Pepperdine’s performance of “9 to 5 The Musical” opens Friday, Nov. 15. The show navigates themes of female empowerment.
Pepperdine is expanding its TimelyCare program and offering Narcan training to address the rise in fentanyl overdoses and mental health issues affecting students on campuses nationwide. This initiative equips students with essential tools for their well-being.
Thanksgiving is just around the corner meaning the holiday season is upon us. PGM shares some reasons to celebrate the joy of the holidays.
Pepperdine Women’s Soccer took down the University of San Francisco on Nov. 8 to win their fifth WCC title in Waves history. After falling short one game last season, the Waves came back this year wanting revenge and they got it.
Photo by Mary Elisabeth | Photo Editor
Design by Betsy Burrow | Lead Designer
p c o m i n g e v e n t s . . .
Nov. 16
NCAA Men’s Basketball
The Waves will play at UC Irvine on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Nov. 19
Waves Market
The Pepperdine community is invited to support local vendors Tuesday at the Waves Market from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The market includes food, drinks and artisan goods.
Nov. 25-29
Thanksgiving Break
The Pepperdine community has a fiveday break from classes to celebrate Thanksgiving with loved ones.
Dec. 3
Christmas Tree Lighting
Pepperdine will celebrate the annual Christmas tree lighting Dec. 3 beginning at 6 p.m.
Good News: Life in a series of sunsets
Mackenzie Krause News Staff Writer
As life is constantly changing, I always have one constant to get me through: a beautiful sunset. My life told through a series of the sunsets that graced my path. this is an image
Growing up in Leander, Texas, a small suburb of Austin, I learned to appreciate a good sunset. Sunsets were always my dad’s favorite and on our drive back from elementary school at 6 p.m., he would always point them out.
My family and I used to go to a restaurant called the Oasis to admire the sunset. It had around three stories of outdoor patios and as the sun went behind the horizon, the restaurant workers would ring a bell and everyone would clap. I thought I would never find a sunset better than those close to home.
As I grew up and college applications started rolling around the corner, I knew that Texas wasn’t meant to be my forever home. I applied to Pepperdine and nervously left the only state I had ever known.
However, when I saw my first sunset at Pepperdine, I knew I’d be okay, regardless of how nervous I was about leaving my family behind.
Each time I was feeling uncertain or nervous about something in my life, I’d
My most recent sunset picture at Ralph’s Beach, as most Pepperdine students call it, Nov. 1. Growing up, I always appreciated a good sunset, but nothing quite compares to the ones spanning across the Malibu sky.
see a beautiful sunset. They followed me from Leander to Malibu. They followed me the first time I went abroad to Uganda. They followed me to Heidelberg, Germany. They followed me to Leighton Buzzard, England. Whenever I’m feeling nervous about where life might take me, I go outside and watch the sunset. I’ve made it a habit to go to the beach at least once a week to watch them. There’s nothing quite as comforting as watching the warm glow of the sun light up the sky.
As I finish my last year at Pepperdine and another uncertain future awaits me, I often find myself looking for inspiration, a way to feel better when it seems like my life is constantly changing.
Caught you fizzin’!
“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.”
The answer always seems to be waiting for me in the setting sun.
My first Pepperdine
on move-in day in August 2021. I immediately felt at home looking
mackenzie.krause@pepperdine.edu
Email: peppgraphicmedia@gmail.com
peppgraphicadvertising@gmail.com
Phone: (310) 506-4311
Address: Student Publications Pepperdine University 24255 Pacific Coast Hwy. Malibu, CA 90263
Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Krause
sunset, taken
at the Malibu sky.
Student makes nail art into side hustle
Sahana Patel Guest Contributor
A hobby that started as a way to cut costs has now turned senior Karyssa Cameron’s dorm into a booming business.
While majoring in Engineering and Physics major, Cameron is also an artist with a thriving nail business: Nails By Karyssa. Like many students, she was looking for ways to save money, especially when it came to non-essentials like nail care. Cameron said she took matters into her own hands — literally — and started doing her own nails.
“I started doing my own nails to save money because they were very expensive out here,” Cameron said. “I haven’t got my nails done since freshman year.”
Now she has found an unexpected outlet for her creativity, one that has connected her with fellow students.
“People started asking me, I wasn’t really planning on doing others until I just kept getting asked by people to do theirs,” Cameron said.
Cameron started her nail business during her sophomore year in her Seaside dorm. And she took her business abroad while studying studying in Florence over the summer.
Her nail business gives Cameron a creative outlet aside from school, she said.
“I have an Art minor, but then I just like drawing in general and I have always liked drawing,” Cameron said.
Cameron said this experience has significantly improved her artistic skills.
“I feel I’m better at drawing. I’m better at doing nails itself,” Cameron said. “I have so much fun looking at nail stuff now. I just have so much fun.”
Besides doing nails, Cameron said she loves getting to know new faces around Pepperdine.
“I also love talking to people. I’m such a yapper,” Cameron said. “I’m always asking questions. I’m like ‘tell me everything about your life!’”
But it’s not always an easy process, she said.
“It’s one thing to do your own nails, but other people have different nail bed sizes, some nail beds are more oily than others, the size of fingers, shape of fingers,” Cameron said. “That’s kind of been like the biggest thing, adjusting from mine to others.”
Although sometimes a challenge, Cameron said her hobby has allowed her
to try new things.
“I get to do some fun nails, I get to do some crazy designs. Things I would never do myself,” Cameron said. “I would never get to do just plain colors on myself, so I get to try things out.”
And she has stayed true to that. Rather than opting for plain nails, Cameron’s most recent set featured unique characters from “Alice in Wonderland.” With each finger representing a different character, Cameron said the set took five hours to complete.
Although she has found joy and passion with Nails by
Karyssa, she doesn’t know if it will continue after graduation, Cameron said.
“I feel like it’s fun. It’s a hobby but I don’t think it’s my career,” Cameron said.
But some of her clients believe differently.
“A lot of people think I should continue, maybe I just need more faith in myself to continue,” Cameron said.
sahana.patel@pepperdine.edu
Free Wheelchair Mission comes to Pepp
Jenna Parsio Guest Contributor
Isabella Reyes, a junior Biology major, is working to start a club at Pepperdine highlighting a non-profit organization, Free Wheelchair Mission, to spread awareness about the project and her father’s story.
An estimated 80 million people in the world are in need of a wheelchair, according to Free Wheelchair Mission.
In 1992, Hernan Reyes, Isabella’s father, became one of these 80 million after a car accident left him with C4 paralysis from the neck down, typically requiring a ventilator for life, Isabella said.
“They told him he would never walk again, never breathe on his own again, probably never talk again, never eat on his own again,” Isabella said. “Basically, never be able to do anything ever again, besides, see and understand.”
Hernan did not take his diagnosis as an answer and began his journey to rehabilitation, Isabella said.
“He went behind the doctor’s back and did therapy with the nurse that was on call overnight,” Isabella said. “She would stack books on his chest, and that’s how he learned to breathe.”
Once Hernan was rehabilitated, he decided to pick up art by painting with a paintbrush in his mouth, because it was one of the only things he could do, Isabella said.
This artwork gave Hernan the chance to be an inspirational figure and voice for people who have experienced
spinal cord injuries and people who are physically disabled around the world, according to Isabella.
This artwork also gave him the opportunity to give back.
“He donated his paintings to a rehabilitation hospital called the Elks, which is in Boise, Idaho,” Isabella said. “This is where he met George Hage, his occupational therapist, who was an ambassador for the Free Wheelchair Mission.”
In 2004, George Hage, Hernan and other ambassadors from Free Wheelchair Mission banded together to create Idaho Believes, which is a group that supports Free Wheelchair Mission. They aim to provide one wheelchair for every seat in Albertsons Stadium, Isabella said.
With the artwork that Hernan pro-
duced, he would auction off his pieces and all of the proceeds would go back to Free Wheelchair Mission.
Since Isabella was born in 2004, she has been involved in her father’s journey of activism and giving back.
Isabella has now grown up to become a youth ambassador for Free Wheelchair Mission and will be seeking approval to extend this organization to the Pepperdine community in the spring.
Isabella credits her aspirations of going to medical school and working in healthcare to her father and the non-profit organization.
Through fundraising, Isabella has set a goal to raise enough funds to provide 2,026 wheelchairs by her graduation date in May 2026.
These wheelchairs are provided to
those in need around the world, Isabella said.
“Every wheelchair that you raise goes to an individual in a third world country. They’ll do trips out to Nicaragua, Ecuador, Uganda…they’ve gone all over,” Isabella said.
Isabella said she is hoping to bring the Free Wheelchair Mission’s annual fundraiser, Move for Mobility, to Pepperdine in the spring.
“Run, walk, hike, roll, swim, jump, bike, or do any other activities of your choice while raising funds to provide wheelchairs for people with disabilities in developing countries,” according to the Free Wheelchair Mission’s description of the fundraiser.
Isabella, a member of the Pepperdine Women’s Track team, wants this to be a fundraiser that everyone can participate in.
“Hopefully other teams will participate, clubs and other organizations, fraternities and sororities… really anyone can participate,” Isabella said.
This fundraiser will take place in the spring, but it is available year-round for donations and participation. The non-profit organization has been able to provide over 1.4 million wheelchairs across 95 countries to date, according to their website.
As Isabella grew up, her father’s resilience and joy has inspired her and her outlook on life, Isabella said.
“He’s always happy,” Isabella said. “How can I not be?” said. “How can I not be?”
jenna.parsio@pepperdine.edu
Photos courtesy of Sahana Patel
Senior Karyssa Cameron applies Gel-X on a client Oct. 9, in her Drescher dorm. Cameron said she loves the creative freedom that nail art gives her.
Photo courtesy of Isabella Reyes
Hernan Reyes painting a watercolor image for a group of kids at a school. Hernan regularly speaks at churches and schools in Idaho.
Preliminary hearing to continue in December
Gabrielle Salgado Managing Editor
The L.A. County Superior Court will reconvene Dec. 11 in the case of the fatal Oct. 2023 PCH crash.
The court met at the Van Nuys Courthouse West on Nov. 13 to continue the preliminary hearing process.
Fraser Michael Bohm faces four counts of murder and four counts of vehicular manslaughter after the PCH crash that killed four Pepperdine students — Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams.
The courtroom was nearly empty, but loved ones of the PCH crash victims sat in the stands — including Rolston’s parents and Bridget Thompson, close friend and roommate to three of the four Pepperdine women.
Both Bohm and his defense attorney Michael Kraut were not at the courthouse.
Kate Lebenzon, associate
attorney for Kraut’s law firm, represented Kraut at the preliminary hearing setting.
Judge Diego Edber spoke with the prosecution and defense to set the next meeting date for Dec. 11. Both parties agreed to the date.
The November preliminary hearing is the third time the court has met since August.
Aug. 28
At the Aug. 28 preliminary hearing setting, Kraut filed a motion for discovery — requesting all state records of fatal crashes that did not include foreign substances in the driver’s system, according to previous Graphic reporting.
The court also set the next preliminary setting date for Oct. 9 during the August meeting.
Kraut argued that Bohm was a victim of road rage before the fatal crash occurred. He also claimed that Bohm was driving 70 mph instead of the 104 mph reported by Los
Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.
Bohm did not appear in court on the Aug. 28 date, but Edber did require him to be in attendance for the Oct. 9 preliminary hearing setting.
Oct. 9
Bohm appeared in court Oct. 9, along with an entourage of about 20 people — including his parents and sister, according to previous Graphic reporting.
At the Oct. 9 setting, Kraut
motioned for discovery in a case for discriminatory action. The cause for discriminatory action was improper notification of news media in the courtroom.
Prior to the Oct. 9 setting, Kraut mailed a letter to Edber, asking the court to be recused from the case, Edber said. Edber denied the motion for discovery due to the lack of evidence.
At the end of the meeting, Edber set the date for the next preliminary hearing setting for Nov. 13.
Looking Forward
The trial is expected to begin early 2025. All of Bohm’s charges stand, Edber said.
Bohm is not required to appear in court for the December date, Edber said.
The Student Health Center continues its commitment to ensuring physical and mental health resources through its continued partnership with TimelyCare for this academic year and the introduction of Narcan.
TimelyCare is a nationwide organization promoting a plethora of 24/7 virtual care for universities around the United States. The 2024-25 academic year will mark the second year of the program’s introduction at Pepperdine, according to Doug Hurley, associate dean of Student Affairs.
“Students these days, this generation, you’re used to being able to access resources either through Zoom, a laptop or on an app,” Hurley said. “We’re just trying to keep up with the way the field is going.”
The TimelyCare app is available to all Pepperdine students who have paid the Pepperdine wellness fee, which is included in tuition.
The wellness fee waives the cost for a wide variety of Pepperdine health services, including medical visits, therapy sessions and intramural sports, according to Student Affairs.
More than 60% of college students in the United States qualify to have at least one mental health issue, according to the National Education Association. This has created an emphasis on mental health resources throughout univer-
sities nationwide.
Hurley offers advice for any students who are hesitant to seek professional mental health.
“If you’re nervous about talking to a professional, that’s [TimelyCare’s] a good way to do it because you have control and it’s in your hand,” Hurley said. “It reduces the barriers for students [because] this is, for many, the first time they’re taking control over their health.”
Along with the improvements of TimelyCare, Pepperdine has introduced Narcan (naloxone) training for all RAs, Hurley said.
Narcan is an over-the-counter drug used to treat opioid overdoses rapidly. It clings to the opioid receptors in the brain and blocks the effects of opioids such as heroin, fentanyl and prescription painkillers. Pepperdine uses Narcan in a nasal spray form, although naloxone also comes as an injection.
“We’re doing it [Narcan training] because of fentanyl,” Hurley said. “We know that students might experiment, or they just might try something that they aren’t unaware of. And if you overdose on fentanyl, Narcan can save your life.”
College campuses have witnessed a significant rise in fentanyl overdoses in recent years, according to WBEZ Chicago. Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid and is often mixed into other drugs like cocaine, Adderall and counterfeit prescription pills, according to the DEA.
This has caused a sharp increase in unintentional overdoses among stu-
The Student Health Center (SHC) sits atop the Seaver Campus, adjacent to the CCB and Caruso School of Law. The SHC offers both mental and physical health resources, free of charge to students.
dents accidentally ingesting fentanyl. The pandemic worsened the opioid crisis, contributing to a rise in overdose deaths among young adults, particularly on college campuses, according to University Business.
Pepperdine’s initiative comes after the recent passing of the Campus Opioid Safety Act (Senate Bill (SB) 367), which came into effect Jan. 1. This law requires every public college campus in California to provide students with opioid overdose education during orientation and distribute federally approved overdose reversal drugs like naloxone.
The Narcan training, hosted at the L.A. County Public Health Center, was given to all resident advisors and any student leaders interested during the fall semester, Hurley said. Hurley explains that the overall goal of these new health advancements is to empower students.
“I think when we put resources in your hands… we want you to know you have a lot of great resources at your disposal,” Hurley said. “We want you to feel competent to use them.”
Photo by Mary Elisabeth | Photo Editor
The Nov. 13 preliminary hearing setting in the case of the fatal Oct. 2023 PCH crash took place at the Van Nuys Courthouse West. The court will reconvene Dec. 11.
Photo by Shalom Montgomery | Pixel Editor
Food Recovery Network serves community
Laury Li
Staff Artist & Design Assistant
On any given Tuesday evening at the Starbucks in Payson Library, students will wait at the counter, receiving bags of packaged pastries and sandwiches — all free of charge.
It is a part of the fight against wasting food and food insecurity at Pepperdine.
These students are members of the 7-year-old Food Recovery Network club, which rescues unconsumed food from events on campus and gives it to local nonprofits. Club President Belle Li said that they also collect unsold food items from Starbucks baristas every Tuesday and Thursday.
“One of my goals is to make sure every single person at Pepperdine knows the Food Recovery Network,” Li said. “So that anyone holding an event could think of the Food Recovery Network when there is extra food.”
Bon Appétit, Pepperdine’s dining service provider, also sends unsold food to a California-founded nonprofit, according to Business Services.
California Food-Recovery Mandate
Former Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1383, also known as the Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Reduction Strategy, into law in 2016.
Methane, a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere, is a significant shortlived climate pollutant. Landfill decomposition is its major contributor, according to NASA.
The bill requires businesses to recycle food scraps into compost and renewable energy. Jurisdictions across the state must reduce organic waste disposal by 75% and rescue 20% of surplus food by 2025, compared to the 2016 levels, according to CalRecycle.
“Compost should be one of the last things that we do,” said Chris Doran, a Religion and Sustainability professor. “It should not be one of the first things we do. We should want to get edible food to people’s mouths as quickly as possible and as much as possible.”
The bill requires food donors to recover the maximum amount of edible food that would otherwise go to waste. In 2023, local programs in California recovered over 217,000 tons of unsold food, according to CalRecycle.
The California government mandated that tier two commercial edible food generators — including large dining facilities over 250 seats — establish an edible food recovery program by Jan. 1, 2024. The Waves Café at Pepperdine has 600 seats.
Students Leading the Effort
In 2017, Pepperdine students founded a chapter for Food Recovery Network, a national nonprofit with hundreds of collegiate chapters dedicated to saving edible food that would otherwise go to waste.
Li joined the club in her first year to help her friend Noelle Alderton (‘24) who was the then-president trying to revive the club post-COVID. Li soon became deeply involved in managing the logistics and led food recovery abroad during her sophomore year in Buenos Aires.
“My passion is in social justice and climate justice,” Li said. “The reason why a lot of problems that we have now exist is because we also have social injustices. If you’re hurting people, you’re also hurting the environment.”
The club accepts recovery requests through an online form or direct contact with executive members, then dispatches volunteers based on availability. The student leading the recovery will pack the collected food into their own car, drive it to a food bank contact person and log the weight into a public spreadsheet, Li said.
The Food Recovery Network’s regular sources of food collection include admission events, New Student Orientation, Starbucks and end-of-semester food drives.
Starbucks Manager Chris Grandelli said he introduced training for regular collaboration with students after starting his role at Pepperdine. The
shift supervisor will set aside all items with end-of-day expirations and employees will pack the food in advance on collection days for the Food Recovery Network.
“All of the food that we carry, we only have for one to two days,” Grandelli said. “So after one to two days, we mark it expired, and it’s still very good, perfectly healthy to eat and everything. It’s just for quality standards and just to be on the safer-than-sorry side.”
To ensure food quality between Tuesdays and Thursdays, Starbucks employees sometimes bring items down to Waves Café’s freezer, Grandelli said. Bon Appétit manages both locations, according to the dining service’s website.
Grandelli said that before coming to the Pepperdine Starbucks, he worked at another coffee shop in Los Angeles, where he personally looked for locations seeking food donations.
“I’m really happy to have a group like Food Recovery Network on campus that can do this with us,” Grandelli said.
Malibu Volunteers Serve Saved Food
After food collection, Kay Gabbard is the club’s go-to contact, Li said. Gabbard is on the board of directors of the Malibu Community Assistance Resource Team (CART), a nonprofit offering various resources to the unhoused population.
Gabbard is also the board president of Malibu Community Labor Exchange and
works with the Malibu United Methodist Church. The three locations are primary destinations for student-collected food.
Lea Johnson, also director of CART, said the team stores food and cooks well-balanced hot meals throughout the week in the kitchen of Serra Retreat, a Roman Catholic retreat center in Malibu, to serve members in need at different locations.
“You do not have to be unhoused to come to our meal,” Gabbard said. “You just have to be hungry.”
Johnson said most members they serve are from the local community, but not all.
“I had one new person come last Tuesday from San Diego,” Johnson said. “And he said he walked on the beach. It took him two weeks to get to Malibu.”
The person always loved Malibu, Johnson said. He could not afford transportation or accommodation, so he slept on the beach during the nights.
Obstacles Limit Progress
Serving on a volunteer basis, CART and the Food Recovery Network at Pepperdine face similar challenges of lacking manpower.
“The bottom line in this country is that no one should go hungry,” Gabbard said. “But people do because there’s really not enough of a system yet to get all of that extra food to people. It’s very labor intensive, as you might imagine.”
Another hurdle for students is low visibility. Li said there are still plenty of potential food rescue opportunities since many departments were unaware of the club’s existence before she reached out.
Doran said one simple solution is having the department review event requests to add a checkbox in the approval process.
Doran believes fighting food waste and hunger should be a priority for a Christian university, given the significance of compassion and communion, but it isn’t yet a focus at Pepperdine.
Li said the Dining Services frustrated her because Food Recovery Network faced multiple pushbacks when reaching out for edible food collection or compost sources from Waves Café.
Bon Appétit’s Mission to Reduce Food Waste
Jennifer Freedman, director of Business Services, oversees third-party services on campus, such as Bon Appétit. Freedman said she is not familiar with the obstacles Li has faced, but the department is willing to help.
“If we can find ways to partner with our Food Recovery Network or our students, we want to learn, and we’re always open to that,” Freedman said.
Freedman said Bon Appétit has been an outstanding partner since they became Pepperdine’s dining service provider in 2022.
Freedman said their dining service partner commits to minimizing waste before, during and after food production.
Bon Appétit also has its established chain combating food waste. Vesta Foodservice, the dining service’s primary provider, collects unused food from Waves Café six days a week in refrigerated trucks when dropping off ingredients in the morning. Drivers then deliver rescued food to the food recovery nonprofit Chefs to End Hunger.
Freedman said Bon Appétit requested data on how much rescued food it has donated and is still waiting for responses from Vesta Foodservice and Chefs to End Hunger.
Bon Appétit’s on-site waste weighing and tracking system, Waste Not, is still under development. Freedman said the system is expected to start next year.
Li said it is difficult to recruit long-term club members because food recovery requires time and service commitment.
Photo by Laury Li | Staff Artist & Design Assistant
From left to right: Members of the Pepperdine Food Recovery Network — Abby Shannon, Swan Gerlach, Belle Li and Breanna Patterson — pose when collecting unsold food from Starbucks on Oct. 1. Items they collect from Starbucks often include sandwiches, pastries and protein boxes.
Weitzman: ‘Shoemaker for the stars’
Alicia Dofelmier News Assistant
Stuart Weitzman, the designer behind the brand Stuart Weitzman, visited Pepperdine on Nov. 4 to share his entrepreneurial story and the lessons he learned along the way.
Weitzman is the founder of the Stuart Weitzman brand, established in 1986. His shoes have been worn at many red carpet events by Aretha Franklin, Beyonce and Kate Middleton, Maile Hetherington, director of career opportunities, said.
Weitzman opened his speech by talking about the process of starting his own company and gave any audience members looking to start their own companies a valuable piece of advice.
“My number one piece of advice is to work somewhere else first,” Weitzman said. “The experience you get will be completely different from what you get in classrooms and in the outside world you have to know how to market yourself and make relationships with other people.”
He did not originally plan to get into shoes, Weitzman said. He attended the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania and had plans to work on Wall Street.
“One day a friend of mine said I should draw some shoes for his father because he’s a shoe maker who will buy freelance designs,” Weitzman said. “My friend knew I was artistic because I would paint the scenes for school shows and create scenery.”
He drew about 20 sketches and laid them out for his friend’s father, Weitzman said. My friend’s father mentioned that since he was in a medium-price range line, he would sometimes copy high-end designs and sell them.
He made $20 per sketch, Weitzman said. During the
course of a year, he sold over 3,000 sketches.
“That same summer in New York, I happened to look in a window of a big department store and saw my shoe,” Weitzman said. “The shoe had the name of the company that I had sold my sketches to. I was excited and continued to sell my sketches until I had enough money to get a job after college and eventually found my own business.”
When he first decided to start his own company, he already knew people in the industry because of having previous work experiences, Weitzman said.
“I looked for a niche in the footwear industry, something that wasn’t being done or wasn’t being done well,” Weitzman said. “That niche was making special shoes for celebrities. I even remember Vogue referring to me as a shoemaker for the stars.”
A favorite memory from the runway shoes he’s done over the years was when he created the million-dollar sandal at New York Fashion Week, Weitzman said.
“I created a shoe called the million-dollar sandal and that was exciting because no one had ever done anything like it,” Weitzman said. “It was used with an Armani dress, but the interviewers didn’t ask the model whose dress she was wearing, they just wanted to hear about the shoe.”
One of the key reasons his company took off is because he took risks, Weitzman said.
“The best companies in the world take risks,” Weitzman said. “If you can afford the loss, but see the chance of a great gain that’s when you take the risk.”
Another piece of advice Weitzman gave the audience was to be aware of your place when you begin something.
“When I started I knew I wasn’t as good a shoe maker as Prada and Gucci,” Weitzman
said. “I learned quickly that I needed help from others as I continued to grow my business.”
To be inspired, people need muses, Weitzman said.
“For example, I would think of what Jackie Kennedy or Audrey Hepburn would wear which was a sleek shoe that didn’t need a crazy high heel,” Weitzman said. “I would then design a bunch of shoes and the ones I could circle that I knew they would’ve worn is what I knew would become popular.”
There are many different and wonderful ways to be inspired, Weitzman said.
“I didn’t want to follow a tried and true way so I looked outside of the industry I was in,” Weitzman said. “I looked at the gladiator style of shoe from the Roman Era, made it and had Kate Moss model it. The shoe took off and became extremely popular.”
An important lesson he’s learned is that if someone thinks they have a great idea, they need to find a way to implement it, Weitzman said. If the first way doesn’t work, then find a new way.
“I had an issue because celebrities were wearing my shoes at awards shows, but not in
the daytime,” Weitzman said. “I thought to go after Jennifer Aniston because of how popular she was but at the time she only bought her shoes at Scoop. So, I made a deal with Scoop’s owner to get my shoes in their store.”
When Aniston saw Weitzman’s espadrille shoe at Scoop, she fell in love, Weitzman said. That shoe became the shoe of the year in 2009.
He said another lesson that’s been important for him is that once you become successful to look for ways to become part of a community and give back.
“We decided to do this in our business and I asked all the celebrities that I had designed shoes for make a work of art with a blank, white Weitzman shoe,” Weitzman said. “We auctioned off all those shoes and made a lot of money.”
Many of those celebrities also called our office wanting to know how much money their shoe made because of how proud they were of their work, Weitzman said.
Weitzman ended his story with a personal anecdote.
At one point, he was dating this woman and on their way to a movie date, she asked where they were going as a couple, Weitzman said. Caught off
guard, he asked for a few days to come up with an answer.
“A few days later we attended this party together and I had asked for a swatch of fabric from her dress so I could make her a pair of shoes,” Weitzman said.
Those shoes had an engraving that read they were for Mrs. Stuart Weitzman, Weitzman said.
“She initially didn’t notice as she was unwrapping the shoes, but when she did, she teared up and jokingly asked if it meant she wasn’t getting a ring,” Weitzman said. “We’ve been married for 57 years. She got the shoes, she got the ring and you got my story.”
Photo by Alicia Dofelmier | News Assistant
Stuart Weitzman talks about his shoemaking journey Nov. 4 in Payson Library. Weitzman talked about his career highlights, shared advice that was helpful throughout his career and mentioned memorbable celebrities that he had worked with.
Photo courtesy of Stuart Weitzman.com
Stuart Weitzman made many shoe styles popular, such as Espadrilles shown here.
Gender gap persists in Seaver Business Division
Henry Adams Assistant Life & Arts Editor
Pepperdine’s Seaver College is a female-dominated school, but the opposite is true in its Business Administration Division.
Between 2019 and 2024, men accounted for about 60% of Pepperdine’s Business majors, despite women accounting for roughly 60% of all Seaver College undergraduates, according to data from the Office of Institutional Effectiveness (OIE). In 2024, more than one-third of all undergraduate men were studying within the Business Administration Division, compared to just under 20% of women.
“Now that I’m in my upper-divs, I’m maybe like one of three girls in a class, one of two girls in a class,” senior Finance major Zara Raza said.
Numerous factors, including gender norms, likely deter Pepperdine women from choosing Business majors, according to Sociology Professor Anna Penner, who studies gender. The gender divide can have self-perpetuating ripple effects throughout the careers of women who choose to persevere in the field.
Why Students Study Business
Regardless of gender, students tend to choose Business majors because of the broad career opportunities available, said Jake Moonen, a OneStop academic advisor who specializes in the Business Administration Division.
“I wanted a lot of different opportunities and different pathways that I could choose to go down for my job,” Steele Luoma, a senior Business Administration major, said. “So I guess that’s how I ended up choosing Business.”
Christine Espinoza, a senior Business Administration
major, said she chose the major for reasons similar to Luoma’s.
“I didn’t have any set career path laid out for me,” Espinoza said. “So I just figured I’d do something where I learned valuable knowledge that could be applied anywhere, versus something that was industry-specific.”
The “infinite potential” for making money attracts students to the Business majors, Moonen said.
The average wage for Americans working in business and financial operations occupations was $90,580, according to May 2023 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Business Gender Gap Persists at Pepperdine
A multitude of factors could explain this disparity between men and women in the Business Administration Division, such as family influences, gender socialization and patriarchal family structures, Penner said.
“Within the family context, we think of expressive roles and instrumental roles,” Penner said. “Expressive roles have traditionally been held by women, where they’re providing care and nurture, whereas instrumental roles in the family context are traditionally masculine roles where you’re bringing home the bacon, you’re mowing the lawn. There’s not any, like, expressive emotional component to it.”
Several students interviewed for this article pointed to their same-gender parent’s career path as a major influence on their choice to study a Business major.
“If [my dad] could switch [to business] and find something that he wanted to do in it, I feel like, even though I don’t know what I wanna do, there’s gonna be something that’s gonna be available to me,” Jojo Inouye, a senior Business Administration major, said. This influence can be strong
even when it runs against historical gender role narratives.
“My mom is a businesswoman,” Espinoza said. “I think that’s the biggest reason I did it.”
Espinoza said she still primarily associated the business career path with men due to its historical male-domination.
Junior Accounting major Chinatsu Kaneko, who also saw business as male-dominated, remained optimistic about the future.
“I think it’s getting better,” Kaneko said. “But still, I feel like I see more male students in Business majors.”
The gender gap in Pepperdine’s Business Administration Division has slowly dropped since 2021, with women comprising nearly 44% of the division’s students, according to the OIE.
In 2024, the Religion and Philosophy Division was the only other male-dominated division in Seaver College, according to the OIE. Just over 55% of the student population are men. Historically, Pepperdine’s Churches of Christ tradition did not allow women to serve as ministers, according to previous Graphic reporting. There are only four women faculty, out of 23 total, in the Religion and Philosophy Division.
Just over 55% of Business Administration Division faculty are men, according to Pepperdine’s business faculty webpage. Divisional Dean Regan Schaffer, the first woman to hold the position, declined to comment for this article.
Why the Majors Are MaleDominated
At Pepperdine, the Finance and Accounting majors are notably male-dominated. In 2024, women comprised less than 32% of Finance majors and less than 46% of Accounting majors according to the OIE.
This trend might be caused by the widespread myth that women are inferior at math, Penner said. Women tend to be
less confident in their quantitative skills compared to men, according to a 2015 Southwestern Oklahoma State University study.
“When you see that socialized into children over time, it makes sense that boys are going to enter fields where they’re using more math, they’re using more analytical frameworks,” Penner said.
Men also tend to over-persist compared to women in math-heavy college courses, despite initial failures, according to a 2019 Sage Journals study.
“When we think of, like, men in accounting classes, maybe they’re not doing great, but they’re just so locked in that, ‘This is what I have to do,’ whereas women are like, ‘Never mind, why would I bother?’” Penner said.
How the Gender Gap Affects Students
There are increasingly more women-owned businesses in the U.S., according to the inaugural 2024 Wells Fargo Impact of Women-Owned Businesses report. The gap in business has some adverse effects at the college-level, but these are difficult to measure at Pepperdine. Some female Business majors said they felt intimidated by the surplus of men, particularly in upper-division courses.
“It just forces you to put yourself out there, regardless if you’re the only person in the room who’s different,” Raza said.
Penner said men may overestimate their competence as a result of gender disparity in the classroom. This translates to the workplace, where women who are just as capable — even better performing — compared to men, yet tend to be more slowly promoted, according to a 2022 MIT Sloan study.
The gender wage gap, in which women are paid a smaller proportion than men their age, is another consequence of gender disparity in the workplace, according to a 2023 Pew Research Center study.
Some female Business majors said they worried about their work environments post-graduation.
“There are many horror stories out there of women who’ve been overlooked or have experienced under par working conditions in the industry,” Raza said. “It also does feel like I’m a bit of a step back because of how the patriarchy has been set up.”
Kaneko, a Japanese international student who hopes to work at a Big Four accounting firm one day, said her mother had been mistreated while working as an investment banker.
“My mom had to quit because the culture was just not open for married women,” Kaneko said. “I think that sucks.”
But several women remained steadfast, despite their concerns.
“I think it more so has to do with knowing yourself, and knowing your values and sticking to them,” Raza said, “And not letting anyone walk all over you and being a self advocate.”
Penner said everyone benefits from having women in the business world.
“Because men and women are socialized differently, they have different ways of viewing the world,” Penner said. “And I think making sure there’s a lot of viewpoints is actually beneficial for workplaces and solving problems.”
Infographic by Henry Adams | Assistant Life & Arts Editor
Photo by Henry Adams | Assistant Life & Arts Editor
Students sit in Professor Rodney Ndum’s investments class Oct. 21. This semester, Ndum’s class consists of four times as many men as women
PERSPECTIVES
subtle and simple decoration, the holiday spirit is oh so there.
Editor’s Note: PGM staff members decide on the topic of a staff ed together. The staff as a whole provides opinions and content included in this staff ed to provide thoughts about and shed light on solutions for happenings at Pepperdine.
Dear Pepperdine community,
Beyond the Thanksgiving turkey, the Christmas songs and the New Year’s kiss, the holiday season means something different for everyone.
Maybe, for some, it is sweet nostalgia, reconnecting with family, sharing a meal and laughing over the sound of wrapping paper destruction. Or maybe it is arguing over the pronunciation of poinsettia and whether “Die Hard” and “The Sound of Music” are considered Christmas movies.
Perhaps the memories are warm and bright, maybe they come with some grief and loneliness, or maybe they are just complicated. Regardless, when the air gets a little crisper and the layers get thicker, we know there is something to celebrate.
When the cobwebs come down and the jack-o-lanterns reach their expiration date, we know mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce are not too far away. We know school is reaching its close for the semester and soon we will be able to spend all day watching
Christmas movies and playing cards with our favorite cousin.
Nothing is as beautiful as coming together, spending time with family and friends and participating in those old family traditions. From Sunday night football, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest,” the list goes on and on.
Picture a timeline of your holiday season. Imagine your younger self participating in the traditions created by your grandparent’s parents. Whether it’s decorating cookies with “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” in the background, or all gathered around the table playing a (very) niche family game, these traditions transcend through time.
It’s easy to find joy in it all as a 5-year-old, just as it is at 17 and at 23 all the way through the end of time. Traditions solidify the beauty and uniqueness of family.
The holiday season has such a niche way of bringing families together. For some, being outof-state has bloomed an interesting feeling of homesickness and a strong yearning for home. For others, participating in their special family holiday traditions and being surrounded by loved ones is the one thing keeping them motivated for the semester.
Our family’s love truly shines in the warmth and magic of the holiday season.
No matter your feelings about the holiday season, we encourage you to put down the burden of this semester, which has been a semester of triumph and loss, dancing and mourning, happiness and emptiness, and enjoy the blissfulness of this season.
The beauty of traditions is although they might be repetitive, they never get old. There is always something new and fresh that manifests each year.
One of the most timeless holiday traditions is looking at Christmas lights — walking or driving through different neighborhoods and marveling (or heckling) the decorations.
Whether it’s an extravagant set-up, decked out in countless lights and inflatables, or a more
Enjoy the cold air, enjoy the warm hot chocolate, enjoy the silly family games, enjoy the football, enjoy the joy.
Art by Sarah Rietz | Art Editor
Graphic Staff
Pepperdine’s workers are role models of service
Eliot Cox Perspectives Assistant
Transparency Item: The Perspectives section of the Graphic is comprised of articles based on opinion. This is the opinion and perspective of the writer.
Like many students, throughout my years at Pepperdine I have found the secret to academic success to be chicken tenders. So, with a craving, I went to the HAWC but unfortunately got overcharged.
Months later, the mistake was remedied. The cooks there, though inundated with the late-night traffic of firstyears, recognized and remembered the error, and offered me a bag of cookies.
Thank you, HAWC cooks, for staying up and providing our midnight snacks.
Bon Appétit runs an extensive operation to fill our three different cafeterias, Starbucks and the HAWC with food every day. Everyone from the truck drivers to the cooks to the
cashiers deserve so much praise for working long hours and allowing the campus to eat and therefore function.
Thank you, cafeteria staff, for patiently serving our long lines.
Pepperdine’s rotation of shuttle drivers circle campus for around 15 hours every day. Despite driving being very tiring — especially for long periods of time — they remain kind and good-spirited.
Thank you, shuttle drivers, for taking us up those darn hills.
Construction is annoying, especially when it drastically limits parking and rattles our dorm rooms. But we should never forget that construction is being done by numerous workers who, in the heat of the day, are working tirelessly to meet their strict deadlines.
Thank you, construction workers, for building this school’s future.
Pepperdine has one of the most beautiful college campuses in the United States, both due its location and facilities. But whether it is our fields or hillsides, they are well kept by wonderful facilities staff.
Thank you, facilities staff, for all the
beautiful flowers.
Pepperdine’s mission statement places importance on developing students in three different areas: purpose, service and leadership. In my mind, the university’s many workers exemplify what it means to serve.
To be a servant is to help — to go about your responsibilities with a spirit of generosity and kindness. Such a spirit is modeled when the HAWC cooks remember our names or when the shuttle drivers accommodate their passengers.
In so many ways, this campus is sustained by the hard work of individuals who often, unfortunately, go completely unnoticed.
The hours our staff must work to
sustain this campus in the background should be one of many reasons we students remain motivated to spend our time wisely at Pepperdine. Though it is their job, people sacrifice their grueling hours and work hard for our sake.
That is true of everyone, from the people who keep our lawns green to those who gather our trash. Every one of them deserves our utmost respect and gratitude.
A university is a place of teaching and learning. So thank you, Pepperdine workers, for teaching us how to be servants.
eliot.cox@pepperdine.edu
Think less when making decisions
Caitlin Murray Assistant Perspectives Editor
Transparency Item: The Perspectives section of the Graphic is comprised of articles based on opinion. This is the opinion and perspective of the writer.
Recently, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, “No Stupid Questions,” when a sentence stopped me in my tracks. In episode 209, Host Mike Maughan paraphrased Ellen Langer, social and clinical psychologist: “Rather than spending so much time trying to make the right decision, just make the decision right.”
I am guilty of spending too much time making a choice that provides me minimal benefit. I, like many others, struggle with crippling indecisiveness.
I am indecisive because I care about making the best decision. As an economics major, I think a lot about opportunity cost. In an article by The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Andrea Caceres-Santamaria, senior economic education specialist, defines opportunity cost as, “the value of the next-best alternative when a decision is made; it’s what is given up.”
At least from an economics perspective, I lose something every time I make a decision, but I desperately want to maximize my decisions. I waste a lot of time trying to make choices when I could be using my time and energy (scarce resources) to make my decision most effective, as Maughan suggests.
Of course, quick decision-making comes with
some caveats. Depending on the situation, thinking through a decision could save a significant amount of time and energy.
However, thinking through a decision is not most efficient when paired with extreme indecisiveness. For example, relatively unimportant tasks such as choosing what to eat for dinner are not worth fifteen minutes of decision-making.
The things I accomplish during the time I woulhave spent making the decision are more valuable than the decision I would have come to.
Making a decision and sticking to it can evoke feelings of empowerment, confidence and agency.
Rather than predicting what will happen if you make a certain decision, focus on the actions you will take to attain your desired outcome. Decisiveness gives a sense of control over a situation.
Our desire to make the best decision becomes especially trivial when we question if there ever is a definitive right decision. If such a thing does not exist, why would we bother striving for it?
In The Harvard Business Review, Senior Leader Coach Ed Batista suggests, “Merely selecting the ‘best’ option doesn’t guarantee that things will turn out well in the long run, just as making a sub-optimal choice doesn’t doom us to failure or unhappiness. It’s what happens next (and in the days, months and years that follow) that ultimately determines whether a given decision was ‘right.’”
Given this principle, Batista advises to simply make a “good decision” instead of the “right decision.”
Art by Sophia Luo | Staff Artist
Rather than striving for an unattainable best choice, we should make consistently good decisions.
Many good decisions can make more impact than one great, or even right (if such a thing exists) decision. Additionally, we must accept that sometimes there are factors outside of our control that will influence an outcome.
Given this uncertainty, it is best to make good decisions right rather than waste time trying to make the right decision.
Art by Cara Tang | Staff Artist
Art by Sophia Luo | Staff Artist
Weekly episodic releases are best model for any show
Christy Thien Perspectives Staff Writer
There’s a show on Amazon Prime that I have been watching, an animated superhero adventure called “Invincible.”
I adored the first season of the show that aired back in 2021 and eagerly awaited the second season, which was set to release in late 2023. The community was huge, and the social media presence of the show had been at an all-time high.
Then the show-runners announced that the last four episodes would be released early next year in 2024. I remember watching people on social media go into shock and some decided to drop the show right then and there.
Barely anyone talked about the last four episodes on social media when they were eventually released in early 2024. I can recall seeing everyone move on so suddenly and that’s when I thought about how release models have changed since streaming services stole the spotlight. Streaming services have taken over television these days, and with them comes a lot of changes in release models.
Netflix released “Stranger Things” season three in two separate parts and released all 10 episodes of “Beef” at once in 2023. These shifting release models can likely be attributed to COVID, which encouraged us all to stay in and binge instead of waiting for episodes after a long day outside. However, there are some shows such as “The Boys” that have stuck to the weekly episode release model. From these new binge models came the debate:
Which release model is better? Is one superior to another?
There’s merit to all three kinds of release models — from releasing episodes of a season weekly to dropping one whole season altogether to putting out two parts of a season with a long break in between. Releasing a season all at once is good for binge-watchers who hate waiting for new episodes each week, especially on streaming services.
On the other hand, releasing in separate parts helps to preserve the show’s hype after a long wait. Weekly episodes are much easier to catch up on than full seasons and they create a steady stream of content over a month or so, therefore it has longer staying power.
But, there are also many flaws to every release model. Having a season go out all at once means that it will have less staying power in the cultural zeitgeist. Discussion will likely halt after a week or so and hype will die down as quickly as it came.
Episodic series “generate 33% more engagement during their release window than those released all at once — and sustain that engagement for nearly 50% longer than their binge counterparts,” according to a Sept. LA Times article titled “Weekly episode drops are better than a binge. And there’s data to back it up.” Series with weekly episodes have longer staying power both during and after the season ends.
For instance, Amazon Prime released the first season of “The Boys” as a binge release in 2019 and transitioned into a weekly episodic release
for their next seasons. It debuted as the 57th most in-demand series before exploding in popularity later on, sitting as the 4th most popular show on Amazon Prime.
“The Boys” has consistently been climbing in viewership until their recent season exploded in popularity, garnering 55 million viewers globally according to Amazon Prime. It currently ranks as the 21st most popular show online according to Television Stats, a high placement when considering the last episode of the most recent season aired in July.
From these new binge models came the debate: Which release model is better? Is one superior to another?
Christy Thien Perspectives Staff Writer
In comparison, “Beef” is ranked as the 227th most popular show online and was the 36th most popular show on Netflix according to Television Stats. It has a low engagement score of 2.7, which measures website traffic, social media activity and torrent data.
Releasing in two parts with a few months in between will lose some of the audience’s attention since many may not remember what happened in the first half and will not bother to rewatch or watch the second half. Weekly episodes mean that binge-watch-
Alyssa Johnson Perspectives Assistant Hospitality
Looks Different For Everyone
Hey Waves,
Growing up, I always associated hospitality with grand, elaborate gestures. The word “hospitality” was, in my mind, directly related to a person's ability to throw a good party.
ers will have to wait and they may lose patience over time.
One example of this release model’s failure is shown through the show “You” and its latest season. While the first three seasons of the show were dropped all at once, the fourth season was dropped in two separate parts with a month in between. Part two of the program’s fourth season “dropped 12% in viewership,” according to a May 2024 article on Feature First.
Out of all of these models, weekly episodic releases have the least drawbacks for both consumers and studios alike as it has both consistent staying power and is easier to catch up on than full season or two-part releases.
While binge-watchers might get impatient, I think that there is still a larger audience with less leisure time who would rather watch an episode a week. They might prefer keeping up with the overall conversation surrounding their favorite series rather than choose to watch a full season all at once or wait for a part two to drop.
It’s both beneficial to the consumer and the studio to have weekly episode releases rather than let a show have a one-off release or release it in two parts, losing a large part of the audience or letting it become forgotten in the mainstream.
Because I am fairly reserved, not one for parties and a little unenthusiastic in general, I have never considered myself a hospitable person. Politeness and compassion have always been important to me, but more overt gestures of love are more difficult.
However, I have recently begun to notice hospitality from loved ones that doesn’t look like the traditional image I’ve always experienced. Generosity does not always come in the form of something tangible.
When I was young, I had trouble making eye contact and speaking clearly and my mother was very persistent in helping me make others feel acknowledged.
She would have me practice wishing passersby a good morning as we walked somewhere, and in the ways that I can, I have taken her advice to heart. While I still find eye contact difficult, I always try to smile at people and let them know I’m glad to see them and I’m glad they’re alive.
It is cliché to recommend random acts of kindness, but I think it is important to take into account what kindness looks like on an individual level.
Some people may use gifts and compliments to make others feel loved, while others involve themselves in community service.
Sometimes all a person can do is hold the door for somebody else. All acts of generosity are valuable.
Hospitality is the simple acknowledgment of other people’s humanity and that acknowledgment goes beyond kindness. It can be creative and unconventional, and sometimes it looks like tough love, vulnerability with others or the courage to ask questions.
Many people, neighbors and strangers alike, are living in difficult times. Now especially, it is imperative that the human family leans into its better instincts.
Send your questions to PGM via email: peppgraphicmedia@gmail.com
Borderline and Woolsey will never be forgotten
Eliot Cox Perspectives Assistant
Transparency Item: This is a personal essay written by a current student who was a member of various communities affected by both the Woolsey Fire and the Borderline Shooting. This is the personal experience, opinion and perspective of the writer.
Iam going to try to explain what happened that night six years ago in the way only a 15-yearold teenager, lounging on a couch next to his father, could. That is where I was when I first heard the sirens on Nov. 7.
At that point in 2018, my father had worked at Pepperdine for 13 years and my family had lived in Newbury Park for 8.
The next morning, when I woke up, my parents were standing above me. They told me there had been a shooting at the nearby Borderline Bar and Grill.
Thirteen people died that night.
One of those who had passed away was a first-year student at Pepperdine, Alaina Housley. Her loss sent our university into spiraling despair and confusion — it wasn’t something one could make any sense of.
Alaina was not alone that night —
16 Pepperdine students were there, according to an emergency report. I need to continue to pray for them since I could never understand the pain they suffered that day.
My parents went to campus for the remembrance ceremonies. That semester, as well, my brother was a fourthyear and a Spiritual Life Advisor in Fifield.
But I stayed behind, having gone to a procession earlier for Sergeant Ron Helus, a police officer who had lost his life trying to save the Borderline patrons the night before.
In the middle of the day, I stepped into our kitchen and noticed, at once, the orange glow cast from the window. I recognized its source immediately since sunlight turns sickly when the beams passed through a cloud of smoke.
I went to the backyard and stared into the distance. A mile from my home, the hills were on fire.
Before dawn, my family was evacuated. We made it to safety and watched on the news as Woolsey burned its way to the coast.
My parents and I watched as the Woolsey fire surrounded Pepperdine’s campus, where my brother was. We knew they were safe, but the newsfeed of black clouds slowly engulfing the hills above Drescher cannot be forgot-
ten.Very well, they shouldn’t be.
A 15-year-old had no way to express anger or confusion at a God who failed to control what happened to so many innocent people.
This campus will always bear deep scars from 2018. The weight of tragedies defines those who hold it. We see the world in light of what Borderline and Woolsey burned away.
I tell the story, again, of Borderline and Woolsey not to dig into wounds that never really healed, but, rather, to say that even though I can’t give reasons for what happened, I can tell what I know to be the true story.
The true story is about students, who in the middle of hell, did everything they could to help get their peers to safety.
The true story is a community
lining up on the side of a street and honoring a man who gave his life for others.
The true story is students singing “Don’t Stop Believin’” in the cafeteria as Malibu burned around them. Pepperdine, pressed from every side, was unbroken.
We didn’t have the luxury of giving up. It wasn’t and it isn’t an option, because hope and bravery and love are all we have in the darkest moments.
As we remember the pain, or try to understand the pain of others, we need also to remember that we’re here because people fought and cared for us.
eliot.cox@pepperdine.edu
Change can be embraced, good or bad
Alyssa Johnson Perspectives Assistant
Transparency Item: The Perspectives section of the Graphic is comprised of articles based on opinion. This is the opinion and perspective of the writer.
Igenerally consider myself a creature of habit and routine, and I invariably prefer stability over frequent change. I’ve met people who love moving from place to place, meeting new people wherever they go, and I often wonder if they are constantly nervous.
I gravitate toward people and places that are constants in my life. I am not easily bored, and I find it difficult to imagine life without the familiar.
But it is inevitable that one day I will be living without familiar people and places. If I live long enough, there will come a point when almost everything has changed, and very little of what used to construct my world will remain.
The idea that “nothing is promised” is a tired turn of phrase, but I think it’s stated so often because it’s true. When anything can happen at any time, stability is delicate where it exists at all.
Though change is unavoidable, I try to avoid it when I can’t ignore it. When I look back at transition periods of my life, I remember feeling very neutral and brushing off opportunities for sentimentality, sadness or celebration.
In my efforts to attain a sense of control and constancy, I think I have somewhat missed out on important moments in life. The ability to embrace change, whether it is hated or appreciated, could be helpful for enhancing the full range of experiences.
Change is closely related to mortality, and I think for this reason it can be unpleasant for a lot of people. As a person gets older, grief becomes a stronger and stronger element of life, and the fragility of everything is made painfully obvious.
Close friends move to different states, careers shift, family members die and the landscape of the world goes through a thousand upheavals. Some of these developments are gradual and others are sudden, but they are subtle reminders that humanity is bound to unpredictable outcomes.
Grief is traditionally framed in relation to the death of loved ones, but a form of it also occurs with the passing of anything well-loved or important. With changes, big or small, people experience a different kind of grief that only piles on as the years go by.
But grief is also a reminder of joy, love and the irreplaceable value of relationships and memories. It is painful, but it ultimately originates from a lot of good.
Change is far from a generally negative or difficult thing. Change very often brings improvement, and without it, I never would’ve met some of my closest friends — I wouldn’t be the person I am right now. Change also affords me the ability to vote and
attend college as a woman. The present moment can be just as turbulent and difficult for people as the uncertain future seems, and if humanity does not push for a different world, injustice and suffering will be constant.
As people get older, one’s life is not doomed to be characterized by death and perpetual mourning. It is also the case that many people change for the better, develop their strengths, move past tragedy and nurture new relationships as time goes on.
I was reminded of these possibilities when I read the screenplay for “Up” in a screenwriting class a few years back. This movie follows Carl Fredricksen, voiced by Edward Asner, who pushes everything and everyone away after the death of his wife, and his only purpose seems to be waiting for his own demise.
Throughout a bizarre adventure with young boy Russell, a talking dog and a giant bird, the curmudgeonly protagonist learns to care about something outside of himself and the house he’s tried desperately to preserve. In the process, he learns to let go of his grief and live a fulfilling life again.
Mr. Fredricksen reminds me a little of my grandfather, who lived his last years in a kind of desolate trailer park, and who really didn’t need much besides his books and his cat. I’m almost a similar way, low-maintenance and yet high-maintenance, independent and yet resistant to anything that breaks my small routines.
However, the ability to embrace the dark side of change might enhance the ability to appreciate its beautiful qualities. Lately, I have tried to let go of my tendency to mute the ways that new situations affect me.
While I feel grief more keenly, I also feel gratitude, joy and admiration more easily than before. It is not easy, but so far it has proved worthwhile.
Art by Sophia Luo | Staff Artist
Art by Sarah Rietz | Art Editor
LIFE & ARTS
‘9 to 5 The Musical’ delivers comedy, empowerment
Amanda Monahan Life & Arts Editor
Tumble out of bed and stumble to Smothers Theatre to see Pepperdine’s production of “9 to 5 The Musical,” packed with laughter and iconic hits from Dolly Parton.
The Pepperdine Theatre and Music Department’s production of the classic show opens Friday, Nov. 15 in Smothers Theatre at 7:30 p.m.
The show is directed and choreographed by Kelly Todd, assistant instructor of Theatre, Musical Theatre emphasis coordinator and Theatre Department coordinator. Todd said the department’s season is chosen by the entire theatre faculty, three student representatives and staff input from the Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts.
“9 to 5 The Musical” is set in the 1970s, featuring music and lyrics written by the legendary Dolly Parton.
“The story follows three secretaries as they get revenge on their terrible boss and change the culture of their workplace while learning to love one another and lean into their personal strength,” Todd said.
Junior Zoe O’Donnell leads the show as Violet Newstead. After being rejected for a promotion at her job after working there for so long, Violet meets two new friends: Doralee Rhodes, played by junior Lucy Schene and Judy Bernly, played by junior Tessa Hemphill. The three described the story as three women lifting each other up as they battle gender issues in the 1970s.
“It’s kind of sending that message that women have the ability to make change, and the change is always possible,” Hemphill said. “And I think that’s something that a lot of people would like to hear.”
In addition to the important themes within the show,
Hemphill described many of the scenes as “hilarious.” All three leads said the show is filled with fun music and comedic scenes.
Schene said playing a role originally played by Dolly Parton is exciting, but knows she has big shoes to fill.
“I’ve never played such an iconic role where people are walking in and expecting to see Dolly Parton,” Schene said. “I definitely, you know, didn’t want to imitate Dolly Parton, but I wanted to emulate her.”
Auditions for “9 to 5 The Musical” took place during the first week of school, and the leads said the entire cast has been working tirelessly since then to perfect all aspects of the show. Schene said they rehearse for four hours a night, six days a week, with Sundays as their only day off. As they have now been leading up to opening night, they have been rehearsing on Sundays as well.
Not only does the cast have to focus on getting their lines, choreography and musical numbers down, but they also do all the behind-the-scenes work as well — they spend a good chunk of their time building and painting the sets and crafting their costumes.
Since the cast were only recently able to rehearse inside the theater, they could finally add in props, costume pieces, lights, sound and projections. Hemphill said they are moving along steadily as they overcome this hurdle.
O’Donnell said she believes the show possesses timely, important messages about women that everyone deserves to hear.
“Especially now, it’s a great message to show women are capable of way more than society expects them to be,” O’Donnell said. “They can be mothers, they can be CEOs and they can also be sexy and smart and they can also be hardworking and single.”
Furthering these sentiments, O’Donnell said this message can extend beyond the issues of femininity seen today.
“I feel like especially now, it’s hitting very hard with the amount of work that us as women do and how sometimes that doesn’t get seen,” O’Donnell said.
It’s kind of sending that message that women have the ability to make change, and the change is always possible.
Tessa Hemphill as Judy Bernly
Schene said everyone who can should come see the show and enjoy its powerful messages, fun musical numbers and hilarious dialogue. Despite being set in the 1970s, it shows these issues are not rare or restricted only to the past.
“I’m proud of Pepperdine for putting on this production,” Schene said. “I think it is the most important story that we could be telling right now, and it’s not an easy story to tell.”
Todd said “9 to 5 The Musical” is based on an iconic film, which brings loads of fun to any audience. She recommends everyone come see the show for a variety of reasons.
“I hope they leave feeling more connected to their neighbor, their community and to the arts,” Todd said.
The show will run until Nov. 23 in Smothers Theatre. Tickets cost $23 for the public and $10 for students, faculty and staff.
Students perform during the “9 to 5 The Musical” dress rehearsal Nov. 12. The show features three female leads: Zoe O’Donnell, Lucy Schene and Tessa Hemphill.
Photos by Mary Elisabeth | Photo Editor
Students share mixed reactions to reboots of childhood shows
Viviana Diaz Life & Arts Staff Writer
Childhood shows can leave impressions on student lives due to their plots, characters and nostalgia. However, sometimes there are a mix of opinions on whether or not a reboot should even be made after an iconic first show.
For several years, reboot shows have been released for popular childhood shows including: “iCarly”, “Fuller House”, “Zoey 102” and most recently “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place”.
Sophomore Karson Wright said watching the reboot of “iCarly” was a special moment for her and her little brother because they first bingewatched the original show together.
“Every single night we would watch the reboot until I left to come back to Pepperdine, and it was a really bonding experience,” Wright said.
“iCarly”
The “iCarly” reboot debuted in June 2021 on Paramount+ with Miranda Cosgrove’s character, Carly Shay, living with a roommate after graduating college and navigating her adult life.
Wright said when watching the
reboot, she noticed various pros and cons when considering the target audience.
“It’s not necessarily focused for children anymore,” Wright said. “It’s definitely more of an adult show.”
Wright said she enjoyed the reboot, but addressed the complications when one focuses on who the show is intended for.
“I think it’s a good concept; it just becomes a little tricky when there’s a different target audience,” Wright said.
Wright said she admired that the reboot kept important aspects of the original, such as keeping some of the main characters.
Wright said she is in favor of reboot shows because they can revive the original and bring new additions.
“I think it can be a good way so you don’t keep rewatching the show over and over again,” Wright said. “It definitely brings in some new ideas, fresh episodes.”
“Fuller House”
Junior Abby Ballhagen said she watched “Fuller House” because she always turned on “Full House” as a kid.
“Fuller House” came out in 2016 on Netflix, following D.J. Fuller as she rais-
es her three sons alongside her sister, Stephanie and her best friend, Kimmy, in her childhood home.
Ballhagen said she appreciated that the reboot kept the same characters as the first show, like D.J. and Stephanie.
“I like that they kept the same personalities they had before,” Ballhagen said. “Even the parents seemed very accurate to how they were.”
Ballhagen described herself as anti-reboot because it can be difficult to make a second show better than the first.
“I feel like it’s very difficult to replicate a show so it’s still authentic,” Ballhagen said. “I don’t think I’ve seen a lot of reboots that have really been as great as the original.”
“Zoey 102”
Junior Harmony Houston said she watched the “Zoey 101” reboot: “Zoey 102”. She said she enjoyed the show, but it was very different than the first as far as crucial elements.
In 2023, “Zoey 102” premiered on Paramount+ following lead character Zoey Brooks and the Pacific Coast Academy alumni as they reunite for a friend’s wedding.
Houston said she feels positively
by Sarah Rietz | Art Editor
about reboots because their executions could be successful.
“I think I like reboots, but I think they can also do them a specific way where it’s engaging with the people who watched it when they were younger,” Houston said.
“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”
Sophomore Sophia Lee said she watched some of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” because she has always been a fan of the original Disney Channel movies. She said she enjoyed the show because it brought new ideas.
“It was a creative take on the original movies, so it was interesting in a way,” Lee said. “The songs are pretty good from Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo.”
Lee said the only thing she didn’t like about the show was that the plot was predictable. However, she said she is pro-reboot because it gives original shows a way to expand creatively.
“I think it’s cool to have a creative take on original things,” Lee said.
viviana.diaz@pepperdine.edu
Students eager for Thanksgiving traditions
Amanda Monahan Life & Arts Editor
As fall ends and many await the arrival of the Christmas season, Thanksgiving will approach at the end of the month.
Though many skip over Thanksgiving customs and fast forward to celebrating Christmas early, students said going home to Thanksgiving traditions is a fun way to ring in the holiday season.
Senior Caroline Graham said Thanksgiving is a huge holiday in her family. Each year, 40 guests arrive at her family’s home in the suburbs of Philadelphia. She said she looks forward to this while still in Malibu, as it can be hard to get into the holiday spirit.
“At home, the leaves change colors and it’s a lot colder and cozier — we have a wood-burning fireplace and my mom decorates the house and everything,” Graham said. “Here it just feels like summer all the way until winter break.”
Though there aren’t as many guests at his family’s dinner, sophomore Don Mario Davis said he enjoys the holiday because it brings his family together.
“I get to spend time with family — usually distant family I don’t get to see too often,” Davis said.
Since the holiday is a big ordeal in Graham’s family, a lot of preparation must go into it. She said her family moves all their furniture out of their liv-
ing room in order to set up tables and chairs. Yet, which chair a guest gets to sit in means more than just a seat, she said.
“We have this tradition where the closer to the head of the dining room table you are, the higher you’re valued in our family,” Graham said. “So everybody wants to move up closer. If you do something that makes people mad during the year, you’ll get moved closer to the entryway.”
Each year, Graham said the guests consist of her extended family, including her many cousins. This year, a special guest will be joining the table.
“This year, my boyfriend’s coming from Dallas, which should be interesting because that’s a big [football] rivalry,” Graham said. “Definitely don’t think he knows what he’s getting himself into, but it’ll be really good.”
Graham said football is also a big thing in her family every fall — everyone is a big Philadelphia Eagles fan. She said she has been preparing her boyfriend for the negativity he’s going to receive from her family for being from Dallas.
Naturally, at the center of every Thanksgiving celebration is the food.
Sophomore Ben Hoffman said his favorite dish is stuffing, which he eats with his family at his grandparents’ house for dinner each year.
“I love Thanksgiving because there’s a lot of food and I get to see my whole family,” Hoffman said.
Graham said her favorite Thanksgiv-
ing dish is sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, but she also loves brussel sprouts and stuffing. After the big meal is over, she said her family ensures they make use of the leftovers, which they also share with others in spirit of the giving season.
“The next day, my mom and stepdad make turkey soup and then we’ll drop it off at the neighbors’ houses,” Graham said.
Davis said he loves cooking and good food, so the holiday stands out to him.
“It’s a very meal-centric holiday,” Davis said. “So I enjoy having good food and cooking good food with family.”
Davis said that as he’s gotten older, his duties in the kitchen have expanded. He helps out of a lot more now, and this year his family is doing something different, where each guest contributes one dish.
With parents from different cultures, Davis said his family celebrates Thanksgiving with both traditional and non-traditional food. In addition to the classic turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes, they also cook Colombian food.
“My mom’s side is Colombian,” Davis said. “We’ll cook empanadas, tostones, arepas and bunuelos.”
Davis said this year, as he welcomes the holiday season, he is particularly thankful for his family and being able to be at Pepperdine.
“I’m very grateful for my educational opportunities,” Davis said. “My grandmother pays for my college, and with-
Senior Caroline Graham’s stepdad (left) and mom (right) stand in the kitchen on Thanksgiving. Graham said the two use their leftovers to spread holiday cheer.
out my family I couldn’t be here.” Though it can be easy to jump ahead to the Christmas season, students find joy in easing into the holiday season through the celebration of Thanksgiving and fall traditions.
amanda.monahan@pepperdine.edu
Art
Photo courtesy of Caroline Graham
Documentary explores algae and community
these community spaces,” Kim said. “So it was just this natural fit.”
Screen Arts Professor Paul B. Kim spent a week of his summer in Hawai’i, directly aligned with his philosophy for filmmaking. When encountering a new project, he said he thinks primarily about power and representation while trying to explore underrepresented spaces.
Kim and Nick Yi, senior Screen Arts major, stayed in Oahu, Hawai’i in May and spent eight days filming with Assistant Professor of Biology Florybeth La Valle’s research team on their study of algae.
“I think a lot about, ‘How does one thoughtfully, meaningfully using their privilege with the camera, with the expertise in media and storytelling that they have, how do they come into an environment and tell the story about someone and or a community or a culture in a way that’s both balanced, equitable and just strengthens a community?’” Kim said.
Kim said he and La Valle started at Pepperdine around the same time.
The two had a lot in common right off the bat, and he admired her perspective on science.
“I found that she cares a lot about science communication and recognizes that one of the challenges of science isn’t just in doing great research, but how do we make that research really relevant to our intended audience or to the general public,” Kim said.
As the two got to know one another, they realized their work philosophies have things in common. Though their fields use different terminology, Kim said he realized they shared a common vision.
“I just realized there’s this really interesting overlap in our philosophical approach to how we want to engage with the people that we work with in
Bringing on Staff
Around March, Kim reached out to Yi, one of his students. Yi said he remembers Kim contacting him with a “mysterious opportunity.”
Several phone calls and email exchanges later, Kim decided Yi was a good fit for the project.
“I was looking for somebody who would be really sensitive to the thoughtful nuances we would explore,” Kim said. “Nick took the introductory production class with me, and he was just a standout student in terms of his talents and his creative capacities.”
Kim said he is always looking to give his students opportunities they wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere, but with that comes great risk. If the student with the wrong skill set was brought on, the project might suffer.
Yi said he greatly admires Kim’s work and accolades within the film world, so being asked to be a part of this project made him feel both honored and nervous.
“I mean, it’s imposter syndrome, right?” Yi said. “You don’t really think you’re good enough to be asked by a professor to go and do something like this just with them, but it feels good. I feel proud of what we accomplished.”
Kim said he wanted Yi to know it was not a high stakes environment, though that was easy for him to say. He presumed Yi felt a tremendous amount of pressure being thrown into the deep end — both in terms of his duties behind the camera and literally, as they filmed several scenes in the ocean.
Yi described his role as “co-director slash everything else,” as Kim was primarily behind the camera and Yi assisted him with whatever he needed
at any given moment.
“It’s just this very dynamic lab where we have to hit the ground running, learn quickly and do the best we can do to gather high-quality material that’s going to tell a story,” Kim said.
The Research
La Valle said she has been working in Maunalua Bay for over 10 years. When she came to Pepperdine, she got a National Science Foundation grant — the work would support what she did after her dissertation, which looked at high nutrients in fresh water coming into a coral reef as submarine groundwater discharge, and how it was affecting the wildlife that were there.
La Valle went to graduate school at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, where she decided to look at drivers of coastal community changes. She said that in Hawai’i, placebased science is vital to the ecosystem.
“Hawai’i is a really special place, and the values of the people there all revolve around being at peace with the land,” La Valle said. “And so the idea of place-based science is — wherever your place is, wherever you’re located, can you observe nature there? And can you make hypotheses based off of those things?”
La Valle met Kanoe Morishige, the Native Hawaiian Program Specialist and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Affiliate for Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, during her time in graduate school. Their research focuses on “limu,” which is the Native Hawaiian word for algae.
“The questions being answered should be based off of what the community is interested in,” La Valle said. “You have to create relationships with the community. They have to trust you, and then you can do your work. Every step of the
way is a co-creation process.”
Kim emphasized the idea that he and Yi integrated themselves into La Valle and her team’s research and schedule. In most documentaries, directors have an agenda and everyone else sticks to that. Yet, in this case, Kim said he and Yi thoughtfully and carefully embedded themselves into the research being done.
La Valle furthered these sentiments, as she said bringing others into this kind of work can be difficult.
“I hold these communities that I work with really close and dear to my heart,” La Valle said. “So I wouldn’t have brought an outsider, so to speak, if I didn’t trust them — and I think that speaks volumes that, you know, I trust Professor Kim this much to actually have him come in.”
Yi said aside from all the great hands-on experience he got in working with Kim, the whole experience also opened his eyes up to a new world and perspective of science.
“It’s not really something you see on the mainland, this idea of place-based science and research,” Yi said. “Whatever science or research you do has to benefit the community in some way. You have to share your results and interact with them meaningfully. It really opened my eyes up — it was really special.”
Kim said he recognized the importance of La Valle’s research and emphasized that this was at the center of the documentary.
“I’m not thinking about my work simply in terms of, ‘How can I tell an entertaining story and get it out there?’” Kim said.
Looking Ahead
Kim said he had to navigate several difficulties throughout the trip, whether it was bad weather, choppy waves or needing a wetsuit. Despite these setbacks, he said he finds
challenges to be exciting, always looking for ways to solve new problems.
“I see it as the purest forms of cinema: a camera, somebody performing some activity,” Kim said. “And we’re just capturing this kind of magic.”
Kim and Yi said they are now in the editing process with the documentary, which is no easy task.
“It’s almost like learning how to write a language, a new language — a cinematic language,” Kim said.
As for La Valle, she said she is roughly halfway through the grant. This summer, La Valle and her team are going to collect more data, and the grant will end in August 2026.
Kim said he hopes to have the documentary done by the end of the school year, though the official release date depends upon a number of factors. He is now looking into various film festivals, which can heavily alter the projected release date.
La Valle said she’s aware she could write a paper about her research or share her findings in other ways. Yet, she said she knows the work being done in conjunction with Kim’s documentary will spread her research further, especially to the communities who deserve to see it.
Kim said above all, he wants the audience to gain something from the message the documentary conveys.
“I’ve never heard of this type of work [in academia] and this approach of place-based science, which is what Dr. La Valle calls it. Scientific work that is committed to a local space and place with people who have needs and concerns,” Kim said. “I think that’s compelling. I think the world has not had that conversation and I want people to be aware of what’s going on.”
Photo courtesy of Paul B. Kim
Galaxaura algae grows in the Maunalua Bay of Oahu in May. Assistant Professor of Biology Florybeth La Valle said Galaxaura is a red alga, which helps build coral reefs. La Valle said the Native Hawaiian word for algae is “limu.”
Amanda Monahan Life & Arts Editor
Students across faiths celebrate Diwali
Henry Adams Assistant Life & Arts Editor
Over 300 Seaver students gathered in Mullin Town Square on Nov. 8 for a Diwali celebration hosted by the Indian Student Association.
The annual ISA event, a celebration of the Hindu festival of lights, began around 6 p.m. A DJ blasted Bollywood music as the large multiethnic group of students arrived at the event. Lamp posts were wrapped with bright white string lights, which also hung over the draped tables.
“It’s a festival that symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance and good over evil,” ISA co-President Anika Sawhney said, speaking to the crowd before the association’s executive board members performed a Bollywood dance routine. “This celebration transcends religious and cultural boundaries, allowing us to appreciate the universal values of peace, love and unity.”
A long line that wrapped around Mullin Town Square immediately formed for the hot buffet of catered Indian food. Guests enjoyed an array of flavorful butter chicken, garlic naan, chicken pakora, vegetable samosas and chana
masala. ISA organizers also served mango lassi, hot chai and an assortment of Indian desserts.
Organizers spent over $3,000 on the food alone, according to junior Zayed Aslam, who serves as the volunteer coordinator for ISA.
“My goal is to just keep making this event bigger and bigger every year,” Aslam said. “And it’s only possible with help of all the amazing board members and the staff at ICC and ICA.”
Aslam, a Pakistani Muslim, said he did not grow up celebrating Diwali. Since joining ISA his first year, he said he has appreciated the joy of togetherness celebrated by the holiday. He helped organize and market the event so that others, regardless of their cultural background, could also revel in the cultural tradition.
“I think it’s such a great way to intermix interfaith and just help people explore new culture and new tradition and new religion,” ISA co-President Zara Raza said.
At one of the tents, attendees could also receive traditional henna tattoos on their hands. Two women from Riverside, hired by ISA planners, designed the custom tattoos for guests. Although henna is traditionally adorned by women for weddings and other
Students, including sophomore Aryan Bandi (center), dance to music in Mullin Town Square on Friday, Nov. 8. The Indian Student Association has held Diwali celebrations on campus since 2017.
holidays, the tattoos were offered to anyone who wanted them.
Around 7:15 p.m., ISA e-board members wearing traditional Indian lehenga and kurta outfits performed a four-minute Bollywood dance routine. At the end of their performance, they opened up the dance floor to the crowd, who enthusiastically joined in. Guests danced to more
Bollywood music, such as “Naatu Naatu” from the 2022 Oscar-winning Telugu-language film “RRR,” as well as American club hits like “Party Rock Anthem” and “FE!N.”
The celebration, which Aslam said took around three months of preparation, wrapped up a little before 8:30 p.m. Even with a shrunken crowd toward the end of the night, people unabashedly kept
dancing together in Mullin Town Square. Every tray at the buffet was empty by the conclusion of the event.
“We celebrate good over evil at the end of the day,” Sawhney said. “That’s why Diwali is celebrated.”
henry.adams@pepperdine.edu
Malibu inspires a lifestyle of wellness
Bohuen Tong Life & Arts Staff Writer
Surrounded by beaches, mountains, fitness studios and health-conscious grocery stores, the environment in Malibu encourages a lifestyle where those in it are constantly encouraged to prioritize health.
Junior Fadé Akinfe said Malibu’s health-focused lifestyle sets it apart from other cities. This beach community creates an atmosphere where residents are deeply invested in their well-being.
“Living in Malibu has definitely helped me adopt a healthier lifestyle,” Akinfe said. “I find it easier to prioritize wellness here especially with the community around me. It motivates me to enhance my lifestyle.”
Students said that living in the wellness-driven community of Malibu has transformed their own approach to their health, inspiring lasting changes in their daily routines.
The environment itself creates a welcoming space for outdoor activities that blend the peaceful surroundings with wellness, students said.
“Malibu’s scenic view has pushed me to go outside more and explore the city by taking more walks,” Akinfe said. “I’ve started taking more walks along the beach, which helps calm my anxiety, especially while listening to the waves.”
Junior Vianita Correa said Malibu’s outdoor spaces become more than a scenic landscape for physical activity, but also serve as a sanctuary for tranquility.
“Living in Malibu is like living in
paradise for me because of its surrounding nature, and it has definitely impacted my fitness routine,” Correa said. “I like to hike or go for a walk or swim at the beach. I am increasing not only my body health but also my mind and spiritual health.”
Malibu’s commitment to wellness and health is also evident in the selection of dining options and stores throughout the area. A lot of establishments feature selectively nutritious options that residents have come to embrace.
Akinfe said that having access to nutritious options makes it easier to embrace a healthier lifestyle.
“The food options are significantly healthier, and I find it easier to prioritize wellness here especially with the community around me,” Akinfe said. “It motivates me to enhance my lifestyle.”
Erewhon and Whole Foods are popular grocery stores students said they like to shop at. They said they appreciate the emphasis on organic and health-conscious products these stores provide.
Students said the abundance of health-conscious stores in Malibu has made it easier for residents to prioritize wellness in their daily lives.
“There are more healthy options than unhealthy ones,” Correa said. “This environment definitely changes everyone who comes to live around here.”
Malibu has become home to a wealth of health-focused stores that reflect the community’s dedication to wellness.
One standout is Vitamin Barn, less than two miles from Pepperdine University.
store to purchase supplements and vitamins that support their healthy lifestyles and help nourish their bodies.
“They [Malibu residents] go hiking, swimming, riding, they bike, surf and then they come here to replenish, replenish with food and drinks, with healthy shakes and smoothies and juices, and they buy their supplements,” Yafi said. “It is really important for them to keep them healthy while they’re doing all these activities at the beach, we have everything here.”
Vitamin Barn supports the community’s commitment to staying fit and nourished in a place where wellness is woven into daily life.
“We get a lot of business being in Malibu because we live in such a health-conscious community,” Yafi said. “Most people here in beach communities are more healthy, and they want to maintain that.”
Vitamin Barn, like many other stores in Malibu, serves as more than just a stop for supplements — it’s also a reflection of the active, wellness-driven lifestyle that defines Malibu.
Founded in Malibu, Vitamin Barn is a health food store and juice bar that is an essential piece of the community, serving as a one-stop shop for holistic health needs since its opening in 1987, according to their website.
Buyer and consultant for Vitamin Barn, Lucia Yafi, said locals stop at the
Photo by Mary Elisabeth | Photo Editor
Photo courtesy of Vianita Correa
Junior Vianita Correa gets ready for a surf lesson in the back of a truck, where the equipment is hauled to Malibu Beach on Sept. 14. She said being so close to the beach makes it easy to be active while having a good time.
The Basque Country takes on Malibu
Suzuki Life & Arts Staff Writer
Chef Sebastien Pourrat’s life’s work in the culinary world now brings him to Malibu with Casita Basqueria.
The store, which is located in Surf Canyon — a small shopping center next to the Malibu Country Mart — holds specialty Spanish foods and carefully curated home goods. It was born from the sense of identity that the French area of the Basque country shares with Californian culture.
“Food is major,” Pourrat said. “Food is what defines people and where I come from, it is like a religion almost.”
The Beginnings
Pourrat started his journey in the culinary world in 2012 when he opened Cocotte, a French-Basque restaurant in New York. He was one of the first people to introduce Basque flavors to the metropolis of New York, but it took time to get people behind it, he said.
“At the time when I opened the restaurant, Basque was not known at all in the U.S.,” Pourrat said. “I had to build trust with my customers so they would come back.”
Both Cocotte and Basque food became a growing success. He described New York as the “mecca” of Basque food nowadays.
“American people would come in and ask what a txuleta or a txipiron was,” Pourrat said. “And at the end, they would come asking for them.”
In Basque, the letters “tx” are used to replace sound of “ch,” and customers became so familiar that they started using the correct pronunciation, Pourrat said.
He defines his approach to cooking in four principles: “top-tier ingredients,” “bold tastes,” “consistency” and “warm hospitality,” according to the store’s website.
After the pandemic, Pourrat and his wife became interested with the idea of moving to California, a state that offered a similar identity to his home town — good surf, sunny days and beautiful outdoors.
Cocotte closed down in 2020, and the two moved to California.
Pourrat’s Journey to Malibu
Pourrat developed a concept that propelled their move from coast to coast: Basque country meets California.
“We came to L.A. and started doing events where I used my Basque salt,” Pourrat said. “One thing led to another, and I did a dinner in Malibu and people started asking about the salt.”
Pourrat started selling his Espelette salt at a farm in Malibu, and people became increasingly interested in the product.
Espellete pepper, Pourrat’s favorite Basque ingredient, is only sourced in Espellete, a French-Basque town. It is commonly referred to as the “red gold,” Pourrat said.
“I was driving almost every day to Malibu to deliver salt,” Pourrat said. “People started to know me for that and my events and little by little, I started to feel a match between my concept and Malibu.”
His concept is focused on the strong Hispanic influence that both places share — Spain in the Basque Country and Mexico in California.
“California, for me, is a taqueria,” Pourrat said. “The influence feels more Mexican than American at times.”
When it came time to picking a name, Pourrat said he wanted it to highlight the cultural influences that his concept encompassed: Basque food in California.
“I wanted the name to have Basque in it so people understood what it was about,” Pourrat said. “So for me, Basqueria
made sense between the Basque and the tacos.”
Casita Basqueria was born.
The Store
Even though Pourrat dedicated some years of his life to studying and acting, he was always taken back to food. Cooking became an important aspect of his life very early on, given the influence from his family generations back.
“My grandparents were farmers,” Pourrat said. “I grew up with real products and a real approach to what food is.”
The store is Spanish in nature, carrying a wide array of carefully curated Spanish items. Spanish food is the soul of the concept and therefore the store, Pourrat said.
Casita Basqueria prides itself on the quality of their ingredients and home goods.
“With this little shop, I want it to be a dealership,” Pourrat said. “When people come in, I want them to know that everything is organic, very well sourced and the best of the best.”
Throughout the years, he was able to build trust with his customers in New York, and
hopes to create the same with his customers in Malibu.
“Even if they don’t know what something is, maybe they will give it a try because they trust,” Pourrat said. “People are discovering some stuff they wouldn’t buy anywhere else.”
Malibu locals enjoy how Pourrat’s concept blends with the community at Surf Canyon. The store makes people expand their horizons culturally and gastronomically, customer Monica Rever said.
Food is what defines people and where I come from, it is like a religion almost.
Sebastien Pourrat Casita Basqueria Owner
“I have been living in Malibu my entire life and love the freshness of the store,” Rever said. “It fits right in with the other stores, yet proposes a culinary concept that is not known by most.”
Next Steps
Pourrat and his wife, Sofie Roelens, who works alongside him as Casita Basqueria’s creative director, said they are looking forward to their projects for 2025.
“I’m working closely with my wife, who is the magic behind all of this,” Pourrat said. “We’re going to step up the game.”
This comes after a successful year for the store and great demand for Pourrat’s private dinner events, burnt Basque cheesecake and famous sandwiches.
“I came up with the sandwiches as an ice breaker for the community right when we opened,” Pourrat said. “After two weeks, someone had asked if I was the guy from NextDoor.”
After someone posted about the sandwiches on NextDoor — an app where neighbors connect through recommendations — people started commuting from different places in California in search of the sandwiches.
“After the article, we had people from Santa Monica driving here,” Pourrat said. “Then it went viral on Instagram, and then TikTok.”
The sandwich has become a staple of Casita Basqueria.
“My friend told me about the best sandwiches he’d ever had,” junior Chase Landis said. “I tried them, and he was right, so I recommended it to my friends, and I know they have been recommending them to their friends.”
The most enjoyable part of the job, Pourrat said, is the conversations that arise with customers about the sandwiches and their ingredients. They introduce new flavors in an American classic dish, like the sandwich.
“It is a small production, but it brings a connection with people,” Pourrat said. “What I am doing is about community.”
Photos by Karla Suzuki | Life & Arts Staff Writer
The front of the Casita Basqueria store is open for customers at Surf Canyon in Malibu on Nov. 12. The sandwiches that were prepped for the day sold out by 2 p.m.
Karla
Sebastien Pourrat’s Espelette salt sits on the shelf in the store of Casita Basqueria on Nov. 12. Although it is made with different ingredients, he said Espelette pepper is what makes the condiment so flavorful.
Club Surf Team goes beyond the break
Nina Fife Head Podcast Producer & Assistant Sports Editor
Malibu is well known for its 21 miles of scenic beauty along Pacific Coast Highway. Along these 21 miles sit multiple beaches that are perfect surf spots. The Malibu NoseRiding Invitational and the Malibu Surfing Association Classic are just two of the surf competitions that take place in the ‘Bu.
The city has also produced some of the most elite surfers in the world, including Miki Dora and Terry Tracy, according to the Surfing Walk of Fame. Malibu is home to local surf teams that are working to make more history, such as the Malibu Sharks or Pepperdine’s Club Surf Team.
Pepperdine’s team boasts some professional surfers of their own, such as sophomore shredder Pua DeSoto. The Hawai’i native said she has nine national titles and 12 state titles for her surfing.
DeSoto said when she was a sophomore in high school, she reached out to one of her uncles that had been a fan of the team for years. After talking with him and juggling all her success and professional schedule, DeSoto chose to come to Pepperdine and join the club surf team.
“It really gives me more opportunities to compete and just keep working on the things I need to work on,” DeSoto said.
DeSoto said she enjoys being part of the surf team, because it provides her with an activity to do outside of school and a fun atmosphere to do the thing she loves. DeSoto has had professional coaching since 12 years old, so the Pepperdine Surf Team provides a lighter environment for her sport.
“There’s just such a good balance of super happy, positive people and a very positive coach that is serious when it needs to be serious, but keeps it very light,” DeSoto said. “I love it personally, because I am reminded to enjoy it.”
Head Coach Joe Rickabaugh is the one who helps foster this uplifting spirit. Rickabaugh said he just wants his team to focus on getting better while enjoying the beauty of surfing at the same time, which his team said they value in their coach.
“I think more having a good time, having fun and individually getting better and growing each other’s individual surfing is kind of what we’re more focusing on,” DeSoto said.
Even with a team of more than 10 surfers, Rickabaugh still makes sure to pour into each surfer individually. Freshman Larry Flores said Rickabaugh is very knowledgeable of the ocean, different types of waves and knows exactly what critiques to give. In general, he is just stoked to be there
with his team.
“He really cares about each individual surfer,” Flores said. “He’s really intentional with everything. He just pushes you to be the best you can, and I’ve fully felt that.”
DeSoto said being able to critique each other is one of the aspects she values most about the Pepperdine Surf Team. There are some days where she will sit on the sand for the first half of practice to observe and answer questions from other surfers before hopping in the water to talk to the rest of her team.
“Everyone is different. Everyone’s style is different,” DeSoto said. “So, no one will ever have the same critique, and I think that’s kind of cool. It’s just fun to watch and kind of study everything.”
Not only does Rickabaugh focus on his team’s surf style, but he also enjoys getting to know each surfer personally.
“All these kids come from different walks of life,” Rickabaugh said. “It’s just cool to watch them grow, whether it’s in surfing and/or out of the water, just them transitioning in life, going from a kid basically to an adult.”
Rickabaugh said the job as head coach is very rewarding, especially because he gets to share his love for surfing with his team.
“The ocean’s my favorite thing ever, so just getting the experience and sharing my favorite part of my life with other people,” Rickabaugh said. “Seeing the passion that some of them have, it’s really rad.”
One of the things that makes Pepperdine’s Club Surf Team so special is the fact that each surfer is willingly choosing to show up and put in the effort to get better.
Rickabaugh is also a coach for the Malibu Sharks, surf teams for Malibu Middle and High School. By the time most kids get to high school, some of them begin to fade away from surfing, Rickabaugh said. But on Pepperdine’s team, the students are out living independently and making their own decisions.
“They’re choosing to do that on their own, nobody’s waking them up in the morning,” Rickabaugh said. “It’s a really cool experience.”
Rickabaugh started coaching when COVID was still affecting Malibu. The surfers he started with have since graduated, leaving him with many fresh faces in the water.
“It’s a new team,” Rickabaugh said. “They seem super stoked, we’re looking good. The competition is getting crazier and crazier, as is our team.”
To fill these big shoes left by alumni, many young surfers have stepped onto the scene. Flores is one of the multiple freshmen that joined the roster this year.
“I think for the team, we
have a lot of people in so many different levels,” DeSoto said. “We have a lot of new people this year and a lot of new faces.”
The varying levels of experience allow for unique opportunities for professional surfers, like DeSoto, to bond with those that are newer to the sport.
“It’s super cool to get somebody like that to share their experience, she’s experienced on a world level,” Rickabaugh said.
These shared experiences allow the team to strengthen their bond together. No matter how many years they’ve surfed or how good they are, they all connect on one thing: their love for surfing.
“I think it’s a beautiful dynamic, because we have both ends of it and kind of the middle — some people want to train and want to do that, but they also want to have fun and enjoy the scene,” DeSoto said.
The team practices once a week on Wednesday mornings at Zuma Beach. Although this may not seem like a lot, it is more than many other schools, Rickabaugh said. Pepperdine competes in the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA). The team travels all around California to compete, going down to Huntington Beach or heading north toward Santa Cruz.
“It’s a really good league, so everybody is insane,” Flores said. “So, that’s a little nerve wracking, but other than that, the opportunity [to try out] was there, so I thought I should take it.”
When Flores joined the team, he said he felt instantly comfortable. Just hanging out with the entire team gave him a friend group united over surfing.
“We’re all out there in the water, we’re all watching each other’s waves,” Flores said. “We’re all kind of hyping each other up if we do a good turn or something like that.”
Rickabaugh said some of his favorite memories with the team are made on competition weekends when the team gets
to relax outside of Pepperdine.
“Watching them support each other, watching them joke around with each other,” Rickabaugh said. “I get to see them for who they are.”
The whole team shares a similar sentiment. Flores, DeSoto and Rickabaugh all said that just being a part of the team is one of their favorite parts of the whole thing.
“It’s always just so fun with everyone,” DeSoto said. “It’s always a good vibe. Everyone just loves surfing and wants to surf.”
One of the aspects that makes Pepperdine’s Surf Team so special is the individuality of each surfer. There is a variation in experience levels but also in where each surfer comes from.
“Our team stands out because there’s people from all over,” DeSoto said. “We have kind of a good variety of people from all over the U.S., Hawai’i and even international, like France. These different cultures that kind of come together, and ethnicities that come together into one.”
The team includes many talented surfers, including DeSoto, Henry Nafzger, who Rickabaugh said is one of Idaho’s best surfers and Alexandre
Marque, a surfer from France.
The team’s variety doesn’t just stop at skill level or where they call home. Flores turned his passion for surfing into a business brand called Surf Trip, which has more than 90,000 followers on Instagram.
When COVID shut down Flores’ local Huntington Beach surf spots, he began drawing. However, his audience wasn’t entirely who he was expecting.
“Everybody’s kind of neglecting the surfers’ girlfriends and maybe the older surfers, daughters, granddaughters or even moms,” Flores said. “I really found a gap in the marketplace for surfer girl products.”
All of these different personalities come together to make up Pepperdine’s Club Surf Team. Overall, Rickabaugh said he is stoked for another year with the Waves.
“I’m pretty excited about everything,” Rickabaugh said. “I’m most excited for the contests, just to let everybody get their feet wet, literally and figuratively.”
The Waves will compete again Dec. 7 and 8, in Oceanside.
Senior Cat Sayne catches a wave at Zuma Beach on Oct. 30. While the team only practices once a week together, Head Coach Joe Rickabaugh said this is more than many other club surf teams.
Freshman Jamie Reed gets ready to surf at Zuma Beach on Oct. 30. The Pepperdine Club Surf team practices once a week at Zuma Beach on Wednesday mornings.
Photos by Mary Elisabeth | Photo Editor
Women’s Tennis welcomes new Waves
Megan Harkey Sports Staff Writer
For the fall tennis season, Pepperdine Women’s Tennis now has their youngest team in years with four freshmen. Even with their new teammates, the Waves are planning to continue their domination in the West Coast Conference.
The new faces include freshmen Taylor Goetz, Liam Oved, Duru Söke and Alexia Harmon. Harmon is from Las Vegas and was the No. 6 recruit in the nation, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
“I think we’ve played two or three individual tournaments,” Harmon said. “It’s been different, but it’s been fun.”
Former Head Coach Per Nilsson brought these recruits in after four seniors graduated following their 2024 season ending with a WCC Championship. Nilsson left Pepperdine Tennis on Oct. 29 to take his next job at Florida effective immediately.
“It was really shocking. I was not expecting that at all,” Goetz said.
Despite this recent turn of events, the team is still planning on bringing home wins this season and are hopeful for the fall season. Adam Schaechterle, the Pepperdine Men’s Tennis head coach, will be their interim head coach until
a replacement is found.
“He’s amazing. Like, you couldn’t ask for a better interim,” Goetz said. “He’s been so helpful with everything.”
In addition to their fall tournaments, All-American senior Savannah Broadus and sophomore Vivian Yang will be competing in Waco, Texas, for the NCAA Single and Doubles Championships on Nov. 17.
“It was actually very fun being on the court with someone that you fought along side to side,” Yang said.
Yang is only a sophomore but is now one of two experienced leaders alongside Broadus.
“I think it kind of made me realize that I need to put more
Women’s Tennis Head Coach departs Pepperdine
Justin Rodriguez Sports Editor
Women’s Tennis Head Coach Per Nilsson has left Pepperdine. He announced his departure Oct. 29, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
After 11 seasons for the Waves, Nilsson is coaching the Gators as the Women’s Tennis head coach at the University of Florida.
“It has been a dream to work at Pepperdine,” Nilsson said. “Leaving this incredible place is nothing short of bittersweet. Words cannot express the gratitude and appreciation I have for this school, the program and, most importantly, the incredible individuals I have had the privilege to work with.”
In 2014, Nilsson succeeded former Head Coach Gualberto Escudero, a now Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee (‘13). Escudero led the Waves to 24 West Coast
Conference titles out of 27 possible opportunities, and his successor displayed much of the same success.
Across 10 completed seasons, Nilsson recorded an impressive 221-48 dual-match record, good for a .815 winning percentage. Over the past decade, the Waves have ranked in the top 10 seven times, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Nilsson will exit Pepperdine with an impressive resume, 10 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, three ITA Southwest Regional Coach of the Year honors (‘17-‘19) and six WCC Coach of the Year nods (‘15-‘18, ‘21, ‘24).
responsibility on myself, not only for me but just to be there for them, trying to help them out,” Yang said.
In addition to their doubles competition, Broadus will also be competing in the singles portion of the tournament.
The freshmen have also been dominating competitions in the USC Women of Troy Invite from Oct. 4 through Oct. 6 and in the San Diego Torero Tennis Classic from Nov. 1 through Nov. 3.
The team had a total of nine singles and doubles wins at USC, including two of each from Harmon. Harmon and Yang defeated a doubles team from University of Tennessee for a score of 6-0 Oct. 4 at
David X. Marks Tennis Stadium.
“I was really happy with it,” Harmon said. “It was actually my first college tournament.”
At the San Diego Classic, Harmon continued to perform well going 6-0 against her opponents in singles and doubles. Overall, the Waves won 11 matches on the weekend.
“We’re in a routine now, we’re all getting along,” Goetz said. “We’re working together and we’re trying to make each other better.”
Goetz and Söke won two doubles matches together against the University of Wisconsin and USC by 6-4 and 6-1. Goetz went 2-1 in singles on the weekend as well.
In the San Diego Classic, the freshmen went 8-1 in singles as Harmon defeated players from the University of Utah, University of San Diego and University of Washington in just her second college tournament.
Goetz competed with the same schools and had another impressive 2-1 record. Although she is happy to be competing individually, she is even more excited to play as a team when the spring season begins.
“I’m really looking forward to having to [playing] as a team, and competing under that [more] pressure,” Goetz said. “The atmosphere at college matches is something that you cannot imagine.”
Overall, the freshmen are playing well despite coaching changes and the new ambiguity in their college careers.
“I mean, that’s how college coaching goes,” Goetz said. “People always move around, and jobs are always opening.”
To round out their fall season, Yang and Broadus will represent Pepperdine in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship which will be held Nov. 19 through Nov. 24 in Waco.
“We really look up to [Broadus] and it’s cool that we get to learn from her and see what she’s doing,” Harmon said.
megan.harkey@pepperdine.edu
Per Nilsson, former Women’s Tennis Head Coach, addresses his former players at the USC Women of Troy Invite on Oct. 4 at David X. Marks Tennis Stadium. Nilsson began his 11th season for the Waves before announcing his leave effective immediately Oct. 29.
During his tenure, the Waves were runners-up in the NCAA National Championships in ‘21, and in ‘24, he led the club to the program’s second-ever semifinal appearance — the last accomplished in ‘23. The Waves won almost every WCC title, including eight regular-season titles and eight tournament championships.
He is responsible for recruiting professional and Olympic athletes, such as Ashley Lahey, Mayar Sherif and Luisa Stefani, and he led eight Waves to the WCC Player of the Year and seven Waves to the WCC Freshman of the Year award.
“I am grateful for the support and encouragement I have received from President Jim Gash and former Athletics Director Steve Potts,” Nilsson said. “It has been unparalleled.
The entire athletics department from staff to coaches and, of course, the players all played a vital role in our successes. Under the leadership of visionary President Gash and the strong guidance of our new athletic director Tanner Gardner, Pepperdine has many incredible things in store.”
Adam Schaechterle, Men’s Tennis head coach, will serve as the interim head coach.
“It is hard to walk away from all they have planned,” Nilsson
said. “This decision was excruciatingly difficult. I am not just leaving a job, I am leaving family and a piece of my heart will always remain in Malibu. Thank you, Pepperdine, for everything.”
justin.rodriguez@pepperdine.edu
Photo courtesy of Pepperdine Athletics
Photo courtesy of Pepperdine Athletics
Sophomore Vivian Yang high fives her teammates at the Women of Troy Invite on Oct. 4 at David X. Marks Tennis Stadium. Yang will be competing in the NCAA Doubles Championship starting Nov. 17 with senior Savannah Broadus in Waco, Texas.
New coaches embrace Pepp culture
Christine Park Sports Staff Writer
Three new head coaches joined the Waves family this past summer, each coming from a multifaceted journey across the country as they bring their past successes and experience to Malibu, eager to unleash their vision upon Pepperdine.
At a Division I collegiate athletic program, pressures and stakes are high as each season brings forth new challenges and anticipation. Director of Athletics Tanner Gardner recently introduced three new head coaches to athletics: Men’s Basketball Head Coach Ed Schilling, Women’s Basketball Head Coach Katie Faulkner and Baseball Head Coach Tyler LaTorre.
“You look at the people, Tanner and President [Jim] Gash, and just the leadership here, the other coaches in this community. There’s just amazing integrity and character here,” Faulkner said. “Pepperdine’s mission and people, when they’re tethered together, I think that’s a very powerful force.”
Ed Schilling: Authenticity is His Guide
A new era unfolds for each athletic division, and it’s no different for the Men’s Basketball team. Last season, the program underwent major changes as the previous Head Coach Lorenzo Romar took his leave, according to Pepperdine Athletics, leaving a hole of uncertainty and instability to be filled.
Schilling welcomes the challenge, revealing the vision that Pepperdine offered him.
“They’ve had some lean years and this was a great challenge and it’s at some place that if you can get it going, it could be really, really special,” Schilling said. “So when you look at the location, what I knew about the program and the opportunity for growth, and then with The Mountain that is coming, those things were very attractive.”
Schilling comes from an impressive record with top conference powerhouses. His high-road can be traced back to being a student-athlete at Miami University as a pointguard for four years and captain for two years (‘85-‘88). His career-high assist records still stand to this day.
His coaching experience stems from his background as an assistant coach at University of California, Los Angeles, Indiana University, University of Massachusetts, Grand Canyon University and University of Memphis. He was the youngest assistant coach in the NBA for
Colton Rubsamen | Staff Photographer
“I believe that this team has immense character, and I challenge that every day,” Faulkner said. “We will be prepared, and we will do it at the highest level to the best of our ability every single day. If we do that with character coupled together, again, what’s possible is kind of exciting.”
Tyler LaTorre: Relationships are Key
the Brooklyn Nets and the second-youngest Division I head coach at Wright State University.
“Hopefully, over the years, I’ve gained some experience, I’ve seen different ways of doing things,” Schilling said. “I’ll be able to utilize that experience to help each player to maximize their abilities and be able to put together a system of basketball that we can compete at a high level.”
His capabilities evolve from years of experience, growth and learning within the presence of fellow coaches that are the best of the best. That has led to his unique perspective on tackling the team, often thinking outside the box.
“Being with coaches like John Calipari, the winningest active coach with over 850 wins. Steve Alford, a head coach for 25 years with well over 500 wins, and Bryce Drew at Grand Canyon is climbing the ladder as a Division I head coach,” Schilling said. “So being around those type of coaches, hopefully will help me to utilize our players in the best way possible.”
Schilling is embracing the current journey and the learning curves that the players will face daily.
“It’s an entirely new team. So the biggest thing we’re trying to do is getting them to play well together and to develop that chemistry on the court,” Schilling said. “It’s a whole lot of learnings going on. We’re trying to institute a whole new system with all new players that have never played together.”
In addition to building up a well-oiled team that can electrify the crowd with their game, Schilling hopes the players will develop a team culture of respect that will shine throughout to the community.
“We’re going to try to use each player and so everybody’s touching the ball,” Schilling said. “So that the students can say, you know, I can relate with these guys. They’re playing hard, they’re playing together, they’re unselfish, and maybe that’s something all can enjoy watching.”
While there are high expectations for the program, Schilling values the virtues of patience and integrity. He respects the uphill trek each day
brings, which is necessary to reach the top of the mountain.
“We’d love to win the national championship, but we understand it’s a process. What we’re looking for is improvement on a daily basis, to make sure that we’re better today than we were yesterday,” Schilling said.
Most importantly, Schilling brings his authenticity to the table; which he believes is the core of his coaching ability. He said that the most important thing as a coach is to believe in the style of playing you’re coaching and to believe in yourself.
Katie Faulkner: Values Over Goals
There is another team at Pepperdine that shares the same love for the game of basketball: the Women’s team. This past summer, the Pepperdine community welcomed a new head coach, Katie Faulkner.
Faulkner came to the Malibu campus with a commitment in mind to not only embody the humble values of Pepperdine, but also, to become a beacon of inspiration for future generations of women.
“I was looking at places that I could come and build a memorable legacy and somewhere that young women could come and find success and become leaders and win championships,” Faulkner said.
There seems to be an order of undertaking that Faulkner respects, transcending the expectations one might have of a newly-instated coach. To her, the little wins are what builds the foundation of her program toward success.
“Every day is its own little puzzle piece to solve and add beauty to and keep building,” Faulkner said. “To take what we have here, add a little bit to it in our newcomers, and then solve the puzzle.”
Faulkner highlights the staff of the program that not only support her as head coach, but help determine the direction of the program that she is trying to establish.
“Making sure we had the right people was really important to me from the beginning. I think our staff is truly incredible,” Faulkner said. “I would
put them toe to toe with anyone in the country, just from the character and leadership and basketball knowledge standpoint.”
The confidence in her own purpose and the calling of Pepperdine can be directly intertwined as Faulkner’s words come from a place of integrity. Faulkner said she has three values she upholds.
“Compete, grow and serve,” Faulkner said. “Every day, I measure our team based on those. If we can get to a point where we are competing and pursuing excellence in all areas, if we can get to a point where we learn to grow every single day, win or loss, what’s possible for this team?”
Not only dominating on the court, but being stewards of service, kindness and humility off the court is not just an expectation, but a given component to Faulkner. She understands the pressure of being a student-athlete and hopes that players will carry it with grace.
“When they look at us, they’re going to see a competitive group of young women that just does whatever it takes, right?” Faulkner said. “You want to be elite in everything. Not just on the court, but in the classroom, in the community.”
Previously, Faulkner was an assistant head coach for the University of Washington and assistant coach for Oregon State, University of Wisconsin and Colorado Springs. She has established an honorable list of accomplishments that have shaped her coaching career.
“My whole career has been preparing me for this moment. I was the youngest assistant in college basketball at the Power Five level at one point. I believe I’ve worked under the best in the business, and I learned a lot from them,” Faulkner said. “I got to walk into a Pac-12 championship my first year, and to see what it was like to win at the highest level. The caliber of athlete, the level of training, the schedule, the rhythm, all of it.”
Going into the season, Faulkner said she has an optimistic perspective as she prepares to unleash all the potential that the female athletes have. As a new coach, there’s a new culture that can be harnessed within the team.
As fall passes, new Baseball Head Coach Tyler LaTorre meets the anticipation as he prepares for the Spring.
“I came to Pepperdine because of the vision that President Gash has set forth. It aligns with who I am and who I want the baseball program to be,” LaTorre said. “I feel like I’m in the best position to lead this program into the future with the alignment of the vision of the university.”
To him, the baseball program is in the process of rebuilding and restrengthening in order to raise them back up again in hopes of proudly representing the Pepperdine mission.
“One of the reasons why I’m here is the program had fallen on below standards of what Pepperdine has been and what it will be in the future,” LaTorre said. “Our players are pushing to raise our standards and raise our expectations.”
Every coach possesses a key ingredient that they believe is essential to their coaching. LaTorre is no different, as he said, regardless of any level of playing, one thing that does not change is the connections.
“Being a head coach, it’s all about the relationships, whether it’s our players, our donors, our alumni, our athletic department. It’s about the people,” LaTorre said.
LaTorre comes from a NAIA National Championship in his first year as head coach at Division II Westmont College, where he was awarded the 2023 NAIA National Coach of the Year. His playing journey can be traced back to the University of California, Davis, where he led the team to the 2003 Division II World Series and then to his professional career in the San Francisco Giants organization for a decade. Through nine years of coaching experience, he embraces everything with humility and firmness. His focus is on waking up every day to learn how to better serve his Pepperdine athletes.
Photos courtesy of Pepperdine Athletics
(From left to right) Katie Faulkner, Ed Schilling and Tyler LaTorre joined the Pepperdine family this past summer. All were hired under new Director of Athletics Tanner Gardner.
Billy Cook sizzles at the Major Leagues
Justin Rodriguez Sports Editor
It’s July 12, day two of the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft.
Anticipation fills the air as Bily Cook, former Pepperdine Baseball infielder (‘18-’21) and current Pittsburgh Pirates IF/outfielder, eagerly awaits for his name to be called.
“This was the first year that they had a 20-round draft. The year before, it was five because of COVID-19, and then before that, it was 40 rounds,” Cook said. “Little different draft than what I had heard about in the past, but basically, we were just sitting around waiting to see who would call.”
Cook was with his family that day, and through all his triumphs and tribulations, they believed someone would take a chance on him. His agent was hard at work on his computer, taking phone calls and sending emails to interested teams wanting Cook’s services.
But for Cook, he knew that nothing was certain.
“Nothing is finalized until that pick comes across the TV,” Cook said. “The Orioles were a team that was interested, and then my name came up, and it was time to celebrate because it was official.”
Life as a Wave
Cook spent all four years at Pepperdine and left his mark on the field with his stellar play. In his career, Cook played in 122 games, started 109, and is currently tied for ninth in home runs all-time with 26.
He hit at a .286 clip with 118 base knocks, 18 doubles and seven triples, all while driving in 90 runs and scoring 85. He is the definition of a fivetool player, swiping 14 bags to go on top of his already impres-
sive resume, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
During his journey as a Wave, Cook said two people were key in his growth as a ballplayer: Rick Hirtensteiner, former Pepperdine Baseball Head Coach and Director of Baseball Operations at Oaks Christian High School and Danny Worth, former Pepperdine Baseball assistant coach.
Both Hirtensteiner and Worth said Cook was everything you wanted in a player: from his approach, preparation, mentality and most importantly, his toughness.
Hirtensteiner said he was the one who went to recruit Cook at his high school in Colorado, and the day he went to see him, it was snowing.
“I went to his game, and he was out playing shortstop with no sleeves on and making it look like it was nothing,” Hirtensteiner said. “That immediately was some toughness in him and, just watching him play, [he’s] super athletic, could really move well and explosive.”
Worth said Cook was a dream to coach. Cook cared and showed passion, taking it upon himself to improve each and every day.
“Good players like him, they practice with that deliberate, intense and detailed fashion every day. So I saw that right away,” Worth said. “I remember as a freshman, he was just engaged, he cared about everything we did, and players like him showed that with every rep they took in practice.”
Worth is a former Major Leaguer of his own, having played for six years split between the Detroit Tigers (‘10’14) and Houston Astros (‘16). He served as the hitting coach for Pepperdine Baseball under Hirtensteiner and Cook said much of the success he displayed was due to the influence, knowledge and lessons that Worth provided him.
Besides the coaching staff, Cook said his time as a Wave was filled with amazing teammates who also cared about not only making themselves better, but making the team better. The culture of Pepperdine Baseball allowed him to thrive, he said.
“I would give all of them credit for that because everybody held each other accountable,” Cook said. “You go in with the understanding [that] not everybody there is going to play professionally, but everybody is there to help the team win. Everybody’s role might be a little different, but the goal was the same.”
Cook in the Minor Leagues
The Baltimore Orioles snagged Cook in the 10th Round with the 287th overall pick. He said that feeling was great, just knowing all his hard
Billy Cook, former Pepperdine Baseball Infielder (‘18-’21) and current Pittsburgh Pirates IF/outfielder, steps onto PNC Park for his Major League Debut on Sept. 8. Cook went
work finally paid off, but to him, it was just one goal on a long list he wants to achieve.
He said he allowed himself to celebrate for a little while but then immediately determined his next goal — to be an everyday major leaguer. It’s no longer about being a college athlete: it’s about solely being an athlete, 24/7.
Cook split his first year of professional baseball between Rookie Ball and Low-A, with a slash line of .263/.328/.491 (AVG/OBP/SLG) and an OPS of .819. From there, he climbed the minor with relative ease, jumping from High A to Double-A between 2022 and 2023 and finally reaching Triple-A during the 2024 season, according to the MLB.
Cook’s success was no surprise to him. He said he always knew he had Major League potential, no one had to tell him.
“I kind of understood it,” Cook said. “When you have the talent, guys will tell you, but the results kind of speak for itself.”
In 2024, Cook was batting .279 with a slugging percentage of .485 for the Norfolk Tides, the Orioles’ Triple-A minor league affiliate. He had 11 homers and 15 doubles, good for 43 RBIs — good for the No. 28 prospect in their farm system per MLB Pipeline.
He was ready for the majors, but unfortunately for Cook, he was in the Orioles’ farm system, which is known to be stacked with top, MLB-ready prospects. He was caught in a logjam.
Fortunately for Cook, the MLB Trade Deadline created an opening. On July 30, the Orioles traded Cook to the Pirates for minor league right-handed pitcher Patrick Reilly.
Cook was mid-game when the trade happened. The game was in extra innings, and the Orioles had just made a splash move earlier in the day, landing OF Eloy Jimenez from the Chicago White Sox.
“Everybody on the team thought that was it; the Orioles were done with their trade deadline, and then all of a sud-
den, I get taken off the field,” Cook said. “ I was like, ‘No way. I just got traded,’ it was either traded or called up.”
Following the trade, he picked up right where he left off, batting .276 and slugging .486 for the Pirates Triple-A affiliates Indianapolis Indians. After just 30 games, the Pirates saw the potential Cook saw in himself, and Pittsburgh made the call to bring Cook up to the majors.
“Our manager called me, tells me I’m getting promoted,” Cook said. “I had to go pack all my stuff up, call my parents, let them know, ‘Hey! I got a game tomorrow that I’m going to be playing in, and hopefully, you guys can make it out.’”
He soaked in and appreciated the moment when it happened, but he said he always focuses on the next big thing.
“You just get really excited, and then again, it’s like, okay, well, here’s the moment that I’ve been working for,” Cook said. “’How can I perform?’ And then after that, it’s now, ‘How do I do this every day?’”
Cook in the Major Leagues
Cook made his Major League debut Sept. 8 against the Washington Nationals at PNC Park. In four plate appearances, Cook went 2-4 with a ground-rule double as his first MLB hit, a base knock and his first two career RBIs.
The Pirates beat the Nationals 7-3, with Cook ending the day with a sparkling catch at first base.
“It’s nice to get the first one out of the way, but you can’t go chasing hits, you got to do what you’ve always done,” Cook said. “Just because you get up doesn’t mean you change everything you know, whatever got you there is going to be what keeps you there.”
He ended the year with the squad getting 16 games of experience under his belt. Across those 16 games, Cook held a .224 batting average and a .449 slugging, with three homers, two doubles and eight RBIs, according to the MLB.
Cook said the numbers could’ve been better, but the experience he gained will help him in his career.
“It’s more of a mindset thing, and that was kind of what helped me through the season,” Cook said. “That last month up there again, there’s ups and downs if you go look back at it. But did I learn a lot? Yes. And is that gonna help me going into next year? Absolutely.”
He is officially in the Major Leagues, and Cook knows he has the ability to be an everyday ballplayer. His coaches echoed this belief, and Worth said having a good mindset is the key.
Worth said Cook had a competitive mindset, pushing people around him to get better. But, the majors are a different level, it’s the best of the best, and Cook will need to constantly adjust to stay successful.
With another goal checked off his list, Cook is looking ahead to what he can achieve next. He said he takes it one year at a time, but the ultimate goal is stay in the majors for the rest of his life, and to help a team win the World Series.
“That’s really the main goal of big leaguers, help your team win and figure out what you need to do to do that,” Cook said. “Takes a lot of dedication and hard work being a good teammate, but I’m sure, and hopefully, I’ll get to experience one day celebrating a World Series championship.”
Photo courtesy of Billy Cook
2-4 that evening, picking up a ground-rule double as his first Major League hit, along with two RBI’s.
Photo courtesy of Pepperdine Athletics
Cook scopes the diamond playing shortstop during a game for the Waves during Spring ‘21, at Eddy D. Field Stadium. In his senior year, Cook had a batting average of .298 across 33 games, all starts, with 39 hits, three doubles, a triple and 17 homers (led the team) — good for 42 RBIs.
Women’s Soccer claims fifth WCC title in program history
Justin Rodriguez Sports Editor
They’ve done it. Pepperdine Women’s Soccer are West Coast Conference Champions. For the fifth time in program history, the Waves hoisted the WCC Trophy after a dominant 3-0 win over the University of San Francisco Dons on Nov. 9 at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. All five titles were secured under Head Coach Tim Ward.
Ward said he feels like he should’ve won more titles, securing five so far in a 27-year career with Pepperdine. However, when he takes a step back to compare the strength of the soccer conference to other programs on campus, he realizes just how much he has accomplished with the Waves.
“When you start to look at it through that lens, I’m really, really proud of our women and our program,” Ward said. “We’re in one of the top five or six soccer conferences in the United States, and we compete with the big boys and girls every year, and that’s what makes it that much more special to do it.”
Past Heartbreak, Recent Redemption
The last time the Waves clinched the title was in 2017.
Graduate midfielder/forward Tori Waldeck has been a part of this team since 2020, desperately trying to reclaim the title for Pepperdine. In her first four years, she watched another team hoist the WCC Trophy three times — but in her fifth year, she finally brought it back home.
Waldeck said that those losses were not fun, but she learned so much from them, and she used everything she learned to finally lift that trophy over her head.
“It means the world to me,” Waldeck said. “I came back for my fifth year, and I came back wanting something like this. I’m so proud of the girls and our team for putting in the work in the off-season, pre-season and this season.”
She said Women’s Soccer was on a redemption tour, especially after losing the championship game on their home field last season.
“This year, being able to win it on our home field just
brings the story all together,” Waldeck said.
The dreadful feelings of the losses resonate with all returners to this team, like junior midfielder/forward Tatum Wynalda. Over her three-year career for the Waves, she’s spent the last two just like Waldeck, watching a celebration from the sidelines.
“Being able to finally be the one to hoist the trophy is just an incomparable feeling, and I think it’s the culmination of so much hard work,” Wynalda said. “The blood, sweat and tears that truly goes on behind the scenes, nobody sees that, and for us to have that moment of relief and joy, it’s awesome.”
Unlike some of the players, Ward said revenge isn’t a word he would use to describe this win because, in his eyes, every Wave that steps onto the field is a champion.
“Whether we pick up a trophy, you’re champs,” Ward said. “The way you conduct yourself, the discipline you show daily, the way you wake up and get after it, everybody sees them walking by. We’re at it every day, and so they’re champions, whether we have a trophy to prove it.”
Relief is the word he used to describe his fifth WCC title.
“It feels a bit like relief because a year ago, it felt tight, like we were, ‘Let’s not lose it,’” Ward said. “Where this year was like, ‘Let’s go win it,’ completely different energies, a completely different mindset and that starts with our ability as a program.”
The Road to Champions
The journey to becoming champions was a long one, Ward said.
After suffering a tough loss against the Gonzaga University Bulldogs last year, Ward and the Waves took time to reset, as anybody would, he said. That time was used to recalibrate their minds, to think about that loss and to consider what it meant to suffer that heartbreak.
“Then, starting in January, in our locker room, the very first message on the very first day was a little bit about ‘We have some unfinished business,’” Ward said. “[In] everything we do, even on those days we’re not feeling great, or the days we’re feeling tired or not
Women’s Soccer hoists the WCC Trophy after beating the Dons 3-0 on Nov.
Field. Last season, the Waves fell short in the last game. This season, the
and won in the final game.
disciplined, if we can just show up and have our aim directed at the right place with the right heart, we felt like something special was possible — and lo and behold, here we are with that fifth trophy.”
All sources said the season itself was unexpected, but for the players, winning the title seemed almost unachievable at times.
“I don’t know how it happened or how the Lord made it happen, but there was three times this season that we thought, ‘Unfortunately, it might not be possible for us this year,’” Wynalda said. “But we never stopped believing.”
But Wynalda said she knew from the beginning this team was different and had what it takes to win the conference. In addition to an overall sense of belief, she said this team has a level of grittiness that last year’s team didn’t necessarily have.
The team experienced many slow starts this year, but the Waves fought back every game, and she said that fight mentality is what made this year so special. But most importantly, this team had no egos.
“If you look at our stat sheet, they speak for themselves. We have so many different goal scorers, so many different people assisting,” Wynalda said. “We don’t really care who gets the accolades, whatever, because we’re just doing it for each other.”
As a leader on this team, Waldeck took it upon herself to lead by example, with not just her words, but through her actions.
“As a leader, you just show up every day, put in the work, and be an example,” Waldeck said. “The things you do day in and day out can be translated when those younger girls are like, ‘Oh, our seniors and our fifth years, they’re all doing this, we need to follow suit.’”
The leadership on this year’s team is what Ward noticed the most, and what he believes was a big factor in what made this year’s team champions.
He said success goes beyond game days; that is just the tip of the iceberg. A real team and culture is built behind the scenes, on the training pitch, in the locker room and on the road.
“The way our seniors have led and loved their teammates, their sisters and brothers we say, absolutely first-class stuff that will never show up on a stat sheet,” Ward said.
Winning for Pepperdine and God
Faith is a big part of Women’s Soccer, all sources said.
“We feel like it was providential and a divine appointment with that trophy this year,” Ward said.
Ward didn’t attend school at Pepperdine, but Pepperdine is his family, he said. His wife, Shelby, is an alumna (‘97) and former soccer student-athlete and his oldest son, Nathaniel, is currently a senior.
Being able to win another title for this school meant everything to him, but winning it for God made it that much sweeter.
“I just feel like God orchestrated this thing for us this year, and He just continually reminds us that all things are possible for those who believe and just remain faithful,” Ward said. “Who knew what was going to happen this year? We knew what we knew wanted to happen this year, but for it to actually transpire the way it did, it is not a coincidence.”
For Waldeck, she said she couldn’t have done this without the Lord.
“He really is the one who gets us over that hurdle,” Waldeck said.
Looking Ahead
The Waves support a cast of young stars: 10 freshmen, one redshirt and six sophomores, three redshirts.
Following the conclusion of this season, Wynalda will be entering her senior campaign
and she said this young cast of rising stars around her is something to keep an eye out for next year.
“Our team is so young, which is why it’s so exciting for next year because there is a good amount of the people playing for us right now who are going to be on the field next year,” Wynalda said. “That’s just so exciting that we get to carry this momentum in from this year to the next year.”
But the Waves are not done yet. Riding off the wave of their conference championship, Women’s Soccer will host the first round of the NCAA Championships against the University of California, Berkeley on Nov. 16.
“[We] just use the energy and the passion, and even what we learned from winning a championship on Saturday,” Waldeck said. “We played Pepperdine Soccer, and we know when we play Pepperdine Soccer, we can be successful.”
No matter what happens as the Waves’ season continues, one thing is certain: the 2024 Women’s Soccer squad is West Coast Conference Champions and history can never erase that.
“It feels really good to just have that piece of hardware for the rest of your life, and in perhaps one of the most competitive seasons of WCC Women’s Soccer with the addition of Oregon State and Washington State,” Ward said. “We can sort of point back and say, ‘You know what? We picked up the championship for the first time in history with the new conference alignment,’ and that’s something that nobody will ever be able to take away.”
Photo courtesy of Pepperdine Athletics
9 at Tari Frahm Rokus
Waves bounced back
Students connect sports and spirituality
Shane Stephens Sports Staff Writer
Pepperdine requires Chapel for every first and second-year student, but there are many options from religious discussions to prayer and sports.
Many athletes, in both the collegiate and professional realm, have religious ties, which is a contributing factor to why sports Chapels at Pepperdine are so popular.
“The theme of fellowship is what the Chapel was centered on,” Assistant Professor of English Martin Premoli said. “For me, that’s what has been able to build fellowship quickly and find friendship and community.”
Chapel at Pepperdine offers many options for students who enjoy sports, such as surfing, basketball, yoga and the newest addition, pickleball.
Alongside the sports options, student-athletes have their own Chapel, where they also have the opportunity to connect with their faith.
Sophomore Cristian Fernandez is from the Bronx, where he has deep connections with both his Catholic faith and basketball. He said Chapel sports help him connect with his faith.
“I think it’s cool to be able
to play my favorite sport while connecting with my faith,” Fernandez said. “My group is really close now after two months of meeting.”
Resident Director Spencer Slater is in charge of the Basketball Chapel every Wednesday at 11 a.m. this semester. Before playing basketball, the students pray, meditate and engage in spiritual exercises.
“This Chapel has connected me more with my community,” Fernandez said. “Basketball Chapel has brought me closer with other sophomores who come from different backgrounds.”
Pickleball Chapel at Pepperdine is newer, with the sport growing in popularity over the past year. The Chapel is run by Premoli, Josh Craton, a director of residence life and resident director Ash Whitaker.
“The program is called prayer and pickleball,” Premoli said. “Each week we began with some kind of prayer that focused on moments of friendship or community building within the Bible.”
The Surf Chapel is also very popular with students, especially those who come from places that are near the ocean.
With a majority of Pepperdine students being from California, according to Pepperdine Admissions, Chapel provides
an opportunity for those who were not able to learn how to surf before university.
“[Surf Chapel] connects to faith through appreciation of nature,” sophomore Giovanni Naccari said. “I think nature serves as an analogy to faith.”
Naccari, an Italian-born Catholic, appreciates that Pepperdine can provide a connection with his faith through sports.
Professor of Science Rob Shearer runs Surf Chapel every Wednesday at 7 a.m., where the students sing worship songs and have a discussion before going out to surf.
“I think there is a connection between faith and sports,” Naccari said. “Sports can provide discipline and habit, which can be a tool to cultivate virtue.”
Pepperdine Chapel welcomes all faiths and backgrounds, which can help students who like sports but are unsure about their beliefs to learn about faith.
“Thinking about the relationship between being active, being outdoors and enjoying the gift that God has given you is really important,” Premoli said. “Being able to celebrate that as part of God’s plan and of God’s work of fellowship at Pepperdine resonates with me.”
Sports are an integral part
A student shoots a free throw during Basketball Chapel at the Towers basketball court. Resident Director Spencer Slater hosts Basketball Chapel on Wednesdays at 11 a.m.
of many people’s lives, and the opportunity to play beyond a high school level does not arise for many, which is why Pepperdine takes pride in providing sports programs for all students.
“The school provides great opportunities for non-student athletes to play sports, especially through Chapel,” Fernandez said. “There’s an environment where we can just have fun and build relationships.”
Pepperdine allows all students to use their facilities, whether it’s the pickleball or tennis courts, basketball courts, the track or the pool.
“Along with Chapel, intramurals are super fun for us,”
Naccari said. “The school always gives us equipment and opportunities to play with friends outside of the required Chapel.”
The sports Chapel programs give students the opportunity to play sports they may enjoy and can pursue casually during their free time.
Students receive an email from the Chapel program before each semester with the opportunity to sign up for the RISE program that best fits their needs.
shane.stephens@pepperdine.edu
Practice players are the unsung heroes
Nick Charkhedian Sports Staff Writer
The 2023-2024 Pepperdine Women’s Basketball season came to an end in the first round of the WCC Championships after a loss to the University of San Diego on March 7, 2024. The Waves ended their season with a 5-25 record.
This prompted change for the Waves, who brought in a new head coach, Katie Faulkner who aims to make Pepperdine an elite women’s basketball program, according to previous Graphic reporting.
As all sports fans know, success comes from hard work, and hard work starts in practice. But Pepperdine’s fans might not be aware of the other people working hard on the court during practice.
The Women’s Basketball team has a practice squad that consists of a group of male Pepperdine students. The practice players help the team prepare for their opponents.
“Us doing well or even having the kinds of intense practices that we have, I don’t think it would be a possibility without them,” senior guard Helena Friend said.
When Women’s Basketball meets for practice, certain coaches have a scouting report ready for the team to train with
Photo by Mary Elisabeth | Photo Editor
Pepperdine Women’s Basketball practice players huddle during a practice at Firestone Fieldhouse on Oct. 31. Practice players coordinate with coaches to help women’s basketball prepare for their opponents.
ahead of their matchup. The coach who has the report then prepares the practice players to impersonate the Waves’ upcoming opponents — helping the team prepare for their matchups.
“They do an impeccable job scouting for us. When we’re playing these teams, they’re in the gym practicing with us every day, they’re acting as these girls,” Friend said. “They’re going to really make it as real as possible, and they’re going to make it challenging for us.”
Senior Sam Chung has been on the practice squad since his freshman year. Chung happened to be in the right place
when the squad was being assembled.
“One day, I was playing in the gym freshman year, and the coaches kind of just came up to me and a couple of other friends of mine and asked if we wanted to do it,” Chung said. “They had never had practice players here before, and we jumped on the opportunity.”
Friend is currently the only player on the roster who’s been with the team for the last four seasons. She’s seen the evolution and growth of the practice squad.
Friend pointed out that she believes the practice squad this season looks like the
best she’s seen.
“I’ve been in practice scenes where it’s like they’re there for the free gear, they’re there for the early registration,” Friend said. “But I think specifically this year our practice guys, you can tell they really, really care.”
Sophomore Luke Bell joined the scout team this year, and his entry into the squad was different than Chung’s.
“I have a friend who was a practice player last year. His name is Isaiah Dean, and he’s now a walk-on this year,” Bell said. “I was wanting to become a practice player. He just gave my information to coach, and then she reached out to me.”
Chung talked about how the practice players take pride in a winning result from the Women’s Basketball team. Although they’re not on the actual roster, Chung spoke about the effect the squad has on the team’s training.
“Our goal is to make them better. That’s the whole goal of being a practice player, right? Make the girls better,” Chung said. “Make them smarter on the court and hopefully the result is a win.”
Friend and Chung both spoke about the difference the practice players can bring for physical reasons. While the practice players’ main role is to impersonate the players the team prepares for, they offer a different angle due to their physical attributes.
The Women’s Basketball season is underway, and the Waves are 1-2. Only time will tell the results of the changes during the offseason, but the practice squad and players continue to work, growing with each other along the way.
“Their hunger and just their ability to make us better, it’s beyond what I think we could do for each other,” Friend said.
Photo courtesy of Isabella Knudson
Justin Rodriguez Sports Editor
Campus Recreation at Pepperdine is more than just a program — it’s a gateway to adventure, fitness and connection. From group fitness classes and competitive sports to guided hikes and kayaking at the Channel Islands, Campus Rec brings students together in an active community that thrives on the unique landscape of Malibu.
For years, Campus Rec has been a resource students have had access to for any of their activity needs. At its core, Campus Rec is “dedicated to enriching the Pepperdine community,” and in doing so, has provided students with many programs that “encourage healthy, active and balanced lifestyles,” according to the Campus Rec website.
For Director of Campus Recreation Robb Bolton, Campus Rec is an essential part of wellbeing at Pepperdine.
“When [students] come to Pepperdine you live there, so it’s part of your lifestyle,” Bolton said. “You are there for academics, but there’s other needs you have for wellness and to thrive.”
Recreational Sports: Everything For Everyone
Recreational sports can help students fill their competitive kick.
Campus Rec consists of three pillars: Club Sports, Intramurals and Informal Recreation. Coordinator of Recreational Sports, Julian Baker, said they have differing levels of engagement available through sports programs, and it depends on the student’s goal to find their right fit.
“Some people really want to compete and they have that competitive drive, that’s just who they are, some just want to learn a new sport and they want to play casually, or they’re just doing it because their friends are doing it,” Baker said.
In terms of Intramural Sports, Campus Rec offers flag football, volleyball, soccer and basketball. For Club Sports, the organization offers surfing, tennis, beach volleyball and eSports.
SP RTS
Campus Rec encourages active, healthy lifestyles
These sports only run during the academic year, but certain sports are held in both the fall and spring semesters. Over the course of one semester-long league, events are structured in three main ways: a preseason, regular season, and playoff tournament.
Intramurals are Pepperdine-run events and are open to all current Pepperdine students, faculty, staff and dependents, according to the Intramural Sports website. Club Sports are the area where competitiveness typically kicks up a notch, Baker said.
Club Sports allow students to compete at high levels and practice regularly under a head coach and compete in state and/or national championships at the end of each year, according to Club Sports.
However, for Baker, the best part about these teams and leagues is how welcoming they are.
“Every sport, every league, any type of event that we do, is open to everybody in the Pepperdine community, every gender,” Baker said. “There’s definitely home for everybody, regardless of where you’re at.”
Outdoor Recreation: An Escape to Nature
Outdoor Rec strives to create a space and community where students can “facilitate connections to nature, God, and fellow Pepperdine students,” according to Outdoor Recreation.
Coordinator of Outdoor Recreation Kiana Ramli said the goal is to create a fun space for students — especially those who are international or outof-state.
“Our goal and our mission is to be able to provide really fun, and community building, outdoor excursions for students that allow them to explore more of California and the beautiful recreation spaces that California has to offer,” Ramli said.
Ramli said Pepperdine’s unique location and California’s diverse landscape allow student employees to organize a variety of trips, but it is all based on the season.
In order to make these trips happen, Outdoor Rec plans their trips around school
holidays. Outdoor Rec also offers rental equipment to students who want to go on a trip by themselves.
“Students [who] want to go and just have their own experience, plan their own trip, they can just take all that gear. They don’t want to commit and invest into purchasing a lot of expensive outdoor gear, they’re just going to go a few times, or they’re just trying it out,” Ramli said. “We’re trying to make the outdoors more accessible for students.”
Day and overnight trips within Outdoor Rec require a fee to participate, with fees varying based on the trip. The Wellness Fee, which students pay as part of their tuition, covers everything else in Campus Rec.
The students who have accessed the outdoors through Outdoor Rec got more out of the trip than just nature, but lifelong friends as well, Ramli said.
“We have had grad students and freshmen all in the same trip before, and seeing them all around the campfire together, sharing stories and laughing, exchanging phone numbers, building community, is the coolest aspect of this job,” Ramli said.
From camping to ocean kayaking, skiing to snowboarding and even horseback riding, Ramli said they are thinking outside the box to find more creative and unique outdoor activities that students can get involved in.
Fitness and
Wellbeing: Habits for the Body
The goal for Fitness and Wellbeing is to help Pepperdine students, faculty and staff build and “develop healthy
habits and care for their body,” according to Fitness and Wellbeing.
Bolton said this pillar of Campus Rec is led by the Coordinator of Fitness and Wellbeing, Amanda Knight, who oversees fitness facilities that are spread out over campus. The main building is the Pepperdine Fitness Center, but they also have an outdoor fitness center on campus, called The Cage.
“The Cage is open to everybody and we have open hours twice a week for students to go in there if they just prefer to workout outside,” Bolton said.
At no additional cost, Fitness and Wellbeing offers group classes to the Pepperdine community that are led by professionally certified fitness instructors — who sometimes happen to be students.
“It’s a huge convenience because you don’t need to, as a student, go buy a membership at the spin place down the street from us, or another gym to be able to take these group classes,” Bolton said. “They’re all available, right on campus.”
The benefit of the classes expands beyond the affordability, Bolton said, as the classes offered are diverse, ranging from yoga one day, to a spin class the next day, followed by a strength class to wrap up the week.
The best thing Bolton said he has seen from Fitness and Wellbeing, is the community students have been able to find.
“One piece is the exercise, but then the other piece of that is the community,” Bolton said. “That helps keep people accountable, because they have that community of people that [they] will go and attend with on a regular basis that will check in on each other and ask,
‘Hey, are you going to class today?’”
How To Get Involved
Campus Rec is open and accessible to everyone in the Pepperdine community.
Besides open participation, Campus Rec is also one of the biggest employment offices on campus, behind the big entity that is Pepperdine Athletics, Bolton said. It’s an area members within Campus Rec pride themselves on, multiple sources said.
Across the board, Campus Rec hires referees for sports, staff to operate and oversee fitness centers and marketers and student leaders for outdoor events, Bolton said.
Campus Rec is making its way to The Mountain in the future, Bolton said. He is in the works of establishing a recreation center that will be included within The Mountain, however, his plans are much grander with his goals aimed toward establishing an entire wellness facility.
“It’s not just a weight room. It’s also a hub for all wellness resources because it’s all one piece, you can’t just address one piece of wellness, wellness is everything combined,” Bolton said.
Campus Rec strives to help the Pepperdine community achieve their recreational needs, and if students want to get involved, the best place to find information is their website and social media, all sources said.
Photo by Mary Elisabeth | Photo Editor
The entrance of the Pepperdine Fitness Center on March 13, which is located between Seaside Hall and Rockwell Towers residential buildings along Greek Road. Fitness programs on campus are designed to help students actively develop healthy habits and promote care for their bodies.
