THE PEPPERDINE GRAPHIC VOLUME XLIX
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ISSUE 19 | april 2, 2020
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For junior Hannah Tu, March 11 started off as a normal Wednesday: She woke up, grabbed her phone and started reading her email before getting ready to go to convo. One scroll and tap later, her whole day — and her whole world — was suddenly upended. Pepperdine administrators emailed students at 8 a.m. that morning announcing all students had to leave campus as classes transitioned to online learning for the rest of the semester to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“I immediately started panicking,” Tu said. As an international student from Taiwan, leaving Pepperdine involved more than just packing up her Lovernich apartment. One of the documents Tu needs to enter the United States was outdated, posing a risk that Tu would not be able to come back if she flew home. “The I-20 is a document for the school to prove you are a student here,” Tu said. “If the I-20 is not current — if it’s not renewed — you can’t get back into the country.” After learning it could take 10 days for the Office of International Student Services to renew her
I-20 form, Tu worried she would not have anywhere to go once the deadline to leave came in five days. Students were able to petition to stay on campus, but had to wait for Pepperdine’s Housing and Residence Life (HRL) to review their applications. Tu’s experience was similar to over 2,000 students who were forced to figure out how to quickly move out of their campus housing. In interviews over the past two weeks, a dozen students — now all across the country and around the world — described feeling devastated, overwhelmed and blindsided by the sudden announcement to go
home. “Every ounce of normalcy was just gone within 24 hours,” sophomore Faith Pearlman said. The Toll of Last-Minute Plans
The scramble to move home caused many to face financial and emotional hardships. Senior Devin Bristow said he had to take out an emergency loan for $1,000 to travel back home to Paterson, New Jersey. “I didn’t have someone that I can go to and be like, ‘Hey can I come over your house?’ Bristow said. “I didn’t have the money to just up and leave.”
Without the means to go home, Bristow petitioned to stay in his Drescher apartment but was denied. “When I got that email, I was remarkably disappointed,” Bristow said. “I felt like I was forsaken, like I was given up on.” Bristow said the rush to buy his flight home and figure out how to ship all his belongings to the East Coast made his last days on campus a taxing ordeal. “I never felt like I could just sit down and get a breather,” Bristow said.
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Uncertainty brought on by COVID-19 forces Office of Admissions to adjust em ily shaw new s as si stant High school senior Steven Song had planned to tour a few universities where he had been accepted so he could get a better idea of where he would spend the next four years of his life. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, many schools like Pepperdine have closed their campuses and canceled admissions events, leaving prospective college students like Song without integral experiences to help inform their college decision-making process. “I set up a couple of tours to the schools I got into because I’m still deciding between the schools, but a lot of those events got canceled, which is really unfortunate because I was hoping to get a lot of my questions answered at those events,” Song said. “So now I have to do a lot of research at home, which is a lot harder to do than an in-person meeting.” Pepperdine Seaver Office of Admission has also been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak; the office staff have transitioned to working remotely and canceled all campus tours, admitted-student visit days, the Malibu Reception and regional admit-
ted-student receptions. “These events provided us with the opportunity to meet students and their families face to face — and many of these on-campus events help students to choose Pepperdine,” Kristy Collins, the dean of enrollment management at Seaver College, wrote in an email. “Canceling the events is a huge loss.” In response to these cancellations, the Office of Admission started offering virtual tours of campus and is beginning to implement more virtual events such as a virtual Malibu Reception. Collins wrote in an email that the office will try to address any questions students have over email or phone. “We will try to be as adaptive and nimble as possible to meet the changing needs of prospective students, in light of COVID-19,” Collins wrote. Some colleges have boosted their admittance rate and over 200 schools have extended their enrollment deadlines as a result of the uncertainty from COVID-19, according to an article by The Wall Street Journal. Admissions officers at undergraduate institutions worry how the pandemic will potentially affect enrollment for fall 2020, according to a recent survey released by the
S tay u p to dat e wit h: the thewaves wavesreport report
EAB. However, Pepperdine — which sent out all Regular Decision notifications Tuesday, March 17, with a May 1 enrollment deadline — does not hold the same concern. “We are certainly concerned about the future consequences associated with COVID-19, but I remain confident that enrollment will not be impacted,” Collins wrote. Another concern of admissions officials across the country is the impact of travel restrictions on the enrollment of international students. This would be especially important at Pepperdine, where international students make up 11.8% of students. Collins wrote that at this point, the admissions process for prospective international students has not been impacted; however, the pandemic’s future impact is still unknown. Among many other high school students, Song and high school junior Jackson Shaw said they worry about missing out on campus tours because of the lack of opportunities to meet professors, as well as the inability of virtual tours to depict what day-today life is like. “I’m not sure how well a virtual tour of a campus will go because I’m not sure if it
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caitlin roark | assistant art editor completely shows what the campus will be like, especially the social life,” Shaw said. The outbreak has also affected standardized testing, an important element of the college admissions process. The ACT rescheduled its April 4 national test dates to June 13 and July 18, and the College Board canceled the SAT as well as makeup exams and subject test administration. Shaw had planned to take the ACT but has had to adapt and change his plans as a result of this, which he said
T h e p ixel
has been tough. High school junior Lauren Brandmeyer said the pandemic has taught her that the comfort and support that a college campus and community offer and have are important factors she values in a school. “If something like this happens and I’m just like, ‘Oh, thank God, I get to come home,’ l don’t want that feeling, and I think a lot of other people are starting to prioritize that feeling of comfort,” Brandmeyer said.
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Collins wrote that she is proud of the ways Pepperdine has supported students during this challenging time and hopes prospective students will see that. “I hope that prospective students and families will be able to see that we care deeply for the safety and well-being of our students — and their academic pursuits of course,” Collins wrote.
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University concludes CR/NC policy l indsey sul livan a s si stant new s e dit or The Seaver Dean’s office announced that students could select up to eight units to receive Credit/ No Credit (CR/NC) for the spring 2020 semester, but administrators had been considering an update to policy even before instruction went remote. The Seaver Academic Council (SAC) — a committee made up of faculty, deans and representatives from each division — convened for nearly five days in mid-March to consider a policy change that would extend grace to students amid a challenging time of online learning. Students were notified of the policy change, March 25. Paul Begin, interim associate dean of Curriculum and General Education, said credit/no credit classes were a hotly debated topic among the SAC. “There are a handful of people, for example, who thought we should just make CR/NC for all classes,” Begin said. “There’s an equal number of people who didn’t want to do anything at all.” Included in the discussion were faculty concerns within the Natural Science Division about how the policy change would affect students’ plans for medical school after graduation and whether the decision should apply to only GEs or to major classes as well. Begin said the decision-making process took longer at Seaver College than other universities,
like MIT, that have administrative plans in place to automatically convert grading to CR/NC in cases of university shutdowns. A policy change of this kind at Seaver, however, must be worked through among faculty. The SAC looked at a number of other schools, mostly Ivy Leagues like Harvard, that changed their entire grading system to CR/NC for the semester. Begin said this kind of broad-sweeping policy, however, would not be the most feasible for students graduating from Seaver who plan to attend graduate school, where letter grades are often a deciding factor for acceptance. Faculty in the SAC also reached out to students to understand their concerns for policy changes, and many received emails advocating for a CR/NC option, citing a student-created petition with over 500 signatures. SGA President and senior Meredith McCune served as a representative for students during part of the deliberation process, with the council providing her the space to express student sentiments concerning the policy change via an email thread with faculty members. “A lot of professors jumped on and started responding immediately,” McCune said. “Most of them were very, very supportive of it, explaining that a lot of students and professors are undergoing great transitions and a lot of changes, and they thought that it would be really beneficial and
Art by Aliya Edwards provide an equal playing field for students.” Once the council determined that a CR/NC option would be part of the new academic policy, members then began a long discussion about how many units should be redeemable for the grade change. Begin said the debate included opinions from all sides of the spectrum — from those who felt no units should receive CR/NC, to those who felt all classes should. Ultimately, however, the decision required consensus, so council members came to a compromise of eight units. Begin said the hope was that at least some classes would still be consistent enough for students to carry on normally. “We tried to pick a number that we thought could help students with those classes where they just
felt like they can’t do what they otherwise would have done, and they just need a pass/fail,” Begin said. Along with students advocating for a CR/NC option in all classes, Begin said many students also voiced opinions against a policy change of this kind at all, raising concerns about losing their academic work for the semester. “I was surprised at how many students wrote [to] me personally requesting that we not make any changes,” Begin said. “Their feeling was ‘I worked hard in these classes, and I don’t want the university to impose a CR/NC score on me when I think I deserve an A.’” Dean of Seaver College Michael Feltner said student concerns like this are why the university decid-
ed to make the policy optional. Begin said the SAC made a decision that the council believes will benefit all students, including freshmen in GEs, seniors in all major classes, those facing challenges with online learning and those pursuing master’s degrees after graduation. McCune said she and some faculty members expressed concern for freshmen and sophomores who might opt for credit in a class before applying to grad school and then have to retake the course to meet requirements. In the email notifying students of the decision, the Dean’s Office recommends that students consult their major advisers before changing the grading status of a course. Once the SAC decided on the policy change, the University Academic Council (UAC) reviewed and eventually approved of it before students were notified of the decision. The university is also showing grace to faculty during this time by offering pre-tenure faculty the option to extend tenure clocks by a year. Additionally, course evaluations from this semester will be reviewed but will not count toward tenure or promotion. “It’s never enough for some, but we’re trying our best to be gracious and kind and treat people the way we would like to be treated ourselves if the situation were reversed,” Feltner said.
L INDSEY.SUL L IVAN@PEPPER DINE.EDU
Constance Fulmer honored through Helen Young Memorial scholarship donations V e r nie C ovar r ub ias N ew s as si stant Pepperdine Legacy Partners (PLP) is collecting gifts in memory of Constance Marie Fulmer as donations to the Helen Young Memorial Scholarship, per her request. Fulmer died of pancreatic cancer March 17. At Pepperdine, she served as the Blanche E. Seaver Chair in English Literature and as a member of PLP. She joined Pepperdine faculty in 1990 and served in the dean’s office from 2007 to 2016, according to a Pepperdine
news release. “Dr. Fulmer was very warm-hearted and very generous,” PLP Publicity Officer Tiffany Ferguson said. “Her ultimate goal was just to encourage more people to give to the scholarship to allow more students to come to Pepperdine.” PLP established the Helen Young Memorial Scholarship in 2018 to honor of Helen Young, founder and first president of PLP (formerly Associated Women for Pepperdine). Ferguson said the scholarship awards about 12 students per school year with $5,000 each. Upon admission to Pep-
perdine, incoming students who are members of a Church of Christ are eligible to apply for the scholarship. “Connie was a lifelong member of the Churches of Christ,” Ferguson said. “Our scholarship specifically supports students from Churches of Christ and helps them attend Pepperdine.” Recipients of the scholarship exemplify leadership within their church and agree to actively participate in campus ministry, Ferguson said. “The goal of this scholarship is to build up the next generation of leaders,” Ferguson said. “We believe that
this scholarship honors the legacy that George Pepperdine founded a university with Church of Christ heritage.” Prior recipients are able to reapply for the scholarship the following academic years. Donations in honor of Fulmer will service incoming students in 2021. At the time of this reporting, the fund raised $3,336 from 22 supporters.
courtesy of Pepperdine University
V E RN E T TA .COVA RRU B I A S @PEPPER DINE.EDU
In Memory | Fulmer joined Pepperdine faculty in 1990 and served as an English professor, divisional dean of the Humanities and Teacher Education Division and as associate dean of Seaver College.
MOVE OUT: Transition to online poses problems FR OM A 1 Frantic Farewells and Pressured Packing Junior Grace Ramsey also described their move-out experience as one filled with never-ending to-do lists. “Having a hard deadline and having this whole mentality of everything shutting down just made me go into emergency survival mode,” Ramsey said. To move out in time to drive 24 hours home to Arlington, Texas, Ramsey had to miss the final two days of class in Malibu. After Pepperdine announced the decision to go remote Wednesday, March 11, the last two days of in-person classes were held that Thursday and Friday. Having to balance academics on top of preparing to leave left many overwhelmed. Junior Jonathan Cottrill had both a midterm and class presentation that Friday. “Then the idea that ‘OK, then Saturday I need to pack,’ and then basically ‘Where
am I going to go Sunday?’” Cottrill said. For Cottrill, figuring out whether to go home to Ohio was complicated because his parents are in Florida for the time being. “I can’t go to my brother’s house because my sisterin-law has cancer, and so I don’t want to expose her to anything,” Cottrill said. “My other brother — he just had a kid who’s not even one yet, so I don’t want to expose her to anything.” Cottrill applied to stay on campus to have more time to figure out where he could go. His petition was denied, and he is now home in Ohio. Dangers of Going Home Sophomore Jasmine Lee stayed with her friend and fellow sophomore Faith Pearlman for five days in Santa Clarita, California, after they both moved out of their rooms in Seaside. “My mom has rheumatoid arthritis, and with the medicine that she takes, she could be at more of a risk to [COVID-19],” Lee said.
Worrying about her family in Seattle, Washington, stressed Lee out more than packing up her room, but she eventually returned home to avoid travel restrictions that could prevent her from doing so in the future. “[Moving] out was like a whirlwind,” Lee said. “But at this point, it’s more important to be safe at home with my family than to worry about the little things that went missing along the way.” Reflecting and Adapting Now Pepperdine is now in its third week of online classes. Time at home has finally allowed some students to process their emotions over the semester being abruptly cut short. “I didn’t really start processing anything until I got home because there wasn’t time to,” senior Audrey Rhynerson said. “It was just like ‘Gotta get to the next thing.’” Rhyernson’s dad flew to Malibu to help her complete the 24-hour drive home to
Austin, Texas. “It’s hard sometimes to reconcile our seemingly small Pepperdine experiences in the midst of everything that’s happening in the world,” Rhynerson said. “But I think it’s important to give them some space, give them some value, process them.” When asked to reflect on what Pepperdine could have done better to help students move out, many felt the news would have been less of a bombshell if administrators revealed they were discussing the possibility of clearing campus. “I could have mentally prepared myself a little bit of like ‘Oh, this is an option. What would I do if they made that decision?’” Ramsey said. Navigating this new normal has been hard now that the lines between college and home life are blurred. “I kind of feel like a weird mix between winter break or summer break,” Rhyernson said. “I kind of also feel like I’m in high school and I’ve just given my autonomy away.”
For others, it’s taking classes online that poses major difficulties. “I can’t meet on Zoom because my classes are at 2 a.m., Taiwanese time to 4 a.m.,” Tu said. Tu was able to receive her new I-20 form just one day after requesting it from the Office of International Student Services. She is now home in Taipei, Taiwan. “I can’t predict what will happen, but at least at home back here in Taiwan, everything’s stable, and my parents are here,” Tu said. Though the unanticipated end of the semester left thousands burdened with figuring out how to get home, many found community and support among each other those last few days on campus. “Everybody was willing to just make the most of it,” Cottrill said. “I think it shows the resilience of a Pepperdine student and the ability that we’re able to just kind of come together and support each other.” K AYIU.W ONG@PEPPER DINE.EDU
Kayiu wong | Digital Editor
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madeline duvall | art editor
Thank Us For Our Service Every Day C amry n G o r don P er s pecti ves Edit or International praise for nurses, doctors, first responders, truck drivers and grocery store workers continue as the coronavirus pandemic roars on. For many, this is the first time their work is acknowledged as essential for others, a stark reminder that their job is to risk their own life to try to save a stranger’s. But as this recognition gains momentum, confusion builds. Why does it take a pandemic to appreciate the people who keep us healthy and ensure there are shelves stocked with food? The only answer I can come up with is that it is because our work is taken for granted. It is not until our work is deemed to have failed the public that society realizes how essential we are. I say “our” because I am one of these newly deemed essential workers.
I started work at a local Malibu grocery store two weeks ago, the first day of Pepperdine’s online courses and the day before California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide stay at home order. I emphasize this specific day because within the last 14, I worked 49 hours. (That is a lot, OK!) Let me preface this by saying that 14 days ago, I had a completely different understanding of grocery store workers. Since my hiring, however, I sold individual customers thousands of dollars in groceries, watched as customers cried to me at the sight of empty shelves and endured when they yelled at me for the store not having any hand sanitizer. Customers have also thanked me for my service and for being on the front lines of a virus at such a dangerous time, and customers have prayed for me. Deep down, I know this gratitude and frustration comes from
a place of immediate need, and while the thanks is intentional, I know it will only last so long as the eggs are in stock. That is a problem. Grocery store employees are “keeping this nation from going into civil unrest,” as stated by John T. Niccollai, president of the New Jersey Food & Commercial Workers Union, in an interview with The New York Times. While this is true, grocery store employees continue to risk their health to ensure that families have food to eat during the chaos of COVID-19. They are tired and “fearful of getting sick themselves,” Niccollai added. We often joke at my store about contracting coronavirus or already having it due to the increase in shoppers. But it is not something to make light of because the threat is exponentially higher being that we, grocery store employees, do not have the luxury of staying at home to
quarantine for more than 10 hours a night. It is infuriating as much as it is heartwarming to see the world celebrate the work of these people who struggle every single day to ensure communities are safe, fed and healthy. COVID-19 brings new light to the work of millions of employees who are underpaid and unappreciated every day, and for that, I am glad. But it should not take a pandemic. It is not new for the labor of employees to be recognized and revered. A pandemic reveals the true heroes of society, the ones who have been there all along but rarely get credit. Grocery store employees are just a few of those heroes. Every day, we work hard, and every day, we deserve to be thanked for our service. Pandemic or not. C AM RYN.GOR DON@PEPPER DINE.EDU
Madeline Duvall presents: A week in the life of the PGM art editor
ex ec u ti v e ed i to r C h a n n a Ste i n m e tz M anag i ng Ed i to r m a d e l e i n e ca r r d i g i tal ed i to r k ayi u w o n g c o py c hi ef B rya n t L o n e y c r eati v e d i r ec to r n ata l i e r u l o n New s Ed i to r James Moore Ass i stant new s ed i to r s K yl e M cC a b e l i n d se y su l l i va n New s as si s tants v e r n i e c ova r r u b i a s e m i ly sh aw L i fe & Ar ts Ed i to r Sava n n a h W e l c h as si s tant L i fe & ar ts ed i to r M a r i a B e l e n I tu r r a l d e L i fe & Ar ts as si s tant Lauren Chivers l i fe & ar ts c o py ed i to r G r ace W o o d S p o r ts Ed i to r K a r l W i n te r s p o r ts ass i stant Tayl o r Gath e r P er s p ec ti v es Ed i to r Ca m ryn G o r d o n P er sp ec ti v es ass i stant A n i ti z M u o n ag o l u P er s p ec ti v es c o py ed i to r Makena Huey pag e d es i g ner s hannah lee Ali levens ellia melin Da n i e l l a Si n g l e te r ry p o d c as t P r o d u c er Kaelin mendez Ar t Ed i to r M a d e l i n e D u va l l as si s tant ar t ed i to r s A l ly A r m str o n g Ca i tl i n R oa r k ar ti s ts e l i z a b e th b r u m m e r ga b by d i g i ova n n i p ho to ed i to r m i l a n l o i ac o n o G New s p r o d u c er m a r i sa d r ag o s P i x el Ed i to r G i a n n i Co cc h e l l a p r o m o ti o ns d i r ec to r hadley biggs adv er ti si ng D i r ec to r so n i r u saga r a Adv er ti s i ng m anag er m aya m cd o w e l l Ad r ep r esentati v e b rya n m u n g u i a MISSION STATEMENT “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.”
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Channel your Netflix binges into activism Caroline Sharpless Staff Writer Due to shelter-in-place and social distancing orders, U.S. consumers streamed a record 400 billion minutes of TV content in the first three weeks of March 2020, according to a Nielsen analysis. Perspectives on practically every issue can be experienced through film, TV and documentaries. Most of us are guilty of watching something, getting fired-up and then forgetting about it. Instead of rushing on to a new show, take simple steps to be an advocate for the people, places and animals shown on-screen. Netflix has a large range of highly-rated informational content. “Explained” and “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj” offer short episodes that each cover a different issue, while series like “Our Planet” and “Unnatural Selection” spend many hours delving into a single subject. The platform also features basedon-a-true-story shows like “When They See Us” and “Unorthodox” with supplementary documentary features. Between these and
Elizabeth Brummer | Artist Netflix’s traditional feature-length documentaries like “Reversing Roe,” “13th” and Oscar-winner “American Factory,” there are plenty of subjects to get passionate about. Activism and entertainment need not be mutually exclusive. In this age, documentaries include drama, comedy and plot twists. Take Netflix’s “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” — one of the most popular TV shows today, according to Rotten Tomatoes. While the true-crime documentary series mainly focuses on the eccentric lives of exotic animal breeders, dealers and rescuers, it also exposes disturbing animal abuse that needs to stop.
The series highlights the chilling statistic that anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 tigers live in captivity in the United States, while fewer than 4,000 tigers remain in the wild. The breeders featured in “Tiger King” keep exotic animals as pets and subject them to harmful practices like cub petting, traveling zoos and crossbreeding. Shows like “Tiger King” are created for entertainment purposes, but they can also inspire social change if people take them seriously. In a society that thrives off scripted reality TV shows, it is sometimes difficult to separate reality from entertainment. Documentaries and based-on-a-
true-story pieces are often accused of being biased, overly-dramatized or misleading. This can be true, but it is no reason to avoid watching them. All it takes is a quick internet search to fact check the sources and find the truth. Watching films and TV shows should be a starting point to becoming exposed to new issues, not an ending point. In some documentaries, however, viewers can see the injustice with their own eyes. In “Tiger King,” the gross mistreatment of both animals and employees is obvious. The Tiger King himself, Joe Exotic, who is in prison for murder-for-hire and violating federal wildlife law, is caught on camera underfeeding animals, threatening to shoot tigers and aggressively separating babies from their mothers at birth, among others. Problems like these can be eradicated through legislative intervention. Believe it or not, most members of Congress make their political decisions based on the voices of their constituents. Even the most corrupt politicians know they need to listen to their constituency if they want to be reelected. Luckily, contacting legislators is no difficult feat. Most advocacy groups allow people to send pre-written emails straight from their websites. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and
IFAW (The International Fund for Animal Welfare) all offer this feature to contact legislators about the Big Cat Public Safety Act, which ends the private ownership of exotic animals. Exotic’s nemesis and self-proclaimed animal rescuer, Carole Baskin — whom he tried to have murdered — insists that the passage of this bill is the best way to stop the abuse of exotic animals in the U.S. The best way to get politicians’ attention is by calling them. It might feel strange, but all callers need to do is say their name and the bill they would like the politician to support. It really is that simple! Talking about the issue on social media and discussing it with friends and family are always easy ways to advocate. Otherwise, research the subject to find a way to help. During a time when many feel a sense of hopelessness and uncertainty, the best way to feel empowered is to do something positive. Yes, issue-focused media can sometimes be depressing, but taking action to help is scientifically proven to make people happier, according to Live Science. Take this time to watch something important — just don’t stop caring about it when the credits roll.
C AR OL INE.SHAR PL ESS@PEPPER DINE.EDU
This generation needs a ‘Goldilocks’ approach to balancing COVID-19 reactions AJ Muonagolu Perspectives assistant From barren grocery stores to reckless spring breakers, it seems teens and adults are reacting incorrectly to COVID-19. Adolescents and adults either seem to overreact to the pandemic or treat it as if it’s another version of the flu or common cold. America needs to find its own “Goldilocks” approach to COVID-19 by finding a middle ground in handling this pandemic. Many people would say their increased spending is disaster preparedness, but in actuality, it’s simply panic buying. Though it’s not as if everyone is trying to empty
out grocery stores for their own sake. Psychologically, it stems from a way to combat anxiety coming from insecurity and fear of the unknown. “Panic buying is fueled by anxiety and a willingness to go to lengths to quell those fears: like queueing for hours or buying way more than you need,” as reported by BBC. People may become fearful when they believe a product will be unavailable in the near future, and thus, panic buy. “Researchers find that people will stockpile a product for future consumption if the price is artificially low or if they feel uncertain about being able to get the product,” according to Psychology Today. This leads to product shortages, leaving low-income families and individuals with empty shelves. Furthermore, panic shopping creates an economic shift called the “bullwhip
effect.” The bullwhip effect is a “whiplash-like effect from the global supply chain that makes it difficult to stock the shelves fast enough to keep up with a sudden high demand level,” according to GlobalEdge. While it is good to be prepared, the overconsumption of products makes it harder for others to adapt to the rapid changes of COVID-19, leaving a population of people without resources. On the flip side, there are individuals who refuse to take COVID-19 seriously.
For instance, Florida teens continued their spring break beach plans on the week of March 18, as reported by MSNBC, and a Tampa pastor continued to hold Sunday service and is now charged with unlawful assembly. COVID-19 in some cases has been labeled as a virus that will only affect the old or immunocompromised, but recent studies show that it can still drastically inflict youth and fully grown adults as well. While it is minimal, young people face mortality rates
due to COVID-19, as shown in “Young adults can face severe cases of COVID-19, too,” published March 19 by ScienceNews. As for middle-age adults at the peak of health, statistics show them to have similar hospitalization rates to youth, but they do have more instances of mortality. For example, “Ghazarian, a 34-year-old who lived near Los Angeles, died from COVID-19 after five days on a ventilator. He was a cancer survivor. People with past health problems and compromised immune systems are more at risk,” as reported by Vox. COVID-19 is a serious illness, and everyone should be cautious, but that does not mean people should go overboard. While self-isolation and quarantine does mean to stay indoors, it does not restrict people from getting groceries when needed. Peo-
ple need to buy groceries as they would normally — and maybe a little extra — but they should never grossly overbuy product. Everyone, regardless of age, needs to take this virus seriously and consider the health of themselves and the people around them. Buying only the necessities allows everyone to partake in needed goods. Moreover, staying indoors and learning a new hobby, like singing, exercising or reading, allows for everyone to be healthy, especially those who have weaker immune systems. With the Trump administration now ordering another 30 extra days of quarantine, America can find a just-right approach to reacting to this pandemic. So stay home, buy cautiously — not callously — and above all, stay safe.
AJ.M UONAGOL U@PEPPER DINE.EDU
Quarantine can free up time to find a hobby
alexis scanlon staff writer Right now, students around the world feel the painstaking combination of restlessness and anxiety. The expectation of being a fulltime student amid a pandemic is a substantial weight. Many students return to homes that are financially unstable, mentally oppressive or isolating. Without school as an escape, these unprecedented times create a lack of control and stability. If the circumstances permit, picking up new interests can provide a much needed outlet during quarantine. Investing time into learning something new has psychological benefits that can
structure time and help cope with stress while bringing a sense of control. Although it may seem as if being outdoors is illegal, it is beneficial to get fresh air — but remember to remain six feet apart from others. A walk around the neighborhood or yoga in the backyard under the sun is revitalizing after sitting inside for hours at a time. Many online workout apps are also offering free online classes during quarantine. To hone the culinary craft, people have started filling their time with baking homemade sourdough bread. This is, of course, a cry for help, but isn’t that every hobby that’s picked up when the world is temporarily shut down? Baking bread is a great way to learn early on that being a baker is not your calling, but in the meantime, it is a thoughtful way to connect with friends by dropping off a fresh loaf at their doorstep. If it sounds tempting to risk a trip to the understaffed emergency room — with hospital workers
risking their lives daily during a pandemic — learning to skateboard or rollerblade might be a great new skill. Being on a set of wheels will both get people outside and get their adrenaline up, especially when you finally nail that first ollie. On the more relaxed side of things, this is the perfect time to digest media that the busyness of school and work have previously prevented. Turn on an episode of “Cheer” on Netflix or hang out with your friends via the newly released Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch. Make a TikTok (or don’t — maybe don’t). Read the book that has been sitting on the shelf and waiting to be read for the past three years. There is endless entertainment to be consumed during all of the chaos, but the most important thing to do during quarantine is to recognize that there is no way to do it right. Pepperdine students, who tend to be overachievers, can utilize their pent-up energy toward
creative endeavors amid school work and Zoom classes. There is no model for how to get through Zoom classes without motivation or how to get off the couch for the first time in 12 hours. No one knows how each day should look, and no one will. These hobbies can be a great way to invest time during the day into something that is meaningful, and it will look different for everybody. This is the time for students to do one of the hardest things there is to do: have grace with themselves. Celebrate the small things
— and right now, they might be miniscule. Give grace when there is struggle, ask for help when it is needed and take each day as it comes. There will be a day soon where we can comfort each other with hugs and spend time around the table with friends. Until then, let us continue to socially distance ourselves and flatten the curve for the sake of those around us.
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SGA postpones elections, cancels meetings Ky le M c c ab e A s s is tant new s edit or Pepperdine’s Student Government Association (SGA) announced in an email Tuesday that elections for next school year have been postponed to fall 2020. Senior and SGA President Meredith McCune wrote in a separate email to the Graphic that the SGA Senate would not continue holding its regular Wednesday meetings. Next year’s elections will take place online from 8 a.m., Sept. 16 to 8 a.m., Sept. 17. All Executive Board and Class Senate positions will be up for election, and potential candidates may attend an information session Sept. 2. “[The Executive Board] discussed our initial views on whether to conduct SGA Elections remotely or postpone them until the fall so that they could be held in person,” McCune wrote. “We also individually emailed our SGA Adviser[s] our opinions on how to best conduct SGA Elections, and ultimately, Brittany [Skinner] and Doug [Hurley] agreed that SGA Elections should be postponed until the Fall.” McCune also wrote that the group thought completely online campaigning would not promote a fair race. “If elections were based
solely on electronic communication and social media (keeping in mind campaign rules that do not allow mass e-mailing), it may come down to clout or who is the ‘most popular’ on Instagram,” McCune wrote. “We felt this would be a disservice and misrepresentation of the student body as whole.” The group also thought that the current situation — with students spread across the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic — would make holding elections as previously scheduled inappropriate and prevent many students from voting. “We have 12 Pepperdine students who tested positive for COVID-19, and many other students who are still adjusting to moving home and remote learning,” McCune wrote. “We did not feel that SGA Elections would be seen as a priority to students, which is completely understandable.” The lack of information session and inability to regulate campaigning online also concerned the board and advisors. The last consideration that McCune mentioned was how student governments at other schools are handling the situation. “[Skinner] spoke with a school that decided to post-
pone elections until the fall, too,” McCune wrote. “I also spoke with nearby California schools, and many of them had already had elections in-person before their spring break, so they did not have to conduct any online.” McCune wrote that none of the schools she contacted planned on having online elections, but Vice President of Finance Chase Johnson said he disagreed, citing his conversations with friends at schools that are holding elections online, like Jacksonville State University. “I think that holding elections online was feasible, and I personally would have preferred that, ” Johnson said. “The main reason is because the SGA constitution is written with a requirement that the elected executive board comes back two weeks prior to the start of the school year to receive training.” Johnson said he supported holding online elections in April, but all the other board members and advisers supported moving the elections to the fall. When President Gash announced March 11 via a community-wide email that classes would transition to online instruction, SGA was starting its weekly Senate meeting. “I thought that it was
FILE PHOTO Out of Session | Members of the SGA Senate convene at their first meeting of the Spring 2020 semester. Meetings such as this have now been canceled after COVID-19 pushed classes online and most students back to their off-campus homes. an important time for us to discuss what we could do to support the students, but I think the prevailing reaction in the room was initially, ‘What are we going to do personally?’” Johnson said. “We really couldn’t think about anything SGA could do at that time.” McCune canceled the meeting after the email came, and the board and advisers later decided to cancel the rest of the year’s Senate meetings. “We thought about having
Senate meetings remotely, but with everything going on with students remotely learning, and with our limited ability to implement legislation as we are not on campus, we felt that it would be best if we saved our ideas for resolutions for the SGA Senate next year,” McCune wrote. SGA also canceled any events they were sponsoring during the remainder of the semester, including town halls. Class senators usually pass out class merchandise
at town halls, but McCune had them instead distributed at the HAWC before students moved off campus. McCune wrote that the Executive Board is not regularly meeting but is still in contact, and that committee chairs are making lists of ideas for legislation they did not get to this year.
K YL E.J.M C C ABE@PEPPER DINE.EDU
Early return: IP students make the rough transition home after semester is cut short a shl ey mo w r eader a b road cor r es pon de n t Editor’s Note: The reporter is a member of the Buenos Aires 2019–2020 cohort and served as the Graphic’s abroad correspondent in Buenos Aires, Argentina, during the academic year. Weeks before Malibu campus went remote, dozens of Pepperdine students found themselves at home, the unexpected move jarring as they adapted to their new reality. Pepperdine International Program participants left their abroad experience weeks earlier than anticipated due to to the threat of COVID-19. Now after returning home, the future is still uncertain as COVID-19 cases increase throughout the United States and the world. One of the top-five study abroad programs in the nation according to the Institute of International Education, Pepperdine’s International Programs (IP) is known for its academic-year programs and high number of student participation. Two-thirds of Pepperdine students study abroad during their time at Pepperdine, and a large portion of the sophomore class go abroad for the academic year. In the 57-year history of Pepperdine IP, there has never been a program suspension or a recall of students from their abroad program — until now. For the class of 2022, this is not the first time their semester has been interrupted by catastrophe. Fall 2018 students were impacted by the Borderline Shooting, the Woolsey Fire, and the death of their peer, Alaina Housley, who was supposed to be abroad in Florence this year. Over the past two months, as the threat of COVID-19 spread from China to Europe and the rest of the world, each of the Pepperdine’s abroad programs were suspended and sent home. Being home, however, did not mean things were better. Between health struggles, remote learning, internships, moving across the country and the culture shock of being back home,
abroad students have and will continue to face a plethora of challenges. In this series, the Graphic explores how each program was affected by the pandemic and how they’re moving forward. Shanghai — Suspended January 28 “It was home like I remembered it, but we didn’t really have much time to prepare for that transition because it happened really suddenly.” Shanghai students spent mere weeks in their host city before returning to the United States and finishing classes in Malibu. Returning to campus wasn’t the end of their problems, however, as Malibu soon after moved to remote instruction. Florence — Suspended February 26 “We still felt safe in Florence; we didn’t feel threatened by the virus.” Florence students didn’t expect the news and were shocked when it came. The adjustment home was difficult — being the first program after Shanghai to be sent to their respective homes — but they soon realized that this problem was much bigger than themselves. Heidelberg — Suspended March 1 “None of us really wanted to hear it, so we tried not to expect it — but deep down, we all knew.” Heidelberg students anticipated the suspension of their program after Florence and Shanghai, but they couldn’t have predicted how the virus would affect Heidelberg after their departure or what they were going to find at home. Lausanne — Suspended March 1 “America has been more resistant only because it felt so far away, and for abroad students
in Europe, it felt pretty close to home.” Lausanne students share their unique global perspective in watching the virus affect first Europe and then their homes. Though they are spread across the world, program participants choose to hold on to, and lean into, their Lausanne family. London — Suspended March 10 “I think we all have a pretty high likelihood of coming into contact with it at some point. I think mostly we’ve been looking for information and only sometimes found it.” London students have seen the biggest impact from COVID-19, with eight confirmed cases of the virus in the London program. Now they’re looking to the university and to each other on how to address this problem. Buenos Aires — Suspended March 10 “I was not prepared for how big of a difference the level of panic there was between Argentina and here.” Buenos Aires students faced a major culture shock in the return home as they transitioned back to life in the States and tried to understand the magnitude of COVID-19. Washington, D.C. — Suspended March 11 “Pepperdine is trying to figure out now how to give us credit for our internships, because a lot of us are not going to meet the hours. They’re not going to just honor the hours that we’ve met already and say that’s enough — you have to figure out something.” Washington, D.C. students lost more than just life in the city — many lost their internships. Students now scramble to meet requirements remotely to receive credit for their work.
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
ashley mowreader | staff writer
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LIFE & ARTS
Fine Arts majors adapt to online classes during pandemic G R AC E W O O D L if e & ar ts COPY EDITOR After the Pepperdine community transitioned to online classes in the wake of COVID-19 concerns, Fine Arts faculty converted syllabi dependent on performances and exhibitions to teleconference platforms like Zoom. The Fine Arts Division — which includes programs in art, music and theater — had many plans in place for students to showcase their talents, including the spring theater production “The Cherry Orchard” and the senior art exhibition in the Weisman Museum. Junior Theatre major Indy Wilson said while losing the opportunity to perform was disheartening, leaving her community was the most upsetting. “I got the email about school being canceled, and I was just devastated,” Wilson said. “I need to be in the community so much right now. I don’t know what [leaving] is going to do to my mental health. We had to say goodbyes in two days that should’ve been two months.”
courtesy of Alison Kiaseleh Making the Shift | Sophomore Music major Alison Kiaseleh joins a Zoom call with her private vocal instruction class. Fine Arts students shifted classes and private instruction to online platforms like Zoom starting March 18. Senior art major Aliya Edwards said the stress of having to move out of her on-campus dorm was compounded by needing to relocate her senior art studio in the CAC within a two-day period. The art studio,
shared by all senior Art majors, was where Edwards worked on her senior art exhibition. “A lot of the teachers — and myself included … are finding it rather challenging to regroup our entire studio inside a space
where there wasn’t space, like a home,” Edwards said. Edwards said she is also concerned that her preferred medium, which involves fabrics and textiles, may not translate as well digitally.
“When you’re all in one physical space, it’s a lot easier to communicate and receive input, which is a lot of what art is — you showing your work,” Edwards said. “It’s really difficult to share your work through a screen. Because mine is so textural, it doesn’t read the same.” Gretchen Batcheller is an assistant professor of Art and serves as the coordinator for the Art Department. Batcheller said she is proud of the way her students have adapted to the changing circumstances. “An art degree is a degree of problem solving,” Batcheller said. “Our students, pretty immediately, were evolving their ideas and their thesis work according to what was going on around them. That’s the nature of the discipline — quickly responding to something and moving forward.” Batchellor said the Art Department is considering converting the senior exhibition to an online format so seniors can still display their work to a larger audience. Batcheller,
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Book review: ‘The Ride of A Lifetime’ is a must-read for college students C AR O L INE SHARPLESS S taf f Writ e r Disney CEO Bob Iger did not have an Ivy League education, extraordinary GPA or famous relatives, yet he somehow managed to become one of the most influential people in the world today. His book “The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company” is an important read for college students seeking inspiration as they prepare to enter the workforce. In highlighting the people who impacted his journey, readers gain access to the same leadership, crisis-management and career-building advice that Iger received. Iger, a Long Island native from a struggling middle-class family, graduated from Ithaca College in 1973 before
spending three decades building the experience necessary to become CEO of The Walt Disney Company. After 15 years in the spotlight, he announced his retirement from the company Feb. 25. Bob Iger is a very high-profile person associated with a series of controversies involving the Securities & Exchange Commission and the #MeToo movement. He also considered launching a 2020 presidential campaign. In his book, Iger details his experience, splitting his journey into two parts titled “Learning” and “Leading.” Iger shares the leadership skills he utilized to achieve success and offers guidance on making powerful decisions. Iger attributes his claim-to-fame to his uncle’s bad eyesight. His uncle’s postop hospital roommate was an executive at ABC, which is now owned by The
MADELINE DUVALL | ART EDITOR
WHAT OUR READERS ARE LISTENING TO: WE Asked STUDENTS ON CAMPUS (AKA ZOOM) WHAT songs are motivating them through quarantine:
“Levitating” Dua Lipa
“Way Maker” Leeland
Walt Disney Company. The connection landed Iger a job that was, according to him, the lowest-ranking job on the ABC ladder. In the years after, Iger slowly worked his way up the company, becoming President of ABC and eventually the CEO of The Walt Disney Company. He did not have a carefully-constructed master plan. Instead, he did the best he could and allowed his hard work — and luck — to create his success. Open-mindedness and flexibility created opportunities for him that he never dreamed of. “Don’t let ambition get ahead of opportunity,” Iger writes. Iger’s patience and integrity allowed him to facilitate all of Disney’s biggest acquisitions — from Pixar to Marvel to LucasFilm and, most recently, Fox. He describes how his close relationships with their owners, Steve Jobs, Issac “Ike” Perlmutter, George Lucas and Rupert Murdoch, respectively, were essential to each deal. These purchases transformed The Walt Disney Company and never could have happened without the trust he built with each company’s powerful leaders. “Treating others with respect is an undervalued currency when it comes to negotiating,” Iger writes. “Most deals are personal.” A huge contributor to Iger’s success was his adaptability to industry change. During his tenure, the entertainment industry faced a huge shift as streaming platforms changed the way people consume entertainment. Iger addresses the question at the forefront of many business owner’s minds in the digital age: How can a company survive in a changing world? “Now more than ever: Innovate or die,” Iger advises. Disney would not have succeeded had the company’s leaders not taken risks and adapted to the new media landscape. As technology continues to advance at a rapid rate, every industry must have the courage to make big changes in order to keep up, Iger explains.
“Through and Through” Khai Dreams
courtesy of Bob Iger Life Lessons | In his book, Iger celebrates the people who helped him grow by sharing their stories and words of wisdom. His book is a #1 New York Times Bestseller. One place Iger falls short is in his discussion of women in business. He explains the importance of equality in the workplace but quickly brushes over the #MeToo movement. Early in the book, Iger praises John Lasseter, the former chief creative officer of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation, who left the company due to multiple sexual harassment claims. Iger mentions Lasseter’s sexual harassment claims at the end of the book, however, failing to include his behavior when discussing his achievements makes it difficult for readers to associate the two together. Check out “The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of The Walt Disney Company” for more advice on business and leadership, as well as insider information about one of the most powerful companies in today’s entertainment industry.
“Don’t Stop Believing” Journey
C AR OL INE.SHAR PL ESS@PEPPER DINE.EDU
“August 6th” mewithoutyou
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ADAPT: Fine Arts majors explore new ways to practice online F R OM B 1 who also teaches a watercolor painting class, adapted her own teaching techniques to the Zoom platform. She now streams and records much of her painting lessons with an overhead projector. In addition to addressing students’ concerns during this period of transition, Fine Arts Divisional Dean Bradley Griffin said he wants to prioritize the mental well-being of professors as well. He has encouraged professors not to take on too much and connected them to additional resources like the Student Success Center and the Counseling Center. “I just said [to the Fine Arts faculty], ‘In the midst of teaching your classes, and continuing to advise your students, I know that you also want to be that listening ear and that support … but you may be overwhelmed right now,’” Griffin said. Griffin commended several Fine Arts professors for creatively reevaluating their syllabi. Theatre professor Cathy Thomas-Grant asked her students in her role development class to respond to several prompts through a series of journal entries and detail how they feel during this time of adjustment. At the end of the semester, Thomas-Grant’s students will turn these entries into monologues and
This is the time where we should start to create our material ... and really figure out who we are as writers, because that’s one way that you could stay alive as an actor in LA. Clayton Mattingly, Junior Theatre Major
perform them in eight-minute shows to be presented over Zoom. Junior Theatre major Clayton Mattingly, a student in Thomas-Grant’s class,
said he thinks this creative challenge will benefit his career in the long run. “This is the time where we should start to create our material … and really figure out who we are as writers, because that’s one way that you could stay alive as an actor in LA,” Mattingly said. Sophomore Music major Alison Kiaseleh said being unable to create music with her peers has been a difficult facet of the transition to online classes, along with the cancellation of many of the Pepperdine Concert Choir’s upcoming showcases. “The Vocal Performance major is about performing in front of audiences [and] making music with other people,” Kiaseleh said. “There’s really only so much you can do via online communication. Obviously, it’s different … but I don’t feel like I’m being robbed of my education because [professors are] really trying their best to give me everything they can.” Kiaseleh said she has been able to improve her singing abilities through online vocal lessons with her music professors. “I thought [online lessons] would be really wack and not help me improve as a musician,” Kiaseleh said. “Honestly, I’ve had better lessons via Zoom than our face-to-face lessons.”
Adjunct Professor of Theatre Brian Lohmann teaches improvisation this semester and said Zoom classes have presented challenges to students who are used to performing on stage. “It’s an art form based on communication,” Lohmann said. “We can’t make the same kind of offers, as we say in improvisation. Anything that happens on stage is an offer. Physical offers that we would be able to communicate to one another in a shared space are out the window, literally. [Zoom is] a tiny window that we can do everything in.” Lohmann said the platform is helping students improve their on-camera acting and reading abilities, as he has adjusted his syllabus to have students read scenes over Zoom as a class. “[Students] can see what works [with their] classmates; when they’re doing things that are more internal and more subtle, the camera picks up everything,” Lohmann said. “I think the students are walking away with an on-camera acting class as well as learning how to improvise stories together.”
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Senior Spotlight: Christian Battin Savannah Welch li f e & arts E d itor
How do you think your business has impacted the Pepperdine community?
When Chicago native Christian Battin isn’t behind the camera or interning for Pure Flix Entertainment, he’s involved in on-campus extra-curriculars like NewsWaves 32, working as a teacher’s assistant in production classes or running his on-campus cookie business, Battin’s Bakery. Starting his business in October 2019, Battin sold over 1,000 cookies within two months, honing his entrepreneurial skills while studying Media Production at Pepperdine. Battin sat down for an interview with the Graphic to explore how his faith has intersected with his interest in film and passion for creating community through cookies.
CB: I prayed over the cookies, you know, blessed them, asked God that people would experience his love through them. I have a couple of cool testimonies of people who — not knowing that I did that — would say they even tangibly felt love. I’ve seen a lot of people impacted in the sense of community. I’ve created relationships with people [and] people have created relationships with each other.
What drew you to pursue a career in film? Christian Battin: Originally, it was just because I wanted to make people laugh. It eventually translated to wanting people to feel loved and then to showing people Jesus through media.
Any advice for younger students?
Photos Courtesy of Christian Battin Faith and Film | Battin (right) and senior Orion Keen (left) analyze a frame in an LED monitor. This picture was taken on the first day of shooting for the film “Self-Absorbed.”
Do you have any insights you’ve gained from your internship experience?
Who has been your favorite professor at Pepperdine?
CB: Work as hard as you can. You know, you’re probably gonna start as a PA [Production Assistant] or whatever, just work your butt off. Don’t kiss up to anybody; just work your butt off and try to engage with the producers, the directors ... and just be yourself. Study [producers and directors] a little bit so you can talk to them about their work.
CB: John Sitter — because he’s funny. He cares about the students and has a good background of knowledge. You can tell he’s just there for our learning and for us to enjoy the program.
CB: [8 a.m. classes] are dangerous — probably stay away from them, if you can, unless you really, really like waking up early in the morning. If you go to them, it does give you a great jump on your day and you get a lot of stuff done — but it’s also not easy to go, especially if it’s a language class. I don’t recommend taking language classes in the morning. That’s dangerous for sure. SAVANNAH.W EL C H@PEPPER DINE.EDU
What inspired you to start your own bakery? CB: One day, I just decided I wanted to make homemade cookies. I’ve been baking for a long time, had my culinary license, or had had it, and food handling ... and took a lot of classes. I went out, bought some high-end ingredients, looked up a recipe online. I made them for my friends, and they loved them. They loved them so much that they told me they would buy them. I just thought it’d be fun, and I saw how much people liked them. You previously mentioned your faith — how has your spiritual life had an impact on your time at Pepperdine?
Behind the Scenes | Battin (left) with Screen Arts Prof. Andres Orozco (right) on set at SHOREbar in Malibu. Battin was a member of the production team for Orozco’s narrative production capstone in the fall of 2019.
CB: It wasn’t until early junior year that, I guess, my faith was really transformed into something new in the sense of just really rediscovering an intimate relationship with God — but understanding even deeper what that means, too. To actually have a friend in him, rather than just somebody to pray to and hope that, you know, he’s gonna listen. And even though I may have trusted him in the past, and now it’s like he’s personal, [it’s comforting] ... being able to converse in dialogue and fellowship, and just know that I have a friend in Jesus in a more intimate way. In the past two years, I’ve just been growing in that daily.
Community Cookies | Battin started his company Battin’s Bakery in October 2019. He sold over 1,000 cookies in two months handling all baking, orders and deliveries.
apr i l 2, 2020
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Waves alumna, mom of two, runs first Olympic Trials Marathon kar l w int er s por ts edi tor Lauren Floris toed the line at the California International Marathon (CIM) on December 3, 2017, attempting to do something she had never done. Having given birth to her first daughter, Lavinia, the previous July, Floris kept her expectations low. “I tried not to go into [CIM training] with a goal because I still hadn’t broken three hours yet,” Floris said. Entering that race, her personal record for the marathon was 3 hours, 6 minutes and 9 seconds from the 2014 Chicago Marathon. At CIM, she ran 2:44:16, a 6:16 per mile pace and a personal best by nearly 22 minutes. The best prize was not the exact time but going under 2:45:00 — an Olympic Trials qualifying mark. Floris had earned an opportunity to compete at the Olympic Trials Marathon in February 2020 in Atlanta. The Trials Experience Floris, now 29, fulfilled a dream of many long-distance runners Feb. 29 on the roads of Atlanta, competing with a chance to make the Olympic team in the marathon. The best marathoners in the country congregated in one place, with only three places on the men’s team and three places on the women’s team available. The Atlanta Track Club covered lodging and travel costs for all qualifiers. “It was really cool because when I walked into the hotel to check in and get a key for my room, I’m walking through and I saw Abdi [Abdirahman] and Des [Linden] and all these people that are famous and I’ve looked up to and watched on TV,” Floris said. “They’re all there in person, and [I’m] doing the same thing as them, which is kind of cool.” Abdirahman finished third in the men’s race the following day, making his fifth Olympic team, while Linden finished fourth in the women’s race, just 11 seconds short of making the team. Leading up to the race itself, Floris underwent a uniform check, water bottle check, tech meeting and
photos courtesy of lauren floris Biggest Fans | (left) Lauren Floris (red-and-blue shorts) races the Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta as a large crowd cheers her on. (middle) Floris poses with her daughters Lavinia (left) and Marigold (right) in Atlanta in February 2020. (right) Floris’ Rabbit Elite race kit laid out the night before the race. She finished in 298th place, running 2:54:04 for 26.2 miles in difficult conditions. time spent meeting friends from over the years who had also qualified for the Trials. “It was just a cool experience to be treated like a professional athlete,” Floris said. In the nation, 511 women qualified to run the race, a record high number. Only 390 finished, as some did not start and tough conditions caused many of the favorites to have a bad day. The course in Atlanta, which included three eight-mile loops and a two-mile stretch to the finish line, featured 1,389 feet of elevation gain. “There was always up or down; there was not really any flat,” Floris said. “I’ve never experienced anything like that where your quads and your hamstrings are just so beat up because you are going up so fast and you’re going down so fast.” Despite the hilly course, Floris finished with a time of 2:54:04 (6:39 per mile), good for 298th place. The banked roads and potholes were also a challenge, and though the weather conditions (sunny and chilly) seemed ideal for a marathon, wind gusts up to 20 miles per hour provided a stiff test. “What I found more difficult was actually the wind,” Floris said. “The wind was really hard because I was in no man’s land for a lot of the race. I never really packed up with anybody because the first little bit of the race I was trying not to get drawn along with the pack.” Despite some ankle pain following the race, Floris has since returned to training, hungry for more. How She Got Here
Hardware | Floris, flanked by her daughter Liv and husband Henri, shows off her CIM medal in front of the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
In the nearly eight years since Floris graduated from Pepperdine in 2012, she got engaged and married, worked in accounting, returned to running, earned a master’s degree in kinesiology, coached running, started a podcast and gave birth twice between running marathons. Floris, whose maiden name is Lodge, blossomed as a runner when competing for the Waves, as her 5,000-meter personal best improved from just under 20 minutes in high school to 16:54 as a senior at Pepper-
dine. That mark still stands as a Pepperdine school record, as do Lodge’s marks in the cross country 5K and the 1,500, 3,000 and 3,000-meter steeplechase races on the track. Lodge studied abroad in Florence during the spring of 2010 and ran during the week. Though she did not train hard in Europe, she went on to have her best season as a junior. A stress fracture to her femur in 2011 caused her senior year of running to be more difficult. Following graduation, Lodge engaged and married Henri Floris, her former Pepperdine teammate. She soon went back to her running roots, which began when she watched the start of the Boston Marathon in her hometown of Hopkinton, Massachusetts. “Because I had been so frustrated my senior year, I was like, ‘I just want to go run something that’s new and fresh and pretty much a guaranteed [personal record],’” Floris said. “So that’s how I got into doing the marathon.” Floris’ first marathon was the Los Angeles Marathon in 2013, where she ran 3:11:04 and finished as the 21st woman in the race. Her next goal was breaking three hours, which she would not achieve until CIM, more than four years later. “That was a goal that a lot of women had out there that seemed attainable,” Floris said. “That’s kind of where I was focusing my training for the next couple years.” She began coaching at Orange Lutheran High School in 2015 and then coached at Cal Baptist from 2016–2019, allowing her training to intersect with her career. After giving birth to Lavinia, nicknamed “Liv,” in 2016, the runners at Cal Baptist encouraged Floris to attempt some shorter races. She joined Rabbit Elite, an elite group of semi-professional runners and ambassadors for rabbit brand apparel, in August 2017 and promptly ran 16:57 for 5,000 meters to win the UCSD Triton Invitational in April 2018. It was Floris’ first time running under 17 minutes
Double Trouble | Lauren Floris runs an afternoon double run with a double stroller carrying her daughters Liv and Marigold. Floris trained for the Olympic Trials Marathon following the birth of both daughters. for the 5K since college. “I felt a little lost, I think, in the post-collegiate running,” Floris said. “I didn’t really have guidance; I didn’t know what to do.” In the seven years since Floris ran the LA Marathon, online coaching has become more and more common, allowing more post-collegiate, semi-professional training groups to form. She is now coached by Ben Bruce, who also coaches the professional HOKA NAZ Elite team. Bruce gave Floris an abbreviated training plan for the Olympic Trials, since she ran a marathon in November 2019, only 10 months after giving birth to her second daughter, Marigold. “We kept things low key, I would say, for the Trials,” Floris said. “Just because I was only 13 months postpartum and it’s such a tactical race.” Running during and after pregnancies is one of Floris’ specialties in coaching now. She is a USATF Level 1 Certified Coach and co-hosts a podcast called “Up + Running” with other athletes and coaches in Southern California. “During both of my pregnancies, we kept things low key — just easy running, really low mileage — compared to what some other
women do,” Floris said. Running in the Age of COVID-19 Though all running races in the near future have been canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Floris continues to run (usually alone), coach remotely and produce podcast episodes. Floris had some advice for experienced and new runners during the COVID-19 quarantine. Though virtual races and time trials are options, and runners can still train hard if they choose, the lack of races has caused some to lose motivation. “If you’re in this funky mood because you’re home all day and your kids are home all day and you just feel cooped up, you don’t have to force it,” Floris said. “You can gain a lot just by running easy.” The Tokyo Olympics have been postponed to the summer of 2021, so even the best runners in the world are playing a waiting game. The six runners who qualified for the United States marathon team will have to wait 16 full months before they race in Sapporo. If Floris was their coach, she would have them race again during that time but make
sure to avoid injury. “I definitely wouldn’t want them to not run another marathon until the Olympics, but the focus, the main goal, would be to get to August 2021 healthy,” Floris said. Floris continues to work from home, and Henri also can continue his job in TV production from the family’s Chino Hills residence. “We’re just glad that he has a job, that my job is something I can do from home, and that our girls are already home,” Floris said. “We’re doing our best, and I’m just trying to support my athletes as best I can.” The family dealt with a scare in the past few weeks, as Henri was tested for COVID-19. Though Lauren and Henri were grateful for the test, it took 10 days to get the results, which their daughters Liv (now 3-anda-half) and Marigold (14 months) did not understand. “It’s hard when you’re three and your dad’s home and you’re not allowed to touch him for 10 days,” Floris said. “You’re like, ‘I don’t get it.’”
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COVID-19 impacts athletic recruitment and coaching amid new NCAA rules al i l ev ens staf f w r i ter Following the NCAA’s March 12 cancellation of the winter and spring sports seasons to prevent the spread of COVID-19, prospective Pepperdine athletes for its 17 teams are among some of those in concern. On March 18, the NCAA Division 1 council leadership instituted mandates that bar recruits from meeting coaches in-person until April 15 at the earliest. Coaches and athletes are allowed to communicate via phone and writing. “[Transfers are] looking … and recruits [are] asking questions,” Men’s Volleyball Head Coach David Hunt said. “The tough part is we don’t have enough answers right now.” Recruitment communication has not suffered a large blow for the Women’s Tennis and Men’s Volleyball teams, as they are already in contact or have signed their prospects. Women’s Volleyball Head Coach Scott Wong said he is thankful for the extra time he has to talk with his
junior and senior recruits. The mostly unaffected process precedes the Collegiate Commissioners’ Association suspension of National Letter of Intent signings and prospect financial aid agreements until April 15. While Wong recruits and plans ahead, he said it is challenging to communicate and show interest in the sophomores, his “biggest priority class.” Coaches are not allowed to reach out to recruits at this age, so the only way to network is to host a camp — which may happen in the summer — or watch them at a tournament, which is not possible at this time. On the other hand, Men’s Tennis Head Coach Adam Schaechterle has enjoyed the break in recruitment since the “whirlwind of ... bringing in 10 guys over 18 months.” This season was only his second, so he built his team from scratch in less than two years. “We feel really confident in the core pieces that we have assembled now,” Schaechterle said. “We’ve been able to be a lot pickier about how we recruit. Our recruiting cycle
hasn’t been greatly disrupted by [COVID-19] because that was sort of the mode that we had already entered.” Although the uncertainty may be challenging, the goal of the coaching staff is to keep the recruits informed of the culture of the Malibu campus. “We’re just trying to be letting them know how Pepperdine has helped our athletes,” Women’s Tennis Head Coach Per Nilsson said, “and what’s going on here, and we’re trying to. I’m trying to give them the info that they might need.” Most prospective athletes do not need to visit Pepperdine since they are already aware of the landscape and beauty, Hunt said. Instead, he focuses on harboring a connection of trust between the faculty and the students. To keep the communication flowing, Wong and his nine-year-old daughter plan to make “virtual camps on the different skills” as a recruitment tool and for community service. Hunt added that Athletics had a “trial run” during
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courtesy of pepperdine athletics Pep Talk | Women’s Volleyball Head Coach Scott Wong speaks to his team during a timeout. Wong said COVID-19 has not affected contact with high school junior and senior recruits, but it has been challenging to contact sophomores. the Woolsey Fire era in November 2018, making this transition into remote work “seamless” with the implementation of Zoom and cloud-based storage. A common thread of concern between coaches is not recruitment but what will happen regarding the seniors and remainder of the seasons. “We’re a little bit in a holding pattern, I guess,” Nilsson said. “They want to know what the whole game is going to be like. There’s a bunch of different scenarios.” The NCAA Division 1 Council voted March 30 to extend eligibility to spring sport athletes by granting them an additional season. Financial aid rules were adjusted to accommodate more scholarship athletes. These rulings may have
major consequences on the programs and have created a longing to be with their teams. “Those guys have become sort of an extension of my family,” Schaechterle said, “so it’s odd not being on the court with them.” Among many withstanding questions, Nilsson looks to positivity for his athletes who had their season canceled. “Tennis players almost never, ever take real time off from the sport,” Nilsson said. “I think this break is healthy for them. They can heal up both mentally and physically, and also if someone has played for a long time, they might get that desire back to really work hard.” Schaechterle said he misses the one-on-one develop-
ment with his players but is thankful to have a “huge bright spot” of spending time with his wife and kids. Wong keeps an optimistic look on the situation by comparing the non-controllable factors of not having practice with the controllable factors of attitude and time investments. He said he also looks forward to spending more time with his two daughters at home. “The one thing that we’re really trying hard to do with our team is to stay connected,” Wong said. “It’s hard to stay connected if you’re physically not connected, but I think we’re trying hard to be socially, emotionally connected to each other.”
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