Pepperdine Graphic 3-18-2022

Remembering

AUTUMN TENNISON Autumn’s parents Gary and Ellen Tennison shared memories of their daughter Autumn. She was a Seaver junior who died March 7 on campus. | See A4

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THE PEPPERDINE GR APHIC

Volume LI | Issue 13 | March 18, 2022 | pepperdine-graphic.com | follow us @peppgraphic

Pepp Bon announces Appétit new dining service Abby Wilt News Editor Pepperdine will start a new dining service contract with Bon Appètit in August 2022, ending its four-decade contract with Sodexo. Bon Appètit is based in Redwood City, Calif., and operates 1,000 cafes in 33 states.

Sodexo

See FOOD | A5

malibuparkatcrosscreek.com @MalibuParkatCrossCreek malibuparkatcrosscreek

Abby Wilt News Editor Pepperdine’s Office of Student Accessibility honored Disability Awareness Week March 14-18 through several events on campus for students to participate in.

The goal of the week is for students to start looking at the world through the lens of accessibility, OSA Student Coordinator Emily McNutt said.

The week included activities such as trivia regarding accessibility, film screenings, disability justice yoga and Solidarity Day — a day that challenges students to only use accessible routes and spaces on campus.

“We have been given a really unique opportunity with our public education to try to advance disability and disability justice in those places,” McNutt said. “I hope that they walk away from this and try to use their power and voice to advance the cause of accessibility and disability justice.”

Paid Advertisement PERSPECTIVES | A15

Staff Editorial: Not just answers, the truth.

The Graphic staff demand transparency from the administration and more support in the pursuit of truth.

LIFE & ARTS | B4

Students give the rundown on small business.

Four Seaver students share their work as business owners.

Overview of the Week OSA hosted events every day throughout the week to honor and educate community members about Disability Awareness Week.

SPORTS | B11

See DAW | A5

THE WAVES REPORT

FRI: 1-2+ FT

Short-handed No. 6 Women’s Tennis strolls past No. 58 BYU. Women’s Tennis bested BYU in Malibu, a continuation of their at-home winning streak.

WHAT’S AHEAD SAT: 1-2+ FT

SUN: 2-3 FT

MON: 1-2 FT

TUES: 1-2 FT

DEEPSWELL.COM

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March 18, 2022 | NEWS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

I have noticed kindness is a virtue easily shown through a smile, a friendly conversation or a warm hug.

Offering someone an encouraging word or a smile can be a simple way to brighten another’s day, without exerting a lot of effort.

When life gets busy, it is easier for me to focus inwardly on what I have to do, what homework I have or how stressed I am. However, I forget most of my friends are likely experiencing the same thing.

One of my favorite books, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s “The Little Prince,” speaks on the necessities of kindness, saying, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

Even if you do good deeds and your actions seem beneficial, none of it will matter if your efforts are not motivated by kindness. Putting love behind your actions makes them all that much more impactful.

While showing kindness throughout your day is important, it is equally as important to be kind to yourself.

Have grace for your mistakes and for the mistakes of others. No one is perfect, including yourself.

Taking care of your own needs and your mental health will allow you to live life more fully. There will always be an upcoming test or assignment to study for and always something stressful looming on the horizon.

Taking time out of the week to focus on yourself and finding time to recharge, whether alone or with friends, is crucial to sustain your own well-being.You can’t output your best work if your brain is tired and overwhelmed.

As an overachiever, I find it very easy to load my schedule with things I enjoy, not realizing how much time each of those things may take up. At first, because I love everything I do, I don’t realize how overwhelmed I get, then after a few weeks, the work seems to magically pile up.

While the work may still be enjoyable, taking care of myself moves to the bottom of my priority list when my life starts to get busier. This semester, I have been focusing more on balancing my schoolwork and personal health, and I encourage everyone to do the same.

Take the time to read a book, go on a hike, spend time with friends or find what relaxes your mind and rejuvenates your soul.

Love yourself and love others — I believe those are the two most important qualities to uphold in life.

graeson.claunch@peppedine.edu

16 186 943 198

Active Student Cases* *As of 03/16/22

Employee Cases**

On-campus Cases**

2050 9.05M 79.5M

Malibu Cases

1

Chief Operating Officer Phil Phillips discussed dropping masking requirements as early as March 7. This decision was later implemented.

2

Chief Operating Officer Phil Phillips discussed dropping the mandatory weekly testing requirements after March 20.

3

The University ended the requirement for all campus visitors to be registererd on a guest list.

California Cases

United States Cases

Cumulative since 3/2020

Read the bi-weekly COVID-19 updates in the Pixel newsletter.

Off-campus Cases** **Since 1/2/22

The DPS Reports

tweets of the month

1

02/21/22 Drug Related/Non-Criminal: Possession of Marijuana on Campus (adult) Location: White House

2

02/23/22 Drug Related/Non-Criminal: Possession of Marijuana on Campus (minor)/ Possession of Alcohol on Campus (minor) Location: Seaver Drive

3

02/23/22 Crime: Trespassing Location: Payson Library

events

Graeson Claunch News Assistant

PRESIDENT’S briefings |

COVID-19 by the numbers

Upcoming

Good News: The impact of kindness

5

03/06/22 Fire/Hazards: Gas Leak Outside Location: Chaparral Circle

Read the full DPS reports in the Pixel newsletter.

Student Programming Board: PSMA Student Showcase Featuring two Pepperdine Alumni Bands, Spectre Jones and Corretta, with other student bands and artists opening Saurday, March 19, 5 p.m.

A Deep Dive into the Ukraine Crisis

Artist Talk with Lucas Rizzotto Surfboard Room

Online Friday, March 18, 3–4 p.m. Thursday, March 24, 2-4 p.m.

You Had One [Parking] Job

John Tyler Drive Photo by Ashley Mowreader, Managing Editor

4

02/25/22 Traffic Related: Hit and Run, Non-Injury Accident Location: Public Safety Office

President Drive Photo by Ashley Mowreader, Managing Editor

Highlighting bad parking on Pepperdine’s campus.

Seaver Drive Photo by Ashley Mowreader, Managing Editor

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March 18, 2022 | NEWS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

Masking optional on Malibu campus Abby Wilt News Editor Pepperdine lifted its mask mandate March 7, allowing students and staff, regardless of vaccination status, to choose whether they wanted to wear a face covering on Malibu campus, following guidance from LA County.

The University still requires masks on public transportation and in healthcare settings, but not in classrooms, the library or the Caf. Students said they were excited to see their peers’ faces and facial expressions, but also questioned whether the mandate was lifted too early.

“We could have waited another week and I’d have been alright with it,” senior Carl Langholz said. “Playing it safe never hurts.”

Seaver College returned from spring break March 7 — the same day the University lifted the mandate. The University did not require entry testing for students as it did in the past, but will require routine screening testing for at least two more weeks until March 21.

If the University decides to suspend weekly testing after

March 21, it will still provide optional testing for the community, according to a March 4 University Public Relations email.

Pepperdine’s COVID-19 positivity rate in 2022 has remained lower than LA County’s rate in 2022, Public Relations wrote in the email.

Pepperdine decided to lift the mandate based on this information as well as consultation from public health officials, according to the email.

“The University encourages all who wish to continue wearing masks to do so, and will continue to provide medical-grade masks for free,” Public Relations wrote.

With the change to masking requirements, students said classes felt different and abnormal.

“It was definitely interesting,” senior Peyton Lee said.

“For some people, that’s not how I filled in the bottom half of their face.”

Lee said she didn’t mind wearing a mask before Pepperdine lifted the mandate, but was excited to be able to eat and drink during class again.

“I can also wear my glasses again in class,” Lee said. “I

Lydia DuPerier, Life & Arts Editor | Students sit in Elkins Auditorium for HUM 212 with Professor Bryan Givens on March 7. Pepperdine lifted its mask mandate March 7, allowing community members — regardless of vaccination status — to choose whether they wanted to wear a face covering. think that will be exciting because I’ll finally be able to see the board again without [the glasses] being foggy.”

Langholz said he enjoyed not having to wear a mask, but also understood why some people still wanted to wear them.

“With us just having a week off, it would have been a bit depressing to go back to having masks,” Langholz said.

“But at the same time, everyone went internationally and travelled, so it’s a bit of a risk

having it literally the week, the day, after spring break.”

Lee and Langholz said their classes were mixed on how many students still decided to wear masks—varying from almost half of the class to just a few students.

“There were probably 10 people, maybe less, wearing masks in a class of about like 50,” Lee said.

Students said they are learning to adjust again to not wearing masks and seeing their peers’ full face — a con-

cept Langholz said he didn’t ever suspect having to encounter before the pandemic.

“I won’t have any excuse for not recognizing people without the masks now,” Langholz said. “But some people did still wear the masks, and that’s understandable. A lot of people feel differently about the masks.”

abby.wilt@pepperdine.edu

COVID-19 brain fog looms over students Anezka Liskova News Assistant While there are immediate symptoms of COVID, some community members said they weren’t expecting symptoms after contagion.

One part of the pandemic, COVID brain fog, is causing individuals to feel unmotivated and confused. COVID brain fog occurs when an individual finds it difficult to think and focus after testing positive for COVID, according to The New York Times.

First-year Elliana Johnson tested positive for COVID at the beginning of 2022 and said she experienced COVID brain fog.

“When I got back to school, like the following week, I felt super unmotivated,” Johnson said. “I don’t know if that was like partially winter break things.

But then, I had a three hour class Monday nights, I found it really hard to focus. And I started getting headaches from like trying to focus really hard, because I think I hadn’t done school in so long.”

First-year Brynn Oakley tested positive for COVID on Jan. 3, and said she was surprised by her new symptoms.

“It’s definitely been harder to motivate myself, to do my work and to not procrastinate as much or just put more effort into assignments and stuff, which has been kind of out of character for me,” Oakley said.

Not only is COVID difficult for students to deal with, but professors said they have had to learn how to work with students that are experiencing COVID brain fog.

Communications Professor Court-

It’s definitely been harder to motivate myself to do my work and to not procrastinate as much or just put more effort into assignments and stuff.

Samantha Miller, Art Editor | A female silhouette is clouded by COVID-19 brain fog.

COVID-19 brain fog has affected students and staff at Pepperdine after testing positive for COVID-19. ney Hook said she sees many of her students deal with brain fog and experienced it on her own too.

“I’ve definitely heard of brain fog, but it feels much more common since the pandemic started,” Hook said. “I think the transitions that came with COVID-19 really took a hit on students’ mental health. We went from learning online for nearly two years to — boom — face-to-face and all the expectations and energy that comes with that.”

Hook said she has found ways to handle this situation in her classroom.

“I try to do my best to acknowledge

those moments in class, maybe plan for lighter days that take less brain power,” Hook said. “Sometimes I can feel the class spacing out and I just have to say say, ‘Alright, let’s take a breather.’ The power of a snack and text break can be a game changer.”

Some students, like Oakley, said they still feel COVID brain fog affecting their productivity in school, even months after testing positive. On the other hand, Johnson said it hasn’t affected her in the long term, only right after she had COVID. It seems like it lasts differently for people.

Brynn Oakley First-year “If anything, I feel like it taught me to, like, learn how to concentrate more even when it’s like hard for me to concentrate,” Johnson said.

anezka.liskova@pepperdine.edu

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March 18, 2022 | NEWS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

(Left) Photo courtesy of Gary Tennison | Autumn Tennison smiles in Chicago in July 2019, the summer before her first year at Pepperdine. Gary Tennison said Autumn Tennison was visiting Chicago for a Khalid concert and stayed in an Airbnb on the lakeshore, feeling special. (Right) Photo courtesy of Jacob Erbes | Ellen Tennison speaks at Autumn Tennison’s vigil Wednesday, March 9, with husband Gary Tennison and Autumn Tennison’s dog Finley behind her. The Tennisons said their daughter was kind, gentle and loved life.

In her parents’ eyes: Remembering Autumn Tennison Ashley Mowreader Managing Editor It was sunny and hot at Drescher Campus. The sky was blue, cloudless and the wind whipped through Hero’s Garden, ropes beating loudly against the metal of the empty flagpole. Gary and Ellen Tennison sat on the patio outside the Villa Graziadio Executive Center, their backs turned away from the afternoon sun, Finley the labrador retriever curled up between their feet.

The couple had spent the morning going through their daughter’s things.

It was day two of the endeavor, rifling through a closet full of clothes, organizing what would stay and what would go. A few items made the cut — Sassy, a stuffed husky Autumn had owned for two decades, some jewelry, some makeup. The rest would go to her friends and sorority sisters, maybe donated.

Gary and Ellen Tennison had been on campus for a few days, with plans to stay through the week. Even through their fatigue, their love for Autumn shined through their voices.

Autumn Tennison was born Oct. 14, 2000. She was a junior at Seaver College.

She died March 7, 2022 in her Drescher apartment.

Autumn was a homebody, she loved her room. She ate there, she did art there. It was her safe place, her parents said.

Autumn had a quiet stillness about her, she wasn’t fake or trying to be the center of attention. She was a good listener.

“With the image she always wanted to put up, she was real,” Gary Tennison said.

Autumn loved over salted popcorn and added all kinds of extras to it like cheese and jalapeño powder. She was particular about her eyelashes and always had killer eyeliner and brows. She turned 21 in October and enjoyed fruity drinks like moscato.

3.18 A4 FINAL.indd 1

She loved a brand name — Louis Vuitton was her most recent addition to the collection over Christmas break.

The last day of spring break, March 5, Ellen Tennison said they spent the day together at home, getting acrylic nails, buying a new piercing for Autumn’s nose. Autumn picked out Ellen’s color, she said. “’I feel pretty, this is good, I feel pretty,’” Ellen remembered Autumn saying.

She loved art. She designed stickers to raise money for I Support the Girls, an organization that helps to fund the distribution of essential items to women experiencing homelessness. Autumn was a singer, but she never let her parents hear.

“I’m hoping her friends got to hear her sing,” Ellen Tennison said.

She was the baby of the family and above all, Autumn was a daddy’s girl.

“I’m going to miss when I genuinely saw her smile,” Gary Tennison said. “I know she’s my daughter, but she was so pretty when she lit up.”

When looking at colleges, Autumn thought Pepperdine was out of reach, her parents said, worried that she wouldn’t be admitted. Autumn wanted to be in Los Angeles, she was into fashion and all the new trends and loved being by the ocean.

She applied to Loyola Marymount early action and committed, but once she got her acceptance to Pepperdine, she knew Malibu was where she wanted to be.

Leaving for college was hard for Autumn. She graduated from Robinson High School in Robinson, Ill. in spring 2019. Coming to Malibu her first year was escaping an abusive relationship with a boy who wrecked her spirit, making her doubt herself and her worth. She had a habit of picking the wrong boys, her parents said.

“She wanted to save him,” Ellen Tennison said.

But once at Pepperdine, Autumn found community in her suitemates.

They taught her that she was worth more than what some stupid boy back home said and she began to heal, her parents said.

“They were teaching her to accept love,” her parents said.

Autumn started at Pepperdine as a Biology major. Both of her parents are doctors, and while they didn’t want her to pursue medicine just for their sake, she decided to give STEM a shot nonetheless. She quickly discovered Biology was not for her, feeling intimidated by the looming statistics that very few Pepperdine Biology students graduate with a 4.0 GPA. She tried Nutrition briefly, but that wasn’t right either. So she turned to Creative Writing. Autumn had big dreams, aspiring to work for Vogue because she loved fashion. She also thought about getting a minor in Education and teaching post-graduation. She considered starting her career up in the Seattle area, too.

Even while at school, Autumn stayed connected to her family and friends back home. She had a Snapchat streak with her dad dating back 1,381 days as of March 7 and an even longer one with her elementary school friend Emma.

Gary Tennison said Autumn Snapchatted him every night, usually around 2 a.m., because she was convinced it had to be at the same time every night to keep the streak alive.

“I’m going to miss her snaps,” Gary said.

COVID-19 was devastating to Autumn, her parents said. She was unhappy going home to Illinois in March 2020, and she wanted to be back in California, back at school. She would watch movies with her friends on FaceTime every Thursday, staying connected even when apart.

For the 2021 academic year, Autumn and her best friend Justin Selva rented an apartment together in Simi Valley.

She participated in sorority recruitment in fall 2020 and joined Kappa Alpha

Theta as part of PC20.

Toward the end of her sophomore year, Autumn wasn’t doing well. She had gone through a devastating breakup, her parents said — the boy wasn’t the issue this time, she was happy with him. She just wanted someone to love, her parents said. But the dark thoughts Autumn struggled with often loomed much larger now.

She was rushed to the hospital for an emergency evaluation of her mental health and it was the Student Care Team who attended to her, her parents 2,000 miles away back home. Ellen said she would never forget how helpful and kind the team was.

The doctors questioned whether she was suicidal, she told her parents she wasn’t. She didn’t have a plan, she assured her parents, she never really thought about it.

“Autumn always felt like she was broken, that there was something wrong with her,” Ellen Tennison said.

LaShonda Coleman and the Student Care Team made sure Autumn was safe, they and the school psychiatrist made sure she got medications and treatment, and she began healing, moving forward.

The 2022 academic year was better.

In December, Autumn got a service dog, Finley, from Ultimate K9 in Indianapolis. She had always loved dogs. Autumn got more involved in Theta.

Losing Autumn was completely unexpected. Autumn had dark days, her parents said, but those tough conversations are something they said they would miss.

“I’d trade any hard day for what we have now,” Gary Tennison said.

Her parents will leave Malibu with a handful of Autumn’s things, an urn and heavy hearts, but a peace in knowing Pepperdine was where Autumn belonged.

“She was in the right place,” Ellen Tennison said. “[Pepperdine’s love] is something we’ll never forget.”

ashley.mowreader@pepperdine.edu

3/17/22 8:29 AM

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March 18, 2022 | NEWS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

DAW: Students highlight accessibility From A1 Throughout the week, there were accessible options in the Caf to accommodate all dietary needs, as well as opportunities for students to make accessible items through the 3D printers in the library.

“There’s a lot of different things on the list [of items to make on the 3D printer],” McNutt said. “Some of them are bottle openers, button devices that help people push buttons, easier door reach travelers that can open doors from a distance or without certain grip strength, and just a variety of things that could help somebody live day to day life activities.”

OSA also tabled on main campus every day to spread awareness and educate students about disabilities, all while playing music and talking with students walking by.

On March 14, OSA organized and ran trivia for students, incentivizing students to participate through giveaways.

The trivia centered around what a disability is, what accessibility is and what the difference between the two are, McNutt said.

OSA hosted a film screening March 15 of the film “Crip Camp,” and offered free t-shirts for the first 50 attendees. After the screening, OSA invited faculty members to speak about the history of disabilities.

“I think it [the film] shows a

lot of the really important history of the activism work that was done in order for disabled people to receive increased rights in the United States,” McNutt said. “It really follows a group of people who do just that and do it super effectively when they were talking more about the disability of intersectionality.”

March 16 was a day dedicated to intersectionality — students were able to learn about the intersection of identity and disability. OSA also hosted a free American Sign Language class in the evening for community members to participate in.

OSA encouraged community members to come together for Solidarity Day on March 17.

“Even if you’re a really busy person, I think every single person can participate in this,” McNutt said.

McNutt said this day challenged students and staff to not use any stairs or use any doors that did not provide accessibility buttons.

“The idea behind this is just to put yourself in the position and the shoes of someone who is using those routes on a daily basis,” McNutt said. “And to see how easy or hard it is and assess where we are at as a campus.”

OSA ended the week by hosting a yoga session on Alumni Park, only practicing accessible movement.

“We are focusing a little bit more on how accessibility really, truly is for everyone,”

Ashley Mowreader, Managing Editor | From left, sophomore Ivan Manriquez, junior Samantha Ortega and senior Alicia Yu show off their bracelets from the Disability Awareness Week table on main campus March 16. The Office of Student Accessibility hosted Disability Awareness Week from March 14-18.

McNutt said in reference to the yoga event.

Goals for Awareness Week

Disability

McNutt said OSA hoped to spread awareness about accessibility through this week, and show students that accessibility affects everyone whether they realize it or not.

“Anyone can become disabled at any time for any length of time,” McNutt said. “You may feel that you’re able bodied right now, but tomorrow, you could break your leg or develop an illness.”

One in four adults in the United States live with a disability, according to the Center

for Disease Control and Protection. Disabilities can be chronic illnesses, mental illnesses or physical illnesses. Globally, an estimated one billion people have a disability, according to the CDC. McNutt said she would like to see an increase in the value of disabled voices on campus, and make campus a place where students know they can find accessibility options and feel loved, despite their disabilities.

“There are probably students who never come to our campus because they don’t feel like their needs will be met here,” McNutt said. “So how do we strategically and creatively think of ways to make sure that those voices are included also,

so that more and more students can come to our campus, and more and more people can feel welcome and valued here.”

Through this week, McNutt said she hoped students learned to take action and to highlight more disabled voices on campus.

“I just think that this is such an important time because there is urgency in this issue,” McNutt said. “We don’t have time to think about these things.

We need to think big and think creatively to make sure that we meet our standards when we have signs that say everyone belongs here.”

abby.wilt@pepperdine.edu

FOOD: Pepp selects new dining service From A1 Beginning August 2022, Pepperdine will start a new contract with Bon Appètit Management Company — an on-site restaurant company which offers full food-service management for universities. Bon Appètit will replace Sodexo – Pepperdine’s dining service for over four decades, according to a March 15 Public Relations email.

The University has been investigating the dining services market since 2019, knowing Sodexo’s contract would end in spring 2020. Due to the pandemic, Pepperdine extended its contract until July 22. Pepperdine has worked with Sodexo since 1977.

“They [Bon Appètit] are one of the industry leaders, and they are most excellent in every way,” Chief Business Officer Nicolle Taylor said. “Bottom line, we are looking forward to great tasting food, excellent customer service and a partnership that will help us to respond to all the community wants and needs and requests and concerns in a way that I think will be very welcomed by the community.”

Pepperdine asked the community for their feedback in 2019 — offering the community an opportunity to listen to presentations and participate in food tastings. Taylor said Student Government Association was also very involved in the process, pro-

viding their feedback and student input.

The University narrowed its decision to three finalists: Sodexo, Bon Appétit and Chartwells. The finalists received evaluations based on food service, sustainability, ability to adapt to emergencies and food quality, Taylor said.

“We’re grateful to all of the finalists and the participants also because they had to continue to wait and be in limbo a bit and provide us with information,” Taylor said.

After much consideration, the University chose Bon Appètit based on their cooked-from-scratch food and their responsible sourcing practices. The University also relied on community feedback, according to the email.

“We know that food plays such an important part at Pepperdine,” Director of Human Resources Sean Michael Phillips said. “We know that community is fostered around food. We know that food can be comforting and I think that Bon Appètit is going to be a wonderful partner.”

Bon Appètit is based in Redwood City, Calif., and operates over 1,000 cafes in 33 states.

Pepperdine thanked Sodexo for over 45 years of service to students, faculty and staff, Public Relations wrote in the email.

“They have seen us through the good, the bad and the ugly for sure,”

Ashley Mowreader, Managing Editor | Students look over their lunch choices Tuesday at Waves Café. Pepperdine will welcome Bon Appètit to manage dining services this August, ending a four-decade partnership with Sodexo.

Taylor said. “They have been there for us in times of crisis and in times of celebration.”

Taylor said Sodexo has set a foundation for Pepperdine to build upon and been a good partnership for the past nearly 50 years.

“Sodexo has been a dedicated partner, seeing our community through many years of growth and change, and most recently committing to extraordinary measures during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep our community safe,”

Public Relations wrote.

Sodexo employees will have the chance to meet with Bon Appètit to apply to continue working at the University, and Bon Appètit will encourage continued work at the University for current employees, according to the email.

“We are excited to partner with Bon Appètit and look forward to the future of dining services at Pepperdine,” Public Relations wrote.

abby.wilt@pepperdine.edu

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March 18, 2022 | NEWS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

Pepp to launch new center April 1 Ashley Mowreader Managing Editor The March 10 edition of the President’s Speaker Series ended with a surprise announcement — the University will partner with Baylor professor Byron Johnson to begin a Center for Faith and the Common Good beginning April 1.

President Jim Gash invited Johnson to speak as a part of his series on the topic of faith, human flourishing and the common good. The new center will connect Seaver College, the School of Public Policy and the Caruso School of law in researching how faith structures influence the common good. Provost Jay Brewster shared the center’s news following Johnson’s discussion.

“We anticipate robust societal impact that will emerge from the Center for Faith and the Common Good,” Brewster said during the event. “I think good things will come from this center that will have tangible impacts on our culture and our society and strengthen the scholarly work of Pepperdine.”

Johnson is a professor of Social Sciences at Baylor University, the founding director of the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion and director of the Program on Prosocial Behavior, among other titles.

“I’ve had a pretty long career in studying faith based initiatives, and especially with a view to solving some of society’s most pressing social problems,” Johnson said in a Graphic exclusive. “And that’s the kind of work that we want to do here at Pepperdine, you know, how can we help society? How can we help people to flourish?”

The center, despite Johnson’s connections to Baylor, will be a Pepperdine fixture and connect the Caruso School of Law, the School of Public Policy and Seaver.

“Pepperdine, with its law school, and its clinic — [the Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation Religious] Liberty Clinic — and the School of Public Policy, these are all components that make it a compelling place to do something like this,” Johnson said.

Pepperdine’s infrastructure in Wash-

ington, D.C., also made it the best fit for the center, Johnson said.

“That is so strategic for trying to influence people in Congress,” Johnson said. “Oftentimes, you have to go to Washington, [D.C.] to accomplish those kinds of things.”

In his role as distinguished visiting faculty, Johnson will be a frequent visitor to campus, providing direction and input on the center. He will also work alongside Pepperdine faculty establishing the center’s research projects, Johnson said.

Johnson and Gash identified three initial research projects and the center’s next step will be coordinating the initiation of those studies, wrote Vice Provost Lee Kats, the center’s academic director, in a March 10 email to the Graphic.

As academic director, Kats wrote his role will be to facilitate partnerships for research studies, coordinate conferences, support grant programs and identify other outside scholars to work with the center.

The Center’s first project will relate to the Mississippi State Penitentiary,

also known as the Parchman Farm, in Sunflower County, Miss.

“It has a terrible reputation as one of the most violent, corrupt prisons in America and they’re in the midst of an experiment to see if they can transform that prison and we want to capture it,” Johnson said. “We want to study it, just like we did the prison called Angola in Louisiana.”

The second project will evaluate seminaries in prison and their effectiveness, Johnson said. Kats and Johnson did not share plans for the third program.

“Research from Pepperdine faculty and students has become increasingly high profile over the last decade,” Kats wrote. “Much of the research being done at Pepperdine already seeks to benefit society and improve conditions for people. The new center will help jump start new research projects on faith and the common good, ultimately impacting and improving current frameworks and public policy.”

ashley.mowreader@pepperdine.edu

(Left) Photo courtesy of Pepperdine University | Byron Johnson, a Baylor professor of Social Sciences, sits in his office. Johnson will help lead Pepperdine’s new Center for Faith and the Common Good starting spring 2022. (Right) Photo courtesy of Grant Dillion | President’s Speaker Series speaker Byron Johnson presents on the impact of faith March 10. Johnson has years of experience researching faith and the common good, which he will use in developing Pepperdine’s new center.

Byron Johnson discusses human flourishing Melissa Auchard Staff Writer Pepperdine welcomed the second speaker of the President’s Speaker Series, Baylor University Professor of Social Sciences Byron Johnson on March 10 to campus. Johnson spoke to the community about the impact of faith on prison inmates.

Johnson’s research on faith and human flourishing will continue in partnership with the establishment of Pepperdine’s Center for Faith and Common Good.

“The vision for this center is to position Pepperdine in the middle, at the center, at the forefront of the study of the impact of faith on human flourishing on societal impact and on the common good,” President Jim Gash said.

Starting April 1, Johnson will carry the title of the Visiting Professor of Religious Studies and the Common Good at Pepperdine’s School of Public Policy. He is also the founder of the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion and the director of the Program on Prosocial Behavior.

Though Johnson’s presentation focused on the impact of faith on prisoners, the audience in Elkins Auditorium let out chuckles of laughter every now and then after Johnson’s comedic remarks. Pepperdine First Lady Joline Gash said Johnson kept her on the edge of her seat.

First-year John Jadovitz attended Byron’s presentation and said he enjoyed it.

“I thought [the presentation] was awesome,” Jadovitz said. “I think that faithbased research is something that isn’t done enough or published enough.”

First-year Gianni Hafner also heard Johnson speak.

Hafner said he felt similarly to Jadovitz.

“I thought it was a phenomenal story — what he’s doing,” Hafner said.

Both students said they are also excited about the new Center for Faith and Common Good.

“The fact that we’re opening up a huge center here at Pepperdine is just really encouraging,” Jadovitz said. “I think it’s gonna be great for the University and for the academic world.”

The Pepperdine community said they look forward to the new opportunities that will accompany the Center for Faith and Common Good. Johnson said he is eager to see what will come of the research center.

“We have major issues that need addressing and we can’t expect the government to do it all,” Johnson said. “We can’t expect people of faith to do it all, but you know what, people of faith can be a big part of it.”

melissa.auchard@pepperdine.edu

March 18, 2022 | NEWS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

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Conference calls for more female empowerment Michele Lee Staff Writer Pepperdine Graziadio School of Business hosted the bi-annual C200 Women in Leadership Conference on Feb 16. The conference gathered nearly 150 Graziadio students with a guest panel of female leaders in entertainment, finance and entrepreneurship from across the globe.

Kimber Maderazzo, Graziadio Marketing professor and chair for the C200 organization, is a Pepperdine alumna (‘10) and a strong believer in giving back to the school.

Shying away from business organizations during her career, Maderazzo said she advocates for more women mentorships in the workplace.

“I was foolish because if I could go back to my young self — my 25-year-old self — and say how important peer community is and what a community of other women and peers does for you, I would’ve been a much more successful executive than I was,” Maderazzo said.

C200 is an invite-only community of successful businesswomen with a mission to advance future women leaders. As someone without many women models to support her business career, Maderazzo said she believes asking for female mentorship in the workplace is vital for young entrepreneurs to do.

“You don’t have to have one-on-one experience on mentorship,” Maderazzo said.

“Just really leading by example as role models is so important for women to see.”

The Need for Women to Speak Up Women in America earn 81% of what their male counterparts earn, according to the International Labor Organization.

In addition, 18% of women experienced harassment and 41% reported discrimination in equal pay and promotions, according to a study published

by Gillian SteelFisher et al., in December 2019.

The MeToo movement advocates for more awareness about sexual violence and harassment. While this movement is mainly focused on helping survivors of sexual violence, Maderazzo highlights its impact on women in business at the conference.

“If any influence the MeToo movement had on women’s leadership is teaching women to speak up and use their voice,” Maderazzo said.

Maderazzo also urges women to be confident and to speak up for leadership roles and opportunities in the workplace.

“One of the biggest problems in women’s leadership is that women don’t speak up,” Maderazzo said. “Women don’t ask for roles. Women don’t say to their bosses I want to be a leader, I want to be the CEO of the company, I want this P&L [an executive position responsible for managing the net income of a company] role. They don’t do that.”

Corporations hire men based on potential while women are frequently hired based on their experience, Maderazzo said. Often times, women feel that they need 80 to 90% the qualifications to apply for a job when men would think 50% is enough, Maderazzo said “I think that’s where women can be stronger and better is really speaking what they want and really saying this is what I want and speaking up in companies,” Maderazzo said.

“That’ll help them progress and become better leaders.”

Addressing the Lack of Female Mentorship Carla Buata, Graziadio MBA

student candidate and director of McKesson Pharmaceuticals, is the first place recipient in the C200 Scholar Awards, winning $10,000 for her leadership potential and entrepreneurial spirit at the conference this year.

Exemplary MBA candidates receive these scholar awards, particularly those who demonstrate a commitment to giving back and supporting other women. Buata voiced the need for more women mentors in the workplace.

“Because [McKesson] is primarily male-dominant, I do not have any form of female mentorship or leadership really to guide me in my career as a woman,” Buata said.

With only male mentors in the workplace, Buata said she advocates for more women in leadership in organizations all around.

“Women do bring a certain perspective that is unique in that they’ve succeeded despite things like managing a family throughout their career which is an unspoken burden of managing a family and responsibilities at home and just the general challenges associated with succeeding as a woman in a male dominated company culture,” Buata said.

Lauren Elsner, Graziadio MBA candidate and co-president of Graziadio’s Women’s Business Association, is the second-place recipient of the C200 Scholar Award. Elsner focuses on unifying and empowering future businesswomen at Graziadio.

“Women need to come together and help support each other,” Elsner said. “There’s no way we are going to be successful on our own.”

Fortune 500 is an annual list of companies compiled and published by Fortune magazine, ranking the largest 500 U.S. corporations by their total revenue and respective fiscal

Photo courtesy of Kimber Maderazzo | Scholar award recipients talk at the C200 Women in Leadership Conference on Feb. 16. Mentors and recipients discuss the need for more female mentors and ways to spread awareness. years. Female CEOs make up 8% of the Fortune 500 companies, according to Fortune.

With previous work experience in entertainment and technology, Elsner said she was often the only woman in the room and now advocates for increased inclusivity and more women in power.

“In the workplace, especially in America, there needs to be more women in C-suite level positions, as well as politics [and] in leadership all around,” Elsner said.

The Importance of Male Allyship While the Graziadio Women Business Association works to bring visibility to future Graziadio businesswomen, Elsner also introduced the importance of male allies.

“In a sense it’s about empowering women, but how do we develop male allies?” Elsner said. “How do we make our male allies aware of how they can support women in the workplace?”

Kia Dargahi, Graziadio MBA candidate and director of Male Allyship for Graziadio’s Women’s Business Association, said male allyship is a male who

ensures that everyone is heard, acknowledged and recognized for their contributions.

“For male allyship, it’s active listening,” Dargahi said.

“It’s speaking with other men in the MBA program, having them join the events [GWBA] throws, [and] having them listen actively.”

However, Dargahi said there needs to be a shift from allyship to standing in solidarity.

While allyship often sounds performative and transactional, standing in solidarity is the action of uplifting each other and rooting for each other’s grievances, Dargahi said.

“Having male solidarity or ally means that [men] stand up for [a woman’s] voice too,” Dargahi said. “[Men] back them up when [women] go to the boss. They raise concern when they see sexual harassment or when they see their female peers getting compensated less.”

michele.lee@pepperdine.edu

LA County to move violent offenders to Malibu Abby Wilt News Editor The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will move serious and violent offenders from Sylmar to Camp Kilpatrick — a juvenile detention center off Mulholland Highway between Malibu and Westlake Village.

The Board voted 4-1 on March 15 to move the offenders to Malibu on May 1 — moving men to Camp Kilpatrick and women to Camp Scott in Santa Clarita, according to the LA Times.

Malibu Councilmember Karen Farer brought the issue to Malibu City Council during their bi-weekly meeting March 14, and said Camp Kilpatrick is not fit for these offenders. “[Camp Kilpatrick] was not designed and it was not built to

house what are classified as the most serious offenders in the juvenile system,” Farer said.

“The highest and most serious level of crimes are what these particular individuals represent.”

Farer said the individuals the county wanted to move have committed the highest crimes a person can commit.

“The offenders that they’re talking about here are not people who have had a little bump in the road along the way,” Mayor Paul Grisanti said.

“These are violent criminals who have killed people.”

LA County Supervisor Shelia Kuehl wrote an open letter to Malibu and surrounding communities March 10, sharing the Board’s rationale behind moving the offenders.

Kuehl wrote LA County is moving from a punitive to a

restorative model for juvenile offenders — stating teens were more receptive to reward rather than punishment.

“As jurisdictions have moved away from a ‘treat kids like adults’ model of juvenile justice, we have also learned that most youth, including youth with serious charges, are healthier, less likely to have future contact with the justice system, and more likely to repair harm when the response to their behavior is restorative, not punitive,” Kuehl wrote.

Later in the letter, Kuehl explained Camp Kilpatrick’s design and model. Camp Kilpatrick is a home-based rehabilitation facility — focused more on care rather than control of the offenders. It is a locked facility and has housed some young people charged with serious crimes, although it

would need renovations to add additional security in preparation for the move, Kuehl wrote.

Malibu City Council received this letter March 14, just hours before its meeting. Farer brought the letter to the attention of the council and said she felt uneasy about the move.

The council debated whether to send a letter in opposition to the move, but voted to not rush the letter, and instead see what the Board decided March 15.

“We’re not going to accomplish anything as Malibu with a last-minute, I’m gonna say it, half-assed letter, that just says here’s all the reasons we don’t want this,” Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Silverstein said.

Residents of Malibu had differing opinions about their new neighbors. Malibu resident Alex Stein said during public comment at the March 14

Malibu City Council meeting he was in favor of welcoming the offenders to Malibu.

“The idea that you’re going to control the jail, you’re going to control which criminals you get to have in Camp Kilpatrick just shows the type of entitlement that you have,” Stein said in response to Farer’s comments.

Malibu resident Bill Sampson said he has been to Camp Kilpatrick, and did not think it had adequate security to house these offenders.

“The people they’re talking about putting in there need to be separated from society,” Sampson said. “The facility up there, when I saw it, was not capable of excluding them from society.”

abby.wilt@pepperdine.edu

March 18, 2022 | NEWS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

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Spring study abroad in full swing Anezka Liskova Staff Writer Pepperdine’s abroad programs are returning to a sense of normalcy, with all programs able to travel outside of their host countries after two years of closure. Students followed restrictions to stay in their host countries because of COVID-19 until around February.

Students said the updated protocols make studying abroad an even more memorable experience. However, even with the difficulties the pandemic brings, the students abroad in the spring 2022 semester said they are enjoying their experience to the fullest. “[It] has truly been a dream,” sophomore Florence participant Melanie Tadros said. “This truly has been a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’m so grateful that I took it.”

Housing and Travel Protocols COVID protocols, as well as housing protocols, depend on the rules of the host country students are in, students said.

In the Buenos Aires, Argentina program, students said they do not have housing protocols. Instead, students live with host families rather than on a Pepperdine campus. However, travel is limited to Uruguay, Iguazu and Brazil, sophomore BA participant Savanna Scott said.

“I am having the literal time of my life,” Scott said. “Argentina and the BA program are so underrated. Like from the city atmosphere, to the campus, Casa Holden, to the nature, to the people — everything is magnificent.”

In the London program, housing protocols continue to fluctuate depending on the COVID cases in the U.K. and the COVID cases in the London house, sophomore London participant Jackson Buck said.

Students did not have to wear masks in the London house until the end of fall 2021, however masks are now a requirement in spring 2022 because there were a higher number of cases in the house, Buck said.

London students received a list of around 10 countries they are able to visit, Buck said.

“Traveling has been great,” Buck said. “I think it required a bit more effort than usual because of the carrying COVID rules for each country, so we have to pay extra attention to testing requirements, connecting in countries not on our pre-approved travel list and things of that nature.”

In the Florence program, Italy imposed a strict mask mandate at the beginning of spring 2022 which required people to wear masks indoors and outdoors, Tadros said.

In the Pepperdine Villa, students said they cannot use the kitchen and there are glass dividers in the dining area. Students had to acquire a “green pass,” which is a QR code which validates their vaccination status and allows them entry into every building in Europe. This helped them a lot with travel, Tadros said.

“We basically travel every single weekend because transportation is so easy here and have gone all around Italy to cities such as Rome, Cinque Terre, Venice, Pompeii, Sienna, Sorrento and more, and out of the country such as to Ireland, Spain, France, and Monaco,” Tadros said.

In the Lausanne, Switzerland program, students have to wear masks inside, sophomore Lausanne participant Naomi Yoder said. This might change soon depending on Switzerland’s announcements, Yoder said.

In the first week of February, students said they received an approved list of where they can travel, including France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portu-

gal, Denmark, Greece and Austria, Yoder said.

Balancing of Education and Travel COVID is not the only difficulty students said they are experiencing abroad.

Some students said being in school and living abroad can be difficult to balance.

“It also has been important for me to remind myself of the fact that, ‘Yes, I am here for school and to continue my education,’ but so much of my education and learning comes from experiences,” Yoder said.

Students said they use their abroad experience to their advantage when it comes to learning and their education.

“In between class we get to go explore the city,” Scott said. “We are also really intertwined with the location, like I hangout with the locals probably just as much as I do with the kids from the school.”

Finding Enjoyment in the Little Things Many students use words like “dream,” “time of my life” and “lifetime opportunity” to describe their abroad experience. However, many find enjoyment in the little things, which they said they were not expecting.

“Some things that have surprised me the most since being here is the fact that ranch doesn’t exist in Italy — so sad,” Tadros said. “Pizza doesn’t come in slices anywhere, they only sell whole pizzas, and when they say Italy is all about the pizza and pasta, it truly is the

only diet that exists here.”

Yoder said she had a similar experience in Lausanne.

“Some of my favorite memories so far have just been spending Sundays going to church, singing worship songs in French, sitting outside a café with a warm blanket for hours talking to my friends, walking down by the lake to enjoy every bit of sun that we can have, riding trains for hours just to see the countryside, taking lunch breaks on train trips just to walk around cities, and so much more,” Yoder said.

Yoder said the little moments are what surprised her the most.

“I always thought of abroad as crazy experiences, but some of my favorite moments have surprised me by how much there is to enjoy in the simple. So, for any future abroad student, enjoy the simple,” Yoder said.

As this semester is approaching the end, many students said they dread coming back home from their abroad program.

“I’m having so much fun,” Scott said. “I keep pushing back my flight and I never want to come back.”

anezka.liskova@pepperdine.edu

Photos Courtesy of Savanna Scott | (Top) At the end of February, Buenos Aires participants make empanadas at Casa Holden. Participants said they are settling into their new homes and are exploring countries beyond just their host countries. (Bottom) In January, Buenos Aires participants roam the streets of Buenos Aires. Scott said between classes she loves exploring the city.

Photo Courtesy of Melanie Tadros | Florence participants enjoy authentic Italian gelato. Participants said they enjoy the little things that Italy brings them.

March 18, 2022 | NEWS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

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Elle Moreland, Design Assistant

App creator does good with mistaken success Liza Esquibias Pixel Editor Around Christmas 2021, Pepperdine alumnus Steven Cravotta (‘20) noticed an app he created six years ago gained 500,000 downloads in three days. Now, the app, which is available exclusively on Apple devices, has over 10 million total downloads.

“Wordle!” and “Wordle” are similar games, have similar names and both went viral in the past three months — but they have different creators. Cravotta, the founder of “Wordle!” said he was shocked when he saw downloads skyrocket for something he created in high school.

“My main goal with this platform is to encourage young entrepreneurs to take a bet on themselves,” Cravotta said. “I only built ‘Wordle!’ because I was passionate about coding and building apps. If you take enough of those bets on yourself, you never know what could happen — something like this could happen. You can catch a big break.”

“I got a decent amount of downloads — maybe 75,000 — but after that I let the project die out,” Cravotta said. “I still had it in the back of my mind. It got maybe one or two downloads per day for the past five years, so it was pretty much a dead app.”

“Wordle!” is a game in which users guess a word based on scrambled letters in a matter of seconds. Browser-based “Wordle” gives users six tries to guess a word and has no time constraint.

During the winter of 2021, Cravotta said he visited his family in Atlanta, Ga. for the holidays and decided to log into his Apple Developer Dashboard, only to see a chart with a line going straight up showing exponential growth in “Wordle!” downloads.

“I had no idea what was going on, so I did a quick Google search of ‘Wordle,’ and the first thing to come up was a New York Times article called, ‘Wordle is a Love Story,’” Cravotta said. “I thought, ‘What? There is no way this is my ‘Wordle!’’ That’s how I came to find out Josh Wardle had built a browser-only application called, ‘Wordle.’”

Cravotta said after speaking with Wardle, he learned Wardle created his “Wordle” at the end of 2021 with the goal of giving people a

Photo courtesy of Steven Cravotta | Cravotta hugs director of Boost! West Oakland Ty-Licia Hooker. Cravotta partnered with “Wordle” creator Josh Wardle to donate $50,000 to educational nonprofit Boost!, after Cravotta profited from ads in his “Wordle!” app. free and easy-to-access mind game. Cravotta said people looked to find the popular app on the Apple App Store, and because his game is virtually identical to Wardle’s, people not only downloaded it, but also played it.

“It [‘Wordle!’] is a fun game,” Cravotta said. “I built it when I was 18, so it wasn’t the most polished game ever, but it is a good game.”

With in-app purchases and ads, Cravotta said he began making a lot of money off the millions of “Wordle!” downloads. Cravotta said once he saw how much money he was making, he reached out to Wardle and asked if they could mutually agree on a charity to donate the money Cravotta made off the app.

“I said, ‘Hey man, your game is sending a lot of traction my way,’” Cravotta said.

“His whole mission was that he did not want to profit off of his game, so he didn’t show ads and that’s why it is free. I was like, ‘I respect that, and as a developer I get that. What I would love to do is find some literacy-focused charity that I can donate these proceeds to because, ultimately, this Wordle thing is crazy. No one expected this to happen, so let’s do something amazing with it.’”

Not long after, Cravotta said Wardle was on board, connecting them to a charity called “Boost! West Oakland.” Cravotta said Wardle’s

Screenshots by Liza Esquibias, Pixel Editor | (Left) The browser-specific “Wordle” game offers a new word for users to guess each day. When “Wordle” became popular in winter 2021, Cravotta’s different “Wordle!” app gained downloads because people thought it was connected to browser version.

(Right) The “Wordle!” app Cravotta created sits at No. 1 in word games in the App Store. Since he was a teenager, Cravotta said he wanted to create apps, so he made “Wordle!” to learn how to code. wife had an affiliation with “Boost!” and the location was close enough to Cravotta’s home in Santa Monica to visit the facilities in person.

“Boost!” is a free tutoring and mentorship organization for students in grades K-6 in urban areas of California, according to its website. The goal is to inspire children in underserved communities for success and give them opportunities to thrive academically and personally.

“I met the director of the organization, her name is

Ty-Licia [Hooker] and she is absolutely amazing and one of the greatest people I have ever met,” Cravotta said. “I met a bunch of the tutors who work at ‘Boost!’, and I met some of the students, too. They told me a bunch of stories about how ‘Boost!’ has changed their lives and really helped the youth stay on track and out of trouble.”

Cravotta said he has been building a new app since his junior year at Pepperdine called “Puff Count,” which helps people quit vaping. He

said he hopes this new app, which tracks vaping usage, can gain people’s attention following the growth of ‘Wordle!’

liza.esquibias@pepperdine.edu

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March 18, 2022 | NEWS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

Straus Institute connects Caruso to community Samantha Torre Sports Editor Among Pepperdine University’s many institutional changes in 2022, is the Straus Institute’s — a branch of the Caruso School of Law — association with Special Education Local Plan Area Training. This is one of the specialized curricula the Straus Institute offers — in addition to Women’s Negotiation and LAPD Conflict Resolution Trainings.

Over the past seven years, the programs within Straus have received grants for their work. The Institute’s most recent addition, SELPA, began in December 2021, joining diverse programming focused on mitigating conflict in day-today life.

“I think what our students can learn from a partnership like this is that change is possible. That change is not only possible it is appreciated by all sides,” said Sukhsimranjit Singh, Judge Danny Weinstein managing director for the Straus Institute, LLM program director and associate professor of law and practice at Caruso.

Caruso Law School founded the Straus Institute in 1986 to educate students in dispute resolution. Since then, the U.S. News and World Report has ranked the Straus Institute the No.1 program in dispute resolution for 13 out of 14 years.

LAPD Conflict Resolution Training Pepperdine’s Los Angeles Police Department Conflict Resolution training — a fourday training program for supervisors — teaches officers the skills needed to de-escalate situations.

The program began when Stephanie Blondell, associate professor of law and practice and associate director of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, joined Straus in 2012. Blondell said she worked for public sector mediation programs in Seattle for 15 years before working at Pepperdine.

Professor Emeritus Peter Robinson served as managing director of the Straus Institute for 25 years. After joining the team, Robison said Blondell researched conflict within the police force.

“These are their own officers saying that this organization is not treating them very well, and that ‘I should have been promoted,’ ‘I shouldn’t have been harassed,’” Robinson said. “And so they got frustrated with the organization and were bringing losses left and right.”

When the program began in 2015, Blondell said the LAPD spent $50 million over five years settling cop-on-cop disputes — more than it spent on settling disputes with county residents.

Blondell said with the LAPD’s identity as a majority-minority workforce, it is important to tailor the training to the culture of each unique police force.

To start, Robinson said Straus looked at officers in mid-level management who performed role-call. A majority of the times officers sued one another, it was not the first incident that occurred. Rather, there would be repeated incidents of officers utilizing name-calling and discrimination during role-call — as a way for the commander to maintain authority — that that higher-ups would not address.

“Let’s try and attend to that first incident better, and let’s make sure that our leaders feel equipped, because in a true hierarchical fashion, when someone did something wrong, historically, you write them up or in a disciplinary way,” Robinson said.

From there, Robison said, training worked its way up to the commanders, including them in conflict resolution training.

Singh said since the program’s inception, the Institute has trained more than 800 officers — from patrol officers to commanders — in conflict resolution.

“We have really tried our best to work with the police culture but also motivate them to understand what is a dispute resolution culture and an understanding culture,” Singh said.

Singh said he brought a cross-cultural element to the training when he joined in 2016.

“Understanding how culture impacts peace, race and bias,” Singh said. “How racism and bias can infiltrate into any of our minds, not just a particular person or organizations mind and then, lately what I’m trying to build for them is a piece of mediation. How does mediation as a skill set help people build across cultures and connections?”

To measure the effectiveness of the cultural trainings, Singh said the institute distributes surveys and interviews attendees. The community has thus far provided a positive response, he said.

“For a university to improve the quality of life of its community is an important aspect as compared to just the ivory tower we are accused of, but here we are in the street working on real-world problems,” Robinson said.

In 2017, Blondell said she received a grant from Open Society for the conflict resolution training alongside Robinson and the Los Angeles Women’s Police Officer Association.

The implementation of the grant faced delays temporarily due to COVID-19 issues, and Blondell said her and her team

Samantha Torre, Sports Editor | The sun sets Feb. 11 on Pepperdine’s Caruso School of Law, home to the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. The Institute has created a variety of training sessions that teach lessons such as salary negotiation for women, LAPD conflict resolution and advocacy in a special education setting are finding ways to rework it to fit today’s context after the Black Lives Matter movements in June 2020.

“I think there are opportunities to educate our community about law enforcement and to use our community to educate law enforcement more about the needs of the next generation,” Blondell said. “The particular needs of our diverse student body, what policing is in the 21st century, how it needs to adapt and align with changing norms.”

The Jams Institute awarded Straus a $450,000 grant in July.

This most recent grant is different because it focuses more on the relationship between law enforcement and community members, Singh said.

“The grant does magic on both ends, not on one end,” Singh said. “We are focusing on how to build partnerships within communities and bring community leaders to all the trainings where law enforcement and community members will join hands to work collaboratively on learning from each other.”

The Straus Institute finds community members through connections with law enforcement who work with members of the local community, Singh said.

Singh said the community can learn valuable lessons about connection with each other and across others through these training sessions.

“At Pepperdine, I can learn something from these exercises with law enforcement that we can apply to our community internally to build trust between the different constituents that we serve, both in terms of students from different backgrounds to faculty from different ideological backgrounds to staff that has been suffering deeply because of COVID,” Singh said.

Women’s Negotiation Workshop The Women’s Negotiation Program began seven years

ago when Blondell said she became aware of discrepancies in the hiring process between men and women. In the trainings, Blondell said she worked alongside her colleague, Professor Denise Madigan, to create a curriculum that looked at negotiation through the lens of gender.

“It hurt my heart to see women not applying for jobs because they didn’t think they had the minimum qualifications,” Blondell said. “When they did [apply] or when they received offers, they would often accept the offer without the benefit of negotiation and that was not typically something that most of my male students did.”

Research shows men will usually negotiate for themselves, whereas women will more often negotiate for others as advocates, Blondell said.

“There’s some legitimate criticism of that research, however, the result is the same, women make less on the dollar when they negotiate for a deal,” Blondell said. “Even when they do ask, they receive less than men do.”

The curriculum, Blondell said, helps women see negotiations as a rapport builder, and teaches them that if the company is unwilling to negotiate, they can always leave the discussion.

“The best negotiators are clear, relaxed, elegant, funny and are using it as a collaborative moment,” Blondell said.

“All of those things can be taught by just helping people with the conversational structure, by introducing them to a conversational structure that will make them more effective.”

SELPA Training The Straus Institute’s Special Education Local Plan Area Training educates administrators on resolving disputes in special education, Singh said.

Straus concluded two fiveday long trainings in January and February, with a pilot training completed in December, a

two-day cross-cultural training Feb. 17-18 and single-day conflict resolution training Feb. 23. The next training will begin March 23.

“It is just a joy to work with folks who work in special education, they’re very empathetic, very kind people,” Singh said.

“It was just a joy to be with them for five days.”

In the cross-cultural training, Singh said participants looked into what culture is, what special education culture is, how culture and identity interconnect and what organizational culture is.

“People grew closer because it’s a training that can only be successful if people share stories, if people are open about their lives, if they’re vulnerable,” Singh said. “And I think we were successful in creating that environment where people did open up.”

In the conflict resolution training, Singh said he hoped to provide a general overview of what conflict resolution is.

“There’s so much conflict within us and outside of us, that this field is a blessing to be able to teach us how to not just eradicate or resolve the conflict, but at times just how to understand what is conflict,” Singh said.

As training sessions progress, Singh said he sees them as both a challenge for people and a representation of a hope for change.

“For both trainings I have met men and women who are just amazing in law enforcement and special education,” Singh said. “We can be proud to work with them. We are just doing our service. And I feel blessed to be part of this program, to be part of these trainings. We can actually bring change on the ground in a beautiful, meaningful way.”

sam.torre@pepperdine.edu

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March 18, 2022 | NEWS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

Photos courtesy of Tim Horton | (Left) A mountain lion prowls on Pepperdine’s campus Jan. 4. There have been an increase in mountain lion sightings at Pepperdine during the 2021-22 school year. (Right) Two deer take a stroll through the hills surrounding Pepperdine. About 84% of a mountain lion’s prey is deer, Rebecca Barboza said.

Death by mountain lion unlikely, experts say

MISSION STATEMENT

Since September 2021, the Pepperdine Public Relations office has reported seven mountain lion sightings on campus. In February 2022, a mountain lion also attacked a Pepperdine resident’s dog, according to a Feb. 4 Public Relations email.

As a result of the recent increase in mountain lion activity on campus, the Public Relations office held an information session regarding mountain lions for students, faculty and staff Feb. 23 via Zoom.

The session offered information about how to stay safe in case of an encounter with a mountain lion and how to avoid confrontations with lions.

“For many in our Pepperdine community, the presence of mountain lions in our area may be novel or concerning,” said Lance Bridgesmith, associate vice president for Administrative Planning Operations and Construction Emergency Services at Pepperdine.

“Accordingly, the University provides information to educate and prepare our community on how to respond if encountering a mountain lion.”

In 2018, there were 807 reports of mountain lion sightings statewide to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Jeff Sikich, a biologist with the National Parks Service at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Sikich said only law enforcement can determine if a mountain lion is a threat to public safety. The animal must show signs of aggression such as bearing teeth, vocalizing, ears pinned back or their hair raised on the spine.

“We’re really fortunate in California because none of our predatory species are biologically or physiologically wired to prey on humans,” said Rebecca Barboza, a wildlife biologist with Fish and Wildlife.

Barboza said mountain lions are not naturally inclined to attack humans and assaults are rare. Bridgesmith said it’s still important to know what to do in case of an encounter and how to avoid them.

We’re really fortunate in California because none of our predatory species are biologically or physiologically wired to prey on humans.

Rebecca Barboza Fish and Wildlife biologist “We provide these information sessions as a way so our community can hear directly from the authorities responsible for managing mountain lions in our area,” Bridgesmith said.

Pepperdine junior Hayley Lunn said she and a friend weren’t sure what to do in an encounter with a mountain lion.

“I was just talking to someone the other day and they’re like, ‘Yeah, if I see [a mountain lion] like, I’ll run.’

I’m like, ‘Wait, you’re actually not supposed to run,’” Lunn said. “This is why Pepperdine needs to go over like the rules because people are just gonna run away, and actually get attacked.”

Barboza offered tips to attendees in case of a confrontation with a mountain lion — don’t turn and run, appear as large as possible, pick up any small children or pets, face the mountain lion, talk to the animal in a low, firm

voice and slowly walk away.

When possible, Bridgesmith said to travel in groups on campus at night.

“We’ve never had a report of a mountain lion attacking a group of people,” Barboza said.

Mountain lions will, however, attack pets or livestock. In the early morning of Feb. 4, a mountain lion took a campus resident’s dog from its backyard, according to an email from the Pepperdine Public Relations Office.

The attack has been the only assault by a mountain lion in 2022. In September 2021, deer carcasses attracted mountain lions to Pepperdine, the Public Relations office wrote in a Sept.

7 and Sept. 30 email.

There are preventative measures to take to avoid encounters with mountain lions at private residences. Barboza said not to feed or attract mountain lions’ prey, which is 84% deer.

Residents can landscape their home for safety by eliminating hiding spaces for mountain lions like tall shrubs and bushes, keep pets as well as their food and water indoors and utilize sturdy, roofed enclosures, guard dogs or electric fencing to keep livestock safe.

If there is an attack or damage to property by a mountain lion, Fish and Wildlife first performs an investigation to determine whether the damage was the result of a mountain lion. Then there are three steps to halt future damages to property, Barboza said.

In step one, Fish and Wildlife administers a non-lethal hazing method permit that allows tactics such as noise and lights to scare away a lion. Fish and Wildlife require permits to scare away lions due to the restrictions on harassing mountain lions under the Fish and Game Code, section 4800.

“So it’s not just killing the animal that is prohibited by law,” Barboza said.

“A lot of times what would be considered harassment is against the law as well when it comes to mountain lions.”

“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.”

Step two administers another non-lethal hazing method permit, but it allows for more intensive hazing techniques. Step three is a lethal permit.

“Since 2020, when we updated our policy, we have issued a lethal permit in Southern California,” Barboza said.

Although sometimes it is necessary, killing mountain lions presents a tremendous threat to the ecosytem, Barboza said.

“If the mountain lion was removed from the system, the whole ecosystem would change drastically,” Barboza said.

As a counter-method to euthanizing a lion, people often suggest relocating the animal to the forest or somewhere else far from suburban areas.

“If relocation worked, we would do it,” Barboza said.

Relocation is an ineffective way of decreasing contact with mountain lions. Barboza said that if you take a mountain lion out of its familiar territory the animal won’t know where its resources are. The lion will come back to its home range.

Additionally, the problem lion is moved elsewhere through relocation, Barboza said. The issue is not solved.

“If we were to move a so-called problem mountain lion to some other location, chances are that mountain lion is going to find trouble elsewhere,” Barboza said.

So, Barboza said, the best way to avoid mountain lion conflicts is to protect your home and know what to do in case of a confrontation — travel in groups on campus at night, don’t turn and run from a lion and walk away slowly from the animal.

melissa.auchard@pepperdine.edu Email: peppgraphicmedia@gmail.com

CONTACT US

Melissa Auchard Staff Writer

peppgraphicadvertising@gmail.com Phone: (310) 506-4311 Address: Student Publications Pepperdine University 24255 Pacific Coast Hwy. Malibu, CA 90263

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M a r ch 18, 2022

The Graphic

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PERSPECTIVES

Universities should say no to SATs N

Liza Esquibias Pixel Editor

ationwide university SAT requirements are discriminatory at their core, because they separate the privileged from the marginalized — and always have.

As of the 2022 admissions cycle, more than 1,815 — or 80% — of colleges dropped the SAT and ACT requirement, according to FairTest.org.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, universities made standardized tests optional, and 1,400 have extended that policy until 2023 after in-person testing resumed.

The SAT and ACT requirement lessens the chances of students coming from a lower socioeconomic status getting into college due to low scores.

A Princeton University study showed that schools dropping the SAT or ACT requirement not only increased grade-point averages for high school students, but it also resulted in more diversity in new admits.

Wealthier families are able to send their children to college-prep schools and pay for extra tutoring throughout the K-12 years, according to the Latin American Post. Students attending private schools demonstrated higher SAT scores than those who attended public schools overall.

MarketWatch reported that private standardized-testing tutoring companies also create an unfair advantage for students whose parents have higher income.

The average hourly SAT tutoring rate is $70 to $100, according to Tutors.com. Many students study several hours beyond — with a tutor — raking the cost and their scores up even more, according to MarketWatch.

Without the means, those with a lower family income are automatically at a disadvantage. In fact, $250 million of the tutoring industry comes from SAT tutoring alone, according to Tower of the Masters School.

Annual College Board statistics show students with parents who make over $200,000 a year see scores approximately 388 points higher than those

Samantha Miller, Art Editor | Students navigate through taking the grueling multi-hour SAT. One proclaims to the other “There must be a better way!” referring to the judgment they face based on their scores. making $20,000 per year. If a child’s future is dependent on their parents’ income and their college acceptance essentially depends on income, how are children from low-income households expected to be successful in their adulthood?

Pepperdine is one of the more than 1,400 schools that became test-optional due to COVID-19 and will continue to be that until 2023, when the requirement is expected to be reimplemented.

The issue with test-optional schools is they will still consider a score if submitted. This means if a student has access to resources to help them do very well on their SAT or ACT, they will benefit from it while others who do not have those resources are left behind.

Test-optional universities are not doing enough — the standardized testing requirement must end.

Those who are unable to pay anything extra to assist them in studying for standardized tests will

benefit greatly from the abolition of the requirement.

Statistically, people of color score lower on the College Board’s SAT college readiness scale on both reading and writing, and math, according to Brookings.edu. For example, only 7% of those scoring higher than 600 out of 800 are Black, but 31% are white.

Evidently, there is a racial and socioeconomic gap in college preparedness solely due to the SAT and ACT requirements or test-optional shift. If these exams ended completely, the playing ground would be one step closer to being even.

liza.esquibias@pepperdine.edu

AN INSIDE LOOK Managing Editor Ashley Mowreader Executive Editor Rowan Toke Digital Editor Karl Winter Copy Chief Whitney Bussell Video Producer Christina Buravtsova Creative Director Ali Levens Advertising Director Sahej Bhasin Head Podcast Producer Anitiz Muonagolu Pixel Editor Liza Esquibias Photo Editor Lucian Himes Art Editor Samantha Miller News Editor Abby Wilt Life & Arts Editor Lydia duPerier Sports Editor Samantha Torre Perspectives Editor Sarah Best Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Editors

Anitiz Muonagolu Emily Shaw News Assistant Editor Kyle McCabe News Assistants Graeson Claunch Brielle Yauney News Staff Writers William Bacon Anezka Liskova Abroad Correspondents Chloe Chan Beth Gonzales Perspectives Assistant Editor Emily Chase Perspectives Staff Writers Halle Bowe Joshua Evans Emma Ibarra Life & Arts Assistant Editor Addison Whiten Life & Arts Assistant Meghan Young Life & Arts Staff Writers Tim Gay Audrey Geib Hope Lockwood Jackie Lopez Sawa Yamakawa Assistant Sports Editor Jerry Jiang Sports Staff Writers

Justin Choi Joseph Heinemann Austin LeDe’ Alec Matulka Copy Editors Téa Fortune Yamillah Hurtado Assistant Photo Editors Ryan Bough Samantha Wuensche Staff Photographers Ella Coates Mary Elisabeth Audrey Hartono Denver Patterson Brandon Rubsamen Gabrielle Salgado Art Assistant Editor Vivian Hsia Staff Artists Autumn Hardwick Ariana Henry Mary Karapetyan HeeJoo Roh Carson Vandermade Design Assistants Kaitlyn Davis Landry Hendrick Haley Hoidal Hannah Lee Emilia Lekhter Zoe Macarewa

Elle Moreland Meredith Nover Ece Yagci Podcast Producers Joe Allgood Celine Foreman Kyle McCabe Karl Winter Podcast Production Assistants Zack Born Halle Bowe GNews Crew Joe Allgood Rianna Dizon Hunter Dunn Alex Payne Gabrielle Salgado Amari Venzor Senior Edition Editor Bryant Loney Advertising Assistant Carly Long Assistant Pixel Editor Sofia Longo Social Media Assistant Chloe Chung Rianna Dizon Christian Parham Rianna Smith Meg Taylor

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the Editor must bear the writer’s name, signature, class standing, major, address and phone number (except in some circumstances determined appropriate by the Graphic). Letters must be fewer than 300 words and will be edited for syntax, grammar and brevity. Letters can be mailed to student publications or emailed to peppgraphicmedia@ gmail.com.

March 18, 2022 | PERSPECTIVES | Pepperdine Graphic Media

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‘Coming out’ — optional or obligatory?

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Sawa Yamakawa Staff Writer

allup, a global analytics firm, released data showcasing that as of February 2021, an estimate of 5.6% of the U.S. population identifies themselves as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. In the same research, Gallup concluded that about one in six adults in Generation Z considers themselves LGBTQ+.

Society, in general, seems to be more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community than before. The percentage of U.S. citizens who self-identify as LGBTQ+ has increased by 60% between 2012 and 2020, according to NBC. There were 3,578 students enrolled at Seaver College in fall 2021, according to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness. This means, applying the data from Gallup, approximately 600 students may identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community at Pepperdine.

This number does not seem to ring true at Seaver College. Of the 509 first-years and seniors who participated, 66 students identified themselves as LGBTQ+ in spring 2021, according to an email from OIE. While LGBTQ+ identity is typically underreported, this data — 13% of students identifying themselves as a member of the LGBTQ+ community — may imply there are more LGBTQ+ students in Seaver's community than community members may think.

The Postsecondary National Policy Institute concludes that on a national

Samantha Miller, Art Editor | A hand turns the doorknob to a private closet door which reads, "No tresspassing" and "Keep out." In a society where heteronormativity remains prevalent, coming out has life-altering effects for some. level, nearly 17% of college students identified as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Compared to the national average, there are fewer LGBTQ+ students at Pepperdine.

Perhaps Pepperdine attracts demographically heterosexual students. Or, perhaps, some students are still questioning their sexual identity and do not feel comfortable sharing. Especially at an institution that is sometimes known for its LGBTQ+ unfriendliness, coming out may not be the easiest nor safest option.

Maybe some people do not feel the need to publicly identify and label themselves. For many individuals in the LGBTQ+ community, coming out is a monumental yet often complicated

process they face in this heteronormative society.

While it is not a requirement, some may feel obligated to reveal their sexual identity. On the other hand, some may feel reluctant to “come out.”

The Office of Student Diversity Programs at Skidmore College explained that the reason for coming out varies on the individual. Some may be seeking a community, putting an end to internalized homophobia or simply celebrating themselves by embracing their true sexual orientation.

But not everyone has the privilege of coming out.

The act of coming out is sometimes met with a risk that could potentially alter the individual’s life for the worse.

Whether it be the pressure of their family, friends, political beliefs or religious beliefs, not everyone has the right and safe environment to be open, according to the Teens Health website.

Either way, individuals who choose to come out may face different challenges such as discrimination or mockery, according to research data by the Center of American People. Yet, society seems fond of the idea of putting a label on an individual to differentiate or categorize, which pressurizes the member of the LGBTQ+ community to be more transparent than their heterosexual counterparts.

However, the same energy does not apply when it comes to people who are “normal.”

Having an identity that cannot be seen can sometimes feel uncomfortable.

Because sexual orientation is oftentimes invisible, those who do not exemplify heterosexual standards can be victims of verbal and physical threats.

The fluidity of an individual’s sexual identity does not need to be disclosed, should the individual choose not to.

There should be, however, a society where heteronormativity does not dominate the societal standards.

There are many ways for the community members to promote inclusivity and safety of the LGBTQ+ students on campus, whether they be out or not. One can start by being intentional with words by using inclusive language, reconsidering gender stereotypes and educating one another on how heteronormative biases affect the LGBTQ+ community.

If you are on a journey to figure out your sexual identity or hesitating to come out, know that you are not alone.

sawa.yamakawa@pepperdine.edu

Pepperdine needs more faculty diversity

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Halle Bowe Staff Writer

n the midst of Black History Month, the word diversity echoed throughout campus. Diversity is at the core of Pepperdine’s values as all people were created equitably in the eyes of God. As a result, one should expect to see diversity reflected on campus, more specifically in the classroom. However, that is far from the truth.

Nearly 75% of the faculty at Seaver College identify as white, according to Seaver College’s Diversity and Inclusion Dashboard. More alarmingly, Hispanic and Black faculty account for only 7.4% and 6.1% of the racial diversity pool, respectively.

Pepperdine ranks No. 615 out of 3,790 schools in College Factual’s racial diversity ranking. Although not a terrible score, it certainly reflects that Pepperdine needs to do more work to improve the diversity pool on campus.

Throughout my academic career at Pepperdine, I have taken classes with about 30 professors, only one of which happened to be of my race, Black. As a result, I am often left to depend on a professor’s previous work or teaching experience as a measure of how culturally aware they are.

Although the professors at Pepperdine tend to be significantly more approachable than those at other universities due to the small faculty to student ratio, the lack of representation makes me question if I am understood or accepted here. Unfortunately,

this lack of faculty diversity creates a hostile learning environment for minority students.

The infamous @Blackatpepperdine Instagram account brought to light many of the student-faculty experiences and emphasized the need for more faculty diversity due to micro-aggressions or blatant racism toward minority students.

A post on July 28, 2020 recounted an experience when a professor allegedly portrayed a racial stereotype of Black households being low income and unstable in comparison to their white counterparts.

Another post from July 7, 2020 shared a Black student experience during a class presentation about affirmative action, where allegedly the overall message was that “most Black people don’t deserve to be at Pepperdine.”

On Aug. 25, 2020, the account highlighted a professor allegedly calling a Black student a racial slur and allegedly facing no consequences for doing so. The lack of sensitivity and empathy shown for minority students shared in student stories is appalling.

Despite the negative experiences minority students have encountered when interacting with faculty members, there have been some positive ones.

Junior Sherwin McDonald recounted two experiences with a professor who identified as a person of color. Notably, McDonald said he was more comfortable asking for help and going to office hours.

“These two professors actually cared about my success and extended further support outside of the classroom environment,” McDonald said.

Sophomore Aubrey Lewis is bi-racial. The bi-racial community is presented with unique challenges when it comes to finding a sense of belonging as it can be difficult to be accepted by either racial identity. Bi-racial students account for 7.4% of the

student racial diversity pool and bi-racial employees account for 3%.

Lewis’ sole experience with a faculty member who was of her same ethnicity prompted one-onone conversations where she could comfortably discuss how she was assimilating into the Pepperdine community.

“My professor made an effort to meet every student in the class privately and wanted to ensure not only our academic success but our overall success in college,” Lewis said.

It is already challenging being a minority student at a predominantly white institution, but we need the extra support through faculty who look like us and can relate to us, especially considering the George Floyd protests that occurred in June 2020, when social injustice was at the forefront of the United States' social paradigm.

This disparity in faculty diversity not only imposes significant disadvantages to minority students but also can contribute to the indoctrination of white students with closed-minded, unrealistic ideas about the real world.

More journalistic investigation is needed with regard to how Pepperdine goes about its hiring process of faculty members, in addition to the retention rates of faculty that identify as people of color.

The University is doing more harm than good by continuing to recruit minority students to attend Seaver College without addressing this key issue.

There is no doubt that an improved faculty diversity pool is needed to foster a sense of belonging for all members of the community.

halle.bowe@pepperdine.edu

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March 18, 2022 | PERSPECTIVES | Pepperdine Graphic Media

Students should rethink Rate My Professors Sarah Best Perspectives Editor

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oftware engineer John Swapceinski established RateMyProfessors.com in 1999 as a platform for students to anonymously share their experiences with classes and professors.

In theory, this platform benefits students by aiding in their planning of which courses to take — but the reality reveals undertones of sexism and racism toward the professors they rate.

The platform provides reviews of nearly 2 million professors across 7,500 colleges and universities in the United States, according to its website. Ratings are based on three categories: Level of difficulty (scale of 1-5), if the student would take the professor again (yes or no), and the overall quality of the professor/course (scale of 1-5).

Site guidelines explain that “reviews should focus specifically on the course and your learning experience. Do not comment on a Professor’s appearance, dress, age, gender or race,” according to RMP. Despite the platform’s explicit denouncing of gender-focused reviews, The Professor Medium — a group of professors dedicated to upholding academic integrity — found that female professors receive poor reviews, 28% more often than male professors.

Moreover, student reviews reveal a particular animosity for the sciences and STEM professors reap the worst of the negative feedback. The same study found that STEM professors have 19% harsher than non-

STEM professors — a statistic most adversely affecting women in STEM. There is already an existing dynamic of discrimination for women professors in general, but it is only amplified if the professor is a woman in STEM. The Pew Research Center found that 50% of women in STEM have faced gender-based discrimination, compared to only 19% of men in STEM. As Rate My Professors has become an outlet for such amplification, female STEM professors receive disproportionately unfavorable ratings as a result.

The disparities across gender, race and field of study contribute greatly to the inequity in reviews.

Both microaggressive and blatantly racist comments are common in reviews on Rate My Professors — particularly critical of Asian American professors.

A study from Cambridge University Press, titled “She does have an accent but,” found reviews mentioning accent and last names of Korean and Chinese professors claimed they impeded a student’s ability to understand the material and communicate with the professor.

“Mention of an instructor’s accent is frequently followed by but suggesting that this initial ‘problem’ contrasts with what follows,” according to the study.

Though students have a right to voice their opinions in explaining what did and did not work in a course or with a teaching style, the added factor of anonymity that Rate My Professors provides gives its users the potential to leave reviews that have dangerous, real-life sexist and racist implications.

Rather than leaving a review out of spite and anger, students should more considerably express their concerns with special attention to the language being used.

While the content of the course may be challenging, that circumstance should not be convoluted in

misidentifying why it was difficult by means of criticizing a non-Western accent.

An additional confounding caveat to these reviews is how far they can date back. Professors who have taught for years may have student reviews on their Rate My Professors page from a decade ago.

This isn’t fair to professors — as both educators and as humans — because individual growth and development of teaching styles and personalities can evolve and change over time. In other words, the poor reviews students left from years ago may not be reflective of how the professor teaches the course today.

Commenting on traits that professors can’t control, like their accent, is harmful and revealing of a much larger issue concerning the subconscious racism held in Western society.

The intention behind the review may not be to imply undertones of sexism or racism intertwined with honesty, but the way it is received matters more than the intention.

Though malevolence is seldom intentional in critiquing a professor’s accent, a student who does so is subconsciously succumbing to the concept of accent bias — the prejudice held toward an individual or group based on the sound of their speech, according to a study from the University of Chicago Press.

Not everyone’s experience in a class or with a certain professor are identical and such anonymous commentary should not dictate a professor’s entire teaching ability or otherwise. Yet, the harsher truth is the problematic grievances entangled in the web of sexism and racism students have woven about professors.

Just as anything else on the internet, professor reviews should be taken with a grain of salt.

sarah.best@pepperdine.edu

Autumn Hardwick, Staff Artist | A student looks at their phone filled with happy, iffy Samantha Miller, Art Editor | A great, 5.0 student raises their hand among medioand mad emoticons. Best wrote Rate My Professors has racist and sexist undertones. cre-scored students. Chase wrote Rate My Professors is crucial to choosing classes.

Rate My Professors is essential for planning Emily Chase Perspectives Assistant Editor

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ate My Professors is “the highest-trafficked site for quickly researching and rating professors, colleges and universities across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom,” according to its site.

For college students, it is the gateway to planning a successful semester, because a good professor can make or break a class. Therefore, how will a student know how the semester will be in advance? They check Rate My Professors.

The website has been around for

over 20 years, according to Crunch Base. It has had enough time to work out all of its technological kinks, so it is now easy to use and an extremely helpful tool.

“Rate My Professors is simple enough for students to use,” according to UMKC Roo News. “Students can search by school name or professor name, and it’s easy to leave a comment for one or both.”

All comments and ratings remain anonymous and provide students with an easy rating scale out of five. Therefore if one has a really great professor, the professor would receive a 5/5, as seen on the website. There is also a section to place the grade received and written thoughts about the class and professor.

Students are prone to hearing rumors about professors and how horrible they were, or how much work was given, so to have a website

with certifiable reviews where other students with personal experiences in a certain class with a specific faculty member, is wonderful.

Others agree with Rate My Professors’ positive description. MUO rated Rate My Professors as the number one website to assess and review professors.

Additionally, the My Career Tools website provides helpful tips and further information for reviewers to take heed to and keep in mind on Rate My Professors, that if followed, can create a really helpful source for the college community.

The tips My Career Tools includes are: remaining anonymous, not posting multiple ratings about the same class or professor and to keep in mind that professors cannot be fired for bad reviews, nor can the site or individual professors remove bad reviews.

Furthermore, the ever-changing

technological advances in the world are also something to keep in mind.

The quickest source of information these days is the internet, Rate My Professors can be easily accessed through any device by just typing in the site name.

In the future, the next time students sign up for — or prior to signing up for — a class, they should evaluate their professors using Rate My Professors through reading the reviews.

Knowing what previous students said can be extremely beneficial for understanding the breadth of education that can be obtained from a class, how well the student will enjoy a course and maybe even the effects on their long-term career aspirations.

emily.chase@pepperdine.edu

March 18, 2022 | PERSPECTIVES | Pepperdine Graphic Media

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Staff Editorial: Not just answers, the truth

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ome of the best — and most frequently misquoted — movie lines of all time are from Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise’s courtroom spat in “A Few Good Men.” “You want answers?” Nicholson asks coyly.

“I want the truth,” Cruise demands.

“You can’t handle the truth!” Nicholson shouts back.

As student journalists, the Graphic staff looks for answers. We hunt high and low for sources to tell us their stories and to find responses to the questions our peers, faculty, staff, administrators and other community members hold. But we want more than answers. We want the truth.

Pepperdine’s affirmation statement says the University believes “that truth, having nothing to fear from investigation, should be pursued relentlessly in every discipline.” We couldn’t agree more.

But often, it is our own university who hinders our pursuit of the truth.

As a private institution, Pepperdine has a higher level of privacy than our neighboring public schools.

Students — and everyone else for that matter — cannot access every piece of data the University holds.

Pepperdine, as a non-profit, shares only basic economic information including the annual audited financial statements and 990 form.

Pepperdine owes us the Clery Report to share some campus crime information, but does not have to respond to reports filed under the Freedom of Information Act. The Office of Institutional Effectiveness reports the Department of Education’s required admission rates, student demographics, cost of attendance, student-faculty ratios and available assistance for students with disabilities, but does not have to share

former student records, employment records, law enforcement records or disciplinary records — all of which are not protected by FERPA and eligible for FOIA. So not all information is publicly available — fine. Not all answers must be easily found. The deeper issue goes into what the University refuses to share.

The Board of Regents, after the Graphic requested meeting minutes for fall 2021, told the reporter it would not fulfill the request, “because it is the Graphic asking,” according to a Nov. 1 email from the Manager for Regent Relations.

The University Chief of Staff and Human Resources department declined to provide numbers of personnel laid off during the 2021 fiscal year to the Graphic for “privacy reasons,” a non-legal basis for this data refusal.

The Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Pepperdine said they could not share Pepperdine’s FY21 budget, despite electing to share key numbers from the budget in a President’s Briefing. The University never addressed a class-action lawsuit for 2020-21 tuition either.

Beyond the administration, our student government has a history of barring student journalists from weekly meetings and striking information from its records, both policies against the organization’s constitution.

Fall 2021, Pepperdine misreported its vaccination rates for weeks and took weeks longer to update the information. The Athletics Director also refused to disclose athlete’s vaccination rates, something professional athletic groups have done, setting the standard.

Presently, the COVID-19 dashboard is updated infrequently, preventing students from having accurate under-

Autumn Hardwick, Staff Artist | A file from the Department of Public Safety sits on a desk, labeled “CONFIDENTIAL.” The Graphic staff wrote Pepperdine should be more helpful in student journalists’ pursuit of truth. standing of the virus’ spread in classrooms, dorms and other facilities.

We do not mean to imply that every media request from the Graphic must be fulfilled — we understand the need for privacy and protected information.

However, as students and stakeholders in this university beyond media publication, we believe our University and its leaders should inspire transparency at all levels.

How can we trust our institution to provide a high standard of academic excellence and embrace Christian values, per its mission statement, if it won’t disclose all it knows?

As students, we are dependent on the University for most of our livelihood — our education, our food, our housing, our jobs, our safety and most importantly, our future.

We, as student journalists, want our University to remember that it declared “the student, as a person of infinite dignity, is the heart of the educational enterprise,” and this shouldn’t end with with questions from students or a media request from the Graphic.

University leaders do not owe its students answers to every question, but it should empower its own affirmation statement and remember the truth has nothing to be feared from investigation — whether it’s a student journalist’s pursuit or otherwise.

Give us the truth, Pepperdine. We can handle it.

peppgraphicmedia@gmail.com

‘Euphoria’ isn’t for everyone, it doesn’t have to be Emma Ibarra Staff Writer

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he phenomenal HBO series “Euphoria” has made it to the mainstream media — but it’s been out since 2019, so can it really be that niche? Everyone is watching it now, and with the help of TikTok, the show’s popularity has exploded since the season two premiere in January.

Despite premiering in the summer of 2019 and ending its pilot season in August, the show was on track to start filming season two in early 2020.

Unfortunately, like most things, the COVID-19 pandemic halted filming and the HBO hit paused production.

With the premiere of “Euphoria’s” newest season, the show’s fanbase is once again revived, and viewers can fall in love with the show all over again.

Fans waited years to see Rue and Jules’ storyline set behind a new backdrop, and thanks to “Euphoria’s” writer, director and producer Sam Levinson, the pandemic birthed two special episodes to tide viewers over. Making every effort to continue “Rules’” narrative, the episodes were titled “Rue” and “Jules” respectively — released in December 2020 and January 2021 — closing the gap between the first season and bridging it to the next.

Different from the first season’s initial glittery glamorization of teenage living, season two zeroes

in on the raw underlying issues introduced in season one. Attributing credit where credit is due, Sam Levinson perfectly lined up “Euphoria’s” storyline to make a seamless transition to season two, even considering a two-year COVID-19 hiatus.

Each of these special episodes offers a deeper look into the psyche of Rue and Jules. It’s not super exciting. But it humanizes these fictional characters, encouraging viewers to root for them, to sympathize with them and to get disappointed in them.

The first season of “Euphoria” was incredibly well-loved among Gen Z, leading viewers to have high expectations for the newest season. Though the second time around, the show just headed in a different direction than what many fans expected.

During the first season, there was beauty in “Euphoria’s” cinematography, which is then complicated by the show’s mature nature. While season one’s story progressed at a pace that left viewers wanting more, the second season dragged fans to every weird corner Sam Levinson took them to.

This is where conflict arises because “Euphoria” is not a bad show, as proven by the series’ recent approval for season three. It’s a fan favorite for a reason, with many relating to the show and its contents.

Though it’s also understandable that some viewers find the show’s portrayal of the teen experience to be unrealistic. However, the show has roots in the creator’s real-life struggles with addiction and depression, and is thus plausible.

Sure, it doesn’t reflect everyone’s story. It’s gritty, dark and hard to watch at times. Yet there are people who live the lives seen on screen everyday, and don’t have the privilege of just turning it off when they don’t want to deal with it any more. They live with it; and so, while “Euphoria” is not for everyone, it’s for

Carson Vandermade, Staff Artist | Two faces stare up, one blissful and one in distress. Staff Writer Emma Ibarra wrote while the TV show ‘Euphoria’ contains mature content, making it only for select audiences. those who can relate, or who can appreciate the style of the show.

The show is curated for a mature audience, but high school can get as intense as the show depicts.

Maybe it exaggerates it, but nonetheless, it can get pretty bad pretty fast for some people. You just never see them on screen — until now.

emma.ibarra@pepperdine.edu

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The Graphic

M a r ch 18, 2022

pepperd in e-gr ap h ic .c om

LIFE & ARTS

Pepperdine holds onto Church of Christ roots things like a capella worship existed — a traditional hallmark of the Church of Christ.

“Not only do I not see Church of Christ influence at the school, but I feel like most of the Since its founding in 1937, Pepperdine has people around me don’t know what it is or they been affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The haven’t heard of it or anything,” Armstrong said.

University’s founder, George Pepperdine, was a “That’s been a really interesting experience.” “lifelong member” of the Church of Christ, acDespite feeling like there’s a lack of Church cording to Pepperdine’s website. of Christ representation on campus, Armstrong Despite Pepperdine’s history and longstand- said she has grown in her faith and redefined ing ties with the Church of Christ, most stu- what it means for her to be part of the Church dents are not members of the Church of Christ, of Christ at Pepperdine. She has also connected and many said they don’t know what it is or why with others in the Church. the University is associated with it.

“I’m kind of finding the community of “Pepperdine is affiliated with Churches of Church of Christ people,” Armstrong said. “It’s Christ because George Pepperdine wanted to a small community, but we’re there.” establish a Christian college on the West Coast Pepperdine works to keep the bond between that was open to all people, but retained a close the University and the Churches of Christ connection to the Church of Christ,” wrote Re- strong, even as the percentage of Church of ligion Professor Dyron Daughrity, also a prac- Christ students and faculty is small, Daughrity ticing preacher and member of the Church of wrote.

Christ, in a March 14 email to the Graphic.

“In the last few years, several initiatives have The Church of Christ is unique in many ways, been developed to try to nurture that connecDaughrity wrote. One of the most well-known tion, for example the hiring of Jeff Walling, who practices that sets the Church of Christ apart is has done a wonderful job working to revitalize a lack of instruments in worship, although there the Church of Christ and Pepperdine relationare now churches that incorporate instruments. ship,” Daughrity wrote.

There are also larger-scale Historically, there is a differences, like the lack of trend in which Protestant formal connections between universities become secular individual churches, that institutions after about 150 are specific to the Church of years or so, Daughrity wrote.

Christ.

Schools like Harvard, Yale “We have no denominaand Princeton were once retional structure, no creeds, no ligiously affiliated, but evenhierarchy, no ordination systually secularized. tem, no large gatherings and “Protestant universities very few platforms that even typically ‘drift’ away from make us conscious of one antheir religious heritage in other,” Daughrity wrote. order to appeal to more While not wholly unique to people-groups,” Daughrity the Church of Christ, there is wrote. “We call this phenoma strong concern for the Bible enon a ‘mission drift.’ And that is also characteristic of there reaches a point where the Church, Daughrity wrote. the religious heritage of the “We have a history of tryuniversity becomes, essening to root our practices in tially, irrelevant.” the biblical witness,” DaughrDespite historical precity wrote. “Many churches do edent for Protestant unithis, but it is certainly someversities and secularization, thing that is important to the Pepperdine remains true to Church of Christ.” its Church of Christ roots, Another area of concern for Daughrity wrote, although the Church of Christ is educait’s impossible to know how tion, Daughrity wrote. There long that will continue. are 20 accredited colleges and “The Christian religion is universities affiliated with the at the heart of our work here Church of Christ in the U.S., at Pepperdine,” Daughrity Dyron Daughrity and this reflects the Church’s wrote. “We try to live out the commitment to the education Christian values of hospitalReligion Professor of its members. ity, mercy, compassion, selfPepperdine is one of these less love, and trusted friendschools, although the religious ship.” makeup of its students does not reflect this affilPepperdine’s Church of Christ affiliation is iation. Only 6% of students enrolled at Pepper- rooted in the earliest moments of the University, dine in fall 2021 were members of the Church and is still at the forefront of the school’s comof Christ, according to data from the Office of mitment “to the highest standards of academic Institutional Effectiveness. excellence and Christian values.”

“Pepperdine is probably the best known Daughrity wrote he chooses to teach at a Church of Christ university in America, yet just Church of Christ university because he believes a fraction of Pepperdine’s student body is from in giving students a rigorous education that is the Church of Christ,” Daughrity wrote. “Non- also influenced by the life of Jesus Christ.

Church of Christ students, faculty and staff far “My hope is that people who choose to study outnumber Church of Christ members on our at this amazing university will at least understand campus.” a bit about Jesus, and the life he lived,” DaughrJunior Isa Armstrong is a third-generation ity said. “If we point people to Him, then we can member of the Church of Christ, but said she consider ourselves successful, as that is the halldid not come to Pepperdine solely because of mark of a distinctively Christian university.” her background.

During her time at Pepperdine, Armstrong said she has met people who didn’t even know addie.whiten@pepperdine.edu

Addison Whiten Life & Arts Assistant Editor

The Christian religion is at the heart of our work here at Pepperdine. We try to live out the Christian values of hospitality, mercy, compassion, selfless love, and trusted friendship.

March 18, 2022 | LIFE AND ARTS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

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Beth Sun embraces her Chinese heritage Sawa Yamakawa Staff Writer There are 313 international students at Seaver College as of fall 2021, according to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness. Of all international countries represented at Seaver, China dominates the rankings for sending 119 students — senior Psychology major Beth Sun is one of them.

When Sun first enrolled at Pepperdine in fall 2018, she joined the Chinese Student and Scholar Association. As someone who was still in the process of learning English, Sun said she was able to acclimate to the culture of the U.S., while staying in touch with her Chinese roots by surrounding herself with people of similar backgrounds.

As she became more comfortable with the U.S. lifestyle, Sun said she wanted to explore other cultures on campus. That was when she encountered Rotaract International: A club designed to foster an intercultural community through international service.

At an institution where approximately 9% of the students are international students, finding people who share similar cultural backgrounds and upbringings may present difficulties for some students.

At Pepperdine, therefore,

Rotaract International also serves as a club for those whose cultures are rarely represented on campus, regardless of nationality.

“It has international students, so you can learn about different cultures and explore different resources on campus without being overwhelmed by the domestic culture,” Sun said.

Being a part of the club for all four years and now as the president of the club, Sun said her goal is to provide a community for students to enjoy their college experience through cultural integration.

“Some international students may feel marginalized … because they are not fully ‘Americanized,’” Sun said.

“That’s why, when we host activities, they will feel more engaged on campus and then feel like their study abroad experience is really worth it.”

Global Tea Time is one of Rotaract International’s events where they collaborate with other ICA clubs to celebrate intercultural diversity. This semester, they collaborated with the Japanese Student Union to promote cultural understanding with food.

In addition to Rotaract International, Sun serves the international student community as one of the seven International Student Ambassadors at

Photo courtesy of Beth Sun | Sun poses wearing a traditional Uyghur costume. Sun said her Chinese heritage is one of her core identities and a main reason for joining Rotaract International.

Pepperdine. Her motivation for ISAP is also rooted in assisting international students to make the most of their time in the U.S. “The international student ambassadors were the first group of people I met after I enrolled,” Sun said. “I appreciated their help, mentorship and everything.”

Sun said she met some of her mentors through the international community at Pepperdine.

Having served in the program for two years, Sun said she hopes to pass down the leg-

acy of those who assisted her.

“Now I’m a senior and know what I’m doing, so I should be the one to pass it on to the future cohorts,” Sun said.

In the past, Sun said the international students’ ambassadors advocated for interfaith dialogues on campus to ensure religious diversity among the student population. As Sun nears graduation, she hopes to see more international students involved in the community and serving in leadership roles.

“I wish for the next cohort to be creative to identify problems and have the courage to

change them,” Sun said.

Having faced several challenges as an immigrant, Sun said she is grateful for her mentors and previous international students who have exemplified that it is possible to thrive in the U.S. Thus, her motivation to serve others come from her personal values.

Sun said as an international student, she is always keeping a sense of gratitude.

“Because I’ve received so much, I have to give back,” Sun said.

sawa.yamakawa@pepperdine.edu

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March 18, 2022 | LIFE AND ARTS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

The business of studying business Hope Lockwood Staff Writer Business and business adjacent majors like Marketing make up 26% of the student population across U.S. colleges and universities. This makes it the largest group of majors on college campuses, but that begs the question: What’s the business on people studying business?

According to the Business Administration department, a Business Administration degree offers students a surface-level understanding of a wide array of topics and skills so that they can be prepared to enter the business world and engage with a large variety of people.

“You get a lot of breadth, but not so much depth,” Professor of Decision Science Rob Shearer said. “Take a couple of accounting classes, so you’re not an expert at accounting, but you can talk to accountants.

You take a couple of marketing classes, but you’re not a Marketing major, but you can talk to people who are. It really sets you up to be able to land any place in a corporation and immediately talk to anyone.”

Shearer said he believes because Pepperdine’s Business Administration degree requires more analytical and math skills, it sets it apart from other programs. Shearer said most university business programs don’t require upper-division math

classes such as statistics, probability and calculus, but Pepperdine does.

“If you’re going to be successful you are still gonna have to learn from your first and second job,” Shearer said. “But I think we give [Business majors] a pretty good head start.”

Divisional Dean Regan Schaffer said she hopes she can teach students that organizations need flexibility in both skills and individuals. Schaffer said she wants to collaborate with her colleagues to help students become prepared to work with a diverse group of organizations, contexts, places, people and disciplines.

“For [the Business Department], a big important part of what we are preparing them to do is to use their skills and knowledge to hopefully address positive issues in the world,” Schaffer said.

Schaffer developed the capstone class BA 498 or the Service Leadership Project which senior Business Administration majors can take. The class centers around teaching students leadership skills while also involving them as consultants with local non-profits.

Schaffer said she taught the class as an adjunct professor while earning her doctorate of education. Once her doctorate of education was completed, the Business department offered her a full-time position as a professor which allowed her to develop the Non-Profit

Photo courtesy of Cameron Zohary | Senior Cameron Zohary, left, poses at an Alpha Kappa Psi event. Zohary is next to the president of business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi, Audrey Lin. Management minor.

“Our capstones say we don’t just want you to use your degree to fulfill a job, but that you can see that you can volunteer or engage in your community and that your knowledge is needed in a variety of contexts and organizations,” Schaffer said.

Senior Business Administration major Cameron Zohary initially came to Pepperdine as a Biology major with an interest in medicine, he said. After two semesters of studying Biology, Zohary said he felt burnt out.

For Zohary, finding a major that fit with the classes he had already completed and that would work while he was abroad in Buenos Aires and London was hard. His decision to become a Business Admin-

istration major was crucial to him being able to switch majors and graduate on time.

“The only prerequisite classes they were offering were business administration ones abroad,” Zohary said. “I got really lucky. I took microeconomics in Buenos Aires and macroecnomics in London.”

Zohary appreciates the diversity within the classes he has taken because of how many skills and topics he has learned.

“I’m in an HR [Human Resources] class right now and that has made me realize that I don’t want to go into HR,” Zohary said. “Diversity in classes has saved me a lot of time and energy because I can just take this class rather than applying and doing HR

internships or jobs.”

During his first year, Zohary joined the professional business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi which gave him some background on the Business major and ultimately solidified his decision to switch. He said the fraternity has helped fill in the gaps between what he has learned in the classroom and the workplace.

Zohary said AKPSI also helped him as a first generation student because he did not feel prepared to find a job after graduating. With the organization’s emphasis on professional training and networking skills, he feels more prepared.

“They really opened my eyes to how business really is,” Zohary said. “They have taught me so many skills and networking help.”

Zohary emphasized the importance of being involved in extracurriculars and internships. He said they have taught him the most while a student at Pepperdine.

“The opportunities that arise on campus have been the most valuable part of getting my degree,” Zohary said. “If I had only gone to class I wouldn’t have really learned anything. I would have learned formulas and how to solve problems in the classroom, but I feel like I wouldn’t have learned how to work well and efficient.”

hope.lockwood@pepperdine.edu

Streaming services boom in popularity Addison Whiten Life & Arts Assistant Editor Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video are just some names on the long and growing list of streaming services available to subscribers. These services offer users the chance to stream titles from home and are now a cornerstone in how people consume content.

Streaming services have boomed in popularity, with the number of global subscribers passing 1 billion for the first time in 2020, according to the LA Times. There are still some cons to streaming films versus seeing them in their traditional theatrical setting, but overall, streaming services are now at the forefront of media and entertainment.

“I can’t think of a single popular TV show that’s only on cable television,” junior Abby Morrow said. “Most popular content has shifted to streaming services.”

While Morrow said she values the new content that arrives to platforms, sophomore Screen Arts major Carly Shea Condon said something she loves about streaming services is the chance to rewatch old favorites.

“I like the idea of, ‘OK, this came out however many years ago or maybe this came out a week ago and I saw it in the theater, but I loved it so much, and now I have the ability to watch it every day for the next week,’” Condon said.

One of Condon’s favorite features of streaming services is the ability for users

to curate a list of TV shows and movies they want to watch. She said that feature, and the personalized recommendations many platforms make for users based on their viewing history, makes finding new things to watch much easier and enjoyable.

It’s a double-edged sword. It’s almost like, do you go where the money is? Or do you follow your heart and reach for the overall experience of watching a film, you know?

Carly Shea Condon Sophomore Screen Arts major “I think that that’s really inventive and special to streaming platforms, which I’m sure is why they do so well,” Condon said.

Many people criticize the way streaming services have changed the film industry, Condon said, particularly because of how they’re interfering with the traditional theater experience.

Condon said she believes, however, that the ability to stream films at home keeps them alive in a way that is more accessible than ever before.

“The idea of putting out a movie in a theater but then 15 years later, having people that still love it and want to watch it again having access to it on a streaming platform and being able to continue to experience that is great,” Condon said.

Morrow also said the accessibility of streaming is a huge aspect of why she enjoys using streaming services.

The biggest problem with streaming for Morrow, however, is the way it often reduces television as an art form, in favor of quickly cranking out entire seasons of a show at once. HBO Max — the platform both Condon and Morrow said is their favorite — is the home of the hit show “Euphoria,” which Morrow said is a great example of how a streaming service can release a show without losing any artistic value. “‘Euphoria’ coming out every week like traditional TV shows definitely enhanced the hype surrounding it and made me that much more excited for each episode,” Morrow said. “When all of the episodes get dumped at once, I think audiences can take it for granted.”

As a future filmmaker, Condon said she has considered whether she wants to make films for streaming platforms or strictly for traditional theatrical release.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” Condon said. “It’s almost like, do you go where the money is? Or do you follow your

heart and reach for the overall experience of watching a film, you know?”

The availability of high-quality home audio and television technology and the high price of seeing a movie in a theater are two factors Morrow said she believes influence filmmakers to release their work on streaming services. The traditional theatrical experience is something Morrow loves, however, and she would go to the theater more regularly if not for how expensive it often is.

“Especially when big movies are released, going to see them with a crowd of equally excited people in LA is one of my favorite things to do,” Morrow said.

While both Morrow and Condon enjoy streaming services and use them almost daily, Condon said she believes there is still no at-home viewing experience comparable to seeing a film in a theater.

“There’s something so spectacular about sitting in a room with a bunch of strangers, people that you’ve never met before and you’re probably never going to meet again, and you’re not even communicating with them, but you’re all experiencing the same thing at once,” Condon said. “I think that it’s one of the only experiences now where people are completely still and in the same moment. It’s so special and it’s something that you don’t get when you watch a movie on Netflix.”

addie.whiten@pepperdine.edu

March 18, 2022 | LIFE AND ARTS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

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Students give the rundown on small businesses Jackie Lopez Staff Writer Running a business is a challenge Pepperdine students are not afraid to take on.

Students Olivia Guo, Sydney Gray, Sam Devane and Pepperdine Graphic Media staff artist Vivian Hsia, break down what it’s like owning a business in college. Their shops include a swimsuit brand, Etsy shops and a baking business.

The shops have grown over time and have given them knowledge of the world of business.

“It encompasses learning how to budget and finance and marketing and when to release certain products to try to increase traction,” Guo said, a first-year who owns an enamel pin shop called LunarGuoCo. “I feel like these things are kind of important to know if you want to go into that field or even just to understand the perspective of how a business works.”

Their Inspiration These students said their products and their passion for work drives them to do their best.

Gray owns Nolia Swim, a swimwear brand that provides biodegradable and sustainable products. Gray said her passion for designing and creating swimsuits stems from childhood experiences.

“I was that kind of girl who growing up, my parents were pretty strict,” Gray said. “So I never got away with two pieces.

So the moment I did I was obsessed with finding the perfect bikini and I never could so I decided I needed to design my own. So I knew I wanted to go into swimwear.”

Sophomore Devane began his business, Sam’s Sweets, after watching YouTube baking videos in middle school. Devane said the business grew really organically and he makes all the baking goods himself for weddings, birthdays and various other special occasions.

“I make custom cakes — mainly cakes and cookies — but sometimes cupcakes for people,” Devane said. “I started baking in middle school, but it actually turned into a business around eighth grade, and then I started doing it more seriously.”

Guo co-owns LunarGuoCo with her sister, Gloria Guo, which they started in August 2020. Guo said they make enamel pins for their shop inspired by television shows or games that they like. The pins are sold both on the company website and Etsy.

“Basically the process is that we pick a character, or something that we want to design for, and then we use procreate to draw the design,” Guo said.

Sophomore Hsia said she found opportunity to start her

Etsy shop called POSLshop during the lockdowns in 2020.

The shop sells various cake and cupcake toppers for events like weddings or birthdays made from paper clay. She took heavy inspiration from her mom in creating it.

“My mom, she does a lot of stuff with paper clay and crafts and so that kind of inspired me and so she had a lot of materials just sitting around so I could play with those when I first started,” Hsia said.

Everyday Challenges After turning their dreams into a reality, these small business owners learned to deal with the difficulties and learning curves of it all. For most of these students, they started their businesses during high school with little-to-no previous experience.

“I kind of just self-taught a lot of stuff because obviously I didn’t have any education on how to run a business,” Devane said.

Balancing school and a business is a whole other challenge.

Gray said her schedule is constantly busy, trying to squeeze in meetings and work on top of her personal life and academic duties.

“You really have to delegate your tasks out and have a good support system to run a business, especially when you’re in college, or you’re doing any-

thing on the side of having a business, because it’s such a time commitment to make sure that everything is going right, everything is moving smoothly,” Gray said.

Some have found specific solutions to help manage time and stress that comes along with owning a small business.

Guo said she and her sister made a system to streamline the whole process by printing their notes instead of writing and doing orders in batches for better efficiency.

“It’s just finding ways to make the packaging still nice but easier to do,” Guo said.

Rewards in Running Business in College

a

Despite the technical challenges that arise from owning a business, these students find all of it rewarding in the end.

For Hsia, she finds joy in the process of making her cake toppers.

“My favorite part is just working on it,” Hsia said. “I think it’s really fun since it’s something that I really enjoy doing. And I also love packaging, it’s like wrapping gifts.”

Gray and Guo said they find the most rewarding part to be customer satisfaction and reactions.

“The best part is the look on people’s faces when they put your product on and they’re like, ‘Wow, this is so well made

and it makes me look so good and feel so good,’” Gray said.

Devane found that running his baking shop was so impactful that it sparked a desire in himself to want to pursue it in the future and now dreams of owning his own bakery.

“I just think that it’s really cool that I can have kind of an imprint on one of their biggest days of people’s lives, you know, and that they support me, just a small business, a kid making cakes,” Devane said.

jacqueline.lopez@pepperdine.edu

Photo courtesy of Olivia Guo | LunarGuoCo makes and sells enamel pins on its website. The pin is based on the video game Genshin Impact.

Photo courtesy of Sydney Gray | Models wear swimwear from Gray’s company, Nolia Swim. The swimwear modeled is sustainable and biodegradable.

Photos courtesy of Sydney Gray, Sam Devane, Vivian Hsia and Olivia Guo | Gray, Devane, Hsia and Guo make products for their small businesses Nolia Swim, Sam’s Sweets, POSLshop and LunarGuoCo. These Pepperdine students made the bikini set, homemade cake, cake topper and Demon Slayer enamel pin featured in the image.

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March 18, 2022 | LIFE AND ARTS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

Students find calm despite stressful schedules Audrey Geib Staff Writer Music. Walking. Meditating.

Hanging out with friends. Going to the beach.

These are some ways that Pepperdine undergraduate students said they balance the stress of their classes and various workloads.

Students endure a great deal of stress especially during midterm season, first-year Jadyn Lucey said.

“I have a very stressful schedule right now,” Lucey said. “I’m in Biology, Chemistry and Calculus.”

First-year Lorenzo Mars said regardless of one’s major, stress affects everyone on a regular basis.

“I think just in general, stress is supposed to be part of life,” Mars said. “However, I feel like sometimes, the extent that I let it get to me is not good.”

Amid the rush of her classes, Lucey said she struggles to take time to relax.

“A lot of times with my heavy schedule, I often forget to make time for myself,” Lucey said. “I try to give myself at least five minutes every day to meditate and get back to a peaceful mindset.”

Lucey is also a part of a yoga Seaver 200 breakout group that meets most Wednesdays at

Alumni Park. Lucey said she is grateful for the group because it is a designated time in the week that she takes for herself.

“I chose it because as much as I want to make time for myself, I often push it to the side because I have more important things to do,” Lucey said. “But because it’s a required class for me, it forces me to go and destress in the middle of the week, which is the perfect time”.

Mars said when he has a lot of work or a particularly stressful assignment, he takes a moment to work through his stress to move forward.

“I freak out first, and I think I kind of need to freak out to get it out of my system,” Mars said. “Then I get some work done but I like to take breaks.”

It is important to reward yourself, Mars said. Mars typically spends his study breaks hanging out with friends or watching YouTube.

“Usually, I get some work done, and then I’ll go out and do something with my friends or my girlfriend,” Mars said.

Pepperdine’s location allows students to visit the ocean with ease. First-year Nathan Fitch said when he is stressed, he will typically hangout with his friends or go to the beach.

“I definitely get stressed at times,” Fitch said. “Usually what I do is for exams and

Photo courtesy of Nathan Fitch | The sun sets over the Pacific Ocean at Ralphs Beach in January 2022.

Ralphs Beach is one of the places Nathan Fitch would go with friends to destress. stuff, I’ll just try to talk to my friends or we will all go to the beach and just take a minute to calm down.”

Fitch said he recognizes the importance of learning to deal with stress now and its benefits for his future education and professional career.

“College can be a really stressful time in our lives, but it is important to learn the ways that you best deal with stress in order to be successful in the future,” Fitch said.

audrey.geib@pepperdine.edu

Photo courtesy of Jadyn Lucey | Students in the Seaver 200 yoga breakout group at Alumni Park in spring 2022 listen closely to their instructor. Lucey said she really enjoyed her time in the group because it gave her time to calm her mind and body weekly.

Fitness classes promote wellness on campus Meghan Young Staff Writer Pepperdine students often exercise at the Firestone Fieldhouse Weight Room, on Stotsenberg Track, in the Towers gym, and Seaside Fitness Center. What some students aren’t fully aware of are Campus Recreation’s Group Fitness classes.

Campus Recreation aimed to raise awareness of these group fitness classes by giving 15 to 20 minute classes at Mullin Town Square on Feb. 17. Beyond tabling, instructors and students in classes gave insight into what Group Fitness classes are.

“I feel like it’s a great opportunity to meet new people, get to work out and start your day productively,” first-year instructor Brooke Carter said. “I feel like not enough people take advantage of what we have, especially because they’re free.”

First-year Hailey Emmons said since fall 2021, Campus Recreation has changed its schedule, staff and fee for more student-friendly classes. The $75 cost is now a free-of-charge membership.

“I was hoping more people would come,” Emmons said. “It’s really fun doing it with a lot of people and not just suffering by yourself.”

Now that more instructors and classes are available, Emmons said students can exercise in many different ways to fit however their mind and body are feeling.

“If I’m sore, I want a yoga class, and Summer Xia is good with her yoga class, Yin Yang Yoga,” Emmons said“[In

Photo by Mary Caulfield | Students in a 7 a.m. Cycle and Shred class spin their hearts out on campus in Feb. 2022. The instructor, first-year Brooke Carter, created a cycle circuit for the first part of class and an off-the-bike workout for the remaining time. spin class] Mikayla De la Flor does a dance thing [with] more arms and lifting off. Then, circuit [training is] really fun because you get to do a whole lot of different things and you’re just working against yourself.”

When first-year Gabby Johnson’s alarm goes off at 5:30 a.m. for her to get to a spin class by 6 a.m., she said her first instinct is to text her roommate. Johnson said having accountability helps her get up in the morning and stay consistent. But, accountability doesn’t stop when arriving at classes.

“I love working out with other people — like a little community that keeps

you accountable and makes me want to work harder,” Johnson said.

First-year Daniela Sandoval said she is just starting to explore the different classes and has loved making the time to be active and finding a positive mindset.

“For me, I don’t work out at all, so it’s just making the time to come here,” Sandoval said. “Also, finding a balance and being OK with not being able to weigh as much as other people because you’re just getting started. It’s just motivational and inspiring to take time out of your days and try to be active.”

First-year Melia Wade said exercising

for the first time can be an intimidating experience, especially if you’re not a “gym person.” Wade said she has found the classes help her as she begins her exercise journey. “[The classes] help me stay active, make me manage my time better and keep me accountable,” Wade said. “I’m not really a gym person. I respect and commend those who are, but I’m just not. So, I think a class is more structured, and I need that.”

Students new to the class aren’t the only ones nervous in their first experiences at group classes — Carter said she laughs when looking back at her first time instructing a 5:30 a.m. spin class over Zoom.

“Everything went completely opposite the way I wanted it to go,” Carter said. “I would forget to call out what exercise was next and forget to turn up the music. But now, looking back, I always joke about my first class.”

Emmons, Johnson, Sandoval, Wade and Carter all said their advice for students on the verge of going to a class is: Just try it.

“Just showing up is half the battle, so definitely just try it, and if you don’t like it, at least you can say you tried it, and if it’s just not for you, then find something else,” Wade said.

meghan.young@pepperdine.edu

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March 18, 2022 | LIFE AND ARTS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

Faith leaders speak on church attendance students. Kelly said these ministries formed naturally as a result of the meaningful relationships between the students and the Church families.

Lydia duPerier Life & Arts Editor Malibu faith leaders said they are working to support Pepperdine students and increase their church attendance.

In a September Graphic survey of 135 students, only 23% of students said they attend church frequently.

The religious affiliations of all undergraduate students are predominantly Christian — 18.5% Catholic, 11.8% Church of Christ and 53.1% identify as “other Christian,” according to a fall 2020 Pepperdine survey. With over 10 churches in the area, students have several opportunities to attend church regularly.

The Rev. Matt Murphy at Our Lady of Malibu and pastors Brian Kelly at the Malibu Gathering and Eric Wilson at University Church of Christ said they would love for more young adults to attend their churches and prioritize offering a place of love and support for Pepperdine students.

“This is the time when you have those extra freedoms and it’s very easy to drift away from your faith, very, very easy,” Murphy said. “So we provide that space for them [students] to worship very close by. So I hope they’ll take advantage of that.”

University Church of Christ

Photo courtesy of Meagen Renner | Pepperdine students gather for an evening Bible study in Malibu Gathering’s Pastor Brian Kelly’s backyard. Church member Cheyene Renner led the devotion.

Our Lady of Malibu A January Graphic survey conducted through social media and email found that 100% of students who attend a specific church indicated the location as a main reason for their attendance. Murphy said he believes this is why so many students attend Our Lady of Malibu, because it is the closest Catholic church to campus.

Murphy said around 60-80 Pepperdine students attended every Sunday in 2020 before the pandemic. However, these numbers have declined and only 30-40 students attend Sunday services this semester.

Murphy said he reaches out to the Pepperdine communi-

ty by staying connected to the Catholic Students Association and being available for students.

Before COVID-19 restrictions, Murphy said he would sit in the Caf every Thursday to talk to or take confession from students.

“My goal has really been to engage the Catholic community up on the Pepperdine campus from day one,” Murphy said.

“And I think because of those efforts, that’s why we get a lot of young people here.”

The Malibu Gathering About six miles west on PCH from Our Lady of Malibu, the Malibu Gathering acts as another popular church students attend.

“When Pepperdine is in session, students make up maybe 20% of our church, there may be more, I don’t know,” Kelly said. “But there’s a noticeable difference when Pepperdine is in session compared to the summertime for sure.”

Kelly said the church doesn’t target Pepperdine students but acknowledges students do attend. Because of this, Kelly said he tries to relate to college students in his sermons.

“I try to think about what life is like,” Kelly said. “And I try to include part of my sermon development of what life is like for young people and try to touch on it that way.”

Malibu Gathering also offers student ministries for college

Wilson, the preaching minister at University Church of Christ on campus, also said he values strong bonds over attendance. Wilson said the number of Pepperdine students who attend church on Sundays can vary from 20-75 people depending on the semester.

“What we tend to try to do is move into deep relationships with students and just care for them,” Wilson said. “It’s not about bringing in mass numbers quickly.”

Wilson said he believes the college age is the perfect time for people to discover the answers to their questions about life.

“If you’re trying to figure out where you’re going to go and what direction you’re going to take, it would be great for you to be connected to a community of people to support you,” Wilson said. “And particularly as we are a community that is putting God and Jesus on full display for you.”

lydia.duperier@pepperdine.edu

Student content creators weigh in on TikTok takeover Timothy Gay Staff Writer TikTok surpassed Google as the most popular website of this past year, according to Cloudfare. Student TikTokers with large followings said the platform’s dominance in entertainment is due to viewers having shorter attention spans.

TikTok’s platform is designed to have an unlimited stream of new content for users to watch, according to the Indiependent. Technical University of Denmark’s study found that constantly streaming new videos can collectively reduce audience’s attention span over time.

“Sitting through a Netflix show for a lot of people can be too much,” said Shawn Bhatia, graduate student food content creator with 94,000 followers.

“With TikTok, you’re getting something that catches your eye immediately as opposed to these long-form content.”

Junior Madison Fabbian has almost 64,000 followers on the platform and creates a variety of content including sports, humor and family-based. She said TikTok content is tailored to audience preferences.

“People’s attention spans are becoming shorter because of how TikToks are short clips and there’s endless videos,” Fabbian said. “If one’s boring, you can just go to the next one.”

First-year Victoria Hertel has garnered over 300,000 followers on the platform making fun fact and dance videos. She, however, sees the negative effects that TikTok’s impact can have on users.

“People often scroll on it for too long and some of the content is kind of meaningless,” Hertel said. “A lot of times, you

won’t remember the videos you watched that day.”

Hertel said she believes TikTok is more beneficial for the creators on the platform than it is for the consumers. “[TikTok] is easy for creators to create and it’s very possible to have your video be seen by a lot of people,” Hertel said. “For viewers, I think it’s more worthwhile to watch TV or a different form of entertainment that took more time to create.”

When Hertel’s not creating content on TikTok, she said she enjoys watching longer content, like on YouTube or movies.

“TikTok is just so quick, like it’s one video and then the next,” Hertel said.

“On YouTube, it’s more captivating, like you’re watching real life play out.”

Fabbian, however, is the opposite and said she prefers the short-form content that TikTok offers.

“I still do like TV, but I have found it harder to pay attention to longer episodes because [TikTok] has affected my attention span,” Fabbian said. “I like the instant gratification of like, ‘Oh this video is funny, let’s keep going,’ and it’s also addicting. I used to watch a lot of YouTube, but I haven’t recently just because I’d rather watch shorter videos.”

Bhatia also said he enjoys being on TikTok. He thinks it’s the best social media app because it democratizes entertainment more.

“Now, it’s really the audience that is picking what they’re liking and what they’re not liking,” Bhatia said. “In the past, people were kind of foreseeing things to happen in the entertainment industry rather than people liking it or not.”

Bhatia said he believes that eventu-

ally, more creators and entertainers are gonna take advantage of what TikTok has to offer for viewers.

“I think you’re gonna have more people becoming full-time content creators,” Bhatia said. “You’re gonna have more people being their own bosses and [TikTok] being their full-time job.”

Viewers are more hooked on TikTok videos than YouTube videos, according to App Annie. Although YouTube has 1.3 billion more monthly users than TikTok, TikTok surpassed YouTube in terms of watch time by 10 hours in the U.S. and U.K. Bhatia also spoke on how TikTok is impacting the music industry more than streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music.

“You see music blowing up on TikTok like crazy,” Bhatia said. “If you create a song on TikTok and it goes viral, if you’re a small artist, you could blow up at any time relative to any other past time in 100 years of music.”

The student influencers broke down how TikTok is a better entertainment option than Instagram, despite having a billion fewer users.

“I remember Instagram in the 2010s era, and being an influencer was all about aesthetics,” Bhatia said. “Instagram was more about looking the best online and flexing. The shift with TikTok is that you’re seeing people follow their passions.”

Fabbian said entertaining herself on TikTok inspires her to come up with new ideas to share.

“I like [TikTok] better than any social media because I like seeing posts from people that I don’t follow,” Fabbian said.

“On Instagram, it’s just me seeing my friends, so I expect to see the content be-

Timothy Gay, Staff Writer | An iPhone stands on the table with the TikTok app pulled up on the screen. Surrounding the phone are laughing and music emojis that represent the TikTok platform’s culture. cause it’s the same posts over and over again. On TikTok it’s things that I haven’t seen before, so it’s kinda unique and shows me different inspirations.”

Bhatia mentioned how TikTok influenced other platforms, like Instagram with Reels or YouTube with Shorts, to create their own versions of the short scrolling videos format.

“There’s a reason why YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, literally every single platform now has a short-formed video thing, because people’s attention spans are getting shorter,” Bhatia said.

Just like how the 2010s was for Facebook and Twitter, Bhatia believes that the 2020s could be the decade of TikTok. He said there could be more social media apps that develop in years to come, but right now, TikTok is where all the attention is.

timothy.gay@pepperdine.edu

B7

March 18, 2022 | LIFE AND ARTS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

Album Review: Natural’s ‘Child of the Sun’ shines Timothy Gay Staff Writer Senior musician Marcus Reaves, or “Knox Natural,” is more in tune with himself after creating his debut album “Child of the Sun,” released Dec. 31.

Natural began making music as a first-year at Pepperdine.

He said he wanted to learn how to play the guitar because he knew he could make interesting sounds with it.

Natural made the theme of “Child of the Sun” to recognize and allow the natural processes in the revolving world to push oneself forward. He relates the desire to create something new each day to the constant movement of the sun.

“In order for me to create the album, I had to move very intentionally every day, almost like the sun does,” Natural said.

It took two months during fall 2021 for Natural to finalize this project. Graduating soon, he said this album allowed him to realize how much growth he has been putting into himself the past few years creating music and constructing his own unique sound.

“A lot of the process was just trying to get it out, because I know I have it in me, and integrating smaller bits of knowledge that I learned early in the process with a more complete understanding of music that I have now,” Natural said.

“Child of the Sun” begins with the instrumental track “Eternity, Wasting From My Intro.” He started the album with this track to introduce listeners to a different universe while making it this spacey, acoustic and earthy feel.

“I love instrumentals because there is no language, so there’s almost nothing to misinterpret and everything to interpret,” Natural said. “When you listen to [instrumentals], you reflect yourself more onto it than if there were words telling you how to reflect yourself.”

Natural showcases his rapping ability in “iM HEARiNG VOiCES AGAiN” while still including his soulful singing voice.

He said he wanted to do everything, as opposed to sticking with one genre when it comes to music.

“The rap is kind of in your face, aggressive, explicit,” Natural said. “I really like to introduce you to that, and then take you into a world that’s more passionate and tender.”

Natural said he tried to make his vocals on the project feel more real rather than regular studio-recorded songs.

“I wanted [the album] to have personable texture and I wanted that to sound very different than a studio recording,” Natural said.

“I wanted it to stand against the expectations of what we usually listen to and be different.”

Natural’s goal was to construct the album in an order that grabs listeners’ attention with

higher-energy songs, and then transitions into the slower tracks to mellow them out.

The sixth track, “Heart-Tied Stone,” which is also an instrumental track, helped Natural envision the concept for the rest of the album. “‘Heart-Tied Stone’ is really the beginning, so I wanted that to be in the center, kind of reflected by the tracks before and after it,” Natural said. “That phrase kind of gives a lot of imagery without having any lyrics, so it definitely provides the lens to listen to the instrumental through.”

Natural’s intention behind making “Sweet Someone (Linger Longer)” was to give a message of sincerity. He said he removed the tempo in the last half so that listeners can be present in their own thoughts. “[‘Sweet Someone’] is definitely something to get you involved but then sort of let you just float away and let your mind wander toward the end, and let you just come to your own conclusions about some of the things you’re thinking about,” Natural said.

“Doyouliveforthis?” was a song that Natural said he remade several times before deciding on the original recording he did.

“I think settling on the simplest freestyle version of the song was really impactful for me because the others seemed like they were trying too hard to be simple,” Natural said.

The ending product for “doyouliveforthis?” is one track for guitar, one for vocals and another for the orchestra part. He said the song is different from his usual work because of its simplicity in stylistics.

The album ends with the last two instrumental songs “WANDERLUV” and “!DON’T WAIT!” The tracks were originally one longer song, but Natural said he made them separate because of how much they contrasted sonically.

“They’re very different, one is upbeat acoustic and the other is like in-your-face rock, but they both have transcendental outros,” Natural said. “The message of the last one, ‘!DON’T WAIT!’ was like, if you see something out there, you cannot wait to go after it or else it just will not transpire for you.”

Natural said he hopes to perform as much as possible all over LA and make connections with others about his music in 2022.

“After I made this album, I realized that I’ve been moving like a musician for a really long time now, and I just haven’t been seeking out opportunities because of it,” Natural said. “I’m just now getting to the point where I realize that this is a platform that I can stand on and grow from.”

“Child of the Sun” is available to stream on Spotify, Apple and YouTube Music.

timothy.gay@pepperdine.edu

Photos Courtesy of Knox Natural | Knox Natural stands in front of a sunny mountain area at Seaver College. He holds up a heart made out of pine tree to represent how he is being vulnerable toward listeners with this album.

Scan the code on Spotify to listen to the first instrumental track “Eternity, Wasting From My Intro.” Listen to the album on Spotify, Apple and YouTube Music.

Photo from Instagram @Markie_Reaves. He captions the photo, “from nothingness, to completion, and everything in between, all by me.”

B8

March 18, 2022 | SPORTS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

Housing, salaries mark Minor League improvements Karl Winter Digital Editor Within the past two years, Major League Baseball has raised starting salaries for minor leaguers, restructured farm systems and enacted a housing policy for free accommodations — but many players still struggle to make ends meet.

While MLB delayed Opening Day of the big-league season in the midst of a threemonth-long lockout, the minor league season will begin April 5, as planned.

The lockout ended March 10 after 99 days, and MLB players will report to spring training a month after their minor league counterparts.

A key point in the lockout negotiations was major league players seeking a raise in the six-figure MLB minimum salary. Meanwhile, minor leaguers — who receive poverty-level salaries during the season and don’t receive pay at all outside of the season — often live frugally to pursue their dream.

“You’re training all year and you don’t get paid anything,” former Pepperdine infielder Wyatt Young said. “And so you truly have to love it, or else you probably won’t last.”

MLB raised in-season salaries for minor leaguers in 2021 and enacted a housing policy for 2022 that will guarantee free accommodations, though it came at the cost of 40 minor league teams losing their affiliation with big league franchises in a December 2020 restructuring.

Did the MLB Lockout Affect Minor Leaguers?

Minor League Baseball — the vast system of MLB-affiliated teams and leagues in which players develop as they attempt to advance to the majors — does not have a union or a Collective Bargaining Agreement. This meant minor leaguers began spring training in February and March, despite the lockout.

The big leaguers — players on MLB teams’ 40-man rosters — could not report to spring training or contact anyone in their organization until the lockout ended, but minor leaguers said they looked forward to a full summer of baseball after two COVID-19shortened seasons.

“I’m more excited than ever and motivated than ever,” former Pepperdine pitcher Wil Jensen said. “I’m living a lot of people’s dreams — to be playing baseball and making money for a living.”

As Jensen attends spring camp in Arizona, he does not receive a salary — only a stipend for meals.

MLB maintains full control of the wages and working conditions of the players in the MiLB, including requiring players to attend spring train-

(Left) Photo courtesy of Dillon Tatum | Tatum, catcher, celebrates during his 2021 baseball season with UC Irvine. Tatum hit .278 with 15 home runs as a junior, and the Minnesota Twins drafted him in the 20th round of the 2021 MLB Draft. (Right) Photo courtesy of Giovanni Brusa | First baseman Brusa plays for the Guadalajara Mariachis in Zapopan, Mexico in 2021. Brusa pursued playing in an independent league after The San Francisco Giants cut him in 2020. ing without providing a salary.

Salaries Stagnate for Minor Leaguers Players chosen in the MLB Amateur Draft generally receive a five-to-seven-figure bonus when they sign their first contract.

Young, now a second baseman with the Florida Complex League Mets — the New York Mets’ rookie-ball affiliate — lived off his $125,000 signing bonus in the offseason while preparing for the 2022 season.

The “slot value,” or standard signing bonus based on draft pick, starts at $8 million for the first overall pick.

This guaranteed money drops dramatically as teams select players later in the 20-round draft. Catcher Dillon Tatum — who appeared in five Florida Complex League games in 2021 — received a $25,000 bonus after the Minnesota Twins drafted him in the 20th round. Tatum is a former standout at San Joaquin Delta College and UC Irvine.

While signing bonuses provide players an immediate return on their decision to play professional baseball, it is the largest sum of money many of them will make in their baseball careers. A small minority of minor leaguers, less than one in five, ever make the majors.

Minor League Baseball salaries increased between 38% and 72% in 2021 depending on the level, but baseball’s wage hike has yet to catch up with inflation.

Players in rookie ball — MiLB’s lowest tier — made $400 per week in 2021, while those in Low-A and High-A, the two levels above rookie ball, made $500 per week, according to Bleacher Report.

Considering the teams pay players for roughly 25 weeks of the year, $400 per week results

in approximately $10,000 per year.

The players are at the ballpark for a minimum of 10 hours per day during the season, with one or two off days per month. On game days, they arrive six or seven hours before the game, Young said.

Over the course of the full year, they make less than minimum wage — an arrangement only possible because the Supreme Court exempted baseball from the Sherman Antitrust Act in Federal Baseball v.

National League.

Jensen, Young and Tatum each gave roughly 5% of their signing bonus to their respective agents after they signed their contract. Most young players choose to have agent representation in contract negotiations, former Giants first baseman Giovanni “Gio” Brusa said.

Economic hurdles oftentimes prevent players from continuing playing ball into their late twenties, Brusa said.

“I know a lot of guys that, unfortunately, weren’t able to continue their career just because financially, they just couldn’t continue,” Brusa said.

Jensen and Young said they pocketed most of their weekly salary during the season because their only consistent expense was transportation.

During the offseason months — October through March — there is no bi-weekly paycheck to pocket.

It is difficult for players to hold a day job in the off-season, as they must maintain their baseball training regimen, Brusa said. Many will coach kids or give hitting lessons, Jensen and Young said.

Others work at golf courses or hardware stores, Jensen said.

“I know guys that do Uber driving or DoorDash and stuff like that just to scratch a couple extra pennies together,” Brusa said. “It’s tough, when

you actually go get a 9-to-5 job in the offseason because at the same time, you’ve got to be doing your training.”

Jensen’s and Young’s ability to pocket their salary was not the case for every minor leaguer, as MLB did not require its teams to provide players with housing or meals, like the Giants and Mets did for Jensen and Young, respectively. Teams still do not have to provide a certain number of meals, but now have to pay for housing.

MLB Requires Teams to Provide Housing In October 2021, MLB decided to require its franchises to provide housing for their minor league players for the first time.

Ed Sprague Jr., now the Director of Player Development for the Oakland Athletics, said he did not receive assistance or stipends for housing and rarely received food when he played in the minor leagues in the late 1980s. Sprague Jr. was a firstround draft pick, and the Blue Jays called him up to the big leagues in 1991.

“If you compare my minor league experience to minor league experiences 20 years ago, mine would be considered the Taj Mahal,” Brusa said.

The housing policy reads that teams cannot use hotels unless apartments, houses and host families are “not feasible,” but players raised concerns about the accommodations of players with significant others or children.

Teams can place two players in a room, and the individual teams determine what qualifies as “not feasible” — causing players like Joe Hudson to tell The Athletic they can only expect MLB to take advantage of “loopholes.”

“It’s a business at the end of the day,” Brusa said. “And I

know this sounds kind of pessimistic and negative, but when you’re in it for a little while, you see the politics and bulls--that goes on.”

The amount and quality of meals for players remains different between organizations — Young received two meals a day during the season, Sprague Jr. said the Athletics provide two, while Tatum received three.

“I know a lot of guys on our team that would kind of blow through [their salaries], they would eat out a lot,” Jensen said. “I try not to — I tried to make food as much as I could.”

The current minor leaguers said many players elect to bring a car to their spring training camp, so gas money can be an added expense.

Regardless of which organization signs their paycheck, players know they can be cut or sent down at any time, so players said they have little spending money or time for things outside of baseball.

“They get to do what they love, which is a huge blessing,” Brusa said. “But with the amount of hours and time they commit to it, they should be able to have an opportunity to make some money.”

Minors Restructuring Limits Opportunities In 2020, MLB restructured the minor league system, causing 40 franchises to lose their affiliations with MLB teams.

Some of these franchises now operate in independent leagues, while some ceased operations entirely.

In one fell swoop, more than 1,000 players like Brusa were no longer in an MLB farm system.

“I think Major League Baseball was looking for a way to do that for a long time, and I think they used that opportunity to do so,” Brusa said. “There’s a lot of good ballplayers out there. Major League Baseball is slowly writing the narrative that 30 years old, is old. A lot of guys don’t really reach their prime until their thirties.”

Players in the minor leagues continue to compete against each other to move up in the ranks.

“You have to be a little selfish in a way,” Young said. “This is your career. One day, you’ll be playing with this team. And then the next day, you’ll be playing with 40 new guys.”

While the developmental aspect of the minors remains the same, MLB is beginning to recognize players’ concerns regarding salaries, housing and general working conditions in the minor leagues, Sprague Jr. said.

“It’s going to take more than just one year to get it all fixed,” Sprague Jr. said.

karl.winter@pepperdine.edu

B9

March 18, 2022 | SPORTS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

Yoon reflects on 4 years at Pepperdine Jerry Jiang Assistant Sports Editor Approximately 18.6 million Asian Americans call the United States home, which is about 7% of the United States total population. In 2019-20, athletes of Asian descent made up less than 1% of all student-athletes in the United States.

One of them resides in Malibu, Calif.

Four letters stitched on the back of a jersey represent a story of strength, perseverance and dedication.

“Putting on that jersey every day, knowing that as a Korean American, that I’m kind of a trailblazer, just for the youth generation for Asian or Korean Americans, per se. That’s something I really take to heart and that I pride myself in,” Men’s Basketball senior guard Jay Yoon said. “That will carry for the rest of my life knowing that I have and will continue to try and make an impact for the next generation of Asian American athletes.”

Yoon said there’s always a stereotype with Asian Americans on the basketball court.

“Whenever someone looks at you from the outside perspective and seeing an Asian American on a Division I basketball program, they’re like, ‘Oh, this guy. Who is this dude?’” Yoon said. “But I never really minded much about that.”

The team embraced Yoon and accepted him for who he was, making the transition of coming to college easier, Yoon said.

Hailing from Arcadia, Calif., Yoon said he grew up in an academically focused school with a very cut-throat culture. This culture installed the grit-like personality that Yoon carries with him to this day.

“It wasn’t going to be me [making the] most highlight plays,” Yoon said. “It wasn’t going to be me being the most athletic dude on the team, being the fastest dude or the tallest on the team. So, I had to find ways where I can kind of make an impact on the court and off the court.”

Yoon carried that approach to everyday life and addressed each day with the mindset of improving himself and the team, Yoon said.

“It’s not just about me,” Yoon said. “It’s about how we as a collective unit to continue to strive for excellence.”

Yoon finished his high school career with averages of 18.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists as the No. 307 ranked recruit in the state of California, according to MaxPreps.

Coming out of high school, Yoon said he received an offer to a Division III school but chose to attend Pepperdine without a spot on the basketball team.

Yoon said he emailed the Pepperdine coaching staff with

his game film, resume and accolades from high school, but the coaches never got back to him. During Waves Weekend in the fall of 2017, his parents suggested that he should check out the basketball office to introduce himself and put his name out there.

“I was reluctant at first because I was like, ‘Man, they didn’t respond to my email. I don’t even know if they need anyone or if they’re holding tryouts,’” Yoon said. “And then I went up to the basketball office saw one of the coaches there. And then he said he saw my email. He saw my film, but he just didn’t have time to get back to me. He told me that the guys were on campus during the summer session, working out together as a team.”

For the next two weeks,Yoon said he and his mother would make the drive from Arcadia to Malibu for summer pickup sessions.

“Even though it might have been annoying for some of the coaches, I had something to prove,” Yoon said. “And I had an ambition that I wanted to achieve. So that was the whole process.”

Head Coach Lorenzo Romar appreciated Yoon and his family’s dedication throughout the summer, Yoon said. Yoon said he was able to secure a spot on the team as a walk-on.

Yoon said he’s grateful his parents drilled the Korean mindset and was able to confide in them through every trial and tribulation he faced.

“I’m blessed in family culture where I embody that as well,” Yoon said. “So I think that is something that I’ll never forget, just knowing my roots and where I come from, and who I’m playing for as well.”

As a student athlete, Yoon said the biggest challenges for him were mental health and time management. With basketball being a year-long commitment, Yoon had to find the balance between his social and athletic life.

“It’s bigger than who I am and what I can bring to the table,” Yoon said. “It’s more so how I can support the team, how I can impact someone’s life, even in a minor way.”

After four years at Pepperdine, Yoon said he treasures memories of traveling and bonding with his team.

“On the court, they’re all dogs,” Yoon said. “They’re all great basketball players and they offer so much off the court. They’re so much more than just athletes, they’re much more than high-flying dunkers or knock-down shooters. There’s so much depth and so much personality is getting to know that and seeing all of that, and that coming together in one team. I think it’s so beautiful to see.”

jerry.jiang@pepperdine.edu

Photos courtesy of Jay Yoon | Yoon attempts a free throw during a Feb. 19 away game. Yoon got his first career start versus Portland, when he scored seven points on 2-5 shooting.

Senior guard Jay Yoon looks for an open teammate versus Gonzaga on Feb. 16 at Firestone Fieldhouse.

Yoon said his dream is to see the 1% of Asian Americans in the NCAA grow tenfold.

Yoon cuts to the basket versus Gonzaga on Feb. 16. Yoon said one of the toughest things as a student athlete is to develop time management skills and be persistent.

B10

March 18, 2022 | SPORTS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

Climbing Club finds foothold at Pepperdine reins as club president.

Alec Matulka Staff Writer When you hear the words “rock climber,” what comes to mind?

Chalk-stained hands, perhaps. Someone who lives in their van. An adrenaline junky.

If you’ve seen the 2018 documentary “Free Solo,” maybe you picture Alex Honnold in his bright red shirt, dangling precariously from the rocks of El Capitan 2,000 feet in the air without ropes.

But for the members of Pepperdine Climbing Club, people’s preconceptions fall short of the reality of rock climbing.

“There’s definitely a rebellious, anti-authoritarian type spirit associated with climbers a lot of the time,” Climbing Club President junior John Palmer said. “I think a lot of the stereotypes don’t apply to all climbers, but there is some truth to them.”

Climbing Club Amid COVID-19

Begins

Pepperdine Climbing Club officially became a club in spring 2020. Alumna Kyla Lucey (‘21), set the club in motion with a group of friends who were dedicated rock climbers.

Among this group was nowvice president of Climbing Club and fifth-year Jeremiah Jones. He said the club had a few meetings in the spring and began the process of gaining Inter Club Council funding.

And then came COVID-19.

“The club was kind of postponed for an entire year,” Jones said. “You can’t have a club start in a semester that then goes into quarantine, and expect it to exist strongly.”

While most of the founding members graduated in 2020 or 2021, Jones said the remaining members were eager to pick up where they’d left off when they got back on campus this past fall. Palmer took up the

Making Climbing Accessible for All The club meets bi-weekly on Fridays at 5 p.m., in CAC 125. Meetings range in content — from watching footage of climbers or rock climbing movies to discussing how to properly belay. Most times directly after meetings, members will drive to the Boulderdash Indoor Rock Climbing in Thousand Oaks, Calif., to get some training in.

Palmer said a majority of the climbing the club does is sport-climbing, a process of clipping oneself to a rock face at particular intervals while ascending, or bouldering, which is climbing a smaller rock without ropes, but with extensive padding laid out underneath.

In an Oct. 29 meeting, Climbing Club hosted former-professional climber Tiffany Campbell, who talked with the 30-plus members in attendance about her experiences climbing in the area.

Jones met Campbell at Boulderdash, he said, because they both frequent the gym.

“These people who are way better than me are willing to help, and that’s super cool,” Jones said.

The sport of climbing has recently seen a stark rise in popularity, particularly on college campuses. The 2020 Summer Olympics were the first Olympics to include sport climbing. In 2017, 175 colleges in the United States had competitive climbing teams, according to The Wall Street Journal. In 2019, that number increased to 260.

“Rock climbing is one of those things that has been stigmatized to instill a lot of fear,” Climbing Club member senior Jacob Erbes said. “So, because of that, rock climbing is now becoming more popular with the advancement of technology, and the newfound knowl-

edge of how to experience it.”

Palmer said Pepperdine Climbing Club is not a competitive team, nor are there tryouts to join. Instead, Climbing Club seeks to make climbing accessible to students.

Palmer said ICC provides limited funding for climbing equipment, which the club uses as resources for its members.

“The club is for anyone and everyone,” Erbes said. “The reason for rock Climbing Club is to give others who’ve never climbed before a chance at a new skill, or even just a new hobby that they can pick up in their free time.”

Jones said part of promoting accessibility is ensuring people appreciate the opportunity for climbing in Malibu.

“We all look at the ocean all the time, and some people surf,” Jones said. “But we have pretty good rock climbing just the other direction that is just as close and it’s super fun. You have accessibility here that most people aren’t blessed with.”

Another aim of Climbing Club, Palmer said, is to provide a community for those already dedicated to rock climbing.

Jones said for members such as himself and Palmer who go climbing three to four times a week, it’s vital to have connections with equally dedicated climbers.

“Climbing itself is a trust exercise and a team-building exercise,” Jones said. “If you’re climbing and you’re using ropes for protection, you’re not the one that’s controlling that, it’s the person that’s on the ground. So you have to trust that person with, to some extent, your life and you also have to trust the gear. You don’t go climbing with people you don’t trust.”

While the club sponsors many different types of rock climbing, its primary focus is outdoors. Time spent in indoor

Photo by Sammie Wuensche, Assistant Photo Editor | Climbing Club President junior John Palmer contorts his body upside-down on a bouldering route near Moab, Utah in April 2021. Palmer has been president of Climbing Club since fall 2021. climbing gyms, Palmer, Jones and Erbes said, is focused on getting stronger for outdoor routes, called “projects.”

“There’s something that’s just way more real about grabbing the rock and finishing a project,” Erbes said.

Climbing Club Works with ICC The club’s focus on outdoor projects has put it at odds with ICC. Palmer said many people perceive the possibility for serious injury as being much higher in outdoor climbing than in the climbing gym.

In the club’s first semester, they had plans for a large purchase order of gear, but ICC denied their request for funds on the grounds that it was too dangerous, Jones said.

“It’s kind of counterintuitive for a demographic such as climbers who kind of oppose

bureaucracy to let themselves fit into bureaucracy,” Jones said. “Climbing itself is very counter culture, except now we’re having to fit into what they want us to do if we want certain things from them.”

ICC did not respond to the Graphic’s request for comment.

In the future, the club intends to keep petitioning for funding for more gear, Palmer said. Ideally, Palmer said he’d like to introduce a gear-assignment system where members could demonstrate proper usage of gear and then sign it out whenever they needed.

Above all else, the spirit of climbing remains paramount.

“Climbers just want to climb,” Jones said.

alec.matulka@pepperdine.edu

Hot Shots: The superior Swiss Super League Joseph Heinenmann Staff Writer I know it’s odd. How does some American-born kid from Seattle get into a soccer league from Switzerland?

But most importantly, why should you become a new fan of this lesser known soccer league?

Right in our back yard, the Swiss Super League is one of the best opportunities for Pepperdine students to get into soccer. Because of the proximity to the International Program to Lausanne, students have an opportunity to experience the league in person.

For me, it all started with the FIFA video game series. Like many people my age, I was obsessed with sports-based video games when I was younger. The words “EA Sports” would beam out from the TV, lighting up my friend’s bedroom at an hour that was way past our bedtime.

There we’d sit, recreating famous and absurd soccer club matchups — Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, Spain vs. Ajax, USA vs. Cameroon. Understandably, we had thoroughly gone through every famous league and international team we could find.

That’s when I came across the Swiss Super League.

Organized into 10 teams, the Swiss Super League — or CSSL — has teams from big cities such as Zurich and Basel, but it also houses teams from smaller towns such as Vaduz and Sion. The benefit of having this array of cities is that a small town can have a chance at unseating the bigger and more popular cities in the nation.

The league plays 36 matches in the standard season, competing for the Swiss national title. The winning team is the one that has the most points by the end of the season. Teams earn points based on wins and draws in the season,

and losses receive zero points.

Alongside this, there are two annual cups that the teams compete in. The first is the domestic cup, also known as the Schweizer Pokal, which then leads into the Continental Cup. The continental cups for the league are the world-famous UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa Conference League in which the top five teams in the league compete.

The Super League also manages to take part in the major continental cups.

This makes it so one’s favorite Swiss team has a chance every year to take on the finest squads in all of UEFA. This is better than the U.S.’s own MLS, which only ever gets a chance to play teams like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in experimental friendlies.

Alongside the opportunities for play, the Swiss Super League also gets a wide range of young talent on the pitch. Many young players sign with and treat the Swiss Super League as a doorway into

the wider European soccer scene.

FC Basel, a popular team within the league, has nurtured players like the famous goal-scoring defender Michael Lang (Borussia Monchengladbach), the dynamic and red card chasing midfielder Granit Xhaka (Arsenal), and potentially one of the best players in the world Mohamed Salah (Liverpool).

All of these different aspects make for a soccer league that is brimming with both talent and opportunity. It’s a place where you can watch the stars of tomorrow climb the ladder of professional football, while also not being separated from the larger scene. So here it is, your new favorite underdog team awaits you in Zurich, Luzern, or even Lausanne.

If you’re in the area and looking to catch a game, check out FC Lausanne-Sport’s ticketing options here.

Happy watching and go FC Luzern!

joseph.heinenmann@pepperdine.edu

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March 18, 2022 | SPORTS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

Short-handed No. 6 Women’s Tennis strolls past No. 58 BYU Alec Matulka Staff Writer No. 6 Pepperdine Women’s Tennis started conference play March 12, with a victory at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center in Malibu, defeating No. 58 BYU by a 7-0 scoreline. The Waves improved to 9-3 with the victory.

Two doubles teams — junior Anastasia Iamachkine and sophomore Nikki Redelijk and No. 15 freshman Savannah Broadus and sophomore Janice Tjen — earned doubles wins for the Waves. Pepperdine swept the singles matches, with five out of the six ending in straight sets, despite missing a few key players.

“We’re slowly getting better,” Head Coach Per Nilsson said. “We didn’t start off the best this semester, and so our goal has been to improve. I think we slowly are.”

The Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center has been a fortress for the Waves recently; the team hasn’t lost at home since their season-opening match against California on Jan. 22. Having beaten No. 57 Princeton on March 10 by a dominant 6-1 scoreline, the Waves looked to continue their stellar home form.

The Waves’ first win of the day came courtesy of Iamachkine and Redelijk. The pairing

Alec Matulka, Staff Writer | Sophomore Janice Tjen pumps her fist after winning a point against BYU at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center in Malibu on March 12. went on a five-game tear after going down 2-1 and won the set 6-2.

Broadus and Tjen were the next match to finish. They sprinted to a 4-0 lead before BYU’s Leah Heimulil and Madison Smith fought back and won the next two games.

But the Waves steadied themselves and closed out the set 6-2.

“We trust each other a lot, we spend a lot of time together,” Broadus said. “We had chemistry at the start [of the season], but it’s just been getting better and better as we’ve been playing together.”

The third doubles match,

featuring junior Lisa Zaar and graduate student Victoria Flores, stopped after the other two matches had finished.

Zaar and Flores were down 5-3 to BYU’s Anastasia Abramyan and Yujia Huang at the time.

The Waves rolled through the singles matches in a similar fashion. Tjen put together a dominant display on Court 2 against Abramyan, winning the first set 6-0.

Tjen was superb from the baseline, spraying hard-hit shots around the court to knock her opponent off rhythm.

“I would say I’m more confident,” Tjen said. “But, also, I just don’t think much about

who I’m going to play, who’s my opponent, anything like that. I just try to always come out the way I’m supposed to.”

Due to the Waves missing some players, Tjen played higher up the ladder than normal.

Graduate student Shiori Fukuda has been out of the lineup for the past three matches and junior Taisiya Pachkaleva missed Saturday’s match because of the flu.

Nilsson said flu-like symptoms affected a number of players throughout the week, and that he’d been concerned whether enough players would be healthy for the BYU match.

Fortunately, the Waves fielded a complete team, albeit with somewhat of a different lineup.

“We knew that going into this year we were going to be really deep,” Nilsson said. “On a day like this, when some people are sick, it really helps. But, at the same time, we need all eight to buy in and understand what they need to get better at, otherwise it doesn’t matter how many we have.”

The new spot on the ladder did not daunt Tjen, as she finished her match with assuredness. The second set ended 6-2, and the Waves logged their first singles win of the afternoon.

Broadus followed her doubles partner a short while later, earning a decisive 6-1, 6-0 win on Court 3. Broadus missed

the game against Princeton on March 10, which resulted in more changes to the squad lineup.

“I’m part of the team either way,” Broadus said. “I help them either way, if that’s on the court or off the court. The mindset I have going into every match, whether I play or don’t play, is just to be there for my team. And if it’s on the court, that’s fighting, doing my best to get the W for them, and if it’s off the court, then letting my team know I’m there for them and cheering for them.”

Redelijk was the next to come off the courts, finishing off her opponent 6-1, 6-3. Iamachkine took her match 6-3, 6-4, securing the Waves’ victory.

Zaar added to the Waves’ onslaught with a 6-0 second set performance to win her match, and Flores fought back from a set down on Court 4. With the match already decided, Flores and her opponent played a 10-point tiebreak instead of a third set, which Flores won 105.

The Waves will seek to defend home court again on March 19, against USC. “It’s going to be a battle,” Tjen said. “And we’re going to be ready for that.”

alec.matulka@pepperdine.edu

March 18, 2022 | SPORTS | Pepperdine Graphic Media

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Abroad students stay active in, out of the classroom Beth Gonzales Abroad Correspondent Fantasizing fighting a swashbuckling pirate in Germany, riding alongside a princess in London or sailing into the Argentine sun — Pepperdine’s International Programs provide heart-racing memories. Abroad PE courses offer students opportunities for health and wellness with such eccentric classes.

IP offers a range of physical education classes and tailors them specifically to the individual program, junior Abigail Munzar said. These classes range from tango dancing in Buenos Aires to fencing in Heidelberg.

If a program does not offer a specific class, such as Lausanne or Florence, students said they explored daily in caves, hills or slid down slopes.

“It is best to go into it with an open mind, don’t try and have expectations, just go in trying to have fun,” Munzar said. “It’s a really great way to immerse yourself in the culture and talk to your teachers — what a good way to see into their lives.”

London Pepperdine’s London, England program offers a personal exercise class and an equestrian class — ten horseback riding lessons at the Hyde Park stables, junior Sarah Hunt said.

Hunt said program participants usually have consistent horses and trainers each week, learning skills such as trotting, steering and more. They practice in an arena or through park trails such as the famous riding road, “Rotten Row.” “It is a once in a lifetime chance that I would probably not get to do if I was here in London on vacation,” Hunt said. “It’s important to stay active and be healthy because when you’re doing a lot of traveling or getting caught up in schoolwork, things get hectic and stressful, so it’s good to get out, get some fresh air.”

Hunt recalled a day when a loud helicopter noise startled the horses and they took off running. She became separated from her trainer and fell off. Hunt said she learned to be less intimated and recommends only taking the course if you love animals and have the patience to be safe.

“Once you overcome your fear and you feel more grounded, then it’s not as bad when you fall off the horse and get right back up,” Hunt said.

Lausanne Sophomore Katherine Delong said she chose the Lausanne program to practice her French and because of its central location to travel.

While the only PE class

Photo courtesy of Phillip Young | Sophomore Heidelberg participant Young, far left, joins his friends for their first day of fencing class Sept. 20. Young said Heidelberg is filled with adventure, such as hiking up “Philosopher’s Way,” which he climbed in early January. offered is individual exercise, Delong said she often works out in the house gym and participates in many outdoor activities such as hiking, skiing in the Alps, snowboarding and walking around the city.

“Lausanne is definitely the best place to be for those looking for adventure and exercise,” Delong said. “Here we are surrounded by mountains and there are amazing opportunities to hike, ski and snowboard during the winter and parasail, bungee jump, horseback ride and more. The Lausanne program is also located right on Lake Geneva, which allows you to sail, swim and go to the beach.”

Caving, Delong said, has been her most memorable experience while abroad. 10 students went on a two-day hiking experience in Holloch Cave that involved rock climbing and army-crawling through extremely small places.

Many students take trains to ski at Zermatt or Crans-Montana over weekends to ski.

Delong said she also skied her first weekend in Switzerland and found it funny when 3-year-olds raced past her.

She concluded that the Swiss must teach their children to ski young.

life and so it’s like a dream come true to do that,” Munzar said. “I’ve always wanted to sail wherever I want, so I’m really happy about that.”

Buenos Aires

Heidelberg

The Buenos Aires program offers beginning tango dancing, sailing, equestrian classes and yoga. Munzar said she has three PE classes — equestrian, tango and sailing.

Munzar said each class takes place once a week. The end goal in the tango class involves skill in the dance and attending an end-of-the-class ball, called a milonga.

“Tango can get awkward sometimes because you’re staring into another person’s soul while you’re dancing with them, and it’s kind of fun alleviating the awkwardness while chatting with them,” Munzar said.

Instructors teach most classes in English but some Argentine locals teach in Spanish, such as Munzar’s sailing class, she said.

“I’ve wanted to sail all my

Heidelberg offers activities such as weight training, yoga and fencing, sophomore Phillip Young said. Young, an academic year student, said he participated in fencing both semesters and it has been one of the best experiences of his life — his favorite part is dueling his classmates.

The class takes place every Monday and a small group of five or six take a taxi to the local gym, Young said.

“It’s amazing to think that five months ago, I could barely keep my balance in ‘fencing position,’ whereas now I’m engaging in real, structured matches on a weekly basis,” Young said. “I would definitely be interested in continuing fencing back in the United States. It’s a surprisingly good workout, yet it’s incredibly fun and takes a lot of skill.”

Florence Italy is and has been the dream for many Florence students, and this rings true for sophomore Isabella Glynn.

Glynn said the group values exercise and a healthy lifestyle making it easy for her to stay engaged — such as a group gym session in Naples and nightly walks to gelato.

“I think by completely engaging in all opportunities provided to me, I have the best chance to truly understand the culture I am living in,” Glynn said. “Being active within it is a crucial part to achieving this.”

Glynn said the program participated in activities such as playing soccer, ice skating, ATVing and more. Most memorable for Glynn is the hike she took while on her Educational Field Trip in Ireland.

“The woods were so colorful and filled with so much life, and the water coming out from the mountain looked like it was from a movie even in the rain,” Glynn said.

Photo courtesy of Sarah Hunt | Junior Hunt is all smiles as she heads off for her second lesson in mid-January at the Hyde Park stables in London with around five other students. Hunt said she learned English style riding versus the Western riding style practiced in the United States.

Photo courtesy of Katherine Delong | Sophomore Delong spends her first weekend in Switzerland skiing in the Alps with new friends from the program. Delong said she laughed when young kids flew by while she was just starting to learn.

Young said they stay very active in the program with challenges such as the fivemile hike known as “Philosophers Way.” “If you like adventure and don’t mind a good walk, Heidelberg is definitely the place for you,” Young said. “Germany is filled with forests and mountains to explore with friends, and if you run out of things to see in the country, there are nine other beautiful countries that border Germany waiting to be explored as well.”

Remaining involved in local activities has made students feel more connected to their

city, and feel less like visitors.

With all these different classes offered, Young said one is bound to feel more interconnected to their overall experience — finding within themselves why they went abroad, and what they hope to leave with.

“Studying abroad is an adventure within itself,” Young said.

beth.gonzales@pepperdine.edu

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M a r ch 18, 2022

The Graphic

pepperdin e-gr ap h ic .c om

SPORTS

Kessler Edwards shines in NBA rookie campaign Jerry Jiang Assistant Sports Editor In his journey from role player at Pepperdine Men’s Basketball program to a rising star with the Brooklyn Nets, Kessler Edwards turned himself into a household name.

Edwards is the first player from Pepperdine to be drafted in the NBA since Alex Acker in 2005.

Edwards holds a plethora of records in the program. In the all-time scoring list, Edwards is No. 30, amassing a total of 1,247 points. He is also fifth in blocked shots with 127 blocks, seventh in free-throw percentage at 78%, and eighth in 3-pointers with 148.

Edwards gained a West Coast Conference All-Freshman team status, acquired the WCC All-Second team honors and made the All-WCC first team as a junior as well as the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District second team. Edwards was also the MVP of the College Basketball Invitational in 2021.

In the seventh installment of the “Where are they now?” series featuring former Pepperdine student-athletes, Edwards talked to the Graphic about his NBA experience as a rookie. Previous installments covered Stacy Davis, Kelley Larsen, Quincy McAfree, Dave Wieczorek, Maya Sherif and Deahna Kraft.

An anxious Edwards sat on his couch in his living room in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., on July 29, 2021 at 5 p.m.

It was the night of the NBA Draft, where the lives of 60 basketball players would be changed forever. Multiple mockdrafts had Edwards drafted as a sec-

ond-round pick.

With his eyes glued to the TV and family and friends surrounding him, Edwards said the excitement in the room built once he saw his name on the next 10 possible draft picks available.

“I remember when the second round started, I got a little nervous,” Edwards said. “And then I found out like right before my name was called that I’m going to be picked by the [Brooklyn] Nets. So, it was kind of crazy.”

Reflecting on Pepperdine Edwards said he decided to go through the draft process while keeping his NCAA eligibility.

When Edwards declared to the NBA Draft as a junior, he still had two years of eligibility left, but he realized that he was ready and could make an impact in the NBA. “As we got feedback while he had been working out for [NBA teams], he felt like he had improved to a point where he’d be ready to make the [NBA],” Men’s Basketball H e a d Coach

Photos courtesy of Nathaniel S. Butler via Getty Images | Kessler Edwards #14 of the Nets poses for a portrait during NBA Media Day on Sept. 27, 2021 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. He has played in 34 games for the Nets so far this season.

B R O O K L Y N N E T S

Lorenzo Romar said.

“And for him, it didn’t matter at that point if he were a first-rounder.

Once he said that, I supported him 100%. But, I was honest with him during the process.”

Edwards said he carries a lot of lessons from Pepperdine –– including what Romar preached during practice.

“I think the way that we played on the court [at Pepperdine] really helping me in the NBA,” Edwards said.

“Just knowing [the NBA plays] at a fast-pace, getting on me about my intensity and how hard I play. That’s how you got to be every night in NBA, so I’m thankful for that.”

Romar, Edwards said, kept in contact with him throughout the pre-draft process. The biggest advice Romar provided was to stay ready and stay positive.

Learning How to Stay Ready Edwards signed a two-way contract with the Nets, meaning he can only play in 50 games before the team decides on converting him to a regular rookie contract.

“It was really a blessing getting to play in the G League when I first had gotten called up before I started getting real minutes,” Edwards said.

“I was feeling very confident, playing a lot of minutes in the G League –– being one of the main players on that team.

So, I think it transferred right over. I mean, that really helped me a lot.”

As a two-way player, Edwards split time in the G League –– the NBA’s minor league –– with the Long Island Nets. There, he averaged 15.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 0.9 assists while playing 34 minutes per game.

Edwards said it was tough being a two-way player at the start of the season.

“That was really just the name of the whole year –– just staying ready,” Edwards said.

“And even now, I’m not playing as much, [it’s] the same thing. Just staying ready, that’s part of being a professional.”

With Edwards’ tra-

jectory at Pepperdine, Romar said Edwards success right now doesn’t surprise him.

“When you look at how he’s improved each year, this is just what he’s done,” Romar said.

“This is consistent with what he’s done since he was a freshman. He made another jump so it would only make sense.”

Those close to Edwards described him as having a low maintenance personality, and Edwards said his personality could be attributed to his parents and how his parents taught him growing up.

“He didn’t get too down on himself, nor did he get too high,” Romar said. “He scored 37 points in the game and he would be the same if he had scored zero [points]. He was a very even keel, even-tempered young man. I think that helped him to when he got his opportunity in the NBA.” Men’s Basketball senior guard Jay Yoon said the best way to describe Edwards was a silent killer.

“He was the guy who would come in every practice that just dominated and he wouldn’t really even say much,” Yoon said. “He plays his own game, he’s a really humble guy. So, everything that he did, it was so crazy to see him do what he did at that level, but still carry the whole attitude.”

Yoon said because Edwards was so quiet, anything he did was so unexpected.

“When we’re on the road and we’re all eating together, he’s just cracking some jokes,” Yoon said. “And he’s bouncing off of the other guy’s jokes too.”

Adjusting to the NBA With the Nets having NBA talents like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Edwards said its been a real blessing to play alongside the two.

“I don’t think I’ve really appreciated the greatness that I’m playing with right now until it’s over,” Edwards said.

“But, they just gave me a lot of confidence. I mean, they look for me when I’m out on the court with them, and they just kept telling me to shoot the ball and be confident and they have confidence in me.

So, that’s really all I need.”

Though Edwards was a career 39% 3-point shooter at Pepperdine, Edwards said adjusting to the NBA line was a struggle at first, but it’s about getting more power into his shot, getting his set-point higher and just relaxing it.

“He had [his set-point] up in front of a little bit throughout his career, but he was good

shooter,” Romar said. “But now, with the longer distance over the NBA three-point line, I think [the change] helped him.”

Scouts classified Edwards as a 3-and-D wing. In the modern NBA, the need for 3-and-D wings are at an alltime high because they can stretch the floor with their shooting while defending the top perimeter players.

Romar said Edward’s ability to put the ball on the floor, making a play off the dribble and working on his footwork were all things he emphasized.

With Edwards being one of the younger players on the team, Edwards said Blake Griffin, James Johnson and Patty Mills have been the people he turned to for advice.

When the Nets got struck with a COVID-19 outbreak in December 2021, Edwards said that’s when he got his first real extended minutes.

Edwards played in his first NBA game versus the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 16, 2021. Even though that game was a blowout, Edwards said he was itching to get in the game after sitting on the bench.

“Just being aggressive [once I got in] because I had also been playing in the G-League too, so I was ready,” Edwards said.

Moving NBA

Forward

in

the

If he could describe his NBA experience so far in one word, Edwards said it would be a “movie.”

“Not knowing it was gonna happen as far individually, how much playing time I’ll get,” Edwards said. “And then, just the lifestyle, like all the traveling, and especially with the playoffs coming up.”

Edwards said his main goal in his rookie year is to win a championship with the Nets.

“I mean, with all the talent we have, that’s been our goal since training camp,” Edwards said. “So, whatever I can do, whether that’s cheering off the bench, or once I get in, just bring in all the energy that I can bring. But, really, just wanting to championship with the team. It’s all I’ve got for my rookie year.”

jerry.jiang@pepperdine.edu