The Point Weeklypoint loma nazarene university

volume 42 | issue 8monday, november 11, 2013

FEW STUDENTS TAKE ON ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING MAJORPG.4

CRIMES OF THE HEART, “UNFORGETABLE”

PG.7

BY PARKER BUNCH

STAFF WRITER

As part of a multi-year plan to in-crease enrollment on PLNU’s cam-pus, students will be offered monetary or scheduling incentives to take classes at Liberty Station Conference Center

(LSCC) this spring.In a campus-wide email, Kerry

Fulcher, PLNU’s provost and chief academic officer, said students who enroll in general education or elective classes at LSCC will receive benefits depending on their class level. Fresh-men and sophomores will receive pri-

ority class registration for fall of 2014, while juniors and seniors will receive a $100 Visa gift card for every class they take at LSCC this spring.

Fulcher said LSCC serves as a sig-nificant part of an elaborate balancing act between the city-ordained campus enrollment cap and the university’s

goal of increasing campus enrollment. As enrollment at LSCC increases, so do opportunities to offer more enroll-ment on campus.

“Managing our on-campus en-rollments according to our condi-tional use permit creates challenges,” Fulcher said via email. “The part that

the LSCC plays in that strategic prior-ity is that it provides educational space that can allow us to serve about 200 more PLNU students.”

According to Fulcher, a large fresh-man class and high student retention rate encouraged the administra tion

Students offered incentives to increase LSCC enrollment

PHOTO BY KATIE CALLAHANCongressional candidate Carl DeMaio spoke to students in the ARC Thursday about student and national debt as a part of his college tour in which he also visited USD, UCSD and SDSU.

PHOTO BY AMY WILLIAMSMayoral candidate Kevin Faulconer campaigns at PLNU to convince students and members of the community that it’s time to reinvest in neighborhoods.

STORY ON PAGE 3

Local politicians speak on campus Carl DeMaio speaks on campus despite some opposition

BY KATIE CALLAHAN

STAFF WRITER

2014 Congressional candidate and “New Generation Republican” Carl DeMaio, as part of his college tour, spoke in the ARC Thursday night, but not before meeting some resistance from Democrats both on campus and beyond.

Right at 7 p.m., students Kai Ped-ersen and Roberto C. Torres with others, arrived with signs of protest, and were quickly met by Public Safety who made them put their signs out-side and allowed them to stay if they

PLNU makes move to be more inclusive of all studentsBY ANNIE BUELL

AND KATIE CALLAHAN

STAFF WRITERS

A Multicultural and International Student Center will soon be built within the ARC due to the efforts of MOSAIC and members of PLNU’s Diversity Council to promote diver-sity on campus and provide MOSAIC with official offices.

This center will be built within the ARC, according to Milton Karahad-ian, director of Nicholson Commons, and Lilia Davis, director of Multicul-tural and International Student Ser-vices. Others involved in the proposal and implementation process are the presidents of MOSAIC affinity groups and Jeffrey Carr, PLNU’s chief diver-sity officer and associate vice president for student development. Karahadian said that the Multicultural and Inter-national Student Center will be built over winter break and operational by late January.

According to ASB President, AJ

Wolf, ASB gave $10,000 to have the center built after it was approved by adminstration.

Karahadian said this effort will show-case and educate students on diversity.

“Part of our goals at PLNU is to have diversity on campus. We want to have multi-cultural and different ethnic-ities here so that we can offer our educa-tion to all people,” said Karahadian.

Carr said that this center will allow PLNU to better reflect the diversity in the world.

“This institution, like the rest of the world, is becoming more and more diverse,” Carr said. “Right now, this institution is changing in ways that represent the world we live in. [W]e care about students from differ-ent backgrounds. I think it stamps on us, that’s important to us, and we ac-cept and we’re inclusive.”

Karahadian said diversity groups haven’t had a central place where they can come and be together, much like any other department on campus.

“The Multicultural Center and

MOSAIC have been sharing a spot in the commuter lounge and Lily Davis has an office down in the Bond Academic Center. And for a long time there’s not been a lot of support for them,” said Karahadian.

Looking around a lot at different areas and buildings on campus, Kara-

hadian said he realized the space at the entrance to the ARC was under-utilized.

“All it is is a passageway into the sitting area and off into the room. It doesn’t really take away from any func-tionality of the room,” he said. “There’s always a way to make things change. We can move the entrance way over and

have the doors be somewhere else.” According to Karahadian, the ARC

employees have agreed they could place a Multicultural and International Stu-dent Center within the ARC and that it would be a “good idea.” He stressed that there are advantages to having the

SIMULATIONS COURTESY OF JEFFREY CARRThese simulated art renderings of the new Multicultural and International Student Center are expected to become a reality by late January of next semester.

SEE DEMAIO, PAGE 2

SEE LSCC, PAGE 2

SEE MULTICULTURAL, PAGE 2

2 | NEWS the point weekly | monday, november 11, 2013

to increase enrollment at LSCC in order to counterbalance the cor-responding decrease in available on-campus enrollment space.

“The flexibility of having LSCC allows us to more effectively manage our enrollments to ensure that we operate within the conditions of our agreement with the city,” Fulcher said.

Fulcher’s claims align with pre-

vious statements made by President Bob Brower, who said in a September email interview with the Point Weekly that offering classes at LSCC was part of the expansion “process of making the undergraduate program less con-fined to only the main campus,” while simultaneously creating more on-campus enrollment opportunities.

Fulcher said LSCC enrollment in general education and elective classes this fall was 47 students and that the administration has set a goal of 87

similarly-enrolled students in the spring. The long-term goal is to enroll 200 students at LSCC, Fulcher said.

In order to reach this goal, Fulcher said potential incentives were deter-mined by the results of several student polls, which indicated that monetary compensation was the most common request. The funding for this incen-tive comes from PLNU’s general op-erating budget, which is influenced by overall enrollment.

Robert Contreras, a junior politi-

cal science major, said that though the offer was ill-timed and insufficient for him to change his spring schedule, he could be influenced by it in the future.

“Personally I think this incentive program was a good idea,” Contreras said. “I didn’t change my classes be-cause the time frame and teachers I chose were very intentional. However, in the coming semesters I can only dream of the number of Cali burritos, pumpkin spice lattes, slurpees, dates and In-N-Out trips this incentive

might supply.”Freshman Juan Iñiguez, who will

take a New Testament class at LSCC this spring, echoed Brower’s senti-ments about the significance of com-bating the educational confinement to PLNU’s main campus.

“[PLNU] is a bubble,” Iñiguez said. “I’m glad to be studying [at LSCC] because it gets you outside and in a different ambiance. It just refresh-es your mind.”

FROM PAGE 1

Muliticultural

FROM PAGE 1

DeMaio

would be respectful. Kai Pedersen, the vice president

of the College Democrats Club, said that it wasn’t their intention to make a scene in protest.

“We don’t want to be seen as protes-tors, but people who want some ques-tions to be answered,” said Pedersen.

The event then proceeded as planned with DeMaio addressing the current state of the U.S. government, his “Free to Be” plan, his past as a businessman, Roadmap to Recovery and the Affordable Care Act (often referred to as Obamacare). His focus was on his “Free to Be” plan, which accentuated five concepts for mil-lennials: free to be in the job of your dreams, free to be anyone you are with equal rights under the law, free to af-ford tuition, free to be able to choose your healthcare and free to live your entire life without playing off the debts of someone else.

Then, he began a brief Q&A ses-sion with students. Approximately

50 people attended the event and the College Republican Club reported 73 people as the peak attendance of the event.

DeMaio began the event with a challenge, telling students that now is not the time to wait for the “old guard” to fix the problem and students need to work to be their own solution by getting involved.

“But this is exactly why you can’t tune it out and walk away because your future is on the line,” DeMaio said. “Your opportunities are not the same opportunities that prior gen-erations had and that’s because of the failure of policies in Washington, in Sacramento and locally here at City Hall. So the question is, are you going to accept that?”

DeMaio also insisted that these governmental problems of economic opportunities and fiscal responsibili-ties span across both parties, that both must rise up and insist no more.

“There is not a democrat or re-publican solution to this problem,” DeMaio said. “There is not a Demo-crat or Republican blame to assign.

Applying labels to solutions, that’s not going to help us. This has got to be an American solution, where we say no one should sit on the side-lines. We should insist on leadership and we should insist on tough deci-sions being made.”

Pedersen was impressed with what De-Maio had to say, but still had some concerns.

“Overall, with the event, I was pretty impressed with the level of detail and with the level of thinking that candidate DeMaio portrayed,” he said. “I was concerned by some of the rhetoric that I heard.”

Pedersen said DeMaio claims to be a new kind of Republican, not afraid to challenge the Republican party on key issues, while still using the lan-guage of the “old guard,” something he finds concerning, especially in the way he “demonized Obamacare.”

“There’s a lot of misinformation and disinformation going around about Obamacare,” said Pedersen. “One of the things that representative DeMaio said is that we’re going to see premiums skyrocket for everybody. And at the same time, we know that

at least, is not completely true because we are seeing some examples of pre-miums becoming much more afford-able through the new online health exchange that recently came online.”

DeMaio responded that young people and small businesses every-where are getting notices that their coverage is no longer going to contin-ue, and this is a problem that has been confirmed time and time again from an informal Facebook survey he took.

“Look, right now it’s pretty clear that premiums are more expensive and people have lost their coverage. That’s not rhetoric; it’s fact,” DeMaio said. “And I want a health care reform that makes healthcare more affordable and more accessible. Those should be our measuring sticks. And clearly, the facts are piling up that people are paying more and losing insurance coverage because of these new regulations. We have to fix that.”

Justin Vos, president of the Col-lege Republican Club on campus, said that he thinks DeMaio is just the can-didate needed to change the direction of government.

“Carl’s been a great advocate for re-form. He’s really the kind of leader that we need in office. We’ve had so many people who just sit around not really doing the job that they’re expected to do,” Vos said. “You know, we don’t need wishy-washy politicians like the one we currently have, Scott Peters, who doesn’t have new ideas, doesn’t have bright solutions. We need somebody that can get things done. And that’s the kind of guy Carl is.”

Ultimately, Voss said this event is important for students because it re-ceived attention from both parties.

“Democrats are scared of Carl now. They’re scared because they know he’s going to be a great leader,” he said. “They know he’s going to come in, he’s going to make reform in Washington. They know that if they get him in there, that things are going to change there and that we’re going to see America become a better place.”

DeMaio visited PLNU on invita-tion by Voss and as a part of his col-lege tour this past week in which he also visited USD, SDSU and UCSD.

FROM PAGE 1

LSCC

PHOTOS BY OLIVIA MOWRY AND CASSLYN FISERAt Kaleo chapel and Time Out Wednesday, students were given the opportunity to have a more creative worship experience than typical chapel.

KALEO CHAPELKALEO CHAPEL

Multicultural and International Services Center in the ARC.

“It brings them into the student union building, which is the center place of the campus, that says, ‘You’re part of the family too. You’re just as important,’” said Karahadian. “[I]t also brings another demographic into the area to integrate with people that are also there now.”

Davis said via email, that the func-tions of the Multicultural and Interna-tional Student Center will vary from a venue for prospective diverse or inter-national students, a meeting or work-ing place for MOSAIC students and their larger organizations and a place for current students to obtain resourc-es and information about services.

MOSAIC club presidents Senior Allison Kendrix and Junior Meaghan Zuttermeister had a supportive role in the development of the proposal, alongside Carr and Davis.

Kendrix, president of the Black Student Union, said that students of their club are excited to have a consis-tent meeting place.

“Having this center built as a place for us to meet, create, plan and fel-lowship without the distraction of our previous location will be essential for all of our clubs,” said Kendrix. “It has been difficult in the past, trying to find different meeting locations and com-municating with other clubs and lead-ers has been difficult, but now we will have a place to all work together and are thrilled.”

Zuttermeister, president of the

Hui O Hawaii club on campus, reiter-ated Kendrix’s statement that this cen-ter will give students a place to meet without distractions.

“The center gives my club a place to meet for Hui O Hawaii meetings. Right now we meet in the MOSAIC/commuter lounge,” said Zuttermeis-ter. “Sometimes there will be com-muters in there or people walking in and out causing a distraction during the meetings.”

The center will also give MOSAIC some publicity and presence on campus.

“The center also puts the whole idea of MOSAIC out there,” she said. “MOSAIC is an organization that was established to help students that are minorities in Point Loma to feel wel-comed and supported. Some people don’t realize that there is even such a

thing as MOSAIC or a Hawaii club.”Karahadian said the center will

share a wall with the fireplace in the ARC. A glass window will be built between Davis’s office and the lounge area. The center won’t be visible from the other side of the ARC. Organiza-tionally, Karahadian said the room will function as before.

“We’ll take the seating that’s there and move it towards the ARC desk and the functionality will not change one bit.” Karahadian said.

Karahadian said he is unsure of what the reaction will be when students return from Christmas break, but the ARC staff’s initial reaction was receptive.

“[This reaction is a] good indica-tor of their flexibility and willingness to share their space,” Karahadian said.

Davis said that a Multicultural and

International Service Center has been discussed for over two years. But ac-cording to Karahadian, the process has been expedited over the past two weeks.

“They’re a very important de-mographic that we slowly are build-ing. This [center] will help raise our awareness and also give them a place of meeting and hanging out,” said Karahadian.

Carr said that this center gives PLNU the opportunity to better serve student needs.

“The ideas, the vision, the actual services need to grow and need to be what’s relevant for the people who are here,” said Carr. “As the needs change, we have a responsibility to the com-munity to do things that make sense, things that will better serve all the stu-dents that are here on our campus.”

NEWS | 3monday, november 11, 2013 | the point weekly

BY AMY WILLIAMS

STAFF WRITER

Kevin Faulconer, a mayoral can-didate for San Diego, came to PLNU Saturday morning to open up conver-sation about his campaign with stu-dents and community members.

The event was organized by The City Club. His speech “My Plans for Our Future” focused on reinvesting in the neighborhoods by repairing streets, sidewalks, sewage and water systems. Sixty seven people were in attendance.

Faulconer is currently on the city council for District Two which includes Point Loma, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Bay Park and North Bay. He talked about major changes he wanted to make if he were elected.

“We need to really get back into the neighborhoods’ services business by taking those savings we were go-ing to have and in the future putting them back into the things that matter the most,” said Faulconer.

After Faulconer’s 10 minute speech, the President of The City

Club, George Mitrovich, an alum of Pasadena Nazarene College (before it moved to PLNU), mediated the ques-tion and answer session. Faulconer then gave his answers to questions about his opponents regarding what he admired about each of them. He also spoke about his plans for home-lessness with his plan to transition the homeless out of that stage and try not to raise taxes. According to Mitro-vich, the purpose of the forum was for Faulconer to have a conversation with the audience and act alone instead of with his competing candidates.

“We started this series and we did it purposely not wanting to do de-bates,” said Mitrovich. “There’s been a great many of those, but giving you an opportunity to judge the four ma-jor candidates on their own.”

The City Club is an organization led by Mitrovich that puts on events where citizens can converse with many people in government posi-tions. They also held this same kind of event for the three other major mayoral candidates but were not on PLNU’s campus.

Many of the people in attendance were students from La Jolla Country Day School but there were also stu-dents from PLNU and other citizens.

“I thought that he made a really good point that instead of just raising taxes, they need to change the inner workings of the government so that we aren’t just handing them money to waste,” said Andrew Musgrave, senior accounting major. “Instead he just wants to make the current taxes more efficient.”

Election for San Diego Mayor will take place on Nov. 19.

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN RHINETwelve African journalists visited Dean Nelson’s Intro to Journalism class in order to get a sense of American journalism and shed some light on the way they conduct journalism in their culture.

BY KATHLEEN RHINE

STAFF WRITER

On Friday, Nov. 8, PLNU wel-comed 12 journalists from various countries in Africa to Dean Nelson’s Intro to Journalism class in Taylor Hall.

Invited by the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, the journalists spoke about the struggles and joys they encoun-ter in day-to-day reporting. Jean-Luc Emile from the island nation of Mauri-tius spoke of the government screening social media accounts and the few press freedoms he has in his country.

Students and the journalists in-teracted with questions about differ-ences in culture and government and the universal similarity of sharing a person’s story. “We need to write sto-ries that affect people. Think about the people,” said Robert Mugabe from Rwanda. “I wake up every day to speak for the people.”

When addressing challenges and dangers involved with reporting in her country, Ivana Abdallah from South Sudan responded, “When you have faith for any work, you can do it. We have faith to do our job.”

African journalists visit campus

Invisible Children screening promotes student involvementBY MIRANDA BROWN

STAFF WRITER

The Invisible Children organiza-tion is back and going strong, show-ing a documentary across the country, including its founding city, San Diego, in order to increase students involve-ment in their organization.

PLNU’s Invisible Children (IC) Club’s promotions drew about 60 students to the ARC Nov. 4 as “roadies,” volunteer IC representatives, showed the nonprofit’s documentary called “The Rescue.”

The film explained the history of IC and their mission to stop Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), while also providing updates on what has been accomplished. Afterwards, a roadie from Uganda shared her story

and students asked questions about the organization. At the end of the evening, students were challenged to create a fundraising page on an available laptop to support IC in their mission to bring LRA child soldiers home.

“I’ve seen the film 40 to 45 times,and different parts re-give you the motivation of why you’re here,” IC roadie Caroline Garcia said. “I hope the first time people will be watching it, they’ll be inspired not just to listen but to do something about it.”

Students could also get involved by raising awareness through social media, purchasing IC merchandise, or joining the IC club on campus. According to president Christina Issa, the club is plan-ning fundraisers, a beach cleanup, a tour of the IC offices, and a spring benefit

concert at OB1 church. Documentary screenings meant to promote awareness of IC on campus.

“I hoped that people who came would leave with more knowledge than they had at the beginning of the night,” Issa said via email. “Through the clips the roadies showed and the Q&A ses-sion, I feel that that was accomplished. I think the event went well and I’m ex-cited there was a great turnout!”

The event was part of the road-ies’ tour to fundraise and increase awareness throughout the country. IC’s current focus is their #zeroLRA campaign. According to a Washington Post article last month, this 10-week campaign focuses on fundraising to help the 140 captive women and 72 children escape the LRA. Their slo-

gan is “Stand for nothing (no child soldiers, no killing, no war), celebrate everything (every escape, every name, every life).”

IC was founded in 2004, and since then, the LRA has moved from Uganda into the Dominican Republic of Congo, the Central African Repub-lic, and South Sudan. Last year, their Kony 2012 video went viral with over 98 million Youtube views, aiming to make Kony famous and bring him to justice. After the widespread attention, of both support and criticism, IC still works to end the conflict.

According to their website, IC uses a four-part model to address the con-flict: media, mobilization, protection and recovery. They raise awareness and inspire American youth to action,

while also providing support to LRA victims and working with political leaders around the world to bring the war to an end.

Club vice president Monique Gonzalez said seeing the hurt of these child soldiers is enough to motivate her to get involved with Invisible Children and do more.

“Every time I watch an Invis-ible Children documentary, I always cry,” Gonzalez said. “I always feel the struggle that these children are going through, and I feel inspired to help them.”

Google.org product manager addresses technology’s impact on poverty

PHOTO BY ABBY HAMBLINPaul Lee, a senior product manager at Google.org, spoke to a packed Fermainan Conference Center on Nov. 4.

BY ABBY HAMBLIN

STAFF WRITER

Google is about more than just an-swering search inquiries and provid-ing PLNU’s email service, according to Paul Lee, a senior product manager at Google.org.

Lee spoke Nov. 4 to a packed Fermanian Conference Center about technology’s impact on poverty. His research on internet access and afford-ability in Africa on behalf of Google.org (the philanthropic arm of Google) fits in with PLNU’s Center for Inter-national Development’s mission state-ment: “Business to Serve the Least of These,” according to the center’s di-rector, Robert Gailey.

“The center is trying to engage students who say, ‘Are there other ways of doing poverty alleviation be-sides just governments and charities?’” Gailey said. “I support those and I think those are great but there are business and corporations like Google that are attempting to do things on a more massive scale and so I want our

students to be exposed to that.”Lee and his research team found

that mobile data users in Ghana expe-rienced a lack of price and data usage transparency needed to make informed decisions about Internet use, some-thing that proved to cause problems for economic efficiency in the country. In Ghana, research showed that most mobile data users assumed they were billed for their time spent on the In-ternet, not for the size or type of web page they were viewing, which led to confusion and extra spending.

“It was so interesting to find out that their Internet usage is totally dif-ferent than ours,” said Annika Nou-siainen, a junior business administra-tion major. “Our access is pretty much unlimited and we take the Internet for granted while they’re spending huge amounts of their income that could go to food and shelter toward Internet.”

Lee said he was glad to present his research to students in particular, because his case study is just one ex-ample of ways technology can help to alleviate poverty and address oth-

er social issues.“I think the students today are go-

ing to bring the most important inno-vations tomorrow,” Lee said. “I think the reason why all our technology is getting better is because of people who are in undergrad and graduate school right now become captivated by this problem space and get motivated to work really hard and solve it.”

He said he hopes the PLNU stu-dents who attended would be inspired by the possibility of innovation as he was as a student.

“If you look at the biggest tech-nical innovations, the biggest start-ups, the biggest companies that have launched like Facebook and Google, they started with people who are in college or grad school and so forth,” Lee said. “Every major civic move-ment has had kind of like a student tie-in. I think that’s true with any ma-jor technological movement as well. I think especially this type of audience will help be the vanguard of that.”

San Diego mayoral candidate Kevin Faulconer campaigns in Cunningham

SPECIAL MAYORAL

ELECTION CONTENDERS:

Mike Aguirre

David Alvarez

Kevin Faulconer

Nathan Fletcher

4 | FEATURES

featuresthe point weekly | monday, november 11, 2013

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

BY TORY ORDOÑA

STAFF WRITER

Jimmy’s Famous American Tav-ern is a restaurant and bar on North Harbor Drive. It is about a 20-min-ute walk from the Liberty Station shuttle stop.

The atmosphere is upscale but ca-sual and relaxed. The crowd is a mix of young and old adults, with only a few kids around. Jimmy’s is a busy place; so be sure to get reservations or expect a wait.

My roommate Carlos and I shared a spinach bacon fondue and tortilla chips to start. The cheese was very creamy and salty and the spinach added a touch of color.

The crumbled bacon was the most prominent ingredient in the fon-due, though it was not present in every bite.

Apart from the appetizers, Jim-my’s is famous for its burgers. We had The Jimmy and The Cowboy burgers because their names were the coolest.

The Jimmy burger was dressed in melted cheddar cheese, jalapeno jelly and crunchy bacon. Every bite was warmed by the jelly and slathered with cheese. The meat was a little bland and the only interesting texture was the thick cut bacon.

The Cowboy burger was made with the same patty, bacon and bun but was spiced up with green chiles, an onion ring and barbe-cue sauce. Carlos enjoyed the burger but was surprised that the sauce was more prominent than the pepper. He suggests coming hungry, as the burgers are pretty large and heavy.

We also had apple walnut coleslaw and french fries with house ketchup. The slaw was sweet and mild, with pleasant sharp notes from the vinegar, but the texture was a little soft for my

taste. Jimmy’s ketchup is very smoky from chipotle but still has the tangy-sweet taste diners might expect from any other recipe.

Our server was quick and profes-sional and we only waited a few min-

utes for our food once we were seated. The price of the meal will be a little steep for many college age customers — the fondue and two burgers cost $40 before tax. Still, the charming atmosphere and great food make Jim-

my’s an establishment that is worth a try. I give it 4 out of 5 stars and would definitely hemorrhage money for it yet again.

A good place to dine hard: Jimmy’s Famous American Tavern

BY ANNA LUSSIER

STAFF WRITER

While graduating from college can be a wonderful experience, the joys of commencement can be fol-lowed by the worries associated with job hunting. Many students worry that the years they have invested in achieving their degrees may have done nothing but land them a mini-mum wage job.

For PLNU’s electrical engineering

students however, this is not the case. According to the study “College Ma-jors, Unemployment and Earnings” by Georgetown University, electrical engineering majors have a 5.2 percent unemployment rate and starting sala-ries average at $57,000 for recent col-lege graduates.

Despite this major’s high employ-ment rates there are currently only three PLNU students pursuing a de-gree in Engineering Physics with an emphasis in Machanics and Electrody-

namics, (PLNU’s version of an Elec-trical Engineering degree).

Junior Ian Stubbs makes up one third of his major. Stubbs discovered his love for electrodynamics during his freshman year of high school.

“I got interested in electronics by my freshman science teacher,” said Stubbs. “He had several electronics texts that I would read during reading hours and as I got more confused by the textbooks I asked him more and more questions.”

Stubbs and his teacher started an electronics and inventions club that grew over the next four years to the point where the club was able to de-sign, construct and operate an electro-magnetic coil launcher.

“An electro-magnetic coil launch-er would probably be better known as a rail gun,” says Stubbs. “Its kind of like a cannon, but with electricity instead of gunpowder. That project made me want to know how to do what we did on my own and know the process, instead of just following one.”

During his time at PLNU, Stubbs has enjoyed learning even more about electronics and has been challenged by the difficulty of the program.

“It’s true engineering is hard, but it’s so worth it,” he says. “That mo-ment when you do figure out that problem after four hours is really sat-isfying. When after 700 hours you fi-nally get your invention to work it’s a pretty incredible feeling.”

Despite the challenging material, Stubbs recommends his major to any-one interested in electrical engineering.

“This program provides an en-vironment that catalyzes growth in a team as well as an individual,” said Stubbs. “It has provided me with a very beneficial foundation for the rest of my career, a foundation for engi-neering, but also for other life skills, friendship, communication, network-ing, collaboration.”

Freshman Marissa Dotter is also studying electrodynamics and is pleased with how small the emphasis program is.

“You can get to know your pro-fessors and your fellow students and really get in touch with the material, which is super helpful,” she says. “I can tell this major is going to get diffi-

cult, but I think I’ve been doing pretty good so far.”

In addition to the small sizes and high quality of classes, Paul Schmel-zenbach, associate professor of phys-ics, feels that PLNU’s program in electrical engineering is competitive in the job market.

“The degree itself provides a strong foundation in the way the world works and teaches students how to solve problems using engi-neering,” he said. “A lot of the fo-cus is placed on teaching students to adapt. So, when they get jobs, they can acclimate really quick-ly. This degree is very versatile, which is really key in the current job market.”

Upon graduating from PLNU, both Stubbs and Dotter hope to at-tend graduate school, Stubbs wish-ing to study hardware design and Dotter having dreams of working in aerospace engineering. Matt Smith, a junior also studying Engineering Physics with an emphasis in Me-chanics and Electrodynamics, is in-terested in one day working in the automobile industry.

He plans to take some time after graduation to gain experience in the work force and then go back to school for a masters degree. Smith says he be-lieves he will leave PLNU well equipped to begin work as an engineer.

“So many of the things I’ve learned in engineering carries on directly into the workforce,” he says. “I plan on using the skills I’ve acquired here at school to make me a better engineer.”

Electrical Engineering promises high pay for only three students

PHOTO BY KIMBERLY MILLER Grab some good all-American food at Jimmy’s Famous American Tavern on Harbor Drive.

PHOTO BY KIMBERLY MILLER Junior Matt Smith sits in the lab of Rohr Science. Smith is one of three students studying Engineering Physics with an emphasis in Mechanics and Electrodynamics at PLNU.

Restaurant review

“What if you were that one person somebody needs?” - said Bob Goff, author of “Love Does,” in chapel on Nov. 4.

FEATURES | 5monday, november 11, 2013 | the point weekly

BY SAM CHRISTOPHER

STAFF WRITER

Debi Reis drives onto campus ev-ery day in her red car and the cats start running. At the sound of her engine the furry feral cats by the cross at the entrance to campus emerge from their hiding places and seek her attention.

The cats are usually extremely elu-sive; yet they are fearless in the face of her red car. Ries is the assistant to vice president for external relations at PLNU and has taken it upon herself to see that the feral cats on campus are treated properly.

Several weeks ago Ries was walk-ing with a friend and saw a kitten sleeping in the bushes which piqued her interest.

“I came back the next day, and I’ve come back every day since for five weeks to care for them,” she said.

Reis explained her love for ani-

mals and that her original interest in caring for them came out of a sense of compassion. It wasn’t until her hus-band showed her an article printed in U-T San Diego that things changed.

“It (the article) opened my eyes to what a big problem feral cats are in San Diego County,” said Reis.

According to the Feral Cat Coali-tion, a pair of breeding cats, which can have two or more litters per year, “can exponentially produce 420,000 off-spring over a seven-year period.”

Ries has drafted a proposal and is waiting to hear back from Physical Plant. The proposal would put her in charge of seeing that these feral cats are taken care of in the most humane way possible.

“I want to make sure that they are not killed, but I also want to make sure that they are not reproducing,” said Reis.

Her plan is to get the cats spayed and neutered and give them shots.

“I found this non-profit called the Feral Cat Coalition (FCC) and I have an appointment with them for No-vember 17. They will spay and neuter and inoculate them against rabies,” she said.

The FCC will de-flea and clean the cat’s ears as well, all for free.

“My proposal is that I’ll be the crazy cat lady, if you will, and on my own time, [not work time] I am willing to set up the traps that the FCC loans [me] for free, and help try and get the population under control,” said Reis.

Another group on campus, the Asso-ciation of Environmental Professionals at Point Loma (AEPPL) is also attempt-ing to take care of the cats on campus, but through a different organization.

Senior Environmental Science Major Lindsay Powell, the club president, says they are going to help control the campus’ cats through the Society for the Prevention of Cru-

elty to Animals which is a partner of the Humane Society. The club wants to set up live traps to help catch the cats and spay and neuter them. They would be doing this as a part of the club’s volunteer hours.

Reis has not received conforma-tion from PLNU’s Physical Plant yet and they have declined to comment to the Point Weekly. The AEPPL club has also tried contacting Physical Plant regarding their plans and have yet to hear any response.

While the plan to control feral cats on campus is being sorted out between the school, the physical plant and cat lovers alike, Ries encourages all stu-dents to avoid the cats.

“Do not try to pick them up, they are wild animals. You run the risk of being bitten, and then you may have to get rabies shots,” she said.

Seeking to save feral catsGREY AREA

The holiday season is in full swing and some students are al-

ready counting down the days until Christmas. Starbucks brought out their seasonal red cups on Nov.1, Target had Christmas decorations

on sale the begging of Oct. and the Christmas shopping season

officially starts off on Black Friday. So when is it appropriate for us to

start celebrating Christmas?

“After Thanksgiving. If you start celebrating too early it is less special.” - Mackenzie Cribb, Sophomore

“I think we need to stop forgetting about Thanksgiving.”

- Try Hunt, Junior

“12 days before. Because of the 12 Days of Christmas song.”

-Dustin Ansley, Senior

“I start celebrating Christmas right after Thanksgiving. Usually right after I go out and get a tree. It’s tradition.”

- Jessica Escorza, Junior

“After you get your candy on Halloween. When the costume come off then you can start celebrating Christmas and it’s all about the Christmas cookies.”

- Mike Marcouxl, Senior

“As soon as Thanksgiving is over I start decorating for Christmas. My roommate and I make snowflakes out of magazines.” - Malissa Thomas, Junior

“You can start celebrating the day after Thanksgiving because you have to give all of the holidays their own time. If you start celebrating any time sooner than Christmas becomes boring.” -Nate Wright, Senior

the black the white and the in between.

“Start celebrating Christmas the day before Halloween. Because you only live once.” - Brittney Doehring, Senior

Compiled by Kimberly Miller@StudyAbroadUSAC

Live without regrets,Learn without borders.

Discover where you’ll study abroad at usac.unr.edu

USAC_New_6x5_B&W.indd 1 21/06/13 6:47 PM

NEWS EDITOR WANTED

The Point Weekly

is looking for

a news editor

for second

semester. For

more information,

please email

Abby Hamblin

abbyhamblin0105@pointloma.edu

PHOTO BY SAM CHRISTOPHER Feral cats snack on food given to them by Debi Reis, assistant to PLNU’s vice president for external relations. The cats, which live in the bushes near the entrance to campus, are quickly multiplying as PLNU community members seek to control and protect them.

6 | FEATURES the point weekly | monday, november 11, 2013

Blitzen Trapper promotes seventh album at show in La Jolla

Debuting Dillon Kane in “Crimes of the Heart”

BY BRITTANY NAYLOR

STAFF WRITER

Dillon Kane had never done the-ater before his debut in Solomon The-ater last week.

A literature major in his senior year, Kane landed the role of Doc Porter in “Crimes of the Heart,” a PLNU production which explores the troubles of three young women as they return home to Mississippi.

Four weeks into production, the person originally cast to play Doc had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. A replacement needed to be found im-mediately. Elizabeth Lambert, a senior at PLNU who plays the lead role of Babe in “Crimes of the Heart” decided to ask Kane.

“Elizabeth approached me in our Postcolonial Lit class to consider do-ing the play,” said Kane via email. “She was addressing me and another male colleague of ours. She said that one of the two guys who were acting in the show dropped out, and that one of us could replace him and be a huge help in doing so. Elizabeth said we wouldn’t even need to audition.”

Lambert saw that the personali-ties of the role of Doc and Kane’s were similar enough to work together.

“I just had this feeling that Dillon should be Doc, so I just asked him if he would be interested in doing theatre and he kind of showed some interest,” said Lambert. “I just kept pushing and I said [he] would be great at it. He has a really good voice and he has the right

look for it and presence, so it kind of was a happy coincidence I guess.”

This feeling of Kane’s natural fit for the role was not Lambert’s alone, but was a mindset also shared by Wal-ter Williams, PLNU professor of Theater and director for “Crimes of the Heart.”

“He seemed like he would be nice for the role,” said Williams. “It was too late in the process to do a formal audition; we were already four weeks into rehearsal. He got up on stage and read the role and start-ed moving around in it and he was fine for it. I very much like what he is doing.”

Kane was excited about the pos-sibility of acting in “Crimes of the Heart” though he had no previous ex-perience acting on stage.

“I wanted to give it a real

shot,” said Kane. “I told Elizabeth on a Friday that I could and would love to do it. I met with Wally, the director, the following Monday morning, and started rehearsing with the cast that afternoon.”

Now that Kane has played his role of Doc Porter every night in the play’s five day running in Solomon Theatre, he shares how fun he finds acting to be.

“For the actors, we memorize our lines, we get our blocking down, we work on how to deal with each other on stage, in character, and after that, [the character] becomes you,” said Kane. “It’s been a lot of fun the whole time, but now that the shows are un-derway, I think it’s more fun because I get to live the character and expe-rience what I wanted to experience

when I agreed to [filling in].”Such an experience has made a

lasting impression with Kane who says that if he could go back, he would consider double majoring in literature and theatre. Looking ahead in life, though, Kane has plans to continue his thespian career.

“I think I’m actually going to audi-tion for the show that is going on in January called ‘Dark Matter,’” he said. “I think I’m going to audition because it was fun.”

For those who missed “Crimes of the Heart,” two special showings will happen on Nov. 23, at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. for Homecoming festivities.

PHOTO BY BRITTANY NAYLORSenior Dillon Kane, on the set of Solomon Theater’s “Crimes of the Heart,” in which he played the role of Doc Porter. Kane had never done theater before when he was cast in the play, which ran last week.

“A few things that

I really enjoy about

Argentina are the

language, greeting

people with a kiss, the

music, drinking mate,

traveling and meeting

people from all over

the world.”

- James Spaite

STUDY ABROAD PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Taking on

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY JAMES SPAITESophomore Music in Ministry major James Spaite stands in front of Iguazú Falls in the north east of Argentina. “It is basically Niagara Falls on steroids and it is in all three countries of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay,” he says. Spaite is studying in Buenos Aires, Argentina through International Studies Abroad.

ARGENTINA

A&E | 7

a&emonday, november 11, 2013 | the point weekly

PLAN YOUR WEEK

11/12: “Much Ado About Nothing”; The Old Globe- Sheryl & Harvey White Theatre; 7 p.m.11/13-16: San Diego Asian Film Festival; Digiplex Mission Valley (and other theaters)11/13: Mason Jennings; Belly Up Tavern; 8 p.m.11/15: Mayday Parade with Man Overboard and Cartel; House of Blues; 6:30 p.m.

BY MORGAN CARNE

STAFF WRITER

“It’s cause I didn’t like his looks,” says Babe MaGrath, introducing a cen-tral conflict of love and loss in “Crimes of the Heart.”

The opening scene immediately engaged the 30-person audience on Nov. 6. The Salomon Theatre produc-tion, which opened on Nov. 5, is di-rected by Walter Williams, professor of communication and theatre and stars several PLNU theater students.

Written by Beth Henley in 1978, the play follows the past and present of the three MaGrath sisters as they navigate life in Hazlehurst, Mississippi in the fall of 1974, five years after Hurricane Camille. Lenny, Meg and Babe each struggle with different issues in similar ways: avoidance and isolation.

The theatre set did wonders for developing a homey atmosphere. From Campbell’s soup cans to Bis-quick boxes, porcelain roosters to decorative salt and pepper shakers, the set appeared to reflect the ‘40s, yet the story takes place in the ‘70s. The abundant nature scene paintings and yellow paisley wallpaper lent a rustic feel to the house. Aspen trees and green fields outside complete the snapshot of a quintessential southern abode. Such a peaceful set-ting belies the character of the turbu-lent events unfolding in the drama.

The actors portrayed each charac-ter eloquently, drawing the audience in at each turn of events. Lenny is played by senior Laura Hague, who gives off a

sense of ferocity fighting for control of her demeanor.

Babe — played by senior Eliza-beth Lambert — is in jail at the outset of the play after shooting her abusive husband Zachary in the stomach. Lam-bert brings warmth and sincerity to the character, endearing the audience with each outburst of laughter.

“I think it’s an important thing that a person could win an important ven-detta,” says Babe to Barnette Lloyd (se-nior Luciano Gallegos), the new lawyer in town, whose romantic feelings for

Babe grow with each passing scene.Meg’s attempted singing career

seems to have failed, and now that she has returned home, she is always in motion, both literally and figura-tively. Freshman Katie Emma Filby portrays Meg as a true southern spit-fire, flippantly brushing off any at-tempt at introspection.

Chick Boyle, played by sophomore Samantha Watkins, acts as her antago-nist. Watkins lends her own charm and humor to the obnoxious and absurd character in the subtle nuances she

adds to her lines.Even when Doc Porter, a love from

Chick’s past, reappears, Watkins main-tains a sense of apathy that pervades every her movement. Doc — played by senior Dillon Kane — is quiet and reserved, with the hope of a future dif-ferent from his past shining in his eyes each time he speaks. Kane’s acting draws the audience in with a tender sadness that makes him relatable.

Despite Meg’s desperate fight to remain neutral among the emotional struggles of the characters, she finally

exclaims, “It’s an important human need — to talk about our lives.”

In the end, it is this simple dis-cussion of their lives that leads the MaGrath sisters to discover that their ultimate salvation in the midst of the woes and throes of life is in each other. Each of the actors depict the emotional darkness and vulnerability of the char-acters from the beginning of the play until the closing curtain.

“Crimes of the Heart” is showing again on Nov. 23 in Salomon Theatre.

Review: Unforgettable “Crimes”

PHOTO BY CASSLYN FISERFreshman Katie Emma Filby and senior Laura Hague act out a scene in Salomon Theatre’s production of “Crimes of the Heart.” Both students play two of the three MaGrath sisters, some of the central characters in the play.

BY EDDIE MATTHEWS

STAFF WRITER

On Saturday, Nov. 9, La Jolla’s Porter’s Pub stage had an Oregon state flag hung from the stage-right keyboard and a Cascadian Indepen-dence flag hung from the stage-left keyboard. It was set up for Portland-

based Blitzen Trapper, a quintet play-ing in support of its new album, “VII,” the seventh of the band’s collection.

Lead singer Eric Earley is a small, compact man with black hair that flows into a full beard the same color. His eyes are often closed while singing, tucked under the shadow of his eyebrows. He

plays banjo and guitar precisely; his thin, dexterous fingers know each instrument as a craftsman knows his trade.

A few songs in, the band played “Shine On” off “VII.” The song is an amalgam of influence — a gospel-sounding chorus, sung with the twang of Earley’s vocals, the pop keys from

Marty Marquis, and the long rock ‘n’ roll guitar solos. Earley journeyed away from the microphone and the theme to indulge his instinct to jam.

The band’s performance was often like jazz — collective improvisation that adds layers to the structure, but eventu-ally comes back to the chordal theme.

“Thirsty Man” was a perfect exam-ple of the band elongating the song and adding the textures of each instrument — electric guitar, synth, bass, drums — each instrumentalist contributing to the playground of space between the last verse and the last note.

While longwinded at times, the many solos of Earley were a marvel to watch, especially when he picked up his black banjo and began plucking as fast as he sang.

“VII” is distinctly more country than any other genre that’s been applied to Blitzen Trapper. It synthesizes the rock ‘n’ roll tendencies of the band into a country sound that evokes a sense of place in the backwoods of Oregon.

During upbeat “Neck Tatts, Ca-dillacs,” the pace of Earley’s vocals was closer to rap than country. Then the band slowed the tempo with “Stolen Shoes and a Rifle,” leaving no doubt

that Blitzen Trapper is primarily a country band.

The band left the stage before the encore, after playing 19 songs for the crowd of about 200 people. Earley re-turned to the stage alone with an acous-tic guitar and harmonica.

He played “Stranger In A Strange Land,” the most intimate song of the night. Earley sang from a place of con-tentment with a song that provided bal-ance and a break from the hard-driving guitar lines. It was simple and beauti-ful, speaking of regret but not linger-ing there. Earley achieved a connection with the crowd that was palpable.

Blitzen Trapper played with con-sistent energy, each song with a differ-ent twist from its recorded counter-part. Witnessing the process of songs being continually shaped and molded throughout the show was intriguing and refreshing.

The band finally stopped playing after about an hour and 45 minute set, but the crowd could’ve listened all night. And they’d have good reason to.

PHOTO BY EDDIE MATTHEWS Country/rock quintet Blitzen Trapper performs at Porter’s Pub in La Jolla on Saturday, Nov. 9. Their show —

consisting of 19 songs and one and half hours — promoted their seventh and newest album, “VII.”

Review: Band captivates crowd Blitzen Trapper promotes seventh album at show in La Jolla

the point weekly | monday, november 11, 20138 | A&E

Set donated to Coastline News

PHOTO BY OLIVIA MOWRYBroadcast Journalism majors, junior Marissa Hornaday and senior Kalyn McMackin, situate themselves with the new donated Channel 10 set behind them for their bi-weekly newscast of Coastline News. Katie Seals is also pictured at right.

BY TORY ORDONA

STAFF WRITER

Coastline News has a brand new look for its newscasts this year.

The biweekly live newscast, host-ed on campus, acquired several set pieces valued at around $250,000 in early September, according to Rick Moncauskas, the Point TV media op-erations manager. The pieces were do-nated by one of Moncauskas’ contacts at Channel 10 News.

“We’ve shot the Society of Profes-sional Journalists Payback Panel here in Fermanian for the last four or five

years,” Moncauskas said. “That’s how I met the guy at Channel 10 who gave us the set.”

J.W. August is the directing man-ager for Channel 10 and the executive producer for the Society of Profession-al Journalists. According to Moncaus-kas, Channel 10 is redoing its set and August offered the pieces to Coastline. Usually the old set is thrown away, but because these sets are made of parts and components that can be separated, they can be salvaged easily by others. Such professional equipment is desir-able to studios like Point TV.

Moncauskas and Clark Greer, pro-

fessor of communication, went to the Channel 10 studio in late June to se-lect the pieces they liked and brought them to campus. According to Greer, the components needed to be modi-fied to fit the Coastline set. The pro-cess took six weeks to complete.

“Some of these set pieces were eighteen feet long and very heavy,” Greer said. “We had to get bids from contractors, and it takes a lot of time to do this. We put the set up between teaching and doing other things.”

According to Greer, the work to adapt the set only cost about $1500, while it originally cost Channel 10

upwards of $100,000 to construct. Coastline received three back-drops, side panels to hold up the backdrops and a large LED light box that can be coordinated to any color for their studio.

Alan Hueth is another professor of communication that works with Point TV. He said getting the set through a donation saved the university tens of thousands of dollars and offers a more professional appearance.

“Viewers will interpret the new look so that it really adds to our ethos,” Hueth said. “And maybe students will prepare more when they appear [as

newscasters] in front of it.”Greta Wall, Coastline’s news

manager, said in an email that she was pleased with the latest addition to the studio.

“The first newscast with the new set went great, it looked better on camera than the old set,” Wall said. “All the stu-dents that have seen it love it.”

While some technical and me-chanical elements of the set aren’t completed, it is functional and viewers can see it on Point TV, channel 23.

New book explores rock ‘n’ roll worldBY AUTUMN SHULTZ

STAFF WRITER

In the time of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, one man was able to make a difference.

In his book, “Off My Rocker,” Ken-ny Weissberg — former Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay promoter and mu-sician — recounts his adventures in the ever-changing music industry and de-scribes the many musical icons he met on his journey. On Nov. 7, PLNU host-ed the author’s launch of his new book. The event began and ended with cheers and thunderous applause.

Prior to the event, Weissberg min-gled with excited audience members and thanked them for their attendance.

The audience, a mix of students, PLNU staff members, fellow authors and individuals who had worked with and known Weissberg throughout his 35-year career, filled the small Draper Hall conference room. All eyes were on the man whose life story was en-capsulated within the book that they held in their hands.

During the interview portion of the launch, journalism professor Dean Nelson asked Weissberg how he man-aged to craft such a detailed account of his careers as a disc jockey and music producer. Journaling was his number

one source of details.“I have a great memory, but I also

kept a journal during my time in Eu-rope,” Weissberg said. “I stopped when I moved to San Diego, but soon started up again. The irony of keep-ing a journal and being a journalist was not lost on me though.”

Weissberg said the music industry has changed since he first began work-ing in it.

“When I started my lifelong jour-ney in the music business with jobs in radio and print journalism when I was 23-years-old, most people in the industry were passionate music lov-ers.” Weissberg said. “Music was in the foreground and I considered my-self lucky enough to be a trendsetting tastemaker. As the years piled on and it became evident that there was huge money to be made in music, the cor-porations and suits started to take it over. The business, for the most part, has lost its soul. I was fortunate to have a 35-year career before I walked away from it all in 2007.”

Prior to his retirement, Weissberg influenced the lives and careers of many people. One of these was his former as-sistant and book launch attender, Mitzi Stone, who, with the help of Weissberg, raised her children in an almost entirely

musical environment.“Working with Kenny for 20 years

shaped me as a person in many ways,” Stone said after the event. “Most importantly, I was able to raise my children in the exciting world of mu-sic. Kenny always welcomed them at the office, at concerts and backstage. His enthusiasm for music was infec-tious and eagerly shared with me and my kids. I believe he not only helped shape me as a person but also made a life-long impact on [my kids] as well.”

Weissberg also entertained audience members at the launch last Thursday evening. After the event, members of the audience converged into groups in order to discuss what they had just wit-nessed. One woman, a friend of Stone, described the launch as “perfect” and the author as a “sweetheart,” as she clutched her new book to her chest and headed to the autograph line.

“It made my heart soar to see the event so well-attended,” Stone said. “I actually met a few people who I had spoken to on the phone for years but never had the pleasure of meeting in person until tonight. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the interaction be-tween Kenny and Dean Nelson, espe-cially during the Q&A segment. The event exceeded my expectations.”

SPORTS | 9

sportsmonday, november 11, 2013 | the point weekly

UPCOMING EVENTS

BY KENDALL BOSHART

STAFF WRITER

The women’s basketball program is kicking off its season in two weekends and the team has high hopes for this year.

Sophomore Jordan Ligons sees

that the success the team ended with last season is carrying over into this upcoming season.

“I think this year is our year,” said Ligons. “We really finished strong last year, especially after going 4-0 in Hawaii and after that our offense and

defense really started clicking.”Ligons and the team will travel

to Seattle to play their first games on Nov. 15 in a tournament against Cen-tral Washington and Seattle Pacific. She said she is excited to start the sea-son and sees the relationships between

teammates getting closer which will only add to their success on the court.

“We pretty much were all new last year so we didn’t know how to play with each other that well,” said Ligons. “But this year the returners know how each player plays and we know each other’s strengths and we are able to play well off each other.”

Senior Callie Rhoads agrees with Ligons, saying that the relationship between the girls is what will lead to their success on the court.

“We have the team chemistry, skill and endurance to beat any team that we come across,” said Rhoads. “It is our team chemistry that what will set us apart from the other teams.”

Rhoads and Ligons believe that spending one year in the conference has improved their team overall and that it was all that was necessary to successfully make the adjustment to NCAA Division II athletics. Rhoads sees the experience in NCAA DII last season only lending to the team’s per-formance in the upcoming season.

“We are not new to this con-ference anymore,” said Rhoads. “This year will be the time to

show these teams that Point Loma doesn’t mess around.”

Coach Bill Westphal sees this year as a strong year for the team because of the way his returning players are setting examples on an off the court.

“We should be stronger this year because we have seven return-ers who have worked hard to im-prove their skills, plus seven new players,” said Westphal. “This year’s team will not be about any one player, it will be about a team where different players stand out on different nights,” said Westphal.

Westphal expects a lot from his re-turning players and sees the seniors as a leading force for the team. He has not selected captains yet but there are many upperclassmen that are well qualified. Rhoads and Liggins, as well as their coach, are excited about the upcoming season and have positive feelings about the success they will see on the court.

“I think this year is our year,” said Ligons. “We have a great se-nior class and I really want to go deep into playoffs to make their last year memorable.”

Women’s basketball to build on last season

Bold predictions for NFL season

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION

PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFFREY BEALL

AFC1. Denver Broncos2. New England Patriots3. Cincinnati Bengals4. Indianapolis Colts5. Kansas City Chiefs6. New York Jets

NFC1. Seattle Seahawks2. Detroit Lions3. Carolina Panthers4. Dallas Cowboys5. San Francisco 49ers6. New Orleans Saints

Wild-Card Round:1. Chiefs over Colts2. Jets over Bengals3. Panthers over Saints4. 49ers over Cowboys

Divisional Round:1. Broncos over Jets2. Patriots over Chiefs3. Panthers over Lions4. Seahawks over 49ers

Championship Round:1. Broncos over Patriots2. Panthers over Seahawks

Super Bowl:1. Broncos over Panthers

PLAYOFF PICKS

1/12: W. Volleyball vs. Hawaii Pacific11/15: W.Basketball @ Central Washingtion11/16: W. Volleyball @ Dixie State, W. Basketball @ Seattle Pacific, W. Soccer vs. Bethesda

BY AUSTIN CHALLIS

COLUMNIST

The 2013 NFL season has proven to be unpredictable; I have struggled to predict where we would be at this point, but it doesn’t mean I’m not go-ing to stop trying. This midseason let’s not look back at what was but what will happen.

The Chiefs will finish with 5 losses. That’s right; the midseason champs

will finish enjoying only two more wins. Andy Reid’s crew has struggled to win the last three weeks to beat much lesser teams all of which started a quarterback who began the year as a backup! The Chiefs have played teams with a com-bined record of only 20-41 through week 8 and the Bills weren’t an upgrade in competition. The second half only gets harder. In the back half, they must face Denver and San Diego twice, along with the “Giant Killers”, the Indianapo-lis Colts. And you can’t count out tough games in Washington and in the Black

Hole where the Oakland Raiders are starting to surge with Terrelle Pryor at the helm. Their 9-0 start is impressive, but that pace will be tough to match.

Indianapolis will lose in the first round of the playoffs.

Even though the Colt’s big wins against Denver, Seattle and San Fran-cisco have bolted them into the NFL’s elite, their magic will not follow into the post season. Unfortunately for Indy, they are on track to have to play second place from the AFC West in the first round. That’s going to be Denver or Kansas City. It doesn’t seem likely for Indy’s luck to carry them past a team with that much tal-ent again (pun intended).

Carolina will win the NFC.Carolina wasn’t much of a talk at

the beginning of the year to a Super Bowl, but it’s about time to recognize them as a contender. Cam Newton has been a solid quarterback with only 7 interceptions and 13 passing TDs,

with 4 rushing TDs in eight games. Carolina boasts a top ten red-zone ef-ficiency; but what’s most impressive is their defense, which is only giving up 301.4 yards and 13.7 points per game. Carolina will win the NFC South and eventually the NFC Championship game. The week nine loss to the Jets will hold the Saints out of the playoffs.

Midseason Award Predictions:

MVP: Peyton Manning. It’s hard to argue against Peyton who is on track to have the greatest season – for a quarterback – ever. And that pace won’t change through the back half of the season. If the pace is broken, how-ever, Jamaal Charles will be happy to accept the MVP award.

Defensive Player of the Year: Richard Sherman. He’s the best player on the best defense in the NFL. Many, myself included, are sometimes blinded by his off-field antics, but his numbers don’t lie. He is tied with the NFL-best four interceptions and he

seems to be involved in every big play the Seahawks have.

Coach of the Year: Andy Reid. Yes, the Chiefs won’t keep up the pace they set, but Andy Reid deserves huge credit for transforming the worst team in the NFL into a contender. Even though Reid is an offensive coach, his biggest accomplishment is awakening the defense. (Lowest points allowed per game.)

Rookie of the Year: Zac Stacy/Eddie Lacy. Take your pick. Either one of these guys will be worthy of the ROY award. Stacy has given oppos-ing teams something to be afraid of when scouting, and has given St. Louis something they didn’t have in the first quarter of the season – a run game. Eddie Lacy is averaging more yards per game than any other RB since his return from injury. Lacy may have the advantage here because his team has a chance to win the NFC.

the point weekly | monday, november 11, 201310 | SPORTS

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WOMEN’S SOCCER

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

MEN’S SOCCER

Men’s Basketball:11/8: Win 65-54 vs. Northwest Nazarene11/9: Loss 75-93 vs. College of Idaho

Men’s Soccer11/9: Loss 0-1 vs. Azusa Pacific

Women’s Volleyball11/8: Win 3-1 vs. Chaminade11/9 Loss 1-3 vs. BYU-Hawaii

Women’s Soccer11/9: Win 2-0 vs. Azusa Pacific

1 1 / 15 @ Ce n t r a l Wa s h i n g t o n1 1 / 16 @ S e at t le Pa c i f i c1 1 / 2 0 v s . Va n g u a r d1 1 / 2 3 v s . C o n co r d i a1 1 / 2 9 @ C a l St at e D o m i n g u e z H i l l s1 1 / 3 0 @ C a l St at e L o s A n g e le s1 2 / 3 @ A c a d e m y o f A r t1 2 / 5 @ H o ly N a m e s1 2 / 7 @ D o m i n i c a n1 2 / 14 @ D i x i e St at e1 2 / 2 1 v s . N o t r e D a m e d e N a m u r1 / 2 v s . H o ly N a m e s1 /6 @ H aw a i i H i lo1 / 8 @ H aw a i i Pa c i f i c1 / 10 @ BY U - H aw a i i1 / 15 v s . C a l St at e S a n M a r co s1 / 1 7 v s . A z u s a Pa c i f i c1 / 20 @ C a l i f o r n i a B a p t i s t1 / 2 5 v s . D i x i e St at e1 / 3 0 v s . D o m i n i c a n2 / 1 v s . A c a d e m y o f A r t2 / 5 @ C a l St at e S a n M a r co s2 / 8 @ F r e s n o Pa c i f i c2 / 1 1 v s . C h a m i n a d e2 / 1 3 v s . H aw a i i Pa c i f i c2 / 15 v s . BY U - H aw a i i2 / 18 v s . S o u t h D a k o t a S c h o o l o f M i n e s2 / 2 2 @ A z u s a Pa c i f i c2 / 2 6 v s . C a l i f o r n i a B a p t i s t3 / 7 N CC A A R e g i o n a l s3 / 19 N CC A A N at i o n a l C h a m p i o n s h i p

SEASON SNAPSHOTS

Women’s Basketball Season Schedule

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION

PHOTO BY CASSLYN FISER

OPINION | 11

opinionmonday, november 11, 2013 | the point weekly

#LomaChatterHave something to say? Submit your

random thoughts, funny comments, or opinions! Text your #LomaChatter to

619-630-0728

I’m cutting all my classes this week because Bob Goff told me to. At

least I’ll know every line in Hook.... #diplomaticimmunity

So ready for Thanksgiving Twerk-y.

Save Point Loma souls

#THEGOFFATHER

Prins for king #homecoming2013

Why hasn’t there been a story on Dean Nelson in the PW? I know he’s the advisor and all but he is seriously the coolest. He has

to be shared with the world. #themshoesdoe

An incentive to take classes at liberty station. Well played Kerry

Fulcher.

Please no bananas in the caf before chapel #hotbreath

#lomachatter

i just wasted 15 mins and almost a fourth tank of gas looking for

parking. :(#CommuterProblems

Before I do anything, I ask myself: would an idiot do that that thing? If the the answer is yes, I do not do

that thing.

You know, sometimes you just need to go on a run whilst rocking

out to One Direction.

The triune of women’s worship at PLNU: Pseudo-Feminism, Bob Goff,

Beyonce.

Sucks to be short when you’re sitting behind the basketball

players in chapel.

Enjoying the ocean view on a fine, beautiful November morning.

Gotta love San Diego weather!

BY SAM CHRISTOPHER

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR

Ho Ho-Hum.

I can say with confidence that I do not like Christmas. Call me a Grinch, call me Scrooge, but my view of Christmas has been poisoned. Just hear me out. This is the story about how I became jaded toward one of the world’s most beloved holidays.

It is November, and that means it is unofficially okay for Christmas lovers everywhere to start putting up Christmas decorations. To them, it beckons the season to come sooner. I personally think that it is still too soon; in fact I would be okay if those Christmas decorations never went up. Here’s why:

I worked in retail for three years. It was not my cup of hot cocoa to begin

with, but I needed work experience. Every holiday season eager customers stampeded to the outlet mall in search of the best holiday deals. People were ruthless to get what they wanted, snappy if they didn’t get it,and typical-ly didn’t exude much “holiday cheer”. Being the most wonderful time of year, people sure didn’t seem to enjoy themselves.

Being in low position at work, I was often scheduled for the least de-sirable 12-hour shifts on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), Christ-mas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Eve. I would work all night with unpleasant people, while Christmas tunes played on repeat. Hearing doz-ens of renditions of “White Christ-mas” was enough to make me want to stick my head in the snow- per-manently. People at the mall did no

“mixing or mingling”, yet the jingle bell rock kept on jingling. There was a disconnect somewhere.

I have fond memories of Christmas growing up. My family and I would sit by the fire as my dad told the story of Jesus in a manger. My brothers and I would fight to place the next ornament on the advent calendar. We would all spend time together as a family and sing Christmas songs: real ones – about Jesus, not about Rudolph kiss-ing mommy in a winter wonderland; no chestnuts, sleigh rides, or snowmen in sight.

My experience at the outlet mall showed me that my idea of Christmas growing up was in stark contrast to what Christmas had actually become, a counterfeit, corporate America cash-in on consumerism, disguised as the “season of giving”!

I am recovering though. It’s been several years since I’ve worked in re-tail. I am just now warming up to the idea of Christmas decorations. My neighbors already have theirs up and upon seeing them I didn’t have any nervous flashbacks. I no longer feel uneasy when I see Christmas count-downs on Facebook, “Only 49 days!” But please forgive me if I don’t join you on singing Christmas carols or buying presents this year; I’m not quite there yet, and frankly don’t know if I’ll ever be.

I’m not here to tell you you’re wrong if you like Christmas, I just want to encourage you to do some of the following: Buy less things, spend time loving your friends and family, try to enjoy fall while it’s here and don’t forget about Jesus.

CHRISTMAS: Counterfeit, Corporate-America Consumerism

BY CLINT BETKEY

JUNIOR CONTRIBUTOR

Drive east on the I-8. Exit in El Cajon and on certain streets, you’ll begin to notice something peculiar: some signs written in Arabic as well as in English. This is because El Cajon is home to thousands of Iraqi refugees, people who were forced to trade the comfortable and the familiar, for hard-ship and uncertainty.

History is littered with blank pages, untold stories from untold masses of people who did not sow violence, but were the inheritors of its fruits. These often forgotten people are the refugees, the noncombatants who, whether by violence, persecution, or coercion, were evicted from their homes.

The United Nations High Com-missioner of Refugees (UNHCR) states that by the end of 2012, there were 15.4 million refugees worldwide. However, the reality of human suffer-

ing can’t be conveyed in stoic numbers. We may ask, ‘What does this have to do with us? How can we possibly help?’

All it takes is a stroll through down-town El Cajon to discover that these refugees are not a statistic. They are living, breathing people, who laugh at the same things, cry at the same trag-edies, and take heart in the same joys that we do. And their struggles aren’t distant or abstract; they’re 30 minutes down the I-8!

According to the State of Califor-nia’s website, nearly 13,000 of the total 18,982 Iraqi refugees that have been placed in California from 1995-2012 have been placed in San Diego County alone, making our county the largest Iraqi refugee haven in California.

For many refugees living stateside, the dangers of Iraq may have passed, but feelings of frustration, isolation and pov-erty remain very real. Recently, I have been given the opportunity to talk to and meet with several of these people. Not

all of their stories are the same, but many begin with a sense of urgency, a need to escape an overwhelming danger, where everything material becomes inconse-quential. Leaving everything behind was difficult for most, but when daily events like walking to school became life-threatening, there was little choice.

Escaping with their families was only the first step. For those lucky enough to find asylum in El Cajon, new challenges emerged with new frustrations. Some are former doctors, lawyers, business-men, and teachers, but now many work as cashiers and liquor store clerks. A degree or experience that made them qualified at home does not necessarily make them eligible to work the same job in the US.

Their kids are equally frustrated, as they try to learn a new language and fight a sense of inefficacy. Some of the youth, without a sense of stability, struggle to see purpose in any efforts to learn or pursue a goal.

Various organizations work to help this community, such as Youth and Leaders Living Actively, or YALLA. On its website, YALLA expresses its mission “to help child survivors of war rebuild their lives with education and soccer.” Using a mix of soccer and tu-toring, YALLA helps refugee children rediscover a purpose through educa-tion while at the same time providing a fun respite from everyday life.

Whether as volunteer tutors, coaches, donors, or local mentors, there are countless ways for us to help. Various churches offer refugee volun-teer opportunities as well as numerous charities. As university students living in San Diego, we are in a unique posi-tion to make a real impact on a com-munity that is located so close to our own. People need stability to grow, and we can provide them with solid ground. For more information about how to become involved or give to the refugee community, visit yallasd.org.

Iraqi refugees of El Cajon: Their story and how you can help

COMIC BY DARIN VERA

The Point WeeklyAbby Hamblin /// Editor-In-ChiefKathleen Callahan ///News EditorKimberly Miller /// Features EditorTavis Robertson /// Sports EditorKathleen Rhine /// A&E Editor

The opinions in this section may not reflect those of The Point Weekly or of Point Loma Nazarene University. Letters to the editor and columns are subject to editing for length, taste, grammar and clarity. Letters to the editor must include the author’s name, major, class standing and phone number and be limited to 500 words. Please submit your opinions to gsibingo1992@pointloma.edu.

Guimel Sibingo /// Opinion EditorAbbey Stewart /// Copy EditorRachel Harrell /// Design EditorMatthew Linman /// Assistant Design EditorRachel Barr /// Web Editor

12 | OPINION the point weekly | monday, november 11, 2013

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BYARTHUR SHINGLER

FRESHMAN CONTRIBUTOR

Look left, look right, you wont see them. But look down? Look down and they’re everywhere.

I was sitting in the dimly-lit Mac Lab on campus when I looked at the fel-lows next to me, both friends and it oc-curred to me, then, to look at their feet. To my left, I eyed Superman on a pair of thick gray Converse. To my right, a casual pair of blue Vans with leather cord laces. The owners of these kicks? Freshman graphic design major Cory Dobbins representing Converse and freshman Philosophy-Theology and Writing major Rhys Lee sporting Vans.

When asked his opinion on Vans, Lee responded fondly about his shoes.

“I, personally, love them. I’ve al-ways enjoyed Vans. I guess I just like

the look of them, the feel of them.” More specifically, Lee appreciates

Vans’ potential for stylistic freedom. “The last pair I had, had hiking

laces instead of the regular ones and I thought, ‘Oh, that’s pretty cool,’ and then I saw these with leather laces and I thought, ‘Oh, that’s cool too!’”

Additionally, being a man of dis-criminating taste, Lee was not without strong comment on the opposition.

“I’ve never liked Converse,” he said. “I’ve never worn them and I probably never will. I personally don’t like them.”

In contrast to Lee’s passion for the subject, Dobbins, a recent Converse convert, expressed his opinion with an air of neutrality.

“I only actually got into Converse in the past year but I love the style and I love how there are different designs

so they can fit anyone’s needs,” he said. “I used to wear Vans all the time and I just walked into Converse one day and Converse are like a higher class skat-ing shoe. They keep the classic feel.”

When asked what his Converse say about him, Dobbins shared that his pop-art Superman clad shoes are “playful” and express his love for illustration.

However, we know that there is more to a shoe than meets the eye. Re-member Airwalk shoes? “The poor-man’s Vans,” according to UrbanDic-tionary.com; these shoes looked great but did not hold up. What about Converse and Vans?

For freshman visual arts major Al-ice Bachour, it’s all in the toes.

“I used to wear Converse, but then I switched to Vans because they were what was in,” she said. “I wiggle my

toes when I’m nervous, so I wore holes through them after just a few months, but Converse have the rubber toes.”

For freshman literature major and Community Service Officer Josh Morse, holes are the least of his wor-ries. On the contrary, he views rips and tears as trophies of time gone by.

“Vans seem to last forever,” he said. “And even when they look like they’re not lasting, they still will carry on.”

Morse’s hall-mate, psychology major Louis Hidalgo, who wore a pair of clean black Vans overheard and was quick to take the offensive in favor of Converse.

“I bought these shoes [Vans] and look, they’re getting all messed up,” he says. “Like torn up. And I haven’t even really skated with these shoes. Imagine when I start skating with these shoes.”

“And you prefer nicer looking shoes?” I asked.

“Like Converse. They last,” he said.So which is superior, Converse or

Vans? In truth, both brands have the potential to be whatever their wear-ers perceive them to be. Both can be worn, signals of roads well traveled. Both can also be clean and classy. Either one can be “playful,” “what’s in,” or shoes that “last forever,” if the wearer chooses to make them so. However, there is a higher truth to be told here; one that emphasizes the wearer, not the worn.

“What spirit is so empty and blind that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the gar-ment with which it is clothed?” Mi-chelangelo said. Think about it.

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