Pepperdine Graphic 2-6-2020

THE PEPPERDINE GRAPHIC VOLUME XLIX

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ISSUE 13

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February 6, 2020

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TRUMP’S PEPP Ken Starr SPP appoints defends Trump ROOTS Andrew Puzder Jam es Moore New s Editor

KAy iu W ong Di g i tal Ed itor As President Trump’s defense team presented their arguments to the Senate last week for the third impeachment trial in American history, one of those advocating for the President’s acquittal was once a Wave.

Kenneth Starr, dean of the Pepperdine Law School from 2004 to 2010, was appointed as independent counsel to President Trump’s legal team

Jan. 17. Starr previously led the Whitewater investigation that resulted in the impeachment of Bill Clinton in 1998.

“It never surprises me where he pops up,” President Emeritus Andrew K. Benton said of Starr. “He’s a very smart and much sought-after guy.”

Prior to his deanship at Pepperdine, Starr served as U.S. Solicitor General under

V e r n i e C ova r r ub i a s ne ws assi stant

Lawyer and former CEO Andrew Puzder will serve as a speaker and mentor for the School of Public Policy’s students under the Senior Fellow program.

Senior fellows serve renewable two-year terms and are responsible for speaking, mentoring and occasionally teaching at the School of Public Policy. Puzder

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headed CKE Restaurants, parent company of Carl’s Jr., through a $700-million debt and is credited for returning the company to growth, according to CNBC. Pete Peterson, dean of Pepperdine’s School of Public Policy, appointed Puzder for the fellow position Jan. 16. The position is unpaid. “[Puzder] has been a business leader but understands

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Madeline Duvall | Art Editor Samantha Miller | artist

Behind-the-scenes: Pepperdine prepares for return of Shanghai Program students Jam es Moore New s E dit or Emily Shaw New s a ssista n t Pepperdine sophomore Bradford Holladay was backpacking by himself in Vietnam when he received the email informing him that his study-abroad program in Shanghai, China, would be suspended for the remainder of the semester.

“Immediately, I was trying to figure out how I was getting back home, since my plan was to get back to Shanghai, but I couldn’t do that anymore,” Holladay said.

Thirty-six Shanghai participants received an email from Executive Director of International Programs Beth Laux at 6:14 a.m. on Wednesday (Shanghai time) informing them of the suspension of their program. Like Holladay, most students were out of the country for their one-week travel break that follows the Chinese New Year.

The decision to suspend the program was not an easy one for university administrators like Laux, who analyzed the situation on a moment-to-moment basis for the majority of last week. Laux said the university monitors multiple resources to stay aware of potential

threats to students abroad.

“This was really an interesting case: there was about 36-to-48 hours at the beginning of the week where a number of factors converged,” Laux said.

The university partners with a medical and travel services company called International S.O.S. that disseminates threats to the university. Laux said the warnings the university received from International S.O.S., coupled with the heightened warnings from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the university’s infectious disease task force finally prompted the decision.

“I don’t know that there was one factor that prompted our decision in this case, because it happened very quickly,” Laux said. “This is really an evolving situation, so there’s not a lot of certainty on what this is going to look like in a few weeks.”

Student safety and health is always the primary factor in university decision making, Laux said, but the decision to suspend the full duration of the program came out of the university’s legal obligation to provide graduation requirements.

“The longer we stalled on making a decision, the harder it was going to be for us to create an aca-

News

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“Immediately, I was trying to figure out how I was getting back home ...”

has over $1.4 A5- C200 trillion in annual revenues with 2.5 million people employed by their members.

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demic experience that would meet those federal requirements for students to get credit,” Laux said.

“That is one of the big factors that really came into play.”

In the initial email, International Programs instructed program participants to return home to their families at their permanent residences for two weeks. The university also provided travel arrangements for students to return home.

Holladay said the spirits among his program colleagues are dim.

“I think people are pretty disappointed just in general,” Holladay said. “[The school] has told us that we’re going to be taking the same classes back in Malibu, but they haven’t told us exactly who’s going to be teaching those yet.”

Laux said the university is in the process of making arrangements for classes, housing and student refunds for the semester. However, she was unable to disclose if faculty members are returning due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Meanwhile, the Student Health Center (SHC) has taken proactive measures to monitor and prepare for any risk of the virus reaching Pepperdine. Dr. Lucy Larson, medical director of the Student Health Center, detailed the center’s risk-as-

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Being sensitive during times of tragedy always outweighs being first.

Equal access to quality education is crucial for access to the American Dream.

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sessment procedures in an email.

“The risk of developing illness in an individual who stayed in China in the home of someone now ill with coronavirus or who stayed in Wuhan is much greater than the risk for someone who visited Shanghai and stayed in a hotel for a few days,” Larson wrote.

If someone on campus met the criteria for becoming a suspected case of the virus, that individual would go through an LA County of Public Health-approved test, Larson said. The SHC would also collect information about whom

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File photo In the Heart of it | International Programs cut the Shanghai program’s second semester short due to the coronavirus.

Students are set to return to Malibu campus Feb. 16.

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SP ORTS

Pepperdine brought TEDx back for a second year with TEDxPepperdineU’s “Surf to Summit.”

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Student films premiered B6in Elkins and Smothers Auditorium last Friday night for the annual ReelStories Film Festival.

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Pepperdine Men’s and Women’s Tennis squads are off to stellar starts in the spring season.

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this we e k o n the g rap h T he g r ap hi c’s Ne ws P o d c ast

Pepperdine studentathletes and coaches shed light on their memories of Los Angeles basketball legend Kobe Bryant.

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the individual was in close contact with and then contact them before obtaining the results of the test.

“Most likely, the student would be transferred to an E.R. designated by LACPHD [LA County Department of Public Health] for that testing,” Larson wrote. “Isolation of the student would occur pending the results of testing; location of isolation would depend on the individual’s medical condition and living situation.”

In the United States, person-to-person spread of the virus

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Bringing Home Shanghai A behind-the-scenes look at the university’s decision to suspend the Shanghai program’s spring semester.

Available anywhere you listen to podcasts.

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THE DPS REPORTS

Bring the Times back

j a me s m oore n e w s e d it or

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

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This week In SGA

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1/25/20 12:41 p.m.

Crime: Vandalism Location: Drescher Campus Parking Structure

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My freshman year, I was Passed a soph1/27/20 9:59 a.m. eager to learn of all the omore class Crime: Car Vandalism perks afforded to college senate resolution Location: George Page students like discounts on to send t-shirts Residential Lot restaurants and streaming to every abroad services. But the one perk program.

I cherished the most was 1/29/20 10:25 a.m. the print edition of The Crime: Petty Theft New York Times.

Location: Florence, Italy For my first two years Planned to pubof college, my morning ritlish SGA website ual depended on grabbing that contains a coffee along with a copy meeting minutes of “All the news that’s fit to and resolutions, 1/30/20 8:13 p.m. print” from the adjacent etc.

Crime: Alcohol Related/ newsstand. This is why I Non-Criminal - Drinking was saddened to discovLocation: Malibu Campus er one morning nearing the end of my sophomore Discussed shar2/2/20 12:10 p.m. year that SGA decided to ing summaries Crime: Petty Theft of Bicycle no longer stock the Times of executive and Location: Flag Lot at Pepperdine’s several financial reports campus newsstands. to students per Purportedly, the reason semester. behind the discontinuation was a lack of readership not justifying the costs incurred, as well as concerns over the environmental sustainability.

However, I argue that even if merely one student reads the Times a week, it is worth it, and the susWhat: Va lentine’s CoffeeWh at: dance i n f l i g ht W hat: p i t What: men’s basketball vs.

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Wher e: s andbar whe re : fir estone fieldIn Southern California, house it’s easy for us to believe that we are the center of the universe. The culture, the movies and the media all revolve around this little sliver of the world. One thing that we can overlook, though, is that our economy and government are based out of the East Coast.

Steve Harvey once said, “You can’t live in LA and wake up at 8 o’clock in What: c e l ebr ation chapel What: spanish chapel W hat: wednes day c hap el W hat: men’s b as k et b al l what: Ger ma n C hap el the morning. On the East When: 10:10 a.m.

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Whe n: 4 p.m. making decisions about Wher e: PLC 104 W he r e : c c b 3 4 0 Whe re : Stau f f er C hap el your life, and your a-- was asleep.”

The same is true, I argue, for information; if we are left to consume our news from an LA-centric point of view, we will lack literacy in a range of issues that affect our lives, jobs and bank accounts.

From a sustainability standpoint, The New York Times actually addressed this concern on their “Green Inc.” blog in 2009; they quote NASA scientist Geoffrey Landis from the John Glenn Research Center, who says that “the carbon content of a newspaper represents carbon dioxide that has been removed from the atmosphere.” Landis concludes, “The carbon footprint of a newspaper is negative.”

At a research institution like Pepperdine, news-literate students should be a top priority for administrators and student govpeppgraphic TheIN: Graphic The peppgraphic The Graphic The Graphic peppgraphic // PLUG Graphic peppgraphic The Graphic // The Graphic Graphic //The PLUG IN: PLUG //ernment PLUGalike.

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IP monitors military conflict in Middle East ky le m c cabe new s ass i sta n t Pepperdine’s International Programs (IP) continually monitors military activity in the Middle East, where they offer three opportunities for Seaver College students to study abroad: the Jordan summer program, an educational field trip (EFT) to Jordan through the London program and an EFT to the United Arab Emirates through the Florence program.

Recently, IP monitored the U.S. killing of Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad, Iraq, and subsequent retaliation.

“Pepperdine has been and will continue to watch events with Iran as well as other events taking place in the Middle East region to safeguard our community,” IP Director Greg Muger wrote in an email.

The Jordan program in Amman is over 500 miles from Baghdad, but it is still closer to military activity than other international programs. Senior Blake Mastalerz, who has studied abroad in Jordan, Switzerland, Fiji and Kenya said Jordan did not feel more dangerous than anywhere else.

“I would advocate and say that LA is a lot more dangerous place than Jordan,” Mastalerz said.

In all academic-year programs, students study at Pepperdine-owned facilities. For faculty-led summer programs, Pepperdine partners with third parties such as the Council for Christian

Colleges and Universities, which runs the Middle East Studies Program (MESP) in Amman, Jordan.

Pepperdine follows the same process for all of their summer study abroad programs and EFTs. Representatives from the university administration, Department of Public Safety and the Office of Insurance and Risk make up the Travel Risk Assessment Team, according to IP’s International Travel Risk Assessment Process Explanation.

The document claims that the team gathers information from a wide range of sources, including in-country security analysts, a global security firm, the U.S. Department of State, media sources, travel agents and tour operators.

“I trust their decisions,” Mastalerz said. “I know that if Pepperdine makes a call like, ‘It’s OK to go here, but it’s not okay to go there,’ I feel safe with their decision.”

The Travel Risk Assessment Team also looks for safe modes of transportation, lodging, activities, site visits and communication procedures.

According to IP’s health and safety webpage, the university offers abroad students free self-defense classes, recommends their enrollment in the U.S. Department of State Safe Traveler Enrollment Program and provides safety briefings and guidelines. They also prevent students on break from traveling to countries

Gabby DiGiovanni | artist or regions with high-threat alerts.

Hope Dease, a sophomore currently abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, studied in Jordan in the summer of 2019.

“We were definitely more briefed going to Jordan [than Buenos Aires],” Dease said.

“We were given so many more resources.”

A main resource Jordan students receive is the Basic Information Guide, or BIG. The BIG outlines topics from money to meals, but one of its largest sections is the MESP rules.

“It’s a bunch of rules that are, like, saying, ‘Hey, you need to follow these things,’” Mastalerz said. “First, out of safety for yourself. And then

second, out of respect for the culture and the community you’re going into.”

The rules include bans on alcohol, dating, cross-gender public displays of affection, evangelism, driving vehicles, men and women being alone together and family or friends visiting.

There are also rules requiring a buddy system after dark, instituting an 11 p.m. curfew and restricting travel outside of Amman.

Dease said she and her parents had reservations about the MESP beforehand.

“In the United States, we aren’t very used to the idea of going off to the Middle East,” Dease said. “Because of the media, we have this idea of what the Middle East

is, that it isn’t.”

Mastalerz agreed that Jordan defied usual American expectations of Middle Eastern danger.

“You could walk around the city and you could see every now and then a couple of military officers holding guns around government buildings,” Mastalerz said.

“But they’re people who, I’d walk by them, and they’d be like, ‘Hey! Welcome to Jordan!’”

Mastalerz and Dease both said they always felt safe in Jordan, but Dease became more comfortable the longer she was there.

“I think I felt the safest at the end of my Jordan experience because I had made relationships with the Jor-

danians,” Dease said. “I had experienced their culture firsthand, and I knew that just because it’s different … doesn’t mean it’s unsafe.”

Dease said she went to Jordan to see what it is like living in the Middle East.

“You never really know someone’s story, but when you hear it from them firsthand, it helps you have a better idea of everything,” Dease said.

Both Mastalerz and Dease said they would go back to Jordan and recommend other students participate in the MESP. “I’d feel safe going back by myself,” Mastalerz said.

“I got some friends there I could direct message.”

K YL E.J.M C C ABE@PEPPER DINE.EDU

Counseling Center has largest attendance ever ju lie lee sta ff write r Now home to the Counseling Center, the Student Assistance Center (SAC) sits on the hill between the Center for Communication and Business (CCB) and the Caruso School of Law. This new location has allowed the Counseling Center to serve its greatest number of students to date from all Pepperdine schools.

After its recent move to the Student Assistance Center (SAC) in early September, the Counseling Center served its greatest number of students since it opened.

The new facility has five additional office spaces for individual counseling sessions. The location is optimal for serving students from the Drescher Graduate Campus and the Caruso School of Law. Stacey Lee, the Health, Wellness and Resilience coordinator, credited the increase in the number of students visiting the Counseling Center to the new location’s ability to reach different populations.

“There is an increase in demand for mental health services at Pepperdine and other colleges,” Director of the Counseling Center Nivla Fitzpatrick said. “We see the addition of office space as better equipping us to meet the needs of the students here who need support. It really allows us to care for more students.”

As supposed to separating the various student resources, the SAC now puts student resources such as the Health Center, Office of Student Accessibility, and Housing and Residence Life in one building.

Fitzpatrick commented how in the past, if a student at the Health Center needed

file photo

Happy is Healthy | The Student Accessibility Center’s new location is more accessible to Pepperdine students because of its central location on campus and, along with more counseling space. emotional support, it took counselors 15 minutes to arrive.

“Specifically with the Health Center, the proximity of those offices, I think, is really important for students [because] in that moment, we both need to be working with that student,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s very easy for our provider to go from one office to another. It’s nice being able to be nearby to the campus partners with whom we collaborate.”

Compared to its previous location, the Counseling Center is farther from Main

Campus and requires walking up several flights of stairs. However, the number of students who visit the center has not lessened because of the distance, according to Fitzpatrick.

“I think they do acknowledge that students have to be more careful about scheduling their appointments because they have to take a shuttle, or if they’re walking down from George Page or up from the first-year halls, they would need to allot more time for that,” Lee said. “Judging by the numbers, I think that those who are in-

terested in pursuing counseling and want to continue with the center have been able to make time to do that.”

The Counseling Center hosts several events to engage with students and raise awareness for the services it offers. In February, it will be having Mental Health Screening Day, focusing on alcohol and drugs. Students can fill out a survey and go over their responses with a counselor over a meal.

JUL IE.L EE@PEPPER DINE.EDU

SHANGHAI: Program prepares to returns home F R OM A 1 has been limited, according to the CDC and SHC. Larson wrote that there is no on-going transmission of the virus in communities and that the contagious nature of the disease is yet to be determined.

“Currently, for a Pepperdine student, the risk of con-

tracting influenza is much greater than the risk of contracting the novel coronavirus,” Larson wrote.

Students can get the influenza vaccine for free at the SHC. The SHC encourages students to lessen their risk of obtaining any contagious infection by washing their hands frequently, not sharing food or drinks, limiting

contact with those who are ill, and getting enough sleep, fluids and nutrition. Larson wrote that students should also see their personal medical provider or the SHC if they are sick and have a fever or significant respiratory symptoms.

J A ME S. MO O RE @P E P P E RD I N E . E D U E MI LY.C.S H A W @P E P P E RD I N E . E D U

ali levens | page designer

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Office of Admissions Considers the ‘Head and the Heart of Applicants’ em ily sh aw new s ass i sta n t It’s that time of the year again.

After years of working up to this moment, high school students have finally hit the submit button. They sent their application to the desks of the Seaver College Office of Admission, left to wait in anticipation of finding out where they could be for the next four years of their life.

Every year, the Office of Admission receives thousands of applications. Brooke Mitchell, director of the Office of International Student Services, wrote in an email that when the applications reach the office, they go through numerous stages, from uploading the application documents to evaluating transcripts.

Interim Director of Admission Ashley Nguyen wrote in an email that before the application even enters the review process, records analysts, who make sure that all the necessary components and documents are present, look it over.

Kristin Paredes Collins, dean of Enrollment Management, wrote in an email that a Pepperdine application includes the Common App submission, the student’s SAT/ACT score sent from a testing agency, a recommendation letter and an official transcript.

“About 70% of the admission decision is based on academic factors,” Collins wrote. “The final 30% of the admission decision is based

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Although the selection process is painfully competitive [...] each applicant is treated with respect and dignity. kristin collins, dean of enrollment

on the qualitative factors that make students truly unique.”

As prospective students work on their applications, Pepperdine’s Enrollment Management division also works to make sure they are prepared to review them.

Mitchell wrote that Pepperdine received 11,382 applications last year.

“It takes a lot of talented people to make this happen within tight deadlines,” Mitchell wrote.

Nguyen wrote that the office releases decisions on or before Apr. 1.

There are multiple offices that make up the Enrollment Management division. Mitchell wrote that the division is made up of the Office of Financial Assistance, Office of Admissions and the Office of International Student Services.

“We study different education systems and schools so that when an application is reviewed, it is initially reviewed by someone who knows the school/state/country well before it is reviewed by the committee,” Mitchell wrote.

After the records analysts complete their audit, the application lands in the hands of the Admissions Committee which includes admissions counselors who analyze the applications, according to Collins.

Misconceptions About the Review Process Members of the Office of Admissions engage in multiple case-study programs over the years. Collins wrote that at these programs, students or parents have the chance to review applications themselves, as if they were part of an admissions committee at a college.

“I am struck by how brutal they are — they commonly pick apart components of essays or a particular way the recommender wrote a letter,” Collins wrote.

Collins wrote that the admission committee does not tear apart applicants or focus on small mistakes in the essay, as people might often believe.

“It might be surprising to people [to hear] that, although the selection process is painfully competitive and the admission committee simply cannot admit every wonderful student,” Collins wrote. “Each

Natalie Rulon | creative director applicant is treated with respect and dignity.”

Nguyen wrote that unlike what movies show, the Admission Committee does not pit applicants against each other.

“Our Admission Committee never compares one student to another in our decision-making process,” Nguyen wrote.

Students might feel the need to “sound religious” to be considered for acceptance into Pepperdine.

Mitchell wrote that the Office of Admissions, however, does not require students to be Christian to be accepted; rather, the question hopes to offer an opportunity for applicants to think about and discuss “life’s biggest questions.”

“If [students] are open to discussing, debating and researching ... we need them at the open table,”

Mitchell wrote.

The Real Review Process Admissions counselors integrate a careful and comprehensive view in the actual review process of applications.

“The Seaver College Office of Admission is committed to assembling an entering class filled with individuals who will add value to the Pepperdine community,” Collins wrote. “Students are admitted on the basis of academic achievements, personal qualities and accomplishments.”

Mitchell wrote that she finds Pepperdine’s admissions process unique because of its commitment to finding students who show academic strength and heart for service.

“I always share with guidance counselor friends around the world that Pepperdine looks at both the head and the heart of applicants,” Mitchell wrote. “Pepperdine is not chasing rankings; we are chasing the vision that George Pepperdine had — that still rings true ... service-minded leaders who will leave a legacy in their own way.”

Mitchell wrote that there may be changes to admissions due to rulings by the Justice Department.

“There are some rulings made related to admissions that will likely change the landscape; however, it’s too early to tell,” Mitchell wrote.

“Next year, we will have more to report.”

EM ILY.C.SHAW @PEPPER DINE.EDU

STARR: Former Pepp dean serves on Trump’s defense F R OM A 1 George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, where he argued 25 cases before the Supreme Court. Starr joined Kirland & Ellis LLP in 1993 before taking over as independent counsel in the Whitewater investigation in 1994.

After three years of serving as the Whitewater prosecutor, Starr began talks with Pepperdine about becoming dean of the law school. The possibility of Starr leaving the high-profile investigation into President Clinton received national attention: The New York Times published a front-page article in their Feb. 18, 1997 paper titled “Special Counsel Intends to Leave Whitewater Case.”

“Kenneth W. Starr, the Whitewater prosecutor, will step down by August to become the dean of the law and public policy schools of Pepperdine University in California,” the piece said.

However, after the Pepperdine community waited more than a year for Starr to arrive, he turned down the deanship in April 1998, eight months before President Clinton’s impeachment.

“We selected him, and the faculty were delighted that he was coming, but he couldn’t walk away from [the investigation],” said Benton, who was then the university’s executive vice president.

“I had to call him and just say, ‘We just can’t continue this — let’s agree that now is not a good time and hope that there will be a better time.’”

Starr announced his withdrawal in a letter to then-President David Davenport, according to a special edition of the Graphic on April 17, 1998.

“I had eagerly looked forward to spending many happy years at Pepperdine after completing my duties as independent counsel,” Starr wrote in the letter. “The work of that Office, however, has expanded considerably, and the end is not yet in sight.”

A better time came in 2004 when Starr was offered the role of dean of the Pepperdine School of Law again.

Starr accepted and immediately brought visibility to the program with his extensive legal experience.

“If we needed to get a Supreme Court justice to come and speak or help us with a public event, he knew every member of the court, and he was friendly with them,” Benton said.

At the time, Pepperdine Law ranked 99 in the nation.

But by the time Starr left in 2010, the school had risen to 55 in the rankings, according to U.S. News and World Reports.

“He’s the one who put Pepperdine on the national stage,” current Pepperdine Caruso School of Law Dean

courtesy of Pepperdine Libraries Special Collections and archives

Rising Starr | Starr sports a Pepperdine Law sweatshirt as he converses with colleagues at Pepperdine School of Law. Paul Caron said.

Tim Perrin, the university’s senior vice president for strategic implementation, worked closely with Starr at the law school as his vice dean. Perrin said Starr had a vision to make Pepperdine’s Law School the premiere Christian law school in the nation with a strategy Starr coined “the Path to Excellence.” “[Starr] was a very student-focused dean,” Perrin said. “He worked hard to make sure that [students’] experience at Pepperdine was great, and he did that through programming and also just through his personal touch.”

Both Perrin and Benton

said they remember Starr’s kindness as a hallmark of his leadership.

“He’s one of the kindest, gentlest and smartest human beings that I will ever know,” Benton said.

His appointment was not accepted by all, however; some faculty members were concerned about the reputation Starr brought to Pepperdine due to his previous work as independent counsel, according to a Graphic report from Aug. 30, 2004.

Perrin acknowledged there were naysayers at the time but that Starr worked incessantly to unite them.

“Just watching him and his intentionality in those early years — he was work-

ing really hard to build relationships with the people at the law school who had the most concerns about his coming to the law school community,” Perrin said.

One of Starr’s landmark initiatives was the founding of the law school’s Global Justice Program.

“At that time, Dean Starr’s envisioned the Global Justice Program as a natural expression of the classical Christian mission — to try to give our students opportunities to serve in the developing world and to try to make a difference where there was great need and resonated with students,” Perrin said.

President Jim Gash was a major part in leading the

Global Justice Program as he served as the Law School’s Dean of Students during Starr’s tenure.

Naomi Goodno, current Dean of Students at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, said Starr significantly helped students get clerkships, prestigious positions working under judges. “[Starr] had appellate experience and was very involved in judiciary [affairs],” said Goodno, who was a law professor during Starr’s deanship. “He started a judicial clerkship task force, which is still today to really encourage our top students to go get jobs at clerkships.”

Perrin said the key to Starr’s years at Pepperdine was his work ethic and his ability to unite administrators toward a common goal.

“He had a really ambitious vision for what the law school could become,” Perrin said. “He was tireless in his pursuit of that vision.”

Starr left Pepperdine in 2010 to serve as president of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He led the Baptist-affiliated college until May 2016, when he was fired as president and demoted to chancellor amid allegations that the university mishandled sexual assault allegations against its football players, according to The New York Times.

JAM ES.M OOR E@PEPPER DINE.EDU

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Women support women at C200 Women in Leadership Conference L indsey sullivan as si stant n e ws e d itor Female executives and members of C200, an all women’s global leadership organization, shared their experience and expertise to aspiring business leaders at the Women in Leadership Conference Tuesday, Feb. 4 in Smothers Theatre.

The Pepperdine Graziadio Business School and its dean, Deryck van Rensburg, hosted C200 along with a number of their executive leaders like Larraine Segil, Chair and CEO of the Exceptional Women Awardees Foundation and adjunct professor at the Straus Center

My advice is to make the choice to talk about things, make the right choices, stand up for the right things and start now — don’t wait until you’re powerful.

Liz Musch speaker for Conflict Management, as well as Kimber Maderazzo, Chair of C200 and professor at Graziadio.

“I think it’s important to see other women who have succeeded,” Graziadio student Kirti Yelamanchili said. “It motivates you to take the same path and move forward.”

C200 began in 1982 with 200 female members and has since expanded to 550 women around the globe who are innovators, influencers and mentors. Maderazzo said the organization has over $1.4 trillion in annual revenues with over 2.5 million people employed by their members.

“I feel like I get to get a little piece of the knowledge and experience that all of these wonderful women

have and get to see how they got to the positions that they’re in,” Graziadio student Brittney Garza said.

The conference featured a panel of executives who shared their experiences in intertwining profit and purpose into business and how businesses can benefit from purpose-focused value systems.

Segil said her best advice for leaders is to pursue business out of passion and put energy into that.

“People care about brands — consumers are voting with their wallets,” Segil said. “People are prepared to spend 30-to-50% more on something because it is labeled organic. It’s about the value; it’s the wave of what’s going on.”

Liz Musch, former CEO for several companies and now Global Strategic Advisor for Liberman Research Worldwide, said corporate leaders have both the capability and responsibility to upset Wall Street.

“As leaders, we have the power to declare what the values of the company are and get the people involved,” Musch said. “My advice is to make the choice to talk about things, make the right choices, stand up for the right things and start now — don’t wait until you’re powerful.”

Jennifer Povlitz echoed this sentiment and said that purpose is a powerful change agent. Povlitz also highlighted the importance of recognizing that the values a company creates, promotes and allows defines the culture of that business.

Segil and other panelists agreed that making alliances with men in business is one key to success.

“I think it’s cool to see these women are taking the steps to break those barriers and that there is this whole audience of women that want to be apart of that,” Garza said. “They want to break those barriers as well and start setting up the future of even representation of women.”

Guests at the C200 Conference gather for a networking lunch on main campus.

The second panel discussed how to build strategic networks and the importance of networking.

Kate Duchene, CEO of RGP, a global consulting firm for finance executives, said her best advice is to be patient, plant seeds and think about what you can do for others rather than what they can do for you.

Another panelist Bridget Baker, co-founder of CNBC and CEO of Baker Media, Inc. said that learning to ask questions is a huge area of

photos by lindsey sullivan | assistant news editor sullivan | assistant news editor Powerful Women | (top) Speaker Jennifer Povlitz (far lindsey right), encourages students to create and uphold company values in their future workplaces. (bottom) Guests at the C200 Women in Leadership Conference gather for a networking lunch on main campus Feb. 4.

development for many women as well as the foundation for building and leveraging networks.

“In this environment, in C200, in women in business, you do have to do some of this — leverage this network,” Baker said. “And just ask for what you’re trying to achieve, or make it known somehow that you would like to go to this next level or be introduced to this person.”

The panel also talked about the importance of diversity and inclusion as not just stated in corporate values but evidenced in leadership.

Duchene said she recommends

consumers and business leaders to do the research to verify that businesses platitudes align with corporate actions.

“In a company like [mine], I have an eight-person executive team, and half of the executive team is women, and three out of the eight are minorities, and that speaks volumes,” Duchene said. “It doesn’t matter what we wrote down — it’s like, ‘Who do I want in the room to solve problems?’ and it doesn’t do any of us any good if everybody’s perspective is the same as mine.”

The final panel included a dis-

cussion on entrepreneurship and the conference closed with C200 awarding three $10,000 scholarships to Graziadio students to support their education and business endeavors.

L INDSEY.SUL L IVAN@PEPPER DINE.EDU

PUZDER: Former CEO, Trump appointee joins School of Public Policy FR OM A 1 the impact of public policy on his own work,” Peterson said. “He also can speak both clearly and experientially about these larger debates regarding capitalism versus socialism.”

Puzder said he first became active in public policy during his time at CKE. “I saw how public policy affected the ability of the business to grow and the ability to create jobs,” Puzder said. “All of the prac-

tical implications of different government policies came into focus for me, so I decided that I have to stand up and say something.”

In 2016, then President-elect Donald Trump nominated Puzder for the United States Secretary of Labor, according to Puzder’s website. Puzder said he withdrew his nomination after it was clear he would not have enough votes from Republican Senate leaders.

“I was very excited to do it,” Puzder said. “I think it would have been a great position to have. I [had insufficient votes] of what

it would have taken to ratify my nomination.”

Peterson said the policy school is often seen as a “government school,” but alumni go into the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Forty-one percent of students enter the private sector, according to the School of Public Policy’s website.

All of the practical implications of different government policies came into focus for me, so I decided that I had to stand up and say something. courtesy of gage skidmore Man of the Hour | Andrew Puzder began his term as senior fellow Jan 16. He is the former CEO of CKE Restaraunts.

Andrew puzder, senior fellow

“I view our program more as what you would call a cross-sector leadership program,” Peterson said. “Our students are going to get an understanding of how policy and politics work. Then they’re going to be able to apply those principles, whether it’s in the private sector, government sector or nonprofit sector.”

Puzder’s experience in business will serve as an example to SPP students looking to enter the private sector, Peterson added.

Peterson said Puzder’s senior fellow role primarily includes semesterly lectures at both the Malibu and Washington, D.C., campuses as well as editorial writing.

“He is going to be writing some pieces related to economic policy that are certainly in line with who we are as a policy school,” Peterson said.

In 2018, Puzder wrote “The Capitalist Comeback,” a book that suggests electing President Trump in 2016 saved the American economy. He actively maintains a blog on his website where he shares editorials on public policy.

Puzder said he often speaks at college campuses, but the senior fellow position will give him a platform to fulfill his goal of educating young Americans on national policy. “[I have been] sharing the benefits of our system of government and our economic system: why

it works, how it works,” Puzder said. “With Pepperdine, I’m hoping over time that will become a more formalized position.”

Prior to accepting the senior fellow position, Puzder said he had various ties to Pepperdine, including his son Christian Puzder, who graduated from the law school. In addition, Puzder said he has given several lectures at the law school.

“During my deanship, [Puzder] has spoken about free enterprise,” Ron Phillips, senior vice chancellor at the law school, said. “He has written extensively about the free enterprise system,|and I think that ali levens staff writer he has things figured out pretty well.”

Peterson said the next senior fellow, who will be appointed later this semester, will have cross-sector experience as well. “[The next senior fellow] is somebody politically who is probably more on the center left but is also a noted leader in the business and civic community of Los Angeles,” Peterson said. “[We’re] excited to announce that in the next couple of months.”

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F E b ru a ry 6 , 2 0 2 0

PERSPECTIVES

STAFF LIST

Ally Armstrong | Assistant Art Editor

STAFF EDITORIAL

Kobe Bryant crash reinforces need for ethics The media coverage in the aftermath of last week’s helicopter crash in Calabasas serves as yet another reminder of the importance of knowing whom to trust and how to sift through misinformation during a major breaking news event.

Shortly after news of the accident broke, gossip and celebrity news site TMZ was first to report that Kobe Bryant was among those who died in the crash. TMZ posted the story about Bryant’s death at 11:24 a.m. Jan. 26, a little more than an hour after police received reports of a downed aircraft, according to CNN. The report was so early that TMZ published its story before the victims’ immediate families had been informed, according to Los Angeles law enforcement officials.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva criticized TMZ at a press conference held the afternoon of the crash, stating, “It would be extremely disrespectful to understand that your loved one ... perished and you learn about it from TMZ.” Los Angeles County Undersheriff Tim Murakami tweeted that he was just gathering facts about the crash “as a media outlet reported the Kobe had passed.”

As tragic breaking news events develop, journalists face the dilemma of reporting quickly while also being respectful toward victims and their loved ones. Despite the pressure newsrooms may face to fulfill the public’s demand for real-time information, being sensitive during times of tragedy always outweighs

being first.

Although TMZ did report Bryant’s death in the crash accurately, they prioritized breaking the news first and did not consider what it could be like for family members to learn through social media that their loved one passed away.

Bryant’s prominence as a beloved public figure may have spurred TMZ to break the story for the interest of the general public, but nonetheless, this incident brings up a necessary conversation surrounding journalistic ethics.

One of the pillars of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics is that journalists should strive to minimize harm. Under this principle, the code states journalists need to “balance the public’s need for information against potential harm or discomfort.”

This is a guideline that news outlets should and need to remember . Digital media fuels big stories when they break and fast-paced reporting becomes a competition.

Pepperdine Graphic Media always strives to pursue accurate and ethical journalism. We hold the belief that it is not always important to be the first to break the news, but rather it is more important to be accurate and transparent with our audience about how we confirm the information we are reporting.

We did not report that Bryant was killed until we saw a tweet from the city of Calabasas stating city officials had learned he was a passenger on

the helicopter that went down.

Outlets that exercised caution surrounding breaking the news of Bryant’s death include the Los Angeles Times, who tweeted, “We are aware of reports about Kobe Bryant and are currently investigating” when the information first hit social media.

NBC News tweeted something similar, writing, “We are working to determine and confirm who was on board the helicopter.”

This level of transparency is crucial during breaking news situations. When news outlets are clear with their audiences regarding what information they are working to confirm, it helps news consumers know details are still developing.

As social media lit up over the news of the crash, misinformation spread with the false report that Rick Fox, a former Laker with Bryant, was also aboard the helicopter. According to the New York Times, this rumor did not circulate from any news report but rather spread on its own on social media.

It is important for news consumers to look for credible sources and be aware of where news is coming from. While social media is a great tool when it comes to breaking news and gathering details quickly, it also spreads inaccurate information.

During times of breaking news, posts from law enforcement accounts provide the most official and confirmed pieces of information.

Some important accounts to follow for updates near campus include:

@LACoFDPIO (L.A. County Fire Department), @CALFIRE_PIO (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection), @VCFD_PIO (Ventura County Fire Department) and @LHSLASD (Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station) Sign up for alerts online from the cities of Malibu and Calabasas for safety advisories and emergency information. Various law enforcement, fire and government agencies also provide emergency notices and alerts through Nixle.

Local Malibu and Calabasas news sources can also be a good resource to know what is taking place in our local communities. Some organizations to look out for include: The Malibu Times, Malibu Surfside News, KBUU Newswire, Thousand Oaks Acorn and The Patch.

When looking at information from news outlets on social media, look for posts that cite law enforcement officials as sources.

News outlets that post that information is “alleged” or “reported” have not officially confirmed the details they are publicizing.

Reporting on breaking news is chaotic. Journalists have a responsibility to prioritize reporting ethically rather than quickly. On the other hand, having news literacy and knowledge regarding what information to trust and what to dismiss is necessary for the general public to avoid spreading misinformation and rumors.

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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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F E B R UA RY 6, 2 0 2 0 | PE RS PE C TIVE S | P E P PE RD I N E G RA P H I C ME D I A

See The duality of Every person

Award shows fail female filmmakers

alexis scanlon staff writer

anitiz muonagolu P e r s p e c t i v e s A s s i s ta n t

It’s easy to characterize people as either good or bad, but aren’t people more complex than that?

In the wake of Kobe Bryant’s death, the nation began mourning as well as celebrating his contributions to the community. Meanwhile, others protest the praise of Kobe Bryant due to his infamous rape acquittal.

Kobe Bryant was charged with sexual assault in July 2003, as reported by The New York Times.

The 19-year-old woman had vaginal tearing and bruising, indicating trauma. While the criminal case was eventually dropped, the issue was later settled in civil court, and afterward, he provided a statement expressing understanding toward the woman and her point of view, according to The Outline.

Evidence withstanding, this shouldn’t inhibit the celebration of someone’s positive contributions.

Bryant helped many through the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation and the Mamba Sports Foundation. Moreover, he was an inspiration to the Black and Latinx communities and a symbol of determination and fluidity in business and sports.

No one is perfect, and if anyone looks hard enough, there will always be an action that puts even the most positive historical figures into a negative light.

Martin Luther King Jr. was accused of having mistresses, orgies, a secret love child and Marxist companions. Despite these allegations, the American people still celebrate him for the good he put

Caitlin Roark| Assistant Art Editor out in the world, including his skills as an orator and his non-violent protest, for which he won a Nobel Peace prize.

Another example would be Mahatma Gandhi, who was a lawyer turned activist and a nationalist party leader. He is revered for his non-violent protest, but he also made highly racist remarks referring to Black people as dirty and animal-like. Furthermore, he also tested his grandniece’s willpower to restrain from sex by sleeping next to her nude when she was a teenager, which would be considered abuse by today’s standards, according to National Public Radio.

These actions don’t erase the

positivity they brought into the world, but it’s good to be consciously aware of the duality of human nature.

Some of the most deplorable people imaginable have made even small positive contributions.

Fidel Castro killed countless of his citizens, yet during his regime, he improved human rights and literacy rates, which left a legacy that has nearly 100% of the youth in Cuba literate as reported by The Guardian and Amnesty International.

Today, we have access to information that allows people to see all sides of any historical or public figure. The key to using this information to evaluate someone is to

be objective.

Labels cloud perspective. Individuals need to be aware of the actions they have committed. Be aware that humankind is multifaceted, and never disregard the positive or negative they have brought into the world.

Humans can’t be perfect, so refrain from making assertions about others and be aware that everyone is capable of both moral and immoral actions. As author Will Hill wrote, “Nothing is ever only good and nothing is ever only bad. Everything is somewhere in the middle.”

AJ.M UONAGOL U@PEPPER DINE.EDU

Higher education reform requires nuance

Joe Yu engert Sta f f w r ite r

“Promises make debt, and debt makes promises,” states a Dutch proverb. For millions of Americans, the promise of a better life through higher education led to $1.5 trillion in total student debt, according to the Federal Reserve.

Coupled with a rising number of jobs requiring college degrees, these facts have made college costs a salient issue both in politics and on campus. Several Democratic presidential contenders are promising student debt forgiveness and free public college, and the Pepperdine community has engaged in an ongoing discussion about soaring tuition and debt cancellation.

While well-intentioned, these solutions fail to address the underlying causes of higher education’s rising costs while causing foreseeable negative consequences. For example, widespread debt cancellation would disincentivize colleges from lowering costs and also have the regressive effect of bailing out high-income households, according to the Urban Institute.

Rather than overhauling the entire system, reforming secondary education to reduce the need for college and addressing the causes of runaway college costs would more effectively lower the price of college.

As the economy shifts toward the technology and service sectors, the value of a high school degree has dropped by over $20,000 since 1970, according to the Brookings Institution. This explains some of the rising demand for college degrees.

However, some of this decline is due to high schools’ failure to educate, with a Center for American Progress study finding that 40 - 60% of first-year college students require remediation in math, English or both.

Reforming high schools so that graduates have a mastery of basic subjects while increasing vocational training in trades and technical professions reduces the need to go to college to get a well-paying job. The U.S. can learn from countries like Sweden, where robust

Elizabeth Brummer| Staff Artist high school vocational programs lead to lower college attendance than in the U.S., according to Statistics Sweden.

Although many people advocate for high school reforms, few address the root causes of rising costs within universities, such as increased administrative overhead. A 2014 Delta Cost Project study reported that the average ratio of faculty to administrative staff at universities is 2.5 faculty per administrator.

College sports programs add as much as $10,000 to tuition at many schools, according to the James G. Martin Center. Even federal student loans, ostensibly designed to make school affordable, contribute to tuition hikes, with the New York Federal Reserve finding that tuition rises 65 cents for every new dollar offered in aid. Together, these factors make up a large percentage of the rise in tuition.

While politicians babbled about rising costs for years, people like Ben Nelson decided to actually do something about it. Nelson founded the Minerva School in 2012 with the goal of providing a world-class education for half the

cost. In a speech at the American Enterprise Institute on Jan. 23, 2019, Nelson explained that increasing access to education “means first and foremost lowering the cost of education,” and since nonacademic matters are driving up costs, “you have to address those first.”

By excising many of the costs of traditional universities like campus real estate, athletics and bloated administrative bureaucracy, Minerva is able to lower the financial barrier to college. This solution shows that ditching the typical university’s decadence lowers costs without sacrificing outcomes.

Equal access to quality education is crucial for access to the American Dream.

However, grandiose slogan-based solutions like “free public college” and “cancel student debt” appeal more to emotion than actual effective change. Instead of supporting massive structural overhauls, students need to advocate for reforming both the excess college costs and the failing high school system that got America into this expensive mess in the first place.

JOSEPH.YUENGER T@PEPPER DINE.EDU

Women are left out of the best director nominee pool once again. This award show season is causing many people to ask where the female representation is after a year of earth-shattering acting and unparalleled directing from women.

From “Little Women” (Greta Gerwig) and “The Farewell” (Lulu Wang) to “Booksmart” (Olivia Wilde), women brought some of the most tear-jerking, belly laugh inducing and moving pieces of art to the big screen in 2019. Instead of celebrating these films, they are met with little-to-no recognition.

The sexism rooted in the film industry is a threat to female Pepperdine art students who deserve to be celebrated.

This is a blatant indication of society’s fear to release its patriarchal grip on women.

Historically, this imbalance of power comes from the patriarchy’s role of creating the rules because they are in the position to dictate the minority. As men dominate the field and feel threatened by female talent, it is easier to keep women out of the award sphere than to put their own skills to the test.

The Academy is 91% white and 76% male, according to a 2016 report in the Los Angeles Times. With numbers like these, it should not be much of a shock when the nominees reflect primarily the white and male demographics.

To say that women simply aren’t making noteworthy films is an unfounded claim.

Twelve female directors have movies in the 100 highest-grossing films of 2019.

This is exponential growth in comparison to 2018’s three female-directed films. Women are taking their well-deserved space and producing top of the line quality.

Even Greta Gerwig, a white, affluent woman with access to top-tier industry resources, is being snubbed from the best director nomination and discredited for her work. The most recognition she seems to be getting this awards season is for being Noah Baumbach’s fiancee.

How, then, do current students refrain from becoming discouraged in the future of female recognition? Women are creating some of the best films of the year and are still left out of the nominations.

The answer of hope may not lie in a long-term game of waiting to see if women will get recognition. Barriers of accessibility within class, race, affluence and more have always blocked women from receiving recognition for their work. The encouragement, however, rests in the evident beginning of a new female era.

Hope is created every time a woman makes a decision to pursue the arts in any way, shape or form. We must recognize women for their creativity, or sexism continues to win.

For those pursuing film at Pepperdine, the time is now to create with passion and to tell stories with vulnerability.

This era of film is evidently full of strong women who are creating powerful content.

For the rest of society, the time is now to support female-directed art. The loosening of the patriarchal grip begins with those who will not tolerate a society that discredits women and gives a platform to injustice.

L EX I.SC ANL ON@PEPPER DINE.EDU

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P E P P E R DINE GR A P HIC M E DIA | N E W S | F E B RU A RY 6 , 20 20

Fans mourn ‘Black Mamba’ Judit h- Daly B r ist er - Knabe staf f w rit e r Following the sudden death of 41-year-old Kobe Bryant last Sunday, local fans from all generations gathered to grieve.

The scene of Bryant’s fatal helicopter crash attracted many onlookers seeking closure and offering respect.

Fans carefully laid flowers, candles and jerseys at a shrine in front of the basketball courts at Juan Bautista de Anza Park. The traditionally empty Lost Hills Road became an epicenter of mourning.

Anytime I need inspiration, I’ll watch some of his highlight videos to get me fired up.

Kung ou, kobe mourner “I’m 43, and I’ve lived and died with Kobe,” mourner and fan Barnaby Hitzig said.

“I’m just thankful that I got to grow up with him.”

Hitzig, who like Bryant recently had a newborn of his own, came to pay his respects to a man whom he said made him who he is.

“I saw his first game, and I went through all the trials and tribulations, the air balls in Utah and his court case and the losses,” Hitzig said.

“And then to celebrate, you know, the championships ...

I feel like I’ve been a part of his life his whole career, [so] it just hurt me in such a huge way.”

In 2006, Hitzig met Bryant outside of Fox Studios after Bryant appeared on “The Best Damn Sports Show Period.” 14 years later, Hitzig still has the photo readily available on his iPhone.

A few feet from Hitzig, 27-year-old Taylor Messuri was also suffering Bryant’s death. Messuri was one of many onlookers who, out of respect for his hero, chose to wear Bryant’s Lakers jersey.

Messuri, a shooting guard and small forward, said he attributes much of his passion for the game to Bryant.

“He was an inspiration,” Messuri said. “That Mamba mentality will stick with all of us.”

Raquel Garret, a mother whose son began participating in Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy when he was nine, stood with her arms folded looking over the site. Her son is now 15 and the junior varsity starting point guard at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks. Garret said her son was devastated by Bryant’s death.

judith-daly brister-knabe | Staff writer Rest in Power | Top: Offerings of flowers, basketballs and Kobe Bryant memorabilia sit courtside at Juan Bautista de Anza Park at the intersection of Lost Hills Road and Las Virgenes Road. Bottom: Barnaby Hitzig (left) with his hero, Kobe Bryant (right), outside Fox Sudios, circa 2006.

“He wailed for a while because, you know, he’s doing his basketball thing because of Kobe,” Garret said. “He’s watched him since he was one year old.”

Even though Garret’s son has attended Mamba Sports Academy for several years, he never met Bryant.

“All of the trips he’s ever been to out there, he’s never had one opportunity to say hey or shake his hand,” Garret said. “So that is kinda like a dream [that is now] awash for him. But I told him to keep his spirits up because there are only more opportunities from here.”

As a mother, Garret said the families of the victims and all of their pain is her first concern.

“My prayers and thoughts and everything else are always going to be with them because of this tragic moment,” Garret said.

Many of the children whom Bryant inspired are now grown adults, including onlooker Kung Ou, who also donned Bryant’s jersey to pay his respects.

“He really got me into playing basketball,” Ou said.

“I started watching him as an 11-year-old. Anytime I need inspiration, I’ll watch some of his highlight videos to get me fired up.”

Behind the fan-made shrine of Bryant, children played ball on the courts at Juan Bautista de Anza Park.

J U D I T H . B RI S T E R- KN ABE@PEPPER DINE.EDU

courtesy of Barnaby Hitzig

FEBR U ARY 6, 2020

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LIFE & ARTS

THE BOARD ROLLS OUT THE RED CARPET ReelStories Film Festival premieres 6 new student films Lauren Chivers LI F E AND A RTS ASSISTA N T

Highlighted Films

The Student Programming Board brought the big screen to Pepperdine on Friday. This year marks the eleventh annual ReelStories Film Festival, a night of food, student cinema and celebration as the Pepperdine and Malibu communities came together for the annual red carpet event. With six films showcased in Smothers Theatre and Elkins Auditorium, student filmmakers celebrated their hard work and received awards for their artistry.

After screening each film, audience members and filmmakers gathered to celebrate and award films for their excellence.

Seniors Buddy Kennedy and Nico Manning won Best Cinematography for their film “Self-Absorbed.” Fifth-year Valentine Douglas’ film “Pepper(fine)” won Best Editing.

“The Watermelon,” directed by junior Taylor Mathews, was the highlight of the evening, winning Best Directing, Best Picture and Audience Choice Award.

“The Incident Report” Junior Savannah Hayes premiered her original piece “The Incident Report”— a film inspired by Hayes’ own experiences.

The story follows a young woman who is met with accusatory and sexist remarks from an investigating officer when reporting her sexual assault. Hayes said her goal behind this film was to tell her story and inspire others to share their experiences.

“At the end of the festival, after all the screenings, multiple people came up to me expressing their love for my film or that it had a huge impact on them,” Hayes wrote in an email. “[That’s] exactly why I made this film and what I wanted to accomplish; it brought the biggest smile to my face.”

From Manning and Kennedy’s comedic yet dramatic film “Self-Absorbed” to senior Robert McMurray’s “In Poor Tense” about a student’s desire for wealth and success, films addressing a variety of genres and themes premiered at the festival.

Douglas’ film “Pepper(fine)” focuses on both students’ and administrators’ perspectives on the social dynamics and culture of inauthenticity within Pepperdine’s community.

“The Meeting” Junior Austin Cadman’s film centers on a professional hitman’s encounter with a surprise visitor. Cadman wrote in an email that inspiration for his film came from watching classic Hollywood Western movies. Cadman spoke about the complexities and challenges of the writing process.

“Writing is usually the most difficult part,” Cadman wrote. “It can be hard to come up with a fun and creative idea, and to be able to execute it on paper and eventually on screen is a fun but challenging process.

It always starts with a good script though — once I’ve got a story that I’m really excited about, everything comes naturally, and the biggest challenge at that point is actually making the film.”

“The Watermelon” Mathews wrote and directed the final film of the night “The Watermelon,” which focuses on a man’s journey to return a lost watermelon. While one of the key characters in the film was a watermelon, Mathew’s film explores the man’s firm commitment to his goal with both heartfelt emotion and

SEE Board, B2

LAUREN CHIVERS | Life and arts assistant Zach Le | Photo Editor

Student Screenings | An ice sculpture commemorates the 11th ReelStories Film Festival outside Elkins Auditorium on Friday night. Students enjoyed appetizers, a red carpet photoshoot and film screenings at the Student Programming Board event.

TEDxPepperdine starts new conversations on campus C a ro l i n e S h a rple s s S ta ff w r ite r

Photos by CAROLINE SHARPLESS Alumna Activist | Alumna Bree Irvin speaks to a packed audience about environmental activism and the importance of connecting with the earth.

WHAT OUR READERS ARE LISTENING TO: WE ASKED STUDENTS ON CAMPUS WHAT’S AT THE TOP OF THEIR PLAYLIST THIS WEEK

“Cellophane” FKA Twigs

“The Box” roddy rich

Talks of connection — connection to others, to nature, to creativity — were at the forefront of the discussions at this year’s TEDxPepperdine event.

Smothers Theatre filled with students, faculty and community members for the TED organization’s second on-campus installment Thursday, Jan. 30. TED, which stands for “Technology, Entertainment, Design,” has reached over a billion people worldwide through TED talk videos. The TEDx program allows organizations to bring TED talks to life in their own communities.

TEDxPepperdine, curated entirely by students, consisted of three sessions with 11 speakers in total. The speakers ranged from members of the Pepperdine community to leaders of globally-recognized corporations.

“TEDx as a brand has always been known for pushing the envelope, finding ways to elevate human consciousness,” said Lois Zhou, head of TEDx marketing. “And with that, TEDxPepperdine found itself: an honor and a privilege to carry the name of TEDx, but with it, a great responsibility to not only deliver an unforgettable experience for 2020 attendees but a unique positioning in comparison to the previous year’s event.”

“Good News” Mac Miller

Though the speakers all have impressive titles and careers, they were careful not to keep the focus entirely on their jobs. Instead, they talked about their personal stories, speaking on topics like conquering fear, finding purpose and practicing self-love.

“Anyone can sit through a talk, but not just anyone can be moved to action by an idea,” Zhou said.

TEDx reaches audiences around the world through its mission of spreading ideas. Zhou said she was privileged to carry out that mission in the Malibu community but felt pressured to ensure it was respected.

“Without the sharing of ideas, we cease to become storytellers. Without stories, we lose the essence of humanity,” Zhou said.

Junior Josh Hill said he was particularly moved by speaker Bree Irvin’s talk. Irvin, a Pepperdine alumna, spoke on the importance of connecting with the earth and environmental activism. Rather than discussing her corporate past at Disney, CBS and Patagonia, she talked about the lessons she learned while journeying on a Polynesian voyaging canoe known as a waa.

Irvin said her experience taught her to use the earth’s natural elements as a guiding force for survival.

Hill said he was particularly intrigued by her

“Cotton Candy” Weston Estate

SE E T E DX, B 2

“Get Me” — Justin Bieber, Kehlani

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BOARD: ReelStories Film Festival celebrates student cinema FR OM B 1 humor.

Taking a week to shoot his film, Mathews wrote that the initial inspiration

It was a privilege to work directly with such talented people and be supported by other film students who are equally as talented.

Taylor mathews, junior

came from an experience he had with friends in San Francisco.

“A waitress walked out of the restaurant and called out, ‘Whose watermelon is this?

Someone left their watermelon here!’”

Mathews wrote. “I found the situation funny and thought to myself, ‘Oh, I could write a cool story off of that,’ and I just kind of went from there.”

While Mathews said time management can be tricky, the opportunity to collaborate and convey an important message to the audience is paramount. “‘The Watermelon’ can be whatever you want it to be,” Mathews wrote. “The protagonist Joe saw what he needed to see in the melon, and we can do the same. For all of us, we have our watermelons in real life, things we connect and project onto that help us get through

Senior Spotlight: Tia Peterson G r ac e w o o d c o py e d i to r

Lauren Chivers | Life and arts assistant Awards Season | Senior Orion Keen approaches the stage to accept the award for Best Cinematography for the film “Self-Absorbed.” There were five awards offered at the student film event, three of which were given to the film “The Watermelon,” directed and written by Taylor Mathews. tough times.”

Pushing through the long hours and busy weeks is a challenge, Mathews said, but receiving support from other filmmakers on campus is especially meaningful for him.

“I love everything about filmmaking,”

Mathews wrote. “It’s just such a cool medium, and I want to be a part of it in any way I can. It was a privilege to work directly with such talented people and be supported by other film students who are equally as talented.”

The Board’s next event is a Valentine’s Coffeehouse Friday, Feb. 7 — an evening with kombucha, face masks and live student performances on Friday, Feb. 7. Visit The Board’s website to see a monthly calendar of student events.

L A U REN.C HIV ER S@PEPPER DINE.EDU

TEDx: Speakers ignite dialogue FROM B1 discussion of the Tonga tribe’s practices.

Their language was created before humans separated themselves from nature, so many of their traditions revolve around the idea that nature and humans are one.

Irvin urged the audience to regain their connection to the earth.

“Pepperdine sometimes Iacks in the area of sustainability, so I was happy that multiple speakers, including Bree Irvin, talked about it in a way that students can easily understand and relate to,” Hill said.

Irvin said humans are living in a time where they are more disconnected from the planet than ever, and as a result, humanity is the most isolated and depressed than it has ever been.

“We need to evolve and change our habits to live in harmony [with the earth],” Irvin said. “Inaction is dangerous — it paralyzes us.”

She left listeners with one final piece of advice: “Don’t fear darkness. … Sometimes when it’s the darkest, it’s the best chance to find our way.”

Zhou said she was also impressed by Irvin’s discussion on sustainability, saying it was very insightful in tackling the issue thoughtfully and intentionally.

“Companies have a duty — not only to their stakeholders, but to the communities in which they operate to practice sustainable methodologies — but too often this is merely paid lip service instead of tangible

We need to evolve and change our habits to live in harmony [with the earth]. Inaction is dangerous — it paralyzes us.

BREE irvin, TEDx Speaker and alumna action,” Zhou said.

Senior Hailey Keen said her favorite speaker was Sue Bryce, a New Zealand native who now is a successful photographer and educator. Bryce owns her own education company even though she did not graduate high school.

“I resonated with [Bryce’s] emphasis on mastery of self,” Keen said. “There truly is no barrier to success that you don’t create yourself, and her points on reworking shame were universally applicable.”

Bryce spoke of a cloak of shame and

inadequacy that initially followed her after dropping out of high school. When she turned 18 and found photography, she said she realized that mastery in a craft was the best way to channel her feelings of selfdoubt into self-confidence.

“No one can take mastery away from you,” Bryce said in her speech.

Bryce spoke on the importance of selflove, telling listeners that “pain comes from resistance and unacceptance of your self.”

In between each session, TEDx organizers invited guests to discuss the talks while enjoying the expo outside the theater. A group of students volunteered to sing and play instruments, entertaining the guests while they visited the informational booths. Lululemon hosted free yoga sessions on the lawn while Patagonia handed out booklets showcasing their new sustainability projects. The Student Wellness Advisory Board teamed up with the Pepperdine Green Team to help guests create their own healthy trail mix jars for a snack.

“I couldn’t be prouder of how the Pepperdine team mobilized and delivered on its promise and duty to our Malibu community,” Zhou said.

Hill said he hopes that TEDxPepperdine will be back next year so he can tell more of his friends about it.

“The organizers of the event really pushed the idea of ‘starting a conversation,’ and I think they definitely succeeded in doing so,” Hill said. “I am going to tell everyone who will listen about the cool experiences that the speakers shared with us.”

CA RO L I N E .S HAR PL ESS@PEPPER DINE.EDU

When she isn’t studying economics or working at Geoffrey’s, senior Tia Peterson can usually be found on a board. Whether she’s surfing, skating or snowboarding, Tia spends much of her time in the outdoors. The Minnesota native sat down with the Graphic to talk about her hobbies, hopes for the future and favorite Pepperdine memories as she enters her last chapter of college.

Did you always know that you wanted to study economics?

TP: I came in initially with Psychology. I wanted to do Pre-Med as well and go into neuroscience because I’m really interested in the brain. But then I realized that med school was going to be really rigorous, and I decided that I’d rather just get ancourtesy undergrad in someof sony pictures thing business-related so that my options were open, and I could explore the real world after four years.

What is your dream job, or company, to work for?

TP: I’d love to be an alpha woman on Wall Street because it’s a male-dominated field. So I think it’d be awesome to just be the one woman there that knows what’s up. And I would want to do like maybe private equity, managing rich people’s money. Or even venture capitalism, where you’re looking at the businesses that are coming up and investing in them.

If you could give any advice to an underclassman, what would it be?

TP: To meet as many people as you can with a genuine heart. You never know what people are going to come in later down the line and actually be an asset to you, whether it’s like in a business way, in a job way or even if it’s just in a friend way. You always want to be meeting people and keep your network good at Pepperdine.

What do you like to do with your free time in Malibu?

TP: I like to be outside and surf and hike, skate — I like to longboard — and snowboarding. Otherwise, just hanging out with friends and relaxing.

Talk about your experience working at Geoffrey’s.

TP: I started working at Geoffrey’s in fall of 2019 as a host. I still work there, and it’s an awesome job. The other day, Jhené Aiko and Big Sean came in, and I almost lost it. She told me her reservation was under Jhené — like I didn’t know that — so, that was amazing. Jeff Goldblum came in; he was the first famous person I saw, and man, he looks good. Shirley MacLaine also came in the other day. She called me Pita on accident.

Before you graduate, is there anything that you hope to take advantage of while you’re here?

I really want to establish a good relationship with my economics professors because I know now that I’m graduating that they can be a big help to me in the real world and give me advice and whatnot. So, just utilizing the fact that my professors are there to help me.

GR AC E.W OOD@PEPPER DINE.EDU

CA RO L I N E .S H A RP L E S S @P E P P E RD I N E . E D U

photos by milan loiacono | photo editor Opening Act | (left) Speaker Jeff Walling opens TEDx with an interactive talk about human possibility. (right) Junior Victoria Levinsohn demonstrates how to tie knots at the Campus Recreation booth. The expo included booths from several groups, including the Pepperdine GreenTeam and Patagonia.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros

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‘Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley’ Brings Jane Austen’s Characters to Lindhurst theatre M AR IA B EL EN ITURRALDE LI F E & AR T S ASSISTA N T EDI T OR The Pepperdine Theatre Department’s latest production “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley” debuted at Lindhurst Theatre Jan. 28. The play, directed by theatre professor Bradley Griffin, was performed by an all-student cast and ended Feb. 2 after a successful five-day run.

Senior Josh Sparling, an avid theatergoer, said he walked in unsure of what to expect from the play but was pleasantly surprised.

“I thought the acting was absolutely phenomenal,” Sparling said. “The four lead women did an exceptional job at staying in character and making you feel like you were actually there with them.”

The play, presented by Pepperdine’s Fine Arts Division, was sold out for every performance. Written

by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, it serves as a sequel to Jane Austen’s acclaimed novel “Pride and Prejudice.” In true Jane Austen fashion, the actors managed to successfully sustain British accents throughout the entirety of the play.

Junior Theatre and Music major Sydney DeMaria — who plays Elizabeth Darcy in the play — said the actors eventually got used to speaking in an accent.

“We spent a lot of time working on it,” DeMaria said. “But by the time we got into it, it became second nature.”

The plot follows the life of the Bennet sisters — Elizabeth, Jane, Mary and Lydia — and their eventful Christmas holiday in Pemberley. They all seem to get along, but the youngest, Mary (Lauren Drake), feels ostracized due to her love of facts and literature. She soon develops affections for fellow bibliophile Lord Arthur de Bourgh (Morris Chen), leading to a series of comical situations and entangled character relationships.

The main actors — Cat Bigelow, Morris Chen, Yayabell Debay, Sydney DeMaria, Lauren Drake, Marcela Ferrarone, Joshua Fredenburg and Coby Rogers — exhibited chemistry onstage and performed with a cool and confident demeanor.

DeMaria said extensive practice over winter break brought the cast together.

“The cast for this show was great,” DeMaria said.

photo courtesy of bradley griffin | fine arts division In Character | The characters of “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley” direct their attention toward Mary Bennet (Lauren Drake) sitting at the piano. The play ran at Lindhurst Theatre from Jan. 28 to Feb. 2.

“We had long rehearsals during winter break — from ten in the morning to six in the afternoon — sharing this really brought us together.”

Griffin’s conscientious display of British culture comes at a time of marked anglophilia, displayed in the success of films like “Downton Abbey” or Netflix’s “The Crown.” The play

has attracted all audiences, young and old, and received praise for its infectious humor.

DeMaria said it is this cheerfulness that makes the play so special.

“The show is so happy and lighthearted,” DeMaria said. “It’s really an uplifting experience for everyone involved, actors and audience.”

The play’s run has officially ended, but the Fine Arts Division has a series of events coming up soon for seasoned theatergoers and first-time attendees alike.

The Flora L. Thornton Opera program is setting up two performances in conjunction with the Pepperdine University Orchestra featuring Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” and Puccini’s

“Gianni Schicchi.” The productions are scheduled for Feb. 27 and Feb. 29. The Theater Program is also presenting Anton Chekhov’s final masterpiece “The Cherry Orchard,” which will run from Apr. 15 to Apr. 18.

Both events are only $10 for Pepperdine students.

B E LE N . I T U R R ALDE CH I R I B OGA@PE PPE R DI N E . E DU

Students weigh in on their experiences with the Grammys Nicole Witt sta ff Write r With the Grammys this past weekend and the Oscars right around the corner, award show season is in full swing. Located so close to Los Angeles, Pepperdine students have an advantage when it comes to working for these high-profile events.

Senior graphic design intern Jessica Ziech said working for the Recording Academy— who puts on the Grammy Awards — was an eye-opening experience.

“I didn’t realize how much preparation went into it,” Ziech said. “They’ve been working on it for months and months.”

Ziech said putting together the Grammy Awards was an extensive process.

While Ziech did not attend the Grammy Awards, she worked in the weeks leading up to it, mostly putting together social media graphics. She said that as data like nominee lists or performers were announced, the team had to be ready to put up rapid updates. Information regarding who actually wins the awards is kept a secret, Ziech added.

“I always wondered if they knew ahead of time, and they really don’t,” Ziech said.

“I had to make graphics for every possible winner.”

Ziech also expounded on why she decided to work for the Recording Academy.

“I worked at an agency, and I wanted to see what graphic design looks like outside of an advertising agency and more in the music environment,” Ziech said.

Nearing graduation, she said she is unsure if her internship will lead to a full-time job but would definitely recommend the experience.

Some Pepperdine students have had the opportunity to work onsite during these distinguished events. Junior Rachel Higgins shared that while she did not work the Grammys, she has worked at some of the other top award shows.

“I worked at the Oscars during my freshman year,” Higgins said. “I was working with the event planning company called Sequoia, and we were working for the after-party called The Governor’s Ball. I did the exact same thing at the Emmys last year. I got to see the ‘Game of Thrones’ cast and Jimmy Fallon, who are some of my favorite celebrities.”

Higgins said obtaining tickets to television shows is much more accessible than students might think.

“I wanted to go to the Grammys this year, and I applied for tickets online, but something came up, and I wasn’t able to go,” Hig-

gins said. “I gave my tickets to one of my friends, and she asked me how much it cost so she could pay me back. I told her I got it for free, and she was pretty shocked.”

While Higgins secured her tickets online, junior Alessandra Grabowski said she was able to attend the Grammy Awards because of a family connection.

“I got the tickets through a family friend,” Grabowski said. “I do not attend many concerts, so it was amazing to see several performances from top artists within one night.

It was very organized and systematic, which made the event very enjoyable to be a part of and to watch.”

Sometimes fans speculate if the celebrities they love will live up to their expectations in person.

“I interacted with a couple of celebrities, and they didn’t treat me any differently,” Higgins said. “Some of them seemed overwhelmed with the event, but they also didn’t seem to take it out on any of the workers.”

Occasionally, attending these events helps students realize they have an interest in working in the Hollywood scene. Other times, it shows them the opposite.

“It was a good experience, but it actually showed me that I wouldn’t want to go into that industry,” Higgins said. “I just don’t want that career path.”

N I CO L E .W I T T @P E P P E RD I N E . E D U

photos by caroline sharpless Star-studded Evening | Superstars Ariana Grande (left) and Shawn Mendes (right) take their walk on the red carpet at the Grammy Awards on Jan. 26.

Pepperdine student Jessica Ziech worked as a graphic design intern with the Recording Academy to produce this event.

Red Carpet Affair | Attendees take photos and pause for conversation at the 62nd-annual Grammy Awards. Students have the opportunity to attend award shows like this for free through online ticket applications.

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SPORTS

Baseball swings for bounce-back season aust in hall Staf f W rit e r 24–25. That was the underwhelming final record of Pepperdine Baseball last season, despite having four contributing seniors and five major league draft picks.

The Waves plan to right the ship to start the 2020 season. With the offseason coming to a close, some of Pepperdine’s biggest stars, like redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Wil Jensen, said they feel the team dynamic is noticeably better than a season ago.

“The chemistry and the culture could have been way better,” Jensen said. “There were some guys who just weren’t bought in, and that was clear from the start.”

Four players from last year’s team transferred after being taken off scholarship.

Of the five players who were drafted last June, four of them are pursuing their professional careers.

Jensen, despite being a twenty-eighth-round pick to the Oakland Athletics, elected to play another season for the Waves to improve his stock for the 2020 draft.

Jensen pitched a measly five innings last season as he continued to return from a UCL injury suffered in March 2018 and the reconstructive surgery known in the baseball world as Tommy John.

“I’d say I’m about 95%,” Jensen said. “My velocity and everything was back in the fall. But the next step for me would be just to see if I can go extended innings. Ideally, getting out there for five full innings without pain would make me feel like I’m back to 100%.”

Even though he would rather be on the field, being in and out of rehab for nearly two years has done a lot for the strength of Jensen’s arm.

“Before my injury, I touched 93 [miles per hour],” Jensen said. “I actually hit 94

Dealing | Redshirt junior pitcher Wil Jensen delivers a pitch. Jensen only tossed five innings in 2019.

this fall, which was a bit of a surprise. But before, I could hit 90, 91 and even keep it up in the high 80s for longer periods of time. I don’t know if I can do that right now, but I should be able to with time.”

The Waves’ pitching staff lost key contributors after last season. Redshirt senior reliever Christian Stoutland and senior starter Jonathan Pendergast exhausted their eligibility.

Redshirt junior Easton Lucas led the team with 71 strikeouts last year. He was the Waves’ highest-drafted player last year, selected in the fourteenth round by the Miami Marlins and since traded to the Baltimore Orioles. Redshirt junior and right-handed pitcher Raul Salazar was one of the four players who left the team in the offseason.

For players with significant experience taking the Malibu mound, that leaves Jensen, junior Cooper Chandler, rising sophomore Trevor Kniskern and redshirt senior Michael Mahoney, who only pitched 15 innings last season while battling a hip injury.

“We have some powerful starters this year,” Jensen said. “But then on top of that, this is our first year where we have guys in the bullpen who throw in the low 90s.

And that’s huge because, in the past, we’ve played teams like Stanford or UCLA when their guys are throwing 92 out of the bullpen while we have guys throwing 84. This year, we can seriously hang

and have some depth.”

Another player looking to turn the team around this season is sophomore middle infielder Wyatt Young. In his first season as a Wave, he started every game at second base, made the West Coast Conference All-Freshman Team and led the team in hits with 67.

Young stayed busy over the summer, playing for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League, a developmental collegiate photos courtesy of ricky davis| pepperdine athletics league that selects players to compete in the offseason. Nice Toss | Sophomore infielder Wyatt Young While his bat was electric makes a throw from second base in 2019. Young for the Waves during his freshman campaign, he fol- moves from second to shortstop in 2020. lowed it up with a .338 bat- er when I swing and have “We lost some guys, for ting average over 39 contests more rhythm.” sure,” Young said. “But with for the Red Sox.Courtesy of Pepperdine With QuincyAthletics McAfee some of our freshmen and Sheridan Davis Young said he was taken now in the Cincinnati Reds and with some other players who by surprise when he received organization, it leaves a void are getting healthy — Bilthe invite, and he defied ex- at shortstop for Young to fill ly Cook, for example — we pectations after arriving. this season. have a chance to be even bet“I did not expect to play “It’s been a pretty easy ter than last year.” there,” Young said. “I was transition after playing it In WCC play, the Waves notified late that I was go- all summer,” Young said. “I went 13–13 and finished seving there. But I showed up jumped right back into it enth out of 10 teams. The as a temporary player. I was — it helps that that’s what Waves have not won the only supposed to be there I played throughout high conference tournament for 14 days or less. So a cou- school. So it wasn’t a big since 2014 and are projected ple of the shortstops got in- shift. But last year, I still took to finish fifth this year. jured, and then I got my shot reps at short even when I Young said the team is to play at short. But I just didn’t start there. I was al- ready for the challenge. played well, and then they ways filtering into the po“Without a doubt, our wanted me to stay.” sition about every week. I goal is to get to Omaha,” Young said he knows the think I’m ready for it.”

Young said. “Before we do value of his bat and how it Much like the pitching that, we have to win the concontinues to improve. staff, the Pepperdine batting ference. Then to get a spot “Getting on base is the lineup also lost assets for in the Super Regional and go main thing,” Young said. “It younger players to fill this from there. Playing in June doesn’t matter how. And it season. will be the biggest part for helps that I changed a lot Young said the group has us.” of things mechanically last a chance to challenge opposfall. There’s a little bit more ing teams throughout the movement, and I’m just loos- year.

AUSTIN.HAL L @PEPPER DINE.EDU

ali levens | staff writer Home Cooking | (left) Redshirt freshman guard Jayla Ruffus-Milner drives into the lane Thursday against Pacific. (middle) Redshirt senior forward Ashleen Quirke reaches for the ball after it is deflected. (right) Senior guard Barbara Sitanggan dribbles around the arc to look for an open teammate.

W. Basketball beats Pacific, Saint Mary’s al i l ev e ns staf f w rite r Following a tough 67–69 on the road against the University of Portland, the Pepperdine Women’s Basketball team rebounded to defeat the University of the Pacific Tigers, 59–54.

In an alternating game of runs, the Waves prevailed against their opponents with their leading scorer, senior guard Barbara Sitanggan, dropping 15 points, 11 from free throws.

“We have a ... lot of upperclassmen in this team [who] know how to win and want to win,” Head Coach Kristen Dowling said.

The Waves had a quick turnaround versus the Tigers when they fell in Stockton on Jan. 4, 63–64, after coming off a one-day break.

“We knew we had to do and when we played Pacific

last it was really close,” redshirt senior forward Ashleen Quirke said. “So going into this game, we were just motivated to get it done.”

After getting the game tip, the Waves took an early lead off of jump shots and layups, going up 10–4.

Pacific quickly closed the gap to two points, but Pepperdine stretched their advantage again to close out the first quarter 22–14.

The second quarter reflected the first with two quick points from both sides and Pacific scoring five straight points.

The Waves gave up five straight points to the Tigers, making the score 24–21, but Sitanggan’s contribution of two free throws was the last time the Waves led by more than three points for the remainder of the half.

Both teams scored twice back and forth, leaving the

halftime score tied at 30. “[We focused on] picking up on defense, knowing who the key players were and rebounding,” Sitanggan said.

“We held their best player to five points. We really executed on defense.”

Pepperdine came out with changed mindsets and went on a 5–2 run.

Again, the Tigers caught up and made the score 39–38 halfway through the third.

Both teams had fast-paced breakaways and scored enough to tie 43–all at the end of the quarter.

The Waves struggled out of the gate in the fourth, as the Tigers took the lead for the first time only 28 seconds into the final quarter.

Two quick shots by redshirt senior guard Hannah Friend and Quirke tied the score again (47–all) and paved the way for the team to keep the lead for the final time.

Quirke’s time on the court ran out, however, because she fouled out about five minutes into the final quarter.

The Waves took another five-point lead with two minutes remaining, 54–49. The Tigers whittled down the lead to only a bucket’s worth.

Redshirt freshman guard Jayla Ruffus-Milner joined Quirke when she fouled out with 23 seconds left. “[In close games, we focused on] keeping our composure and sticking to what we know … and not speeding up just because the score is getting close,” sophomore guard Malia Bambrick said.

Friend and Sitanggan extended their lead to five points again after making three of four free throws.

“Free throws come with routine,” Sitanggan said.

The Tigers failed to score after sending Sitanggan to

the line again, leaving the final score 59–54.

“I think we did a great job defensively,” Dowling said.

“We held a team to 40%, which we haven’t done in a while. I also think we did a great job playing as a team.”

Junior forward Monique Andriuolo and Friend delivered on the defensive aspect, with 19 of the team’s 35 rebounds stemming from their efforts.

Both teams managed to not make a single three-pointer despite 23 combined attempts.

As the team prepared to face off in another conference game Saturday against Saint Mary’s College, Dowling wanted them to focus on defense and rebounding.

The Waves and Gaels took the game to overtime, 59–all.

“As a team, we really pride ourselves on defense,” Andriuolo said. “Playing good

defense [is] how we won those two games this week.”

Pepperdine outscored SMC 14–5 in overtime, with Andriuolo posting a career-high 30 points and 17 rebounds. The West Coast Conference named Andriuolo as the Player of the Week because of her performance for these two games. “[Andriuolo was] just on fire,” Dowling said. “She worked her tail off, and she’s been consistent ever since I’ve been here, so I think it’s just her hard work has paid off. We’re just grateful that she was on our team tonight.”

The 11–10 Waves travel to the University of San Francisco on Thursday, Feb. 6.

Pepperdine is now in sixth place in the WCC with a 5–6 record.

AL I.L EV ENS@PEPPER DINE.EDU

F E B R UA RY 6, 2 0 2 0 | S PORTS | P E P P E R D I N E G RA P H I C ME D I A

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Men’s Tennis starts season with winning streak 2018–2019 season.

“We were looking for some of our younger guys to Tennis kicked off the 2020 get more experience and to season strong, winning their try to play a complete match fourth consecutive match where we competed well at against University of Califor- all nine spots,” Head Coach nia, Santa Barbara, on Sunday. Adam Schaechterle said. “I The Waves defeated the think we improved and came Gauchos 4–3 at Ralphs- closer to that goal, but we Straus Tennis Center. Senior still have a lot of work to do captain Adrian Oetzbach se- as we continue the season.” cured the win by defeating The Waves opened the junior opponent Victor Kru- 2020 dual season by winstev 7–6, 6–2 on court two to ning the matches against secure the match. both West Coast Conference “We lost to UCSB at their opponents Santa Clara Uniplace last year pretty badly,” versity 5–0 and University of Oetzbach said. “We as a team San Francisco 4–2. Pepperwanted to get the win this dine also came out victorious time, and personally, I just against Sacramento State 7–0 wanted to contribute in dou- and UCSB 4–3, all matches at bles as well as singles. I think home. we were the better team “As a team, we’re looking overall.” to get in top 25 teams in the Pepperdine lost the dou- nation,” sophomore Corraphotos courtesy of catt ott | pepperdine athletics bles points to the Gauchos do Summaria said. “We are Order on the Court | Senior and captain Adrian Oetzbach strikes a forehand at Ralphs-Straus Tennis. in the beginning but man- also looking to win the conOetzbach clinched the win against UC Santa Barbara with a 7-6, 6-2 singles victory on court two. aged to win the first singles ference and enter into the match when sophomore Tim NCAA Final.” men, three of them fresh- cally,” Oetzbach said. “We are Zeitvogel won 6–1, 6–2 over In the 2018–2019 season, men. While a young team, going to try to come out with sophomore rival Alejandro Men’s Tennis went 11–13 for Schaechterle relies on the good energy and give it our Vedri. a winning percentage of freshmen to win conference all and embrace the battle.”

Santa Barbara defeated 45.8% but won eight of the matches and to continue Overall, the team plans Pepperdine on courts one 13 matches at home. They their excellence, Summaria to take it match by match and four, but the Waves took finished 5–4 in the WCC but said. to continue their winning a win when freshman Pietro hope to improve their overall “The freshmen who were streak and eventually win Fellin defeated Gaucho fresh- wins in this upcoming sea- just recruited are proving that the West Coast Conference man Joshua Williams 6–4. son. they care and understand the Championship, Oetzbach “We just wanted to play “We want to improve values of the program and of said. with a lot of energy [by] mo- and see how good we can the team,” Summaria said.

“Our culture has gotten so tivating the other two courts be in May when the NCAA “They’re doing a really good much better than last season and our teammates to play Tournament comes around,” job at being respectful and that, at this point, I think evbetter,” Oetzbach said. “I Schaechterle said. “I think putting effort and bringing eryone on the team is aware think that my teammates and we’ve already had some pos- positivity, which makes ev- that we’re a much better doubles partner did a really itive moments. ... We’re see- eryone better.” team, much better group good job at being loud and ing some encouraging signs, Oetzbach said their great- and a much better culture,” vocal and energized.” but far more important for us est competition will be the Schaechterle said. “So really, photos courtesty otteman| pepperdine athletics Pepperdine’s goal going is thatof wesarah continue to focus match against University of I think at this point our focus into the match was for the on each individual guy devel- San Diego on Apr. 19 in San has shifted away from just newer players to gain more oping and being as efficient Diego. being better than last year experience before the NCAA as they can in their improve“The match against San and to reach a lot higher.”

Tournament as well as to ment.”

Diego is still some time Refuse to Lose | Corrado Summaria eyes a foremake a comeback from their Seven of the nine players away, but we are not going to hand Jan. 18. He won the match 6–3, 6–2.

TA Y L O R.GA THER @PEPPER DINE.EDU 0–7 loss against UCSB in the on the team are underclass- change our system dramati-

Tay l o r Gather a s si stant s ports e d itor

Women’s Tennis fall season yields strong results paxt o n ritchey s taf f writ e r The Pepperdine Women’s Tennis team has plenty of experience in big-time situations over the past few years.

The Waves won the past seven West Coast Conference tournament titles and are favored to win another in the preseason coaches poll. They have made the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament in three of the past four years. The Waves enter the season with a No. 6 team ranking and four singles players ranked in the top 90 nationally, including senior Ashley Lahey at No. 1 overall.

Despite this, Pepperdine isn’t concerned with the pressure of lofty expectations or specific goals.

With a free-flowing approach and a commitment to the process of getting better, this Waves team believes they are part of the top tier in the NCAA. “We want to compete with the best,” Head Coach Per Nilsson said. “And we feel like if we’re healthy and the girls are doing what they’re supposed to be doing, we can compete with anyone.”

The collegiate tennis structure divides the season in half: a fall season of singles tournaments where players try to improve their individual ranking, and a spring season of team matches in which programs compete against each other for conference and national championships.

Pepperdine had a run of success in the fall season. Lahey stormed to the No. 1 ranking by posting a flawless 16–0 record and winning all three tournaments she entered, including a victory over teammate Jessica Failla in one of the finals.

Freshman Lisa Zaar also won a fall tournament for the Waves.

Whether that fall success carries over to the spring remains to be seen, as Nilsson noted the stark differences between the two seasons, especially for freshmen who have never experienced them before.

“It’s totally different once the team dual matches start,” Nilsson said. “It’s a completely different pressure because suddenly, you have your teammates who you’re playing for. It’s easy to get tight, especially in the beginning of the season, so it will be good for us to see who handles that well.”

The Waves need their young players to adjust quickly. Between Zaar, fellow freshman Astrid Olsen and returning sophomores Anastasia Iamachkine and Daria Kuczer, four of the six players on Pepperdine’s gameday roster will be underclassmen.

Zaar said she is looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s going to be way more energy,” Zaar said. “It’s going to be so much fun.”

The freshmen are off to a good start, but they are getting playing time out of necessity. If Pepperdine has a weakness other than experience, it’s depth. The Waves roster is at only seven (walk-on Daniela Baum is the final player), and with six needed every match day, the team will be spread thin.

“If somebody does get hurt, it’s gonna hurt us,” Nilsson said. “We just have to be smart with our training and avoid the little injuries.”

While the Waves may have to rely on some younger players, they have two top-notch seniors in Lahey and Failla to anchor the team.

Failla, in her second season playing for Pepperdine after transferring from USC, is ranked No. 50 in the nation for singles and No. 36

in doubles along with Iamachkine.

A fifth-year senior currently obtaining a master’s degree at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, Failla said she feels much more comfortable at Pepperdine in several different areas.

“I feel so fortunate that I was able to transfer to such a great athletic and academic school,” Failla said. “Every season, just getting to know the girls better — it’s been a great experience.”

Lahey dominated every court she stepped on during her rise to No. 1, but she’s not buying in to any hype. For her, the run of success comes from a more relaxed attitude and a conscious effort to not put any pressure on the results.

“I didn’t really care whether I won or lost the match, which is kind of the first time I’ve experienced that in my life,” Lahey said.

“Throughout the whole fall, I just noticed myself playing so freely, and on the important points, I reached a new level.”

For new players looking to improve like Zaar, having the country’s top-ranked player on their team is a major advantage.

“Having [Lahey] on the court everyday is a really good way to set the goals and bars for me,” Zaar said. “I’m striving to be No. 1 in the country, and she is. So how is she working? What can I learn from her?”

Lahey singled out team chemistry as a huge advantage for this season’s Waves.

“There’s something about the kind of bonds we have on this team where we really do love to be around each other,” Lahey said.

“It’s going to be really special when we go out and fight for each other.”

With as many as six matches going on at once and echoes of encouragement bouncing between

paxton ritchey | staff writer You Got Served | Ashley Lahey follows through on a forehand Jan. 26 against Arkansas. She won her match 6–3, 6–2. courts, the tennis stadium is alive during a dual match. Both Nilsson and the players stressed that college tennis is nothing like pro tennis, where fans are repeatedly asked to be quiet.

“There’s always someone to be watching,” Lahey said. “It’s more fun if you bring a bunch of friends and really get into it.”

If Pepperdine continues its WCC dominance and maintains its top-10 ranking, then a lot of meaningful matches will take place at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center. Already, the non-conference schedule is stacked, as schools including Texas, USC, Michigan and UCLA will come to Malibu.

All four of those schools accompany Pepperdine in the Top 25. Pepperdine was the only mid-major to make the preseason rankings.

“When you look at the rankings, we stick out like a sore thumb,” Nilsson said. “Like, what’s that little school doing there? I guess we take a lot of pride in that.”

Pepperdine will stack up against several big schools Feb. 6 when it is one of 16 schools invited to compete in the National Indoor Championships in Chicago.

“This next week will really tell a lot,” Failla said. “It’s really the first big matches of the year for every school.”

PAX TON.R ITC HEY@PEPPER DINE.EDU

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P E P P E R DINE GR A P HIC M E DIA | S PORTS | F E B RU A RY 6 , 20 20

Waves community remembers Kobe Kar l Winter spor ts e d itor Lifelong fans. Local diehards.

Fellow coaches. Worldwide basketball lovers.

They will all remember Kobe Bean Bryant.

Better known by the singular “Kobe,” Bryant was a five-time NBA champion, two-time Most Valuable Player, 18-time NBA All-Star and a 20-year NBA veteran.

Every one of those 20 seasons was in the purple and gold of the Los Angeles Lakers, from his first game at age 18 to his 60-point performance in his final game.

However, the local community will remember Bryant for far more than his exhaustive list of accomplishments on the court. They will remember his tireless work ethic, faith, commitment to his role as a parent and contributions to the game post-retirement.

“Because of his skill, he’s gonna leave more of a basketball legacy around the globe,” LA native Austin Wilmot said. “But I think more than anything after his career … he took his mentality and his passion for whatever he was doing into the next stage of his life. He won an Oscar. He tried to teach [his daughter] Gianna as much as he could about the game.”

Wilmot, a redshirt junior for Pepperdine Men’s Volleyball, is one of many local athletes and fans who grew up watching Bryant progress from the youngest player to ever play in an NBA game to one of the game’s most electrifying figures.

“Whatever sport I played, I always [tried] to emulate him and be the best player I can be because that’s what Kobe did,” Wilmot said.

For Generation Z basketball fans like Wilmot, Bryant played for nearly as long as they’ve been alive.

Mia Satie, who grew up in Perth, Australia — 9,000 miles from LA — was raised a Lakers fan in part because of their young star player.

“Kobe was our Michael Jordan,” Satie, a junior on Pepperdine’s Women’s Basketball team, said.

Bryant won his first three NBA titles in the first three years of the new millennium, but it was the fourth and fifth rings, without fellow star Shaquille O’Neal, that captivated new fans.

“My first memory of basketball was the 2008 [NBA] Finals,” said Marcus Flint, a freshman runner on Pepperdine’s Cross Country and Track teams. “[The Lakers] lost to the Celtics. But then, the year after, we came back and won in 2009, and then again in 2010, and that cemented for me Kobe Bryant and the Lakers as my team.

During his playing days, Bryant was famous for his intense work ethic and astounding stories of his additional practice hours.

“He was just the hardest-working player on the court,” Colbey Ross said. “You hear about the stories about [Kobe] waking up at four in the morning, then taking a nap and coming back again, and then doing that, like, three times in the day.”

Ross, a junior on Pepperdine’s Men’s Basketball team, is not from Southern California, but he still listed Bryant as one of his sports heroes well prior to Bryant’s death at age 41.

Ross, Pepperdine’s all-time assists leader, invoked a term seen in just about every Kobe obituary.

“Even though I never knew him, it feels like I had known him for the longest just because of how he inspired me — how he inspired people who don’t play sports, people just in the regular world, who understand the Mamba Mentality,” Ross said.

Bryant, who nicknamed himself the “Black Mamba”, coined the term “Mamba Mentality” and described it as “constantly try[ing] to be the best version of yourself,” following his retirement from the league in 2016. He even wrote a book about it in 2018.

He continued to live the Mamba Mentality post-retirement, as he

raised his four daughters, coached his daughter Gianna and her teammates at the Mamba Sports Academy and in 2018 became the first African American to win the Academy Award for Best Short Film.

“Everything that happened is so tragic because he wasn’t just a basketball player,” Flint said. “He was reinventing himself off the court. It was just an extension of him being the hardest worker in the room, that we saw when he was playing — but then transitioning to a time where he wasn’t playing but still exhibiting those qualities we expected from him.”

Though success seems to have followed Bryant throughout his life, he dealt with several controversies off the court, especially early in his career. Drafted out of high school and engaged at 21, there were bound to be roadblocks.

A 2003 sexual assault case will forever remain a part of Bryant’s legacy. Though the case was dropped and a lawsuit was settled behind closed doors, Bryant publicly admitted to an extra-marital affair. His wife Vanessa filed for divorce in 2011, but the pair called off the divorce in 2013. The fourth Bryant daughter was born in June 2019, mere months before she would lose her father and second-eldest sister. “[Kobe Bryant] totally made a transition, and he did it really well,”

Though jokes about a lack of passing abounded during his career, Bryant’s coaching and involvement in local philanthropy will also be remembered in the greater LA area.

He was the official ambassador for After School All-Stars, a non-profit organization that provides after-school programs for low-income children.

“It was just never about him,” Ross said. “It was always about, how can he use the game of basketball to help someone else?”

Included in this were Bryant’s efforts to support the growth of the women’s game.

These efforts were of Richard Davis Photos by Courtesy Alirooted Levens | Asst.

Sports Editor in the basketball prowess of Gianna, who died at 13 with ambitions of one day playing for the most successful collegiate women’s program in the nation, the University of Connecticut Huskies.

“I really wish we could see her in Courtesy of Pepperdine Athletics the NBA and go to UConn or wherand Sheridan Davis ever she ended up going and doing her best,” Wilmot said.

Bryant took pride in being a #GirlDad. “Part of his legacy was just being a good father, and the way he was involved in women’s sports because of Gianna,” Dowling said.

“Ever since he was a player, he took a huge role in the WNBA and supported the women’s game.”

Ultimately, for fans and locals, Kobe Bean Bryant transcended ali levens | page designer basketball. He was far from perfect, Pepperdine Women’s Basketball struck Sahith Theegala, another but he worked harder than anyone Head Coach Kristen Dowling said. SoCal native, rather hard. else, and the community embraced “He was a young kid in the spotlight “I live in Calabasas, so [the heli- him for it. at 17 years old. He was growing up, copter crash that killed Bryant] was Who else could win an Oscar, especially with all the money and literally right next to where I live,” raise four daughters and run circles all the fame, but he did a tremen- Theegala said. “I couldn’t believe it around opponents on a court for 20 dous job.” when the news broke out, so I fig- years?

For Southern California natives, ured I could do something to honor “He will leave a very huge hole the highs and lows of Kobe’s Lakers him.” in a lot of people’s hearts, but a trewere part of life — the titles, deTheegala, a redshirt senior for mendous legacy for all of us who parture of Shaq, scoring outbursts, Pepperdine Men’s Golf, donned a are involved in sports to want to playoff losses, clutch shots and in- Kobe jersey for his walk to the fi- follow and emulate,” Dowling said. juries. nal green and the last two putts of “He [was] in the NBA two years his individual victory at the Southbefore I was born, so I grew up with western Invitational.

K AR L .W INTER @PEPPER DINE.EDU him in my life,” Wilmot said. “He’s “I couldn’t have asked for a betthe reason I started playing basket- ter way to pay respects to the guy ball [and] the reason I continued on who meant so much to me and my playing volleyball. I always wanted family,” Theegala said. to wear his number.”

Hundreds of well-wishers Like many other celebrities who turned out to pay their respects to seem larger than life, local fans in- Bryant first at the crash site in Calavited Bryant’s name into their own basas on Sunday, Jan. 26, and then at homes. a massive memorial at the Staples “I was basically born into a Lak- Center. ers family and born into loving Stadium staff cleaned up the Kobe, so even before I saw him memorial early Monday morning, play, I knew I loved Kobe,” Barbara collecting monumental numbers of Sitanggan said. “It hurts like he was memorabilia and flowers, includone of my own family members. He ing more than 1,300 basketballs, just had such a big impact on peo- according to a tweet from Staples ple he knew and people he didn’t Center President Lee Zeidman. even know.”

“The whole city was hurt, and Sitanggan, a senior on Pepper- they will remain to be hurt,” Wildine’s Women’s Basketball team, mot said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever was born and raised in Orange get over it. I think the emotions County. have settled down, but he’s given so courtesy of austin wilmot Bryant’s sudden death also much to the city of Los Angeles.”

courtesy of brentley romine |golf channel The Late No. 8 | (top) Men’s Volleyball player Austin Wilmot poses in a vintage Kobe jersey shortly after Bryant’s death. (bottom) Men’s Golf player Sahith Theegala poses with his victory trophy in his “Black Mamba” City Edition jersey.