jan. 24, 2013 issue
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PEPPERDINE GRAPHIC MEDIA
Volume XLIII, Issue 12 | January 24, 2013 | www.pepperdine-graphic.com
The future of journalism lives here.
» Fan Central can’t be contained. Hear from the athletes
on B9.
SGA curbs HAWC theftPR director loses battle with cancer
Stealing from the HAWC has become a problem as the year has progressed, and the SGA is looking at different options for preventing future thefts.
During the weekly SGA meeting on Wednesday, Gen-eral Judicial Councilmember Sarah Houston introduced the issue to class representatives and the discussion remained the topic for the day.
At first, representatives suggested catching thieves by reviewing surveillance camer-as or paying someone to keep track of customers.
However, as the conversa-tion deepened, SGA adviser Hunter Stanfield pointed out that the goal should be to pre-vent people from stealing, not punish someone for stealing a $2 bag of chips.
“We want people to be aware that taking something once in a while costs a lot of money, and it’s a serious prob-lem,” said Wil Fisher, junior
By FAloN oPsAHlNews Assistant
»See HAWC, A5
By WHItNEy IRICkOnline Managing Editor
Record applications hitThis year, Seaver College
received its highest number of applications since 2007.
Pepperdine received 10,443 applications for the 2013-14 academic year, 10 percent more than the previous year. The next closest total was 9,896 applicants in 2011-2012.
Pepperdine’s deadline for college seniors and transfer students was Jan. 5. Pepper-dine has not had an Early Ac-tion or Early Decision Dead-line since 2003. The Office of Admissions will be processing applications for the next few months. The results will ar-rive on or before April 1, and final statistics on the admitted students will be revealed after-ward.
Ten applicants for the Posse Scholarship have also been selected for a four-year,
full-tuition scholarship to Seaver College.
The Posse Foundation, cre-ated in 1989, seeks to send stu-dents “who may be overlooked
by traditional college selection processes” to top colleges on full-ride scholarships. Accord-ing to Posse’s website, it was originally created to identi-fy “promising students from disadvantaged urban back-
grounds using an alternative set of qualities as predictors of success in college.”
The students are picked in groups of 10 for each college through nontraditional meth-ods such as problem solving, rather than SAT scores. The students graduate from col-lege at a rate of 90 percent and are mentored as they progress through their university years.
Pepperdine first partnered with Posse in 2010, and next year’s group will bring the group total to four, one in each class. Pepperdine profes-sors who participated in the selection process traveled to Washington, D.C., to see the applicants and make the final decision. The 10 individuals are meant to reflect the diver-sity of the D.C. metro area.
Professor of Religion and
Waves witness inauguration
Crowds gathered outside on a cold Monday in our na-tion’s capitol to witness the second Presidential Inaugu-ration of President Barack Obama. Members of the Pep-perdine program in Washing-ton, D.C., attended the fes-tivities and participated in a tradition that is as old as the United States itself.
“I enjoyed the inauguration and feel everyone should expe-rience this once in their life!” wrote senior Chris Patrick in an email about his experience at the inauguration.
Patrick was one of about 800,000 people in attendance at the National Mall to watch Obama’s second inaugural ad-dress.
The inauguration came in the middle of a week of events that began Saturday, Jan. 19 with the National Day of Ser-vice celebrating the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Since Inauguration Day is actually Jan. 20, Obama was officially sworn in to his sec-ond presidential term at a pri-vate ceremony on Sunday, and he re-took the oath of office at
the public event on Monday to appear before the nation and deliver his second inaugural address outlining his plans for his second term in office.
“I was beyond inspired by Obama’s speech and feel he touched on every point he wants to focus on this term, just not in detail,” said Pat-rick, who was close enough to hear the President’s speech in front of the Capitol building. To get as close as Patrick was to the ceremony, he had to re-ceive a ticket from a senator or congressional representa-tive. Those who were unable to get a ticket had to observe the proceedings from the National Mall where large screens were set up.
“I would say that unless you were within 300 yards of the stage, your only way to see the events was to look up at the giant screens set up all along the mall,” said junior Evan Shorter.
Each member of Congress receives only 100 to 200 tick-ets that are distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis.
“Unless you are one of the ones lucky enough to get
By PAtRICk REARNews Assistant
By AMy FANStaff Writer
Bill Krenn, director of media relations at Pepperdine Univer-sity, passed away Jan. 19 after battling cancer. He was 64.
According to a statement released Wednesday morning to the Pepperdine community, Krenn won several awards work-ing at PR and marketing agen-cies across the country. Krenn came to Pepperdine in 2010 after spending over a decade at The Phelps Group in Santa Monica, a pioneer in integrated marketing communications. As
d i r e c t o r of media relations, he was i n s t r u -mental in the publi-cation of mult ip le
high pro-file stories p rom o t i n g
the university in both local and national publications, including Guideposts magazine.
“When I first met Bill Krenn my first reaction was: what a solid, talented person and how fortunate we were to attract him to come and work with us. He was the consummate profes-sional and he guided us skill-fully through many interesting challenges. Although we knew of his cancer, his death was still a shock. He died much too young and we grieve with his family,” President Andrew K. Benton wrote in an email to the Graphic.
Krenn had a master’s degree from the Medill School of Jour-nalism at Northwestern Univer-sity. Jerry Derloshon, director of Public Affairs, not only viewed Krenn as a colleague but as a great friend.
“He was honest, hard-work-ing and cultivated relationships based on mutual trust, respect and a keen sense of humor,” Derloshon said. “He knew what journalists, editors and assign-ment producers were looking for.”
Alex Rangel, senior and art editor with the Graphic, re-flected on her time with Krenn working in the PR office.
“Bill was really great to work with. He always had a positive attitude and joked around with everyone.”
Krenn’s memorial service is today at 10:30 a.m. at Saint Monica’s Catholic Church. His family has requested that all flower arrangements be sent to the parish office at the church’s address.
The Waves of Malibu
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»PERSPECTIVES, A7
Binary ban
Is your professor a friend or foe of technology?
Te’o and the evolution of ‘Catfish’
Learn about the latest word to enter the Internet lexicon.
» L&A, B4
DPS Reports..
Calendar........
Editorial..........
Crossword......
Sports............
A2
A2
A6
B7
B8
INDEX
g [email protected] »See APPS, A4 »See DC, A5
SERIAL THEFT — A student poses in the HAWC mimicking an upward trend: to skip the register line and steal food. Sodexo estimated that about 1 percent of the products they make and send to Pepperdine is stolen, according to SGA.
Sarah Barge / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Alexander Hayes / CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Pepperdine’s deadline for college seniors and transfer students was Jan. 5. Pepperdine has not had an Early Ac-tion or Early Decision Deadline since 2003.
“
”
Bill KrennDirector of MeDia
relations
AL LAI
NEWS January 24, 2013GraphicA2
PGM President
Senior reflects on journey
A final-semester senior gives his manifesto on what each year of college affords.
It’s my last semester of college, and it is time to get real. It is the end of my academic training, the end of a cycle of my life but the beginning of a new chapter: adulthood. This transition is an exciting, bittersweet moment where we can decide if we are on the right path or completely misguided. But one thing is certain — in only seven semesters, I went through a period of self-reflection and self-discovery that allowed me to cut the parental umbilical cord and truly understand who I was as an individual.
As freshmen in college, we go through exciting moments like leaving home and being “free” — no curfew, no chores and no mandatory vegetables for dinner. By the time we are sophomores, we are either excited about traveling abroad or embodying the typical college lifestyle. As a junior, we are obsessed with landing an internship, and finally, by the time we are seniors, we realize that we need to get a job and pay our bills.
But this transition from freshman to senior is more than just transitioning between college to adulthood; it is indeed a time of maturity and personal growth. It is a phase where we challenge ourselves, experience new things and explore our true identity.
Four years went by in the blink of an eye, but the changes that it made are noticeable. Once a friend, whom I met during my freshman year, said that I was different, that I had changed. But did I really change and become a different person? I don’t think so.
College is a period of self-discovery where we allow our inner-self to flourish and become who we are meant to be — or at least begin the process. It is not simply a change but instead a maturation period. We are in a wholly different culture and environment. We are instinctively influenced by our surroundings: They allow us to get ourselves out there and help us step away from our comfort zone and feel “uncomfortable.”
In almost four years, my career goals have stayed the same, but what is different today is how I see my aspirations and how I go about attaining goals. As a freshman, I wanted to be a movie and television producer, hoping to win an Emmy or an Oscar. As the years progressed, I realized that it is not just a TV show or film that I want to create, but it is more about the core of my interest to inspire people to make a change through the stories that I am telling.
Semester eight has begun, and as I recollect my collegiate years, I spend more time focusing on the things that I have discovered about myself rather than the changes that happened in my life. With this new phase, I conclude a seminal phase of my life, but I now phase into my new life filled with bigger hopes of more challenges, learning and growth.
Stranded hikers flown to safetyMalibu Search and Rescue saved two hikers from a cliff after one fell and injured himself. They called for help at 9 p.m. on Monday. The men tried to scale a cliff in Malibu Creek State Park when they got stranded by water in the gorge. A LA Coun-ty Fire helicopter picked up the hikers within an hour.
Malibu offers adult acting classes The Malibu Parks and Recreation Department will offer an acting class to adults 18 and older starting next week at the Malibu Civic Theater. The pro-gram will begin on Jan. 30 and will be held every Wednesday at 7 p.m. through March 20 for $205. Scott Alan Smith, actor, director, writer and Pep-perdine professor will teach the class.
Homeless youth count their ownFor the first time, the Homeless Services Authority has enlisted up to 100 homeless youth to help cal-culate the number of homeless people under the age of 25 who live in LA County. It is participating in a nationwide homeless count to help assess the financial needs of homeless services.
Reports compiled from Malibu Patch
Three shot at college near HoustonA shooting at Lone Star College in Houston result-ed in injuries to three people. Two of these were students wounded in cross-fire and the third was a suspect who is now in custody. Another armed suspect fled the campus. Authorities are still investi-gating the incident.
Italy tackles mafia-owned businessesItaly’s National Agency for the Management of Assets Confiscated from Organized Crime has seized hundreds of businesses from the mafia. The agency is trying to remove gang traces from these businesses and sell them to honest owners. Only a fraction of the businesses have recovered from the transition but many of the gang leaders have been arrested.
British grandma sentenced to deathA 56-year-old British grandmother has been sen-tenced to death by firing squad. Indonesian police arrested her in Bali’s airport last year when officials found 10 lb. of cocaine in her suitcase. The sen-tence shocked the defense, but the judges said that the incident has caused permanent damage.
Reports compiled from BBC News
WorldCalendar
24 25
26
Women’s Basketball vs. Gonzaga
7 p.m.Firestone Fieldhouse
Comedy Night7 p.m. HAWC
2829
MALIBU DREAMING — Fourteen bold volunteers went before their classmates at the sophomore lock-in Friday night in the Caf to be hypnotized. Members of the audience were encouraged to join in for the experience and attempt to get as much rest in one hour of hypnosis as in eight hours of sleep.
Volunteers hypnotized during lock-in
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
Women’s Basketball vs. San Diego
2 p.m.Firestone Fieldhouse
Taiwanese Film“Cape No. 7”
6 – 9 p.m.PLC 190
Fitness Yoga5:30 p.m.
Fitness Studio
WHAT’S BREAKINGThe ‘Bu
Alexander Hayes / CREATIVE DIRECTOR
1/14/13 1:16 p.m.Incidents – Suspicious Cir-cumstances Location: George Page Resi-dential ComplexSummary: A student reported returning to their dorm room from winter break and discov-ering their belongings were out of place. No items were report-ed missing.
1/14/13 3:08 p.m.Crimes – Larceny/Theft – Petty Theft – Misc. Location: Dorm – Phi BetaSummary: A student report-ed their unsecured bicycle was stolen from their dorm over the holiday break.
1/15/13 12:27 p.m.Traffic Related – Traffic En-forcement - Reckless Driving Location: Seaver DriveSummary: A student report-ed nearly being struck by a car while using a crosswalk. The driver never slowed down.
1/15/13 2:29 p.m.Crimes – Trespassing Location: Communications and Business CenterSummary: A Public Safety of-ficer reported that an unautho-rized solicitor was warned of trespassing on private property and escorted off campus.
1/15/13 2:36 p.m.Crimes – Larceny/Theft – Petty Theft – Misc. Location: John Tyler DriveSummary: A student reported that they witnessed a theft; two individuals removed scuba div-ing equipment from the back of a pick-up truck and loaded it into their vehicle. Public safety officers and LA County Sher-iff’s deputies responded.
1/16/13 4:07 p.m.Departmental – Lost/Found Property Location: Off-Campus Loca-tionSummary: A staff member
reported that their department issued identification badge was stolen from their purse while attending a public sporting event.
1/16/13 4:52 p.m.Crimes – Indecent Exposure Location: Baxter DriveSummary: A resident wit-nessed two individuals possi-bly taking inappropriate pic-tures. A Public Safety officer responded and identified the two individuals as students and determined that there were no inappropriate photos. Both students were warned that the area is a private residential area.
1/17/13 1:15 a.m.Crimes – Assault/Battery – Simple Battery or Fighting Location: George Page Resi-dential ComplexSummary: A Public Safety of-ficer responded to investigate a report of a student under the influence of alcohol. The
student had noticeable trauma on their cheek and indicated that they had been struck by a bouncer at a Hollywood night-club. The LA County paramed-ics and LA County Sheriff’s Department responded. The student was treated at the scene and released.
1/17/13 12:47 p.m.Parking Related – Wheel Lock Location: Flag LotSummary: An unregistered illegally parked vehicle with multiple unpaid parking ci-tations was wheel-locked for identification purposes.
1/17/13 3:25 p.m.Traffic Related – Traffic En-forcement – Vehicle StopLocation: John Tyler Drive Summary: A driver who was exceeding the speed limit failed to yield to a Public Safety of-ficer’s emergency lights and sirens and drove off campus.
The vehicle’s license plate was registered to a student.
1/19/13 4:18 a.m.Drugs & Alcohol Related In-cidents – Drunk in Public Location: Off-Campus Loca-tionSummary: The LA County Sheriff’s department reported that they arrested a student under the age of 21 for being drunk in public while walking on Pacific Coast Highway.
1/19/13 5:31 p.m.Parking Related – Illegally Parked VehicleLocation: George Page Resi-dential ComplexSummary: A Public Safety of-ficer responded to a report of an illegally parked vehicle. The registered owner of the vehicle returned as the officer was issu-ing a citation and became argu-mentative.
When talking about the dangers of drugs, few consider the neatly packaged pills pre-scribed by doctors across the country. In fact, more Ameri-cans die every year from using prescriptions bought in a phar-macy than drugs bought on the street.
In an attempt to “increase knowledge about risks of taking commonly abused prescription drugs,” Assistant Director of the Counseling Center Robert Scholz addressed the crowd on Wednesday for a Convocation event titled: “Drugged: Pre-scription Drug Abuse Among College Students.”
Fire codes prevented some students from attending the crowded Convocation session in Plaza Classroom 190, yet the congregation remained rela-tively hushed as they waited for Scholz to approach the front of the class.
“There is an overall percep-tion among teenagers that you can’t be harmed as much by prescription drugs as you can be harmed by coke or something like that,” Scholz said. “This is an issue we haven’t talked a lot about. It’s one of those topics we’re afraid to look at because it’s so common for people to use prescription drugs.”
“Prescription drug abuse causes the largest percentage of deaths from drug overdos-ing,” Scholz wrote in an email. “More than heroin, metham-phetamine and cocaine com-bined.”
Part of the problem is the
way society views prescription drugs as relatively safe.
“I think the reason why this has become such a problem is that pills have become the norm,” Scholz said. “Some-times in a college setting, when people offer pills or provide pills, we don’t think anything of it. And yet I can tell you story after story of people who ended up in the ER or had a psychot-ic reaction to taking somebody else’s medication.
“They had no idea what they were taking when they popped it in their mouth,” Scholz said.
Scholz said 10 to 15 per-cent of college students use prescription drugs that are not prescribed to them. That is a huge increase since the early 2000s, when only 2 to 3 percent did so.
“We’ve seen a rapid increase in prescription drug abuse among teenagers and young adults over the past 20 years,” Scholz said. “Unintentional drug poisoning is the second leading cause of accidental deaths.”
Scholz said the culture of alcoholism on college campus-es adds to the risk, referencing an article by the national coun-cil of patient information and education “Educate Before You Medicate.”
“The article wrote, ‘It’s a perfect Storm — Roughly half (49 percent) of all college stu-dents binge drink and a grow-ing number report misusing or abusing prescription drugs (NCASA, 2007),’” Scholz wrote in an email. “‘Taking these substances together or with other illicit drugs can
quickly spell trouble, leading to dangerous interaction, possible overdose and death.’”
Many of the cases of over-dose among college students are the result of painkillers such as Vicodin, sedatives such as Xanax and stimulants such as Adderall. Scholz warned against mixing these drugs with each other, as well as with energy drinks or alcohol.
“Mixing medications — don’t do it,” Scholz said. “Bot-tom line. We see more and more ER runs are the result of mixing energy drinks and alco-hol or stimulants and alcohol.”
Freshman Hayden Paulsen said the event reminded him of the power of drugs — prescrip-tion or otherwise.
“We are under a lot of pres-sure,” Paulsen said. “Everything from grad school, to jobs, to so-cial lives, to sleep, to health is always on our minds. A stress relief or ability booster in pill form is a miracle for a lot of college students. How easy it is to play the system to get prescription drugs that have the ability to really harm your body and others by giving them away. Once you have them, it’s only natural to want to spread such powerful pills.”
Freshman Cassandra Clau-dio said that while some of the information in the presenta-tion was common knowledge, it gave her a better basic un-derstanding of the dangers of prescription drug abuse.
“It enhanced what I already knew,” Claudio said. “It gave me more knowledge on the basics.”
NEWS
With the end of the Year of the Dragon comes increased environmental uncertainty for the People’s Republic of China.
Air quality in China has been a growing concern world-wide, as a January 12 study by the Environmental Protection Agency shows air pollution in Beijing ranking a staggering 744 on a 1-500 scale.
This is especially significant to those involved in Pepper-dine’s study abroad program located in Shanghai, a city whose air quality was deemed “unhealthy” by the local U.S. consulate.
According to the Environ-mental Performance Index col-lected by Yale University, China ranked 128 out of 132 countries in terms of air quality — a result of rapid industrialization and dependence on diesel and coal.
Smog is a constant prob-lem in Shanghai, according to Mitch Bennett, RA for Pepper-dine’s Shanghai program.
“The air quality varies from day to day,” Bennett wrote in an email. “Most days the sky is just overcast but occasionally a thick smog can be seen around campus.”
Originally from Denver, Bennett said the effects of pol-lution impact everyday life.
“We can all feel it in our breathing,” Bennett wrote. “We take shorter breaths. Every now and then, someone develops a bad cough that can result in some nasty black mucus. Worst of all, is the pollution is so bad it affects the skin.”
Sophomore Allison Jack-son, originally from rural Ohio, said that while the nearest ma-jor factory is almost 40 miles away, smog often prevents stu-dents from seeing stars at night.
“The pol-lution really affects you the first few days,” Jack-son wrote in an email. “A good amount of us got pretty bad coughs. My skin tends to get grimy more easily as well. I tried to run in China, but I found that I couldn’t catch my breath very easily and often times I would run through clouds of smoke due to the large number of smokers.”
Freshman Tiffany Zhou said while she did notice the pol-lution in Shanghai during the three years she lived in the city, it should not intimidate those
who want to visit.“Pollution is real in Shang-
hai in a much larger way than in any other city I’ve ever visit-ed,” Zhou said. “Air pollution is definitely a concern for anyone who lives in Shanghai, but I’d never let it deter me from ever living in such an amazing cul-tural and urban center.”
Zhou said she thinks the sit-uation is blown out of propor-tion.
“ H o n e s t -ly, the freaky statistics are usually used as scare tactics to deter the unsuspecting tourist,” Zhou said. “Yes, there is a lot of smog, and yes, in some ar-eas of the city,
if you are outside for too long, it can hurt to breathe. But I’ve never been deterred from living a normal life and experiencing all that Shanghai has to offer just because the trucks still use diesel.”
One of the most hazardous aspects of pollution in China is the concentration of particles in the air that are smaller than 2.5 micrometers, which is on aver-age 10 times higher in Beijing than in New York, according
the Atlantic. At this size, parti-cles can penetrate the lungs and enter the bloodstream.
Because Shanghai is located on the coast, many claim it ex-periences less air pollution than Beijing to the North.
Student Communication Coordinator Kali Jelen agreed that while pollution levels in Shanghai are noticeably worse than Malibu, it is not nearly as bad as cities like Beijing.
“The air pollution in Shang-hai is not nearly as bad as some other industrial cities in Chi-na,” Jelen wrote in an email. “I felt that both Beijing and Xi’an were much, much worse. After a day of touring outside, I could feel the silt and sand in my pores and on my hair. Everything just felt dirty.”
Students can take steps to protect themselves.
“There are measures you can take to reduce your health risk,” Bennett wrote. “First of all, stay informed. You can gain up to date information from the U.S. consulate in Shanghai and their website. Second, avoid exercise or heavy exertion outside that would cause your lungs to work harder. Third, for any students with asthma or other lung con-ditions, take your medication regularly.”
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Shanghai pollution increases
Every now and then, someone develops a bad cough that can result in some nasty black mucus. Worst of all, is the pollution is so bad it affects the skin.
—Mitch BennettRA for Shanghai Program
“
”
COURTESY OF Mitch Bennett
SOPHOMORES — Rachel Boyle, Alley Richey, Mitch Bennett, Carissa Heller, Quinn Jones pose in a smog-filled West Lake Hangzhou in October 2012.
Convo separates drug use and abuseBy Nate BartoNAssistant News Editor
By Nate BartoNAssistant News Editor
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NEWS January 24, 2013GraphicA4
APPS: 10 chosen
New SGA reps nominatedSGA is holding a special
election for the student body to vote on an amendment to the Constitution of the Seaver College of Pepperdine Univer-sity Student Government As-sociation.
Students will vote on the amendment through a ballot sent via email on Wednesday, Jan. 30. Voting will be open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.
SGA members voted on the amendment during their weekly meeting Wednesday, and it passed with a two-thirds majority vote. In order for the amendment to be added to the constitution, the student body must also pass it with a two-thirds majority vote.
The proposed amendment is to change the date of regular elections from fall to spring. This was the case until only a couple of years ago.The fresh-man elections will be the only exception and will contin-ue to be held in the fall since students will not be present during the preceding spring term.
Overall, the change will have several benefits, accord-ing to SGA.
Holding the elections in the spring preceding their term of office would allow the SGA members to spend the sum-mer preparing for their term rather than waiting nearly a month into the fall semester to take on their duties after elec-tions.
This would also allow SGA to compete with other groups and organizations on campus that have their application processes in spring, which would help ensure that the best leaders are representing the student body.
However, during the SGA
meeting, several members raised concerns about the change.
Some were concerned that students abroad may have an unfair advantage or disadvan-tage in running for an SGA position. However, the advo-cates of the amendment said
that International Programs Director of Admissions and Student Affairs Jeff Hamilton was not worried about the change.
Other SGA members sug-gested the possibility that students would apply to sev-eral leadership positions in
the spring and then bow out of their responsibilities to SGA in the fall. However, the amount of responsibility and account-ability expected of SGA mem-bers seems to make this an un-likely possibility.
The amendment has the ap-proval of SGA, as well as Dean
of Student Affairs Mark Davis and Associate Dean of Student Affairs Tabatha Jones Jolivet, according to SGA representa-tives. Now it’s up to the stu-dent body to decide whether it will be permanently added to the constitution.
By Falon opsahlNews Assistant
RISING STARS — From left, freshmen Leilani Zito and Emily Hirsch and junior Mark Travis are starting the semester as the new senators of their respective classes. They were nominated after their predecessors resigned for various reasons.
Monica Case / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Hispanic Studies Daniel Ro-driguez said that the 10 recip-ients are a diverse group, in-cluding Asians, Hispanics and African Americans.
Rodriguez was in charge of mentoring the second Posse group, while Professor of Hu-manities Jeff Banks took the first and third group and will
be mentoring the fourth.“I think that it’s a challenge
for them, and my job is to try to help them meet the chal-lenge,” Banks said. “And for some it’s easier than others.”
President Andrew K. Ben-ton said on the Posse Foun-dation website that the values of the Posse Foundation are wholly supported by Pepper-dine’s mission.
“There is so much symme-
try between the mission and values of The Posse Founda-tion and those of Pepperdine University,” Benton said in 2009. “As a leading Christian institution of higher educa-tion, we care deeply about is-sues of equity and access and are keenly aware of the tre-mendous benefits, both intel-lectual and spiritual, to having a diverse campus community.”
FROM A1
class president and food com-mittee representative. “We need to encourage each other to do the right thing.”
Sodexo estimated that about 1 percent of the prod-ucts they make and send to Pepperdine is stolen, Fish-er said. While that may not seem like a lot at first, if you take one percent out of every student account, that’s about $15 per person. If you multi-ply that by 3,000 people, the amount of stolen money adds up quickly.
Peak hours in the HAWC are usually from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., 4:30 to 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., according to the supervisor, Malak Bostros.
Bostros and other workers in the HAWC said the times are a rough estimate and differ from day to day but are nor-mally when the register will have the longest lines.
“It’s a serious problem, and we need to work together to solve it,” Fisher said. After all, the money will have to be made up somewhere and that will likely mean higher prices for all students. “This is ev-eryone’s problem. We want to
make it clear to people that fixing this problem is some-thing good for all of us.”
SGA plans on campaigning to show students the impor-tance of accountability. They
intend to take the approach of prevention over punishment and said that they hope the student body will work to-gether to solve the issue.
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NEWSJanuary 24, 2013 Graphic A5
HAWC: ‘It’s a serious problem’FROM A1
DC: Students celebrate the daytickets from your representative, there is really no way to witness the ceremony in person,” Short-er said.
Shorter and other Pepper-dine students had to change their initial location once a viewing screen on the north side of the Washington Monument
began malfunctioning. The Pepperdine students returned to the Washington, D.C., house to watch the remainder of the ceremony on television. While some, such as Shorter, were able to watch the speech at another location, many had to watch a replay of the event.
“I will never go again unless I have VIP seats,” Patrick wrote.
After the inauguration, the ceremonial balls and special events began with the inaugu-ral parade as President Obama joined in the festivities before getting back to work on the many issues confronting the U.S. and as Pepperdine students return to their internships all over the capitol.
MIDNIGHT MUNCHIES — Students stand in line at the HAWC for a late-night snack. The HAWC became a popular destination, especially at night, following its renovation and the new operating hours for the Caf.
Falon Opsahl / NEWS ASSISTANT
BIG DAY — President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama welcome the crowds during the inaugural parade Monday in Washington, D.C. The photographer, Chantal Portune, is a Pepperdine senior who was selected based on her skills and interest to serve the President during the inaugural ceremony. Out of 56,000 people who applied, Portune was one of 15,000 selected to volunteer.
Courtesy of CHANTAL PORTUNE
SECOND TERM — Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden celebrate President Obama’s second inauguration.Courtesy of CHANTAL PORTUNE
FROM A1
PERSPECTIVESJanuary 24, 2013
A6
GraphicExecutive Editor
Nikki TorrienteManaging Editor
Andrew KasselmannCreative DirectorAlexander Hayes
News EditorMariella Rudi
Assistant News EditorNate Barton
News AssistantsFalon OpsahlPatrick Rear
Sports EditorHuiWen Chen
Assistant Sports EditorStasia Demick
Sports AssistantMarissa Baly
Perspectives EditorAllegra Hobbs
Assistant Perspectives Editor
Breanna GrigsbyPerspectives Assistants
Elisabeth ArmstrongDavid Hutchinson
Life & Arts EditorBen KryderAssistant
Life & Arts EditorDanielle DiMeglio
Life & Arts AssistantsDanielle Accovelli
Chirag PatelPage Designers
Esther KangEllen KimIris Lee
Photo EditorRebecca Herron
Assistant Photo EditorsMonica Case
Gina ChoiPhoto AssistantConnor Wheeler
Art EditorAlexandra Rangel
Assistant Art EditorSacha IrickCopy ChiefRuth Book
Copy EditorsLydia Evans
Matthew FinleyBrittney Gibson
Elise Keitz Janae Masnovi
Rachel RantNate Tinner
Online Managing EditorWhitney Irick
Assistant Online EditorGenevieve ChongPGM President
Al Lai Director of Student
JournalismElizabeth Smith
Assistant Director of Journalism
Courtenay StallingsGraduate Assistant
Heather Manes
The Graphic is an editorially inde-pendent 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 Pep-perdine’s Christian mission and affir-mations, especially the pursuit of truth, excellence and freedom in a context of public service.
Although the Graphic reports about Pepperdine University and coordi-nates 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, facul-ty, staff, student or other constituency.
Mission Statement:
Three steps to asserting superiority
Staff Writer
GRACE STEARNS
Dear Grace,How do I assert my intel-
lectual and social superiority so that the people around me understand that I’m better than them?
Sincerely,Above AverageDear AA,You and I seem to have a lot
in common, and no, readers, I did not write this question to myself. For 21 years I have lived my life in a constant strug-gle to advertise my crippling supremacy to those plebeians I deign to call my friends and acquaintances. Alas, I remain a mediocre student at a mid-dle-tier university, unrecognized by students and faculty alike for those various achievements I have every right to take credit for. Regardless, I will share with you three of my most pseu-do-successful undertakings.
No. 1. Post anonymously in social media forums
Tragic indeed was the day that CollegeACB.com was forced into premature retire-ment. Not only was such a website the perfect place to catch up on factual Pepperdine gossip, but it was also conducive to seeing precisely how little anyone cares about you as an in-dividual. My own ACB strategy involved scanning the forum from the dark, damp depths of my A-suite freshman dorm room and posting scathing, well-thought-out remarks in re-gard to this Greek organization or that individual of question-able sexual orientation. Nothing says “I’m the best” like spending Saturday night attempting to casually bring yourself up in an online forum about something entirely different and staying up until dawn checking every 10 minutes for new comments, fully prepared to adamantly defend yourself disguised as an objective third party.
No. 2 Select a theme songAn essential step in becom-
ing a badass emcee is the selec-tion of an anthem. Surrounding yourself with motivational and inspiring music is a surefire way to remain in the mindset of someone who simply couldn’t care less. My personal hymn of choice is the timeless classic “Beez in the Trap,” produced by the self-ordained “Female Weezy,” Nicki Minaj. Other selections I find help to calm the emotional storms of my tortured, advanced mind include the following: “Ayy Ladies” by Travis Porter, “Work Hard, Play Hard” by Wiz Khalifa, “Hands” by Jewel and “Faded” by Tyga.
No. 3 Cultivate a unique hobby
In that same vein, I recom-mend dabbling in freestyle rap or taking up the mandolin. Seemingly nerdy, embarrassing hobbies are the bedrock of any life lived above the rest. That is, regardless of the ridicule you might be subject to as a result of your unpleasant temperament, subpar IQ score and chafing personality, you and every other person who walks this earth may cling to the excuse that no one understands the disposition of a true savant.
STAFF EDITORIAL
Environmental issues con-tinually bubble up in public discourse, raising the question of how our choices affect the planet and our quality of life. As an environmentally minded generation, it is important to know the positive and negative results of our actions. Pepper-dine has a strong commitment to sustainability and recycling, but many students are totally unaware of what Pepper-dine does in the direction of sustainability. Students who are already conscious of their environmental impact are left feeling as if living a sustainable lifestyle at Pepperdine is too difficult, while students who are not as in tune with sustain-able living do not see how they are already involved.
In reality, both groups of students that are helping Pepperdine have a positive impact without knowing it. Beyond the fact that all the water used to keep Pepperdine a lush oasis is reclaimed water stored in the lakes in Alum-ni Park, students are either directly or indirectly involved in other sustainable practices.
For example, all the trash de-posited on the Malibu campus is sorted by Crown Disposal, Pepperdine’s recycling vendor. Only 22 percent is sent to landfills, while 78 percent is reused or recycled.
The reason students are either left hoarding their recyclables or never paying it a second thought when they toss them in the trash is not that they are incapable of making sustainable choices, but it is due to a lack of awareness about their options.
As we graduate and move off into the world, it is import-ant to be aware of our deci-sions and the impact they can have. Our years in college are the first chance many of us get to live away from home and make our own choices about how we want to live, and they are very important in building the habits that we will carry through the rest of our lives.
Though Pepperdine’s trash is already sorted for recy-cling, there are many other things that we can do to build sustainable habits and realize that very little work is actually
involved to have a large posi-tive impact. Everything from turning off the lights when you leave a room to purchasing used books whenever possible can save money while also reducing the amount of waste generated.
Pepperdine has a number of opportunities to promote personal sustainable living habits. At the end of every semester, donation bins are set up around campus so items no longer needed can be repur-posed. The Salvation Army has bins set up around campus as well for clothing donations, which are used to help the homeless, abused or disad-vantaged. Used cell phones, batteries and printer cartridges can be dropped off on the second floor of Payson Library and other places on campus. These are measures taken to avoid tossing used items in the trash, allowing them to be reused or recycled.
Another little-known project, undertaken by the Pepperdine Green Team to promote sustainability, is host-ing a community garden on
campus just below the practice soccer field, which is open to everyone at no cost.
Pepperdine provides a num-ber of incentives to provide sustainable transportation for students living both on and off campus. Shopping shuttles, Hertz rental cars on campus and carpool parking passes for students who drive to campus reduce the number of cars on the road during peak hours and the environmental impact of students driving to campus.
As we move on from Pepperdine and into the real world, it is important to make decisions that will affect the Earth in positive ways, and now is the best time to start. Not only is this good for the environment, but it can also promote Pepperdine’s values of purpose, service and leadership and benefit our pocketbooks. It is not nearly as difficult as some people think it is and will help us leave a better world for our children.
Sacha Irick /ASSISTANT ART EDITOR
Green awareness is key
Face OFFShould professors be allowed to ban technology,
such as laptops, from their classrooms?
Kai Woods DeckerJunior
Hannah SamsonSophomore
YES: I think they should be able to ban technol-ogy in their classrooms. It’s their lesson and they should teach it the way they please.
NO: I think we need to internalize our responsi-bility as students to lis-ten. I think it’s also the
responsibility of a teacher to make a class engaging to
where I don’t bring my computer, to
where I don’t even want to check my
phone because I’m so engaged in what
is going on in the class.
PERSPECTIVESJanuary 24, 2013 Graphic A7
Groupthink smothers progress
Technology ban justified?
LETTERS TO THE EDITORLetters to the Editor must bear the writer’s name, signature, class standing, major, address and phone number (except in some circumstances determined appropiate by the Graphic Editorial
Board). Letters must be fewer than 300 words and will be edited for syntax, grammar and brevi-ty. Letters can be mailed to student publications or emailed to
Perspectives Editor
ALLEGRAHOBBS
Readjusting life’s rhythmPerspectives Assistant
DAVIDHUTCHINSON
Sacha Irick / ASSISTANT ART EDITOR
Sacha Irick / ASSISTANT ART EDITOR
“Groupthink” does, admit-tedly, sound like the title of a psychological thriller, and the premise a bit like the set-up of an Orwellian dystopia, but un-fortunately, it’s closer to home. Groupthink is more or less a standard component of any uni-fied group of people — whether on a macro level (country of origin) or a micro level (school clique). There is something inherent in us that spurs the desire to find belonging within a larger group, to feel that we are part of a whole and central to the self-conceptions of our individual identities.
Rather than seriously pursue truth, which requires question-ing one’s own fervently held beliefs and carefully considering oppositional views, we are lazily content to disregard anything that challenges the harmony of our ideologies.
Groupthink occurs when the desire for a cohesive group iden-tity and ideological harmony are prioritized above all else. The fear of disrupting group unity and of being made a group outcast lends itself to a gener-ating of blind loyalty, the goal of which is largely preventative.
The real danger of groupthink is that it creates a self-inflicted barrier to any kind of critical analysis of accepted norms within the group. Members of the group fear that an intrusion of outside ideas could challenge the group’s homogeneity.
This particular phenomena has been on my mind lately because in watching the de-velopment of events across our sociopolitical landscape, it seems that the fierce and often baseless loyalty with which people cling to their beliefs is a very real affront to progress of any kind.
We live in a country that extols individual liberty as a foundational virtue. Our collec-tive national identity is rooted in the Horatio Alger narrative of triumphant individualism, of independent will being strong enough to overpower societal ills. However, while we deeply value individual liberty as an American ideal, the truth is that the rationalization of our beliefs is deeply entrenched in our identification with a group. The group exists, and we ascribe to the group, because its existence provides the necessary affirmation we need to continue on our desired path with the knowledge that we are right and anyone outside of the group is wrong. Their support allows us to reinforce our belief systems until they are utterly logic-proof
and even common-sense-proof. Once you’ve locked yourself in the ideological prison of group-think, it becomes incredibly easy to rationalize your beliefs, often equipped more with rhetorical flourishes than with actual reason.
This is why we often go through the motions expected of a “group member” without questioning our own motives or the motives of others; as a result, we fail to examine the basis of our belief systems. This can manifest itself at various societal levels in very different ways. As professed members of a certain
political party, we may be likely to welcome opinions automat-ically from our own side of the aisle and thus reject others. The perceived ethos of a pundit may lend baseless credibility, within the group circle, to whatever they espouse, so they are judged on group-assigned status rather than the content of their words.
If we are brave enough to examine the basis of our ideologies—to keep asking why we believe something to be true until we reach the heart of the matter—we may find that what we tell ourselves are logically sound and well-thought-out
beliefs are more thoughtless and petty than we’d like to admit.
As long as we stay in our ideological prisons, refusing to recognize the potential validity of outside perspectives, we will resist progress. We will contin-ue to proclaim loudly without critically examining, willfully turning our backs to anything that might shatter the group-think-induced illusion that we are justified in clinging to our beliefs.
Many professors specify that their classes are “technolo-gy-free,” and most of them even go the extra mile to make sure that those who use technology will be punished by lowering students’ grades.
Their good will aside, many professors even suggest revert-ing back to the mighty pen and paper, insisting that the act of writing itself will enhance learning more than typing — an act they consider to be “too passive.” However, the question at hand is hardly whether or not technology is helpful to learn-ing. The question is: If instruc-tors must resort to punishing students to keep them from using technology inappropriate-ly, what does it say about their courses? Is the real reason that instructors find it too hurtful that students find screens more engaging than their lectures? Or do they genuinely believe that students on laptops or iPads will “distract others”? Is it even their responsibility to make sure that students are paying attention?
It seems reasonable to give students the benefit of the doubt and assume they possess a desire to succeed. Student Shane Longway, who insists that he “should be allowed to use computers to take notes” and that he does not think it is the professor’s responsibil-ity to make sure students pay attention.
I also think, however, that sit-uations can vary. Technology is not necessarily a right to which that all students are entitled in every type of class.
But is starting off a course “technology-free” with the assumption that students will use laptops inappropriately con-sistent to Pepperdine’s resolve that the student is a “person of infinite dignity” or the “heart of educational enterprise”? Will perfectly constructed learning environments without any forms of distraction adequately prepare students to “lead pur-poseful lives as servant-minded leaders”?
I may be underplaying the role of the instructor. Junior Alexander Booker insists that since it is the job of the instructor to teach a subject, the instructor should use everything in his or her power to make learning possible. He equates this to a patient telling a doctor that he cannot be forced to take medication.
However, under the as-sumption that it is one of the professor’s obligations to make sure students pay attention, I am open to the possibility that making students pay attention can take place in more construc-tive forms. Some professors hold insight so absorbing that students cannot help but to listen. Is that not the educa-tion that we hope and pay for? The main distinction is that too many instructors mandate attendance, ban technology and spend class time regurgitating the textbook or PowerPoints.
But the blame does not end there. Many students only come to class to spend time on Facebook. Regardless of the professor’s ability to engage the material in insightful or sophisticated ways, the pursuit of wisdom or knowledge — or even decent grades — should not be too lowly of a pursuit.
At any rate, the mere fact that instructors feel obligated to ban technology calls for a change in the community as a whole to rethink the way we approach learning — even if it means questioning the role of professors and students.
At some point in our lives, we’ve all probably heard someone compare life to the performing arts. Shakespeare told us, “All the world’s a stage,” and numerous musicians, from Patrick Park to Teddy Pend-ergrass, have crooned “life is a song worth singing.”
Regardless of the discipline, performing arts and life share a key similarity: Both provide a limited amount of time, a determined number of notes, words or scenes that we try to live out to the best of our abili-ty. We can always try to extend our performances, but at some point we’ll all reach our last note. No one lives forever.
Of course, life doesn’t provide us with sheet music, so we rarely know when our final notes will come. We usually don’t anticipate our deaths, but if we could see exactly how many minutes we had left and the precise number of notes remaining in the music of our lives, how would this knowledge affect the way we played the song? Would we try to cram in as many additional notes as possible before we finished the piece? Would we play louder? Would we drag it out? I believe that in almost every case, such knowledge would negatively impact the way we live.
If I knew how many hours I had left to live, I would proba-bly try to cram as much content as possible into my remaining time. Like Morgan Freeman’s character Carter Chambers, I would form a bucket list and try to use every waking minute to impact the world. If any-thing delayed my plans, I would
feel guilty for wasting those precious hours.
I haven’t conducted any studies on this subject, but after several conversations with friends, I believe that most students at Pepperdine would also feel this pressure. We’re a school of achievers, and if any of my classmates knew how much time he or she had left, this person would probably feel obligated to invest it for as large a return as possible. If each student in the symphony of life at Pepperdine knew when his or her song would end, I would
expect them all to add as many extra notes as possible, trying to pack their final moments with meaning.
Although few of us know when we will die, almost everyone at Pepperdine can an-ticipate when they’ll graduate. Instead of counting our days left on earth, we count the days left at school and feel a similar pressure to make each minute count. This awareness may explain why many Pepperdine students overcommit them-selves: We want friendships, work experience, good grades
and better memories, so we continue adding activities to our schedules. Many students here will take on at least three high-commitment extracur-ricular activities in addition to their fulltime academic schedule.
Unfortunately, quantity of notes rarely improves the quality of music and numerous activities won’t improve the quality of life. In a 2008 study conducted by the Associat-ed Press, four in 10 college students reported that they felt stress often, and nearly
one in five admitted that they feel stressed almost constantly. According to Pepperdine’s Counseling Center, about 34 percent of Pepperdine students report that stress negative-ly impacts their academic performance, a number about six percentage points above the national average. While the students never made a direct connection between stress and over commitment, I believe many Pepperdine students would agree that over com-mitment significantly increases their stress.
Ironically, by overcommit-ting, we actually make ourselves less effective in our educa-tion, in our work, and in our relationships. The University of Texas’ Counseling and Mental Health Center warns that stress can “decrease interpersonal and academic effectiveness” by reducing self-esteem, lowering self-control and increasing fatigue. This weariness and corresponding lack of focus make it even more difficult to accomplish the legion of to-do list items on most students’ schedules.
We do ourselves a disfavor when we strain to squeeze every drop of productivity out of our years at Pepperdine. Like a musician adding extra notes to an otherwise beautiful song, we throw off the balance of our lives when we spend our days scrambling from one activity to another. So, here’s my propo-sition: don’t place your worth in the activities in which you participate at Pepperdine. Pick a few that you enjoy, and invest yourself in these activities to the best of your ability. Instead of adding notes to your life’s song, turn your eyes to the music already set before you, and savor playing each note in its time.
CONTACT US Graphic
Pepperdine University24255 Pacific Coast Hwy.
Malibu, CA 90263310-506-4311
[email protected]@pepperdine.edu
Staff Writer
JUSTINAHUANG
NEWS January 24, 2013GraphicA8
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LIFE & ARTSJanuary 24, 2013
B1
Alexander Hayes / CREATIVE DIRECTOR
»See FILM, B5
A sneak peek of Malibu’s premier film festival
The International Con-sumer Electronics Show kicked off the new year with a showcasing of new and emerging technologies sure to bring the world of tomor-row to the consumer of today.
The event, which took place in Las Vegas from Jan. 8 through Jan. 11, was a techie playground of awe-inspiring gadgetry and electronic doo-dads that are soon to hit the market and empty our wal-lets. From upgraded TVs and tablets to self driving cars and massage robots, there was something for everyone to look forward to at CES.
Televisions, smartphones, tablets and computers all-had a big presence at CES, boasting faster speeds, bigger screens and thinner profiles. One of the more interesting innovations in this market has come from Sony, which intro-duced the upcoming Xperia Z, a smartphone that is wa-ter resistant. Sony claims that the phone can survive being submerged in nearly ten feet of water for up to 30 minutes.
Continuing the trend of faster and better, CES saw the introduction of 4K reso-lution OLED home televi-sions, which nearly doubles the screen resolution and quality of common 1080p televisions on the market.
LG also introduced new era televisions with finger-gesture capabilities, allowing users to control their television in a completely hands-free way, using only their hands and fingers. Similarly, the Tobii Rex for Windows 8 allows users to navigate and control their PCs using their eyes to track and select objects.
Display screen technology has also undergone a trans-formation for CES. Samsung
introduced its new Youm screens, promising a new way to develop and use tradition-al screen technology. Made of plastic rather than glass, the Youm screens are extreme-ly thin, highly flexible and nearly unbreakable. This new technology not only provides higher protection for our de-vices, but it also allows for the creation of various screen shapes and sizes that could lead to phones and moni-tors breaking away from the rectangular format to which we have grown accustomed.
Displair also introduced a revolutionary new screen, described as an airborne in-teractive display. This display uses vapor in the air to proj-ect a holographic image ca-pable of reading and reacting to touch. Tablets and tele-visions also amazed attend-ees –– companies showcased tablets of up to 20 inches in size and televisions span-ning more than 100 inches.
New devices in the world of video gaming have also made a splash at CES. The Razer Edge gaming tablet aims to provide consumers with a high quali-ty gaming experience coupled with the functionality and por-tability of a Windows 8 tablet.
Nvidia’s Project Shield takes portability a step fur-ther by providing a handheld controller (similar to an Xbox controller) with an attached screen for gaming on the go. The Oculus Rift headset brings virtual reality to a whole new level, allowing users to experience gaming in a ful-ly 3-D world. Valve software also introduced new gaming technology via their Steam Box, which brings high-end PC gaming to the living room.
Automobile innovations were abundant at CES as well, with many manufacturers showcasing new hybrid con-cepts as well as better software
integration for smart vehicles. One of the more interesting ideas shown at the event were concept cars from Lexus and Audi showcasing self-driving vehicles. Although this tech-nology is still a long way from being integrated into the con-sumer market, it is interesting to see it in action, with Audi demonstrating a parked ve-hicle driving toward its own-er, who simply sent the car a command from a smart phone.
CES also provided its fair share of not-so-common gadgets to pique the inter-est of techies far and wide. The Pebble smart watch is a stylish time piece that uses Bluetooth 4.0 to communi-cate with smart phones, al-lowing users to control their music, check text messages, email, Facebook and Twitter right from the watch itself.
The ZBoard electric skate-board combines the thrill of skateboarding with the ease of motion control found in Segways. Trakdot is a device no bigger than a deck of cards that tracks your luggage while you travel. The device is air-plane safe, thanks to a feature
that automatically turns the device off when the airplane reaches a certain speed, then turns it back on when the air-plane has landed, ensuring that you will never lose your lug-gage again. Sensus is a plastic iPhone case that uses sensors to add touch-screen sensitivity to the back and sides of the iP-hone, allowing users to control certain aspects of their phone by touching the case rather than the screen. Hapilabs has created a set of utensils de-signed to monitor the rate at which you consume food, in-dicating whether or not you
need to slow down by gently pulsing. Tactus introduced their morphing touchscreen technology, which creates in-flatable tactile keyboards on a touch screen for greater pre-cision. And of course, robots. There were a lot of robots.
CES had another great showing at their 2013 event, ensuring that the future is here today. Be sure to check online for some of the other great devices and tech innovations showcased at this year’s event.
Staff Writer
BRIANNAMANES
LIFE & ARTS January 24, 2013GraphicB2
CES illuminates the way of future
I despise Coco Chanel. Weird, right? I have a perfectly sound reason for my animosity. In the 1920s, Coco Chanel went on a cruise near the French Riviera and accidental-ly got sunburned. Her result-ing tan skin became an instant trend. This little incident is a major reason I will never be trendy. For those of you who do not know me, I’m a redhead. And being a redhead means no tan. Ever.
Growing up as a redhead, or “a ginger,” was no easy task, especially when it came to things like pool parties or hangouts on the beach. Every time I donned a bathing suit, the comments about my fair — or nearly invisible — skin were relentless. So why is it that all you beautiful Mali-bu-ites get to enjoy a perfectly tanned complexion, while my pale-skinned compatriots and I must sit out the swimming and beach volleyball to hide under hats, umbrellas and SPF 100 sunscreen? It has to do with something called melanin.
Melanin is a brown pigment present in all skin, with the exception of people with conditions like albinism, and its job is to reduce the harmful effects of UV light. When UV light hits the pigment, the light is absorbed and mostly transmitted harmlessly as heat. This is absolutely crucial to human health because UV light is damaging to DNA, and if DNA is damaged in cells, those cells can become cancerous. So more melanin is good, right?
Unfortunately, melanin production and protection from sunlight is much more complex than that. It turns out that a “tan” is more of a pro-tective response than a healthy one. When you get sick, your body will raise its temperature to kill the virus and stop it from spreading and hurting your body. Similarly, when you expose your skin to too much sunlight, the upper layers of your skin fill with melanin to keep any more sun from damaging it. In other words, when you damage your skin by tanning, it responds by filling with melanin to keep you from damaging it again.
Equally important is the location of melanin in our skin. Our skin has layers, and pigments can be found in the bottommost layers or in layers that are closer to the surface of the skin that we see. When we tan, melanin will move from the bottommost layers of our skin to the upper ones, and this is when we see the brown color that we call a “tan.” When we damage our skin with UV light, the pigment will move to upper layers to absorb any more light and prevent DNA damage and further harm.
So, fellow gingers and fair-skinned friends, this is unfor-tunate for us because we natu-rally have less of the protective pigment that keeps our DNA from getting damaged. But by no means does that imply that having naturally darker skin means no care must be taken in the sun.
Before you go out tanning again, please think about your poor skin cells that think you are insane for torturing them. They can see past your folly. So stop picking on us poor, pale, ginger souls, and let us all en-joy the skin tone God blessed us with.
Sizzling fajitas, tomatillo salsa and crispy tortilla chips — need I say more? Let’s be real here. It would be terri-bly indecent of me to write restaurant reviews without first paying culinary homage to my relatives across the border. My familia Mexicana knows how to cook it right, my friends. Fresh ingredients. Pungent chiles. Powerful spices. Que bueno!
While Taco Bell may seem like a little slice of heaven at 2 a.m., you have to treat your taste buds to the real deal. And how could you do otherwise? Mexico is the rich cultural threshold for some of the world’s finest little gems like guacamole, pinatas and Mario Lopez. Think about it. Would watching the latest sports game really feel the same without the usual mouth-wa-tering tortilla chips and salsa by your side? Absolutamente no.
Luckily for us Angelenos,
authentic Mexican cuisine is fully within our reach, and I know just the place that would have my abuelita
beaming with pride. With bold flavors, beautifully plated food and great prices, Loteria Grill transports you right to the heart of Mexico.
Located on 3rd Street Promenade, the Loteria Grill offers savory bites that will keep you coming back for mas. Imagine cascading pinatas, a man playing la guitarra and blown-up Loteria game cards hanging on the walls. This chic place gives each traditional dish a new twist, bringing Mexican cuisine to a whole new level of delicioso.
Now this may sound a little outlandish, but I can always tell a good authentic Mexican restaurant by the initial chips and salsa. Think of them as first impressions. They’re the precursor to the rest of the meal. One oily chip or bland bite of salsa, and I’m out of there.
OK, not really. My life isn’t a soap opera. I can’t walk into
places acting like I’m Chef Aaron Sanchez. But still, the point is, I’m not coming back. Trust me when I say Loteria Grill passed the test of first impressions. Start off with a warm basket of crispy house-made tortilla chips and fiery roasted salsa. You’ll know you’re in good company.
Moving on to the main event. My favorite dish, you ask? It’s definitely the “car-nitas en salsa morita,” which are pork carnitas, Michoac-an-style, in a spicy and smoky chile morita sauce served with slices of fresh avocado, onion and cilantro, white rice and black beans.
Another dish that will tan-talize your taste buds? Try the “quesadillitas de plaza,” which are fresh corn masa turnovers filled with a seasonal selec-tion of fresh squash blossoms, huitlacoche corn truffle, strips of chile poblano and Oaxaca cheese. Top that with crema mexicana, salsa verde cruda and queso fresco. The combi-nations of different flavors are sensational.
However, the most coveted items on the menu are the sa-vory soft tacos filled with your choice of seasoned meat and fresh toppings. Let’s not forget that every traditional dish is spiced up with something new that’s exploding with flavor. Ladies and gentlemen, these aren’t just your average tacos. You can choose from meats prepared in a variety of ways.
My absolute favorite are the “mole poblano tacos,” which are soft corn tortillas stuffed with chicken in their original mole poblano sauce, topped with toasted sesame seeds, finely chopped onion and queso fresco. For some-thing new and different, try the “albondigas en chipotle tacos,” which are meatballs in a tomato chipotle sauce with finely chopped onion and cilantro also served in a warm corn tortilla. Que rico!
Let’s say you’re not really in the mood for red meat. Well amigos, you’re in luck. Loteria Grill offers plenty of seafood options as well, infusing the best traditional tastes of the
Mexican coast. One of my favorites is the “huachinango o camaron a la veracruzana,” which is a choice of either pan-seared red snapper or shrimp served in a tomato, onion, olive and caper sauce and accompanied by white rice, black beans and plantains. Another great choice is the “sea bass al morita,” which is pan-seared sea bass in a smoky and spicy chile morita sauce with spinach and white rice on the side.
The Loteria Grill gets its name from the popular Mex-ican game “Loteria,” which is similar to what we Americans call “Bingo.” This little restau-rant will make you a winner every time! Aye caramba!
Visit their website at: loteriagrill.comSanta Monica Location:
1251 3rd Street PromenadeHollywood Location: 6627
Hollywood Blvd.
Take a gamble at the Loteria Grill By Danielle DiMeglioAssistant Life & Arts Editor
WELCOME TO THE YEAR 3013- Thousands of techies flocked to Las Vegas for a chance to get a sneak peak at the latest gadgets and gizmos. The conference opened Jan. 8 and was on display through Jan. 11.
Tan with caution
By Chirag PatelLife & Arts Assistant
Photos courtesy of CES IMAGE GALLERY
GADGETS OF TOMORROW — Some of the biggest companies, including Samsung, debuted the latest innovation in entertainment technology.
LIFE & ARTSJanuary 24, 2013 Graphic B3
The Artifac Tree is Mal-ibu’s local thrift store — a place where people can go to discover treasures, stories and sometimes, themselves.
The store itself has a gar-den of things. VHS tapes such as “The Fiddler on the Roof,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Free Willy” lounge in a corner bookcase, while a Dr. Seuss trivia game and a pop-corn machine sit atop stacks of books and chipped lawn chairs. Sunlight hugs the clus-ter of tarps and small build-ings, and trees twist along a cracked path. Customers step past their trunks, comfortable with the natural intrusion on their shopping.
A man in the corner wears jeans, an oversized moss green shirt with wolves on the front and a baseball cap. His name is Donald LaPointe, and he introduces himself as an artist.
“I paint bikes,” La Pointe said, leaning down to wipe a wilted rag across the top of an antique piano. He said he discovered the Artifac Tree last August after hitchhiking down Pacific Coast High-way. He needed a bike, and he found a 1992 Fuji model here in the thrift store.
He began working at the thrift store in return for the bike, which needed repairs. To finish paying off the repairs, he traded in a vase he paint-ed with a lion-and-lamb scene from the Garden of Eden. Since revealing his artistic talents, he has been commis-
sioned to paint artwork using bicycles as his canvas.
In the past four months, he has received transportation, work and community from this shop. Plopped along a syc-amore-riddled patch of Cross Creek Road, the shop uses profits garnered from reselling donated items to people like LaPointe in the community.
“There was a woman recent-ly who was couch-hopping with two kids, and we provid-ed an entire kitchen set and even a chair to watch the sun-set go down with,” LaPointe said. “That’s what this place does. They help everybody; it doesn’t matter who you are or what your religion is or any-thing. If you’re in jeopardy, that’s not a problem.”
According to the store’s website, the Artifac Tree be-gan as a response to the 1970 Malibu fire that ravaged 187 homes. As the community sought help, Malibu resident Honey Coatsworth orga-nized volunteers who would help in redistributing donated items to provide for the new-ly homeless in their recovery process. Gradually, the project unfolded, and on Sept. 4, 1973, the Artifac Tree became an official non-corporate, mom-and-pop charity.
Maria Landa, a personal assistant at the Painted Tur-tle Camp, said she comes to browse at the Artifac Tree ev-ery morning. Today, she wears jeans, a black tank top and a black sweater, all purchased at this place.
“I spent, let’s say, $15 and I look cute. I’m a walking ad-
vertisement!” Landa said. She lifts her sweater to reveal a better glimpse of her jeans and twirls around. “See?”
Landa also brings food to the volunteers who work here and purchases clothes to send back to her family in Mexico, habits she said that are simply “other ways to help. There are a lot of lost souls out there, and this [store] is a way to help them,” Landa said and gestures around two or three times. “The rich people throw their stuff away, but for me, these are treasures!”
These treasures –– things like boogie boards and book–shelves and drum sets –– arrive here through the generosity of private estate owners and oth-er local residents, according to Martha Templeton, who man-ages the Artifac Tree. The shop purposes everything –– profits, donations, volunteers –– to foster growth in the Malibu community.
“That’s why I believe in this place, because it really helps people,” Templeton said. “You’re a part of the commu-nity; you should be a part of this. We don’t pick up stuff usually from farther than San-ta Monica.”
The Artifac Tree, which is led by a seven-female board of directors, serves in anoth-er way by doling out burritos to hungry visitors throughout the week. They also provide costumes and props for local theaters and donate vintage merchandise to Webster Ele-mentary when the kids study colonial history. Most impor-tantly, though, the shop helps
people in need of friendship and support.
“Martha is very gracious and uses the store as an op-portunity to give people who are struggling a second chance at a job and an avenue to turn their lives around,” junior Shannon Looney wrote in an email. “She has shown incred-ible generosity to me and my friends, helping us gather sup-plies for the orphanage that we visited in Haiti in 2011.”
Looney, who said her fa-vorite item purchased from the Artifac Tree is a gold-en-graved, antique pocketknife she bought for her brother, said she “first became con-
nected with the Artifac Tree through a friend who works at the store. Her friend, Winston McCalip, is considered the Artifac Tree’s “biggest cheer-leader” by Templeton, and has volunteered at the store for some time.
“I used to be a hobo and I used to ride the rails, so I know about charities and how they’re not as helpful as they should be,” McCalip said. “I’d like to see more people start mom-and-pop charities [like this one]. We’re personal.”
Students interested in con-versing with these characters or browsing the store’s boun-tiful cache may explore the
Artifac Tree Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Volunteers who can organize donations, give customers rides to the DMV or medical clinics or simply promote the store are desperately need-ed, Templeton said. However, according to McCalip, once students come and invite the Artifac Tree into their own stories, they might not be able to leave.
“You get caught up in doing this, in helping people,” Mc-Calip said. “Being good is an addiction.”
Unearth the roots of the Artifac Tree
A TREE OF GIVING— The Artifac Tree takes forgotten treasures and produces real betterment for the community. The store is located on 3728 Cross Creek Road, Malibu, CA 90265.
Genevieve Smith / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
By Alexis AllisonStaff Writer
Call (866) 503-5460 to speak with your psychology program recruiter, Nicole Basset-Goodkind. Encino • irvinE • WEs t Los AngELEs • WEs tL AkE viLL AgE • onLinE
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a mental health professional.4Master of Arts in Psychology4 Master of Arts in clinical Psychology with an Emphasis in Marriage
and Family therapy (LMFt and LPcc)
the first step is a graduate degree from Pepperdine University. offering a master’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in clinical psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy, Pepperdine has flexible afternoon and evening classes designed for the working professional. We also offer a full-time day format at our Malibu campus.
PSYCH_Seaver_10.584x10.indd 1 9/13/12 10:36 PM
LIFE & ARTS January 24, 2013GraphicB4
Te’o catches a ‘Catfish’In 2012, Notre Dame line-
backer Manti Te’o seemed to have made an immensely pop-ular name for himself, both on the field and with the public, by demonstrating his fearless leadership skills and dedica-tion to his team despite a se-ries of personal tragedies.
In September, it was re-ported that Te’o had lost his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, to leukemia and his grandmother within a matter of days. The news soon went viral, and Manti Te’o became a house-hold name.
The shocking news that once again put Te’o in the media spotlight came Jan. 16 when it was reported that the death of Te’o’s Internet girl-firend was a hoax. The news came in light of the revela-tion that there was no record of Kekua’s death, and the real woman in the pictures on her profile claimed to have never met Te’o.
The scandal has also raised some questions about Te’o’s role in the hoax. In particu-lar, there is speculation in the minds of those who have fol-lowed the scandal that Te’o played a role in promoting the death of a fake woman to enhance his chances of being awarded the Heisman Trophy.
Notre Dame quickly re-sponded to this allegation in a statement on the NBC Sports website that was penned by the university spokesman, Dennis Brown. Brown stated that Te’o was a “victim of what appears to be a hoax.”
Te’o has also released a
statement, saying, “This is in-credibly embarrassing to talk about, but over an extended period of time, I developed an emotional relationship with a woman I met online. We maintained what I thought to be an authentic relationship by communicating frequently online and on the phone, and I grew to care deeply about her. To realize that I was a victim of what was apparently some-one’s sick joke and constant lies, was, and is, painful and humiliating. It further pains me that the grief I felt and the sympathies expressed to me at the time of my grandmother’s death in September were in any way deepened by what I
believed to be another signifi-cant loss in my life.... In retro-spect, I obviously should have been much more cautious. If anything good comes of this, I hope that others will be far more guarded when they en-gage with people online than I was.”
The Te’o scandal seems like a classic example of what airs every Monday night on MTV’s reality series “Catfish,” which chronicles Internet re-lationships and exposes many online identity hoaxes. The series derives from the 2010 documentary “Catfish” that details creator Nev Schulman’s online relationship with a woman named Megan. When
Shulman ventures to meet Megan, he finds out that she is a completely fictional on-line person created by another woman named Angela. Shul-man now hosts MTV’s “Cat-fish” to help unite people in online relationships that have ended like his own.
TIME Magazine reports that the term “Catfish” has now gained a place in the urban dictionary and refers to people who pretend to be someone they are not on social media (usually in pursuit of romance), while the individual who has been “catfished” is the victim of the hoax. Clearly, it seems that Te’o has been “cat-fished,” like many of the oth-
er people who appear on the MTV show.
Shulman was quick to ex-press his sympathy towards Te’o and quickly dispelled ru-mors of Te’o’s involvement in the hoax by comparing Te’o’s situation to his own experi-ence.
Although Shulman and those involved in MTV’s “Cat-fish” are still looking into the situation, Fox News suggested that Shulman has reached out to Te’o, citing a tweet stating, “I know how you feel. It hap-pened to me. I want to help tell your story & prevent this from happening to others in the future. Let’s talk.”
By Danielle accovelliLife & Arts Assistant
Sacha Irick/ ASSISTANT ART EDITOR
Life & Arts Editor
BENJAMINKRYDER
Last week was chock-full of accusatory speculation surrounding the sordid details of Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o’s romantic tryst with recently passed Lennay Kekua, who had not actually passed — in so many words — since she had never actually really been alive, in so many words. Minutes after the hoax surfaced to its seedy veneer of lies, thousands upon millions of self-righteous hypocrites took to prodding questions and angry suspicion all over the blogosphere. But I say, who are you to cast such aspersions? It’s almost as if these pharisees had never mourned the death of a loved one they never had really met because he or she was absolutely a work of fiction. Excuse me if I’m not so quick to draw the executioner’s sword on this 260-pound Samoan teddy bear (and not just be-cause he would promptly knock it out of my hand and eat me).
Tell me. What is really so messed up about this whole thing? If you’re in my camp, the only thing that keeps you up at night is the thought of the twisted rapscallion who lured Te’o into the most tragically star-crossed relationship that he would never have in all of his life. But Manti? Sweet Manti is a victim here, folks.
How do you really know that your loved one is real? You don’t. One day you wake up and realize your sweet girl is an evil, robot succubus (“Trans-formers 2”). Or maybe you discover that the person of your dreams is actually a smooth-ie-making, sentient, comput-er-programmed hologram (“Smarthouse”). Better yet, the one that captures the most ardent admirations of your soul was dead the whole time (“Casper”). At best we have only a small degree of evidence to say that our significant other is a genuine, thinking thing with full-fledged ontological status. Maybe your darling is nothing but the puppeteered manipulations of a malignant god or a construct of your own solipsistic psychosis. You see, Manti is no different than me.
So what Te’o’s delusions persisted even after clear and decisive evidence that his dearest Kekua’s existence was on par with that of Gandalf? Put yourself in his size 16s. Imagine you’ve found the love of your life — albeit with Control+F on the web browser of your fancy. Nevertheless, you grow to deeply love the virtual manifestation of the person you believe to be sitting on the other end of that Facebook chat. Then one day you are struck to the bone in a moment of breathless despair when you receive the dreaded phone call that the woman you earnestly (though falsely) believe exists, has passed away. Perhaps you mourn the thought of a love cut short, or you mourn the loss of the one you had created, but you mourn nonetheless.
And then, on a quiet, lonely night, you receive a phone call. Is it her ghost? No. Is this some cruel trick? Yes. What else is a man to do in the cold, animal hours of a sleepless night? My friends, Manti Te’o did only what we fear of ourselves. How could he fabricate a summer day in Oahu, bathing in the sun with Kekua? How could he en-gineer the sublimity of her eyes glistening in the stands? My friends, in his darkest moments, how could he not?
Cope through imagination
LIFE & ARTSJanuary 24, 2013 Graphic B5
Stories create reality. And there is no better place to experience a captivating nar-rative than the REELSTO-RIES FilmFest that will open this Friday and showcase a variety of student films and award-winning feature-length documentaries. It is a chance to appreciate and celebrate the art of filmmaking with the Pepperdine and Malibu com-munity while witnessing how stories can move and inspire an audience.
REELSTORIES FilmFest began in 2009 when Pepper-dine alumna Susie Lee (‘10) and other passionate students pursued a vision to show-case student-made films that captured storytelling’s impact. Senior Madi Unell, executive director of REELSTORIES, explained that the festival strives to “challenge the audience to think beyond the accepted norms in society.” It is an opportunity for students
to put forth work alongside critically acclaimed films that confront the status quo and invigorate change.
“This year was the most competitive year for the student submissions thus far,” Unell stated. “We had some really great films submitted. We are so excited to see the amazing work of our student
filmmakers, and I think peo-ple will be really impressed with their work.”
Along with the student films that will be shown, three feature-length documentaries will also be available for view-ing around campus. “Bones-Brigade,” a film selected by the Sundance Film Festival, documents the evolution of
six individuals — including the famous skateboarder Tony Hawk — who as a team redefine skateboarding and themselves along the way. This film can be viewed in the Caf.
Alison Klayman’s “Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry,” also part of Sundance selections, chroni-cles the controversial Chi-nese artist and activist who
tries to break free of cultural constraints. This film will be featured in Smothers Theatre and will include a special talk with Klayman.
Third is Sony Pictures’ “Searching for Sugarman,” a documentary that has been nominated for an Acade-my Award for Best Feature Documentary. It describes the history of Rodriguez, a mas-sively famous South African musician who is, neverthe-less, a mystery to Americans. “Sugarman” will be available in Elkins Auditorium.
The reception will begin at 6 p.m. in Joslyn Plaza, when students can pick up tickets and enjoy a Mexican buffet, photo booth, T-shirt giveaway for the first 500 people, the red carpet and an interac-tive art show. Films will be showcased at 7 p.m. and will include a Q&A with film-makers.
FILM:‘Reel’ in good timesBecca Herron/ PHOTO EDITOR
Staff Writer
DIANALOSEN
Paint or be painted
Everyone has that thing they’ve always wanted to try but have never actually attempted. For me, it was paintballing. I put it off and life went on but, I carried a paintball-sized hole in my heart. Excuses (money), fears (doesn’t it hurt?) and laziness (Netflix) got in the way. It’s easy to put off things that take you out of your comfort zone but during break I decided to step up and bought my brother and me a game. What better way to bond than shooting a bunch of strangers with bright paint? Hunter saw the bond-ing opportunity too, just not with me. He was bro-scouting and deserted me for some dudes. Bros before sisters, ap-parently. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
When we first pulled in, I was giddy with visions of secret agent stealth. Then I saw the parking lot packed with bulky guys in special uniforms with expensive, hardcore guns. I searched for another girl. Searched again. I was one of two girls in the entire mob.
My mom had tagged along to take pictures and as we waited in line for our equip-ment, she turned and asked a group of serious paintball play-ers, “You guys wouldn’t shoot a girl, right?” My stomach dropped. I do a pretty good job making myself seem uncool. I don’t need anyone else’s help.
The guys laughed in a dark and sinister way and assured her they would. “It’s her first time!” She protested cheerfully. I think (I’ve worked to repress it, so I can’t be sure) she actu-ally used the phrase “my baby.”
“Mom. You’re aware that you just erected a huge target on my back, right?”
Then, to further identify us as newbies, we were given huge, shapeless jumpsuits. I felt so sexy.
Waiting to enter the grounds, images of being shot by “real” paintballers swirled in my head. Then, the picture of cocky swaggered past us: a player with gun in hand and shirt nowhere to be seen.
The game began; at first I hesitated, spending most of the time hiding behind a blockade, afraid of getting hit. But it turns out that avoiding getting hurt also means avoid-ing excitement. So I decided to play the way that seemed the most fun to me: with lots of running and crouching and rolling and shooting. Did I play skillfully? No. Did I get shot almost instantly? Yes. But I played, dang it.
It came time for our last game and I had twice as many paintballs as Hunter, so I gave him a generous helping of mine. Using him as a giant hu-man shield, I went into enemy territory. Then bam — he was shot in the heart and left me dodging and zipping across the field, firing along the way. I made it to the castle and dove for cover. Then the ref informed me that I could go no further for safety reasons. Around the curve of the castle, four or five enemies lurked. I took careful aim and nothing. I aimed again. Still nothing. I was out of bullets. Curse my kindness! Hunter was probably somewhere, shooting all of my paintballs. Moral of the story: Generosity leads to certain death and nothing marks a well spent moment like bravery, even when you just summon it to try something new.
Becca Herron / PHOTO EDITORA FESTIVAL FOR ALL — (Above & below) During last year’s event, Los Angelenos flocked to the hills of Malibu to be a spectator at “REELSTORIES.” The festival will be held on Friday, Jan. 25.
By Bud davisStaff Writer
LIFE & ARTS January 24, 2013GraphicB6
Staff WriterBEN HOLCOMB
Rogue Wave
Stop, dropand park
Embark with me on a journey. This past week I had 10 minutes to get to a class in Elkins and was driving down from Drescher. As you prob-ably know, Pepperdine hates residential campus drivers more than Al-Qaeda hates “The Bachelorette.” And yet, I soldiered on.
Down the hill I drove, past countless open spots reserved for the proverbial — and often ethereal — commuter student or carpooler. I tried my luck at the Smothers lot, hoping may-be God had pulled off a little Tuesday magic and opened up the gate with a well-timed lightning strike. No dice.
My last ditch effort of the four hidden spots near One-Stop proved also to be futile. The pleather of my steering wheel became ensconced in my fingers as I squeezed on it like a feeble child unable to burst a roll of bubble wrap.
Warding off tears, I rolled back around, only minutes before class, desperate for a spot. And there it was, off in the distance, almost too good to be true, the Lennay Kekua of parking spots. I pulled up to it, a narrow space between a Maserati and a BMW, and attempted to talk myself into what would prove to be the most challenging part of my day: the parallel park.
I evened up with the Mase-rati, tried to remember how parallel parking worked, real-ized no one — not even my father — had taught me how to parallel park and resorted to prayer. This prayer was interrupted within seconds by a line of cars, student shuttles and a motorcade of buses carrying inner-city youth.
“One moment!” I shouted. I cut hard to the left, more than 300 people scrutinizing my every move, and could’ve sworn I heard a Compton third grader shout, “Oh there’s just no way he makes it.”
Unfortunately, he was right. I had gone in way too hot, was now perpendicular to the sidewalk and had reduced my chances of success into the single digits. I aborted the mission, tried to start back at square one, but the cars behind me began trying to pass, and then there were cars trying to proceed up the hill in the other lane.
Alas, the patience of the Lord was nowhere to be found. So I drove back to Drescher and made myself a Hot Pocket.
I think we have a parking problem here on campus. Ac-tually, we have more car issues than Detroit in 2008. And thanks to half of our students parking with less care than the headmistress from “Matilda,” if you aren’t Ryan Gosling in “Drive,” even the free spots prove insurmountable.
The obvious answer is more parking lots, but I don’t have time to sit around and wait for that awesome project that will make Pepperdine cool for my grandkids. We need solutions fit for a microwave, not an open-roast fire.
What if there were spots reserved for those with a GPA above 3.25? What if freshmen could only park at Drescher? What if we fed visitors to the lions like the rest of us?
Are these awful solutions? Perhaps, but at least I’m trying — which is more than you can say about our school at the moment and its hapless drivers.
MOVIE REVIEW
COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES
DO NOT FORGET ME, 24601 — Prisoner 24601 (Hugh Jackman) struggles to forget his past and overcome the foibles of Jean Valjean in the silverscreen portrayal of the Broadway classic, “Les Miserables.” The movie opened in theaters across the country on Christmas day.
Unless you aren’t as cultured as the rest of us at Pepperdine, I’m sure you have heard of that musical where everybody dies at the end. No, not “Rent”; it’s the show that literally has “miserable” in the title.
“Les Miserables” is quite a silver-screen spectacle to behold. Director Tom Hooper captured the intimacy of a stage show while providing us with the marvel of cinema. Outside of a few spots of weak casting, the film is quite an achievement and absolute-ly worth seeing.
It’s too bad Daniel Day-Lewis played Abraham Lincoln this year, because Hugh Jackman now has no shot at winning an Acad-emy Award, even though his performance is certainly Oscar-worthy. Jean Valjean is such a good man, and Hugh
Jackman makes the audience truly love his character. He sings every song with passion and his acting is spot-on; it makes you forget he ever did “Real Steel,” a film about boxing robots.
Another spectacular mem-ber of the cast is Anne Ha-thaway. Her tragic tale helps frame the film’s first act and gives us our first great solo. With some Broadway experi-ence under her proverbial belt, Hathaway’s solo is staged so beautifully that it emotionally rocks the audience. Hathaway injects power into her song not by belting out notes but by crying through them. And she cries. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be crying with her. Natalie Portman made shaving your head hardcore (and weirdly pro-terrorist) — Hathaway makes it just sad. There goes empowerment!
Fortunately, we get a nice break from all the sadness with Sacha Baron Cohen as
the “Master of the House.” He seems to be channeling Johnny Depp in this role con-sidering he’s playing opposite Helena Bonham Carter (and does she appear with anyone else?). We see Baron Cohen perpetrating the ridiculous, taking a cue from what he does best in films like “Borat” and “Talladega Nights.” His entire number is choreo-graphed like “Punk’d” meets the 19th century. He has the audience laughing whenever he is on screen.
Finally, the stellar cast is rounded out among our revolutionaries. Marius, played by Eddie Redmayne, has a fantastic voice and his emotions play well across the screen. And Aaron Tveit’s revolutionary leader has that certain “it” factor that you can’t seem to look away from. But the M.V.P. of the revolutionary troop is young Gavroche. He adds soul and smiles to an otherwise dark
and somber scene. But don’t worry — he’ll make you cry at one point, too.
Some of these players, however, don’t live up to their hype. Russell Crowe is a criti-cally acclaimed actor who has helmed countless blockbusters and award-winners, but the key word there is actor. In “Master and Commander,” he may have shown us that the world isn’t flat, but most of his singing clearly is. Javert is Valjean’s nemesis — they are rivals playing a game of chess throughout the entire film. I mean Crowe versus Jackman? All we need is Mel Gibson for the Australian trifecta. And to go toe-to-toe, Crowe has to sing very intense and powerful songs — he strug-gles.
The film does a good job capturing the feeling of 19th-century France. Since this is Pepperdine, it is safe to say that many have been to France, so we can all appre-
ciate it. The iconic barricade from the stage show carries its role into the film as well. For something as simple as a pile of broken wood and idealistic youths, director Tom Hoop-er brings us right up to the action, as if we are in the front row of the orchestra pit.
And that is what this film does best. It brings the magic that made “Les Miserables” such a long-running and successful Broadway show and puts it in a theater near you. It’s stacked with a nearly perfect cast and will make you bring a few tissues along the way.
By Ayden SmAllingStaff Writer
I give this film:
Hear the people sing in ‘Les Mis’
MUSIC REVIEW
Widowspeak’s ‘Almanac’ sounds like home
Widowspeak, a Brook-lyn-based duo, debuted their dreamy, indie-pop sophomore album, “Almanac,” earlier this week on Tuesday, Jan. 22.
Comprised of Robert Hamilton and Molly Earl, the band takes various instru-ments and genres and melds them together to create a unique collection of tracks. The 12-track record is a refreshing spin on the band’s first-album sound and shows that Hamilton and Earl haven’t been resting on their laurels.
“Almanac” is a whimsical mix of musical influences. The sounds that filter throughout the album range from country twang to 90s ambient rock, but what stays consistent throughout the album is Widowspeak’s dependence on guitar effects and Earl’s mel-ancholic, hazy vocals. Alto-gether, Widowspeak creates a funky indie-pop sound that’s unusually captivating. In all honesty, any of the tracks on the album could easily have been used in a 90s Freddie Prinze Jr. rom-com film, with their vague reminiscence of decades past that is, neverthe-less, a breath of fresh air.
The duo’s album reveals the talent that Hamilton and Earl possess as musicians and
song-crafters. They seamlessly integrate layered guitar and organ effects into simple beats that pair nicely with Earl’s purposeful, less-than-clear vocals. The best way to understand Widowspeak’s sound is to take a good listen to their album because, for all it’s worth in explaining their sound, it’s rather unexplain-able.
“Dyed Wool,” one of the more twangy, upbeat songs, is one of the best tracks on the record. Reminiscent of classic rock band the Eagles’ laid-back sound, the song’s rhythm is a sultry, up-tempo beat that underscores Earl’s breathy vo-cals. The song takes a simpler route by keeping the gui-tar-driven sound less synth-like, yet they play up the sound by layering the track with lots of pedal-work. The pairing of the guitar rhythm and vocals would be the equivalent of a Stevie Nicks–Fleetwood Mac–era vibe with “Rhiannon,” except that Earl’s voice isn’t as commanding as Stevie Nicks’. Nonetheless, Earl’s vocals in “Dyed Wool” work well for the track and keep the melancholic tone ever-present.
Another song on the album worth listening to is “Thick as Thieves.” The track is another ode to the West-ern twang, but the New York duo mix it in with various
other instruments to create a whimsical rhythm. Earl’s soft, dreamy vocals lend themselves well to the upbeat rhythm and create an ethereal, lilting vocal ribbon that weaves itself throughout the track. Widowspeak’s melancholic tone doesn’t disappear into the upbeat rhythm, however; the chorus of the track places the otherwise full instrumen-tation on simmer and focuses on Earl’s hazy vocals. Yet fear not, the playful, nursery-rhyme-like lyrics make up for the melancholic chorus. “Thick as Thieves” is a catchy song that deserves a thorough listen because Hamilton and Earl’s fine craftsmanship is superb.
“Ballad of the Golden Hour” proves that Widow-speak is a versatile music group. With Earl’s vocal range and the duo’s mel-ancholic tone, it’s easy to pigeonhole them. However, this track, which marks the midway point on the album, highlights the duo’s ability to master a more mainstream sound. With its indie-folk sound, “Ballad of the Gold-en Hour” could have found a nice home on one of the “Twilight Saga” soundtracks. For what it’s worth, that’s not a negative thing in their case; if the “Twilight” franchise has done anything right, it has created some solid
soundtracks featuring a great array of artists. “Ballad of the Golden Hour” has a simple guitar rhythm that is used as a strong foundation to layer multiple guitar effects, includ-ing a lot of pedaling. Earl’s vocals are a little more solid in this track than many of the others, but she still maintains her unique dreamy quality. The song is another catchy track that brings together instrumentation, vocals and lyrics to create a great piece.
“Almanac” is a refreshing album that utilizes Widow-speak’s strengths yet shows that the band isn’t afraid to take musical risks. The group’s dream-pop, folk sound and hazy, melancholic vocals aren’t for everyone, but the duo presents a strong sophomore album effort that’s worth a listen. Remember that Widowspeak is all about the atmosphere that their guitar effects and dreamy vocals create, which means that “Almanac” is more than just an album to listen to. It’s an experience.
By nikki TorrienTeExecutive Editor
Courtesy of WIDOWSPEAK.
Key Facts
ArtistWidowspeak
GenresIndie Folk
LabelCaptured Tracks
On Tour?
Yes, check out widow-speak.bandcamp.com
LIFE & ARTSJanuary 24, 2013 Graphic B7
SCORPIO: Write a love letter to your mid-dle school crush.
GEMINI: Brag to your Midwest friends about the California winter weather. They will ap-preciate it.
CAPRICORN: Buy a juicer. Juice everything from carrots to pizza. Yum!
AQUARIUS: Cele-brate! You’re in the Age of Aquarius!
PISCES: Try to be good in the new year. Call your parents every once in a while.
ARIES: Taylor Swift knew you were trouble when you walked in.
LEO: Take up a sport that makes you work out. Wii bowling does not count.
TAURUS: Watch all the TV shows starting back up so you can talk about “Girls” and “Downton” without looking like a weirdo.
SAGITTARIUS: Tie–– dye your mom’s white towels. She will also appreciate it.
VIRGO: Walk on the wild side this week. Wear moon boots to class.
LIBRA: From now on, flip a coin to help you decide life’s hardest decisions.
CANCER: Channel Spiderman and try to jump between the roofs of buildings.
SOC
IALMEDIA
WEEKhighlightOF THE
>>
Friday, Jan. 25 REELSTORIES
6 p.m. (Film Festival ––Joselyn Plaza)
Saturday, Jan. 26William Inge’s “Bus Stop” 6 p.m. (Show –– Lindurst
Theatre)
Sunday, Jan. 27 Los Angeles Art Show
(Last Day)7 p.m. (Art –– Los Angeles
Convention Center)
Monday, Jan. 28dineLA Restaurant WeekEnds Feb. 1 (Food –– Los
Angeles)
Tuesday, Jan. 29Lakers v. Hornets 7:30 p.m. (Sports – Staples Center)
Wednesday, Jan. 30Refim Bronfam Recital8 p.m. (Concert –– Walt
Disney Concert Hall)
Thursday, Jan. 31“Dance In Flight”
(Opening) 8 p.m. (Show –– Smothers
Theatre)
CALENDAR Bad job of the weekparking
With a HP 4500 Inkjet printer and a fair amount of audacity, you too could have a parking spot for the rest of your life. Next time you’re walking down the road and see an awful parking job, take a photo and send it to us at [email protected].>>
Al Lai/ PRESIDENT
Did you know that you could do research over your phone? The Pepperdine Library offers 13 research-based mobile apps designed for Apple and Android users. Some of the apps available through the Pepperdine Library include Worldcat Media, Refworks Moblie, EBSCO Databases and Science Mobile. These apps make it easy for you to access information at any time and from any place, so get ahead by downloading some of these apps today.
Be a good sport
Across5. Michael Jordan’s “home” team7. Cheese-head frenzy9. America’s football team12. Jay-Z’s Brooklyn investment13. Devastated by “the decision”19. Moneyball22. Hines Ward24. Spike Lee’s favorite team25. Karl Malone, John Stockton26. Megatron’s team
Down1. Toronto’s extinct creature2. The Mighty ____3. Sedin twins4. Chipper Jones6. The Great Bambino8. Indianapolis Luck10. This tribe represents Chi-town on the ice11. Soon saying “bye” to Sac-ramento14. Representing “the hockey town”15. Belichick & Brady16. Ace Ventura Part 117. Gold mining in the bay18. Golden State ballers20. Purple & Gold21. The Montreal HABs23. Anaheim in the outfield27. The 2011-2012 NBA champs28. Daa “football team”32. Sidney Crosby’s “home” team34. Beantown’s luck of the Irish35. Colorado sluggers
29. The 2012-2013 AFC Champs30. Al Davis RIP31. Lob City33. Vin Scully34. Electrifying Qualcomm Stadium36. The 2011-2012 World Series Champs37. Hosted the “Malice at the Palace”38. Major League: The movie39.____ come marching in40. Representing the “home of the alamo”
For answers to the crossword, visit
pepperdine-graphic.com
Students across campus were excited for a week of promising home games, including the beginning of men’s volleyball and men’s tennis in the second semester. Both teams had wins against big conference rivals, but not all teams were as suc-cessful.
1/12: Men’s Basketball vs. San Diego
The Toreros earned victory on the road with a final score of 62-50, in spite of the Waves ability to shoot more accurate-ly: 41.8 percent to San Diego’s 40.9 percent.
1/17:Women’s Basketball vs. Santa Clara
In a low-scoring game, the Waves fell to the Broncos, 38-36. This tight game ended an eight-game winning streak the Waves had against the Broncos.
1/18: Men’s Volleyball vs. Pacific
There was no question about who owned the court last week, with No. 4 Pepperdine shut-ting down No. 15 Pacific in a 3-0 victory. Maurice Torres was responsible for 11 kills on 14 swings. The team fed off the crowd’s energy during their blowout. This was the Waves first home match of the season
1/18: Women’s Swimming and Diving Team
Last week, the Waves placed
seven swimmers in the top 10 against rivals like San Diego and Loyola Marymount. On day two of the Beach Cup, the team celebrated Senior Day by honoring Gina Vrablik, Phyllis Reffo, Klaire Korver, Andrea Kacynski, Brooke Fugate, Sar-
ah Burris, Natalia Barragan and Shannon Adkins.
“I felt like we did really well; this was definitely one of our hardest meets this year,” Kor-ver said. “Our hard work paid off in this meet, and it’s a good thing that leading up to confer-
ence we have difficult people to compete against. It’s good mo-tivation to round out the end of our season.”
1/19: Men’s Basketball vs. Santa Clara
Over the weekend the Waves
fell in a close game against Santa Clara, 83-76. The Waves had an outstanding comeback, closing a 13-point difference in the second half to only trail by two points. Unfortunately, the Broncos initial lead allowed them to win the game.
1/19: Women’s Basketball vs. St. Mary’s
The Waves have gone 1-4 during the WCC season and fell to the Gaels, who are 4-1 thus far. A rough away game for our Lady Waves ended in a final score of 72-61.
1/20: Men’s Volleyball vs. Stanford
The No. 4 Waves defeated No. 2 Stanford in four relent-less matches. The final match scores were 25-22, 23-25, 25-16 and 25-23. The student sec-tion was full during this heated game.
Senior Maurice Torres said: “We played really well as a team, and were able to play vol-leyball as a team. We were able to execute our game plan and come out and play to the best of our ability. We had to battle at times, but we were able to overcome adversity and pull it together for a win.”
1/20: Men’s Tennis vs. Pa-cific
No. 7 Pepperdine began their first game of the dual season with a 7-0 victory. In singles play, senior Sebastian Fanselow defeated Alex Gold-ing 6-1 and 6-2. In doubles, senior Finn Tearney and ju-nior Francis Alcantara finished Alex Golding and Alex Ham-ilton 8-5.
January 24, 2013
B8
»pepperdine-graphic.com/sportsSPORTS
Waves kick off second semester
NEXT UP...SCOREBOARDThursday, January 24
Friday, January 25Men’s Volleyball at Hawaii at 9 p.m.
Saturday, January 26Women’s Swimming PCSC Time Trials at 9:30 a.m.
Men’s Tennis vs. Denver at 10 a.m.
Women’s Basketball vs. San Diego at 2p.m.
Men’s Basketball at Saint Mary’s at 3 p.m.
Men’s Basketball at LMU at 6 p.m.
Women’s Basketball vs. Gonzaga at 7 p.m.
Men’s Volleyballvs. Date Score Record: Pacific Jan 18 W, 3-0 2-1Stanford Jan 20 W, 3-1 3-1
Men’s Basketballvs. Date Score Record:Santa Clara Jan 19 L,83-76 9-9
Women’s Basketballvs. Date Score Record:Santa Clara Jan 17 L, 38-36 4-11 Saint Mary’s Jan 19 L, 72-61 4-12 Monday, January 28
Men’s Golf at Arizona Intercollegiate
Tuesday, January 29Men’s Golf at Arizona Intercollegiate
Sunday, January 27Men’s Tennis Championship Match at 1 p.m.
Men’s Volleyball at Hawaii at 7 p.m.
Women’s Tennis at National Collegiate Tennis Classic (All Day)
Men’s Tennisvs. Date Score Record:Pacific Jan 20 W, 7-0 1-0
After a bittersweet week of wins and losses, the Waves face big competition in upcoming conference play.
Sports to look out for this week are men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s bas-ketball and men’s volleyball and men’s golf.
Men’s TennisWatch out for men’s tennis
at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kick-Off Week-end Saturday and Sunday, hosted on campus. Pepperdine will be hosting the ITA qual-ifying matches against Denver, Florida State and Drake Uni-versity to hopefully qualify for the ITA national indoors.
“We have a really good team this year ... and we have a good chance of making it to the fi-nals,” said senior Finn Tearney.
BasketballLook forward to some ex-
citing rematches this upcom-ing week as the Waves finish
up conference play and gear up for the championship season in men’s and women’s basketball.
Women’s basketball plays Gonzaga tonight at 7 p.m. The Waves will challenge one of the best teams in the conference at home. This will be the game to come cheer our girls on.
Men’s VolleyballMen’s volleyball will play
Hawai’i Friday and Sunday. The Waves look to improve their 3-1 season.
Senior Maurice Torres said, “Hawaii is a formidable oppo-nent … it is always tough to play Hawaii, they have a great following and fan base … a history of good, consistent vol-leyball, and we have to be ready to play.”
However, Torres said that if the team continues to play in top form, they will do well this upcoming weekend.
Swim & DiveLook out for the Pepper-
dine Swim and Dive team on Jan. 26 during the PCSC Time Trials. It will be the final regu-
lar meet of the season.According to senior Klaire
Korver, they are hoping to continue with a strong perfor-mance. The upcoming meet will be very emotional for the seniors as it is their last year.
“We would like to make the coaches proud by doing the best we can.” said Korver.
However, speaking for the other girls on the team, Korv-er also stated that she is proud of where the team is as a group and feels great satisfaction in the knowledge of how far the team has come.
Men’s GolfAfter a successful fall sea-
son, the men’s golf team will be back in action at the Ari-zona Intercollegiate in Tucson. The tournament will last from Monday until Tuesday.
Waves face big week ahead
By StaSia DemickAssistant Sports Editor
By StaSia DemickAssitant Sports Editor
BLOWOUT — The men’s volleyball team huddles after a victory against rival Pacific University on Jan. 18.
BLEEDING BLUE AND ORANGE — Sophomores Matthew Sugar and Tanner Heckle cheer on the men’s basketball team during their game against San Diego on Jan. 12.
Marissa Baly / SPORTS ASSISTANT
Connor Wheeler / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
SPORTSJanuary 24, 2013 Graphic B9
Ask A WAveWhich superhero would you pick to be your best friend?
“Michelangelo: the orange ninja turtle.”
Caitlin RaCiChwomen’s
volleyball
“Catwoman.”
Kim hillwomen’s
volleyball
“I already have one; her name is Lilla
Frederick.”
ivan DilDabaseball
“Superman.”
Shannon aDKinSswim & dive
“Barnacle Boy.”
ahmeD Wahbamen’s water polo
“Superman.”
Juliet CaSillaSwomen’s track
Which type of fan are you? The NBA is one of the
most exciting professional sports leagues in the world. With 30 teams playing ap-proximately 80 games every regular season, the NBA provides countless games for sports fanatics to enjoy.
For those who don’t like the NBA, don’t understand it or are pleasantly apathetic to the sport, reconsider-ation is in order. One of the unique aspects of the NBA is the one-on-one match-ups between veteran athletes and league newcomers. It’s fun to see 35-year-old players like Paul Pierce give young players a run for their money on the court or a 34-year-old legend like Kobe get nominated for his 15th NBA All-Star Game, which also set an NBA record. But although watch-ing veteran players show up younger players is exciting, don’t discount the young’uns. Players like Kevin Durant, who is 24, have made waves of their own during the season. Durant achieved the second longest streak of scoring 25 points or more in consecutive NBA games.
Even though Durant is one of the few players in contention for league MVP, the entire league is full of strong performances so far. Current standings have the Eastern Conference led by the Miami Heat, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets and the Western Conference led by the Oklahoma City Thunder,
San Antonio Spurs and LA Clippers.
Aside from awesome one-on-one match-ups, spectators experience some of the most exciting games in professional sports. Three of the nine games on Jan. 18. went into overtime, and in six of the games, the winning team scored more than 100 points — pretty exciting to come across in the HAWC or the gym.
Interested in discovering a place to fit in to the NBA fan landscape? Check out this list of the different types of fans at Pepperdine:
1. The Peer Pressure FanThis fan is best character-
ized as the one who watches sports because everyone else does.
“I watch basketball because my friends watch it, and I try to like the things that my friends like,” said senior Jae Kim. “I consider watching sports very boring. But of all the boring sports to watch, I would prefer to watch basket-ball.”
2. The Snapback FanThis fan is a dude or du-
dette who rocks a “snapback” (flat-brimmed baseball-like cap) for an NBA team. Sometimes the embroidery on a snapback has a cool logo or bright color that makes the hat more of a fashion accessory than a representation of fan pride. Snapback fans are all about rocking the logo and showing the world what team they rep, rather than really supporting the team.
3. The Loco-for-Lakers FanThese fans are characterized
by their extreme love for the Lakers — and extreme means an all-consuming obsession with the Purple and Gold.
“I love watching the Lakers win championships,” said freshman Lydia Kiros. “Even though the team isn’t doing so hot [this season], there’s
so much pride in just being a fan.”
4. The Flip-Flop or Phantom Fan
Flip-flop or phantom fans are fans who can’t seem to make a commitment to a particular team or are apa-thetic to the sport in general. Similar to peer pressure fans,
flip-flop fans are not intrin-sically passionate about the sport. However, they differ in that these fans tend to jump on bandwagons rather than support a single team that their friends like.
Pepperdine NBA fans cover the wide spectrum of fan types. While some Pepperdine
students watch the NBA out of sheer fascination, others pass through the HAWC to order a brownie sundae and only offer a game a sideways glance. Whatever their type, one thing is for sure, Pepper-dine fans are unique.
By Marissa BalySports Assistant
COURTESY OF AP Photos
LA RIVALRY — Matt Barnes, Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom face off in a recent Clippers vs. Lakers game at the Staples Center.
Like this photo? Tweet the perfect caption @peppgraphic with #sportscap
Alexander Hayes / CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Pepperdine Graphic Sports Like. Follow. Share. Hashtag. Pin. Get.
FAN CENTRALDo you bleed orange and blue? ‘Cause these guys do. Wil Fisher sports a horse mask at the mens basketball game against San Diego.
Why the horse mask? “It’s something crazy to freak people out and to get them excited. I wanna give back some spirit.”
Marissa Baly / SPORTS ASSISTANT
SPORTS January 24, 2013GraphicB10
The Game:If you didn’t already
know, there are two teams of five players each in
a basketball game, each trying to score as many points as pos-sible by getting the basketball into in the opponents’ net (aka “making baskets”). With me so far? Good.
Moving on, the rules are relatively straightforward: the team on offense (that is, the one with the ball) attempts to make baskets, and that team’s players must “dribble” (continuously bounce, one hand at a time) the ball when in motion — save two steps before shooting or passing — and cannot remain in the large painted rectangle in front of the basket for more than three seconds. To go out-of-bounds (the painted black lines surrounding the court) stops play and causes the other team to get the ball. On defense, teams attempt to prevent the opponent from making baskets and cannot commit fouls (impeding the motion of an opposing player). Also, opponents switch nets halfway through a game.
Ever wondered what the countdown right above the backboard was for? Yeah, so did I. That is the shot-clock, showing the time that the offensive team has to make a shot before they are forced to turn it over; this resets every time the ball touches the rim — 24 seconds for the NBA and 35 for NCAA games. The teams alternate on offense,
during which either the shot-clock runs out or a shot is made or missed. The defense in basketball is usually
either a zone (players defending a certain area of the court) or man-to-man (defending a specific offensive player).
NCAA games run for a total of 40 minutes in two halves of 20 minutes each (NBA and WNBA games are 48 minutes each). It seems simple enough, but this is further complicated by four com-mercial timeouts per half (every four minutes — the profit mech-anism in basketball). The coaches can call four 30-second timeouts and a full, one-minute timeout per game. Overtime is the extra five minutes that are allocated when the score is tied at the end of the game (double-overtime occurs if the first overtime also ends in a tie, triple-overtime and so on).
The Players:The point-guard is the play-
maker who primarily passes the ball to set up his team’s shot (which are attempts to make a basket). He is typically the smallest person on the team and usually also the best ball-handler (meaning he dribbles well while on the move).
The shooting-guard is the one who tries to score and whose role in the game is to look for shots. A very similar position to this is the small-forward, who tends to be taller and tries to rebound (se-cure the ball after a missed shot).
The center and the power-for-ward also play similar roles to each other and are typically the bigger guys on the court who play the best defense. The center is usually the biggest or tallest and functions to block shots (meaning he deflects them in mid-air).
Another feature of basketball that distinguishes it from other sports is the ability to substitute players an unlimited number of times, but only when the ball is
not in play (such as after a player goes out-of-bounds or a foul is committed).
The Shots (and other terms):
Different shots determine the points scored. The three-pointer is any shot released from outside the painted three point semicircle (20.75 feet from the basket in the NCAA, but 20 in the WNBA 23.75 in the NBA); all other attempts during live play are worth two points. Shots taken a good distance away from the basket, with two hands and from a two-footed jump, are called jump-shots, and shots taken at point-blank range (often using the backboard) are called layups.
Other common terms used in basketball include “turnovers,” when one team commits any action resulting in the loss of the ball to the other team, and “dunks,” a more forceful version of the layup (usually involving a simultaneous grabbing of the rim).
The Calls:You’ve probably heard the
saying, “It’s not illegal if you don’t get caught.” While morally dubi-ous, this adage applies very well to basketball. The function of the referee is to catch all infractions on the court, including fouls, traveling (taking steps without dribbling the ball) and players going out-of-bounds. The ball is considered “dead” when the referee blows his whistle to call any such violations. Usually the most-contested referee calls, or lack thereof, are the fouls.
Fouls committed during a normal shot result in free-throws, two if the player was attempting a two-pointer, and three if he was shooting a three; if the shot is made despite the foul, the player is awarded one free-throw. If a player or coach complains about
a foul call or no-call in a way that the referee feels is unsportsmanlike, he will give a player a “tech-nical foul,” which results in the opposing team getting to shoot a free-throw (an uncontested shot from the black line at the far end of the painted area in front of the basket) and receiving possession of the ball. Flagrant fouls are de-liberate fouls that are especially violent and not intended to make contact with the ball. These have the same penalty as a technical foul.
Each foul committed in a half adds to the total of “team fouls” for each team, which, after a team reaches seven of them, causes their next foul to result in free-throws for the opposing team, as opposed to the usual pass-in from the sideline. In this scenario (called “the bonus”), the player attempting the free-throw has to make the first to get a sec-ond attempt, otherwise the ball is “live” (back in play), allowing for a rebound.
National Basketball Association (NBA):
In the NBA, each team plays a total of 82 games in one of two conferences, Eastern and West-ern. The top eight teams from each conference advance to the playoffs, where they play elimina-tion matches in a best-of-seven series for two “rounds,” before two Conference Finals match-ups. The winners of these will face each other in the Finals to compete for the O’Brien Trophy and bragging rights for the rest of the summer.
This time of the year, with the NBA and NCAA being devoutly followed on TV, bas-ketball fever is burning up the courts, sports media and fans’ hearts around the world. If you haven’t been infected yet, these tips should help! For those hapless individuals who think that understanding the sport is beyond their ken, I bring you Basketball
101, a few short sections that should serve to alleviate all your symptoms of confusion, bewilderment and perplexity when your friends go basketball mad.
Alexander Hayes / CREATIVE DIRECTOR
By Wen ChenSports Editor
By nate tinnerCopy Editor
Alex Rangel / ART EDITOR