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Monday, October 15, 2012 Volume 41 Issue 6

BACKIN THESWING OFTHINGS/ p. 11

MENSSPORTS

PHAZINGOUT

/ p. 8

With the deadline for registering to votefast approaching, the role of the college-age

vote in the elec tion process is coming underincreased scrutiny.

During the 2008 presidential elec-tion, the youth came out to vote, driven byBarack Obamas powerful social media cam-paigns and the influence of youth-orientedorganizations such as Rock the Vote. De-spite this, young voters still only made upabout 19 percent of the electorate.

And, according to a recent Pew Cen-

ter study on voter enthusiasm, this year theamount of voters age 18-29 who say theyre

more interested in the election than fouryears ago has dropped 17 points, and thosewho are fo llowing the el ection very c lose-ly have dropped 12 points from 2008. Now,facing a stagnant job market and a surplusof student loans, many young people seemto be turned off by politics altogether.

At PLNU, some students see a lack ofpolitical interest in the campus community.

Our campus is very apathetic, said

Shannon Leonard, president of the PLNUCollege Republicans.

The turnout is never there, said JustinVos, member of the College Republicans andvice president of Students for Mitt Romney.You want to target people who will come outfor you. Young people dont pay taxes, and

theyre not too involved in debt.

Other students see a lack of knowledgeabout the issues.

I myself am not a voter, said PLNUsophomore Tyler Boer. I think people who

vote should have an idea on what theyrevoting formost people today dont reallyknow what theyre actually voting on.

According to Lindsey Lupo, PLNUprofessor of political science, although the

youth vote increased in 2008, voter turnoutamong college-age students has consistent-

ly been low.

Since 1972 and the passage of the 26thAmendment , there has been an average17-point gap between 18 to 24-year-oldsand those 25 years and older, Lupo said.

But, Lupo added, voter turnout is notthe only criterion by which to measure po-litical participation.

Youth are highly engaged in direct ac-tion, protests and volunteerism, for exam-ple, she said. To measure political partici-pation by voting alone is not a full picture

Last February, news broke that manage-ment in the PLNU Wellness Center hadterminated all four counselors and the nursepractitioner following plans to change theservices offered. The Wellness Center is inthe process of assembling a new team capa-ble of providing numerous services, includ-ing counseling, academic advising and aid to

those in the Disability Resource Center.The changes in serv ice include, but arenot limited to, combining the AcademicSupport Center and the Wellness Centerinto one unit. The Wellness Center isnow referred to as the Student Success and

Wellness Center.The success portion of this title is be-

ing accomplished by using academics as thefocus of counseling strategy. Furthermore,counseling sessions have been reduced fromunlimited sessions down to six. Students willthen be referred to further professional help

off campus.

Students react to Wellness Center changesA statue was taken from Nease Hall and placed

atop Brown Chapel on Wednesday evening, accordingto Public Safety Supervisor Kaz Trypuc.

Our officers removed [the statue] and returned itto Nease Hall on Thursday morning, Trypuc said.

The statue was identified as Lady Nease, a sculp-ture usually found in the Nease Hall fifth-floor lounge.

The statue was immediate ly spotted by PublicSafety officer Daniel King while on his morning cam-pus patrol.

When I arrived at work at 7, I noticed the statueon the roof of Brown Chapel, King said. I quicklygrew to enjoy the sight of this beautiful woman as I[patrolled] around campus.

King said Public Safety soon received a call re-

questing the removal of the statue, and Lady Neasewas removed from her perch.[After] carefully climbing down with her, we moved

her back to her resting place in Nease Hall, he said.King suspects the statue was placed atop Brown

Chapel as a type of prank.She [appears to have been] abducted in the night

by a group of young ruffians, he said.He was unable to disclose the names of the suspects

but said video evidence of the abduction exists.Unfortunately, the folks responsible for the prank

neglected the Nease Hall cameras, King said. Thatsall I can say about that.

Prominent figurerescued by PublicSafety

College voter apathy mayaffect upcoming election

Photo by Casslyn Fiser

courtesy of mark mann

Public safety officer Daniel King with the recovered LadyNease statue

The interior of the updated Wellness Center

alexandra taylorstaff writer

parker bunchstaff writer

kyle lundbergeditor-in-chief

2012 VOTERS GUIDE

DMV

R e g i s t r a ti o n d e a d l i n e i n C a l i f o r n i a i s o n O c t o b e r 2 2 .

h t t p s : / / w w w . s o s . c a . g o v / e l e c t i o n s t u r b o v o t e . o r g

I n P e r s o n :

O n l i n e :

[Cont. Student Voters, p.2]

[Cont. Wellness Center p.2]

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the point weekly | monday, january 23, 20122 | NEWS

of the election process. The col-lege question is important; youngpeople with college experience aretwice as likely to vote than those

without. Other evidence suggests that

the primary reason college studentsare not voting may be the fact thatthey are confused about how toregister.

According to statis tics from the

Center for Informationand Research on Civic Learningand Engagement, over one quar-ter of college students reported in2010 that they didnt register be-

cause they didnt know where orhow to do so. Registration is alsokey to voter turnout. In 2008, 87percent of college students whoregistered to vote actually endedup voting, according to CIRCLE.

Recent efforts have cropped

up to help increase the ease of ac-cess to voting registration. PLNUsCollege Democrats and Republi-cans have voting registration formsavailable for anyone who asks, and

the Office of Student Developmenthas been promoting an online reg-istration program called Turbo

Vote. The program promises tomake the voting process as awe-some as renting a DVD from Net-

flix by keeping track of deadlines,

sending text reminders of upcom-ing elections and sending all of theregistration forms to the voter.

Students from California cantake advantage of the motor vot-

er law, which allows residents toregister to vote when visiting anyDMV office. Out-of-state students

who want to vote in Californiasimply need to establish residency,

which they can do even with an

on-campus address. On Election

Day, the First Church of the Naza-rene on campus is a polling place,but absentee ballots, which votersreceive in the mail and then mailback, are also available.

The deadl ine to reg ister to votevaries by state. In California , its 15days before the election. This year,its next Monday, October 22. TheCalifornia Secretary of States web-site contains detailed information

on registering to vote at sos.ca.gov.

So far, responses to the changeshave been mixed.

Last year was awesome and Ihad great counselors that helpedstudents out, said A.J Gizzarelli, astudent who has used the counselorsthis year and last. But it is not asgood this year.

When a student goes in forcounseling they arent worried aboutacademics. Thats a mistake the

Wellness Center is for wellness, the

Academic Center is for academics,said Gizzarelli.

One of the biggest concernsamong students is the six-week pro-

gram. Students are only allowedsix sessions with a Wellness Cen-

ter counselor before being referredto off-campus help. The WellnessCenters page on PLNUs websitedoes offer several professional pro-grams, including PLNU Professorof Psychology Daniel Jenkins Light-house Psychological Services. How-ever, some students are afraid theirinsurance will not cover the expensesneeded for further professional help.

Roy-Malachi Lagaretta, a juniorwho has been attending counsel-

ing sessions for two years, said he isupset about this new policy. With a

limit of six sessions and limited in-surance, he is not sure where to turn

after his sessions are up.Im just going to stop [attending

counseling sessions]; I could ben-efit more from a professor who hasmore experience, like professor Hall,or from a pastor, said Lagaretta.

Whether a student can continue toreceive counseling if they cannot af-ford it elsewhere has yet to be deter-mined.

Dr. Kim Bogan, who has over-seen these changes as the associate

dean of student success and advising,emphasized the renovation of the

building.[The Wellness Center] has un-

dergone cosmetic physical changesto invite students to a calming,peaceful, spa-like environment,Bogan said. These changes includefreshly-painted blue walls and cur-tains that screen the section contain-ing pamphlets on various illnesses,both physical and psychological.

In regards to the counselingchanges, Bogan stressed that it is a

part of the Centers mission to pro-mote a seamless continuum of ser-

vices for academics and wellness.New staff and prospective candidates

are expected to reflect this mission.We are in the process of getting

staff, Dr. Bogan said. An email willbe sent out campus-wide when thehiring process is completed.

Other students said they haveenjoyed their treatment at the Well-ness Center. Jasmine Myles, a soph-omore, recently received servicesfrom a nurse in the Wellness Center.

Every time I went in, the ladyat the front desk remembered exactly

who I was and exactly what I wasdoing, Myles said. She was super

sweet and gave me all the informa-tion I needed to know.

[Wellness Center Cont. from p.1]

[Student Voters Cont. from p.1]

The first Presidential debate of

this election season has sparked heat-ed debates among students across

campus as they discuss opposingpolitical views. Last Wednesday, fol-lowing the Presidential debate, ASBheld a discussion where students

were free to express opinions andreactions to the topics addressed bythe candidates, and the room quicklyfilled with tension as students articu-lated opposing views.

The Pew Forum conducted a poll

on religion and political affiliation,finding that in 2008 65 percent of

White Evangelical Protestant votersidentified with the Republican Party,

while 28 percent identified with theDemocratic Party. Four years later,these numbers have changed to 71

percent identifying as Republican and22 percent identifying as Democrat.Gallup Politics took a national

poll, not taking religion into consid-eration, and reported that since 1988

the Republican Party has decreasedfrom 31 percent to 27 percent, as has

the Democratic Party from 33 per-cent to 31 percent. However, the In-dependent party has increased from33 percent to 40 percent.

When taking the whole of the

American population into accountthere is a mere 4 percent gap be-tween the two parties, yet the gap sitsat 49 percent when looking at Chris-tian political affiliations.

Taylor Rivers, PLNU student andmember of the College Democrats,

said that the ties that have been madebetween the Republican Party andChristianity alienate Christian Demo-crats, making the latter feel unholy.

It is dangerous to tie religionto a political party, she said. Dylan

White, a Republican junior, theo-rized about the causes of the associa-tion between the Republican Partyand Christianity.

As a Christian, God gives usthings out of grace, but at the sametime there is this sense of we have todo work to get things in life, Whitesaid. God wants us to love other peo-ple, and one of the best ways we do

that is maximizing our strengths andhelping other people. Republicanslove helping people, but its not giv-ing them a check, its in helping themfind a job.

Some Democrats on campusshared how their faith influenced

their decision to become a Democratrather than Republican.David Lingner, a professor of

Chemistry on campus, said in an emailthat the principles that influenced his

decision to affiliate with the Demo-cratic Party include, social justice,

fairness, strong values, compassion,education, environment, future-ori-ented, fiscally intelligent, militarilystrong but not aggressive.

Ron Benefiel, dean of the PLNUschool of Theology and Christian

Ministry, described in an email thathis ministry encounters with thepeople on the streets of L.A. causedhim to switch from being a Republi-can to a Democrat.

I switched my party affiliation toDemocrat largely because of my re-lationship with and concern for those

who lived on the margins of society,he said.

Every individual has divinevalue, hence all persons are to bevalued equally as children of God,in Gods image, said Michael McK-inney, PLNU professor of Germanand literature. I have deep empathyfor the poor, the disadvantaged and

disenfranchised, as I think Christ didas well.McKinney also said, however,

that equating religion and faith canbe troubling.

Where the line is crossed is in in-puting ones political views to God and

the Christian faith. This is the heightof arrogance and expression of power:My ways are Gods ways, for this pro-

vides the license to kill or whatever

all in the name of God, who standsbehind whatever I do; i.e., God is on

my side, not yours.PLNU student Gina Dolesrecently switched her political af-filiation when she realized that theDemocratic Party upholds more ofher own beliefs than the RepublicanParty, as she said she believes Demo-crats show more concern for people.

David Lingner said he admiredthe open political nature of the

PLNU community.Nazarenes seem like good peo-

ple who are willing to discuss impor-tant issues intelligently and openly,

with respect for the opinions ofothers and without ad hominem at-tacks, Lingner said. Being here has

brought me back to the church andto Christianity. In some ways, Ivenever left, but now Im much stron-ger, thanks to the knowledge thatChristians are not necessarily associ-

ated with Republicans.Benefiel said he recognizes the

tension that exists in our countrybetween the two parties, but saidthat, as a Christian institution, Weshould be reconciled to each otherknowing that we share a higher com-mitment and allegiance to Christ andthe Kingdom of God.

Conflict of political affiliation and faith

Nazarenes seem

like good people

who are will-

ing to discuss

important issues

intelligently and

openly...

rylie shorestaff writer

Monday, October 15, 2012

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the point weekly | monday, january 23, 2012 | 3

As a PLNU sophomore, Rebec-ca Aguilera knows firsthand howtight the wallets of college studentscan be. Despite this, PLNU stu-dents, faculty, and members of thePoint Loma community are beingasked to give back.

An on-campus food drive, Col-lege Rock Hunger, begins todayand will run through the 28th of

this month.

As college students, we dontreally have that much money, but Ithink its really simple to give back,said Aguilera, who is one of about10 student volunteers organizing

and promoting the food drive.A partnership between the Ja-

cobs & Cushman San Diego FoodBank and Hard Rock Hotel SanDiego to fight hunger in San Di-ego county has resulted in this fooddrive geared toward getting collegestudents involved.

There are four local collegeparticipants: University of Cali-fornia San Diego, San Diego StateUniversity, California State San

Marcos, and PLNU. The colleges

are competing to raise the mostdonations, whether in the form offood or money, and the school withthe most donations-per-student ra-tio will win.

Accor din g to San Di ego Foo dBanks website, The prize forthe winning school is a life-sizedguitar trophy with the nameof the school engraved on thefront, and the name of the win-ning school will be projected on

the side of the Hard Rock Hotelfor a week.

This is PLNUs second timeparticipating. Director of Com-munity Life & Co-CurricularStrengths Programs Melissa Burt-Gracik headed the event last year,and plans to completely change theoutcome this year.

We had a really poor show-ing, said Burt-Gracik, describingPLNUs attempts during the pre-

vious food drive. We didnt havemany donations at all. So after last

year, I sa id to myself, Im not go-

ing to let that happen again.Fresh & Easy, Vons and vari-

ous areas around campus will havefood bins for donations. Sodexois providing packages of food thatstudents can buy and place in thedonation bins, as well as offeringSea Lion dollars or PBC creditswipes in two and five dollar in-crements, allowing easy ways forstudents to donate.

A virtual food drive is avail-

able online, where people can do-nate money toward the drive. Inaddition, PLNUs annual Fall Fes-tival, which supports a benefit ev-ery year, has chosen College RockHunger this year. Guests attend-ing the festival on Saturday will be

asked to bring canned goods.The food drive has taken placeannually since 2008.

Last year we raised around60,000 pounds worth of food andmonetary donations, so its beenhugely successful, said Chris Cart-er, vice president of communica-tions, marketing and public affairsfor the food bank.

This is going to be the biggestyear yet, and were really excited

about it, Carter said, adding thatthis food drive is also an educa-

tional opportunity because a lot ofpeople, a lot of students, dont real-ize that hunger and poverty are re-ally very serious in our community.Its kind of hidden, and this reallyhelps to increase the awareness onthis as an issue in our community.

Those that benefit from thedonations of the food bank includethe 350,000 people the food bankfeeds every month. Among the re-cipients are senior citizens, singleparents, low-income families and,

more recently, middle-class fami-lies that have suffered job losses in

the recession.The food that you distributeto us will make it out to those dis-tributions, and it will go directly to

whoever it is standing in line , saidCarter. The food provided by thefood bank is primarily distributed

by volunteers in one of 153 food

distributions associated with thefood bank.

The food bank receives dona-tions and funding from foundations,individual donors, supermarkets, theUSDA federal government and food

drives, which the organization con-siders an important source of food.

One thing that we really want toemphasize is that no donation is toosmall, Carter said. You know, peo-ple think a dollar isnt very much

we can do a lot with a dollar. We canprovide three meals for every dollarthat is donated to the organization.

Carter explained that the SanDiego food bank, along with oth-ers, has relations with wholesale

food markets and food growersthat discount food products for

these organizations. They can buyeight pounds of fresh produce fora dollar, and most of the moneydonations will go toward provid-ing fresh produce for families, ameasure the food bank is takingto increase the nutritional value

of the food they provide.

94 cents of every donated dollargoes to the food programs associ-ated with the food bank, and 6 per-cent of each dollar is used towardthe organizations overhead costs.

Ac cor ding to Bur t-G rac ik,

participation of students andfaculty in the food drive is keyto its success.

To me, its just incredibly im-portant to have a good showing,said Burt-Gracik. Were the onlyChristian school participating.

Theres a lighthouse at the end ofPoint Loma, and its there to be alight to shipping vessels that comein here. Well, I think we need tobe a spiritual light here on PointLoma, and serve our community the hungry among us.

On November 9, Hard RockHotel will hold a ceremony in whichthe winning school of the food drive

will be announced. Among the at-tendees are Jerry Sanders, mayor

of San Diego, and Tony Young,council president. They will honorand present the guitar trophy to the

winning school.If we can extend a hand and

help out, even donate a meal offyour ID card that is huge be-cause that will help someone notgo hungry for the night, said

Agu iler a. Were just aski ng youto serve.

PLNU participates in college food drive

Posters with this logo containing additional information are posted at various locations around campus.

NEWS

Last year we

raised around

60,000 pounds

worth of food

and monetary

donations, so

its been hugelysuccessful.

As college stu-

dents, we dont

really have that

much money,

but I think its

really simple to

give back.

I think we needto be a spiri-

tual light here on

Point Loma, and

serve our commu-

nity the hun-

gry among us.

shannon barrnews editor

Monday, October 15, 2012

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the point weekly | monday, january 23, 2012

A treasure trove of old newspa-pers was discovered in Keller Visual

Arts Center during some routinecleaning on September 27.

Heidi Boening, a sophomore vi-sual arts major and lab assistant inKeller Arts Center, found the articlesby chance in late September whendoing some housecleaning.

We were supposed to tear downthese boxes, she said. The boxesfunction as shelves to hold paintingsin order to dry them. The wood

was really old when I broke it open,and in the back I saw a newspapersticking out, she said.

Little did she know that whenshe broke them open there would

be a stash of old issues of the Star-

News, an evening newspaper forSouthern California.Heidi found the newspapers,

and I helped identify them, said JoeSloan, also a worker in the Visual

Arts Center. By looking at the dates,Sloan gathered that these papers

were from the mid-sixties.The papers Pasadena address

suggests that students or facultyfrom PLNUs old location hadplaced them there.

Boening remarked that the pa-pers were strategically placed wheresomeone would find them years later.

They were folded perfectly inthe back of the shelf, said Boening.They were shelves with compart-

ments, and thats not how shelves arenormally made. Someone knew thatthey would be torn down.

The papers provide quite a his-tory lesson. Many of the front-pagearticles reveal concern about Viet-nam. One article, entitled How War

May End Hinted, discusses formerpresident Lyndon B. Johnsons Stateof the Union Address. The story fo-cuses on a short proposal to North

Vietnam by Johnson to reduce their

use of force.Should California Bar Outsid-

ers? is an article about the debate as

to whether California should tax orlimit incoming citizens. The Cali-fornians of the day seemed to wantto limit people coming in, accordingto the article.

I dont like a lot of people. Cali-fornia has too many people already,said one student in the story.

There are also several politicalcartoons, which illustrate the issuesof the day. One depicts Fidel Cas-tro, former dictator of Cuba, as a fatbaby bird crying for a large wormheld above in the beak of a vulturerepresenting the USSR.

And, just like newspapers of to-day, the Star-News is riddled withadvertisements. One ad claimed

it had found the key to dramaticweight loss.

PLNU Art Professor Andy Hunt-er is still in the process of deciding

what to do with the newspapers.I have to contact some people,

he said. Whoever is interested Isuppose will figure out what to do

with them.Hunter has stored the newspa-

pers in Keller until further notice.

43 years is usually enough of acareer for two teachers, yet Dr. Da-

vid Michael McKinney is no ordi-nary professor.

McKinney started teaching atPLNU when he was 25 and has fol-lowed the school from its Pasadena

roots, where it was located when he

started teaching.McKi nney teac hes German

and literature at PLNU, and hiscontinental authors class alwayshas a surplus of students tryingto get in. In many ways, McK-inneys reputation precedes him.He can be found in his office inBond Academic Center, behindthe Constitution that is pasted on

his office window.

When asked what kept him hereafter the transition from Pasadena toPoint Loma, he cited the students asthe main reason.

McKinney spoke about how valu-able it is for students to get professors

with Ph.D.s as freshmen.

I dont think our kids get any lessof an education here than they wouldat UCLA . . . I think the teachingthat goes on here by my colleaguesis off-the-chart good, McKinneysaid. I couldnt even think of any

whose highest priority isnt to givethe students maximum education, in

whatever field it is.

Garret Levsen, PLNU baseballpitcher in his junior year, cited how

well McKinney teaches and how per-sonable he is.I took three years of Spanish

in high school and I learned morein two semesters of German thanI did in three years of Spanish . . .he knew how to relate to the stu-dents pretty easily, Levsen said.One thing I like about [McKin-ney] too is hes involved with the

students lives.McKinney talked about all the

students over the years that have be-come real friends.

On any daily basis I will gettwo or three emails from kids thatgraduated 20 years ago, 30 yearsago, and its always good, he said.You actually do become friends,so I have an unlimited number of

friends, and when you start men-tioning names back 10, 15 [years]

just warm fuzzies.McKinney is also a lawyer as well

as a full time professor, doing Appel-late Law usually dealing with mur-ders and always working in defense.

When asked about his appellatework, he recited a common story.

It probably was on one day,[they were] good people, their life

was really good and then on one daythen something bad, for whateverreason [they] made a big mistake andnow theyre going to spend the rest

of their life in a prison cell, McK-inney said. And theyve got moms

and theyve got dads and brothersand sisters . . . so on that side, theresmore than one person whos beengiven this life sentence.

McKinney is a humanist and hislove of people is evident in the wayhe talks and especially in the way heteaches. This feeling is what keeps himfrom assuming anything when defend-ing someone in his appellate work.

McKinney said that he suff erson both sides of each case, feel-ing the deep hurt of the victimsfamily as well as empathizing withthe reality of life in prison for thepeople convicted of murder thathe defends.

Dr. Hadley Wood, who hasbeen teaching at PLNU for 36

years and has know n McKi nney

since 1976, spoke of a time whenshe wanted to improve her lit-

erature class and sat in on one ofMcKinneys cla sses for insi ght.

He was very influential in help-ing me find my own voice as a teach-er, Wood said.

If PLNU students from the last30 years were asked about their mostinfluential teacher, its likely that McK-inney would be at the top of the list.

********************************************************************************************

QUOTE OF THE WEEKIm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. L.M. Montgomery in Anne ofGreen Gables*Warning: These quotes may or may not improve your intelligence.*

************************************************************************

Whos Who at PLNU: McKinney reflects onstudents, law and PLNU

PHOTO COURTESY OF EDDIE MATTHEWS

Newspapers found in Keller give insight to pastalexandra taylor

staff writer

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALEXANDRA TAYLOR

eddie matthewsstaff writer

Spotlighting staff, students and faculty

Got any ideas

for Whos Whoat PLNU? Email

them to

cradke692@pointloma.edu!

...his love of people is

evident in the way hetalks and especially in

the way he teaches.

The wood was really

old when I broke it

open, and in the backI saw a newspaper

sticking out.

4 | FEATURES Monday, October 15, 2012

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the point weekly | monday, january 23, 2012 | 5FEATURES

Gas prices steadily increasedlast week in California, specifi-cally in the Southern region. Thespike was dreadfully noticeable in

San Diego. Between October 4and 5, the cost per gallon jumpedup 20 cents.

The Californ ia Government sEnergy Almanac confirms that dur-ing the first week of October, thecost rose almost 50 cents. Califor-

nias state average, a record $4.66per gallon, is 80 cents higher thannationwide prices.

Members of the PLNU com-munity are struggling with the ex-traordinary numbers.

Delila Prado is one of many stu-dents taking courses at the Com-munity Heights Classroom. Oncea week, she makes the commute

from the main PLNU campus fora literature course in City Heights.

Though she tries to carpool, herride-a-longs have been accumulat-ing a tab without contributing toher gas fund. Her frustration ex-tended to the school as well.

The fact that its in like CityHeights 20 minutes away Ifeel like they should be giving us alittle bit of gas money, said Prado.

As far as uni versi ty tra nsp or-tation, their budget does not feel

as much of a strain. Transporta-tion Manager of Physical PlantFred Ebrahimi explained thatPLNUs gas source is purchasedand replenished about once amonth. An outside companycomes and fills up a large tank

on campus to fuel vehicles.By the time we buy again,

the gas prices are back down,said Ebrahimi.

However, buses burn a largeamount of diesel gas, which is

where the cost hurts. Ebrahimi ex-pressed that the department has tobe more mindful when it comes todiesel gas use.

While bike riding and ride-shar-ing are encouraged and prominent in

the PLNU community, students arefinding additional ways to fight thehigh gas prices. Kathleen Bolamba, asophomore taking advantage of hav-ing a car on campus this year, found

relief through her smart phone.My friend showed me the Gas

Buddy app and its changed mylife, said Bolamba. Instead of

wasting my gas driving along Rose-crans, this handy-dandy app gives

me local gas prices. App users up-date the prices every few hours sothat its super accurate.

For now, Southern Califor-nia drivers will have to seek outthe cheapest pumps or avoidtraveling by car until a signifi-

cant price-drop responds to theconsiderable increase.

Pressure at the pump has studentseyeing bikes

taylor roystaff writer

This Friday, the students of

PLNU will be graced with thelong-awaited Fall Break. Visionsof jumping in piles of leaves, sip-ping apple cider and wearing cozysweaters are swimming before theeyes of many a student. Unfortu-nately, the closest we have to leavesare the piles of seaweed at OceanBeach and sweaters leave us sweat-ing by the end of the day. Where

can autumn-deprived students goto snuggle in their sweaters andboots? And how can they make itthere with just one extra day addedto the weekend? Lucky for us, wehave a number of destinations thatare worth a day trip or a long week-

end, some within just an hoursdrive of our home sweet home.

Places to go during Fall Break to see the seasoncallie radke

features editor

colton irvine and macy douglasstaff writers

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CuyamacaRancho State

PakWhy limit it to the town i t-

self? The state park offers a va-riety of hiking trails and camp-ing opportunities. Head overto Lake Cuyamaca to checkout boat rentals, fishing, camp-ing or picnicking. Or grab

your hiking boots for a trekup Stonewall Peak, a moderate5.3-mile trail that ends with a

view of the surrounding parkand Lake Cuyamaca.

Big BearIf youre looking for a lon-

ger trip, Big Bear is a drive ofabout two hours and 45 min-utes. Make the drive if youreinterested in hiking, fall col-ors, camping, biking, an alpineslide or a variety of other ac-tivities. Go to www.bigbear.comto plan your trip.

PalmarMuntain

Palomar Mountain is a twohour drive from Point Lomaand offers picnic spots, camp-ing, hiking and mountain-top views of the surroundingSan Diego area. The day usefee is eight dollars. Look formore information at www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=637.

Pump up your tires. Your carwont have to work as hard anduse as much gas when the tires are

pumped to the correct PSI.

Use your air conditioning

wisely. These random hot daysmay make you want to crank thatknob on your dashboard all the

way to the deepest color blue, but

be aware that blasting that A/C willdrain your gas tank and your check-ing account.

Lay off the gas. When yousee the streetlight turn from red togreen, dont feel obligated to smash

your foot on the gas pedal.

Lose the weight. No, Im not

calling you fat, but you need to dosomething with all that junk in your

trunk. The more weight you havein your car, the more gas it is goingto use to drive places.

Utilize the shuttle. The shut-tle service offered at PLNU is agreat way to get around when your

legs are too tired to go any further.Its free, its mildly fast, and thepeople that drive it are friendly andplay good music.

Use public transportation.One of the perks of living in a big

city is the access to almost any-where via public transportation.The city of San Diego offers trol-leys, buses and train rides all overthe city.

Exercise. If you just wantto grab some Cup of Yo, Peetsor Subway, pull a freshman and

walk. I f you ow n a bike , wo rk on

those leg muscles by biking toyour dest inat ions .

DisneylandRest

A drive of less than twohours, Disneyland and Cali-fornia Adventure are classicdestination points. Just dontforget your Mickey ears.

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Tax to fund education and early child-hood programs.-Personal Income Tax rates would be raisedon all but the lower income bracket from

2013-2024. The higher the income bracket, thelarger the increase in the marginal tax rate.(PIT is a tax on wages, business, investment

and other income of individuals and families).

-60% of money raised would go towards schools,with 10% allocated for Early Care and Education

and 30% going towards state debt payments.-In relation to prop. 30, which also addressesraising taxes, the measure with the most yesvotes prevails.

-Trigger cuts would still take effect if proposi-tion 30 does not go into effect.

StudentVoterGuideWhat California Votersshould know

Prop.38:

Temporary taxes to fund educationGuaranteed local public safety

funding. The states 2012-2013budget plan assumes passage ofthis measure. The budget includes

a backup plan that requires spend-ing reductions, trigger cuts, shouldvoters reject the measure.

-Increase personal income tax on annual earnings

over $250,000 for seven years.-Increase sales and use tax by cents for four

years

-Raises about $6 billion in additional annual staterevenues through 2016-2017-The additional revenues will help

balance the state budget through2018-2019If rejected, the majority of spending cuts willcome to education, with $250 million in cuts to

the UC system and another $250 million to the CalState system. Over $5 billion will be cut from pub-lic schools and community colleges. More minor

cuts will be made to the Department of Parks and

Recreation and DOJ Law Enforcement programs.

Prop.30:

Death Penalty-Repeals death penalty as maximum punish-ment for persons found guilty of murder andreplaces it with life imprisonment without

possibility of parole-Reduces cost of murder cases.-Reduces cost of holding criminals. Housing on

death row is more expensive that life imprison-ment due to increased security, etc.-Approx. $100 million savings over the firstfew years.

Prop.34:

Human Trafficking-Increased penalties for human trafficking,including prison sentence up to 15-to-life and fines

up to $1.5 million. Trafficking would now includecreating and distributing obscene materialsdepicting minors-Convicted trafficker must be registered as a

sex offender-Some increased costs for human traffickingtraining for police officers.

Prop.

35:

Genetically engineered food.-GE food must be properly labeled as such.Dept. of Public Health would regulate thelabeling of such food, and individuals

could sue manufacturers who violatelabeling provisions.

Prop.37:

Auto Insurance Companies-Allows insurance companies to offer con-tinuous coverage discounts on auto insurancepolicies for new customers who switch their

coverage from another insurer. It also wouldprovide the discount to workers who have beenlaid off for 18 months or less and those who have

had inactive insurance due to military service.

Prop.33:

For more propositions visit our website at pointweekly.com or sos.ca.gov/elections

kyle lundbergeditor-in-chief

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San DiegoMayoralCandidates

Jerry Sanders has reached his term limit, andnow we must choose between Bob Filner (Dem.)and Carl DeMaio (Rep.).

Carol DeMaioSan Diego City Council MemberDeMaios Roadmap to Recovery is a 10-step plan that emphasizes:-Keeping city government accountable and open

-Clean and safe neighborhoods-Comprehensive pension reform-Improving city infrastructure-Job-friendly policies targeting: tourism, defense, high tech and clean tech.-Reducing mayoral and council expenses

Bob FilnerU.S. Representativecampaign platforms:-Public safety: top priority: honesty, integrity and respect-Arts and Culture: local and national level.-Jobs: port into a global maritime center, harnessing green energy andcreating demand for solar power.-Education: restoring priority of youth services and resources amongpublic and private sectors.

-Small business advocacy-Returning power to the neighborhoods-Protecting and promoting San Diegos unique environment.-Chargers stadium: must give something back to the city and its taxpayers.

In the primaries, DeMaio received 32% of the vote, and Filner received

30%. -Information from candidates campaign websites, carldemaio.comand bobfilnerformayor.com

For insight on local issues, checkout the upcoming San Diegomayoral debate between candi-dates Carl DeMaio and Bob Filner,hosted by PLNU and the AsianBusiness Association. Thursday,

October 25, 10:45 a.m., LibertyStation Conference Center, 2600Laning Road in Point Loma. Regis-ter online at abasd.org.

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FOR MORE SCORES AND STATS, CHECK OUT: WWW.PLNUSEALIONS.COM

SEA LIONS SCOREBOARD

10/15-16: M. Golf @ CSU San Marcos Fall Invitational, allday.10/15: M. Soccer @ San Diego State University, 7 p.m.10/16: Volleyball vs. Biola University, 7 p.m.

10/17: M. Soccer @ CSU San Marcos, 2 p.m.10/17: W. Soccer @ CSU San Marcos, 4 p.m.10/20: Volleyball @ Grand Canyon University, 3 p.m.

10/8 L 1-3vs. Hawaii-Hilo

MENS SOCCER VOLLEYBALL

10/8 W 3-0@ Hawaii-Hilo

WOMENS SOCCER

10/8 W 4-0vs. Hawaii-Hilo

The 2012-2013 school year willbe the last year PLNU will have menscross country, mens golf and menstrack and field. The three teams will

be cut from PLNU athletics at theend of the year.

This deci sion is a result of TitleIX requirements placed on PLNU

Athletic s. According to AssistantAthletic Director Russ Blunck,the school is required to allowthe same percentage of athleticopportunities for men and womenbased on enrollment, within a 5

percent range. The enrollment ofwomen compared to men at PLNU

is much higher, which calls for morewomens sports to accommodatefor the percentage difference.

In 2010, the school had to cutthe womens softball programbecause they could not find asuitable field for the team topractice and play on, which meantthey lost a team of about 20 women.Losing such a significant amount of

women put the percentages out ofTitle IX regulations, so womensgolf was added.

However, the addition ofwomens golf was not a significant

enough boost, forcing the school todecide which mens teams would be

cut. This decision resulted in what isnow the end of mens cross country,golf and track and field.

Losing softball meant we hadto cut a pretty significant numberof mens sports and add a womenssport, said Blunck, which we did

with womens golf.Head cross country and track and

field coach Jerry Arvin was informedby the administration in 2010 that

his mens programs would be cutafter the 2012-2013 school year. He

says he is still upset with the decisionbut has come to terms with the fact

that there is nothing he can do tochange it.

Personally I wasnt happy withthe decision three years ago, said

Arvin. It impacted my men greatlyand through that has impacted meand has impacted the womens teamat the same time, because its neverbeen a mens and womens team

we do everything together.Brant Jones, a senior runner for

PLNU, says he never would havecome to the school had he been told

he was not going to get to run allfour years. He says he feels that the

decision has had a major impact onthe athletes at the school.

This decision impacted thelives of so many people, said Jones.Athletes like me who were extremelyhappy and loving life at Loma all of asudden had to decide if they wantedto transfer or stay.

I made the decision to stay andit was the best decision I could havepossibly made. Its extremely sad that

there will be no more mens track andcross country after this year, but I am

extremely thankful I got to finish mycareer here.

The loss of mens golf also affectsthe lives of many students. Formerhead coach and current director ofgolf Ben Foster told U-T San Diegothat the loss of the program is sad,and a San Diego college not havinggolf is like not playing hockey in

Canada or not playing football inTexas. Its an unfortunate situation.

The current mens golf teamconsists of five seniors and onefreshman. The seniors here in 2010,

when the decision was made, havebeen grateful to be able to finish theircollege careers in golf at PLNU.

The school chose to allow thefreshmen on all three teams at the

time of the decision to finish theircareers at PLNU instead of abruptly

cutting the programs like they didwith softball. That meant that theprograms would be cut at the end ofthis school year instead of the end ofthe 2010-2011 school year.

I wish we didnt have to do it,said Blunck. Those are three reallyhigh-quality sports that we have notonly done well in but have had greatstudent athletes, good mission fits inthose sports, great academic kids andgreat Christian kids. Its a travestythat we have to do it, but thats the

bottom line: we have to do it, itsbeyond our control.

Three mens sports face final season of existencegreta wall

staff writer

Mens track and field is one of three PLNU sports teams getting cut after this academic year. Mens golf and menscross country will also be cut. These teams have been some of the most successful programs at PLNU. Cross countryand track have won a combined 10 Golden State Athletic Conference titles. Mens golf has been to 22 NAIA National

Championship Tournaments.

photo courtesy of marcus emerson

The PLNU womens soccer team shot to the top of the Pacific WestConference standings this week. Junior Kelly Christerson (pictured above)

scored two goals in a 4-0 blowout of Hawaii-Hilo Monday. On Saturday, theSea Lions followed that with a 6-1 shellacking of Chaminade, led by freshman

Natalie Swifts goal and two assists.

courtesy of plnu sports information

PLNU 1ST IN PACWEST

10/13 L 0-1vs. Chaminade (Hawaii)

10/13 W 6-1vs. Chaminade (Hawaii)

CROSS COUNTRY

10/13 M. 6th, W. 4th@ Vanguard Invitational

With over one-third of the season

gone, lets take a look at whose stock is

rising and whose is falling across the NFL.

Andre Johnson, WR, Houston

Texans With the emergenceof Arian Foster as the leagues top

running back, the Texans have moreor less shifted to a run-first, pass-second team. While this is great forthe Texans, as they are not forced torely on the passing game, it does not

spell good news for Johnson owners.Johnson has been targeted onlyonce in the Red Zone and has seen asteady drop-off in production. StockCheck Falling

Steven Ridley, RB, New

England Patriots Historically,the New England running game isabout as unpredictable as the SanDiego weather as of late. Ever since

2005, when the Patriots offensefeatured Corey Dillon, they havehad trouble finding a true starting

running back. They may have foundhim in Steven Ridley. Ridley has puttogether an impressive first half sofar, running for a total of over 500

yards in the first six games. Add tothat four touchdowns, and Ridley isamong the top performing fantasy

running backs.Stock Check Rising

Alfred Morris, RB, Washington

Redskins Perhaps overshadowed

by rookie phenomenon RobertGriffin III, Morris has emergedas the go-to back in the Redskinsoffense. At 510, 220 pounds, Morriscarries a heavy punch and has beena workhorse in the Redskins offense,taking some of the pressure offGriffins shoulders. Through fivegames entering Sunday, Morris

was averaging nearly 100 yardson the ground to go with his four

touchdowns. Dont be surprised ifMorris begins to get more nationalattention as the season drags on.

Stock Check Rising

Matt Stafford, QB, Detroit

Lions Since coming into theleague, Matt Stafford has had oneof the strongest arms around. He isa true gunslinger who is surrounded

by targets, which means his numbersshould be a little inflated more thanothers. Unfortunately for him, hislegs set him back, as he is one ofthe most immobile quarterbacks out

there. His immobility has made hima sitting duck for defensive linemen,resulting in more errant throws, and,as a result, interceptions.

Stock Check Falling

Week seven byes: Atlanta, Denver,

Kansas City, Miami, Philadelphia, San

Diego. Take a look at your roster if you

have players from any one of these teams

in your starting lineup for week seven.

Loma Fantasy Guru: Stock Checkcolton irvinestaff writer

M: Russell - 5th, 25:38.99W: Matranga - 21st, 18.45.81

10/10 W 3-0@ Chaminade (Hawaii)

10/12 L 0-3@ BYU-Hawaii

10/13 L 2-3@ Hawaii Pacifc

WOMENS GOLF

10/8-9 9th@ Western WashingtonInvitational

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the point weekly | monday, january 23, 2012 SPORTS | 9

The first time I heard the newswas in March of my senior year ofhigh school.

I had a Facebook post frommy friend Matt Day, who is a

yea r older tha n me and runs

competitively at Westmont.You applied to Point Loma, right?If you were (or are) considering running

in college, Point Loma announced that

it is CUTTING their track and xc

programs (Title 9 ....). Just fyi.

I was speechless. Sure enough,

I went onto the PLNU website andlooked it up. It was true: the school wascutting mens cross country and track(along with softball and mens golf).

My dream school was cutting oneof the things that drew me to it themost: the chance to run in college.

I was furious. Just a coupleweeks prior, I had gotten back fromvisiting PLNU. Coach Arvin was

great; the team was fantastic; theschool was phenomenal.

I talked it over with my parents anddecided to still attend PLNU. Afterall, college is first and foremost abouteducation running was a bonus.Eventually the decision was made tophase out the mens sports over three

years rather than immediately cutthem. Ive still gotten three years ofrunning here, but to this day I canthelp but feel cheated.

As this cross country seasoncomes to a close, I keep thinkinghow I wont be able to compete next

year. Neither will the rest of the trackteam. Or the mens golf team. I cant

even imagine what it feels like for theformer softball players, whose teamwas cut so abruptly. Im thankful for

the three-year phase-out.But why were my fellow athletes

and I robbed of the chance to

compete further?According to a 2010 Point

Weekly article, the problemsoriginated in 2008, when the city ofSan Diego notified the school thatthe softball team could no longer

use the softball field down at SunsetCliffs (which has always belongedto the city). Because clearly there isnowhere else in San Diego to walk

your dogs.So because softball had no

field, someone filed an anonymousgrievance to the Office of Civil

Rights (OCR) on the basis that thesoftball team was not treated equally

which was obviously true.Eventually, the decision was

made to cut the softball programbecause no suitable backup field

was found, and the school lackedthe necessary funding needed toimplement the offered alternatives.

By the way, PLNU softballfinished second, fourth and seventhin the NAIA National rankingsduring the final three seasons (2008,2009 and 2010).

With the softba ll team gone,

the school was out of line withTitle IX regulations.

Title IX, according to www.titleix.info, is a law passed in 1972 thatrequires gender equity for boys and

girls in every educational programthat receives federal funding.

So in the name of equity,

Title IX forced PLNU to cut mysport and rob who knows how manyfuture runners and male golfers thechance to compete in college.

Look, I understand where TitleIX came from. When the law was

passed, it was great for womenssports. Because of Title IX, myfemale friends and family havegotten to compete in high schooland collegiate sports.

But nowadays, when womenmake up nearly 60 percent of all

college students all it does is destroymale athletic programs.

Title IX has inadvertentlybecome the embodiment of theexact thing it seeks to eradicate:gender discrimination.

PLNU cant financially supporta softball field, so we should punishthe mens teams that have nothingto do with it?

Colleges all across the countryare suffering because of Title IX.

Mens sports programs are shrinking.A 2001 USA Today story noted thatbetween 1980 and 1999, 40 percentof NCAA and NAIA wrestling teams

were eliminated. In 1980, there were80 collegiate mens gymnastics teams.

Today there are 20.The ever-expanding female-

male ratio of college students willonly worsen the condition. If thecurrent trends continue, menssports could see themselves in thesame situation womens sports did

in the 70s. But of course, thats notdiscrimination at all.

The intentions of Title IXare noble, but its gone too far.How many men wont get to go to

college because the scholarship theteams that wouldve given themscholarships no longer exist?

How many men wont getthe same wonderful experienceof PLNU running that Ive beenblessed with for the past two and ahalf years?

The blame doesnt fall

completely on Title IX, nor does itfall completely on PLNU for failing

to find a softball field.But it sure doesnt fall on the

men who run, jump, throw and golf

at PLNU. And yet, we seem to bethe ones who are paying the price.

Love the column? Hate the column?

Let me know what you think: Email

me at jroth2014@pointloma.edu. Or

go online and che ck ou t lomasportsguy.blogspot.com.

Jakes Take:All in the name of equity?jacob roth

sports editor

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

KYLE RUSSELLM. CROSS COUNTRY

KELLI LECLAIRW. VOLLEYBALL

LeC lair was on fir e as

the Sea Lions finished 2-2

on their inaugural PacWest

Hawaii roa dtri p.

The freshman outside hitter

from Yucaipa, Calif., totaled 59

kills during the trip, including

an incredible 20 kills and 21

digs in a five-set loss to Hawaii

Pacific on Saturday.

At the Vanguard Invitational

Saturday, Russell was the Sea

Lions top finisher, placing fifth out

of more than 100 runners.

The junior from Temecula,

Calif., led PLNU to a sixth-place

team finish with an 8k time of

25:38.99. Russell is one of thefavorites to win the PacWest

Championship Meet on Oct. 27.

Title IX has inadvertently

become the embodiment

of the exact thing it seeks

to eradicate: gender

discrimination.

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the point weekly | monday, january 23, 201210 | OPINION

Heres a little self-disclosure: Ihave never voted before. I am not evenregistered to vote. I used to tell myselfI had two perfectly legitimate reasonsfor abstaining. To begin with, I didntknow anything about politics otherthan what Id heard from my parents,and I felt it was irresponsible to cast a

vote for something I neither knew norcared about. When I went to collegeI told myself it didnt even matter if Iknew all the facts.

In most cases the vote comesdown to which of the two choicesis the lesser evil. Why vote if eitheroutcome is unfavorable? Perhaps

voting is similar to gett ing an edu-cation. It seems a ploy to make us

into checklist drones by followingsome primitive rite of passage.

Graduate from high school?Check. Go to college? Check.Vote for the party my parents do?Check. Those who dont vote maythink, rebel against the machine!I dont need an education to feelsmart, and I dont need a vote tofeel free.

After studying the data from the2010 census, I noticed two things.

First, without exception, registra-tion and voting percentages in-creased the older the age group.For example, of citizens 65 and older,75 percent registered to vote, and ofthat figure, 68 percent voted in 2008.

Second, the more educated citi-

zens are, the more likely they areto vote. 65 percent of citizens withsome college or an associates degree

voted in 2008; 73.3 percent of thosewith a bachelors degree or higher

voted that same year.Now that I reevaluate myself, I

realize I was just being lazy and igno-rant. If I dont know anything aboutpolitics, I must research it. If I dontlike my choices, I must become ac-tive and change them.

Older women in my life are con-stantly reminding me of the long anddifficult road my ancestors traveled

for womens suffrage, how manysacrifices were made so that I could

stand where I stand today.My high school English teacheronce told me, The day you can nolonger vote is the day you no longer

have freedom.Having the freedom to vote

means we also have the freedomto abstain from voting. But If wedidnt have the choice, it wouldntbe freedom.

Thus, I will proudly vote in thiscoming election and take part in the

most pure symbol of our freedom.

The opinions in this section may not reect those of The

Point Weekly or of Point Loma Nazare ne University. Letters

to the editor and columns are subject to editing for length,

taste, grammar and clarity. Letters to the editor must include

the authors name, major, class standing and phone number

and be limited to 500 words. Please submit your opinions to

hanaeades2009@pointloma.edu

p |619.849.2444 ads |619.849.2301 | www.pointweekly.com

Kyle LundbergShannon BarrCallie RadkeJacob RothKathleen RhineHana EadesMegan PittamJanelle HiroshigeKendra PittamRachel BarrKeio Lewis

Editor-in-chiefNews editorFeatures editorSports editorA&E editorOpinion editorLayout editorAssistant LayoutCopy editorWeb EditorAds manager

Awkward Sea Lion:Sharing your Loma fails

You computer hop

in the library...

...because numerous peopleforgot to log out

Submit your Awkward Sea Lion moments

to hanaeades2009@pointloma.edu

You walk with your

umbrella popped

open......and then it stops raining

You think the Caf

is high-class......because they serve gua-

camole

Before I came to Washington,D.C., I thought I had a pretty goodpicture in my head of what it would

look like. I dreamed of seeing theLincoln Memorial, spending hoursin the Smithsonian and walking

where George Washington walked.Washington seemed so powerful andimpressive, and I couldnt wait todrink it in.

But the reality of the city is alittle bit different than the postcard

version. Federal Washington is a

lot like what youd think. You get tocertain areas and see the department

of this and the so-and-so agency,one after another, until that tiny partof your brain holding what little youlearned about the government in

your high school social studies class-es wants to explode. And, being hereduring election season, you can seri-ously feel it.

The debates are treated morelike Superbowls, with people host-ing huge parties at bars or in livingrooms all over Washington. Everybus stop greets you with anotherpolitical discussion. The newspapersand Tweets coming out of D.C. make

sure you know whats going on in na-tional politics. But that part of thecity is just a portion of whats reallygoing on in the District of Columbia.

Did you know that D.C.s infantmortality rate is almost double thenational average? Or that more thanhalf of family households in D.C. arerun by single parents? D.C.s highschool students have a graduation

rate of just 62 percent.D.C. has the widest income gap

between the rich and poor of any cityin the U.S. 3.2 percent of Washingto-nians over the age of 12 are living withHIV or AIDS, which is an infectionrate higher than that of many develop-ing nations. I could go on all day, andIm talking about The District.

People live here. Although they

are not represented in Congress(taxation without representation),theyre here. Washington is about asurban as it gets, and there are a tonof issues to be overcome here. Thepoverty rate is high and gentrifica-tion has the city fighting against it-

self. The state of public schools hereis about as bad as it gets in America.

And this is where the President ofthe United States lives!

I was excited to come to Wash-ington and become wrapped up inpolitics and the high energy of elec-tion season. I did find that here, butthats not all I found. Living here

and walking among the citizens ofD.C. has shattered my perceptionof politics holy city. Im not as im-pressed by the huge buildings and allthe power anymore because I walkright by them with single moms, un-employed dads, and homeless street

performers. The power of Wash-ington is in its people. The build-ings, leaders, money and fancy suitsare nothing without the people for

whom they exist.The biggest thing on my to-do

list coming here was to see the WhiteHouse, the Executive Mansion.

The amazing things that happenthere have always fascinated me. Be-

fore I came here, I wondered, Howclose can I actually get to the place

where wars are considered and trea-ties are signed?

When I finally made it to 1600Pennsylvania Ave., I found that Icould get just about as close as any-body else. Standing at the fence outfront with hundreds of other Ameri-cans, I realized that I care less about

the building and more about the na-tion it represents. Although thereare gates around it, people still comefrom hundreds of miles away tostand in awe of Americas power andmight. But those people standingside by side along the fence are who

really matter. I might have access toa few more places here in D.C., butIm no more important than I was

when I lived in a one-stoplight townin Kansas.

So this election season, knowthat even though youre miles andmiles away from the power and thehome of the man well decide toelect, youre just as important. Just

because you arent near the buildingsthat house the issues and the men

and women who make the decisionsdoesnt give you an excuse to be un-informed and inactive. You do mat-ter, and every vote counts, from theDistrict to San Diego.

Living here and walk-

ing among the citizens

of D.C. has shattered

my perception of politics

holy city.

Camron Cluff

Editorial Cartoonist

D.C. dispatch: students reflection from nations capitol

amy crusestudent columnist

Voting: a symbol of freedom

Having the freedom

to vote means wealso have the free-

dom to abstain from

voting.

abby hamblincontributor

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the point weekly | monday, january 23, 2012 | 11ARTS & EN TERTAI NMEN T

10/16 Allegiance- A New American Musical @ Old Globe Theater, 7 p.m.

10/16 Paul Kenyon piano recital @ Crill Performance Hall, 7:30 p.m.

10/18 Brad Paisley with The Band Perr y @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheater, 7:30 p.m.

10/19 The Script @ Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, 7 p.m.

10/20 Fall Festival @ PLNU campus, 10 a.m.- 2:30 p.m.

10/20 Booker T. Jones @ Anthology, 7 p.m.

10/21 Old Masters of Music & Ar t @ SD Museum of Art, 2-3 p.m.

Back into the swing of things

Dancing students move in a One-Two-Rock Step motion to the jazzybeats of swing music on the roof ofPLNUs athletic training building. Theyare engaged in the excitement of the

moment until the unthinkable happens the music cuts out.

Like a needle scraping across a re-cord, the dancers screech to a stutteringhalt and are disappointed at the musicssudden disappearance. Senior ChristaDavis shouts Sorry! as she runs overto her computer and reloads the musicplaylist after the Wifi connection hastemporarily cut out. After a tensemoment, the music is back; with joy,dancers resume their mixture of basic

and advanced steps. The atmosphere isvibrant and electric as Davis observes theresurgence of PLNUs unofficial SwingClub with the new school year.

The clubs 2011-2012 membershipdwindled as communication decreased,leadership spread out and members de-

veloped busy schedules that did not leaveroom for swing dancing every Thursdaynight. So, Davis promoted the club asmuch as possible when the 2012-2013school term began.

I didnt want to see swing die,Davis said.

She and a few other upperclassmenbegan reorganizing the club and workedon how to reach out to old members

while advertising the club to incomingfreshmen. They revamped the FacebookSwing Dancing Group page and spreadnews of the club by word-of-mouthand passing out slips of paper with clubinformation.

For the past few years, the swingdancing club had not become an official

club through ASB because of schoolpolicy regarding dancing, Davis said.

In addition, the revision of policy inthe current edition of the PLNU stu-dent handbook regarding entertainmentleaves an ambiguity that some believeneeds further clarification.

Consistent with the history of theChurch of the Nazarene and the Mis-sion of PLNU, students are expected topractice a high standard of discernmentin the use of leisure time and choice of

entertainment., the handbook states.

All forms of leisure and entertainmentshould enhance spiritual and personalgrowth and should uphold proper moralboundaries and reserve.

Jeff Bolster, dean of students anddirector of residential life, was unableto comment on ASBs club-chartering

process. However, he said he commendsPLNU students on their intelligence,

compassion and discernment, and statesthat in regards to school policy incertain cases students should not bemicromanaged by policy to the point

where it dictates their life and choices.I think that the vagueness of the

[entertainment] policy can be reinter-preted more positively as to say that

we trust our students to the degreewhere specificity is not always crucial

to a policy, Bolster said. Now withsome, there are. . . But in areas likethis, I think we can trust our students.

Mark Wright, professor of theologyand philosophy, believes that the clubshould have the opportunity to be ASB-sponsored and that the club can coexist

with school policy.The ambiguity can work in theswing dancings favor. . . But therescaution about practices that can lead tocertain immoral behavior, Wright said.

There is some wiggle room, and notjust wiggle room so you can get awaywith something.

Even with these new changes, thefuture of the club was uncertain; so whenan unprecedented number of studentsshowed up for swing dancing the first

Thursday of the fall semester, it was agreat surprise to Davis. Since then, theclub has grown in size with each passing

week as new students arrive to try outtheir dancing shoes.

The format of the clubs swing

events have changed this year, with basiclessons starting at 8 p.m. and free dancefrom 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. To change thingsup, in addition to couple dancing, eachswing session also features Samba andShim Sham line dancing.

Freshman Samantha Watsonhas been a regular to swing dancingsince that first Thursday. She calls it aunique club and encourages everyoneto come and try it and give it a chance,cause its worth it.

Sean Woodard

staff writer

Students practice their swing dancing steps on a Thursday night on top of the athletic training building.courtesy of natalie ryder

Spoken word group returns for fifth year

The kitchen on the third floor ofNicholson Commons is the Wednesdaynight meeting place of an unlikelycrowd. Drinking herbal tea and sitting

around the large table in the middle ofthe room are members of the unofficialPoetry and Spoken Word club.

Started five years ago by NicholsonCommons Director and club advisor

Milton Karahadian, the club has com-peted at poetry slam invitationals put onby the Association of College UnionsInternational. PLNU is part of Region15 of ACUI and competes in teams

of five against universities in Nevada,

Hawaii and California.Spoken word people on campus are

underrepresented, Karahadian said. Atthis event, they have a place to expressthemselves. I try to develop the group togo to these events.

The only problem is acquiringenough people to compete. Many oflast years members graduated in May,leaving the leadership of the club tounderclassmen. Sophomore Keana

McGrath decided to grab the reins.I just started last year, and Im

stoked about it, McGrath said. I didntrealize I could write, but they welcomedme to the team. Im scared to be leading

because I dont want people to think

there has to be a certain style.Karahadian shares McGraths

outlook on the group. He gives studentsthe freedom to govern themselves, onlystepping in when necessary.

Im an advisor, like for a club, but

its really student-led, Karahadian said.I dont want people to be scared to be apart of this. I want a good environment

where they are appreciated and affirmed.Skill level doesnt have to be high. Youcan learn and develop.

Though the club has a goal oftraveling to and competing in theannual ACUI poetry slam, their mis-sion delves deeper into the meaning

of oral expression.

Its transparent because youreexplaining yourself and proclaiming

your story. Thats important to me,Karahadian said. Were probably theonly Evangelical school in the wholeassociation. Why shouldnt Christians

be part of it? We can further the gospel.For incoming students to the group,

allowing innermost thoughts andviews that may be suppressed at a privateChristian university is attractive.

Whether we want to talk aboutsmall issues in our lives or how our viewson right and wrong may differ from thenorm, the group seems to be foundedon the intent to put away judgement

and strive, rather, for understanding,

sophomore Joelle Soch said.And the Nicholson Commons

kitchen just may be the perfect placefor those discussions. Sharing originalpoetry, laughter and conversation withsupportive peers around a welcoming

table is the premise of each meeting.I want an intimate conversation

with someone and want it to be avulnerable space, McGrath said. Alot of people dont know about the club,but there is an underlying culture ofpoetry writers at our school that needsan outlet.

kathleen rhine

a&e editor

Discover where youll study

abroad at usac.unr.edu

without regrets

without borders

courtesy of natalie ryder

Monday, October 15, 2012

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the point weekly | monday, january 23, 2012

The musical theater club ownedthe stage this week with its debut fall

2012 performance. The club chosethe nontraditional musical Edges,which is considered a song cycle.This meant that there was literally nodialogue during the performance andeach storyline had to be told throughsong. This was a difficult task that

the club successfully completed.While the set and costumes

stayed consistent for most ofthe performances, the storylinechanged with every song, keep-ing the musical fast-moving andupbeat. The musical included ninecast members and 19 songs.

Directed by alumna CharityZiebarth, the cast included PLNU

students Jack French, Weston Ben-nett, Michael Hartshorn, Collin

Maenhout, Brittney Doehring,Kirsten Swanson, Kiana Bell, Victo-ria Roth and Jene Johnson. With ev-

ery scene change, the cast memberstransformed themselves into brandnew characters.

Issues covered in this coming-of-age story range from Facebookaddictions to commitment fears

to a young girl faced with therealization that her perfect boy-friend may, in fact, be gay. Theseissues made the musical relatableto audience members.

Some of the highlights includedopening number Become, followed

by Boy With Dreams. Hartshornsconfident vocals told the story ofa young visionary working his waythrough college at a Pizza Hut, leav-ing him wishing for a new life.

Maenhout, Hartshorn, Bennettand Doehring filled the room withscintillating harmonies and grabbedmany laughs from the audience dur-ing Be My Friend. The song was

a tribute to this generations currentFacebook obsession: whenever I feel

lousy, whenever lifes a bore, I countmy friends in order; Ive got 504.

During the song In Short, the

audience could not contain theirlaughter when Swanson uttered thebottom line of her recent breakup:I hope you die. This comedicrant was easily relatable to anyone

who has once wished physical pains

on an ex.I Hmm You depicted a youngcouple struggling to declare theirlove for one another and ultimatelychoosing to substitute the intimidat-ing word with hmm. The adorableperformance by Johnson and Ben-

nett was a great conclusion to thefirst half of the musical.

The theme of commitment fearswas continued after the intermission

with Roths upbeat song, Ive GottaRun. Doehring took the musical in

a more serious direction in Perfect,where she faced the struggle of try-ing to be perfect for a man.

Bell gave a powerful performancein Ready to Be Loved, leading up

to the strong finale piece that left theaudience with a positive message of

letting go of fears and doing thingson ones own.

While there was a lack of con-

nection between songs, it was easilymade up for by the amusing lyrics,

applicable themes and believablecharacters. Ziebarth said it best: Its

interesting, its catchy and its directlyrelatable to every student.

anna goforthstaff writer

Edges features PLNU students with a passion for storytelling through song

Performance doesnt disappoint

Brittney Doehring and Jack French perform a number during the Musical TheaterClubs show, Edges. The show ran from Wednesday through Saturday night.

courtesy of casslyn ser

So long, flowy tops and cut-offshorts; fall trends are taking over.

With the change in weather i twill happen here eventua lly comes change in daily attire. Al-though it may not get as cold herein San Diego as it does in otherregions of the nation, that doesntmean that you cant participate inthis seasons fashion.

Ladies and gentlemen, be pre-pared to keep yourself warm whilelooking stylish at the same time.

As tank tops are shoved lower andlower in drawers, colored jeans formales and females can still be pulledout for the winter months.

Emily Sauer, a Fashion Merchan-dising major at PLNU, said thatmustard yellow is a popular color forthe season.

Floral pants can still be wornas we transition into fall, but withbrown and navy hues, she said.Classic leather or combat boots areessentials as well.

Throw in some knit scarves andchunky jewelry for accessories, too.Harpers Bazaar reveals that somemust-have items include army greenparkas with cinched waists and fur-trimmed hoods. Peplum tops are be-

coming popular and can be worn bypeople other than the Kardashians.

The popularity of the peplum isholding strong, and the trend is get-ting bolder and bolder by the day,Bazaar wrote.

Chilly weather brings back thechunky sweater, and that should beno surprise. According to the StyleBistro, sweaters are a fashion trendeveryone can wear!

Sauer shares that guys can wearsweaters this season, too.

Guys fashion never reallychanges, just the hues and colorsthat they wear, she said.

Esquire, a mens magazine,focuses on darker colors like bluesand blacks on top while playing withlighter shades on the bottom.

Because you already own darkjeans, light jeans will add contrastand texture to all of your looks, themagazine said.

With these trends in mind,PLNU students will be able to keepthemselves up-to-date with thefashion world as they strut down CafLane to and from class. It doesnthurt to dress with the season, wear-ing colors and textures that remindone that Thanksgiving and Christ-mas are just around the corner.

kelsey rolandstaff writer

FASHION BRIEF: Fall FocusAll womens fashions courtesy of Polyvore.com and mens fashions courtesy of Forever21.com

The strong fnale piece...

left the audience with a

positive message

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT12 | Monday, October 15, 2012