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The Santa Clara                                                                                                                 SCU Publications

2-28-2019

The Santa Clara, 2019-02-28
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The Santa Clara, 2019-02-28 - Scholar Commons
Thursday, February 28, 2019
 WHAT’S INSIDE
            3 NEWS                                                                    4 SCENE                                                                  6 OPINION
 Updates on diversity                                                              Oscars are too                                                            U.S. education
 and inclusion efforts                                                                   shallow                                                            needs schooling

                                                                                                                                                                                                   OPINION
                                                                                                                                                                                         Noah Sonnenburg

                                                                                                                                                                PETA Disturbs
                                                                                                                                                                  the Peace
                                                                                                                                                                    Feb. 22, 2019 would have been Steve Irwin’s
                                                                                                                                                                57th birthday. In honor of that, Google dis-
                                                                                                                                                                played an illustrated image of Irwin wrestling
                                                                                                                                                                a crocodile in their logo. PETA made quick
                                                                                                                                                                work of this sweet nod to the Aussie’s life with
                                                                                                                                                                an official Twitter statement.
                                                                                                                                                                    “#SteveIrwin was killed while harassing
                                                                                                                                                                a ray; he dangled his baby while feeding a
                                                                                                                                                                crocodile & wrestled wild animals who were
                                                                                                                                                                minding their own business,” read the tweet.
                                                                                                                                                                “Today’s #GoogleDoodle sends a dangerous,
                                                                                                                                                                fawning message. Wild animals are entitled to
                                                                                                                                                                be left alone in their natural habitats.”
                                                                                                                                                                    Rightfully, the internet—myself included—
                                                                                                                                                                responded with a largely unanimous, bom-
                                                                                                                                                                bastic “no thanks.” PETA’s comments were
                                                                                                                                                                tone-deaf, unintelligent and, perhaps worst
                                                                                                                                                                of all, done solely for the purpose of ruffling
                                                                                                                                                                feathers.
                                                                                                                                                                    For those readers who didn’t religiously
                                                                                                                                                                watch Animal Planet, Steve Irwin was an in-
                                                                                                                                                                credible inspiration. As a television presenter,
                                                                                                                                                                he spoke to adults and children alike about the
                                                                                                                                                                value of ecological awareness and taught the
                                                                                                                                                                people all about the vast array of creatures that
                                                                                                                                                                walk the Earth. He wrangled crocodiles, nur-
                                                                                                                                                                tured animals, ran a conservation-focused zoo
                                                                                                                                                                and journeyed across Australia while chroni-
                                                                                                                                                                cling the wonders of his world. All the while,
                                                                                                                                                                Irwin raised a family of his own who carry on
                                                                                                                                       NICK KNIVETON            his work today.
                                                                                                                                                       AP           On Sept. 4, 2006, on a dive in Queensland,
    LIVE FROM SANTA CLARA: Students performed at Igwebuike’s “Love Jones: Friday Night Live” on Friday, Feb. 22 in the Locatelli Student Activity
    Center. Participants performed varoius acts including different dances, musical numbers and a dance-off that occurred between audience members.             Australia, Irwin was stung in the heart by a
                                                                                                                                                                stingray. His death stunned fans and he was
                                                                                                                                                                remembered by various media worldwide.
                                                                                                                                                                His youngest fans who grew up watching his

Support Does Not Come Easy
                                                                                                                                                                program lost a hero that day. My parents woke
                                                                                                                                                                me up and told me the heart-wrenching news
                                                                                                                                                                before I went to school. I still have the obituary
                                                                                                                                                                clipping that the Los Angeles Times ran for
                                                                                                                                                                him. So as you read what I have to say, keep in
                                                   diversity of voices—especially since there is           After the Diversity and Inclusion Fo-                mind I take this whole affair very personally.
Senate approves                                    already a Students for Justice in Palestine         rum on Feb. 20, questions were also raised                   I was, of course, incensed by PETA’s com-
                                                   (SPJ) club.                                         about ASG’s handling of the situation and                ments. It seemed that their words, which are
campus club despite                                   First-year Valerie Rutenburg, president          why it was approved. This is in addition to              broadcast to quite a large audience, were a per-
                                                   of SSI, saw a need for SSI at Santa Clara           concerns about SSI’s advisor and their lack              sonal attack on one of my childhood heroes.
student concerns                                   because she noticed there was no club for           of acknowledgement of human rights viola-                Naturally, I was angry and wanted nothing
                                                   the Israeli viewpoint at Santa Clara.               tions against Palestinians in Israel.                    more than to berate the cut-rate team that
                                                      “It was alarming that the Israeli perspec-           “We purely want to raise awareness                   manages their media presence.
               Perla Luna                          tive wasn’t being represented on campus             about the human rights violations that are                   But I’m a man of reason. I know PETA
            Editor-in-Chief                        because there is a complexity behind these          happening to the Palestinian people,” Dar-               has done quite a lot of good in the world and
                                                   tensions,” Rutenburg said. “Not having both         wish said. “There are about 65 laws that                 pursues a clear message of goodwill toward
   The chartering of Students in Support of        sides doesn’t reflect our democratic values.”       discriminate against Palestinians, therefore             all animals. They have fought against abhor-
Israel (SSI) has instigated student criticism         Senior Noor Darwish, co-president of             we label it as an apartheid state. When you              rent acts carried out by institutions like the
of Associated Student Government (ASG)             SPJ, and other SPJ members felt the Cen-            hold Israel accountable to the human rights              Yulin Festival and Tyson Foods. I respect that
for approving their club status due to con-        ter for Student Involvement (CSI) had not           violations, then we can have a conversation.”            work. I respect activism that is done tactfully,
cerns over SSI’s potential threat to Palestin-     done its due diligence in informing them                Rutenberg, however, does not feel equat-             forcefully and intentionally. What I have no
ian students and supporters on campus.             beforehand that SSI was attempting to get           ing apartheid in South Africa with the Is-               patience for is idiocy.
   At the Feb. 14 senate meeting, ASG grant-       chartered.                                          raeli/Palestinian conflict is fair.                          PETA has historically been guilty of an im-
ed Registered Student Organization (RSO)              But CSI is only responsible for initially            For her, the human rights question is                mense number of idiotic offenses that would
status to SSI, an international organization       deciding whether or not a club will cause           still up for debate.                                     make members of the 1960s activist move-
that supports Israel as a Jewish Democratic        physical harm, and it was deemed SSI would              “There is ugliness on both sides, there is           ments groan in despair.
nation-state.                                      not.                                                good on both sides and there is bloodshed                   This comment, and comments like it, seem to
   During discussion about the club, some             “Our safety and well-being is at risk            on both sides,” she said.
senators mentioned not feeling informed            here,” Darwish said. “We don’t stand for
                                                                                                                  See REFERENDUM, Page 3                                        See PETA, Page 6
enough about the issue to vote while others        this club and we also don’t think Santa Clara
talked about the importance of including a         should either.”

   Since 1922                             www.thesantaclara.org                               @thesantaclara                              @thesantaclara                           One free copy
The Santa Clara, 2019-02-28 - Scholar Commons
2 / News                                                                                 The Santa Clara                                                                          Thursday, February 28, 2019

   CAMPUS SAFETY
Information Report                                           Racks Reorganize Transportation
    Feb. 21: A Kenna Hall elevator was reported              New project to                            “It’s such a hassle to carry           The functionality of these         lock the transportation device
malfunctioning with a staff member trapped inside.                                                  around boards in buildings, so        racks allows for a safer alterna-      in place.
Campus Safety and a technician responded.                    improve safety                         having this form of organiza-         tive to skateboard and scooter             While the appearance of
    Feb. 21: Four unattended commercial electric scooters                                           tion would be ideal,” junior          storage.                               these racks may be arbitrary
were impounded on campus.                                    on campus                              Matteo de Suduiraut said.                 While these racks are be-          to some, Akerland addresses
    Feb. 21: Graffiti was found painted on the north fence                                          “This will also help keep the         ing piloted in Benson, there           the possible threat that ille-
of the Park Avenue apartments. A work order for cleanup                                             walls clean since people won’t        is an interest in these storage        gitimately stored skateboards
was completed.                                                  Anthony Alegrete                    prop their boards up on them.”        devices throughout campus,             can pose.
    Feb. 22: A bicycle tire was reported stolen from a         Associate Reporter                      Director of Planning &             according to Akerland.                     “In some areas, loose skate-
secured bicycle at the Shappell Lounge bike racks.                                                  Projects Don Akerland was                 “We have a couple of ad-           boards can present a safety
    Feb. 23: Non-affiliate rugby team members were seen         A walk through Benson               one of the leaders behind the         ditional racks and we are look-        issue and the racks provide a
smoking marijuana on the Casa Italiana Residence Hall        Memorial Center reveals a mi-          idea to bring these racks to          ing at Heafey [Law Library],           more appropriate way to store
patio. They were admonished by a Campus Safety officer.      nor change at either entrance:         Benson.                               Alumni Science and the Art             the skateboards,” Akerland
    Feb 24: Bicycle tires were reported stolen from a        skateboard storage racks                  “There is a need to find a         and Art History Building as            said.
secured bicycle at the Nobili Residence Hall bike racks. A   available for student use.             way to provide skateboard             potential locations for racks,”            With Benson being just
review of video cameras revealed a male suspect removing        Due to the relatively small         storage and security within           Akerland said.                         the pilot location for these
both wheels from the bike. SCPD was advised.                 size of campus, skateboard             the various campus build-                 These racks feature several        racks, more are bound to ap-
    Feb. 24: A light pole located on Santa Clara Street      and scooter travel has become          ings,” Akerland said. “We have        shelves large enough to fit an         pear throughout campus in the
parking was found leaning and not fully secured to the       commonplace.                           several buildings that we are         average longboard or skate-            near future.
ground. A work order was completed and barricades were          Because of the space’s              wanting to try out these skate-       board as well as some scooter
placed around it.                                            high foot traffic, Benson has          board racks and there was a           models.                                Contact Anthony Alegrete
    Feb. 25: A Bon Appetit salad bar weight scale computer   become littered with these             request to have one installed             Additionally, each rack fea-       at aalegrete@scu.edu or call
was reported displaying pornography when turned on. An       transportation devices.                at Benson.”                           tures a metal ring so one can          (408) 554-4852.
investigation is being conducted.
    Feb. 25: A security contractor for a construction site
was taken into custody by SCPD for outstanding warrants

                                                                                                News in Brief
and for possessioning methamphetamine.
    Feb. 25: A rental car was reportedly found damaged
at the Jesuit Residence parking lot. It is unknown if the
damage was sustained on campus.
    Feb. 26: A suspicious male was reported inside the
restroom of Mission Church for an extended period of
time, possibly smoking. Campus Safety was able to contact
him, but he fled and boarded a bus. SCPD was notified
and responded. He was identified and arrested for being                               Global
drunk in public on the bus.
    Feb. 26: Graffiti was found spray painted on the                                  •     On Tuesday, Feb. 26, Australian Cardinal George Pell, a former adviser to Pope
exterior cinder block wall at Schott Stadium.                                               Francis , was convicted of sexual abuse. Pell was found guilty of sexually assaulting
                                                                                            two underage boys in December, but a judge barred journalists from publishing the
Medical Emergency                                                                           verdict.

    Feb. 20: Two students collided and banged heads while                             •     Tensions in Venezuela escalated on Thursday, Feb. 22 after President Nicolas
playing soccer at Bellomy Field. They were evaluated and                                    Maduro closed the border between Venezuela and Brazil in order to stop opponents
assisted by SCU EMS. One of the students was transported                                    from delivering humanitarian aid into the country. At least two civilians were killed
to O’Connor Hospital by an Uber.                                                            and more than a dozen wounded in a confrontation with security forces along
    Feb. 22: A student fell off his skateboard and injured                                  Venezuela’s border with Brazil.
his ankle. Campus Safety & SCFD responded. He was
transported to O’Connor Hospital by paramedics.
    Feb. 26: A campus resident was reported having flu-                               National
like symptoms and possibly lost consciousness. SCFD was
contacted and responded. The resident was transported                                 •     On Wednesday, Feb. 27, Michael Cohen, a former lawyer and aide to Donald Trump,
to O’Connor Hospital by paramedics.                                                         testified before the House Oversight and Reform committee. Cohen had previously
                                                                                            pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress regarding the Russia
                                                                                            investigation and was sentenced to three years in prison for crimes including tax
Student Behavior                                                                            evasion and campaign violations during Trump’s 2016 campaign.
   Feb. 21: Campus Safety investigated a report of a
student hazing incident in the pool. A review of video                                •     On Wednesday, Feb. 27, the House of Representatives voted 245-182 to block
coverage showed students wearing water polo team                                            President Trump’s effort to declare a national emergency and build a wall at the
uniforms in the pool area. Nothing unusual was observed.                                    United States-Mexico border. Thirteen Republicans voted for the resolution along
   Feb. 21: Campus Safety responded to a noise                                              with House Democrats.
disturbance coming from students in an off-campus
residence on Bellomy Street. One of the students was
contacted and advised to keep the noise down.                                         Santa Clara
   Feb. 22: A student was observed driving at an excessive
speed through a stop sign on Palm Drive. He was contacted                             •     Opening week of the musical “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” begins
by a Campus Safety officer at the Main Parking Garage and                                   on Friday, March 1 at 8 p.m. and will conclude on Saturday, March 9. Hosted by the
was cautioned about hazardous driving.                                                      Department of Theatre and Dance, the musical by William Finn is reminiscent of
                                                                                            middle school and features eccentric spelling bee champions as the main characters.
From Campus Safety reports.
Email news@thesantaclara.org.                                                         •     The Ethnic Studies Department is hosting the Resistance and Renewal Conference
                                                                                            in conjunction with the National Consortium for the Study of the Politics of Race,
                                                                                            Immigration and Ethnicity on Friday, March 1 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
       Check out the Campus Safety Report online:
                                                                                      •     General auditions for “Romeo and Juliet” will be held during week 10 on Monday,
                 facebook.com/scucss                                                        March 11 and Tuesday, March 12 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Callbacks will be held
                                                                                            Wednesday, March 13.
                  @SCUCampusSafety

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The Santa Clara, 2019-02-28 - Scholar Commons
Thursday, February 28, 2019                                                                The Santa Clara                                                                                      News / 3

Referendum Evolves Diversity Works Winners
                                             discriminate against conservative stu-                                                                     ated by the award winners. Each award winner
                                                                                                   Students share stories
            Continued from Page 1
                                             dents and advance left-wing propaganda.                                                                    had prepared a question to ask the panel. Senior
    There was confusion over the advisor         “TPUSA is not me,” Rutenburg said.                                                                     and award winner Shikiko Washington asked
appointment because it appeared that         “I am not TPUSA. No way are we linked.                 and businesses show                                 how panelists continue to create environments
SSI had an ex-Israeli soldier without        I think it’s very important to allow my                                                                    where they celebrate and uplift the diversity of
Santa Clara affiliation acting as their      group objective scrutiny and not confuse                promising interest                                 thought and identities within their companies.
advisor.                                     it with prior instances.”                                                                                      This query sparked insightful advice from the
    RSOs are allowed to have non-Santa           The national SSI does have ties to                                                                     diversity and inclusion professionals.
Clara affiliate advisors, but SPJ was        Canary Mission, a website which lists                                 Sasha Todd                               Ariana Rivera, a graduate student career
concerned because the individual they        student activists, professors and or-                             The Santa Clara                          coach at the Career Center, had some advice for
identified as the advisor was someone        ganizations it considers anti-Israel or                                                                    students who are planning their careers and have
who, along with other pro-Israel activ-      anti-semitic.                                           Six students were awarded prize money for          not yet thought about diversity.
ists, harassed them on May 15.                   Canary Mission has been used by the             sharing their experiences with diversity, how              “You should care about diversity if you want
    This was when the club’s apartheid       Israeli government and border security              they have overcome adversity and how their iden-       to work in an environment that is going to be
wall was up near the Learning Commons        officials to interrogate and deny entry to          tities have shaped their career development.           nontoxic to you,” Rivera said. “I mean working
as part of Palestinian Awareness Week.       those boycotting Israel.                            Winners delivered speeches to the crowd at the         long hours, you want to think about diversity
    In their intent to charter, SSI had no       Rutenburg said the purpose of her               Diversity Works Awards and Expo, held in the Lo-       in the terms of what does the board and the top
official advisor listed.                     club is not to put anyone on a watchlist.           catelli Student Activities Center on Feb. 20. It was   look like, are they diverse, and how are their
    SPJ intends to announce a referen-           “My ultimate goal is to shed light on           sponsored by the Career Center to celebrate and        experiences impacting my work standards and
dum motion to revoke SSI’s RSO status        the complexity of the issue and engage              provide opportunities for marginalized students.       expectations.”
at tonight’s senate meeting.                 in dialogue,” she said.                                 This was the second year the Career Center             Other award recipients were first-year Remi
    This would give SPJ 10 to 15 days to         Going forward, SPJ hopes it can raise           held this program, with six students winning a         Schreder, juniors Joycelyne Cardona and Kim-
get 5,520 written students signatures (10    awareness of the Palestinian perspec-               $200 prize as opposed to five recipients last year.    berly Dong and senior Alexander Moran.
percent of the student body) calling for     tive. Rutenburg likewise hopes to in-                   Applicants submitted an elevator pitch de-
a referendum election.                       crease conversation around the Israeli/             scribing how their experiences with diversity
    If a referendum is approved, 20 per-     Palestinian conflict without posing SSI             affected their identities in their careers. This
cent of the undergraduate population         as a threat to anyone on campus.                    year, the option of submitting a video response               “Even if you are
would need to vote either way in order           At-Large Senator Eduardo Ruano and              in addition to or in place of a written submission
to consider the election valid.              three other ASG senators have written               was added.                                                   not thinking about
    Assuming at least 20 percent of stu-     an apology letter that will be discussed in             The event was split into three parts, the first
dents do vote, then SPJ would still need     a closed senate meeting after Thursday’s            consisted of the awards ceremony and presenta-                 diversity, it is
a supermajority (two-thirds plus one) in     general meeting.                                    tion of winning speeches.
favor of the referendum.                         ASG senators are also considering                   “I think it is important for companies to be                everywhere.”
    The ASG bylaws officially state it       making changes to the bylaws or proce-              intentional about diversity and inclusion because
must be a supermajority of the entire        dures to prevent future problems from               societal change is only going to happen when
student population but that was deemed       arising.                                            lots of individual groups buy into the value of            The final part of the event included a career
not feasible. As of now, SPJ needs a su-         “Some students in senate do not feel            diversification,” award winner and junior An-          fair with more than 40 employers that feature
permajority of all those who vote in the     like there are opportunities to learn from          nalicia Anaya said.                                    diversity and inclusion in their companies.
election.                                    this whole process and maybe add more                   The second part of the event consisted of the          There was a range of companies in different
    Concerns over a club’s presence on       to our procedure to help prevent fur-               Diversity and Inclusion Industry Panel, which          industries, which included Accenture, Oracle,
campus and their corresponding nation-       ther problems in the future,” ASG Senate            intended to discuss the role of diversity and in-      Gap, Boys and Girls Club of San Francisco, In-
al organization’s watchlist is a situation   Chair Alex Perlman said. “One such idea             clusion in the workplace.                              ternational Rescue Committee and Symantec.
all too familiar for ASG.                    I have heard is to post our agenda a day                The panel featured Noel Kreidler, a disability         “Even if you are not thinking about diversity,
    Two years ago, similar issues were       or so before the senate meeting.”                   advocate at Kreidler Solutions; Michelle Park,         it is everywhere,” Rivera said. “We need to be
raised when Turning Point USA (TPU-              Both SSI and SPJ will further discuss           an equal employment opportunity manager for            thinking about how we can create safe spaces for
SA) was approved as an RSO.                  the situation at tonight’s senate meeting.          San Mateo County; and recent alumna Natalie            people to work in.”
    TPUSA is a branch of a right wing,                                                           Simmons, who works in diversity and inclusion
nonprofit organization that maintains        Contact Perla Luna at pluna@scu.edu                 programming at Zendesk.                                Contact Sasha Todd at artodd@scu.edu or call
a watchlist of professors who allegedly      or call (408) 554-4852.                                 The panel was run by students and moder-           (408) 554-4852.

Topics Tackled at Forum for Campus Inclusion
                                         undergraduate admission officers,        Cowell Center, introduced efforts         nators to manage them.                  eo recorded as well as transcribed
    Students and                         who presented a profile of the early     the health center is making to help           Following the updates about         and students are able to view the
                                         admission class of 2019-20.              students handle issues like stress        changes and improvements being          discussion senators had during the
   administration                            They announced an increase in        and anxiety.                              made across campus, students had        meeting as well as each senator’s
                                         the number of early applications             She discussed the diverse group       questions regarding other issues        individual vote.
    discuss issues                       received, as well as an increase in      of counselors available to students       they felt the university had failed         Questions were also asked re-
                                         the overall academic achievements        as well as the support group for          to address.                             garding Bon Appetit and the treat-
                                         of the class.                            women of color launched this year             Students had the option to sub-     ment of the workers. Robin Reyn-
         Emma Pollans                        The number of admitted stu-          in conjunction with the group To-         mit questions anonymously with          olds, associate vice president of
       The Santa Clara                   dents of color also increased by 8.4     gether for Ladies of Color.               note cards throughout the event.        Auxiliary Services, informed stu-
                                         percent.                                     Tiger Simpson, the assistant              However, due to time con-           dents that multiple meetings have
    The room was tense as students           Paola Garcia-Vega, assistant di-     director of the Wellness Center,          straints, only a few questions were     been held with workers of Bon Ap-
listened to administrators’ updates      rector of admissions, took the op-       discussed the center’s goals which        actually answered directly by ad-       petit.
about campus life and then voiced        portunity to promote “Unity Night,”      include building bridges with off-        ministrators that night.                    ­“My staff regularly meets with
their own concerns.                      a program that brings admitted stu-      campus communities and working                The issues brought up included      Bon Appetit,” Reynolds said. “Both
    The Diversity and Inclusion Fo-      dents of color to campus for a day.      with students in off-campus hous-         how Santa Clara would actively work     the management group that works
rum took place on Feb. 20 in the de          She encouraged students to           ing, neighborhood units and Greek         to make the campus welcoming and        here on campus, as well as the cor-
Saisset Museum auditorium.               RSVP as ambassadors and informed         life.                                     open to Native Americans and in-        porate folks that work regionally
    It was co-hosted by the univer-      students that in previous years, 75                                                digenous people, given the land the     and nationally. We’re also touching
sity and the Student Council on In-      percent of attendees committed to                                                  university currently occupies once      base with them on issues [raised] by
clusive Excellence.
    The evening consisted of of short
                                         Santa Clara.
                                             Provost Dennis Jacobs, vice            “We can always                          belonged to the Ohlone tribe.
                                                                                                                                The answer came from university
                                                                                                                                                                    the Labor Action Committee and we
                                                                                                                                                                    meet with them regularly as well to
presentations from various groups
on campus that updated students on
                                         president for academic affairs,
                                         presented retention figures for             continue to do                         President Michael Engh, S.J., who
                                                                                                                            said Santa Clara is currently forming
                                                                                                                                                                    hear the concerns that workers feel
                                                                                                                                                                    comfortable going to them with.”

                                                                                        better.”
initiatives and project that intend to   students after their first year on                                                 a working group of staff, students           Annalicia Anaya, director of the
make Santa Clara a more diverse and      campus. Santa Clara has an average                                                 and members of the Ohlone tribe to      Multicultural Center, believes that
inclusive place.                         95 percent retention rate and is cur-                                              address the issue of recognizing the    events such as the Diversity and
    The topics discussed included        rently tied for the second- highest                                                people and their tribe.                 Inclusion Forum are important be-
undergraduate admissions, reten-         retention rate with Boston College           Students from the Violence Pre-           Another issue students raised       cause they discuss issues that are
tion data, wellness initiatives, next    among Jesuit schools in the United       vention Program also presented and        concerned the Associated Student        not always priorities.
steps following the Campus Climate       States.                                  discussed their membership growth         Government (ASG)’s approval of a             “Having a space where students
Survey and the #BroncoPosi move-             “We can always continue to do        as well as efforts they have made         pro-Israel club, Students Support-      and other SCU stakeholders can vo-
ment.                                    better,” Jacobs said. “But these are     on campus including requiring all         ing Israel.                             calize issues or questions they have
    Time was allotted at the end for     really good metrics for students to      first-years to go through the One-            The question described the club     about D&I is important in ensuring
questions and discussion from the        say when they come here that this        Love Escalation Workshop during           as purely political and asked how       we are continually progressing for-
audience.                                is a place where they can thrive and     orientation.                              this group was allowed on campus        ward,” Ananya said. “It is immensely
    The goal of the event was to         succeed.”                                    Vice Provost for Academic Af-         and given RSO status.                   dangerous to ever believe that we
provide the university administra-           The following presentations fo-      fairs Elsa Chen informed students             Members of ASG in the audience      have solved the issue of diversity.
tors the opportunity to engage with      cused on increasing the quality of       about campus initiatives.                 responded by saying that senators       It needs to be an ongoing conversa-
students and ask them important          student life on campus with presen-          Following the results of the Cam-     are expected to do research and their   tion.”
questions about the current campus       tations from the Cowell Center, the      pus Climate Survey, various groups        due diligence before voting to ap-
climate surrounding diversity and        Wellness Center and the Education        on campus established a list of 10        prove a club’s RSO status.              Contact Emma Pollans at
social justice issues.                   for Violence Prevention group.           priorities to address. Each priority          Senate Chair Alex Perlman           epollans@scu.edu or call (408)
    The first presentation was from          Jill Rovarious, director of the      has a specific goal, as well as coordi-   noted that ASG meetings are vid-        554-4852.
The Santa Clara, 2019-02-28 - Scholar Commons
SCENE
 4

                                                                                        Thursday, February 28, 2019

                                                                                     “You Complete Me, Ho”
                                                                                                                       seven minutes into “You             because of the joke’s level    Hollywood. It’s also con-
                                                                                     Standup comic                     Complete Me, Ho,” Jeong             of disrespect.                 tradicting for Jeong and
                                                                                                                       begins mocking Vietnam-                 This type of behavior      his recent interview with
                                                                                     jokes about race                  ese culture and justifies           allows the audience to         TIME, in which he says
                                                                                                                       his slander by saying he is         enjoy problematic jokes        that “Comics like Han-
                                                                                     and gender in                     married to a Vietnamese             without having to feel         nah Gadsby or Ali Wong
                                                                                                                       woman, Tran Ho.                     guilty. Jeong challenges       exemplify how you can do
                                                                                     Netflix special                        Jeong goes on a ram-           the idea of using self-dep-    deeply personal work in a
                                                                                                                       page about ways to laugh            recating humor as a tool,      stand-up format. It wasn’t
                                                                                                                       at Asians and defeminizes           thereby pushing his fans to    like that 20 years ago. It’s
                                                                                           Azariah Joel                women by using the com-             consider the price of mak-     definitely for the better be-
                                                                                        The Santa Clara                mon Vietnamese surname              ing comedy at the expense      cause you can only tell so
                                                                                                                       to riffing repeatedly about         of the Asian community.        many d*ck jokes. You need
                                                                                         Comedians are par-            his wife, last name “Ho.”               Though the audience        something deeper to say.”
                                                                                     ticularly obsessed with                Jeong gets the crowd           was predominantly Asian            Jeong is right. Comics
                                                                                     limits—especially how far         started by saying, “I mar-          in “You Complete Me, Ho,”      like Wong define Asian
                                                                                     those limits can be pushed.       ried a Ho, I can say any-           Jeong ’s comedy didn’t         comedy more substan-
                                                                                     In his first-ever stand-up        thing the f*ck I want, and          feel authentic and some        tially while still being
                                                                                     special, Ken Jeong crosses        it’s street-legal. Get in the       jokes left a bad taste in my   funny. Wong has supplied
                                                                                     racial thresholds and relies      car, Ho. Make me some               mouth.                         the demand for comedy
                                                                                     on familiar, crude humor          rice, Ho.”                              Some of the most tal-      rooted in Asian-Ameri-
                                                                                     that uses the Asian ste-               When the camera shifts         ented comedians do this        can-centered experienc-
                                                                                     reotypes that made him            to show Jeong’s wife sit-           to push their audience to      es—like the extremes of
                                                                                     famous.                           ting in the back, she flashes       think about stereotypes        motherhood or being part
                                                                                         One of the most trend-        a forced smile and blows            critically, however, Jeong     of an immigrant family.
                                                                                     ing specials on Netflix,          him a kiss. What a great            misses the mark and per-       She promotes femininity
                                                                                     “You Complete Me, Ho”             way to introduce your wife,         petuates the stereotypes       and her Asian-American
                                                                                     is brimming with jokes at         right?                              that he is trying to dis-      identity. But there is hard-
                                                                                     the expense of the Asian               A few minutes later,           mantle.                        ly anything deep in “You
                                                                                     culture.                          Jeong randomly asks a girl              In a time when Asian       Complete Me, Ho” and
                                                                                         The special lacks sub-        in the front if she’s Viet-         Americans are finally          the message Jeong gives
                                                                                     stance and has received           namese and then proceeds            being recognized in the        is a reiteration of ways to
                                                                                     backlash about how this           to ask her last name. Not           media, Ken Jeong is one        make jokes about Asian
                                                                                     approach to comedy is ru-         only is her last name Ho,           of the most famous Asian       people. Instead of showing
                                                                                     ining what little represen-       but her first name is also          actors in Hollywood. He        authenticity, Jeong white-
                                                                                     tation Asian-Americans            Tran.                               became well known from         washes Asian identify and
                                                                                     have in the media.                     The crowd goes into a          his recurring role in “The     normalizes “idiotic” traits
                                                                                         There is an unspoken          roar of laughter but Jeong          Hangover” and his televi-      by adapting them to his
                                                                                     rule about how comedi-            stands there looking an-            sion show “Dr. Ken,” along     personality.
                                                                                     ans are granted the ex-           noyed. When the audience            with other achievements.           He degrades women
                                                                                     cuse to make jokes that           calms down, Jeong yells to              If one of our most ac-     and race to gain acceptance
                                                                                     rely on racial stereotypes        the girl, “Don’t you ever           complished and beloved         and popularity from fans.
                                                                                     as long as it’s about their       upstage me, Ho! Don’t you           Asian American comedi-         Jeong will need a different
                                                                                     own culture. Since these          ever be funnier than me,            ans is still making jokes      approach if he wants to be-
                                                                                     comedians are given the           Ho! How dare you, this is           at the expense of Asian        come a household name.
                                                                                     invisible right to laugh at       my Netflix special, Ho!”            American experiences,
                                                                                     their people, they give the       Whether this was impro-             this indicates that ste-       Contact Azariah Joel at
                                                                                     audience permission to            vised or staged, I would            reotypes about Asians          ajoel@scu.edu or call
                                                                         FACEBOOK    laugh with them. Less than        hate to be in her position          are still commodified in       (408) 554-4852.

An Oscars with No Host is No Oscars at All
                                                    to live up to its promise. The Academy’s dream of                                                                what the Oscars have lost. Rather than desper-
The Santa Clara’s resident                          drawing larger audiences with more diverse and                                                                   ately scream for our attention like so many of
                                                    commercial offerings barely materialized. Vot-                                                                   the other performers that evening, Gaga and
film critic shows disdain for                       ers still gravitated toward their old preferences,                                                               Cooper invited us to share in their own riveting
                                                    choosing 10 Oscar bait films instead of just five.                                                               personalities.
the most recent Oscars                                   However, the most insidious element of                                                                          Like great winners of the past, you might not
                                                    the change involved the accompanying switch                                                                      like them or their music, but you can’t help but
                                                    to a preferential ballot voting system for Best                                                                  respect their passion.
             Brandon Schultz                        Picture, denying films with focused, passionate                                                                      And it’s this type of authenticity and genuine
             The Santa Clara                        followings that generate broad esteem, such as                                                                   excitement that led to what is arguably one of the
                                                    “Schindler’s List” or “Titanic,” from securing                                                                   best moments in Oscar history: Olivia Colman
    Where is our “Schindler’s List”?                wins.                                                                                                            winning Best Actress.
    While the Oscars have certainly never lacked         Today, each nominee for Best Picture comes                                                                      Although the category initially seemed com-
heated competition, they’ve also never felt as      with too much baggage in the form of haters.                                                                     petitive, the driving narrative in recent weeks
passionless as they have in recent years.           Someone will always find something wrong with                                                                    positioned frequent-nominee Glenn Close as the
    Yes, Grace Kelly upset Judy Garland in          your movie.                                                                                           FACEBOOK   obvious winner. So when Colman’s name rang
1955, and Harvey Weinstein’s concerted, game-            The path to a trophy often lies in being as safe   After controversial tweets made by Kevin Hart surfaced   out through the Dolby Theater, the audience
changing Best Picture campaign in 1999 deprived     as possible, so that the most voters put your film      this year, the 2019 Oscars was stripped of a host.       basked in genuine surprise—Colman noticeably
Spielberg of another deserving Oscar. But the       in the middle of their list.                                                                                     included.
movie industry—and the general public—still              The effects of these decisions were on disas-      til the very end—this pizazzless impersonality               In her heartwarming acceptance, she for-
rallied around these surprise winners.              trous display at last Sunday’s Oscars, where no         stripped the show of genuine excitement. Pas-            goed the canned, generic speeches that we have
    Last Sunday’s fractured 91st Academy            one film truly emerged from the pack. “Black            sion lost out to inoffensive generality, and so          come to expect of winners. Instead, she let her
Awards proved that those days are over. Thrilling   Panther” won some awards, “Roma” earned oth-            did us viewers.                                          simultaneous tears and giggles guide her speech.
films with intensely personal visions no longer     ers and “Green Book” snatched the top prize de-              And that is why, for many, Lady Gaga and                When she admitted that, as a cleaner, “I did
win—victors must appeal to the widest audience      spite not boasting the best director (an amusing        Bradley Cooper’s performance of their Oscar-             spend quite a lot of time imagining this,” she
possible.                                           yet too-frequent occurrence).                           nominated hit “Shallow” marked the best mo-              demonstrated the brutal honesty and off-the-cuff
    Perhaps the blame rests on the Academy it-           Fittingly for a rudderless show with no host,      ment of the broadcast. For the first time that eve-      spontaneity that the show no longer produces.
self, whose infamous 2009 decision to expand        the ceremony plodded along with little per-             ning, tension filled the theater (especially with            At one poignant moment, the obviously flus-
the number of potential Best Picture nominees       sonality. Like the nominated movies, various            Cooper’s girlfriend, model Irina Shayk, watching         tered Colman emitted a raspberry. Although
from five to 10 continues to infect ceremonies      celebrities enjoyed their 45 seconds of screen-         the utterly enraptured duo from the front row).          her speech was a knockout moment of passion,
more than a decade later.                           time, contributing to the boring sameness of                 For a few brief moments, Gaga and Cooper            the dull ceremony surrounding her deserved it.
    The decision in itself, while undoubtedly       the broadcast.                                          brought their intensely personal visions to the
positive in its hopes for including—at least on          Despite helping the show move along                stage. With eyes locked, they ignored everyone           Contact Brandon Schultz at bschultz@scu.edu
the surface—a more diverse range of films, failed   smoothly and without major controversy un-              but each other. This riveting passion captured           or call (408) 554-4852.
The Santa Clara, 2019-02-28 - Scholar Commons
Thursday, February 28, 2019                                                            The Santa Clara                                                                                           Scene / 5

Senior Soloists Hitting All of the Right Notes
Santa Clara senior
students to serenade
this coming Saturday

            Erin Fox
      Managing Editor

    Four Santa Clara senior stu-
dents will take center stage this
Saturday night as winners of the
Music Department’s 2018-19
Concerto and Aria Competition.
    The March 2 performance,
titled “Mission Excellence,” will
feature the soloists alongside the
University Orchestra at their an-
nual winter concert. Ashley Ahn
will play the Wieniawski Violin
Concerto No. 2; Anne Hsia will be
featured in Tchaikovsky’s Piano
Concerto No. 1; PJ Hummelt will
be performing the Horn Concerto
by Santa Clara orchestra conduc-
tor John Kennedy; and Garrett
Woodford-Berry will be the solo-
ist in Elgar’s Cello Concerto.
    Auditions for the competition,
which occurred in November of
last year, are open to any stu-
dent at the university, no matter                                                                                                                                                    ERIN FOX—THE SANTA CLARA

their major. Each year’s compe-      From left to right, seniors PJ Hummelt, Ashley Ahn, Anne Hsia and Garrett Woodford-Berry. Three of the students were winners of the 2017 Concerto Competition,
tition varies and may result in      pictured below. The March 2 performance, titled “Mission Excellence,” will feature the soloists alongside the University Orchestra at their annual winter concert.
anywhere from one to several
winners. Hsia, Hummelt and
Woodford-Berry won the same          ficult repertoire over a sustained         the University Orchestra during             Hsia started playing the pi-           of his favorite pieces. Kennedy
competition in 2017. Students are    period and having the technique            the academic year. Several solo-        ano at age 5, but described it             described it as a meditative piece
not allowed to compete two years     to actually play the pieces well           ists will participate in the playing    as a “ love-hate relationship”             that is a “wonderful contrast” to
in a row.                            was very obvious to the judges.”           of other pieces in this concert,        throughout her youth. She start-           the other pieces being performed
    “It becomes very evident when       The judges are always two               in addition to their respective         ed violin when she was in fourth           due to its emotional depth.
we do the competition [audi-         people outside of the univer-              concertos.                              grade, and picked up viola in high             Woodford-Berry is proud to
tions] who has been preparing for    sity who are familiar with mu-                Ahn didn’t decide to audi-           school.                                    play in the competition as a se-
a long time,” Kennedy said. “The     sic, whom Kennedy advises by               tion for the competition until              Hummelt was first introduced           nior, calling it a good ending to
solo repertoire that people have     answering questions about the              two weeks before the audition           to Kennedy’s Horn Concerto in              his music experience at Santa
won with, they’re really difficult   players’ ability and dedication.           due date. She decided to give it        spring 2017.                               Clara.
pieces and they take months of       Twelve students auditioned in              a try for the first time with the           “When the concerto compe-                  He noted that it feels differ-
familiarity, not just weeks. Those   total.                                     Wieniawski piece, which she has         tition came up again this year,            ent from winning as a sophomore
students who have dedicated             In a unique circumstance, this          been practicing with her violin         I wanted to play it because I              student, in that he’s more confi-
themselves to learning such dif-     year’s winners are all members of          teacher at Santa Clara, Motoko          thought it would be fun to play            dent to play the music the way
                                                                                Toba, since early junior year.          something by a living composer,            he thinks it ought to be played.
                                                                                   “I really liked how it sounded,”     especially one who I’d get to work             “What I find sort of extraor-
                                                                                Ahn said. “I love it when pieces        so closely with,” Hummelt said.            dinary about all of these players
                                                                                have a slow, melodic line to it and     He has been practicing the piece           is that they have majors in other
                                                                                then it goes into this very diffi-      since late summer 2018.                    fields and yet they play at a level
                                                                                cult, technical part of the piece. It       “It’s thrilling to me that he’s        that is first-class,” Kennedy said.
                                                                                also incorporated a lot of bowing       doing it,” Kennedy said. “The solo         “As a whole, the [senior class] is
                                                                                techniques that I wanted to work        is very hard, and he’s the first           the most talented that I’ve seen
                                                                                on throughout the year.”                student musician to have learned           at my time here. This group has
                                                                                   According to Kennedy, Wie-           it. It’s an incredible accomplish-         set a standard that we hope will
                                                                                niawski was a virtuoso violinist,       ment for him to play it as well as         inspire others.”
                                                                                meaning he only wrote music for         he’s doing.”
                                                                                violin, which was known to be               According to Woodford-Berry,           Contact Erin Fox at efox@scu.edu or
                                                                                difficult and showy.                    the Elgar Cello Concerto is one            call (408) 554-4852.
                                                                                   “It’s another example of a stu-
                                                                                dent learning something for their
                                                                                instrument that’s really at the                      Lucas College and Graduate School of Business
                                                                                highest level,” he said.

                                                                                                                                 Attention
                                                                                   Hsia, who is the orchestra’s
                                                                                principal violist, decided to play
                                                                                the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto

                                                                                                                             Accounting Majors!
                                                                                after Hummelt recommended it.
                                                                                   “Two years ago, Garrett, PJ
                                                                                and I all soloed together [in the
                                                                                competition] and since we’re
                                                                                only allowed to audition every
                                                                                other year if we win, we were like,
                                                                                                                                       Prepare to become a CPA.
                                                                                ‘What are we going to play in two            If you are interested in a career in tax accounting, a Master of Science
                                                                                                                             in Taxation (MST) is a great way to meet the 150-hour requirement to
                                                                                years?’” Hsia said. “That’s why
                                                                                                                             become a CPA.
                                                                                I’m playing that piece now, due to
                                                                                our musicianship camaraderie.”               • 30-unit graduate degree program
                                                                                   She started practicing the                • Full-time or part-time options available
                                                                                piece fall of junior year, when              Or, if you are interested in a career in assurance or advisory, a Master of
                                                                                she studied abroad in Australia.             Science in Accountancy (MSA) can meet your CPA needs in our full-time,
                                                                                   “I brought the music with me              30-unit program.
                                                                                and I went through the hassle of
                                                                                finding a practice room in the                            Get more information at:
                                                                                university,” Hsia said. “It was                    www.sjsu.edu/lucasgsb/programs/mst/
                                                                                rough because I had to convince
                                                                                them that I was really serious.”
                                                                                   She describes the concerto as
                                                                                a very passionate and powerful
                                                                                piece.
                                                                                   “There’s a lot of moods and
                                                                                different emotions,” Hsia said. “I
                                                                                feel like I’m not super emotional,
                                                                                but through this piece I explore
                                                                                different realms and it takes you
                                                                                somewhere, like a novel.”
                                                         COURTESY OF ERIN FOX
The Santa Clara, 2019-02-28 - Scholar Commons
OPINION
 6

                                                                                          Thursday, February 28, 2019

Sahale Greenwood

America is Getting Schooled in Teacher Quality
T
        here are serious flaws in          spending more. According to the             ing and demanding as students go              model, should consider models like         can be achieved in multiple ways
        our education system as we         National Center for Education Sta-          to school for long hours, stressing           Finland. Finland raised their test         other than extreme pressure and co-
        fall behind in global stan-        tistics, Americans spent on average         about testing performance.                    scores by improving the quality of         pious amount of time studying, the
 dards.                                    $12,509 per pupil in primary and                                                          their teachers in the public school        U. S. should adopt the Finland model
    We have been lagging behind            secondary school in 2016, compared                                                        system by making teaching a high-          and raise the quality of teachers by
both Asian and European countries          to Korean spending of $7,652 per                                                          paying and respected job.                  making graduate school acceptance
in important educational measures.         pupil. This shows that more money               If we want our                                By improving the quality of their      mandatory and more exclusive, hav-
Both South Korea and Finland are
far above the U.S. in international
                                           does not guarantee better scores, as
                                           the U.S. is spending close to twice               students to                             teachers, they have systematically
                                                                                                                                     improved the quality of their entire
                                                                                                                                                                                ing higher expectation both in terms
                                                                                                                                                                                of schooling and natural skills for
testing, with the most important
international test being the PISA
                                           the amount as South Korea, yet not
                                           seeing superior results.                      compete better in                           educational system. This is signifi-
                                                                                                                                     cantly different than the Korean
                                                                                                                                                                                their teachers and by increasing
                                                                                                                                                                                teachers’ salaries.
(Programme for International Stu-
dent Assessment).
                                               Additionally, U.S. spending on
                                           public schools is unequally distrib-
                                                                                         this race, we need                          model, most importantly because
                                                                                                                                     Finland employs better teaching as
                                                                                                                                                                                    Finland’s education system has
                                                                                                                                                                                improved because they emphasized
    The PISA is the most relevant
measure of intelligence because it
                                           uted in different parts of the country,
                                           especially suburban versus urban
                                                                                           to improve the                            the mechanism to increase scores
                                                                                                                                     and overall education as opposed to
                                                                                                                                                                                an important variable—educators.
                                                                                                                                                                                By improving the quality of their
tests critical thinking skills by ask-
ing students to give their opinion on
                                           schools.
                                               Since many public schools are
                                                                                              coaching.                              increased hours of work and pres-
                                                                                                                                     sure placed on students. Finland
                                                                                                                                                                                teachers, they improved the entire
                                                                                                                                                                                system.
articles, read fine print of health care   heavily funded by property taxes,                                                         is improving their education in a              The U.S. is a hegemony and if
plans and work out math problems           the $12,509 per pupil is not being                                                        healthier way that allows the coun-        it hopes to hold this standing in
for which the formulas are provided.       distributed proportionally because              Within Korea, there is a constant         try’s education system to flourish         the future, especially in regard to
    Collectively, this makes PISA          both the portion of property taxes          effort to reform their educational            without jeopardizing the happiness         education, we will need to improve
a test about problem solving and           used to pay for education and the           system in an attempt to reduce                or health of students by applying          our educational system to compete
creative thinking. A memorization          value of property taxes vary greatly        stress for young students. But Korea,         unnecessary amounts of stress and          against these other countries who
test could show a difference in a          throughout the country. PISA re-            as well as other Asian countries, have        work.                                      are currently leaving us in the dust.
country’s course materials, but this       ported that this inequality in fund-        fallen into an arms race to see who               While South Korea is outper-           If we want our students to compete
critical thinking test shows that the      ing results in a 15 percent socioeco-       can improve test scores the most. It          forming the United States in edu-          better in this race, we need to im-
U.S. is falling in the ability to work     nomic variance in their test scores.        is a race that countries and their stu-       cation, their PISA scores keep drop-       prove the coaching.
out complex problems.                          South Korean students score             dents cannot get out of easily once           ping while their stress keeps growing
    These differences in scores are        much higher on the PISA, but their          they have begun.                              as the education standard continues        Sahale Greenwood is a
not because the U.S. isn’t spend-          model is not ideal for us to follow.            The United States, when looking           to rise. Because improving educa-          sophomore political science and
ing as much on education; they are         Their system is harsh, unforgiv-            for ways to improve their education           tion is an equifinality process that       communication double major.

PETA Attacks Steve Irwin On His Birthday
             Continued from Page 1                                                                                                                                    incredibly lifelike prop and was simply meant
                                                                                                                                                                      for theatrical effect. But the absurdity of the
come with little to no prompting. This was no                                                                                                                         action remains the same.To groups like this,
landmark anniversary in the legacy of Steve                                                                                                                           nothing is holy. To be obscene is to be right in
Irwin, nor was it in response to some recently-                                                                                                                       their eyes, and they repudiate any and all tact-
surfaced animal abuse scandal involving him.                                                                                                                          ful behavior. My point is simple. Activism both
Instead—simply in response to a Google Doo-                                                                                                                           here in the states and globally has left quite a
dle—the petulant minds of the PETA public                                                                                                                             wonderful mark on the world.
relations team decided to throw a hissy fit.                                                                                                                              From the liberation of nations suffering un-
    The situation just isn’t that serious. Yes,                                                                                                                       der colonial powers to the civil rights movement
situations that animals face are dire and often                                                                                                                       in the U.S., many campaigns have been effective
are overlooked by us heathenous omnivores.                                                                                                                            and have provided people with a precedent of
However, between my sinful mouthfuls of ani-                                                                                                                          civil disobedience that they can pursue in their
mal carcass, I still keep an ear out to see what                                                                                                                      own unique ways.
meats are sourced ethically and what is being                                                                                                                             This enlightened approach to change is
done to raise the standard of life for animals                                                                                                                        something that I am at once humbled and in-
around the world.                                                                                                                                COURTESY OF GOOGLE
                                                                                                                                                                      spired by. But as I said before, I have no patience
    While PETA’s voice is strong in these arenas,    For his 57th birthday, Google created a Google Doodle in remembrance of famous Australian explorer and           for idiocy—neither should you.
they seem to revel in picking fights and wag-        television star Steven Irwin. PETA, in turn, took this opportunity to defame his name and critique his work.         Our present world is plagued with moral,
ing wars that just aren’t worth the time. With                                                                                                                        social, political and economic strife at every
the resources and audience they have at their                                                                                                                         turn. But what should light a fire under your
disposal, you would expect them to engage in         man who arguably did far more for the natural            tralian PETA members shocked the world a                ass more than anything are the groups and the
something more worthwhile than attacking the         world than they ever have or will.                       number of weeks ago when they staged a protest          people who rebuff tastefulness and embrace
reputation of a deceased television personality.         It’s important to note that PETA is notorious        at which they grilled a dog on a city sidewalk and      sensationalized, ineffective “activism.”
There are animals out there that need our saving     for their pugnacious, impish actions throughout          posited to viewers that eating a dog is the same
and if PETA is as righteous as they proclaim,        the world.                                               as eating a lamb.                                       Noah Sonnenburg is a sophomore
they should be mobilizing themselves and ad-             As with everything, controversy sells more               Their actions were appalling but convinc-           communication major and is the Scene
dressing these issues instead of disrespecting a     than erudite commentary. As an example, Aus-             ing. Later it was revealed that the dog was an          Editor.

Joshua Raymundo

Jussie Smollet Fooled America, But Not for Long
I
     n arguably one of the strangest       composed.                                   them as racist and bigoted.                   because it discredits and disrespects         What our country needs to under-
     criminal cases of the past decade,        Videotapes show his attackers,               He painted the image that he, a          a real dilemma.                            stand is that people must prioritize
     actor Jussie Smollett has been        Nigerian brothers Ola and Abel Os-          gay black male, was beaten on the                 Smollett’s attempt to capitalize       others before themselves—something
 arrested. Indeed, strange does not        undairo, buying the supplies on a local     streets by racist, MAGA-supporting            on these racial divides and amplify        Smollett could certainly take note of.
 begin to describe the circumstances       surveillance camera. Investigators          white men.                                    the effects on a national stage for his
 that have snowballed into an ir-          found the check he paid the attackers            Smollett is playing a dangerous          personal benefit further distances         Joshua Raymundo is a first-year
 reversible situation with negative        to stage the crime.                         game that needs to be recognized. His         unity from coming to fruition.             undeclared business major.
 implications for the now disgraced            Smollett capitalized on a divided       fraudulent scheme perpetuates the
 “Empire” actor.                           nation that often jumps to the “guilty      stereotypes surrounding race-based
    The debacle began in late January,     until proven innocent” conclusion.          issues that fracture American society.
when Smollett supposedly received a        Smollett knew that the incident                  Hate crimes are a heinous prob-               Articles in the Opinion section represent
threatening letter composed of cut-        would receive high media ratings be-        lem caused by sickened and evil souls
out magazine letters, reminiscent of       cause he is a gay black man and thus        that attempt to divide our country,                the views of the individual authors only
those seen in classic horror movies.       was confident that the media would          and it is imperative they end. Howev-
    According to the Chicago Sun-          cover a hate crime.                         er, staging a hate crime to one’s advan-           and not the views of The Santa Clara or
Times, Smollett’s case was fabricated.         Smollett also took advantage of         tage, knowing that it is an extremely
He was found to have the magazine          the stereotypes regarding Trump sup-        sensitive subject in the public eye,               Santa Clara University.
from which the threatening letter was      porters, as the media often portrays        is a blatant abuse of celebrity power
The Santa Clara, 2019-02-28 - Scholar Commons
Thursday, February 28, 2019                                                                        The Santa Clara                                                                            7 / Sports

Bronco Victory on Senior Night                                                                                                                                          STANDINGS
                                                                                                                                                         Men’s Basketball
                                             San Francisco took a 65-             hit—which came from first-year          Broncos baseball will play
Back-and-forth                           63 lead over Santa Clara after           outfielder Cam Allie in the bot-    its first road games of the sea-   Team                       WCC        Overall
                                         knocking down a three-pointer            tom of the ninth. Two Wash-         son against CSU Bakersfield in     Gonzaga                    14-0         27-2
contest results                          with 3:23 left to play. Then, se-        ington State pitchers combined      a four-game series beginning       Saint Mary’s               10-4         14-9
                                         nior forward Henrik Jadersten,           to shut out Santa Clara while       Friday at 6 p.m.                   Brigham Young              10-5        18-12
in close win                             playing his final game at Leavey         the Cougs’ offense came alive                                          San Francisco               9-5         21-7
                                         Center, drew the teams even              to trample the Broncos 10-0.        Women’s Tennis                     Santa Clara                 7-7        15-13
         John Brussa                     when he scored a layup mo-                   Friday night, however, was a                                       Loyola Marymount            6-8        18-10
        Sports Editor                    ments later for the Broncos.             different story. Junior Brendan     SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Wom-           San Diego                   6-8        17-12
                                             First-year guard Trey Wertz          Ecklebarger delivered a strong      en’s Tennis, who cruised by        Pepperdine                  6-9        13-16
    On Saturday night, five se-          followed up with a layup of his          five-inning performance for the     Southeastern Louisiana, 4-0,       Pacific                    3-11        13-16
niors were celebrated before             own shortly after, putting the           Broncos, giving up just two         on Thursday, maintained their      Portland                   0-14         7-22
Men’s Basketball took the court          Broncos ahead once again. A              runs. The next three Bronco         dominance against UC Davis on
for their final home game of             free throw from sophomore                pitchers combined to shut out       Sunday by serving the Aggies a
the season against San Fran-             guard Tahj Eaddy, who had 16             the Cougs and RBI singles from      7-0 defeat.                        Women’s Basketball
cisco. In a game that saw 13             points on the night, would give          junior Jason Dicochea and first-        The Broncos left no room
lead changes and 10 ties, the            Santa Clara a 68-65 lead.                year Matt Jew put Santa Clara       for doubt in doubles play when     Team                       WCC        Overall
Broncos managed to conclude                  With seven seconds remain-           ahead 4-2 in the third inning.      junior Maddie Pothoff and          Gonzaga                    14-2         25-3
Senior Night on a positive note,         ing, the Dons managed to drive           Neither team would score again      sophomore Elvena Gevargiz          Brigham Young              13-3         21-6
winning 68-65 over the Dons.             down the court but failed to             and the Broncos took game two.      paired up to defeat UC Davis’      Pepperdine                 12-4         19-8
    Sophomore forward Jo-                get a shot off. Two timeouts                 Saturday was a similar sto-     No.1 duo, 6-0. Sophomore Na-       Saint Mary’s               11-6        18-10
sip Vrankic, who has played a            later and 0.8 seconds left on the        ry. Starter Keegan McCarville       dine Del Carmen and first-year     Pacific                    10-7        17-10
crucial role for the Broncos’            clock, San Francisco took its fi-        ( junior) led the way for the       Jamie Schroer secured Santa        Loyola Marymount            9-7        16-12
offense this season, scored a            nal shot and missed, cementing           Broncos defense, allowing no        Clara’s doubles point after win-   Santa Clara                5-11        12-15
game-high 20 points—includ-              Santa Clara’s win.                       runs in five innings before ju-     ning on court three.               Portland                   4-12        12-15
ing 13 in the first half—and                 Men’s Basketball will travel         nior relievers Locke Bernhardt          In singles play, Pothoff and   San Francisco              2-14         6-21
pulled down nine rebounds.               to LMU today to take on the Li-          and Ethan Heinrich took over        Gevargiz both earned victories     San Diego                  1-15         8-19
    The largest lead held by ei-         ons at 8 p.m. Santa Clara’s final        and gave up just one unearned       in their respective matches.
ther team came with 4:30 left            game of the regular season will          run. Santa Clara tallied three      Schroer, Del Carmen and ju-
in the first period when Santa           take place Saturday at 7 p.m.            one-run innings—including           nior Caitlyn Frankel all won
Clara pulled ahead 29-23. A ma-          against Portland.                        a solo homerun from junior          in straight sets over their op-                UPCOMING GAMES
jority of the second half, how-                                                   catcher Jake MacNichols in          ponents to keep the Broncos’
ever, both teams were within             Baseball                                 the fourth—to defeat WSU 3-1        sweep in tact.                     Men’s Basketball
         three points of one an-                                                  and give the Broncos a 2-1 ad-          Sunday’s contest had origi-
                      other.             SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Taking               vantage in the series.              nally been scheduled for Feb.      Santa Clara @ LMU         Thurs. 2/28 8:00 p.m.
                                         on the Pac-12’s Washington                   In the final game of the se-    3, but was rescheduled due to
                                         State in a four-game home se-            ries on Sunday, the Cougars’        inclement weather.                 Santa Clara @ Portland      Sat. 3/02 7:00 p.m.
                                         ries this weekend, the Broncos           offense returned with a ven-            Women’s Tennis will travel
                                         saw improvement after being              geance to collect 16 hits and       north to open conference play      Women’s Basketball
                                          swept by San Jose State to              score 10 runs. The Broncos,         against Portland on Friday at
                                            open the season.                      who gained a 5-4 lead follow-       10 a.m. before continuing their    Santa Clara @ San Diego   Thurs. 2/28 6:00 p.m.
                                                  During the first game           ing a home-run from first-year      road trip to Gonzaga on Sunday
                                                of the series last Thurs-         Blake Faddoul in the seventh,       at the same time.                  Women’s Tennis
                                                 day night, the Cou-              could not come back after the
                                                   gars’ pitching stole           Cougs followed up with six runs     Contact John Brussa at             Santa Clara @ Portland      Fri. 3/01 10:00 a.m.
                                                   the show, allowing             in the eighth inning to split the   jbrussa@scu.edu or call (408)
                                                   Santa Clara just one           series 2-2.                         554-4852.                          Santa Clara @ Gonzaga      Sun. 3/03 10:00 a.m.
                          SANTA CLARA ATHLETICS

   Kraft Charged

                                                                                     AP
The “Orchids of Asia” spa where Kraft allegedly committed solicitation in Jupiter, Fla.

                                              sentially trapped. They were living
         Continued from Page 8
                                              inside and not allowed to leave the
situation is not as much a concern            building without an escort.
about one powerful individual do-                 So, with more information com-
ing something wrong (although this            ing to light as the story develops,
is certainly true) as it is about the         the many complicated layers of the
larger problem of human traffick-             situation are also becoming clearer.
ing.                                              What will happen to Kraft in
    These arrests were part of a six-         court next month?
month long investigation by Florida               Will the legal system allow him
police. The shutdown of Orchids               to escape with minimum punish-
of Asia Day Spa and the charges               ment?
brought against Kraft and 23 others               Depending on the verdict, how
in Palm Beach County represented              will the NFL punish Kraft and what
only one of 10 other spas across the          will this say about a league histori-
southern half of the state and hun-           cally criticized for giving lenient
dreds of arrest warrants to occur             and dismissive punishments?
within the same week.                             And lastly, will this event do any-
    The investigations included               thing to highlight the continued is-
authorities gathering evidence                sue of human trafficking in the U.S.?
through observation, interviews                   We will not know the answer un-
with men leaving the spa and                  til Kraft’s court date, but with the
trash bin searches. When enough               video evidence released earlier this
information was gained in order               week, Kraft’s lawyers might want
to obtain a warrant, judges issued            to revise their argument from last
warrants to let officers secretly in-         Friday.
stall cameras inside. From there,
the raids began early last week.              Contact Kyle Lydon at klydon@scu.
    The women in the spas were es-            edu or call (408) 554-4852.
The Santa Clara, 2019-02-28 - Scholar Commons The Santa Clara, 2019-02-28 - Scholar Commons
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