Volume xLVIII | Issue 11 | PEPPERDINE-GRAPHIC.COM | JANUARY 17, 2019
Kaelin Mendez | Photo Editor
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STUDENTS AND STAFF TRY TO STAY DRY as storms continue through tonight
SEVERE WEATHER WATCH Canyon Closed| Sheriff’s deputies block the entrance to Malibu Canyon Road after rockslides send one person to the hospital. Extended rain has weakened canyon walls, making the roads more susceptible to falling rocks.
Housleys discuss gun violence, Alaina’s Voice
groups are going to work in conjunction [with Moms Demand Action] or even independently to do their own programs and events.”
Channa St einmetz S p e c i al Edi ti on Edi tor M akena Huey Co py ed it o r
The Borderline Bar and Grill shooting, which resulted in the deaths of 12 people, including Pepperdine freshman Alaina Housley, was one of 340 mass shootings in the United States in 2018. Mass shootings in the past year killed 374 people and injured another 1,345, according to the Gun Violence Archive. With the increase in mass shootings, organizations and individuals are discussing ways to end gun violence — solutions range from implementing stricter background checks to engaging in everyday acts of kindness. For the families affected and others in the Pepperdine community, Borderline initiated a call to action to respond to gun violence. Housley’s parents, Arik and Hannah, started the Alaina’s Voice foundation to honor their daughter and advocate for compassion. “[Kindness] is something that is very easy to do so quickly in a big group or a small group, in all different ways,” Hannah Housley said. “A conversation with that person could have changed things.” Along with the local community, the Borderline Shooting prompted major corporations such as Toms and the National Basketball League to recognize the unnerving phenomenon of mass shootings, taking
Student Action
Ashley Mowreader | News Assistant Voice of Strength | Alaina’s Voice is an organization created in memory of Alaina Housley, Pepperdine freshman and victim of the Borderline Shooting. action through public statements and donations. Policies There are other organizations working toward ending gun violence. Everytown for Gun Safety was started through a mother’s Facebook page after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012. Now, the organization has over 5 million members across the country with chapters of Moms Demand Action as the driving force. Amy Phillips, the California state communications lead for Moms Demand Action, said the organization is not anti-gun, but instead fights to make guns safer through background checks and training. Members participate in lobbying. “Last year we were
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very involved in passing Bill AB 2103,” Phillips said. “It had to do with live fire training. Some counties required training, some counties didn’t. We helped lobby for that bill so that now throughout the entire state of California, you have to have a minimum of eight hours of training before you get a permit to carry a gun.” There are chapters of Moms Demand Action in every state, and members are not exclusively mothers. Members include mayors, students, police officers, teachers, survivors and gun owners, according to the website. Phillips highlighted that California is a Red Flag Law state, meaning that individuals have the right to report to local officials if they feel someone in possession of weapons may
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use them to harm themselves or others. “It’s a really powerful tool for both law enforcement and families to use,” Phillips said. “It’s important that everybody knows how it works so you can call law enforcement and say, ‘Hey, I’m concerned about this person.’” Students can team up with Everytown and Moms Demand Action to launch a Students Demand Action chapter on their campus, Phillips said. Within these chapters, students work to educate their peers on gun violence, advocate for elected officials to take action on passing legislation and use their talents to create a movement. “2019 is going to be a big year and a big legislative year,” Phillips said. “It will be interesting to see how student
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Although she had never met Alaina, sophomore Anemone Hansen felt compelled to write a letter to the Housley family in which she shared her reaction to the Borderline Shooting and presented a call to action for her peers. She said she was afraid the shooting would would be forgotten after the Woolsey Fire and that she could not allow Alaina’s death to be in vain. Although Hansen said she thinks stricter gun control laws are necessary, she does not think that is the final answer. Rather than focusing on a controversial topic, she said she chose to focus on something positive — kindness. “Remember that love is stronger than hate because hate can only destroy, but love builds beauty out of chaos,” Hansen wrote. “I know it is possible, but it’s possible only when we come together to see the worth and humanity of every individual.” Hansen said she believes everyone in the Pepperdine community is connected to one another, and the community can only grow stronger if they see one another on a deeper level. “God’s love ... is greater than we are and greater than we can imagine, but sometimes it
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126 spring admits join community A s h le y M o w r e a d e r ne ws assi stant For spring admits, it can be difficult transitioning to a new university in the middle of the school year, but this year’s wildfires, mass shooting and missed school days add additional obstacles to the existing challenges. The 126 spring admits of 2019 face an unusual situation of walking into a healing community and learning to make it feel like home. Between the Borderline Shooting in Thousand Oaks and the Woolsey Fire in early November, Pepperdine students experienced an unconventional first semester. Some students chose to leave Pepperdine after fall semester, but many spring admits chose to attend nevertheless. 126 out of the 150 admitted spring students came to campus for the spring 2019 semester, Housing Director Robin Gore said. “I never considered not coming,” spring admit Simone Decker said. “After seeing how the Pepperdine community responded with messages of unity and strength, these tragedies were a beautiful reminder of why I wanted to come to Pepp: the community.” The admits are a mix of firstyear and transfer students admitted through early spring admission and spring admission, Director of Admissions Falone Serna said. Many of these students, like freshman Grant Richardson, said they had known they were coming to Pepperdine for months, which made it difficult to watch the tragedies of the past semester unfold. “Throughout this entire time I was like, ‘I should be up at Pepperdine, I should be with them,’” Richardson said. “I just felt so awful being so distant from everyone, I just wanted to be there at least for emotional support. I just felt so helpless.” Richardson first heard of the shooting from social media after friends on Facebook marked themselves safe from the shooting, then from a Pepperdine student, freshman Alicia Yu, on Instagram. Decker is from Palmdale, CA, and said she heard the news of the shooting and fire from her immediate family soon after each happened. “I was horrified, surprised and devastated for Pepperdine,” Decker said. “I couldn’t believe that the news I was hearing was real life. Every part of me wanted to believe that it was some terrible misunderstanding.” Sophomore Austin Cadman said he heard the news of both the shooting and the fire from his friends who were at Pepperdine, but these events did not change his decision to come to transfer for spring semester. “It’s kind of funny though because it didn’t impact me coming here,” Cadman said. “I still wanted to go. I wasn’t going to let it change my mind. I’m not going to be scared of this kind of stuff. It’s unfortunate and it sucks but … I kind of felt like everyone else. I felt like a part of the community, even though I wasn’t here at all.” Spring admits came to campus Jan. 2 for New Student Orientation and said they are still
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