Get your daily news online @ pepperdine-graphic.com Volume XLIII, Issue 4 | September 22, 2011 | pepperdine-graphic.com Disney movies move to 3-D with the introduction of “The Lion King.”
INDEX DPS Reports..A2 Calendar........ A2 Editorial..........A6 Horoscopes....B2 Sports........... B8
»See B3
Daily News On-Line
Ranking drops; Benton optimistic By MADISON LEONARD ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
IAN MCDONALD / PERSPECTIVES EDITOR
Campus safety scare: Pepperdine DPS officers and LA County Sheriff’s deputies respond to a call concerning students carrying a gun in Rho parking lot. The weapon was later determined to be fake.
Gun scare alarms campus officials By IAN MCDONALD PERSPECTIVES EDITOR
Public Safety officers temporarily detained three students who had been spotted in Rho parking lot with what appeared to be a firearm Wednesday evening. The students, who were apprehended around 5:20 p.m., were film-
ing for an upcoming episode of “The Randumb Show” using a realisticlooking gun prop that other students mistook for an actual weapon. “DPS showed up and started screaming at them, ‘Get out of the car, get on the ground, drop the gun,’” said junior Kacie Scherler, who witnessed the event. Officers had secured the weapon
in question before the arrival of the LA Sheriff’s Deputies 20 minutes later. After approximately a half hour of interrogation with DPS officers and Deputy Director of Emergency Services Rob McKelvy, the situation was determined to be non-threatening. The students were later released after further questioning.
»See SCARE, A4
SGA resolves vacancies By AUBREY HOEPPNER COPY CHIEF
After confronting an unprecedented lack of student government candidates, SGA has now filled the vacant seats of the student senate by a process of appointment. The E-board gathered Sept. 15 after elections closed to discuss the six senate seats that had yielded no official candidates. A small number of write-in votes complicated the process, as there was no clear student choice from write-ins. They turned to the constitution for a process for filling vacant seats, which usually is a problem only after a senate member leaves SGA well into the academic year. “Basically what we had [for the senior senate election write-ins] was one person with quite a small number of votes, and then there were about seven people tied with two votes. It was a pretty ugly situation, because that does not represent the student body,” said General Judicial Council Chair Matthew Hibbs, who has the responsibility of checking SGA’s actions against the constitution. Per the constitution, “candidates who had write-ins have to win by plurality, defined as an excess of votes or the person with the most votes in an election. We struggled with that because it was a little bit vague,”
Hibbs said. He indicated that SGA Mimi Rothfus immediately adintends to clarify this language in the dressed concerns about perceived constitution this year by adding a re- inequality between elected and apquired percentage of votes for write- pointed members. “The first thing in candidates to win. that I said was, ‘It doesn’t matter how To settle the ties for the second you got here. You are all representseat, the E-board considing your classes. You need ered holding a run-off, to remember that you’re all but there would not have working toward a common been time for this due to goal and representing the the constitutionally restudent body,’” she said. quired SGA retreat the After the decisions weekend following elechad been made, Rothfus tions. All SGA members expressed faith in the apare required to attend the pointments and in the retreat, so this presented personal dynamic of the Rothfus SGA President a problem for potential membership. “I was very run-off candidates who confident with those who would not have yet been I nominated, because I officially chosen for office. had given it a lot of thought,” she To be fair to the candidates with said. “After hearing descriptions of so few votes, the E-board decided the other nominees from the other that appointment was the most con- E-board members, I was really constitutional method for completing fident in them as well. The right peothe senate. Appointment by the E- ple were appointed, definitely.” board and confirmation by the senHibbs ultimately expressed satisate is the constitutionally provided faction with the E-board’s decision. process for filling vacant seats. “I struggled with the decision beThe appointed members were cause we did follow the constitution Lauren Kliest (senior class president), all the way down to a dead-end road. Jazmyne Sutton and Jordan Wom- We had to interpret it as best as we ack (senior senators), and Melissa could. I think that they made the Carr, Keb Doak and Matt Scherffius best decision possible for the student (sophomore senators). The elected body.” members questioned the E-board extensively regarding each appointee before confirming them. aubrey.hoeppner@pepperdine.edu At the retreat, SGA President
Another brick in the wall Work was recently completed on one of the longest murals in the world.
»L&A, B1
Is the U.S. media letting us down? When our domestic news ignores events beyond our shores, it promotes American ignorance.
»PERSPECTIVES, A7
The latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of Best Colleges placed Pepperdine at 55 among “national universities,” tying with The Ohio State University at Columbus and University of Maryland at College Park. Pepperdine’s administration remains unruffled by the small dip from last year’s placement at 53. President Andrew K. Benton sees a certain level of flattery in being placed in the national university category, one
in which universities are described by the U.S. News & World Report as “offer[ing] a full range of undergraduate majors, master’s and doctoral degrees. These colleges are also committed to producing groundbreaking research.” “In many respects we are miscast as a ‘national’ university since most of the schools in that category have a fullrange of doctoral programs. We don’t,” Benton wrote in an email. “While we might top the charts in the category where we do belong, I always feel a bit complimented when compared with the
»See RANK, A4
ANNIE JEONG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Serving 2%: Alumna Alison Raisian talks to students about the Project E(X) program.
Programs unveiled By JOON KANG STAFF WRITER
Monday at 10 p.m., students waited in anticipation to find out what service opportunities would be offered this spring break. Through Project Serve, teams of students travel to locations throughout the United States and Latin America during spring break to minister and serve. A packed room 125 played host to a party filled with ice cream sandwiches and a musical number from “Space Jam,” all with the purpose of revealing information about “Project 2% Serve,” with special emphasis on how the week of Project Serve only makes up 2 percent of a student’s year. “It’s 2 percent that will really change the rest of the year,” said senior Christine Liewald, Project Serve Coordinator. With so many Project Serve programs being offered, some of the older programs are taking a break this year. The Waco, Texas, program was one of the three programs that were dropped to cycle in new programs. “There’s no student interest,” Liewald said. “We’re really emphasizing passion over interest this year.” In addition to the Waco program, the Panama and Chicago programs were also cycled out. This made room for programs that deal with things like HIV/AIDS clinics in Washington D.C. area, rebuilding tornado-ravaged areas of Missouri and Alabama and environmental preservation in Puerto Rico. “Bring in a little new, give some a couple of rests,” said senior Jack Murphy, Project Serve coordinator about the addi-
tion of the newer programs. In addition to the typical Project Serve programs, students have the opportunity to be a part of two other programs. Project LEAD and Project E(X) will run parallel to Project Serve this spring. Project LEAD focuses on leadership and the application of leadership principals. Students who participate in this program will have the opportunity to conduct leadership workshops at local schools, and host small-group meetings with prominent national leaders ranging from business to social activism. The entire trip is student led. On the other hand, Project E(X) provides students with an externship by exposing them to work experience at the workplace of a Pepperdine alumnus. The program is designed to provide students with informational interviews and two to three days of job shadowing. Liewald said that students will gain valuable experience regardless of which program they choose. “Out of everything I’ve done at Pepperdine, this has been the most amazing experience,” Liewald said. “And I’m so blessed to do it.” Team leader applications for the three programs are due Oct. 3 and team member applications are due Oct. 7. For more information, students can visit www.pepperdine.edu/volunteercenter.
joon.kang@pepperdine.edu
The Waves of Malibu Fri. 2 ft @13s
Sat. 2 ft @14s
Sun. 1ft @18s
Mon. 1ft @16s
magicseaweed.com
NEWS
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September 22, 2011
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Willie joins choir in celebration
Symbolism elicits respect By Kathryn MogK Staff Writer
YiXiN ZHaNG / stAff PHotoGrAPHer
Alma Mater Pride: Willie the Wave makes an appearance at Wednesday’s Founder’s Day chapel. Willie joined the choir in singing Pepperdine’s alma mater. This Founder’s Day was a special one for the University because it marked the beginning of the school’s 75th year.
DPS REPORTS Weekly update from the Department of Public Safety 9/12/11 8:32 p.m. Traffic – Vehicle Accident, Non-Injury Location: Campus Walk Summary: A contract employee drove over an embankment in a company vehicle. California Highway Patrol conducted the investigation. 9/13/11 9:48 a.m. Larceny – Petty Theft Location: Overseas – Spain Summary: A Pepperdine faculty member reported having their backpack stolen, which contained university keys. 9/13/11 8:10 p.m. Traffic – Vehicle Accident, Non-Injury Location: Seaver Drive Summary: A student struck a deer with their vehicle near the Seaver Drive booth. The deer was killed, and the vehicle sustained minor damage. 9/14/11 10:06 a.m. Incident – Lost/Found Property Location: Off-Campus Location Summary: Public Safety received a report of a found license plate. 9/14/11 4:34 p.m. Traffic – Vehicle Accident with Injuries Location: John Tyler Drive Summary: A university vehicle and another vehicle collided when one rear-ended the other. A student was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, and moderate to major damage occurred to both vehicles. 9/14/11 7:29 p.m. Code of Conduct Violation Location: Flag Lot Summary: A Public Safety officer witnessed a vehicle drive around the exit gate to the visitor’s lot. The officer initiated a traffic stop and identified the driver as a student. 9/15/11 12:56 p.m. Trespassing by Solicitor Location: Main Lot Summary: A solicitor was attempting to sell cosmetics on campus. A Public Safety officer warned them of trespassing on private property and escorted them off campus. 9/16/11 8:39 p.m. Trespassing Location: Tyler Campus Center Summary: A Public Safety officer observed a person who had been previously warned of trespassing. A LA County Sheriff’s Deputy responded and escorted the individual off campus.
C A L E N D A R
News of the WORLD Davis executed in Georgia
Troy Davis was executed in Georgia on Wednesday night for the 1989 murder of an off-duty police officer. He denied committing the crime all along and had gathered support from people around the U.S. and the world.
Polio spreads to China
The World Heath Organization has confirmed that the Pakistan polio outbreak has spread to China. Seven cases have been confirmed in the Xinjiang province, where a mass vaccination campaign is now taking place.
‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ repealed
The U.S. policy that prevented gays from openly serving in the military was repealed on Tuesday. The ban had been in place for nearly 20 years.
Bacteria produce hydrogen
U.S. researchers have discovered that bacteria-fuelled cells can provide limitless supplies of hydrogen. These bacteria produce their own electricity and can replace the external source of energy needed to produce hydrogen. The process is still too costly for commercial use.
Afghan ex-president killed
Former president of Afghanistan Burhanuddin Rabbani and several other people were killed in a suicide bomb attack at his residence on Tuesday. The chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council was working on negotiations with the Taliban, who is suspected to have orchestrated the attack. Reports compiled from BBC
Around the ’BU Man robbed at gunpoint
A man was robbed at gunpoint on Saturday night on PCH. According to the Malibu Patch the suspect has not yet been arrested, and the Sheriff’s Department is still searching for his stolen vehicle.
Ferrari crash ends fatally
A Ferrari crashed into an electrical pole near Gladstone’s, killing the passenger and critically injuring the driver. The aftermath of the crash, which occurred early Sunday morning, closed PCH for several hours as reported by the Malibu Patch.
Strike averted at supermarkets
A labor deal was reached between the grocery union United Food and Ralphs, Vons/ Pavilions and Albertsons on Monday, preventing worker strikes throughout California. According to the LA Times the disagreement was over health care benefits, wages and pensions.
Teens sentenced for vandalism
Two boys confessed to vandalizing Calabasas High with anti-Semitic graffiti in court Wednesday, Sept. 14. The Calabasas Patch reported that they were fined for restitution and sentenced to counseling, community service and a year of parole.
Graffiti appears on Ojai dam
A huge pair of scissors and a dotted line was tagged on the Matilija Dam near Ojai last week. The graffiti reflects the opinion of Ventura locals, who have been calling for the demotion of the disused dam for years according to the LA Times.
After seeing Pepperdine’s faculty in all their elaborate ceremonial costumes at the Founder’s Day celebrations, I have to admit I am jealous. If my heart weren’t set on higher education already, those splendid multicolored gowns, cassocks, hoods, and funny pointed hats might have pushed me over the edge. Who wouldn’t want to sweep along the halls of a university in voluminous robes of black and scarlet, with a rabbit fur-lined hood that reaches to the back of your knees? OK, it’s not that the clothes are that much of a fashion statement. What is admirable is what they represent. The gowns are part of an ancient practice stretching back to the earliest universities in medieval Europe, when “clerk” (educated man) and “cleric” (member of the clergy) were synonyms, and the same clothes served for both. That steadfast continuity that embraces the whole history of Western Civilization, that unbroken tradition that connects us with our forefathers and future generations, seems worthy of respect. These outlandish outfits also harken back to the colorful world of heraldry, in which symbolism, significance and pride were woven into the very fabric of life, and even everyday objects invested with meaning. There were days when every noble family had its motto and crest, every occupation its patron saint, every social rank its own kind of falcon. Each monastic order had its own distinctive costume, not randomly or arbitrarily chosen, but expressive of the values it meant to embody. As George Eliot noted, the “niceties of form and colour” mattered because reformers “had marked a change of spirit by a change of garb.” The academic gowns, likewise, speak their own silent language, proclaiming their owners’ Alma mater, area of study and degree achieved through the subtleties of colors, cords and bars. They are one of the last remaining vestiges of heraldry in a modern world that has grown largely colorless and dull, where even our most beautiful buildings seem only meant to look good, not to mean anything. The robes also recognize the importance of ceremony and ritual. In our day, few see the point of having formal words, clothes and practices, or special times and places kept separate from the rest of life. When we have to go through the rigmarole of ceremony we fidget awkwardly and murmur mocking commentary. Even those occasions we recognize as solemn and holy, we often treat quite casually. It’s common to see T-shirts and shorts in church and hear the blessing over communion said extemporaneously. I know that God is our father and friend and we can come to him as we are; but I still see value in traditions and practices that lift us out of prosaic ordinariness into the beauty and order of ritual. Our lives would be so much richer if we left behind our cynicism and selfconsciousness and entered wholeheartedly into ceremonial forms: saying the pledge of allegiance as an oath of loyalty, singing the school song with love for our bountiful mother, taking off hats with deference. Finally, I especially admire the sleeves of the gowns of those scholars who have achieved master’s degrees. These have hanging pouches that were originally used to carry books around campus. That little touch mixes dignified pomp and bachelor scruffiness, high ceremony and students scrambling to their classes. I know if I could conveniently carry my reading materials in my sleeves, they’d soon be distended enough to touch the ground. When our professors don their robes, they are participating in the tradition of ages, proclaiming their accomplishments, and honoring the dignity of the academy. So let’s not snigger at the gowns. I hope to wear one myself someday. g
kathryn.mogk@pepperdine.edu
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Wednesday
Alumni Family Movie Screening 7:30 p.m. AMC 30 The Block in Orange
“Helping a Friend or Family Member with a Drug or Alcohol Problem” 11 a.m. Counseling Center
“Nefarious: Merchant of Souls” Screening 7–9 p.m. PLC 125
Family Art Day Noon–2 p.m. Gregg G. Juarez Palm Courtyard
“Little Town of Bethlehem” Screening 9–11 p.m. Elkins
http://seaver.pepperdine.edu/studentlife/calendar
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NEWS
September 22, 2011
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Miss Malibu welcomes four Waves By Mariella Rudi Staff Writer
Pepperdine students Brie Gabrielle, Kayla Brown and Daisy Schneider will take the stage at the seventh annual Miss Malibu pageant Sunday, in hopes of capturing the coveted title and advancing to Miss California. School of Law grad Sharon Haywood will also participate. Madison Hildebrand of “Million Dollar Listing” and Kristina Guerrero of “E! News” will host the event. “I feel like anyone really can embody what it means to be Miss Malibu,” said Kristen Bradford, Pepperdine alumna, founder and executive producer of Miss Malibu. “But being a Pepperdine student, you’re local, you’re invested in the community. I think it gives you a leg up in that it’s easier to be involved in Malibu.” Before creating the pageant in 2005, Bradford received both her bachelor’s degree in International Management and her master’s degree in International Relations from Pepperdine and worked as an event planner. “I would love to get more girls involved from the Pepperdine community,” Bradford said. “It’s a really great opportunity to work on poise, self-confidence and interview skills. We also do a ton of fundraising in the community.” This year the organization is supporting the Malibu Boys and Girls Club. Having already raised several thousand
dollars for a youth and family foundation, they hope to maximize donations the day of the pageant. In addition to helping raise money for the pageant’s own charity, the girls often pick their own platform for which to advocate. For Gabrielle, who won Miss Teen Malibu at age 15 and has returned to pageantry to compete in Miss Malibu 2012, the Kind Campaign strikes close to home. Having faced harsh bullying in her teens, Gabrielle found that the Kind Campaign provided her with an outlet for fighting against girl-on-girl bullying. “I want to bring [the organization] to the middle and high schools here in Malibu,” Gabrielle said. In the case of Brown, a junior, networking is a big part of her participation in the pageant. Brown, a first-timer in the pageant world, thought it would be fun to try a new avenue for her broadcast journalism career. “There are two benefits that caught my eye: the networking and the community service,” Brown said. “I’m already involved with the community tremendously, so when I found out about Miss Malibu’s involvement, I decided to do it.” Schneider, a junior, said she joined the competition just for fun. Since she was completely new to the pageant world, Schneider was surprised to learn that the Miss Malibu contest was not just a new way to make friends. “I really didn’t know what to expect,”
Courtesy of Miss malibu
Pepp Pageantry: Founded by alumna Kristen Bradford in 2005, this year’s Miss Malibu will feature three current Pepperdine students.
Schneider said. “I didn’t know there would be so much preparation involved. I sort of just thought you show up the day of the pageant.” But Schneider says the effort has been worth it and encourages everyone to come to the show. This year, the pageant includes both a Teen and a Miss category. Fifty ladies
are in the competition, with 15 contestants in the Teen category and 35 competing in Miss. The pageant features an interview, a fitness and swimsuit competition and an evening gown competition. The final winner receives full entry fee paid to the Miss CA USA Pageant valued at $1,600, among other prizes. General admission tickets to the
pageant at the Malibu Golf Course on Sunday start at $35 per person. The pageant has received considerable attention since its founding in 2005, with an E! Network pilot in 2010 featuring a dramatized version of the contestants living in a beach house for eight weeks. The show did not get picked up. mariella.rudi@pepperdine.edu g
House groups begin, Collide cut to once a month By Edgar Hernandez News Editor
Following a new approach to the concept of fellowship, Campus Ministry will coordinate house groups at Pepperdine, replacing the weekly Wednesday night Collide worship service and making it a monthly affair. House groups consist of 12 groups made up Barber Campus Ministry of 10 to 12 stuIntern dents who meet in a faculty member’s home around campus once a week. The groups are modeled to be small, intimate church communities based around a meal. This semester there are more than 130 students already involved. Campus Minister Thomas Fitzpat-
rick spent a large portion of last year’s fall semester preparing the Collide members for the change in group worship by emphasizing the teachings of the Bible on the early church. “He talked about how communion (a meal) was shared, how members shared their resources fully, how each member of the church contributed rather than listening passively, how people met in homes and modest places of worship, all in comparison to some modern-day conceptions of ‘the church,’” said senior and Campus Ministry Intern Amy Barber. After finishing his discussions about the early church, Fitzpatrick announced that Collide would become a monthly event, and instead students would attempt to find “relational, intentional and meaningful community” through weekly house group meetings. During these meetings, students ideally share a meal together and have a discussion where they share their struggles and stories about their faith.
After the trial period last fall, the “Making a conscious decision to say groups continued successfully into the no to things, to make room to be fully spring semester, finishing with 13 house present with these people in my group, and watching people around me reach groups and 150 students. “I truly believe people found these levels of commitments to their groups is an incredible testament to groups to be the the power of these groups,” intimate, transformative, chal- “I truly believe people Barber said. The house groups hit a lenging and enfound these groups small bump in the road last couraging groups spring semester when Fitzthey promised to to be the intimate, patrick announced that he be,” Barber said. transformative, was leaving Pepperdine. “There was a re- challenging and “He was really conally amazing feelencouraging groups cerned about what would ing that we were a part of something they promised to be.” happen to house groups without him behind them, real, that we were —Amy Barber but was really committed needed and wantSenior, Campus Ministry Intern to making sure they coned in our groups, tinued and were given the and that powerful opportunity to grow,” Barthings were hapber said. pening in our weekly meetings.” Barber and fellow senior Greg PinOne of the things Barber found most touching was the level of commit- izzotto were hired as Campus Ministry ment some students were showing to interns with the focus of carrying on house groups in Fitzpatrick’s departure. the house groups.
ICC takes campus online The Inter-Club Council has incorporated social networking site CollegiateLink to encourage campus club involvement. By Darlene Melendez Staff Writer
Social networking has reached a new level on campus, and it’s called the Peppervine. Not only are students using Facebook, Twitter and various blogs for their own personal use, but now the Peppervine, utilizing CollegiateLink, has been incorporated into student life. The Inter-Club Council is using it to help foster club growth and involvement on campus. Pepperdine’s InterClub Council, otherwise known as ICC, decided to start using CollegiateLink as a way to facilitate the process of becoming involved on campus. Students will be able Byrd to communicate with ICC President club members on the site while avoiding the awkward “I-don’t-really-know-you-in-reallife” friend request. CollegiateLink is an increasingly popular way to help promote school involvement and give students an easier way to learn about groups on campus. Students will be able to create individual profiles on the Peppervine and then join the other profiles of
clubs in which they are involved. With students being able to see event updates from various clubs so easily on the site, group membership is expected to increase. CollegiateLink is a “Facebook for Pepperdine,” ICC President and senior Danielle Byrd said. She went on to explain the potential outcomes of using CollegiateLink: an easier method to schedule meetings, broaden event promotions and increase club memberships. Byrd said she expects the initiation of the new site, the Peppervine, to improve the participation and efficiency of the clubs involved in ICC. Club members can go to the ICC for assistance with event planning, running their club and collaboration with other clubs. “It is the organization that provides a structure for the clubs on campus, to advise student leaders by helping them put on club events that include the larger Pepperdine community and by providing them with the funds to run their clubs,” Byrd said. ICC also organizes events throughout the year to foster multi-club coordination, such as the Culture Fest and Club Fair that took place Wednesday, Sept. 14. With so many options for involvement on the Pepperdine campus, Byrd said she hopes that the Peppervine will get students more informed and motivated to join clubs. “For the future, we hope that this will be a ‘one stop shop’ for Pepperdine students, that even Convocation will have their events on this site,” Byrd said. g
darlene.melendez@pepperdine.edu
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Over the summer, the university announced that Fitzpatrick was returning to Pepperdine, and with that announcement Barber rejoiced. “Thomas is an incredible blessing to Pepperdine, and we are so beyond blessed to have him back,” she said. As for the future of the house groups, Barber explained that they are hoping the groups “will be able to look more and more outward, serving the campus and the community through actions and prayer,” as people become more comfortable with the house group model. Collide will meet the first Wednesday of every month during the semester. Students interested in participating or getting more information about house groups can contact Amy Barber at amy. barber@pepperdine.edu or Thomas Fitzpatrick at thomas.fitzpatrick@pepperdine.edu.
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edgar.hernandez@pepperdine.edu
NEWS
A4 Graphic
September 22, 2011
Theme tower renovated By EDGAR HERNANDEZ
Jerry Derloshon, director of Public Relations and News, explained in an email that the restoration provided an Since last week, Phillips Theme Tow- opportunity to both deter birds and er has been undergoing restoration. In prevent mess at the tower base. “This will also help addition to painting the reduce the chance Theme Tower’s exterior Total Cost: that visitors might be stucco as well as maininadvertently targeted $75,000 taining the door and the by the birds.” Derloframe, a bird deterrent Projected finish shon wrote. system will be added. date: A safe bird deterRaul Perez, coordinaOct. 21 rent system that will tor of Facilities Managerepel swallows from ment & Planning, called nesting is part of the for the restoration after seeing signs of the color fading and the restoration process. “The base of the cross, between the metal trim of the building rusting. NEWS EDITOR
GENEVIEVE SMITH / PHOTO EDITOR
Face-lift: Workers are cleaning and repainting the Phillips Theme Tower.
two upright structures, has been a favorite nest-building area for years,” Derloshon said. The Theme Tower has been covered in black netting to protect the surrounding structures as well as passing vehicles from the paint overspray. The estimated cost of the restoration is $75,000. Restoration work takes place Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The project is scheduled to end by Oct. 21.
edgar.hernandez@pepperdine.edu
Rank: Scare: Deputies called to campus Benton looks forward From A1
From A1
research universities and the oldest and best-endowed institutions in America.” Benton pointed out that there are vast differences between the similarly ranked institutions. The University of Maryland at College Park, which tied with Pepperdine at 55, was founded in 1856, enrolls nearly 30,000 undergraduate students and is a “comprehensive research university,” according to the school’s mission statement. According to the U.S. News & World Report, the process of ranking colleges is broken into three steps. First, schools are divided according to their missions, whether they are research based or more liberal arts intensive. Next, the college is assessed on 16 different academic excellence indicators. Lastly, the colleges are compared to one another in each category, being evaluated on numerous things like student retention, faculty resources, alumni giving and gradua“The formula tion rate. The changes overall score a little bit of the three almost every areas then d e t e r m i nes year. Last the numeriyear we bencal ranking efited from among other the change in universities. Despite the formula, the relatively but not this mathematical year.” process, there —Andrew K. still seems to Benton University President be an element of fluctuation in the system, according to Benton. “The formula changes a little bit almost every year. Last year we benefited from the change in formula, but not this year,” Benton wrote. “On balance, we don’t manage to the USN&WR survey standard, but because students and alumni care, we pay attention.” While Pepperdine moved down two spots overall, certain areas did improve from last year. This year, Pepperdine jumped 10 positions in terms of academic reputation, a change that Benton accredits to faculty and alumni. Several other categories experienced a change in the negative direction this year. Benton expects the consequences of some recent financial decisions to blossom on the survey in future years. “The decisions we made during the Wall Street crisis in 2008 and 2009 to reduce our budgets in certain areas and to hold tuition down as low as possible are now being reported,” Benton wrote. “I expect the benefits of those decisions to appear in future years.” Alongside many other major universities, Pepperdine’s administration considers minor shifts in the ranking relatively trivial. However, as Pepperdine closes in on its 75th anniversary, Benton remains proud that Pepperdine is placed among the highest-regarded and longest-established universities. “In our 75th year, to know that we are considered among the top schools in America is a bit amazing.”
madison.leonard@pepperdine.edu
“The students were advised of the danger of the situation and were made aware that their actions demonstrated some poor judgment,” said Director of Public Relations Jerry Derloshon. No arrests were made, and no charges will be filed. It is unknown whether the University will take any disciplinary action. The students involved were unable to comment, as the investigation is still ongoing, but “The Randumb Show” producer Matt Robinson released the following statement: “‘The Randumb Show’ would like to apologize for any trouble or panic it may have caused while filming today. We are fully committed to the safety of the campus and working with the
Department of Public Safety to ensure that something like this never happens again.” After initial reports of the gun scare, administrators arrived to gauge the seriousness of the situation. While there was never any actual safety threat, the university response to the situation was equal to that of an actual shooting threat until the scene was ascertained to be safe. “Especially in this modern day, since Virginia Tech, we take this kind of thing very seriously,” President Andrew K. Benton said. “If they had communicated with DPS beforehand, this kind of thing could have been avoided.”
ian.mcdonald@pepperdine.edu
Lecture series begins By LAUREN BURNHAM
likely to have fewer children and to raise their children in a healthier way. In their questions and responses to the lecture, many audience members demonSheryl WuDunn, co-author of best-seller strated a high level of commitment to the “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Op- subject of women’s issues and human rights portunity for Women Worldwide,” spoke in around the world. Kathryn Linehan, teacher Elkins on Wednesday night as part of the W. of FORM fitness at Pepperdine, explained David Baird Distinguished Lecture Series. that over a decade ago, she went to AfghaniDuring the 90-minute session, WuDunn stan to help create a documentary on the summarized the message of her book: im- building of schools to enable equal educaproving the situation of women around the tion of girls. In her time there, Linehan said world who are facing horrific discrimina- she witnessed the extreme societal power of education in the way that girls sought it. tion. “There, girls were scared not to get eduTelling stories of women she has met in her exploration of discrimination against cated. They were taking huge risks to get it,” women, WuDunn provided examples of such as holding informal, illegal meetings to strong women who used a small oppor- teach themselves, Linehan said. In addition to the lecture on Wednestunity to escape a dire situation, and how some of the women even returned to the day night, WuDunn also met with smaller site of their previous problems to help other groups of students during the day, and in the morning she was able to view a local women escape. At the same time, WuDunn provided museum display that is entirely devoted to startling statistics regarding sex trafficking, embodying the message of her book. Docents of the museum, Skirball Culmaternal mortality and female infanticide. tural Center, attended the lecture For example, she reported that and were excited to announce the according to demographers, ongoing display. It will open to there are 150 million girls missthe public on Oct. 27, and run ing from the world population through March. Docent Sandy as a result of “discrimination to Abouaf said the display will indeath” — when parents favor clude many ways to help get visitheir sons over their daughters, tors involved in the cause, such even to the point of losing the as a computer that will receive latter. small donations, and a showcase Although the world’s cultural WuDunn of crafts made by women entrediversity makes it impossible to Co-author of “Half preneurs in developing countries, prescribe specific solutions that the Sky: Turning Oppression into which will be available for sale. could solve the problem of genOpportunity for The profits will go directly back der discrimination everywhere, Women to the artisans who made the WuDunn emphasized education Worldwide” products. and economic empowerment WuDunn became interested of women as a general objective to improve their lives. Education can help in the position of women around the world women to navigate many of the difficult during her time as a journalist. Traveling decisions in life and increase their ability with Nicholas Kristof, her husband and later to become contributing members of soci- co-author of “Half the Sky,” the couple noety. Much of the lecture’s message centered ticed extreme discrimination against women around the amazing success that can result in many countries they visited. WuDunn from giving women economic opportuni- and Kristof were required to maintain jourties, especially through microfinance pro- nalistic objectivity while writing for newspapers, so writing “Half the Sky” was an grams. When an audience member asked Wu- opportunity for them to speak out strongly Dunn how one could begin to reform the against the mistreatment of women. WuDunn currently works as a senior traditions of a culture that prioritizes males over females, WuDunn answered in favor of managing director at Mid-Market Securities, but she continues the work of raising incorporating women into the work force. “Part of the way to change these ideas is awareness for women’s rights. She encourto show that women can generate income ages everyone to take up the responsibility of improving the world in a way that suits [for the family],” WuDunn said. In addition to improving women’s his or her own special abilities. “Here’s the cause, join the movement, standing in society, education can also lead women to make wiser choices in the more feel happier and help save the world,” Wutraditional role of mother and homemaker, Dunn concluded. WuDunn explained. She then cited research lauren.burnham@pepperdine.edu showing that women who are educated are STAFF WRITER
IAN MCDONALD / PERSPECTIVES EDITOR
Misunderstanding: DPS questions students involved in the firearm scare sparked by a taping of “The Randumb Show” gone awry. The students were released shortly after.
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September 22, 2011
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FILE PHOTO
Above: Fire burns behind Towers during the October 2007 Malibu wildfires. Below: Flames surround the Malibu campus. More than 2,400 people in the Malibu area were evacuated, including Pepperdine students.
NOVEMBER 13
Upcoming fire season prompts preparedness
FILE PHOTO
By CANEEL ANTHONY
proper fire codes,” McKelvy said. The Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department is also taking certain precauThe threat of brush fires is an tions. ever-present danger in Malibu and “The most important thing is to at Pepperdine. Even in seemingly educate the community,” said Sgt. harmless conditions, it’s always im- Arnold of the LA County Sheriff’s portant to be prepared and remain Department. “We remain vigilant, alert. and send out Fire Watch patrol Typically, fire season in Los An- teams whenever certain humidity geles County runs from September and temperature levels are reached.” to November. These teams are made up of depart“October is generally one of our ment deputies and local volunteers. busier months for brush fires,” said This fall, the threat of wildfires is Matt Levesque of the LA County still a concern, but an average season Fire Department. This has much to is expected. do with the local environment. “There is still a lot of fuel that The Malibu ecosystem is home to hasn’t burned since 2006,” McKhighly flammable brush called chap- elvy said, in reference to the brush arral, which consists of small plants conditions on campus. “In a decade, that are not only drought-resistant, this is the first year we haven’t had a but some of the most flammable in drought, but that doesn’t mean the the world. The already dry condi- threat is gone.” tions become serious fire hazards, Levesque advises to have a plan when the Santa in case of an evacuaAna winds blow “In a decade, this tion. “People should through Southern be prepared by having is the first year California in early important documents we haven’t had a fall. and paperwork in one “The season de- drought, but that area.” It is also imporpends on precipita- doesn’t mean that tant to have a few estion in the winter cape routes in mind. the threat is gone.” months,” Levesque The last major explained. “This wildfires that oc—Rob McKelvy Deputy Director, Pepperdine affects how tall the curred in Malibu were Emergency Services grass and the brush in 2007. During the get in certain arfirst fire, the flames eas.” reached all the way In coastal areas, to campus, burning such as Malibu, the heavier brush Malibu Presbyterian to the ground starts to burn in October. and surrounding the Phillip’s Theme “The real threat is from the Santa Tower. Ana winds. These are offshore winds The scope of the second fire was with no dampness and no humid- so extensive that 2,400 people in ity,” he said. Malibu, including Pepperdine stuLA County has annual brush dents, had to be evacuated. clearance requirements, and buildThe University’s Department of ing codes require the use of fire-re- Emergency Services is continuously sistant materials. putting information online regard“We just wrapped up our annual ing preparing for natural disasters brush clearance,” said Rob McKelvy, such as wildfires, and has conducted deputy director of Emergency Ser- RA and SLA training on fire previces at Pepperdine. The department paredness. always ensures that it’s following the Even with the most thorough requirements the Fire Department preventative measures, fires canhas for the university. not always be avoided, however, if In this climate, the most effective safety regulations are followed, the form of preparation is prevention. response should be effective enough “You can have 100 extra engines to contain them. sitting, waiting for a brush fire, but if the conditions are ripe, the winds are strong, and the fire’s severe, the first line of defense will be if the homeowners have proper brush clearance and have built their homes to the NEWS ASSISTANT
caneel.anthony@pepperdine.edu
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PERSPECTIVES September 22, 2011
»LETTER TO THE EDITOR “Life in Shanghai isn’t a glamorous world of dumplings and boba tea.” Hate to break it to whoever wrote this article [Sept. 8 Staff Editorial], but it really is. At the price of 3.5 yuan ($0.55) for four jiaozi (dumplings) and 6 yuan ($0.94) for a cup of boba, Shanghai is actually the program where you can live the most glamorously… for a fraction of the price of any other program. Massages for 60 yuan ($9.39), mopeds for 1000 ($156.52), salon visits for 60 yuan ($9.39), and nail services for 30-60 yuan ($4.97 to $9.39.) It’s hard not to live the “glamorous life.” I think it is quite obvious that the author of this article has never stepped foot in Shanghai, spoke to someone who did, or bothered to look up information on the ever-so-modern city; quite the authority to write about the streets of Shanghai. “A stroll down the street won’t yield accordion music and small cafés accompanied by the pleasant aroma of crepes and croissants, but rather the bustling noisy din of tourists, students and shop owners amidst the stench of stinky tofu.” Which streets are you speaking of? Yuyuan Gardens which is a place of tourists and nowhere near the typical streets of this city? Or Yuyuan lu, the street closest to the program’s house which is a historical street and on the border of the French Concession and Jing’An Temple, one of the many historical destinations in Shanghai, but also home to high luxury shopping and has 24-hour cafés on every two blocks? You want cafés? Try Café 85, Paris baguette, Yamazaki, or the countless other cafés found at every street corner in every district. Stinky tofu is rarely sold on the streets as snacks unless you are in the poorest shopping district of Shanghai or the tourist haven where people travel with the intent of trying the infamous dish. You’ll run into places that sell skewered veggies, fresh noodles made right before your eyes, stands that sell baozi, fried rice, and skewered lamb and naan-like bread before you run into the “stench” that is stinky tofu. “Shanghai isn’t for tourists.” Wait, I thought Shanghai was filled with tourists? Actually, Shanghai is filled with foreigners, as it is one of the biggest business capitals of the world. More than 200,000 foreigners were living in the city in 2007, which is an incredibly conservative number. Xintiandi and the Bund are areas heavily influenced by Europe and host the best nightlife culture. Not to mention clubs with shark tanks, bars with hot tubs overlooking the city, and other internationally acclaimed clubs that are iconic to Shanghai’s booming nightlife. Expats are always moseying around the city, and you’ll be surprised to see the unique fusion of European and Asian culture that Shanghai can offer. Shanghai is, though, a place of adventure and excitement, with experiences for every type of person. You want that “glamorous life”? Shanghai is for you. You want adventure and experiences like trudging through hundreds of locals in transfer at the subway station in People’s Square? Shanghai is for you. Want to see what life is like in the up-and-coming country prospected to overtake the U.S.’s economy in 2016? Shanghai is for you. If seeing older buildings that millions of people have taken photos in front of is your thing, maybe Europe is for you. If you want to see the future, China is your destination. Now, more than ever, is it an exciting time to be in China. A time where you can observe the rapid modernization of the country, witness the remnants of what Shanghai used to be, and see the youth take their place as Chinese authority is questioned more and more with each day. I’m more embarrassed for the author of this article than offended. How can you attempt to write an article that will no doubt influence the freshmen without doing some background information checks? Knowing that your newspaper will inadvertently get into the hands of prospective IP students and IP student alumni who will no doubt critique your article, you should have been more careful. -Lynn Pham, Junior Editors Note: The paragraph of the Sept. 8 editorial referring to Shanghai was written by a program alumnus.
Graphic
STAFF EDITORIAL
LUKE RUEGGER / ART EDITOR
We seek balance and sensitivity in time of tragedy On Friday, Aug. 26, during her return to campus for her junior year, 20-year-old Sarah Brady lost control of her car, crashed and died. The next day, and for the remainder of that week, the Graphic reported on her death and the grief of the Pepperdine community. Along with dozens of other news organizations around the nation that reported the story, the Graphic also ran a photo of the wreckage of Sarah’s car on the front page of its website, a photo that was not gruesome and did not violate journalistic standards of decency. At the request of Sarah’s mother, that photo was promptly removed out of sensitivity to Sarah’s loved ones. The Graphic received some criticism for running this photo, and even the story in the first place. According to those complaints, our reporting exploited Sarah’s death and hurt her family and friends. As a staff, we deeply regret if our journalism brought any pain to the people Sarah left behind. However, we respectfully disagree with the idea that reporting a death is an exploitation of tragedy. The motives of the Graphic were to memorialize the loss of a muchloved member of our community, with clarity and honesty — a standard we demand of ourselves as ethical reporters. As the primary student news outlet of the Pepperdine community, our mission is to serve that community through the impartial publication of relevant occurrences. We have a responsibility to our readership and to ourselves to deliver accurate, factual and intelligent reporting. We take this duty seriously.
The choice of what is published in the Graphic is not made for the sake of sensationalism. The events we cover are chosen because they are worth acknowledging and facing head-on. We are the mirror to the community we serve, good or bad. Stories are reported for the sake of those in the community who care and care to know. We report these stories out of respect to the people we’re writing about, the people whose stories we are telling. Any attempt on our part to sanitize or censor our reporting of the accident in an effort to coddle our readership, would have diminished the tragedy of Sarah’s death, rather than respected it. By writing about loss and grief, we do our part for the community and individuals that are suffering. As journalists, we cannot allow these things to be swept under the rug and forgotten. We cannot shy away from harsh truths, no matter how painful. Sarah’s death was a terrible loss to the entire community; it’s a type of loss that many of us are intimately familiar with. While the non-collegiate media ran the same copy-and-pasted paragraphs off the national newswire, paired with the photo of the accident itself, we at the Graphic did our best to cover the story with a personal connection in a way only we could. We wanted to honor Sarah’s memory by sharing with the community not only the facts of what happened, but also what a bright, wonderful person she was in life. We did just that. Unlike other media sources with no connection, we covered her memorial and the aftermath of the acci-
QUESTION
dent in a manner acknowledging the personal impact on our community. At the request of her mother, the photo of her accident was immediately removed from our website. No other press agency would be so responsive to the feelings of the family. That was our responsibility to our community, not to demean or devalue the loss and grief of Sarah’s loved ones, but to acknowledge the loss itself. The decision to run the photo of the accident was made initially because other local and national news outlets set the precedent of the coverage; and after much debate, we decided that the photo was within standards of decency and we would run it. Decisions like these are not made on the fly — we give constant attention not only to the stories we run, but also to how we present them. We do our best to consider those who will be affected by anything the Graphic publishes, both online and in print. Reporting tragedy is the unfortunate duty of any news organization, but it is a duty nonetheless. We always try to handle these stories with sensitivity that they deserve while holding true to the principles of accurate and pertinent reporting. As ethical journalists and members of the Pepperdine community, we reported the story of the tragic loss of one of our own: a bright student, a loving daughter and a devoted friend, someone who should be remembered as more than a statistic. It was, in our minds, the very least we could do.
OF THE
WEEK
“What do you think the media isn’t covering adequately?” “They should cover more of the positive things people are doing in the world, and not only the negative side of things.”
“Palestine wants to be recognized in the U.N., but we don’t hear about it because the U.S. supports Israel.”
“America’s widening wealth gap, especially in comparison to the other countries.”
“We’re always talking about human trafficking, but it’s not on the news a lot.”
JON LOGGINS Freshman
INGRID MARAVILLA Sophomore
DILLON MCGILL Junior
HANNAH PERRIN Senior
Executive Editor Scott Lawrence Managing Editor Zach Alfred Associate Editor Sonya Singh Online Managing Editor Jessica Abu-Ghattas News Editor Edgar Hernandez Assistant News Editor Madison Leonard News Assistant Caneel Anthony Sports Editor Albert Owusu Assistant Sports Editor Narinè Adamova Perspectives Editor Ian McDonald Assistant Perspectives Editor Taylor Harris Life & Arts Editor Nikki Torriente Assistant Life & Arts Editor Nathan Stringer Life & Arts Assistant Britt Kidd Design Editor Alexa Stoczko Section Designers Emily Branch Amy Cummins Kealy Jaynes Andrei Zamfir Photo Editor Genevieve Smith Assistant Photo Editor Ashton Bowles Staff Photographer Yixin Zhang Art Editor Luke Ruegger Assistant Art Editor Aaron Schott Copy Chief Aubrey Hoeppner Copy Editors Lindsay Jakows Rachel Miller Paulina Taylor Multimedia Producer Al Lai Sports Producer Richie Estrella Website Architect Jason Parham Advertising Operations Manager Greg Stevens Director of Student Journalism Elizabeth Smith Assistant Director of Journalism Courtenay Stallings
Mission Statement: The Graphic is an editorially independent weekly student newspaper for the greater Pepperdine community. It serves the community with news, opinion, contemporary information and a public forum for discussion. The Graphic 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. The Graphic participates in Pepperdine’s Christian mission and affirmations, especially the pursuit of truth, excellence and freedom in a context of public service. Although the Graphic reports about Pepperdine University and coordinates with curricula in journalism and other disciplines, it is a student and not a University publication. Views expressed are diverse and, of course, do not correspond to all views of any University board, administration, faculty, staff, student or other constituency.
September 22, 2011
PERSPECTIVES
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Feminism Netflix split makes long-term sense still needed By IAN MCDONALD
By LINDSAY JAKOWS
Twitter has finally sucked me in. Now that I’m preoccupied by distracting headlines 24/7, I can only hope that the increasingly depressing news cycle will inspire me to take action more times than it will discourage me. One tweet from the Graphic on June 20 particularly irked me, and it had nothing to do with the economy or latest offensive sound bite from the current Republican primary frontrunner. It read: “We aren’t feminists ... but mad respect to women’s basketball.” This is not an isolated event. I regularly hear women denounce feminism like it’s the dirtiest word they’ve ever heard. When something as simple as acknowledging women’s athletic achievement requires an apology, it should call attention to the greater problem at hand. Forget the stereotypes. Forget your least favorite self-identified feminist figure. At its core, feminism advocates for the political and social equality of the sexes, which we should all agree is a good thing. “What rights don’t women have?” you might ask. Fighting for feminism today is not so much about winning a specific right, but rather about re-evaluating attitudes that often make incorrect and limiting assumptions about women. These attitudes are expressed when an alumnus I call at the Pepperdine Call Center asks me my major (International Studies and Political Science), then thinks it’s remotely appropriate or funny to ask me if I’m going to marry a rich man. He would never have asked that if I had been male, regardless of the sex of the person I would hypothetically marry. I see these attitudes when studies show that the more hours of TV a girl watches, the fewer options she believes she has in life. I see them when only 16.6 percent of the U.S. House of Representatives and 17 percent of the U.S. Senate is made up of women. I see them when an equal number of girls and boys at age seven say they want to be president, but by age 15, far more girls than boys have given up that dream. I see them when female politicians are scrutinized for attractiveness far more than male politicians. And I see them painfully clearly when society thinks that a woman’s provocative clothing could ever lessen a man’s responsibility for rape. Individuals must be free to shape their own identities. It is extremely restrictive to tell women that they cannot accomplish their individual goals because they must fulfill some social construction of femininity. At the same time, feminine traits should not be belittled, either. Characteristics should be identified as good or bad independent of whether they are defined as “masculine” or “feminine.” Many Pepperdine students, myself included, are passionate about social justice for women worldwide. I’m excited to attend the Gender Talk Brown Bag Series sponsored by the Women’s Studies Department at Pepperdine. The scheduled talks this semester focus on international women’s issues. Women in developing nations should absolutely be empowered to go to school, get a microloan to start a business and live free from fear of being trafficked for sex or dying in childbirth. The challenge for us as students is to avoid viewing the experiences of women in other countries as isolated from our own. Instead, we should expand the philosophies driving change in other countries to our own life experiences. Feminism is for men, too. Men can be just as hurt by the sometimes restrictive masculine gender roles forced upon them by society as women are hurt by restrictive feminine gender roles. Men need to hold other men accountable for treating women as fully realized human beings, not children or sexual objects, in order for feminism to succeed. I am a proud feminist, and hope that I’m not alone. Let’s inject some life into what too many people view as a dead movement. When we disagree with a specific school of feminism, let’s change the dialogue to, “I am a feminist, but …”
lindsay.jakows@pepperdine.edu
You know it’s a rough economy when the innovative companies that used to make life difficult for their competitors are themselves falling quickly upon hard times. Netflix was the butt of more than a few jokes in the tech and entertainment industries this week when it announced that it was splitting its services into two companies, retaining the Netflix name for Web streaming and inventing a new entity dubbed “Qwikster” to handle the old DVD-by-mail business. The Los Gatos-based Netflix Inc. will still retain ownership of both companies. The new image shake-up is right on the heels of consumer anger over the new confusing pricing scheme released last month. Clearly, the problem was that people weren’t angry enough with them. Any subscriber will now have to go through two different websites with two different support networks and two different charges on their statements. Obviously, this new turn of events is not the best idea ever, and
obviously the urge to make fun of the shoddily thrown-together marketing for Qwikster will remain strong for some time. However, I feel the slight need to give credit where credit is due and admit that this is probably not the death of the company, and it may even eventually reveal itself as a productive change. The first truth faced is that the DVD is on the way out. While it may seem like just yesterday that having your favorite film on DVD was considered cutting-edge, the writing is on the wall. The DVD is dying faster than any format before it. The rise of Blu-Ray is only the first nail in the coffin. The biggest enemy to the DVD’s existence is the digital copy. No matter what the prospects of the DVD look like, few will argue that the move is a user-friendly one. The biggest inconvenience is really for those who wish to continue using both services. One of the great paradoxes of the tech industry is how to sell new products to consumers who are ever resistant to change. Henry Ford once famously quipped, “If I’d asked people what they wanted, they would have asked for a faster horse.” In the short term, Netflix will definitely lose subscribers. My prediction, though, is that
splitting the market will turn out to be the right choice. DVD-by-mail and streaming are definitely two different businesses, and Netflix knows that distinguishing similar yet different services is important. Remember that Netflix’s initial appearance on the scene devastated movie rental chains like Blockbuster while sending others like Hollywood Video to the obscurity of history, simply by catering to Americans’ laziness and hatred of late fees. The problem is Netflix didn’t count on the hatred of waiting. Red Box gets consumers their movies instantly. Streaming movies one-ups everyone by combining laziness and impatience into a cocktail of entertainment-fueled vice. The ultimate winner, BitTorrent, combines all of the above with the added benefit of being free (if not illegal). Internet streaming is going to do to DVDby-mail what DVD-by-mail did to rental stores. Given the forecast for the old way of business and the poorly thought out name, you might expect that they designed Qwikster to die an honorable death, but I have my doubts. The high quality of Blu-Ray is not easily replicable online, and cinephiles may gravitate toward better picture and sound. They’re also
adding video games to their catalogue in an attempt to compete with GameFly, a particularly wise move considering that games also don’t lend themselves well to streaming. Movies in the mail may account for the bulk of their current customers, but Netflix knows full well where the future trends are heading. The legal streaming of movies has a much greater potential market. I don’t need films in the mail, but I definitely could utilize a streamlined streaming system, especially at half the price of an old Netflix account for both services. Being innovative can be difficult, especially when everyone thinks you’re making a huge mistake. In the same way that a short-term gain might not be the best for the long haul, a change like this might not get off to the best start, but will hold its own over time. I only hope Netflix has the guts to stick with the plan and see where it goes. I’d rather see them fail trying to move forward than die stubbornly staying in place. As Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said in his apologetic blog post, “Companies rarely die from moving too fast, and they frequently die from moving too slowly.”
ian.mcdonald@pepperdine.edu
AARON SCHOTT / ASSISTANT ART EDITOR
US cable news leaves viewers ignorant By ZACH ALFRED Last week I thought about the famine in Somalia for the first time in weeks. Googling it, I discovered a BBC News article from Sept. 5 detailing a U.N. report which warned that as many as 750,000 Somalis could die from starvation in the coming four months. Jeffrey Gettleman of The New York Times began an article published Sept. 15 with the following question: “Is the world about to watch 750,000 Somalis starve to death?” While I can’t predict whether or not the rest of the world might watch 750,000 Somalis starve to death, most Americans certainly won’t.
Why? The American news media have been too busy obsessing over the elections, filling our heads with buzz phrases like “job creator” and “class warfare.” In the time since Gov. Rick Perry entered himself in the campaign, the domestic news media have been humming over the primary race, even as the general election remains more than 13 months away. Is this all we’re going to be hearing about for the next year? If I were to actually use TV news as my primary source of news information as many Americans probably do, it would seem as if the rest of the world had stopped spinning and America the Island was whirling along on its own through the vastness of our solar system. If Fox News and MSNBC were indicators of what was happening in the world, one would have to assume that the Somali famine, the war in Libya, the euro crisis and the Palestinian statehood bid all got together and said to
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the Editor must bear the writerʼs name, signature, class standing, major, address and phone number. 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 graphic@pepperdine.edu.
our domestic issues, “Go ahead, we’ll take the month off so that you can have the spotlight.” But, of course, that didn’t happen, and all of those crises and many more continue to exist but fall from our collective consciousness as the media chooses for us what is important and what isn’t. It’s not that international issues aren’t covered at all; many times they are crammed into end-of-the-hour news bulletins using Associated Press and Reuters footage of angry Palestinians and rocket-firing Libyan rebels, as if the American audience would somehow be able to contextualize complex international issues based on 30-second news clips, but wouldn’t understand the politics of their own country without 55 minutes of spoon-fed election “analysis” each and every hour. If the rest of the world had indeed solved all their problems and the elections were the only thing to worry about, I would certainly find
them entertaining (apart from when crowds are cheering executions and the preventable death of the uninsured), and I’ve spent a lot of time flipping between Fair and Balanced Fox News and Lean Forward MSNBC. However, this type of obsessive, one-topic coverage is not only lazy and cheap, but also damaging. If the media fails to inform us on issues like Somalia, how can we effect change? In a just world, there would be millions of people in the streets of Washington chanting their support for increased aid to the impoverished nation. But we don’t care, and neither do the media. We are too busy deciding who we think was best dressed at the Emmys and arguing about whether or not millionaires and billionaires should have to pay more taxes. In the meantime, thousands have died, thousands more will die, and we will have sat back and forgotten about it.
zachary.alfred@pepperdine.edu
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NEWS
Graphic
September 22, 2011
erasing footprints from
OUR BAY PHOTO STORY BY GENEVIEVE SMITH PHOTO EDITOR
Volunteers from around the community came together to Heal the Bay on Saturday, Sept. 17. People picked up litter from the Malibu Lagoon, while kids learned the importance of maintaining a delicate
ecosystem. A substantial turnout of volunteers cleaned up the area in the span of a morning. Notable groups involved included the Santa Monica Audobon Society and the James Monroe High School Ecology Club.
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LIFE & ARTS September 22, 2011
s e l e g n A s o L f o l l a W t The Grea
By GENEVIEVE SMITH PHOTO EDITOR
GENEVIEVE SMITH / PHOTO EDITOR
Artists and supporters gathered from around the nation Saturday to honor the completed restoration of one of the world’s longest murals. The half-mile long monument to American interracial harmony was launched in 1976, but it received its last restorative brushstroke the night before the gathering. California Chicana muralist Judy Baca brought together more than 400 youth and their families to make the original piece. Under her creative direction it was formed over five sum-
mers until its completion in 1981. The colorful expression of California history covers the dawn of man through modern events. The mural snakes its way down the Tujunga Wash Flood Control Channel on Coldwater Canyon Avenue, between Burbank Boulevard and Oxnard Street. The masterpiece offers a different point of view from what we often learn in textbooks. It’s a living testimony to the interconnectedness of historical events. Baca, a distinguished UCLA professor, brought together community youth to “work with artists, oral historians, ethnologists, scholars and hundreds of community members,” as described on the NoHo Arts District website,
to create a piece that connects events which have shaped the Sunshine State. “If we don’t remember the past, we are forced to repeat it,” Baca said when addressing the work’s supporters at the restoration party. Strategically placed in front of Ulysses Grant High School and Los Angeles Valley College, the mural instructs students of their past in a non-traditional way. The Great Wall of Los Angeles serves as a statement of free speech while connecting modern man to our artistic predecessors.
genevieve.smith@pepperdine.edu
Weisman showcases California art By HEATHER MANES STAFF WRITER
This year’s art exhibit put on by the Weisman Museum found a compelling niche local residents would be interested in viewing: their own culture. The Weisman’s California Art exhibit showcases Southern California artists and their artwork from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s as an eclectic collection personifying the sunshine culture, as well as our inclination for counterintuitive thought. To the unseasoned eye, the ground floor collection seems more modern than Southern Californian. One of the first pieces to catch the eye is a hallucinogenic wall sculpture by Robert Irwin, called “Untitled.”
Taking a few steps back, the viewer witnesses the complicated optical effect created by a strikingly simple plastic curvature protruding from the wall. The color of the half-orb brings to mind overcast clouds, which blur the line between the object and its shadows cast on the wall. Irwin cleverly plays with lighting effects so that light itself becomes more a part of the work than the sculpture, all the while offering the viewer a playfully perplexing piece at which to gaze. The concepts lurking between the art, space and light of the work unperceptively alter the viewer’s expectations of the exhibit from enjoyment to a more contemplative state of mind. However, the stimulating effect of Irwin’s “Untitled” quickly falls flat against the minimalist
GENEVIEVE SMITH / PHOTO EDITOR
California color: The Weisman Museum holds three decades’ worth of bright California art this year.
paintings with which it cohabitates. Instead, the bright primary colors and bold pastels draw the viewer into the greater, main room of the museum. Here, the “California” in “California Art” finds its way to the front of
SERENA WU / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Geometric creation: Ronald Davis’ “Inside Light” is one of the many pieces showcased in the Weisman.
the mind, finally finding the visual stimulation worthy of being called Californian. The room as a whole emits the spunk and individuality Southern Californians are so known for, but after closer analysis, it leaves viewers wanting. The big baby-room-pastelpink plank leaning against the wall horribly sticks out as more as a piece of construction than actual art. The oddly out-of-place piece, named “The Case for Fakery in Beauty” by John McCracken, seems to fall too short in the scheme of California art, which, yes, triumphed a more laid-back art, but this seems just lazy. Taking a few steps past the plank, a more notable piece would be “Yellow and Blue” by Craig Kauffman. This 1965 piece fell straight out of a comic book to challenge the artistic norms New York artists so stringently perpetuated; its bright yellow acrylic backdrop would be so characteristic of Southern California’s sunshine if it wasn’t for the simplified, curvy cartoon raincloud popping out of the surface. In a way, it satirizes rainstorms in Southern California, playing up our bright culture and perhaps even our exaggerated reactions to rainy
days, which Seattle residents could easily justify as mist. As ironic as the raincloud may be in this California Art exhibit, its playful mood and satiric tone is what makes this piece the most “Californian” in the bunch. If Kauffman’s “Yellow and Blue” is at the apogee of Californianism, Charles Arnoldi’s chain-sawed “Impound” is its sordid counterpart. That is not to say that Arnoldi’s double wood construction of bursting colors next to a dark forest of sticks is not, in itself, a brilliant work of strenuous art. But its harsh contrast of color and content (a depiction of Mount St. Helen’s eruption and its aftermath), noticeably adds heaviness that most of the other works so valiantly attempt to counter. The color and activity so present in the downstairs is stripped away in the monochromatic upstairs room. This, for some, may come as too stark a contrast from the downstairs until (despite the staircase one walks up) the viewer is drawn to John Baldessari’s “Horizontal Men.” The coolness of the room provides an experience much different from the downstairs, but is still very much Californian, if not more so.
»See MUSEUM, B5
LIFE & ARTS
B2 Graphic
September 22, 2011
By NATHAN STRINGER
ASSISTANT LIFE & ARTS EDITOR
1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. This was a gutsy move on Lincoln’s part, because it was right before a midterm election. Granted, he had spent the summer using the press to prepare people for it, but it was still a shock. Lincoln was a moderate, so he didn’t want an immediate end to the war, like the Democrats, or immediate abolition, like the radicals. His Proclamation only freed slaves in the Confederacy, not the contentious border states — a distinction that’s probably been made by every AP U.S. history teacher in the country. Karl Marx called the Emancipation Proclamation an “unheroic, heroic document” as he obviously wished Lincoln had gone further, but what do communists know anyway? Democrats gained seats in the House because of the Proclamation, but they didn’t take the majority. And while the Proclamation was initially a shock, it was soon embraced. When it took effect in January, black troops began fighting for the Union. Eventually, 10 percent of the Union army, 180,000 soldiers, were black.
1960, Scott Baio was born. You probably don’t know Scott Baio for his role as Chachi in “Happy Days.” So, you also probably don’t know that he reprised his role in the spin-off “Joanie Loves Chachi” and then went on to play Charles in “Charles in Charge.” You also probably wouldn’t recognize him, even if you saw him when he guest-starred on “Full House,” “Diagnosis: Murder,” “Touched by an Angel” or “The Nanny.” You may know him, however, as the Bluths’ family lawyer, Bob Loblaw, in “Arrested Development.” (Bob Loblaw dedicated Pepperdine’s law school parking lot, and it’s officially known as Bob Loblaw’s law lot.) A B-list actor with no prospects, VH1 made him the subject of a reality show in 2007: “Scott Baio is 45 … and Single.” The show was a success both for VH1 and Baio, because a year later VH1 aired “Scott Baio is 46 … and Pregnant,” which focused on Baio as he and his wife, Renee, had a baby girl.
1975, Sara Jane Moore tried to assassinate President Gerald Ford outside the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Someone else had tried to assassinate Ford 17 days earlier. Also, Moore was picked up by the Secret Service the day before her attempt for carrying an illegal firearm but was released. She shot at Ford the next day with a different gun and missed the president’s head by six inches due to the gun’s faulty sights. A Marine tackled her before she could take a second shot. Moore pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison, but she escaped for a few hours once in 1979. Ford, a life regent at Pepperdine and dedicator of the Brock House, lived longer than any other president and died in 2006 at the age of 93. Moore was paroled in 2007 and appeared on the “Today” show in 2009. She regrets the radical politics of her youth and is glad her assassination attempt failed.
1980, Iraq invaded Iran. Iraq was trying to take advantage of Iran in the wake of their recent revolution. Iraq also feared its own suppressed Shiite majority would be inspired to rise up as the Iranians did. So, fearing border conflict, Iraq went on the offensive. Two years later, Iran was winning and on the offensive. A total of eight years passed before the whole thing was over and done. Iraq and Iran fought in the style of World War I, employing trench warfare and chemical weapons. This war was the longest conventional war of the 20th century and ended up costing more than a $1 trillion and one million lives. Strategically, American support for Saddam Hussein’s Iraq aimed to counter-balance revolutionary Iran, but ended up literally backfiring when America went to war against Hussein in 1990 and 2003. Ironically, Donald Rumsfeld went to Baghdad in 1983 to shake Hussein’s hand and discuss military aid. And, appropriately, China freely sold arms to both sides in this war.
2003, David Hempleman-Adams became the first person to cross the Atlantic in an open wicker basket hot air balloon. Up, up and away in his beautiful balloon, Hempleman-Adams flew from New Brunswick, Canada, to Blackpool, United Kingdom. (Incidentally, New Brunswick is the reason Nebraska’s postal abbreviation is NE and not NB. Because if mail bound for pine trees ended up in corn fields, who knows what would befall us all.) Hempleman-Adams, a Brit, is actually a very daring adventurer who holds four honorary titles of nobility. He’s the only person to have reached the magnetic and geographic North and South Poles and to have climbed the highest peaks on the seven continents. In 2005, he dined with Bear Grylls at a table suspended beneath a hot air balloon that was flying at over 24,000 feet. When they finished their meal of asparagus, salmon and summer fruits, they parachuted down to Earth. And while he doesn’t always drink beer, when he does he prefers Dos Equis.
nathan.stringer@pepperdine.edu
Photo of the Week
Sunset on the horizon: Malibu Pier sits serenely on the horizon line, surrounded by the waters of the Pacific Ocean.
JOSH CURRIE SENIOR
Want to show off your talent to the Pepperdine and Malibu community? Send in your photos that reflect the lens through which you see the world, and get your photo featured in the Graphic or on the Graphic website. Email it to graphic@pepperdine.edu to enter.
VIRGO — No meal plan? Venison is a lean substitute for ground beef. LIBRA — You have the right to remain silent. SCORPIO — Cut in line at the Caf. Excuse yourself by saying that your flight’s boarding. SAGITTARIUS — Apply Axe or perfume liberally. You’ll definitely attract all the ladies or fellas. CAPRICORN — Stand in the back of your classes and shout your questions. AQUARIUS — Use the timer on the microwave in the Caf to check your pulse.
PISCES — Offer to drive Scorpio to the airport. Lincoln Boulevard might be faster than the 405. ARIES — Use anything Libra says against her in a court of law. TAURUS — Give Virgo your slingshot and camouflage jacket. GEMINI — Follow your nose to Sagittarius and then stare stupidly. CANCER — Be Capricorn’s sidekick and repeat his questions in a nasally voice. LEO — Pop some popcorn in the microwave in the Caf, counting aloud each pop.
A calendar to keep you entertained all week Thursday, Sept. 22
Friday, Sept. 23
Saturday, Sept. 24
Sunday, Sept. 25
Monday, Sept. 26
Tuesday, Sept. 27
Malibu Premiere and Benefit party for Dave Rastovich’s “Minds in the Water”: Film is at 7 p.m. in Elkins; benefit party is at 9 p.m. at the Malibu Inn ($15 for students)
The Board presents Campus-wide Photo Scavenger Hunt: 7 p.m. in the HAWC
Opening Reception for California Art Selections: 5 p.m. in the Frederick Weisman Museum
Family Art Day: Noon in the Gregg Juarez Courtyard (by Smothers Theater)
The Beatles “LOVE”: A Fifth Anniversary Cirque du Soleil Showcase: Open from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Grammy Museum
Career Center presents “Meet the Firms”: 7 p.m. in CCB 140
The Board presents Getty Center Outing: Meet at noon in Rho parking lot (register in the HAWC)
Center for the Arts presents “National Acrobats of China”: 2 p.m. in Smothers Theatre
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LIFE & ARTS
September 22, 2011
Graphic
B3
The Bucket List By AUBREY HOEPPNER COPY CHIEF
Let your inner child ‘run away’
Hakuna Matata: Generations young and old will enjoy the beloved Disney film in 3-D and fall in love all over again with Simba, Timon and Pumbaa.
IMAGES COURTESY OF WDSFILMS
‘The Lion King 3-D’ roars into theaters Rated: G
Walt Disney Studios
BY ALEX WILSON STAFF WRITER
It’s nearly impossible for one to have lived in the early ’90s and been ignorant of Disney’s renaissance. Classics like “The Little Mermaid” (1989), “Beauty and the Beast” (1991), “Aladdin” (1992), and “Mulan” (1998) have all taken their place in American cinematic history. But in 1994 Walt Disney punctuated its success with “The Lion King,” the sixth highest grossing animated film and the highest grossing “hand-
Overview Release Date September 16, 2011
Starring
Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lee, Whoopi Goldberg, Rowan Atkinson
Directors
Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers
Runtime
1 hour 27 min
drawn” film of all time. The story of Simba, who “Can’t Wait to be King,” voiced by the then-youthful Matthew Broderick, is one that all of us ’90s babies have ingrained in our entire cultural consciousness. The cast of comic stars and charismatic stage actors gives this Shakespearean Disney film the balance that it needs to be not only a light-hearted children’s fairy tale, but also a story that has an important message and powerful storyline. Simba, Mufasa, Nala, Timon and Pumbaa are all back on the big screen, but this time in Disney Digital 3-D. “The Lion King 3-D” is the first traditionally animated film to have the 3-D conversion, and it is not simply a marketing ploy. “The Lion King” is the best-selling home entertainment release of all time, and the 3-D conversion has sent the beloved film to a whole new level. It is the first time in nearly a decade that “The Lion King” has been re-released in theatres, but it continues to make itself relevant to all audiences, namely the new genera-
tion of children who get to behold the watered-down version of the wilds of the African safari for the first time. It is with this purpose that “The Lion King” has purportedly been re-released by Disney, and this time it is bigger and more in-your-face than ever before. The beginning of the film opens with the song everyone knows, “The Circle of Life.” But this time, it was something entirely different then what our generation experienced in our 4-year-old shoes. One of the biggest differences between than and now is that the screen is about five times clearer. Factor in the Disney Digital 3-D technology and the film becomes a whole new experience, as if you are seeing it brand new. When the animals all come together at Pride Rock, the movie seems very life-like, not just as a cartoon, which makes this theatrical experience all the richer. “The Lion King” is a story, for those of you who don’t know, that draws its characters and story from African mythology, history and, of course, Shakespeare. With clever puns
and witty repartee between characters, the humor is still funny even viewing it as an adult. Who can forget the wisdom of “Hakuna Matata”? Or the beautifully sung “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” One of the greatest soundtracks ever compiled (helmed by Sir Elton John and Hans Zimmer) and a message about the delicacy of life and the earth we are connected to, “The Lion King 3-D” is a mustsee that should be experienced as a theatrical event. No, not a theatrical event as in watching the film at home on the couch with some microwave popcorn, but on the big screen. And that’s what “The Lion King” is, an event; hence the success of the Broadway musical spin-off. While the 3-D is certainly effective and marvelous to see, the true brilliance is just beholding this story on the big screen once again. “The Lion King” reminds us why we continue to go to the movies. This classic animated feature will only be in theaters for two weeks, and no one should miss this experience.
alexander.wilson@pepperdine.edu
‘Gravity the Seducer’ Ladytron By HANNA HOUGLUM STAFF WRITER
Ladytron’s latest release, “Gravity the Seducer,” provides listeners with an ethereal yet edgy 12-song masterpiece. This album, released on iTunes Sept. 12, has been described as a “flawless electronic production with mind-blowing melodies that are of lush perfection,” and once you listen to it, you’ll agree. Twelve years ago, Ladytron formed in Liverpool, Merseyside. This musical quartet consists of vocalists Helen Marnie and Mira Aroyo, electric guitarist Daniel Hunt and synth genius Reuben Wu. Their sounds mash together synth-pop and electro-pop with new wave elements for an extravagant production of rhythmic sounds. Ladytron is often categorized as electronic pop because of their focus on harmonizing pop sounds with more experimental and modern sounds. The name Ladytron was derived from the song “Ladytron” by Roxy Music, released June 16, 1972, and written by musical phenomenon Bryan Ferry. Something that makes Ladytron stand out to their audiences is that Aroyo sings some songs in her native Bulgarian language. “Gravity the Seducer” is Ladytron’s fifth LP since their first full-length release in 2001, “604.” This was their second studio album to be released by Nettwerk. In May 2011, their first single,
“White Elephant,” was officially released and a video for the song was made available to the public on YouTube in July. “White Elephant” is a deviously good song that automatically has the ability to jolt any listener into a euphoric state of mind. The swinging melody of the song shows the true roots of Ladytron’s style, which can be seen in all of their enrapturing albums. There is a sense of weightless passion in “White Elephant” that creates a peaceful yet intriguing four-minutes-and-16-second state of bliss while listening to this track. The same ethereal rhythm of “White Elephant” can be heard and felt on the album’s eighth track, “Ambulances.” However, “Ambulances” pairs this surreal melodic beat with a drum machine and lyrics describing the loss of a passionate love. This song pulls the audience into what could be described as a deep musical chasm. A unique quality of “Gravity the Seducer” is that the fourth track on the album, “Ace of Hz,” was originally on their greatest hits album “Best of 00-10,” released March 2011, but this particular song was also released in November 2010 as the album single for “Best of 00-10.” This song can also be recognized from the soundtrack to FIFA 2011. “Ace of Hz” has a bass line that carries you on a journey through a hand-clapping percussion beat and delicately passionate vocals. The blend of vocals with the carefully produced analog rhythm creates a
Nettwerk Records smoggy haze of sound that reveals the essence of Ladytron. The synthesizers on this song specifically create a sort of dance-y, head bobbing rhythm that is musically seductive. Almost halfway through the album, placed at track five, is an entirely melodic track titled “Ritual.” In spite of the lack of lyrics, this harmonious song is a great transition from the first half of the album to the second half, providing the listener with a full instrumental track. “Gravity the Seducer” takes “Velocifero” underrated sound and throws energy and surreal sounds to the familiar beats. Ladytron takes their sounds up several notches in “Gravity the Seducer” with the helping hand of Nine Inch Nails’ Alessandro Cortini. Most similar to the album that gave them an audience, “The Witching Hour,” “Gravity the Seducer” is Ladytron’s attempt at pulling away to newer sounds while still pushing the rhythms that drew people to them. This melodic push-pull could be the only rub in the album. This transitional album expresses the growing pains and the nervousness in splitting away from the past. Ladytron constantly shows their greatness throughout the entirety of the album, but for a band that has been around for a dozen years, a bit more of a separation from the sounds of previously great albums could boost their fan base and reignite their potential.
hanna.houglum@pepperdine.edu
PHOTO COURTESY OF MYSPACE.COM
Key Facts
Band Members Helen Marnie Mira Aroyo Daniel Hunt Reuben Wu
Hometown
London, U.K.
Genres
Electro-pop, synth-pop, new wave
Label
Nettwerk Records
Currently on Tour Yes
Website
www.ladytron.com
twitter.com/ladytronmusic
I’ve been exhibiting symptoms of adulthood lately. Chief among these has been my downright matronly behavior at Ralphs. When I went grocery shopping this week, I checked the cans of tomato sauce for dents before putting them in the cart, something I always used to make fun of my mom for. Later, I reached all the way to the back of the shelf of pre-washed lettuce to get a bag with a later expiration date. Worst of all, when I finished scanning all of my items at the self-checkout, I pulled a coupon out of my wallet (which would have been a completely shameless act in my Midwestern hometown). My machine loudly announced that I had one, and the attendant had to make a big scene and come over to inspect it, and it was a whole ordeal. Then, clearly mocking me, the machine printed me another one for next week. I know I’m not the only one at risk of getting sucked into the drudgery that masquerades as responsibility. This comes in different forms for everyone. For you, it might be signing up for yet another leadership position, applying for an unpaid internship when you are already taking 18 units or consistently eating your leafy green vegetables first when you know a slice of cake is the appetizer you are really looking for. Even if you haven’t felt this sense of imposed responsibility yet, it is probably lurking right around the same corner as your first term paper of the semester. A cooler, edgier person than I would suggest dropping out of school to travel and make a documentary about mustaches around the world, but most of us have homework to do this weekend, and that is stunting that career dream. What we need is a small reminder that we can (and should) take time to do something childish, something that isn’t working toward any particular benchmark of adulthood other than enjoying what is around us. One of my favorite local remedies, and something that everyone should try before leaving Pepperdine, is the Malibu sand hill. The sand hill is about 15 minutes north on PCH, a bit past Neptune’s Net. It doesn’t exactly have an address, so the most specific description is that it is a giant dune on the inland side, across from a big rock sticking out of the water. You can’t miss it. Once you’re there, the concept is pretty simple. Hike all the way up to the top, and then run down as fast as you can. Sound dumb? It is. That’s why it should be on your list. The best way to do the sand hill is to go right before sunset and bring a good friend. The walk to the top is long, but once you reach the peak and plop down as your thighs burn in anguish, the view will convince you that the club meeting you are missing to play in the sand wasn’t really important at all. At this point, your companion’s listening ear will come in handy, because the profound life thoughts will begin to flow uncontrollably. After sunset, take your shoes off and sprint back down to PCH. Ignore the motherly voice in the back of your head telling you to be careful of tripping or stepping on sharp objects. If anyone in your group tries to saunter down the hill with a smirk on his face as if he is above hurtling himself down a sand dune toward traffic, do not let this disrupt your joyful, reckless abandon. Grab his hand and run even faster. Feel the wind in your hair, the sand between your toes, and the freedom in your strides. Tisk tisk, you think. I’m a Pepperdine student. I can come up with more sophisticated fun than that. You probably can, but you shouldn’t, at least this once. The point is to step outside the resume-building, grown-up box for a minute and step into the amorphous blob space of “what wonderful, childlike, seemingly-pointless-but-actuallyessential thing shall I do with myself this evening?” It’s a wonderful space. We always eat dessert first here.
aubrey.hoeppner@pepperdine.edu
LIFE & ARTS
B4 Graphic Rogue Wave
September 22, 2011
»CROSSWORD PUZZLE
Legends of the Fall DOWN 1 2 3 6 9 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 21 24 26 29 30 31 33 36 39 40 42 43 45 46 48
By BEN HOLCOMB STAFF WRITER
Bed bugs attack My dorm got bed bugs this week. Before you write me off as the most unhygienic slob ever, I should say that the bed bug incident occurred in a different suite. Nevertheless, my suitemates and I reaped the benefits of everything a bed bug sighting brought with it. This of course means we all received emails from Pepperdine with a subject line reading, “EVACUATE!!!!!” I was a little taken aback when I pulled that email up; I was in the library looking at an archaic Bible worth more than $150,000 with my classmates when I accidentally blurted out, “Son of a —” at a level higher than intended. As I was escorted off the premises by a DPS officer, I couldn’t help but feel like I was following the email’s order, having not actually read anything other than the title. When I got back to my dorm, however, I was greeted by a team of men in hazmat suits huddled outside my suite. The palpable feeling of impending doom festered throughout the entire hallway, not unlike a group of soldiers ready to deploy onto the Normandy beaches on D-Day (or whatever Gerard Butler felt at the end of “300”). When they noticed me, one of them yelled, “Get back!” and tackled me to the floor. “Bed bugs are everywhere!” he yelled as I scrambled for the exit. At this point I had a remedial understanding of what bed bugs were, but based on the mitigating circumstances, I could only assume they were like those bugs in the “Mummy” movies, capable of crawling inside your body and moving around like it “ain’t nothing” (Snoop Doggy Dog 2001). Later on, our resident director explained to us that bed bugs were essentially “more annoying” mosquitoes, who procreate incredibly fast through a process called traumatic insemination (which, in and of itself, is one of the scariest terms I’ve ever heard). Because of this, they were forcing us to move out our rooms for a “night at the very longest.” The room erupted in cries of anger and disbelief; after all, we all had just finally settled into our living situations. When order was restored, he assured us that it would all be ok because Pepperdine was giving us $50 gift cards to the Caf. This, of course, brought with it louder cries of anger and disbelief. The bed bugs were really starting to get under my skin. I don’t have the statistics to substantiate this, but I’m pretty sure $50 can buy you like one and a half sandwiches from La Brea. Either way, I have spent the end of each semester here at Pepperdine frantically trying to get rid of my Caf points, buying packets of Pop-Tarts from Nature’s Edge in hopes of burning them into fossil fuel for my car; and I don’t even drive a hybrid. So basically, as a means of saying they were sorry that a species of microscopic pests were “traumatically inseminating” on our beds while we slept, the school gave us a chore for later on down the road. The idea of thousands of bugs sucking the blood out of my veins as I slept was something I could come to terms with, but the excess Caf points made me break out into a cold sweat. The clothing situation only exacerbated the problem. Everything we owned had to be washed, so that we could machine wash these vermin into oblivion. Pepperdine hand-picked our outfits for the next few days and threw the rest of our stuff in plastic bags, never to be seen again. And, though I loved having my mother lay out my clothes for elementary (and high) school, I couldn’t help but feel perplexed about the clothes left behind for me. This list is 100 percent real: two cardigan sweaters, one pair of desert boots, orange shorts and one striped polo shirt. At this point, the problem transitioned from a bug infestation to a commentary on human rights and freedom. As this sentence is being typed, I have yet to see my clothes or sheets. I’ve slept with a pillow and blanket for three days, and may or may not have failed out of Pepperdine. Nevertheless, I’ve been wearing orange shorts and boots with pride, alienating every female on campus in the process. There is a Zen quote that reads, “The obstacle is the path.” I haven’t exactly figured out where this bed bug path leads, but trust me, I’m looking in every nook and cranny for the answer.
william.holcomb@pepperdine.edu
ACROSS 4 Flip it to start 5 Dreaded exams 7 Old “MNF” network 8 Trojans 10 Australia’s season 13 Moon and season 19 MacFarlane’s original 20 Dorothy’s friend 22 High school dance
23 25 27 28 32 34 35 37 38 41
Current “MNF” network Boston state 30 days hath Always sunny here Original “CSI” city ABC’s novel genus Fall garden 12-hour day, night NBC’s college Mark end zone
44 47 49 50 51
FOX’s doctor Augusta state Bruins FOX’s yellow Roasted, no longer on CBS Football nickname They die and fall Providence state Two points Not grass Concord state CBS’s felonious brains AD 476 Empire ______ what you sow Goes before the fall Orange gourds Hartford state FOX’s giddiness Montpelier state Johnny ______seed Spader’s, NBC’s Big D’s football team Un-American football Longest fall month Proper season name Neck rags Maple leaf country
CW’s rumor chick NBC’s Charles AD 1453 Empire LA’s last football team Fall TV start
See the pepperdine-graphic.com/life-arts for solutions to this week’s puzzle.
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WIKI
OF THE WEEK
Wikipedia has nearly four million English articles, and many of those are boring. Some, however, are surprising, amusing and downright interesting. Each week, we select a Wikipedia article that fulfills these criteria. Scan the barcode for a direct link to the page!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Timothy_Dexter Timothy Dexter was an American businessman when America became America. An odd fellow, he successfully shipped coal to Newcastle and gloves to the South Sea Islands. Fortuitously wealthy, Dexter styled himself a lord and built an estate in New England. He then wrote an autobiography titled “A Pickle for the Knowing Ones or Plain Truth in a Homespun Dress.” It’s available for free on Google Books; just don’t expect conventional grammar or style from Dexter. The last page of the text is the only one with punctuation.
Eighth grade student needs tutoring twice a week, all subjects. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:15pm-5:15pm (in home). Please contact: Janet 818-427-3599 or Cynthia 310-456-0220.
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C b p i c f a b a p a p p v a m a c m n t
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LIFE & ARTS
September 22, 2011
Museum: Campus Rec ramps up fitness ‘reading and fun for students this semester between the lines’ By NIKKI TORRIENTE LIFE & ARTS EDITOR
From B1
“Horizontal Men,” which is a compilation of nine different still images from movies depicting dead men, raises a new set of questions and observations in a brand-new context. In the tradition of deviating from the intellectual norm, Baldessari blatantly asks the viewer “where are we going?” He quickly answers it with the vertical-turned-horizontal man on bottom, who has presumably just been shot in the back, as our theatrically attuned minds would lead us to believe. Tucked away in the corner is Jeff Colson’s “Figure,” which would have been an excellent piece to put in proximity to Baldessari’s work because it asks the same question about our communication. The wall sculpture from far away resembles the shape of a scroll, curled slightly at the ends, but close up it is made up of an amalgamation of layered paper-like, parchment-colored rectangles. The ambiguity of the paper — whether printer paper, legal-sized paper or perhaps even Post-Its — leaves the viewer wondering about the layers and differences of the means of communication, how they have changed and how they have not. The sculpture cleverly shows how paper, one of our main means of communication, has not really evolved, which may also be the case for our communication. Tim Hawkinson’s “The Fin Within” presents yet another challenge of mainstream thought. Walking away from the remote corner of Colson’s “Figure,” Hawkinson’s sculpture doesn’t call much attention to itself; it’s only upon further inspection that the viewer finds the real sculpture hidden “outside the lines” of what looks like a mermaid fin. The sculpture is rather an impression — the negative space between a pair of legs, and the impressions of which create the shape and substance for the fin. Hawkinson cunningly calls the viewer to look from a different perspective, and how so much more could be found by “reading between the lines.” Though the Weisman’s California Art exhibit does showcase some big names like Ed Ruscha and John McCracken, the more unknown works are what leave a greater impression — inverted or not — on the viewer.
With a new school year full steam ahead, incoming and returning students are beginning to find their grooves and utilize the resources that the Pepperdine community has offered. This year, Campus Recreation is pulling out all the stops in an effort to revamp their department and give students more activities. From off-campus events to fitness classes offered in the Tennis Pavilion, there are a slew of things to add to your calendars for the coming weeks and months. Fitness classes this semester have expanded their curriculum to include a wider variety of classes that will appeal to everyone. For example, an outdoor class has been added, which uses the campus as students’ own personal gym. The class builds endurance and strength through cardiovascular workouts and offers students a great alternative to exercising indoors. This semester is also all about incorporating intense workouts into students’ fitness regimes, giving students the chance to change up their usual routines with new cycling classes such as Cycle 45 and Cycle & Yoga Strength. Stationary bike not of interest? Work out those abs with Core 30 and Core 60, which focus on building strong core muscles. Campus Rec has added a full and fun lineup to this semester’s fitness schedule. They’ve even added weekend classes for those busy bodies who can’t make it during the week. A sampler class will also be included in the fitness class schedule this semester. Offered every other Thursday (beginning today) Campus Recreation will be showcasing a new exercise class that differs from what is already available. This means that students have the chance to do something unique yet beneficial to
their fitness routines. Additionally, ther. But really, it’s just so simple to the first fitness class will give stu- fall into a habit of running on the dents the chance to learn a bit about treadmill or doing your 30 minutes belly dancing. Salsa, hip-hop and on the elliptical, especially when the self-defense classes are in the work. machines just a few feet away look Campus Rec has also taken it like torture devices for those who upon themselves to give students have never used them. Alas, there is unique opportunities to venture no need to worry, because Campus off campus and indulge in outdoor Rec understands students’ hesitancy activities that students wouldn’t to get off the cardio machines and normally be able to do. Although get on to a weight machine. off-campus activities sponsored by The first Weight Center orientaCampus Rec aren’t anything new to tion, held last Friday, gave students the Pepperdine community, what is the opportunity to learn how to use new is the number of activities of- the weight machines, and also how fered. Last Saturday, students had best to use them. No announcethe opportunity to see Malibu in ments have been made to confirm a whole new light by going ocean other orientation dates, but Campus kayaking. Rec is eager to create more opportuHosted by Campus Recre- nities for students to have a chance ation and the Student Program- to attend a session. ming Board, students jumped at The goal of these sessions is to the chance to go help those who are ocean kayaking near weight machineMalibu Pier, just “I’m glad Campus challenged to bedown the street from Rec is expanding come more comcampus. Students and working to get fortable in the gym, only needed to find more students inbecause Campus transportation to Rec doesn’t want volved.” and from the event people to limit —Ari Brunett and dress approprithemselves to the Junior ately, and Campus cardio machines Recreation took care forever. of renting kayaks and paddles for And if all of this hasn’t convinced students. you to log some gym time, an even “I’m glad that Campus Rec is bigger perk to visiting the gym, expanding and working to get more which is located between the Firesstudents involved,” junior Ari Bru- tone Fieldhouse and the pool, is that nett wrote in an email. “We’re in a it has been recently refurbished. So really neat area here and I don’t think go take a look and take advantage many students realize all the things of Campus Rec’s desire to keep stuyou can do right here in Malibu. I’m dents healthy and active. excited to see what else they offer Campus Recreation is pushing this year.” the student body to get active this Campus Rec also has a ton of semester. To learn more about what cool activities in the works. From Campus Rec is offering in the comhorseback riding to rock climbing, ing months, check pepperdine.edu/ Campus Rec is making it their mis- campusrecreation for a full calendar sion to give students new adventures of the dates and times of classes and by offering exciting activities to par- events. ticipate in. The gym is a daunting place to visit, and finding it isn’t easy, eileticia.torriente@pepperdine.edu
Open Tuesday–Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and one hour prior to most performances through intermission. Admission free. YIXIN ZHANG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
heather.manes@pepperdine.edu
Ocean adventure: Students enjoy the Malibu waters with a Campus Rec- and Programming Board-sponsored event.
Splurge at Saint Felix, be ensconced in trendiness By ALI VALACH STAFF WRITER
Saint Felix is a restaurant, bar and lounge wrapped into one building. Or two, since there are now two locations in Los Angeles. With a location in Hollywood and another in West Hollywood, Saint Felix is in the hub of LA life. Although the locations require a bit of a drive into the city, visitors won’t be disappointed. The food is flavorful and the style of Saint Felix helps it stand out from the crowd. Saint Felix’s décor combines modern with antique. The tables are modern, wooden and very simple. Hanging above some of the tables are vintage chandeliers that enhance the somewhat barren walls. The lighting is low and bestows an edgy, modern feel to the large room. On one wall is an enlarged alcoholic beverage menu, which resembles a chalkboard. Saint Felix’s interior style resembles a chic lounge or a bar more than a restaurant. It is a seat-yourself atmosphere, lacking utensils until one informs his or her server of their intention to eat rather than taking up residence at the bar. Despite the fact
that this place is not necessarily known for dining, they definitely know how to cook up some delicious food. The food is best ordered as several dishes to share at the table because they are served as more of a large order of hors d’oeuvres or appetizers. Items on the menu vary widely in types of cuisine. Whatever is ordered is sure to be pleasing to the taste buds. An especially tasty dish are the sweet potato fries. Servers bring them steaming hot with an array of dipping sauces to accompany the fries. The chipotle aioli bursts with flavor and comes with a spicy punch at the end. When the fries are dipped in the garlic aioli, it brings out a hint of sweetness. No matter what sauce one chooses to order as an enhancement to these already crispy, crunchy sweet potato fries, they are sure to be delicious and devoured by everyone. Another item to order off Saint Felix’s menu is the Kobe Sliders. A trio of beef sliders, the meat is tender and juicy, and it is all piled on top of fluffy miniature buns. The sliders are piled with flavorful accents including bleu cheese and onion. For something that can be eaten in just a few bites, the sliders pack a lot of flavor.
The Cubano Tacos are a popular dish among the diners. They consist of shredded pork piled atop a small corn tortilla along with cheese and tomato. The tortillas are piled with so many ingredients that it makes them almost impossible to eat them without making a bit of a mess. But don’t be discouraged by the sky-high piled tacos, a little messiness never hurt anyone. The Moroccan chicken cups exemplify the variety of food offered at Saint Felix. The Chicken Cups are not in the form of “cups” at all, as the name would suggest, but rather more like lettuce wraps. A piece of lettuce is filled with chicken, couscous and tzatziki sauce, which is a yogurt-based sauce. The chicken has been seasoned to perfection. Moist and tender, the perfectly cooked chicken makes the dish exponentially better. Although the food is spectacular, the service at Saint Felix is decent. The food is prompt and comes flying out of the kitchen much faster than a person would expect. The downside to service is that the servers often forget to check on the restaurant patrons. Diners may have to wait 10 or 15 minutes in order to get a water or soda refill. However, the servers are very friendly and do
ALI VALACH/ STAFF WRITER
their best to make sure the orders come out exactly to specifications. If a student is looking for a place with a fun atmosphere to dine and some delicious food, then he or she should make the journey over to Saint Felix. Not the most budget-friendly eatery, diners who arrive between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. have the option of ordering smaller sizes of the dishes for $5 each. Note to those not familiar with LA: Parking isn’t the easiest or cheapest around either location. Plan your outing accordingly.
alison.valach@pepperdine.edu
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By BRITT KIDD
LIFE & ARTS ASSISTANT
Striding forward: from the gym to the pavement I never used to consider myself much of an outdoorsy kind of girl, and I would hardly use the adjective “athletic” to describe my fitness routines. Staying in shape and working out were important to me, but I always felt that keeping active was some kind of chore. I would banish myself to the gym a few days a week and spend the majority of my workouts dreaming of the moment I could get off the treadmill. Working out was not an enjoyable activity, but I knew that I had to do it to stay healthy. However, I had a complete change of heart and attitude about fitness when I studied abroad in Switzerland during my spring 2011 semester. During my first week in Lausanne, I wanted to start a morning fitness routine, but I had no access to a gym. My only options were either not working out at all or taking my workout outdoors. I decided I would try something I never thought I would be able to do. I decided to become a runner. My morning runs started out at a slow jogging pace that I could only keep up for about 10 minutes at a time. For the first couple of weeks, I switched off between running 10 minutes and power walking five to 10 minutes. Progressively, these intervals became easy for me and I realized that I needed to start pushing myself if I wanted to improve my stride. One cold February morning I decided I was ready to push myself to my limit. I would drive myself to keep running until I absolutely had to stop. I can still remember how excited and anxious I felt as I laced up my shoes and mentally prepared myself for the unknown. I started at a steady pace, continued until I felt comfortable, and then I picked up the speed. I was no longer counting the minutes, and elapsed time did not matter. All I could think about was pushing myself further and further. A few miles and 35 minutes later, I finally stopped. There was no reason to make excuses anymore — I knew I was capable of running long distances and had to keep pushing myself. Before I knew it, my running obsession began and I was running long distances at least three days a week. My body composition was changing rapidly as I was gaining longer, leaner muscle and my endurance was increasing tremendously. Because I was running on uneven terrain, my balance also improved. I noticed I had more energy throughout the day and my overall disposition was uplifted. Running became more than just a physical workout; it became a passion that took a hold of all of my senses. Every landmark I passed, whether it was the bakery or the schoolyard, had a different scent and sound that I could always count on. Every breath of fresh outdoor air that filled my lungs cleansed and renewed me as it gave me the strength to push further. Within four short months I went from being the girl who used to fake being sick in PE during the running practices, to the outdoorsy and athletic girl who craved lungs full of fresh air and the uneven pavement beneath her feet. When I was running, the world seemed to slow down as I allowed myself to concentrate on my senses and let my mind escape. Of course I did experience a lot of muscle pain and aches as my body was adjusting to the new physical activity. But it was all worth it. I did not become a runner overnight. It was a complete physical and mental process that took a few months to get the hang of. To this day, I am by no means a master runner. I still have a long way to go if I ever want to take running seriously. Of course one must be in good physical condition and should consult a doctor before beginning any new form of physical activity, but running is not difficult to begin. It just requires some good running shoes and decent pavement. I would encourage anyone who fears the dungeonlike qualities of the gym to step outside and take their physical activity to the pavement. Running outdoors takes the chore out of staying active by offering peace of mind in the fresh open air.
brittany.kidd@pepperdine.edu
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Sand volleyball star brings passion to Pepp Caitlin Racich, junior sand volleyball player, spent her summer training with the USA Junior National Team and plans to bring her new skills to Pepperdine.
By Mariana Lizarzaburu Staff Writer
After the NCAA announced they were adding sand volleyball to its list of women’s sports, it didn’t take long for Pepperdine to leap at the chance to include it in its athletic program. Considering Pepperdine’s location and its popularity with students as their go-to leisure activity, it was only unfortunate this opportunity didn’t become available earlier. Even though students won’t be able to see the competition until the spring semester, there is a lot going on behind the scenes in preparation for the upcoming season. As the first-ever recipient of a sand volleyball scholarship, junior Caitlin Racich has been hard at work training all summer in Hermosa Beach with the USA Junior National Team for the U-21 World Championships in Halifax, Canada. “Training this summer with USA has definitely improved my game and competing internationally against the top teams in the world was one of the best volleyball experiences I’ve ever had,” she said. Over the summer, Racich decided to forego playing indoor volleyball to focus on sand volleyball and her future in this sport. “I have always had big dreams of competing on the sand after college, but having
SPORTS
September 22, 2011
the opportunity to do so during college is a dream come true.” It’s clear to anyone who meets her that she enjoys the beach lifestyle. A true beach girl at heart, she joyfully reminisces on her past summers. “We would go down to East Beach in Santa Barbara, load up on sunscreen and Power Bars, play beach all day and head home at sunset.” In addition to her innate talent and passion for the game, Racich exudes grit and determination. She has her goals set high, aiming for a career after college playing on a professional beach tour, playing overseas representing the USA and even working toward the Olympics someday. You can rest assured, fellow Waves; our beach volleyball team is starting off with a fierce competitor. Regarding the buzz about her sister Taylor coming to Pepperdine next year, Racich confirmed, “She will be a freshman next year, and I am so excited we’re going to be at school together. I think it is a great fit for her. She is a fantastic volleyball player, and she adds a lot of fire on every team she plays on.” We’ll definitely be looking forward to this future addition. But for now, the spotlight is on the elder Racich and the sand volleyball program that is just taking off and will certainly continue to grow. “I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to play sand in college and be a part of this new sport,” she added, “And I am very thankful to everyone that helped make NCAA beach a reality.”
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mariana.lizarzaburu@pepperdine.edu
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SPORTS
September 22, 2011
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Lady Waves still unbeaten By narinE aDaMOVa
22 shots. The Mustangs could not make their way to Pepperdine’s net, making the first half easy for the Waves’ goalkeeper Roxanne Barker. The women’s soccer team finished its second weekend The second half was highlighted by a series of marvelof the LSU Tournament with one victory (3-0) against UC ous moments for players from both teams. The Waves had Santa Barbara on Friday, Sept. 16 and a tie (1-1) against Cal shown great technique and created several danPoly in San Luis Obispo on Sunday, Sept.18. gerous moments for their opponent that were The team remains undefeated this season, as the resisted by outstanding saves made by the MusWaves prepare for a home game against Lamar tangs’ goalkeeper Brooke Gauvin. on Friday, Sept. 23. The Waves went down after the Mustangs “The team is doing really well right now,” scored in the 63rd minute, but finally found the Head Coach Tim Ward said. “Working hard, back of the net in the 89th minute. staying humble, taking each day as it comes and “We were down 1-0 until the last few mindoing our very best in the moment.” utes of the game. We were then able to tie it The scene on the Harder Stadium of UC up,” junior forward Anisa Guajardo said. “The Ward Santa Barbara was a destruction of the Gauchos, next few minutes and for the overtimes after, we Women’s Tennis as the Waves succeded in using opportunities, managed the game. We had plenty of opportuCoach scoring three goals. Junior Michelle Manning nities to score throughout the game and at the made the first goal in the 16th minute as she very end. We were just unfortunate not to have put the ball away off a crossing pass into the upper right put them away.” corner. The Gauchos struggled to protect the net as Waves “The game definitely wasn’t our best showing,” Guacontinued their series of attacks. jardo said. “But the fact that we didn’t play our best and Manning and senior Myriah Stockman each scored in still managed not to lose says a lot about our character and the last part of the second half, making it impossible for the perseverance.” Gauchos to make up the difference. Manning was named “The cohesion and unity amongst the players is a beautiWCC player of the week, after she netted two goals for ful thing to witness. We know that there are great challengPepperdine. The win brought the team’s record to 7-0-3. es ahead for our squad,” Ward said. “But we’ve committed The match against Cal Poly proved more challenging to stick together and sacrifice for one another. Ultimately, and made the Lady Waves prove once again that they will we are humbled by our success and simply hope to honor fight to the end. During the first half, the Waves tested Cal God and Pepperdine with our future performances.” Poly’s strength with several fast attacks as they launched narine.adamova@pepperdine.edu aSSiStaNt SPOrtS eDitOr
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Mayweather’s punches lead to $25 million payday By aLbErT OWuSu SPOrtS eDitOr
Dirty boxing or pure business? On Saturday, Sept. 17, boxing put on a show and the price was $25 million. Floyd Mayweather is a monster, and at 42-0 he’s one of the best boxers in his weight class. Over the period of his career he’s won six world-boxing championships in five different weight classes. However, his opponent Victor Ortiz, though an impressive boxer, did not have similar credentials. Mayweather had already beaten Ortiz once; Mayweather was favored 5-1 to win the fight, and no one expected Ortiz to win. Although the facts and the odds were against Ortiz, he stepped into the ring Saturday. Mayweather dominated the first two rounds. A few good right hands and good use of his quickness kept Ortiz on his feet; however, as the fourth round began, Ortiz rallied. A series of successive hits to Mayweather only left Ortiz frustrated as he brushed them aside. This frustration would lead to the highlight of the match: the head-butt. Whether Ortiz reached a point of frustration or lost himself in the fight, somehow Mayweather got head-butted. The refs quickly went to halt the match and help both fighters collect themselves. This was followed by a touching of gloves and a hug in the center of the ring, when suddenly Mayweather decided to end the fight. Sucker punch or business, Mayweather, immediately (after touching gloves) delivered a one-two combo to
Ortiz that knocked him off his feet. The refs called the match, and Mayweather’s undefeated reign continued. Now here are the bothersome facts: This fight, Mayweather’s first in 16 months, earned him $25 million at minimum. Once the revenue from Pay-PerView gets divvied up, that number will grow even larger. Ortiz had zero chance of winning the fight — anyone who bet for Ortiz would be facing 5-1 odds and praying for a miracle. So why hold the fight? It just so happens that Manny Pacquiao is fighting Juan
Manuel Marquez in November. Marquez, though a decent boxer, has no chance against Pacquiao. When and if Pacquiao beats Marquez, they can begin scheduling the anticipated fight between himself and Mayweather. If the fight is held early in quarter one of 2012, or “if ” there is a Mr. Clause and the fight is held on Christmas, both fighters can demand more money due to the closeness of their previous fights. This, of course, is hearsay — the fight might never happen, but a Christmas fight would be cool. albert.owusu@pepperdine.edu
Staff Writer
A fifth-place finish in the NorCal Tournament in Stockton, Calif., this past weekend improved the men’s water polo team’s record to 6-1. The team finished 3-1 for the tournament. On Saturday morning, the seventhranked Waves defeated 14th-ranked UC Davis 14-10. The Waves started the tournament off on the right foot with a 4-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. Then, although the team allowed Davis to narrow the gap to 8-7 by the third quarter, it pulled through with the victory, outscoring Davis 6-3 to close the game. Senior Nathan Castillo led the team with five goals, and goalie sophomore Bence Valics recorded a solid 15 saves. In the second game, the men’s water polo team lost a tough one to secondranked California 8-7. By the end of the third quarter the game appeared over as the team fell behind 8-5. However, in the fourth quarter it rallied back with two goals, but it was not enough
Thoughts, reflections and predictions from our staff on the world of sports. A couple weeks ago I wrote an article about the NCAA conferencing problems. The splitting and redivisioning of the Pac-12 and Big 12 was not only necessary but demanded. Texas wanted to keep its beloved Longhorn Network and all of its associated revenue, and Oklahoma was set on having Beebe the Big 12 commisioner fired. Both conferences released press reports denying any expansion or ejection of schools. Peace at last or the quiet before the storm? Only time will tell.
ALBERT OWUSU
To be an athlete means to put limits on your life, especially if you are playing Major League Baseball. By putting Red Bull, as well as other energy drinks, in the same basket with amphetamines and performance-enhancing drugs, club administrators are trying to promote natural energy sources for athletes. However, Pittsburg Pirates’ Jason Grilli’s frustration was understandable, when he said, “The reason guys take energy drinks is because there is nothing else legal to drink.”
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NARINE ADAMOVA
ASK A WAVE What song pumps you up for tournaments?
PHOTO COURTESY OF MAYWEATHERʼS FACEBOOK
Money Mayweather: The boxer gets ready for a publicity shoot with his children.
Water polo rallies past Tigers By aLYSHa TSuJi
CALL ‘EM AS WE SEE ‘EM
to overtake the Bears. “The Cal game was the most emotional and encouraging,” junior Parker Peterson said. “They were ranked No. 2, and if we had beaten them we would have been in the top four. “It was super encouraging to know that we can compete with a higher ranked team, and I think it made us believe in ourselves a little more, but it was definitely hard to be so close and lose.” The next day, the team rallied and went on to beat sixth-ranked UC Santa Barbara 7-6. Leading the entire match, the Waves managed to hold off Santa Barbara in the fourth quarter, even as the Gauchos attempted to fight back, scoring a goal to close the deficit to within one with 2:37 left. Senior Andrew Milcovich and junior Danny White helped out with two goals each. Valics pulled through strong, deflecting 16 shots. In the final game, the team knocked off fifth-ranked Pacific 14-11 to steal fifth place. At the end of each quarter the teams were tied, but the Waves prevailed when it
counted most, outscoring the Tigers 4-1 in the fourth quarter. “UOP was ranked ahead of us and we were at their home pool so it was a big game,” Peterson said. “We were able to establish ourselves as one of the big players this year.” Castillo, Milcovich, White and junior Matthew DeTrane, contributed to the team’s underdog victory with three goals apiece. Next up, the men’s water polo team plays in an away game against third-ranked UCLA Friday. “The UCLA game should be a great game since they only beat Cal by one,” Peterson said. “We did well against them this summer, so we know we can definitely beat them.” As for the remainder of the season, the team looks forward to more exciting match-ups, and hopefully more exciting victories as well. “Our goal is to come to every game with energy and treating every game as if it’s make or break,” Peterson said. “We plan on having some more big wins this year and going on a run for the championship spot.” g
alysha.tsuji@pepperdine.edu
“‘Semi-Charmed Life’ by Third Eye Blind”
“‘Mr. Saxobeat’ by Alexandra Stan”
“‘Beautiful People’ by Chris Brown”
JOHNNY MAC ARTHUR JUNIOR GOLF
MIKE TRAGITT SOPHOMORE WATER POLO
ALEJANDRA GRANILLO SOPHOMORE TENNIS
“‘She Will’ remix by Lil Wayne”
“‘Monster’ by Professor Green”
“‘In the Air’ by Angela McCluskey”
CALEB WILLIS JUNIOR BASKETBALL
JARED LEE JUNIOR BASEBALL
MOUSHEG HOVHANNISYAN JUNIOR TENNIS
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SPORTS
September 22, 2011
»pepperdine-graphic.com/sports
How much is too much for the NBA? the summer, revenue sharing among the franchises was brought up as a solution. Under this situation the teams would figure out a way to split revenue proportionally and the owners would divvy it among the team players, managers and staff. By aLbErT OWuSu With 73 percent of the league SPOrtS eDitOr operating in the red, revenue sharing would seem like an obvious solution. The dreaded Oct. 4 is only getting However, with revenue sharing comes closer and closer. As the date draws disgruntled superstars. Teams spend closer so does the deadline for the years and millions of dollars to surplayers and owners to reach a consenround one superstar player with the sus. So what’s the issue? support he needs and revenue sharing The NBA last year made around doesn’t factor into that calculation. $4 billion in projected revenue. Math-wise, the NBA really However, the owners are complaining shouldn’t be in that much financial that only eight out of the thirty teams trouble. The league generated $4 bilrecorded a profit: LA Lakers, New lion in revenue last year. The players York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Miami get their automatic 57 percent cut, Heat, Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City which amounts to $2.3 billion. The Thunder, Houston Rockets and the owners are Golden State left with $1.7 Warriors — so billion, which basically the citshould be more The Numbers ies with the largthan enough. It est populations costs the NBA League generated: and potential $1 to produce for revenue. Anevery $6 in $4 billion in revenue other key factor income. AccordPlayers made: to understand is ing to ESPN, that the owners $2.3 billion the overall the fund these teams fixed cost of the Owners made: themselves; NBA should be unlike other $1.7 billion roughly $700 sports leagues, million. Do NBA teams some basic algeare primarily bra, and you’re privately owned left with $1 and funded. billion in revenue. If the league has a Under the current bargaining billion in cash at the end of every seaagreement (CBA), players receive 57 son, what’s the issue with the lockout? percent of revenues generated outside The owners. Certain owners, i.e., the the game. The owners feel that to acowners of the teams mentioned above, count for their losses and the overhead make a ridiculous majority of that bilof maintaining the teams, this split lion and sharing has never been a part should be changed to 60/40 in favor of the game. of the owners. This would amount to roughly $750 million to $800 million in a collective loss to the players’ income, and of course the players albert.owusu@pepperdine.edu aren’t budging. During the middle of
NBA lockout not just a simple argument between players and owners, but an internal struggle between the owners over revenue sharing.
ASHTON BOWLES / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
Freshman track stars: Incoming freshmen add a breath of fresh air to the campus and a burst of speed on the track.
Track team adds talented youth By aLYSHa TSuJi Staff Writer
Students have choices to make every day, from what they should eat for lunch to whether they should go to class, but before students arrived in Malibu they all made one choice: to attend Pepperdine University. The freshmen on the women’s track team contemplated various colleges from New York University to the University of Miami. Despite the great academic opportunities across the country, four ladies on the team decided to stay in their home state of California. Freshmen Triston Brown, Alexa Brown-Watterson, Niala Charles and Erin McConlogue make up four of the six new athletes on the team this year. All from high schools in California, they hail from San Clemente, Mission Viejo, Temecula and Rancho Santa Fe, respectively. Each of them had their own reasons for choosing Pepperdine. “I chose Pepperdine because of its standing academically,” Brown said. “Its Christian base is also a plus in today’s world.” On the other hand, McConlogue’s brother, an upperclassman at Pepperdine, convinced her to become a Wave. “I just fell in love with the school,” McConlogue said. Whatever their reasons, each of the ladies also has big goals set for their track careers in Malibu.
“I was injured and unable to compete on the track team my junior year [of high school],” Charles said. “I want to improve on my times from my junior season and try to break school records in the 100-meter and the 200-meter.” However, track is not the only reason they are at Pepperdine, and they also have big dreams for their futures. Their career hopes span broadcast journalism, pediatrics, dentistry and therapy. “Academically, it can be overwhelming trying to balance practice with class schedules,” Brown-Watterson said. “Physically, it is definitely a jump [from high school], not in hours, but in the level of seriousness and dedication.” It may be a challenge, yet Brown-Watterson explained how ideal her first few weeks have been. “I love the track team,” Brown Watterson said. “The upperclassmen were very welcoming, and I love the family atmosphere. “The coaches are sweet, but tough. I really appreciate the whole experience so far.” Charles even described the team as a “mini - sorority.” With such strong team chemistry already established, the ladies are now all happy they chose Pepperdine. They cannot even fathom how their lives would have turned out otherwise, as Charles wondered what no one could begin to answer: “Imagine if we all ended up at different schools.” g
alysha.tsuji@pepperdine.edu
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Granillo wins singles title at tournament in Texas By narinE aDaMOVa
in her collegiate career. “I did not expect to win. I just went up there and did the best I could,” The women’s tennis team played up Granillo said. “I can’t say it was an easy to their potential at the first tourna- victory. I played six matches in three ment of the season, playing two to four days against the best tennis players from matches a day at the Racquet Club Col- universities of different states. It was legiate Invitational in Midland, Texas, tough, but we all definitely gained valufrom Friday, Sept. 16 to Sunday, Sept. able experience.” 18. Especially successful Granillo started was the debut of sophoher way to the top by “Point by point we more Alejandra Granillo, winning against Texas who managed to win the are determined to Tech’s Caroline Starck singles title of the tour- succeed.” on Friday, Sept. 16. nament by achieving the In the second round, —Ale Granillo perfect 5-0 score in the Starck gave up any Women’s Tennis, final game against TCU’s hope of making up for Sophomore Simon Parajova. the missed points. For Granillo, who has In the third round earned a doubles rank of No.14 on of the tournament, Granillo faced Slothe Campbell/ITA preseason polls, it vakian player Patricia Veresova of the marked the first individual tournament University of Nebraska, and, after a aSSiStaNt SPOrtS eDitOr
dominant first set, Granillo won the match, because it was more of a psychological battle than physical.” match handily (6-4, 6-2). In one of the most intense matches In the final match against Simon of the tournament, the semifinal against Parajova of TCU, Granillo proved that TCU’s Stephanie Tan, Granillo won two perfect technique is only half the battle. of three sets (7-5, 2-6, 6-3). Despite her steel persistence, During all three hours of Parajova was forced to step the match, both opponents back from the onslaught of were struggling for initiative extremely fast and powerful on the court; however, after attacks. Granillo finished the the exhausting psychological last set when her opponent battle, Granillo managed to double faulted. steal the match from the op“I told the team before ponent. the tournament that at least “It was a very hard one of the four scholarship Granillo match,” Head Coach Gualathletes was going to win. I Women’s Tennis berto Escudero said. “Tan am glad that Ale could make it, because it sets a great exwas close to winning, but Ale was able to concentrate psychologically ample for the rest of her teammates,” and finish the match successfully. It Escudero said. “Since it was the first was important that she could stay with pre-season tournament, the majority the opponent mentally throughout the of players had not set themselves up for
SCOREBOARD Womenʼs Volleyball vs.
Hawaii Hawaii
Date
Sept. 16 Sept. 17
Score
L, 3-1 L, 3-1
Womenʼs Soccer vs.
UC Santa Barbara Cal Poly
Date
Sept. 16 Sept. 18
Score
W, 3-0 T, 1-1
6-5 6-6
C.Record: 7-0-2 7-0-3
Menʼs Water Polo vs.
UC Santa Barbara
Date
Sept. 18
Score
W, 7-6
Menʼs Water Polo at UCLA at 7 p.m. Womenʼs Soccer vs. Lamar at 3 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 24
6-1
narine.adamova@pepperdine.edu
Sunday, Sept. 25 Womenʼs Soccer Womenʼs Golf McGuire Invitational
at Fresno State at 1 p.m.
at Branch Law Firm/Dick
Cross Country at Stanford Invitational Womenʼs Volleyball at Gonzaga at
Monday, Sept. 26
Menʼs Water Polo
Menʼs Golf at Husky Invitational Womenʼs Golf at Branch Law Firm/Dick
noon
Team at 11 a.m.
C.Record:
g
NEXT UP ... Friday, Sept. 23
C.Record:
the competitive mood, especially if they hadn’t competed over the summer. It was really helpful that Alejandra participated at the Universiade in Shenzhen, China this summer, because she was ready when she had to face opponents.” Bringing her victory home to Malibu, Granillo is looking forward to preparations for future challenges. “I am very excited about this season,” she said. “Every day of intense practice is worth it. I am sure with all the hard workout our team does, point by point we are determined to succeed.” Starting with the Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational, the Lady Waves have four tournaments ahead, which will prepare the team for their dual season. The dual season starts Jan. 25 with a home game against San Diego State University.
vs. U.S. National
Menʼs Water Polo vs. Alumni Game at 1:30 p.m.
McGuire Invitational