The Point WeeklyMonday, September 16, 2013 volume 42 | issue 01

a&e Alumnus debuts film on the big screen page 5sports Sea Lions get brand new look page 6opinion Syria Conflict: What about refugees page 8

point loma nazarene university

BY Parker Bunch

STAFF WRITER

PLNU enrolled 650 first-time freshman students this fall — the larg-est in the school’s history — as part of a multi-year plan to expand enroll-ment and campus facilities.

An obstacle to this expansion was an enrollment cap that limited the number of students that could be enrolled on PLNU’s main campus, according to PLNU President Bob Brower. This problem was partially negated with the opening of off-campus facilities like Liberty Station and courses offered through Community Classroom.

“Since we hit the enrollment cap back in 1999-2000, we have been seeking ways to provide more oppor-tunities for students since our demand for enrollment exceeded what we could offer,” said Brower via email. “Those offerings began the process of making the undergraduate program less confined to only the main cam-pus.”

By offering courses off PLNU’s main campus, additional cap space was created and allowed the admis-sions department to accept and enroll

more students. The current record-size freshman class is more than 100 students larger than the approximate-ly 500 freshmen admitted in the fall of 2012, said Brower.

A potential reason for this in-creased enrollment was the admission department’s intensive recruitment of more students into its applicant pool, as well active communication between counselors and applicants in order to encourage their enrollment at PLNU, said to Shannon Hutchison, the Associ-ate Director of Admissions.

These elevated application and enrollment numbers indicate a gener-al trend of increasing competitiveness over the past five years, said Brent Goodman, Director of Institutional Research at PLNU. Goodman said that if the number of applications dra-matically increases but the number of admitted students fails to increase at the same rate, the competition for ad-mission increases.

There were 1,807 applications in 2008, as compared to 3,543 applica-tions in fall of 2012.

“We have gone from a 78 percent [admitance] rate in fall of 2008 to a

Students celebrate first week of school at Magic Mountain

Record freshman class represents multi-year plan to expand enrollment

WELCOME BACK, STUDENTS!

BY Anna Goforth

STAFF WRITER

Sophomore volleyball player Sam Stack entered her assigned room in Klas-sen Hall during athletic training camp to find an unattached prosthetic leg leaning against her bedpost and a one-legged man sleeping face down in her bed.

It was the evening of Aug. 23rd., just two weeks before the start of PLNU classes and student athletes were already moving on campus for athletic training camps. Stack’s roommate, junior volley-ball player Delaney McCraney, was also asleep in the room.

“I was in my room with my team-mates and ended up falling asleep with the lights on in my room at around 10:30 p.m.,” said McCraney. “I woke up when Sam came in the door.”

McCraney said she had no idea she was sleeping in a room completely alone with a strange man just a few feet away.

“I looked up and saw what looked to be a homeless man sleeping beside me. Our beds were in an L-shape with my head right by his. I didn’t say any-

thing at first and just stared at him. I was literally naked with a sweatshirt on,” McCraney said.

Stack and McCraney both stayed calm and informed the man that he needed to leave. McCraney felt sym-pathetic toward the man throughout the incident.

“I honestly felt bad. He just want-ed somewhere to sleep so it was the saddest thing having to kick him out,” McCraney said.

After reattaching his leg, the man entered a different dorm room that was unoccupied and locked himself in-side. Public Safety was then called to escort the man off of campus.

“Our response was fairly stan-dard,” said Public Safety Supervisor Kaz Trypuc. “We got a call that there was a suspicious individual in a dorm room and we informed him that he needed to leave or he would be arrest-ed. He complied so we escorted him off campus where he called 911 and was transferred to the Veterans Affairs hospital by ambulance.”

Upon questioning the man, Stack

found that there may have been un-derlying issues that cause the man to enter their room.

“The man claimed to be a 35-year-old war veteran who was having a PTSD attack,” said Stack. “So he didn’t know what was going on which seemed true.”

After the incident, the roommates said their attitudes quickly changed.

“At first it was so funny,” said Mc-Craney. “We were all laughing. After we called Public Safety and it all be-came traumatic, I cried that night. I was just shocked that I was asleep when everything happened. It wasn’t a huge deal but if he was a harmful person it could have been terrible so it was a blessing he wasn’t.”

Stack said the creepiest part of the night came later on when they checked the shower to find the floor covered in dirt puddles, their shampoos removed from the shower caddies and put in a single straight line, and hair in her soap and razor.

“Could you imagine what it had been like if we had gone in the show-

ers and found a one-legged homeless looking man naked in the showers? I just can’t even imagine,” said Stack.

While the girls say that they have since recovered from the initial trauma of the incident they are both making changes to be safer on campus, includ-ing keeping doors locked and windows closed.

“Public Safety said to us that they saw him on campus,” said McCraney. “They said that they thought he might do something but that they were glad they found him. But why didn’t they kick him out if they thought he was going to do something?”

Personal conduct policies on the PLNU website specifically reference visitors to the campus, stating, “The campuses of Point Loma Nazarene University are provided primarily to accommodate the immediate univer-sity community, (i.e. students, faculty and staff). As a private, independent university, the campuses are private property. The university reserves the right to regulate admission of visitors

SCARY SLEEPOVER

PHOTO BY SAMANTHA WATKINSStudents Cassandra Onstad, Katherine Graham, and Laurie Anne Bates ride the carousel at Magic Mountain. “Loma Thrill Night is always my personal favorite event to kick off a long year of studying and late nights. There’s no better way to shake off the stress of starting up homework again than riding all the roller coasters you can ride in one night,” said Campus Activities Director Kristi South.

Student finds stranger sleeping in her dorm room

1.Every 12-year-old girl at every camp all summer in The Caf trying to perfect that cups routine from “Pitch Perfect.” Total nightmare.

2.Two words: fiddle camp. Imagine a chubby six-year-old in The Caf with a tray filled with pizza, French fries, two sodas and ice cream with a tiny violin on his back taking small steps and saying “don’t drop, don’t drop it, don’t drop it...”

3. So. Much. Parking.

4. New speed bumps on Peppertree Lane...and a few sweet, sweet hours when Peppertree Lane had no speed bumps.

things you missed this summer

According to Shannon Hutchinson, Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions

SEE FRESHMAN PAGE 2

SEE SLEEPOVER PAGE 2

the point weekly | monday, september 16, 20132 | NEWS

FROM PAGE 1Scary Sleepover

and to require visitors to obtain a per-mit under controlled conditions.”

Trypuc comments on this ability of Public Safety to monitor people com-ing and going on campus.

“The door to the resident hall was open and we have an open campus. There was no way for us to identify who he was or that he had malicious intent,” said Trypuc. “There’s really no way to identify every person that walks on campus we have so many ac-cess points. Maybe the person at the front of the dorm should have ques-tioned him.”

56 percent [admittance] rate in fall of 2012,” Goodman said via email. “It went down because of the bigger [ap-plication] pool and a relatively static number of selections.”

According to Hutchison, however, the current freshman class did not suf-fer from a significantly more selective acceptance rate this year compared to the Fall of 2012.

“Our average [admissions] num-bers have remained mostly the same. An admitted freshman had about a 3.75 GPA and about a 580 on each section of the SAT,” said Hutchison. “Our acceptance rate is very similar to last year’s incoming student accep-tance rate -- right around 50 percent.”

Though Hutchison expects to re-

tain these elevated application and en-rollment numbers over the next few

years, she believes class sizes will not ex-ceed that of the current freshman class.

“We’ll likely continue to bring in classes around this size or smaller,” Hutchison said. “We aren’t in the po-sition to continually grow with each new class.”

However, the possibility of an extended period of increased accep-tance rate raises questions regarding PLNU’s academic approach as it per-tains to class sizes and student-to-fac-ulty ratios -- often considered some of the more attractive advantages of PLNU’s small size.

According to Goodman, rising enrollment necessitates that the ad-ministration actively seek a balance between the increasing number of students in each class and the em-ployment of more faculty in order to maintain an attractive and effective student-to-faculty ratio.

Goodman said one potential plan

would increase the average number of students in upper-division courses —which are often far from filled to ca-pacity — while hiring new professors to teach additional sections of general education courses, which are often much more crowded.

The eventual goal of this increased enrollment, according to both Good-man and Brower, is to provide the maximum number of students with a high level of educational, spiritual and personal growth.

“The action to provide more op-portunity for students to obtain an ed-ucation at PLNU is something I see as a positive,” Brower said. “The design for growth is a part of the institutional future, but we also know this current undergraduate growth is not the only part of the long term development of PLNU as a 21st century university.”

FROM PAGE 1Freshman

BY Alexandra Bitter

STAFF WRITER

PLNU is attempting to reach out in a fun, innovative way this school year. The Green Room Arcade, locat-ed in Nicholson Commons across from Breaker’s Market, attracts students as a new meeting place and creative outlet.

Nicholson Commons’ director, Milton Karahadian, needed to find a suitable replacement for the 15-year-old, on-campus radio station studio space next to the Jamba Juice.

“[It] was vacant for quite a while, and I really thought that we could best use it by doing something fun in there and by putting in a video arcade,” Karahadian said.

The Green Room Arcade was not the only consideration for the space though.

“I thought about a laundry drop off and pick up for students, faculty, and staff—a kind of service.” Karahadian said.

But the philosophy behind choosing an arcade was more ap-pealing to Karahadian.

“I think it can be a part of a gather-ing place. It’s in a centrally located area to draw people in there.” Karahadian said. “It doesn’t make a lot of money;

it’s just for fun basically. It’s another emotional outlet for someone to blow some steam.”

Green Room Arcade planning be-gan last winter and construction took place over the summer. According to Karahadian, the room now features green carpet walls “to give it a nineties feel,” black and fluorescent lighting, new paint, a change machine and four different systems housing ten games: “Area 51,” “Marvel vs. Capcom 2,” “Pozzle de Pon,” “Metal Slug,” “Bust-A-Move,” “World Heroes,” “The Ultimate 11,” “The King of Fighters 2000,” “Super Sidekicks 2” and “Shock Troopers.”

Each game is one to two players and costs 25 cents.

The university owns one machine; the other three are rented. Profits will be split with the supplier, San Diego Games, and PLNU.

They will go towards paying off the machines, replacing money in the change machine, and future projects in Nicholson Commons. The $800 project cost came from the Nicholson Commons operating budget.

Students J.J. Paul and Russell Wood were also involved in the devel-

opment of the Green Room Arcade. Both were building managers over the summer, but Wood still holds the posi-tion and is in charge of marketing for the arcade.

“I was the one who selected all the games,” said Wood. “I picked games from my childhood that I still enjoy today.”

His favorite is “Marvel vs. Capcom 2.”Paul assisted with selecting the

games and made a confession. “I’m probably the biggest regular,”

he said. But if students don’t feel the same

way they do about the games, there is room for improvement.

“We have the option of changing games out if things aren’t doing well there, so we can get more of a consensus on what students want,” Wood said.

But that won’t be necessary for se-nior Cody Jung who spends about 30 minutes a day in the arcade.

“There’s nothing I would change; it’s wonderful. Actually, I would get the change machine working, but really there’s one down the hall so it doesn’t matter,” Jung said.

PLNU’s new arcade has got game

BY Brittany Naylor

STAFF WRITER

The Associated Student Body (ASB) will unite the previously sepa-rate offices of Student Congress and Board of Review into a singular rep-resentative entity, the Student Sen-ate, this year in an effort to change the system of student representation.

According to Melissa Burt-Gracik, advisor to ASB, staff made the decision to reconstruct due to stressed relations between campus decision makers and Student Con-gress, a process that has been devel-oping over the past couple of years

“A number of staff came to me feeling a little frustrated with the sense of being called to account when bills or resolutions were being put before the Student Congress,” said Gracik, therefore fostering an atmosphere of friction, whereas the Student Senate encourages a work-ing place where the two parties join forces to achieve an ultimate goal.

Another motivation for the re-construction of the Student Con-gress was the need for simplicity and the promotion of efficiency. According to Haley Courtney, Student Senate Speaker of the House, last year’s system focused on bulk - getting as many propos-als on the table as possible - yet this drive crippled their produc-tivity.

Thus, only a minimal amount of work could go into each pro-posal. Now, however, the goal of Student Senate is to put work and thought into each proposal, weighing its feasibility before presenting their case to Adminis-tration to consider.

“I really want students to know that our student government re-ally wants to help serve the student body and make things better for [them]; that’s why all of us are do-ing the job that we are doing, that’s why we want to be involved. I want it to be the same for the Student Senate,” said Courtney. “You’re do-ing it so you can be a voice for your peers. So that you can make their quality of life better while they are at this school.”

Administration also seeks to regain efficiency by changing the face of representation. Contrary to previous years, where location and living quarters determined

representation, students now elect four people from each class to present their cases to Adminis-tration and ASB.

“The switch from Congress to Senate is a very good thing,” said Courtney. “It is going to make the representation of the student body a lot better because now we’re do-ing it by class versus by dorm.”

Representatives organized by dorms often found themselves trying to voice the opinions of students in two or three different grades, causing a sensation of scattering and an inac-cessibility of those representatives of the student voice. With the new Student Senate, ASB hopes to kindle a sense of unity through familiar ties, so instead of electing a stranger, a student elects a friend or classmate.

The Student Senate will now fulfill the duties the Board of Re-view once performed before their acquisition by Student Congress. Not only are the sixteen members responsible for the student voice, but also for reviewing any estab-lishment that receives stipends from ASB to make sure they are doing their jobs.

However, for students like Kai Pedersen, a sophomore candidate, an opportunity to run in the Senate becomes another outlet for him to express his passions.

“I have always been called to-ward positions of leadership and more so positions of service. I have a passion for just generally improving what I can improve and fixing things that need to be fixed and building things that I might need to build,” said Pedersen.

Even though he’s only been to first informational meeting, Ped-ersen is overflowing with ideas, including a plan to try to double the amount of shuttles circulating around campus throughout the day.

However, without student involvement, the Student Sen-ate is ineffective.

“You have the choice of who you pick to represent you, take ad-vantage of the fact that you have a lot of people who want to help you,” said Courtney. “Vote for them. Vote for who you want to be your voice because whoever gets elected is going to be the represen-tation you get.”

ASB introduces Student Senate

PHOTO BY OLIVIA MOWRYThe Green Room Arcade opened in NIcholson Commons next to Jamba Juice for the 2013-2014 school year.

“The design for growth is a part of the

institutional future, but we also know this current undergraduate

growth is not the only part of the long

term development of PLNU as a 21st century

university.”

- President Bob Brower

Monday, September 16, 2013 | the point weekly FEATURES | 3

features QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“What’s that movie where the girl runs around with the bow and arrow?”

- Physics professor Wayne Cottrell on “The Hunger Games”

BY Marissa Hornaday

STAFF WRITER

Wednesday the nation joined to-gether in displays of patriotism mark-ing the twelfth anniversary of the at-tacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

PLNU students and faculty mem-bers were reminded of the tragic day by a memorial on Caf Lane of flags, candles and posters presented by the university’s College Republicans club.

Justin Vos, the club’s president, says the student body responded in very supportive ways.

“People would walk up and pray. It was a good way for students to interact in a non-partisan way,” he said.

At the memorial, a table was set up displaying the names of the people who lost their lives during the attacks, as well as “9/11 never forget” pins and pocket constitutions donated by the Young American Foundation.

Later that evening nearly 30 stu-dents gathered at the memorial for a vigil service as candles were lit and the nearly 3,000 names of 9/11 victims were read by Vos, along with the club’s vice president Emily Lehman.

“When I had to print the names of people who died it was 50 pages long,” Vos said. “You don’t think of it when you just hear the names, but when you see them printed out it overwhelms you.”

During the ceremony Vos gave a speech comparing the number of peo-

ple who died on 9/11 to the number of students in PLNU’s student body.

“It’s like our whole campus being wiped out,” he said.

As the service continued, passersby would stop to listen.

“I didn’t know what to expect, or what the turnout would be,” said Lehman. “But I was really moved to see people stop to think about the day and remember it instead of just walk-ing back to their dorm rooms.”

Those who gathered also shared memories and feelings they have re-garding 9/11. Some shared about people they knew who had died in the Pentagon, while senior Rebecca Ros-siter told of her boyfriend who joined the Marine Corps to serve in Afghani-stan after the attacks.

Brandon West, a sophomore, shared that though he wasn’t directly affected, he still remembers the emo-tion.

“I was affected by how I saw my mom react,” he said. “As a 6 or 7-year-old kid, I had never seen my mom that shocked and that speechless.”

West said he was glad that the Col-lege Republicans club took the time to put on the event and recognize what had happened. Vos attempted to find a posi-tive sentiment in his time of reflection.

“One good thing I took away,” Vos says, “is the way America came togeth-er on that day. It restored my faith in humanity.”

Remembering

Swing dancers still seek official club charter

PHOTO BY MARISSA HORNADAY At a campus memorial service, College Republicans Club vice president Emily Lehman read the names of the nearly 3,000 people who died in the attacks on September 11, 2001.

BY Marissa Chamberlain

STAFF WRITER

The myth of no dancing on PLNU’s campus no longer stands.

For years, PLNU has had a select group of students who love the art of swing dancing and the group has finally found new hope that this is the year they will achieve official club status.

A dance genre of more physical demand, swing dancing has become an interest of many PLNU men, as well as women.

Senior Darryl Galope serves as pres-ident of what he describes as the “unof-ficial underground swing club” and says that being a male in a dance club is not as bad as one might think.

“The girl to guy ratio is usually the same as Loma itself, about 3 girls to ev-ery one guy,” he said. “If anything, you (guys) are a rare commodity - own it. Be-sides, ladies love a guy that can move.”

Every Thursday night Galope is joined by a core group of about eight people as well as a general attendance that fluctuates between 20 and 30 members. They dance to the music of a portable radio atop the roof of the

athletic building overlooking the base-ball field and will continue to do so as long as the weather is on their side, starlight skies adding to the ambiance.

Elaine White has been in the swing club for a year now and loves it. She used to swing dance in her hometown of Acton, CA and says she was excited to hear of the club when transferring to PLNU.

White said one of the things she loves most about the group is the fact that almost every week new people come to learn and grow in their skill.

“I have been able to help out with the teaching this year,” she said. “And we are very excited about pursuing a club statue by the school this year.”

If this group is granted club status, White will have been present for the transition and said she believes that with the school’s support they will be able to grow and get more people involved.

The swing dance group has been at PLNU for more than 5 years, and was established when the university still held a strict no dancing policy, which has made their struggle towards official club status rather difficult.

Christa Davis, a recent alum of

PLNU, has seen the evolution of the group since her freshman year in 2009.

“During my senior year PLNU dance fanatics made an incredible amount of progress toward the accep-tance of dance on campus,” she said. “There were several ASB sponsored dance events which leads me to believe that the administration at Loma might be ready to accept and sponsor a swing dancing club.”

The process to becoming an of-ficial club includes several steps, many of which the group’s leaders have al-ready been working through. Though still in the process of filing paperwork, signing documents, and writing a con-stitution, the group will not receive an official charter until four weeks into the school year, per ASB policies.

Dancers in the group are hopeful that even more progress and growth will happen soon so as to continue the tradition of dancing their Thursday nights away.

9/11

PHOTO BY SAMANTHA WATKINSStudents Renee Wasson and Aric Obreiner dip to the music at the weekly swing dancing group.

the point weekly | monday, september 16, 20134 | FEATURES

GREY AREAThe

Several changes have been made to PLNU’s housing programs this year, including the introduction of “Flexible Housing Arrangements” in many of the dorms on campus. Hendricks, Klassen, Nease and Young now have alternating floors of male and female residents.

How are guys and girls coping together? Several students speak up about their opinions of Loma housing.

“I think that boys act more civilized when girls are around.” - Ember Teter, Freshman in Hendricks Hall

“It’s a good step in modernizing Point Loma’s campus.”

- Caroline Campbell,Freshman in Hendricks Hall

“When it was all guys, it was a crazy big deal to have girls over. But now it’s just part of normal

life.”

- Josh Burgner,Junior RA in Hendricks

“It’s weird going down to the boys’ floor to do laundry. I’m always reminding them to please put clothes on.”

- Hannah Andrade, Junior in Young Hall

“I think it’s good of them (Residential Life) to put that amount of trust in us (students), even if it is just based on housing needs.” - Dante Farinelli,Freshman in Hendricks Hall

“I was excited by the idea of an entire floor of guys that you can get to know really well. But also having the two floors of women below gives us a good opportunity to bond and build community.” - Thomas O’Neil,Freshman in Hendricks Hall

“I don’t think it was timely planned out. In Klassen, men got the short end of the stick because at certain times we’re not allowed to be in any of the lounges.” - Evan Conklin,Freshman in Klassen Hall

Getting to the heart of Point Loma issues:

the black the white and the in between.

“From the start, there is this idea about ring-by-spring and it’s almost like a giant meat market. Now though, there is definitely a sense of just building relationships like brothers and sisters. We all need those. - Casey Rae Meier,Sophomore RA in Klassen

Compiled by Arthur Shingler

BY SAM CHRISTOPHER

STAFF WRITER

PLNU’s ASB has recently char-tered a new campus club that seeks to involve students who are unsure about their Christian faith.

Members of Young Life College, an active group on campus last year, are excited by the possibility of con-tinual growth now that they have re-ceived official club status.

The national organization was founded in 1941 and groups have been meeting on school campuses across the world ever since. Mike Curran, the Area Director for Beach Cities Young Life here in San Diego says the club is a non-denominational, faith based outreach community.

“It’s a great outreach for kids who are still questioning (their faith),” says Curran, who explained his belief that college students are in the prime time of life for spiritual growth.

The college director and western division coordinator for Young Life in San Diego, John Byard says Young Life College is, “a place for commu-nity, a place for adventure and a place for significance. You can be who you are and say what you want to say and you won’t be judged or looked down upon for it.”

Due to the club’s evangelistic na-ture, some are unsure if Young Life College will be a good fit on Point Loma’s campus where the majority of students are Christians. Victoria Roth, a Point Loma senior, was active in the

group last year and says Young Life College is rather different from some of the other groups on campus.

“Young Life is an outreach pro-gram primarily, and so that’s why I think some people are maybe more apprehensive about having it at Point Loma, because it’s a Christian school,” she says. However, Roth expressed how welcomed she felt in the group last year and says it can serve as a place for anyone.

Associate Vice President for Enroll-ment, Scott Shoemaker, who has been a supporter of Young Life for many years, also has reservations about the club tak-ing root here on campus.

“I love Young Life, and I certainly don’t stand in the way of it, but if it never really catches on, I won’t be sur-

prised, ” he says. However, after the club’s first

meeting last Tuesday it seems as though Young Life College is catching on. Led by junior Gianna Faulk, near-ly 70 students joined in on the group, as they played games and studied pas-sages of the Bible together. The club will continue to meet every week at 8:30 pm in Smee Hall. Faulk says she is excited to be leading the new club and hopes to see many students find a new place to explore their faith.

“We’re just a group of people who want to walk with you no matter where you are in your life,” she says. “Everyone is invited.”

Young Life reaches out

PHOTO BY ELISE NAUGHTINStudents gather at the first meeting of Young Life College, a new club on campus dedicated to involving those who may be unsure about their Christian faith.

2013 London Semester

students pose in front

of the city’s iconic clock

tower. “Visiting sites

that you have seen your

whole life, like Big Ben, is

the definition of surreal,”

says sophomore Ashleigh

Downer who is studying

literature and theater in

the UK city.

PHOTO BY ASHLEIGH DOWNERCompiled by: Miranda Brown

Across the pondSTUDY ABROAD PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Monday, September 16, 2013 | the point weekly A&E | 5

UPCOMING EVENTSa&e 9/18: VOSD Meeting of the Minds; Silo at Makers Quarter; 7 p.m.

9/19: The Merchant of Venice; Lowell Davies Festival Theater; 8 p.m. 9/20: 91.X Fest; Sleep Train Amphitheatre; 3 p.m.9/21: FM 94.9 Independence Jam; Oceanside Pier; 3 p.m.

PLNU alumnus’s film hits local theaters.BY Kathleen Rhine

A&E EDITOR

A young, skinny redhead runs screaming from the building. Three casually-dressed, 20-somethings sprint after him, pinning him to the ground and speaking calm words to quiet the escaping child.

The first scene of “Short Term 12” opens with a typical morning at a group home for at-risk kids. It is Nate’s first day, and his uncertainty is visible as he watches Grace and Ma-son (actors Brie Larson and John Gal-lagher Jr.) run after the child without hesitation. The film follows the daily trials of foster-care facility workers.

The teens’ hardships and struggles are woven in with the relationship of Grace and Mason, who are battling their own personal demons.

Begun in 2008 as a Master’s thesis project at San Diego State University, director Destin Daniel Cretton, 2001 PLNU grad, turned the project into a feature film. It competed at South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in March 2013 and won the prestigious Grand Jury and Audience Awards for a narrative feature.

The story is inspired by Cretton’s time working at a similar facility for troubled kids. He also gathered re-search and interviews from group home workers prior to completing the script.

“It was a combination of my ex-perience and things I read,” Cretton

said. “It is something truthful to me.”The San Diego community wel-

comed the film’s local debut on Friday night at La Jolla’s ArcLight Cinemas. Cretton, producer Ron Najor and composer Joel P. West — 2006 PLNU grad — held a Q+A after the showing. Two of the film’s actors — Keith Stan-field, who plays Marcus, and Tanya Bi-tanga, who plays Nikki — also spoke to the audience. A therapist who had worked in a group home similar to the one portrayed in “Short Term 12” praised the film for its accurate depic-tion of real-life struggles.

“I want to tell stories that create real, genuine community,” Cretton said.

And he did. The film’s story cre-ated a buzz at SXSW and continues to make vibrations to receptive audiences

throughout the nation. It debuted at Los Angeles theaters on Aug. 23 and is opening in 63 theaters across the country. One is in Cretton’s home-town theater in Maui, Hawaii, where he watched his first movie as a child.

For composer Joel P. West — of the San Diego-based band, The Tree Ring — writing the music for the film was a unique process. After about 10 rounds of editing, West described the point when he and Cretton realized the music was fitting as a “mysterious, magical, truth-telling moment.”

“The score tells you what you’re supposed to feel,” West said. “But we asked, ‘What’s the least [the mu-sic] can be?’ The performances didn’t need much else.”

Poignant scenes of love and for-

giveness intertwine with moments of laughter and playfulness; sometimes humor was the only way to grapple with the dark moments. Cretton and his crew created a film depicting real pstruggle, heartache and the impor-tance of community.

“Short Term 12” is now playing at

La Jolla’s Arclight Cinemas and

Hillcrest’s Landmark Theatres.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CINEDIGMBrie Larson as Grace and Keith Stanfield as Marcus in “Short Term 12,” directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.

“Short Term” here for the long haul

BY Kendall Boshart

STAFF WRITER

Designers, models and bloggers gathered last week in New York to showcase their lines for Fall 2013 and Spring/Summer 2014. St. John, a high-fashion designer, introduced us to the cape dress for fall, and bloggers and street stylists alike affirmed the blazer as a staple for the closet. Here are just a few ways to wear the trends seen on the runways and in the streets.

Street Couture: This concept requires dressing down the highest fashions pulled straight from design-ers. Take a cape dress from the runway show at St. John and pair it with some edgy sneakers or booties and stud jew-elry — or perhaps Balenciaga heels, a black pantsuit and motorcycle jacket. These pieces are high-quality couture, well-made and tailored but dressed down with accessories and accents that give off a streetwise, moto-chic vibe.

“I have yet to survive a meal with-out destroying whatever I’m wear-ing…so, by default I am going to go with the edgy biker chick look,” said

Cassie Van Loo, sophomore fashion merchandising major.

Where to shop this look: ● Forever 21● Free People● Kendall and Kylie Collection at PacSun● Phillip Lim Collection for Target

Cozied Up: This trend is perfect for the fall season, working well with items that were on trend last spring. Pair a high-waisted leather skirt with a simple long-sleeved crop top or bralette and cozy sweater. Neutral col-ors and chunky knits with chic accesso-ries are what create this look. Try easy, sporty t-shirts with leather or floral on the bottom. The idea is to be comfort-able in your six-inch heels.

Where to shop this look: ● Brandy Melville● Forever 21● Nordstrom● Anthropologie

Wear Your Whites: This focuses on classic pieces in a classic color.

White shouldn’t make up your whole wardrobe, so consider adding a few pieces such as a white blazer, white chiffon top and white skinny jeans.

“I love the clean, chic look of an all-white ensemble, especially one with a bit of edge,” writes global trend reporter and Nordstrom blog-ger Crystal Nicodemus on Nord-strom blog, “The Thread.”

“White is everywhere. Whoever said you can’t wear white after La-bor Day was clearly mistaken,” Van Loo said.

Take a look at Joanna Hilman, BCBGMAXAZRIA and J. Crew for additional ideas on how to wear your whites.

Where to shop this look: ● Brandy Melville● Nordstrom’s TopShop● Anthropologie

Fashion Week runways showcased minimalist lines with mixed prints as we transition to fall. Trousers, blazers, crisp shirts and shift dresses were common themes throughout the collections. Check out the stores and collections for pieces to create your own version of these fall trends.

Happy Styling!

Fashion Week takes New York

Caf Lane Catwalk

PHOTO BY KENDALL BOSHARTSophomores Dami Shin and Arnelle Baptista showcase the biker-chic fall fashion trend, wearing edgy pieces with feminine, couture touches.

the point weekly | monday, september 16, 20136 | SPORTS

UPCOMING EVENTSsports 9/19: W. Soccer vs. Dominican 2:00 p.m.

9/19: W. Volleyball vs. Dominican, 5:30 p.m. / W. Volleyball vs. Academy of Art, 7:00 p.m.

9/21: W. Soccer vs. Notre Dame de Namur, 11:00 a.m. / M. Soccer vs. Notre Dame de Namur, 1:30 p.m. /

W. Volleyball vs. Holy Names, 7:00 p.m. / W. Cross Country @ Aztec Invitantional

BY AMY WILLIAMS

STAFF WRITER

For the last two years, the athletic department at PLNU has been working on transforming their look and identity. With the shift from NAIA to NCAA Division II, and landing a Nike spon-sorship, the department decided it was the perfect time to create a new logo for all of the student athletes to represent, which was revealed on Aug. 5.

“Part of the big change in our re-branding was trying to give us a better identity as we move into division two,” said Danny Barnts, director of athletic communications. “It gives us a chance at better structure for our student ath-letes for competition.”

According to Barnts, the biggest

purpose of creating a new logo was to create some coherence in the athletic department. Within the last few years, athletes have been sporting 34 de-signs with different typography, fonts, scripts and colors on their gear. Now there is only one logo that everyone in athletics will be using.

“My intent was not that we were go-ing to change the whole university. This was more for consistency in the athletic department, first and foremost, because we didn’t have that,” said Athletic Direc-tor Ethan Hamilton.

The company that created the logo, Joe Bosack and Co. visited the campus three times, including an ad-missions tour, to conduct research about the school. The designers were intentional about the subtle repre-

sentations of the wave and the cross where the ‘P’ and ‘L’ meet on the logo.

Even though the colors are still green and gold, the level of gold was altered so that it could be duplicated on clothing, stickers, and signs and still have a modern look to it.

“It was an extensive process of Joe Bosack and Co. observing the university in order to decide and create a logo,” said Barnts. “We know PLNU students take so much pride in this university. We wanted to continue to have a logo that they could be proud of.”

With the change in the logo, stu-dents have started to question the future of the school’s mascot, Roary. Although he is no longer the mascot at PLNU, Roary will still make an appearance at this year’s Homecoming performance

with the cheerleaders.“Though it’s sad to see Roary go,

the new logo looks really nice and I think it’s good for our department to have a new look as we start in a new conference,” said McKensey Wise, ju-nior volleyball player.

The athletic department was re-ceiving too much confusion on what exactly PLNU’s “sealion” was, so to avoid further questions, it was decided that Roary’s services would no longer be needed.

“There was only one out of the 34 designs where we were even using Roary. So it wasn’t about not using Roary, it was more about driving home one look for the athletic department,” said Hamilton.

The department has also decided

to limit the names they will be called to Point Loma, PLNU, or Sea Lions in order to avoid confusion in con-ferences or competitions. In the past they were referred to as ‘Point Loma Nazarene’ or ‘Point Loma Nazarene University’; the accepted names were decided on to make it easier for brand-ing in competitions.

Aside from being displayed on all of the athlete’s jerseys and uniforms, the new logo will also be on multiple surfaces in the gym and the rest of the athletic facilities. Hamilton has also been in communication with the cam-pus bookstore to carry new items with the logo.

Move to NCAA inspires rebranding

PHOTOS BY JONATHON SOCH

Want to see more examples? Check out these locations:

Nike Swoosh:

Golden Gym - garage door

Baseball Field - dugouts

PLNU Logo:

Golden Gym - above front doors

Golden Gym - center court

Tennis Court - east side

Baseball Field - scoreboard

Track - east side wall

Monday, September 16, 2013 | the point weekly SPORTS | 7

9/19: W. Soccer vs. Dominican 2:00 p.m.

9/19: W. Volleyball vs. Dominican, 5:30 p.m. / W. Volleyball vs. Academy of Art, 7:00 p.m.

9/21: W. Soccer vs. Notre Dame de Namur, 11:00 a.m. / M. Soccer vs. Notre Dame de Namur, 1:30 p.m. /

W. Volleyball vs. Holy Names, 7:00 p.m. / W. Cross Country @ Aztec InvitantionalBY JACOB ROTH

COLUMNIST

Dear Roary the Sea Lion,I wish things didn’t have to end

this way, I really do. But, well, it’s time for some changes around here.

I think we should spend some time apart… maybe forever. I know this might be hard to stomach, but Point Loma has decided to move on. It’s not you, it’s us.

You see, Point Loma’s athletic fa-cilities underwent a bit of a face lift this past summer. We got new logos, new uniforms, a slight new color scheme, a sexy new paint job for the basketball/volleyball court in Golden Gym, Nike swag everywhere — the works. It’s all part of the school’s “rebranding” as PLNU transitions into the NCAA.

Now here’s the tough part: no one’s really sure where you and your sexually ambiguous self fit in with the transition.

Don’t get me wrong: you’ve had a great run. Since 2004 you’ve faithfully served PLNU as the seaweed-headed symbol of our passion. But you’re no longer our official mascot or featured in the athletic logo because, well, have you seen the new logos? They look fantastic! Plus they’re so much easier to recognize and reprint. These changes will create a better future for PLNU athletics, even if you’re not part of the picture. I hope you can understand.

It’s not that we all want you to go, per se. You’re still beloved in this campus. Think of all the good times we’ve shared. Remember when you danced around at all those basketball games? What about when you danced around at those volleyball games? And who could forget the time you danced around at Roary’s Reunion in August last year? Do those memories mean nothing to you?

Please don’t take it personally, my dear aquatic mammalian friend. You’re still loved around PLNU. But we at PLNU need to move on to big-ger and better things.

So really, it is you.Happy trails, Roary. You’ll be missed.

Dear Roary

Sea LionscoresWomen’s Soccer

• 9/10: Loss 0-1 vs. Cal State Los Angeles

• 9/14: Win 2-0 vs. San Diego Christian

Women’s Volleyball

• 9/11: Win 3-0 vs. San Diego Christian

• 9/13: Loss 0-3 vs. UC San Diego

• 9/13: Loss 0-3 vs.Cal State Dominguez Hills

• 9/14: Win 3-2 vs. Cal State San Bernadino

• 9/14: Loss 2-3 vs. Cal Poly Pomona

Men’s Soccer

• 9/12: Win 7-0 vs. Southern Nazarene

• 9/14: Win 2-1 vs. Montana State Billings

Lebron James at PLNU?Students took to Twitter and other

forms of social media Saturday

night after rumors were spread

saying an event on campus was

actually the reception for Lebron

James’ wedding held earlier that

evening in Del Mar.

Much to the students’ dismay,

the event was actually a private

fundraiser.

SEASON SNAPSHOTS

Coming off a 2–12 record for the 2012 season, the men’s soccer team is heading into the new season with a largely new team. Having only 10 returning players, the team is made up mostly of the 14 new players, 12 of which are freshmen. Thus far in the season they have accrued a record of 2-2, winning both home games. They are currently on a two game winning streak.

Having placed 3rd in the 2012 conference standing with a record of 9-3-2, PLNU women’s soccer enters the 2013 season with 6 freshman players. Having a team comprised largely of sophomore and junior players, the team currently has a re-cord of 1-3 with their win over San Diego Christian being the most recent game.

Men’s Soccer

Women’s Soccer

PHOTO COURTESY OF PLNU SPORTS INFORMATION

PHOTO COURTESY OF PLNU SPORTS INFORMATION

the point weekly | monday, september 16, 20138 | OPINION

opinionThe lens of conflictBY Clint Betkey

CONTRIBUTOR

“…Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And be-hold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them…” – Ecclesiastes 4:1

The way we see the world’s conflicts and their solutions depend entirely upon the lens in which we view them. Some aspects of each issue get blurred while others become more focused, and it shapes our outlook on the entire picture. As the international community’s eyes turn to Syria, let not the struggles of the refugees, the civilians, and the neutrals of this war become hidden by the over-whelming tide of diplomatic dances and idealistic convictions.

Last semester I studied abroad in Jordan, Syria’s peaceful neighbor to the south. I did not have to look far to see and feel the effects of the war, as I lived in a home-stay with a family who had ethnic roots in Syria, and they would often Skype their relatives still living in Syria to see if they were safe.

Outside the home, I talked with an ex-government soldier who left the army as violence escalated, and I met a restaurant owner from Damascus who

was forced to flee because of the dan-ger. Most of these people were neither pro-government nor pro-rebel, sim-ply human beings looking to make it through alive with their families intact.

Despite its own poverty, Jordan has historically been a haven for refugees. Throughout the years the country has incorporated multiple waves of Palestinians, Iraqis, Kurds, and now Syrians.

Without an abundance of its own natural resources, Jordan is still able to maintain Camp Zataari, the 2nd larg-est refugee camp in the world which sits at its northern border. Roughly 120,000 Syrians currently inhabit this place, and even more are flocking into Jordanian cities to stay with relatives or find a new life.

In the Middle East, the focus al-ways seemed to be about the refugees. Stateside, I’ve found the debate has been geared towards either arming rebels or staying neutral, and more recently eyes have turned to the question of whether or not to forcibly punish the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad over his bel-ligerent use of chemical weapons. Only rarely have I seen open discussions on solving the refugee crisis.

To be sure, the dismantling of

chemical weapons is a huge step and should be a priority, but not the only one. Concentrating solely on mili-tary issues blurs the actual people affected by such problems, and sim-ply doesn’t respect the complexity or scope of this conflict.

From a militaristic perspective, there’s very little the U.S. can even do. Sectarian divisions run deep in Syria, rebels are radicalizing, and too much blood has been spilled for a foreign power to make it right.

Our country is in debt, our people are tired, and we seek a generation of peace. The ghosts of long fallen Rome speak their warnings to us as we at-tempt to over-extend our reach.

From a humanitarian perspective, however, helping the refugees and non-combatants of this war is well within our ability as a nation. Perhaps we should give more room for the issues that our allies, such as Jordan, deem important. Elevating the living conditions of the refugee camps, alleviating the economic pressure in Jordan, Turkey, and Leba-non are all solvable tasks.

Further than that, we do not have the luxury to say that this is not our problem. As Christians, but even more as fellow human beings, we

have a moral responsibility to help those who call for it, to comfort those without relief, and to defend those un-able to protect themselves. So as Syria takes the world stage, keep a focus on chemical weapons, keep an eye on the military players, but don’t let them block the common people they tram-ple under foot.

Dear Reader,

I’ve been thinking about you. I feel like I’m always thinking about you.

Sometimes I think about you on my drive to school in the morn-ing. This morning it was when I was brushing my teeth.

Over the summer, I even had a dream about you. You were wearing those raggedy Toms you always wear and walking out of the library. You were reading the Point Weekly.

You looked up and saw me. You walked up and told me you found a spelling error in a headline on page one. I woke up in a cold sweat.

Now I’m watching the Chargers football game and wondering how you feel about it or if you’re even watch-ing. And that’s what I, and the rest of our lovely news team are here to do.

We want to know what you care about, what you’ve been up to, and what your hopes and opinions are. And we want to put it in these pages.

You put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this place and you want to see results. Or you at least want to know that someone cares.

Well, we care. We’re up at 4 a.m. worrying about whether you’re grate-ful we didn’t mention Miley Cyrus in this issue, or if you’re mad that I had

to go ahead and mess it up and include her anyway.

We wonder if you feel comfortable talking about her interesting choice of expression here on campus, or if some topics are unspeakably taboo. No mat-ter what it might be -- from transfer student issues here on campus to inter-national disagreements on social justice -- let’s talk about them here in the Point Weekly, especially on the opinion page.

This is a place where the campus can talk to itself. We want you to feel repre-sented in these pages through the most balanced and accurate coverage that we student journalists can produce. We have new staff members, new editors, a

new look, and have a few new elements in the works like an all new website (coming soon!).

We are proud of this newspaper’s legacy here on The Point and are ready to add our own feisty spirit to the tradition. So get a hold of us with news tips, questions about our cover-age, or opinions about the things you care about most. We’re here and we’re thinking about you.

Sincerely,Abby HamblinEditor-In-Chief

Syria ConflictWhat to know: • Syria has been in a two-year civil war.

•The United States government alleges Syria’s use of chemical weapons in August and threatened military action.

• International community (G20 summit) remained divided but majority were opposed to military strike

• Syria is one of five states that has not signed the Chemical Conventions Treaty (CCT) which prohibits the use of chemical weapons

• On Saturday, a deal was reached to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons by mid-2014.

PHOTO BY CASSLYN FISERBack row: Guimel Sibingo. Second row from left: Matthew Linman, Kathleen Rhine, Rachel Harrell, Tavis Robertson. Front row from left: Kathleen Callahan, Kimberly Miller, Abby Hamblin, Abbey Stewart.

#LomaChatterHave something to say? Submit your

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

619-603-0728

Laundry is $1.25? Guess I’ll be doing it once a month now.

Anyone ever get scared you’ll see a skunk or a raccoon while walking

through campus at night?

When searching #theflexlife, someone with huge biceps pops up.

AJ Wolf rocked it at Time Out!

I don’t know anyone on campus anymore! #senioryear

Had a great time @ Lebron’s reception on campus! Got to hold

Blue Ivy and drop beats w/ 2 Chains

J.K. Rowling is coming out with a Harry Potter spin-off movie series?

MY LIFE IS MADE.

THE CHARGERS FINISHED A FOURTH QUARTER. I REPEAT. THE

CHARGERS FINISHED A FOURTH QUARTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

I walked in on my roommate eating my Nutella and we just stared at each other for a solid 15 seconds.

Ladies, stop being so hot in the library. I’m trying to study.

Shout out to the men’s soccer team for a sick finish to their game on

Saturday.

The Point WeeklyAbby Hamblin /// Editor-In-Chief

Kathleen Callahan ///News Editor

Kimberly Miller /// Features Editor

Tavis Robertson /// Sports Editor

Kathleen Rhine /// A&E Editor

Guimel Sibingo /// Opinion Editor

Abbey Stewart /// Copy Editor

Rachel Harrell /// Design Editor

Matthew Linman /// Assistant Design Editor

Rachel Barr /// Web 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 hanaeades2009@pointloma.edu

Info compiled from Associated Press reports