Author: kevinpatrickokeeffe

Greek groups reflect on probation

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Originally published in the Los Angeles Loyolan. For original, please refer to: Greek groups reflect on probation – Los Angeles Loyolan.

Three Greek organizations have recently come off social probation, while a fourth remains on probation indefinitely.

Lambda Chi Alpha, Sigma Chi and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternities were on probation from the beginning of the academic year until the first of this month, according to junior political science major Michael Hanover, Sigma Phi Epsilon’s chapter president.

According to sophomore political science major Alex Petosa, a member of Alpha Phi sorority, these suspensions came about because of the same event last semester that put Delta Gamma sorority on a still-continuing social probation.

“It was an event involving the introduction of new Delta Gammas to members of fraternities,” Hanover confirmed. “As far as I know, somebody got sick [for alcohol related reasons] and everybody there was held accountable.”

In a statement released to the Loyolan through Chapter President Libby de Leon, a senior history and screenwriting double major, Delta Gamma confirmed that their chapter did indeed receive sanctions from the University and the national Delta Gamma Fraternity for “behavior that did not align with our mission.”

The organizations were held accountable in a process outlined in LMU’s Community Standards, according to Assistant Director of Student Leadership and Development and Greek Adviser Dan Faill.

“In any organization, as with being human in general, people make mistakes,” Faill wrote in an email to the Loyolan. “If people make mistakes at organization-related activities, the organizations will be held accountable. … It’s my job to ensure a safe and fun Greek experience; sometimes that comes with holding sorority [and] fraternity members and organizations to a higher standard.”

“Traditionally, if you look at any other school, everyone does that kind of stuff,” Petosa said regarding the difference between LMU and other universities’ Greek life. “It’s a conflict between LMU’s ideals and what Greek Life is. … We go to a Jesuit university, and so Greek Council and Dan Faill have a standard to uphold. And they have to uphold the school’s mission statement.”

According to senior psychology major Lisa Flanigan, president of Kappa Alpha Theta, Delta Gamma remains on probation.

“They were definitely put up as an example,” Petosa said of Delta Gamma’s longer probation. “I think it’s the historical example that no one’s perfect. … It’s just too bad it had to happen. … They had to be upheld as an example. They violated the rules, and rules are rules. That’s in LMU’s standards.”

As part of the probations, each chapter was delivered sanctions by the University’s Judicial Affairs department. For Sigma Phi Epsilon, the sanctions included “education on risk management, how to conduct safe events and not make stupid mistakes,” according to Hanover. The organization was also prohibited from hosting any events with alcohol.

“I think that the sanctions that were levied upon us were very reasonable and educational,” Hanover said. “They were all directed towards teaching us how to keep our members safe and conduct themselves in a way that was more healthy and conducive to development in the future.”

The terms behind social probations are determined on a case-by-case basis. According to Faill, they depend on the group and any alleged violations.

Just three semesters ago, Kappa Alpha Theta was placed on social probation as well.

“We had an event where girls were drinking alcohol on campus. It was a dry event,” Flanigan said. “The school found bottles of alcohol … in a bathroom.”

Like Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta received sanctions not only through the University, but also through the national organization. According to Flanigan, her chapter had a number of sanctions levied upon it.

“I don’t remember everything that we had to do – we did a bunch of things – but one of the things that we did recently for LMU was an educational program for the LMU community about drinking and driving,” Flanigan explained. The program involved bringing a smashed car from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Additionally, Kappa Alpha Theta held a service day for workers at LMU.

Kappa Alpha Theta’s probation wound up lasting for a semester, something that Flanigan said is not common. The time was spent bonding as a chapter and making up for their mistakes.

“We always say that we think being on probation really helped our organization become even better, because we were able to take a step back and look at our true values and morals of our organization, where we were and where we needed to be,” said Flanigan.

In its statement, Delta Gamma echoed that sentiment, saying that its chapter is “appreciative for the learning opportunity and [we] look forward to continuing to work with the University and various groups on campus to build awareness about safety, risk management and social responsibility.”

“I think this whole thing was a culture shock for us. We got to see how things could go wrong,” Hanover said of the fallout from the probations. “I think the whole community learned a lesson from this.”

When asked what advice she would give current organizations on or coming off probation, Flanigan said, “I think that it’s really important to take a step back and look at why you’re in this organization, why all you girls or boys … are in an organization that has certain values and why you joined that organization over others.”

She added, “You have to make the most out of it.”

Two-party debate: An exercise in futility

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Originally published in the Los Angeles Loyolan. For original, please refer to: Two-party debate: An exercise in futility – Los Angeles Loyolan.

Two-party debate

Cartoon Credit: Jackson Turcotte | The Los Angeles Loyolan

By all accounts, Tuesday night’s second U.S. presidential debate was an exciting affair. President Barack Obama showed he had some serious fight left in him. Republican candidate Mitt Romney didn’t back down. Moderator and CNN journalist Candy Crowley did what so many of us have been dying to do and fact-checked Romney on air. Compared to Romney’s dull-as-dirt total knockout in the first debate, this one was absolutely fascinating.

So why am I so unsatisfied?

From an unbiased standpoint, the debate was grand political theatre; at points, it honestly looked like the two candidates were a moment away from coming to blows. However, I’m not an unbiased observer. As an American citizen, a college student who hopes to get a job someday and a gay man who hopes to get married someday, I’m very much biased towards specific agendas, and I care about who wins this election. From that perspective, all the debates have been a bunch of, to borrow a phrase from Vice President Joe Biden, “malarkey.”

This isn’t entirely the fault of the candidates, though. It’s more the fault of the two-party debate format that makes every political battle “he said, he said.” Except for the rare moments when a moderator intervenes (Crowley’s aforementioned fact-check, ABC News’ Martha Raddatz’ relatively aggressive moderation in the Vice Presidential Debate), most of the time, viewers are left to infer whether one candidate or the other is being honest. (That is, of course, something that didn’t used to be an issue when lying in a debate wasn’t so rampant and unapologetic, as Romney has proven to be so far. So remember, it’s still kind of the candidates’ fault.)

While I don’t like the two-party format, I don’t particularly like bringing in a third-party candidate either. What’s so theoretically great about a two-party system is that the extremes are represented, and great debate can spring from the differences. Obviously, that hasn’t happened so far. Like I said, theoretically.

What the debates need is a real-time, fact-checking system. Again, theoretically, the moderator should do this, but between Jim Lehrer’s poor performance as moderator in the first debate and the ridiculous rules the campaigns unsuccessfully tried to enforce on Crowley in the second, the moderator is clearly not serving this function. Under pressure of being fact-checked, the candidates would have to provide real answers, hopefully creating some real discussion and showing the differences in their platforms. In that model, undecided voters could make an informed decision about how to vote. Additionally, policy wonks would be able to hear a real discussion about issues. Imagine that.

While political theatre is great, ultimately it is nothing more than smoke and mirrors, and I, for one, think the very biased observers – the American people – deserve a true debate.

Forgive me if I’m not holding out too much hope, though.

David Koechner

‘Anchorman’ star David Koechner named Comedy for a Cause headliner

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Originally published in the Los Angeles Loyolan. For original, please refer to: ‘Anchorman’ star David Koechner named Comedy for a Cause headliner.

David Koechner

Photo Credit: YouTube | roryphotography

ASLMU’s Comedy for a Cause, previously known as both Comedy for a Cure and Comedian for a Cure, has found its headliner: “Anchorman” star David Koechner.

“He’s in ‘The Office,’ he’s in ‘Anchorman’ … so he’s been in the public view a lot,” said ASLMU’s Director of Performance Events and senior finance major Ashley Thompson of the choice. “We looked at his stand-up comedy style, and he’s what we wanted. He’s available and lives in L.A. – kind of a match made in heaven.”

The actor/comedian, who has also played recurring character Todd Packer on “The Office” since 2005 and was a “Saturday Night Live” cast member in the show’s 21st season, was selected in mid-September.

ASLMU President and senior marketing major Bryan Ruiz said that he thinks Koechner’s reprisal of his role as sportscaster Champ Kind in the tentatively-titled “Anchorman: The Legend Continues” next year will drive students to the event.

“Especially with Anchorman 2 coming out … I feel that students are going to respond really well,” Ruiz said. “We [at ASLMU] were all ecstatic.”

Opening for Koechner at the event will be this year’s Last Student Standing winner, junior screenwriting major Justin Small.

Under the event’s new title, Koechner was asked to choose which charity the event’s funds would support.

“In the past, the event has benefited the Susan G. Komen Foundation,” Thompson said. “This year, we decided to open up the philanthropy to the comedian. So we asked David … [and] he chose the Balanced Mind Foundation.”

The Balanced Mind Foundation, a Chicago-based foundation first established in 1999, is an organization with the goal to guide “families raising children with mood disorders to the answers, support and stability they seek,” according to their website.

To raise money for the Balanced Mind Foundation, junior psychology major Caitlin Maher, ASLMU’s chair of programming, said that the event’s coordinators have been focusing on fundraising opportunities.

“One of our major goals that we’ve been focusing on is just getting a lot of donations from different businesses, so we can donate a significant amount of money to the foundation,” Maher said. “Because that’s what the whole entire event is centered around.”

Fundraising opportunities include a raffle that will include prizes like gift cards to Best Buy and C&O Cucina, as well as tickets to Six Flags Magic Mountain. According to Maher, ASLMU is also hosting a Pinkberry fundraiser on Sunday, Oct. 20.

Comedy for a Cause will be held Tuesday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. in Gersten Pavilion. The event will be free, but raffle tickets to be entered for a prize will cost $5 for one and a discount $10 for three, and will go on sale starting tomorrow during Convo.

Avoiding the Sophomore Slump, from Someone Who Experienced It

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Originally posted on NextGenJournal.com. For original, please refer to: Avoiding the Sophomore Slump, from Someone Who Experienced It – NextGen Journal.

My first two years at Loyola Marymount University were exactly the opposite of what you’d expect: I thrived in my freshman year, but just survived my sophomore year. While there were plenty of factors that went into that, some far beyond what an incoming sophomore might typically face, there were definitely some growing pains that almost every student can take care to avoid. So here are the best three bits of advice I would want to impart to any students entering their second year looking to avoid that sophomore slump.

1. Be flexible in your friendships

Not every person you forged a friendship with last year is going to remain a friend the next year. This is, of course, a recurring theme in every year of life, but it’s especially prominent when coming off your freshman year. People grow and change significantly in college, and often, that growth in your sophomore year can send people you once felt very close to in a completely different direction. If you’re feeling that separation growing and you think it’s not a momentary bump in the road but rather indicative of a greater trend, don’t fight it. Roll with it. Make peace with it. But most importantly, don’t let it impair you from making new friendships.

Believe it or not, you didn’t meet everyone worth their salt in one year. Even on the smallest college campuses, there are always more people to meet and get to know. You won’t like all of them, of course, but many of them you will. Some you’ll even love. Some will likely even surpass your freshman friends in how close you get to them. College is a four-year experience for a reason. Speaking of which…

2. Don’t waste your time

Guess what? You’re done with 25 percent of your four-year college career! Doesn’t it feel like it was just yesterday that you were moving in for your freshman year? Well, rest assured, sophomore year goes even faster, and at the end, you’re left wondering, ‘Where did half my college career go?’ It’s a feeling somewhat akin to getting punched in the stomach.

There’s no time to waste a single moment. No matter what school you go to, what you’re involved in or what you’re studying, you’ve got to seize the moment and do things you’ve always wanted to do. Don’t blow off your work, but also don’t let it be an impediment to doing what you want to do. You’ve got a limited amount of time, so use it well!

3. Find your passion

Most colleges require a declaration of major by the end of sophomore year, so there’s no better time to start figuring out what you want to do with your life. What classes have you taken that interested you? Continue learning about what inspires and drives you, and find career opportunities within that area. Be ready for every shift in the winds – even if you’re majoring in something else (say, screenwriting) but you’re given an incredible opportunity (say, the Arts & Entertainment Editor position at your campus paper) that launches you in a totally different direction (say, towards journalism – not that I’m taking all these examples from anywhere in particular, no sir).

Last year taught me that you can never be quite sure of where you’re going to end up, especially in college. Think of sophomore year as a transition year on a television show. The cast may change some and there may be a new theme, but you’re invested, and you’re not gonna bail any time soon. The only thing you can do is brace for what’s to come and watch what happens.

11 Burning Questions with an L.A. Times editor

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Originally published in the Los Angeles Loyolan. For original, please refer to: 11 Burning Questions with an L.A. Times editor – Los Angeles Loyolan.

Photo Credit: John Corrigan

1) How did you first get involved at the L.A. Times?

I’ve been involved with the L.A. Times since 1999. I was hired as the night city editor and the business editor for the San Fernando Valley. I was a screenwriting major here at LMU, and when I graduated I couldn’t figure out how to become a screenwriter. So I ended up getting into a Master’s program at [CSU] Northridge in communications. From there, I managed to get an [unpaid] internship at the L.A. Times and some clips.

2) How did you transition from your old position as business editor to your current post?

The former [assistant managing editor] had left the organization. The editor, Davan Maharaj, approached me to take it over. I had been associated with some quality journalism projects – I edited our Wal-Mart series that won the Pulitzer in 2004. … [Maharaj] was aware of my arts background and thought it would be a good fit.

3) As assistant managing editor for arts & entertainment, what is your goal for the section?

My goal is to have the best arts & entertainment section in the country. We live in the entertainment capital of the world, and we have special access to filmmakers, to actors, to producers. What I want to have is both print and online content people really want to read that is useful, compelling [and] thought-provoking.

4) What do you think arts & entertainment can do that is special?

Especially in this era of the Internet and instant news, if you look at the hard news headlines, a lot of the time the stories on the front page or in the news sections people have some familiarity with. … Arts & entertainment has the unique position where most of the stories on our cover, people may not have a familiarity with.

5) How do you feel your work in business sections informs your current work?

In business in particular, you get a discipline of looking beyond what people say to [the] numbers and information. … When you are covering the showbusiness elements of the entertainment industry, it does force a certain mindset to try to find facts to go with the words — to look a little deeper and harder for information.

6) Do you feel your screenwriting major background makes you more drawn to film in arts & entertainment?

Screenwriting was really helpful [to me] in being a journalist. … When you’re writing about features or events, you have to think [about] storyline, the plot and characterization. When you’re writing about people, you want those people to come to life.

7) Did you write for the Loyolan back in your LMU days?

I did indeed. I remember covering Bobby Seale, the Black Panther who came to campus … that was on Page 1 of the Loyolan. And I believe my first assignment [was about how] at the time, people would park on campus and their windshields were leafleted with ads from a term paper research company.

8) We featured a debate (“How real is too real?” in the Sept. 20. Loyolan) about the photo of the Libyan ambassador that ran on the front page of the L.A. Times. Can you speak at all to the decision making behind that?

I really can’t. I was not directly involved in that decision.

9) You sit on the LMU Magazine advisory board. What do you do in that role?

We meet about four times a year to review the magazine and make suggestions. … One of the big audiences is alumni, and so I thought pictures of what’s going on on-campus now, that’s important – more stories to just bring you back to campus.

10) What do you hope to bring in your speech to the Loyolan staff? [Editor’s note: Corrigan spoke at the Loyolan’s staff meeting last Monday.]

To me, journalism is really a wonderful pursuit. … Years ago, reporting was very strict: not opinion … only a few people could be commentators or have opinions. Increasingly, though, with so much news out there … there is a chance for analytical writing, for opinion writing. … There’s something about writing that is strong.

11) If you boiled your life down to a headline, what do you think it would be?

“Making the most out of life.”