and I was just so in awe. I would love to go back one day and see them again.”

Next school year, Chan plans to spend the full year studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

“I’m so excited to be traveling to a new place,” Chan said. “I’m a mix of excited and nervous, because it’s going to be weird staying with a family I’ve never met, and it’s going to be hard to communicate with them. But I feel like I’m going to love it.”

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

photo courtesy of ethan barrágan

Passion for Policy | First-year Ethan Barragán leans over

the porch at his home in Hawthorne, Calif., in October. He said he would love to work in policy and often spends his free time listening to podcasts and researching current events. li n d s ay m a s e staf f wr i t e r First-year Political Science major and Communication minor Ethan Barragán said his dream job is to work on political campaigns.

While most young adults his age were voting for the first time, Barragán got involved in the election process by reaching out to his local representative, Maxine Waters.

He carries this passion for politics over to his participation in several extracurriculars at Pepperdine. Barragán is a member of the Latino/a/x Student Alliance, the Catholic Student Association and is an intern for the Resilience-Informed Skills Education program.

He said he started participating in virtual conferences with the Model United Nations club to work toward his career goals.

At the most recent virtual Model UN conference, Barragán said it pleased him to represent Mexico, as his grandparents emigrated from there. He enjoyed staying in character and speaking on behalf of the Mexican delegation.

“It was really nice to be able to find a passion of mine, which is international affairs, and push myself by working with upperclassmen to go to virtual conferences,” Barragán said. “We got recognition; we got distinguished delegation. So I felt like that really encompassed all of our work.”

During the spring 2022 semester, Barragán plans on studying abroad in Washington D.C. to chase his passion of working in policy. He said he wants to get an internship on Capitol Hill or with a non-governmental organization since policy is something he hopes to pursue after college.

“My dream internship would have to be working possibly with a representative, such as Ted Lieu from the district near mine or even

my own district,” Barragán said.

“I’ve never really considered nonprofit, but maybe I’d love to give back to certain community groups — refugees, immigrants, women — I’d also love to be a part of helping them.”

Barragán also interns with RISE, a Pepperdine program with goals to help students develop their resilience skills, which is something he is passionate about.

He is able to work with other firstyears to spread what the six pillars of resilience are and made friends by helping lead the program. He said it has been difficult to reach out to other Pepperdine students during a virtual semester.

“Leading by example is something that has been instilled in me through my supervisors through training and through my lessons that I give,” Barragán said. “Understanding that I have to have an open mind and sort of have a glass half full sort of mentality, especially during COVID and during virtual learning, it’s something that’s basically been essential.”

Through RISE, Barragán is able to tutor LAUSD third grade students, which he said is something he enjoys doing on weekends. He was also a RISE pod leader last semester and helped plan the RISE community in Seaside, which is where he will be living in the fall.

“It’s been really nice to take that off from the ground because we were planning a community and then now it’s happening,” Barragán said. “It will be really nice to sort of build this camaraderie around students, especially since the Class of 2024 has really missed out on the first year of building relationships.”

L INDSAY.M ASE@PEPPER DINE.EDU

Basketball fan dreams of being a corporate lawyer for Nike st el l a z ha ng s taf f w r i te r First-year Andrew Crandall hopes to see himself in Nike’s future. Crandall, who is a History major from Anchorage, Alaska, said his goal is to be a corporate lawyer for Nike.

Crandall is a first-generation child of immigrants, whose parents emigrated from South Vietnam to Alaska, where Andrew grew up as the oldest of his three siblings.

“It is sometimes tough to find an identity as a first-generation child of immigrants in America,” Crandall said. “But, sports and academics was always a place I could have a fair chance to compete and succeed.”

Crandall said he is passionate about anything basketball-relat-

ed. The basketball player Michael Jordan was Crandall’s idol growing up, he said.

“I am a big basketball person,” Crandall said. “I simply love playing basketball and watching the game.”

Crandall plans on applying to law school after graduation in the hopes of becoming a corporate lawyer for Nike, the sponsor of Jordan. Crandall said he is a big fan of the culture and history of Nike.

“When I was growing up, my family didn’t have a lot of money, but my dad always made it a priority to give me a pair of Jordan sneakers once a year when we could afford to,” Crandall said.

“It was a really special thing to me.”

The moment Andrew knew he wanted to be a corporate lawyer

for Nike was during his visit to Nike’s headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., where he read the book “Shoe Dog” written by Nike’s founder, Phil Knight. Crandall said there was a particular chapter in which Knight was in a very dire court battle for the sake of Nike’s future — the performance of Nike’s legal team aided them in their victory in court.

“It was at that moment that I knew how important a legal team was,” Crandall said. “I would be honored to represent them.”

Crandall wants to be the best student he can be so he can work for his dream company. He said Nike’s slogan — “Just Do it” — always inspires him, whether it’s studying for an upcoming final or pushing himself hard in sports.

Next semester, Crandall will be living in the Gaming and Es-

photo courtesy of andrew crandall Malibu Excitement | First-year History major Andrew

Crandall smiles with his Pepperdine admission letter in May in his hometown of Anchorage, Alaska. Crandall said Malibu is somewhere he dreamed of living. ports interest community. He said he looks forward to having faceto-face interactions with people and seeing the Pepperdine sunsets and ocean view himself.

“Some of my high school friends said my resting face looks

like I am mad, but I am very nice and open and love talking with people,” Crandall said. “So if anyone ever sees me on campus, just come up and say hi.”

STEL L A.ZHANG3@PEPPER DINE.EDU

AP R IL 2 9, 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

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CONCERTS: live music makes a return F R OM b 1 Shows planned for this year will most likely have restrictions, including wearing a mask at all times, socially distanced seats and predominantly outside shows.

“I absolutely do not think that wearing a mask would affect my experience,” Jones said. “Socially distancing would of course not be ideal, but I would sacrifice that luxury to be able to experience live music again.”

Future of Small Venues For small venues, the future is grimmer. Fast distributions of the COVID-19 vaccine may be the only way venues such as the Troubadour, Hollywood Palladium and The Fonda Theatre can resume shows within the year.

The National Independent Venue Association formed a charity titled “Save Our Stages” in order to fundraise and help receive the attention from legislators to be passed in the COVID-19 relief bill.

Artists such as Katy Perry and Alice Cooper spoke out in support of the bill and 2.1 million emails have been sent through the organization’s website to elected officials. The charity helps support millions of unemployed venue workers, as well as raise enough money so venues can open safely when they are able to do so.

Industry Impact and Virtual Shows Burkman said fans recognize the impact COVID-19 has on the music industry, both negatively and positively. This includes a boom in produced music as artists have more time on their hands without the pressures of

touring every year.

“A lot of artists have been dropping songs throughout the year just because they’re at home not really doing anything, so it’s not like they have abandoned everything,” Burkman said.

At the start of quarantine, Burkman said musicians did not know how to engage in fan interaction, but they are now adjusting to COVID-19. For example, Bieber often hosts virtual live shows on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

Similarly, NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert increased the amount of artists they feature on their show, so artists can gain musical exposure in an isolated world.

Tiny Desk Concerts are a video series of live concerts hosted by “All Songs Considered” host Bob Boilen in Washington D.C. They host a quarantine version where artists like Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus and Jack Harlow perform from their home.

“It is not the same as being in person, but it’s still a way artists are putting in effort to give their fans what they deserve,” Burkman said.

The Return of Live Music When it comes to future tours and new events, students said they are excited and hoping that some of their favorite artists will return to the stage soon.

“My favorite music thing to go to is Outside Lands Festival,” Benjamin said. “It usually happens in August, so I guess there’s a possibility, if there is, I will definitely be going.”

Jones is hoping John Mayer and Nordista Freeze will announce shows, and as a musician himself, he said he plans to be playing live again soon.

“There is absolutely nothing like getting lost in a song on stage,” Jones said. “You forget everything about life and focus

Leah bea | staff artist on that moment and those notes that are being played. The connection I feel with the band and the audience while I’m lost in a song is by far my favorite part about performing.”

As students look at the future of live music, no matter how it returns, the common consensus is that people just want it back.

“Resilience — that’s what I love the most about the music scene,” Jones said. “I don’t think anything will ever hinder it permanently.”

The world lost many normalcies during the pandemic, and the absence of live music left a hole in many lives. While artists make choices concerning everyone’s health and safety, fans are still eager to sing along again.

photo courtesy of saveourstages.com

B E T H .G O N Z A L E S @P E P P E RD I N E . E D U

The Show Must Go On | The National Independent Venue Association’s official poster for the “Save Our Stages” features a small venue with cheering fans. The organization fundraised $15 billion in relief money.

STUDENT TEACHERS: Education programs adapt From B1 Loucks teaches 11th grade students American Literature and Advanced Placement Language and Composition at Ánimo Inglewood Charter High School in Los Angeles. Loucks said she works virtually alongside her mentor teacher, who she assists by taking attendance, monitoring the Zoom chat, answering questions, grading and lesson planning.

Virtual teaching has its challenges, Loucks said. It’s challenging to connect to her students because she has never met them or her mentor in person before, and her students avoid participating in class at times.

“It’s really hard; it’s very different from a Pepperdine online course because [teachers] don’t require them to use their cameras or speak, or anything, really,” Loucks said. “It’s very different [from] the typical student teaching experience.”

Nonetheless, Loucks said she feels like she is gaining valuable teaching experience. Loucks recently started her “takeover,” in which she will handle the majority of teaching. She will teach her students how to write argumentative essays using academic sources.

Loucks said she learned how valuable interpersonal communication is in a successful classroom.

“The biggest takeaway has been how important it is to have relationships with your students and your co-workers,” Loucks said. “It’s really important to know your students and have a relationship with them before you can really teach them anything.”

Learning from Teacher Mentors Senior David Kim is a Biology and Teacher Education double major who is teaching fifth graders at Las Virgenes Virtual Academy. Kim said teaching his students is an enjoyable experience because they are excited to be in class and want to get to know him personally.

“They’re enthusiastic about learning,” Kim said. “The first

day I was introduced, they would ask me questions like ‘Do you watch “Wandavision”? Who’s gonna win “Godzilla vs. Kong”?’

I think just being able to talk with the students, connections are being made, and you still get to see their personality.”

Kim said his mentor teacher keeps her students’ attention by constantly engaging them and asking intentional questions about their interests and hobbies outside of school.

“She has so much patience, which I think is really crucial at a time like this,” Kim said. “She always takes the first 15 minutes of class to ask her students, ‘How are you doing?’”

Kim’s mentor leans on him for technology support, Kim said.

Like Loucks, he monitors the Zoom chat while also facilitating and monitoring breakout rooms.

Kim said he is impressed by how focused his students stay, even when they’re in a breakout room by themselves.

“They’re more on-topic and on-task than we are,” Kim said.

“I’ll hop into the breakout room and they’re all working or presenting to each other what they made; they actually do what they’re told.”

Despite how well his students are able to concentrate on classwork, Kim said he is still disappointed they are not getting the experience of learning in a classroom with their peers. “[Zoom] isn’t the greatest mode of delivery,” Kim said. “Everyone feels burnout. The kids can’t even talk amongst themselves, unless the teacher has the chat open. It’s little differences like that, where everything feels like it’s the bare minimum.”

Kim, who wants to teach high school science, said he learned a lot from his mentor about how to encourage students and build trust so they will feel comfortable participating in class. Teaching virtually, Kim said, showed him the fundamentals of teaching, which he hopes to build on in his future teaching career.

“Zoom — the teaching — is the bare bones,” Kim said. “It’s just the skeleton, then you at least have a basic fundamental framework of what teaching looks like.

But then, we have lungs, we have skin, we have connective tissue — things that give us life. That’s

like the interactions between students that you don’t get to see.

That’s the interaction of a class laughing together. I think those elements are added-on elements that are essential to teaching.”

Looking Ahead Now that many schools have been offering virtual classes for over a year, Levine said burnout is something all teachers experience, but most remain focused on meeting their students’ needs.

“Teaching is a very selfless job,” Levine said. “We are always concerned about others in our role because our role is grounded in serving the families [and] students of the school community. So are [teachers] experiencing Zoom fatigue? I’m sure they are.

But the dialogue is more about how do we help minimize Zoom fatigue for our students?”

Going forward, Levine said she hopes Teacher Education candidates will focus on the mental and emotional needs of students, especially as they start teaching in their own classrooms.

“Many students have experienced trauma during the last year [. . . ] So there is a lot of need to lean on the skills we’ve built during this time on how to build community in the classroom for the benefit of our students,” Levine said. “Just as critical as math, language arts and science are social and emotional health, and teaching that to kids at a very young age.”

photo courtesy of David KIm Sand and Sun | Senior David Kim visits Big Sur, Calif., in February 2020. Kim said he chose to study education with hopes of becoming a high school science teacher.

Image courtesy of Las Virgenes Unified School District

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

New Normal | Class materials for senior David Kim’s fifth grade class at Las Virgenes Virtual Academy detail best practices for Zoom learning. Kim said his class has 30 students and teaching is enjoyable because they are excited to be in class and they want to get to know him.

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Men’s vball reaches MPSF Championship, earns NCAA bid Karl Winter Staff Writer Pepperdine Men's Volleyball, the reigning Mountain Pacific Sports Federation champions, entered the 2021 MPSF Championship tournament having not played a match in 25 days due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

This Pepperdine team also included only one returning starter (redshirt senior outside hitter Noah Dyer) from the 2019 MPSF title-winning team.

The No. 5 Waves put together a good showing April 22-24, in Provo, Utah, beating Stanford and No. 6 UCLA en route to the title match, where host No. 2 BYU swept Pepperdine.

"We had the specific challenge of being shut down for a few weeks and not being able to practice sixon-six but nobody feels bad for us," Head Coach David Hunt said. "We've got to play good volleyball and from here on out, there's good teams."

Waves Shake Off Rust, Beat Stanford In what was potentially the final match in the history of Stanford Men's Volleyball, the 3-13 Cardinal played a passionate match to challenge the thirdseeded Waves in the quarterfinal at Smith Fieldhouse.

Stanford University announced in July 2020 it was cutting 11 of its 36 Division I sports, including its two-time national champion men's volleyball program.

The team's most recent men's volleyball national title came in 2010.

Stanford sophomore outside hitter Will Rottman smashed 24 kills on a .500 hitting percentage, but a balanced effort from Pepperdine was enough for the Waves to win in four sets.

Rottman hit .700 in the first set against a Waves team featuring three freshman starters, each making their postseason debut.

"We have to try to replicate a match intensity, so they did a great job in the practice gym," Hunt said. "They came out and there were some jitters with the first playoff match for a lot of guys, but it was good."

Senior outside hitter Spencer Wickens, redshirt senior middle blocker Austin Wilmot and freshman middle blocker Andersen Fuller each put down four kills in the first set to give the Waves a 25-22 victory. Wickens, who did not play outside hitter for Pepperdine before this season,

was named to the All-MPSF First Team prior to the match.

"Spencer, the fact that he could hang with some of the best players in the country, it just shows that it's not how big you are, it's how good or great you are," Hunt said.

"He doesn't know that he's 5'10".

In his mind, he's 6'10".

Rottman remained hot in set two and Stanford hit .408 to Pepperdine's .172, taking the set 25-21. Freshman setter Bryce Dvorak had 44 assists after two sets, but redshirt sophomore opposite Jacob Steele had eight hitting errors at that point. "[Hunt] definitely said like, 'We got to regroup.'" Wilmot said. "That's not how we usually play obviously. That happens all the time. You see through the matches in the year — we dropped a set in a lot of games, so that happens."

The Waves regrouped to take the match, winning the third set 25-22 and the fourth 25-19, with Wickens and Steele ending the match as co-kill leaders with 14 apiece. Pepperdine finished with 19 hitting errors in the match but did not allow a single ace.

Pepp Sweeps Away Depleted UCLA in Semifinals The April 23 semifinal match served as the season's tiebreaker between the Waves and secondseeded UCLA Bruins, as well as a de facto play-in match for an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.

Pepperdine got the final say, winning in three sets, 25-20, 2523, 26-24. UCLA played without four of its top eight rotation players, who sat out due to COVID-19 protocols, according to the FloSports broadcast commentators.

"We kept ripping, kept swinging hard, kept serving tough," Wickens said. "We just rose to the occasion very well."

Steele rebounded from his error-laden Thursday performance with a strong first set, as he notched six kills and an ace in the opening frame.

The second set featured crisp offense, few rallies and plenty of service errors, but again the Waves were slightly better from the service line, with two more aces and four less errors than the Bruins.

Dvorak contributed 11 assists in each of the first two sets, and both teams hit north of .450 in the second set.

"It starts passing, first of all, but it also comes down to Bryce making very good decisions —

spreading the ball around, getting everybody involved," Wickens said. "That's a tough offense to stop when everybody is being aggressive, everybody's able to take swings."

Pepperdine converted 6 of their first 10 swings of the third set, taking a 10-6 lead and forcing a UCLA timeout, but the Bruins battled back behind sophomore outside hitters Cole Ketrzynski and Kevin Kobrine, who ended the match with 17 and 15 kills, respectively.

UCLA forced a set point at 24-23, but a Kobrine service error and a Wilmot block put the Waves ahead 25-24, and the Waves closed the match on the next point.

"Everyone knows what [Wilmot] can do offensively, but he was getting frustrated with himself defensively, and then he comes up with the big stuff," Hunt said. "It was cool to see Austin be able to respond and get a big play for us."

The sweep victory was a statement for the young Waves team, which was able to play in front of spectators for the first time all season.

“I got to play for my mom and sister, specifically for me, but some other seniors as well,” Wickens said. “We got to play in front of the families, which is something we missed all year, so that was cool.

It was definitely a little bit of extra motivation.”

Waves No Match for No. 2 Cougars in Championship The BYU Cougars were a perfect 6-0 in MPSF championship matches in their home gym entering the 2021 tournament. Since the MPSF began in 1993, Pepperdine has won five conference titles, but the Cougars have seven.

The Cougars made it eight titles in 2021, sweeping the Waves 25-23, 25-15, 25-19.

Pepperdine was competitive in the first set, jumping out to a 4-1 lead and trading sideouts, but BYU exercised advantages at the net and service line. MPSF Player of the Year Gabi Garcia Fernandez, a junior opposite, smashed consecutive aces to give the Cougars a 19-17 lead, and BYU closed the set on a block by senior middle blocker Felipe De Brito Ferreira.

Hunt said when Garcia Fernandez’s serve is coming at 78 miles per hour, passers have a fraction of a second to make a decision.

“He’s a world class server,” Hunt said. “He’s a good player.

We tried to slow him down as best we could, but I don’t think any-

Photos courtesy of Mark Kuhlmann Block Party | BYU junior opposite Gabi Garcia Fernandez spikes against triple block Spencer Wickens, Andersen Fuller and Jacob Steele on April 24, at BYU. Garcia Fernandez finished with 10 kills in the match. body in the country is slowing him down.”

The second set was a disaster for the Waves, as BYU scored the first eight points and did not look back. The Cougars hit a ridiculous .933 in the set, and after two sets, BYU had nine blocks to Pepperdine’s zero.

The Cougars caught the Waves in medium and bad pass situations often, and it put the hitters in difficult positions against a stout BYU block.

“I’d much rather us get blocked than hit the ball out of bounds, and challenge the block,” Hunt said.

BYU graduate outside hitter Zach Eschenberg led all hitters with 13 kills, and the Cougars won the third set in front of their home crowd to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships as a conference champion.

BYU won all five matchups against the Waves this season, with Pepperdine only taking 2 of 17 sets.

Wickens led the Waves with 10 kills, and Dyer said he was pleased with the team’s overall performance in the tournament despite the loss in the final.

“I think that we’ve outperformed anything that anybody would have thought was possible with three weeks off, so I’m really proud of our guys and how we responded,” Dyer said.

one of the two at-large bids to the national championships.

The Waves will travel to Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, where they will take on Big West Conference champion UC Santa Barbara on May 4, in the national quarterfinals. Pepperdine has won five national championships in men’s volleyball, most recently in 2005.

Other than the five losses to No. 2 BYU this season, the Waves have been consistent against exclusively MPSF competition. The matchup with the Gauchos will be their first non-conference match all season.

The winner will take on No. 1 Hawaii in the national semifinals.

“We played everybody really well all year,” Dyer said. “Other than BYU, we had one loss to UCLA, and it was a tight one, and then we came back and we beat them in four and we beat them in three.”

Dyer, a fifth-year senior who returned to Pepperdine following the cancellation of the remainder of the 2020 season, said he relishes the opportunity to return to nationals.

“I was really glad to get back in here and get some closure with the guys and really get to finish out a season,” Dyer said. “It was weird when it was cut off just short, when we thought we were going to do some things in playoffs. It’s been a great year.”

NCAA Selects Waves to Travel to Columbus The NCAA Selection Committee decided the Waves had earned

karl.winter@pepperdine.edu

Women’s tennis begins conference play in style paxton Ritchey sports editor Pepperdine Men’s Tennis and Women’s Tennis each swept a pair of WCC matchups April 23 and April 25, securing conference championships for both programs.

It’s the eighth-straight title for the women, and the first since 2013 for the men.

Over the weekend, the women defeated BYU 7-0 in Provo, Utah, and then, in a match of unbeaten conference teams, defeated San Diego 7-0 as well. The men clinched by also defeating BYU 7-0 in Malibu, and topping San Diego 4-0 in a dual that saw the Toreros forfeit a doubles court and two singles courts.

With both programs winning the WCC’s automatic bid, the teams will now await their draws for the NCAA Tournament, which

will be revealed May 3. It is the first time since 2015 both programs will compete in the NCAAs. Historically, Pepperdine has been the dominant tennis power in the WCC. With this season’s win, the men’s program now has 44 conference titles, while the next highest school, the University of San Diego, has nine WCC crowns. The 2021 championship is the 28th for the women’s program and no other school has more than one.

Despite the traditional dominance, the last Pepperdine tennis sweep came in 2013, and the two programs have gone in distinctly different directions since.

The women’s program has now won eight straight WCC championships starting in that 2013 season, a period of time that covered the transition from Pepperdine Hall of Fame Coach Gualberto

Escudero, who coached the program to 24 WCC titles from 1978 to 2014, to current Head Coach Per Nilsson. Since the WCC changed its competition format in 1995, the Waves are an incredible 82-3 in conference play.

The men’s team has had a similarly dominant history, winning 38 titles in 41 years from 1973 to 2013, although three were later vacated because of NCAA violations.

Since 2013, however, had been the most barren period in program history up until this season.

The Waves had a period of coaching turnover, as Adam Steinberg, who coached the men to a national championship in 2006, left for the head job at the University of Michigan after the 2014 season.

His replacement, Marcelo Ferreira, failed to win a title in his four seasons at the helm, with the low

point being a 7-16 record in 2018 that saw the Waves plummet to seventh place in the WCC. Ferreira was released from his contract midway through the year. Current Head Coach Adam Schaechterle arrived in 2019 and finished fifth in the conference in his first season in charge.

This season, both teams swept through the WCC, posting identical 8-0 records. The women’s team finished 20-3 overall and is ranked No. 4 in the country, while the men’s team finished 15-6 overall, good for a No. 29 ranking.

paxton.ritchey@pepperdine.edu

Jeff Golden | Photographer New Accessory | Men’s Tennis Head Coach Adam Schaechterle (left) and Assistant Coach Tassilo Schmid (right) hold a trophy at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center April 23.

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Track shines, Winter runs into the Top 20 aust in ha ll s taf f w r i te r Many of Pepperdine Track’s sprinters, mid-distance and distance runners benefited from a weekend full of personal and school records at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific University April 17.

Pepperdine Track stayed competitive in the Friday and Saturday heats, headlined by school records from graduate student Kennedy Kerr and senior Brandon Davis.

Junior Karl Winter, a Pepperdine Graphic Staff Writer, continued his record-breaking streak and is now poised for the NCAA Regionals after registering a national top20 time.

“We had a slew of records across the board,” Winter said. “We did what we knew we were capable of doing, and took advantage of our best opportunity, which was this week.”

On Friday, Davis broke the school record in the men’s 400-meter dash by .68 seconds with a 50.00 second finish and placed fifth in the heat.

Sprinters coach Yannick Allain said he was happy to see Davis’ success so quickly after having to learn the 400.

“He’s currently transferring from mid-distance to sprints,” Allain said. “His body’s had a heck of a spring training with sprints being more taxing on the muscles. He’s getting into shape there. We want him to have a sub-50 second by the end of the season and we think he’ll get that done by the next meet.”

The invitational marked the third meet that Amanda Kurtz has handled the head coaching duties after the termination of Sylvia Mosqueda in March. Allain said both Kurtz and the team showed resilience at the meet.

“This group is so motivated to achieve,” Allain said. “It’s been a turbulent season, from COVID cases to our coaching situation.

Amanda and the team has stepped up so much and competing for the past three weeks have sharpened us up.”

Kerr was another standout in the women’s 100 and 200-meter dash. Kerr placed 13th in the 100, running a 11.82, and beat Izzy Connell’s previous school record of 11.86 set in 2017. Kerr also had a 24.39 in the 200..

A graduate transfer from Brown University, Kerr said Pepperdine’s lighter schedule allowed her to fine-tune her running more than the previous four years.

“It was crazy running that time,” Kerr said. “I haven’t run that fast since high school. I would attribute the success to the training regiment. Here, the attitude and training isn’t as rigorous and Coach Yannick’s style has really helped me break out.”

Other top performers on Friday were sophomore mid-distance runner Olivia Miller, who ran a personal best of 2:21.11 in the women’s 800, and senior Preston Gromer, who registered a 15:21.41 in the men’s 5,000.

The big-ticket item for the Saturday races was Winter, who already set the men’s 1,500-meter school record twice this season.

After posting a 3:45.80 last week at APU, Winter said he wasn’t satisfied and shaved off over five seconds, registering a 3:40.58.

“I was in a really fast field,” Winter said. “I knew that if I could get dragged along by the field I could have a really fast mark. I was shooting for 3:42 range and would’ve been happy with 3:43. With 300 meters to go I started moving up; I think I went from eighth to about third in the span of 100 meters and tried to hold it. A week ago, I wouldn’t have thought that time was possible.”

Winter has an excellent shot for the NCAA West Regionals in College Station, Texas. To qualify, Winter needs a top-32 regional time in an event, regardless of overall time.

With his new personal and school record, Winter is placed 18th nationally and sixth in the region. The event is set for May 27-29.

Kyle McCabe, a junior and Pepperdine Graphic assistant News editor, also turned heads on Saturday night. In his first time running

the 10,000-meter, he broke the Pepperdine record by over 27 seconds with a 30:24.23 time.

Winter said other runners paced McCabe early on before he locked in and had a strong finish.

“It was a team effort in the first half,” Winter said. “[Senior and Graphic Sports Assistant Editor] Justin Touhey was in there running the first eight laps, trying to pace Kyle at 73 seconds per lap. I came in and ran a mile to bring him to 5K. Our pace was exactly what we wanted, around 15:14, which was super ambitious. He didn’t drop off at all, kept a 73-second pace before the last lap he ran 66 seconds, which was super impressive. We were hyped for him.”

As it stands, this was the last scheduled meet of the 2021 season. Allain said he’s in contact with APU and Santa Clara in attempt to schedule an additional meet.

“Because we don’t know about the next few weeks, we were all super excited with the results of the weekend,” Winter said. “It could’ve been the last race for some of our seniors. We’ve had several good performances the past few weeks but this one was special.

photos by Kyle cajero

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

Winter Is Coming | Karl Winter runs toward the finish in the 1500 at Asuza Pacific University on April 17. The junior broke the school record yet again this season.

Speed Demon| Senior Brandon Davis gains ground against two runners in the 400-meter sprint April 10 at Azusa Pacific University. Davis would go on to break the school record the following week at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Women’s Volley bows out of big dance in round of 32 kar l w int e r staf f w r i te r Pepperdine Women’s Volleyball’s NCAA Tournament run in Omaha, Neb., came to an end in the second round, as the unseeded Waves swept UMBC on April 14 but dropped a five-set thriller against the No. 12 Baylor Bears on April 15.

The Waves ended the spring 2021 season with an overall record of 17-4, but remain in search of the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2011.

The Waves were within two points of pulling off the upset, up a set and tied 25-25 in the fourth, but the Bears closed the set and match for their second victory over the Waves in 2021.

“I am so happy that that was the match that I went out on playing and being a Pepperdine Wave,” senior middle blocker Alli O’Harra said. “Playing at that level was incredible, and to do it with amazing teammates by my side and just looking at them getting pumped — I had a blast, just knowing that I can be part of that — top 1% of the nation.”

Waves Sweep UMBC to Begin Tournament Taking the court in front of a small group of friends and family members at the CHI Health Center Omaha, the Waves came out swinging in the first round against UMBC on April 14.

Pepperdine silenced the Retrievers in the opening set, holding their opponent to a -.103 hitting per-

centage and winning the set by a 25-7 margin.

“Everyone’s fired up to be here,” senior outside hitter Shannon Scully said. “The first round’s always interesting — playing on a new court, having fans in front of us, just a lot of different things. We just took advantage of it. We didn’t want to have today be our last game.”

UMBC battled back, keeping the second set close and forcing a set point in the third, but Pepperdine would win both sets, 25-22 and 26-24, respectively. The Waves completed the sweep in less than 90 minutes and moved on to the next round.

“No matter the score, if we’re up by a lot, or if we’re down by a few, we’ll still keep on fighting,” Head Coach Scott Wong said. “And that’s what we did late in the match.”

Scully contributed a double-double with 13 digs and 13 kills on an efficient .387 hitting percentage, while junior outside hitter Rachel Ahrens led all players with 15 kills and freshman middle blocker Meg Brown added nine kills on a .500 clip. Six different Waves each added an ace, while the Waves did not allow a single ace.

The first-round victory was the Waves’ second in three seasons, having defeated Northern Iowa in the first round of the big dance in 2018. The Waves missed the tournament in 2019.

Baylor Comeback Ends Waves’ Season For the second time in 2021, it took five sets to decide a match between Baylor and Pepperdine, but, again, senior outside hitter Yossiana Pressley and the Bears prevailed.

Pressley, the 2019 AVCA Na-

tional Player of the Year, smashed 26 kills on a .321 clip to lead all hitters, but the Waves matched Pressley with a balanced attack.

Baylor struck first, winning the first set 25-21 behind a 6-0 mid-set run and an errorless .469 hitting percentage.

Pepperdine awoke defensively and from the service line in the second and third sets, jumping out to early leads and never looking back, winning 25-22 and 25-17 to put the Bears on the ropes. Baylor hit .275 in the second and third sets, combined, after their prolific first set.

Ahrens collected her 100th career ace in the second set, while sophomore setter Isabel Zelaya tabbed the third of her eventual four aces in the second set as well.

Baylor would not go quietly, jumping out to a big lead in the fourth set. Nonetheless, Pepperdine nearly stunned their opponents, clawing back from a 23-18 deficit to tie the set at 24. Ultimately, two hitting errors gave Baylor the set, 27-25.

The teams traded sideouts in the fifth set, and Scully added the 1,001st kill of her Pepperdine career, but Baylor took five of the final six points and the match.

“Alli had told me like a couple of games ago, ‘You’re really close to 1,000,’ and I was like, ‘There’s no way — maybe if they counted my stuff from freshman year,’” Scully said. “I didn’t think of anything like that. It’s great to accomplish something like that in my three years at Pepperdine.”

Zelaya finished with an outrageous 62 assists, seven above her previous career high, while Ahrens and Scully notched 19 kills each.

The American Volleyball Coaches

photos by mark kuhlmann

End of the Road| The Waves celebrate a point during their first-round victory against UMBC at the NCAA Tournament in Omaha, Nebraska. The Waves dominated the first set of the match 25-7 and then went on to take the final two sets 25-22 and 26-24.

Association named both Ahrens and Scully honorable mention All-Americans.

Looking Ahead to the Fall In a few short months, the Waves will take the court for the fall 2021 season.

O’Harra will move on to Boise State, where she will play both indoor and beach volleyball for the Broncos while in graduate school, but Scully has another year of eligibility for Pepperdine, should she choose to remain in Malibu.

Even if Scully does not return, the Waves will be in good hands with Ahrens, junior libero Madison Shields, Zelaya and Wong, who will be entering his seventh season at the helm.

Pepperdine did not win the West Coast Conference this season despite a 16-2 conference recording, finishing second behind BYU, and Wong said the team hopes to secure a conference title in the fall.

“The standard has been set and it keeps on being built on,” Wong said. “We know what it takes to be a great volleyball team on the court.

What this year did for us was get a little closer to winning a conference championship.”

K AR L .W INTER @PEPPER DINE.EDU

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Freshman walks on to basketball team and TikTok fame r o wan t oke manag i ng edit or Sports are in freshman guard Malachy Caffrey’s blood.

A Pepperdine Men’s Basketball team walk-on, Caffrey said he has grown up with basketball. “[Basketball has] always been a huge part of everything, like we’re in a gym, probably five out of seven days at least — and that’s on a slow week,” Caffrey said.

Caffrey, who is from Yakima, Wash., played junior varsity basketball at West Valley High School before transferring and swinging up to the varsity team at La Salle High School. He also played on a club team coached by his dad throughout high school.

During his senior year, Caffrey said he didn’t have any scholarship offers to play college basketball. He began the recruiting process late, deciding to send his highlight tape to various Division I colleges in the United States.

“We were just kind of, you know, just casting a net out there, to see what we might be able to get,” Caffrey said.

The University of Puget Sound and Whitman College, both Division III colleges, offered Caffrey a spot on their rosters. Although he received scholarships from those schools and would have been closer to home, Caffrey said the offer

from Pepperdine changed everything.

“I knew I’d play a lot [at other colleges], but then this opportunity came up and we kind of couldn’t pass on it,” Caffrey said.

Other things about Pepperdine also aligned with Caffrey’s goals.

Caffrey said he plans to declare as a Sports Medicine or Sport Administration major because of his passion for sports, and some schools he looked at did not offer these programs.

“Sports have been such a big part of my life that I feel like I need to stay attached, but that was a big part in choosing [Pepperdine],” Caffrey said.

Caffrey also said he appreciated Pepperdine’s academics and knew he wanted to go to college in Southern California.

“This seemed like a perfect mix of a high level of basketball and also a top 50 school, or somewhere around there,” Caffrey said. “So that was when we were like, ‘This is good — we gotta try this, at least.’”

Due to COVID-19, Caffrey was unable to tour the Malibu campus or play basketball in front of Pepperdine’s coaches. He said he accepted Pepperdine’s trial offer in May and moved to Malibu to work out and practice with the team.

On Oct. 30, Caffrey’s birthday, he said the team had just finished a film session when one of the coach-

photos courtesy of pepperdine athletics Team Portrait| Freshman guard Malachy Caffrey smiles in a photo shoot Nov. 1.

Caffrey, who is from Yakima, Wash., said it was his goal to play Division I basketball. es played a video of him practicing. Head Coach Lorenzo Romar talked about how hard Caffrey had practiced while not knowing if he was on the team, and then gave him a pair of shoes, welcomed him to the official roster and told him happy birthday.

“I was not expecting it at all,” Caffrey. “Obviously, once I heard it, I was super happy and it was kinda a big moment because I’ve been working towards that in my whole life as far as basketball, you know, and that was the moment where it kind of happened,” Caffrey said.

Caffrey said he achieved his long-time goal of getting on a Division I basketball roster, something he saw coincidentally reflected in his number.

“I didn’t get to pick my number because I think it was supposed to be a surprise,” Caffrey said. “So they just picked one for me and they picked me 13, which is kinda cool because in club ball, my first couple years of high school, I was number 11. And then my last year of high school, I was number 12 and then now I’m 13. So it was like a progression.”

Getting a spot on the roster didn’t change Caffrey’s mindset, he said. Before, he wanted to earn a spot on the team and now said he believes “there’s still more to fight for,” including playing time.

Caffrey got on the court for the first time Nov. 25, in the final minute of a game against UC Irvine.

“Obviously, I felt pretty good about myself knowing that I made it, like, I’m here Division I,” Caffrey said. “That’s the highest level of basketball but as far as practic-

Under the Lights| Caffrey pulls his jersey while posing with a basketball Nov. 1. Head Coach Lorenzo Romar officially offered Caffrey a spot on the roster Oct 30.

es and stuff like that, that was all the same. I still went to lift and still practice every day. So not that much changed, honestly.”

Caffrey’s relationship with his teammates also did not change, he said. They were close while he was on a trial basis and they were all “super supportive and super happy” for him.

“I had already had a connection with them and so I think that probably strengthened it, obviously, because it’s like, ‘Oh, you’re part of us for sure now,’” Caffrey said.

Before getting a spot on the roster, Caffrey said he worked out with senior guard Colbey Ross, which meant a lot to him.

“He just put me through a little workout and I’m a freshman walkon, not even on the team, and one of the best players in college basketball is going to come give me a little workout like that,” Caffrey said. “That was super cool — even before anybody even knew if I was on that team.”

Since then, Caffrey’s strengthened connections with his teammates are seen in junior guard Jay Yoon’s recent viral TikTok. The video, posted Mar. 13, features Yoon asking various athletes and coaches which athlete they would not want their daughter to date.

Almost everybody answers Caffrey, who then makes a light-hearted appearance at the end of the video.

Caffrey said everybody knew the video would be funny, but they didn’t expect it to go viral. As of April 28, the video has 8.1 million views on TikTok. “It was just funny because I hadn’t had a haircut since I’d gotten

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to campus and I was not the person that anyone was expecting to see at the end,” Caffrey said. “That’s the only reason it was funny, you can see that in the comments. Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, I was not expecting him.’”

Posting the video and seeing the reaction was a bonding experience for the team, Caffrey said.

“Honestly, it was just funny,” Caffrey said. “It was kind of cool to see how many notifications and whatnot I was getting, and I’m still getting them today. Every once in a while, someone will go through my page and like or comment something.”

While he is especially close with Yoon and freshman forward Kendall Munson, Caffrey said he has formed strong friendships with all his teammates. Munson, who was Caffrey’s roommate, agreed.

Caffrey plans on attending a Pepperdine graduate program after graduating from Seaver College.

With the two possible majors he is considering, Caffrey said he is interested in being a physical trainer or a manager of a sports team.

Caffrey’s ultimate goal while at Pepperdine is to earn a scholarship on the team, even though that does not happen frequently.

“With that goal in mind, I motivate myself to work super hard in the summer and just always be trying to get better because at some point, like if you get really, really good, I guess they could offer you [a scholarship], Caffrey said.

“There’s always a possibility.”

R OWAN.TOK E@PEPPER DINE.EDU

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Men’s Golf

men’s volleybal l

@ WCC Championships in henderson, nev.

@ ncaa Champion sh i ps in col umbus, ohio f irst round vs. UC sa nta barbara | 2 p.m .

beac h volleyball @ WCC Championships in el segundo, cal if.

THU 6

men’s volleybal l @ ncaa Champion sh i ps in col umbus, ohio second round (If pe pp advances)

M en’s tenni s n c a a to u r n a m e n t fi r st a n d se c o n d r o u n d l o cati o n / ti m e tb a

Men ’s ten n is nc aa t o u r nam e nt f i r st and se c o nd r o u nd l o c at i o n/ t i m e t b a

w o m en’s tenni s n c a a to u r n a m e n t fi r st a n d se c o n d r o u n d l o cati o n / ti m e tb a

w o men ’s ten n is nc aa t o u r nam e nt f i r st and se c o nd r o u nd l o c at i o n/ t i m e t b a

bas eba l l @ Po r tl a n d | 6 p. m .

baseball @ P o r t l and | 6 p. m . t r ac k WC C D i stanc e c ar ni va l l i v e r m o r e , c al i f.