World War Three

There is going to be another world war — but this one will be fought over water.

Not only in the United States, but across the world, natural resources are declining too rapidly for them to replenish themselves. The water tables in groundwater systems are failing to fill back up causing other problems such as sinkholes. Pollution is acidifying oceans and poisoning clean air. Vital forests are being torn down for wood, while nothing is replacing them.

"We've now reached the limit where that trajectory can no longer continue," journalist Steven Solomon told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly. "Suddenly we're going to have to find a way to use the existing water resources in a far, far more productive manner than we ever did before, because there's simply not enough."

Since the interview in 2010, nothing has improved. There have been pieces of legislation such as the Clean Water Act, effective since 1972, that helped curb water usage, but small pieces of legislation in only one single country won’t solve the big problems. There is a steep, rapid decline of available resources as the population continuously rises, causing a vicious cycle of the increased demand of water for survival.

“By 2050, the world's populations will be a third to a half again as large as today, with the biggest factor driving water consumption not being the home, school, or workplace tap or even industrial processes,” Clark Judge of U.S. News and World Report said. “70 percent of the world's usable water is consumed in agriculture — growing and raising our food.”

Without a sufficient amount of desalinated water, there will not be enough water to meet the demands of humans, to give to animals or to water crops. The world’s main food sources from animals and crops will not be able to feed the population in any country, including here in the United States. With the few remaining resources, the world — out of fear, hunger, thirst — may begin to fight.

But, there is a chance this can be avoided.

Conservation is key. Legislation is key. Recognizing the needs of the environment is key. Building a renewable infrastructure is key. The intersection of the environment, people, needs and demands are key.

We hold the keys to the future, and just need to act — without slowing legislation, without ignorance, without fear. With innovation and allocating funds, there can be time to rebuild renewable infrastructure away from the harm of coals and oils. By conserving and being mindful of our ecological footprints, there will be time to start reversing the damage to our thousands of precious ecosystems and saving our even more precious resources.

There can be time to save us — but now, we have to act.

Sarah Litz

The Fear of Farewell

The gentle wind swiftly stole the leaves as I walked down the path of Alumni Hall, a route I have walked hundreds of times throughout my four years at LMU. The view of the chapel, palms trees and the sun if not beaming, shyly finding its glow through the California clouds.

15 more days.

With every chapel bell reminding that time is passing. Reminding me that this walk and this path, once my path and the path reserved for my peers has reached its imminent destination for the class of 2016. With new young faces nervously walking this path for campus tours, anticipating the initiation of the college experience, I calmly accept my fate. Campus is not the same as it was in 2012 upon my arrival. I can walk aimlessly and comfortably with a premature nostalgia for what will no longer be.

With Facebook post and Snapchats filled with reminders of the countdown to graduation, the panic is inescapable. The unknown, the insecurity and most of all the familiar yet feared enemy named change has confronted us again. Just as these upcoming freshmen walk around campus nervous yet excited for the future, we fill similar shoes not on campus, but in the real world.

Four years ago campus was not familiar, seemed a bit desolate to me, and more than anything, not “home.” Gradual change often goes unnoticed, yet as I graduate I continue to recall my freshmen self. Graduation haunted me as a young LMU student yet with the commencement two weeks away I feel at peace. The answer to what I want to be is “I’m not sure yet” and the truth is for most people you aren’t sure until years after. What I know with certainty is this is the right moment of closure. LMU has given me the education and memories I sought out for and this comfort on campus and in my daily life is a sign of my need for monumental change. “Life begins outside of your comfort zone.”

In fact, we have factors in our favor with the strongest hiring outlook in 10 years according to recent studies published.

 While the chapel bells will ring one last time on our graduation day, I hope the class of 2016 finds comfort the memories, growth, and milestones that have taken place from the first greeting of the chapel bell to its final farewell ring.

Karen 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/04/18/here-are-the-five-critical-skills-every-new-college-graduate-should-have/

http://wwlp.com/2016/04/22/job-market-is-looking-up-for-college-seniors/

http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/workplace/article73116442.html

Ex

Allayah Beamon

2016

Litany Poem

 

EX-Fiancé

 

October 10, 2010 :-*

 

I loved his Italian, Black, and Mexican ethnic mixture

I loved his silky, ebony curls on his cabeza (head)

I loved the density of the strands of hair on his cejas (eyebrows)

and the silhouette that’s formed when he’s flirting with me

I loved his big Jewish nose that squishes mine when our lips caress one another

I loved his titanic lips that play a beautiful song on the trombone, when I’m sad

I loved his clear, luminous pale skin on a cold winter’s day, and his Goosebumps appear

I loved his skin, in the blazing heat of summer days, and an orange tan veneers his whole body

I loved his spiritual and religious intimacy with the Divine King (God)

I loved his eternal faithfulness, commitment, and unconditional love his shows me

I loved the way he loves me

 

I loved the way he started out as my BF (best friend) then upgraded to my lover

I loved the romance he showed me in our adolescent days

I loved when he skipped class, just to make-out with me in the hallway

I loved the risk he took by making me in girlfriend

I loved the adorably romantic letter he wrote back in 2010 to explain his true feelings

I loved the emotions his letter evoked, it appealed to every emotion that exist

I loved reading the letter, because it brought me joy, sadness, gratitude, and lustful emotions

I loved the way my eyes become glassy with bliss, when I look into his hunky brown eyes

 

 

I loved the way he proposed to me in my favorite restaurant, Olive Garden

I loved the plot of his engagement

I loved when he kneeled on his left knee, with a big red box in his right

I loved how the boxes got smaller as he read the letter he wrote

I loved how the final box had a beautiful diamond ring shining in it

I loved the way my face lite up, when he said, “ Will you Marry Me?”

I loved the sincerity and passion I felt from his heart to mine

I loved when the expressed anticipation on his face as he awaited my answer

I loved saying, “Yes, Yes, Yes, Of course I will Marry You Babe!!!”

I loved when I answered and he picked me up and spun me around me; there was happiness in his eyes

I loved when he stood in Olive Garden holding each other so tight that nothing could break our bond

I loved the feeling of teardrops rolling down my cheek as he kissed on my forehead and said, “I love you baby, this is the happiness day of my life!”

I loved hearing the surrounding customers and waiters and waitresses clapping for our engaged and saying

I loved hearing “Congratulations!!!” over and over again

 

I loved saying I was engaged at 19 years old

I loved being his fiancée, because I know the Divine King (God) sent us to each other for a reason but not forever

I loved knowing he was my eternal soul mate

I loved knowing he is man I Marry in July 2016

I loved Donta Emmons, my wonderful, Heaven sent, my EX-Fiancé for life

 

Ended on December 2015…

Closing Thoughts of an English Major

My initial motivation behind choosing a major in English was not so much spurred by an unbridled passion for reading and writing like so many of my colleagues, but more so for lack of a better idea. In my high school naivety, I regarded the major selection proponent of college applications more as a tentative consideration than as a commitment to what I would actually be studying for four years. Upon my arrival as freshman, still unsure as to what truly sparked my interest, I decided to stick with English for the time being while I explored general classes, certain that I would change majors once I found my niche’. Four years, an additional Political Science major, and $20,000 in student loans later I still find myself questioning whether I made the right choice.

         Three weeks before graduation I find myself with more questions than answers. My friends in more “sensible” majors such as computer science or accounting have their post-grad plans solidified while I have been battered by questions about the “practicality” of my major and the uncertainty of my job prospects after graduation. However, looking back on my college career, I find it hard to regret that I was immersed in an environment that encouraged me to pursue my passions, turning studying from something I dreaded into something I organized my life around. I realized that my English classes weren’t just about the immediate texts we were studying. I was learning how literature could teach empathy; how the critical thinking skills we acquired while examining Shakespeare were essential to thinking deeply and truthfully about the world. English is often mocked for the no-wrong-answer subjectivity that comes with interpretation, but the process of evaluating a text and forming my own ideas about it has taught me what a powerful argument looks like, made me open to change, and prepared me to put my creative stamp on my future work. Beyond learning to do a proper close reading and write a cogent term paper, I have been learning to invent.

       While uncertainty may frighten some, I consider the absence of a prescribed career path to be an unanticipated asset, leaving me free to explore areas I have never before encountered. If there’s anything I’ve learned from watching my college career unfold, its that despite plans or preparations, things will rarely turn out as expected. I have come to understand that I must embrace practicality and acknowledge that my path may be riddled with more hills than some of my friends’ and colleagues’, but I can always find solace in what studying the Humanities has done for me.  It has opened a number of doors, and my biggest dilemma will be which one to walk through.

Natural Disasters

It's 8pm you are eating dinner and all of the sudden the floor starts shaking, you don’t know what to do so you hide underneath the table. This is what happened yesterday at 8pm in Ecuador. Jessica Elgot from The Guardian  reports, “Ecuador Pacific coast has been struck by the country’s strongest earthquake in decades, a 7.8-magnitude tremor”. When I heard the news through social media I could not help but look at the pictures. It was devastating.

The news of this earthquake hit home to me. When I move to California, two weeks after being here, there was a 5.0 earthquake where I lived. I remember being at the dinner table eating dinner with my family around 7:30PM and my chair just moving towards the window uncontrollably. “What is happening? Why I am moving?” I kept asking my mom. She did not know what to do but to tell us to go underneath the table. She ran to her room to pick up by 18-month old baby sister. I remember that moment extremely vividly because it was  the first time I ever experience and earthquake.

As I read about the devastating news of the Ecuador “272 deaths” were reported by their President Rafael Correa to CNN. I kept thinking about the situation that they must be living during this moment. What are these people going to do now? How can we as a community help with the damages of such natural disaster?

After reading an article published by The New York Times  from 1999 titled “The World; One Defense Against Quakes: Build Homes of Wood”. I learned that “wooden frames tend to do better in quakes because they have some flexibility”. Such type of construction allows the wood to move with the movement of the earthquake. That is why we have them here in California, since our earthquake rate is extremely high. However, as said by expert Bob Reitherman a “executive director of California Universities for Research in Earthquake Engineering” the wood does not work as well as “they thought”. So what can we do to prevent that such natural catastrophes end with the life of many civilians?

I believe that even though they might not be as effective, building wood houses can be a step towards preventing human catastrophes. In South American countries, the majority of the “ homes are often made of unreinforced masonry, adobe or mud, and there are few residential building codes” (New York Times). Such construction makes the houses extremely fragile towards earthquakes. If we start building houses with woods and stronger materials that are able to support the movement of the temblor, maybe we could prevent 270 deaths. I am not saying that by changing the way of construction in all countries we will be safe from natural disasters. That is just impossible. But if we try to utilized our technology with our construction maybe we can create a solution to make natural disasters less harmful.

What Are We Paying Public Safety For?

I appreciate Loyola Marymount University for making a great effort in keeping its student’s safe because everyone does not have that privilege at their university that they are supposed to call home. As a woman, I feel comfortable walking home from the library alone late at night, I’ve accidentally left my door open and no one has robbed my apartment, and I even leave my laptop at a desk for 2-3 minutes while I’m in the library. However, I will say that I do not attribute my constant feeling of safeness to the campus security, Department of Public Safety.

I am a bit confused on exactly Public Safety’s role is in ensuring safety on this campus because it seems as if they are more concerned with catching students drinking or smoking marijuana. If there are students being a bit loud on a Friday or Saturday night, Public Safety is there ready with their pen and paper. When there is a student on the bluff who could possibly be smoking marijuana, Public Safety is excited to take them down. I am not supporting the fact that students should be allowed to drink or smoke, nor am I arguing for their rights as college students, but I do not think they should be the main concern of as they please, but I do not think that should be Public Safety’s main concern.

When reading today’s Loyolan I learned about an estranged man that managed to live in the study room of a residence hall reserved for freshman boys for two to three weeks. During the span of his lengthy stay, he managed to take Apple laptops, a purse, five hundred dollars, and more. While the residents of that dorm hall could have been more cautious, it is Public Safety’s duty to ensure these things do not occur. Ironically, the dorm that was robbed blind my the middle aged man is located directly across the street from the Department of Public Safety. To this I ask, what are we paying Public Safety for?

When I returned from my semester abroad, I was shocked to learn that Public Safety began to charge $150 to students who call for assistance when they are locked out of their rooms. Public Safety claimed that they spend too much time giving students access to their rooms when there is more crime to fight on campus. There are other resources to obtain a one card during the day, but if Public Safety wanted to keep its students safe there would be alternative options during night time. If a student is coming home from the library at 3am and realizes they cannot locate their One Card, walking across campus alone that late at night cannot be the most safe options when there are always Public Safety officers in the office with vehicles that can drive to let them in. After all, it is that students tuition that pays their salary.

I don’t mean to bash Public Safety and discredit the good they do bring to the campus, but I think it is time for Public Safety to shift their focus on what is a threat to this campus.

More than just a bathroom bill

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Life Cycle

I have lived in three cities, Los Angeles, London, and Portland, Oregon for extended periods of time, and out of the three, Portland is considered the most bicycle friendly and bicycle accommodating place out of the three. On many levels, this is the case, starting in Downtown Portland and steadily making its way out into the suburbs, Portland’s bike network has been the envy of cyclists since it started accelerating the building up its bike infrastructure in the mid 1990s. 6.2 percent of Portlanders (I call them Portlandians) commute by bike, the highest percentage in the nation. A bike share system is scheduled to make its debut in July.

The problem is that Portland, Oregon sees only 144 sunny days a year. It’s a miserable experience biking in the rain, which makes the "Bike City USA" title even more impressive.

London, as well, is a city where many people bike in weather as dreadful as the Pacific Northwest. An estimated 580,000 bicycle trips are taken daily in the city, but cycling in London comes with a healthy dose of putting your life into your own hands. The city’s ancient, narrow roads mixed with extremely aggressive driving and double decker buses makes for a wild ride.

Yet here in Los Angeles, I look around and we have incredible weather nine months out of the year, plenty of room and a desperate need to get out of traffic, and I get the sense that many people are afraid to bike here. Sure there’s an intimidating mix of distance and car culture that make two wheels seem like a pipe dream, but depending on where you choose to live, taking your transportation into your own hands may just be within your grasp.

If you live near the water, chances are you have the best cycling infrastructure in the city, blissfully located in the most scenic and climate-friendly locations. On the Westside for example, If you’re commuting from Culver City, home of Sony Pictures, to famous Venice Beach, Playa Vista (also known as Silicon beach) or Loyola Marymount University, the Ballona Creek bike path is a protected bike path, isolated from traffic. You can make it from the Expo Line Subway Station on La Cienega to the beach bike path in thirty minutes once you get good enough to book it. Once you get to the coast, anywhere from the Pacific Palisades to Redondo Beach in the South Bay of the city is accessible, depending on how motivated you are.

If you live by the Los Angeles River, the bike path extends from the San Fernando Valley to Downtown Los Angeles, and starts again in Vernon, all the way down to the coast in Long Beach.

These are only two examples of Los Angeles’ surprisingly built out bike network, and it’s a viable alternative for many people. Combined with the city’s new and expanding rail network, if we choose to, we have a real chance to get out of our car once in a while and experience a different quality of life. I like the idea that my commute can also be exercise, sightseeing, enjoyable. I like the idea that I can put my bike on a bus or a train if I get tired, and sleep until I get home, or do a little bit of extra work. Breathe a little easier, looking a life a little slower, but with a little depth, a little more patience. 

-Sean Eckhardt

My "Cute" College Experience

As the final countdown to graduation begins I find myself questioning whether I truly made the most out of my college experience. When thinking back on the last four years with my teammates and close friends at LMU, we sometimes regret never getting around to exploring as much of LA as we’d hoped to, but feel confident that our years at LMU were still well spent. But it’s as soon as I get together with my friends from high school that I suddenly feel like I did college all wrong.

At least within the last three years, not too much has changed in my life regarding academics, relationships, and athletics. Typically, people strive to have the balance in their lives that I feel I have in mine, but when I sit there listening to my friends’ crazy stories, I question whether the balance in my life came to soon— because my life just doesn’t compare. I’ve found myself silently sitting through conversations that sound something like this:

           

Oh my god, you guys, I’ve never been so amped…I definitely couldn’t have lasted without all that cocaine and Adderall.

           

Wait, you’ve never tried cocaine?

           

You guys, I accidentally cheated on my boyfriend again.

           

At least you have a boyfriend…I’ve had sex with like 5 guys in the last 2 weeks.

            What about you, Kristen?

  Umm, I’ve never tried cocaine… or Adderall, and I still have the same boyfriend... and I    haven’t accidentally or intentionally cheated on him.   

Aw, you guys are cute.

Did I miss something here? Am I supposed to be doing drugs and unhappy with stable relationships? Well, I don’t, and I’m not. But comparing lifestyles with them makes me feel like I should be. However, after thinking back on my apparently “cute” college experience, I have to hand it to myself for not falling victim to the habits that surrounded me. Maybe it was the threatened drug tests that the athletic department issued periodically, maybe I just didn’t have the money, maybe I didn’t want to had I even been “allowed.” Regardless, the more I think it through, the more I realize it’s really not important. I did what I came to LMU to do—swim Division 1, have a good time, and graduate.

In the end, we all hit a point when we’re lost and confused about where our post-college lives will take us, so why does it matter how we get there?

Hint: It doesn’t.

Kristen Brennand