THE PEARL Soka University of America Student News Magazine
November-December 2009
IN THIS ISSUE: thoughts on baseball, hip hop, journalism, childhood, grafitti, and helping old ladies
November-December 2009
004 Hip Hop Congress presents Elements of Change
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Major League Baseball’s Orlando Cepeda
006 Staff Profile:
Chelsea Nakabayashi
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Film Review: Where the Wild Things are
009 Study Abroad:
Mendoza, Argentina
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Apollo’s Ground: Ryosuke Ishii [2010] Lenny Bogdonoff [2011]
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Career Corner: Interview Like a Pro
gotanopinion?
write a letter to the editor! email pearl@soka.edu
disclaimer: Anonymous letters will not be printed unless otherwise approved by The Pearl senior staff. The Pearl reserves the right to reject letters and/ or columns and edit for clarity, brevity and accuracy. Letters represent only the views of their authors. Nothing on the Op/Ed pages necessarily represents a position of the The Pearl or Soka University of America.
013 Advice:
What To Do Over Break
014
Breakfast Music
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Brazilian Wax
letterfromtheeditor Dear Friends, Let me be frank. While I usually agree with the quirky values presented in Brazilian Wax’s not-so-American column, this month, his suggestions have made me feel a little bit uneasy. Amidst endless final exams, study abroad and learning cluster VISA applications, winter travel plans, and the perpetual personal drama that comes with college life, it seems easier to focus on my waning bank account and unwanted good-byes than the excitement of a new year. And so, while I agree it’s most important to remain true to one’s personal values and even styles of delight, this issue, Brazilian Wax’s endorsement of not living life according to a timetable has pushed my buttons more than brightened my perspectives on humanity. I don’t mean to spoil your reading, really, and I have no personal vendetta against Jean Marcus. In fact, he’s stirred some sort of awareness in me, of my anti-connectedness and affinity for hibernation. For this, I appreciate him. It seems to me lately, that the usual harmony and innate unity that pervades our campus is a little bit hidden. We (myself included) seem more internally attentive thatnexternally (not that this is at all unnatural considering our demanding schedules). Increasing policy violations on the basis of alcohol and substance abuse have me wondering: If we’re not becoming less agile at covering our tracks, perhaps our arrests are pointing to the simple fact that we’re increasingly socializing in the company of such substances. And this fact, coupled with our apparent introversion could be contributing to the dampness I feel, pointing out at least my own propensity for making connections that I fear are less sincere than I realize. I truly hope I’m completely off, that this is not the case at all and you are more connected to your future than I am today, more connected to each other and more energized for change. In case you aren’t, here is our gift to you: a little bit of light and profound writing that I hope can strike at least one chord in you, happily, uncomfortably, or both. We’re featuring two interviews: one with Major League Baseball player Orlando Cepeda, who shares his thoughts on perseverance, one with SUA’s own Chelsea Nakabayashi, a key member of our administration and a source of inspiration and support for The Pearl since 2002. SUA’s own Hip Hop Congress Chapter shares with us its vibrant accomplishments and some pretty remarkable plans in store for next semester. Our columnists push boundaries, inviting you to escape reality for a few minutes and re-explore childhood, re-evaluate education and re-commit yourselves to your innermost sources of excitement. I hope everyone conquers 2009 with cheerful resolve and dusts away any debris that might remain from our firstdecade-of-the-millennium battles. Along with you, I’ll be looking forward to dynamic issues of The Pearl next semester, while I’m in away in China. Our staff is capable and strong, and we’d love to you have contribute to future issues. We’re now officially online and will soon be uploading archived issues for you to read. As we continue seeking to understand our university’s mission and cultivate the multihued culture of our bubble, I encourage you to read past issues and be amazed – as I was – at the drive of students and development of SUA during its earliest years. Bon Voyage, good luck and of course, happy reading!
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Hip Hop Congress presents... Elements of Change
campus
Carley Martin [2011]
Have you heard the hype? Believe it. As of fall 2008, SUA has its own Chapter of the Hip Hop Congress. “The Hip Hop Congress is a 501 (c) 3 Non Profit Corporation. The Hip Hop Congress provides the Hip Hop Generation and the Post Hip Hop Generation with the tools, resources and opportunities to make social, economic and political change on a local, regional and national level. Hip Hop Congress is the product of a merger of artists and students, music and community” (www.hiphopcongress.com). I personally have been majorly impacted by the hip hop culture, and felt the need to share this passion at SUA. I wanted to support and share with others the motivational, progressive, and creative value of hip hop. With the huge help of Sonal Malkani (’09), I was able to manifest this desire through the founding of our own Hip Hop Congress Chapter. Professor Gail Thomas was willing and excited to become our faculty advisor. Here at SUA, we have tried to support the development of hip hop culture through film showings, parties, workshops, concerts, and conferences. Our first event, Street Art, co-hosted by ResHall 300, was a workshop on three of the four elements of hip hop: graffiti, breakdance, and rap and spoken word. Throughout the year, HHC members strove to carry on the success of this
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workshop. On March 28, 2009, our efforts culminated in the first annual Elements of Change, a conference centered on hip hop and education. Held in Founder’s Hall, participants from SUA and surrounding communities came together to hear a panel of artists, educators, and community activists speak on the effects of using hip hop culture in educational settings, and as an educational tool itself. Panelists included our very own Dr. Gail Thomas; Dr. Alison Johnson, artist and visiting professor at SUA, with experience in multicultural hip hop; Jeff Campbell, artist and founder of the Colorado Hip Hop Coalition; Cory “Besskepp” Cofer, educator, author, and HBO Def Poet; and Matt P., artist and community activist from Los Angeles. Panelists were presented with questions such as: Is it possible to use Hip Hop in formal education? What are the benefits? How has Hip Hop influenced critical thinking and creativity in youth? How can we move from the first step of enlightening youth about problems to the second step of finding solutions? In an hour and a half, panelists offered a rich discussion and insight on these and other topics, fueling stimulating and progressive dialogue during the break between the panel and concert. Local artists Rebels to the Grain and Speratic, and Colorado artists Apostle and DJ SD rocked the crowd, inspiring the audience
with conscious messages. Break dancers blessed the floor and the dialogue continued throughout the night. In total, Elements of Change served over 50 participants. Artists and panelists left with a great impression of SUA and expressed their interest in working with us again. In addition, Gail Thomas took the initiative in furthering the value of this conference by conducting a survey of “youth to get their opinions about schools, adults, and how Hip Hop Music and SUA’s Hip Hop Congress and similar organizations can become positive forces for empowering youth and for bridging the gap between youth and adults” (Gail Thomas). This year, with Ryan Hayashi as our club president, and new, vibrant membership, Hip Hop Congress plans to continue to expand the movement. We have taken on hosting “The Show,” formerly known as “Enter Connection.” The first Show was powerful, with strong attendance and incredible performances ranging from song to spoken word to rap. With “The Show,” we hope to create a safe space that fosters creativity and community. Plans are in full effect for Hip Hop Congress’s 2nd Annual Elements of Change Forum. This year’s conference promises to be off the hook. Want to know more? Ask somebody!
Interview with MLB Player Orlando Cepeda
Jihii Jolly [2011]
Here from Photo by Janice Lee
are some of the highlights our interview with him.
Pearl: This is your first time visiting SUA. What do you think of the university? Orlando Cepeda: I can see every student here is so fortunate to be able to come to this school and mingle with other students who are on the same road to happiness. This school is meant to save people from misery. Normally, you come to get an education but at SUA you also come to learn how to be a better person, how to be a credit to society. Pearl: Do you have a vision for SUA’s newly developing athletic department? OC: The role of athletes here is not just to be athletes but to lead people toward this road to happiness. Let me tell you one thing. My goal is that someday SUA names their baseball field after me: Orlando Cepeda Baseball Field. I hope in the future, they have a baseball team because my vision is for my grandson to come here to SUA and play baseball. Pearl: Would you rather be the best player on a losing sports team or the worst player on a winning team? OC: The best player on the losing team because listen, you don’t make the Hall of Fame if you are a bad athlete… the Hall of Fame is the best of the best. Pearl: Based on your own experiences, do you have any thoughts on perseverance you’d like to share with our students? OC: When I came to this country from Puerto Rico, where everyone is black, everyone is like me, I went through so many obstacles. I was 17-years-old. I couldn’t relate to nobody – the food, the language. I went to the South and white people lived here and black people lived there. You couldn’t look at white people. But I remembered what my mother told me: ‘If you’re going to America to play ball, you have to learn to deal with everything. The reason you’re going there is because you want to play baseball. So put everything aside and play baseball.’ Then my father died and I was very close to my dad. So when I went back to Puerto Rico for his funeral, I didn’t want to come back to the US. But I remembered what my mother told me: perseverance. That’s a very strong word. Never be defeated.
offcampus
SUA’s Annual Peace Gala, a fundraising event for donors of SUA where they can interact with students and see how their donations are being invested, has brought a host of celebrities to our campus. This past October, we had the opportunity to interview Major League Baseball Player Orlando Cepeda, as well as accompany him on his first tour of SUA’s campus. His connection to the university was born through Buddhist practice and friendship with SUA supporters and SUA founder Daisaku Ikeda. Cepeda was born and raised in Puerto Rico; his father was Puerto Rican baseball player Pedro Cepeda. In 1955, Orlando came to the United States to play baseball, leading to a sixteen year career that included playing with the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, and Kansas City Royals. Cepeda was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 despite a controversial prison sentence due to drug possession charges. Currently, he works as a scout for the San Francisco Giants and is internationally known as an “Ambassador of Baseball,” promoting the game when he travels. In a most endearing Puerto Rican accent and measured sentences, he shared with us his personal experiences, his values in life and his vision and appreciation for SUA. “To be able to be born with the skills to play baseball is a blessing,” he says, “because [while] in America, everyone played baseball as a kid, not too many Latinos or Blacks came to America to play ball [and made it],” especially fifty years ago. Reflecting on his childhood he says, “I was born poor in Puerto Rico. I grew up in the ghetto…so many drugs and this and that. Through baseball I escaped poverty.” He attributes his success to the values his parents taught him, to perseverance and to his Buddhist practice. One of his mottos: “The biggest mistake you can make is to be afraid to make a mistake. You learn from mistakes. We are human beings who never stop learning. If you recognize you made a mistake, no problem. It’s impossible not be make mistakes, otherwise life is going to be boring, don’t you think?”
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Staff Profiles: Chelsea Nakabayshi Jihii Jolly [2011]
campus
“Boy, what a special place.”
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Like many SUA students, SUA staff members often come here with colorful backgrounds and fascinating experiences, only to be changed and moved by the profound and inevitable learning that pervades our university bubble. Chelsea Nakabayashi, a key member of the Vice President for Finance and Administration and President’s offices, has been a member of the SUA community since the school’s founding here in Aliso Viejo in 2001. This fall, she announced her resignation and just last week relocated to the Boston area to support her husband’s company promotion and reassignment. This month, we’ve chosen to feature a profile of Chelsea not only because of her indispensable contributions to the SUA campus (such as the launch and publication of SUA Today in addition to myriad administrative affairs), but because she has served as staff advisor to The Pearl, since its second year of establishment. After completing her Master’s Degree in International Economics and Japan Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University, Chelsea worked at a think-tank in Washington D.C. specializing on East Asian Security Issues for one year, after which she joined a Japanese trading company doing research and analysis. When the company closed down their D.C. office at the beginning of 2001 due to the economy, she applied both for PhD. Programs and jobs, which led her to be hired at SUA. Reflecting on her impending move and her time at SUA, she says, “I’ve grown so tremendously
as a result of being here and it’s inspired me to work hard and do my best…I think of one of Danny’s [SUA President Danny Habuki] commencement speeches where he talks about the concept of constantly departing and coming back together again. It’s through this process that we get our inspiration and go out to fulfill our own unique roles before coming back together again to refresh ourselves. That’s really the SUA way of life and I have to uphold that same spirit.” During our interview, Chelsea shared her own study abroad experience at the age of 19, in Beijing, China. She began studying Chinese in high school based on her 13-year-old logic that Chinese characters seemed like drawings and Chinese people bicycled. (She’d already had an extensive history of bicycling crisscross around the U.S. with her family by the age of twelve!) In college, she spent her junior year at Beijing University; her stay happened to be during the 1989 student protests and massacre at Tiananmen Square. Due to student boycotts, the last couple of months of her classes were cancelled and coincidentally, CBS news crews came to China during that same time looking for bilingual students to interpret for them. Thus, Chelsea was hired by CBS to accompany a news crew around China for six weeks, covering the demonstrations. Though foreigners were shutout from the Beijing University campus, she was able to get the news crew onto campus and interview with one of her Chinese friends who was protesting for the freedom to choose her own major. That piece later won a Polk award.
Through her experiences both in China and as an intern in the D.C. office of CBS the following summer, Chelsea “saw how journalism has the power to report the truth and yet at the same time how it can manipulate.” She shares, “The journalists I worked with really tried to convey the cultural aspects of China– why certain things were being perceived the way they were being perceived. When I came back [to the US], after the Tiananmen massacre, it was hard to report what really happened in China as the government clamped down on the media. I felt sad because people then jumped to their own conclusions and understandings about China…I really felt the power journalism has to convey the truth and the responsibility of the journalist to uphold the integrity of the news.” Chelsea has used her extensive background in publications and her sincere belief in the students here to support the development of The Pearl whether in business matters, policy development, editorial matters or in dialogues toward the development of our mission statement. Post-SUA she is determined to “always support SUA, the students, Danny and the founder in whatever way I can.” At the same time, she hopes to re-introduce the Chinese language into her life, while settling with her husband and baby son into life in Arlington, Massachusetts. All the while, she carries with her profound appreciation for SUA and her experiences here, “…boy what a special place…not a place you want to leave, so you have to bring it along with you in your heart.”
Photo by Nico Hirayama
“I think The Pearl has a very unique mission that I’m not even sure I entirely understand; I’m learning what it means through your eyes. Always stay true to it. The staff of The Pearl has a unique opportunity to explore from a very pure perspective what it means to be a student at SUA and what is the mission of your student paper. Everyone has their own opinions or perspectives of an issue but it is your responsibility to convey the news in a way that is value creative. Through my experience working with CBS, I felt the importance of the reporter’s role in upholding the integrity of the news they report on. I hope the students on The Pearl staff will always strive to maintain and uphold the integrity of what you report. Very few colleges provide what SUA provides – the opportunity to develop your character and strength as a person so you can really embrace what it means to create value in any field or endeavor. There is no paper in the world that is non-sectarian and completely universal in its principals and rooted in a value-creative educational philosophy. Soka Education is unique and The Pearl is the voice of students who are receiving Soka Education.”
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Michelle Hamada [2011] So often when we think of childhood we nostalgically reminisce upon a purer simpler time of carefree happiness. We think of the days before midterms, before convoluted relationships, before responsibility. We think of the liberation of running around naked in the sprinklers and cuddling with our parents under the covers. When we were young, the future was unlimited. We had dreams of becoming astronauts, zoo keepers, doctors or maybe even dragons. Oh and don’t forget the unparalleled contentment of falling asleep under a newly constructed living room fort. Looking back, life just seems simpler, easier, happier. Perhaps this is why so many people had trouble coping with Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are. Throughout the film, childhood is portrayed as both a magical and explosive time. We experience the wonder of creating our own igloo, only to have it violently and traumatically crash down upon us. We are immersed into a world looming with the oppressive fear that the sun will eventually explode. The earth will become desolate. The human race will be extinct. Although the film includes scenes of incredible joy and beauty, humans and wild things alike are consumed by insecurity and general dysfunction. Compared to our dreamy fingerpainted memories, the film’s portrayal of childhood just seems wrong. And many have
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stormed out of theater claiming that Jonze’s film has ruined their favorite childhood book. But is this a fair presumption? Are we remembering our childhoods accurately? In many ways, we are still young. Just sitting on the cusp of our young adult lives, most of us still have yet to experience our first loves, our first real jobs, our first apartments, and don’t forget our first student loan bills. If our lack of experience isn’t enough, SUA’s optimistic hope for world peace keeps our eyes bright and our skin wrinkle-free. Yes, we are very,very, young. But perhaps despite our young adulthood, there is a chance we have already lost touch with our more youthful youthour inner child–the 8-yearold Michelle, 5-year-old- Jihii, or toddler Jean who lingers somewhere in the depths of our psyche. With the struggles, stress and torments of being a college student it’s easy to forget the fears and insecurities that afflicted us as kids. The idea of childhood transforms into a mystical utopian time when all was new and unbridled with adult neuroses. The fairy tale princes and princesses that seem to have narrated our elementary school days only reiterate the idea that childhood was a fantastical time completely insulated from all of the gross ickyness of being a grown-up. Watching Where the Wild Things Are brought me back to the rawness of childhood vulnerability. I suddenly remembered the heart-sinking self-hatred I felt when my
kindergarten teacher yelled at me in front of everyone for running with scissors. I remembered the frustration of being trapped in the car because of child-locks. I remembered my immobilizing sadness when my cousins ruined my perfect snowman by putting a twig penis on him; to a six year old, these moments are shocking, life-changing, and heavy because of our inability to lighten emotions with expression. As we get older, we hone our skills of articulation. Our deepest fears and woes become the kindling for brilliant poems and music. We beat out our stress by dancing at Student Festivals, and sing away our fears at The Show. But as a child, all you can do sometimes is start a rumpus, chase your dog with a fork, or bite someone real hard. Not to say these actions should be restricted to childhood. No matter how sophisticated and refined we imagine ourselves to be there is still is nothing more cathartic than expressing your love, hate, frustration or joy in the most instinctual way. With the impending end of the semester, there are bound to be some intense emotions bouncing about. So run outside in the rain, go howl at the moon, roll down the canyon or tackle a good friend in the middle of cafeteria. Express the inexpressible! Don a wolf suit and let the wild rumpus start!
The Hypocrisy of Education Study Abroad: Mendoza, Argentina.
Garrett Braun [2011] When I think back to what I expected out of study abroad, many things pass through my mind. However, one thing that I never really thought about before-hand was the opportunity to experience the workings of another educational system. After a little more than three months here in Mendoza, Argentina, the cliché “you cannot fully appreciate something that you have until it is gone,” seems to hold very true in my life, especially in terms of education. As part of my study abroad program, students are required to take university courses at the local universities. I am taking one course in each of the two universities that we can choose from, one private and one public. Although there is a world of difference between the two, private being easier and less organized, I wish to focus more specifically on the course at the public university. The university is called Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (National University of Cuyo) and I am taking a course called General Theory on Education. It is a first year class laced with hypocrisy. Before I go any further, I feel it is necessary to explain the assumptions I am running on that make up a good education, an education based on Soka education. A good education focuses on personal inquiry,
on the exploration of what is supposed to be “fact.” A good education does not restrict the professor to a position of authority and the student to a position of passive knowledge consumption. Allow me to briefly describe the class. We meet twice a week for six hours total, in one class we learn theory and the other focuses on practical application where we review the homework. The class is comprised of two different professors that do not seem, by any stretch of the imagination, to communicate at all. During the theory section, students sit passively and dictate in the form of notes, what the professor feels it necessary for us to know. She will make bold statements to the effect that homosexuality is a learned hábito malo (bad habit), or that making abortion legal would teach children to neglect responsibility. I have a good friend in the class who I know is gay, and I asked him one day why no one refutes or debates what the teacher says about things like homosexuality. His reply was that we do not receive a grade based on our ability to debate, but rather to regurgitate the “knowledge” bestowed upon us. During the last class of the semester, we watched some clips from the film, “The Dead Poet’s Society” which states that education is
supposed to inspire students and push them to discover themselves. However, our class does nothing of the sort. I asked another friend what she thought of the class, to which she replied that she loved it and the teaching style of the professor. When I pointed out how the professor is simply dictating what education should be right after explaining that education should be an exploration, my friend repositioned her stance on the class. This is an example of students’ lack of inspiration or critical thinking. I am struggling so much here because we are learning the theories of education in a manner so different to the kind of education I have received at SUA. From this experience, I am so grateful to attend a university like SUA, where we have professors who challenge students to make decisions for on their own rather than simply memorizing and relaying information. Prior to my experience abroad, I was already interested in pursuing education after SUA, but now that I have seen first-hand the condition of education in another part of the world, my desire to educate has grown immensely. It is my sincerest hope that SUA can continue on its path to bring students a motivating education!
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Photo by Garrett Braun
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Career Corner
Interview Like a Pro Using the STAR system Jennifer Cunningham [Career Counselor]
Interviewing is the beginning of the last step to getting hired. There are several elements involved to interviewing successfully. Some things to consider are:
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• Are you professionally dressed? • Have you researched the organization for which you are applying? • Do you understand the position to which you have applied? • Have you thought about your accomplishments as they relate to the position to which you have applied? • Are you able to articulate your accomplishments, describing them in detail, to a prospective employer? Every time you land an interview, there is a good indication that people are not only looking at your résumé, but considering you as a qualified candidate for a position. It helps an employer identify if you are the right candidate for the job and whether or not you would be a good fit with the organization. Below are some questions and thoughts that go through the minds of employers when they are interviewing candidates for positions. • Do I like this individual? • Can I see this person being part of our organization? • Can this person really do the job without much hand-holding? • Can I see myself working effectively with this person? • How will this individual work with
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other staff members? • Can I really trust this person with this position? • Does this person seem enthusiastic about working with us? • Is this person open and willing to learn? Use the STAR System The STAR system is an interviewing technique that, when used, can help you structure your interview answers in a way that provides the interviewer with specific examples of your experience. The best way an interviewer can determine if you are the best candidate for the job is only by what you decide to share with him or her about your experience. Interviewers often say that, “the best predictor of future performance is a candidate’s past performance.” In other words, if you can demonstrate how you have been successful in the past, you are more likely to be successful in the future. The STAR acronym stands for S-ituation, T-ask, A-ction and R-Result. So, if an interviewer were to ask, “Can you tell me about a time when you had to handle a conflict with a customer or co-worker?” One way you might answer would go something like this: “Once when I was working on a group project in class and one of the group members was not doing his share of work (you have just described the SITUATION), I took the lead on
behalf of the group to attempt to speak to our classmate and find out the reason (you have just described the TASK). So, I spoke in private with my classmate to determine if there was some reason he was not able to accomplish his portion of the assignment (you have just described the ACTION). As it turns out, he had misunderstood the original assignment. He was able to catch up and the group completed the project on time (you have just described the RESULT).” By using the STAR system to answer behavioral-based interview questions, a candidate can structure his or her response in a way that illustrates, in detail, the skills which they utilized to handle a task with positive results. These are the kind of specific examples which interviewers rely on to make hiring decisions. In March, look forward to the Mock Interview Clinic, where you can schedule and practice your interview skills. You will have the opportunity to have your interview recorded on a DVD and receive precise feedback to help you improve your chances of being hired for any job.
To make an appointment with Career Services, contact Jennifer Cunningham at jcunningham@soka.edu or at ext. 4191.
Photo by Nico Hirayama
advice column
How can I make the most out of my winter vacation? Erica Stein [2011] 2. Travel – If you can, travel! Experiencing a new city or a new town can open your mind and broaden your horizon. You don’t even have to travel abroad to do this. If you are from Southern California, plan a trip to Sacramento or Santa Barbara. If you are from Arizona plan a road trip to Colorado. Getting away for a long weekend and seeing something new is always a great way to have fun and bond with friends. 3. Schedule “You” time – Even if you are a social butterfly and thrive when surrounded by people, I think it is really important that you take some time for yourself. At SUA, we are constantly surrounded by people: friends, professors, and even strangers. This is great, but spending time alone can help you discover new things about yourself. Write in a journal, read a book, or play an instrument. Since it is the end of the year, this is also a good time to reflect on the events of 2009 and figure out what you want to do in 2010. So, clear your mind and enjoy a brief period of self-inflicted isolation.
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inter break is approaching and we all deserve a break. After working countless hours on essays, Chinese homework, readings for Pac Basin, and waking up every morning to make 8:30 classes, it is going to be nice to chill out and be (academically) worry free. However, this vacation will not last forever, and winter block will begin before you know it. So I have come up with five fool-proof ways to make the most of your winter holiday. 1. Create Value – Being SUA students, we place so much emphasis on becoming global citizens and creating value in our daily lives. Winter break is not the time to take a break from this aspect of SUA life. Wherever you go, whatever you do, bring the mission statement with you. Inspire, encourage, and motivate all of the people you encounter over winter break. If you can, try volunteering for an organization that helps an issue you are passionate about, like women’s rights, or helping the homeless.
4. Cut the Drama – As young adults, drama is inevitable. There always seems to be something going on with relationships, friends, and family. Over your break, I think it is imperative that you let go of all of the problems that consumed the previous semester. Life is too short to worry about the little things, and you want to start winter block with absolutely no residue from fall semester 2009. 5. Chill Out – I know this one is pretty obvious, but I thought I’d remind you. Over winter break make sure that you catch up on sleep, spend time with your family and hang out with old friends. This is the easiest way to refresh your life and get peace of mind. Doing things that make you happy and being surrounded by people you love, and who love you, is good for the soul. Take some time and enjoy your life.
I hope this helps you make the most of your winter vacation. Whatever you end up doing, have fun, be safe, and enjoy your time outside of the bubble.
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“get title from maddy”…
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Abba lucked out. They won my heart by a stroke of luck. Here’s how I fell into icy Europop love: I took the most quietly ecstatic plane rides of my life last December. I’m sure Dallas had never looked as good, even to the most don’tmesswithTexas Texan, as it did to my exiled California eyes that morning. I was going back. My heart murmured it without a single blink. Writing about it now physically turns my stomach and starts to tighten my throat; looking back on anticipation so whole, desperate and carefully scheduled is painful. In the airport, I woke up my U.S. cell phone from its four and a half months of hibernation. My Argentine phone had been left behind with dust and ditches, with late night dinners in the open air, with bus fumes that helped to obscure the never once pausing impressionistic symphony swells of homesickness. Getting on the plane to go from Dallas to Burbank, I noticed how…estadounidense /United Statesian all the passengers seemed. Not by skin color or even language, but by…what? A shared word from their eyes? Were they plumper or wealthier? The clothes dorkier? I can’t remember the moment the plane landed, but I recall the sense of the counted months, days, weeks, exploding. While I was living through that obligatory chunk of time, I had been careful not to knock against any real imagination of the day I could be home again. Now, finally, I could set fire to every homesick second with a mad reckless justice. I walked out of the gate, and then saw my family standing and waiting for me. Well, my sister and dad were standing, while my mom fidgeted and bounced giddily. Once I was home, waiting turned to ashes. Those Swedes lucked out. When I arrived home, my dad and sister (my mom, a little more dignified, had mostly abstained) were a few months into an ABBA kick, triggered by the film version of Mamma Mia. I had never cared about ABBA, but after I got back, I was promptly shown the movie, and also found that ABBA had become part of the daily breakfast music playlist. Each morning, I sat at the kitchen
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table, eating a slow breakfast and taking full advantage of the luxury of not thinking about my every word and gesture. All winter break I felt I was running a low-grade emotional fever born of the immersed relief of homecoming. In the background, ABBA narrated my obnoxious grin. I don’t even know if I like ABBA. Their disco flavor repulses my Beatles sensibility. Their lyrics often cross the border into cliché. They are highly commercial and showcase bad dancing performed in even worse clothes. But, now I love them. I love them irrationally, I would say, except that I can pinpoint my selfmocking adoration to the moment I stepped off the plane into Burbank. I was so euphoric and receptive when I was exposed to them that even their revolting qualities only interest me. If we are attracted to what is beautiful, then beauty doesn’t entail perfection—we experience a teetering balance of interest, luck, form, and a slight inability to believe that what attracts us is real—the object becomes imagined, fictional, therefore never fully attainable, and idealized. So, this is how you can fall in love with a song, a film, a person, a place, or a memory that you don’t even want to like. Something will sneak in, grab the opportune moment and mix of hormones and circumstances to take hold of your heart with its laughable flaws and all. Maybe people become attracted to and intrigued by their own ability to love what they never expected to. Loving something that our aesthetic intellect or rational understanding of taste rejects presents a constant question. Feeling that way defies the unity of character in our minds that we may have perceived before. Of course, intense love doesn’t always arise from so messy a clash of disgust and fondness. Rufus Wainwright, a permanent fixture on the Brownfield breakfast mix, only startles me by becoming more and more fabulous. Enjoying corny Scandinavian pop music , on the other hand, makes me wonder again who I am, so it doesn’t get boring. I’m glad ABBA snared me, forcibly reminded me that luck and love (even in the form of breakfast music) can make any snob a glittering fool.
Madeline Brownfield [2010]
Breakfast Music
Brazilian Wax Jean Marcus [2011]
(or, how to save an old lady)
Life should be like going to a bar. At bars, there is no rush, or agenda, nor worries and “everybody knows your name”. But, unfortunately, we live as if we were cogs, or bytes, inside machines or computers. If you are late, the machine won’t work. In a bar, whether you are late or on time is not a problem. A day at SUA during meal time: an ocean of people rushing to reach their classrooms before the clock reaches the time established by their professors or else they will lose “points” or even “fail a class.” But what does being on time have to do with our understanding of a subject? Especially with language classes, where it seems that being on time or doing a workbook assignment is more important than the understanding of the idiom itself. The objectives of education seem quite misunderstood here. I understand that making someone wait is quite rude and without the concept of time we would be lost in the mazes of uncertainty; but we only feel this way because when we meet people we want to go straight to the point. There is no time to waste about banalities and the progress of humanity would be hurt considerably if I was to indulge myself in asking if your family is doing well. Why can’t we enjoy the waiting? There is so much we lose, so much beauty, when we try too hard to fit into the calculations of the “inevitable progress”. Let me propose a scenario: You are late for class, here at SUA, and if you skip just one step you will lose “points” toward your final grade in your language class. According to that standard, you are already a C student; therefore you will probably fail this class. On your way to the classroom you see a sweet old lady dropping her purse on the ground. You have two choices: either you stop to help the old lady to grab her purse and fail your class, or you just pass by her to be able to arrive on time. You would think that it is not a
big deal not to help the old lady, but imagine that because you don’t help her, she tries to bend down to retrieve her purse and her back bursts and she falls and hits her head on the pavement and dies. I know this is a very extreme example, but we face these kinds of choices every day–whether we need to be on time or whether we should be polite and kind to someone. Most of the time we choose to be on time because we do not want to fail our languages courses, as we would not become successful with such failures. But we can never really know what the future holds. Going to class on time every day does not guarantee success. Therefore we should not be on time, so that we can show our professors that we prefer to live our lives at our own pace, and if they are human beings they will understand. You are probably thinking that I am going over this argument just because I need excuses to be late to class and only arrive at places whenever I want, and you are partially correct. I do want to arrive late, but not because I want to indulge myself with the power of choosing whatever I want. I want to arrive late because I want to enjoy life! I could never enjoy the amazing sunrises if I was always focusing on arriving somewhere else. I would never savor afternoon dusk drinking beer with my friends if I was worried about the next day’s homework. I plead to you: Please, be late. Take time to arrive places. Accept a lower grade if your professor is not nice enough to understand that there are better things in this life than going to class. Take your time to be kind to others: to help old ladies crossing the street and little kids to find their parents. And then go to a bar, where your true friends will eventually arrive, and for now, drink a delicious banana daiquiri while you feel good about yourself.
columns
Photo by Janice Lee
Going to a bar
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mission statement The Pearl strives to emulate slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl’s efforts to bring out the human side of every story. Following his courageous model, The Pearl opens channels of communication in an endeavor to articulately and respectfully express differing opinions. The contributors to The Pearl report on issues of concern for the campus, the local community and the globe, aiming to unify the campus toward the realization of the mission of Soka University of America.
pearl@soka.edu
Jihii Jolly is off to New York, Delhi and Shanghai!
Jean Marcus will miss you deeply, Jihii.
Madeline Brownfield will have to deal with Jean alone.
Jean Marcus but there still room for other people
the show must go on!
credits Jihii Jolly (Editor-in-Chief, Layout); Jean Marcus Silva (Public Relations Liaison, Layout, Spiritual Guide); Janice Lee , Nico Hirayama (Photography); Aaron Freedman, Madeline Browfield (Editing Team); Nicole Fleming, Desiree Foster (Contributing Staff); Chelsea Nakabayashi, Sara Nuss-Galles, Geoff Westropp (Advisors); Michael Strand (Alumni Armando (photoAdvisor); by Janice Lee) Dubon, Saeed Fakhriravari, Sam Morales, Derrick Springer, Geoff Westropp (Technical Support)